Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe is a remake of one of the best-loved classic Kirby platformers, originally released on Wii. The pink hero helps a stranded traveler named Magolor gather the pieces of his broken ship, journeying through worlds full of secret rooms along the way. It marked a return to horizontally scrolling action after several more experimental entries, and its main strength remains the same as always: Kirby swallows an enemy and takes on its ability, whether that's a sword, fire, needles, a whip, or a laser beam, of which there are more than ten.

This entry's specialty is Super Abilities — giant versions of powers that, for a limited time, turn the screen into a display of destruction where a single swing clears out an entire section of the level. The game is also built for four players at once; the second through fourth player can drop in at any time as another Kirby or as classic characters like Meta Knight and King Dedede, so it works wonderfully as family co-op. The Deluxe version adds a new epilogue starring Magolor, who has his own gradually unlocked abilities, additional copy abilities, and the Merry Magoland amusement park full of minigames.

On the technical side, it's a noticeably lovely upgrade: redrawn backgrounds, softer lighting, smooth performance, and a clear, colorful picture that reads well even in handheld mode. The music ranks among the best HAL Laboratory has composed for the series, with themes still referenced today. Reception was good — the game is praised as one of the best co-op platformers on the console, with reservations about the low difficulty of the main campaign, though this is balanced by more demanding extra modes. Today it works as the ideal title for playing with kids or with a partner who otherwise doesn't play platformers. The entry's particular charm lies in being calm and gentle without ever feeling empty: hidden rooms containing ship-part collectibles push you to search every level twice, and the toughest extra modes can challenge even experienced players.