Kirby and the Forgotten Land may be the first fully 3D Kirby game, it may introduce us to a whole new post-apocalyptic world to explore, but the best thing about it is its downright adorable mouthful mode.
Kirby’s newest ability takes his passion for excessive inhalation to new extremes in Forgotten Land. Tired of swallowing sentient enemies to absorb their powers, he’s turned his insatiable maw on the inanimate objects of the world around him, wrapping his mouth around cars, vending machines, and other everyday items for special abilities. Once in his jaws, you take control of the objects’ mechanisms, letting you speed around the map on four wheels or shoot soda cans from a vending flap.
Watching Kirby stretch his entire body around the chassis of a car, with his stubby legs poking out the back, is perfect meme material, and one of the best parts of Forgotten Land. During our time playing through the game’s first world - Natural Plains - mouthful mode has been the highlight. In admiration of Kirby’s relentless desire to consume things, here are five of our favorite things to swallow in Forgotten Land.
Staircase Kirby
People thought they’d seen it all when Car Kirby revved onto screen in February’s Nintendo Direct, but that was only the beginning. In Kirby and the Forgotten Land, it’s possible to consume an entire staircase. In fact, it’s highly encouraged. During one level, an entire puzzle section centers on waddling around with the staircase in your mouth, using the added height to reach new areas and hidden switches.
Give credit where credit’s due. When it comes to inhaling that staircase, Kirby fully commits. It looks like he’s vacuum-packed the staircase within his gullet. He could’ve swallowed half the staircase to move about, but not this guy. You’ve got to respect that dedication.
Water Tank Kirby
What’s cuter than a pink round blob? An even bigger pink round blob whose puppy dog eyes have been squished together. Inhaling one of the water tanks you find dotted around Forgotten Land doesn’t give Kirby any new powers. Instead, you pop the top off them, like opening a beer bottle with your teeth. Inside you’ll find Waddle Dees or collectible figurines.
Even this static mouthful mode transformation had us chuckling. What better way to earn a reward than literally ripping the roof off its container with your incredibly malleable mouth?
Cone Kirby
Nintendo showed off this transformation during the mouthful mode's reveal trailer. Still, it’s a lot more impressive to see in-game. Watching Kirby shove a traffic cone in his mouth is hilarious, but even more adorable is watching him shuffle about with an object twice the size of his entire body poking directly through the roof of his mouth.
The traffic cone pops up frequently across Forgotten Land’s first world. Transform into mouthful mode, and you’ll be able to jump, flip, and slam to the ground with its pointy end. You can use the attack to smash open secret areas and objects for extra Waddle Dees or collectibles. It’s also rather fun squashing enemies into the dirt like some violent traffic enforcer.
Storage Locker Kirby
Traveling through the maze of shops and escalators in an abandoned mall, you’ll occasionally encounter lockers blocking your path or tucked away in the environment. Kirby approaches the lockers the same way he approaches all of his problems - sucking them into his mouth like a vacuum.
Like the water tanks, Lockers are a static mouthful mode transformation. You can’t move about while they’re in your mouth, and you won’t gain any new abilities. Instead, you’ll have to wiggle the analog stick to rip the lockers from the walls. Their real power is giving you the joy of seeing a flattened, monolithic Kirby.
Ranger Kirby
While the ranger ability isn’t technically a mouthful mode, which only covers inanimate objects, Kirby hasn’t stopped swallowing living beings in Forgotten Land. Nintendo’s even introduced a couple of new copy abilities into the mix. If you guzzle down one of the stout, bearded dogs shooting at you, you’ll earn a blunderbuss for your trouble.
Guns aren’t typical Kirby fare, but Forgotten Land just about makes it work. The weapon is more like a miniature cannon than a rifle, launching massive lead balls that can be precisely aimed using a reticle or fired straight from the hip. The weapon isn’t very effective, but the puzzle segments requiring the Ranger ability were more engaging. You’ll often be on the lookout for shootable targets to reveal hidden passageways, having to carefully time your shots between obstacles while dodging incoming attacks.
Like the idea of wrapping Kirby's chops around staircases and water tanks? Find the best pre-order deals for Kirby and the Forgotten Land below.
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