Kirby and the Forgotten Land isn’t the first Kirby game to permit flashy entrances for its bosses. Kirby Star Allies, for instance, provided names and titles for each of its major bosses, giving them a little more context and description than most Kirby games might otherwise do. Kirby and the Forgotten Land’s bosses are poised to make even greater use of this concept, however, thanks to the game’s setting. By fleshing out each of Forgotten Land’s bosses a little, HAL is setting up the game’s wasteland to be one of Kirby’s more memorable locales, filled with fearsome members of the Beast Pack.
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Comparing Zelda and Kirby’s Boss Titles
For much of The Legend of Zelda’s history, the bosses at the ends of Zelda dungeons get introduced with their name alongside a title. For instance, King Dodongo’s full description in Ocarina of Time is Infernal Dinosaur King Dodongo. These titles are valuable because they give a greater sense of personality for each Zelda boss since not every boss battle involves one of the game’s major antagonists. Some boss titles give players a sense of where the boss belongs in the world, whereas other titles reflect the impact of the game’s plot on Hyrule. Twilight Princess’ many Twilit bosses offer great examples of both uses.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land’s boss titles can serve the same purpose. In Kirby Star Allies, longtime Kirby boss Whispy Woods is described as the Guardian of the Forest, which suggests that he has a little more influence on the Kirby world than his actual early-game battles might suggest. If Kirby and the Forgotten Land bosses all get similar titles that are short but succinct, that extra bit of description will go a long way in making Forgotten Land’s bosses and other enemies feel significant.
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Spotlighting the Forgotten Land’s Enemies
The upcoming Kirby game can make particularly good use out of boss titles because it emphasizes a new set of enemies for Kirby to face. As screenshots of Kirby and the Forgotten Land’s bosses indicate, even Whispy Woods has been replaced with a similar boss, meaning Forgotten Land may broadly focus on adding new enemies rather than reusing Kirby bosses as usual. As a new presence in the franchise, the Beast Pack needs to be built up as a group of antagonists in order to leave a mark on Kirby moving forward. Boss titles are one great way that HAL can make the Beast Pack’s most powerful members feel like an important part of the world.
The Kirby franchise has never been afraid to explore uncharted territory, and Kirby and the Forgotten Land is no exception, but the game has a lot of new components that still make it remarkable. Aside from introducing a new set of enemies that could become recurring Kirby antagonists, it introduces a new mystery to the Kirby world and makes some drastic changes to the franchise’s gameplay. HAL once said that Kirby would enter a new stage of life with its next game, and with the help of fleshed-out bosses and other changes to the Kirby franchise, it looks like HAL may yet deliver on that promise.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land releases on March 25, 2022 for Nintendo Switch.
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