Announced during the September 2021 Nintendo Direct, Kirby and the Forgotten Land will be the pink puffball’s second adventure on the Switch after 2018’s Kirby Star Allies, and his first ever as a 3D platformer. The scope of the game is still unclear, but sub-games are likely to return. They could be simple party games, but it would also be interesting to see HAL Laboratory bring back a more complex idea like the recurring Meta Knightmare mode.

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A History of Meta Knightmare Modes

The first Meta Knightmare appeared as an unlockable postgame mode in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, a remake of Kirby’s Adventure released for Game Boy Advance in 2002. It had a simple concept: Players could re-experience the main story as Meta Knight, this time with a slightly different narrative focused around the mysterious anti-hero going on a journey to become stronger. Meta Knight plays like Kirby with a Sword copy ability, but has slightly different weight and flight physics using his wings

While that original take on the idea felt like a simple victory lap for players who enjoyed the base game, it would be expanded in a number of future titles. Kirby Super Star Ultra, a remake of Kirby Super Star released on DS in 2008, featured Meta Knightmare Ultra. This sub-game saw Meta Knight completing five adventures that Kirby already overcame in Super Star Ultra: Spring Breeze, Dyna Blade, The Great Cave Offensive, Revenge of Meta Knight, and Milky Way Wishes. Helping Meta Knight through this gauntlet are brand-new special moves that can be activated as he defeats enemies, such as summoning a Sword Knight helper or a screen-clearing Mach Tornado.

What made Meta Knightmare Ultra really stand out from the pack was its introduction of Galacta Knight. Whereas Marx uses a wish from the comet Nova to become an all-powerful god at the end of Milky Way Wishes, Meta Knight asks to fight the greatest warrior in the galaxy. Galacta Knight has become a staple endgame boss in the franchise ever since, and appears again at the end of the Meta Knightmare Returns mode in 2016’s Kirby: Planet Robobot on 3DS. This final sub-game expanded Meta Knight’s capabilities even further.

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How Meta Knightmare Could Fit Into Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Kirby: Triple Deluxe, released in 2014 on 3DS, introduced a similar mode called Dededetour that let the titular King take over rather than Meta Knight. Both would also be playable again as Dream Heroes in the Guest Star ???? sub-game released with Kirby Star Allies, but with less of an original story and no truly unique mechanics. As Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the second main entry in the franchise to release on Switch, it’s also the perfect opportunity for an expansive new Meta Knightmare mode.

Not a lot is known about the overarching narrative in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, but based on what was shown in the reveal trailer there’s a potentially clear avenue to travel down. Instead of Kirby washing up on the shores of the eponymous Forgotten Land, Meta Knight could be shipwrecked after some accident on the Halberd. From there either he needs to find a way back home, or he could seek out true power from whatever entity inevitably appears in the endgame.

The most interesting ideas behind previous Meta Knightmare modes could return and potentially be more potent thanks to Kirby and the Forgotten Land’s transition into 3D. Meta Knight’s unique take on swordfighting and special moves could have different effects across the Z-axis, such as creating a wider tornado reminiscent of his Super Smash Bros. attack. It would also offer an excuse to bring Galacta Knight into 3D, especially after his potentially canon transformation into Morpho Knight during Star Allies’ Guest Star ???? mode. Whether HAL Laboratory goes this route with sub-games or takes things easier for the transition into 3D will have to be seen next year.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land releases in spring 2022 for Nintendo Switch.

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