[Preview] Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe – Kirby classic returns on Switch

Nintendo recently held a short media preview demo for Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe ahead of its upcoming release on Switch. The original Wii game is an all-time Kirby classic, so having it on the hybrid platform at all is compelling. Set to release on February 24, 2023, the title is soon to hit store shelves without us knowing a ton about what’s new.

In this video preview, Sam and I have an in-depth discussion about some of the game’s new features, visuals, and gameplay. We’ve included further bulleted highlights below.

• New Visuals
  • The game’s visual upgrade, while slight, does look nice in motion. It seems online video compression wasn’t kind to the thick character outlines and cel-shaded character models as they look better natively. However, the level of detail in the backgrounds and cutscenes look similar to the original game (which is a great-looking Wii title).
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• New Copy Abilities: Sand and Mecha
  • Sand fits right in, looks as if it has always been a power in the series. Kirby can spawn a sand arm far ahead of him, a fist to slam onto the ground in front of him, and a large sandcastle, among other abilities.
  • Mecha is surprisingly complex with a varied move set. It seemed like every attack input revealed a new cool looking power for Kirby’s mech suit, whether it be bombs, lasers, missiles, lobbed fire balls, flamethrower, etc.
    

• Helper Magolor
  • An easier difficulty option that employs Magolor’s aid throughout the game.
  • Players will gain a second health bar.
  • Magolor will save you if you fall into a bottomless pit.
  • In boss fights, Magolor can drop random health items or copy abilities if you lose yours.
• Merry Magoland
  • A dozen or so minigames, most of which are returning favorites, take place in a charming amusement park run by Magolor.
    
  • Motion controls are enabled for some of these, touch screen in portable mode also an option for select games.
  • The Stamp Card provides structured progression through the minigames. Through this Stamp Card you will receive missions that lead to unlockable souvenirs like Masks of Kirby characters you can wear in the main campaign.
    
  • Masks are mostly a cosmetic element; some do change the wearer’s sound effects.
• Magolor Epilogue
  • Brand new story content unlocked after finishing the main campaign.
  • Play as 1 to 4 freshly defeated Magolor(s) on a journey to regain his powers.
  • Magolor controls more like Megaman, can’t perform multiple jumps, has a dedicated shoot button.
  • Goal is to chain combos against enemies to rack up higher scores, get better level ranks, unlock new abilities and upgrade Magolor’s powers.