Kirby' Epic Yarn (Part 2)

Part 1 can be read here.

Urgh... Screw Valentine's Day. I hate this damn holiday. I really don't like it. It's he constant reminder that I need someone. Damn loneliness. And the way it's over-commercialized... Urgh.

Oh? You're here? Err... For the... um... review of... wait... Kirby's... Epic Yarn, right? Oh yeah, we're Friday. How could I have forgotten... As you probably guessed, this isn't my happiest day. I'm gonna try not to bring that up too often. I'm somewhat lucky, there's no romance in the Kirby series, so I should be fine. It's not like Mario and Peach... Or Link and Zelda... or Sonic and Amy... or... Felix and Calhoun... Oh wait, that's not from a video game.

And I said I would try not to bring that up! ...Okay, I'll do my best. Just follow, and we should be fine. I should be fine.

So, the last time, Kirby got sucked into Patch Land while evil wizard Yin Yarn was going around Dream Land. Kirby met Prince Fluff and the two started going around Patch Land, defeating bosses and collecting magical pieces of yarn to sew back together all seven parts of Patch Land. They had been through Grass Land, Hot Land and Treat Land, now it's Water Land.

What did I say last time? NOT THAT ONE!

Attack of the giant Blooper knock-off!

Come on, Nicolas... Get a hold of yourself... Okay. So... Kirby and Prince Fluff reach Water Land and cross it. They go in bodies of water, they travel on islands, they even see pirate ships. And, at the end, they battle a giant octopus wearing a tuque. The name? Capamari. Kirby has to pull back the wool forming the tuque, all while the squid tries to attack him with its tentacles. Once the tuque is removed, Capamari becomes more dangerous and completely changes its attacks. Look out! Still, at the end, Kirby defeats the octopus, and gets the magical piece of yarn that gives him access to the next zone, Snow Land.

In Dream Land, the yarn Waddle Dees have invaded King Dedede's castle, and captured all the normal Waddle Dees. Dedede doesn't oppose much resistance an is quickly tied up by the impostors. Yin Yarn shows up and sucks King Dedede inside his magic sock. ...Man, this socks... Yeah, I know, bad pun, but I'm not feeling for good comedy today!

WHOA! A yarn penguin!

Kirby and Prince Fluff go through Snow Land, which is kind of reminiscent of those big Canadian winters we have... Except more, um... Dang, I have no idea where I was going with this analogy... Or maybe it's closer to the polar vortex hitting the US right now... or maybe... Darn, I forgot again... Oh well, too bad. Still, Kirby and Fluff keep going, until they reach a giant snowman... atop which is waiting for them... King Dedede! He, too, was turned into yarn! And he's attached to four ropes and used like a marionette. The only way to defeat him it to knock him out temporarily, jump on his back and pull off the ropes, one at a time. Only then is Dedede saved. Yin Yarn, you jerk! Using Kirby's anti-villain often-ally mostly-rival penguin against him! Anyway, once Dedede is defeated, the two heroes get the other piece of yarn and stitch up Snow Land and the next part of Patch Land... Space Land. You know, the word “Land” really appears a little too much in this game.

In Dream Land (see? see?), Yin Yarn's conquest keeps going, and he has managed to turn most of it into a new Patch Land. Up aboard the Halberd, Meta Knight notices this and tries to find who did it. He doesn't have to search for very long, though; Yin Yarn appears and quickly outmatches him. Which is, I must say, quite impressive. What's less impressive is that all Yin Yarn had to do was suck Meta Knight into the sock as well. Now, Yin Yarn has taken control of all of Dream Land! And of Meta Knight, too!

Even in Patch Land, Mets Knight seems menacing.

Kirby and Fluff continue their journey through Space Land, until Kirby meets with a familiar face... None other than Meta Knight, of course! Controlled by the yarn, the knight is extremely hard to defeat. I mean, by kids games' standards, he IS really difficult. Anyway, after a few hits, Kirby manages to beat Meta Knight again. Phew. With his defeat, Kirby and Fluff pick up the last magical piece of yarn and sew together Space Land and the Quilty Square, where Fluff's castle is. Hey, they've put all of Patch Land back together! Hurray! Except Meta Knight tells the two that Yin Yarn has taken over Dream Land. No worries, though; Fluff has a magical sock that will let them travel to Dream Land-

Wait a second, WHAT? Excuse me, if Fluff had this on him all the time, they could have used it to bring Kirby back home at the beginning, to get rid of Yin Yarn quickly! After which he could have come back to help with putting Patch Land back together! Okay, I'll admit, this part is more nitpicking, but seriously, you can sense when a plot is tweaked only because it's a video game. Oh no, wait. The second sock had lost all its power because Patch Land was broken. So, I guess they really had to repair it first, huh? But then, how could Yin Yarn travel to Dream Land if the magic socks were supposedly not working? Damn, I keep finding plot holes! Okay, so... I guess Kirby and Prince Fluff can now head to Dream Land, huh?

Yep, they do just that. Everything has been turned to yarn, fabric and patches! They have to do something, or Yin Yarn will be too dangerous sewn! Er, soon!

When Kirby, Fluff, MK and Dedede reach Dream Land, they see how Yin Yarn's spell has turned everything upside down. All is patches and stitches! In their quest towards Yin Yarn, Kirby and Fluff visit well-known places of Dream Land, such as Whispy Forest, Castle Dedede and the Battleship Halberd. They eventually find Yin Yarn, and the final fight begins.

Yin Yarn, Mega form!

Yin Yarn. Regular Form...

Yin Yarn is one mean piece of fabric, using all sorts of dirty tricks for the first part of the fight. The tricks mostly consist of him re-creating the other bosses from Patch Land. After he's defeated once, his arms, which were giant knitting needles – probably the ones containing his SOUL – rebuild him into a bigger creature, which Kirby must then take care of, himself also transformed into a tank. Eventually, Yin Yarn is defeated, which is not to say he was easy... Still, the villain vanishes, and all of his curses on Dream Land are removed. Prince Fluff goes back to Patch Land, but gives Kirby one of the two magic socks so that he can go to Patch Land once in a while. And once again, the day is saved, by Kirby! The end. They lived happily ever after (until the next nightmare to invade Dream Land, that is.)

Buster...

...And Mara. Look for the others
on the Kirby wiki!

Or rather, end of the Story Mode. The game is still not over. Heck no! Now, Kirby has to retrieve all the pieces of furniture in the levels. After which he must decorate the apartments in the Quilty Square. This will bring in customers who'll come to live in Dom Woole's apartments. Each one of those customers will want to play a particular type of game with Kirby. Every one of them has a number of missions, which all take place in the game's levels, and in which Kirby must complete a particular task. Who are those characters, and what are those tasks, and how many must be done for that character?

-Zeke will hide in a level with four of its siblings, and Kirby must find them all. There's 18 missions like this.

-Beadrix will ask you to collect a certain number of beads in a part of a level. It has 20 missions for you.

-Carrie will ask Kirby to carry her (haha, name pun) through a part of a level. That makes 12 more missions.

-Buster demands that you defeat a certain amount of enemies in a level. Hop, 20 more missions.

-Finally, Mara loves races and wants Kirby to race with her. Be faster and beat her in a race through a level, in 30 missions!

For all of those missions, there's a time limit. So, play wisely. Those missions range from ridiculously easy to difficult, often a difficulty that might be too high for a young kid. But those are still pretty fun. Also, that means there is a HUNDRED missions that you need to complete in order to beat the game and achieve 100% completion! Oh yeah, while I'm thinking about that, each time you complete a mission, you unlock a wallpaper that you can then use in Kirby's apartment. Not a big reward, but it's still required to finish the game completely.

Is there something else to add? I don't think... Um... Nope, nothing. Which means I can now give my verdict.

AWESOME!

All this is made of yarn...

That's the only word I can use to describe this game. Okay, there's also patchy, wooly, and other words about fabric, but still. It's an amazing game. Almost everything behind it is executed perfectly! The plot is great for kids, simplistic and told as if a father was reading a story to their children (fun fact: in the game's French version, it's a woman who narrates), and yet the story tries to avoid as many plot holes as possible. The controls are simple to remember, again probably because the game is targeted at kids. The levels are very creative, many of them contain gimmicks that we never see in other levels.

...and so is all this...

Now, the game's style: Wow. Just wow. The designs are very well thought-out, with most characters being made of threads of wool and buttons, and literally everything else made with a “fabric” theme. I already said it, and I'll say it again, the levels are just beautiful. Most things in this game are beautiful. And when it's not beautiful, its at least very well thought-out, which makes this game as much a treat to watch as it is to play. As for the music, while a tad forgettable, is also enjoyable in the levels. Special mention to Squashini's theme, my favorite original tune in the game.

...not to mention ALL THIS, too!

It's extremely fun to look for the many collectibles, three per level, and if you just rush through the levels every time, then you'll spend a couple more hours trying to find everything. Once you think you're done with finding the pieces of furniture, you can also try to get a Gold medal in every level, which adds another nice layer of challenge. And even beyond that, you've got a hundred more missions to do. This game keeps you busy, and that's very good. The game remains easy for the most part, up until the last world, the last collectibles to find in the levels, the last gold medals to get, the last missions. You see, there's a lot to do. Kids won't necessarily try to complete the game, but dedicated players can, and they'll have a lot of fun all the way through.

And for a while, playing it and trying to complete it has almost... managed... to make me forget... about... Goddamn Valentine's Day. Look, I'm sorry, I did my best, okay? It's just... Loneliness weighs in my heart, like an anvil falling on a villain's head in some Looney Tunes cartoon. And... Urgh... I just... Damn. See, I can't even make a sentence correctly right now.

Okay, pull yourself back together, Nic. Keep telling yourself. If it's not this year, it's gonna be next year. You'll just have to try harder. You can be with someone. Go out, ask to young women your age. Yes. You can do it. Yes. It's not impossible. Hell no. Leave your shyness at home. You had to stop being shy to start a blog! You had to ask help from people to promote your blog. You nagged two forums and two social networks! And now, you're nagging people to draw stuff for your blog's first anniversary! For that, you had to stop being  shy! You can do it! I swear, my chances are good. Not all girls want bad boys, some want gentle, polite guys who will not treat them like crap! Some girls want good guys! Yes, I can totally do it! Come on, Nic!

I'm gonna listen to a couple motivational speeches, while I'm at work, and tonight I'm freaking going out. Don't expect any message from me.