Kirby's Epic Yarn - Review

Story - 6/10
Honestly, the story in Kirby's Epic Yarn is pretty much a bed time story. It's not deep at all, it's really just used as an excuse for why Kirby is now made of yarn and enemies are also. However where I must give it credit would be at the fact that the story is creative. The story involves Kirby being warped to a world called "Patch Land" by a wizard. Patch Land is broken into several pieces, and it's up to Kirby to find the magic thread to sew Patch Land back together. It's a fairly original story, but completely uninteresting. It get's the job done though.

Gameplay - 9/10
Old school gamers will fall in love with this game quickly. The game is widely a 2D side scrolling platformer, and a lot of work went into it. Kirby loses his ability to suck up enemies and utilize their powers, but he can now use thread like a whip to destroy and roll up enemies to be thrown. He also can transform into different items to help him traverse the world, each transformation is easy, fun to play, and controls very well. The only real problem with the gameplay is, you can't die. The only penalty for getting hit by an enemy is the loss of your collected beads. This is similar to Sonic the Hedgehog, where you collect rings till the end of the level, and if you get hit they fall out everywhere, except in Sonic, when you get hit without a ring you die. In Kirby's Epic Yarn, you can get hit as much as you want, you won't die. This provides a lot less difficulty for the game, however you are awarded a medal at the end of the level depending on how many beads you collected. So there is some incentive to not lose them.

Visuals - 10/10
This game isn't an HD PS3 or 360 title, but the visuals are still very creative and gorgeous to look at. Everything on screen looks like it was taken out of an arts and crafts store. Kirby, enemies, platforms, and backgrounds are all made of buttons, yarn, zippers, and fabric. It all is done incredibly well too, the game definitely pushes the Wii. Overall, this is a very visually pleasing game.

Content - 8/10
Kirby's Epic Yarn is a fairly short game. If you play for hours on end, it may take you 2 days to beat at most, but if you space things out, it'll last you a little while. There is a lot of music to collect though, and you are given an apartment you can decorate with patches you collect at the beginning of the game, there's a ton of patches to collect. It doesn't give you the most interesting content to collect, but it does give the perfectionist something to come back for.

Music - 8/10
The music in Kirby's Epic Yarn is pretty good for the most part. Everything sounds well done, and it has a lot of new tunes to keep you happy. There are a few old songs in there too that have been updated, but not a whole lot more than a jingle here or there. My main issue with the music is that it's all very happy, and sometimes the music gets a little too gentle and quiet. To put it the best, the music can become boring at times.

Multiplayer - 10/10
The game doesn't have a true-blue multiplayer mode to be seen, however it has a 2 player co-op mode that plays pretty well. Not unlike New Super Mario Bros. players can lift each other up and carry one another, as well as throw the other. Player 2 plays as "Prince Fluff" who is basically a blue Kirby with a crown. He plays the exact same, so there isn't much variety there, but you don't really need it. One neat thing about the co-op is, when one person falls behind, they get carried back to the center, it's a rather cute method of doing so too.

Lasting Appeal - 7/10
As I said with the content, there isn't a ton to keep you coming back unless you're a perfectionist, and the game doesn't take long to beat. Also the co-op is fun, but it's not the same as the co-op in New Super Mario Bros that is 4 players and playable at parties. So there isn't much to get you to come back and dust this game off, but what is there is good enough considering how well everything else is put together.

Overall - 8.3/10
Kirby's Epic Yarn may seem like a kids game at first glance, but this is a truly great 2D platforming experience that any young kid or adult can enjoy easily. It's also the first Kirby game that Kirby fans have had on a console in a long time. That being said, it's a great choice for hardcore and casual gamers a like. This is definitely one you'll want to pick up for your Wii collection.