Spoilers for Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe aheadKirbyfans have no shortage of content to keep themselves occupied. The Nintendo Switch has hosted multiple mainline titles,Kirby Star AlliesalongsideKirby and the Forgotten Land, plus spin-offs and sequels includingKirby’s Dream BuffetandKirby Fighters 2.Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxeis the series' latest release on Nintendo’s hybrid-handheld, but while fans might not expect much new content out of a remade Wii game, the Magolor Epilogue does offer deeper lore to pour over.
HAL Laboratory’s ever-popular pink puffball and friends meet Magolor after his ship, the Lor Starcutter, crashes into Planet Popstar. Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight, and Bandana Waddle Dee help this interdimensional traveler rebuild his ship so that he can return to his supposed homeland, Halcandra, but it turns out he merely wants the crew to help him steal the Master Crown. They are able to stop Magolor despite him becoming an all-powerful being, and he becomes lost in Another Dimension.Magolor Epilogue reveals what comes next for this antagonist, providing a surprise connection to the spin-offSuper Kirby Clash.
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What Return to Dream Land Deluxe’s Magolor Epilogue Adds
The bulk of Magolor Epilogue: The Interdimensional Traveler has its title character collect Fruit Fragments that recover his diminished abilities, and once all five are gathered they form a Gem Apple Seed. Before Magolor can do anything with the seed, it becomes corrupted by remnants of the Master Crown that were similarly sent into Another Dimension at the end ofKirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe. Magolor must defeat a new variant of the Doomer mini-boss called the Crowned Doomer before the Master Crown becomes an eldritch tree monster.
Slaying this beast seems to redeem Magolor at a cosmic level, and teaches him the error of his deceptive, power-hungry ways. Luckily, a portal appears that allows him to escape this pocket of space, but it does not bring him back to the primeKirbyuniverse. It also doesn’t bring him to theworld ofKirby and the Forgotten Land, despite that entry similarly playing with cross-dimensional travel. Instead, it brings Magolor to the Dream Kingdom.
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Tying Super Kirby Clash Into the Series' Main Continuity
MostKirbygames include a number of sub-games for players to explore alongside the main adventure. InKirby: Planet Roboboton 3DS, one such sub-game was “Team Kirby Clash;” an action-RPG somewhat reminiscent ofMonster Hunterin which four Kirby warriors with distinctly fleshed-out abilities could battle a series of bosses with hulking health bars. A complete spin-off based on this idea,Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, released for 3DS in 2017, followed by an enhanced free-to-play iteration calledSuper Kirby Clashon Switch in 2019.
Anyone who playedSuper Kirby Clashwill have recognized Gem Apples, as a green-and-white version of Magolor uses them as currency for players to buy upgraded gear. A few Gem Apples could be earned by checking the Gem Apple Tree each day, but players also had the option to purchase a lot of them viamicrotransactions.Super Kirby Clashis full of cameos and references, particularly using parallel versions of Nightmare, Susie, and others to provide unique boss encounters that require said powerful gear to defeat.
However,Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxereveals that shopkeeper Magolor is not merely a reference. Magolor Epilogue is a redemption story, and players have already seen the outcome of that redemption given this former antagonist plants the Gem Apple Tree and sells upgrades to help the Dream Kingdom Kirbys defeat unprecedented threats like the Aeon Hero. Though simple on the surface,Kirbygames are renown for their interconnected lore and dark undertones, so it’s really no surprise that HAL Laboratory had long-reaching plans for a seemingly innocuous reference in a spin-off game.
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxeis available now on Nintendo Switch.
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