Kirby and the Forgotten Land is getting a lot of attention for its switch to 3D platforming, and for good reason. It's a very different angle of traversal and exploration from the usual Kirby fare. It isn't the only new feature that HAL Laboratory has in store for Kirby fans, though; not only does Kirby and the Forgotten Land have new Copy Abilities, but it has a Copy Ability upgrade system that lets fans customize each of Kirby's special powers, as revealed by the latest trailer for the game. That same trailer spotlighted another odd Kirby ability that seems themed around manipulating Kirby's environment: Mouthful Mode.
Every Kirby fan knows that Kirby gets his powers by inhaling enemies and imitating their abilities, but Kirby and the Forgotten Land has a secondary take on Kirby's absorption powers. At the start of the new Kirby and the Forgotten Land trailer, Kirby inhales a car while trying to absorb some enemies. As a result, he has his mouth stretched over the car and realizes he can control the vehicle. The trailer shows off quite a few extraordinary abilities that Kirby can pick up in this way, all of which highlight Kirby and the Forgotten Land's emphasis on roaming freely and finding unique ways to interact with the world around Kirby.
Kirby's Known Mouthful Modes
The new Kirby and the Forgotten Land trailer suggests that, while he's roaming the game's various areas, he'll occasionally come across objects that sparkle to distinguish themselves from the rest of the environment. Kirby can try to inhale them, but he can't absorb them completely. Instead, he'll enter Mouthful Mode stretching over the object in one way or another, making him much bigger than usual while still granting him unique abilities based on the object. The trailer showcases the following Mouthful Modes:
- Car Mouth
- Vending Mouth
- Cone Mouth
- Scissor-Lift Mouth
- Ring Mouth
- Light-Bulb Mouth
- Arch Mouth
- Water Balloon Mouth
The trailer doesn't go into detail about the length and breadth of each Mouthful Mode's effects on Kirby, but it's clear that they all contribute different things to gameplay. Some simply give Kirby new forms of attack; Kirby gains the rectangular Vending Mouth when he absorbs a vending machine, which allows him to spit canned drinks at enemies as projectiles. Others have huge impacts on exploring the game world. With the Water Balloon Mouth, Kirby can apparently spit water to clear hazards off the ground, while the Cone Mouth helps Kirby break cracked objects open to reveal new paths.
The Potential of Mouthful Modes
The majority of Kirby's new Mouthful Modes seem to lean towards helping Kirby explore, whether it's by gliding long distances, illuminating dark areas, or propelling himself with blasts of air. It's possible that these new alternatives to Copy Abilities have a litany of other uses, but even the mere glimpses offered so far seem invaluable. Mouthful Modes seem invaluable for Kirby and the Forgotten Land's environmental puzzles, encouraging fans to search for unorthodox ways to progress. Mouthful Modes that focus on giving Kirby more mobility are invaluable too since Kirby and the Forgotten Land's 3D levels promise to sprawl more than the franchise's traditional 2D worlds.
Little by little, Nintendo and HAL keep revealing ways that Kirby and the Forgotten Land experiments with Kirby's core concepts to change the series for the better. Kirby has spent decades inhaling enemies and objects on his adventures, but this new angle of Kirby's inhalation power proves that there's still a lot of unexplored potential in Kirby's core concept. Regardless of whether Mouthful Mode becomes a staple Kirby mechanic, it's a valuable sign of creative use of the IP from HAL. Kirby and the Forgotten Land may only be the first in a series of highly clever Kirby games.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land releases March 25, 2022 for Nintendo Switch.