Review: Yoshi’s Island DS
November 14th, 2006 at 12:36 pm
The Rise and Fall of 2D Gaming
In 1998, Nintendo released Super Mari World 2: Yoshi’s Island for the Super Nintendo. This, to me, was the last great platformer of that era. In fact, it was the last game I ever completed on the SNES. At the time I was impressed with the solid and comfortable Mario gameplay mechanics that borrowed heavily from Super Mario World yet also expanded on it by letting you play as Yoshi through the whole game. It showcased the best of what the system’s 2D processing was capable of.
Nintendo followed that game up in 1997, on the Nintendo 64, with Yoshi’s Story. The N64 console was touted as a 3D system but many people were unaware that it also sported some very beefy 2D processing hardware. It really was a console that was made for great 2D games that also could do 3D. Yoshi’s Story itself was a reasonable example of this concept but the gameplay fell flat in a few areas. It deviated from the look and feel of the original Yoshi’s Island and offered a more simplistic gameplay style. All of this screamed "kid’s game" and it was definitely marketed as such. However, I found the game to be exceedingly difficult.
Despite a few other strong efforts in the 2D space (including the cult hit Mischief Makers) 3D became the new hotness and I never got the new experiences I was looking for. For years I looked back longingly to those days gone by, with so much promise…
Fast forward to now. With the DS, Nintendo is revitalizing the 2D genre in a way I never expected. The have led the way with titles like New Super Mario Bros., Super Princess Peach, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong. Now they raise the bar even higher with Yoshi’s Island DS.
Review of Yoshi’s Island DS
Yoshi’s Island DS takes the franchise back to its roots with a visual style and game mechanics that is more than reminiscent of the original Yoshi’s Island. Players control Yoshi as he runs, flutter jumps, eats enemies, and throws eggs. All of his moves become necessary at one point or another to progress through the stages. This makes for plenty of variety in the gameplay.
A new feature takes the variety to a new level. Yoshi, is now no longer in charge of just baby Mario. The evil Kamek is causing all of the Mushroom Kingdom’s babys to disappear and Yoshi must now carry several different babies through the worlds. Yoshi can carry one baby at a time and, of course, each baby brings with it a new set of abilities. For example, Baby Peach can use her umbrella to float on wind currents and Baby DK can swing on ropes and vines. In some places it becomes necessary to switch between babies to get through the level.
This is one place where the game shines. Despite its apparent complexity it manages to be accessible to players with a wide range of skill. Most levels can be completed successfully using a minimum of techniques; but by exploring, and using all of the abilities at their disposal, a player can unlock special rewards and mini-games.
Graphically, the game looks better than its SNES counterpart. Backgrounds and characters are more colorful and are more detailed. The game uses the sprite scaling and rotating abilities of DS effectively. Also, the number of sprites on screen is increased, making for some fun and chaotic situations. The game uses the dual screens effectively as well. Gameplay takes place on the top and bottom screen and will seamlessly shift focus depending on where the action is occurring. For example, if Yoshi goes down a pipe, he appears at the bottom screen. If he flies into the air he will cross the boundary and move into the upper screen.
Another benefit from the DS hardware shows through in the enemy behavior. There are countless types of enemies and due to the extra processing power they are able to showcase a wider range of behaviors. There were a few times where I was surprised by an enemy’s reaction to me throwing an egg near it. These extra details enhance the gameplay greatly and make it more than just a run and jump platform game. Unfortunately, this game doesn’t make use of the DS touch screen. On the one hand, I would prefer solid gameplay with no touch screen as opposed to a tacked-on gimmick. However, there is some real potential for good use of the stylus: single gesture egg throwing anyone?
Sound design for handheld games often takes a backseat to other elements. I myself have been known to play through a whole game with the sound off. It’s just they way portable systems are played. With that to contend with, it’s easy for a game designer to put less effort into a less visible (audible?) feature. That is not the case with Yoshi’s Island DS. Where many DS games produce synth-like sound effects that lack any character or distinction, the effects in Yoshi’s Island are vibrant and serve to open up the game world. Many of the sounds are instantly recognizable, such as Yoshi’s trademark "Ba-dump!" when he sticks his tongue out. Altogether, they create a rich sound landscape that, while occasionally repetitive, is worth keeping the volume up for.
Yoshi’s Island DS is another solid first party title from Nintendo. Gameplay is relatively varied. However, if you played the original Yoshi’s Island to death, this might be too much of a good thing. For any platform game lover it is one more reason to own a DS. It is accessible to players of all skill levels and offers enough challenge to keep even hardcore gamers engaged.
Leave a Reply