"Undenieably Awesome"

Kirby Canvas Curse is a one of those great games that come once in a while that delivers a great Experience. Here's the lowdown on this game:

Story - 6/10

The Story is really simple and common. One day Kirby is taking a break and a witch by the name of Drawcia turns Dreamland into a Painting. Kirby being the hero of Dreamland tries to stop her but he becomes helpless due to being turned into a ball by the dreaded witch. A magic Paintbrush is dropped by her and you must use it (your Stylus) to guide Kirby through the painting that was once dreamland and help Kirby save it dreamland.

Gameplay - 10/10

The Gameplay here is very different from the other Kirby games but it's easy to pick up. It has similar mechanics as Yoshi Touch and Go where you had to guide Yoshi who's helping baby Mario to safety. Even though they use Similar mechanics they are very different from each other. Yoshi Touch and Go is a high scoring game where you have play to improve your score. This is a Unique platform game and it's more fast-paced.

The Buttons aren't used in this game just like Yoshi Touch and Go .You control Kirby by tapping him to make him dash and using the Ink (the Rainbow) of the Paintbrush to guide and keep him out of trouble. You kill enemies by first Stunning them which you can do by just tapping them, then you have Kirby ram the enemy. You can also kill enemies by dashing into them without having to stun them.

The Ink is probably the most crucial thing in the game since it's impossible to at least beat main the game without using it a single time. You can stop Kirby by drawing a Vertical line in front of where he is going and he can attach to the Ink making ride the path without falling until the ink disappears. Drawing loops will make Kirby dash, this consumes more ink but it can be helpful. The ink also proves very useful in water stages since Kirby will float up when he is underwater so you just draw a horizontal line above him and he'll ride the path like he normally would

Even though Kirby is a Ball it's not like the other Kirby games where the Ball form was a copy ability. Kirby can still use copy abilities just by tapping him when he has a ability. Some abilities include Spark, Beam, Burning, Missile, Wheel, Balloon, stone, and other abilities from previous Kirby games.

The game flow is very simple. You begin in a Level and have 3 stages to clear, you can choose which to clear first and which to clear last. Each has 3 sections with a medal on each. At the end of a stage you play a Dash jump mini-game to gain stars which act like your coins in 2d Mario games. In the mini-game you just dash and draw with the little amount of ink you have to make Kirby go further and win stars which will give you one life when you collect 100. The farthest you can get in the mini-game is 3325 ft and when you get between 3300 and 3325 you gain 900 stars.

When you clear 3 stages in a level you unlock the following level. There are 7 levels with 3 stages for a total 21 stages plus Drawcia's world in Level 8.

Graphics - 10

Nice looking 2d game with good art. The graphics are Similar to those of the GBA Kirby games. The frame rate's always good and the backgrounds resemble the World your playing in... a painting.

Sound - 9

The sound and music here are very much like previous Kirby games and has some remixed music from Kirby's adventure. If you like the Sound in other Kirby games, then you'll like the sound here.

Replay value - 10

This game shines in this area. Completing the game can both take a while and be very difficult. To complete the game you have to find the medals hidden in the main game. To find all medals you'll need to find 3 switches hidden throughout different stages. There are a lot more medals to collect in Rainbow run. In Rainbow run you play the Stages from the Main game and do Time Trials and Line Trials. To get medals here you have to do Time Trials and Line Trials and fill the requirements for the medal. In Time Trials you have to play a certain are in each stage and get to the goal as fast as you can. In Line Trials you have to reach the goal and limit your use of ink. There are more Stages in Rainbow run which can be obtained by Swapping your medals (which you can do by going the Main menu and go to "Medal Swap") for Unlockables. Unlockables include songs, different Ink, Characters, and the Special Stages for rainbow run.

If you're a DS owner, and need or want a new game for your DS make this a top choice to buy.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/24/05