"A great sequel with an unfortunate mean streak."

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is not only one of my favorite SNES games it's also one of my all time favorite games overall. It wasn't the Mario game I was initially wanting but it turned out to be a great experience anyways. I've played through the original multiple times and also picked it up when it was released on the Game Boy Advance. Needless to say I was very excited to hear that they were making a true sequel to the game after the laughably easy pseudo sequel Yoshi's Story for the N64. While it fulfills my desire for a sequel it has a few flaws that keep it from living up completely to the standards of the first game.

The graphics stick very close to original game but feel quite a bit more polished this time around. They got rid of most of the rough crayon colored look. I actually like the more clean cut approach to the animation in the game and think that it's a nice step forward for the Yoshi's Island franchise. Artoon did a very good job of having the action divided amongst the two screens and keeping dead space to a minimum. I never felt like I had any cheap deaths due to an inability to see Yoshi as he transitioned between screens. It's not quite up to the standards of other platforming games on the DS but it isn't terrible either.

Everything controls just as well as it did in the original game and anyone who spent time with the previous game will feel right at home. One of the big changes in this game is the ability to use more than one baby. In addition to Mario we get Peach, Donkey Kong, Wario, and Bowser. Each one of the new babies has a specialty skill and aside from Wario all of them add to the game quite nicely. Wario isn't horrible but his magnet power can be quite frustrating to use and never feels quite right. At least they made sure Mario didn't wind up useless by increasing his running ability which comes in handy during later sequences when you have to outrun giant enemies. Even though you get to use all of the babies at some point in the game for the most part your choices will just be Mario, Peach, and DK. It's a blast to play no matter what baby you're using but I would've really liked to have gotten some additional time with Baby Bowser.

All of the levels are well designed and try to utilize as many of the babies as they possibly can. Each of them is also quite a bit larger than those found in the first game. Aside from the first few levels they all will take quite a few minutes to complete. For avid gamers out there the collection of flowers, red coins, and stars throughout the levels return and it will take quite a bit of time and skill to reach 100%.

All of the bosses in this game are as epic and elaborate as those found in the first game. They use quite a few bosses again from the first game but the new bosses are a blast to conquer. The highlight is a mirror boss that takes advantage of the duel screens. When you get to the boss you'll see what I mean and while it's not hard it's still a real treat.

The main complaint I have against this game has to deal with the difficulty. The game starts off easily enough and it gradually ramps up the challenge at a decent rate. At one point though the difficulty spikes to a mind numbingly frustrating level. Most of the levels in the last area have at least one segment where you'll die repeatedly and have to memorize the layout and enemy positions. The first game wasn't a walk in the park but I never reached a segment that frustrated me nearly as much this game did.

Normally this wouldn't be a big issue with me because I like it when games have a difficult streak that keeps you from breezing through it. The thing is this game isn't primarily geared towards adult gamers it's made with younger gamers in mind. After playing this I wouldn't really feel right giving this to a younger gamer to play because most of the younger gamers I know aren't skilled enough in video games yet to handle this type of challenge. The game would've really benefited from toning down the difficulty a little bit to make it more accessible to younger gamers. I'm sure some younger gamers will have no problem with it but I'm positive that majority that wind up playing this game will.

As it stands though it's a great and worthy sequel to a classic game. I had a blast playing the game and I'm sure I'll play it again a few more times before all is said and done. It's just fair warning that your gaming skills will be put to the test if you do decide to give this game a go.

Graphics: 8.25 / 10
Sound: 8.75 / 10
Playability: 7.5 / 10
Entertainment: 8.25 / 10
Replay Value: 8 / 10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/10/07

Game Release: Yoshi's Island DS (US, 11/13/06)