Note: This review will be covering Star-Crossed World and the specific changes and additions made to the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Kirby and the Forgotten Land. If you want to know more about the gameplay and our overall impressions of the base game, check out our original review here!
Following Super Mario Party Jamboree, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the second Nintendo Switch game to receive a shiny new Switch 2 Edition, and rightfully so. Kirby's first venture into 3D ended up being one of the best platformers of the generation, getting almost a perfect score from us when it launched in March 2022. As we wait for the inevitable announcement of the next mainline Kirby project, and let Sakurai do his thing as development quickly wraps up on Kirby Air Riders, Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World aims to give those that haven't played the original game a definitive way to play, and returning players a reason to return.
With the increased power of Nintendo Switch 2, Kirby and the Forgotten Land has seen a pretty significant framerate and resolution boost. While Super Mario Party Jamboree seemed to set a not-so-great precedent for what "Switch 2 Edition" means by separating the new content and not updating all the old, Kirby and the Forgotten Land seamlessly integrates the Star-Crossed World expansion into the base game. A dynamic resolution of 1440p (1080p in handheld mode) makes the colourful world of Kirby even more of a treat to the eyes than before, and going from capped 30fps on Switch to a smooth and consistent 60fps on Switch 2 is a night and day difference. On top of faster loading times and other graphical improvements including a higher draw distance of objects and enemies, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is better on Switch 2 in every way.
If you've already played through the entire game, technical and visual enhancements are likely not going to be a good enough reason to dish out £16.99/$19.99 for the Switch 2 upgrade pack. Nintendo and HAL Laboratory knew this, and that's where the "Star-Crossed World" expansion comes in, adding a brand new side-story, two EX volumes of virtual gacha figures to collect, and "The Ultimate Cup Z EX" in the Colosseum- a more challenging boss rush mode that includes the new bosses. Star-Crossed World is unlocked after completing the first area of the original campaign and is accessible from the same world map as the other stages. Since I started with a 100% save file, Star-Crossed World was available right away, but if you're playing Kirby and the Forgotten Land for the first time, the new stages can be played side-by-side with the old ones as you progress.
Star-Crossed World opens with a beautifully animated cutscene of Kirby and Elfilin riding atop a Warp Star when they notice a giant meteor falling from space. As it falls, shards of crystal break from it and spread across the land, before the core of the meteor crash lands into the ocean to form a volcanic island. When the two go to investigate, they discover the "Star of Darkness" and find Astronomer Waddle Dee already there, who informs them about the legend of the meteor. As legend says, the Star of Darkness will unleash a disaster that will consume everything, and the only way to prevent it is with the stars of light, the same shards of crystal that previously surrounded the meteor. Some of these shiny crystals contain creatures known as "Starries," and gathering them together will restore the "Sealing Crystal" and stop the Star of Darkness before it's too late.
While the story serves its purpose, complimenting the main campaign, it doesn't have quite as much narrative depth as I expected. Star-Crossed World only takes a couple hours to beat if you're not going for optional collectables, but 100% completion will add a few extra hours to your total playtime. There are 12 total "Starry Stages," 2 in each world, all based on an already existing stage and located directly next to it on the world map. Starries function the same as the captured Waddle Dees from the base game, gathered by completing the stage, finding the hidden ones within the stage, and completing mission objectives. While the new stages start out similarly to their base game counterpart, the crystallization that has spread across the land from the meteor takes you on alternate paths, making them feel fresh despite being based on already used environments. In a roundabout way, it feels like a shorter way to replay the game but still experience the magic of new ideas.
Despite the new areas, the core gameplay loop remains the same, as Kirby uses his various copy abilities to defeat enemies and bosses, navigate unique platforming challenges, solve environment-based puzzles, and search for hidden collectables. However, three new Mouthful Modes are also introduced in the Starry Stages to further spice things up, including Spring Mouth (jump higher and ground pound), Gear Mouth (roll, dash, and climb up walls), and Sign Mouth (slide down slopes and spin attack), depending on what the particular stage calls for. A few of the original Mouthful Modes are also present in Star-Crossed World, but these new ones are just as fun and well-integrated into the level-design, feeling like cut content that could have been in the base game rather than something that was simply shoehorned in just for the sake of including more stuff.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World is a nearly perfect package for newcomers, improving upon an already excellent 3D platformer by polishing it up with improved graphics and doubling the framerate for an even smoother visual experience. Even though the Star-Crossed World campaign is relatively short and the gameplay feels like more of the same, the newly added content maintains the same level of quality and charm as the base game, offering a good enough reason for veterans to revisit one of the best titles on Switch, while saving development time for a new game.
8.5/10
A copy of Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World for review purposes was provided by Nintendo UK.
