Ivy the Kiwi? (2009). Play online

Summary

Ivy the Kiwi? turns the usual platformer on its head by letting you guide a perpetually moving kiwi with stretchy vines you draw using the DS stylus (or Wii Remote on the console version). You craft ramps, vertical flips, or slingshot vines to fling Ivy past rats, crows and spike‑laden traps, turning every obstacle into a line‑drawing challenge.
The game’s structure goes beyond a simple level list: a core campaign of 100 stages is complemented by a high‑score replay mode and both competitive and cooperative multiplayer for up to four players, where rivals can tangle each other’s vines while teammates can assist the lead kiwi.
International releases swapped the original muted palette for brighter backgrounds, but the gameplay feels the same. Critics gave it mixed scores—around 70% from Official Nintendo Magazine and three stars from The Guardian—praising its kid‑friendly vibe despite later‑stage frustration. It’s a quirky gateway title for anyone who likes casual, drawing‑based platform fun.

Storyline

Ivy the Kiwi? is a quirky Nintendo DS adventure that tasks you with guiding Ivy, a newly‑born bird, back to her missing mother. The game’s simple premise unfolds across colorful, puzzle‑filled stages where each platform and obstacle must be navigated to keep Ivy safe and moving forward. Along the way, subtle hints about Ivy’s true nature are scattered throughout the world, encouraging players to piece together her identity.

Lead designer Yuji Naka explained that the question mark in the title isn’t just for flair—it’s meant to spark curiosity and ties directly into the story’s mystery about who Ivy really is. The punctuation becomes a narrative cue, reminding players that the answer lies just beyond the next challenge.