Yoshi's Island

[Jorpho]

My game of the moment is good ol' Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Apparently it's ten years old this year; I hadn't played it since it came out. Naturally, I'm going for perfect this time around.

I remember this game being a lot more frustrating than it is now. I've finished many of the stages with 100% the first time through. Presently I am trying to finish off the hellish helicopter bit in Extra 5, and considering you can get an extra life every time you go through that part of the level, it's only a matter of time. I guess it's a lot more forgiving than Super Mario World was, as there's something of a shortage of the same hair-pulling frustration.

Still, it's a pretty cool game nonetheless. It's a real pity Yoshi's Story on the N64 wasn't up to the same standard. I look forward to what people might come up with if the level editor (currently in an early stage) ever reaches completion. The equivalent of Super Demo World: The Legend Continues would be something indeed.

Your thoughts?

[Jibbajaba]

I love this game. I have it for the SNES and the GBA. It is also one of the few games that hooked my g/f, who normally does not play games. Definitely one of the best games Shigeru Miyamoto made, in my opinion. It retained the goodness of the Mario series, but was different enough not to be "more of the same".

Chris

[CartCollector]

I beat it (not complete though) and yes, it was much easier than SMB World. Good luck!

[PDorr3]

I loved the graphics. But overall I liked the gameplay of SMBW better. I'm looking forward to a true sequel soon...

[soniko_karuto]

i love this game, i used to love it at least, but i'm afraid that if i go back, i won't apreciate it as i used to do. I did finished it 100% on the first try though.

[whoisKeel]

I love this game! I played it back in the day and beat it, but not 100% or whatever. I fired it up a few months ago and it was just as good as i remember, but I need to play all the way through it again. I like the puzzle aspect of the game. For some reason, I always remember this game being harder than SMW, but maybe because i have SMW ingrained in my head.

One thing I remember about this game is that almost every stage features a unique enemy, whether it be shy guys on stilts or enemies flying, it keeps it fresh!

[pseudonym]

i finished the game 100% when it came out. the game is fairly easy but there's usually a tough stage somewhere in every world. i had a tough time with the extra stages. the impossible maze is probably the easiest one to get 100% on; the hardest one was kamek's revenge.

[Arqueologia_Digital]

Very good game, i love this platformer, but i find more funny the classic SMW...

Matías

[anagrama]

In my view, this game represents the pinnacle of 2D platforming. Perfectly balanced, challenging but never unfair and with some wonderfully inventive touches. I've got around half the levels 100%-ed, but I still need to find time to go back and polish off the rest...

[Pedro Lambrini]

In my view, this game represents the pinnacle of 2D platforming. Perfectly balanced, challenging but never unfair and with some wonderfully inventive touches...

Couldn't agree more! I absolutely love this game - it's the best reason to buy a SNES or GBA. I've never completed it 100% - it's not that the game's very hard it's just that I'm shit!! But I will one day...

[poloplayr]

Impossible not to agree. It's a masterpiece and a worthy follow-up to SMW (which still is a bit better IMO)

[Jasoco]

Love Yoshi's Island. It was different. I loved it. I think of SMW and YI as two unique franchises. That way neither of them gets pushed aside for the other in my mind. Both are great. The effects were terrific for its time.

[Graham Mitchell]

I think this game is so advanced visually that it kind of defies the fact that it's for the SNES. I've only really played it on the GBA, but I love it. I haven't got time to play much, but my girlfriend beat it 100% last year. It's a classic.

I assume everybody knew this, but the "handdrawn" aesthetic is Miyamoto's reaction to the uber-realistic appearance of Donkey Kong Country. Nintendo rejected the game in it's original incarnation because it looked like plain ol' SMW, and they thought it wouldn't compete well with Donkey Kong Country's slick 3-D rendered sprites. So, as a big F.U., basically, Miyamoto reworked it to look like it was drawn by a 3-year-old.

[Lady Jaye]

It was an overlooked game in its day (mostly due to its late release, IMO), and if it weren't for baby Mario's cries, it'd be perfect.

Of all the Mario games to have been re-released on the GBA, it's the one that benefited from it the most, as many people didn't even know it existed.

I've had this game since January of 97, when I bought my SNES (it was one of the available pack-in games at that time).

If you don't have it, go get it now!!!

[Jorpho]

I assume everybody knew this, but the "handdrawn" aesthetic is Miyamoto's reaction to the uber-realistic appearance of Donkey Kong Country. Nintendo rejected the game in it's original incarnation because it looked like plain ol' SMW, and they thought it wouldn't compete well with Donkey Kong Country's slick 3-D rendered sprites. So, as a big F.U., basically, Miyamoto reworked it to look like it was drawn by a 3-year-old.

It probably took a lot of clout to persuade Nintendo to include a Super FX chip in the cart, considering that it really doesn't add all that much to the gameplay that I can see. (Or maybe Nintendo just had a lot of leftover chips at the time.)

The GBA version is basically unchanged aside from the fact that it uses the sound effects from Yoshi Story, right? (Didn't much care for those myself.)

[Lady Jaye]

Well, weren't there a few new levels added in the GBA port?

[Jorpho]

Blaargh! After all that, with 100% complete on every level, there's nothing! No new ending, no new levels, just one more star on the title screen! How very disappointing. (But then, I guess SMW only gave you a star for finding 97 goals...)

Apparently they fixed that much in the GBA version. Guess I'm going to have to go look for that now...

[joshnickerson]

From what I remember, yeah, there were six new levels added to the GBA port.

And yes, this game was freakin' awesome. It took me three months of solid playing to get 100% in EVERY LEVEL, but it was sooo worth it.

Check out old NP Player's Challenge, my name is listed in a few YI challenges.

[badinsults]

I don't know how anyone can think SMW was harder than Yoshi's Island. I can easily pass any level in SMW, but I still have some troubles on getting 100% in the hard bonus levels.

[Jasoco]

Are there any pictures from the prototype stage of YI? Like when it looked like the original SMW? I'd love to see that.

The Super FX 2 chip inside was used to provide all the rotating and scaling effects that the SNES just couldn't have done as well otherwise. The turning wheels, falling walls, teetering logs and growing baddies all were possible with the SFX2 chip. It just wouldn't have been the same game without them.

Edit: I think the GBA ports of SMW and YI are my favorites because they're the closest to the original formula I liked so much. Especially YI, it looks the same as the original with minimal changes because that's the way I likes them.