The start of the Nintendo Switch 2 era has been defined by a mix of wholly-new games and returning favorites with new features. Existing games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild have taken great advantage of the hardware, and Nintendo’s teams have used the opportunity to add new content on top of the improved graphics and frame rate. Kirby and the Forgotten Land Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and Star-Crossed World follows that trend, improving on a game that was already quite good when it launched on the original Switch back in 2022.
After decades appearing in 2D platformers, Kirby and the Forgotten Land marked the franchise’s shift into 3D. The game sees Kirby pulled into a mysterious world where he must rescue the Waddle Dees from a new group of villains known as the Beast Pack. If you haven’t played the game on Nintendo Switch, we highly recommended that version in ComicBook’s original review. On the Switch 2, the game remains an easy recommendation for anyone that missed out previously, even if the $80 price tag is a little high.
Rating: 4.5/5
| Pros | Cons |
| Several Hours of New Content | $80 is Steep for Newcomers |
| New Mouthful Modes are Great | Performance Upgrades are Hard to Notice |
| Lots of New Collectibles | |
| Well Worth the $20 Upgrade Charge |
Is Star-Crossed World Worth the Upgrade Price for Kirby and the Forgotten Land’s Switch 2 Version?
While Kirby and the Forgotten Land absolutely should be played by newcomers, many existing fans will no doubt wonder if the added content is worth paying for. Unlike the Zelda upgrades, the new Kirby content is not bundled with Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. That means existing owners have to pay $20 to access the Switch 2 improvements and the new Star-Crossed World expansion.
The story for the new campaign focuses on a meteor that crashes into the game’s world, infecting the Beast Pack and altering their abilities. Star-Crossed World features familiar locations from the main game that gradually deviate in significant ways. The new content has players follow paths that weren’t previously available as they take on challenges and try to rescue a new group of characters called the Starries (which serve a similar role to the Waddle Dees in the base game).
Star-Crossed World offers a significant chunk of content. In total, there are 12 new Starry Stages to complete, and it took me around four hours to finish them before reaching the end boss. That’s without getting 100% on each of the game’s stages, and not accounting for the several times I died trying to complete the surprisingly difficult finale.
If you’re looking for some Kirby content that’s a bit more challenging than the norm, you should be quite happy with the overall package. On top of all that, developer HAL Laboratory has added a new mode to the game’s colosseum. If you’re one of the more than seven million people that bought Kirby and the Forgotten Land and you enjoyed what was available, this is a nice chunk of DLC for $20.
Star-Crossed World Adds a Ton of New Content, From Mouthful Modes to Collectible Figures
Star-Crossed World largely plays like the main campaign, but it expands on the concepts that were present. For example, Mouthful Mode was one of the biggest innovations in Kirby and the Forgotten Land; rather than Kirby swallowing items, Mouthful Mode allowed Kirby to stretch himself over their frame so he could use that item to solve puzzles. It was a great expansion of the core Kirby concept, and Star-Crossed World adds new Mouthful Mode abilities, including my personal favorite: Sign Mouth, which is used to slide down tracks like a sled.
The original version of Kirby and the Forgotten Land also had a number of figures that players could unlock through a gacha mechanic in Waddle Dee Town. That returns in Star-Crossed World, with a ton of new collectible figures, offering details about newly added enemies, Mouthful Modes, and more. Players can find these figures strewn throughout the 12 Starry Stages, but they can also be purchased from the new Astronomer Waddle Dee character. If you’ve exhausted every single item you could find in the base game, you’ll be happy to see just how many extras are now present.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land Didn’t Need a Switch 2 Version, But It’s Actually Pretty Good
When Kirby and the Forgotten Land Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World was revealed back in April, I thought it was one of the stranger titles for the Switch 2’s year one line-up. While I greatly enjoyed the base game, a new version didn’t seem necessary nor like the best use of the developer’s resources. After all, it wasn’t a game that needed a boost in graphics or frame rate (the problems weren’t nearly as glaring as Pokemon Scarlet and Violet). As such, it’s hard to get a good grasp on what changed in that regard. It also seemed like an odd choice given the fact that Nintendo has another big Kirby game set to be released later in the year.
After actually playing through Star-Crossed World, I still think this is an odd choice for the first year of Nintendo Switch 2. Having said that, it served as a great reminder why I enjoyed the original game so much in the first place. Kirby and the Forgotten Land was already one of the best Kirby games ever, and all of the extra content is just icing on the cake. HAL Laboratory has expanded on the established foundations and added a nice incentive to revisit one of the best games on Switch. Between Star-Crossed World and Kirby Air Riders in November, it seems like 2025 is shaping up to be a very good year for this franchise.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed Road is set to be released August 28, exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2. The game was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review, and it was reviewed on a Nintendo Switch 2.
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