The Dreamland loach.

For first impressions and more about the game's basics, I covered that in my previous article found here.
About a month ago, I got to sit down for an hour at Nintendo's office with the E3 build (which I couldn't find at the show), and enjoyed what I could glean from the Japanese instructions. This time around, I got to go deeper than the first world map, and learn just how bad I am at some games... or maybe it was just how difficult a Kirby game can be!

It turns out that the first level or two I had played previously were mere training levels to get a player familiarized with the taps, flicks and drawing necessary to win. But they were also levels that you could more or less barrel through with hardly a scratch. So when they dropped me into later worlds--not even far beyond the first--and I was getting "game over" screens despite my most valiant effort; you know this isn't your quilted Kirby picker-upper. Yes, if you were left wanting a bit more challenge from Epic Yarn, this one ought to keep you plenty busy.

What I got to see this time were a wide variety of tasks that ranged from cute and simple, to "how the bleeding harpsichord is this possible!?" For example, in one of the screens released today, you can see a giant fish jumping out of some deep abyss. There comes a point where the game presents you with a fishing rod and a sort of mini-game to try reeling that thing out yourself. Interesting, but pretty easy. At another point, you can see a collectable medallion underneath a bridge, but no discernible method of actually getting below the walkway. For thinkers, perhaps medium. Then, one level tosses a giant ice dinosaur into the mix, which force-scrolls the screen and chases the death from your little pink butts. Too hard for me, and apparently most other journalists as well. Don't even get me started on one of the Dedede battles, still only roughly halfway through the game's five world maps. I died hard.


Whoa, whoa! Quit scaring me the children!

On top of the inherent challenges, you also have things to collect and do. Each level has a certain number of medallions (not unlike the giant coins in NSMB), and you are graded on your performance each time (bronze, silver, etc.). If you manage to finish a level without taking a single hit, you can get a medal to remember the occasion of gaming perfection. That's not always easy to do when trying to keep track of up to ten little Kirbys, but there are strategies to achieving those best scores...

The last thing I saw that totally won me over was the existence of unlockable content that can be earned. One they were showing off was called Strato Patrol EOS, a kind of retro mini-game in the vein of those old top-down shmups. In this, you control Kirby with the stylus as he vertically scrolls through the level, blasting oncoming enemies both in the air and on the ground. You can grab power-ups, or just like the main game, collect additional Kirbys to help fill the screen with baddie-blasting projectiles. It has multiple levels, bosses; just incredible, and only one of the many I saw in the list. Clearly, this game is meant to keep people coming back for a long time.

It's easy, hard, widely varied, and full of things to finish. Toss in the wonderful, rare pixel art and sprites, and it really doesn't get much better than this. Glad it can be played on the go, because it's going to take awhile for me to get through everything. If you haven't yet, definitely keep your eyes on this one!