If you were a bit put off by how different Kirby’s Epic Yarn was from the rest of the series, I think you’re going to be happy with Kirby Wii (official title pending). The game takes the classic Kirby formula and adds four-player local co-op, much like New Super Mario Bros. Wii did a few years back, except ten times more insane.
In this build of the game, you have the choice between playing as Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight, and Waddle Dee. Each has their own abilities, though Kirby is by far the most powerful of them all, as he’s the only one that can absorb the powers of enemies. Each level has several bits where only Kirby can progress, with the other characters working to support Kirby in that pursuit. Whoever chooses player one has to be Kirby, so you’ll never be stuck without him.
Chad Concelmo helped me play, which definitely altered my opinion of the game for the better. It’s hard not to love a videogame when you’re playing it with Chad. I’ll have to check out the game with some regular jerks sometime to see how fun it really is.