next Kirby’s Return To Dream Land Deluxe will be announced on September’s Nintendo Direct, a new opy skill that harks back to an earlier Kirby game was revealed: the Mecha Ability. While this is already uncommon, this will be the first copying facility available in a Kirby game being a remake, the abilities it grants Kirby seem to bear a striking resemblance to the Robobot armor last seen in Kirby: Planet Roboto. While these two mechanics have different features in their respective games, fans believe that the latest Mecha Ability was directly inspired by this armor.
This latest theory has led to speculation as to whether it could mean that future copy capabilities may have originated earlier Kirby games and can be similarly introduced in remakes such as Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe. For example, because the Robobot armor is specific to: Kirby: Planet Roboto, its one-off appearance, despite being a beloved concept, could have been the reason why HAL Laboratory considered rethinking the design. This compromise for players could offer Kirby some creative freedom to reinvent his games and skills, and may indicate future plans for Planet robot.
The Robobot Armor compared to the Mecha Copy Skill
Released in 2016, Kirby: Planet Roboto‘s The main selling point was that Kirby could control his own robotic mech. Called the “Robobot Armor” according to the game’s namesake, this armor essentially enhances Kirby’s durability and allows him to deal with devices, heavy objects, or large enemies he couldn’t otherwise handle. However, another of Planet Robot‘s selling points for this gimmick were that the Robobot armor could also use Kirby’s copying abilities in its own way, with up to 14 different modes for the armor, each with its own moves that reflect the skill Kirby picks up.
Functionally, however, the Robobot armor and the Mecha Copy ability are not exactly the same. For example, the Mecha ability doesn’t allow Kirby to take on other copy abilities, nor does it give Kirby increased durability. Instead, Kirby can shoot enemies from afar with a laser and use a powerful punch at close range, with an additional area of effect attack via an explosion. The comparisons made between the two mainly focus on the visual style of both, based on the mecha-trope prominent in Japanese media with series such as gundam and its own games.
Future inspiration for Kirby’s skills and games
The new Mecha Copy skill sets two new precedents: new skills can be introduced in remakes, and they can be inspired by previous mechanics. Therefore, future skills and games can follow Return to Dream Land Deluxe‘s footsteps. For example games like Kirby: Canvas Curse and Kirby and the Rainbow Curse using the DS touchpad or the Wii U gamepad in addition to the painting motif could similarly inspire a future copying skill. It might even develop on Kirby Super Star Ultra‘s Paint ability that was limited to boss fights and extend it, or the Artist ability can be redesigned for future games.
But while the potential is there and fans are hopeful now, this opens the door to the future Kirby games to get creative, the Mecha ability and Robobot armor may just be the same by chance. Across the Kirby series, there are many variations of copy capabilities, so creating new ones should be a challenging process to ensure that the series remains fresh and innovative. Therefore, since mecha genre video games are popular, HAL Laboratory may have taken inspiration for the new skill from that genre without resorting to the Robobot armor.
However, since the Robobot armor is arguably one of the Kirby’s most popular gimmicks and that Planet Robot released for the 3DS only a few years ago, it seems highly unlikely that HAL Laboratory was unaware of the similarities these two shared. However, without official confirmation of a link between the two mechanics, fans can only speculate about their connection and what this means for future games. For example, if Kirby returns to Dream Land with this latest remake, the new Mecha ability could also indicate a return to Planet Robobot as part of the next phase of HAL Laboratory for Kirby.
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe will be released on February 24, 2023, exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
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