Entertainment Weekly's Jeff Jensen caught quite a bit of heat for claiming that Kirby's Epic Yarn was the worst game of 2010 because it was too cute. In a year that had technically deficient games, poorly designed games like The Scourge Project, Jensen's justification was flimsy. He has now admitted it.
The sad thing is, Jensen's new column on the subject is actually really well-reasoned. He still claims that Kirby's Epic Yarn isn't good, and while I disagree, I respect his views. He thinks it's too cute, he didn't dig the fact that it was "easy" and he thinks it's overrated. It's a well-written piece and he's clearly a smart guy who knows his stuff.
Unfortunately, he says that he doesn't really think it was the worst game of 2010, and that he "hoped to use [his] “Worst” entry to provoke debate about cutesyness?" Having a controversial opinion is great, but when you don't properly back it up and then admit you were sacrificing a game to make a point about something else, then it kind of ruins your angle entirely.
That Jensen disliked Kirby's Epic Yarn wasn't the problem. It was that his reasoning was practically non-existent and that he didn't even think the game was as bad as he claimed. That said, the people telling him to go f*ck himself and saying stuff about his mom were worse. I thought the pick was ludicrous and amusing ... certainly nothing worth raging about.
C'mon, guys. That just proves Jensen's theory that it's a game for children.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
5:30 PM on 12.21.2010 | 
That said, I kinda wish it didn't have Kirby's name on it and I can definitely see how the lack of a mandatory challenge (I recognize there is a challenge if you want there to be one) can get old. I only played for like an hour and it just felt surprisingly fun for reasons I still have yet to determine.
So yes Jeff Jensen, the game is Cutsey, easy, and also aimed at the 12 and younger demographic.
he's free to his own opinion, he's just gotta back it up, Sterl'z does that shit before getting bitched out on and people just forget to read sometimes i guess.
And that's pretty much it. A large chunk of the "Nintendo generation" are older gamers excited to play sequels to the games that made their childhood. Games like Super Mario Galaxy 2, they started easy enough for a kid, but only a skilled gamer would actually beat it. Kirby's Epic Yarn, however, is made entirely for unskilled kid gamers, small children, a new generation of Nintendo gamers. Us older Nintendo fans need to accept that channels like Nick aren't going to suddenly be like Adult Swim 'cus we're older no, so to speak.
Epic Yarn has some of the most evocative moments in platformer design I've ever seen. Nintendo IS, as far as I'm concerned, the Studio Ghibli of platformers. There's a magical thing about it, and the way it all just FITS and FLOWS in Epic Yarn, and his kids' reaction should be enough for him to back down. He says the game is contradictory and barely qualifies as a game, and one can almost see him touching around in the dark to find arguments to back up a faulted, empty reasoning.
While I usually agree with you Jim, I must say that was not well reasoned. Fan backlash was unnacceptable, and I've facepalmed my way through this fiasco. But if this is how he responds, I lack empathy for him and all I can gather is disdain for both parties.
Epic YARN was great, though. I also think people are f*cking idiots about Epic Yarn's "difficulty". Boohoo you have to actually play the game for the challenge instead of just beating it. You. Suck. At. Life. Even. Harder.
Good God, some people are just DUMB when it comes to games. I WANT TEH GORES GOD OF WAR YEEHALKSJDFlkajsdgl;kj!
Idiots.
Take a deep breath
Let it out slow...
There. Now don't you feel better?
That has to be one of the biggest overreactions I've ever seen on this site. And that's REALLY saying something.
Now, read your comments.
Now, appreciate the sweet, sweet irony.
It's not like Kirby's Epic Yarn was a highly anticipated story-driven Nintendo title like Metroid: Other M (Boy was it a disappointment!).Besides, Nintendo isn't the Pixar of story telling in video games.
Fact: Kirby's Epic Yarn's story sucked. For the most part, I'm okay with simplistic and cliche story plots (not like we have much of a choice given how the industry's stories are generally crappy and cheesy anyway) but the Dora the Explorer presentation and the creepy narrator's voice just ruined it.
Gameplay. Music. Controls = Good
(except for the near-broken train transformation control scheme
In my opinion, Kirby's Epic Yarn featured the most pleasantly soothing and happy-go-lucky game music of the year. Awesome stuff.
I'm not into over-cuteness either, luckily Kirby's Epic Yarn was still good despite it.
I did the smart thing and beat Kirby first. Kirby took me 4 hours and was a nice, pleasant trip after all the anger I suffered from COD's broken online. Then I popped in DK and was blown the fuck away. Great game.
But still, responsible gamers need to practice a little niche tolerence. I like games in some equally endangered niches. It's a very big industry, and it's been a long time since Kirby or any game like it was a hit. You have to respect that to some degree.
It's basically like taking a big dump on the next amazingly popular surprise hit er.... flight sim... because they thought landing the plane was too easy. Or too difficult. Who cares about that opinion! Get someone on that review who has actually owned a thrustmaster in their lifetime. Get someone on the Kirby review who either likes cute kid games, or can be professional in expressing why they don't like them. I've heard a lot of excellent editorializing on the many concrete reasons why Epic Mickey is a bad, overrated game.
>Implying Epic Yarn is a bad Kirby game because it isn't hard
>Implying Kirby games have ever been hard
>Implying all Kirby games are bad
Stay Classy
Basically, I can't respect the internet.
Shit is downright childish dawg.
It was such a neat title compared to everything out in the year and I have to continue to this this guy doesn't know spit. Again, like you said, Jim. When there are greater technical failures this year, Epic Yarn!? And he doesn't even think it's the worst either? He's just throwing the title under the bus? Lovely.
I still refuse to take EW or him seriously.
Oh, and it's called a hyphen.