Hey folks!
So as most of you know, my personal favorite video game is Yoshi's Island's GBA port. I would go into why, but I'd feel like I'm beating a dead horse.
Back in 2006 (I think) this classic finally got a sequel in the form of Yoshi's Island DS, a game that happens to be one of the worst sequels ever made and one of the biggest disappointments in all of gaming (the clerk at GameStop disagreed with me, but I digress).
So with the release of the new 3DS Yoshi game, I knew I just had to pick it up and see what the deal was. Apparently the head developer of the original Yoshi's Island was working with Arzest (a company that was formed after Artoon dissolved) to make this one, so at least I knew it couldn't be that bad... or at least not as bad as Yoshi's Island DS. So, as soon as I got the chance, I made my way to GameStop and picked up the game for myself.
Basically, I'm going to make a new post updating you all with my opinions on the game as I clear each world. Unlike Yoshi's Island DS, I am told that this game actually has 6 worlds, so that means 6 posts in all. I can tell you that this one and the last one are definitely going to be the longest. I'm going to be assuming that you are all familiar with the original Yoshi's Island, as I will not be explaining basic game mechanics here. I'm also going to be extremely picky, but try to understand that this is in the same series as my favorite video game ever made. I'll also try to avoid spoilers since the game is brand new.
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Speaking of new, this game happens to be called Yoshi's New Island. I'm kinda sick of this "New" moniker because it really hasn't worked anytime it's been used. I might have been more comfortable with "Return to Yoshi's Island" because all of the 2D reboots that had the word "Return" in it did very well by my standards.
Also, apparently instruction manuals are digital now? That's cool... I guess. There was a small pamphlet with Dream Team, but this one has absolutely nothing. Just the cart and a few Nintendo ads. The case seems really big when it actually holds so little.
So let's boot up this game, shall we?
The first thing I noticed was that the game did not open in the same way the first two Yoshi's Island games did. Instead it opens with Yoshi eating a giant shy guy. I mean, if you sit on the title screen long enough the opening cutscene does play, but I don't know. It's just weird to not hear soothing music when you boot up a Yoshi game. I actually was thinking about the Yoshi's Island opening the other day, but I'll let you find out why I was thinking that later, if you're subscribed to the YouTube channel, anyways. It's not the best first impression, but it works. Nintendo's been all about getting to the title screen quickly nowadays, so I'm not surprised.
The issue is actually not the way the game starts, it's that the entire opening cutscene plays when you select your file for the first time and there's no way to skip it (from what I saw). In the original, after the file select, the game started right with Baby Mario and the Yoshis, such that even if you skipped the opening before the title, you'd still be able to understand what's going on. Here, they force you to watch the whole 2-3 minute opening. And it's not like this story's anything mind-blowing. In fact, it's literally the same story as Yoshi's Island, except it starts at the end of the original Yoshi's Island with the stork delivering the babies to the wrong parents. If this game takes place right after the original, they Nintendo really wants us to forget Yoshi's Island DS then, or so it seems.
The good thing is that the title of Yoshi's New Island actually makes sense, because this game doesn't take place on Yoshi's Island, it takes place on Egg Island. Whoopee.
Remember how in Super Mario 3D World, Mario and friends went to the Sprixie Kingdom? And remember how the Sprixie Kingdom didn't look any different from the Mushroom Kingdom? Well, consider Egg Island the "Sprixie Kingdom" to Yoshi's Island.
But that music. What were they thinking? I think my ears bled when I was forced to listen to that awful rearrangement of the intro cutscene theme. I was really worried about having to mute the game the whole time after hearing that, especially after the really bad Yoshi singing part. It's like Yoshi's Story all over again, except even less tolerable.
Instead of a tutorial level like "Welcome to Yoshi's Island!" from the original, the game just brings you to the world map immediately. So let's go into the first level.
The first thing I'll discuss is the control, because unlike Yoshi's Island DS, Yoshi actually feels like Yoshi. No more run button, no more other babies, no more weird acceleration, it's all gone. Yup, this game controls almost exactly like the original. The only thing I noticed is that the egg aim takes a little longer to start up, and it throws me off just a little, but compared to Yoshi's Island DS, that is not worth writing home about.
The music actually is not bad in this level, but if you find a pipe and enter it, turn the volume all the way down, because if you don't, the worst song you ever heard in your life will play. It seems as if the soundtrack is trying to get a mix of classic Yoshi's Island style music with some Yoshi's Story thrown in. The issue is that you get some decent tracks, some bad tracks, and some cringe-worthy tracks, but no memorable ones. I can only hope that there's something like the Althletic theme to get stuck in my head. Hell, I have Yoshi's Island DS music on my iPod, and I'd like to have something to remind me of this game before I remember DS.
The art style is hit-or-miss too. It's not bad, but it does take a bit of getting used to. I think a lot of people were worried when they saw the initial trailer for this game, but I must say that when you play the game, it does still work, and it does still feel like the entire world was drawn in crayon like the original. It just isn't the same, but that's okay. I would prefer this than just a level pack for the original. Even though the original was perfect, I want to be able to define this game by something, and if it's this art style, that could be okay. This game has a few other things that make it stand out, however, and the first of these things shows up in the first level.
If you look at the box art, you'll notice a giant egg in the background. That's not there for decoration, as Yoshi's New Island features these giant eggs. The only thing about them is that so far, they don't really do anything. In the first level, the giant egg was confined to a specific area, and when it appears in other levels, it is the same. So no, you cannot take a giant egg anywhere you want and destroy the entire level.
I don't think they really thought this whole giant egg thing through. They could have done so much more with this concept (and they very well might later on in the game), but it seems as if they just added them for the sole purpose of being a gimmick. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
The other gimmick they have in this game is actually a returning one, but rebranded a bit. The transformations from the previous games are back, but no longer appear as bubbles. Rather, Yoshi transforms into a vehicle after entering a door, and the vehicle sections are self-contained rooms with a timer. These rooms act more like minigames than a part of the main level, however there are still red coins and flowers in these sections. My nostalgia blinders tell me that this is bad, but I really don't see anything wrong with it. You can fail the transformation minigames as many times as you wish so that you can assure that you collected everything in the room, and they are a nice change of pace. I can't say that they're better than the bubbles though, and it does take away some of the puzzle elements that the first Yoshi's Island had, most notably with the Mole Tank.
But hey, I finished the first level with all 30 stars, 20 red coins, and 5 flowers. It was really easy to 100% this level. The thing is, however, that you are no longer scored at the end of a level on a point-based system. Instead, each item is tallied and graded separately. This means that if you got 5 flowers and 30 stars but missed a red coin, you would only need to get the 20 red coins when you replay the level in order to complete the level.
The first thing you might think is "WOAH THAT'S AWESOME!!!" but I'm not so sure.
See, one thing I liked about the original Yoshi's Island was seeing that "100" when you completed a level fully. You had to do everything in one run, but you were rewarded highly for it. As a player, I feel a sense of accomplishment when I 100% a level in Yoshi's Island, and that sense of accomplishment is the reason I continue to go back to the game, as I still have not 100%ed every stage. I have played and beaten Yoshi's Island numerous times, but never could I fully complete it. It's something I continue to try and do.
But in this game, that sense of accomplishment is greatly diminished. If you get hit before the exit and lose a star or two as a result, you won't freak out as much, because you know that you can just speedrun the level and not have to go out of your way for the other collectibles. It also makes the levels a lot easier to complete, which I think will prevent me from wanting to visit this game as much as Yoshi's Island or, dare I say it, Yoshi's Island DS.
But what this game lacks in replay value it makes up for in so many other ways. The levels I've played so far have been unbelievably creative in their level design, and there are a lot of concepts from the original that I never imagined that they'd bring back. There's also a lot of new things to be seen too, from 1-6, which takes place almost entirely on beanstalks akin to the ones that sprouted from ? clouds in the original, to 1-8, a level with happy-face blocks that move in a square path based off of whether a block is activated or not, and a fairly unique boss, if a bit too easy.
After I beat the boss, an extra level opened in World 1 as I had easily 100%ed the world (although it wasn't called extra 1, instead it was called World 1-S). I only had to replay a few levels one additional time, thanks to the replacement of a point-based score with the individual tracking of stars, flowers, and red coins. From the way the world map looks, it seems as if secret levels are no longer a thing after you beat the game, which means that you have to 100% a world completely in order to unlock the extra (or I guess it's now called "S") level. This gives people incentive to complete the game, but it also detracts from the replay value because of how easy 100%ing the game is so far. In Yoshi's Island on GBA, sure, I have unlocked and beaten every level in the game, but I still have a majority of the levels without the 100% score. I really like the way the GBA port worked out in that regard, as I still was able to explore every level in the game as a child with not too much effort, but I still had a challenge to face as an adult trying to 100% all of those levels. Sure, after beating every level, the score doesn't mean much, but the way Yoshi's Island showed it off at the end of every level, it sure felt like it meant something.
I still have one last complaint that I have yet to touch on, however, and then I'll end it there.
There are no items in Yoshi's New Island.
By items, I do not mean things like the seed-spitting melons - as while I have not come across them, I have heard that they do return - but rather the items that you can access on the pause menu, such as the magnifying glass, the egg refills, and (perhaps worst of all) the +10 and +20 star items.
Some people might not miss these items, but their removal actually drastically affected the game's design rather greatly.
First off, it makes getting 30 stars a lot harder. No longer can you die after a midway ring and expect to have 30 stars by the goal. No longer can you get hit right before the goal ring and have the backup security of a +10 star item. And no longer can you bypass any cloud if you want to have even a chance at getting 30 stars. But once again, it isn't too bad because you can easily replay the level with your only objective being to get 30 stars and get to the exit while ignoring everything else.
Second off, it means that there are no Bonus Challenges. And they were fun. And I miss them. Instead of the chance of getting a bonus challenge at the goal ring, landing on a flower on the goal gives you medals. If you get 30 medals in a world, you unlock a vehicle challenge for that world. That vehicle challenge does nothing more than give you a shot at extra lives. And this game spoon-feeds you lives. You do not need lives. The medals are pointless.
Overall, however, Yoshi's New Island was still very fun so far, but I'm also really liking Wario Land 3 on Virtual Console, and I found myself playing that late last night instead of Yoshi's New Island, even though I bought Yoshi that same day. It's certainly better than Yoshi's Island DS, but it can't even touch the perfection of the original.
But frankly, I never really expected it to. This is a quality Yoshi game, and for what it is, I'd say it was worth it, so far.
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Thanks for reading! Be sure to stay tuned to see what I think of the game after playing more of it!
What are your thoughts on Yoshi's New Island? Let me know below!
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