VIDEO GAME NEWS: Kirby’s Epic Yarn

Editor’s note: we interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for a word from OWL assistant editor Kendra Brown. Enjoy!

What’s small, pink, and made of yarn? It may be your favourite pair of socks, but it’s also Kirby in Kirby’s Epic Yarn, the brand-new game for Nintendo Wii!

In his first adventure made for the Wii, Kirby is transported to a whimsical world made of yarn and fabric called Patch Land. In this new world, he meets the equally cute and cuddly Prince Fluff, who asks Kirby to save the kingdom from the evil sorcerer, Yin-Yarn. To succeed, he needs to recover the strands of magical yarn that hold Patch Land together.

Your job is to help Kirby on his mission. You can choose to play on your own as Kirby, or use the two-player mode, which allows a second player to take control of Prince Fluff. Using the Wii remote, players move through the levels, clearing obstacles, defeating enemies, and collecting sparkly beads and fancy treasures along the way.

You can also transform Kirby into shapes and vehicles, like a car, a parachute, or a spaceship. Each of these new forms has its own skill that will help you take on enemies and collect points. For example, Spaceship Kirby can use a magnetic field to grab his foes. Sound fun? It is.

Here are a few observations about the game:

1. It’s cute. Nintendo is known for its cute characters, and Kirby has always been one of the cutest. So it comes as no surprise that in this new game, the cuteness factor is off the charts. From the colourful characters to the magical Patch Land, the whole game is sweet, charming, and just plain adorable.

2. It’s fun. I mean, really fun. I think what makes this game so enjoyable is how much there is to see, learn, and do. There was always a new stray thread to pull or a zipper to tug at, which opened up another area of the game to explore.

3. It’s imaginative. The plot involving an evil sorcerer and a kingdom in peril may be typical, but that’s the only thing about this game that is. The graphics and game play elements are truly unique, not only for the Kirby series — but for a video game in general.

Overall, I loved Kirby’s Epic Yarn. My one and only complaint is that I can’t squish it up and put it in my pocket to carry around with me all day, which is what I wish I could do when something is this darn cute.

If you get a chance to play this game, come back and tell us what you think!

Kendra, owlblog@owlkids.com