HAL Laboratory's first true 3D Kirby game, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, is fresh in the minds of those who played it upon release this March. Translating the pink puffball's unique brand of platforming outside the 2D plane - including his floaty jumps, inhaling, and Copy Abilities - offered opportunities to experiment with tried-and-true powers. It also introduced two new Copy Abilities in Drill and Ranger, as well as Evolved Abilities with their own attributes. That experimentation continued with Jelly Kirby in HAL's latest spin-off Kirby's Dream Buffet.
It's harder to put Kirby's Dream Buffet in a box than previous titles. The game's main appeal is a Mario Kart-style racing mode with abstract culinary environments that have drawn comparisons to Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, but there are also battle royale matches and minigames interspersed between races during each Gourmet Grand Prix. Eight food-themed variations on typical Copy Abilities are available in certain modes, but Jelly is the only one invented for Dream Buffet. Its focus on intangibility could still make Jelly a decent candidate to appear in future mainline titles.
Jelly Brings a Defensive Edge to Kirby's Dream Buffet
The seven returning Copy Abilities in Kirby's Dream Buffet are Burning, Drill, Hi-Jump, Needle, Stone, Tornado, and Wheel. Their functions are largely the same as in mainline platformers, with Burning and Wheel shooting players faster down the racetrack, but others have seen adjustment for this spin-off's unique mechanics. Tornado now sucks up any strawberries in the vicinity, for example, and Stone turns Kirby into a chocolate bar with a shockwave impact that knocks out battle royale opponents.
Jelly is the only Food Copy Ability with exclusively defensive properties, perhaps speaking to a lack of existing options that fit Dream Buffet's fast-paced nature. After obtaining the power-up, players can turn Kirby into a gelatinous green blob for a limited time. The character is invulnerable for the duration, able to pass through enemy attacks as well as obstacles like destructible cookie walls. By pressing the ability activation button again, Kirby can leave behind globs of jelly that slow down opponents; though this blows through its active time faster.
How Jelly Can Adapt Beyond Kirby's Dream Buffet
Kirby's Dream Buffet marks the third time a Copy Ability has been introduced in a spin-off. The first was Balloon, which appeared in the 2005 DS title Kirby: Canvas Curse; followed by Wrestler, which appeared in the more recent Switch title Kirby Fighters 2. Neither ability has appeared in a mainline game following their introduction, which perhaps doesn't bode well for Jelly as another power representing the format of its debut spin-off. That said, Kirby Fighters 2 released in 2020, so there's a chance Wrestler may still appear in whatever game follows Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
If Jelly makes the jump to a traditional platformer, its status as a passive ability should be retained. Its food theme could stay as a homage to Dream Buffet, or HAL Laboratory could create a more typical variant based on slime or ectoplasm to ensure Jelly is specifically a Food Copy Ability. Regardless, having Jelly could give Kirby an inherent speed boost and the ability to phase through certain enemies and walls for both 2D and 3D platformers.
One place a mainline Kirby game could expand upon Jelly is giving it more combat utility. If players have the form active, they could theoretically absorb an enemy and slowly do damage akin to Dungeons and Dragons' Gelatinous Cube. Casting off bits of jelly to slow down opponents seems less purposeful outside a racetrack, but this could translate into a volcanic attack that launches particles into the air above and around Kirby. There are plenty of options if HAL decides to bring the spin-off ability over, though it should also consider revisiting Balloon and Wrestler.
Kirby's Dream Buffet is available now on Nintendo Switch.
