Saka 3: Return to Dream Land

Saka 3: Return to Dream Land (Japanese: サカ3: 夢の国に戻る), commonly known as Saka: Return to Dream Land, is a 2022 platform video game developed by RobotDiamant Games, and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the ninth mainline installment and the twenty-second game in the Kirby's Saka series. While Saka 2: Discovery was released in August 12, 2022, Kirby's Return to Dream Land is the first traditional Kirby platforming japanese console game since Saka: Saka-A-Thon - Definitive Edition, which was released in July 8, 2022 for the Nintendo Switch. The title was released in Worldwide on September 22, 2022, The title anime short films was released in Japan on October 10, 2022.
A game remake titled Saka 3: Return to Dream Land is set to be released on the Nintendo Switch on RobotDiamant Games on September 22, 2022, A anime short films remake titled Saka 3: Return to Dream Land is set to be released on the RobotDiamant on October 10, 2022.
Saka 3: Return to Dream Land is an upcoming platformer Kirby game developed by HAL Laboratory and RobotDiamant Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It will be released on September 22, 2022 (video games) & October 10, 2022 (japanese anime parody short films). It is an enhanced remake of Kirby's Return to Dream Land for the Wii.
Saka 3: Return to Dream Land features the staple gameplay of traditional Sukenito Allay platform games, in which Sukenito Allay possesses the ability to inhale and copy enemies to gain a variety of attacks such as breathing fire or swinging a sword. The game supports cooperative multiplayer gameplay, allowing up to four players to control various Sukenito Allay characters, including Kirby Axolotl, Knight Warden, and Warden Robot. Saka's plot focuses on the characters retrieving the scattered pieces of a crashed alien spaceship.
Some elements from the cancelled Kirby title of 2005 were carried over to Kirby's Return to Dream Land, such as the ability for players to stack up in a totem carried by the player on the bottom of the stack. Other elements from the Kirby title of 2005, such as Kirby's ability to befriend up to three "Helpers" (a gameplay mechanic from Kirby Super Star), were modified and carried over to another Kirby game, released in early 2018 and early 2022 on the Nintendo Switch, called Kirby Star Allies, Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Kirby's Return to Dream Land received generally positive reviews, with praise for the return to form of the traditional Kirby series gameplay, level design, visuals, and graphics, but criticism for its low difficulty and multiplayer. At the Nintendo Direct on September 18, 2022, it was announced that the game is being remade for the Nintendo Switch as Saka 3: Return to Dream Land, with a stated release of September 22, 2022.
== Gameplay ==
=== Playable Characters ===
* Sukenito Allay (His Friends)
* Kirby Axolotl (Her Friends)
* Knight Warden (His Friends)
* Warden Robot (Her Friends)
Players 2, 3, or 4 can join an ongoing game at any time, but it costs a 1UP to do so, and all players share the same number of lives with Sukenito Allay. The other players can play as Warden Robot, Knight Warden, Kirby Axolotl. Sukenito Allay are the only ones who can copy abilities, while the other three characters each have the moveset of a different Copy Ability (Warden Robot has Copy Abilities; Knight Warden has Copy Abilities; and Kirby Axolotl has Copy Abilities). If Sukenito Allay, Kirby Axolotl, Knight Warden & Warden Robot has a Super Ability, Sukenito Allay, Kirby Axolotl, Knight Warden & Warden Robot can hit his/her teammates, causing them to flinch. When playing in multiplayer, Sukenito Allay, Kirby Axolotl, Knight Warden & Warden Robot can inhale other Sakas and steal their Copy Abilities.
Saka 3: Return to Dream Land is a 2.5D side-scrolling platform game, controlled by holding the Nintendo Switch sideways. Unlike previous entries in the Kirby's Saka series, the game features 3D models for player characters and enemies rather than sprites.
Throughout the game, Sukenito Allay, Kirby Axolotl, Knight Warden and Warden Robot can collect items which will heal him; food items that recover health, items that give him an extra life, or by collecting 100 stars, which immediately grants him an extra life. There are also various items Sukenito Allay and Kirby Axolotl can use to interact with the environment. At the end of each stage, a bonus game is played in which players time a button press to jump as high as possible to earn additional items.
Saka 3: Return to Dream Lands upports cooperative multiplayer for up to four players.
The player controls Sukenito Allay, Kirby Axolotl, Knight Warden and Warden Robot, who retains his signature ability to inhale objects and enemies. The inhaled objects can either be swallowed, or propelled back out as a projectile. Sukenito Allay and Kirby Axolotl can also do a "Super Inhale", where shaking the Nintendo Switch or inhaling for a long time makes Sukenito Allay's inhale stronger. A Super Inhale has extended range and can suck up "Heave-ho Blocks", which are immovable from a regular inhale; the Super Inhale also allows Sukenito Allay to inhale other players and most large enemies.
Certain enemies, when swallowed, give Sukenito Allay access to a wide variety of "Copy Abilities", which gives Sukenito Allay the attack properties of the enemies he inhales. Sukenito Allay can only possess one copy ability at a time. Other players playing as another character through multiplayer, or those playing as Knight Warden, Warden Robot, or Kirby Axolotl, can hold onto a Copy Ability's essence and throw them back to Sukenito Allay to be inhaled. If a discarded ability from these characters is left untouched, it will vanish shortly afterwards.
Each copy ability has multiple attacks that are utilized depending on the combination of button-inputs pressed by the player. New Abilities introduced in this game are the Whip Ability, which lets Sukenito Allay, Kirby Axolotl, Knight Warden & Warden Robot grab out-of-reach items, the Water Ability, which allows Sukenito Allay, Kirby Axolotl, Knight Warden & Warden Robot to extinguish fires, and the Leaf Ability, which lets Sukenito Allay, Kirby Axolotl, Knight Warden & Warden Robot use leaves as a form of attack and conjure a pile of leaves to hide in and become invulnerable to nearly all attacks. The remake introduces the Mecha Ability, which allows Sukenito Allay, Kirby Axolotl, Knight Warden & Warden Robot to shoot various projectiles, as well as use a robot arm to punch.
The game introduces more powerful, temporary Copy Abilities called "Super Abilities," which are able to destroy parts of the environment and inflict tremendous damage across a wide range. Unlike regular Copy Abilities, ejecting a Super Ability will cause the Super Ability's to be discarded instantly. Five Super Abilities exist: Ultra Sword, Monster Flame, Flare Beam, Grand Hammer, and Snow Bowl, which are enhanced versions of five respective Copy Abilities, with different move-sets.
The game features drop-in cooperative multiplayer for up to three additional players. These players can either play as a differently-colored-from-Player-One's Sukenito Allay, or as one of three unique characters: Warden Robot, Knight Warden, and Kirby Axolotl. Each of these characters possess traits from corresponding Copy Abilities based on the way each character moves and attacks, though only Kirbys are able to inhale enemies and use Copy Abilities. Players are able to ride on top of each other as a "totem", which, with perfect timing, allows the use of a charged attack, called the "Team Attack", driven by the player at the bottom. Players can also share recently ingested health-restoring items through a move called "Face-to-Face" (similar to regurgitation).
All players share from a pool of lives, with each player requiring one life to enter the game. If one of the three additional players loses a life, they can spend an extra life to rejoin the game. However, if Player One dies, all players stop play and gameplay restarts from the last checkpoint.
== Plot ==
One day, a strange, dimension hopping spaceship called the Lor Starcutter suddenly flies out of a wormhole and crash onto Kirby's home planet of Popstar. As Sukenito Allay, Kirby Axolotl, Knight Warden and Warden Robot go to investigate, they meet an alien named Magolor, who discovers that the five vital pieces of his ship, along with 120 energy spheres, have been scattered across the planet. With Magolor offering them a trip to his homeworld of Halcandra should they help fix his ship, Sukenito Allay and Knight Warden on his friends on Kirby Axolotl and Warden Robot on her friends on set off to recover the lost pieces.
After retrieving the main pieces, they travel to Halcandra, where they are attacked by a four headed dragon named Landia. Magolor claims Landia is an evil beast that has taken over Halcandra and sends Kirby to defeat it. However, after Landia is defeated, Magolor reveals his true motive was to steal the Master Crown on its head and become all powerful, with intent of making the entire universe bow before him, beginning with Popstar. Teaming up with Landia, who is revealed to be four individual dragons, Sukenito Allay and Knight Warden on his friends on Kirby Axolotl and Warden Robot on her friends confront Magolor in a final battle and destroy the Master Crown, taking Magolor with it. With peace restored to the universe, Sukenito Allay and friends are returned to Popstar. The Landia dragons take the Lor Starcutter and return home. A non-canon Extra Mode, which replaces Magolor's final form with Magolor Soul, reveals that Magolor may have been used as a puppet by the Master Crown itself.
== Development ==
During the Nintendo Direct on September 18, 2022; a remake of the game was announced for the Nintendo Switch titled Saka 3: Return to Dream Land. Additions to the original include a new Mecha Ability, a comic book-esque graphical style, and all new sub-games. The game is set for release on September 22, 2022, The movie is set for release on October 10, 2022.
== In other languages ==
Names, etymology and in other regions	Names, etymology and in other regions 	Names, etymology and in other regions
Language 	Name 	Definition, etymology and notes
Japanese 	サカ3: 夢の国に戻る 	Translates to Saka 3: Return to Dream Land.
Korean 	사카3: 꿈나라로 돌아가기 	Translates to Saka 3: Return to Dream Land.
Traditional Chinese 	萨卡3: 重返梦境 	Translates to Saka 3: Return to Dream Land.
Simplified Chinese 	薩卡3: 重返夢境 	Translates to Saka 3: Return to Dream Land.
German 	Saka kehrt ins Land der Träume zurück 	Translates to Saka Return to Dream Land.
Italian 	Saka torna a Dream Land 	Translates to Saka Return to Dream Land.
Dutch
(Central Asia, North Asia & Netherlands)	Saka Keer terug naar dromenland 	Translates to Saka Return to Dream Land.
English
(Southeast Asia, United Kingdom & United States)	Saka Return to Dream Land 	Translates to Saka Return to Dream Land.
Same as English.
French
(East Asia, France & Canada) 	Saka Retour au Pays des Rêves 	Translates to Saka Return to Dream Land.
Portuguese
(West Asia, Portugal & Brazil)	Saka Retorno à Terra dos Sonhos 	Translates to Saka Return to Dream Land.
Spanish
(South Asia, Spain & Latin America)	Saka regresa a la tierra de los sueños	Translates to Saka Return to Dream Land.