Kirby: Canvas Curse Review (no fat)

Game Description

Cute little Kirby is taking a walk, when suddenly a portal opens up at his home planet. A witch named Drawcia attempts to change his home planet into a painting. Kirby tries to stop her and chase her away, but she ticks off the poor thing's legs
So now Kirby is a ball with the witch's magic brush. You have to guide Kirby through the painting, to Drawcia, and destroy her, so that Kirby and his world can restore to normal again.

You have to use the touch screen to control the magic brush, thus guiding Kirby through eight worlds (stages), with at least three portions (levels) in each world. Through the eight worlds, Kirby will constantly encounter enemies, as well as the bosses for each level.
But that's not all that's in the game. Each level for each world holds three bronze coins. The difficulty of acquiring these varies. Some coins require you to think up a trick to acquire them, while others open themselves up for grabs. The coins are useful for Kirby as they can buy game modes and Kirby abilities…without them your Kirby experience can never be complete.

Kirby: Canvas Curse Gameplay

Kirby is a perfect sphere, more in physical behavior than in shape. The accuracy of physics of Kirby rolling up and down a level is amazing. The physics also comes into play when Kirby encounters winds and waters.

It's a fun-filled challenge to learn to make Kirby roll your way, and the idea that you use your touch to do this makes up the complete essence of the game. You paint paths of rainbows with ink, making Kirby move along them. These rainbows are created one at a time for short durations. The rainbows require ink, which keeps refilling with time.
Tap on Kirby, and he makes a dash (spins). You tap his enemies, and Kirby stuns them. Kirby destroys his enemies by dashing into them or by rolling into stunned ones, or even if you manage to boost his roll up. And you make barriers ahead of him and save him from the dangers ahead.

Some enemies possess powers that Kirby gleefully absorbs with a tap. The powers include:
"The Tire" - Which destroys the obstacles in Kirby's way, "The Beam” - Which provides a radial electric spark all around, etc. Also as you move ahead in the game, the powers acquired will become trickier and more powerful.
Also, the coins/medals of each level bring in the hidden treasures of the game. These include music, inks for you, characters (yes, there are characters here as well), and health for Kirby.

The unique combination of medal powers and intra- level challenges make up the replay value of the game.

Kirby: Canvas Curse - The Appeals & Shortcomings

The graphics of the game are very well built, and the characters, enemies, backgrounds are detailed. Thus, in terms of graphics, Kirby: Canvas Curse can be simply described as gorgeous. To add to that, the music is good enough to involve you in the game. Also, there is a lot of unlockable music stored within and the sound effects add to the gameplay.

As for the downsides, there is a lack of hard challenge in the game. But the constant challenge of the motion control of Kirby makes up for the game's challenge easiness. Secondly, the game is too short with just over 2-3 of hours of play needed to beat the game.

Kirby: Canvas Curse - Verdict

Kirby: Canvas Curse is not for mature gaming and yet young kids might find it tough going to match the challenge put up by the evil Drawcia. But the game still succeeds largely due to the originality, the style, and the fun involved. If you own a Nintendo DS then this game is definitely worth a buy.

Kirby: Canvas Curse Cost

Currently, Kirby: Canvas Curse retails for $34.99US at the time of writing.