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Review: Kirby Canvas Curse

Posted by Zonk on Thu Jul 28, 2005 01:47 PM
from the its-ink-riffic dept.
Portables (Games)
Game reviews today focus on graphics, sound and story, and usually say very little about fun. Rarely is it possible to describe a game anymore as simply "fun", and to some extent that's a credit to the growth of the industry. Fun, though, is exactly what Kirby Canvas Curse conjures up. The first title to really capture the spirit of the Nintendo DS is a quick moving experience that's easy to pick up and put down, bite sized chunks of art and entertainment. Read on for my commentary on the latest imaginative HAL Labs game.

  • Title: Kirby Canvas Curse
  • Developer: HAL Labs
  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • System: DS
  • Reviewer: Zonk
  • Score: 9/10

When the DS was first released in November of last year, the initial game releases didn't quite grasp the essential nature of the console. Sure, Touch the Magic XX/XY let you reach out and touch people, and WarioWare Touched was an entertaining way to interact more with the odd mini-games, but nothing stood out as ground-shakingly new. Games released on the handheld since then have been mostly ports from older systems, some relatively competent and some teeth grindingly bad. This decision on Nintendo's part has diluted the enthusiasm that fans of the dual-screen idea initially possessed and squandered their launch momentum.

Thankfully, the vision that Nintendo has for the DS is beginning to become clearer. The release of Nintendogs in Japan has been a cultural phenomenon, spurring sales of the handheld to new levels and putting Nintendo's console well ahead of Sony's offering. Electroplankton and a slate of games with touch interaction are planned for release throughout the rest of the year, and are once again getting people excited about idea of two screens.

Kirby is the first title on the DS released in the states to really capture the essential different-ness of the handheld console. Kirby's normal bouncy, wind sucking adventures are brought to a halt by a witch that curses Dreamland with a powerful incantation. Colors are drained away and the realms of Dreamland are warped into art pieces full of monsters. Kirby gives chase to the witch as she flees, but to add insult to injury she transforms the already rotund little guy into a limbless ball.

That's where you come in. Kirby rolls along through the different levels, and via the stylus you assist him in giving the witch her comeuppance. By poking enemies with the stylus, you stun them and allow Kirby to safely knock them off the map. By poking Kirby you can make him execute a dash maneuver, which takes out Kirby's foes and causes him to speed along through the level. Like other Kirby games, the gelatinous blob of a hero absorbs the powers of the creatures he defeats. By knocking out enemies, he can gain fire powers, or ice powers, or the ability to turn into a rock. Powers are activated by poking him, and replace his normal dash attack. One power even allows him to inflate like a balloon, and additional pokes pump him up further and send him flying higher and higher.

This intuitive control scheme is extended through a clever continuation of the game's art theme. By drawing with the stylus, you can create lines of paint on the canvas world. They serve many purposes, allowing Kirby to avoid obstacles and projectiles and enabling you to change his path of travel. Like a velcro-surfaced ping pong ball, Kirby follows your trails exactly to avoid opponents and dive into the depths of watery levels. With all the poking and the drawing, the DS allows for a somewhat unique experience. While this idea was first implimented in Yoshi Touch & Go, the inking system's use here is so much more intuitive as to be a new way of play. Instead of manipulating Kirby directly you control the world around him to ensure your success.

And an interesting world it is. Every level in Canvas Curse is broken up into three areas, which are further subdivided into three maps. You'll tackle nine discrete maps before you've mastered a level, with a boss battle capping off the level's challenges. The maps begin with relatively simple plains and tunnels, and eventually see you working your way through lava filled volcanoes, watery seascapes, and high-tech factories. In each map you'll have three objectives, all of which are simple to grasp. Foremost, you want to keep Kirby alive. He can take a few hits (initially four) before his little ball body pops, but there are flashing pick-me-ups scattered throughout the game to recharge your energy. Secondly, you'll want to gather stars. Stars are strewn about every map and are an easy way of making sure that you're going in the right direction. The stars are just the dreamland version of coins or rupees, and in the grand platforming tradition 100 stars equals a 1up. Your tertiary objective on every map is to find the hidden Medal. There is one secreted away in each map, and collecting medals allows you to use the Dreamland version of the slot machine.

Unlike your Vegas experience, though, Dreamland slots pay up. The "Medal Swap" selection from the main menu allows you to trade in your medals for stuff. While your initial booty (new music tracks in the sound test option) will make you question the need to collect these things, pressing on nets you some neat stuff. New colors for your ink trails are fun extras (including a zebra striped one I really like), and eventually your Medal search makes gameplay easier. Enough Medals turned in and Kirby can survive more hits.

While you can find one Medal in every map in the main game, defeating a level allows you to take on the maps you just cleared in the "Rainbow Run". The Run is where you'll be able to earn most of your Medals. When you choose an area in the level, you'll be presented with the option to do a time trial or a line trial. The two trials each use a map from the area you've chosen, meaning that in the Rainbow Run you can work through six of the nine original maps you defeated. The time trial is just that, a challenge to make it through the map as quickly as possible. Line trial requires you to work through the map using as little ink as possible. For both the ink and time trial there are is a first, second, and third place goal. By besting the first place goal on either of the trials you earn three medals, one for each goal surpassed. Each defeated level can therefore offer up 18 Medals in total if you best both trials in all three areas.

The challenge of defeating a level is not complete, though, until you've faced a boss battle. The boss battles, like the rest of the game, show off the unique gameplay possible on the DS in a fun and interesting way. In one game, Kirby rolls along through a tube while a skeazy sketch artist races ahead of you drawing Kirby-related shapes. In order to catch up with and defeat the skater you have to sketch out the shapes he drew, and quickly. Another boss battle is a form of Arkanoid, with Kirby climbing ever upward through destroyable block areas being bounced around by paddles you draw with the stylus. A third is a frenetic mining cart race against an angry penguin, where you use the stylus to direct Kirby's path of travel. To make him go faster, you make him plow into food. As one does.

The boss battles sum up everything that is great about Kirby Canvas Curse. The intuitive use of the stylus to manipulate the little pink puffball's environment is a wonderfully logical progression from the usual platforming schtick. The fast pace of the gameplay and the beauty of the environments ensure that the main game doesn't get old. Canvas Curse is the perfect handheld gaming concept. Discrete areas and the "hold" that the DS places on the game when you close the lid means you can pick up and put down the game with absolutely no regrets. If you want a quick fix and aren't currently in the middle of a main game area, you can work through a Rainbow Run map and earn some Medals for new ink patterns or main game loot. No matter how you're playing the game you'll appreciate the quirky enemies and the well done music. It's as simple as this: If you have a DS you need to try out Canvas Curse. This game is the reason you bought the system.

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  • Growth? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by DrEldarion (114072) on Thursday July 28 2005, @01:49PM (#13188506) Homepage
    Rarely is it possible to describe a game anymore as simply "fun", and to some extent that's a credit to the growth of the industry.

    Credit to the GROWTH of the industry? I, and a lot of people, would argue that it's indicative of the downfall of the industry.

    Also, add Katamari Damacy to the list of games that can just be described as "fun".
    • Rarely is it possible to describe a game anymore as simply "fun", and to some extent that's a credit to the growth of the industry.

      I would hypothesize that this is because games are much much more complicated than once they were. Pong, Breakout, and Jungle Hunt were easy to say "hell yes, this is fun." You have a singluar objective (Frogger, Asteroids) and spend the entire time focusing on that goal - and is that fun? Therin lies your answer.

      However, today's games are so much more complex. Games ra
        • I'd only describe a vacation with a blanket term like fun or no fun if the person asking about it was someone I didn't feel like having a conversation with.

          Every vacation that I've been on has had good parts, mixed in with at least a few little problems. Most of your coworkers, when they're passing you in the hall, they just want a quick answer because they've got other things to do, and they just want to hear that you had a good time. But if they're thinking of going on a similar caribbean vacation, they'r

    • Re:Growth? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by puppetman (131489) on Thursday July 28 2005, @01:59PM (#13188615) Homepage
      I think you miss the point of "fun".

      He's not saying, "It's a first person shooter that pushes the genre by adding bump-mapped surfaces that make the reflections in the water look amazing..."

      He's saying it's a game with no genre; it's not a "me-too, look what features we have if your computer sports a $400 video card"

      Revolutionary ideas can't be quantified into categories defined in the past. Evolutionary games can.

      This game is not the evolution of some other game with a few interesting twists.

      Again, you've missed the point.
        • I wasn't saying anything about Katamari Damacy (never even heard of it). I was commenting on what he said about the inability to apply any adjective to a game other than "fun":

          "Credit to the GROWTH of the industry? I, and a lot of people, would argue that it's indicative of the downfall of the industry."

          In otherwords, the gaming industry is in decline because there are games out there that cannot be described by what's come before, and thus the only description you can use is "fun".

          I say that if a game is s

  • Best platformer ever (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 28 2005, @01:51PM (#13188517)
    This is seriously one of the best platformers I've ever played. Touchscreen a gimmick? Ha!
    • Amen. I was overjoyed when I heard of a console getting a touchscreen (finally, a pointing device for consoles so FPS and RTS console games can avoid suckage).... and then was disappointed when I realised that Nintendo would be making it, and so the main games would be Mario and stuff. Fortunately, Nintendo is making neat stuff for the DS.

      I do wonder why they even bothered with the second screen - I haven't seen many games that justify the expense of even having it. The touchscreen and wireless are the r
      • It seems the second screen has become the gimmick that the touchscreen was thought to be. It's the superfluous thing, although it does make some touchscreen games easier. For example, you can keep playing while glancing at the map, instead of moving your hand from the touchscreen to hit the start button (or another button).
        • I've never heard anyone say that the touchscreen was the gimick. Almost everyone I've spoken to in message boards and in real life say that 2 screens is extremely gimmicky and unneccesary.

          I've seen almost unanimous decision that 1 big touch screen, equal to or more then the size of 2 small ones is better then 2 small ones with one as a touchscreen. The fact is that 2 small screens are limiting, especially when there's a barrier between them, and if they really wanted to devs can split up a large screen in
        • Didn't most people always think that the second screen was the more gimmicky of the two (it is called the Nintendo DS after all)? I personally thought that it was, even though I also thought that the touchscreen was more gimmicky then than I do now (I figured that the complex games that tend to use mice like RTSes and computer RPGs wouldn't appear on the DS, not realizing that you can make much simpler games like this and Warioware that can also make good use out of the touchscreen).

          Rob

      • Re:Best platformer ever (Score:5, Insightful)

        by puppetman (131489) on Thursday July 28 2005, @02:08PM (#13188692) Homepage
        Interesting to see how the DS is going. I thought it was going to die a slow and painful death.

        Two small screens, and you can write on them? I got a PSP instead.

        The graphics are great, there are some great games, but it's all racing, puzzles and sports. It's a limited version of a PS2 or XBox.

        When I go to my local electronics warehouse, I've noticed that the PSP is being relegated to a crappy, out-of-the-way location. The DS is way more noticable.

        On the flip side, I'll be watching Battlestar Galactica episode 3, season 2, on my PSP on my train-ride into work on Monday morning.
        • Well, so far, the DS has outsold the PSP two-to-one.

          And it seems to have a killer lineup, with Metroid Prime Hunters, Advance Wars: Dual Strike, Age of Empires 2, Nintendogs, Viewtiful Joe DS, Tony Hawk DS (online and cel-shaded), Animal Crossing DS (online), Mario Kart DS (online), MMBN DS, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, a new 2D Mario Platformer, Mario & Luigi 2, Sonic Rush, and Need For Speed Most Wanted all coming this fall...

          Throw in 25 online games in development, as well as
          • Looks like they changed the name...

            Here's the original name [gizmodo.com]
          • Well said. Aside from the SNES, NES and Neo Geo emulators my PSP sits in its cradle most of the time. I haven't bought a game for the PSP in ages, there's been nothing good released in ages (as evidenced by the high sales of UMD movies). I think the PSP might see a big boost in sales when GTA:LCS comes out though.

            One other area the DS comes out on top over the PSP for me is how quickly you can play a game. The PSP has long loading times and big gaps between save points. There's no way to have a quick five m

      • Re:Best platformer ever (Score:4, Insightful)

        by GFLPraxis (745118) on Thursday July 28 2005, @02:27PM (#13188858) Homepage Journal
        Disappointed Nintendo is making it?
        Less than a month till Metroid Prime Hunters, a FPS, comes out.

        Splinter Cell and GoldenEye already came out.

        "I do wonder why they even bothered with the second screen - I haven't seen many games that justify the expense of even having it."

        It's pretty simple when you think about it. If it only had one screen, when you play an FPS game, your stylus or finger would cover whatever you are aiming at. Therefore you need one screen for the view and one for the touch sensitivity, like in Metroid Prime Hunters.
      • Miyamoto said the decision was made because your stylus or thumb has to cover part of one screen.

  • Amazing game (Score:2, Informative)

    by anza (900224)
    Kirby:CC is an amazing platformer. The end boss was one of the most satisfying I've played in years, and the entire game is just a blast to sit around and play with. I can just sit and play the time-trial tire levels over and over, simply because it's like a freeform version of Sonic. Great stuff, all around.

  • Initial reviews.. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by pickyouupatnine (901260) on Thursday July 28 2005, @01:54PM (#13188554) Homepage
    Initial reviews of any game lately have always included and focused a lot on graphics and sound (among other things) because the developers spend a lot of time on them. But if the gameplay isn't right, then the game's longevity is severly hurt. After the first wave of buys and reviews, one gets a sense of how well the games (especially online games) by how many people are still playing it. .. Part of the reason why I like to wait a few weeks or even months before playing a game. If its good - then there's lots of people still playing it ;).

  • Define: Kirby (Score:3, Informative)

    by se7en11 (833841) on Thursday July 28 2005, @01:55PM (#13188568) Homepage
    For all those who don't know who or most confusing what Kirby is:

    Kirby is a small, pink, round ball-shaped character with large feet and small arms....Kirby [wikipedia.org]

  • I just seen this on gametrailers.com (Score:3, Informative)

    by 88NoSoup4U88 (721233) on Thursday July 28 2005, @01:55PM (#13188573) Homepage
    And since a picture can tell a thousand words, I guess some videos [gametrailers.com] will make it up to a million of words ;-)

    Looks very fun indeed.

  • Easter Egg (Score:5, Funny)

    by exp(pi*sqrt(163)) (613870) on Thursday July 28 2005, @01:55PM (#13188575) Journal
    If you place the stylus in the top left corner and then, while pressing down the A key, swipe to the lower right corner - wait 3 seconds, and then press X and Y while rubbing the stylus in circles around the middle of the touchscreen while humming approximately a middle C into the microphone, you'll get the Hot Milk cheat. Kirby will appear naked and then by blowing on the microphone...well...you'll just have to try it for yourself and see...
    • Since one of the cheats for the game is inserting the Game Boy Advance game Kirby And The Amazing Mirror in the cartridge slot and then loading a saved game from it (unlocks a secret character), I might wonder what raging killer Kirby might turn into when inserting Grand Theft Auto ;)

  • You knew it was coming... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Eohl (40739) on Thursday July 28 2005, @02:03PM (#13188649)
    Penny Arcade comic [penny-arcade.com] and Tycho's newspost [penny-arcade.com] reviewing the game.

  • My heart be still! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Shimmer (3036) <brianberns@gmail.com> on Thursday July 28 2005, @02:06PM (#13188671) Homepage Journal
    Inlines images in a Slashdot story? Wow! It's so... graphical. I can hardly believe it.

  • It really is quite fun (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 28 2005, @02:07PM (#13188681)
    I have to admit i was sceptical on the whole DS thing until a freind let me try out this game on it. Needless to say i can see why this handheld is outselling the PSP. This game is just FUN. Pure and simple.

    On the one hand it's simple and easy to jump in and out of, perfect for a handheld system. On the other hand it an be a much more complex experience, it all depends on how much time you have to put into it.

    There's a similar game like this with yoshi and baby mario from the snes yohsi's island game. I hear it's pretty good as well.
    • Yeah, let's ignore the fact that it's less than 1/2 the price of the PSP at most places.

      Parents will get the kid a DS and a game over getting them a PSP any day.

      I keep thinking about getting myself a PSP, but then I look at the game linup, the insane prices on those games and end up glad that I bought an archos Gmini 400 and a DS instead. I get games ,movies, music and multimedia all for the same cash (Archos Gmini 245.00 DS $139.00) I spend $384.00 versus the $399.00 for the PSP...

      dont get me wrong, the P

  • Why games aren't described as "fun" (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Game review don't tell you if a game is "fun" because it is not a quantifiable term. Is Battlefield 2 fun? I think so, my friend doesn't.

    The simple fact of the matter is that in professional journalism (which game reviewrs are moving to, the days of Daily Radar are over) you can't communicate with your audiance using vague terms like "fun". You might as well tell me the game is also fuzzy.

    Instead, most professional reviwes describe the gameplay in detail, drawing reference to similar games so that reader

  • The game gets better even after you beat it! (Score:5, Informative)

    by celerityfm (181760) on Thursday July 28 2005, @03:31PM (#13189571) Journal
    If you "beat the game", and by that I mean finish every level and defeat every boss including the final boss, the game gets even better afterwards because you unlock a new way to play through each level again. Collecting all the medals was definitely not meant to be done the first time through and indeed impossible to do the first time through.

    When you play it through again, with all your drawing skills in hand, its really a different experience, especially with the bonus unlocked.

    Additionally, something I haven't seen mentioned in too many places, try drawing a loop for kirby to roll through and kirby will get a boost from it!

    • Re:Adblock (Score:4, Insightful)

      by TrippTDF (513419) <`moc.liamg' `ta' `dnalih'> on Thursday July 28 2005, @01:54PM (#13188560)
      It's a review. Arguably, any review is an advertisment. I like seeing in-depth game reviews on Slashdot, but keep them off the main page. That's what subsections are for.
        • If you are spreading information on a product, even just reviewing it, it's promoting that product. you are making someone think about it and be aware of it. Isn't that the nature of advertising in the first place?

          • Re:Adblock (Score:2, Insightful)

            by op12 (830015)
            What about a bad review? That could discourage someone from buying something, and that's not really advertising, where the intent is to sell the product. As long as the review is objective, reviewing and advertising are not necessarily synonymous.
    • This isn't news, it's an advertisement.

      If it's a fun and innovative videogame for a new platform, I'd welcome a review. Unless there's evidence that Slashdot or the reviewer have a financial interest in selling this game, I'm not inclined to complain.

      Having said that, there have been loads of occasions on Slashdot when the submitted review is a thinly and ineptly disguised advertisement. It doesn't appear to me on first glance that this is one of those times.

    • What if it's not so gimmicky, though? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Millennium (2451) on Thursday July 28 2005, @01:55PM (#13188570) Homepage
      Consider games like this, which could never have worked on any of the other systems. This is simply the continuation of something that started with Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - the creation of games which wouldn't work well with only one screen per player. It's a new gameplay mechanic, and it's still being explored, so there aren't too many good games with it yet. This game, however, sounds like the latest in a handful of solid hits.

      Unusual? Yes. Gimmicky? I don't think so.
      • Uh, actually, this could have been done very easily on a full-color PDA. It's controlled entirely via the stylus and the second screen is never used.
        • This isn't meant as a criticism, but we've had PDAs for how many years, and they've never seen any game like this come out. I imagine even after numerous DS games come out that show innovative uses of touch screen technology, we still won't see any games come out for the PDA format that are close in terms of gameplay, polish, and overall quality.

          Given the fact that the market for PDA games is essentially non-existent, I DO see the use of touchscreen on a handheld as a new and innovative interface for gam

    • Not really (Score:5, Interesting)

      by alvinrod (889928) on Thursday July 28 2005, @01:59PM (#13188610)
      I think the system itself is limited by the gimmicky nature of the two screen system.

      The system is in no way limited by either the two screens or touch functionality. Those actually make games like Kirby: Canvas Curse possible. Could you do the same on a PSP, GameCube, or any other system for that matter?

      If you want to talk about things that limit the system, you'd be better to point out the lack of analog control stick, inability to play GB or GBC games, and other things it can't do.

      Do you absolutely need both screens for every single game? No. Do you need touch functionality either? No. But they both have interesting applications that make games like Kirby's Canvas Curse possible.

      The extra features that the DS has might not be vital to every single game, nor should they be, but that can provide additional functionality to games like a map or status screen that's easy accessible without requiring that the game be paused.

          • If you were live-action role playing, and foes were attacking you, would you have a chance to ask them to stop so that you can switch weapons?

            Most likely, if you are live action role playing and being attacked you are being attacked BECAUSE you are live action role playing. Thus you deserve the sound beating that is sure to ensue.

            Fetal position for the duration.

    • Re:It's ok... (Score:5, Funny)

      by cowscows (103644) on Thursday July 28 2005, @02:22PM (#13188812) Journal
      What the hell does that mean? It's limited by having two screens? You mean it can't play games designed for three screens? I guess you're right. Nintendo is ripping us all off.

    • I'd rather have gimmicks than ultra-high-quality graphics. Nintendo's past gimmicks have pleased me pretty well - Everyone said Kirby Tilt and Tumble's tilt sensor was a dumb gimmick, I had a good time. They said the same about GBA connectivity, I thought Four Swords was a great game and couldn't have worked otherwise.

      It's a matter of personal taste. I'm sure the maturing of the new handhelds and the next generation of consoles will bear plenty of new iterations of classic games, and they'll be tons of f

    • Need more imagination (Score:5, Insightful)

      by PeelBoy (34769) on Thursday July 28 2005, @03:02PM (#13189269) Homepage
      What's up with peoples lack of imagination these days?

      It's fucking down right PATHETIC.

      When I was younger I played the hell out of every NES game I could get my hand on and there was TONS of variety. It was great!

      There is so much cool shit you could do with a game system that has 2 screens, a touch screen, A MIC!!! AND Wireless!! The possibilities are endless.

      I swear to god though there are too many unimaginative people these days. You could stick them all in a room and tell them to brainstorm cool ideas for the DS and they'd be like "uhhhh.. uhm..... uhhh...hmmm... can it play grand theft auto 3: another fucking city?"

      Seriously when you have sex do you ever try another position other than missionary?

      Do kids these days decide they want to be a game developer NOT because they want to think of cool new games, but because.. well...fuck.. err.. is there any other reason? I mean.. Shit.. Making games these days must be as exciting as working on a fucking assembly line screwing the tops on bottles.

    • Re:It's ok... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by seebs (15766) on Thursday July 28 2005, @03:08PM (#13189316) Homepage
      Not a bad OS at all, but I think it's limited by the gimmicky nature of the command-line interface and the quirky insistence on "open source".

      I got a DS for stuff like this. Is it "gimmicky"? Maybe it is. Paddle games were "gimmicky" too, but it turns out that there are games that are playable with a paddle or trackball, and annoying with a mouse or joystick.

      I already have a handheld with a single screen and some controls and buttons. A faster one is not a big deal to me. A handheld with a touchscreen, a microphone, and a dual display is awfully neat.

      I got a DS because there are games which are possible on a DS, that simply cannot be implemented playably on anything else. Canvas Curse is an excellent example.

    • There are already a couple of games out for the DS where you have to draw a line or series of platforms to keep a character safe.

      There are already a couple of games out for the NES where you have to push the B button to make a character jump from one platform to another. Do we really need a version of this game with Icarus, a Bounty Hunter or the 7up-Spot? This is bound to get old soon!

      There are already a couple of games out for the Xbox where you have to run around in a 3D world shooting at monsters. D

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