Another title we had a chance to play on the Experience Nintendo Tour was
Kirby's Epic Yarn. My exposure to past Kirby titles is limited to the very first GameBoy title. I had no idea what to expect other than the
video I had seen from E3 2010.
It would be doing
Kirby's Epic Yarn a disservice if I merely said the art style is unique. That's an "epic" understatement. Drops of water are represented as circles of blue yarn. Items that Kirby can lasso onto are actually buttons in the fabric that makes the game world. Pulling a piece of yarn that's threaded through the fabric background will bunch the world together and open up new areas. It was amazing to watch.
Kirby's Epic Yarn was also fun to play. I admit that it was more entertaining for me to watch than to play because of the minimal difficulty level. The areas we checked out were too easy; I don‘t know if we died even once. Granted, these were introductory levels so I'm sure that the difficulty ramps up as the game progresses. This lesser difficulty might appeal to a wider audience, though, and would be a great game for getting kids (or parents!) involved.
The multiplayer was simple enough and follows the tried-and-true same-screen action championed by the
New Super Mario Bros. Wii. You can grab the other character and throw them around (whether they like it or not). As long as both players are moving at the same speed, this doesn’t present many problems. All in all, I liked
Kirby’s Epic Yarn. I would play through the game just to see how far they push the envelope with the fabric and yarn approach.
Look for
Kirby’s Epic Yarn in mid-October.
