Developer : Good-Feel

: Good-Feel Publisher : Nintendo

: Nintendo Release Date : 8/3/2019

: 8/3/2019 Price: £34.99 / $39.99

£34.99 / $39.99 Review code provided by Nintendo

Epic Meal Time

Originally released way back in 2010 on the Nintendo Wii, Kirby returns for his 3rd and final outing on Nintendo’s soon to be retired portable console, the Nintendo 3DS. After the success of Triple Deluxe and Planet Robobot, I guess it kind of makes sense to release this title on a system with an install base of 75 million. However, it does beg the question of whether even a quarter of these owners are still actively using their 3DS’s or whether they’ve all jumped ship to Nintendo’s fancier, far more opulent offering, the Nintendo Switch. Which brings me, in a roundabout way to my first point. As far as ports go, this is more than just a simple cash grab and really shines on the 3DS, begging the question – why not bring it to the Switch instead?











That’s taken the air right out of me!!

Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn begins with our little puffy pink protagonist being transported from Dream land to a place where everything is made of wool. Because of this, Kirby’s usual play of inhaling his enemies and copying their abilities is rendered redundant and instead our lovable lump is able to manipulate the environment around him with the aid of power ups, which offer new found abilities ranging from Nylon which allows you to perform a spin jump, to Wire which equips Mr. Kirby with a makeshift sword.

The game itself is incredibly easy and is simply a case of going through the motions. You can’t take damage, instead you lose an amount of beads – the games form of collectables. Fall off of an edge? No worries, you will simply forfeit, admittedly a large chuck of your beads and return to the last ledge you were on. Death isn’t a thing to be concerned with as it simply doesn’t ever occur. There is a new game mode -Devilish mode, which places a devil like sprite in the level that chases you, and if you get hit five times, you fail the level. The entire title took me around six hours to play through initially, and around nine hours to 100%.









Pulling the wool over your eyes

At times you’d be forgiven for forgetting that this is a remake of an old Wii game. Despite the 3DS’s limited hardware and lesser screen, it still holds up very nicely indeed and the graphical style lends itself to achieving a more well rounded presentation. It’s also just an incredibly charming and clever game filled with so many little moments that make you smile. Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn also sports a soundtrack that has all the panache of Freddie Mercury in his prime. I’m not saying it in any way resembles the music of the British Rock group Queen, what I mean is, is that the music created for this title is wonderfully whimsical, yet bold and brash, offering personality whilst never being offensive. The world map music in the penultimate world is of the highest order and had me bopping along long after I’d put the game down for the day. Talking of the games map, in Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn, the over world map is in itself a level, offering interaction and minimal platforming elements to boot, which was a nice touch.











Socks always come in pairs

Aside from the main story campaign, there are two other modes that deserve a brief mention. Slash and Bead sees you take control of Meta Knight, as you fly through special stages collecting beads and defeating foes. Dedede Gogogo is a runner like experience that see you take control of king Dedede and navigate basic perils and pitfalls in order to reach the goal. Of these two titles, I personally much preferred the skill based challenge offered by the runner-like as opposed to the loot and ‘shoot’ stylings of Slash and Bead.

Absent from this version of the game is the two player co-op mode that was present in the original Wii version, which isn’t a surprise, just further argument that perhaps this title would have been more suited to the Nintendo Switch.









Conclusion

Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn is a fitting finale for the Nintendo 3DS. It is at it’s core the atypical Nintendo title, full of character, charm and just good honest fun to play. Whilst the core game is without question very easy, additional game modes offer extra challenge and the pair of mini games add a little replay value.

The title has been lovingly ported to the Nintendo 3DS and the small screen is the perfect place for a 9 year old game to look fresh again. The music is also of the highest order and just adds to a game that already oozes class and charisma.









Pros

Charming, cute and packed with character

Textbook Nintendo

Killer soundtrack

Cons

Too easy

Too short

Not on Nintendo Switch

Verdict

Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn is a very acceptable port of an utterly charming game that is guaranteed to raise a smile.

4/5



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