A lack of enemies and creativity in design make Canvas Curse feel like more of a half-hearted spin-off.
More of a mild cold
Graphics (12.5%) - 8.25
Controls (15%) - 8
Variety (25%) - 7
Replay (25%) - 7
Sound (7.5%) - 6
Depth (15%) - 8
OVERALL - 7.38
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Gameplay Outline
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Kirby: Canvas Curse is a sidescrolling platformer with a big twist -- you guild a ball using ink drawn by the magic paint brush (controlled by your stylus). There's a constantly regenerating meter of ink that refills faster when the ball is on the ground, so you have to manage your ink. You tap on enemies to all you to destroy them, but if you don't tap them, you can defeat them using a boost. The game is the first of its kind, so there's nothing previously to compare the way the game is actually played to anything else.
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Dedication Metre - 20%
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There isn't a lot you need to put into Canvas Curse to get the most out of it. It's all about the story mode, and that's easy to get in and out of any time you'd like. Where you will have to put some focus and time into is if you want many unlockables--then you'll have to go through Rainbow Run and/or search out coins in the story mode. For the most part, this is something even the most casual player can enjoy, and is actually more likely to enjoy.
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Graphics - 8.25
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Visually, Kirby is as vibrant as ever. The animations are rather fluid, and the effects throughout are very well done and increasingly better as the game goes on. The world has a bit of a painting style to match the theme of the game of a sorceress with a magic paint brush, but the developers really didn't do much with the opportunity. Everything's still generally just like every other kirby game.
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Controls - 8
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You control kirby by drawing lines with your stylus that guide Kirby (who moves as a ball would roll). The direction you draw the line is the direction Kirby will be pulled, although if the slant is too great, it will merely deflect Kirby back in the other direction. You also tap on Kirby to use his power (default is a burst of speed, but there are of course powers he can take on).
It works quite well, but there are little irritations throughout the game, such as having to tap on various things to break them, which takes you away from guiding Kirby. Also, the "subgames" (which also serve as bossfights), don't really control well at all. And in an extra mode where you try and get to the end while using as little ink as possible, but tapping Kirby isn't exact and can nickle and dime you out of ink each time a stroke registers off of Kirby.
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Variety - 7
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In sheer variety of modes, Canvas Curse gives a good offering. There's the story mode where you travel through 7 worlds to defeat the sorceress Drawcia; Sub Games with high score tracking, and Rainbow Run which includes Time Trials and Minimum Ink runs for a section of every level in the game (along with unlockable extra sections). There are also different ink patterns and different balls to unlock.
However, the only compelling part of the game is the story mode, which consists of only 22 levels that can easily be completed in less than 4 hours (although, merely the time length isn't bad for a platformer, which this is best described). The levels aren't actually all that long, though, it just takes time to get through them with the particular type of controls used in the game. The other games are throwaways.
There is also a lack of variety in enemies. You've seen them all before and you'll see them all again. There are also only 5 different powers to copy and use, and they are mostly useless. With the theme of the game, the developers had a chance to really get creative and create some wild paint enemies and worlds. Instead we get Kirby with new controls.
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Replay - 7
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The best part of the game is the story mode. It's at times excellent, but is bogged down by too many water and dark levels and a lack of enemy variety. If the game were left just as that and sold at a budget price, the game would be more appealing. As it is, the extras to make it a game to go back to are tacked on and worthless. A bonus reason to go back to the story mode, though, is that it keeps track of which levels you've completed with each ball/character (which have different sizes, speeds and hit points).
The Sub Games are very sub-par. There's a breakout style game where you fight Kracko at the end and try and do it in the least amount of time. However, the boss battle is as boring as they come and really has a lot of luck involved for how often you land a hit. There's a race with King Deedeedee that controls sluggishly and has very little depth (a big disappointment for anyone who has played the stellar Deedeedee race in Kirby Superstars). And there's a mode where you trace patterns that is very touchy with the controls, exceptionally easy, and has zero depth.
And there's Rainbow Run. Since you can unlock many coins for other unlockables in Rainbow Run, this will get some playtime. You can get up to 3 coins per time trial and 3 per ink mode depending on how fast you finish and how little ink you use, respectively. The problem with these modes as the gameplay of Canvas Curse doesn't fit speed runs or using little ink. Much of the game is about finesse and clever use of ink, not how fast you can get done, which just gets frustrating. Ink mode is even worse, as previously mentioned, you can lose ink just while trying to tap Kirby. You'll also find complications on what angles will launch Kirby forward and which will knock him back.
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Sound - 6
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There is a lack of variety in the music, and a general sense of ignorable musak. Nothing stands out, and there's plenty of audio borrowed from previous games in the series.
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Depth - 8
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With the ability to use a loop for speed boosts along with some nice level design, there are quite a few ways to go about the game--you can get quite creative with your stylus. But as I said, the power ups are mostly useless. There is a bit of depth in that there is ink management and reserving, but there are instances where this is just annoying. However, the limited amount of ink is necessary to the gameplay.
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Overall - 7.38
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Canvas Curse as a platformer offers a unique experience. Canvas Curse as an entire package is lacking in many ways. Unless you're really big on platformers or Kirby, this one's probably not worthwhile for full retail price.