This motion-based Kirby and the Forgotten Land mini-game is harder than it looks
One of the hardest bits ofKirby and the Forgotten Landis a simple little motion-controlled puzzle board. No joke: I’m struggling more with the Tilt-and-Roll Kirby mini-game than I ever did in theUltimate Cup Z, a boss-rush arena with harder variants of the big baddies.
All I have to do is avoid pitfalls andtapthe Kirby ball into the hole by tilting my Nintendo Switch ~just so~, but my nerves refuse to chill out. I’m wasting a bunch of time and coins trying to completely finish this content — the final “Extra Hard” variant has other ideas.

To back up a bit,Kirby and the Forgotten Land, like manyKirbygames before it, has some cute side activities to bolster the main adventure. This one — Tilt-and-Roll Kirby — starts out that way at least. If you’re playing along right now and haven’t come across any of this yet, you’ll need to save180 Waddle Deesbefore this mini-game tent comes to town.
There are three motion-controlled puzzle boards to complete, and the first two aren’t bad at all. The third one, though… I spent dozens of attempts and I’m still not sure how to reliably pull off the last zig-zagging stretch. Thankfully, you only need to get through the (much more forgiving) Normal versions of these boards to score aGame-Shop Waddle Dee figurefor your capsule collection, so the Extra Hard variants are for bragging rights.

I’m having such a blast savoring every morsel ofKirby and the Forgotten Land, so I can’t stop now. I just need to get through this EX courseonce. That’s what I keep telling myself.
Are you too good for your home?
I’ve tried playing with perfect posture, slouching a bit, slouching a lot, laying down on my back, laying on my stomach, the works. I always over-correct in the final few seconds.
You get 999 Star Coins and a checkmark for beating the Extra Hard third board in under 30 seconds. Does it “matter?” No! Will I ever look at it again? Absolutely not.ButI need that validation. I won’t let the sunk-cost fallacy deter my meaningless gaming obsessions.

Here’s footage of an Extra Hard clear captured by YouTube userMewtwoStruckBack, just in case. Sometimes, watching another person beat a challenge is literally all that’s needed to stroll into another attempt and knock it out of the park. I wasn’t so fortunate this time.
I don’t have any particular advice for this third round — I’m not aware of anyBreath of the Wild-stylemaze-subverting strategies— but I thought it’d be fun to share our pain.

Maybe I’d have an easier time if I had grown up playingKirby Tilt ‘n’ Tumbleon Game Boy Color. As neat as it seemed at the time, that translucent pink cartridge was too much of a risky prospect with a super limited gamer kid budget. I’m not cut out for these gimmicks!





