I’ve been a huge fan of Kirby since my childhood. I remember the old television commercial that painted the original game as a bit grosser than it actually plays. It was an accessible game and one I had completed several times. Thus, it was with great happiness that I picked up a copy of Kirby’s Epic Yarn for the Wii.
Kirby’s Epic Yarn begins with our hero walking around when he finds a yarn-tomato. He devours it and suddenly finds himself in Patch Land and himself looking like yarn. It is then that he meets Prince Fluff and learns that the land is in stiches (literally). (Pun was sort of intended.) So now Kirby and Fluff must band together to piece the land back together and stop an evil wizard by the name of Yin-Yarn.
OK, so Kirby games have never been big on narrative, and this one is no different with its storybook feel. They have all been about the gameplay.
Unlike previous games in which Kirby could inhale, copy/hold and attack enemies, this time Kirby uses a yo-yo like attack. Gone are his “floaty” controls as there is, literally, nothing to him except string. Thus, he transforms into a yo-yo to swing from place to place when he swings, grab enemies and roll them into yarn, transforms into a car to speed away, and pulls away the scenery with zippers and loose buttons. Some levels have you controlling Kirby in a different shape, such as a dolphin, tank, UFO and race car. The constant change in gameplay styles not only keeps things moving as you’ll rarely be platforming for hours on end. One moment you’ll be blasting things with a tank, shooting with starship or rocket ship, imitating a UFO and sucking up blocks such as cows, swimming through the ocean and racing through the countryside in his personal racecar. It is a welcome change of pace from the usual platformer. Plus, there is no real way to lose since Kirby has no life bar; he just collects crystals to prove his dominance of a level. All that’s needed is some patience.
And it works perfectly because it plays off the arts and crafts style. Patterns of all types fill in the backgrounds, characters are crafted out of string and are unraveled, chests (which contain bonus items) act like stickers and are pulled away reveling its treasure and buttons are pulled to reveal hidden paths or block a portion of the environment. It doesn’t push the Wii to its outer limits, but it doesn’t need to do so in order to succeed. It works because it engages the imagination of one’s inner child.
The music could be considered classically inspired. The soundtrack strongly favors piano concertos, which are typically whimsically. It’s rather enjoyable as it matches the whimsy of the art style. I constantly found myself mellowing out to its music. There is some voice acting and is limited to the narrator and Kirby’s grunts of pain. The grunts are fine. It’s the narrator who’s a bit lacking. On the one hand, he reads everything perfectly as if it’s to a group of children. On the other hand, his voice doesn’t fit the dialogue, and it sounds weird to hear him speak.
Overall, < I>Kirby’s Epic Yarn is one of the best modern platformers available. Yes, the game is on the easy side, especially since Kirby can’t die. It makes up for it in the creativity department as it performs clever little tricks that could and should bring smiles to one’s face. The game also doesn’t overstay its welcome as it’ll last about 13 hours or so (depends on how many times you replay levels to gather everything and obtain “gold” status plus how many of the different challenges available you engage). The game still seems to cost the full $50, though I lucked out and found it on sale for about $30. No matter how much (or little) you pay it is a crafty little game that belongs in everyone’s Wii library.
