Based on this tag alone, it is difficult to predict the re-release of Nintendo's “Game + Add-ons”. Super Mario 3D World's Jump Switch 1 comes with Bowser's Fury, which is actually a brand new game, while the recent Super Mario Party is the same as the base game with Jamboree TV extensions, but also completely separate and different in some weird ways. Now it's Kirby and Forgotten Land's turn, its stellar world add-on is the throughput of fresh air at the size of Kirby, just because it's easy to explain: It's just a regular OL' modest size DLC. It may be packaged as an upgrade, but this small section of interesting new level is no more complicated than a good excuse, even if there aren't too many excuses to jump back into warped stars for a few hours.
Let's get boring business talk first: The only way to visit the Star World is to pay $20 to upgrade your Switch 1 version of Kirby and “Forgotten Land” to the Switch 2 Edition (which also brings some welcome but unnecessary performance improvements), or buy the Switch 2 version for $80. You can also buy the Switch 1 version for $60 and skip the added content, but without it you won't get the Switch 2 enhancements. Because these enhancements aren't very important, it does feel like DLC in the traditional sense, so this review will focus on the interstellar crossover world rather than the bundles being sold.
Another reason that makes the most sense to me is because my comments on Kirby and the Forgotten Land are still exactly the same as my writings three and a half years ago. I won't recap the basics here, so if you've never played it, I encourage you to read or watch the review (I still suggest the game I recommend myself) and then come back when thinking about the DLC itself. This is what I said at the time:
What I said to Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Kirby and Forgotten Lands successfully twisted the already interesting combination of ability-based combat, platform and secret hunting in the series. The post-apocalyptic environment may not be as fun as Planet Popstar, but it is still lovely and vibrant, with a level of clever design that can consistently use Kirby's abilities. Despite the changing perspective, Forgotten Lands retains my favorite for classic Kirby games – if the future means 3D adventures of our hungry pink heroes, I'd love to devour them. – Tom Marks, March 23, 2022
Score: 8
Read the full Kirby and Forgotten Land Review.
The world of Starcross is well weaving a little story of an forgotten land existing campaign. Once you complete the first world (or, if you already have savings outside of saving), a mysterious meteor will fall into the ocean and spread large chunks of blue crystals throughout the map. This story, which is not your reason for here at all, is foreseeable that with a waddle dee with a cool beret, you go out and collect “Stars” that have been scattered throughout the land Book to end all existence. You know, the ordinary Kirby stuff.
In fact, this means adding 12 new “Starry Phases” to the map, and two of each of the six worlds in the base game. These borrowed locations and themes come from the levels beside them, adding crystal flowers that change the landscape when touching them. There are also some brand new enemies, challenges, and even great background songs. I was initially worried that these stages would only It's a mix, but it's not the case – they're almost made up of almost brand new areas, and for a few times you'll revisit the attractions like you would in a great shopping mall or exciting amusement park, it feels fun instead of a cheap rehash.
In 12 new starry sky stages, nothing was actually missed.
Nothing missed in these dozen dungeons, cleverly reversing existing mechanics and many interesting newbies to make fun of your brain. A brilliant guy made me jump between mobile platforms heading towards the screen, frantically trying to find the right path before I could push it away from the edge. Another revisited the very stupid “pipe” port mode transition that made you roll along the rolling roller coaster tracks and you needed to reveal the extra parts in real time. None of them fought too seriously because yes A Kirby game, but they are more challenging than a totally banned land, making them a great option to keep you playing, even if they are actually unlocked at the same time as the main story.
Speaking of the mouth shift, there are three new changes introduced in the interstellar world: One spring, you can bounce high and then slam hard and slam hard, a gear you can roll along the wall, and this logo essentially turns Kirby into a sled for some high-speed downhill in several high-speed downhill areas. All of this is used to, opening the door to some clever new puzzle ideas – I especially love how you launch yourself between separate parts of the wall, which is more trivial than I expected from such a simple item.
Many existing transformations are also revisited in a smart way, with options like the Stalwart Traffic Cone getting multiple sections that prove the little gas left in the tank. Even the stair conversion, in what I think is the main game, it's…well, silly, actually used in a fun way: Here you have to leave the stairs on the moving conveyor belt and then jump somewhere else to complete the task before you can drop the ledge from the ledge. Neat!
Unfortunately, Kirby’s more traditional transformations didn’t get the same attention—no new transformations or upgrades in any existing collection. Perhaps more importantly, if you have defeated the forgotten land and return to DLC like I did, having the largest tool set can make some of the enhanced enemies too easy to chop. A new enemy type in particular is an interesting little heavy knife that you have to dodge the meteor when breaking into the progressive crystal armor level, but charging attacks from fully upgraded dungeon capabilities may cause other mutually interested encounters in the jump.
Kirby and Forgotten Land: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World Screenshot
Similarly, the failure of the interstellar world is not about what it does, but more about its role. It took me about three hours to finish the content here and although the stage itself is top-notch, other than that, it feels small. There is no boss fight at these 12 levels, no new treasure bonus stage (a big highlight of the original), and even the new mouth choices don't really change on your Waddle Dee Village – despite being beyond the starry dots I can't get here. Even if you collect new star-based currency once I realize it The only one Use a new set of Gacha figurines to be unlocked.
That's not to say there's nothing worth it here, nor is it like I immediately got 100% done in these 12 stages – like the base game, I usually don't get to every collectible on my first try, so there are plenty of secrets to sniff out. But when you compare it to everything that is already available, the world of stellar crossing can't help but feel like it's falling. It adds a great level, but the fresh platform's afternoon is very close to the entire package.
Changes to the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition will not be interesting to you either. You will no longer see the distance NPC at ridiculous frame rate, but that's the only change that really jumps to me. Don't get me wrong, higher FPS and resolution are welcome and they all look great…but it doesn't look bad from the start. Forgotten Land has become a stylized game, one without any real performance issues, other Switch 1 games can be fixed in jumping to Switch 2, so the ceiling looks better without a bigger overhaul, which isn't high in my eyes.