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Yoshi's Island DS

Started by Baka, September 24, 2007, 06:54:28 AM

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Baka

Yoshi's Island came out on the SNES as a sequel to Super Mario World. When fans first heard that the sequel featured baby Mario riding on Yoshi's back in a crayon-coloured storybook world, many were disappointed and hated how they had "ruined" Mario. The game's plot was that baby Mario and baby Luigi were taken from the stork, and kidnapped. Mario was accidentally dropped onto Yoshi's Island where he enlisted the help of the Yoshi tribe to rescue Luigi and get back home. The gameplay had Mario on Yoshi's back, and you guided Yoshi through platforming stages. Yoshi could swallow enemies and turn them into eggs which could be used as projectile weapons, or he could stomp on foes. If Yoshi was hit, Mario would fall off and start crying and floating in a bubble. If you didn't touch him in a certain amount of seconds- he would be kidnapped. The time could be increased by collecting stars. There would occasionally be times where Mario would turn into "super Mario" and be invincible for a short while and glide around and such. Yoshi can also sometimes transform into vehicles to do various things as a train, helicopter, mole digging thing, etc.

The music and graphics in this game were possibly the best seen on the SNES, and few games even today have reached the artistic levels that Yoshi's Island reached. The sparkle of the rocks in the cavern levels, the trippy swirling scenes when Yoshi was dizzy, and the overall appealing look of the game is unforgettable. The music was also great, and fit the feel of each level well. It was smooth and very pleasant. Every world's menu had a remix of one particular track, that is possibly my favourite game tune of all.

So, after the quick review of the original- enter Yoshi's Island DS!
The original Yoshi's Island is tied with The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask as my favourite game of all time. Needless to say, I had high expectations, and after the disappointments with New Super Mario Bros., I would quite skeptical of it. I assumed that it would be fun, but would be easy and short like NSMB. I was wrong, and this may be my favourite DS platformer released thus far.



The gameplay is seriously right on target. It retains the fun and challenge of the original, while not totally reusing the same puzzles and level designs. It is unique, while staying true to its predecessor. It truly feels like an extension of the original, instead of a copy. They even retained the vehicle-morphing. They did introduce one major new element though- additional babies. Now you can also play with baby Peach, and Donkey Kong. Wario and Bowser in playable in a few stages too. Each baby has its own powers, necessary for getting through the stages. Peach can ride air lifts, DK can climb vines, Mario gives Yoshi speed, Bowser spits fire, and Wario has a giant magnet.

This is done is a good way, and theres not so much focus on it that it loses site of being a sequel to Yoshi's Island. It is also used enough to not feel unnecessarily tacked on though. The levels themselves are well thought-out and designed. Some levels are quite challenging, and fans of the original should not find it too much different from the SNES.


The music is just as wonderful as the first, though sadly the main stage select tune was replaced. The music is great though. The sound effects are a bigger issue. Yoshi veterans may be put off by the sound replacements. Noises such as the coin collect sound and others have been replaced by crisper, nicer noises instead of the SNES-esque "beep"-ish noises. I prefer the SNES beeps, of course. Also, Yoshi's voice now matches the Super Smash Bros. Melee style Yoshi sounds. It only makes sense, since that is the current Yoshi voice, but it took a while getting used too.

I do have one main gripe with the game- the duel screens. At first I was excited because you could see way high which adds depth to level design, but the space between the two screens, you can't see which can be very annoying at times. If you want to fire an egg at an enemy above, you have to make sure they are high enough to not be in the "black death void thing". Also, sometime the transition between screens can alter the angle of your egg a few pixels, which usually doesn't matter but can mess you up occasionally. Usually the top screen is pretty ignored, and does not affect the awesomeness of the game too much, but it is not completely unforgivable either.



The overall graphical design is near exactly the original, but the art style in Yoshi's island was very distinct and it only makes sense to leave it in tact. The colouring book graphics are very nice, and the vividly appealing surroundings and characters are part of the game's charm.

Overall, a wonderful companion piece to the original without straying too far or copying to much, and a wonderful platformer on its own. A great addition to any DS library, and a must-have for any hardcore Yoshi fans. The world of Yoshi's Island is wonderfully crafted, and I highly recommend it.

Pikagirl_777

Great review. I had this game, and I loved it too. I had the SNES Yoshi's Island for the GBA, and loved it, so I was exicted for Yoshi Island DS, and I wasn't dissapointed either. Again, I would suggest it to anyone who is looking for a good DS game. ^_^

Macawmoses

Another great review on your part, but once again the grammar is distracting. Please try correcting it and then we will see how it is. As usual every other aspect is head on...spot on....every on. ^__^ Hopefully the distraction of grammar will become a thing of the past, and your reviews will truly shine!

Macawmoses

#3
Congratz this review has won the first ever ROTW! Feel honoured ;)