Kirby Canvas Curse
The Kirby games aren’t really a franchise that I’ve followed over the years. Other than owning the original Kirby’s Adventure for the Nintendo Entertainment System, I was never really that interested in the series. However, when I read the news that an all touch screen based Kirby game would be making its way to the Nintendo DS, I was instantly interested in the game. Little did I know that the series I barely ever kept my eye on would present me with one of the greatest Nintendo DS games to date.

Graphics:

The graphics in Kirby Canvas Curse are amazing. The 2D characters and environments are detailed extremely well and everything comes to life with an assortment of vibrant colors. Level design within the game is excellent, and each level has its own unique and colorful look. Everything you see within the game is what we’ve come to expect from the Kirby series. HAL went above and beyond the call of duty to make this one of the best looking games on the Nintendo DS, and even though its not 3D, the game is much more aesthetically pleasing than such titles as Super Mario 64 DS and Feel the Magic XY/XX.

Sound and Music:

If you’ve ever played a Kirby game before, then you’ll know what to expect in this category. If you haven’t, then you should expect upbeat, cheery, and wonderfully creative music. Everything that you’ll hear in the game is what makes Kirby games so…magical, for lack of better wording. The sound is also done nicely, so there aren’t any real complaints here. Luckily for us, there is a sound test included in the game, so you’ll be able to listen to your favorite Kirby tunes over and over again. In addition to that, you’ll be able to unlock a special option that allows you to change all the music within the game to retro songs from older Kirby titles. Nothing to complain about here.

Storyline:

There really isn’t a lot to talk about here. An evil witch by the name of Drawcia has turned Dream Land into one giant painting. While confronting the witch, an evil spell was cast that turned Kirby into a ball. After turning the DS stylus into a “magical paintbrush”, Kirby gives you the task of guiding him along his journey. Using the stylus to draw paths and stun enemies, it becomes your job to help Kirby restore his shape and bring peace back to Dream Land. The story isn’t very deep, but it does serve its purpose.

Gameplay:

Simply put, Kirby Canvas Curse is a platformer. The only real difference is that, instead of controlling Kirby yourself, you’ll have to draw lines to guide him around instead. This is truly the category in which the game succeeds best. Since Kirby is a ball, he cannot physically walk or jump. The lines you draw become the pathways that Kirby rolls along. In order to prevent damage from enemies, you must use your stylus to tap them. Once you tap an enemy, they become stunned and Kirby can freely destroy them by running into them. Just like any other Kirby game, Kirby still has the ability to absorb enemy powers. However, absorbing abilities is a bit different than before. Instead of sucking the enemy in, you must stun them with the stylus and then roll into them. By rolling into them, you will automatically gain their ability (if they have one). To use that enemy’s ability, you must tap Kirby with the stylus. There are eight levels in all, with each level broken up into three sub-levels, and each sub-level broken up into multiple areas. At the end of each level, you will have to choose which boss you want to face. You can either fight a pinball type boss fight where you must bounce Kirby around and destroy enemies. If that’s not your cup of tea, then you can choose to race King Dedede in a little kart that you must guide along the screen. Lastly, you can choose to play a connect-the-dots type boss fight where you must draw whatever the boss draws. Let it be known that, even though you can choose which boss to fight, you’ll eventually have to play through all of them twice. All in all, HAL created a very solid experience in terms of gameplay.

Controls:

Like most Nintendo DS games should be, Kirby Canvas Curse is played using only the touch screen. There isn’t too much to explain here, since all you really have to do is draw rainbow paths for Kirby and tap enemies to stun them. If you tap Kirby, he’ll roll faster, and if you tap him after he’s absorbed an enemy’s power, he’ll use that ability. The control setup is pretty much self-explanatory, which is probably why it works so darn well.

Replayability:

Though the main game is fairly short, there’s just so much to do after you complete it. The game has a set of 250 medals that you can collect, some of which are really easy to obtain, and some of which are really hard. These medals are collected by completing time trials and ink trials for each level. We all know what a time trial is, but many of you are probably wondering what an ink trial is. Well, it’s basically the requirement of beating a level while only using a certain amount of rainbow ink. This means that you’ll have to draw your lines and paths wisely if you want to get the medals for these trials. Along with the trials, you also unlock the three different boss fights to play as mini-games. While the first two difficulties are for fun only, you’ll have to beat each of them on the hardest difficulty to obtain a medal for it. Last but not least, you will also unlock the ability to play through the game as four different characters (not including Kirby). These characters are Waddle Dee, King Dedede, Metaknight, and Waddle Doo. Each character has a specific set of abilities, which means going through the game as them presents a different style of gameplay for each one. Even though the main quest of the game can be completed within one sitting, there’s just so much extra material that you will continue playing the game for weeks to come.

Overall, Kirby Canvas Curse is one of the greatest Nintendo DS games currently out. Though I’m sure that there will be many more excellent games to come in the future, Kirby Canvas Curse definitely deserves the honor of being the first killer app for Nintendo’s dual screen wonder.
Graphics: 9.5/10
Sound and Music: 9.0/10
Storyline: 5.0/10
Gameplay: 9.8/10
Controls: 9.5/10
Replayability: 9.0/10
9.4
Out of 10