Nintendo just dropped a new trailer forKirby and the Forgotten Landthat revealed a ton of exciting new details on top of the game’s official release date.Kirbyfans who enjoy playing with friends can look forward toKirby and the Forgotten Land’s co-op, thanks to the return of fan favorite character Bandana Waddle Dee. The trailer also sheds light on a couple new Copy Ability forKirbyfans to look forward to, like the Drill, which allows players to burrow through the earth and strike enemies from below. On top of all that, it looks likeKirby and the Forgotten Landhas a pretty elaborate hub area called Waddle Dee Town to explore.
While Nintendo hasn’t shared many details on how Waddle Dee Town works, from the looks of things, it’ll give Kirby access to a couple shops, minigames, and other unique utilities like the Wise Waddle Dee. While some games likeKirby’s Return to Dream Landhave featured expansive hubs before,Kirby and the Forgotten Landhas a unique opportunity to implement city building in a way that previousKirbygames haven’t. As players rescue Waddle Dees from the Beast Pack, they should get the opportunity to directly control the rebuilding of Waddle Dee Town.
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Adding City Building to Kirby
Players have known sinceKirby and the Forgotten Landwas first revealed that the Waddle Dees are in peril, but only now do fans have a clearer sense of what the Waddle Dees do once freed from captivity. It seems that the Waddle Dees have their own former town not far fromForgotten Land’s strange lost civilization, where they’ll set up again and do their best to support Kirby in his efforts to battle the Beast Pack. Gaining more shops by saving more Waddle Dees already sounds like a great progression system forForgotten Land,but HAL Laboratory could still take it further.
Since there’s bound to be many dozens of Waddle Dees trapped inKirby and the Forgotten Land’s mysterious wasteland, Kirby has tons of potential NPCs to coordinate in rebuilding Waddle Dee Town. HAL could take notes from games likeBravely Defaultby allowingForgotten Landplayers to assign a certain number of rescued Waddle Dees to a task in Waddle Dee Town; whether it’s building a new shop, or assembling together an upgrade for the shop. Setting up tasks in Waddle Dee Town,completing one ofForgotten Land’s levels, and then returning to find new amenities sounds like a pretty satisfying, efficient system.
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HAL could delve even deeper into city building by givingKirby and the Forgotten Landplayers control over Waddle Dee Town’s aesthetics too.Animal Crossing: New Horizonscould inspire a construction system of the same kind inForgotten Land,allowing fans to rearrange the buildings and redecorate them on the regular. A little customization would go a long way to encourage collecting all ofKirby and the Forgotten Land’s Waddle Dees, especially if specific Waddle Dees unlock certain cosmetics for Waddle Dee Town’s shops.
Getting Experimental with Kirby
Adding city building mechanics toKirby and the Forgotten Landwould certainly be a deviation from the franchise’s standard list of features, but then,Forgotten Landis already an experimental game with its 3D design. HAL Laboratory has said thatKirbyis entering a new stage of life, meaning futureKirbygames could feature other drastic deviations from franchise conventions.
If that’s what HAL wants to do, then it should start strong with major risks and experimentation inKirby and the Forgotten Land,including by implementing a detailed city building system into Waddle Dee Town. Saving Waddle Dees is bound to be rewarding, but if players can arrange ways for the Waddle Dees to give back to Kirby, then there’ll be many more long-term rewards for both players and theKirbyseries to reap.
Kirby and the Forgotten Landreleases on June 30, 2025, for Nintendo Switch.
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