Kirby's Return to Dreamland is honestly a bit of a blur to me, but from what I can easily remember I had a lot of fun with it and it was over the top in a very good way. It was pretty much Kirby to the extreme, something only really seen in the American covers honestly, and it really is one of the better Kirby games out there. After such a long while, since about squeak squad really, do we get a full fledged Kirby game, and for the consoles the wait for a regular Kirby game has been far too long. While Epic Yarn and Mass Attack are fun additions to Kirby, there is just something pure and fun about how the original formula goes about it. This time Kirby is set out to collect a lot of gears and ship parts to help a fellow out and with that starts probably the only Kirby game to have a decent storyline.
Return to Dreamland has a few new additions added to the formula, like 4 player co-op, the ability to play different characters, and perhaps the most important the super special abilities Kirby gets every now and then. What particularly makes this Kirby game set apart from others is the way it establishes a set formula throughout and yet somehow always seems like its fresh and challenging each time. Maybe its the fact that you or your friends can play as king dedede, waddle, or meta knight along with the other kirbys, but just in general every power out there is just given so much to work with that it never feels like you get a useless ability, well rock still kinda sucks. Anyway with the newer characters they get their standard weapons, Dedede with his hammer, Metaknight with his sword, and Waddle with a halberd. What makes them a little more interesting than just permaweapons is the fact they are treated as there own character, and for the first time ever in a kirby game it actually feels like there is more to co-op then before. See in the past Kirby games all the extra characters usually just acted like Kirby with a different skin and a lot of the animations were awkward at times, mainly the enemy partners, on top of that the first player had a lot more control over the other players, no matter where the 1st player was the camera would always focus on them. In Return to Dreamland however it actually feels like a co-op affair, the camera simple follows whoever is in first and you can set up teams that rely on the permaweapon counterparts. Kirby loses his power for the gear we needed? Just switch to Dedede and suddenly you can get it! Just a lot of these neat little touches that actually make Co-op, Co-op in Return that just makes it better than the other times Kirby claimed to have Co-op. Course I haven't actually gotten to the actual powers yet either.
The powers this time around just do a lot more than they usually would. Sword alone does different types of cuts and actions pending on how you press the special button and D-pad. In other words, powers actually require some skill to wield, granted its not a lot of skill, but the fact that you can learn how to use powers properly is very much a big thing in a small skilled game like Kirby. Now it actually feels like a challenge when you can run through the game using your new acquired skills with your weapon and even more fun in the challenge stages they provide when you collect enough gears. Not to mention that the addition of the super abilities, which pretty much sets Return as the over the top adventure I mentioned earlier. Certain abilities throughout are given super abilities and act as a sort of screen killer in the way that the Mic used to in older Kirby games. Save for the fact that a lot of these powers acted differently, and attacked in different ways. The majority of these super abilities are usually used because they're is a chance to get into a dimension that houses a mini-boss that has two gears within the level. About every 2 or so levels in each world have these dimensions and the super abilities are always used to access them. While it may seem like it gets rather old the more and more you do it, its further from what you would think. For the most part, the super abilities are used in different ways each time, and you usually don't get the same ability twice when opening a portal. On top of that, instead of just fighting the mid-boss you must first out run the dimensions wall that are closing in to kill you. These segments where you run from the dimensional walls are probably the hardest Kirby games have ever gotten and what makes it all the more interesting is that you lose your abilities as soon as you enter in this gray dimension. Thus a lot of this running and quick puzzle solving relies on the players knowledge of Kirby's basic abilities making it a lot more fun and a much needed break from having super powered abilities throughout a level. In general, Return to Dreamland really is the most challenging Kirby game to date, with many of the bosses, and mid-bosses changing their pattens every now and then when they have lower health. As well, the final boss himself really makes for a great ending as all your abilities are put to the test on top of having the return of the darkest before dawn type endings Kirby tends to have at the end of his games.
Course Return to Dreamland isn't all sunshine, rainbows, and really cool wicked powers. Its a very formulaic game and while it tends to spice up the formula each time, its really hard not to notice that you are doing the same thing throughout the entire game. What makes it all the more noticeable though is the mid-boss in the dimensions rift, as all them are simple recolors of the first one and it never really spices things up like other bosses do. Aside from that though, there isn't too much to complain about the game. The music is great, the graphics are put to good use, and all in all its a great Kirby game.
Final Thoughts:
Kirby's Return to Dreamland is certainly one of Kirby's best and challenging outings to date. It may be quite formulaic with its levels, but there usually is something to spice them up each time you enter a new one. With a fully functional Co-op in hand, a massive collection of gears to collect, and bonus stages to unlock, Return to Dreamland really brings back Kirby the way he used to be.