Rating of
4.5/5
It's Yarn, but is it EPIC?
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 02/20/11
After a series of unspectacular spin-off titles, Kirby, the loveable, pink blob of lard, returns in true platforming style to the Wii. However, Hal Labs is no longer the sole developer for this venerable franchise, as Good-Feel, the company that most recently brought us an excellent Wario platformer on the Wii, lent a hand. “Kirby's Epic Yarn” (“KEY”) is noteworthy for its unorthodox appearance as well as several other changes that violate Kirby platformer tradition. Going into this game, I was left wondering if it would be a solid addition to the series or if the developers had overstepped their bounds.
Presentation
One of the most notable features that stood out in “KEY” previews was the art style, in which everything – enemies, environments, and Kirby himself – is made of fabric and thread, somewhat resembling the PlayStation 3 hit, “LittleBigPlanet.” I can say with absolute certainty that “KEY” looks AMAZING. After completing the entire game, I still can't tell if the graphics are polygon-based or sprite-based. The characters and environments move fluidly and beautifully without even a hint of a jaggy. This is one of the few cases where a game's art style can really be qualified as ‘art' (another example in this rare group is the PlayStation 2's “Okami”). It's incredible to watch threads of blue yarn act like water and threads of red yarn act like fire. The entire graphics engine is a technical marvel that makes the game memorable by itself.
The music is likewise amazing, featuring a mostly solo-piano soundtrack. Most of the tracks are new, and all of them are suitably atmospheric and catchy. The few remixes of classic Kirby tracks that appear in certain levels are well-done and really do justice to the originals.
The only noticeable drawback to the game's presentation is the fact that the entire story is narrated by a guy who sounds like he's reading a storybook to slow children. I was hoping for different voice actors for each character, or at least some kind of gibberish Dream Land Lingo.
Story
Most venerable Nintendo franchises fall into an inescapable rut with their stories, thus the stories become negligible, tacked-on affairs that really don't contribute to the quality of the game. In a Mario game, we know Bowser is going to be kidnapping someone. In a Zelda game, we know Ganon(dorf) is going to try to take over the world. These stories are givens, much like the Kirby series' tendency to resort to King Dedede being a gluttonous jerk.
Immediately upon starting “KEY,” I was surprised by the fact that King Dedede was nowhere to be seen (though he does make a later, token appearance). Instead, the evil villain in “KEY” is a sorcerer from another dimension with the pun-ishing name of Yin-Yarn, who has already conquered his home plane of Patch Land and is now setting his sights on Dream Land. Kirby, being the heroic type that he is, immediately confronts Yin-Yarn, only to be transformed into a strand of ineffectual, Kirby-shaped thread – a form that negates his signature attack move of sucking things into his mouth and swallowing them. Gloating over his victory, Yin-Yarn then transports Kirby to Patch Land via a magical amulet that looks exactly like an old sock. I am not making that up!
Once in Patch Land, Kirby rescues its erstwhile ruler, Prince Fluff (who looks like a crown-wearing blue Kirby with VERY angry eyebrows), is immediately dubbed a Lord, and sets out on a quest to sew the fragmented pieces of the fabric dimension back together.
Gameplay
“KEY” is only compatible with the Wiimote, but there are (thankfully) no motion controls. There are no other control options that use the Nunchuck or Classic controller. Of course, these control options aren't necessary, as “KEY” has a very simple control setup. By holding the Wiimote sideways, like an NES controller, the player can move Kirby with the d-pad, make him jump with 2, and make him use his new weapon with 1. Kirby's new weapon was a bit of a surprise, but it works incredibly well: It's a whip with a star on the end. By hitting an enemy briefly, Kirby can cause it to unravel. By holding the attack button instead, Kirby can wind-up the enemy and turn it into a bobbin that he can use as a projectile.
Because he can no longer eat enemies to absorb their abilities, Kirby has a few stock transformations that he can use at any time. Pressing down while in the air turns Kirby into an anvil. Dashing with a double-tap of the d-pad causes him to turn into a car. Holding 2 while in the air turns Kirby into a parachute for slower descents. Kirby can also take a cue from the Belmont family in “Castlevania 4” by wrapping his whip around buttons sewn into the background to swing from them.
All of the previously mentioned abilities are utilized very well in incredibly-designed platforming stages where Kirby collects colorful beads on his way to the goal. But platforming isn't the only style of play incorporated into “KEY,” as there are several power-ups that allow Kirby to permanently transform into a range of powerful forms, such as a dolphin, rocket, monster truck, giant tank, and mining machine. The stages that feature these power-ups are likewise cleverly designed around them. All in all, there are 50 stages to complete.
In addition to the standard goal of moving from the beginning to the end of each stage, each stage in “KEY” features two hidden objects and a hidden soundtrack CD. By collecting these objects, Kirby can help out the apartment manager in the hub town by attracting tenants with his artistic eye for interior decor (weird, I know).
The only really negative aspect about “KEY's” gameplay is that it's a bit on the easy side. There is no life bar and no extra lives. Kirby cannot die in this game. Of course, this doesn't exactly ruin the game, as it allows for different players to engage at different levels of play. For example, as an experienced gamer, I played with the goal of getting gold medals on every stage by collecting enough beads, collecting every item, and getting 100% of everything. Some of these goals were moderately challenging and the entire game took me about 20 hours. Not too shabby for a cute game where it's impossible to die. The challenge comes in with the fact that every time Kirby takes a hit or falls in a hole, he hemorrhages beads that disappear if they aren't re-collected quickly. Some stages require thorough exploration to even find enough beads for the gold medal in the first place. Conversely, a newbie gamer who had never touched a platformer before could take delight in the fact that they finished the game with no medals and without unlocking any of the secrets.
Speaking of secrets, most of them aren't very well-hidden. Each of the game's boss battles requires Kirby to toy with the boss in order to make it cough up enough beads to get a medal that would probably be considered ‘platinum' if such a thing existed in this game. Instead of a medal, though, it's actually a patch that, when sewn into the background of Patch Land, unlocks the first hidden stage in each level. These hidden stages don't really provide anything more than more fun and extra collectables, but they are worth unlocking just to experience their designs. The other major ‘secret' in “KEY” is the mini-game challenges that can be unlocked by recruiting tenants in the previously-mentioned apartment. Each of the 5 tenants likes to play a specific game and takes Kirby to revisit a large number of previously-completed stages, only now with a time limit and a specific goal, such as finding 5 hide-and-seek players, killing a certain number of enemies, or collecting a certain number of beads. While most of these ‘challenges' fall into the ‘still pretty easy' range, there are a few tough ones that kept me retrying for a while.
Overall
“Kirby's Epic Yarn” is one of the most beautiful games I've experienced in quite a while. Aside from the amazing art style, the solid game design behind the whole game makes it an experience that shouldn't be missed. While I don't know if 50 levels of gleeful platforming counts as ‘EPIC,' it certainly counts as ‘awesome.' I recommend it to Kirby fans and platforming fans of all ages and experience levels.
Presentation: 5/5
Story: 4/5
Gameplay: 4.5/5
Overall (not an average): 4.5/5
