So we've got our first home console Kirby game (racers don't count...) since the decent Crystal Shards in the form of Kirby's Epic Yarn. As the title suggests, Kirby, as well as everything else, is made of yarn. But is it epic? (see what I did there? Classic is-the-game-good question to start the review!) [pic]http://static.gamesradar.com/images/mb/GamesRadar/us/Games/K/Kirbys%20Epic%20Yarn/Bulk%20Viewer/Wii/2010-09-15/KirbysEpicYarn_915Screens_05--article_image.jpg[/pic]
The game's story involves something about saving Patch Land from an evil sorcerer named Yin-Yarn. Or something. Honestly, I skipped all the cutscenes, but I'm sure I didn't miss much. What matters is that this is a beautiful 2D side-scroller where you must get Kirby (and Prince Fluff if you're playing in Co-op) to the end of each stage. When I say beautiful, I mean it. The characters are all made out of strings of yarn, and the environments are made by all sorts of fabric material. And it's all cute and colorful, just like you'd expect from Kirby.
But you probably expect something else from Kirby: sucking up guys and stealing their powers. Well, that's not in there. Neither is sucking up air and floating around. Because Kirby doesn't have a body, he's made of yarn! Makes sense. But, instead, he is able to manipulate and shift his yarn body to transform into cool stuff. He can turn into a car to run fast, a parachute to descend slowly, and a weight to use as a ground pound-type move. That's all part of the basic gameplay. Then, you can collect transformation ... things (I don't know what they're called) to change into more drastic transformations such as a surfer, a dolphin, a UFO, and more. These are scripted, however, you can transform into these right before a section of the level where it's mandatory to transform, and is revolved around that specific transformation. [pic]http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/10/19/alg_kirby-epic-yarn.jpg[/pic]
Your means of attack is a string of yarn. You press the 1 button and you swing it like a lasso. This can be used to unravel enemies (by tapping the button) to kill them, or to turn them into yarn balls (hold) to use as weapons. The rest of the game is typical Kirby side-scrolling fun. Well, for the most part. New to this game are treasures and beads. There's three treasure chests hidden in each level (Wario Land Shake It, anyone?). Two contain treasures like Wario, and one contains the music track for that specific level. Some are very well hidden and bring a new element of fun and challenge to the game.
Speaking of challenge, that's where the beads come in. See, this game is extremely easy. So much so that you can't die. But, when you get hit, you lose beads. And at the end of each stage you're rated by how many beads you collected. Bronze, silver and gold. Simple stuff. I don't know if you get anything for collecting all gold medals, since I haven't been able to get them all (some levels are very hard!) That's where the main "problem" of this game comes in. It's easy, but you can make it hard. But, of course, that's not gonna be everyone's ball of yarn. Some people just wanna run through every level, and those are gonna be pretty bored with Epic Yarn. Or, maybe not.
In fact, I'm generally in the second group of people. Not so much with this game, though. It was just fun collecting beads, it was sort of automatic for me. I didn't care about the gold medals, but I still tried my best to not get hit. And that's because collecting beads is fun and interesting in this game. For example, "Melody Town" is a level where there's musical instruments all over the place. Pianos, drums, accordions, etcetera. And playing these instruments (which means just touching them) rewards you with beads (shaped like cute musical notes). I was smiling the entire time through that level, and collecting beads without really intending to. There's more examples like this throughout the game.
What really kept me going, though, was the presentation. Man, does this game look and sound pretty. This is very rare, at least for me, but I honestly got bored a couple of times, but wanted to keep playing to look at the next level and listen to the next music track. Seriously, it's that good. And there's also a lot of cool tricks the game does with the whole yarn theme. Pulling down stuff, unzipping backgrounds, etcetera. So clever and fun. Damn. Still can't get over it. SO GOOD [face_harryosborn] [pic]http://img.listal.com/image/1179474/600full-kirby%27s-epic-yarn-screenshot.jpg[/pic]
In conclusion, the level of enjoyment you're gonna get out of Epic Yarn depends on what type of gamer you are. Or, more specifically, what kind of game you're looking for. This is a very chill, light-hearted and cute game that's easy, but can be made harder. But even just strolling through the levels is fun because of how pretty they are. Seriously, give this a try. Rent it if you're not so sure. If you like Nintendo, I'm sure you'll find something you like about this game. I didn't like it at first, but the more I played, the more I grew fond of it. This game succeeds at what it's trying to achieve - be cute, simple and fun.
Oh, and there's Co-op. Basically two Kirbies on screen. You can pick each other up and throw to get to hard-to-reach places. And, you know, play together. Basic stuff.
Good review and that's pretty much the score I'd give it. At the end of the day though, I preferred Wario Land: Shake It! by a fair amount. Still, Epic Yarn is absolutely worth playing and I'm glad I did.
Prince Fluff approves of this review! I've only made it to the third world (in co-op) but I'm liking it so far. I remember your early impressions being rather negative, nice turnaround.
@anon_mastermind Yep. As I mentioned in the text, I didnt like it at first. But the constantly creative level designs made me completely change my mind. I guess I also expected an "omg awesome AAA nintendo game" at first, and then I grew to like it as a simpler, yet still fun game.
Nice review! If I were to review it I'd touch more on the co-op, because it's pretty much one of the best co-op experiences there is if you are playing with someone who doesn't play a whole lot of games. Anyone with a non/casual gamer spouse, friend, relative, etc. should definitely get on top of this game asap.
It was a fun and refreshing game, but I just don't feel that it is worth $50 I'm afraid. I would have already sold it(for DKCR credit!) if it wasn't for the fact that my girlfriend is dead-set on getting 100%. She loves wasting time in decorating the apartment and playing with the neighbors... I loved the music, the presentation, the level variety, but damn it's such a tiny game. I got a super busy schedule and I beat it in less than a week. It's sort of hard to justify paying that much for a game when I know I could play a New Vegas-type of game (or Metroid Prime, Zelda, etc) for a much longer time for the same price. Still enjoyed it though
Yeah, there are often awesome deals on brand new games! Amazon, for instance, gives out $10-$20 credit for a ton of new releases. You can just start chaining together for massive saving combos.
Yeah, there are often awesome deals on brand new games! Amazon, for instance, gives out $10-$20 credit for a ton of new releases. You can just start chaining together for massive saving combos.
@Pandareus Well that's what you get for living in a frozen wasteland. How do you guys play games up there anyway? I didn't think Canada had electricity yet.
My dog is currently running on a home made generator to keep my computer on all day..I don't know how much longer she can take it.. It's hard when the monitor keeps dimming etc... wires and duck tape everywhere...
