Kirby and the Forgotten Landis getting a lot of attention for its switch to 3D platforming, and for good reason. It’s a very different angle of traversal and exploration from the usualKirbyfare. It isn’t the only new feature that HAL Laboratory has in store forKirbyfans, though; not only doesKirby and the Forgotten Landhave new Copy Abilities, but it has a Copy Ability upgrade system that lets fans customize each of Kirby’s special powers, as revealed by the latest trailer for the game. That same trailer spotlighted another odd Kirby ability that seems themed around manipulating Kirby’s environment: Mouthful Mode.
EveryKirbyfan knows that Kirby gets his powers by inhaling enemies and imitating their abilities, butKirby and the Forgotten Landhas a secondary take on Kirby’s absorption powers. At the start ofthe newKirby and the Forgotten Landtrailer, Kirby inhales a car while trying to absorb some enemies. As a result, he has his mouth stretched over the car and realizes he can control the vehicle. The trailer shows off quite a few extraordinary abilities that Kirby can pick up in this way, all of which highlightKirby and the Forgotten Land’s emphasis on roaming freely and finding unique ways to interact with the world around Kirby.
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Kirby’s Known Mouthful Modes
The newKirby and the Forgotten Landtrailer suggests that, while he’s roaming the game’s various areas, he’ll occasionally come across objects that sparkle to distinguish themselves from the rest of the environment.Kirby can try to inhale them, but he can’t absorb them completely. Instead, he’ll enter Mouthful Mode stretching over the object in one way or another, making him much bigger than usual while still granting him unique abilities based on the object. The trailer showcases the following Mouthful Modes:
The trailer doesn’t go into detail about the length and breadth of each Mouthful Mode’s effects on Kirby, but it’s clear that they all contribute different things to gameplay. Some simplygive Kirby new forms of attack; Kirby gains the rectangular Vending Mouth when he absorbs a vending machine, which allows him to spit canned drinks at enemies as projectiles. Others have huge impacts on exploring the game world. With the Water Balloon Mouth, Kirby can apparently spit water to clear hazards off the ground, while the Cone Mouth helps Kirby break cracked objects open to reveal new paths.
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The Potential of Mouthful Modes
The majority of Kirby’s new Mouthful Modes seem to lean towards helping Kirby explore, whether it’s by gliding long distances, illuminating dark areas, or propelling himself with blasts of air. It’s possible that these new alternatives to Copy Abilities have a litany of other uses, but even the mere glimpses offered so far seem invaluable. Mouthful Modes seem invaluable forKirby and the Forgotten Land’s environmental puzzles, encouraging fans to search for unorthodox ways to progress. Mouthful Modes that focus on giving Kirby more mobility are invaluable too sinceKirby and the Forgotten Land’s 3D levelspromise to sprawl more than the franchise’s traditional 2D worlds.
Little by little, Nintendo and HAL keep revealing ways thatKirby and the Forgotten Landexperiments withKirby’s core conceptsto change the series for the better. Kirby has spent decades inhaling enemies and objects on his adventures, but this new angle of Kirby’s inhalation power proves that there’s still a lot of unexplored potential inKirby’s core concept. Regardless of whether Mouthful Mode becomes a stapleKirbymechanic, it’s a valuable sign of creative use of the IP from HAL.Kirby and the Forgotten Landmay only be the first in a series of highly cleverKirbygames.
Kirby and the Forgotten Landreleases June 13, 2025 for Nintendo Switch.
