Kirby and the Forgotten Land now joins several paid upgrades like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Party Jamboree. With improved visual performance and additional story content, is Kirby and the Forgotten Land Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World worth the upgrade price?
With the Nintendo Switch 2 offering more power under the hood compared to the original Nintendo Switch, there is potential to give previously released games a new lease of life. More consistent framerates, texture bumps and increased resolution up to 4K are key benefits for playing selected original Switch games on the shiny new Switch 2 hardware.
Super Mario Odyssey, Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet are among the growing list of titles that have received free performance patches, running far smoother on Switch 2. Nintendo is taking others further, with paid upgrade packs for existing owners and bundled Nintendo Switch 2 editions for newcomers. These often include extra content, in addition to a sprinkling of performance polish.
Now it’s Kirby’s turn for a paid upgrade, Kirby and the Forgotten Land Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World. It comes in two flavours: an upgrade pack for existing owners ($19.99 / £16.99 / €19.99) or the complete Kirby and the Forgotten Land Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World. Both routes grant access to the same enhanced experience on newer hardware, so finding an original Switch 1 edition to upgrade could be a more cost-effective choice.
The original 3D Kirby adventure showcases just how well-optimised titles run on the older Switch hardware. Bold, bright and tightly constructed, creative set-pieces with plenty of visual detail. Characters plod about on screen in such an expressive way. From abandoned shopping malls to lush tropical caverns, the world design truly encapsulates the whimsical charm that defines the Kirby series.
Forgotten Land also solved the challenge of whether the side-scrolling Kirby formula could work in 3D. Other 2D series that attempted the dimensional leap haven’t always landed as smoothly, yet the pink puffball feels completely at home in 3D. Smart platforming design, coupled with a responsive camera and a wide range of fun power-ups, make zipping through the base game’s 40-or-so levels a treat. Simply put, it’s jolly good fun! Michael felt that developer Hal Laboratory “smashed it out the park” in Cubed3’s original Kirby and the Forgotten Land review.
The game pushes the original Switch to its limits, with performance concessions to get it to run well enough: a 30fps target with some characters running at lower framerates at times, causing an odd blur. That said, Forgotten Land certainly doesn’t run too badly on the older hardware – most importantly, performance quirks don’t hamper the core gameplay. Kirby floats through the tightly designed levels, battering enemies and bosses with ease in the foreground. It’s primarily areas that are coming up that are down-tuned to allow the current section to run as best as possible.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land Switch 2 Edition aims to improve on this by increasing the performance cap from 30fps to 60fps, plus an upping the overall output resolution. Compared to the original, the framerate bump is surprisingly noticeable, especially in areas that have numerous enemies and demanding physics effects in tandem. Pelting bosses with searing flames as Fire Kirby or unleashing destruction in the tornado form? It feels far more satisfying.
Aside from the smoother motion, the Switch 2 version has a far more consistent framerate compared to the original’s more variable. It’s not perfect, though. Some enemies in the distance have noticeable frame difference, but overall, it’s less blurry and more polished. Forgotten Land is now a more enjoyable experience throughout – and with crisper textures and less jagged edges, makes this intriguing world feel more alive.
Performance gains aside, the meat of the game comes through the additional Star-Crossed World content. The best part is that these features are fully integrated into the core game, no bizarre mode switching like Super Mario Party Jamboree Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV.
This also weaves its way into the new story content, where everything blends surprisingly well into the game’s level selection map. Part way through the initial set of base game stages a mysterious event happens – a meteor decides to tumble down onto a nearby volcanic island. In true Kirby fashion, the curious protagonist heads on over to discover that a crystal has been shattered. The mission? Recover the shattered “starries” in remixed stages littered across the existing world. Prevent unfettered evil from doing its thing – all in a day’s work for the unrelenting hero.
Think of the Star-Crossed World portion as almost “act 2” levels. They draw designs and mechanics from existing stages, with extra creative new transformations to match. Spring about to ascend to sections that Kirby isn’t ordinarily able to float to or latch onto walls in the clever “Gear Mouth” portions. Whilst there are no new copy abilities from enemies, there are crystal variants of familiar faces to fit the theme. The new levels complement the originals nicely, preserving that attention to detail and introducing a striking crystal aesthetic. It very much feels like a well-rounded dessert after the main course; a second helping of Kirby goodness! What was once a charming platformer now feels like a more complete, polished experience.
What is a shame, however, is that there might not be enough of these additional areas. Hal could have taken the concept further and added a new stage for each of the existing. As it stands, only 12 levels receive the Star-Crossed World treatment – a shame, considering the clever ideas on show. That said, there are a lot of hidden items to uncover for completionists, additional features in existing modes, and a surprising increase in difficulty for those who attempt to breeze on through.
