I really like your take when speaking on the other games, but one thing you maybe missed is that Kirby and the Forgotten Land isn't exactly post apocalyptic. The titular forgotten land that he's in wasn't destroyed so much as it was abandoned. The advanced civilization (possibly Magalor's people) that previously lived there didn't have any insane war or anything, they simply made use of subject ID-F86's dimension warping abilities and used them to develop new technologies that allowed them to traverse the dimensions! And when they were finished, they abandoned their home and all the creatures that presided there. It's not that the devs wanted to display hedonism so much, but rather they show that even after being abandoned, one can still have a positive outlook and make a life for themselves. The creatures of the forgotten land, ruled by Leon, may have harbored resentment towards those that abandoned them, but when they allowed their resentment to reside, they were actually allowed to recreate a new civilization that was just as beautiful as the last. Kirby and the forgotten land isn't about "cute nihilism" so much as it is about moving on from tragedy and making something new. Still, I really liked the video and I've been enjoying all your content! Keep up the great work!
I know fuck all about Kirby so thank you for this explanation, I always forget Kirby lore is kinda rad. Something that baffles me is that even the title of the game is called "the forgotten land" further proving your point about being abandoned, not apocalyptic. That seems like a pretty crucial detail, especially when writing a video essay... I too love this channel but this wouldn't be the first time he didn't fact check himself
@@gloveswithpockets4234 but thats not what the story is? This guy just explained the whole thing, there's nothing about them retreating in fear of doom
@@SomeGuy-mt4hq The game mentions a brief backstory for the creature, in the final levels, I believe So the humans using the Dimension Warp to explore the universe and just "forgetting" to return or running in fear using what they learned is entirely possible
I think, the Civilization of the new World has more connection to the Haltmann Works Company than Magolor because of an In World Company: Lightron Works Company. It's Gacha Description even mentioned a Split Up. Perhaps the HWC is one of the Split Companies?
The aesthetic of Forgotten Land sums up the Kirby series perfectly, cute and colorful but with dark undertones if you look hard enough. Kirby doesn't know he's in the ruins of civilization, he just wants to explore and save his friends. The tragic or dark elements in Kirby stories are only revealed to the player who's willing to look for them.
But simultaneously they also hits you in the face with the question of: "Kirby doesn't see the dark undertones of the world he inhabits, he's happy, you see the dark undertones of the world he inhabits, which one of you has the best point of view?"
Kirby has always had dark undertones. Most of the more modern villains are tragic characters who's fates are usually horrific. Forgotten Realms is the first Kirby game to step toward with it's darkness. Kirby, for most of it's existence, has been sad and a little scary with a thick coat of pink paint.
The series has mainly gone this route ever since the current director has taken the helm, and i love it. Dude even draws cosmic horror entities as a hobby
Something I like is that there is actually an on going story. We were introduced to the ancients before, dropping little hints about them, and know we got a whole game of their abandoned planet. Makes me wonder of we will meet an actual ancient next game
1: In every end of world situation, the world doesnt end slowly, it's fast. 2:Kirby reminds me of Optimistic Nihilism. That everybody is going to die, the world will eventually end, so might as well do whatever you want, as long as everybody is happy.
Optimistic Nihilism is basically the ultimate philosophy of expecting the worst but hoping for the best while it last. And since one way or another, our ecology might or might not collapse, the human race might or might not wipe itself out, our sun WILL eventually burn out unless artificially maintained, our chunk of space might be sterilized by a stellar phenomenon, our galaxy is on borrowed time before its inevitable duel with Andromeda, and the entire universe will eventually cease to be able to support life, what more can we really hope for than to be happy and do what we want with the time allotted to us? Also end of the world scenarios are usually something that makes little sense from an immediate timeframe to prepare for but happens very quickly when they finally happen, that's why humans might be ill-equipped to deal with some of them, since we invented politicians.
Kirby always starts out cute and simple, and by the end of it, you're squaring off against some eldritch being from the other side of the universe. And no point do we stop and go "how did we get here?"
Seeing as Kirby has been up against some pretty Lovecraftian horrors in his time, and that his backstory strongly suggests that he's basically a cosmic entity himself, just incredibly saccarine, I don't really see how this is a strange setting. Sure it's a post-apocalyptic world but the apocalypse is only really a horrific event for the civilization that witnessed it, for the ones that come after it can be as cheerful or as horrible as they choose to make it, so the optimistic Kirby is in many ways the perfect explorer.
Hell, it wasn't even a horrific event for the people that _did_ witness it, they just developed the ability to teleport between worlds and then, over time, every single person abandoned their original planet because they found a way nicer planet (a "dream land" if you will) to live in.
To be fair, they were doing this to avoid an apocalypse or a disaster, so while those who lived in the Forgotten World did not experience tragedy they were very close to experiencing tragedy
Y'know another post apocalyptic example ya coulda used is Splatoon. Where humanity died out somehow and was replaced by evolved sea life. Mostly cephalopods.
Another is Pokémon Legends Arceus, which is an interesting example, not only because Pokémon games usually don't take place in the future, let alone the post-apocalyptic one, instead taking place in the present day, or in the case of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games, the past, but also because the game takes place in the post-apocalyptic future of the Pokémon world, where humanity has survived, but their technology has been set back to pre-industrial levels, and is on their way to recover technologically back to pre-apocalyptic levels, and you, the player, actually come from the past (the present day) and got sent to the post-apocalyptic future.
Kirby:death? What power does that give me? Jokes aside. Kirby doesn't just accept death if he can change things like in the forgotten lands where he saved the lion king guy from the secret zone
There's a fantasy book series titled The Dying Earth by Jack Vance that perfectly embodies that fact. 200 years from the heat-death of the universe what do you do? Whatever the fuck you want! There're no gods to judge you! There never were any gods! There's no kingdom worth founding, and no civilization ever survived long enough to even get to the "200 years to end" mark. It was all so much bluster! The techology of the old epochs? The helicopters, computers, rail-lines, televisions, guns and bombs? Mere broken toys to be analyzed by wizards for their own amusement! The last handful of mages and their servants? They can't stop the inevitable end. They can either fight each other one last time or live up the last breath of hedonism or quietly meditate on the history of the human race. The series ends with a wizard named Rhialto kicking back with a glass of wine and smiling at the fact the has front-row seats to the end of the universe. It's a very surreal, morbid dark comedy series in which everyone just takes the end of the universe for granted and uses the time that's left to either go on one last adventure or settle some old score. It's a fantastic book series, I highly recommend it.
I always view Nihilism as the opposite of depression Depression is 'nothing in life matters' while sitting in a room alone Nihilism is 'nothing in life matters' as you set off a party popper. Depression is losing the will to go on, not finding meaning Nihilism is acknowledging that there's IS no point. There's no deep meaning to why you're alive. So don't worry about it and just enjoy the fact that you are alive Nothing matters. No one will remember you. So why not help that old lady with her groceries. No one will remember either way, but you'll make her life that tiny fraction better for a moment. So why not Nothing you can do can change anything. So why be an asshole. Why not be a good person just because it makes you feel good
@@Canadian_Zac I thought that was Absurdism? Like nihilism is saying nothing matters, and absurdism is saying nothing matters so everything matters kinda
"You can beat most Kirby games by sitting on thr controller and farting on it" Every Kirby fan who fought Zero in Kirby's Dreamland 3, Zero² in Kirby 64, Marx in Kirby Superstar, and Galacta Knight in Superstar Ultra: STOP THE CAP
Superstar is my favorite, definitely some challenges, I've missed quite a few games, especially all of Ds era, but most of them are relatively easy, I might buy the new re release soon
You read the subtext without reading the text. The game explains exactly how the apocalypse happened and why it happened. It also really emphasizes the waddle Dees rebuilding society. The most obvious way to interpret the text is that society will rebuild, stay optimistic. It sounds like your take is "Kirby is cute therefore it doesn't have deeper meaning and to prove that point I'm going to demonstrate how ridiculous it is to read into it" but literally every Kirby game has been like this- overwhelming cuteness in the face of an existentially horrifying backdrop. The message tends to be "stay optimistic"
It's kind of ironic how he calls kirby basic and non deep when he himself is too basic and shallow to actually take a look and analyze this game's plot, let alone the plot of literally any other modern kirby. Instead of actually looking into the story being told he just looks at the levels and makes up his own weird story to try and justify this video.
To be honest I think this is a fundamental misunderstanding of the whole story. Kirby never lets his own fun get in the way of doing the right thing. He still enjoys life, but not at the expense of others, or the world ending. Fecto Elfilis is the villain of this game, and his invasive, destructive, purely hedonistic tendencies are partly what led to the destruction of the now post apocalyptic world. It also came back to bite him when the people of the world captured him, and basically tortured him to use his space warping powers to escape all of the problems in their world. In fact multiple antagonists in the series have purely malicious, and hedonistic tendencies like Marx, who became an all powerful god like entity just to cause mischief.
yea i think people really misunderstand heroes as well as the fact heroes tend to challenge society in big, small, normalized, and abnormalized issues. I think Kirby serves a good example of that misunderstanding or forced perception at times. Also the people of the world don't seem any better.
Its a nice video, but the ingame explanation is, that the civilazation has become to advanced, ivented interdimensional travel and left the world leaving all the animals behind, which now stive to follow them. This is giving it a more positive tone, fitting for a kirby game.
I really appreciate the emotion in this, I wasn't expecting it to hit in such a way, and to appreciate how a character can relate and have positive influence in our lives, I already loved Ryonosuke, but this gives me an even greater appreciation through someone else's experience. Phenomenal work, and for your first video essay too!
Kirby himself is adorable, but his lore is terrifying. I hope you talk about the Ancients and their in-depth lore, or the Haltmann Works Corporation and Haltmann's grim fate.
I always wanted to see more games and media embrace this kind of Adventure Time-ish aesthetic. "Here's a post-apocalyptic world with no zombies, no demons, no aliens, no half-naked juggalos fighting over oily spots in the desert, it's just you, the overgrown city, and animals. Do your stuff."
When he was going through examples of games with post apocalyptic settings, I was waiting for him to get to "And this is Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards" so that we could talk about how Shiver Star is literally just a completely frozen planet Earth.
Reminds me of that moment in a Terminal Montage Kirby animation where godslayer Kirby and his overpowered friends see an enemy, it looks cute, and move on, meanwhile the human Adeline gets traumatized by the thing. Guess everything's cute when you're indestructable and casually crack planets in half.
Heheh these videos are such a joy, the serious stoic sounding voice contrasted with the funny dialogie talking about how cute this game is. Thanks for making this! Honestly I think the end of the world should be embaraced, theres so much stupid things happening (just look at twitter or tiktok) I think we should not worry so much and accept a new era. I honestly wonder what could happen after the end of the world
Your words at the start are a fascinating insight into the mind of Scipio. Anyone reading about him, or any other famous Roman for that matter, might get it into their head that they had such love and pride for their nation that it would never even occur to them that it would one day fall. That Rome and its people were greater and more powerful than any, and would surely never come to such an end. But no, he was a person who understood and accepted that things wouldn't last that the end would come for them one day, that Rome was not invincible. And that's a really telling thing 🤔
I haven’t watch the full video yet but another Nintendo series that shows a post apocalyptic earth in a positive light is Pikmin. Honestly it shows the beauty of nature and how no matter what life will go one.
I just finished the video and I really have no clue whether this was a joke or if you genuinely missed or ignored the actual plot in this game. I haven't played it, I don't know the plot. But Kirby lore has always had dark cosmic horror undertones and some very disturbing and interesting plotpoints that this analysis of the game seems genuinely uninformed.
Something interesting that I heard once was that the 100% completion reward (A picture that you see once) was specifically designed to be overwhelmingly underwhelming so it reminds you that you need to have a life and not play video games all day :)
It’s revealed in forgotten land’s lore that the people who lived on the planet just abandoned it to live somewhere else, leaving behind the organism they had been enslaving for technological advancement. Fecto opened the portal to popstar to steal the waddle dees for labor in order to escape its confinement. Fecto creates the beast pack as a means to exert its control on the desolate world. Thematically, I’d say this story explores what would happen if humanity abandoned earth completely. Would our greed and power lust live on in or abandoned technology? But yeah kirby just serves to correct any power imbalance in the universe
I think it's just that Kirby is so blissfully unaware and/or uncorruptable that he remains happy go kirby through even the corpse of a once great civilization. Then again he's hinted at being connected to or is part of an ancient god of destruction, and with kirby being a semi-sentient walking black hole monster kinda explains alot, so he's cool with all the ruins and stuff, maybe a little disappointed he couldn't eat more of it.
Fun fact about epicureism: ive finished moral writings by epicurus two days ago most people get it the wrong way. It doesn't tell people to blindly seek pleasures because who gives a shit. Epicureism encourages especially towards a specific kind of pleasure - the pleasure deriving from lack of pain. A decently full stomach, enough water, good temperature... the things people would call "little". All pleasures are born from desire, however epicurus teaches to think of what happens after that desire is fulfilled. Will we feel better or worse? The philosophy also greatly encourages virtuous behavior - in practice, the stoic and the epicurean live very similarly. They don't overindulge in harmful things and do what they believe to be just. However the stoic does so to obey a natural order, or a god - the epicurean does so because it gives him the most pleasing, less disturbed experience of life. Epicureism also strongly values friendship, a good marriage where people mutually benefit from each others presence... unfortunately medieval Christians and other folks can't fucking read and assumed epicurus was the kind of guy to drink half the beer at parties
1:35 ....uh... yyeeeeaahhh... no.... Kirby is a game series about eldritch abominations being summoned with human sacrifice committed upon loyal followers betrayed by the one person they trust. It is a game series about beings from beyond the world coming to snuff out the fragile and temporary ball of dust we are upon. It is about mad men seeking ancient treasures- which were buried for good reason- so that they can obtain godhood. So yeah, post apocalypse is right up the alley. This has always been there, it is just buried under the cotton candy brain. Hell, I am pretty sure this post apocalyptic world is the source of some of those lost treasure. Maybe flirted with some of the usual eldritch horrors that reoccur.
And if you are looking for a real meaning... well... Kirby is ALSO an eldritch abomination. this is not a joke, bestiaries tend to describe certain types of high level bosses as the same kind of being that took a different, darker path, include mr. 'human sacrifice' up there. The key difference? ....come on, you know it. POWER OF FRIENDSHIP. That is a reoccurring motivation. The mouse thing sidekick, in this game, a goo friend that is an offshoot of a creeping infestation that sought to eat the world, etc. And throughout it, only one thing is asked of Kirby- make friends, and be kind to them. Even enemies can be made into friends when given the proper chance. Kirby is an eldritch abomination that can steal your essence from you and use it as his own. But even when watching the rise and fall of civilizations, he stands by a principle- be nice to those to those you encounter who are willing to be nice to you. That is why some of the worst villains are those that betray. The NPC that asked you to help them collect mcguffins might reveal he is doing it for god hood. The cult leader that has three cute midbosses serving him with all their heart, but he cuts them down to fulfill his goal when things go poorly for him. These are the things you fight, you resist. They are the opposite of what you are.
This is not the only place where the world is described as such. Before Kirby, there was an anime with a pink-haired protagonist that did a very similar thing. The humanity in that anime is about to go extinct because of low birth rates, but it's a pastoral utopia and it's very optimistic about what happens next in general
Sis and I have a different view about near the end of the game. The fight with the super cosmic alien boss also reminded me of the movie Akira, in which the lust for unlimited cosmic powers could not only consume the wielder, but the entire world. Most Americans don't understand the underlying tone of that movie, but the Japanese, having experienced first hand of two atomic holocausts by our own hands, KNOWS the drawback of such powers. There's also underlying theme for the quest for perfection, the apex of a sentient species, the biological ziggurat, all of which are about as coveted if not a warning against human hubris. At least, that's what I also took from it. It was still a fun game, even if difficult during certain parts of the levels and bosses (that crazy armadillo was def not fun to do a no-hit fight with).
the theme for the semi truck sequence in the end is called "Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit", which means the final boss was literally trying to tear two planets to pieces just to stop kirby. AND IT DIDN'T WORK.
Kirby games, especially this one, are far from nihilistic, what are you even talking about? He literary battles against gods of destruction just to save his friends and planet. And another point, why did you say “if the creators had something to say” when talking about the post-apocalyptic setting, as if the story and lore is nonexistent?
Small nitpick, but afaik Scipio Africanus didn't burn Carthage (I might be wrong here), but his adopted grandson, Scipio Aemilianus, did. Aemilianus is also known as Scipio Africanus the Younger, I see how that's confusing, but iirc he wasnt involved in the 2nd Punic War (the one with Hannibal) but in the 3rd.
Well Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a lot more like Horizon Zero Dawn than you think... the world isn't dead. In fact, the original people who lived there weren't dead. They left. The world in Forgotten Land is cute and cheerful because its still inhabited by all the animals that live there... they just don't use buildings and stuff the same way we do. And I don't think the message is supposed to be about Hedonism... chasing after pleasure and only pleasure is the opposite of being happy. Its like being thirsty but never being able to quench it... that's no way to live. The true meaning of life is to share love and friendship with those around you. To share creativity and happiness and help others, to make friends, care for your family, and _enjoy living._ I think that's the point. Pleasure isn't evil but it doesn't last. True happiness comes from appreciation of life itself, and all the blessings you have, whether friends, food, shelter, or entertainment. Kirby's been transported to a strange dystopian world and all his friends are being kidnapped and captured and he needs to save them... is he going to stop to get all depressed and question the meaning of life? Is he going to look at the abandoned buildings and dread the end of days? Heck no! He's Kirby! He's going to go rescue his friends and he's going to have a lotta fun doing it... Life IS the journey and he's here for the ride.
To me the setting of Forgotten Lands is a message of hope. Life continues after tragedy, and, ultimately, our existence is transient. When we are gone, something else will take our place. Ultimately, we do not matter. Our universe does not depend on us and won’t end when we do. It’s a freeing thought, if not scary until we accept it.
When the world ends I'll make sure I leave a cute corpse for the future cute inhabitants of our world to look at and say" that pile of bones maybe little more then a pile on the ground but it's a cute pile of bones on the ground "
Kirby forgotten land is cool, but i thought it was more about how the end of human life, isn’t the end of life as a whole, and to be happy about that! That is the beast gangs whole deal, isn’t it?
So, here's a thing, kirby was allways dark, and the ruin of the human kind is not a New thing in kirby lore My evidence? Shiver star. This planet apeared on kirby 64 (on Nintendo 64, no shit), looking like an earth-shaped moon on outside and and Frozen mega city, now abandoned by those who created It, filled with machines who still run even who knows How much time after the planet Froze over, an planet that If i was Adeline would make me have an existential crisis (also there is blood in dream land 3 and 64 but we are talking about the lore)
Adventure Time has a similar view/experience of post-apocalypic settings. It is is literally seasons in, before the simple joy of defeating monsters is slowly replaced by storylines set in motion by events and survivors of the apocalypse.
The Kirby franchise is absolutely adorable, and every game ends with Kirby fighting an eldritch horror threatening to end all of existence. Kirby is a horror franchise at its core.
when all the damage is repaired, when the last problem is solved, then we can move on. not a nanosecond before then. every additional piece of damage inflicted resets the timer at best.
I have wanted to play that game since it came out, but I never had a Nintendo Wii and the Wii U I lovingly restored from a non-functional state is still sitting in a box somewhere together with Pikmin 3 (because the Wii U control scheme is hot garbage) and Twilight Princess (Because I got to Lake Hylia and then lost the will to play for some reason).
Me listening to the beggining of the video as I laught to myself cause I know kirby is actually and eldritch horror more proper for a lovecraft novel than a kids videogame as he says how cute and charming kirby is and completely ignores the fact that the forgotten land is probably one of the lightest and most innocent settings for a game of this franchise: 🙂
What makes you assume that the creators of Kirby didn't put a message there on purpose ? Despite appearances, Kirby is one of the series with the deepest lore out there.
To be honest this video comes off as something that was made after reading about the concept of a "post apocalyptic kirby game" and not something that was particularly well researched. The game isn't about being hedonistic in the face of the end of the world, kirby has very rarely been even close to hedonistic as a character. Star Allies makes a point of showcasing kirby's single motivation: making friends, helping people, and spreading love. In the forgotten land, kirby isn't kicking back and having fun in a horrifying post apocalypse, he's helping save his new friend Elfilin and later all of reality from a ridiculously powerful invasive species. Forgotten Land, and for the most part the series as a whole, has always been a simple story about being a hero, and this is reflected not just through the actions of Kirby but also through King Dedede in the final cutscene where he chooses to stay back and fend off the beast pack in order to save a single waddle dee that had fallen behind. Kirby is about lending a helping hand wherever its needed, not mindlessly engaging in self pleasure. The cutesy aesthetic of the series is simply that, an aesthetic, but just because kirby is an adorable pink fluffy ball of happiness, doesn't mean that he isn't a damn good hero
I read this take as someone who's new to kirby and is only kind of experiencing the surface level details of the franchise. The praise for this game having more moments of challenge applies to basically every kirby game. They all follow the same structure of the game being mostly easy for most of its run time and then getting a little bit tough in the late game before going balls to the wall with optional post game content. Kirby is a series where if you take it at face value and just enjoy the creative and simple platforming you'll have a great time, but if you take the time to dive deeper and engage with the developer's theming and worldbuilding you'll find a surprisingly detailed web of characters, worlds, and backstory. Its a series that will always be appealing for its charming cuteness and creativity first and foremost, but also one that shouldn't be slept on or not taken seriously, because doing so will lead you to missing some genuinely engaging content.
I interpreted the world of Forgotten Land not as the end of a world, rather the rebirth of civilization. Even after previous civilizations have either died out or left behind the world, another will grow in its place and thrive whether it be after a century or several millennia later.
Well the thing is the world that Forgotten Land is set in is set after a mass migration from the planet. What the inhabitants were that lived in this world is never explained since we never see what they look like but the Beast Pack probably moved in sometime afterwards and Fecto Forgo rose into power using the Beast Pack as his army. The people that lived in this world didn't die. They moved. Left the world behind to explore the stars.
Kirby isn't afraid of the end of civilization because he or a past version of him probably caused that in the first place, Kirby is a murderous psychopath, but he's cute, so it's alright!
That's the original intention of the Fallout setting. Its creators wanted to tell a story in which Humanity came back from the brink and you, the player, have the power to influence that recovery.
Honestly your argument, espeially the fourth world part, reminds me of a video essay about an anime called 'Girl's Last Tour' and how a similar setting plays out, with the whole 'embracing death' argument also being the same.
Pokémon Legends Arceus is another game that takes place in the post-apocalyptic future, where you are taken from the present and sent to the past, and your goal is to rebuild human society by catching Pokémon, and also reintroducing many pre-apocalyptic ideas, but mostly catching Pokémon.
If the developers where trying to say anything about the apocalypse in this game I feel like it's more that life will go on. If we're here or not life will always continue.
I really like your take when speaking on the other games, but one thing you maybe missed is that Kirby and the Forgotten Land isn't exactly post apocalyptic. The titular forgotten land that he's in wasn't destroyed so much as it was abandoned. The advanced civilization (possibly Magalor's people) that previously lived there didn't have any insane war or anything, they simply made use of subject ID-F86's dimension warping abilities and used them to develop new technologies that allowed them to traverse the dimensions! And when they were finished, they abandoned their home and all the creatures that presided there. It's not that the devs wanted to display hedonism so much, but rather they show that even after being abandoned, one can still have a positive outlook and make a life for themselves. The creatures of the forgotten land, ruled by Leon, may have harbored resentment towards those that abandoned them, but when they allowed their resentment to reside, they were actually allowed to recreate a new civilization that was just as beautiful as the last. Kirby and the forgotten land isn't about "cute nihilism" so much as it is about moving on from tragedy and making something new. Still, I really liked the video and I've been enjoying all your content! Keep up the great work!
I know fuck all about Kirby so thank you for this explanation, I always forget Kirby lore is kinda rad. Something that baffles me is that even the title of the game is called "the forgotten land" further proving your point about being abandoned, not apocalyptic. That seems like a pretty crucial detail, especially when writing a video essay... I too love this channel but this wouldn't be the first time he didn't fact check himself
@@gloveswithpockets4234 but thats not what the story is? This guy just explained the whole thing, there's nothing about them retreating in fear of doom
@@gloveswithpockets4234 that seems like an important detail to be left out in this guy's lore explanation. Thanks for the info
@@SomeGuy-mt4hq The game mentions a brief backstory for the creature, in the final levels, I believe
So the humans using the Dimension Warp to explore the universe and just "forgetting" to return or running in fear using what they learned is entirely possible
I think, the Civilization of the new World has more connection to the Haltmann Works Company than Magolor because of an In World Company: Lightron Works Company. It's Gacha Description even mentioned a Split Up. Perhaps the HWC is one of the Split Companies?
The aesthetic of Forgotten Land sums up the Kirby series perfectly, cute and colorful but with dark undertones if you look hard enough.
Kirby doesn't know he's in the ruins of civilization, he just wants to explore and save his friends. The tragic or dark elements in Kirby stories are only revealed to the player who's willing to look for them.
But simultaneously they also hits you in the face with the question of: "Kirby doesn't see the dark undertones of the world he inhabits, he's happy, you see the dark undertones of the world he inhabits, which one of you has the best point of view?"
@@Reddotzebra that’s actually really interesting to think about
@@Reddotzebra I like that. Everyone should be more like Kirby.
im quite sure Kirby is fully aware
Yup, Kirby is essentially an elder being of hunger who just so happens to frolic.
Kirby has always had dark undertones. Most of the more modern villains are tragic characters who's fates are usually horrific. Forgotten Realms is the first Kirby game to step toward with it's darkness. Kirby, for most of it's existence, has been sad and a little scary with a thick coat of pink paint.
I remember Gandalf, I was there during the secret boss of Crystal Shards.
The series has mainly gone this route ever since the current director has taken the helm, and i love it. Dude even draws cosmic horror entities as a hobby
Something I like is that there is actually an on going story. We were introduced to the ancients before, dropping little hints about them, and know we got a whole game of their abandoned planet. Makes me wonder of we will meet an actual ancient next game
Kirby’s cuteness is only a form of censorship to the true nature of the most of the series
Kirby at the start: Someone steals Kirby’s lunch
Kirby at the end: Fight god
literally squeak squad
cake is stolen, time to kill the lord of the underworld
Don’t forget the most important step. Beating up King Dedede for some reason, or no reason like in Squeak Squad.
@semaJ35 Cake stolen, go on a rampage and somehow kill a god along the way
@@AlonzoTompkins in squeak squad Kirby assumes Dedede was who stole the cake at first
God took his lunch. He knew what was coming.
1: In every end of world situation, the world doesnt end slowly, it's fast.
2:Kirby reminds me of Optimistic Nihilism. That everybody is going to die, the world will eventually end, so might as well do whatever you want, as long as everybody is happy.
Optimistic Nihilism is basically the ultimate philosophy of expecting the worst but hoping for the best while it last.
And since one way or another, our ecology might or might not collapse, the human race might or might not wipe itself out, our sun WILL eventually burn out unless artificially maintained, our chunk of space might be sterilized by a stellar phenomenon, our galaxy is on borrowed time before its inevitable duel with Andromeda, and the entire universe will eventually cease to be able to support life, what more can we really hope for than to be happy and do what we want with the time allotted to us?
Also end of the world scenarios are usually something that makes little sense from an immediate timeframe to prepare for but happens very quickly when they finally happen, that's why humans might be ill-equipped to deal with some of them, since we invented politicians.
I’ll commit war crimes then😍
that's like a main conflict in classic superhero tales, those types tend to be villains. I don't think Kirby would be one of those.
@Alexander Avila yeH a better definition for heroic ipt nihilistic is life has no meaning so make one
@@moosesues8887slay what you wanna slay💅
Kirby always starts out cute and simple, and by the end of it, you're squaring off against some eldritch being from the other side of the universe. And no point do we stop and go "how did we get here?"
The one Kirby Game I've played from start-to-finish is Super Star.
I answer your question as follows: "Freakin' Marx."
Seeing as Kirby has been up against some pretty Lovecraftian horrors in his time, and that his backstory strongly suggests that he's basically a cosmic entity himself, just incredibly saccarine, I don't really see how this is a strange setting.
Sure it's a post-apocalyptic world but the apocalypse is only really a horrific event for the civilization that witnessed it, for the ones that come after it can be as cheerful or as horrible as they choose to make it, so the optimistic Kirby is in many ways the perfect explorer.
Hell, it wasn't even a horrific event for the people that _did_ witness it, they just developed the ability to teleport between worlds and then, over time, every single person abandoned their original planet because they found a way nicer planet (a "dream land" if you will) to live in.
To be fair, they were doing this to avoid an apocalypse or a disaster, so while those who lived in the Forgotten World did not experience tragedy they were very close to experiencing tragedy
He IS canonically a God, remember that once Void was devided (Or Termina I don't remember) the "Good" part of it became Kirby
Yeah this video honestly misrepresents or just grossly oversimplifies every videogame it talks about, its almost impressive
It's not even the first post apocalyptic world, Ice world in Kirby 64 was pretty much earth frozen
Y'know another post apocalyptic example ya coulda used is Splatoon. Where humanity died out somehow and was replaced by evolved sea life. Mostly cephalopods.
Another is Pokémon Legends Arceus, which is an interesting example, not only because Pokémon games usually don't take place in the future, let alone the post-apocalyptic one, instead taking place in the present day, or in the case of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games, the past, but also because the game takes place in the post-apocalyptic future of the Pokémon world, where humanity has survived, but their technology has been set back to pre-industrial levels, and is on their way to recover technologically back to pre-apocalyptic levels, and you, the player, actually come from the past (the present day) and got sent to the post-apocalyptic future.
Woomy!
Kirby:death? What power does that give me?
Jokes aside. Kirby doesn't just accept death if he can change things like in the forgotten lands where he saved the lion king guy from the secret zone
Welcome to Kirby lore: where the story hidden in the gameplay is FAR darker then the actual gameplay itself!
nihilism isn't inherently depressing. it's just been misrepresented heavily by media
There's a fantasy book series titled The Dying Earth by Jack Vance that perfectly embodies that fact.
200 years from the heat-death of the universe what do you do? Whatever the fuck you want!
There're no gods to judge you! There never were any gods!
There's no kingdom worth founding, and no civilization ever survived long enough to even get to the "200 years to end" mark. It was all so much bluster!
The techology of the old epochs? The helicopters, computers, rail-lines, televisions, guns and bombs? Mere broken toys to be analyzed by wizards for their own amusement!
The last handful of mages and their servants? They can't stop the inevitable end. They can either fight each other one last time or live up the last breath of hedonism or quietly meditate on the history of the human race.
The series ends with a wizard named Rhialto kicking back with a glass of wine and smiling at the fact the has front-row seats to the end of the universe.
It's a very surreal, morbid dark comedy series in which everyone just takes the end of the universe for granted and uses the time that's left to either go on one last adventure or settle some old score. It's a fantastic book series, I highly recommend it.
I always view Nihilism as the opposite of depression
Depression is 'nothing in life matters' while sitting in a room alone
Nihilism is 'nothing in life matters' as you set off a party popper.
Depression is losing the will to go on, not finding meaning
Nihilism is acknowledging that there's IS no point. There's no deep meaning to why you're alive. So don't worry about it and just enjoy the fact that you are alive
Nothing matters. No one will remember you.
So why not help that old lady with her groceries. No one will remember either way, but you'll make her life that tiny fraction better for a moment. So why not
Nothing you can do can change anything. So why be an asshole. Why not be a good person just because it makes you feel good
@@Canadian_Zac I thought that was Absurdism? Like nihilism is saying nothing matters, and absurdism is saying nothing matters so everything matters kinda
"You can beat most Kirby games by sitting on thr controller and farting on it"
Every Kirby fan who fought Zero in Kirby's Dreamland 3, Zero² in Kirby 64, Marx in Kirby Superstar, and Galacta Knight in Superstar Ultra: STOP THE CAP
Superstar is my favorite, definitely some challenges, I've missed quite a few games, especially all of Ds era, but most of them are relatively easy, I might buy the new re release soon
You read the subtext without reading the text.
The game explains exactly how the apocalypse happened and why it happened. It also really emphasizes the waddle Dees rebuilding society. The most obvious way to interpret the text is that society will rebuild, stay optimistic.
It sounds like your take is "Kirby is cute therefore it doesn't have deeper meaning and to prove that point I'm going to demonstrate how ridiculous it is to read into it" but literally every Kirby game has been like this- overwhelming cuteness in the face of an existentially horrifying backdrop. The message tends to be "stay optimistic"
It's kind of ironic how he calls kirby basic and non deep when he himself is too basic and shallow to actually take a look and analyze this game's plot, let alone the plot of literally any other modern kirby. Instead of actually looking into the story being told he just looks at the levels and makes up his own weird story to try and justify this video.
Pretty sure that there was no apocalypse, and instead the inhabitants just left the planet.
See leongar's dialogue
I genuinely cannot understand how this is the interpretation you can get from kirby.
Ikr it's like he started already believing Kirby is hedonistic and don't care about others
To be honest I think this is a fundamental misunderstanding of the whole story. Kirby never lets his own fun get in the way of doing the right thing. He still enjoys life, but not at the expense of others, or the world ending. Fecto Elfilis is the villain of this game, and his invasive, destructive, purely hedonistic tendencies are partly what led to the destruction of the now post apocalyptic world. It also came back to bite him when the people of the world captured him, and basically tortured him to use his space warping powers to escape all of the problems in their world. In fact multiple antagonists in the series have purely malicious, and hedonistic tendencies like Marx, who became an all powerful god like entity just to cause mischief.
Marx is such a punk. I wish he were playable.
yea i think people really misunderstand heroes as well as the fact heroes tend to challenge society in big, small, normalized, and abnormalized issues. I think Kirby serves a good example of that misunderstanding or forced perception at times. Also the people of the world don't seem any better.
@@normanclatcher he is in star allies
Its a nice video, but the ingame explanation is, that the civilazation has become to advanced, ivented interdimensional travel and left the world leaving all the animals behind, which now stive to follow them. This is giving it a more positive tone, fitting for a kirby game.
'Kirby is the most sacchrine happy-"
02 flashbacks
I really appreciate the emotion in this, I wasn't expecting it to hit in such a way, and to appreciate how a character can relate and have positive influence in our lives, I already loved Ryonosuke, but this gives me an even greater appreciation through someone else's experience.
Phenomenal work, and for your first video essay too!
"march into the fire with a stupid smile on your face" is a pretty raw line
And a fluffy animal under each arm!
I like it, somebody should translate that to latin.
@@Reddotzebra
Itine te in igne subridens ut fatuus, cum crinitis animalibus sub utroque brachio.
Or we could replace the first phrase with "subridens late flammas intramus"
Smiling broadly, we enter the flames.
@@normanclatcher not silly enough, "broadly" is not a specific enough way to smile
The fact you used Lava Landing in this video is so nice, such a fantastic track I haven't heard a lot like ever
Kirby himself is adorable, but his lore is terrifying. I hope you talk about the Ancients and their in-depth lore, or the Haltmann Works Corporation and Haltmann's grim fate.
I always wanted to see more games and media embrace this kind of Adventure Time-ish aesthetic.
"Here's a post-apocalyptic world with no zombies, no demons, no aliens, no half-naked juggalos fighting over oily spots in the desert, it's just you, the overgrown city, and animals. Do your stuff."
This was my first Kirby game i beat. And dang i was absolutely shocked and loved it
So excited when I saw this video, it’s time someone finally said it
You have the perfect voice for narration like this
When he was going through examples of games with post apocalyptic settings, I was waiting for him to get to "And this is Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards" so that we could talk about how Shiver Star is literally just a completely frozen planet Earth.
Going by this video he clearly hasn't played most modern kirby games to the end
I love how you’re reaching out and looking at games like this! It’s a very welcome surprise!! Keep up the great work!
Well his name used to be something along the lines of "Will review every Nintendo Wii Game"
@@rekabdarb yeah you’re totally right, I was just referring to his new method of doing video essays
Reminds me of that moment in a Terminal Montage Kirby animation where godslayer Kirby and his overpowered friends see an enemy, it looks cute, and move on, meanwhile the human Adeline gets traumatized by the thing.
Guess everything's cute when you're indestructable and casually crack planets in half.
Absolute masterpiece like always. I thank ya for making my lunch entertained.
Post apocalyptic? I could have sworn all that happened was a bunch of people decided to ditch the planet.
Heheh these videos are such a joy, the serious stoic sounding voice contrasted with the funny dialogie talking about how cute this game is. Thanks for making this! Honestly I think the end of the world should be embaraced, theres so much stupid things happening (just look at twitter or tiktok) I think we should not worry so much and accept a new era. I honestly wonder what could happen after the end of the world
Your words at the start are a fascinating insight into the mind of Scipio. Anyone reading about him, or any other famous Roman for that matter, might get it into their head that they had such love and pride for their nation that it would never even occur to them that it would one day fall. That Rome and its people were greater and more powerful than any, and would surely never come to such an end. But no, he was a person who understood and accepted that things wouldn't last that the end would come for them one day, that Rome was not invincible. And that's a really telling thing 🤔
I haven’t watch the full video yet but another Nintendo series that shows a post apocalyptic earth in a positive light is Pikmin. Honestly it shows the beauty of nature and how no matter what life will go one.
You make it sound so out of place that the game series featuring cosmic horrors beyond human comprehension could also tackle the post-apocalypse.
Kirby lore is weirdly dark and surprisingly abundant. I could imagine it's an in-joke someone from the dev team came up with once.
I resent that remark, I work a job I love. ...And I'm still sometimes being treated like dogshit by customers. But that's no excuse not to be CUTE!
this wasn't a video essay, the man really said the word cute because he thinks kirby is cute. And he's right its way too damn cute
I just finished the video and I really have no clue whether this was a joke or if you genuinely missed or ignored the actual plot in this game. I haven't played it, I don't know the plot. But Kirby lore has always had dark cosmic horror undertones and some very disturbing and interesting plotpoints that this analysis of the game seems genuinely uninformed.
Something interesting that I heard once was that the 100% completion reward (A picture that you see once) was specifically designed to be overwhelmingly underwhelming so it reminds you that you need to have a life and not play video games all day :)
Your videos are amazing. I love your narrative voice, and background music choices
I knew it. Now do a video on how Donkey Kong weaves the themes of loneliness, servitude, and the dangers of mindless consumer capitalism.
Donkey Kong jungle beat
It’s revealed in forgotten land’s lore that the people who lived on the planet just abandoned it to live somewhere else, leaving behind the organism they had been enslaving for technological advancement. Fecto opened the portal to popstar to steal the waddle dees for labor in order to escape its confinement. Fecto creates the beast pack as a means to exert its control on the desolate world. Thematically, I’d say this story explores what would happen if humanity abandoned earth completely. Would our greed and power lust live on in or abandoned technology?
But yeah kirby just serves to correct any power imbalance in the universe
Fecto didn't create the beast pack, he just mind controlled them.
@@thediabolicalraisin8953 oh yeah you’re right. Leon did.
Personally I always thought the forgotten land held more of a “life will always move forward, and time will heal all wounds” kinda vibe
Tbf it all lines up when you look at the kirby director’s art
Forgotten Land has something that no other post-apocaliptic game has: it feels REAL, the world around you feels very REAL. It's scary as it is cute.
Also THANK YOU for going back for that green star coin, you have saved me and all other likeminded people from an afternoon of angst.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land somehow found a way to make a post apocalyptic setting cute
Same for Pokémon Legends Arceus.
I think it's just that Kirby is so blissfully unaware and/or uncorruptable that he remains happy go kirby through even the corpse of a once great civilization. Then again he's hinted at being connected to or is part of an ancient god of destruction, and with kirby being a semi-sentient walking black hole monster kinda explains alot, so he's cool with all the ruins and stuff, maybe a little disappointed he couldn't eat more of it.
Fun fact about epicureism: ive finished moral writings by epicurus two days ago most people get it the wrong way. It doesn't tell people to blindly seek pleasures because who gives a shit. Epicureism encourages especially towards a specific kind of pleasure - the pleasure deriving from lack of pain. A decently full stomach, enough water, good temperature... the things people would call "little". All pleasures are born from desire, however epicurus teaches to think of what happens after that desire is fulfilled. Will we feel better or worse? The philosophy also greatly encourages virtuous behavior - in practice, the stoic and the epicurean live very similarly. They don't overindulge in harmful things and do what they believe to be just. However the stoic does so to obey a natural order, or a god - the epicurean does so because it gives him the most pleasing, less disturbed experience of life. Epicureism also strongly values friendship, a good marriage where people mutually benefit from each others presence... unfortunately medieval Christians and other folks can't fucking read and assumed epicurus was the kind of guy to drink half the beer at parties
1:35 ....uh... yyeeeeaahhh... no.... Kirby is a game series about eldritch abominations being summoned with human sacrifice committed upon loyal followers betrayed by the one person they trust. It is a game series about beings from beyond the world coming to snuff out the fragile and temporary ball of dust we are upon. It is about mad men seeking ancient treasures- which were buried for good reason- so that they can obtain godhood. So yeah, post apocalypse is right up the alley. This has always been there, it is just buried under the cotton candy brain.
Hell, I am pretty sure this post apocalyptic world is the source of some of those lost treasure. Maybe flirted with some of the usual eldritch horrors that reoccur.
And if you are looking for a real meaning... well... Kirby is ALSO an eldritch abomination. this is not a joke, bestiaries tend to describe certain types of high level bosses as the same kind of being that took a different, darker path, include mr. 'human sacrifice' up there. The key difference? ....come on, you know it. POWER OF FRIENDSHIP.
That is a reoccurring motivation. The mouse thing sidekick, in this game, a goo friend that is an offshoot of a creeping infestation that sought to eat the world, etc. And throughout it, only one thing is asked of Kirby- make friends, and be kind to them. Even enemies can be made into friends when given the proper chance.
Kirby is an eldritch abomination that can steal your essence from you and use it as his own. But even when watching the rise and fall of civilizations, he stands by a principle- be nice to those to those you encounter who are willing to be nice to you.
That is why some of the worst villains are those that betray. The NPC that asked you to help them collect mcguffins might reveal he is doing it for god hood. The cult leader that has three cute midbosses serving him with all their heart, but he cuts them down to fulfill his goal when things go poorly for him. These are the things you fight, you resist. They are the opposite of what you are.
Lore of Kirby wants you to accept the inevitability of death momentum 100
This is not the only place where the world is described as such. Before Kirby, there was an anime with a pink-haired protagonist that did a very similar thing. The humanity in that anime is about to go extinct because of low birth rates, but it's a pastoral utopia and it's very optimistic about what happens next in general
not exactly the title i was expecting to see today
Sis and I have a different view about near the end of the game. The fight with the super cosmic alien boss also reminded me of the movie Akira, in which the lust for unlimited cosmic powers could not only consume the wielder, but the entire world. Most Americans don't understand the underlying tone of that movie, but the Japanese, having experienced first hand of two atomic holocausts by our own hands, KNOWS the drawback of such powers. There's also underlying theme for the quest for perfection, the apex of a sentient species, the biological ziggurat, all of which are about as coveted if not a warning against human hubris.
At least, that's what I also took from it. It was still a fun game, even if difficult during certain parts of the levels and bosses (that crazy armadillo was def not fun to do a no-hit fight with).
the theme for the semi truck sequence in the end is called "Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit", which means the final boss was literally trying to tear two planets to pieces just to stop kirby. AND IT DIDN'T WORK.
To be fair, if Kirby did not have a truck and Fecto Elfilis was not spam-heavy on building projectiles that attack would have worked.
Kirby games, especially this one, are far from nihilistic, what are you even talking about? He literary battles against gods of destruction just to save his friends and planet.
And another point, why did you say “if the creators had something to say” when talking about the post-apocalyptic setting, as if the story and lore is nonexistent?
Didn't the people of this world just emigrate?
Ya
Isn’t that odd. Nintendo loves apocalypses and post-humanity settings
As a huge fan of Kirby, I love this video. I think I might lean towards the beliefs of hedonism as doing only what you enjoy in life.
Most Kirby games are casual on the critical path, but the 100% completion is more of a bear.
Small nitpick, but afaik Scipio Africanus didn't burn Carthage (I might be wrong here), but his adopted grandson, Scipio Aemilianus, did. Aemilianus is also known as Scipio Africanus the Younger, I see how that's confusing, but iirc he wasnt involved in the 2nd Punic War (the one with Hannibal) but in the 3rd.
12:12 fun fact originally this thing was a lot more disturbing but they had to tone it down
A thing to remember is that the inhabitants of that world are not dead, they just left.
Well Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a lot more like Horizon Zero Dawn than you think... the world isn't dead. In fact, the original people who lived there weren't dead. They left. The world in Forgotten Land is cute and cheerful because its still inhabited by all the animals that live there... they just don't use buildings and stuff the same way we do.
And I don't think the message is supposed to be about Hedonism... chasing after pleasure and only pleasure is the opposite of being happy. Its like being thirsty but never being able to quench it... that's no way to live. The true meaning of life is to share love and friendship with those around you. To share creativity and happiness and help others, to make friends, care for your family, and _enjoy living._ I think that's the point. Pleasure isn't evil but it doesn't last. True happiness comes from appreciation of life itself, and all the blessings you have, whether friends, food, shelter, or entertainment.
Kirby's been transported to a strange dystopian world and all his friends are being kidnapped and captured and he needs to save them... is he going to stop to get all depressed and question the meaning of life? Is he going to look at the abandoned buildings and dread the end of days? Heck no! He's Kirby! He's going to go rescue his friends and he's going to have a lotta fun doing it... Life IS the journey and he's here for the ride.
To me the setting of Forgotten Lands is a message of hope. Life continues after tragedy, and, ultimately, our existence is transient. When we are gone, something else will take our place. Ultimately, we do not matter. Our universe does not depend on us and won’t end when we do. It’s a freeing thought, if not scary until we accept it.
5:25 GETOUTOFMYHEADGETOUTOFMYHEAD
Funnily enough as I was watching this video I had to make sure whether or not it was posted today
When the world ends I'll make sure I leave a cute corpse for the future cute inhabitants of our world to look at and say" that pile of bones maybe little more then a pile on the ground but it's a cute pile of bones on the ground "
"Kirby is a cute game filled with colors" *insert star dream soul here*
Kirby has been about loss and fatality for years now.
Kirby forgotten land is cool, but i thought it was more about how the end of human life, isn’t the end of life as a whole, and to be happy about that! That is the beast gangs whole deal, isn’t it?
An upload on my birthday this is truly a welcome surprise.
Let me remember never to hold one of your controllers.
Listen man, I already got persona 3 yelling at me with the whole “inevitable death” spiel, I don’t need Kirby doin the same thing lol
You somehow forgot about the most terrifying post-apocalyptic game ever: Kirby and the Crystal Shards
5:25 greatest among us
So, here's a thing, kirby was allways dark, and the ruin of the human kind is not a New thing in kirby lore
My evidence? Shiver star. This planet apeared on kirby 64 (on Nintendo 64, no shit), looking like an earth-shaped moon on outside and and Frozen mega city, now abandoned by those who created It, filled with machines who still run even who knows How much time after the planet Froze over, an planet that If i was Adeline would make me have an existential crisis (also there is blood in dream land 3 and 64 but we are talking about the lore)
Idk the Kirby lore has always been dark af and I’m here for it
Adventure Time has a similar view/experience of post-apocalypic settings.
It is is literally seasons in, before the simple joy of defeating monsters is slowly replaced by storylines set in motion by events and survivors of the apocalypse.
And Pokémon Legends Arceus too, where you are taken from the present and sent to the post-apocalyptic future.
Big Eulmore vibes. That city was hedonism personified.
Just eat your Meol and be happy you're not like all those poor unfortunates left outside.
The Kirby franchise is absolutely adorable, and every game ends with Kirby fighting an eldritch horror threatening to end all of existence. Kirby is a horror franchise at its core.
when all the damage is repaired, when the last problem is solved, then we can move on. not a nanosecond before then. every additional piece of damage inflicted resets the timer at best.
Great Vid, Cant wait for the video about how Kirby's Epic Yarn teaches us the banes of immortality and the loss of meaning with the loss of mortality.
I have wanted to play that game since it came out, but I never had a Nintendo Wii and the Wii U I lovingly restored from a non-functional state is still sitting in a box somewhere together with Pikmin 3 (because the Wii U control scheme is hot garbage) and Twilight Princess (Because I got to Lake Hylia and then lost the will to play for some reason).
Perhaps, rather than disappearing entirely, the meaning would simply change.
Me listening to the beggining of the video as I laught to myself cause I know kirby is actually and eldritch horror more proper for a lovecraft novel than a kids videogame as he says how cute and charming kirby is and completely ignores the fact that the forgotten land is probably one of the lightest and most innocent settings for a game of this franchise: 🙂
What makes you assume that the creators of Kirby didn't put a message there on purpose ? Despite appearances, Kirby is one of the series with the deepest lore out there.
To be honest this video comes off as something that was made after reading about the concept of a "post apocalyptic kirby game" and not something that was particularly well researched. The game isn't about being hedonistic in the face of the end of the world, kirby has very rarely been even close to hedonistic as a character. Star Allies makes a point of showcasing kirby's single motivation: making friends, helping people, and spreading love. In the forgotten land, kirby isn't kicking back and having fun in a horrifying post apocalypse, he's helping save his new friend Elfilin and later all of reality from a ridiculously powerful invasive species. Forgotten Land, and for the most part the series as a whole, has always been a simple story about being a hero, and this is reflected not just through the actions of Kirby but also through King Dedede in the final cutscene where he chooses to stay back and fend off the beast pack in order to save a single waddle dee that had fallen behind. Kirby is about lending a helping hand wherever its needed, not mindlessly engaging in self pleasure. The cutesy aesthetic of the series is simply that, an aesthetic, but just because kirby is an adorable pink fluffy ball of happiness, doesn't mean that he isn't a damn good hero
I read this take as someone who's new to kirby and is only kind of experiencing the surface level details of the franchise. The praise for this game having more moments of challenge applies to basically every kirby game. They all follow the same structure of the game being mostly easy for most of its run time and then getting a little bit tough in the late game before going balls to the wall with optional post game content. Kirby is a series where if you take it at face value and just enjoy the creative and simple platforming you'll have a great time, but if you take the time to dive deeper and engage with the developer's theming and worldbuilding you'll find a surprisingly detailed web of characters, worlds, and backstory. Its a series that will always be appealing for its charming cuteness and creativity first and foremost, but also one that shouldn't be slept on or not taken seriously, because doing so will lead you to missing some genuinely engaging content.
There's also a post-apocalyptic Pokémon game that already exists, and it's called Pokémon Legends Arceus.
I interpreted the world of Forgotten Land not as the end of a world, rather the rebirth of civilization. Even after previous civilizations have either died out or left behind the world, another will grow in its place and thrive whether it be after a century or several millennia later.
Well the thing is the world that Forgotten Land is set in is set after a mass migration from the planet. What the inhabitants were that lived in this world is never explained since we never see what they look like but the Beast Pack probably moved in sometime afterwards and Fecto Forgo rose into power using the Beast Pack as his army. The people that lived in this world didn't die. They moved. Left the world behind to explore the stars.
Eternal Emilita from Hollow Knight would write this.
"Bouncing around and sucking on the streets" 🤨
Kirby isn't afraid of the end of civilization because he or a past version of him probably caused that in the first place, Kirby is a murderous psychopath, but he's cute, so it's alright!
Now you've got me thinking on how Fallout is functional a Post-Post Apocalypse
That's the original intention of the Fallout setting. Its creators wanted to tell a story in which Humanity came back from the brink and you, the player, have the power to influence that recovery.
Pokémon Legends Arceus also takes place in the post-apocalyptic future, where you are taken from the present and sent to the post-apocalyptic future.
Honestly your argument, espeially the fourth world part, reminds me of a video essay about an anime called 'Girl's Last Tour' and how a similar setting plays out, with the whole 'embracing death' argument also being the same.
I had no idea there was a Kirby in the Apocalypse game. I need to play this ASAP!
And Pokémon Legends Arceus also takes place in the post-apocalyptic future.
Correction: The desert is the fifth world. The fourth world is the snowfield.
Pokémon Legends Arceus is another game that takes place in the post-apocalyptic future, where you are taken from the present and sent to the past, and your goal is to rebuild human society by catching Pokémon, and also reintroducing many pre-apocalyptic ideas, but mostly catching Pokémon.
I came expecting one kind of shitpost, only to find another. The silver I sought turned out to be gold, Imma use it to make circuit boards now.
Also nice non sequitur as we wait for Freya part 2.
Saccharine? Kirby has ALWAYS been a story of cosmic horror.
If the developers where trying to say anything about the apocalypse in this game I feel like it's more that life will go on. If we're here or not life will always continue.