One of the new editions of Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the Mouthful Mode, in which Kirby can suck up bigger objects like cars and vending machine to use their ability, similar to have copy abilities work. So I thought, why not rank them all? To end my Kirby and the Forgotten Land Post-Week, I’ll be ranking the 16 Mouthful Modes from worst to best. I’ll be ranking them based on how fun they are to use, their significance, and if they’re truly important throughout the game. Now let’s get to the rankng.
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#16: Bolted-Storage Mouth
Bolted-Storage barely counts as a mouthful mode. All you do is suck up this storage mode bolted to the mall’s wall and bring it down to open the way to the end of the stage. It doesn’t do much except lead the way to the exit. And when you do this it breaks and you can’t use it again – not that it’s much use anyway.
#15: Storage Mouth
This is basically the same thing as Bolted-Storage, but not bolted to the wall. What it does and how you do it is the same, though. All you do is tilt the control stick up and down and it will fall backward, revealing a hidden pathway. However, like the Bolted-Storage, after using it, it breaks apart and it only shows up a couple of times throughout the game. This one didn’t seem that memorable mainly because it doesn’t do much and it barely helps during playthroughs.
#14: Dome Mouth
For some reason, when I first encountered this during the demo, I thought this was a grill. Anyway, like the Bolted-Storage and Storage, it isn’t used much and usually unimportant. Most of the time when you encounter it, all it does is hide something; whether it be a Waddle-Dee, star coins, a food, or a toy capsule. The controls to open it are simple: just continuously tilt the control stick until the top breaks free. Then, you can take whatever goodie is inside. Like I said, it’s very simple and just houses a little secret, normally being an unimportant step in the levels unless you’re going for 100%.
#13: Arch Mouth
Honestly, it was kind of fun to use the Arch. The arch allows you to soar through the air, and is used a few times throughout the game. It’s also nice how simple the control scheme is. You can ascend and descend by tilting the control stick up and down (or you can invert the controls) and you can use B to do a spin tackle as an attack against enemies in your way. Usually, you’ll have to move left and right by tilting the stick in the respective directions to avoid structures or fly into rings, which give you coins by doing so. The arch is a fun mode to use, but it is a little forgettable and some other modes are a lot more fun.
#12: Big-Rig Mouth
What an ending, right? During the conclusion of Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Kirby inhales a giant truck to drive among the broken roads of the Forgotten Land to get back to Planet Popstar. The controls are similar to the Car Mouth. You use the control stick to navigate, B to jump, and Y to turbo dash. This comes in handy when big structures and balls of the ground block your path. Towards the end, you zoom the truck into a huge ball of ground shot at you by Fecto Elfilin, and you first continuously mash the Y button. When that doesn’t work, you continue mashing the Y button while also furiously tilting the control stick in all directions before breaking through to Fecto Elfilin, and the scene turns into a cutscene in which you lose the ability. While it is fun to use, the Big-Rig is a bit short-lived as it only appears here and doesn’t do much justice. I forgot about this ability until looking up all the modes again for this ranking. It is still cool, though. I mean, it’s a freaking truck – in a Kirby game!
#11: Boating-Ring Mouth
One of the perks of the Ring Mouth (which we’ll get to a bit later) is that you can ride a boat. This is fun to use, despite its rare occurrences. With the Ring Mouth, hop into this boat to navigate around, using the control stick to move and Y to do a blast boost. While you can drive around without a boost, you move really slowly and the boost is just a quick action. It’s not like you can hold it and blast the boat for a few seconds. The boost can not only be used as a, you know, boost, but also as an attack. You can ram into enemies, too, which does make sense, but just something to mention. This is a cool mode, I just wish it showed up more throughout the game.
#10: Ring Mouth
Basically the same as the Boating-Ring, but not in a boat (obviously). The controls are the same, but it feels better to move around as you move quicker than just the boat. Y allows you to shoot a big blast of wind to attack enemies or make fans rotate to activate something to happen, possibly uncovering a hidden Waddle Dee or something. Plus, you can jump and, unlike most modes, it’s a fairly high hop. Pretty high jump, which is nice since most mouthful modes don’t have high jumps if able to. The Ring ability is basically the exact same thing as the boating ring, but I like using this mode better outside the boat.
#9: Pipe Mouth
What an odd ability, a pipe. Though, if you think about it, it does fit in this post-apocalyptic setting as if a building’s demolition caused it to scatter. Anyway, the pipe allows you to roll in one direction and jump with B if needed. It really doesn’t do much, and frankly, most of the time it’s just used to uncover secret areas or hidden Waddle Dees, but it’s just so fun to use. Even though you have little control, it’s fun as heck to roll around as a cylinder into enemies, through blocked areas, and jump to reach another platform. While it’s not too useful, it’s just so fun to use.
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#8: Water Balloon Mouth
Another ability that is just so fun to use. What’s interesting about this mode is that you don’t actually suck up a water balloon, but a hose from the ground dripping water so that it fills you up to big and bouncy Kirby. You use B to jump and Y to spray water, which can be used as an attack to kill enemies, dispose of fire on the ground, or destroy the electric, spinning jet rides in Wondaria Remains. However, you have a very small jump and the lack of a limit makes the mode a bit too overpowered, at least in my opinion.
#7: Stairs Mouth
This mode really conflicted me for many reasons. For one, the stairs can be used to get to high areas you can’t reach while flying. There are three stairs, all about the height of two stacked Kirbys but able to jump to. What the Stairs Mouth can also do is tip over as an attack on enemies or to activate a switch. You point the direction to fall in with the control stick and actually tip over with Y. After, you immediately get back to the normal position. This ability is a bit odd, and really just seems like a way to defend yourself against enemies with it inhaled. Again, I was very conflicted about where to place it, but thought it was somewhat better than the past picks for its couple of uses. Plus, it is very useful compared to some other modes, such as the pipe or storage mouths for example.
#6: Scissor-Lift Mouth
Using a scissor-lift in a Kirby game? What a turn the series has taken. One of the modes in Forgotten Land is a scissor-lift, which rolls along a track in a designated area, and utilizes B and Y to go up and down. While you can’t precisely adjust the height of the scissor-lift, only have high or low as specific heights (not that it changes every time you encounter it) and allow you to exit at the place you’re trying to reach by pressing the A button. The simple nature and controls of the scissor-lift make it seem to be just there to get to higher places, but is sometimes used to activate a switch or discover a secret area.
#5: Lightbulb Mouth
I really do wish this mode was utilized more and was in more sections, because it’s so creative and essential in some areas, such as how the Haunted House stage in Wondaria Remains is one of the most creative stages. By tapping Y, you can make the bulb illuminate, revealing part of the section you are standing in. And of course, like most modes, you can jump by pressing B. In level 3-3 (Invasion at the House of Horrors in Wondaria Remains) you walk around a dark house filled with ghosts and other enemies. By illuminating, you can light up part of the level to see where you are or light up panels with a sun label to activate something. My only gripe with the Lightbulb Mouth is that usually when you use it, a certain type of enemy will follow you when you have it illuminated, which makes you not want to use the ability much. But that technically isn’t the mode’s fault. I just find them really irritating.
#4: Coaster Mouth
A coaster you say? Yes. In Wondaria Remains, you can ride a coaster. While it rarely shows up and is mainly just found in secret areas to get collectibles and find Waddle Dees, the coaster is just a rollercoaster car that rolls around the coaster. On the sides and top are traps but also collectibles and switches. The car can tilt left and right to grab these collectibles or to dodge incoming hazards. It is surprisingly difficult since the car moves fast, you need to carefully see what’s coming next. Tilting the car is simple: just tilting the control stick left and right does the job. I’m overall just glad you can inhale a coaster in a Kirby game, even if all you can do with it is tilt from side to side.
#3: Cone Mouth
Yes, you can inhale a traffic cone. This is one of the most useful modes in the game for many reasons. You can spike downward with Y in which you flip upside down and bang the ground. This creates a strong attack that stuns nearby enemies, can break through dented or cracked grounds or walls, and even be used to break a somewhat cracked pipe that would shoot up a tall thing of water you can use to get to a higher platform. It’s also just so fun to use. Slamming down right on enemies is so fun for some reason, despite it taking a couple seconds to do so every time you spike downward. Though it is still a great mode.
#2: Car Mouth
The first mode ever revealed is still one of the best. The car allows you to, well, drive around. You can step on it and zoom forward, jump, or play it casual and just drive around calmly. The Turbo Dash, which can be activated with Y, gives a giant boost that shoots you forward at high speeds (which you can keep going by holding Y). This allows you to barrel through enemies, break through broken walls, or have a farther jump if necessary. The car is just so fun to use. It’s like me in Mario Odyssey zipping about Metro Kingdom with the motor scooter. It’s just so much fun to drive around in a car in a video game, right?
#1: Vending Mouth
Before Forgotten Land released, this was the mode I was most excited about. You literally inhale a vending machine and attack with juice cans. It can’t get any better. While it is strange that there’s a limit of how many cans you can shoot, the aim precision works pretty dang well. The limit is usually high, too, usually about a hundred-something cans. You can fire them quickly; while not rapid fire, it’s close enough. Cans can be an enemy attack, break a cracked wall, or activate a switch. The Vending Machine is just so fun to use, and I love seeing it in the game so I can fire those cans.
So, do you agree? What was your favorite mouthful mode? Which do you like better: Mouthful Mode or the standard copy abilities? Tell me below in the reply section.
