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Sucked into a world made of cloth by the evil sorcerer Yin-Yarn, Kirby discovered he'd been turned into yarn! In this form, Kirby couldn't inhale or use Copy Abilities, but he gained new powers and could change his shape in amazing ways. With the help of Prince Fluff, the heroic prince of Patch Land, Kirby set out to defeat Yin-Yarn. Along the way, he helped the residents of Patch Land as a friendly neighbor in Apartment 101 of Dom Woole's apartment building!
— Summary • Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition

Kirby's Epic Yarn is a platformer Kirby game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was originally released in Japan on October 14, 2010, in North America on October 17, 2010, in Australia on February 24, 2011, in Europe on February 25, 2011 and in South Korea on September 1, 2011.

Kirby's Epic Yarn was the first non-Virtual Console Kirby game to be released for the Wii. First uncovered at E3 on June 15, 2010, it was also the first Kirby platformer to be released on a home console since Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards for the Nintendo 64 in 2000. The game also saw a re-release on the Wii U Virtual Console. Kirby's Epic Yarn was ported to the Nintendo 3DS in 2019, titled Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn.

Story[]

Yin-Yarn the sorcerer runs amok in Dream Land, turning everything, citizens included, into yarn. Meanwhile, Kirby walks by a bush and notices a tomato with an M on top of it. Thinking it to be a Maxim Tomato, he starts to inhale to eat it just as Yin-Yarn appears and starts to introduce himself. Yin-Yarn gets angry at Kirby eating his "magic Metamato," and sucks him into a sock tied with a string around his neck.

Kirby finds himself in a strange land, where everything is made of yarn - and due to the sorcerer's magic, himself as well. Just then, he saw a yarn monster chasing a yarn boy. Kirby tries to inhale the monster, but the air goes right through his body. Unsure of what to do, but still wanting to help, Kirby transforms into a car and drives off with the yarn boy. It turns out that Yin-Yarn's tomato was a Metamato, and from eating it, Kirby can now transform into different things at will. The boy introduces himself as Prince Fluff, and offers Kirby to go over to Patch Castle, which teaches Kirby the basics of Patch Land.

Right after that, the monster Lickeur appears and tries to eat Prince Fluff. Kirby defeats the monster by using his weight form and obtains a piece of yarn that stitches Quilty Square to Grass Land. As a dismayed Prince Fluff explains, Yin-Yarn split Patch Land into seven parts, and he still has five missing pieces to find. Being his helpful self, Kirby promises his help to make Patch Land a peaceful place once again, and the two set off on their adventure. After defeating Fangora in Grass Land, a magic yarn stitches Grass Land to Hot Land.

After defeating Hot Wings in Hot Land, Kirby and Prince Fluff find the magic yarn that stitches Hot Land and Treat Land together.

Meanwhile, back in Dream Land, a group of Waddle Dees are working for King Dedede inside the castle. King Dedede notices that one of the Waddle Dees, being made out of yarn, looks a little strange, but he ignores this. Yin-Yarn, hiding behind some boxes, continues to sew more yarn Waddle Dees with his needles. Yin-Yarn cackles, saying that Dream Land will be his soon enough, although he confesses that he is not sure what to do with it.

After defeating Squashini, Kirby and Fluff find the magic yarn that stitches Treat Land to Water Land.

After they defeat Capamari, the magic yarn stitches Water Land to Snow Land.

Back in Dream Land, Yin-Yarn's Waddle Dee impostors capture the real Waddle Dees and corner Dedede. Before he can defend himself, they attack and tie him up. Yin-Yarn comes out and uses his sock to suck Dedede away into Patch Land and transform him into yarn. While he wanders Snow Land, he sees Kirby and starts to run over, but a puppeteer's device comes in from out of nowhere and knocks him unconscious, then takes control of his body. When he is defeated by Kirby, he returns to normal and the magic yarn from the puppeteer's device is relinquished, and stitches Snow Land to Space Land.

Once again, back in Dream Land, while roaming the skies on Battleship Halberd, Meta Knight notices some changes in Dream Land's landscape. Suddenly, Yin-Yarn crashes onto the deck and sucks him into Patch Land. When Kirby and Prince Fluff find him guarding Space Land's magic yarn, his eyes flash between yellow and purple, as he is under Yin-Yarn's possession. Once Kirby defeats him, he is freed, and promptly disappears into his cape, while Kirby and Fluff get the last piece of magic yarn, which stitches Patch Land fully back together. They head back to Patch Castle to celebrate, but are interrupted when an unconscious Meta Knight wakes up. He apologizes for attacking them and blames the yarn, and explains what is happening in Dream Land. Kirby is upset that Yin-Yarn is taking over, but Prince Fluff pulls out another magical sock. It turns out that Yin-Yarn had only stolen one of the pair, and now that Patch Land is restored, the sock should regain its normal magic.

Kirby, Prince Fluff, Meta Knight, and King Dedede use the sock to transport to Yin-Yarn and confront him; upon their arrival at Dream Land, they find that Yin-Yarn has discarded his sock and Dream Land is covered with yarn and fabric, with Castle Dedede now floating ominously overhead. Kirby and Prince Fluff eventually track down Yin-Yarn and defeat him; however, his knitting needles come to life and use the magic yarn to give a new spin on him as Mega Yin-Yarn. Thinking fast, Meta Knight flies over and drops a Tankbot Metamortex, and Kirby powers up and decimates Mega Yin-Yarn. His knitting needles are banished to the far reaches of Patch Land, and the yarn spell soon wears off, with Kirby and Dream Land returning to normal. Prince Fluff says farewell to Kirby and leaves that magical sock for Kirby to come visit whenever he wants. After the credits roll, Kirby is shown sleeping in a field with the sock in his hands, dreaming of his new friends in Patch Land.

Gameplay[]

The overall design of Kirby's Epic Yarn is vastly different from Kirby's other appearances; the world takes on an appearance of a scrapbook of crafts materials, especially cloth and felt, and is populated by characters made out of yarn. All of the surfaces as well as Kirby and Prince Fluff's bodies are physics-enabled to great tactile effect; surfaces deform dynamically when trodden on, yarn outlines of characters and the Yarn Whip behave realistically, and movements and transformations are lively and fluid. This game is also notable for its piano soundtrack.

One significant change from Kirby's previous appearances is that he has lost the ability to inhale, and all the abilities that go with it (including the ability to puff up and float), as air goes right through his new body. In its place, Kirby gains the use of the yarn whip, which is his main means of interaction with the game world. It can be used to unravel or wrap up enemies to be thrown, latch onto buttons, and pull on zippers, or otherwise manipulate the stage to remove walls or close gaps. Also, Kirby can now transform into several forms at will, and can access the Super Transformations via the use of a Metamortex. Beads are hidden throughout the levels for players to collect, along with other hidden items concealed in Treasure Chests, with every level having three chests.[5]

The multiplayer feature allows a second player to control Prince Fluff, the prince of Patch Land, who is similar in appearance to Kirby.[6] The entirety of the game's content can be accessed by playing with one or two players.

Controls[]

The game is played with the Wii Remote held sideways.

Control Move
Control Pad Move
(+) Button View pause screen
(-) Button View controls for current form
1 Button Use yarn whip
2 Button Jump
A Button Call Angie
B Button U-Turn when in Train Form

Characters[]

Playable Characters[]

Major Characters[]

Db The following section contains transcluded content from the Database. Source: (viewedit • help)

Regular enemies[]

Amprey | Anemonee | Battins | Big Waddle Dee | Blipper | Bobber Clod | Boinger | Bomber | Bronto Burt | Buttonbee | Buttonbug | Buttonfly | Calderon | Candlemander | Chilly | Cutfish | Cyclod | Dandan | Danglerfish | Dropso | Emba | Embaconda | Embird | Flamer | Freezo | Gator | Gordo | Grizzo | Jelly Jr. | Lickeur | Li'l Kracko | Magmotamus | Mariner | Octopea | Ooki | Orbitfly | Rolling Clod | Sawgill | Scarfy | Sea Jelly | Shelby | Shotzo | Slobba | Sneak Sack | Snip-Snap | Soldier | Soocher | Space Jelly | Spore Jelly | Stogue | Sulkworm | Swadclod | Truck Monster | Twiggy Woods | UFO | Uniclod | Waddle Dee | Waddle Doo

Mid-Bosses[]

Blast Mariner | Combo Cannon | Kracko | Reactor | Space Kracko | Wicked Willow | Whispy Woods

Bosses[]

Fangora | Hot Wings | Squashini | Capamari | King Dedede | Meta Knight | Yin-Yarn | Mega Yin-Yarn

Transformations[]

KPR Maxim Tomato Main article: Transformations

Kirby's inhaling ability has been rendered useless and he has lost the ability to fly, but he has a variety of forms he can transform into, some through regular platforming play as well as ten other, special transformations known as Metamortex powers.[7][8]

Levels[]

Quilty Square is partially accessible at the start, but the rest of the areas can only be accessed after obtaining their corresponding Area Patch.

Stages in bold are boss stages. Stages in italics are bonus stages.

KEEY Quilty Square sprite
Quilty Square
Patch Castle
Grass Land
Grass Land
Fountain Gardens Flower Fields
Rainbow Falls Big-Bean Vine
Fangora Mole Hole Weird Woods
KEEY Hot Land sprite
Hot Land
Pyramid Sands Lava Landing
Cool Cave Dino Jungle
Hot Wings Temper Temple Dusk Dunes
KEEY Treat Land sprite
Treat Land
Toy Tracks Mushroom Run
Sweets Park Melody Town
Squashini Cocoa Station Dark Manor
KEEY Water Land sprite
Water Land
Splash Beach Blub-Blub Ocean
Secret Island Deep-Dive Deep
Capamari Boom Boatyard Fossil Reef
KEEY Snow Land sprite
Snow Land
Snowy Fields Cozy Cabin
Mt. Slide Frosty Wheel
King Dedede Frigid Fjords Evergreen Lift
KEEY Space Land sprite
Space Land
Future City Tube Town
Mysterious UFO Stellar Way
Meta Knight Moon Base Outer Rings
KEEY Dream Land sprite
Dream Land
Whispy's Forest Tempest Towers
Cloud Palace Castle Dedede
Yin-Yarn Meta Melon Isle Battleship Halberd

Development[]

KPR Waddle Dee 2 This section is currently under construction

Kirby's Epic Yarn began development as a game called Fluff's Epic Yarn (毛糸のフラッフ Keito no Furaffu in Japanese), which starred Prince Fluff as the protagonist. The original idea to make a game set in a fabric world came from Good-Feel's Planning Section Manager, Madoka Yamauchi, who previously directed of Wario Land: Shake It! for the Wii.

Nintendo approved the project and a prototype was made in three months. Production became more challenging when Emi Watanabe and Nobuo Matsumiya from Software Planning and Development found the game tedious, as they believed it lacked tension and had extremely low difficulty. To counter this, the developers reportedly added "thorns everywhere" in later stages, but this was deemed uncomfortably difficult. Watanabe described the team as "lost," so much so that they feared the project would be cancelled any day.

In Summer 2009, Nintendo asked Good-Feel to make the game part of the Kirby series. Seeing this as a way to guarantee the game's completion, director Kentaro Sei agreed.[9]

Music[]

KPR Maxim Tomato Main article: Kirby's Epic Yarn/Music

Glitches[]

KPR Maxim Tomato Main article: Glitch#Kirby's Epic Yarn

Reception[]

KEY interview room1

Interview room at Nintendo Redwood City. More at Nintendo World Report

KEY interview room2

Kirby in the interview room

The critical reception to Kirby's Epic Yarn has been the most positive in the series' history, with the game currently holding a 88.67% on review compilation site Game Rankings, making it the fourth best reviewed Wii game of 2010.[10] It is tied with Kirby: Canvas Curse for being the highest-rated Kirby game on Metacritic.

  • IGN gave the game a 9.0 score and an Editor's Choice award, calling it "an amazing looking game that embraces traditional platforming designs in fresh new ways."[11]
  • GameTrailers gave the game a score of 8.4, praising its presentation and imaginative gameplay, though criticizing the inability to be KO'd.[12]
  • GameSpot gave the game a score of 8.5, stating that "Kirby's Epic Yarn's story levels are way too easy," but that the graphics and overall fun made up for its shortcomings.
  • GamesRadar gave the game 9/10, praising its "impossibly adorable graphics" and classic Nintendo gameplay.[13]
  • Kotaku gave the game an Editor's Choice award, calling it "a game designed for constant smiling, a side-scroller that will soothe the stressed."[14]
  • Nintendo World Report gave the game a perfect score of 10, stating that "the joyous platformer might not be difficult, but it's fun, inventive, and outrageously imaginative."[15]
  • 1Up gave the game an A-, with praise for the creativity of the levels and the thematic visuals.[16]
  • Game Informer gave the game a 9.5 out of 10, praising the game's artistic style as "one of the best-looking games on the Wii" and also noting both its ease of use for less experienced gamers and its challenges for more experienced gamers.[17]
  • Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu gave Kirby's Epic Yarn a score of 36 out of 40, stating that "The game's not just about looking cute -- the way the gameplay takes advantage of this yarn world is brilliant. Even if you've encountered these sorts of obstacles in other action games, they seem fresh all over again here. It's a great action game, too, and if you try to get every item in the game, even veteran action fans will find it challenging. The whole package is stuffed full of fun and surprises. The graphics are unique and packed with originality. The game's set up so you never get a Game Over, but there's still enough optional hardcore aspects to it to keep all walks of gamers happy."[18]
  • Nintendo Power gave Kirby's Epic Yarn an 8.5/10,[19] praising the game's concept, gameplay and graphics.

Transcript[]

KPR Maxim Tomato Main article: Kirby's Epic Yarn/Transcript

Staff[]

KPR Maxim Tomato Main article: List of Kirby's Epic Yarn Staff

Trivia[]

EpicKirbyHat

The Kirby's Epic Yarn hat from StreetPass Mii Plaza.

  • Kirby's Epic Yarn has numerous fabric- and yarn-related puns in the game. One such play on words is the title of the game itself. "Epic Yarn" is a double entendre: Epic can be used as a colloquial adjective for "awesome" as well as typically referring to poetry revolving around a hero completing a series of great achievements; yarn generally refers to the thread found in fabric, but can also mean a tale, generally a long one with great achievements.
  • Instead of saying that the grass feels like "pants" at the intro in the North American version, Kirby says it feels like "trousers" in the European version. This change was likely made because of regional differences, as pants are referred to as trousers in most parts of Europe; "pants" in the UK also refer to "underpants" in the United States.
  • This is the first game since Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards where Kirby's voice is heard on a current generation console outside of the Super Smash Bros. series.
  • The plot appears to follow a similar premise to that of Kirby: Canvas Curse, with Kirby being transfigured by the villain into another form, which changes the way he is controlled. Using Kirby's Train form is similar to the way Kirby: Canvas Curse is played.
  • Meta Knight's mask does not fall off when defeated. His eyes flash from purple to yellow during the fight in an effort to resist Yin-Yarn's possession. Meanwhile, King Dedede's eyes start out blue but remain purple under Yin-Yarn's influence, meaning he doesn't have the strength to fight possession.
  • This is the first Kirby game to have a narration as well as captions.
    • In the PAL version, the narrator is different, along with being in Commonwealth English.
  • This is the first game to feature Kirby speaking in what appears to be a "Poyo" language, first seen in the anime. The second is Kirby Mass Attack.
  • Kirby's Epic Yarn is one of a few games in which sub-games contribute to the game file's percentage of completion. The previous ones are Kirby's Dream Land 2, Kirby Super Star and its remake, and Kirby's Dream Land 3. This game would also mark where this is almost always the standard.
  • This is the second game in the series in which currency is used (beads), the first being Kirby Super Star (Ultra), where The Great Cave Offensive listed the value in "G," presumably meaning "gold."
  • Tempest Towers is closer to the NES version of Butter Building, whereas Cloud Palace and Battleship Halberd make references to the DS version of Bubbly Clouds and the battleship (respectively).
  • One of the many fabrics Kirby can collect is the Famicom fabric. This fabric depicts lots of Famicom designs and is obviously a reference to the game console.
  • Kirby's Epic Yarn is one of the few games in the Kirby series to have the Warp Star absent from it completely.
  • Kirby doesn't get a snorkel when he enters water in this game. This is also the case in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and Kirby Mass Attack.
  • This is the first game to have an "ability" specifically made for underwater purposes. The second appears in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, where the Kirby Submarine transformation can be used.
  • The symbol of Meta Knight is the established one from Kirby Super Star Ultra, though there is a subtle change - the sword figure was changed to a needle thread, and the wings form more of a "Y" shape than an "M" (for obvious reasons).
  • This is the only Kirby game that features a room that can be decorated.
  • Kirby's Epic Yarn takes up 31 blocks of Wii memory.
    • Kirby's Epic Yarn and Kirby's Return to Dream Land share very similar Wii memory icons.
  • A yarn version of Kirby, referencing Kirby's Epic Yarn, makes a cameo appearance as a hat in the Nintendo 3DS built-in game StreetPass Mii Plaza.
  • Kirby's Epic Yarn and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards are the only games in the series in which Kirby smiles while standing and walking. In all other games, Kirby's expression is neutral.
  • The only difference between the Japanese and North American box art is Waddle Dee was slightly moved to the right in the North American box art for unknown reasons.
  • A spiritual successor to the game, Yoshi's Woolly World, was published for Wii U. While it is not part of the Kirby series (instead part of the Yoshi series), it was developed by the same team. Several elements from Kirby's Epic Yarn, such as bead collecting and unraveling enemies, are present in it. It was released in 2015.
    • The earliest footage of Yoshi's Woolly World was extremely similar to Kirby's Epic Yarn; Yoshi was primarily a yarn outline and his body could change shape depending on his action. These similarities were later removed from the game. At E3 2014, Takashi Tezuka began his presentation by stating, "When Nintendo reached out to Good-Feel, we didn't ask them to make Yoshi's Woolly World as a sequel to Kirby's Epic Yarn. We said we wanted to make a Yoshi game." These steps were likely taken to assure viewers that Yoshi's Woolly World would be a brand new experience and not a Yoshi-themed rehash of Kirby's Epic Yarn.
    • Furthering the similarities between the two games is the music track that plays in the stage Yoshi and Cookies. The first 12 notes are the same as in the Fountain Gardens stage in Kirby's Epic Yarn.
  • Kirby's Epic Yarn borrows many sound effects from another Wii title, Wario Land: Shake It!, and these sound effects are used in other games developed by Good-Feel. Composer Tomoya Tomita is often involved in the development of Good-Feel games, which may be connected.
  • The time between the releases of Kirby: Squeak Squad and Kirby's Epic Yarn marked the longest duration without an entirely new Kirby release in North America since the beginning of the series, at 3 years, 10 months and 13 days.
  • Kirby's Epic Yarn is notable for having one of the least serious stories in the main series, as it often takes time to show more comical events and features a sillier villain who has not fully thought out his goal.
  • Since the release of Kirby's Epic Yarn, only four characters and one vehicle that originated in the game have been referenced in other official parts of the Kirby series, excluding the Kirby's History section of Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition:
  • Kirby's Epic Yarn is the only Kirby game on the Wii (excluding re-releases) to be rated E for Everyone by the ESRB. The other two were rated E10+.
  • Takashi Ikegami, a manager at HAL Laboratory, stated that he would like to expand the Kirby's Epic Yarn style to other Nintendo properties. He specifically mentioned a hypothetical game called Mario's Epic Yarn to emphasize his enthusiasm.[21] Though the particular gameplay of Kirby's Epic Yarn was not reused, the cloth and yarn aesthetic was implemented in Yoshi's Woolly World and Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World.
Kirby Website Epic Yarn Mistake

Typo on the Kirby website

  • The official Kirby website mistakenly states that the game is for the Nintendo DS family of systems.
  • This is one of two Kirby games in which getting a Game Over is impossible, the other being Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
  • Kirby can acquire 9,999 Beads and a streak of 999 in two stages: Tube Town and Whispy's Forest. In the former, Kirby can throw Yarn Balls (converted from Dandan projectiles) at Snip-Snaps infinitely to get the Beads; in the latter, Kirby can fire out of cannons to collect the same four Beads from Bronto Burts infinitely.[22]
  • A stage based on Kirby's Epic Yarn was originally planned for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. However, after the announcement of Yoshi's Woolly World, the yarn aesthetic was used for the Yoshi stage and the Kirby stage was retooled into The Great Cave Offensive.

Commercial[]

Artwork[]

Box Art[]

Media[]

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Gallery[]

Videos[]

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Construction for the room to hold the press conference at Nintendo Redwood City

External links[]

References[]

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