From the time it was announced, Yoshi’s Woolly World has had a strange journey.
Its design changed radically from the initial trailer and Nintendo went quiet on the game
for a long time.
In the meantime, Yoshi’s New Island was released on the 3DS which ended up being an
underwhelming experience.
So the question eventually became whether this new wool adventure could breathe some
life into the series.
After playing it, Woolly World absolutely does.
The game takes place on Craft Island where all of the Yoshis are living happily until
Kamek arrives and begins unraveling them all into yarn.
Only two are able to escape so the chase is on through six worlds as the Yoshis try to
save their friends from an unknown fate.
It’s the same basic setup as most Yoshi games, just without Baby Mario to take care
of.
The structure of the game is the same as well with two castles per world, each with their
own bosses.
It makes it a very familiar experience yet it’s surprising how much the fabric aesthetic
makes everything feel a little fresher; at least where level design is concerned.
Like in Yoshi’s previous games, he can eat enemies, transform them into eggs to be thrown
later, and perform a flutter jump for a little extra height.
But again, it’s different because of the woolly world.
Yoshi is technically eating enemies, but he does so by unraveling them with his tongue
and then transforming them into a yarn ball to follow behind.
Because of this aspect, Yoshi can interact with the world much more than before.
There are always loose strands tucked away in each level that can be unraveled with Yoshi’s
tongue to reveal a bevy of secrets.
These sometimes provide large yarn balls as well that can hit multiple enemies or objects
before disappearing.
This includes platform outlines that become filled in when hit with a yarn ball.
It’s things like this that makes everything feel new.
I never got the sense that I was doing the same exact things that I’ve done in past
Yoshi games.
Yet, that’s kinda what I was doing.
There are still flowers to collect and Stamp badges replace the twenty red coins per level.
A new collectible are the yarn rolls.
Gathering all five in a level unlocks a new Yoshi with a brand new design.
And this highlights something in the game that I’m immensely grateful for.
In the past, the collectibles didn’t really serve that much of a purpose.
All of them needed to be collected in order to unlock bonus levels that never felt worth
the trouble.
But in Yoshi’s Woolly World, these collectibles all unlock different things.
The yarn rolls for new Yoshis, the Stamp badges for new Miiverse stamps, and gathering all
of the flowers in a given world is the sole thing required to unlock that world’s bonus
stage.
It fixes a problem I’ve had with the Yoshi series since the beginning and allows players
to focus on what they want to collect.
Add in the fact that they don’t all have to be collected in a single run to count,
and it becomes a much less frustrating time accessing the bonus content.
Finally, there are the beads that appeared in Kirby’s Epic Yarn.
Rather than being something akin to points, beads are now a currency that can be spent
on Power Badges that grant Yoshi new abilities in a level.
These can range from making him impervious to fire and lava to making it easier to locate
hidden items, and even being able to use his tongue to collect far-off items.
They’re not required to use of course, but they do help make something potentially frustrating
much easier.
And every four levels, the player is offered a chance to use one of the badges completely
free.
I never used them that much during my initial playthrough, but they do feel like a wonderful
inclusion if only for making item collection that much easier.
Most of the levels on display are a lot of fun to play.
They each offer something new and interesting and use the yarn aesthetic wonderfully.
Whole gameplay ideas are introduced based around Woolly World’s look.
One of my favorites was a level based entirely around Velcro which Yoshi, the enemies, and
his yarn balls would immediately stick to.
Another involved Yoshi leading along a Chain Chomp and using the yarn balls to transform
it into a Chomp Rock.
Once the Chomp Rock could go no further, Yoshi could unravel it again to lead it on farther.
It’s really clever level design.
But there are some levels that can be too obtuse in how you’re supposed to progress.
Mazes are the worst offender of this and can be downright frustrating at times.
Yoshi transformations are back as well with brand new ones that are just a ton of fun
or downright amusing like Mega Yoshi and Mermaid Yoshi.
Unfortunately, they are sectioned off from the main portions of the level, forcing players
to clear specific challenges in a short amount of time.
However, unlike New Island where the collectible items could be gathered gradually with each
attempt, Woolly World forces you to get them all in one go which does increase the challenge
and, for me, the fun.
But the weakest part of the game has to be the bosses.
Many are re-used from previous Yoshi games though they are freshened up a bit thanks
to new strategies designed around the yarn mechanics.
But the worst ones are the mid-world bosses.
It only cycles between two and while they are given new patterns, they still must be
defeated in essentially the same way.
It’s an odd point where a game filled with creativity is simply uncreative especially
when compared to the amazing bosses in past entries.
Finally, Yoshi’s Woolly World offers a two player mode that will either be really fun
or really frustrating depending on the team.
At any point, one Yoshi can swallow the other to use as a yarn ball.
This essentially provides unlimited balls to solve any problem that they come across.
But this can also lead to frustration since eating your partner makes them drop all the
yarn balls they had.
And if one gets too far ahead then the other will be dragged along to them.
Fortunately, there are infinite lives so unintentional deaths won’t be too bad, but I do feel the
game is better designed for single player.
An easier difficulty, which can be switched to at any time, is available as well.
Mellow Mode immediately gives Yoshi his maximum health and wings so he can essentially fly
forever.
The game never becomes that difficult though there are sections that gave me trouble.
But I felt like the Power Badges were a better option to get around these, though the option
for Mellow Mode is there if you find a level too tricky.
The look of Yoshi’s Woolly World is simply gorgeous.
The easiest comparison is of course Kirby’s Epic Yarn, but this blows that out of the
water.
Each part of the level is lovingly crafted and small details just add to the look.
Everything here looks like it could be made for real.
And some of the effects like lava, fire, and water are amazing to behold.
I cannot praise the visuals enough.
But the music is just as good.
Some are softer, more tranquil pieces while others just ooze the feeling the developers
are trying to convey in the level.
I loved the soundtrack immensely and often found myself just sitting still to listen
to it.
Yoshi’s Woolly World is a fantastic game.
While Kirby’s Epic Yarn was fun, it didn’t really feel like a Kirby game.
However, Woolly World takes full advantage of its yarn look and successfully combines
it with the Yoshi gameplay to make something new yet classic.
While some levels can be frustrating and the bosses felt a little weak, I still have no
issue in saying that this best Yoshi platformer since Yoshi’s Island on the Super Nintendo.
It’s a lengthy adventure with quite a bit of bonus content to explore.
I liked it a lot and I think anyone who considers themselves a Yoshi fan should absolutely give
it a shot.
And it being completely adorable doesn’t hurt either.
Thanks for watching and be sure to stay tuned to GameXplain for more on Yoshi and other
things gaming.