Kirby and the Forgotten Land surprised a few players when it was revealed that the game had been given an E10+ rating by the ESRB, as it might startle a younger audience. As the review board wrote: KirbyThe game’s latest Switch adventure featured scenes that could terrify young players, taking fans away from the fact that the game’s villain would be rather monstrous as a result. However, Kirby loyalists would know that this is nothing new to the series.
After all, many Kirby fans have memories of being afraid of the images from previous series, such as: Kirby’s Dreamland 3and the games have dealt with stark concepts like possession quite often, as some of the villains are mind-control. Kirby and the Forgotten Land shares many similar themes with others Kirby games, and they all seem quite connected.
How the Forgotten Land Was Forgotten
The environment in Kirby and the Forgotten Land is presented in a way that may lead players to believe that the world in the game was the victim of some kind of disaster like many similar games before it, but the world in this game was really forgotten instead of destroyed. The story of Wondaria theme park and the relevant figures tells players that the people who previously lived in the Forgotten Land dreamed of interplanetary travel. The recording of the tour found in Lab Discovera states that once scientists captured ID-F86, the creature Elfilin was born from, these people finally had the means to travel through the stars by experimenting with it. The guide also says that this planet has used the warp capabilities of the ID-F86 for 30 years.
The recording also reveals that the people of this planet have completely left this world behind by stating that Elfilin, as ID-F87, is “yet to be restored”, meaning that Elfilin was never recaptured before this civilization was “a land of dreams entered”. as Leongar puts it. The wording of the Leader of the Beast Pack almost implies that the people of the Forgotten Land may be the ancestors of those living in Dream Land. However, the cities and structures in the new world are more like Earth than Kirby’s house. This paints a bleaker picture for the people of the Forgotten Land as Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards has a planet similar to a frozen Earth known as Shiver Star. Considering how many elements Forgotten Land takes from crystal shardsthis could be where those who inhabited the new world ended up after leaving their planet behind.
The Story of the Beast Pack
While the main society on the planet left the new world and never returned, ID-F86 remained alone in the Eternal Capsule on a planet full of animals. According to their figure description as Fecto Forgo, their dreams in the capsule released psychic energy that slowly took control of the animals they reached. Other figure descriptions and level names reveal that the Beast Pack evolved from Originull Wasteland, which contains all the remnants of a successful tropical resort. Its boundaries also match those of the Natural Plains and Everbay Coast, meaning the original inhabitants of the Forgotten World left nearly eons ago. So long ago that a continent fell apart and evolution slightly changed nature over time.
Kirby has already dealt with a group of enemies who had become friends and possessed by something far more sinister. Daroach and the Squeaks in Kirby: Squeak Squad started out as the small group of rodents that stole Kirby’s cake, but they also stole a treasure chest that sealed Dark Nebula. When the Lord of the Underworld was accidentally released by Daroach, he soon became possessed in a manner very similar to Leongar, down to the purple fur. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse also has a similar plot twist, as Claycia was used by Dark Crafter the entire time, as was Leongar. However, there is something notable that distinguishes ID-F86 from Dark Crafter and Dark Nebula.
ID-F86’s containment and fear
ID-F86, also known as Fecto Elfilis, was experimented for 30 years and captured and forgotten for eons. With this in mind, it would be understandable that the creature is tormented by its captivity. In Kirby and the Forgotten Land after the game, players unlock Forgo Dreams – the dreamscape of ID-F86 as they try to bring themselves back to life. The last area is a warped version of Lab Discovera that appears to have been ripped apart playing a distorted version of the tour recording and music. “And here we are,” and “specimen ID-F86” are repeated to almost obnoxious levels, and the distorted sound returns as players encounter Elfilis one last time as Chaos Elfilis, a form created entirely out of hatred for Kirby.
This is very reminiscent of the true nature of what happened to Queen Sectonia, Kirby Triple Deluxes antagonist. Although Sectonia’s corruption was accidental and caused by the dark presence lurking in the Dimensional Mirror she received as a gift, she became what the game describes as a “power-hungry monarch.” Both Sectonia and ID-F86 were maddened by what had happened to them, and both have more or less died as a result of their obsessions. It could be argued that ID-F86’s story ended happier than that of the insect queen, as what was left of Elfilis eventually joined Elfilin voluntarily, accepting defeat and allowing the two to become one, just as ID- F86 wanted.
Despite Forgotten Land ESRB rating, the content found in the game is nothing too dark for the series, as in many ways everything has been seen in other titles. As early as Kirby’s Adventure, many of the pink puffball’s adventures have ended with topics like betrayal and possession, with some mentioning the consequences and damage these situations can cause. While Forgotten Land received an E10+ rating, crystal shards was re-rated shortly after for the release of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, ending up with a T rating for teens years later for “blood” and “violence”.
However, the newest Kirby game makes these secrets and undertones much easier to find than previous installments. In the past, players had to look at the flavor text in the pause screen to be treated to the true nature of the story in question. This wasn’t quite a problem, but Kirby fans complained that anyone who didn’t look at the pause menu might be missing out on exactly what’s going on with some key characters. Kirby and the Forgotten Land moves this flavor text into character descriptions and into the details of its own environment, so it’s much harder to miss what exactly is happening in the story. It seems like Kirby’s Lore will be less of a scavenger hunt, and more of something for fans to interact with as they take in the presentation of future games, taking the series’ stories beyond simple pause menu text in the future.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is now available on Nintendo Switch.
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