It’s that classic story; witch appears, witch turns world into giant painting, hero slaps witch, witch turns hero into little pink ball, witch legs it into portal and hero rolls in after. “What!?!” I hear you cry, “That’s never happened before!” Well my friends, this happens a lot in the world of Kirby, and he needs our help to sort out this crazy woman in his new adventure Kirby: Canvas Curse.

Launching later this year in the UK under the guise of Kirby: Power Paintbrush, Kirby: Canvas Curse plays out as a 2D platformer with a unique twist. Instead of the classic jump and attack buttons, in now traditional NintendoDS style, all control is via the Touch Screen. Using the Stylus, Rainbow Lines can be drawn on the screen that Kirby will ride along. Kirby will only travel in the direction that the line was drawn so these lines can be used as escalators to reach higher platforms or as a means to make Kirby dive into the games various underwater zones. Drawing a loop in the line will cause Kirby to speed up and becomes necessary in traversing the later parts of the game. Rainbow Lines can also be used to shield Kirby from projectile attacks, however they require ink to draw that recharges slowly while Kirby is in the air, but quickly while he’s on the floor. While with no interaction Kirby rolls along at a fairly slow pace, tapping him with the Stylus causes him to perform a dash attack or special attack. Special attacks are obtained by defeating an enemy with a specific special ability; for instance beating a Snowman will imbue Kirby with the ability to freeze any nearby foes. Enemies can also be stunned by touching them with the Stylus - stunned enemies can then be beaten simply by rolling Kirby into them. There are a number of other interactive objects on the game, such as boulders and blocks to break and switches to change. These controls are quite easy to pick up and once only a few Levels have been completed manoeuvring Kirby around in all directions with grace becomes easy.

The main game is split up into eight Rounds. The first seven are comprised of three Levels and a selectable Boss Game, and the eighth is one Level with the chance to smack that witch for causing all the trouble. Each Level has three Sub-Levels in which you must direct Kirby to the exit door collecting stars and medals along the way. After completing all three you get to play a Bonus Game where you attempt to complete the longest jump with a limited amount of ink, and the further you jump the more stars you will be rewarded. Once a Level is completed, that Level then becomes available in Rainbow Run Mode - another game type in which you must complete a Level in the fastest time or use as little ink as possible in order to earn Medals.

The Boss Game select screen gives you the choice of which of the three bosses to battle, which is useful because each boss is a completely different Sub-Game and reminiscent of previous handheld Kirby outings. The first is a Breakout style game in which you draw paddles that Kirby will bounce off, enabling you to break blocks and defeat enemies. The second is a race against the boss in a mine cart, where you must collect speed boosts and avoid obstructions and the third involves a series of dot to dot pictures that you must complete in the fastest possible time. Once both Levels of these three are completed, they are selectable as Sub-Games from the Main Menu, adding to the titles replay value.

As I mentioned before, throughout the main game there are collectable Medals and Stars. Gathering one hundred stars, not a difficult task due to their abundance, awards the player an extra Life.  Medals on the other hand are quite different, some are easy to attain but others may require the player to solve a puzzle or execute a difficult stylus manoeuvre. The purpose of these Medals is as a type of currency with which to open the games many unlockables; ranging from extra sounds in the Sound Test area, to different colour lines for the game and extra Levels for the Rainbow Run, adding yet another level of depth to replaying the title, as its incredibly unlikely you would stumble onto all of the Medals on your first attempt.

While never really pushing the NintendoDS, the games graphics are polished and clear. A lot of bright, contrasting colours are used and really give the game a Kirby feel. All gameplay is on the Touch Screen where as the top screen has the game radar and details such as the amount of ink left and Stars collected. The sound is nothing special, just what you would expect from a bouncy 2D Platformer - a typically cheery soundtrack and effects relating well to the action on the screen.

It’s safe to say that this game would not be possible on any other console other than the NintendoDS and is a credit to Nintendo’s constant drive for originality, even though occasionally the need to be original can adversely affect gameplay. Fortunately in the case of Kirby: Canvas Curse this is not the case. The game starts easily enough and the controls are a lot simpler than they might sound, but by the end of the game you’ll need considerable Stylus skills and give the puzzles more than a little thought, not to mention the fiendishly difficult final Boss. The game bounds along at a decent pace and I found myself making comparisons to the classic Sonic The Hedgehog games on more than one occasion - and this is my only main criticism, the game is a standard Platform game. It’s true that the control system is very different to the standard used in most Platformers, but the “beat enemies-collect stuff-get to the end” system is still essentially the one that has been perfected over the last twenty years, and has become quite tired. The lack of an inspiring addition to the formula is really the games only downfall, as the games control innovations, polished feel and replayability makes the title a worthwhile addition to any Nintendo collection.