Yoshi

"Match and Hatch Yoshis with Mario"

Mario and Yoshi (also called Yoshi) is a puzzle game featuring my favorite Nintendo character Yoshi. I've had the game for quite a few years now so I'll give my review of it.

Story 2/10
Although this game doesn't actually have a story the booklet says something about Mario having to save Yoshi who is imprisoned in an egg. It's quite lame but it's better than nothing. I won't add the score to my final total since the story is not necessary.

Game Play 8/10
The game play is o.k. basically you match characters which drop from the top of the screen and match Yoshis to get points. Just like Tetris the controls are very simple and easy to use. The difficulty gets challenging the higher the level but it does not get over bearing. The fun factor of the game play dies after getting about 50 or so Yoshis and it starts to get a bit boring. The two-player mode is much better than just playing by yourself due to the challenge of it. Unless you like puzzle games you start to lose interest very quickly.

Graphics 9/10
The graphics aren't as spectacular to make you wonder how on earth the game developers were create them, but just good enough for every thing to be seen clearly. The characters like Boo and Gomba couldn't have been done better except for the Blobber. During two-player battles Mario and Luigi look very good it's possible to easily tell the difference between them. The different types of Yoshis are not bad either. I'd say the graphics are the best part of Mario and Yoshi, I've never seen a glitch or anything like that even when playing on a GBA.

Sound 5/10
There are three different types of background music to choose from, to me only one of them sounds good. The sound effects are o.k.; they are no annoying sounds to make you want to turn the volume down. The only problem is the background music seems a bit slow they can actually send you to sleep if you?re tired enough.

Re-playability 5/10
The re-playability of this game is a bit low. As I said before once you get about 50 Yoshis the game gets monotonous making you want to play something else. The only real re-playability for this game is if can play against someone else, so once you have played it for a while you tend never to play again. Since not many people may have the game now chances are you won't be able to play with someone else.

Overall 7/10
Mario and Yoshi is a bit to simple to play for a very long time so it's best just to borrow. Mario and Yoshi is just good to have in your collection since it's one of the few games were Yoshi stars over Mario. Unless you're a real puzzle game fan Mario and Yoshi might not suit you.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/05/02, Updated 12/05/02