HAL Laboratory’s first true 3D Kirby game, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, is fresh in the minds of those who played it upon its release in March. Translating the pink puffball’s unique platforming action beyond the 2D plane — including its hovering jumps, inhalation, and copying abilities — provided opportunities to experiment with tried-and-true powers. It also introduced two new Copy Abilities in Drill and Ranger, as well as Evolved Abilities with their own attributes. That experiment continued with Jelly Kirby in the latest spin-off of HAL Kirby’s dream buffet.
It’s harder to post Kirby’s dream buffet in a box than previous titles. The main appeal of the game is a Mario Kart-style racing mode with abstract culinary environments that have drawn comparisons to Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, but there are also Battle Royale matches and mini-games interspersed between races during each Gourmet Grand Prix. Eight food-themed variations on typical copy skills are available in certain modes, but Jelly is the only one invented for Dream buffet. The focus on intangibility could still make Jelly a decent candidate to appear in future main titles.
Jelly Gives a Defensive Edge to Kirby’s Dream Buffet
The seven recurring copying skills in Kirby’s dream buffet are Burning, Drill, Hi-Jump, Needle, Stone, Tornado and Wheel. Their functions are largely the same as in mainline platform games, with Burning and Wheel firing players around the track faster, but others have seen tweaks for the unique mechanics of this spin-off. For example, Tornado now sucks up all nearby strawberries and Stone turns Kirby into a chocolate bar with a shock wave effect that knocks out Battle Royale opponents.
Jelly is the only Food Copy Ability with purely defensive properties, perhaps speaking of a lack of existing options that fit Dream buffetthe fast character. After gaining the power-up, players can turn Kirby into a gelatinous green blob for a limited time. The character is invulnerable for the duration, able to pass both enemy attacks and obstacles such as destructible cookie walls. Pressing the ability activation button again allows Kirby to leave globs of jelly that slow down opponents; though this blows through its active time faster.
How Jelly can adapt to Kirby’s dream buffet
Kirby’s dream buffet is the third time a Copy Ability has been introduced in a spin-off. The first was Balloon, which appeared in the 2005 DS title Kirby: Canvas Curse; followed by Wrestler, who appeared in the more recent Switch title Kirby Fighters 2. Neither ability has appeared in a main game after their introduction, which may not bode well for Jelly as another power representing the format of its debut spin-off. That being said, Kirby Fighters 2 released in 2020, so there’s a chance Wrestler will still make an appearance in the game that follows Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
If Jelly makes the jump to a traditional platformer, its status as a passive skill must be preserved. The food theme can stay as a tribute to Dream buffet, or HAL Laboratory could create a more typical variant based on slime or ectoplasm to ensure that Jelly is specifically a Food Copy Ability. Anyway, having Jelly could give Kirby an inherent speed boost and the ability to phase through certain enemies and walls for both 2D and 3D platformers.
One place a mainline Kirby game could expand to Jelly gives it more combat utility. In theory, if players have the form active, they can absorb an enemy and slowly deal damage similar to Dungeons and Dragons‘Gelatin cube. Shedding bits of jelly to slow down opponents seems less purposeful outside a racetrack, but this can translate into a volcanic attack that launches particles into the air above and around Kirby. There are plenty of options if HAL decides to transfer the spin-off opportunity, though it should also consider revisiting Balloon and Wrestler.
Kirby’s dream buffet is now available on Nintendo Switch.
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