Kirby and the Rainbow Curse

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse has the same gameplay as Kirby: Canvas Curse . The game is framed in a unique plasticine style. Players use a special Wii U gamepad to help Kirby , glued in the shape of a ball, move around the level, drawing rainbow lines on the touch screen to set his direction. Drawing a loop will accelerate the protagonist, and when you click directly on Kirby himself, the player will give him rotation, with which the hero can eliminate enemies. For every 100 stars collected, Kirby can complete the Star Dash , increasing in size and destroying previously unbreakable obstacles ^[5] . As in Kirby's Epic Yarn, Kirby can take on various forms as the game progresses, such as a submarine, rocket, and tank ^[6] . These forms allow him to progress in the game and open up new elements that change the gameplay. The game can connect up to 3 players with Wii Remote , who can play as Waddle Dee ( English Waddle Dee ), who help Kirby in completing the level and fight with enemies ^[7] . The “Story Mode” mode includes 28 levels, while the “Challenge Mode” mode - more than 40 ^[8] .

The game may involve special Amiibo figures, in particular the figures of Kirby, King DiDiDi and Met Knight from the Super Smash Bros game for Wii U. The Kirby figure allows the hero to activate Star Jerk at any time, the DiDiDi figure increases health, the Meta Knight figure enhances Kirby’s attack ^{[9] [10] [11]} .

One fine day in Dreamland , when Kirby and Waddle Dee played together, a mysterious hole opens in the sky, sucks out all the colors of Dreamland and paralyzes all the inhabitants. Eline ( English Elline ) - a fairy-brush from the country of Seventopia ( English Seventopia ) penetrates the portal to escape from evil power and returns the color of Kirby and Waddle Dee. Learning from Elin that they must eliminate a monster named Claycia in order to return the colors to the Land of Dreams, the heroes go with her to Seventopia to save the Land of Dreams. Eline draws a magic rainbow rope, and Kirby turns into a ball by analogy with Kirby: Canvas Curse . At the end of the game, it turns out that Claysia was obsessed with an evil force known as Dark Crafter , who has a desire to merge all colors into a specific place. After Kirby defeats Dark Cheating, he, Waddle Dee, Claysia and Elin return to the Land of Dreams, and also return all the colors to the planet Pop Star . The final scene shows Claysia and Elin painting apples for Kirby, which he calmly gobbles up.

When the developers saw the Wii U gamepad, they realized that asymmetric multiplayer could be included in the new Kirby game. While the Wii Remote is used for platformers with standard mechanics, the new gamepad allows the player to draw “points of support”. They decided to use the same style of play as Kirby: Canvas Curse on the Nintendo DS . The plasticine style in the Wii U game was chosen in order to give it volume compared to the DS game, at the same time it uses a lower frame rate. Waddle Dee was chosen as a multi-player character, because the developers decided that the King Dee Dee Dee and Meta Knight are not suitable for protecting Kirby ^[12] .

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse received mixed reviews. The total score on GameRankings based on 50 reviews is 75% ^[25] and 73/100 on Metacritic based on 72 reviews ^[26] .

Famitsu, the Japanese gaming magazine, awarded Kirby and the Rainbow Curse 34 points out of 40, while one reviewer noted that “Although controlling a character through line drawing is not new, the game deserves applause for its interesting gameplay, which increases interest in the game. The visual plasticine style looks cute, the game is filled with very interesting chips that cause interest. The game is framed with the true charm of Action games ” ^[15] .

Giant Bomb reviewer Dan Rickett rated the game 2 stars out of 5, negatively evaluating the game with respect to its DS predecessor. He noted the simplicity and linearity of the levels and too easy collecting. He did not like the fact that, unlike Kirby: Canvas Curse, Kirby could not use the abilities of his enemies, and he noted that he turned into vehicles at certain levels as a “strongly-cut form”. The monotonous boss battles and the lack of accuracy of the stylus received negative criticism. Rickett notes that Waddle Dee is better to play as standard platform mechanics are more fun than an “unreliable stylus." Despite this, Rickett notes the plasticine style as “magnificent” ^[23] .

IGN reviewer Marty Sliva found the game more tolerant and rated it 8 out of 10. He praised the game’s complexity and variety from time to time, finding the transport stages “pleasant” and the design of the levels “beautiful”. Plum considers such levels to be “absolutely gorgeous,” praising details such as fingerprints in plasticine and slow-motion boss animation. However, he was disappointed that he had to focus on the gamepad, not the TV. Making a review on the multi-user mode for Waddle, Di Sliva noted that the multiplayer “does not guarantee a lot of experience” but nevertheless it is “an interesting experiment to check” ^[20] .

Nintendo Life reviewer John Walgren gave the game 7 out of 10 stars. He found the game “charming” and the visual style “beautiful [...] on Wii U until the last moment”, but was disappointed that plasticine aesthetics did not communicate with the Kirby's Epic Yarn gameplay . He noted the low difficulty in completing the main campaign, however, noting that collecting and the "Challenge Mode" complicate the game. As with other reviewers, Walgren wanted to see the game in high resolution, but he found that he had to focus on a gamepad with a low resolution screen. Playing with others is “enjoyable,” but “this is not the best local multiplayer experience for Wii U” ^[24] .

Hardcore Gamer reviewer Dermot Creegan gave the game 4.5 out of 5, calling it “a completely creative adventure that offers players something they won't find anywhere else.” He praised the plasticine aesthetics, calling it “amazingly beautiful,” while he positively emphasized collecting and complexity ^[27] .

Sales

In the first week of launch in Japan, 58,000 copies of the game were sold, and by the end of 2015, 83,000 copies were sold ^{[28] [29]} .

• kirby.nintendo.com/rainbow-curse/ - the official website of Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
• Kirby and the Rainbow Curse at GameFAQs