image

You never think of Kirby games as being too difficult. They’re always experiences that are welcoming to players of any age and skill level, and that’s largely the case for Kirby and the Forgotten Land. We say largely because it appears there was a slight bit of pushback with the game’s final boss.

In an interview with IGN, Kirby franchise director Shinya Kumazaki spoke about the final encounter in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which fans know was quite a battle. According to Kumazaki, that battle at the game’s end might have been a bit too far outside the usual for Kirby games.

“When you’re thinking about maybe your childhood experience playing video games, there might have been games where you just feel like it’s impossible to beat because it’s so difficult. And I think the idea is that to be able to provide something that you can enter easily and is approachable, but also provide that sense of achievement in that you might have an experience where you’re playing a game as a younger self, or even now. There comes a moment when you achieve something or you did something and you’re like, ‘Okay, I can get it now. I did it.’ And that sense of achievement is as a result of the person playing the game – their skill level is going up, and also becoming used to how to play that game.

For the first time in the Kirby series, we provided two different difficulty levels to really try to also provide an option for the experienced gamer audience to get a more fulfilling gameplay experience. And I think we were able to do that. But perhaps the steep uphill curve towards the end of the game, especially the final boss, might’ve been something that’s maybe slightly too steep, and perhaps we can look into maybe balancing it out a little bit. That’s something that I want to continue to explore.”

How did you feel about the final battle in Kirby and the Forgotten Land? Were you surprised with its challenge or was it in-line with previous Kirby titles?

Add Comment

Comments (7)

mereel

12M ago

It is too tough. I’m an old school gamer. I breezed through this game during a rental period while also picking up most of the extra challenges. However, I played the final boss probably a dozen times and didn’t pick up the game again until I had to return the rental. I couldn’t believe the difficulty spike in a “kids game.”


d_says_hi

12M ago

Which final boss? The one in the story mode or the real one in the arena? I felt both were fine, the arena boss, I had maxed out all the abilities at that point and went in with extra health, it was challenging but doable. The part that annoyed me were the QTE sections where you have to rotate the stick or press a button a bunch of times, they hurt my hands and I don't like the wear on the stick from that.


pc2

12M ago

The final battle was a tad hard, but nothing too bad.

The True Arena where they give the guy a THIRD form...that might have bit a bit excessive for my tastes.


socar

12M ago

But if you use the ice ability maxed with its shield mechanic, its pretty much doable.


tmc1983

12M ago

It wasn't that bad at all.


conangiga

12M ago

The final boss of the main game was a piece of cake as was the final boss of the post game.
I needed a second try for the true arena though as the new attacks of the final final form caught me off guard. Still easy.


nekotaku

12M ago

Maybe in comparison to the rest of the game but anything being harder in Kirby is welcomed.