There was a time when Kirby did take risks, a time when it felt like there were more spin-offs then there were core games. One of those was Kirby's first grand return to consoles in the form of... a moving arts and crafts project for the Wii where Kirby can't inhale enemies, copy powers or fly... In this day and age, that would receive a huge backlash and petitions to call for it to never be released because it's not a core game. Am I right Metroid Prime Federation Force? Chibi Robo Zip-Lash? Pokemon Lets Go Pikachu and Lets Go Eevee? Bumblebee The Movie? The sad thing is that I can keep going... Anyway, Kirby's Epic Yarn.
Our plot consists of Kirby being sucked into a land that "feels like pants" thanks to the power of a sorcerer by the name of Yin-Yarn. In the new world by the name of Patch Land, Kirby teams up with the original main character for this game (no really, it was going to be his game before it became Kirby's), Prince Fluff. Yin-Yarn removed the Magic Yarn that connects the pieces of Patch Land together, so it's up to Kirby and Prince Fluff to restore the world and stop Yin-Yarn. This story is as basic as it gets, there's no "let's help the villain rebuild his ship, kill a dragon made of four smaller dragons, then stop him with the help of the dragons", no "we're terraforming your entire planet for the sake of our business", no religious subtext about reviving demons with cursed hearts. Yin-Yarn's your villain, you have to go stop him. It's fine, it gets the job done and leads to some funny cutscene narrations for interactions between Kirby and Fluff. For the audience it's targeting, it's perfectly fine.
What do I mean by "for the audience it's targeting"? Well, you know how a lot of people believe that Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee is "baby's first Pokemon game"? Kirby's Epic Yarn can be described as "baby's first Kirby game"... at least on the surface. It is true, you cannot die in this game. No touch damage, a little yarn fairy rescues you from pits and crushing hazards, none of that. However, that comes at a cost (for better or for worse). Like I said, you don't have the ability to fly in this game which does lead to some extremely intricate level design not normally seen in Kirby games. As simplistic as the game might feel, these are fun levels to traverse when it's playing like a relatively standard Kirby game. Your main offensive weapon is a whip that you can use to unravel your enemies (I honestly don't know if that's any better then eating them alive and copying their powers...) or if you hold the attack button down long enough, you can turn the enemy into a projectile that you can throw at either enemies or blocks to get beads (this game's currency that determines rank and can be used to purchase furniture for a customizable hotel). When this game gets risky is when it decides it doesn't want to be a Kirby game anymore and wants to remind you that you are playing this on a Nintendo Wii. When playing normally, you hold a Wii Remote on its side to perform the actions in the game, simple, easy, effective. The transformations, however, range from quite well done to "All aboard the jank train!". Seriously, the train can go die in a fire. What do you do for it? Have you played Kirby Canvas Curse on the DS? It's a game where you have to draw lines on the touch screen to steer Kirby through a series of challenges. Its great on a Touch Screen... not so much when you're using an IR sensor and motion controls, where even the slightest shake causes the train to shake uncontrollably before giving up and falling off the crumbling track. I am so glad this doesn't use the Wii Motion Plus. You will learn to hate that train! I will admit though that it did convince me of this game's potential in a port to the Switch, if not an outright sequel. Have that play like Canvas Curse, controls and all, and you're set.
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| Kirby Gear Solid: The Twin Puff Balls |
While people might not like the presentation, there is a distinct charm to the visuals that can't help but make me smile. The animations are adorable, and in true Kirby style, they find a lot of ways to make the Waddle Dees cute, an early one I remember is two sleeping Waddle Dees under a tree with a heart made of beads. I love this game's soundtrack though, this is honestly one of the best Kirby soundtracks with many soft but pleasant melodies to listen to. It's a Kirby game, after all, it's fine to relax to it. A personal favourite of mine is Rainbow Falls, one of the faster songs in the soundtrack, but the instruments give it a very upbeat tone and is one of the best songs to point to when describing the soundtrack as a whole. The charm applies to even small sound effect details, things like the Waddle Dees making small squeaky toy sounds when they fall over, I love little touches like that.
While this game isn't hard in the traditional sense, 100% this game can be quite challenging thanks to tight platforming challenges, limited chances at beads, or in the case of many transformation sections, one and done chances to get collectibles. The game can also be a bit cryptic at times, mainly related to the boss battles in order to unlock the hidden levels. However, I did have a lot of fun with it. Like I said, it's a nice game to relax to, to calm yourself down with. Come Sunday is a dual review of a pair now separated for the sake of getting one character made. Roadtrap and Battleslash, and the Duocon Battletrap. Up next for here though? The start of a double hit of marathons starting with four movies. Four chapters of a larger story, a story about reuniting friends, discovering new ones, of loss, corruption, the transition to adulthood, and giant monsters. Up next for here? Digimon Adventure tri.
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