Post by Goombella24 on Jul 15, 2005 13:48:57 GMT -5
Kirby games have always been fun, but games like Nightmare in Dreamland are short and easy. This disappointed a few Kirby fans, you could beat the game in one day and be finished with it. When a new Kirby game was announced for the DS, fans were excited for a new Kirby game, they hoped it would offer a fun and difficult challenge.
Did the game turn out to be a blast? Or is it another Kirby flop? Find out in my review for Kirby: Canvas Curse!
One of the most disappointing things about Kirby: Canvas Curse is it lacks a good story. Kirby is on a stroll in Dreamland one day when a witch appears and turns Dreamland into a painting, seeing Kirby the witch flees to a vortex and Kirby follows, Kirby challenges the witch, but her magic transformed him into a ball! The witch gets away, and Kirby is in shame. Suddenly, he sees the witches Magical Paintbrush and in a ray of light the Paintbrush comes to you! You must guide Kirby through Dreamland to stop the evil witch!
I guess uncomplicated stories make Kirby games good, but I still would have liked more background and information.
Kirby really let himself go.
Score: 7/10
In Kirby: Canvas Curse, the only thing you use is the Stylus. Your objective is to draw a path for Kirby and complete the level. You can also touch Kirby to make him dash, which will defeat enemies. You can also stun enemies by touching them, and while they're stunned, all you need to do is touch them with Kirby and they're gone. You can also draw a line to block attacks from cannons and such. Sounds pretty easy? Wrong. Kirby: Canvas Curse offers a challenging but fun experience. The game is actually pretty tough, you must draw the path for Kirby or else he'll fall and die or fall into an enemy. What makes the game harder is the Paint Meter, if you use your magical Paint Brush too much, then the Paint Meter will drain and you can't draw as long with your Paint Brush. This is a problem for Kirby in some situations since there are levels with lava and needles everywhere, so if your paint meter runs low, you must be skilled and accurate. The Paint Meter fills up as you move so don't worry about losing it, but it fills slower in the air then it would if you were on the ground, this is just to add to the difficulty of the game. You can also draw a loop and Kirby speed will increase for a brief moment.
Kirby is protected by the magical Paintbrush
Copy abilities are back in Kirby: Canvas Curse, but you don't get them by swallowing the enemies. Simply touch an enemy to get them stunned and roll into them with Kirby to copy their ability, or dash into them. Abilities such as balloon, Needle, Wheel, and Missile Kirby are what make this game stay true to the Kirby series. If you want to get rid of a ability, touch the bottom left corner of the Touch Screen where your ability is shown to lose your ability. There are little things in the levels to collect like lives, stars, and medals. If you collect 100 stars, you'll get 1up. Medals are coins you must collect throughout the levels and the game. You can exchange them in the Medal Shop, a place to spend your medals on for prizes. You can't see the prizes, but the more the medals, the better the prizes. Prizes include songs, unlockables, and other nifty things. The top screen includes the level, a map, your lives, your coins, your paint meter, and your vitality. Your vitality is the amount of health you have before you die. You start out with four, but as you progress you can gain more from the Medal Shop. Another thing you can unlock in the Medal Shop is your Paintbrush style, you can unlock different styles like Zebra and Tropic. This just lets you customize yourself even more.
Chose your level by turning the wheel.
Kirby: Canvas Curse has subgames also. Once you beat a level you play the Dash Jump game, where you have to dash really fast and then use your limited paint to make Kirby fly as far as possible. And after you beat an entire world you play a boss game. Classic bosses such as DeDeDe and Paint Roller are back. Kirby: Canvas Curse really puts the stylus up to the test with these games. In Paint Panic you must copy the drawing of Paint Roller quickly and precisely in the order Paint Roller did it. If you make too many mistakes, a clan of Bombs will come and if you don't complete it, the Bombs will explode and you'll lose some of your vitality. Once your done with the first round, the last part is where you must tap the blinking blocks quickly. In Cart Race you race DeDeDe by touch, you must hold and slide the cart up and down and get boosts and avoid blocks. Its really intense and fast and another great use of the stylus. In Block Attack you must draw a platform for Kirby to bounce on and he must destroy all the blocks and enemies to movie on. You eventually get to the top and face a Cloud boss. There are different levels for each boss game, and once your done you'll get a score on your performance and you'll go in the rankings. You can try to beat your high score next time. There's also a mode called Rainbow Run, where you must beat the computer records for a challenge. You can either try Time Trial or Line Trial. Time Trial is where you try to get under the score the computer sets. In Line Trial, you must use as little paint as possible! The challenges are really fun, and there are special courses you can unlock in the Medal Shop. After you beat the computers score you get a certain amount of medals. There are 3 differerent times/amount of paint for each level. This makes the game so much more enjoyable.
Kirby rolls onto the path drawn./i]
Once you beat the game, you have the option to play through the game once more with a different ball! That's right, you can save Dreamland with Waddle Dee, DeDeDe, and other characters. These can be unlocked in the medal shop and by beating the game. Things like the Character Balls make this game truly enjoyable. You'll be playing this game for hours until you get 100%.
Score: 9.5/10
Kirby: Canvas Curse offers some of the sleekest graphics on the DS. The games graphics aren't perfect, but I don't think they were meant to be. The background of the levels are simply stunning. Not only is the landscape and the sky amazing, but the characters are also nice and the trees and water are also great! I was stunned at the graphics in some levels, the lava was stunning and the snow levels were really nice and clean. The graphics in this game are clean and crisp.
Some levels you can see were made too look nice and fun, while others are dark and mysterious. In one level, the level is black and white which adds to the feel because its mechanical. The graphics are nice, and you won't notice anything bad about them. The magical paintbrush is even good looking!
Kirby rolls protected by the magical paintbrush./i]
Score: 9.7/10
The tunes in this game are nice and add to the feel of the level. Nice and calm in levels that are pretty easy, fast and eerie in levels that are hard. When you face a boss, the music will be a bit more speedy and will make you get into the mode. You can access the songs in the Sound Test in Options, which is a nice feature. In some areas, the music was amazing, I remember one song that got me hooked and I had to listen to it in Sound Test. The song in Paint Roller is also very fast and nice, to add to the feel of the game.
The sounds in the game are basic and normal. When you get hurt you'll hear that usual sound, and when you dash you'll hear the vroom. A nice feature is with the Paint meter, when you're close to running out of Paint, a small beeping noise signals it so you're aware. I liked the sound a lot because I usual didn't have time to stare at the Paint Meter.
Kirby rolls toward a 1up./i]
Score: 9/10
Usually, Kirby games don't have a lot of replay value. Kirby: Canvas Curse changes that. You'll spend hours working on getting all the medals in the Main game and in Rainbow Run. You'll also be hooked on the subgames. Trying to get everything in the Medal Shop is another challenge, and getting every Character Ball and beating the game with a different character is another challenge.
So basically, you'll be playing a lot of Kirby: Canvas Curse, this game is loaded with fun.
Score: 9.3/10
Kirby: Canvas Curse offers a gaming experience that gamers have been craving ever since the DS came out. Its safe to say this game is one of the best on the DS. The game uses the stylus in every way possible. If you have a DS and don't have this game, you're missing out on a fun game. The only thing HAL could have worked on was to make the Story a bit more interesting, but other than that this game is great.
Score: 8.9/10
