Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Feature
Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn's Devilish Mode Makes It Better
In 2010, Kirby's Epic Yarn was released on the Wii and I was personally confused by the lavish praise it received. It looked amazing, but the level design was boring to the point where I often felt like I was doing nothing more than moving left to right with no challenge whatsoever. I enjoy easy games and appreciate Kirby's efforts to be a game made with younger players in mind, but Epic Yarn was just bland. Outside of its visuals, it lacked the creativity of past Kirbys, and especially future Kirbys like Triple Deluxe and Planet Robobot, which are among my favorites.
For the 3DS re-release, Extra Epic Yarn, a new hard Devilish Mode has been added, and while it doesn't make the level designs more interesting, it does add some much-needed danger to the experience. You can choose Devilish Mode at the start of each level and it gives Kirby health (which he doesn't have on the standard mode) and makes a demonic little yarn monster follow Kirby around and drop bombs on him, fire arrows at him, or just try to hit him with a quick dash. It reminds me of the Angry Sun from Super Mario Bros. 3 acting like a persistent threat that can kill you any time, forcing you restart the level. Devilish Mode makes boss fights especially difficult by giving the confrontations some urgency, which makes them more engaging.
Beating levels on Devilish Mode also gives you additional pieces to decorate your home, which is a nice bonus. In order to get every unlockable offered by Devilish Mode, you must beat each level with full health, which makes relplaying the more difficult levels worthwhile. It functions similarly to trying to beat levels in Yoshi's Island with all 30 seconds in your pocket.
Despite loving the yarn aesthetic, I still look back on Epic Yarn as one of the weaker Kirby games in his library, but Devilish Mode does improve the experience. The level design still bores me, but with Devilish Mode I at least have to pay more attention to what I am doing in order to get to the finish line.
On
On
Off
Off
Products In This Article
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
