Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn

Genre: Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

Kirby’s Epic Yarn is a family-friendly Platformer originally released on the Wii in 2010 and ported to the Nintendo 3DS in 2019 as Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn, with some additional features and game modes not present in the original game. This game is a fairly traditional 2D Platformer, but it is not a traditional Kirby game – Kirby cannot float endlessly, and he cannot “inhale” enemies or copy their abilities (for the most part). Instead, this game’s version of Kirby has a new set of moves that revolve around the game’s “yarn” aesthetic – he can lasso enemies and throw balls of the yarn they were made of, at set points he can latch onto the fabric in the background and manipulate it, and he can even transform his shape to perform different moves.

When Kirby’s Epic Yarn first released, one issue many series fans bemoaned was that lack of copy abilities, and this game addresses this a little with new ability power-ups.It’s not quite the same thing, but it does give this game a bit more variety.

The original game’s notoriously low challenge level is also addressed here, in a manner of speaking – this version adds a new game mode that has Kirby hunted by an enemy that he must evade throughout each stage. This game mode seems like a band-aid of sorts, and doesn’t really feel like it’s woven into the fabric of this game (ha), meaning the core issue of this game’s lacking difficulty is also present.

Finally, rounding out the new features here are a few extra bonus minigames focusing on long-running Kirby characters King Dedede and Meta Knight. These minigames are a nice addition, but they’re not a major new component in this package as much as they are a fun little distraction.

Another issue here is the graphics, which make the transition from the Wii to the 3DS well enough, but the smaller and less-detailed 3DS screen simply can’t show the same level of detail as the Wii version, and this game was never intended to be a showpiece for stereoscopic 3D like games specifically made for the Nintendo 3DS, like Kirby Triple Deluxe.

While it may seem like I have nothing but complaints about this game, please understand that all of this is on top of a really great Platformer, and none of these changes detract from that. This is still a superb Platformer, and I admire this game attempting to patch over some of the issues of the original release. However, as well-intentioned as these changes are, they don’t really fix the problems they seek to address so much as papering over them.

Still, while one can’t really call this the definitive version of a truly great game, it is nevertheless a solid version of a very good game. Generally speaking, all of Kirby’s Epic Yarn’s original issues are still here, albeit with some nice but somewhat ineffectual attempts to address them. This version also lacks the visual fidelity of the original game, and doesn’t benefit from being made specifically for the Nintendo 3DS like other Kirby games on the platform. Yet despite these faults, this is still a superb Platformer, especially for players who are new to the genre and looking for something more easygoing.

tl;dr – Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn is a port of the family-friendly Wii Platformer that plays very differently from other Kirby titles – Kirby can’t endlessly float, and can’t “inhale” or copy enemies, and instead lassos enemies and transforms into various objects. It’s an excellent well-made Platformer, and it does some really creative stuff with it’s yarn theme. This version even attempts to address some of the flaws of the original, although not very successfully. Still, much as with the original game, this is still a quality Platformer that makes for an excellent entry to the genre.

Grade: B+

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