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Kirby's Epic Yarn (JP) is a 2010 platformer video game released on the Wii that was first announced at E3 2010. Epic Yarn is the first home console Kirby game since Kirby Air Ride on the GameCube, released in 2003. The game is developed by Good-Feel, that amongst others previously developed Wario Land: Shake It!

The game was ported to Nintendo 3DS in March 2019 as Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn. It added new power-ups and minigames and is the seventh and final Kirby game for the system. At a Nintendo Direct in September 2018, Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn was announced to be coming to the 3DS. However, the official game page later stated that the game was going to be exclusive to the New 3DS systems, causing a bit confusion,[1] but two weeks later, it was announced that the game would be playable on all 3DS models.[2]

Plot[]

While walking through Dream Land, Kirby discovers a tomato and decides to eat it. Yin-Yarn, the evil sorcerer who possessed the tomato (revealed to be a magic Metamato), appears and magically banishes Kirby into Patch Land, a world completely made of fabric, via the sock carried around his neck. In Patch Land, Kirby's body transforms into yarn, rendering both his power to inhale and the ability to fly useless. Instead, Kirby is granted the ability to transform by the magic of the Metamato, which he uses to rescue a boy being attacked by a monster. The boy, named Prince Fluff, explains that Yin-Yarn has separated Patch Land into seven pieces, which was tied together by magic yarn. When they come across the first piece after defeating a monster that attacked the duo, Kirby decides to help Prince Fluff collect all seven pieces of the magic yarn and restore Patch Land.

Meanwhile, Yin-Yarn captures King Dedede and ambushes Meta Knight, places them under his control, and begins to take over Dream Land in Kirby's absence. Kirby and Prince Fluff are forced to fight King Dedede and Meta Knight after they ambush them in Patch Land. When Kirby and Prince Fluff finally collect all seven pieces of the Magic Yarn and stitch Patch Land back together, Meta Knight, no longer under the sorcerer's influence, apologises for attacking the duo earlier while possessed and informs Kirby that Yin-Yarn is turning Dream Land into fabric. Prince Fluff produces the second sock, its magic fully restored by the seven pieces of the magic yarn, and uses it to transport Kirby and himself to Dream Land; now completely made of yarn. With Meta Knight's help, Kirby and Prince Fluff confront and defeat Yin-Yarn, breaking the spell and returning both Dream Land and himself back to normal. Prince Fluff parts ways with Kirby, stating that he can visit Patch Land anytime via Yin-Yarn's magic sock.

Enemies[]

Visuals[]

The visuals in Epic Yarn are mostly reminiscent of those in Kirby's Dream Land 3 for the SNES. Dream Land 3 used a crayon-like art style, while Epic Yarn's graphics are made to look as a world out of textile. Backgrounds are made out of several layers of fabric and characters and objects are made of strings of yarn, buttons and the like. The yarn and textile look is very realistic, and looks like real yarn. This is because to make the game, the developers took pictures of actual yarn, and put polygons on top of the pictures so that they could bend the yarn into desired shapes.

Gameplay[]

Contrary to Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and the rumored Kirby Wii, Epic Yarn is a return to the 2D platforming format of the NES and SNES games. However, the Wii Remote will be used for various purposes. Kirby's classic ability to inhale his enemies and copy their abilities has been omitted, and instead he uses a lasso of yarn from his body to grab enemies and objects. A number of transformations can, however, be activated when Kirby performs actions such as running or swimming.

Transformations[]

The following are a list of transformations in Epic Yarn.

  • Car: The car is a transformation that Kirby gains early on at the beginning of the game. By rapidly double tapping the D-Pad, Kirby will automatically transform into a car, allowing him to travel at great speeds.
  • Pendulum: Pressing the"1" button near a button will make Kirby latch on to it with his whip. He immediately takes on the form of a pendulum, and can swing around to get to places otherwise unreachable.
  • Parachute: While Kirby is in the air, pressing and holding the "2" button makes Kirby take the form of a parachute. In this form, he falls significantly slower, and can get to places too far away for a simple jump to reach.
  • Submarine: Kirby automatically transforms into a submarine the second he touches water. The submarine can swim fairly quickly and can go even faster if the player repeatedly presses "2".
  • Ice Skate: Kirby can turn into a sled-like form instead of a car in the ice/snow levels. It is essentially the same thing, with the same controls as the car, but looks different, can't turn around and can skid on the surface of the water if enough speed is built up.
  • 2 Ton Kirby: Kirby transforms into 2-Ton Kirby when the player presses down on the Control Pad. He is shaped as a heavy weight that can flatten enemies and break through some blocks that couldn't be broken through before. He also falls a lot faster, so it can be used when the player is in a hurry to get down from a high place.
  • Tankbot: Kirby can transform into a giant yarn tank that can shoot down enemies with rockets and also punch them if there is a second player present. It is one of the biggest transformations that flattens anything in its path. The player must watch out for flying enemies that drop bombs while controlling the Tankbot, though.
  • Dolphin: Kirby can transform into a dolphin in some of the underwater levels. As a dolphin, he can swim very fast and can maneuver extremely well. He can jump out of the water pretty high as well to reach things otherwise inaccessible. The player can also destroy most enemies by pressing "1", which gives a speed boost.
  • Off-Roader: Kirby can transform into an Off-Roader in some levels. He takes the form of a tiny truck and can drive very fast along the dirt. He races other riders as he evades cacti and other obstacles. If a second player is present, they can give a speed boost.
  • Fire Truck: Kirby transforms into a fire truck during some of the fire stages. When Kirby comes across a pillar of fire that he is unable to pass, the player can eject an endless supply of water at the fire to diminish it completely.
  • U.F.O: Kirby can transform into a U.F.O. in some levels. In this form, he can suck beads and enemies into his hold by pressing "2", and can fly quickly and manueverably. After sucking in a certain amount of things, it charges up and pressing "1" zaps everything on the screen.
  • Train: Kirby can transform into a train that travels along tracks drawn by the player with the Wii Remote. It travels along these tracks no matter how odd-angled they get.
  • Star Shooter: Kirby can turn into a Star Shooter almost identical to the one in Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra. It fires off enemy-destroying stars sideways.
  • Rocket: Kirby can turn into a Rocket, which is basically the same as the star shooter, but moves vertically instead of horizontally.
  • Spin Boarder: When Kirby transforms into the Spin Boarder he takes the shape of a penguin, and rides an board (probably a snowboard) down the snowy mountain.

Extra additions[]

In the 3DS remake, they added these new power-ups; a power-up that makes projectiles larger, a power-up that gives Kirby a sword, a power up that allows Kirby to shoot needles, and a power-up that draws in beads. The game also adds a Devilish mode which as a devious enemy that attacks Kirby if the player is too slow. There are two new minigames featuring King Dedede and Meta Knight. There are some new items in Quilty Square that can only be unlocked by doing challenges in Devilish mode and the minigames.

There is also support for the Kirby series amiibo giving hats for each character.

Characters[]

Enemies[]

  • Dandan
  • Candlemaker
  • Emba
  • Embaconda
  • Embird
  • Battins
  • Uniclod
  • Cyclod
  • Rolling Clod
  • Swadclod
  • Bobber Clod
  • Sneak Sack
  • Shelby
  • Slobba
  • Magmotamus
  • Calderon
  • Snip-Snap
  • Sword Soldier
  • Spear Soldier
  • Cannon Soldier
  • Whistle Soldier

  • Kracko
  • Lil' Kracko
  • Soocher
  • Twiggy Woods
  • Space Jelly
  • Spore Jelly
  • Boinger
  • Freezo
  • Sea Jelly
  • Danglerfish
  • Jelly Jr.
  • Anemonee
  • Amprey
  • Octopea
  • Stogue
  • Sawgill
  • Cutfish
  • Sword Mariner
  • Spear Mariner
  • Cannon Mariner
  • Whistle Mariner

Levels[]

1. Grass Land[]

  • Fountain Gardens
  • Flower Fields
  • Rainbow falls
  • Big-Bean Vine
  • Fangora Battle
  • Mole Hole
  • Weird Woods

2. Hot Land[]

  • Pyramid Sands
  • Lava Landing
  • Cool Cave
  • Dino Jungle
  • Hot Wings Battle
  • Temper Temple
  • Dusk Dunes

3. Treat Land[]

  • Toy Tracks
  • Mushroom Run
  • Sweets Park
  • Melody Town
  • Squashini Battle
  • Cocoa Station
  • Dark Manor

4. Water Land[]

  • Splash Beach
  • Blub-Blub Ocean
  • Secret Island
  • Deep-Dive Deep
  • Capamari Battle
  • Boom Boatyard
  • Fossil Reef

5. Snow Land[]

  • Snowy Fields
  • Cozy Cabin
  • Mt. Slide
  • Frosty Wheel
  • King Dedede Battle
  • Frigid Fjords
  • Evergreen Lift

6. Space Land[]

  • Future City
  • Tube Town
  • Mysteruious UFO
  • Steller Way
  • Meta Knight Battle
  • Moon Base
  • Outer Rings

7. Dream Land[]

  • Whispy's Woods
  • Tempest Towers
  • Cloud Palace
  • Castle Dedede
  • Yin-Yarn Battle
  • Meta Melon Isle
  • Battleship Halberd

Development[]

Kirby's Epic Yarn was developed by Good-Feel, and was the third game developed by them in conjunction with Nintendo, following the releases of Wario Land: Shake It and Looksley's Line Up. The idea of a "world of yarn" was proposed by Madoka Yamauchi, the Planning Section Manager of Good-Feel, and ideas for the game mechanics grew after the staff experimented with store-bought cloth. The game began development under the name Keito no Fluff (lit. Fluff of Yarn), featuring Prince Fluff as the main character. During the summer of 2009, Nintendo proposed that the game be altered and released as a title in the Kirby series, though Prince Fluff remained a part of the final product as Kirby's partner. At least three months were spent focusing on Kirby's movements and character design. The game's development was Overseen by HAL Laboratory's character production section, as well as Warpstar inc., a company put together in 2001 to manage the usage of Kirby. To create an "authentic feel" for the cloth and textiles, the graphics were created by using digital photographs of fabric, which were placed under polygons.

The game's soundtrack was scored mostly by Tomoya Tomita, while franchise regulars Hirokazu Ando, Jun Ishikawa and Tadashi Ikegami handled the musical reprises towards the end of the game. As the original plot for the game involved a timid Prince Fluff searching for his lost mother, Tomita originally hoped to create a "new kind" of feeling introduced in the game's opening: soft and sweet, yet also sad and unsettled. However, the game turned out to be more conventional than he originally planned, so he changed direction to slightly richer arrangements.

Kirby's Epic Yarn was officially revealed at Nintendo's press conference at E3 2010, where it was announced to be released during the autumn that year.

Reception[]

Kirby's Epic Yarn was well-received at E3 2010. GameSpot rewarded it with Overall Game of the Show and GameTrailers awarded it Best Overall Graphics. Peter Moore of EA Sports rated it as his favorite non-EA game at the show.

Alice Liang of 1up.com rewarded the game with an A-, beginning her review by stating that "If this adorable adventure doesn't make you crack a smile, you might not be human".

While the 3DS version also had positive reviews, it had relatively low sales mostly due to the game being released near the end of the system's lifespan.

3DS eShop Description[]

North American version

One ticked-off sorcerer just banished Kirby, warping the poor puffball to a yarn world in need of saving. The twist? Having a yarn body is epic! Kirby can transform into knitted wonders like tanks and flying saucers. Plus, his new ravel abilities mimic his classic copy abilities, adding something new to every stage of this action-adventure game! Ravel abilities allow Kirby to drop buttons like bombs or wield a wire like a sword. And that's just the beginning of all the makeshift magic. Dead end? Unzip a secret passage. Too dark? Unbutton the night to shed some light. Boss blocking your way? Unravel its face! As you play, you'll collect decorative treasures for Kirby's Pad. Show yours off with the StreetPassTM feature! If story mode isn't tough enough, see if you can earn more collectibles in Devilish Mode. In this harder mode, you must survive without invincibility as devils obstruct your path through each stage. There are also all-new minigames starring Meta Knight and King Dedede!

European version

In Patch Land, practically everything, from enemies to obstacles to who knows what else, is entirely made of yarn - even robots! And to beat courses made of yarn, you've got to use moves made of yarn.

Every stage from the Wii version is making a return, and the Nintendo 3DS version is also being puffed up with some new features. When you pick up items you can craft bigger yarn balls, or you can even conjure up some wind to rake in the beads!

For a little added challenge, see if you can outrun this speed demon of a Devil in Devilish Mode! To top it off, new minigames will give you a chance to play as some other familiar faces!

Credits[]

Gallery[]

  Main article: Kirby's Epic Yarn/gallery

References[]

External links[]

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