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R Ivy the Kiwi? Mini (DSiWare)

Rhody Tobin Profile _ Twitter _ E-mail _ Homepage

I bought my DS pretty close to launch, and there weren’t a lot of games that really took advantage of the touch screen back then. My only game was Super Mario 64 DS, which both introduced and killed the idea of using the touch screen as an alternative to a control stick. The minigames included were almost worth the price of admission, though. Especially Trampoline Time and Trampoline Terror. Those two minigames involved drawing trampolines under tiny Marios to keep them airborne. They kept me busy for longer than most minigames can. I didn’t feel that my DS purchase was justified until a few months later when I picked up Meteos and Kirby: Canvas Curse. In Kirby: Canvas Curse, Kirby takes the form of a ball which you can guide through the level by drawing lines for him to roll along. It was tons of fun and a really unique idea that was only possible with a touch screen. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, that kind of game never really caught on. There have been very few similar games released since Kirby: Canvas Curse, so when I met with some of the fine folks from XSeed, I was happy to give Ivy the Kiwi? (yes, theres a question mark in the title) a try. Ivy the Kiwi plays kind of like a mix of the Trampoline Mario minigames and Kirby: Canvas Curse, and since I spent so much time with both of those games, I was playing like a pro almost immediately. (The product manager who was demoing the game asked me if I had imported the Japanese version.) The player has no direct control over Ivy. Instead, you draw vines on the touch screen to guide her along. The vines are always straight lines, anchored at the point where you originally touch the screen, but can be rotated around the point (and adjusted in length) as long as you keep the stylus pressed to the screen. This way, you can adjust Ivy’s speed by pushing her along, or even throwing her with a vine. Once you release the touch screen, the vine becomes stationary, and you can grab it in the middle to use it as a slingshot to fling Ivy and turn her into a projectile that can smash through weak blocks and KO enemies. The controls are very simple, with only two basic moves: drawing lines and pulling them like slingshots. It’s very easy to simply pick the game up and start playing. Everything is done with the touch screen, which keeps things simple, but also means there will be times when you flick when you mean to draw and draw when you mean to flick. Ivy the Kiwi? was designed by Yuji Naka, the man behind the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games, so it’s no surprise that speed is rewarded in this game. The clock is constantly counting down, and while the time limits are pretty forgiving, more points are awarded for finishing levels quickly. Each level also has ten red feathers in it, which also add to your score. Some areas of certain levels are completely skippable if you’re not looking for these feathers, meaning you can either race to the finish or explore each stage to find all of the hidden feathers. The whole game has a definite storybook feel to it. (In fact, it has a picture of a brown leather book in the background.) The graphics are simple and cute with a warm red and brown color scheme. This creates a nice relaxing atmosphere, but unfortunately also means that all of the stages look pretty much the same. The backgrounds are technically varied in that the stages are set in various types of areas, such as a forest, a city, and even the sky, but the constant brown means you probably won’t notice. The music is cute but there aren’t that many different tunes, and most of them are kind of annoying. The “Mini” version of Ivy the Kiwi? is basically a stripped down version of the retail release. The Mini version contains all 50 main levels from the retail game, but is missing the 50 bonus levels and the multiplayer modes. Certainly forgivable, considering this version is a mere $5. Ivy the Kiwi? Mini is the perfect game to be played in small bursts. There’s even a demo on the Nintendo Channel that you can try out if you have both a Wii and a DS. If you’re like me and you’ve been itching for the return of “sketch gaming” introduced by games like Kirby: Canvas Curse, you’ll definitely want to give Ivy the Kiwi? a try. Games like this are what DSiWare was made for. It’s a shame there are so few of them to be found on the service. Rating: B

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