Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn Review

Finally taking a break from the adventures over at Super Smash Bros. house, Kirby has taken the time to star in a solo game again. Yes, the big ol’ pink… blob… garbage disposal… thing, is front and centre of Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn, which is the “extra” version of Kirby’s Epic Yarn, a game that came out almost ten years ago. Yeah, this review won’t seem dated at all.

That being said, though, the tremendous success of the Kirby franchise cannot be questioned, so it would be reasonable to think that the newest edition of a game that was already considered favourable would follow up on that sort of legacy. Well, you’d be right for the most part, as the newest version of Kirby’s Epic Yarn does just enough to kind of warrant a re-sell; however, it wouldn’t be totally inaccurate to say that you could “save your money for something better”. As you can see, I’m taking a very hard stance on this.

The reason for my indecisiveness is probably due to the new modes and such that the game tries to sell to you like you’re getting a “brand new Kirby adventure!” When in reality, it’s the same adventure, just with a few new features that they probably could’ve added earlier on during the game’s initial run. What? What’s that? Nintendo hacked out another “remake” with about as much variety as you’d expect from a Dreamcast Sonic game? Nooooo, that can’t be right.

My bashing of Nintendo aside, the new modes that you’ll find in Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn are as follows: Dedede Gogogo and Slash & Bead… take a moment to appreciate the variety on display. In Dedede Gogogo (the best sub-game due to its inclusion of King Dedede, the best character), you run around, defeat enemies, and collect beads so that you can run around and defeat more enemies to collect more beads; riveting. In Slash & Bead (playing as Meta Knight this time around) you run around, defeat enemies, and collect beads so that you can run around and defeat more enemies to progress through the various stages; wowzers.

I’m sure you fine folks out there will find more entertainment in it than I’ve described, but that’s the thing. What’s supposed to be a newer and fresher release for an old gem in Kirby’s Epic Yarn is the same old gem that we all know and love, but with enhanced visuals and some new modes to check out. The gameplay throughout the main story and sub-games is still fun and the newer enemies and power-ups are a nice gesture on behalf of Nintendo to bring in some new life and challenge to the game, but in the end it’s really all unnecessary. It feels like it’s all there to justify the £35.00 price tag that can be found on the Nintendo eShop.

One of the newer features I actually didn’t mind was the Devilish Mode that the game presents, where there’s no invincibility for Kirby and you get attacked by devil-styled enemies through each stage. However, despite my love for the mode and the level of difficulty it shows a Kirby game can have, even it (combined with the sub-games) isn’t really enough to convince me this enhanced title is worth getting. The effort is there, for sure, but when taken as a whole, there’s just not as much as I’d like. Playing as King Dedede and Meta Knight is fun, but why not also make them co-op partners? Devilish Mode is difficult, but why not incorporate more than just newer enemies and a harder setting? There’s just more that could be done here is all I’m trying to say.

Also, to make matters worse, the co-op capability was taken out of the 3DS version of the game! So not only do I not get to play as Prince Fluff (the real hero, by the way), but now you get to enjoy all of the pretty environments and the wonderfully charming soundtracks throughout each stage alone. Or, instead of doing that, you could just play the Wii version of the game, because it’s less obnoxious.

All in all, is Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn worth the price/picking up? I’d say if you’re a die hard Kirby or Nintendo fan, then there’s enough on display here for you to go back to Kirby for awhile. As well, if you were a big fan of Kirby’s Epic Yarn and wanted more of it, then I’d recommend this for you too. However, assuming you’re not a fan of some sort, than I would suggest waiting for something with a bit more substance to come out, which should be around Metroid Prime 4’s release. Anyway, I’m off to listen to Green Greens, toodles.