"Is this the best the DS has to offer? As of now, you bet!"

I'll make this short and simple. Touch Kirby: Mahou no Efude (Kirby: Canvas Curse for the western release when it comes out) is a straight up original platform game. Unlike Yoshi's Touch and Go (despite being a pretty fun game), this game does have a beginning, middle and end, and it also has a ton of things to unlock. Also, the gameplay is set in actual levels and not randomly generated "on rails" style like Yoshi.

Graphics/Presentation

Straight up, this is very nice 2D graphics. Sort of what you'd expect from a late GBA game. Admittedly, there seems to be nothing here that pushes the DS, but the style is very well suited to the Kirby-verse, not to mention this game in particular.

The menu's are all controlled via the bottom screen by touching your option, which seems to be they way most DS games are going now. Which is fine by me, as it makes sense and is very easy to get around in.

In game, the bottom screen is where all the action is, and also your control point for the game. More on that later. The top screen is a small map of the area, your life meter and a couple other things depending on which mode you're playing.

Sound/Music

Without trying to spoil it, one of the unlockables is a nice addition to this which easily gives this category a massively good grade. Even without it unlocking this feature though, what is in the game is still very good. The music is almost a fusion of old style gameboy/nes electronica mixed with some more recent sounds and technology. Its very good and never gets on your nerves. If anything, they suit the game perfectly.

Story/Character

No idea. It's all in Japanese. Although the game introduction was very well done (think along the lines of Wind Waker's stained glass intro). The story doesn't seem to be too integral to the game itself, as there isn't even a small introduction
before boss battles of anything. In fact, the boss battles don't really feel like battles, they're more like mini games. Which isn't a bad thing either.

DS Functionality

Controlling Kirby is done completely by the touch screen. You tap him to make him roll forward, or use the ability he has acquired. Tapping an enemy will stun them temporarily so you can knock them out when Kirby rolls/dashes into them. Dragging the stylus across the screen will use your paint/brush/line move. This is where the main form of maneuverability comes from. Kirby will stick to line you draw almost like static, handy when the only way to move him where you want is where he'll be be upsidedown on the line. He'll roll in the direction you draw too - this is handy for quick turn arounds. You have a meter for the paint though, which stops you from drawing lines all over the place. It's not all bad though, because it will naturally recover pretty quick. You're never running out... except maybe on Line Trial mode.

So yeah, the DS functionality is pretty integral to this title. It doesn't use the Mic, or the buttons/d-pad, but the touch screen is a must. So this is easily a DS only game.

Gameplay

Most of the gameplay stuff can be read in the paragraph before. Sorry.

Anyway, the game modes are pretty cool. There's your standard Main Game, which is where you make all of your progress from level to level. You can come back to any level later on to look for Medals. Medals are used to buy most of the unlockables, like different paint patterns, some special stages for Time and Line Trials, and other stuff too (its a spoiler if I mentioned what it was...). The Time and Line Trials a really good idea. They get you to essentially race your way through the level with a condition. Respectively, you have to beat a certain time limit or only use a certain amount of paint to complete. There's no time limit in the latter, so you can take you're time to think of efficient use of your brush.

All in all, the gameplay is just heaps of fun. For a platform game that doesn't use the D-Pad, its quite an achievement. You have what can only be described as a dynamic control over Kirby's movement. Combine that with all the different abilities you can use, and all the levels that are in the game (24 from memory) AND all the unlockables, and you've got a pretty good selection for gameplay right there.

Conclusion

I have to say that although I really like this game, its not my favourite thing on the DS. Band Brothers is, but only because of what it is - a music composition tool. I don't consider it a "game" as such. So if I were to decide on my favourite DS "game", then Kirby is easily the winner here.

Simply put, this game is a definite winner. Heaps of fun, a good amount of unlockables, great gameplay mechanics and the Time/Line Trial modes (which will be the haven for most hardcore time attack players) makes this the most complete DS game to date. I would like to give this a 9.5, losing half a point for lack of multiplayer. Forget waiting for the local release, just import it. This is easily one of the best DS games so far.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/06/05