Back in March, Nintendo brought the first side-scrolling platformer to the Nintendo DS in the form Yoshi Touch & Go. While the majority of DS owners received the title with open arms, many felt like it was merely an appetizer to the feast of titles that what was to come in the future of Nintendo's dual-screened handheld. Now with the release of Kirby Canvas Curse, we finally get a taste of the type of innovative and exciting gameplay elements that can be served up on the Nintendo DS. Read on for the full rainbow-packed review.

Facts and Features

• Kirby's first adventure on the Nintendo DS
  
• Control is 100% dependent on the stylus
  
• Tons of unlockable goodies
  
• Hidden coins purchase extras
  
• Single-player only
  
• Available now

Presentation
Kirby Canvas Curse is presented in a simple, yet effective fashion. The story is a little cheesy and weak, but it sets the job before you up well enough. The basic premise is that a cursed canvas has taken Kirby's ability to do anything except to roll around away from him. You must guide the pink hero around levels drawing rainbow colored paths using only the stylus. Kirby is in constant motion, and you have to be pretty quick to keep him on the proper path to navigate the levels filled with traps, enemies, and obstacles. As you progress, you'll unravel the secret to the curse that is plaguing Kirby's home. The story as it is presented feels almost like an afterthought when compared to the stellar gameplay found in this title.



Gameplay
This is one area where our pink puffball is rock solid. The gameplay in Kirby Canvas Curse is amongst the best you can find in gaming today. Nothing is truly complicated about drawing rainbow paths for a rolling pink ball with eyes, but for some odd reason it's addictive and just downright fun. The physics that are built into the game that determine Kirby's bouncing, rolling, and falling are pretty well implemented, so predicting Kirby's path is easy as you guide him along. With the stylus you're able to draw paths for Kirby to roll along quickly, but at times you'll find yourself drawing shields to protect Kirby from projectiles or mobile enemies. Even though Kirby is stuck in ball form without the use of his legs, he is still able to copycat enemy attributes. Many of the puzzles require skillful use of stylus navigation combined with the proper execution of enemy techniques. The implementation of touch screen control is guaranteed to impress even the most skeptical of handheld gamers. It's in this title that the DS is starting to prove that gaming is being driven into new territory. Kirby Canvas Curse simply could not be playable on any other platform.

The main quest isn't too long, but there are tons of reasons to re-visit each level. Each level has three coins scattered about and it's quite a challenge to collect them all. The coins are later used to buy unlockable extras that range from simple sound test clips to great things that I won't spoil here. Getting everything unlocked in this game will take you a long time to do; and because of the great gameplay featured in Kirby Canvas Curse, you'll probably be glued to your DS until you manage to do just that. For those gamers who have been impatient for the next DS must-have title, Kirby's your man...er, ball thingy.