Kirby is a pink ball-of-puff that has been a videogame all-star since his debut with “Kirby’s Dream Land” on the Nintendo Gameboy back in 1992. Kirby has been featured in more than a dozen games, but has not had a home-console-based adventure since Kirby 64 on the Nintendo 64 – over 10 years ago.

In June, “Kirby’s Epic Yarn” was unveiled, showcasing a Kirby game with a visual style that made everything seem as though it was made of cloth.

At first glance, the concept certainly makes you raise an eyebrow. But with the game’s release on Oct. 17, fans can rest easy knowing that “Kirby’s Epic Yarn” still offers the gameplay that they’ve come to expect.

Developed by Good-Feel Ltd. and HAL Laboraties, “Kirby’s Epic Yarn” is a sidescrolling adventure game for the Nintendo Wii. The game is controlled by holding the Wii remote sideways, similar to the playstyle with games like “New Super Mario Bros. Wii.”

The game has a storybook setting that takes over as soon as you start playing.

There are multiple cutscenes that are narrated by this man who sounds like he came out of retirement from a “bedtime story” cassette tape series. The plot is rather simple: Kirby, being the pink glutton that he is, eats a tomato that belongs to a villain named “Yin-Yarn.”

Yin-Yarn gets upset and sucks Kirby into a magical sock. Kirby awakens in a world called Patch Land and meets a character named Prince Fluff. Kirby’s body and everything around him is made of cloth. Kirby even thinks to himself, “It feels like … pants.”

As absurd as it may sound, you lose yourself in the simplicity of it all once the gameplay starts.

The goal of each level is to collect items, defeat enemies, platform, get to the end of the level and possibly fight a boss.

Every level in the game can be played with up to two players, with the second player taking control of Prince Fluff.

Kirby can still transform, but this is handled two different ways. First is the standard transformations which happen manually through the controls, such as transforming into a car or turning into a parachute.

There are also more intricate transformations that not only change Kirby’s appearance in a major way, but change the gameplay style entirely. Kirby will transform into these special transformations when he comes into contact with a special patch.

These transformations include (but are not limited to) a dolphin, a giant tank, a train and even a spaceship.

Fans longing for characters and enemies from Kirby’s past will be pleased. King Dedede and his army of Waddle Dees and even Meta Knight all play a role in the story.

The game is not hard at all. In fact, Kirby can’t die. The biggest punishment for running into an enemy or getting hurt is losing your items or just bouncing backwards. The real challenge for the game is whether or not you can find the hidden items and finish the level.

The main plot is anywhere from six to eight hours in length. Kirby has to patch up all seven worlds in Patch Land, but collecting all the special items and furniture could add length to the game.

Quite possibly the best thing about “Kirby’s Epic Yarn” is how much this game still feels like a Kirby game, but that’s also the most frustrating thing as well.

Players may find themselves a little less enthusiastic about the experience when they realize how little the gameplay has actually changed for Kirby’s first Wii-outing.

“Kirby’s Epic Yarn” gets an 8 out of 10. The game is near-perfect in what it tries to achieve – and certainly worth a purchase, but considering this is the first time we’ve seen a Kirby adventure game on a home-console in 10 years, a lot more should have been done for our hero from Dream Land.

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