Kirbyfans have eaten very well over the last few years. After the 2018 Switch releaseKirby Star Alliescapped off one era for the franchise, it came back with an acclaimed new 3D offering in2022’sKirby and the Forgotten Land- and the spin-offKirby’s Dream Buffethit the Switch eShop later that year. Last month brought with itKirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe, a remake of the Wii classic that includes new content like an epilogue campaign for Magolor. If more remakes follow suit, one could easily imagine games likeTriple Deluxegetting a similar treatment.
HAL Laboratory has long spotlighted its antagonists as playable characters through post-game modes likeMeta Knightmare or DededeTour, and Magolor Epilogue: The Interdimensional Traveleris the next evolution of this concept. It starsReturn to Dream Land’s twist antagonist with a host of upgradeable RPG skills and abilities, exploring alternate dimensions following the main campaign. This style of Extra Mode could work perfectly for seeing more of 3DS-era antagonists Queen Sectonia and Taranza.
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Sectonia Seems Like a Typical Kirby Boss
Kirby Triple Deluxewas the mainline title to follow 2011’sReturn to Dream Land, releasing in 2014 and starting a trend of titles using a similar style on Nintendo’s last dedicated handheld console. Like many entries in the beginner-friendly platformer franchise,Triple Deluxebegins with a simple premise: Kirby’s peaceful day is interrupted by the sudden growth of an immense “Dreamstalk” that connects Popstar to a kingdom in the sky. After King Dedede is kidnapped by a spider-like being named Taranza, the pink puffball goes on aJack and the Beanstalk-inspired adventure.
Players learn the Dreamstalk was summoned by the residents of Floralia, meant to call upon the hero of Dream Land after the wasp-like Sectonia becomes its despotic queen. With her servant Taranza failing to stop this hero (believing it to be Dedede rather than Kirby), Queen Sectonia becomes the final boss and even fuses with the Dreamstalk to match the cosmic horrors typical ofKirbynarratives. She’s defeated when Taranza helps Kirby access the Hypernova ability that serves asTriple Deluxe’s primary gimmick.
Soul of Sectonia gets another shot inTriple Deluxe’s True Arena mode, and she also appears as one of the cloned bosses in the Meta Knightmare Returns mode fromTriple Deluxe’s 3DS follow-upPlanet Robobot. Meanwhile, Taranza has become more of a recurring ally, added as one of the playable DLC characters inKirby Star Allies. Both are referenced through cosmetics in games likeSuper Kirby Clash,Kirby Fighters 2, andKirby’s Dream Buffet.
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Sectonia and Taranza Have a Deeper Connection to Explore
There is plenty more to Sectonia and Taranza than a villainess betrayed by her servant. The pause screen during battle with Queen Sectonia DX reveals she and Taranza were once friends before she turned vain and power-hungry; a result of the influence fromKirby and the Amazing Mirror’s Dimension Mirror. This also existed in the skies above Dream Land, and is confirmed to have magnified “her obsession with her own beauty” inSuper Kirby Clash’s Sectonia Flash description. DededeTour ends with the mirror appearing in her castle to summon Shadow Dedede and Dark Meta Knight.
Fans can see Sectonia’s original form inKirby Star Allies, as one of the Stone ability transformations shows a similar spider-like form as Taranza. This same model is also briefly shown when defeating Queen Sectonia’s clone inPlanet Robobot. All of this lore hidden across the series reframes the otherwise basic character interaction at the end ofTriple Deluxeinto the story of a friend hoping to save someone who is too far-gone with her own twisted obsessions.
IfMagolor can get an epilogue following the events ofReturn to Dream Land, so too could Taranza ifTriple Deluxeis next in line for a remake. Given Taranza and Magolor were both playable inKirby Star Allies, a dedicated post-game mode akin to Magolor Epilogue could similarly rehash Taranza’s moveset in an RPG progression system. The plot is obvious too, with him looking to find some way to revive his old friend Sectonia - or at least repent for facilitating her descent into tyranny. There’s too much pathos to be had for this duo to be ignored forever, but time will tell whether HAL Laboratory brings them back sooner rather than later.
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxeis available now for Nintendo Switch.
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