Back
when the original New Super Mario Bros. came out, people were excited.
It was the first Mario game in a long time to emulate the classics so it really did feel
new.
It's been years now, and the new doesn't quite feel so new anymore.
Instead it feels like a hallow attempt to capture the magic of the past.
And as soon as Yoshi's New Island was announced, fans were skeptical.
Heck, I was skeptical.
The trailers looked dull, the graphics didn't seem like they had the charm of the original,
and nothing actually seemed new.
But after playing Yoshi's New Island, I had a small revelation.
There was a reason the trailers looked dull.
It's because the style of Yoshi platformers aren't meant to be eye-catching.
They're all about exploration; slowly checking every inch of a level in order to find the
collectibles before moving on to the next.
If you were to simply rush through every level as quickly as you could, the game could be
beaten in less than three hours.
But that isn't the point.
This is a slow thoughtful game that challenges players with exploration and not getting hit
before reaching the goal.
And in that way, it's just like the original Yoshi's Island.
The game actually picks up soon after the events of the original with the stork dropping
off Baby Mario and Luigi at their new parents' house.
But it turns out that these people aren't actually their parents.
In a panic, the stork takes the babies and tries to fix his mistake.
But mid-flight, he is attacked by Kamek and is captured along with Luigi.
Baby Mario falls onto a new island of Yoshis who are all being terrorized by Baby Bowser.
Realizing that Mario can sense where Luigi is, the Yoshis decide to ferry him across
the island until they can find Bowser.
Some fans will be upset at the retcon, but it never bothered me that much.
It simply serves as a reason for Yoshi and Mario to team up once again.
Most of the dialog is conveyed through Kamek who antagonizes the Yoshis throughout the
entire game.
He's certainly amusing but the writing is never as funny as Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
or the Mario RPGs.
Like most Mario games, it's the gameplay that's the real draw.
And despite reservations, Yoshi's New Island is a fun game.
In fact it's remarkably similar to the original.
Yoshi can run, jump, use his flutter jump, eat enemies to make them eggs, and throw the
eggs.
He can move while throwing the eggs and the angle can be locked into place.
If he could do it in the original, he can do it here.
And it all feels very responsive and easy to control.
Mistakes are the fault of the player, not the game.
There are six worlds in total with eight levels each.
And within each level are three items to collect: flower tokens, red coins, and miniature stars.
The stars are the only collectible with any real importance though.
If Yoshi ever gets hit, Mario will fly off his back and begin to cry as he floats around
in a bubble.
A counter will also begin to decrease.
If it hits zero, Baby Mario is kidnapped, and you lose a life.
Between Mario's iconic cry and the panic of getting him back, it can create some tense
moments, especially if you get knocked far away.
The stars actually increase the counter, giving Yoshi more time to recover Mario.
As I said before, beating a level is simple in Yoshi's New Island.
The platforming isn't too tricky and Yoshi can only die if he loses Mario, falls into
a pit, or gets crushed.
But if you do play it that way, you'll have an extremely dull experience.
Yoshi is at its best when you're trying to collect everything in a level.
It's where the true challenge comes in.
Crossing a moving platform is simple, but if you're trying to cross that platform while
also aiming an egg then it becomes a bit trickier.
Add in enemies and other obstacles and it can be a real challenge.
And thirty stars are needed in each level so even taking a single hit could mean failure.
This isn't required to do, but it does provide the challenge that many people want.
Finding everything in every level of a world unlocks a special stage, and if you were still
complaining about the lack of challenge, you'll definitely find it here.
While collecting everything is where the game shines, that doesn't mean the developers didn't
try to bring in new features.
The most obvious one are the giant eggs, or Eggdozers.
There are two types.
The normal kind works just like a regular egg but can destroy any hard rock in its path.
It's only used in certain situations but better shots will earn extra lives.
It honestly doesn't change up the game much other than making it visually impressive.
The Metal Eggdozers are much more fun in that they change of how Yoshi plays.
He's now weighed down and can't jump as high, and he can only throw the Eggdozer in a straight
line.
However, it does allow him to explore underwater which leads to some fun puzzles when trying
to collect everything.
Transformations also return, but they work differently on Yoshi's New Island.
Rather than being part of the level proper, Yoshi has to go through special doors.
He'll transform immediately into several different vehicles like mine carts, helicopters, bobsleds,
submarines, and hot air balloons amongst others.
What's really different though is that each of these is controlled by tilting the 3DS.
In some cases, they work well like with the mine cart and the hot air balloon, but others
like the submarine and helicopter can be a huge pain.
Fortunately, these sections are self-contained and can be tried multiple times until you
reach the end.
They work fine, but they aren't the delight they were in original.
Finally, there are mini-games that can be unlocked as each world is completed.
Most of them task both players to work together using the various abilities of Yoshi.
Popping balloons with eggs, collecting stars, seeing who can flutter jump the farthest are
just some of the examples.
They're fun as an extra, but I doubt anyone will play them more than a few times.
Fortunately, download play is available so only one copy of the game is required.
One of the most controversial elements of Yoshi's New Island is definitely is visual
style.
It's an odd look that combines the watercolor appearance of the backgrounds with a 3D Yoshi
and enemies.
Screens, trailers, and even the footage you're watching now just doesn't do the look justice.
For whatever reason, the game looks its best when being played on the 3DS.
While I don't think it surpasses the look of the original, I do believe the style works.
The music, on the other hand, is a definite mixed bag.
It's not that varied, often relying on remixes of the main theme.
The other tracks are nice enough, but I never felt like I was listening to anything iconic.
Unfortunately, there are some musical pieces that are just downright ear-wrenching.
Whoever thought a kazoo, if that is a kazoo, was a good choice for the victory track couldn't
have been more wrong.
I do like some tracks, but the bad ones are incredibly bad.
Yoshi's New Island honestly doesn't feel that new.
There are some changes here and there, but in some ways it feels like an expansion of
the original instead of a new game.
But, you know, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Change and evolution in a series is always good, but Yoshi's Island games aren't exactly
played out.
This is only the fourth Yoshi platformer that Nintendo has ever made.
The series hasn't worn out its welcome by a long shot.
And that's why I'm giving Yoshi's New Island four stars out of five.
If you loved the original or are simply interested in a platformer that favors exploration, give
Yoshi's New Island a shot.
I believe it has more value than many people, including myself, gave it upon first glance.
Thanks for watching and be sure to stay tuned to GameXplain for more on Yoshi and other
things gaming too.