Once again, here with your attention-grabbing and captivating art and genius in journalism, is “The Intern”.
When I first got my hand on Kirby on the E3 show floor, I was a little hesitant on the visuals but otherwise pleased with the overall gameplay and feel of this new installment to the Nintendo franchise. Sure, it was a little embarrassing playing with a game that had such vibrant hues and cutesy enemies making up the core of the game, though I nevertheless was optimistic on the new approach to this beloved franchise.
Kirby’s Epic Yarn
Developer: Good Feel
Price: $50.00
Platform: Wii (reviewed)
Pun intended, Kirby spins a new yarn of an adventure to be unraveled by the player as he ventures forth into a welcoming, creative world made entirely of colorful fabric. Told in storybook fashion, the plot revolves around the main protagonist Kirby literally being accidentally sucked into a new realm of yarn by a sinister wizard, Yin-Yarn (an obvious reference to the balance of Yin and Yang). Kirby, feeling hungry, decides to eat a suspicious tomato known as the metamoto, because accidentally eating mysterious objects is the natural path for all fun-loving, adorable pink balls of fluff. Yin-Yarn, furious that his his fruit was taken, sucks Kirby into his sock and our hero is casted into Patch Land. Meeting Prince Fluff, Kirby is determined to resolve the damage that Yin-Yarn has done to the world and sew back the seven magical pieces to mend the fabric of Patch Land.
As is obviously stated, Kirby’s world is constructed entirely of yarn, and in order to progress through the story the player must gradually unwind and pull together pieces of the world using Kirby’s new found yarn powers. Kirby’s primary weapon is a knotted piece of yarn used to lasso loose fabric to literally pull the environment close for easy jumps (he can no longer float), parachute to safety, or whip enemies out of existence. Other abilities include transforming into a speeding car when double tapping the direction Kirby is moving and an anvilwhen holding the down button for an arial attack. In certain parts of the story Kirby acquires new powers to assist in a specific level, such as transforming into a giant projectile-throwing robot, a motorbike, and a UFO that conducts electricity. Unlike previous installments, Kirby lacks his signature sucking technique for absorbing enemy powers, so he instead relies on the default move sets as well as the in-game transformations. The changes does not necessarily lessen the typical kirby experience, though it does diverge from the norm of the series in gaining new abilities; so to those hardcore Kirby fans that think this game is a failure, I say BULLSHIT. People, have no fear: It remains a Kirby game with the core gameplay intact regardless of these new additions to the experience. Just take the game as if it was your favorite series directed by someone else (at least it is not Shyammalan, screw that guy).
Don’t get me wrong I love the game, though one aspect of this game that pissed me off was not the new style of gameplay, though the level of difficulty of the overall experience. The game is dumb-founding in the ease of completing levels and taking down bosses. One of the first bosses of the game is a yarn dragon that spits out his tongue and shoots out fireballs; the player merely has to whip out his yarn knot and repel those attacks against the monster. The game might as well be targeted in challenging toddlers. It is that simple. The gameplay is very forgiving to human error, so much so to the extent of making Kirby essentially invincible to any harm. The only things lost when Kirby takes a blow would be either the colored beads or the menagerie of items he collects on his journey. Regardless of the babying the game gives you to progress, you will enjoy traversing through the colorful world and meticulously finding each and every little object to add to your collection. In that sense the game is rewarding to the player, and as a side quest you may assist in constructing rooms in the overworld using the items you collect.
The Final Word
Once you get past the feminine qualities of the art style (don’t worry, you guys will keep your penis by the game’s end), Kirby’s Epic Yarn is an endearing and worthy addition to the Kirby franchise. The gameplay will not challenge hardcore fans in the least, though it will certainly entertain as the player ventures into new levels.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
