The game's plot follows Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight, and Bandana Waddle Dee as they help an alien named Magolor recover the pieces of the Lor Starcutter so he can return home.

The game supports cooperative multiplayer gameplay, allowing up to four players to control various Kirby characters, including King Dedede, and Meta Knight, and Bandana Waddle Dee.

A remake for the Nintendo Switch, Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe,[b] was released on February 24, 2023.

Return to Dream Land is a 2.5D side-scrolling platform game, controlled by holding the Wii Remote sideways.

Unlike previous entries in the Kirby series, the game features 3D models for player characters and enemies rather than sprites.

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.

These players can either play as a yellow, blue or green Kirby, or as one of three unique characters: Meta Knight, King Dedede, and Waddle Dee.

Within the Epilogue introduced in the Switch remake, Magolor becomes a playable character, having been stripped of his powers and forced to regain them.

One day, a dimension-hopping spaceship called the Lor Starcutter suddenly flies out of a dimensional rift and crashes onto Kirby's home planet of Popstar.

With Magolor offering them a trip to his homeworld of Halcandra should they help fix his ship, Kirby and his friends 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.

Teaming up with Landia, who has split into four individual dragons, Kirby and his friends go chase Magolor in Another Dimension.

With the Master Crown shattered and Magolor defeated, Kirby and friends return to Popstar, after a close call escaping the now collapsing Another Dimension.

However, difficulty with programming multiplayer led to this version being scrapped, though the expanded Helper concept would resurface with Kirby Star Allies for the Nintendo Switch.

[18] He compared it to Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, another game that was originally announced as a GameCube title, but eventually released on Wii.

"[19] The December 2007 issue of Official Nintendo Magazine claimed that a Kirby game for Wii was not in development.

[21][22] Nintendo announced the game Kirby's Epic Yarn at E3 2010, a separate title that was in development by Good-Feel.

Additions to the original include new Mecha and Sand Abilities, a comic book-esque graphical style, and all new sub-games.

[44][38] GameSpot reviewer Nathan Meunier called the levels beautifully designed, appreciating each one's environment.

[44] Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe also received "generally favorable" reviews according to Metacritic, scoring slightly higher than the original.

[31][32] Morgan Shaver of Shacknews stated that they liked the new Merry Magoland feature in the Switch remake, giving the overall game a positive review.