Review: Kirby's Epic Yarn

[Electrogecko]

I'm sure this is a great game, but I wanted a 3-D Kirby with power theiving. The first Kirby console game to come out in 10 years shouldn't have been a side scroller. Especially not after people were expection 3D Kirby after seeing Kirby Air Ride. If I wanted to play a yarn platfirmer, I'm gonna go for Little Big Planet. Again I'm not saying this game is bad, I just don't like the idea of it.

Is...Is that good enough not to be flamed?

Nope...LOL
Yes a 3d Kirby could be awesome and it's true that we haven't seen real one yet, (I actually enjoyed Air Ride quite a bit....dunno y they went with the 1 button control scheme though) but I want to stop hearing people comparing this game to LBP as if they're in any way related or interchangable. I even heard somebody say that the entirety of Epic Yarn will most likely be recreated in LBP2 within a month after it's release.....as if that were possible. (Yea I'm sure you'll be able to make sackboy transform on the fly between a submarine, car, parachute, weight, firetruck, tank, UFO, rocket, dolphin, etc.) I think people are hugely overestimating the depth of customization in that game.
Aside from that, the aesthetic similarity between them is insignificant considering one implements it into the game mechanics and one doesn't, and one is physics based while another is.....not. If there's a similarity between them worth mentioning, it's the fact that they're both potentially cooperative platformers- the art design is trivial, especially for LBP. I'd say that New Super Mario Bros. is more like the Wii's LBP than Kirby is.
Don't get me wrong. If I had a PS3, I would be going crazy over LBP2. (I would also pick up Uncharted 2, God of War 3, and Infamous) I've had a shitload of fun in 4 player user made content on the first one. I think it's pretty funny how everyone was convinced the ps3 was all "hardcore" and then when an unimposing 2d platformer comes along everybody thought it was the best game for the console and wasn't afraid to play it because it wasn't too colorful or musical and it had a good graphics and physics engine. The platforming genre is much more creative, broader, and has much more potential for variety of gameplay between titles than shooting games do, and since most people seem to have about 10 different shooting games, why not pick up 2 platformers?
Alright...I've rambled far too long. Sorry Maximillion- I didn't intend for you to be the target of my frustration and your decision to only pick up 1 platformer this year is very justified.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Nintendo seem to be on some kind of crusade to prove that everything needn't be grizzled and gritty. The space shooter sections I found to be the most fun, mostly because one of the forms Kirby takes is from the Milky Way Wishes game of Kirby Super Star

 

[Not-here-anymore]

Am I the only one thinking that a fire truck level would be a bad thing? Sure, the gameplay would be awesome, because everyone loves fire trucks, but what about the wet wool smell afterwards? You couldn't inflict that on Patch Land; it would just be cruel!

 

[Susan Arendt]

It sounds good, but theone thing that has really been holding me back from this game is its apparent simplicity - is it oing to be hard enough to keep me occupied?

Depends on your definition, I suppose. It's not nearly as difficult as, say, Super Mario Galaxy, but you'll need a fair amount of gaming acumen to find all the treasures, get gold medals, and complete all of the challenges. This isn't a baby game, but it's not aimed at the hardcore crowd, either. You may perhaps want to consider renting it first to get a feel for the difficulty level.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

I'm sure this is a great game, but I wanted a 3-D Kirby with power theiving. The first Kirby console game to come out in 10 years shouldn't have been a side scroller. Especially not after people were expection 3D Kirby after seeing Kirby Air Ride. If I wanted to play a yarn platfirmer, I'm gonna go for Little Big Planet. Again I'm not saying this game is bad, I just don't like the idea of it.

Is...Is that good enough not to be flamed?

Nope...LOL
Yes a 3d Kirby could be awesome and it's true that we haven't seen real one yet, (I actually enjoyed Air Ride quite a bit....dunno y they went with the 1 button control scheme though) but I want to stop hearing people comparing this game to LBP as if they're in any way related or interchangable. I even heard somebody say that the entirety of Epic Yarn will most likely be recreated in LBP2 within a month after it's release.....as if that were possible. (Yea I'm sure you'll be able to make sackboy transform on the fly between a submarine, car, parachute, weight, firetruck, tank, UFO, rocket, dolphin, etc.) I think people are hugely overestimating the depth of customization in that game.
Aside from that, the aesthetic similarity between them is insignificant considering one implements it into the game mechanics and one doesn't, and one is physics based while another is.....not.
Don't get me wrong. If I had a PS3, I would be going crazy over LBP2. (I would also pick up Uncharted 2, God of War 3, and Infamous) I've had a shitload of fun in 4 player user made content on the first one. I think it's pretty funny how everyone was convinced the ps3 was all "hardcore" and then when an unimposing 2d platformer comes along everybody thought it was the best game for the console and wasn't afraid to play it because it wasn't too colorful or musical and it had a good graphics and physics engine. The platforming genre is much more creative, broader, and has much more potential for variety of gameplay between titles than shooting games do, and since most people seem to have about 10 different shooting games, why not pick up 2 platformers?
Alright...I've rambled far too long. Sorry Maximillion- I didn't intend for you to be the target of my frustration and your decision to only pick up 1 platformer this year is very justified.

I never said I was going to pick up LBP2. I merely wanted Nintendo to do something new with a franchise. Which apparently is too much to ask. The only reason I compared it to LBP was because it's the only other platformer with a "yarn" portagonist. Your entire rant against LBP2 is essentially invalid when it comes to my point. MY point was that I'd like Nintendo to actually put the same amount of work into Kirby, Donky Kong, Star Fox, and their other classic franchises as they do into Mario and Legend of Zelda. If I wanted a Kirby platformer in 2D I'll grab a Game Boy. The same arguement about this game will go for Donkey Kong Returns when it comes out. In 19 years of Kirby there have been 5 "true" Kirby games. The rest are either spinoffs, remakes, or minigame compilations. And the first console Kirby to come out in 11 years is a side scrolling platformer that could've been done on a handheld.

 

[Electrogecko]

I still can't help but think this wasn't a Kirby game when it was pitched, but they tied it in for an easy sell.

Yea.....they announced this.
And it's not like it isn't a perfect fit for Kirby.
Incidentally, why does nobody seem to like Yoshi's Story? I fricken loved that game! It was hugely replayable, was loaded with secrets, made for great alternating coop, had good music and great visuals, had challenging platforming, navigation, and boss battles, and appealed to all age ranges. What was the problem?

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Is...Is that good enough not to be flamed?

Of course! It's the "Nintendo's out of ideas/wii sucks because I don't like Wii Sports" crowd that gets flamed, not people like you who simply don't want to play a new game.

OT: I'll probably wait for Christmas, since I'm broke, but I look forward to playing this.
Also, AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

It's not that I don't want to play a new game. On the contrary that's exactly what I want. I wanted them to upgrade the Kirby Series from 2D to 3D. Hell they did it for Mario and Legend of Zelda back on the N64. Why can't they do it for Kirby and Donkey Kong now?

 

[Electrogecko]

I'm sure this is a great game, but I wanted a 3-D Kirby with power theiving. The first Kirby console game to come out in 10 years shouldn't have been a side scroller. Especially not after people were expection 3D Kirby after seeing Kirby Air Ride. If I wanted to play a yarn platfirmer, I'm gonna go for Little Big Planet. Again I'm not saying this game is bad, I just don't like the idea of it.

Is...Is that good enough not to be flamed?

Nope...LOL
Yes a 3d Kirby could be awesome and it's true that we haven't seen real one yet, (I actually enjoyed Air Ride quite a bit....dunno y they went with the 1 button control scheme though) but I want to stop hearing people comparing this game to LBP as if they're in any way related or interchangable. I even heard somebody say that the entirety of Epic Yarn will most likely be recreated in LBP2 within a month after it's release.....as if that were possible. (Yea I'm sure you'll be able to make sackboy transform on the fly between a submarine, car, parachute, weight, firetruck, tank, UFO, rocket, dolphin, etc.) I think people are hugely overestimating the depth of customization in that game.
Aside from that, the aesthetic similarity between them is insignificant considering one implements it into the game mechanics and one doesn't, and one is physics based while another is.....not.
Don't get me wrong. If I had a PS3, I would be going crazy over LBP2. (I would also pick up Uncharted 2, God of War 3, and Infamous) I've had a shitload of fun in 4 player user made content on the first one. I think it's pretty funny how everyone was convinced the ps3 was all "hardcore" and then when an unimposing 2d platformer comes along everybody thought it was the best game for the console and wasn't afraid to play it because it wasn't too colorful or musical and it had a good graphics and physics engine. The platforming genre is much more creative, broader, and has much more potential for variety of gameplay between titles than shooting games do, and since most people seem to have about 10 different shooting games, why not pick up 2 platformers?
Alright...I've rambled far too long. Sorry Maximillion- I didn't intend for you to be the target of my frustration and your decision to only pick up 1 platformer this year is very justified.

I never said I was going to pick up LBP2. I merely wanted Nintendo to do something new with a franchise. Which apparently is too much to ask. The only reason I compared it to LBP was because it's the only other platformer with a "yarn" portagonist. Your entire rant against LBP2 is essentially invalid when it comes to my point. MY point was that I'd like Nintendo to actually put the same amount of work into Kirby, Donky Kong, Star Fox, and their other classic franchises as they do into Mario and Legend of Zelda. If I wanted a Kirby platformer in 2D I'll grab a Game Boy. The same arguement about this game will go for Donkey Kong Returns when it comes out. In 19 years of Kirby there have been 5 "true" Kirby games. The rest are either spinoffs, remakes, or minigame compilations. And the first console Kirby to come out in 11 years is a side scrolling platformer that could've been done on a handheld.

Having a yarn protagonist doesn't mean shit if they don't implement it. LBP might as well have Mario (or any other) style visuals. The aesthetic's only functionality I can think of in that game is being able to grab and hold onto any surface that's made of fabric. I'm sorry that I assumed that you would be picking up LBP2, but now I'm questioning why you're not.
Also, this Kirby game is vastly different from any before it. They fricken chucked out his copy ability and you're complaining that they didn't do anything new? Just because it's 2d, it's not new? You're saying that if they had made a 3d platforming and copying Kirby, that would be significantly new?...cuz it would really be much more generic than Epic Yarn is.
It seems to me that you need to consider the mechanics of a game more than you currently are. If Epic Yarn wasn't a Kirby game and somebody told me that it was a derivative of the Kirby titles I'd probably slap them.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

I'm sure this is a great game, but I wanted a 3-D Kirby with power theiving. The first Kirby console game to come out in 10 years shouldn't have been a side scroller. Especially not after people were expection 3D Kirby after seeing Kirby Air Ride. If I wanted to play a yarn platfirmer, I'm gonna go for Little Big Planet. Again I'm not saying this game is bad, I just don't like the idea of it.

Is...Is that good enough not to be flamed?

Nope...LOL
Yes a 3d Kirby could be awesome and it's true that we haven't seen real one yet, (I actually enjoyed Air Ride quite a bit....dunno y they went with the 1 button control scheme though) but I want to stop hearing people comparing this game to LBP as if they're in any way related or interchangable. I even heard somebody say that the entirety of Epic Yarn will most likely be recreated in LBP2 within a month after it's release.....as if that were possible. (Yea I'm sure you'll be able to make sackboy transform on the fly between a submarine, car, parachute, weight, firetruck, tank, UFO, rocket, dolphin, etc.) I think people are hugely overestimating the depth of customization in that game.
Aside from that, the aesthetic similarity between them is insignificant considering one implements it into the game mechanics and one doesn't, and one is physics based while another is.....not.
Don't get me wrong. If I had a PS3, I would be going crazy over LBP2. (I would also pick up Uncharted 2, God of War 3, and Infamous) I've had a shitload of fun in 4 player user made content on the first one. I think it's pretty funny how everyone was convinced the ps3 was all "hardcore" and then when an unimposing 2d platformer comes along everybody thought it was the best game for the console and wasn't afraid to play it because it wasn't too colorful or musical and it had a good graphics and physics engine. The platforming genre is much more creative, broader, and has much more potential for variety of gameplay between titles than shooting games do, and since most people seem to have about 10 different shooting games, why not pick up 2 platformers?
Alright...I've rambled far too long. Sorry Maximillion- I didn't intend for you to be the target of my frustration and your decision to only pick up 1 platformer this year is very justified.

I never said I was going to pick up LBP2. I merely wanted Nintendo to do something new with a franchise. Which apparently is too much to ask. The only reason I compared it to LBP was because it's the only other platformer with a "yarn" portagonist. Your entire rant against LBP2 is essentially invalid when it comes to my point. MY point was that I'd like Nintendo to actually put the same amount of work into Kirby, Donky Kong, Star Fox, and their other classic franchises as they do into Mario and Legend of Zelda. If I wanted a Kirby platformer in 2D I'll grab a Game Boy. The same arguement about this game will go for Donkey Kong Returns when it comes out. In 19 years of Kirby there have been 5 "true" Kirby games. The rest are either spinoffs, remakes, or minigame compilations. And the first console Kirby to come out in 11 years is a side scrolling platformer that could've been done on a handheld.

Having a yarn protagonist doesn't mean shit if they don't implement it. LBP might as well have Mario (or any other) style visuals. The aesthetic's only functionality I can think of in that game is being able to grab and hold onto any surface that's made of fabric. I'm sorry that I assumed that you would be picking up LBP2, but now I'm questioning why you're not.
Also, this Kirby game is vastly different from any before it. They fricken chucked out his copy ability and you're complaining that they didn't do anything new? Just because it's 2d, it's not new? You're saying that if they had made a 3d platforming and copying Kirby, that would be significantly new?...cuz it would really be much more generic than Epic Yarn is.
It seems to me that you need to consider the mechanics of a game more than you currently are. If Epic Yarn wasn't a Kirby game and somebody told me that it was a derivative of the Kirby titles I'd probably slap them.

Again, your missing my point and putting words in my mouth for the second time. Let me make this abuntantly clear. I wanted Nintendo to put the same amount of effort they did into their Mario and Legend of Zelda franchises into the Kirby franchise. You have to admit this game could've been done on the DS. I want Nintendo to use their rescources to bring up their entire catalog instead of just two. This Epic Yarn game seems "cheap" compared to Super Mario Galaxy and Twilight Princess. Why can't they make a Kirby game equal in production value to that?

 

[Woem]

I really wonder why this is "Kirby's Epic Yarn" and not just "Epic Yarn". Of "Sonic Epic Yarn" or "Luigi Epic Yarn". Seriously, this games has nothing to do with Kirby so it could have used any other existing franchise, or no franchise at all.

 

[Exliam]

For the Last time...to all the people who say that every game that is not 3D could have come out on DS...NO IT COULDN'T HAVE! the game contains the ability to jump in-between the foreground and background, has multiplayer intended for local play-a feat that would be more difficult if it was on DS-and has so much content that if it was on DS, it would either lag to a ridiculous amount or would require such a large cartridge (in terms of raw memory available) that it would NEVER make a profit!

Also, just because a game is 2D doesn't mean that they skimped on production. Sonic 06 was 3D and yet it had such low production values that it wasn't even complete. And as far as donkey kong goes, well, nintendo put one of their highest rated studios to the task of making another game in the spirit of the original.

To me, it's little bitches like you that give people the wrong opinion about gamers. You just want something to complain about, so you say that everything anybody says about your comment is way off, even if they were spot on. You. Are. Scum.

Ah, that felt good. I needed to get that off my chest.

 

[Delock]

GRAH!
I'm pretty sure my inner child just tried to tear out of my cynical black heart after seeing that you can play as a firetruck in order to convince me to buy this game.

 

[Tim Latshaw]

I don't know the last time I've played a platformer and didn't feel the need to rush through each level. So much attention and--dare I say--love have gone into designing so much of each level it's a simple joy just to take my time and explore.

 

[The Great JT]

You're NEVER gonna be able to kill Kirby. He's gonna be around forever.

 

[Susan Arendt]

GRAH!
I'm pretty sure my inner child just tried to tear out of my cynical black heart after seeing that you can play as a firetruck in order to convince me to buy this game.

Best. Level. Ever.

 

[starwarsgeek]

Is...Is that good enough not to be flamed?

Of course! It's the "Nintendo's out of ideas/wii sucks because I don't like Wii Sports" crowd that gets flamed, not people like you who simply don't want to play a new game.

OT: I'll probably wait for Christmas, since I'm broke, but I look forward to playing this.
Also, AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

It's not that I don't want to play a new game. On the contrary that's exactly what I want. I wanted them to upgrade the Kirby Series from 2D to 3D. Hell they did it for Mario and Legend of Zelda back on the N64. Why can't they do it for Kirby and Donkey Kong now?

Sorry, I phrased that poorly. I meant someone who doesn't want to play a specific game; I did not mean to imply that you didn't want to play any new game.


To answer your question, platformers seem to have a bigger market for retro-style 2D sidescrollers instead of large, expansive 3D worlds (just compare the sales of New Super Mario Bros. Wii to Super Mario Galaxy 2). Hopefully, we'll see a nice balance of both styles in the future (and more games that swap back-and-forth, like Mario Galaxy and Sonic Colors)

 

[Swifteye]

You can't die in this game. A big part of gaming for me is exploring a hostile environment and making it out alive, hence why I like the horror genre and Demon's Souls is my favorite game this gen by leaps and bounds, as well as being my second favorite game of all time.

Kirby is therefore really not my thing.

Please excuse me saying this but your a little weird. You only enjoy a game when your constantly under the threat of defeat? You must not play many games then cause usually games aren't interested in grinding you into the dirt unless you have there hard modes on which lots of games and probably this one has as well. Personally games that constantly beat you into the dirt like demon's souls are terrible games because unless you like punishment how can you enjoy yourself playing it when you are constantly losing from whatever thing happens to hit you?

 

[Susan Arendt]

I'd like to address folks saying this could be anyone's "Epic Adventure," because it's not traditionally Kirby. Well...yes and no. You're correct in that much of what has been common to previous Kirby titles is missing, but a big, BIG part of why it works is because Kirby is easily identifiable by just his outline. In other words - he's convincing and still endearing as a piece of yarn. You could certainly render other characters in a similar way, or even create a brand new character, but Kirby lends himself to the conversion particularly well.

 

[Rainforce]

damn it I smiled at the firetruck scene.

Europes release date is 25th march 2011??????? wtf?
DO WANT EARLIER! >_>

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Must... resist... urgde... to... randomly... hug... things...