"Back to Yoshi's Island to make some more eggs"

Once upon a time, when all our original Nintendo heroes and villains were just little annoying tikes, one dinosaur dared to provide some TLC. Yoshi returns in a brand new game, with the original platforming formula duplicated to the nth degree, and with a fair amount of new babies in tow. I loved the classic Yoshi's Island, and if you're all for a challenging platformer that doesn't stray far from some solid old-school roots, don't pass up on this true sequel.

Visuals - 8
Sound & Music - 7
Gameplay - 9
Longevity - 9 (7+ hours; easily twice that if aiming for 100%)
Replay Value - 9
Difficulty - 8-9 (100% this time around is much harder!)

Making Eggs - 9
VERDICT - 8.5

From crayons to coloured pencils
When you first boot up Yoshi's Island DS (herein YI2), you will be instantly met with the same visual presentation as was shown in the original game (just over a decade old now). Warm, fuzzy feelings will come over those who have fond memories of the original's title screen, menu screen, interface, everything really; for this sequel is more of an expansion pack, a tribute, rather than anything more revolutionary.

The same story book style is employed here. Whereas YI looked like some talented kid picked up a crayon and started drawing, YI2 looks like that same kid, now a bit older, who has upgraded to more fine coloured pencils. (And FYI Yoshi's Story for the N64 looked like a pop-up book.) The result is a much more cleaner look and all the sprites used look better than before. It's not that big of a leap graphics-wise, but that's testament to the the original's 2D that was way ahead of its time.

Light-hearted music, but perhaps too 'lite'
Nearly all of the BGM featured throughout YI2 is based upon the main theme song's motif. This does lead to some repetitiveness the more you (re)play, but they are light enough to not stick annoyingly in your mind. The problem is that a lot of the tracks are too light to the extent that some are just a couple of notes here and there. For the most part, the music comes across as decidedly boring. The title theme is nice (wait a while for it to actually start!), but everywhere else, there is definitely no Koji Kondo inspiration to be found.

In contrast, the sound effects are great and true to the original's excellence. The babies different cries are suitably annoying (makes you actually want to save them to make them shut up), Yoshi's constipated flutter-jump cry is back, and all the rest of the sounds bring out the life of the island well. Just like Castlevania: PoR had coffin opening/closing sounds, YI2 features swallowing and "Yoshi!" audio sequences when closing and opening your DS respectively; it's a nice novel (but useless) touch for those who use sleep mode frequently.

For the new generation
It has been over 10 years since YI was released for the SNES. Since then we have seen Yoshi in a poor N64 sequel, a rehashed (but still good!) GBA port, a touch-based DS launch title, but mostly the green dino plays a supportive/cameo role in major Mario productions. YI2 harks back to the original platformer. The usual get-to-the-goal objective is in place, along with a large bounty of red coins, flowers, lifestars (and now character coins) to collect along the way. If you loved the first and wanted more, well here's your dream come true.

There's no question that there is some very solid platforming here. It's not as fast as Sonic, nor as tight as Castlevania/MegaMan; Yoshi is more of a thinking beast. With the dual screens used to show a much taller display of your surroundings, you will always have to be on the lookout for dangers all over the place. It is best to take things slow and plan how you will move on, making optimum use of the once-only checkpoints that you will come across. The issue of the 'dead-space' situated between the dual screens is not gamebreaking by any means, but in can be especially frustrating not being able to see what goes on there when you are aiming for 100% completion and are rushing through the moving levels.

YI2 is definitely more challenging than the first game, and so for those of you who felt that New Super Mario Bros. and Super Princess Peach's difficulties were much too noob-friendly, find solace in getting you butt whipped here, especially in the the last 3 non-castle levels. And I haven't even started talking about the bonus extreme levels and 100% goals; if you are a perfectionist, it will take a while to finish, that's assuming that your platforming skills are up to par. You will possibly lose a few teeth while you are at it too!

More babies = More comic capers = More fun!
For those who have experience with handling young children, I'm sure you know how much of a handful just 1 can be. Well now Yoshi has to contend with 5 of them! There is your main 3, Mario, Peach and DK, as well as Wario and Bowser who can be used in a few select levels. The variety is great and each baby handles in uniquely different ways. Mario confers the ability to run and turn into Super Baby Mario, peach can ride drafts of air, DK can climb and swing on vines, Wario can use a magnet to attract metallic objects, and Bowser to toast enemies with mini-fireballs. On the whole, the abilities are used in pretty inventive ways and they add an extra element to puzzle solving. Stork stops used to switch babies are frequently found and so it is easy to choose whichever baby makes things easier (or harder) to get through certain parts.

I was quite skeptical at first when I heard of this gimmick, but the baby aspect has been implemented as properly as I could have hoped. It doesn't intrude on the core platforming, and there are only a few occasions when you are forced to go through with just one specific child. Now when you are aiming for 100% (I talk about his a lot, but getting 100% in the original was one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had!) baby switching becomes more prevalent and you really will have to have a good understanding of the pros and cons of each to collect everything. That means the heavyweights will have to be chosen more often, and so you had better make sure your flutter-jumping skills top-notch!

The original blown-up boss battles are back again. Whichever baby you choose to take in with you makes no significant difference; these fights are pure logic and skills. It has been a long time since I've seen some decent 2D-platforming bosses, but YI2 delivers it in new fashion. The dual screens are used brilliantly here, and many of the bosses will have you smiling at how creative they turn out to be. But it is strange how these fights are easy when compared to the main levels you have to plow through to get there. And unlike the steep climbing difficulty exhibited in the main levels, the bosses get easier as you move past halfway.

Yoshi's Island: Travel Destination of the Year?
Is it worth going back to the same old island, drawn with slightly better instruments? YI2 does a very good job of recreating all that made the original trip so enjoyable. The presentation is exactly the same, the levels are challenging to play through, replay value is extreme if you are willing to go for gold, and most importantly it's just as fun as it was 10 years ago.

The minigames are fun for a while, and the museum where you view all the enemies featured in the their natural habitat on Yoshi's Island is a neat addition. But what will make you come back time and time again is to go through the inventive levels. Yoshi's Island is still played by many to this day. Time will tell if this will be true of this one, but I expect something nearly similar (since there are so many other quality titles out there these days). Yoshi's Island DS is a great pick-up-and play platformer, perhaps the best traditional platformer on the DS yet. There are a few issues with the dual displays (dead space and inability to swap screens while jumping), but otherwise the update works well.

It's nice to see some more traditional games again. Since the next-gen swept the world, the focus has been on realism, innovation and genre-benders. Yoshi's Island DS plays like a game that was born before all these new-fangled approaches, and to me it harks back to the plain and simple fun of those days. It may just be a carbon copy of a great game, but that makes it a great game nonetheless.

8.5/10 - Looks and plays just like the original classic

30/11/06

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/30/06