Kirby's Epic (Yawn?) Review

Every once in a while, a Nintendo franchise will attempt to reinvent itself and try to do something different. Sometimes (like in the case of Super Mario Galaxy), the change is for the better. Other times (like Yoshi's Story), the change is most definitely for the worse. Unfortunately, Kirby's Epic Yarn is closer to the latter.

Kirby's first outing on the Wii tosses away all gameplay mechanics that would be familiar to players of other Kirby games, and instead opts for something entirely new. This is because - like Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet on the GameCube - Kirby's Epic Yarn was originally designed as new IP, but had Nintendo franchise characters "tacked on" later in the development process. According to Iwata Asks, the game's original title was Fluff's Yarn, and starred the character Prince Fluff as opposed to Kirby. Fluff still has a large role in this game - both in the story and as the second player character in co-op mode.

It is difficult to discuss Kirby's Epic Yarn without discussing Yoshi's Story on the N64. Both games use similar patchwork graphics, a picture-book story motif, and contain similar surgical alterations to gameplay in order to promote simplicity (at the cost of possibly alienating long-time fans). In the case of Yoshi's Story, the power-ups, vehicles, most levels and bosses, and egg ricochet shenanigans from Yoshi's Island were removed. Kirby's Epic Yarn removes all of Kirby's flight, suction, and skill-stealing powers and replaces them with a yarn whip, 2-player co-op, and vehicle transformations. In other words, the game removes every gameplay convention associated with any game starring Kirby. The story sequences are done in picture-book style, and they are narrated by a guy who sounds like he's reading to a bunch of seven-year-olds. The game just feels "different", and not in the good way.

Oh, and you can't die. Ever.

Getting hit causes Kirby to lose a bunch of the "beads" he's collected throughout the level. In practice it's similar to getting hit in a Sonic The Hedgehog game and losing a bunch of rings - though Kirby STILL won't die if he is hit without any beads in his possession at all. In order to please the casual audience, Nintendo has managed to make the entire game feel like a "cheat mode". The bosses are very cool, but once I realized I couldn't die, it sapped all the fun out of fighting them. Sure, there are rewards for not getting hit and losing your "beads", but you most likely won't feel the need to seek them out. I can't help but feel like this game was designed exclusively for children. As a hardcore Nintendo fan, I just couldn't get into it - even with the "winks and nods" placed into the game for long-time fans of Kirby.

There are some good points, though. First and foremost, the game is gorgeous. The "world of yarn" springs to life, with different kinds of thread, patchwork, and cotton combining to frame Kirby's world in a way it has never been seen before. This is a technical marvel and one of the few games on Wii where jaggies are a complete non-issue (even on high definition TVs). The game relies heavily on use of 2D and only appears to use polygons when forming the yarn itself.

Also, although the gameplay is not going to be familiar to Kirby fans, that does not mean there isn't a variety of things to do. Quite often, Kirby will morph into different vehicles - a tank, a race car, a fire engine (controllable with Wii remote), even a UFO. These bits of gameplay were some of my favorites, as they show a lot of unrealized potential. One of the few things that kept me progressing through the game was to discover what kind of goofy vehicle transformation would happen in the next level. There are also some minigames and an "apartment customization" feature that allows placement of objects found in the levels into an empty space, but nothing too substantial. The game controls well-enough and does not require the use of the Nunchuck or Classic Controller. Waggle is very limited - which is a good thing. The co-op mode is also fun and does inject entertainment into some of the less exciting sections of the game.

Overall, Kirby's Epic Yarn isn't bad - it's just not that good, either. It's a kids' platformer with great graphics and a story set in the Kirby universe.

But a Kirby game, it is not.

Interview With A Casual: Facebook Games And Who Plays Them

Before Kombo took a nosedive, I was working on a set of articles for the site regarding an unusually bad PS3 fighting game, a review of a different game being released this week, and a set of interviews I did with a few active "social gamers" outside of what we would consider the hardcore gaming community. I will be posting these articles over the next few days after finding out via Google Analytics that despite a dearth of comments, people actually read the stuff I post here.

Without further ado, here is Interview with a Casual.



According to Gigaom, the average age of a "social gamer" is now a 43-year-old woman. And they outnumber us. Substantially.

The study was sponsored by PopCap, makers of casual crossover hits like Bejeweled, Peggle, and Plants Versus Zombies. The study polled the habits of players of "social online games" - games contained in social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. These games are generally far from self-contained and use the features of social networking sites to acquire a larger player base. And in many cases, it works.

I interviewed two habitual social gamers, both friends of mine through mutual participation in community theatre. Both are wonderful people, dedicated moms, and come from different backgrounds outside of the usual hardcore gaming population. Both gave some very interesting answers about their social gaming habits. Let's call them "Pat" and "Sally".

Gaijin: What got you involved with Facebook games (was it viewing a friend's profile, hearing about it from someone in real life, etc.)? How do you choose which games to spend time on?

Pat: After many requests by friends to jump on games and help them, I visited a friend who showed me Farmtown. To help them, I started playing the game.

Sally: Friends sent me gifts and requests.

Gaijin: How many hours per week do you play Facebook games?

Pat: 10 to 14 hours a week. I play more often when starting a new game to get the game established. Now as timed tasks are involved I check in every eight to ten hours.

Sally: 15 minutes to 10 hours a week, depending on my level of boredom. I usually play early in the morning or late at night when I can't sleep but dont want to be doing things that would keep others awake.

Gaijin: What is your favorite Facebook game?

Pat: FrontierVille is my current favorite. I like to start a game and go in to first place, then it loses interest. FarmTown is another favorite as I have made friends all over the world and we communicate, usually about our favorite football team on the weekends (much bragging and teasing).

Sally: FarmTown, because you can interact with others.

Gaijin: Have you ever spent real money on items in a Facebook game? If so, did you regret the purchase? (note: "hardcore" gamers often have to purchase DLC, or downloadable content, after a game's release in order to unlock all the features on a disc that was purchased for Xbox or PlayStation consoles) If this question is too personal, you can simply say "no comment".

Pat: I have not spent a dime. I was tempted once to quicken the game, but never did and never will.

Sally: Never spent money and never will.

Gaijin: Have your experiences with social games on Facebook lead to other experiences gaming on PC or consoles? If so, what games have you played?

Pat: I recently dusted off Dr. Mario on the original Nintendo system and had an evening of laughter with an old girlfriend having Mario wars.

Sally: No.

Gaijin: Do you or your family own a Wii? Do you play it often?

Pat: Yes, my son has a Wii. He recently lost the laser and it doesn't work anymore. I used to play WiiSports with him, but because I have vertigo, most games make me ill.

Sally: I don't have any game consoles. My older son has had all of them, but never bought any of them, except his Wii. The rest were handed down.

Gaijin: Do any of your friends in real life play the same Facebook games?

Pat: I have actually connected with old friends over these games and have friends who have made second and third Facebook accounts to further themselves in the games.

Sally: I only play games my friends do. I don't accept/friend/play with people I don't know or that my friends don't know personally. For instance I have my cousin's sister-in-law and my cousin's close friends as friends in social games.

Gaijin: Have you met new friends or acquaintances through Facebook games?

Pat: Yes, we are communicating with a couple in London who garden and own an allotment. They have even invited us over. We sit on Skype and chat two times a month or so. They have sent chocolate from Europe to us and we have sent them beef jerky, something they like from the United States. I also speak to a gentlemen from England and have a great friendship.

Sally: I talk to and meet people from all over the world in Farmtown. I enjoy interacting with these people. I do not accept them as friends, as I worry about hackers and identity theft.

Gaijin: What is your favorite part about playing these games (can be general, or game-specific, i.e. "I enjoy adding items to my farm and interacting with my friends")

Pat: I am very competitive, so, it's nice to get to first place. When you get into the upper levels you find much conversation, laughter and "dirty dog" comments. Some of the games remind me of gambling. How to "Win" and be first, without spending money. A great diversion to life, and it's FREE.

Sally: Playing competitively. I enjoy making lots and lots of money. Even if it's fake...

Thanks to "Pat" and "Sally" for taking time to interview with me. I think their responses are very telling as to the kinds of efforts publishers are going to use to recruit the new generation of social gamers. I also think the responses on the DLC question were very telling. Hardcore gamers are rarely seen as a patient group - with exploits, farming cheats, etc. being discovered daily to pad trophy counts, gamerscores, and online rankings. Social gamers do spend a good deal of money on DLC - but there are also social gamers that publishers are going to have to work a little harder at courting in order to get them to part with their dollars for digital content.

Incidentally, after doing the interview, "Pat" and "Sally" connected on Facebook and began gaming together. It truly is a new world we live in.

The Return...

So I'm back, after a brief flirtation with bigger things in game journalism. The last few weeks have been full of highs and lows. I have every weekend of October booked with awesome Halloween events. I got to play Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. I was able to publish a piece calling attention to the lack of Tales series localizations in the West. Work is going better than usual.

But as I type this, I sit here with a sprained hand from a gym workout. I drove to Chicago and took time off of work to get an exclusive for the gaming site which shut down the very day I was traveling. One of my arcade cabinets died this week (though I did manage to sell another one for proceeds to put towards a new board), and I'm going to get started with rehearsals soon for both murder mystery and a christmas show for the local community theatre, so I will have no shortage of things to do.

I'm still not quite sure where to go from here. I may open a site that has the potential to gain a few more followers - but I'm really unsure which direction I want to take it. I have so many side projects and barely have any time to put towards them. In the meantime, there will be some fairly interesting stuff here - including day-one reviews of a few upcoming games on certain Japanese consoles, so watch this space.