Yoshi's New Island
Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Arzest Platform: 3DS Players: 1 (Story), 2 (Minigames) Release: 2014 Genre: 2D Platformer Rating: 7.8 \ 10.0: Satisfactory
Above is Yoshi preparing to throw a Mega Eggdozer.
Back in 1995, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island was released. Despite not being a true sequel to Super Mario World (instead it was a prequel to the entire series), the game was well received. I never got a chance to play the game or its 2005 DS remake, but I did eventually play its true sequel, which comes in the form of Yoshi's New Island. The original Yoshi's Island did have a 1998 Nintendo 64 sequel called Yoshi's Story, but this game falls in between on the timeline. I find the game's title to be misleading-- the island is not new, but the game is. The plot has an interesting twist. It turns out that the babies Mario and Luigi were delivered to wrong house by the stork! The stork frantically flies towards his intended destination, but is once again thwarted by Magikoopas, who once again capture Luigi and the stork, and Mario once again falls onto the back of a Yoshi. It may seem a little too early to complain, but come on, the story is nearly identical to that of its predecessor. Sure, plots of the main Mario titles are similar, but at least a little thought has to be put into figuring out how Bowser will kidnap Peach!
The gameplay is similar to that of the original Yoshi's Island, but with added features. The most notable of these are Mega Eggdozers. These are giant eggs that are obtained when Yoshi swallows a giant Shy Guy, which is done by rapidly pressing the B button when you stick your tongue to one. When an Eggdozer is thrown, you can earn up to three 1-Ups depending on the damage inflicted on the environment. You are also able to obtain metal Eggdozers. These eggs roll in a straight line and weigh you down underwater when you would otherwise float to the surface. Vehicle transformations return from Yoshi's Island. Rather than being placed in bubbles in the middle of the stage, these transformations are accessed by entering secret areas. In these areas, you are given limited time to make it through an obstacle course. Classic transformations return, in addition to some new ones. The transformations are helicopter, submarine, jackhammer, minecart, and bobsled. Kamek returns as the recurring mid-world boss, and the battles with him are fun and creative. My two favorites are the battles in which you must use eggs to pop balloons that hold up missiles, and hope it will hit Kamek; and the frustrating but still creative battle where you must throw your eggs at arrow blocks that direct the egg, and try and find the path that will lead your egg to the evil Koopa Wizard.
The hand-drawn visuals have been improved and are still charming. The 3D effects make the graphics look smoother, but are otherwise unnoticeable. The soundtrack doesn't fare as well, however. The tracks aren't terrible overall; a few are catchy, and a few of the songs, especially those that have kazoos in them, are kind of annoying. The Story mode, while fun, has a fair amount of frustrating moments, especially towards the end of the game. In each stage, there are 20 red coins to and five flowers to collect. In addition to collecting these, you must have 30 seconds on your timer to entirely complete a stage. The timer displays how many seconds you have to save baby Mario after you take a hit, and Mario's crying is as annoying as ever. What is extremely angering is that once you reach the end of a stage, the red coins and flowers reset, and you must find every single one of them again. The conclusion of the Story mode will seem familiar at first to those who've played the original, but the final boss battle ends up being pleasantly surprising. The ending does involve one of the most nonsensical canonical events ever to occur in a video game, but this is Mario, not a story-rich experience like BioShock or Mass Effect. in In addition to the Story mode, there are several two-player minigames to unlock, none of which I have played. Despite the frustrations, Yoshi's New Island is a solid platformer.
Ups
Fun story mode
Vehicle transformations
Visuals are still charming
Fun Kamek battles
Pleasantly surprising ending
Downs
Unoriginal plot
Some annoying songs
Very frustrating at times
ESRB: E Content: Mild Cartoon Violence Price: $39.99 (Retail / Download)
