Review: Kirby Canvas Curse

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.

Growth?

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".

Re:Growth?

The problem nowadays is that games try to be so many things and get so much complexity, when it turns out that the simple games are sometimes the most fun ones.

Re:Growth?

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.

Best platformer ever

This is seriously one of the best platformers I've ever played. Touchscreen a gimmick? Ha!

Re:Best platformer ever

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.

Re:Best platformer ever

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.

Amazing game

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..

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 ;).

Obligatory VG-Cats link

http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=152 [vgcats.com]

Enjoy :)

kirby loves wappo

I love these types of games. I don't remember having them on the 256 color nintendo 8-bit, but probably wouldn't have like it. Then when I got to smash flies in the sequelsa deck, that's when compromise turned into elation at the main office. Bzzz - swack! That formula spilled a real magnus for the old card company. Which is the problem with disty Wazonik's new attempts. Can't do it, can ye?

Define: Kirby

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

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

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...

You knew it was coming...

Penny Arcade comic [penny-arcade.com] and Tycho's newspost [penny-arcade.com] reviewing the game.

Kirby CC is the best game out for the DS

This game was the best new game for the DS. Mario DS was fun but it wasn't new. It just was the best...

My heart be still!

Inlines images in a Slashdot story? Wow! It's so... graphical. I can hardly believe it.

It really is quite fun

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.

Why games aren't described as "fun"

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 readers can make connections. (ie- I liked Counter Strike, so I will probably like Battlefied 2 also.)

It's disenginious to accuse reviewrs of not being interested in communicating the entertainment value of a game; it's just that they have become good enough at it that using vague terms like "fun" are no longer necessary.

How long until this gets old?

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.

Don't get me wrong, it's neat. I'm just hoping a bunch of 'me too!'s don't pop up, because it's the gimmick that makes it cool. We don't really need a version with Mario, Kirby, and then Sam Fisher and Gorden Freeman and some random character that some other company develops.

Sounds familiar...

Sounds like Nintendo DS has reinvented Lemmings :)

The game gets better even after you beat it!

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!

HAL Labs

Is this the same HAL Labs that was responsible for the awesome Apple II game, Sheila?

Gimmik? I think not

I think having two screens is great. It's nice being able to have a map in most games or a menu system that I can glance at and touch. I bought Kirby CC last month and it is great! I only wish it would have had more bosses.

Does anyone remember...

... a game called the Teenies ?
I've played this game on macintosh, a really great fun (it used to make me laugth to tears) and also challenging.
I remember it after 12 years and I still wonder how could I find it somewhere to play again (google isn't relevant for this name).

It has the same kind of look as Kirby Canvas Curse, with animals (balls of hairs with arms and big feet); but from a closer and upper view of the puzzle/maze.

Pac-Pix

Kirby looks really fun... I think the first game I saw on the DS that made me think "that really does need a touch screen" was Pac-Pix... any Pac-Pix love here? Nintendogs looks like a fun non-game too...

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 dont understand this reasoning. Half-Life 2 is fun. World of Warcraft is fun. Metal Gear Solid 3 is fun. San Andreas is fun. Super Monkey Ball Deluxe is fun. Morrowind is fun (and Oblivion will almost surely be). WipeOut Pure is fun. Rome Total War is fun. Etc. A lot of these games have other adjectives too - intense, exciting, addictive, etc., but theyre fun, too. Theyre fun to play and fun to beat. I say theyre fun because I enjoy playing them. The nice graphics, physics engines, etc. are just bonuses. Heaven forbid the developers put great graphics and technology behind a fun game! OH NO!

Re:Adblock

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.

What if it's not so gimmicky, though?

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.

Not really

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.

Re:Adblock

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.

Re:It's ok...

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.

Re:It's ok...

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 fun and great looking and everything. No doubt Halo 3 will make a substantial contribution to my academic ruin. I don't think there's anything wrong with inmproving on existing formulas, a lot of people say the industry doesn't innovate enough but I'm certainly not bored of video games yet. Still, variety is fun too, and I like that there are people working on finding new ways to entertain me - shallow as the mechanisms they come up with may seem to you.

Need more imagination

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...

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.

Re:It's ok...

This game isn't limited by the fact it has 2 screens. I'd say the only limitation is I wish the top screen was also touch sensitive. Other than that, this Kirby game rocks! It definitely makes me want to play more stylus games.