Masterful level concepts and design, especially once you're past the game's first Natural Plains region. It's a simple enough challenge to be able to just complete each level relatively thoroughly on the first try in a beeline through the main missions, with the occasional quick detour to the challenge stages for some upgrade materials. But the secrets and additional challenges make for a very satisfying way to keep engaging with the levels.

Within each region there's a theme to the levels, with genuinely unpredictable variation between them. When you get to an ice region in a game you usually can pretty accurately picture what sort of visual design and challenges you'll be running into-- here however, you're dropped into a genuinely beautiful abandoned European winter town, and advance to a destroyed subway station. Each region has this type of ambition to impress both visually and in terms of gameplay. The sound design and music are really great as well and elevate the experience, the amusement park level especially has som great tunes.

The final sequence of the game is something you'll have to experience for yourself, all I'll say is that while fighting through it I was dumbstruck that it was all part of a Kirby game. The post-game content is also cool, something of a total remix of sections of previous levels mashed together and alternate boss battle with much more challenge.

I loved playing this game with my two-year-old son sitting with me, who encouraged me to go back and fight Gorimondo probably a hundred times. Couldn't have done it without him!