Real Talk By: KJ

Take the concept from Canvas Curse, and bring it to home consoles. Throw in some nice claymation visuals too, and you have a sight to behold. Vibrant levels and great music awaits gamers. I appreciate that no liberties were taken. From the smallest enemy to the biggest stages. The Background and foreground. Every inch of this title has been taken care of and sculptured nicely. I would love to see a behind the scenes video of how this all came to be. Great looking stuff.

An evil force has taken all the color from Dreamland. Kirby and his trusted group of friends are in pursuit. Using the Touchpad draw rainbow ropes, and refill your ink by finding jars. Exploration is a huge part of the game. It’s always about moving fast in the right direction. It’s going to be hard to get all the items on the first go-around. That aspect does add to the replay value. Of course Kirby gets cool abilities along the way. Flying fast in his rocket-form, a Tank transformation causes destruction. Go underwater as a Submarie. Pretty fun shooting everything in your path with the touchpad. A few tricks await, but ultimately our friend is missing some things. Kirby is known for his lengthy list of powers, so this was a bit of a let down.

Since the game is so reliant on the stylus, this leads me to my biggest issue. The New Kirby forces you to stay on the gamepad drawing/designing your own paths. That part controls well for the most part, giving players a unique and constantly fresh mechanic to mess with. However, gamers are forced to look at the small screen, rather than their television sets. This is a Wii U game at the end of the day, not a 3DS. It’s more of a bother because I really wanted to enjoy the awesome art on a bigger scale. This is the price you pay playing solo. Fortunately there is hope.

The Offline multiplayer is a good way to take a stylus break. Have some controller passing fun with your friends. The coop is much more valuable than you would expect. Since Kirby is constantly moving, it’s certainly harder to make him go exactly where you want always. Three Extra players can control their own Waddle Dee. They share many of his abilities, but can move from left to right with ease. WDees can run on Kirby’s Rainbow, jumping and grabbing items possibly out of reach for player one. Insanely useful during the fun boss battles. Your drawing skills shall be put to the test. For example a tree in the forest aggressively blows wind and enemies your way. I will draw a curve on-screen. This keeps me close to the boss, and out of danger. Essentially I’ve built a temporary wall of protection from the dangerous gusts. What if there is extra life lying there in the corner? Well player one can keep bringing the fight to the enemy, while a Waddle Dee can grab the power-up. This gives everyone the boost. The road to victory is guaranteed to change every single time do to the design.

Challenge rooms are playable in coop or single. Complete each area in under 15 secs. Scrambling to figure out the room as a team is chaotic fun. HecG and I yelled plenty of friendly words at the screen trying to beat the levels before timing-out. These areas can be accessed in the main story given the right situation. Amiibo support for King Dedede, Meta Knight, and Kirby can all give you a boost. While you’re getting new powers, it is only good for one stage, and one usage per day.

The price tag is an affordable $39.99 at launch. For a unique way to play Kirby and a refreshing art style, The Rainbow Curse brings it. If you don’t mind looking down a ton. This title draws-up some challenging, yet doable stages. We recommend bringing your friends along for this adventure. This way you get the most mileage.

 

Kirby and The Rainbow Curse Gets

4 Out of 5

What’s Legit?

+Claymation

+Fun Challenge Stages (Especially With Others)

+Underrated Coop

+Innovative Gameplay

What’s Perpetrating?

-Forced to look at the gamepad

-Limited Bonus Abilities

#Kirby @PlayLegit