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Kirby Canvas Curse

It's over. Finally. Eight grueling months of nothing to play on my DS to make its unique capabilities shine has come to an end. Sure, the DS has impressed me, as evidenced by my glowing review for Puyo Pop Fever. Puyo Pop Fever can be done on any other system, though; Kirby Canvas Curse is the DS system's first (in North America) real fully fleshed out new gameplay experience.

Canvas Curse is not one of those games where I was not quite sure what to expect once it finally released. I had been a faithful Kirby Padawan, carefully studying every screenshot, movie, and E3 sliver of information available, so I had a damn good idea of how much the latest Kirby title would kick ass. My studies left me with the impression that Canvas Curse was a sort of love child between Sonic and choose-your-own-adventure books. For much of the game, this metaphor stands true. Thankfully though, Kirby Canvas Curse offers much more to set it apart from the rest of the DS library (which seems to consist of mostly "short n' sweet" titles).

The basic mechanics of Canvas Curse are simple enough; Kirby is stuck in a perpetual rolling state of motion, and the player must guide him through hazardous levels by drawing pathways, walls, and loop-the-loops using the stylus. The stylus is also used to clear blocks out of the way and stun enemies. Words alone cannot describe the sheer pleasure of complete imaginative control over where Kirby goes. Putting all of the direction and power in the hands of the player gives a more rewarding feeling for every switch flipped and door reached. There are other aspects to Kirby's abilities, too. Tapping on Kirby causes a dash attack, which can be used for a little extra speed to boost into a desired area, or to kill an enemy. When killed, certain enemies give Kirby a chance to use his trusty powers of absorption, including bursts of spinning flame, lightning strikes, a missile (that must be guided with the stylus a.k.a. magic paintbrush), and a rock. The abilities are mostly used to unlock special areas containing collectable medals not immediately pertinent to beating the level, which works out nicely. I'll get into the severe replay value involving medals in a bit.

Kirby travels virtually everywhere in search of the evil Drawcia, who seeks to cover the entire land in paint (gasp!). The levels span over grassy hills, slippery arctic caves, pastel "funzones", and moody electronic circuit areas, to name a few. Each new stage (there are three stages per level and seven complete levels) offers a new area begging for exploration with only a slight repetition in themes. Every level is incredibly flexible; you can dash through as fast as your stylus skills allow Kirby to move and be done with each stage in a matter of minutes, or you can take your time visiting different nooks and crannys while looking for medals, stars (100 stars give you a 1-up), and other secrets. For the record, all of the effort to get through story mode is completely worth it, as the final boss battle with Drawcia is hands-down one of the best final encounters of any game I have played in a long time.

In addition to the core story mode, Canvas Curse contains the most replay and unlockable goodies of any DS game to date. I don't even know where to begin explaining how much more there is to Canvas Curse than the Story Mode (which in and of itself lasts a good 3-5 hours just using Kirby, and there are four other unlockable characters). Every stage has three medals scattered throughout its areas, usually cleverly hidden off the beaten path or seemingly just out of reach behind a wall that requires a switch to tear it down in another location. There are even a few hidden "global" switches that must be flipped in one area to open a spot in another level for a medal. A Time Trial and Paintbrush Trial (where you try to reach the end of an area using as little "paint" as possible) also accompany each stage and offer three more medals apiece. Most of the Time Trials are average in difficulty, but some of the Paintbrush Trials (especially the later ones) will have you grinding teeth and trying dozens of times for that 1st place ranking. Kirby Canvas Curse achieves that rare balance where some goals might seem ridiculously difficult, and yet you continue trying over and over until you win instead of giving up in frustration. Again, the total imaginative control of the magic paintbrush/stylus offers endless possibilities for trying to solve a puzzle, gain the best time, or use the least paint... which translates to more replay and less frustration.

Did I mention the Minigames? There are three "subgames" with three levels apiece that offer pinball, racing, and "Simon Says" drawing competition – just three more ways Canvas Curse fleshes itself out in variety. The end of each stage in Story Mode also features a Dash Jump reminiscent of the Home Run Contest in Super Smash Bros. Melee, which will have you trying again and again to find the perfect balance of speed and ramp angle to fly as far as you can.

All told, there are 250 medals to find. They aren't just collected for the sake of collecting, either. Medals can be spent to unlock new songs, paintbrush styles, special levels, life increases, and even more characters! HAL laboratories definitely successfully translates the rewarding replay value of its past games such as Super Smash Bros. Melee to Kirby Canvas Curse.

Kirby sticks to the 2-dimensional realm in Canvas Curse, which works perfectly. It's hard to draw a 3-dimensional line anyways. Level designs are vibrant and creative, as are character and enemy sprites. Canvas Curse simply looks gorgeous... there really isn't more HAL could have done to make the visuals more appealing. Since all control is done with the stylus, menu navigation is as clean and simple as controlling Kirby himself. Meanwhile, the soundtrack offers new and original Kirby compositions that well suit the mood of each level. While not fully orchestrated or featuring vocals (which, come to think of it, would be rather odd in a Kirby game), the songs sound wonderful and memorable coming from the DS in surround mode.

This is normally the part of the review where I wrap things up with a few complaints for a game that does not have enough of them worth mentioning throughout the review. Honestly though, Kirby Canvas Curse exceeded my expectations in each and every way. All of the previews, videos, and screenshots cannot prepare you for the amount of fun packed into the game. Essentially the only complaint I have is not a problem with the game at all, but rather the DS firmware. Canvas Curse offers a convenient "Pictochat search" mode where the system will stay on the lookout for Pictochatters while you are playing then display a little icon on the bottom screen once some are found, offering the option to quit the game and join in on the chat. The DS, in its infinite wisdom, then immediately shuts itself off and requires an annoying reboot before joining Pictochat. Everybody needs to get cranking on letters petitioning Nintendo to offer firmware updates to the DS just as Sony does with the PSP.

This game gets an N-Philes score of A.

Despite this little gripe, Kirby Canvas Curse remains untarnished. The $35 price tag is well worth it, as the game provides hours upon hours of different things to do (which cannot be done on any other system). For those of you waiting for the first real and complete usage of the DS system's capabilities (read: Yoshi's Touch n' Go), look no further than Kirby Canvas Curse.

Posted in: Reviews