According to our own Jim Sterling, Kirby's Return to Dream Land belongs right up there among New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Donkey Kong Country Returns in the upper echelon of modern-day multi-player platformers. That's partly due to the game's visuals, which Jimothy described as "... damn beautiful, despite the standard definition. Character animations bubble with life, and environments are bright and gladdening."
I can't say I disagree, though I'm still left wondering, could the game somehow be more bright and gladdening? Under differing circumstances, could Kirby's Return to Dream Land have been... the gladdeningest? From the looks of this image gleaned from a recent Iwata Asks interview, it looks like the answer is "yes". At one point in the game's long development cycle, Nintendo employed a cel shaded visual style that is almost seizure-inducing in its levels of sugary sweetness. Everything looks so cute and colorful that I just want to eat that entire screenshot (which makes sense, given Kirby's own proclivity for gluttony).
There was also a time where the game was more of a 3D experience. I bet that version of the game got the axe shortly after New Super Mario Bros. Wii went on to sell more than double what Super Mario Galaxy sold. The people have spoken, and they want their Nintendo platformers in two dimensions (and with multi-player). Expect Nintendo to follow that trend for at least a little while longer.
So what do you think of these alternate versions on Kirby's latest Wii title? Do you mourn for what could have been, celebrate what we have, or both?
Here's the unused art styles of Kirby's Return to Dreamland [GoNintendo]
Jonathan Holmes is the most lovable Associate Editor on Destructoid. Catch him on videos, original editorials, and on back episodes of the Destructoid Show and MTV's Road Rules. Jonathan is a retro gamer's gamer.
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Contest:
6:00 PM on 10.23.2011 | 
Anyways, I'm just happy the new Kirby is here; it was in development since 2005.
Make it. Make Bank.
On a side note, the background in the second header pic is beautiful.
Hmmmmm.....
I also do like the style of that other screenshot, but what we got in the final product is fine as well.
the gaalxy games are the 2 highest rated games of the gen and sold great
Anyway, the solution is clear: get to work on one or both of those ideas, Nintendo.
So, I'd be quite interested in a 3D Kirby game similar to Galaxy.
On topic, I like both styles. I hope they make more Kirby games out of both of them. That cel-shaded one looks so good though! I love cel-shading!
Can we have a 2Dimensional Metroid side-scroller game as well, Nintendo? One perhaps in HD?
I've been playing 2D platformers for 25 years. I get it. I really, really get it. No need to keep making them. How about some 3D platformers though? Those are always fun and they haven't been around as long as 2D platformers have, so they aren't as stale yet.
Don't get me wrong, I still love me some 2D platformers. As a matter of fact, Donkey Kong Country Returns is one of my favorite games this generation and one of the best games I've ever played...period. Yet, 3 or so a year is good. How about spending some of that money to make games like Ratchet & Clank, Mario Galaxy, Jak & Daxter, etc.
Enough with the side scrollers already.
It needs to be made in to a game!
Are you fucking retarded? Did you see the like...10 games they dropped in 2010 that were all of AAA quality? No, you were too busy being an anti-Nintendo troll to notice.
"To this day i dont understand the attraction to super mario bros."
Are YOU even more fucking retarded? 1) this is an article about Kirby, 2) you don't see the attraction to good games? Let me guess, you like Modern Warfare and only play shooters?
Oh noooeeesss a good genre has a lot of good games in it! IT R TERRIBRU!!!!!!
Curmudgeons suck and will always suck. Life is meant to be enjoyed, if you walk through it being negative then please just go die already and let someone else enjoy your waste of space.
@Fr33Kye
U must be 10 years old.