Nintendo’s E3 Digital Event was full of surprises, but few were as unexpected as the latest Kirby title heading to the Wii U.
As early Nintendo DS adopters can tell you, Kirby’s Canvas Curse was a bright spot on what was otherwise a painful start for the dual screen handheld. But although it used the touch screen as its primary control type to draw paths, tap characters and block obstacles for a a ball shaped Kirby, it wasn’t a mini game collection. It wasn’t a glorified tech demo either. To many a gamer’s surprise, it was one of the most innovative, challenging and fun titles the pink puff ball had been in for a long time. With a sequel on the way nearly 10 years after we all scratched up our handhelds with our frantic drawing, it was time to see if Rainbow Curse could carry over the magic that the canvas left behind.
Instead of using sprite based art, Rainbow Curse has opted to go with a claymation visual style, which gives a ton of charm to an already adorable series while making it stand out from the dozens of Kirby titles already on the market. Like its predecessor, the controls consist of drawing paths for Kirby as he rolls forward on his own. Getting creative with your pathways with tricks like drawing loops often lead towards hidden areas and bonus points that played into my overall rank at the end of the stage, but doing so is easier said than done since there are enemies and traps at every turn.
Tapping Kirby will make him charge forward, defeating certain enemies and destroying blocks in the process. For those times where your foes actually wisen up and use stronger blocks to hinder your progress, holding the stylus on Kirby will charge him up, allowing him to plow through stronger obstacles while doing his best Sonic impression. Keeping a close eye on the stages leads to additional treasure that can be discovered as well, so some well timed drawing is in order to get the most out of each world, especially for the completionists out there.
Eventually, stages get a lot more complex, especially with the water stage shown off in the demo. Using currents to move Kirby in the right direction, the paths drawn act as more of a barrier, keeping the star warrior safe from hazards and enemies that he would otherwise float aimlessly into. And when opponents get too big to fight with conventional methods, Kirby’s new Tank form turns him into a missile firing weapon of mass destruction, switching to an action shooter-ish play style that’s a departure from the standard path drawing. There’s a reason why the pink puffball is considered the strongest warrior in the universe!
Familiar, yet with some new tricks up his non-existent sleeves, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse is poised to bring us back to the greatness of its predecessor while making some fresh improvements to the formula. Still challenging, still adorable and still unlike any other game out there, here’s to hoping Rainbow Curse will continue to surprise us when its released in 2015 exclusively for the Wii U.
http://youtu.be/aH9znuWkdbI