Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this colorful, charming game has a lot of youth appeal, but may be challenging for the youngest players drawn to its visual style. The game demands a lot of precision-jumping while dodging, stomping, and shooting eggs at enemies. Many levels require strategizing and puzzle solving. The touch screen on the DS rarely comes into play; instead, gameplay spans both screens (leaving a small missing region in between that can hide important visuals).
Families can talk about why Nintendo remade this game, which is similar to a game from an old system. Are such remakes good for introducing young gamers to old games? Or are companies just recycling old material? Are you more likely to want a game simply because it features Mario or one of his gameland pals? Do you like the challenging parts of the game or are you sometimes too frustrated with them?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Chris Jozefowicz
Don't be swayed by the images of pacifiers and diapers -- mastering YOSHI'S ISLAND DS is not child's play. Beneath the cute exterior beats the heart of a wild, challenging, run-and-jump platforming game.
Yoshi's Island DS is a follow-up to the beloved Super Nintendo game Yoshi's Island from 1995. The story is simple: An evil wizard is kidnapping babies, and the Mario Bros. second-fiddle Luigi is among the missing. The Yoshis, a group of dinosaur-like creatures with sticky tongues and the ability to transform enemies that they eat into eggs, decide to help some other Mario-world babies in a rescue attempt.
Players guide the Yoshis (with a baby on board) across 50 colorful levels. Unlike the original game, Yoshi's Island DS allows players to use various babies and change riders multiple times throughout a level.
Different babies give the Yoshis different abilities: Baby Mario can dash and smash hidden blocks, Baby Peach can ride gusts of wind, and Baby Donkey Kong can climb vines and swing on ropes, etc. Many levels have puzzles that require players to strategize and switch babies back and forth. If a baddie hits a Yoshi, the baby is thrown from its back and a countdown begins. Players have a short time to rescue the baby before losing a life.
Yoshi's Island DS makes good use of its two screens, although the touch sensitivity rarely comes into play. The screens work together to create a doubly tall window into the jungles, deserts, and haunted pirate ships that constitute the Yoshis' world. This trick complements the action of the game, letting players see platforms high above, or toss an egg at a monster from on high. Players can expect to spend a lot of time airborne, moving between floating platforms and using the Yoshis' ability to flutter kick and float for brief periods.
The gameplay is top-notch, but this fleet-footed Yoshi does stumble in a couple of areas. Although the double-screen view looks nice, there is a "missing" section of space between the screens that can hide treasure and enemies. Also, some of the levels are punishingly difficult, and players may die dozens of times, particularly if they want to collect most or all of the treasures. Fortunately, it's easy to accumulate more than 100 lives.
Yet even when Yoshi's Island DS becomes frustrating, it's a hard game to put down. Exploring the levels multiple times with different babies really drives up the replay value. The game also has some crazy interludes, like having the Yoshis briefly transform into a helicopter or submarine, keeping gamers surprised and entertained at every turn.
Gamers looking for similar, excellent platforming fun can try New Super Mario Bros; Yoshi fans might be interested in Yoshi Touch and Go.
Reviewed: 01/02/2007
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ViolenceMario-style cartoon mayhem: stompings, egg-throwing, and some fireball spitting. |
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CommercialismPart of the popular Mario universe. |
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Educational ValueSome levels require strategizing and puzzle solving. |
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