"Attack of the Pink Pinball"

Well, I'm a Kirby fan, and a new portable Kirby game simply can't go by without me purchasing it. It's a nice break from the normal Kirby games, and is surprisingly fun for a gimmick. Here, let's explain this in depth.

As soon as you turn on the game for the first time, you'll be told the basic background story. An evil witch named Drawcia has attacked Dreamland and turned it into a painting. Evil, isn't it? Well, Kirby simply won't let this happen being the crime-fighting pink puffball he is, so he charges after her. They fight, but Kirby is transformed into a ball and watches helplessly as the witch escapes. But Drawcia has made a fatal mistake. During Kirby's attack she accidentally dropped the magical paintbrush that she used to turn the world into a painting. Kirby transports the power of the paintbrush into your stylus, and now you must go on a quest to slay Drawcia and restore peace to Dreamland. Yay. But what do you expect from a Kirby story?

The main games is split into seven levels, each with three stages, plus Drawcia's world at the end of the game. After beating all three stages in a level, you have to fight a boss. Well, the closest thing to a boss here. You're basically challenged into three mini-games, and you choose which one you want to do. They're all sort of fun, but if the designers had implemented seven unique bosses, I'd be the last to complain. The bosses are okay, but not majorly fun.

The actual gameplay itself is interesting. Having the power of the paintbrush, you draw little lines for Kirby to ride on, since you don't directly control him. You'll have to draw protective lines to save Kirby from hazards he will encounter, poke the enemies and freeze them so you can easily slay them, draw paths for Kirby to follow, and tap Kirby to make him charge.

But, what's a Kirby game without powers? There are eleven different powers for Kirby to take advantage of. Simply run into an enemy that happens to carry a power, and you'll soon be using it yourself. Unfortunately, you'll also soon throw it away. You see, the powers in this game are worthless and just there to satisfy the revolts that would come about were they not there. The effects are barely worth anything but a major headache, and they are very hard to control and use correctly. Just as a piece of advice to all of you who haven't played the game yet, never use a power underwater. It's so frustrating to try to get Kirby to go down and control your powers at the same time, I've made a habit of throwing away all powers before taking a trip to the bottom of the sea. Only the shock power has proven itself to be useful. The result of this is that all the powers are too bothersome to warrant their use. But don't worry, powers are rare anyways, so it's all good.

Just to add some new elements into the game, Hal added some interesting things such as gravitational orbs and no-paint zones. These'll add some difficuly to the game.

And that's exactly what Kirby: Canvas Curse needs. The main game doesn't become hard until the very end, at which point there isn't much left in the quest.

But, to make up for the difficulty absence, the game designers added Rainbow Run. Here, you can replay a small excerpt from the level in either Line Trial, where you attempt to use as little paint as possible to get through the level, to Time Trial, where you have to beat the stage excerpt as fast as you can. If you prove to be able to do this well, you'll earn medals.

Ah, medals! You don't think I wouldn't end a review without telling you about the medals? Throughout each stage, there are three medals (the exception being Drawcia's World, which only has two), and you'll have to prove your skill to figure out how to get them. Also, more medals are unlockable by beating Time Trial or Line Trial. You then head over to the in-game shop and touch a plate. Touching the metal plates will cost one metal, and shred away the plate slowly, until all of the covering is gone and you get your prize. The prizes range from unlockable characters to different paint styles.

The graphics aren't amazing, but they're nice. It's easy on the eyes and are very cartoonish. It's the standard Kirby style.

I can't really comment to much on the sound, because I am one of those portable gamers that like to have the sound down while they play. The little I've heard is acceptable, but not the kind you hum to yourself on a boring day. It's basically all remixes from Kirby's Adventure.

Well, I think I've covered about everything, so it's time to rate the game.

--Final Analysis--

Gameplay: 8/10
Fun, but sometimes annoying. Also, the powers are a let down.

Sound/Graphics: 9/10
Decent. They don't detract from gameplay. Just the normal Kirby graphics.

Story: 7/10
Ooooh. An evil witch turns the world into a painting. That's an award-winner. But seriously, who plays Kirby games for the story?

Concept: 10/10
Exactly what Yoshi: Touch & Go should've been.

Replay Value: 8/10
It's always a fun pick-up game, and there's a lot to unlock.

Multiplayer: N/A
It must've died off when Drawcia attacked. There is no multiplayer.

Final Report: 8/10
It's a nice addition to the Kirby series, and a great use of the touch screen. Even if you don't like Kirby, you'll probably enjoy this game, because it isn't anything like a normal Kirby game. If you're looking for a game that uses the touch screen well, then I recommend this game. If you don't like the touch screen, draw yourself a path away from this game. All in all, it comes down to the ultimate question. No, it's not "To be or not to be", its "buy or rent"? I'd say it's worth buying. If you're unsure, rent it first, then if you like it, buy it. Its Kirby! What could possibly go wrong?

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/02/06