Living in a society that prides itself on high-end graphics and head shot counts, it is often difficult to find the value in a relatively ancient gaming franchise like Kirby. Lost amongst the release of Modern Warfare 3 and Skyrim, many probably did not even realize Kirby's Return to Dreamland was released for the Wii a few weeks ago. Coming off the heels of it's highly stylized brother, Kirby Epic Yarn, newbies and traditionalists can breath a sigh of relief with Nintendo's return to traditional game play.

    Kirby's Return to Dreamland is a simple story, where Kirby and his frien-emies King Dedede, Waddle Dee and Meta Knight, join forces to help repair a mysterious spaceship that recently crash landed on their native planet. With the ability to play with three other friends, you won't mind the toilet paper thin narrative.

    Color was not in short supply during development. Kirby offers a lush and vibrant game that is as fun to watch as it is to play. Stages suffer from some slight repetition but still offer enough variation to remain interesting. The music is a mix of old-school remixes, upbeat instrumentals and mysterious synth ballads. The design for the denizens of Kirby's world will always be, first and foremost, cute. That aside, there is a something about the character designs that you will not forget, making a little bit harder for you to digest them.

    Despite the fluffy exterior, Return to Dreamland boasts a surprisingly challenging gameplay mechanic. Just because Kirby and his friends boast a never-ending ability to fly, coasting through the levels are not always a possibility. Playing as Kirby, you are constantly needed to change your ability to reach certain switches or buttons. Learning each ability's control scheme is a lesson in and of itself. The game itself is broken down into 7 different worlds with about 5 stages in each world. Scattered throughout the levels are Energy Spheres, that if collected, will open locked sections of the crashed spaceship, rewarding the die hard completionists. Other than the main storyline, there are 4 player challenges, ability time trials and an arena that challenges players with defeating the game's bosses with limited recovery items.

    All in all, Kirby's Return to Dreamland is a great 4 player romp that will be great for people of all ages. The main storyline will run you a few hours but if you manage to get 3 other friends in the same room, the limitations in game time and story won't matter.

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