“Kirby’s Return to Dream Land” is one of those rare games that can make you smile just by being on. Its sights and sounds warm your chest like a dram of Scotch on Christmas Eve, and if you make game purchases for your family, it deserves a spot under your tree the next morning. For newcomers of all ages, “Return” provides a darling introduction to one of the most enduring gimmicks in all of gaming. Kirby runs and jumps like other video game heroes, but what sets him apart is that he can inhale enemies and copy their abilities. Through this method, our puffy pink protagonist can become everything from a swordsman to a tiny tornado.
“Return” is classic Kirby — on paper, at least. The strange reality is that it often feels less like a Kirby game than a game from a completely different series: the multiplayer dream “New Super Mario Bros Wii.”
| ‘Kirby’s Return to Dream Land’ |
| » System: Wii |
| » Price: $49.99 |
| » Rating: 3 out of 5 stars |
That best-seller revolutionized the classic Mario formula by letting your friends play at the same time you did, turning what had always been a solo journey from left to right into a chaotic, hilarious team effort. In turn, “Return” invites up to four players to hop around the landscape helping each other advance. Your team can cooperate in all sorts of ways. Players having a tough time can hop onto another player’s back and let him take over for a while. Or, if somebody’s beat up, you can give him health with a little kiss move that is simply adorable.
“Return’s” resemblance to “New Super Mario Bros. Wii” should make it a surefire family hit, but should also make Kirby aficionados proceed with caution. For the last decade, the series has been a hotbed of innovation, a blank slate onto which game designers projected their weirdest experiments. Witness “Kirby: Canvas Curse,” where Kirby was a limbless ball rolling along lines you drew on the DS’ touchscreen, or the masterful “Kirby’s Epic Yarn,” which looked liked an explosion at the craft store. “Returns,” by returning to Kirby’s roots and letting four people in on the action, is sure to captivate newcomers. But in comparison with its predecessors, the game feels less the product of inspiration than somebody handing down the order to give Kirby the “New Super Mario Bros. Wii” treatment.
