"Super Yoshi World with Baby Mario."

Introduction- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is the proposed sequel to the Super Nintendo launch title, Super Mario World. However, it actually spun-off Yoshi's own franchise which has since continued with Yoshi's Story, Yoshi Touch & Go, and Yoshi Topsy-Turvy. It introduced a unique, crayon-drawn look for the graphics that made the game look like an animated cartoon of sorts. It put Yoshi in the starring role with Baby Mario as a supporting character, so this isn't really Super Mario World 2, but simply Yoshi's Island.

Story- The stork carrying 2 small babies was casually flying over the deep, blue sea when suddenly, out of the blue a strange creature came hurtling toward the stork! After a brief surprise, the stork lost one of the babies to the strange creature, a sorcerer Magikoopa known as Kamek. The stork also dropped the other baby and a piece of paper, and looked on as the baby plunged toward the churning sea. Meanwhile, on the peaceful Yoshi's Island, Yoshi was taking a brief walk in the jungle when something heavy fell on him! It was none other than the baby that the stork was carrying! The piece of paper also fell on Yoshi's head. After taking a closer look, it seemed to be some kind of map, but Yoshi can't seem to read it. He goes to his friends, who are in uproar with the arrival of the baby. They decide on carrying the baby to his destination via a relay system. Kamek, enraged that he only got one baby, sends out his Toadies to capture the baby, Baby Mario. Can Mario and the kidnapped baby be reunited by the Yoshis? Or will Kamek have his way and kidnap Mario too?

Gameplay- You control Yoshi, Mario's dinosaur pal, through 6 worlds on Yoshi's Island, each with 6 stages, a fort, a castle, and an extra level. Each stage has many obstacles, hordes of dangerous enemies, and a whole lot of stuff to collect and find. Every single stage including the forts and castles, contain 20 hidden Red Coins disguised as regular yellow coins, 5 well-hidden Flowers which, if you find them all, give you a free extra life. These contribute to your overall score for the stage ranging from 0-100 points depending on the number of stars, Red Coins, and Flowers you collected. Stars are basically the amount of time it takes for Baby Mario to be kidnapped if Yoshi takes any damage. The higher amount of stars, you have, the longer it takes for Baby Mario to be kidnapped, resulting in a loss of a life. You can destroy little cloud "?" bags which contain either stars, coins, switches, Flowers, or perform a weird effect on the stage such as making bridges or staircases. Collecting 30 stars, 20 red coins, and 5 flowers on every stage will give you a perfect score on the stage, with a shiny blazing 100. Stage select is simple, you simply have to select which stage you want to play by selecting an uncolored picture, which means the stage hasn't been cleared yet, or a colored picture, which means you have cleared the stage before. Playing a stage is simple, you must guide Yoshi and Baby Mario through the stage's obstacles and enemies in order to reach the goal, which an area of green-stripped land with a giant ring containing 5 flowers, (these activate if you collect the stage's Flowers), and 5 blue dots. Along the way, you must collect stars, red coins, and flowers to earn points for the stage, and defeat enemies along the way. Occasionally, you may need to find a key to either progress further in the stage or to unlock a short mini-game in order to win an item or some free extra lives. Items can be used to make the stage a bit easier by giving anywhere from free stars, free refill of eggs, and revealing where Red Coins are among the normal yellow coins. Most enemies are rather easy to defeat, requiring a simple stomp on the head or eating the enemy and turning it into an egg. Eggs can then be thrown to attack enemies, activate puzzles, and all sorts of strange things. After clearing a stage, the end ring will begin a sort of roulette in which getting a blue dot gets you nothing, and an active flower will grant you brief access to a special bonus stage. These bonus stages are chances to grab special items or earn extra lives.

Graphics/Sound- The graphics are unique, as if they've been drawn with crayons and pasted drawings together. It's a fresh look for the game, bordering on the overly cute side. The animated drawings do look a bit strange, but it's nothing to get worried about. The sound ranges from overly cute to just plain annoying at times, especially when Baby Mario is crying. The music is nicely done, with upbeat and cheery themes mixed with moody and jazzy themes along with it. A strange mix of sound and graphics for the Super Nintendo.

Recommendation- Even though this game looks like it was made for kids, this is definitely an excellent game to pick up for any Super Nintendo collection! This game simply can't be missed, buy it as soon as you can at your local store!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/18/06