Kirby: Sweet Tooth

***Kirby: Sweet Tooth*** is a 3D platformer for the Nintendo Switch, developed by Crash Co. and released by Nintendo. It is the a new installment in the *Kirby* series, and the second to be released on the Switch, following *Kirby: Star Allies*. In this game, Kirby's birthday party is stopped when a special cake his friends make sucks them up into an alternate dimension, and they must team up to escape back home.

## Plot

The game opens with Kirby sitting under a tree, sleeping. A butterfly lands on his head, which stirs him awake. He tries to get up, but hits his head on a sign above him. The sign says "GO 2 CASTLE DEDEDE!". Kirby stares into the horizon and sees Castle Dedede, and starts running there.

Inside the castle, King Dedede is commanding everyone in the kitchen, making a special cake recipe. When several ovens begin ringing, Marx and Bandanna Waddle Dee pull the cakes out of them. Francesca, Flamberge, and Zan Partizanne begin stacking the layers, putting pink frosting between them. Finally, Adeline and Ribbon begin covering the cake in special red frosting. Finishing it off, Dedede sticks a candle on top. Just then, Meta Knight sees Kirby walking through the castle doors. Magolor covers the cake up in a tarp, and Daroach disappears with it.

Kirby finds a giant table in the middle of the castle, and is confused. Just then, everyone piles into the room, making Kirby even more confused. Then, Daroach reappears with the cake at the center of the table, causing plates, streamers, and a large banner saying "HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRBY!" to appear as well. Kirby squeals in joy, takes a seat at the table, and has a party hat put on his head by Meta Knight. Susie, in a massive knife-shaped mech, begins to cut the cake until it starts glowing red. The top of the cake then transforms into a black hole, which sucks everyone inside it. Kirby tries to save everyone from being vacuumed in it, only for him to get caught as well.

Kirby wakes up in a strange, food-covered world. Before he can comprehend what happened, a being resembling a face on a waffle rises from the ground, and greets Kirby. She says he and his friends were sucked into the world of Utopiana by creating the Legendary Cake. While normally a happy place, it has recently been taken over by an evil organization, the M.O.L.D.Y., and have been brainwashing everyone to make more food for them. She asks Kirby to help them, and he agrees. The waffle being thanks him, and introduces herself as Maple. Together, the two begin travelling through Utopiana to stop M.O.L.D.Y. and rescue Kirby's friends.

## Gameplay

With the exception of *Kirby: Blowout Blast*, this is the first *Kirby* game that is a 3D platformer. While elements are taken from the 2D *Kirby* games, such as Copy Abilities, Helpers, and Dream Friends, the formula is significantly different.

Kirby and his friends are able to move around in full 3D space. Levels are significantly larger than ones in previous *Kirby* games, and they can be seen as a cross between previous *Kirby* levels and the Kingdoms in *Super Mario Odyssey*. They typically have a clear start and end, but have a lot of branching paths that can lead to various secrets, favoring exploration. There are two types of main collectibles, being Sweet Stars and Sweet Treats. Sweet Stars are at the end of the levels, or rewarded after beating bosses. Meanwhile, Sweet Treats are similar to Power Moons in *Super Mario Odyssey*, and collecting enough of them can unlock secret levels and modes.

Because of the game being set in a 3D space, Copy Abilities have more complex movesets. Furthermore, players can unlock more moves for Copy Abilities by collecting Sweet Stars and Sweet Treats with them. The same also applies to the different playable characters, all of whom have their own playstyles and abilities that can be unlocked. Additionally, each character also has levels dedicated to them, with them being required to use. Outside of these levels, players can swap between the characters at any time as long as they are unlocked.