Kirby's Return to Dream Land (called Kirby's Adventure Wii in Europe and Australia) is a 2011 platform game made by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the ninth main game and the twenty-second game in the Kirby series. The story follows Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight, and Bandana Waddle Dee as they help an alien named Magolor fix his broken spaceship so he can return home. While Kirby's Epic Yarn came out in 2010, Kirby's Return to Dream Land is the first traditional Kirby platform game for a home console since Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, which was released in 2000 for the Nintendo 64. The game was released in North America on October 24, 2011, in Japan on October 27, 2011, in Europe on November 25, 2011, in Australia on December 1, 2011, and in South Korea on September 6, 2012.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land includes the main gameplay style of traditional Kirby games, where Kirby can inhale and copy enemies to use their abilities, such as breathing fire or swinging a sword. The game allows up to four players to work together, with each player controlling different characters, including King Dedede, Meta Knight, and Bandana Waddle Dee.
The game was first planned for the GameCube in late 2005 but was later moved to the Wii. It was thought to be canceled until it was announced again in 2011. The game became available on the Wii U's Nintendo eShop in 2015. Some ideas from the canceled 2005 Kirby game were used in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, such as a feature where players can stack characters on top of each other, with one player carrying the group. Other ideas from the 2005 game, like Kirby being able to team up with up to three "Helpers" (a feature from Kirby Super Star), were changed and used in a different Kirby game released in 2018 on the Nintendo Switch, Kirby Star Allies. Kirby's Return to Dream Land received good reviews for bringing back classic Kirby gameplay, level design, visuals, and music, but some players criticized its easy difficulty and multiplayer options. A new version of the game, Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, was released on February 24, 2023, for the Nintendo Switch.
Gameplay
Return to Dream Land is a 2.5D side-scrolling platform game played by holding the Wii Remote sideways. Unlike earlier Kirby games, this version uses 3D models for characters and enemies instead of 2D images called sprites.
Throughout the game, Kirby can collect items that help him heal. These include food that restores health and items that give an extra life. An extra life is also earned after collecting 100 stars. Kirby can also use items to interact with the environment. At the end of each level, players play a mini-game where timing a button press to jump as high as possible earns extra rewards.
Kirby is controlled by the player and keeps his ability to inhale objects and enemies. Inhaled items can be swallowed or thrown back as projectiles. Kirby can perform a "Super Inhale" by shaking the Wii Remote or inhaling for a long time. This stronger inhale has a longer range and can suck up "Heave-ho Blocks," which regular inhales cannot move. A Super Inhale also lets Kirby inhale other players or large enemies.
Some enemies, when swallowed, give Kirby "Copy Abilities," which let him copy the enemy’s attack style. Kirby can only use one Copy Ability at a time. Other players, such as those playing as King Dedede, Meta Knight, or Waddle Dee, can hold onto a Copy Ability’s essence and throw it back to Kirby to be inhaled. If a discarded ability is not picked up, it disappears after a short time.
Each Copy Ability has different attacks based on button combinations. New abilities in this game include the Whip, which lets Kirby grab distant items; the Water ability, which puts out fires; and the Leaf ability, which lets Kirby attack with leaves or hide in a pile of leaves to avoid damage. The Nintendo Switch remake adds the Mecha ability (laser cannons and robotic arms) and the Sand ability (shaping sand), and brings back the Festival ability from Kirby Star Allies.
The game introduces "Super Abilities," which are stronger, temporary Copy Abilities that can damage the environment and enemies. Unlike regular Copy Abilities, Super Abilities are discarded immediately when ejected. Five Super Abilities exist: Ultra Sword, Monster Flame, Flare Beam, Grand Hammer, and Snow Bowl. These are stronger versions of the Sword, Fire, Beam, Hammer, and Ice Copy Abilities.
The game supports cooperative multiplayer for up to three additional players. These players can choose to play as a yellow, blue, or green Kirby or as Meta Knight, King Dedede, or Waddle Dee. Each character has traits based on specific Copy Abilities, but only Kirbys can inhale enemies and use Copy Abilities. Players can ride on each other as a "totem," allowing a charged attack called the "Team Attack" when timed perfectly. A move called "Face-to-Face" lets players share health-restoring items. In the Epilogue of the Switch remake, Magolor becomes a playable character. He can levitate briefly and use energy attacks, gaining more abilities as the player upgrades them. Players 2–4 can play as different colored versions of Magolor in this mode.
All players share a pool of lives, with one life required to enter the game. If a player loses a life, they can use an extra life to rejoin. However, if the main player (Player 1) loses a life, all players restart from the last checkpoint.
Plot
One day, a spaceship that travels between different worlds, called the Lor Starcutter, suddenly appears through a tear in space and crashes onto Kirby's home planet, Popstar. Kirby, Meta Knight, King Dedede, and Bandana Waddle Dee go to investigate and meet an alien named Magolor. Magolor explains that the five important parts of his ship are scattered across Popstar, and the 120 Energy Spheres are also found on Popstar and another planet called Halcandra. Magolor offers Kirby and his friends a journey to Halcandra if they help him recover his ship's parts. Kirby and his friends agree and begin their mission to find the lost pieces.
After collecting the main parts of the ship, Kirby and his friends travel to Halcandra. There, they are attacked by a four-headed dragon named Landia. Magolor says Landia is a dangerous creature that has taken control of Halcandra and sends Kirby to defeat it. When Landia is defeated, Magolor reveals his true goal: to take the Master Crown from Landia's head and gain great power. Magolor wears the crown and transforms into a large monster, planning to make the entire universe obey him, starting with Popstar. Kirby and his friends team up with the four dragons that Landia has split into and chase Magolor into Another Dimension.
During the chase, Magolor uses the Lor Starcutter to fight Kirby and his friends, but they manage to destroy the ship. Magolor separates Kirby and his friends from the dragons before they confront him in a final battle. During the battle, Magolor transforms into an even larger monster. Kirby and his friends destroy the Master Crown, and Magolor is sent away. With the Master Crown broken and Magolor defeated, Kirby and his friends return to Popstar after narrowly escaping the collapsing Another Dimension. The Landia dragons take the Lor Starcutter and return home. A non-canon Extra Mode, which changes Magolor's final form to Magolor Soul, suggests that Magolor may have been controlled by the Master Crown itself.
Development
Development of a new Kirby game for the GameCube started after the release of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards for the Nintendo 64 in 2000. The game took 11 years to make, during which three different versions were created and later canceled. The first version was similar to Kirby 64 in style but used 3D graphics with traditional 2D side-scrolling gameplay. This version, temporarily named Kirby for Nintendo GameCube, included multiplayer support for up to four players and expanded the Helper system from Kirby Super Star. It was shown at E3 in 2005 and planned for release that year. However, challenges with programming multiplayer led to its cancellation, though the Helper idea later appeared in Kirby Star Allies for the Nintendo Switch.
The second version placed Kirby in a 3D environment, while the third returned to side-scrolling gameplay but used a pop-up book-style look, similar to Yoshi's Story for the Nintendo 64. The second version was canceled because it did not meet HAL Laboratory’s quality standards, but the company continued experimenting with 3D Kirby games, eventually creating Kirby and the Forgotten Land for the Nintendo Switch. Shinya Kumazaki, who directed Kirby Super Star Ultra, was brought in to lead the project after the third version was canceled in early 2010. The team realized that earlier failures were due to focusing too much on multiplayer, so they shifted attention to improving the single-player experience, though multiplayer remained a low priority. Development of the final version sped up in October 2010 as the game took shape.
The long development caused the game to appear and disappear from Nintendo’s upcoming game lists. On September 14, 2006, the game was listed as Hoshi no Kābī (“Kirby of the Stars”) for the Wii, set for release in Japan. The December 2006 issue of Nintendo Power removed it from its GameCube list but did not add it to the Wii list. Matt Casamassina of IGN suggested the game would be released for the Wii in 2007, comparing it to Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, another game that moved from the GameCube to the Wii. Though the game did not appear at E3 2007, Nintendo confirmed it was not abandoned. The December 2007 issue of Official Nintendo Magazine claimed no Kirby game for the Wii was in development, but Nintendo confirmed in May 2010 that the game was still being made.
Nintendo announced Kirby’s Epic Yarn at E3 2010, a separate title developed by Good-Feel. Some thought this was the canceled Kirby game, but Nintendo re-announced the original project in January 2011 with a planned release that year. At E3 2011, the game was shown in playable form under the name Kirby Wii. It was later renamed Kirby’s Return to Dream Land in North America, Kirby’s Adventure Wii in Europe and Australia, and Hoshi no Kirby Wii in Japan. The music was composed by Jun Ishikawa and Hirokazu Ando, with a soundtrack titled Kirby Wii Music Selection containing 45 musical pieces from the game.
Remake
On September 13, 2022, during a Nintendo Direct presentation, an improved version of the game Kirby's Return to Dream Land was announced for the Nintendo Switch. This version, titled Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, includes new features such as Mecha and Sand Abilities, the Festival ability from Kirby Star Allies, a comic book-style visual design, updated controls inspired by Kirby: Triple Deluxe, and new sub-games. Some sub-games from earlier Kirby titles that were not in the original game are also included, except for Scope Shot. On February 8, 2023, another Nintendo Direct revealed a new mode called Magolor Epilogue: The Interdimensional Traveler. The game was released on February 24, 2023.
In Magolor Epilogue: The Interdimensional Traveler, Magolor is shown after being defeated by Kirby and his friends. Stranded in Another Dimension and without most of his powers, Magolor tries to regain them while collecting pieces of a mysterious fruit called the Gem Apple. He repairs the Gem Apple Seed at the Ethereal Altar, but it becomes corrupted by the remnants of the Master Crown, turning into the Crowned Doomer. After defeating the Crowned Doomer, the Master Crown remnants merge with the Gem Apple, creating a large tree-like creature named the Tree Crown Without a Ruler. Magolor fights the Master Crown and defeats it by using a sword infused with his magic, turning it into an Ultra Sword. He then slices the Master Crown in half. After the battle, a dimensional rift opens, allowing Magolor to leave Another Dimension. The credits show that Magolor arrives in the Dream Kingdom village of an alternate universe, where the Gem Apple seed is planted as a sapling. Now redeemed, Magolor becomes the village’s shopkeeper, setting up the events of Team Kirby Clash Deluxe and Super Kirby Clash.
Reception
Kirby's Return to Dream Land received "generally favorable" reviews, according to Metacritic, a review aggregator. Nintendo reported that the game sold 1.31 million copies by March 2012.
Many critics praised the return of classic Kirby gameplay, which differed from the unique style of Kirby's Epic Yarn. The game was described as nostalgic and similar to earlier Kirby titles. James Stephanie Sterling of Destructoid called it "refreshing" and said, "Kirby doesn't need to innovate, he just needs to be fun; Return to Dream Land brings the fun in spades." The graphics and visuals were noted for being detailed and colorful. GameSpot reviewer Nathan Meunier praised the levels for their well-designed environments.
Some critics mentioned that the game lacked difficulty, especially due to its multiplayer features. IGN noted that the simple difficulty level might make it more appealing to younger players.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe also received "generally favorable" reviews on Metacritic, with a slightly higher score than the original. Another review aggregator, OpenCritic, reported that 79% of critics recommended the game. Morgan Shaver of Shacknews highlighted the new "Merry Magoland" feature in the Switch remake and gave the game a positive review. As of March 2023, the Switch remake sold 1.46 million copies.