Who says Kirby games have to be easy?
"This is the most advanced rom hack I've ever seen."
Kirby: Revenge of Dream Land is an ambitious hack of Kirby's Return to Dream Land created by Shay that seeks to reimagine the pink puffball's return to form in an unexpectedly brutal new way.
The hack features the return of old enemies, revamped boss fights, more complex puzzles, and the addition of a dangerous time loop with brand-new Brutal Bonus Levels inside — all the while keeping the plot of the original.
Development of Kirby: Revenge of Dream Land began in 2018 as "Kirby's Return to Dream Land: Hard Mode" before evolving into a more elaborate project. Version 1.0 was released on October 31, 2021, and while the mod is currently in hiatus, future updates will include Extra Mode and other new content exclusive to it.
Tropes include:
- 2½D: Downplayed, but Kibble Blade and Bonkers can now fly between the foreground and background during their Spin Attacks, just like they did in Planet Robobot, Triple Deluxe and the Kirby Clash titles.
- Action Bomb: Flamers, on top of being extremely fast and deadly, can self-destruct in a small explosion.
- Adaptational Badass: Every boss in Revenge has been given this treatment, but what's especially notable from the trailers is that even a lowly Mook can now take away 25% of Kirby's health bar with just one attack!
- Adaptational Skill: Many of the bosses have received all-new attacks for the sake of difficulty:
- Purple Sphere Doomers can now teleport, and when they reach half health, they can fire a Spread Shot of seven bullets.
- Red Sphere Doomers now have a fiery variation of the white Sphere Doomers' icy burst attack. They can also send out huge streams of fire from their wings, sort of like Miracle Matter.
- Green Sphere Doomers can now project bolts of lightning from their bodies, striking above or below them whenever they finish trying to swoop at Kirby. They also have a new attack reminiscent of Dark Nebula, where they form a rectangle made out of lightning bolts around the arena.
- White Sphere Doomers can fire an energy ball with Recursive Ammo that works like Marx's ice bombs. During their second phase, they also gain a dangerous Freeze Ray.
- Gigant Edge gains an unexpectedly fast, invincible Shield Bash attack. Once he reaches half health, he starts using his jumping Sword Plant attack from the Kirby Clash games as well.
- Bonkers can now use his 2½D attack and his flaming hammer twirl attack from Kirby: Triple Deluxe, as well as a midair spin attack and a charged-up hammer strike that sends a wave of energy along the ground... but only once he Turns Red.
- When King Doo Turns Red, he gains four new attacks: jumping and firing his beam whip in midair, pirouetting while using the beam whip, shooting two Wave Beams in an arc, and even using the Time Beam from the Kirby Clash games!
- Kibble Blade's second phase reintroduces the 2½D Spin Attack that he has used ever since Kirby: Planet Robobot. He can also use the Final Cutter attack, which only Kirby has been able to do before this game.
- While Moundo's attack pattern is mostly unchanged, he has one new move inspired by Dillon's Rolling Western: first, the Rock Monster's eyes start to glow as he spins along the floor, firing bolts of lightning into the air. Then, he literally Turns Red and grows bigger before charging back across the screen.
- Dubior gains the ability to teleport, which it uses with increasing frequency as it loses health in order to fake out the player. It also has better control over the smaller Dubiors it summons, and they can now be commanded to call down lightning strikes in their own right. Its last and most unexpected attack is a Deadly Force Field the size of a green Sphere Doomer's electric blasts.
- Whispy Woods now has access to the root attacks he used in Extra Mode, his Burst Fruits from Kirby Star Allies, and even his "Sky-High Whispy Woods" form from Kirby and the Rainbow Curse!
- Mr. Dooter's second phase adds a whole slew of new electrical attacks, including calling down lightning bolts, a Shockwave Stomp, homing energy balls, and sending out a Kamehame Hadouken.
- Goriath has learned how to throw huge Sizable Snowflakes like ninja stars and add an icy burst to his punches. When he Turns Red, he stops ripping off Dragon Ball and goes for JoJo instead, with two new attacks straight out of Dio Brando's playbook.
- Grand Doomer adds lightning bolts to its already formidable arsenal, but what really takes the cake is its brand-new third phase, where it splits into two Grand Doomers and becomes a fast-moving Puzzle Boss.
- Metal General's entire boss battle has been retooled into something more similar to a Meta Knight fight, with the robot now able to fire off deadly sword beams and block attacks with his cyber-katana. Its Rocket Ride attack now deliberately aims at Kirby using a targeting reticle, and during its second phase, it can even fire off laser beams with almost no warning. Perhaps worst of all, when it's finally defeated...
- Landia seems extra-determined to cover all of its bases this time, since it starts countering the common ways Kirby dodged its attacks in the original game. It'll Ground Pound the floor if Kirby tries to camp underneath it, shoot fireballs from its tail as a surprise attack, send surprise bolts of lightning across the floor to force Kirby to float, and even conjure up huge pillars of fire to hinder Kirby's movement during its Formation Pass attack.
- The Anticipator: Landia, as always, shoots the Lor Starcutter down as soon as Kirby and friends come too close. But what really establishes it as this trope is its boss fight, where most of its attacks now hinge on subverting the player's expectations from the original Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
- Ascended Meme: In response to both people asking for "Super Spark" in spite of the
lack of assets to work with and coding required, as well as one persistent troll who pestered Shay to show footage of Flappy being eaten, they released this "trailer"
on April Fools' Day. While Kirby does manage to inhale Flappy at the end, swallowing the little dragon causes the video footage to freeze completely.- During the final battle, Magolor's second form can use an all-new attack that fills the screen with lightning bolts, as a reference to the Super Spark ability.
- Asteroids Monster: Grand Doomer splits into two smaller copies when it gets low enough on health, something it couldn't do in its original appearance.
- Attack Its Weak Point:
- When Whispy Woods assumes his Sky-High form, he can only be damaged by attacking his thorns, not his trunk.
- When Grand Doomer splits in two, only the Doomer holding the Lor Starcutter's mast will take any damage.
- Bad Moon Rising: The background of Egg Engines is now dominated by an ominous moon that bathes the entire area in red light, making it look even more rusty and disused.
- Battle Boomerang: Vorpal Cutter, a once-dummied out Super Ability that works like a gigantic version of Kirby's usual Cutter ability.
- Beat Them at Their Own Game: Some of the Mini-Bosses are now capable of using Kirby's Copy Ability movesets when you fight them. For example, Kibble Blade can now use Kirby's famous Final Cutter attack.
- Boring, but Practical: Fatty Puffer's boss fight, unlike the flashier mid-bosses and bosses, is relatively unchanged from his EX battle in the original game. However, thanks to the new limits placed on Kirby's Video Game Flight, the reduced Mercy Invincibility, and the spikes on the ceiling, his attacks have become far harder to dodge.
- Boss Rush: The Arena, which is unlocked after beating the game. The True Arena will be added in an update along with Extra Mode.
- Boss Subtitles: They're not in the game proper, but the thumbnails for boss battle trailers give the featured boss a Star Allies-style splash screen:
- Supercharged Striker, Dubior
- Platinum Pugilist, Goriath
- Extradimensional Tyrant, Grand Doomer
- Broken Armor Boss Battle: When Whispy Woods turns into his Sky-High form, he's completely invincible until Kirby can deal with the thorns protecting him. Interestingly, the thorns count as part of Whispy's health bar, not a separate enemy.
- Brutal Bonus Level: In future updates to the game, there will be dimensional rifts hidden within the Lor Starcutter's ability rooms. Jump into one, and Kirby will access a completely original stage inside the rift with a Superboss at the end.
- Bullet Hell: The Sphere Doomers, the Grand Doomer, and the Lor Starcutter can all spray barrages of bullets at Kirby and friends.
- The Bus Came Back: Several enemies that weren't in the original game make their appearances in Revenge, such as Bio Spark and Flappy.
- Call-Forward:
- The Jambastion was a major location of plot importance in Kirby Star Allies, yet has a background cameo in Level 1.
- Whispy Woods's silver-plated form is fought here, but this originated in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse.
- Chrome Champion: During the second phase of his boss fight, Whispy Woods can transform into his silver-plated form from Kirby and the Rainbow Curse. He even dons the arrogant smirk he wore in that game!
- Composite Character: The boss fight against Whispy Woods takes cues from his incarnations in multiple games, including Kirby Star Allies and Kirby and the Rainbow Curse.
- Crosshair Aware: When Metal General rides one of its missiles, it can now send it hurtling at Kirby at breakneck speed when it returns to the foreground. This will cause a crosshair to aim at where the rocket will land, usually right where Kirby is standing.
- Deadly Force Field: Dubior can cover itself with an electric force field while it charges at Kirby, just like always. In Revenge, it can fire that same force field as a huge projectile!
- Dual Boss:
- All the mini-bosses in Stage 5-5 tend to fight in groups of two, though this also applies to the later Sphere Doomer fights.
- Landia turns into a quadruple boss, as per usual. But the dragon isn't the only example of this trope in Revenge, as some of the earliest footage shows a fight against two Sphere Doomers as early as Cookie Country.
- This trope even extends to the other bosses, as the Grand Doomer splits into two smaller versions of itself when it reaches one-third of its health.
- Easy Levels, Hard Bosses: Averted in one of the early trailers, which shows off a Blade Knight that can shave off a quarter of Kirby's health bar with one oversized slash.
- Faster Than They Look: Gigant Edge, of all people, becomes this trope in Revenge of Dream Land, which gives him a scarily fast new Shield Bash attack. Magolor's second form is also much faster, making it far more brutal than the original.
- Flunky Boss: Just like usual, Dubior can summon Dubior Jr. enemies to aid it. They have a bit more utility in Revenge, hindering the player's movements with lightning bolts from above.
- Game-Breaking Bug: The first release of the game made 100% Completion impossible thanks to one door in Stage 2 of White Wafers, which skipped most of the stage — including two of its Energy Spheres. This has since been patched.
- Hitbox Dissonance: Many of the new attacks used by bosses suffer from deceptive hitboxes, presumably as a result of them being modded into the game. It's most noticeable with the Fire Sphere Doomers, whose flame pillar attack is much larger than it looks.
- Last Ditch Move: Metal General blows itself up when its health bar is emptied, just like the Security Force mid-bosses from Kirby: Planet Robobot.
- Malevolent Architecture: The boss fight against Fatty Puffer adds spikes to parts of the ceiling, preventing the player from camping in the corner when the boss uses his rolling attacks.
- Meaningful Background Event: As part of the Time Crash affecting Dream Land, the Jambastion now appears in the distant background of Cookie Country and the early sections of Nutty Noon.
- Meaningful Name: According to the "Flash from the Abyss" trailer, Vorpal Cutter is so named:"Vorpal (adj.): Sharp, deadly, can slice through anything."
- Mercy Invincibility: It's been reduced somewhat, compared with the original.
- Nerf: Some of the more overpowered Copy Abilities have been weakened in this mod to prevent players from using them to breeze through the game. It's most noticeable with Hammer (whose Hammer Flip has been considerably weakened), Spark (which now takes longer to charge), and Leaf (whose Leaf Guard has been completely removed in favor of a regular guard).
- Palette Swap: Kirby now changes color when he gains certain abilities, just like in Kirby Super Star. Only Player 1 can do this, however.
- Puzzle Boss: A few bosses have been reworked so that Kirby needs to hit them in some sort of weak spot, including Whispy Woods and Grand Doomer.
- Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Goriath can pull this off in the second phase of his boss fight. Given the Time Stands Still attack he also uses in this phase, it might be a Shout-Out to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
- Red Sky, Take Warning: The final background, used for Magolor's boss fight, features a pinkish-red sky instead of the usual dark-blue.
- Remixed Level: A few of the stages have been edited for more difficult platforming and harder puzzles.
- Revenge of the Sequel: Naturally.
- Shield Bash: Gigant Edge gains this as an attack, and he rockets across the screen at breakneck speeds to do so.
- Sizable Snowflakes: Goriath can now fling giant snowflakes as projectiles during his Boss Battle.
- Shock and Awe:
- In the first trailer for the game, Mr. Dooter is shown with a Battle Aura made of lightning. Once he Turns Red, he gains a few new electrical attacks that he never used in the original, and some of his existing attacks become electrified too.
- A new attack used by Moundo has him firing lightning bolts out of his mountain-shaped head.
- Smug Smiler: Whispy Woods, surprisingly enough, smirks smugly when he enters his Chrome Champion form from Kirby and the Rainbow Curse.
- Stealth Sequel: Kirby: Revenge of Dream Land takes place after Kirby Star Allies' (specifically Heroes in Another Dimension) and involves a time loop that was created from the energies of the Jambastion Fortress's collision with Planet Popstar and the residue energies of the destroyed Master Crown. The combined energies caused a dimensional flux in time, trapping Kirby and his friends in an altered version of events seen in Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
- Spectacular Spinning: King Doo's new beam attacks have him pirouetting around like a ballerina and spinning around in midair.
- Teleport Spam: The erratic Mini-Boss Dubior really gets into this trope once it reaches half of its health.
- Time Crash: According to the second trailer, Revenge features a "mysterious time loop" that threatens all of Dream Land. This has lasting effects on the landscape as early as the first level of the game, which shows a Jambastion in the distant background.
- Time Stands Still:
- When King Doo Turns Red, he can fire a special, blue Wave Beam that looks like an Energy Sphere. This is based off of the Time Beam from the Kirby Clash games, and if Kirby is hit with it, he'll freeze in place for an extremely long time.
- Later on, Goriath shows a similar ability, releasing a shockwave that freezes Kirby in place in what can only be a reference to Dio's "ZA WARUDO".
- Trailers Always Spoil: Did we really need to know that Grand Doomer is an Asteroids Monster before the game released?
- Turns Red: All of the bosses in the base game were known for doing this at least once, but a few bosses, such as the Grand Doomer, have new phases added to their respective fights to keep the player on their toes.
- Yellow Lightning, Blue Lightning: Once Mr. Dooter reaches half of his health and starts using all-new electrical attacks, his vest and the feather and his turban turn light blue - the exact same color as the lightning he starts throwing out with almost every attack.
- Your Size May Vary: Normally, the Sphere Doomers are only a little bit bigger than Kirby and friends. When they appear during Another Dimension's shooting section, however, they're almost twice the size of Landia.
