Kirby and the Forgotten Land introduces a new power for Kirby, and it’s got a great name as long as you don’t think about it for more than a second: Mouthful Mode. Mouthful Mode allows Kirby to inhale inanimate objects to use their functions in what we guess could be considered normal ways, for the most part. Everyone’s favorite pink puffball can swallow up a car to be able to cross long distances faster, or shoot out cans when he inhales a vending machine. Not just the snacks in it, mind you; the actual, whole vending machine. There’s a large variety of objects Kirby can suck up in Mouthful Mode, but it’s still not quite enough. There’s so much else Kirby could do with his new power, and here are a few things we wish he went Mouthful Mode on. (Note: some of these probably won’t make sense, but neither does Mouthful Mode. Seriously, look it up, it’s horrifying).
1. Blimp
There might already be gliding in the game when Kirby swallows an arch and fills out the middle of it to catch air, but what if we got to see Kirby stretch himself all the way around a blimp and take to the skies, fully in control of his own destiny? Suggestions can be made about whether or not he’d go around the balloon part or hold on for dear life by only inhaling the cab, but either way would be hilarious to see, and a little bit of sky-based combat is always a fun way to change up a game.
2. Ball
How this one got overlooked, we will never know. Kirby is already a pink ball, so why not make him an even bigger ball and have him bounce himself around, flattening enemies and maybe even accessing secret areas with a huge bounce? If the bouncing is too much, Kirby might also be able to roll himself around to clear enemies out of a large area easily, or press large buttons that he wouldn’t be able to normally.
3. Jackhammer
This one is a little outlandish, but what if there was a huge jackhammer as part of a statue or something and Kirby could go Mouthful Mode on it? Maybe there would be cracks on the ground to get to special areas, or a puzzle that involves hitting the ground in just the right places in order to get to the next area. We hope Kirby doesn’t get too rattled by this one!
4. A Regular Hammer, But Big
A slightly more reasonable counter we’ve come up with to the prior choice is letting Kirby inhale the handle end of a giant hammer from a carnival or other giant-hammer-having-place and letting him flop down on those aforementioned cracks or weighted switches. Plus, Kirby is already a known wielder of Big Hammers, why not give him an Even Bigger Hammer?
5. Mirror
We’ve already got the light bulb to light up dark rooms, but what if we had some classic light beam puzzles as well? Kirby would be able to swallow up huge mirrors and place them in the correct angles and positions to direct a beam of light into the proper area, allowing for more variety in play as well as keeping a fun, timeless videogame puzzle tradition alive.
6. Cannon
I know we already gave Kirby a gun with the Ranger copy ability, but what if Kirby could swallow up a huge cartoony ship’s cannon to waddle around with and blast holes in walls and other obstacles? Ultimately, it would probably function a little too similarly to Vending Machine Mode, but, y’know, with cannon balls instead of cans, but the size difference and possible nautical theming for any levels it appears in could make it fun and keep it fresh. Cap’n Kirby, anybody?
7. Bus
Here’s another one that’s pretty similar to one in game already, but could be used in fun ways. The Bus would be similar to the Big Rig mode that’s already in the game. However, with the mechanic of freeing the Waddle Dees from their caged prisons throughout levels, Kirby would be able to pile Waddle Dees into the Bus and have them help during crucial moments. The more Waddle Dees you save, the more effective this could be!
8. Spaceship
Feels like this one is pretty self-explanatory. We want to see Kirby swallow a spaceship and blast off into space. (That’s where the spaceships go.) This could be a fun way to reference Star Fox by having a level where Kirby has to fight off space-themed versions of his classic enemies, with Copy Abilities maybe changing your method of attack or even the shape of the ship.
9. A Mecha
Honestly, we’re not fully convinced of the logistics behind this one (think of the dog wearing pants meme; would Kirby go all the way around the mecha, or would he just wrap around the head?), but we ARE convinced it would work, if only because every media property is made better by giving characters mechas. This could potentially be a final level type deal; Kirby has to fight an impossibly large boss enemy and the Waddle Dees put their heads together to build MechaKirby to help save the day.
10. Crane
This is another Mouthful that we’re calling “open to interpretation” as far as HOW Kirby would even try to inhale an entire construction crane, but it could be fun to have a little sorting puzzle or even just to move platforms in the right way to cross a gap. There could be special configurations that lead to hidden areas or secret items as well; the possibilities with Mouthful Mode are truly endless.