Kirby can make water stages fun? Now this is an amazing game.

Very impressed with the level of promotion for this game. Traditionally, Kirby is seen as a B-list franchise, and thus when a new one is coming out, it normally does so quietly. Clearly though, Nintendo must see they are onto something with Epic Yarn - we've been getting trailers and short gameplay teasers almost every other day. It's definitely showcasing the amazing variety of the level design, both aesthetically and mechanically. The bit where Kirby is shot out of a French horn as a musical note and moves up & down a note chart collecting jewels? Fantastic.

I've never understood the flack water stages get.  In fact I didn't know they had any sort of infamous reputation until I got on the internet.  As a kid they just seemed so normal, like every game has one.  It was the games where you died from falling in water that drove me nuts.  I always thought to myself "why can't I swim?  I can in these other games!"

I don't mind water stages in 2D games, it's the 3D games with crappy swimming controls like the 3D Mario games that get me.

Agreed.  In fact, in some games, underwater stages were often among my favorites; particularly since they often have fairly awesome music.  The Bubble Man stage in MM2 is still my favorite Mega Man stage of all time, mostly because the stage music and creative enemies.

It depends on the game. More often than not, water stages are done pretty poorly, like those in the NES Super Mario games where the difficulty comes from the loose control. Kirby, too, has slow water mechanics, and all he can do is squirt water to attack. In Donkey Kong Country, the close-up camera makes water stages difficult by having enemies appear right in front of your face, making it a guessing game.

The interesting thing about Sundoulos's Bubble Man example is that Mega Man doesn't swim, but rather, just jumps really high in water. That's what makes that water stage good.

I had no problems with the controls in the NS Mario games.

Because you've grown accustomed to them.

Maybe. I agree that some games don't do underwater levels right, but I think many are.

A tangent, but I hated the frog suit in Super Mario Bros. 3, it just made water levels harder IMO.

Actually, the Kirby dolphin attack felt like Enguarde in DKC, but the control was much better.  I've seen comparisons to Ecco, but I haven't played that game.

If this game has extreme replay value (think SMB), ramps up in difficulty towards the end, and has plenty of secret levels and items to collect, it'll easily be my GOTY.

THIS.

Every time I see a new video it looks like it will blow DKCR's jungle levels, and other jungle levels, out of the water.


Edit: sorry, water has been canceled

Yeah, I think the reservations about water stages were born out of the awkwardness of the swimming controls in many 3D platformers. You know, because of the whole movement along six axes. In 2D games, it is much less of a problem, though it is certainly preferable when you can move entirely with one analog input, rather than having to press a button to swim up.

Interesting how Kirby's Epic Yarn is getting quite a lot of show, while Donkey Kong Country Returns has had the sum total of two trailers. Probably just Retro keeping it close to the chest like they usually do, but there's no reason for them not to laud their game.

I think Majora's Mask did swimming in water perfectly; better than most 2D games.

Kirby is about to launch; DKCR doesn't launch for another month, so they're probably holding off more promotion for a few more weeks.  And DKCR doesn't even have a solid release date in Japan, and that's where much of the Kirby material is coming from -- the US website still has nothing.