Kirby's Epic Yarn - Review

Imagine that you are Kirby – a large pink ball with rosy cheeks and the ability to devour whatever comes your way. Now imagine that you have been sucked out of Dream Land and plopped into Patch Land! You look around and realize that everything is made of . . . yarn? You’re confused, so you go to do what Kirby does best – eat whatever you can – but something isn’t quite right, you’re not able to suck anything up. You look down at your body and realize that you are now made of yarn and that air passes right through you. What are you going to do?

And so begins the adventure. Kirby’s Epic Yarn is a Nintendo game that was released in October 2010 for the Wii. It is the tenth instalment of Kirby adventures and it is a fun filled game that is fitting for all ages. This game is a one or two player game where Kirby is joined by Prince Fluff, after Kirby is trapped in Patch Land by the evil Yin Yarn. In Patch Land all of the buildings and inhabitants are made of yarn or fabric and are stitched, zipped or tied together. Kirby and Fluff use a whip to unravel their opponents along with any other obstacles they face.

For the main adventure, Kirby and Fluff are trying to stitch Patch Land back together because all of the different lands have been unravelled from each other. There are six different lands that all have separate themes (Grass Land, Treat Land, Snow Land etc). For every level played the objective is the same – beat the level and receive the patch that will open the next level in the land. When all of the patches are collected, the boss level will open. Once the boss has been defeated it will release a special piece of yarn that can be used to stitch the current land and another together.

The game-play is fun and fast paced in each level. The Wii remote is turned sideways for this game and this makes it easy for Kirby and Fluff to do a variety of things including jumping and unravelling obstacles (opponents, undoing zippers etc). Kirby and Fluff collect jewels throughout the level and these prevent injury. Kirby and Fluff can never die either, even if they fall down a hole; there are no lives to collect so the game will never show “Game Over”. This takes off a lot of the pressure that can be associated with some other games.

Within each level Kirby and Fluff are searching for three special items; two pieces of furniture or accessories for an apartment building back in Prince Fluff’s town of Quilty Square, along with a CD that allows you to watch videos in Fluff’s palace. The level can be completed without these items being found. Back in Quilty Square the items collected are used to attract tenants to Dom Woole’s building. As the new tenants move in they allow you to play a variety of mini games.

Among one of the best parts of the game is Kirby and Fluff’s ability to transform into different objects. During any level they can become four different things – car, pendulum, parachute, 2-ton weight, and in water levels a submarine. In other levels the characters can also transform into 10 other forms with a train, fire truck, dolphin, and 4-wheeler as some of the options. The transformations make the game more entertaining since you never know which type of transformation you will turn into.

There are two main extra or bonus features with Kirby’s Epic Yarn. The first is that there are two secret levels in each land. They are accessed after beating the boss for that land. During the fight the boss will give off jewels, if you collect enough you will be rewarded with a special patch. The second secret level will open after the first is beat.

The second bonus is the mini games. There are five different mini games that can be played – hide and seek, collecting beads, eliminating enemies, racing, and carrying a character through a level. Each mini game is fun, and many of them are more challenging than the regular levels because they are timed.

Kirby’s Epic Yarn is entertaining to play, with many of the same features we all know and love. Kirby has returned better than ever for an adventure that is unique and stylish at the same time. I highly recommend this game.