Kirby and the Forgotten Land releases at the end of the month, and it has become a hotly anticipated early 2022 game in spite of stiff competition from the likes of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Elden Ring, and Horizon Forbidden West. Much of this can be attributed to the charm of Kirby as a protagonist, but developer HAL Laboratory is also taking steps to make sure Forgotten Land stands out as the pink puffball's first true 3D platformer.
Among its selling points introduced during the February 2022 Nintendo Direct is "Mouthful Mode" transformations, in which Kirby tries to eat something too big and becomes stuck on top of it, gaining access to object characteristics in new ways. That Direct also debuted the idea of "evolved" copy abilities, offering players the chance to upgrade their regular abilities by going to a shop in Waddle Dee Town. A surprise demo dropped last week that gave players access to their first taste of these upgraded powers, but the final game should make sure they're useful for more than just combat.
Evolving Copy Abilities in Kirby and the Forgotten Land
An overview trailer for Kirby and the Forgotten Land released alongside its demo that offers more of a breakdown regarding evolved copy abilities. Blueprints can be found within "each stage" and brought to Waddle Dee's Weapons Shop in Waddle Dee Town - a hub area that expands with more NPCs and activities as Kirby rescues them from the Beast Pack. Numerous evolved abilities are shown off in the trailer: Volcano Fire, Clutter Needle, Deep Sleep, and more.
Each evolved ability has a noticeable cosmetic difference, which is typically also reflected as a hat sitting atop Mouthful Mode transformations. Many of them amount to buffs that make a given copy ability hit harder, faster, or farther, but there will also be options to pick between. The overview trailer shows off Toy Hammer versus Wild Hammer, one getting in more damage-per-second and the other offering access to powerful single strikes. Creating new evolved weapons require Kirby to collect a set number of Star Coins from each stage, as well as rainbow stars which have yet to be detailed.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land's Abilities Need More Than Combat Utility
Players unlock evolved copy abilities to test after completing Kirby and the Forgotten Land's three-stage demo, replacing all normal abilities. Cutter becomes Chakram Cutter, letting Kirby throw out more projectiles that arc in nonlinear paths; likewise Bomb becomes Chain Bomb, explosives that link when thrown close together for bigger booms. "The Brawl at the Mall" boss fight against Gorimondo lets players choose between Frosty Ice, which forms snowmen that Kirby can kick; Gigant Sword, with powerful charge attacks akin to Monster Hunter; and Chain Bomb.
Within the demo, these evolved abilities are essentially "win more" options, making Kirby more powerful despite already being in a winning position. They're undoubtedly interesting ways to shake up Kirby and the Forgotten Land's combat, but players having to discover upgrades via blueprints in each stage suggests the abilities will always be optional. Even when they are unlocked, not every copy ability will appear in every level, which means certain evolutions could primarily be useful when revisiting older areas.
Kirby's demo at least shows it can be fun to revisit levels with new ability upgrades, particularly when battling bosses. However, it's just as easy to imagine a version of Forgotten Land where something like Chain Bomb is made more useful by letting Kirby chain together electrical circuits to unlock a hidden item. There are hints of this in the overview trailer given Dragon Fire offers Kirby more airborne mobility and Time Crash makes crumbling obstacles easier to cross. Hopefully the game leans more into alternate means of progression like Ice upgrades helping Kirby skate over water ala Super Mario Galaxy, otherwise combat-only evolutions may get stale fast.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land releases March 25, 2022 for Nintendo Switch.