Now that Kirby and the Forgotten Land is just over a year old, I thought it would be fun to revisit my top five favorite stages from Kirby’s first true 3D outing!  Many of my choices on this list are undoubtedly inspired by my love of a rather surprising theme that is quite prevalent throughout much of the game’s levels.  Urban exploring.  Yes, as the title suggests, Kirby spends much of his time exploring a whole abandoned world, from crumbling cities to theme parks to, well, the first entry on this list…

5: A Trip to Alivel Mall – One such common site for urban exploring are malls, which are not only becoming increasingly abandoned across the United States, but apparently in Kirby’s world, too.  Exploring such a familiar location with the pink puffball surely accounts for some of the fun.  Plus this level features some secret scribbled maps here and there that serve to tell us what path to take so we don’t get lost, making this the first stage in the game that really stood out to me.  Though Kirby fails to follow the urban explorers’ motto to “leave only footprints” when he tears down a whole wall at the end!  There’s a thing called doors, Kirby!  Use them!

4: Invasion at the House of Horrors – Being a fan of theme parks, including the abandoned variety, I enjoyed many of the stages in Wondaria.  But if I had to narrow it down, my top pick would be the space-themed house of horrors.  These alien cutouts will frequently pop out at you, which, I must admit, managed to startle me on quite a few occasions! There’s also plenty of ghosts here to increase the spook factor, along with some walls painted to look like the path ahead for added confusion. This level also features Kirby’s lightbulb ability, which we’ll need to illuminate the narrow pathways in a decidedly dark room.  I’m not sure why, but these particular segments were easily some of my favorite portions of the entire game!

3: Northeast Frost Street – This stage takes place in the snow-covered streets of an abandoned Victorian-style city, making it equal parts beautiful and eerie.  The level culminates in Kirby climbing high above the rooftops with the empty city stretching out beneath us, with only a nearby clock tower able to compete with our newfound heights.  Snow levels can already be quite beautiful, but what I love most about this one is the unique setting as we explore this wintery landscape amongst the brick buildings surrounding us.  Pondering over what must have happened to all those people is sure to make you shiver from more than just the cold….

2: Moonlight Canyon – I must have really liked the Originull Wasteland, as my top two levels on this list come from here.  Moonlight Canyon features lightbulb Kirby yet again, who must carefully navigate a dark cave with crumbling floors using only a small radius of illumination.  Although that would have been enough for me, this level ends with Kirby hang-gliding through a narrow canyon as he avoids falling girders and the blades of now defunct wind turbines!  I guess when Kirby’s not eating or sleeping, he leads a surprisingly exciting life!

1: The Wastes Where Life Began – I actually wrote a Resonance post about this particular stage, which is easily my favorite in the whole game.  I just love the world-building in this windswept wasteland, a desert that was clearly once an ocean, with its dead coral, scattered wavebreakers and buoys, a distant lighthouse, and even a sad, lonely squid.  Fighting our way through the sandstorm as that epic music plays makes this level the very peak of an already amazing game!