Kirby's Epic Yarn Impressions

It has been more than seven years since Kirby held the starring role in a Nintendo console game. But while the plump pink hero has managed to fill his time by making do with supporting cast cameo roles in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and spending time in the spotlight on the DS in 2008’s Kirby Super Star Ultra, Nintendo felt it was about time to reprise his role with a dedicated new release on the company’s family-friendly console. Revealed today during Nintendo’s E3 2010 press conference, details were thin on the ground.

Melding the old and the new, Kirby Epic Yarn maintains the shape-changing, power-up-stealing abilities and 2D side-scrolling action that made its precursors so popular. But it also throws a cute and exciting new look into the mix. Inspired by wool, the gameworld and Kirby’s character model appear as sparsely woven strands of overlapping thread to create outlines. Naturally jumping and attacking were shown in spades, but it was the unraveling and sewing demonstrated as key elements of gameplay that impressed us most. In these, Kirby used threads and anchor points to swing through environments like Spider-Man, while gaps in the landscape too large to traverse proved to be no challenge; easily sidestepped by simply tugging on exposed frays. Strategically placed loose ends act as access points and can be yanked to bring together two points. Think MAD Magazine back page folds, trashing the middle ground and allowing you to progress. Lassoing enemies saw Kirby grabbing onto a dinosaur’s tongue, wrapping him around the muzzle to achieve a peaceful outcome.

The demo included more than just basic puzzle-solving, and during the demo we saw Kirby transform into cars, spaceships, and parachutes to drift safely back to earth during long falls. We also saw him go on an all-out offensive by morphing into a giant (but cuddly-looking) tank.

Kirby Epic Yarn is due out exclusively on the Wii in North America in the fall of this year, and we’re eager to pick up our knitting needles and get hands-on with this cute platformer soon.