E3 2014 Hands-On: Mario Party 10, Yoshi’s Wooly World & Kirby and the Rainbow Curse

Nintendo is smashing out the games this year, they’re all bright and colourful and well textured.

Yoshi rolls with Yarn and Kirby… well he just rolls this time around. Mario Party is also breaks the double digits. Alex went hands on with all three on the E3 show floor.

Mario Party 10

This was announced after the Nintendo Digital Conference, and was played with up to 4 Wii Remotes and the Game Pad, whose player had a different perspective of the game than those holding the Wii Remotes. While not particularly groundbreaking or innovative, the minigames I tried were entertaining enough for parties, such as the Game Pad player rolling a cage wheel that is outfitted with electric wires.

The Wii Remote players, who control Mario universe characters, must shake to run against the wheel in order to avoid being electrocuted by the wires. The Game Pad player can also stop the wheel, but the Wii Remote players must stop themselves in time or else they risk running into the wires. Other minigames contain the typical rules of collecting the most of a particular item or having to avoid being hit by an item or other enemy.

Graphically, the game retains the colorful and bright visual style seen since the GameCube-era Mario Party titles, this time of course in HD. However, the graphics are not exactly groundbreaking like, say, Super Mario 3D World, although there were a few nice particle effects every now and then.

With Wii Party U and Nintendoland also available, the Wii U certainly does not have a shortage of party titles, and this game, like previous entries, should entertain families and younger players for the rest of the generation.

Yoshi’s Wooly World

The Yoshi’s Island style of gameplay merges with the visual theme of Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Little Big Planet to form a charming, slow paced platformer. Like the previous Yoshi’s Island, Yoshi must navigate through 2D platforming stages, using his tongue or throwing eggs into the environment to unlock hidden paths and acquire vital items, such as coins and jewels, which can be used for powerups.

Taking a cue from New Super Mario Bros. Wii, more than one Yoshi is playable, each distinguished by color. All Yoshis can work together to advance through the level, although multiplayer it seemingly optional. The game’s graphics are a marvel. Everything is made of string, which gives the game a distinct, yet highly detailed and intricate look.

The string detail can be seen even from afar, and is used in clever ways to tie into the level design. Some hidden pathways are concealed by a single loose line of yarn, which Yoshi can pull and reveal using its tongue. Other passageways are revealed by throwing yarn eggs at certain spots. The Yoshi’s and enemies, such as Shy Guys, themselves are also made of yarn. The ingenuity of the level design remains to be seen, as nothing in the demo stuck out, but the gameplay looks fun and faithful to the series.

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse

This game is a sequel to the 2005 DS title “Kirby’s Canvas Curse.” The gameplay takes place primarily on the Game Pad using the Stylus. By drawing lines of rainbow-colored string and tapping on Kirby himself, the pink furball will navigate through levels by rolling around and following the direction of the string, breaking barrier blocks and collecting items.

Kirby has been transformed into clay, but can still swallow and acquire the ability of enemies, becoming spaceships or submarines, among others. I did not find the game to be particularly compelling compared to Yoshi’s Wooly World, which exhibited more creativity and a more charming visual world, although fans of the property and of the DS original will surely appreciate this entry, which appears to strongly stick to its fundamentals.

Visually, the game also seemed far behind Yoshi’s Wooly World, not being as detailed or ambitious with its visuals. This is more apparent due to the emphasis of the Game Pad, which has a lower visual quality than an HDTV.