Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii Review) by Carl B.

Kirby's Epic Yarn
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Good Feel Inc.
System: Wii
Release Date: October 17, 2010

October 31st, 2010, by Carl B. - Created by Masahiro Sakurai in the early 1990's and developed by Nintendo's HAL Laboratory studio, Kirby is one of Nintendo's flagship franchises in the platforming genre and has seen 20 entries on both consoles and handhelds. The series started on Gameboy with Kirby's Dream Land -- a simple title with only five levels -- and moved to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993 with Kirby's Adventure. The series continued on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and into the Nintendo 64 in 2000 with Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, but since then, Kirby has been exclusively on Nintendo handheld systems. Throughout the majority of entries up until now, the main gameplay mechanics and visual styles of Kirby games have been left intact -- upbeat and cheerful music, colorful graphics, and Kirby's trademark ability of sucking up enemies and taking their respective powers. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 Nintendo announced Kirby's Epic Yarn for Wii, the first console game in the series since Kirby 64. This new title, developed by Good Feel Inc, sports radical changes in the realm of gameplay and visual style. Are the changes with Kirby's Epic Yarn too dramatic, or does the game still have that distinct Kirby feel?

The story of Kirby's Epic Yarn is as simplistic and charming as the series is used to. An evil sorcerer named Yin-Yarn becomes angry with Kirby after he eats his magic tomato, so Yin-Yarn shrinks Kirby and traps him in a magic sock. Kirby winds up in a world called Patch Land, where all its inhabitants and environments are made out of yarn.

Kirby's Epic Yarn features a truly unique artistic style, thanks to the story mechanic of Patch Land. Everything in the game is made out of yarn, giving the game a more upbeat and colorful look and feel than any other game in the series. Characters and enemies are not full-bodied; instead, they have colored outlines that look like strings of yarn -- Kirby is merely a pink outline of a circle with feet, hands, eyes, and a mouth. Environments are modeled in the same style as characters and enemies, with yarn outlines and colored backgrounds that resemble a quilt. The soundtrack compliments the visuals perfectly, creating an immersive atmosphere. When the level is fast paced the music is more upbeat, and when the level is slower paced or features a darker setting, the music is slower and more piano heavy. With the outstanding visuals, Kirby's Epic Yarn does take some frame rate hits when numerous enemies are on screen.

Patch Land consists of seven different areas, called Lands: Quilty Square, Grass Land, Hot Land, Treat Land, Water Land, Snow Land, and Space Land. Each area varies from the last and features its own set of unique levels and challenges. After every boss of Patch Land is defeated, Kirby is sent back to Dream Land, where Yin-Yarn has turned the world into yarn. Unlike previous Kirby titles, the series protagonist does not have the ability to consume enemies and take their powers. In past games Kirby could suck up a fireball-shooting enemy and absorb that power, and in Kirby 64 players could consume multiple enemies and combine the powers in a number of different ways. In Kirby's Epic Yarn, Kirby takes advantage of his yarn body and a multitude of transformations. The "1" button on the Wii Remote lets loose his whip arm, strangling any enemy it comes in contact with. The "2" button commands Kirby to jump -- he can no longer suck in air to float higher -- and pressing down on the D-pad while airborne makes Kirby unleash a powerful ground pound. Enemies do not hurt Kirby in a traditional sense anymore, as they just knock loose beads Kirby collects in each level. This makes for a game with little real challenge, unless players want to collect as many beads as possible in each level to earn silver and gold merits for the respective level. Additional levels can also be unlocked if players reach the highest amount of beads possible against Patch Land bosses.


Transformations for Kirby make up for his lack of enemy absorption. During some levels in the game a swirl of magic yarn will turn Kirby into a dolphin, a train, a dune buggy, a UFO, and a giant robot, among other transformations, depending on the level. Levels containing the dune buggy transformation play a lot like Excitebike, with steep hills and long drops to speed across.

Kirby's Epic Yarn took me only four hours and five minutes to blast through without getting gold merits on each level or playing through the additional levels. For added replay value, every level in the game except for boss stages contains three treasures to find. These treasures include music tracks from the game's soundtrack and various pieces of collectable furniture. In Quilty Square players are able to customize the inside of Kirby's temporary home from furniture pieces found in levels. This addition really does nothing except offer some replay ability for players who like to see their collections on display. Mini-games are playable in Quilty Square and include hide-and-seek, where players have to find a certain number of characters in a traditional side scrolling level.


The Verdict

Sound
15/15 - Kirby's Epic Yarn features a great soundtrack that perfectly complements the title's aesthetics.

Graphics
19/20 - The visuals and overall art style of Kirby's Epic Yarn is fantastic, but the frame rate does take a few hits every now and then.

Appeal
20/25 - It took me four hours and five minutes to blast through Kirby's Epic Yarn, but there are some incentives for players to take it slowly.

Gameplay
38/40 - Kirby's Epic Yarn ditches the classic Kirby mechanics for the new yarn-based gameplay, but at its core, it's still a fantastic platformer, if a bit on the easy side.

Overall
92/100 - Nintendo and Feel Good Inc. took a gamble by straying away from the familiar aspects of what made Kirby a great series, but Kirby's first console outing in a decade succeeds in creating something fresh while somehow, someway feeling like a Kirby game. With the beautiful visual style and complimentary soundtrack, not to mention the fantastic transformations our pink protagonist takes on, Kirby's Epic Yarn is one of the best games in the platforming genre to release this generation, and is one of the best on Wii.