When Kirby’s Epic Yarn first was introduced at E3, I was not too sure what to think of it. The game was developed by Good-Feel and Hal, and they knew that this game had to hit hard being the first Kirby platformer since the days of Nintendo 64. Before getting into the nitty-gritty I will say that it is everything I would expect for a Kirby game and, as always, Nintendo never fails to outshine.
Story
The story starts off in Kirby’s hometown, Dreamland; he is wandering around searching for something to eat. Kirby finally finds himself a tomato and begins to try and suck it in. Suddenly Yin-Yarn appears; he an evil sorcerer that is trying to turn Dreamland upside down. Yin-Yarn is upset that he is being sucked by Kirby’s magical power and also upset that his plan to change Dreamland into yarn may fail. So, he triggers his magical sock and sucks Kirby into the land of Prince Fluff: Patchland. When Kirby arrives, he sees a Prince being attacked; magically Kirby turns into a car and runs away with the Prince.
Later on, Prince Fluff tells him Yin-Yarn has unstitched his whole world into seven different parts and that he needs help to fix it. For the rest of the game, you help Prince Fluff go to different parts of Patchland and find the magical yarn to re-patch the world back together. This is so everything can be back to normal in Patchland, and Kirby can go back to Dreamland and save it. Along the way there may be many enemies from Kirby’s past trying to stop him.
Visual
At first thought you would think a game based on characters and land looking like yarn would be a bit irregular. As expected from any Nintendo (and even more a Kirby game), it was masterfully made and the game looks absolutely beautiful. The designers of the game took a different approach and made it a little differently than what you are used to in other Kirby games. For example they have made the whole game with material you can find in your local Craftcenter. So everything from the Waddle Dees to the Flamers is transformed into yarn.
Another amazing aspect about the visuals was how interactive the characters would be with everything. For example, when going against a Waddle Dee, your attack would unstitch him. Also, when stepping on a platform in midair, you can see how Kirby’s weight pushes it down.
All in all, they did as much as they could have done with the visuals with the graphic limitations of the Wii.
Gameplay
The gameplay for Epic Yarn is completely different than any other Kirby played before. It shares the same concept but has a different way of approaching it: Kirby lost his power to suck-in enemies’ powers. However, he did gain the power to unravel his enemies; furthermore, they also replaced the ability to swallow air and float with a parachute version of Kirby. There are also some familiar and new transformations of Kirby: some of them are Car, Pendulum, 2 Ton Kirby, Submarine, and Snake.
You start the game in Patchland at the Grass Land level. In each level there are seven stages and, once you have patched together all seven levels of Patchland (Grass Land, Hot Land, Treat Land, Water Land <least favorite>, Snow Land, and Space Land), you return to a “yarn” version of Dreamland in order to defeat Yin-Yarn. In many of the stages, you will have to turn into a special form of Kirby. You can receive a Metamortex and turn into forms such as: Dolphin, Tankbot, Off-Roader, Saucer. Spin Boarder, Digger, Fire Engine, Rocket, Train, and Star Shooter. These forms are really fun to use and also extremely simple to use.
When in Patchland, in order to patch the next level with the next, you will have to defeat the main boss of the level;, which gives you the yarn that you seek. There are about eight different main bosses in Epic Yarn, and all of them are quite simple. Most of the bosses are similarly defeated: it is all hide and seek. For most bosses, you will see yourself dodging from an attack and then waiting for the weakness of the boss to show to attack him.
Playing the multiplayer does make the game easier but does come along with some annoyances. For example, when you know the direction to go, and your “buddy” wants to go off on a tangent, an angel called Angie comes and embarrassingly grabs you from the back and takes you to your friend. Another minor aggravation is when you are in a special transformation, your partner can make you miss the special item of the stage just by clicking the jump or speed button at the wrong time.
A few buttons to remember: the 1 button is to use your yarn whip; the 2 button is to jump; double tap the directional pad forward to turn into a car; and click A to call Angie.
Another aspect that was added to the game is that you can customize your apartment in Patchland. Throughout the stages you collect furniture and other items. This makes you want to collect everything there is in the stages. Also, it adds something to do once you are finished beating the game.
Audio
The music was awesome and fit the stages exceptionally well. It was very playful and quite enjoyable. Later in the game, you will also notice epic oldies that bring a handful of memories. But what caught my attention the most was the voice of the narrator. He fit the story perfectly! His voice made you feel like a child, and someone was tastefully reading you a story. Personally, I loved it and tried mimicking it throughout the game.
Overall
Other than the very minimal problems I had with the multiplayer, there is absolutely nothing wrong I can say about Epic Yarn. The game is fun entertainment. The game debuted on October 17th and is priced at $50. It is enjoyable for adults and children alike. Definitely place this on any wish list for the upcoming holiday season.