If anything can be said about Kirby and the Forgotten Land, it's that HAL Laboratory's latest game seems to be all-in on empowering the titular pink puffball. Kirby and the Forgotten Land provides Kirby with quite a few new ways to dish out damage and interact with his environment. On the one hand, players will gain the ability to evolve Kirby's Copy Abilities, giving them more specialized uses and stronger attacks. On the other hand, Forgotten Land introduces Mouthful Mode, a new mechanic wherein Kirby swallows huge objects and gains powers based on them. Between these two additions, Kirby could feel more versatile than ever.
However, although these two features shine independently, they may be on a collision course. Both Copy Ability evolutions and Mouthful Mode are clever expansions on traditional elements of Kirby, but because they both require Kirby to inhale new things, they might end up fighting one another for the spotlight. Two of Kirby and the Forgotten Land's biggest innovations may each make it hard to fully enjoy the other. HAL Laboratory will have to distribute both Mouthful Mode challenges and Copy Abilities carefully to make sure they don't end up fighting for the player's attention.
Competition Among Kirby's Powers
Kirby games almost always introduce some new core mechanic in order to mix up the game play, from Kirby Mass Attack's multiplication to Kirby 64's Copy Ability combinations. However, these generally stand alongside Kirby's other functions rather than competing with other new mechanics for the player's attention. Kirby and the Forgotten Land seems different. Mouthful Modes and Copy Abilities will constantly appear alongside one another it seems, meaning fans have to constantly choose whether they make use of Mouthful Mode or evolved Copy Abilities. In this way, the two new mechanics risk diluting each other's prevalence in the game.
That's especially important because some of Kirby's Mouthful Modes look like they'll be crucial to navigating the game. Cone Mouth Kirby is needed to crack open parts of the environment, Water Balloon Mouth Kirby will likely be necessary to wash away certain obstacles, and so on. In other words, players will have to sacrifice their Copy Abilities to progress through certain levels, only to discard that Mouthful Mode when it has outlived its usefulness. Depending on how often Forgotten Land players have to give up one type of the ability for the other, both mechanics have a serious chance of suffering.
Balancing Kirby and the Forgotten Land
HAL Laboratory has to design its levels and Kirby's abilities carefully to ensure that fans can enjoy a proper balance between Kirby and the Forgotten Land's new abilities. While Forgotten Land's levels ought to offer Kirby plenty of opportunities to use Mouthful Mode, the mechanic also shouldn't be a constant necessity that forces Kirby to abandon Copy Abilities. At the same time, Copy Abilities should be abundant, but not so flashy after evolution that they make Mouthful Mode unappealing in comparison. The two mechanics need to be peers, rather than rivals.
Even if Kirby and the Forgotten Land's new types of abilities battle one another for the player's attention, it's a good thing they're sharing space. Evolved Copy Abilities and new Mouthful Modes will give Kirby players far more unique options than in most entries, which will help keep combat interesting throughout the game while increasing Forgotten Land's replay value. Multiple types of innovation will give HAL more source material when planning Kirby's future too. Forgotten Land's innovative takes on Copy Abilities have already proven their worth by giving the game a distinct identity within the franchise, HAL just has to make sure players can enjoy them equally.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land releases March 25, 2022 for Nintendo Switch.
