Kirby and the Forgotten Land tips to help you save all the Waddle Dees

Kirby and the Forgotten Land tips
(Image credit: Nintendo)

These Kirby and the Forgotten tips are here to help you save as many Waddle Dees as possible. Kirby and the Forgotten Land takes you to a mysterious 3D world made up of connected areas, with multiple stages you'll need to complete to progress. Just like Kirby games past, there are also many hidden secrets for the pink puffball to discover, so it's worth knowing what to look out for and how you can make the most of Forgotten Land's features before you set off. Read on below to find eight Kirby and the Forgotten Land tips that will help you become the savior of the Waddle Dees and conquer the Beast Pack. 

There are some light spoilers below relating to some of the facilities you can unlock in Waddle Dee town. 

1. Interact with everything and watch out for hidden pathways  

Kirby and the Forgotten Land tips

(Image credit: Nintendo)

In order to save all of the Waddle Dees in each stage, you'll need to complete a set amount of side missions. When you begin a level these additional objectives will be hidden to you, so exploration is key. Look in every nook and cranny and interact with any item or decoration on a level before you reach its end. You can often stumble upon these secret missions naturally as you progress, but some are harder to find than others. Watch out for notable features on walls, for instance, or any item that stands out - be it because of what it is or where it's located. 

Even if you have full health, it's still always worth collecting any food items you see in case they're tied to the missions. Many of the levels will also have hidden pathways and doors that will lead you to more captured Waddle Dees. When you're in a location, keep an eye out for structures or parts of the terrain that could disguise a path or any kind of breakable surface. 

2. Look out for sparkling transparent spots that lead to secrets

Kirby and the Forgotten Land tips

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Throughout each stage, you can come across sparkling spots tucked away that can be easy to miss. While some are more obvious than others, many are often elevated or located in corners. These spots can hide a variety of features, such as triggering a trial of money that can sometimes even lead you to a secret part of the level, or an item that may be tied to a mission. It's always worth taking the time to reach these spots, since you never quite know what they'll be hiding.

 3. Check in with Wise Waddle Dee frequently 

Kirby and the Forgotten Land tips

(Image credit: Nintendo)

After you rescue a certain number of Waddle Dees, Wise Waddle Dee will come to the town. Complete with little glasses and a mortar board, the wise one sitting on a bench just outside of the World map star is hard to miss. In Kirby and the Forgotten Land, you can upgrade Kirby's copy abilities to make them more powerful using blueprints. Some of these blueprints are missable in the stages, and that's why it can be particularly useful to speak to Wise Waddle Dee often. 

The knowledgeable fellow will let you know if a blueprint has yet to be found in a stage you've cleared, and will even offer a helpful hint about where you can find it within the level itself. Wise Waddle Dee really does live up to his name by also keeping track of your minigame scores and informing you of useful features, so be sure to say hello in between your platforming adventures. 

4. Elfilin can reveal hidden codes around Waddle Dee Town 

Kirby and the Forgotten Land tips

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Just like the stages, it's also worth taking a bit of time to explore Waddle Dee Town every now and then. As you begin to unlock more facilities depending on the amount of Waddle Dees you've saved, a Dee-liveries post office-style building will open up. Here, you can enter password codes to get some extra goodies, and as the little Waddle Dee worker on the front desk will tell you, some of these are hidden in the town. As you run around (waving to the locals), keep an eye on your companion Elfilin - they'll often alert you to a point of interest by staying in a spot with a speech bubble above their head. Elfilin may just point out something interesting, but they can also reveal a code. 

5. Use the copy abilities near Boss Fights to complete side objectives 

Kirby and the Forgotten Land tips

(Image credit: Nintendo)

When you come to face a boss in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, a selection of copy abilities will be available to adopt just before the battle begins. While you're free to use any copy abilities you've unlocked thanks to the weapons shop in town, it can sometimes pay off to use one of the powers just outside of the boss' arena. Since all of the boss fights also have secret missions attached to them just like the stages, the copy abilities found nearby can more often than not be associated with them. So, you're more likely to complete a side objective as you best a big Beast Pack boss if you use the abilities nearby. 

6. Explore the world map in-between stages to find more Treasure Road challenges 

Kirby and the Forgotten Land tips

(Image credit: Nintendo)

The world map in Kirby and the Forgotten Land is essentially a hub area. On the map, you can go from one stage to the next, or begin Treasure Road challenges on the back of Kirby's star. In between stages, be sure to take some time to whizz around and explore the areas surrounding the levels. As you do, look out for search points hidden across the map - you'll know you've found one when a little search button appears at the bottom of the screen. Searching these spots can reveal the location of more Treasure Road challenges to take on. This is especially helpful since Treasure Road challenges bag you Rare Stones that can be used for copy ability upgrades. You may also find some bonus money, so it certainly pays off. 

7. Make the most of Waddle Dee Town to prepare for levels 

Kirby and The Forgotten Land tips

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Throughout the adventure, you'll continually unlock more facilities in Waddle Dee Town.  While you'll automatically go back to the town at certain times, frequently returning is a great way to make the most of the features it offers you. Kirby's house, for example, has a bed where you can snooze to heal before you start another stage. Eventually, you'll also be able to purchase items for health and buffs from the local shop, and food from the café which can be used to restore health during stages. You can only carry one item at any one time into a level, but if you're taking on a boss, it can be especially useful to pop back to town and stock up. 

8. Frequently change up your copy abilities and look out for ways to use them  

Kirby and the Forgotten Land tips

(Image credit: Nintendo)

One of the joys of Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the freedom it affords you to play around with the copy abilities. Throughout the many stages, you'll encounter various abilities that can be adopted by inhaling foes. It's good to pay attention to what enemies are in each stage since there's often the chance that you'll encounter a blocked path or obstacle that requires their particular power in order to get through it. 

From ice blocks that require fire to targets that make use of the Ranger power, many abilities are used to open up the way to freeing more Waddle Dees. If you defeat all of the foes without taking their power, you may miss the chance to get past an obstacle so it pays to change them up. Of course, you can always pop by Waddle Dee's Weapon shop back in town afterwards and return to a stage with the specific copy ability you need.


Heather Wald
Senior staff writer

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at 12DOVE. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good.