WordsFinest proudly presents this game review from special guest writer Keri S.
I have been a Kirby fan ever since I played the GameBoy Advance remake Nightmare in Dream Land. Kirby games are simply adorable, from the cute, pink marshmallow of a hero, to the enemies that he encounters in his quest. He is known for his vacuum-like ability to inhale objects, mostly foes, where he takes on their abilities. Being able to have an electric field, switch to having a sword (and cute hat, remarkably similar to Zelda protagonist, Link), or shooting lasers is a real treat (UFO Kirby is the best).
Story
Epic Yarn begins with a hungry Kirby, who sees a tomato and tries to inhale it for its delicious goodness. Unfortunately for Kirby, this tomato is a “Metamato” and belongs to the evil yarn wizard, Yin-Yarn. Angry at Kirby, Yin-Yarn sucks Kirby into a magic sock at his waist, causing him to appear in Patch Land, where everything is made of fabric and yarn. Kirby is made of pink yarn and felt, and is unable to use his regular abilities, which he discovers when he saves Prince Fluff from a yarn monster. Prince Fluff explains that Patch Land has been separated into pieces and he needs to find the magic yarn needed to stitch Patch Land back together. Kirby agrees to help Prince Fluff and is introduced to other characters as “Lord Kirby.” The story is not told by cut-scene, but in stills that are like pictures from a picture-book, and is read to the player by a narrator.
Gameplay Mechanics
Kirby’s Epic Yarn retains much of the original character of the previous games, but there are several important changes. The most obvious is that the whole game is made out of textiles. This means that Kirby is made of yarn, as are his multitude of enemies. Locations are a fabric background with details such as quilting, felt, areas of stitching or more yarn. The whole look of the game is rather incredible and inventive, and is as colorful as a candy shop. It is one of the most adorable things I have seen in awhile, and is an imaginative look for a video game. There are places in the game where Kirby is able to pull a stitch and manipulate the environment itself. In other areas, he can swing on a button or disappear behind a top layer of fabric (you can see a round lump in the fabric when he does this, so you know where he is and can control him). The mechanics of the game are similar to previous Kirby installments – a side scrolling game with various challenges in each stage, and upon successful completion, Kirby’s signature song and dance. However, in this game, you do not use Kirby’s vacuum powers, but essentially briefly unravel yourself as a sort of whip made of yarn to attack enemies. You are still able to throw this defeated enemy essence at other opponents, in which they will unravel into pieces of yarn. Even if Kirby is unable to retain enemy abilities, he is still able to transform into other shapes reminiscent of these abilities. With a quick double-tap on the D-pad, Kirby can become a car at any point, and at specific (pre-determined) points, he will transform into things like a giant, Kirby-shaped tank, a UFO, a truck (for racing), and many other things.
Kirby’s Epic Yarn retains much of the original character of the previous games, but there are several important changes. The most obvious is that the whole game is made out of textiles. This means that Kirby is made of yarn, as are his multitude of enemies. Locations are a fabric background with details such as quilting, felt, areas of stitching or more yarn. The whole look of the game is rather incredible and inventive, and is as colorful as a candy shop. It is one of the most adorable things I have seen in awhile, and is an imaginative look for a video game. There are places in the game where Kirby is able to pull a stitch and manipulate the environment itself. In other areas, he can swing on a button or disappear behind a top layer of fabric (you can see a round lump in the fabric when he does this, so you know where he is and can control him). The mechanics of the game are similar to previous Kirby installments – a side scrolling game with various challenges in each stage, and upon successful completion, Kirby’s signature song and dance. However, in this game, you do not use Kirby’s vacuum powers, but essentially briefly unravel yourself as a sort of whip made of yarn to attack enemies. You are still able to throw this defeated enemy essence at other opponents, in which they will unravel into pieces of yarn. Even if Kirby is unable to retain enemy abilities, he is still able to transform into other shapes reminiscent of these abilities. With a quick double-tap on the D-pad, Kirby can become a car at any point, and at specific (pre-determined) points, he will transform into things like a giant, Kirby-shaped tank, a UFO, a truck (for racing), and many other things.
In Epic Yarn, Kirby does not have a life bar, so he cannot actually die. Instead, he collects beads throughout the levels, and a well-placed enemy hit will cause him to spill many carefully collected beads. These beads can be re-collected, but only for a short while. The beads are used to unlock mini-games in the first area of travel. The boss battles are similar to most Kirby games, where the boss is bigger than him and attacks in various ways. He defeats them by pulling on buttons and eventually unraveling them.
What Works
First and foremost, this game is just ridiculously cute. The visual style employed is innovative and fun, and you will find yourself wondering just what you will see next. Even though Kirby does not retain enemy abilities, his transformations are fun and engaging and come with new abilities (Kirby-tank is huge, has treads, uses rockets and has a mean right punch). It is easy to pick up and play a few levels for fun, or spend more time and play through whole areas. The controls of the game are simple, and easy to remember; Epic Yarn is played with the Wiimote only, held horizontally. There are points where the Wiimote must face the TV (placing objects found in the game in specific locations), but this is not necessary for active gameplay. For those that like Kirby games, this game will be fun and exciting to see where the intrepid bundle of yarn will go next.
What Doesn't Work
This game is easy. As previously mentioned, you are collecting beads rather than having some sort of health meter, and as such, you cannot actually die. This gives the player the sense that there is no challenge to this game, because even if you lose all of your beads, you do not have to start a level over. Also, this game saves frequently, which can become irritating. Fortunately, it does not take long to save and load times are fairly quick (especially compared to other Wii titles such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl). For those used to Kirby games, it offers less creativity when it comes to finding a desired ability and retaining it throughout the level. I, for one, often would try to hold on to laser-Kirby for much of Nightmare in Dreamland or would try extra-hard to obtain the UFO-Kirby ability.
Two-Player (Co-op)
Kirby can play the entire game alone or can be accompanied by Prince Fluff (essentially a blue Kirby with a crown). Prince Fluff has the same abilities as Kirby and is not gimped as in some other Wii co-op modes (read: Super Mario Galaxy). It is easy to jump in and out of co-op mode because at the start of each level a menu asks if there will be one or two players before starting. In the instances where Kirby transforms into things like a giant tank or UFO, Prince Fluff will transform with him (in the case of the UFO, each character has independent controls, or in the case of the tank, Kirby controls the motion and rockets, and Fluff gets to control the punching arm). In other cases, one of the two players will be given control of the transformation until both characters are returned to their original state. Prince Fluff and Kirby can also use their yarn-whip move on one another, which turns the affected character into a ball of yarn that can be thrown at enemies. This can be handy, but annoying when you accidentally grab the other character instead of the enemy you were going to attack. If one character falls behind, they are transported to the location of the character that is further ahead in the level (similar to Super Mari Bros. Wii “transportation bubble,” and it can be annoying to get out of). In the case of Kirby’s Epic Yarn, co-op mode is by no means necessary, but can be a fun way to play with a friend.
Kirby’s Epic Yarn is absolutely adorable and visually very creative and interesting. The gameplay is fairly simple but fun and co-op play can be a rewarding way to play through Patch Land. Even if the game is easy, fans of Kirby games should certainly enjoy this one, and the visuals are engaging enough to entice other gamers to investigate this game. This Wii title is worth investigating, especially concerning the slew of terrible “casual games” introduced on this system – Epic Yarn may be casual but it sure is fun.
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