Why Kirby and the Forgotten Land Got DLC 3 Years Later
The Nintendo Switch 2 edition of Kirby and the Forgotten Land is part of Nintendo strategy to boost the new conso’s launch year with expanded versions of existing games. Most of these re-releases are justifiable, either by making use of the Switch 2’s unique capabilities or by capitalizing on already extremely successful titles. Kirby, however, stands out as something of an outlier. Despite being genuinely wellreceived, the game left many players puzzled. reactions ranged from makes sense. It’s the Switch game to better for that gimmick now to that is the longest title I have ever seen. At this point, the Forgotten End is 3 years old. Yet, it’s being prioritized for a Switch 2 edition over newer and arguably more fitting titles like Mario or Pikmin 4. Both Zelda entries can’t be considered new either, but there are exceptions. Flagship sellers that Nintendo can use to showcase the Switch 2’s improved hardware power. Unlike the Forgotten Answer, though, they don’t add substantial new content. In contrast, the Forgotten Land includes a full DLC expansion in the form of Starcross World, plus graphical improvements. I’m not complaining about receiving DLC. It’s one of the Switch’s greatest titles, but it’s a presumably odd choice. For most Switch 2 editions, there’s a clear rational behind their existence. The Forgotten End, however, seems to exist alongside them rather than as a logical part of an overarching strategy. With air riders already set to fill the Kirby quarter this year and such a long gap since the Forgotten Lands release, it’s reasonable to assume that the next mainline Kirby title isn’t far from completion. Releasing DLC 3 years later may seem strange, but there are several plausible, if understated, reasons, ranging from possible ties to Triple Deluxe to the scale of the next mainline title to Nintendo slapping Ubisoft’s cheeks for not listening. It will make sense. Demand for additional content for the forgotten end started as soon as the original game was released back in 2022. Kirby never received paid bonus content, but it was the 30th anniversary, and it felt like a fitting occasion to celebrate the most successful title in the series with additional surprises. Of course, it never happened, but we know Nintendo likes to sit on completed games, and we also know that Nintendo made no secret of the fact that a handful of the Switch 2’s launch window releases were originally planned for Switch One. Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, and Age of Imprisonment all started their development on weaker hardware until Mario Kart and Donkey Kong were roughly shifted in 2021 to Switch 2. Planning for the next hardware generation happens as soon as the new one releases. So, we can assume Nintendo was fully preparing titles for the Switch 2 around 2021, maybe even 2022. This is why DLC for the Forgotten and was always part of the plan rather than a recent idea to justify more Switch 2 editions. It released at this exact sweet spot where plans took shape and there would have been plenty more suitable candidates to pet out the Switch 2 edition collection. Naturally, it’s difficult to speculate about internal decisions and no one knows exactly when the choice was made to move certain games, but I can imagine that Starcross World was developed and then pushed to Switch 2 once plans for Switch 2 editions began to form. Forgotten Land always felt destined for DLC with all those empty areas on the world map, as if they were deliberately leaving space for future content. But this alone doesn’t justify DLC. The game specific gimmick is the reason for the forgotten lands unfulfilled opportunities. Since Return to Dreamland, Kirby games have built their level design around the central gimmick while keeping the core platforming gameplay largely unchanged. These abilities are visually spectacular and fun to use, but they often lack the depth needed to be called anything more than gimmicks. Mouthful mode is different. Features like supernova or the robot armor suit are heavily restricted to specific sections, creating a clear distinction between standard curvy gameplay and the respective ability. As a result, the player quickly notices the dichotomy between the two styles and begins to anticipate when each will appear. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this approach. Dedicating specific parts of a level to a gimmick allows the developers to flesh it out, but it often feels less organically implemented. Most modern Kirby entries fall into this pattern of now comes the gimmick section gameplay, which can sometimes force the player to engage with an idea they might otherwise prefer to skip. Mouthful mode works differently. It’s integrated far more naturally into the 3D gameplay, which admittedly offers more flexibility for designing around the gimmick. Yes, some transformations are required to progress, but each one significantly alters the gameplay, keeping the experience fresh and rarely boring. In many cases, the player can even choose to ignore certain mouthful modes, adding a level of flexibility that other titles often lack. There are surely still some ideas left for the other main gimmicks, but few people were eager to see the return of Hypernova, the robot armor suit, or super abilities. Each served its purpose well, and the title it was designed for and felt complete as one-off concepts. Mouthful Mode, on the other hand, holds seemingly infinite potential thanks to its surprisingly and versatile nature. Unlike previous gimmicks, Forgotten and core idea doesn’t follow a single gameplay style. The developers aren’t limited to thinking up a handful of creative ways to inhale an object or to give basic copy abilities flashy yet similar destructive upgrades. Malfo mold can take the form of anything, and anything can become a new gameplay concept. This is what makes it such a strong idea for DLC and one of the only recent gimmicks that players seriously considered would return in the next mainline title. So the question was, should they reuse the same idea and expand on it, risking it feeling too similar or developing DLC and give it one final meaningful outing? The potential was immediately clear with the introduction of the new spring mouthful mode, which emphasized vertical level design, something the base Forgotten Land noticeably avoided. This DLC wasn’t just a final opportunity to refine Forgotten gameplay with a dedicated campaign. It was also a chance to break free from the monotony that had started to settle into the series after Triple Deluxe. Triple Deluxe was a very safe successor to Return to Dreamland, and I don’t mean that in a negative way. Return to Dreamland had finally given Kirby a successful home console entry on the Wii, and it would have been too risky to deviate from the newly established formula. At the time, 2D games were researching in popularity, and Triple Deluxe actually had more going on beneath the surface than many gave it credit for. Still, to the general public and many players, it felt like a cautious sequel, polished and enjoyable, but ultimately just a slightly evolved version of what came before. Planet Robot and Star Allies followed the same basic structure, which is why some casual players even refer to these modern entries as the new Super Mario Bros. of the Kirby series. Fun, familiar, but lacking bold innovations. We all expected a similar approach for the Forgotten Ends follow-up, especially since it mirrors Return to Dreamland in many ways. It was a massive financial and critical success for the franchise, and as the first full 3D title, it marked a major shift in the series formula. So, it would have made perfect sense to create a sequel that played it safe. A triple deluxe to Forgotten Land, so to speak. Still, assuming the next mainline title is set for release in 2026, that would once again mark a 4-year gap between Forgotten Land and the upcoming major entry. Sure, 3D gameplay takes longer to develop, but the team now has both the foundation and the experience from Forgotten Land, which itself came 4 years after Star Allies. Call me naive, but I don’t believe the developers need another four years just to produce a safe, slightly updated successor that sticks closely to the forgotten ends gameplay. That leads me to think the next main entry will be far more ambitious, a bigger leap forward than many of us initially expected. By releasing this DLC, the developers are likely aiming to avoid falling into the same repetitive cycle for another three titles, as happened after Return to Dreamland. Instead, they are pushing the franchise forward more quickly rather than waiting another decade for the next major evolution. If anything, The Forgotten Land proved the value of taking risks by becoming the most commercially successful enterprise since Dreamland on the Game Boy. And ironically, that’s exactly why releasing DLC for The Forgotten Land became the safest option even after 3 years. However, the strongest indication that the next main entry will be far more ambitious lies in Nintendo’s somewhat subtle philosophy regarding how they handle successors to already established titles on specific consoles. In the past, Nintendo’s acknowledged that sequels to existing franchises on the same console tend to sell less. This isn’t surprising to anyone who follows sales charts. Games like Mario Galaxy 2 and Tears of the Kingdom performed well, but still sold clearly less than their predecessors. That’s also why Nintendo rarely titles games with a simple sequel number. Doing so suggests a direct continuation that new players might feel they missed out on, potentially discouraging them from jumping in mids. There are exceptions, of course, like Metroid Prime 4, which is clearly aimed at a smaller but loyal fan base. Even so, Nintendo generally prefers to keep continuations subtle or stand alone. This approach explains why Mario Sports titles typically receive only one entry per console. And while we never saw Mario Odyssey 2 on the Switch, many casual players are satisfied with one big polished experience per franchise. and don’t feel the need to buy a follow-up that seems too similar to what they already own. Ubisoft publicly expressed disappointment with the financial performance of the second Mario Plus Rabbits game and revealed that Nintendo had advised them it’s genuinely better to release only one iteration of a franchise per console. With Starcross World, Nintendo seems to be following that philosophy, launching a new mainline Kirby title early in the Switch 2’s life cycle. If this next mainline entry ends up being too similar in gameplay and presentation to the Forgotten Land, there would be little incentive for casual players, one of the franchises core audiences, to buy it. After all, Forgotten Land and Starcross World together already form a compelling and complete package. Starcross World isn’t an entirely new experience, and a respectable portion of potential buyers will still wait for a true follow-up. There’s also backwards compatibility, so players don’t even have to upgrade their game. They can simply enjoy the original one as it is. By the time the next title is released, many customers will have already purchased the Switch 2 edition and may not be interested in another relatively similar experience. This would go against Nintendo’s warning they gave Ubisoft. Another strong indication that the next mainline entry will be far more ambitious. Kirby became a much stronger brand thanks to the Forgotten End success and there’s also the argument to make that they just want to capitalize on such a fruitful title. Again, this is the sole reason downloadable content exists in the first place. But Starcross World is the only Switch 2 edition so far to add substantial incentives beyond hardware gimmicks or alternative control methods. The main reason why they wanted to add the first proper DLC in the series 3 years later was to close out the Forgotten Lands potential, avoid boringly safe sequels while paving the way for a bigger leap forward. In reality, Nintendo just happened to extend the release of the new console so indefinitely hell had to sit on the DLC for 3 years. But this explanation makes for a boringly safe video. And now, dear viewer, allow me to say the line that has freed countless YouTubers from the burden of making a source-based argument by dressing up even the most speculative takes in a comforting bow. At the end of the day, all of this is just speculation. [Music]
If Forgotten Land can drop DLC 3 years late, I can drop my ultimate review just as late.
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