Apr 01, 2019  After Yoshi turns enemies into eggs he can throw them at various objects from question mark clouds that give items or unlock things. It feels closer to the original Yoshi’s Island, with some.

- A new Yoshi’s Island game
- 5 different babies to use, each with their own special power; each special power adds a lot of new fun to the gameplay (more variety)
- Plenty of different colored Yoshi’s to ride on
- Same format and style as the first game for the SNES (overall look of the game; levels, bosses, etc)
- Graphics are as good/better than ever; sound works well at all times
- Great use of both DS screens; some gameplay/views use the other screen for high up or low secrets
- Lots of minigames to play
- New vehicles to use; a lot of fun and add new variety to the gameplay
- Many great levels to play, most being pretty long
- Lots of bosses and minibosses to fight!
- Red coin and flower collections in every level, and also character coins in this game
- Same great scoring system for levels
- Great uses for eggs, as usual

- No stylus use
- Essentially, this game is just an exact copy of the first game but with new levels, bosses, vehicles, and babies/special powers; I actually thought that the first few levels of the game were taken from the first game
- It’s hard to know which baby you have to use next (when you see a stork station); there is a lot of annoying backtracking
- Better use of the second screen would have been cool; it is used, but not enough
- Same Yoshi morphs
- Same bonus challenges

Why change a good thing I guess? That pretty much sums up this game in a brief statement. This game is pretty much an exact copy of the first Yoshi’s Island game, just with a few additions. I am not saying that this game is bad in any way for that, just that I expected some more differences. This is a great game nonetheless, but I am not too sure if it is necessarily better than the first game (since it is so similar). The only real addition and new plus for the game is the new babies and their special powers that add new variety in the gameplay. Other than that, same exact game repeated more than 10 years later on a new system. It is also a little funny that this game is one of the best games for the DS system.
The gameplay of the game is pretty much the same as the last game. Grab a baby, throw him on Yoshi’s back, and run around each level, trying to get to the end. Along the way, you will need to collect 5 flowers, 20 red coins, and get your star power to 30 stars. This equals the 100 possible points you will get in each level. Watch out for enemies along the way, as well as floating question mark clouds. Collect and shoot eggs at them (or enemies) to release what is inside. Sometimes it is stars, sometimes it is coins, sometimes it might unlock a bridge or stairs or a seed that will grow a plant that you can climb. Keep watch for these clouds because they often will lead to the next step in a level. Some levels might have a hidden coin or two, which will unlock locked doors (some might even be minigames). So get to the end of the level and unlock the next.
The story is pretty much the same story as always. A baby(ies) have been kidnapped by Kamek and taken to a floating castle in the sky. Yoshi must then gather up the other Yoshi’s and work their way to the castle to save the babies. This time around, you have more babies to use (other than just Mario).
You have 5 babies to use in this game: Mario, Peach, DK, Wario, and Baby Bowser. Each baby has their own special power and adds a lot of fun variety to the gameplay. Baby Mario is the same – put on a cape and run around quickly. Peach uses her umbrella to catch wind gusts and fly far distances. Baby DK can climb and swing on jungle vines or ropes, as well as do a powerful Dash attack to smash enemies or certain cracked walls. Baby Wario can use his magnet to attract nearby coins or metal platforms/objects. Baby Bowser can shoot fireballs at enemies and melt ice blocks in his way.
The levels are as good as ever. Most of them feel very long, and with the addition of the new babies, there is so much to do in each level. There are plenty to do, and no level is the same as the last. In each world, there are a bunch of levels, including a miniboss level and a boss level. Beating the boss level unlocks the next world and set of levels. The minibosses/bosses of the game aren’t very hard, but the battles are very interesting this time around. Some are pretty innovative, and even use the second screen to add challenge.
The graphics are as good as or better than ever. The style is pretty much the same (bright are cartoon-like), but the graphics seem much smoother and more colorful in this DS game. The background and foreground work well together, and both are beautiful and well detailed. The graphics are really enjoyable, and add a great feel to the game.
There really isn’t much too much wrong with this game. The only actual negative that I have to say is that this game is pretty much an exact copy of the SNES game, just with a few little additions. This game does not supply any “wow factor” whatsoever. It’s basically just new levels (like an expansion pack).
If you loved the first game, and own a DS, you will want to for sure check this game out. It’s a lot of fun, just like the first game.

I recently had a great time finishing Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island on the Super NES Classic Edition so allow me to share my experience with this timeless 2D platformer.

Yoshi's Island is an amazing platformer from Nintendo that released back in 1995 and it added a lot to the Mario franchise. I borrowed Yoshi's Island from a friend in the early 2000s and have fond memories of playing it yet I never actually finished it. Anyway, I'm super-excited to talk about Yoshi's Island because it's among the very best that Nintendo has to offer. As one of Nintendo's console entries in the Mario franchise, Yoshi's Island got the care that also went into their very best titles. With that out of the way, let's get right to it!

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island looks and sounds incredible with its hand-crafted graphics and catchy soundtrack. The way it looks is imaginative and appropriate for a sunny island inhabited by friendly Yoshis. Nintendo even added little details like birds that hop around and flowers in the foreground. The effects such as the springing sound each time Yoshi jumps make moving around feel great, too.

Yoshi moves very differently than Mario and I've had more fun with him than I ever had playing as Mario. After you jump, you can hold the button down to flutter. Once you start falling, you can flutter again and you can travel a long distance if you time it correctly. You can also ground-pound to get rid of certain obstacles as well as eat enemies by extending your tongue to turn them into eggs then throw those eggs at enemies, coins, flowers, question mark clouds, or even Baby Mario. I love to use Yoshi's tongue for all sorts of tasks like holding off enemies, making eggs, and catching Baby Mario because it's something you can't do in any other game.

If you get hit, Baby Mario floats around in a bubble and lets out a cry that you'll remember forever. Your heart will race as you scramble to grab him in time before he's snatched away by Kamek's Toadies. The timer that counts down is different to anything that gamers had seen in other platformers and it makes the gameplay so much more fun than if it had a generic health system.

Twitter: Yoshi remembers when Mario was just a baby →

Another aspect that I enjoy about Yoshi's Island is its bosses. There are twelve castles and in each one, Kamek appears with a weak enemy standing under him and he uses his magic to make that enemy grow immensely. Even though it doesn't sound very creative, there are some very memorable bosses that I still remember from fifteen years ago such as the frog that you fight while inside its stomach, the slime that you have to chuck eggs at its heart, and the giant koopa that you have to use eggs to knock it onto its back. The different ways you fight them are definitely creative. Of course, the final boss is so iconic that it's still regularly discussed.

I love that every one of Yoshi's Island's 54 stages is packed with stuff to collect. Each one has five flowers, twenty red coins, and thirty stars that you need to collect for the maximum score. Once you achieve this score on all of the stages in a world, you'll unlock a secret stage. Collecting flowers also gives you a chance to play mini-games to acquire items or extra lives. I don't really care for these mini-games and I wish you could skip them somehow because you can beat Yoshi's Island easily without these items.

Finishing every secret stage is a huge task but if you're not interested and just want to complete the campaign then that's no problem. Personally, I just got as many points on each stage as I could without worrying about getting everything. I didn't end up unlocking any secret stages but I did get to visit a lot of hidden areas. It makes me wonder what my average score is...

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is an amazing and innovative platformer that no one was expecting to be so different from Super Mario World. Besides the sometimes annoying mini-games, there's virtually nothing I don't like. Could Yoshi's Island be the best 2D platformer of all time? I can't think of any other game that makes me feel as happy whenever I play it thanks to its music and colourful environments. It's certainly up there with other great games but then again, I have yet to play Super Mario Bros. 3 so who am I to say?

Yoshi's Island is my favourite retro platformer that I've ever played. What do you think of this classic SNES game?