Despite having some gigantic releases up its sleeve, Nintendo's 2023 has been relatively quiet so far, with Fire Emblem Engage doing all of the heavy lifting for the Switch in the year's early months. However, Nintendo is about to change that, as later this month Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe is set to hit the Nintendo Switch. It's set to feature a surprising amount of new content, ranging from new cosmetics to entirely new game modes like the newly announced Merry Magoland multiplayer mode.
Arriving on February 24, 2023, Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe is a remaster of a 2011 Wii game, albeit with some significant upgrades. Along with all the quality of life and technical upgrades fans would expect from a remaster of a 12-year-old game, Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe is also being packed full of new content, and its Merry Magoland mode looks like its most exciting addition, taking players to a fantastical theme park setting and letting them and three other local friends duke it out in a series of sub-games.
Bomb Rally
The first of 11 sub-games in the Merry Magoland mode, Bomb Rally will be familiar to long-time fans of the franchise, with it having first appeared in Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland. This sub-game sees players hit a bomb back and forth with a frying pan, matching their hit to the rhythm of the music. As the game progresses, the bomb gets faster, and if a player misses their hit then they're blown up and replaced with a Bubbles. The last player left wins the game.
Booming Blasters
A brand new sub-game for Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe, Booming Blasters functions similarly to any other top-down Tanks-like game. Players are dropped into a top-down arena shaped like a labyrinth, with walls separating them, and they have to use their laser guns to eliminate the other players. The last player standing or the player with the most points wins this relatively simple slayer match.
Checkerboard Chase
Originally seen in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Checkerboard Chase returns here in an almost identical fashion. Here, players are dropped randomly onto a 8x8 grid designed to look like a checkerboard. Each player can move freely around the board and can activate a shockwave move that pushes players and blocks in the surrounding area. The goal of this sub-game is to knock every opponent off the board a total of five times each. Eliminating a player will cause the board to shrink in size, leading to some frantic final moments.
Crackity Hack
First appearing in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, Crackity Hack is a fairly tricky precision game, requiring the player to line up not one, but two different moving objects in order to succeed. First, players will need to press the interact button right as the bar to the left of their character reaches the top. Their character will then fly into the air, and a set of two crosshairs will appear. The player then needs to press the interact button again when these two crosshairs align. The player who achieved the closest button inputs will succeed, with the rock beneath them breaking apart and the crack traveling into the Earth beneath them.
Egg Catcher
A sub-game that dates all the way back to 1993's Kirby's Adventure on the NES, Egg Catcher is one of the simplest sub-games on this list, but it's also one of the most addictive. In Egg Catcher, Robo Dedede will stand in the center of a boxing ring and will throw eggs and bombs at each contestant. All players need to do is simply open their characters' mouths for the eggs, and close them for the bombs. Eating a bomb will eliminate that player.
Kirby on the Draw
A game that originally appeared on the Nintendo DS' Kirby Super Star Ultra, Kirby on the Drawn in Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe might play a little differently this time round. This sub-game is another pretty simple one, with players simply needing to shoot cardboard cutouts of enemy characters for points, all while avoiding any bombs that might appear. Each player only has eight bullets, and each target can only be shot once, so it'll come down to whoever is the fastest draw of the bunch. With the original game using a touchpad, it's likely that Kirby on the Draw's control scheme has been updated for the Switch.
Magolor's Tome Trackers
Another brand new sub-game for Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe, Magolor's Tome Trackers sees players trying to guess and locate the tome that Magolor is thinking of before the time runs out. Each round, Magolor will start thinking of a tome, beginning as a hazy image, and getting clearer over time. Players need to find the tome that matches the binding color and the cover symbol of the one Magolor is thinking about.
Ninja Dojo
First appearing in the original Kirby's Return to Dreamland, Ninja Dojo sees players throw shurikens at moving targets. The player with the most points, dictated by where their shurikens land on the target, wins the sub-game. In the original version of the game players would need to flick the Wii remote to throw the shuriken, and that same gameplay will likely translate quite well to the Switch's Joy-Cons.
Samurai Kirby
One of the most popular sub-games in Kirby history, Samurai Kirby has appeared in four different Kirby games now, and is easily one of the series' most simple yet fun mini games. Samurai Kirby sees players face each other in duel. All players need to do is wait for an exclamation mark to appear above the characters' heads and press the interact button to strike their opponent down. The fastest on the draw wins.
Samurai Kirby 100
Samurai Kirby 100 features identical gameplay to the standard Samurai Kirby sub-game, but puts one player against 99 others in a relentless onslaught. This sub-game is single-player only, and as opposed to facing off against 99 other players in real-time, players are simply facing off against the most recent 99 recorded scores. An internet connection will be required for this sub-game.
Smash Ride
Originating in Kirby's Squeak Squad, Smash Ride sees players riding atop a Smash Star on a top-down map. The simple goal in this mini game is to ram the other players off the map, with successful eliminations granting the player a point. Players aren't alone however, as Squeaks will appear on the map as obstacles, halting the players' movements.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe releases February 24, 2023, for Nintendo Switch.
