GameSpy Review of Yoshi's Island DS

As far as I'm concerned, Yoshi's Island for SNES is the greatest platform game of all time (pay no attention to Bryn's review of the GBA port -- he clearly forgot to add that last star). So when I learned that Nintendo would be releasing a DS sequel to that amazing adventure, I was beyond excited. Then, my joy came crashing down around me when I learned that it was being developed by Artoon. Artoon? The Blinx people? Didn't Nintendo remember what happened the last time Artoon got its hands on Yoshi? Was the Big N really entrusting the sequel to one of the best games of all time to the people who made the not-very-good-at-all Yoshi Topsy-Turvy?

Despite my trepidation, I remained cautiously optimistic. After all, the bits that were shown at E3 looked promising enough, and Nintendo wouldn't let Artoon spoil this one, would it? It turns out that no, Artoon didn't spoil anything. On the other hand, though, it didn't really do anything all that extraordinary, either. Yoshi's Island DS feels less like a true sequel and more like an expansion pack with a few new features. I'm guessing that's why Nintendo made the last-minute name change from Yoshi's Island 2 to the current title.


This sequel's setup is practically identical to the original game. Baby Luigi has been kidnapped by the evil Koopa wizard Kamek. In order to save the tyke, an army of multicolored Yoshis must haul Baby Mario across the game's titular island, maneuvering through varied landscapes and fighting all sorts of vicious (but surprisingly adorable) enemies. Much to my relief, the game retains the colorful, hand-drawn look of the first game. Had Nintendo and Artoon decided to go the polygonal route (a la New Super Mario Bros.), just about all of the game's charm would have been lost.

Once again, the bulk of the gameplay is based around Yoshi's ability to create eggs by eating bad guys and then toss them with precise aim. This unique mechanic really set the original apart from other platformers and the outstanding level design complemented the move perfectly. The technique is just as fun as it's ever been, and the new stages have clearly been built around it. Jim Henson's Nintendo Babies

The stages have also been built around Yoshi's Island DS's big new addition: more babies. In addition to Baby Mario, the Yoshis will also find infant versions of Princess Peach, Donkey Kong, Wario and Bowser. Not content to be merely passengers, each tyke grants Yoshi new powers. Peach uses her parasol to allow Yoshi to float further and to ride on wind currents, DK climbs vines (a cute nod to Donkey Kong Junior) and gives Yoshi a powerful dash attack, Wario carries a magnet that attracts coins and metallic platforms and boxes, and Bowser breathes fire. Just to prove he isn't a slacker, Baby Mario allows Yoshi to dash more quickly than he can with the other babies and there are special "M" blocks that only appear when Mario is around.

Most of the levels are designed to take advantage of the babies' many abilities. "Stork Stops" scattered throughout the levels allow you to swap between the available infants, and you'll often have to revisit levels once you've found all the kids in order to fully explore them. I have to admit, however, that the whole baby-swap thing often felt more like a chore than the fun puzzle element that it's supposed to be. Maybe it's because there only seemed to be Stork Stops positioned where they absolutely needed to be, but it often came across as a forced gimmick. Adding to that feeling is the mostly useless Baby Wario, whose magnet only seemed to work about half the time. The other half of the time, I hardly needed his metal-attracting skills. After all, Yoshi can push metal boxes just as fast as Wario can pull them, and out-of-the-way coins can be collected with a well-aimed egg just as easily as they can with a magnet.


Even though the addition of multiple babies is a bit spotty, revisiting stages was something that I loved about the original Yoshi's Island. Like the last game, these levels are huge and require tons of exploration if you're to finish them with 100%, which means collecting all the flowers and red coins and escaping with 30 stars. The game is also rather challenging, especially near the end. Given the relative ease of Nintendo's recent platform games, it's nice to see one that doesn't pull any punches. Of course, to counter the difficulty, the game is generous with extra lives -- by the time I reached the fourth world, I had well over 100 lives in reserve.

Adding to the challenge are the fantastic boss battles. These guys are usually huge and often take great advantage of the DS's two screens. One that stands out in particular is the mid-world boss of World 2, a giant ghost named Hector the Reflector. Here, the top screen shows the true action, while the bottom screen (functioning as a mirror) shows an upside-down reflection. The problem is, Hector is often invisible in "real life," forcing you to use the inverted image to guide your attacks. With each hit against the ghost, he shatters a portion of the mirror, adding to the challenge. It's an ingenious little boss fight and a great use of the system's features. The Dead Zone

Unfortunately, sometimes the game's difficulty doesn't come from deviously designed stages, but from a rather obnoxious flaw in the overall design. YIDS takes up both of the DS's screens, so something had to be done about the gap in between the two screens. Even though the player can't see it, this area is treated as active game space. What this means is that oftentimes there will be items or enemies hidden "behind" the DS's hinge. It's annoying to miss out on a few coins because you couldn't see them, but it's infuriating to be hit by a hidden enemy that you could have easily dodged or ingested if only you could see it! This problem becomes even more pronounced in the game's vertical scrolling stages. To compensate for this "dead zone," the player is able to freely shift the screen up and down, but the method for doing it isn't very intuitive (hold down the X button and press up or down on the D-pad) and it really disrupts the flow of the game. Personally, I wouldn't have minded if the game had remained single-screen. It worked for New Super Mario Bros. and Super Princess Peach, after all.


Another problem with the game stems from its controls, which simply aren't as tight as the original's. Specifically, Yoshi's ability to quickly turn around and eat an enemy or throw an egg is busted. In Yoshi's Island, you could be running, turn around, and immediately perform one of those actions as long as you timed your button presses a fraction of a second off. In YIDS, however, that fraction of a second has been extended an extra beat. What this means is that for those of you used to the first game, you'll probably end up launching more than a few eggs in the wrong direction when you're trying to shoot while on the move. This isn't necessarily a huge deal when you're just trying to shoot at an out-of-reach flower, but when there's a bad guy on your tail, that extra fraction of a second is the difference between salvation and a screaming baby. Yeah, I know that this complaint sounds like it might be minor, but it became a major annoyance right quick.

Despite these few problems, Yoshi's Island DS is still a solid platformer. It's just that compared to the original, it's nowhere near as polished. I suppose I feel kind of bad for Artoon here. There's simply no way that the company could have created anything that approached the sheer perfection (yeah, you heard me -- perfection) of Nintendo's classic. With that in mind, you'll want to pick this one up. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

©2006, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved