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I hate to admit this openly to most people, but while I have owned every incarnation of the Game Boy (including the DS, excluding the Virtua Boy), a PSP, a Game Gear, and a Lynx, I've never really been much of a handheld gamer. Couple that with the fact that the most of Kirby I've ever played was by sucking up opponents in the Smash Bros. series, and it may seem like I'm the worst choice ever to review a Kirby game on the DS.
Despite all these hindrances, I can tell you this -- Kirby: Canvas Curse is one of the best games I've played in a long time.
The thing about Kirby is that the whole game is so deceiving. It practically fools you into enjoying it. The premise -- drawing rainbow-colored tracks to direct Kirby to the end of the level -- sounds simple enough, but when you throw in the medals, various obstacles, and powerups, you get this terribly engrossing interface that you wouldn't imagine lied underneath that sugar-coated surface.
Let's start with the goal itself -- get Kirby through the level. He's going to keep on rolling no matter what you do, which is where drawing the rainbow comes in. Once that stylus hits the screen, you find yourself drawing bridges, walls... whatever it takes to get Kirby to go where you want him to. It's an easy enough concept, until you realize that your rainbow-drawing abilities aren't infinite and you're left at a precipice with only stubs of path to keep you going in the right direction. Conserving your meter takes a lot of practice and intuition, but it's something you can pick up on right away.
Even as a Kirby neophyte, I was aware of his "special power" (to absorb enemies' abilities) by playing Smash Bros., and Canvas Curse stays true to that concept as well. When you tap Kirby, he does a bit of a dash move, which allows him to not only pick up speed but barrel into enemies unharmed. Certain enemies you defeat will, in essence, drop their powers -- for example, hitting the little fire guy will grant you his particular power-up, which is activated whenever you tap on little Kirby. You'll need to learn how each ability is meant to be used to obtain various medals, so it makes for a really deep interface for what looks to be your average platformer on the surface.
There's really a lot of strategy involved in getting through the areas, especially if you play through the optional side trials. You think that running out of rainbow was easy to do in standard play? Try getting through the Rainbow Trial, which limits you to one bar of rainbow-drawing. Like taking your time through a level? You may have a bit of a challenge waiting for you in the Time Trial. Completionists will get a kick out of the massive replay value, since all the medals can't be acquired during your first play-through of each level, and casual gamers will love the pick-up-and-play aspects of the controls.
I think it's that very thing that really endears me to the game. There are so many games where you feel like you can't just stop where you are and turn off your system, where you feel almost guilted into continuing to play... which is pretty annoying when you're standing in line somewhere or otherwise forced to put your game aside. The fact that I can play the game in small portions really appeals to me, especially when you take into account the whole concept of the game.
The visuals in general are standard fare for the DS, but there are little touches that you'll notice, such as the artwork for each level on the stage select screen. You could easily call it classy, which isn't what one would expect from a game with a pink puffball on the cover. The level design itself appeals to both old-school gamers for the obvious inspiration from 2D platformers, and to the current generation, brought up on scaling graphics and innovative touch-screens.
Don't let the cutesy cover and the pink fluffiness of your protagonist trick you into thinking that the game's just for kids -- if you're looking for an addictive game that's both deep in gameplay yet fairly commitment-free, Kirby: Canvas Curse may very well be for you. This is really one of the few games where I can say with a straight face that there really is something for everyone, and it's probably the most peaceful "killer app" you'll find.
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