Kirby: Canvas Curse (2005). Play online

Summary

Kirby: Canvas Curse lets you literally draw Kirby’s destiny with the DS stylus. By sketching rainbow lines you build ramps, bridges and protective walls, while the ink meter slowly refills, forcing clever resource management. Tapping foes stuns them, and a dash‑into attack lets you copy eleven diverse abilities—from beam shooters to rockets—available anytime by tapping Kirby. The game spans eight themed worlds, each offering timed “Rainbow Run” challenges and medal‑collecting side quests that unlock extra colors, characters and sound tests. Critics praised the innovation: Metacritic scores were “generally favorable,” 1UP.com called it “genuinely excellent,” and the New York Times called it “tremendous fun.” It sold roughly 80,000 copies in its debut month in North America and topped the DS chart the following month, while Japanese sales topped 276,000 by the end of 2005. Its stylus‑first design is still cited as a benchmark for touch‑screen platformers.

Storyline

One day a strange portal opens in the sky over Dream Land, and the witch Drawcia emerges. She casts a spell that turns the whole world into paint and then retreats back through the portal. Kirby chases her, only to be caught in the paint‑filled realm and cursed into a limbless ball. The Magical Paintbrush (called Power Paintbrush in Europe) appears and hands its power to the player, allowing Kirby to roll and draw lines.

Guided by the brush, Kirby travels across the painted landscape, battling replicas of his classic foes such as Paint Roller, Kracko, Kracko Jr., and King Dedede that Drawcia summons to slow him down. He finally reaches Drawcia’s stronghold, defeats her, and watches her transform into the terrifying Drawcia Soul. After a second showdown Kirby destroys the soul, restoring Dream Land to its normal, unpainted state.