There's an inescapable feeling of deja vu in Kirby's latest outing.
Cons: Lacks any real "spark"; Controls are alternately loose and sluggish
In retrospect, Nintendo really knocked it out of the park reviving 2D platformers on the Wii. New Super Mario Bros. Wii was fun, Donkey Kong Country Returns was brilliant, and Kirby's Epic Yarn was great for the beginners. So it's understandable that not every game is going to be quite up to the same level. Take Kirby's Return to Dreamland, for instance, which is solid, but unspectacular in just about every respect.
Kirby's Return to Dreamland is in reality Kirby's true return to console-Kirby's Epic Yarn isn't really a Kirby game and doesn't count. In any case, the formula here is basically identical to any traditional Kirby game: mix platforming with power absorption, light puzzles, and fun boss fights. It's been a fun formula over the years-what Kirby games lack in difficulty they tend to make up for in simple fun. Additionally, variations like the game collection idea of Kirby Super Star, the Metroidvania structure of The Amazing Mirror, or the power-mixing of Kirby 64, the have varied the formula enough to keep things fresh.
This is the fundamental issue with Kirby's Return to Dreamland: it's trying to get by on the old formula alone. Unless you count co-op, which is always welcome, but not even new for Kirby (see: Amazing Mirror), there isn't anything fundamentally new here. The experience just feels redundant; there's nothing (significant) here that you haven't seen before. Same gameplay, same puzzles, same worlds, same Kirby. It doesn't help that the game lacks level design up to the ridiculously high standards of Nintendo's other Wii platformers.
It also doesn't help that the controls are still pretty problematic. Kirby moves at one of two speeds: lightning fast (and imprecise), or sluggish. Trying to precisely place Kirby where you want him WITHOUT wasting a ton of time can be a challenge. The problem is exacerbated underwater, where Kirby falls slowly, but leaps up an entire character height each time you hit jump. The least Nintendo could have done was fix this series-wide issue if they weren't going to add significant new features.
But in reality I can't complain too much about Kirby's Return to Dreamland, because its faults are minor. It takes a formula that's worked over the years and reuses it effectively. But there's a good chance that you already own a Kirby game (or many) that play just like this, albeit with more inspiration. Ultimately this title is only for a) die-hard Kirby fans, and b) beginning 2D platform jumpers who have already played the superior Kirby's Epic Yarn. Everyone else can safely ignore this knowing that you've played the same thing before.