Kirby and all of Planet Popstar are pulled into a new world by a mysterious dark vortex in Kirby and the Forgotten Land. While navigating through unknown territory, Kirby makes new friends and fights enemies both new and old. Familiar fans of the Kirby series will recognize certain monsters, but they may also notice that some familiar faces are surprisingly absent.
Due to the nature of Kirby's copy abilities in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, a lot of the foes that Kirby could inhale and copy were excluded. This is most likely in part to Kirby getting Copy Ability Upgrades instead, meaning the enemies that gave Kirby a certain ability simply don't exist in Forgotten Land for gameplay purposes. Despite this, Kirby will still have plenty of enemies to keep him on his toes.
10 Grizzo
This classic enemy made his debut in Kirby's Dream Land. He's taller and stockier than most common enemies, capable of dealing more damage to Kirby if he's touched. However, like most enemies, he goes down in one hit if Kirby inhales him. Grizzo does not give Kirby any special abilities.
In Kirby's Dream Land, Grizzo would sometimes carry Poppy Bros. Jr. on his back. Unfortunately for Poppy Bros. Jr., Grizzo did not make the final cut into Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
9 Broom Hatter
Another classic enemy from Kirby's Dream Land, Broom Hatter is absent from the new world in Forgotten Land. While Broom Hatter isn't aggressive, bumping into him will hurt Kirby.
He normally doesn't give Kirby any copy abilities when inhaled, but he's still been a consistent pest within the Kirby universe. In Kirby Star Allies and Kirby's Dream Land 3, Kirby can inhale Broom Hatter to get the Cleaning Copy Ability and sweep up his foes.
8 Soarar
In their debut (Kirby and the Amazing Mirror), Soarars were able to shoot lasers. By Kirby: Triple Deluxe, this was removed. Like Broom Hatter, Soarar doesn't purposefully aim for Kirby, but their constantly flying around the screen may cause players to accidentally run into them.
Soarars don't have any Copy Abilities for Kirby. It's possible that these enemies were removed to make way for new enemies, or because Kirby's unable to fly as high as he used to in Forgotten Land, meaning Soarars would be harder to hit.
7 Flamer
The Flamer enemy is shaped like a wheel, but spews fire from its four knobs. In Nightmare in Dreamland, inhaling Flamer gave Kirby the Burning Ability. This turned Kirby into a ball of flame that could blaze through his enemies. Over time, Flamers instead gave Kirby the Fire Ability, and its trademark Burning Ability was implemented into Fire Kirby's dash+B-attack.
Even though Flamers were common in previous Kirby games, there isn't much point in having a Flamer and Hot Head in Forgotten Land if they're just going to give Kirby the same ability.
6 Starman
The Starman enemy first appeared in Kirby's Adventure, where inhaling them granted Kirby the Hi-Jump Ability. Starman was often found jumping along the clouds in worlds that took place in the skies. Additionally, Kracko would rain down Starman from his body when fighting Kirby.
Starman's Ability allows Kirby to spring high into the air, inflicting damage on anyone he crashes into only while he's ascending. In a game where Kirby's flying skills were nerfed, having the Starman enemy in Forgotten Land would have been ideal.
5 UFO
The UFO enemy was unique in that it had three different methods of attacking using laser beams and energy blasts. Copying UFO allowed Kirby to fly without holding down the A-button, making it easier form players to steer him while he was airborne.
Like Starman, UFO would have been interesting to see in the Forgotten Land because of its variety of skills and flight. However, because UFO can stay above enemies and dish out damage without getting hit, it may have been excluded because UFO Kirby would make boss fights too easy.
4 Wheelie
Wheelie's Copy Ability gave Kirby a baseball cap and allowed him to turn into a wheel to speed across the land. Most of the time, Wheelies were placed before a treasure that would fall out of bounds if Kirby wasn't fast enough.
Thanks to Mouthful Mode in Forgotten Land, Kirby doesn't really need the Wheel Ability when there are cars he can use instead. Unfortunately, cars are less common than Wheelies were in previous Kirby games, but gameplay-wise, both function the exact same for Kirby.
3 Kracko
Unlike most of the recurring enemies, Kracko is commonly depicted as a mini-boss or a regular boss. He has a full health bar and will hover over Kirby while raining down lightning and enemies such as Hi-Jump and Sparky. Kracko isn't too difficult to beat, but when he's at half health, he moves around the stage a lot quicker and can be harder to hit.
Despite appearing in nearly every Kirby game since Kirby's Dream Land, he doesn't show up in Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Perhaps Kracko being an aerial-combat-based boss is what kept him locked out of Kirby's adventure this time around.
2 Sparky
This little green teardrop-shaped enemy could emit deadly green electricity if Kirby got too close. However, Sparky had one of the better Copy Abilities in the games he was in. By copying him, Kirby could pull up an electric shield around himself as long as players were holding down the B-button.
This would prevent enemies from directly contacting Kirby, but enemies that fired projectiles (such as UFO and Laser Ball) could still damage Spark Kirby even if he had a shield generated. Sparky has been a recurring enemy in the franchise, but without the Spark Copy Ability, there's no reason for him to show up.
1 Waddle Doo
If these creatures look like Waddle Dees, that's because they are... in a way. Waddle Doos are a type of Waddle Dee, but unlike Waddle Dees, they can fire lasers from their eye. Waddle Doos are one of King Dedede's common minions, so it's shocking to see they're completely absent from Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Given that Kirby can't use the Beam Ability, it makes sense from a gameplay perspective.
In some Kirby games, Waddle Doo can be carrying a parasol. If Kirby inhaled a parasol-wielding Waddle Doo, he'd get the Parasol Ability instead of Beam.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is available now on Nintendo Switch.
