Finding Kirby’s Epic Yarn playable on the show floor after hearing the announcement of the title at Nintendo’s Press Conference was a complete joy. Even the length of the lines could not deter me from a demo playthrough, and so I adamantly waited in line for my turn.
As proof that you never know who you might be standing next to at E3, I asked the man next to me if he wanted to join me with the game only to discover that he was out of Nintendo’s top game composers, credited with having worked on quite a few memorable titles.
As for Kirby, the amalgamation of creative ideas, of merging a virtual fabric world with a cute, pliable, fluffy character really breathes new life into the franchise. The art style makes you question your own creative ideas, simultaneously producing a refreshing outlook on how a simple, delightfully unconventional idea can work.
The controls give homage to old-school gaming while seamlessly incorporating simple WiiMote motion controls. Controlling Kirby and Prince Fluff reminds me of my button mashing days of Super Smash Bros. In the demo, the attack button can be used to swing, “unwind” your enemies, swim, grab/throw your partner (in multiplayer) and enemies, and manipulate the environment when encountering obstacles. Tall buildings can be pulled down or unzipped to lower platforms, and yarn can be pulled toward you to bring platforms closer. Kirby’s other moves included an anvil drop and transforming into a parachute when you’re jumping off tall platforms.
Traversing through the levels while keeping a smile on your face isn’t a difficult thing. Each level brought charming surprises as I interacted with the environment. The evil yarn dragon was the boss to defeat in order to complete the demo, and instead of squabbling over who would do what, my partner and I unified instinctively, coming together to pull off his buttons and un-knit the dragon’s yarn.
I only wish the demo had been longer!
The transformative Kirby unites form and function in perfect harmony, and the game has definitely already charmed its way onto the top of my list.
Not having Kirby be able to directly copy the abilities of his enemies (as has been the case with most of the games in the series) could feel a bit weird at first but everything else has me counting the days until the game is released.
Comment by EdEN — June 18, 2010 @ 8:53 pm
I thought the same thing! In the demo, the enemies didn’t do much but walk and fly around. Maybe we’ll see more of Kirby’s move later on.
Comment by Aileen Viray — June 19, 2010 @ 12:17 am
Still, you do get to create partners. I’m guessing there’s more to the game than what was shown at the demo. A difficulty option would be nice so we can increase it.
Comment by EdEN — June 20, 2010 @ 2:46 pm