Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn

Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn is an expanded port of Kirby's Epic Yarn, which came out on Wii in 2010 and became famous for its unique fabric-and-yarn visuals, where literally everything – characters, environments, and effects – was made from wool and textile. The 2019 Nintendo 3DS version takes over the basic framework of the original but adds content that wasn't available on Wii, turning the game from a purely family-friendly platformer into a title with its own challenge mode.

The key new feature is Devilish Mode, in which the player is pursued by a character called Devi and must get through levels under harder conditions, giving the game a challenge that the original deliberately lacked – Kirby's Epic Yarn was designed so that life essentially didn't matter and the player couldn't lose, an unusual design choice for its time. The new version also adds playable characters and Metamortoses, transformations of Kirby into various objects with their own abilities, and supports amiibo figures that unlock additional costumes for the character.

The smaller 3DS screen also led to adjustments in the camera and level clarity compared to the television-based Wii release, so visually it's a differently assembled experience than the original – the fabric textures and environmental details had to be adapted to remain readable even on a significantly smaller display, which the portable variant of the game was, after all, built for.

While the Wii version targeted mainly family play without any risk of failure, the portable Extra Epic Yarn offers a choice between both approaches – the classic carefree playthrough and the added Devilish Mode for players who want more resistance from the same game. This dual identity makes the 3DS version a distinct title, not just a shrunken copy of the living-room original.

Why play: Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn is ideal for players who know the original from Wii and want a tougher challenge plus new content on top, as well as for those discovering the game for the first time on a portable console and who will appreciate the more compact form of this popular platforming experience.