the lack of control really throws me... kirby will stay glued to the lines you draw but otherwise rolls along at his own pace. it varies between being predictable and completely erratic depending on what he rolls into, and the same can be said with how he responds to your lines. trying to keep him in check without flying into obstacles is such a huge pain as the stages grow more complex, and the small resolution of the ds screen doesn't help matters. while you can speed up movement by tapping kirby, a way to slow him down would have been equally as useful, since stopping him with a vertical line can be a bit problematic in the air.

the game itself feels almost like it would have been a different IP altogether had it not been the mid 2000s; the kirby tropes it draws from feel more aesthetically-bound than anything, as the level design is more puzzle-focused overall with the lack of combat. the fact that they retained copy abilities without the combat irks me quite a bit, considering that they usually alter your movement in ways that make levels more frustrating overall. some of the level gimmicks were fun when I played them, but they have left my mind by this point thanks to the frustrating end levels that really lean on the player's quick thinking and accurate line drawing. while in some cases these can be fulfilling (repeatedly blocking off lasers for instance), other areas really strain the boundaries of the control scheme or lack any real interesting features altogether (flying around in space finding buttons to press, or auto-scroller sections that don't mesh well with kirby's default speeds).

what i can't fault the game for is the visual design. this is by far the trippiest kirby game I've played, and does not shy away from completely letting loose the bounds of planet-like architecture to pursue abstract area designs and twisting unnerving architecture. everything is splattered with a kaleidoscope of colors that bleeds between environment elements and creates some truly gorgeous locales. a very stunning way to lean into the kirby games' frequent cosmic oddity/cosmic horror design over the course of this short adventure. the boss minigames are pretty fun too: a nice way to mix things up between worlds, and the ending bosses weren't too bad either.

The thing is with Canvas Curse is that I think the control style here is maybe one of the most interesting gimmicks brought to the DS in its early years. It's very funny that early in the DS' life, every game had the stylus in your hand. I think what makes this game interesting is that it rewards patience, reflex, and understanding of the physics. The more you get used to the playstyle and the better you react to your surroundings, the more fun you're going to have. My only problem, really, is that the levels don't get more interesting as you go, rather they just get more frustrating. The boss summarizes a lot of what’s great and not great about this game, but like every other Kirby final boss, it’s sick as hell. I actually don't really love Kirby games so much as I love Kirby, but this game is definitely more proof that this series absolutely ruled the DS.

When the Nintendo DS released in late 2004, it was indicative of a philosophical overhaul happening at Nintendo. Their last mainline system, the Gamecube, was vastly outsold by the PS2, and even failed to outperform the new console on the block, the Xbox. They were no longer the definitive video game console, and as a result, focused on developing a more innovative and unique approach to gameplay. Of course, this was manifested most prevalently in the Wii, but the DS was surely innovative in its own right; its two screens, touchpad, microphone, and Wi-Fi capabilities were all extremely novel at the time. And when you have a brand new piece of hardware, you want to show it off. And so, only a few months after the DS's release, came Kirby: Canvas Curse, fully designed to take advantage of the dual screen, touch screen technology-for better, or worse.

Something that is likely to have a large influence on your enjoyment of Canvas Curse is its utter commitment to its gimmick. In this game, you don't control Kirby; rather, you control a magic paintbrush which creates paths, deflects attacks, and activates abilities. The entirety of the game takes place-and is controlled by-the touch screen. And this extends beyond gameplay; you can't even navigate the menus without use of the stylus. This is something that would seem novel at the time, but can quickly get frustrating-and is emblematic of CC as a whole. Each level will have Kirby rolling along the path in front of them, relying on the player to draw paths, diverting him away from danger, and defeating enemies. For one thing, it's certainly unique, and it's a creative application of the touch screen which does seem to fit Kirby's vibe perfectly. Levels are generally short, and it's a relatively quick game overall. There's a great amount of diverse level themes here, and while they make for good background art, they sadly don't feel like much more than coats of paint over a singular type of level. You rarely have to adjust your thinking in Canvas Curse; the game plays effectively the same through its brief runtime.

It also keeps up the trend of Kirby games having an easy to beat, difficult to complete selection of gameplay. For what it's worth, there's a lot of added content here, whether it be the boss minigames, timed challenges, or modified clear conditions. It's one of the game's biggest strengths; there's truly a challenge for all skill levels here. The problem is that, with Kirby: Canvas Curse, it's rarely a challenge worth undertaking. Because of the player's role in the game, Kirby moves on his own, idly rolling around, bouncing off walls, only using an attack or ability when tapped on. Since Kirby is always on the move, constant attention is required. Like the stylus only gimmick, it's bound to get old pretty quickly. In fact, it doesn't really seem like the DS was designed to be played with a stylus constantly; as a result, playing this game for more than a few levels at a time is bound to feel awkward and uncomfortable.

Kirby is a series that's also known for its epic feeling boss fights, and while the final boss is probably the best part of the game, the other bosses are severely lacking, and feel more like non-sequitur minigames rather than a complementary inclusion. As a result, Canvas Curse doesn't feel like a game that was well put together; it's a loose (and small) collection of ideas gathered around a central theme of only using the touch screen. The novel technology must have been impressive at the time-this game is astonishingly the joint-highest rated Kirby game ever on Metacritic, for example-but it doesn't offer anything beyond that, save for a few interesting challenge modes and a charming aesthetic. Its devotion to a gimmick is laser-focused to its detriment, especially when the controls can feel as inconsistent and clumsy as they do here; in truth, it's not particularly fun to play even in the occasions when they work great.

Kirby (in 2005 and today) is an incredibly recognizable character whose base design caters to a large demographic of players. That makes the series a great choice for a flagship title in which the benefits of a new system can be conveyed to a large audience. But in spite of its critical acclaim at the time, Kirby: Canvas Curse wouldn't be the game to do so. And that's probably for the best. It's not a totally irredeemable game by any measure-more dull than anything-but it's also proof that new isn't always better, and that everything is best in moderation, and that novel ideas can quickly become irrelevant. And not many series know that better than Kirby.

This game is not perfect and controlling it is a little squirrelly but god I loved playing it anyway. What a fun little game. I actually managed to 100% this bad boy and I had a file with all the cool unlockable characters and lines and such.

And then I let a younger cousin borrow it and he overwrote the save file. This is a lesson to us all: never be nice to your younger cousins. Anyway I tried it again more recently and didn't like playing it half as much, which I guess is part of getting older. Still, I'll always have those memories...