Three worlds into Kirby’s Epic Yarn, I’m convinced this is the spiritual successor to Yoshi’s Island, which was and remains–arguably–the best 2D platformer of all time.
If you’re old enough to remember the disappointment surrounding the release of the follow up, N64’s Yoshi’s Story, Kirby’s new title is the game you actually wanted to play back then–A game where every level is so imaginative, fresh and fun that you can’t stop playing because you’re dying to see what comes next.
Kirby’s Epic Yarn is the real deal: Grade “A†Firing-On-All-Cylinders Classic Nintendo. It’s a great, sprawling, wonderfully designed game that will constantly make you smile at its ingenuity. I don’t want to give anything away, but…Is that dinosaur level one of the best things ever or what? And the train mechanics…. And the fire engine… The boss battles…
Dozens of collectible game music CDs (and the music is awesome).
I cannot wait to get back in and play it some more.
I know a lot of you grabbed it today. What do you think?
Nickius
Yes
Dragonah
I love everything about this game so far, except for the narrator during the cut scenes. listening to it makes me feel like the game was aimed specifically at the younger demographic.
Tiny kong
at first i did not think i would like the game. if i did get it it would be my first kirby game. but i think you guys have convinced me to get it.
Arjen
Kirby’s Epic Yarn will not be available in Europe until the 12th of November, sadly. I find the general idea I get from all reviews and previewers extremely encouraging though.
Letting the Wario Land: Shake It! guys have another go was a brilliant move on Nintendo’s part. That game was beautiful looking, and had some great music. It was a tad bit monotonous, but it looks like they learned since last time with Epic Yarn.
Thanks for your opinion on the matter, Richard.
Chelsea
Wow, I completely mirror your sentiments about both Yoshi’s Island and Yoshi’s Story. I would probably consider Yoshi’s Island to be easily my favorite 2-D sidescroller, and probably my favorite game of all time. Yoshi’s Story was such a lackluster disappointment that it’s one of the only games I’ve ever sold after buying it because it was just so lame. I was also deeply depressed to find that Yoshi’s Island DS wasn’t much better (they made it feel like DK64 with all the baby-swapping, they took out items, and the level design sucks compared to the Super NES iteration).
Anyway, this definitely makes me want to play Kirby more! The taste I got at PAX was promising and from all the positive reviews, it seems that the game won’t disappoint. I’m waiting for it to fall in price before I pick it up.
Pyreil
Simply put nostalgia heaven. I haven’t played Kirby since the NES, but was immediatly intriuged the first time I read about Epic Yarn. The look and feel of the game is like nothing that is out there right now and it reminds you what a 2-D platformer is supposed to be. For all the readers that grew up in the golden age of gaming this will definitly take you back to those simpler times. For those younger readers who grew up in the 3-D era play this game and you’ll understand what true gaming is.
EdEN
Short answer is yes. The more this and the other 2D games sell (DKCR, Wario Land Shake It, New Super Mario Bros Wii, A Boy and his Blob, etc.) the better our chances of getting more of them for Wii and even on 3DS. Imagine this Kirby game in 3D…
Jake
Honestly, I wish Nintendo had opted for Yoshi instead.
Getting pulled into other worlds (like the pop-up books) = Yoshi, so this yarn world would have made more sense for Yoshi
Turning into vehicles = Yoshi
Unique, super colorful artstyles = Yoshi
“Yoshi’s Epic Yarn”
gojiguy
Too bad Yoshi’s island was nowhere near as good as SMW, SMB3, S3&K, etc.
Who on earth said Yoshi’s Island was the best platformer ever made?
Richard
gojiguy–
Who said it? Gazillions of reviewers and players. When the game was first released, it received almost unanimous praise, with words like “perfect” and “best” thrown around like confetti on New Years.
Y’know that bit in my posting where I said YI is “arguably” the best platformer ever? Well, you’re arguing it. There ya go: You’re doing your part.
All the games you mentioned are among the best ever, and personal preference plays a lot into it. Why do Chelsea, myself and many other players consider it the best? There’s a lot of reasons, starting with the perfect, sharp controls, brilliant level designs, the egg-throwing mechanic that makes it feel like two great games happening at the same time, and the fact that–at any second, no matter what you’re doing or where you are–the game can suddenly turn into a wild, fast panicky round of SAVE THE BABYYYYY!!!!!
Other reasons:
The music. The amazing hand-drawn look of the art. The awesome humor.
Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy. Holy crud, everyone remembers that level and laughs.
The evil monkeys. The water monsters.
The boss battles, including that Raven fight that–in retrospect–looks like the inspiration for Super Mario Galaxy.
But, most importantly for me, it’s fun from beginning to end and every…single…level…plays differently. It doesn’t repeat ideas. Each level brings some crazy new idea into play. It’s like a vast, unpredictable amusement park.
It just works. It’s perfect. You may not agree: Every game you listed is certainly a valid choice.
ANYWAY, I think I can confidently say that–since you like good platformers–you’re gonna love Kirby’s Epic Yarn.
InvisibleMan
Wow, wow wow…!
Hold on there, Richard… Yoshi’s Story was NOT a sequel to Yoshi’s Island! It was just a playful game targeted at the younger audience. And I loved it! Yoshi just happened to be handy at the moment they were creating the game and looking for a signature character…
Richard
InvisibleMan–
Note, though, that I wrote “follow up,” not sequel! 🙂 You’re right, though. And while I still don’t like the endlessly looping levels and find-the-fruit gameplay (give me a run to the goal line any day) Yoshi’s Story certainly has its charms (I’ve even come to love the theme song). But, as a side-scroller starring Yoshi against hand-crafted-looking backdrops…comparisons to the previous title were unavoidable. Yoshi’s Story is a fun game, but a lot of us were hoping for Greatest Platformer Ever Part 2. I still, however like YS’s pop-up book presentation, music and the branching level path concept.