Kirby's Epic Yarn

"Sucked into a world made of cloth by the evil sorcerer Yin-Yarn, Kirby discovered he'd been turned into yarn! In this form, Kirby couldn't inhale or use Copy Abilities, but he gained new powers and could change his shape in amazing ways. With the help of Prince Fluff, the heroic prince of Patch Land, Kirby set out to defeat Yin-Yarn. Along the way, he helped the residents of Patch Land as a friendly neighbor in Apartment 101 of Dom Woole's apartment building!"

- Summary

Kirby's Epic Yarn is known in Japan as 毛糸のカービィ (Keito no Kābii, meaning Yarn Kirby). It is a Kirby game released in 2010/2011, and is the first non-Virtual Console Kirby game to be released for the Nintendo Wii. First uncovered at E3 on June 15, 2010, it is the first Kirby platformer to hit a home console since the Nintendo 64's game Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. It bears striking similarities to a commercial for Kirby's Adventure from two decades ago. The game's overall design is vastly different from Kirby's other appearances; the world takes on an appearance of a scrapbook of crafts materials, especially cloth and felt, and is populated by characters friendly and not-so-friendly made out of yarn. All of the surfaces as well as Kirby and Prince Fluff's bodies are physics-enabled to great tactile effect; surfaces deform dynamically when trodden on, yarn outlines of characters and the yarn whip behave realistically, and movements and transformations are lively and fluid. This game is also notable for its piano soundtrack.

One other significant change from Kirby's previous appearances is that he has lost the ability to inhale, and all the abilities that go with it (including the ability to puff up and float), as air goes right through his new body. In its place, Kirby gains the use of the yarn whip, which is his main means of interaction with the game world. It can be used to unravel or wrap up enemies to be thrown, latch onto buttons, and pull on zippers, or otherwise manipulate the stage to remove walls or close gaps. Also, Kirby can now transform into several forms at will, and can access the Super Transformations via the use of a Metamortex. Beads are hidden throughout the levels for players to collect, along with other hidden items concealed in Treasure Chests, with every level having three chests.

The multiplayer feature allows a second player to control Prince Fluff, the prince of Patch Land, who is similar in appearance to Kirby. The entirety of the game's content can be accessed by playing with one or two players.

Notably, this is the first game since Kirby's Avalanche, which is dubiously canon, to feature Kirby speaking during cutscenes, making it the first game in the main series, and possibly the first canonical game, to do so.

A spiritual successor to the game, Yarn Yoshi, has been announced for the Wii U. While it is not part of the Kirby series (instead part of the Yoshi series), it is being developed by the same team (Good-Feel), and several elements from Kirby's Epic Yarn are present.

Story
Yin-Yarn the sorcerer runs amok in Dream Land, turning everything, citizens included, into yarn. Meanwhile, Kirby walks by a bush and notices a tomato with an M on top of it. Thinking it to be a Maxim Tomato, he starts to inhale to eat it just as Yin-Yarn appears and starts to introduce himself. Yin-Yarn gets angry at Kirby eating the tomato, and sucks him into a sock tied with a string around his neck.

Kirby finds himself in a strange land, where everything is made of yarn - and due to the sorcerer's magic, himself as well. Just then, he saw a yarn monster chasing a yarn boy. Kirby tries to inhale the monster, but the air goes right through his body. Unsure of what to do, but still wanting to help, Kirby transforms into a car and drives off with the yarn boy. It turns out that Yin-Yarn's tomato was a Metamato, and from eating it, Kirby can now transform into different things at will. The boy introduces himself as Prince Fluff, and offers Kirby to go over to Patch Castle, which teaches Kirby the basics of Patch Land.

Right after that, a monster appears and tries to eat Prince Fluff. Kirby defeats the monster by using his weight form and obtains a piece of yarn that stitches Quilty Square to Grass Land. As a dismayed Prince Fluff explains, Yin-Yarn split Patch Land into seven parts, and he still has five missing pieces to find. Being his helpful self, Kirby promises his help to make Patch Land a peaceful place once again, and the two set off on their adventure. After defeating Fangora in Grass Land, a magic yarn stitches Grass Land to Hot Land.

Interlude: Eventually Kirby's stomach starts growling, so he searches for food in a tree, but cannot seem to find any. Suddenly, the tree starts to shake, and Kirby tries to hang on for as long as he can. It's actually Prince Fluff shaking the tree and he says this is the way to get food in Patch Land, and proceeds to shake several apples and Kirby out of the tree. Kirby gets mad and chases Prince Fluff for so long that he forgot he was hungry.

After defeating Hot Wings in Hot Land, Kirby and Prince Fluff find the magic yarn that stitches Hot Land and Treat Land together.

Meanwhile, back in Dream Land, a group of Waddle Dees are working for King Dedede inside the castle. King Dedede notices that one of the Waddle Dees, being made out of yarn, "looks a little strange", but he ignores this. Yin-Yarn, hiding behind some boxes, continues to sew more yarn Waddle Dees with his needles. Yin-Yarn cackles, saying that Dream Land will be his soon enough, although he confesses that he is not sure what to do with it.

After defeating Squashini, Kirby and Fluff find the magic yarn that stitches Treat Land to Water Land.

Interlude: Along their journey, they come upon a breathtaking, mountain-sized cake! Kirby tries to contain himself, but jumps into the cake nonetheless. Prince Fluff declares a cake-eating contest and starts eating as well. However, they don't balance their eating, and the cake collapses with them inside. Prince Fluff pops out and says he can't eat anymore. Kirby pops out with a gigantic cherry in his mouth and eats it, winning the contest.

After they defeat Capamari, the magic yarn stitches Water Land to Snow Land.

Back in Dream Land, Yin-Yarn's Waddle Dee impostors capture the real Waddle Dees and corner Dedede. Before he can defend himself, they attack and tie him up. Yin-Yarn comes out and uses his sock to suck Dedede away into Patch Land and transform him into yarn. While he wanders Snow Land, he sees Kirby and starts to run over, but a puppeteer's device comes in from out of nowhere and knocks him unconscious, then takes control of his body. When he is defeated by Kirby, he returns to normal and the magic yarn from the puppeteer's device is relinquished, and stitches Snow Land to Space Land.

Once again, back in Dream Land, while roaming the skies on Battleship Halberd, Meta Knight notices some changes in Dream Land's landscape. Suddenly, Yin-Yarn crashes onto the deck and sucks him into Patch Land. When Kirby and Prince Fluff find him guarding Space Land's magic yarn, his eyes flash between yellow and purple, as he is under Yin-Yarn's possession. Once Kirby defeats him, he is freed, and promptly disappears into his cape, while Kirby and Fluff get the last piece of magic yarn, which stitches Patch Land fully back together. They head back to Patch Castle to celebrate, but are interrupted when an unconscious Meta Knight wakes up. He apologizes for attacking them and blames the yarn, and explains what is happening in Dream Land. Kirby is upset that Yin-Yarn is taking over, but Prince Fluff pulls out another magical sock. It turns out that Yin-Yarn had only stolen one of the pair, and now that Patch Land is restored, the sock should regain its normal magic.

Kirby, Prince Fluff, Meta Knight, and King Dedede use the sock to transport to Yin-Yarn and confront him; upon their arrival at Dream Land, they find that Yin-Yarn has discarded his sock and Dream Land is covered with yarn and fabric, with Castle Dedede now floating ominously overhead. Kirby and Prince Fluff eventually track down Yin-Yarn and defeat him; however, his knitting needles come to life and use the magic yarn to give a new spin on him as Mega Yin-Yarn. Thinking fast, Meta Knight flies over and drops a Tankbot Metamortex, and Kirby powers up and decimates Mega Yin-Yarn. His knitting needles are banished to the far reaches of Patch Land, and the yarn spell soon wears off, with Kirby and Dream Land returning to normal. Prince Fluff says farewell to Kirby and leaves that magical sock for Kirby to come visit whenever he wants. After the credits roll, Kirby is shown sleeping in a field with the sock in his hands, dreaming of his new friends in Patch Land.

Controls
The game is played with the Wii Remote held sideways.

Transformations
Kirby's inhaling ability has been rendered useless and he has lost the ability to fly, but he has a variety of forms he can transform into.

Basic Transformations
Kirby can transform into these forms at will as a result of consuming Yin-Yarn's metamato. These forms do not require a metamortex.

Super Transformations
Kirby takes on one of these forms after touching a Metamortex. The Tankbot, Off-Roader and Spin Boarder forms have two players sharing control, with the one who grabbed the Metamortex taking on the form and the other player providing support, while all the other forms have Kirby and Prince Fluff transforming separately and giving players independent control. The train form is the one special case where players take turns drawing tracks, but Kirby and Prince Fluff share the same train. In alphabetical order:

Levels
Quilty Square is partially accessible at the start, but the rest of the areas can only be accessed after obtaining their corresponding Area Patch.
 * Quilty SquareQuilty Square.jpg
 * Patch Castle


 * Grass LandGrass Land.jpg
 * Fountain Gardens
 * Flower Fields
 * Rainbow Falls
 * Big-Bean Vine
 * Fangora (Boss)
 * Mole Hole
 * Weird Woods


 * Hot LandHot Land.jpg
 * Pyramid Sands
 * Lava Landing
 * Cool Cave
 * Dino Jungle
 * Hot Wings (Boss)
 * Temper Temple
 * Dusk Dunes


 * Treat LandTreat Land.jpg
 * Toy Tracks
 * Mushroom Run
 * Sweets Park
 * Melody Town
 * Squashini (Boss)
 * Cocoa Station
 * Dark Manor


 * Water LandWater Land.jpg
 * Splash Beach
 * Blub-Blub Ocean
 * Secret Island
 * Deep-Dive Deep
 * Capamari (Boss)
 * Boom Boatyard
 * Fossil Reef


 * Snow LandSnow Land.jpg
 * Snowy Fields
 * Cozy Cabin
 * Mt. Slide
 * Frosty Wheel
 * King Dedede (Boss)
 * Frigid Fjords
 * Evergreen Lift


 * Space LandSpace Land.jpg
 * Future City
 * Tube Town
 * Mysterious UFO
 * Stellar Way
 * Meta Knight (Boss)
 * Moon Base
 * Outer Rings


 * Dream LandDream Land.jpg
 * Whispy's Forest
 * Tempest Towers
 * Cloud Palace
 * Castle Dedede
 * Yin-Yarn (Boss)
 * Meta Melon Isle
 * Battleship Halberd

Major Characters

 * Kirby
 * Prince Fluff
 * Yin-Yarn
 * King Dedede
 * Meta Knight
 * Dom Woole
 * Chaise Woole
 * Loomis Woole
 * Angie
 * Zeke
 * Beadrix
 * Carrie
 * Buster
 * Mara

Reception
The critical reception to Kirby's Epic Yarn has been the most positive in the series' history, with the game currently holding a 89.53% on review compilation site GameRankings, making it the fourth best reviewed Wii game of 2010.


 * IGN gave the game a 9.0 score and an Editor's Choice award, calling it "an amazing looking game that embraces traditional platforming designs in fresh new ways."


 * GameTrailers gave the game a score of 8.4, praising its presentation and imaginative gameplay, though criticizing the inability to die. GameSpot gave the game a score of 8.5, stating that "Kirby's Epic Yarn's story levels are way too easy", but that the graphics and overall fun made up for its shortcomings.


 * GamesRadar gave the game 9/10, praising its "impossibly adorable graphics" and classic Nintendo gameplay.


 * Kotaku gave the game an Editor's Choice award, calling it "a game designed for constant smiling, a side-scroller that will soothe the stressed."


 * Nintendo World Report gave the game a perfect score of 10, stating that "the joyous platformer might not be difficult, but it's fun, inventive, and outrageously imaginative."


 * 1Up gave the game an A-, with praise for the creativity of the levels and the thematic visuals.


 * Game Informer gave the game a 9.5 out of 10, praising the game's artistic style as "one of the best-looking games on the Wii" and also noting both its ease of use for less experienced gamers and its challenges for more experienced gamers.


 * Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu gave Kirby's Epic Yarn a score of 36 out of 40, stating that "The game's not just about looking cute -- the way the gameplay takes advantage of this yarn world is brilliant. Even if you've encountered these sorts of obstacles in other action games, they seem fresh all over again here. It's a great action game, too, and if you try to get every item in the game, even veteran action fans will find it challenging. The whole package is stuffed full of fun and surprises. The graphics are unique and packed with originality. The game's set up so you never get a Game Over, but there's still enough optional hardcore aspects to it to keep all walks of gamers happy."


 * Nintendo Power gave Kirby's Epic Yarn an 8.5/10, praising the game's concept, gameplay and graphics.

Trivia

 * Instead of saying that the grass feels like "pants" at the intro in the North American version, Kirby says it feels like "trousers" in the European version.
 * Kirby's Epic Yarn and Yoshi's Story share several similarities. The early levels in Yoshi's Story and the whole game in Kirby's Epic Yarn are made of crafts materials, and both games are the first games of their respective series to go onto the current generation console.
 * This is the first game since Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards where Kirby's voice is heard on a current generation console outside of the Super Smash Bros. series.
 * The plot appears to follow a similar premise to that of Kirby: Canvas Curse, with Kirby being transfigured by the villain into another form, which changes the way he is controlled. Using Kirby's Train form is similar to the way Kirby: Canvas Curse is played.
 * Meta Knight's mask does not fall off when defeated. His eyes flash from purple to yellow during the fight in an effort to resist Yin-Yarn's possession. Meanwhile, King Dedede's eyes start out yellow but remain purple under Yin-Yarn's influence, meaning he doesn't have the strength to fight possession.
 * This is the first Kirby game to have a narration as well as captions.
 * In the PAL version, the narrator is different, along with being in Commonwealth English.
 * This is the first game to feature Kirby speaking in what appears to be a "Poyo" language, first seen in the anime. The second is Kirby Mass Attack.
 * This is the second game in the series in which currency is used (beads), the other being Kirby Super Star (Ultra), where The Great Cave Offensive listed the value in "G."
 * Tempest Towers is closer to the NES version of Butter Building, whereas Cloud Palace and Battleship Halberd make references to the DS version of Bubbly Clouds and the battleship (respectively).
 * One of the many fabrics Kirby can collect is the Famicom fabric. This fabric depicts lots of Famicom designs and obviously is a reference to the game console.
 * Kirby's Epic Yarn is one of, if not the only game in the Kirby series to have the Warp Star absent from it completely.
 * Kirby doesn't get a snorkel when he enters water in this game. This is also the case in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and Kirby Mass Attack.
 * This is the only game so far to have an "ability" specifically made for underwater purposes.
 * The symbol of Meta Knight is the established one from Kirby Super Star Ultra, though there is a subtle change - the sword figure was changed to a needle thread, and the wings form more of a "Y" shape than an "M" (for obvious reasons).
 * This, along with Kirby's Dream Land 2 and Kirby's Dream Land 3, is one of the few games in which sub-games contribute to the game file's percentage of completion.
 * This is the only Kirby game that features a room that can be decorated.
 * Kirby's Epic Yarn takes up 31 blocks of Wii memory.
 * Kirby's Epic Yarn and Kirby's Return to Dream Land share very similar Wii memory icons.
 * Kirby's Epic Yarn borrows many sound effects from another Wii title, Wario Land: Shake It!. Coincidentally, Tomoya Tomita composed the soundtracks for both games.
 * A yarn version of Kirby, referencing Kirby's Epic Yarn, makes a cameo appearance as a purchasable hat in the Nintendo 3DS built-in game StreetPass Mii Plaza.
 * Kirby's Epic Yarn and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards are the only games in the series in which Kirby smiles while standing and walking. In all other games, Kirby's expression is neutral.
 * The game's sucsess may have been the motivation for Yoshi's Wooly World, another game that uses the same style.