Dec 12, 2016 - Wii Game Name: Kirby's Epic Yarn Region: USA Language: English Game Format: WBFS Mirror: Rapidgator / RG.to. Kirby's Epic Yarn (USA).
From The Great British Bake Off to the vast number of crafting magazines bulging off the newsagent shelves, the handmade look is definitely in vogue. This trend has even been reflected in games, beginning perhaps with loveable platformer LittleBigPlanet, and most recently seen in the Xbox One title Unravelled. Here’s another example: Yoshi’s Woollen World, a follow-up of sorts to developer Good Feel’s Wii title, Kirby’s Epic Yarn.
In Woolly World, it’s not just about cute aesthetics: the handmade theme of the visuals adds to the tactility of the Yoshi universe. These games have always been very physical because of the character’s signature jump, not quite as famous as Mario’s, but more distinctive as he kicks his legs and audibly strains to reach higher platforms. Here, your cuddly dinosaur squishes the cushioned ground underfoot, jumps onto stitched platforms suspended between knitting needles and encounters enemy crabs with scissors for claws. Spools of thread hang on the walls, knotted seagulls fly past, and doors unzip and curl back to let you through. Even familiar world themes look more interesting in cloth: lava has a sequined sheen, its heat rays made of string, and winter hats stand in for mountains in the backdrop as Yoshi rolls a snowball made of cotton wool.
2D platformers can seem old-fashioned, but this aesthetic makes familiar moves feel fresher. Rather than swallow enemies to produce eggs (a convention of his games), Yoshi unravels them with a quick dart of his tongue and – with a noise that sounds like “bum” – plops them out as balls of yarn that bounce behind him ready for when he might want to throw them. His tongue can also unwrap presents or unravel barriers. Whenever he swallows some yarn, the resulting ball is the same colour as whatever he just ate and can be used in turn to fill in outlines to create platforms and warp pipes of the same colour, which is a nice aesthetic touch that’s even used for a simple puzzle late in the game.
New features are introduced throughout, sometimes only for one level, which might make the designers seem fickle but at least ensures that the most annoying levels are one-offs. The level in which you collect fluffy white Huffin Puffin chicks and turn them into temporary cotton trails is both cute and mechanically interesting, and (fabric spoiler alert) I’m surprised the developers waited until the final world to introduce velcro (alert ends). One of the ghost levels, however, in which you’re expected to figure out that you can only add yarn to a ghost’s wireframe body through a particular scenic interaction, is just frustrating, especially in single-player. Oh and thank you for your help, those people who leave helpful messages on Miiverse.
![Kirby Kirby](/uploads/1/2/5/1/125191152/949727358.jpg)
Co-op crafting
You’re not supposed to play Woolly World alone. Even in the intro cutscene, which tells the typically lightweight story of Kamek kidnapping Yoshis and turning them into bundles of yarn, there are two survivors instead of one. Solo players can use one of the expensive Yarn Yoshi Amiibo to bring a second Yoshi into the game instead, but it won’t have independent AI and will just move when you do, which is a tricky mechanic that should be reserved for games built entirely around it. Here you’ll just end up trying to eat an enemy with the Yoshi in front only to see his follower gobble him up instead, or jump one onto a platform to find the other has leaped into the mouth of a Piranha Plant.
Moments like this are funnier when you can blame them on human misjudgment. Co-op play is full of slapstick humour: aim your yarn at a target and knock your friend off the platform instead, swallow them and have them struggle to escape the ball that trails behind you, hop onto Poochy’s back only to realise he’s loyal to your partner as he runs you off a cliff. Some levels are more difficult when you’ve got to consider the actions of a second player, like one in which you fly a magic carpet by standing on either side to steer and jumping to lift it, but for the most part it’s a bonus, even if only because it means you always have something handy to turn into a ball of yarn.
Overall you could consider Woolly World an easy game, but that’s because its more challenging parts are optional. Young or otherwise inexperienced players can make it through by using the badges – purchased with gems – that do things like protect you from certain kinds of danger, or by activating Mellow Mode, which lets Yoshi fly.
Players with more experience can challenge themselves to collect everything as they go: flowers, which open bonus levels; stamp patches, which get you stamps to use on Miiverse messages; and bundles of yarn, which help you reconstruct different Yoshis that you can then use instead. Sometimes these items are stashed in hidden areas discovered through careful observation and exploration, or appear when you clear a screen of enemies. Sometimes they’re rewards for difficult mini challenges, like those in which Yoshi transforms into a Mole or Airplane or Umbrella or Mermaid, the last of which is the first time I can remember enjoying an underwater level in a game.
Most alluring are the bundles of yarn, which you’ll want not just for the sake of 100% completion but to find out what new Yoshi design they’ll create. You can save a favourite design to your Amiibo, and I can imagine kids toiling to get the more elusive patterns so they can bring them to their friend’s house and brag.
Unfortunately, the relative unpopularity of the Wii U makes that scenario unlikely, which is why despite their uselessness in the game itself I hope those Yarn Yoshi Amiibo sell well. Perhaps those overpriced but desirable toys will turn more people’s attention towards this delightful game.
Nintendo; Wii U; £30; Pegi rating: 3+
A very simple but addicting game.It got a lot of hate from the reviewers when it was full price but now that it's cheap it's way easier to justify this purchase (or download, for most of you).The 16 or so Air Ride machines are varied and fun to drive.Three game modes: Air Ride, Top Ride, and City TrialAir Ride is a Mario Kart-esque race through various mostly crazy courses. Race through three laps and try to kill each other when the opportunity arises.Top Ride is like Super Off-Road for the SNES with crazier powerups and levels.City Trial is very unique. You start out in the middle of a huge environment with upgrades and Air Ride machines scattered about. You can collect upgrades to your Top Speed, Boost, Glide, Offense, etc. Events will randomly occur that range from annoying (fog, fake powerups) to awesome (meteors rain down on the city, Dynablade attacks). Use your upgraded machine to win in a Stadium event at the end of a time limit. The Stadiums range from a quick race to a high jump to a fight against King Dedede.The key to this game is to play it casually and to not take it too seriously. If you do, you'll have a lot of fun.