Among the games Nintendo was showing this year—every one a sequel to some well-loved franchise—the most interesting one was Kirby's Epic Yarn. Poor Kirby has been through so many transformations over the years that he probably doesn't even remember what his original form is, and Epic Yarn throws another into the mix, turning him into a yarn outline of himself traversing a world of fabric, stitching, and buttons, bringing memories of some of the unique styles of games like Yoshi's Island or Yoshi's Story.
The look isn't just for show, though. Kirby seems to be giving up some of his trademark powers for this game—absorbing enemy powers was completely absent from the demo and likely from the game, though there are still area-specific transformations to be had—but also gains the ability to do a number of new things, all playing off the nature of the world he's adventuring in.
The demo featured a tutorial-style stage and a boss battle. The tutorial stage was littered with signs illustrating Kirby's core move set, each followed by either an obstacle requiring or a treasure suggesting its use. The basic moveset as far as we're aware:
Of these, the yarn whip is the most important; it's clearly the game's signature move, much like Kirby's powers of inhalation from other games was. Kirby's yarn-arm is highly versatile. It was deceptively simply labeled "attack" on the how-to-play card, which it definitely did do, grabbing an enemy and either turning him into a throwable ball of yarn or disintegrating into their component threads.
But it was also the method for getting into so much more. Beyond enemies, you could also grab the pull tabs of little bits of fabric, peeling them away to expose treasure underneath. The boss's meteor projectiles could be grabbed and tossed back. There were also a number of theme-appropriate button-shaped grapple points. Some of these pulled a thread tight, morphing the level a little by drawing platforms closer so they could then be jumped to. Others, Kirby could swing from by pressing the d-pad left and right; this is used not just for getting from place to place but also to shake gems from a tree or ring the bell to end the level and cue the Kirby Dance.
The look isn't just for show, though. Kirby seems to be giving up some of his trademark powers for this game—absorbing enemy powers was completely absent from the demo and likely from the game, though there are still area-specific transformations to be had—but also gains the ability to do a number of new things, all playing off the nature of the world he's adventuring in.
The demo featured a tutorial-style stage and a boss battle. The tutorial stage was littered with signs illustrating Kirby's core move set, each followed by either an obstacle requiring or a treasure suggesting its use. The basic moveset as far as we're aware:
- Run: double-tap left or right. Kirby turns into a little car to indicate he is going fast.
- Jump: press the 2 button. Kirby's feet turn into little springs for this move.
- Float: while in the air after a jump, press the 2 button again and hold it. Kirby turns into a parachute and slowly drifts down, allowing you to steer him through beads or around obstacles until he lands.
- Yarn whip: hold a d-pad direction and press the 1 button. Kirby uses the very material he is composed of as a whip to grab things. There are a lot of things you can do with this move, which I'll talk more about in a bit.
- Throw: after grabbing something with the yarn whip, press 1 again to send it flying. Some enemies turn into yarn balls which you can throw. Other things you can throw include projectiles such as those tossed at you by the demo's boss (and others, going by the trailer video.)
- Enter door: press up on the d-pad. Kirby enters doors to go behind the scenery. Once behind the background, you can't see your character unless he walks by a window or another door; you'll see bulges in the fabric of the background instead. Platforms you can stand on are cleverly represented as stitching that presumably crosses the two layers Kirby is squeezed between.
- Stone (ground-pound): press down on the d-pad while in the air. Kirby turns into a heavy weight and drops to the ground, knocking enemies out and blasting through breakable blocks.
Of these, the yarn whip is the most important; it's clearly the game's signature move, much like Kirby's powers of inhalation from other games was. Kirby's yarn-arm is highly versatile. It was deceptively simply labeled "attack" on the how-to-play card, which it definitely did do, grabbing an enemy and either turning him into a throwable ball of yarn or disintegrating into their component threads.
But it was also the method for getting into so much more. Beyond enemies, you could also grab the pull tabs of little bits of fabric, peeling them away to expose treasure underneath. The boss's meteor projectiles could be grabbed and tossed back. There were also a number of theme-appropriate button-shaped grapple points. Some of these pulled a thread tight, morphing the level a little by drawing platforms closer so they could then be jumped to. Others, Kirby could swing from by pressing the d-pad left and right; this is used not just for getting from place to place but also to shake gems from a tree or ring the bell to end the level and cue the Kirby Dance.