Yoshi is back! Read Kidzworlds game review of his latest adventure, Yoshis New Island, for the 3DS!
Our favorite little green companion, Yoshi, has graced us with another well rounded appearence in what his now his third outting in the Yoshi Island franchise that started way back on the Super Nintendo. Yoshi's New Island for the Nintendo 3DS is not to be missed by fans of platforming-adventure games.
Yoshi's New Island is ridiculously charming.Courtesy of Nintendo
If you've played the original two games in the Yoshi Island series, things will begin familiar enough. Baby Mario and Luigi are accidentally brought to the wrong parents and in the middle of the confusion, Kamek, kidnaps baby Luigi. Baby Mario is left to fall down to the ground below where he is found by a bunch of Yoshi's.
It's now up to Yoshi to carry baby Mario on his back, find baby Luigi, save the day and eventually get baby Mario and Luigi to their rightful parents. Of course, they'll have to defeat baby Bowser along the way. Story is kept to a minimum as is often the case often with the platforming genre.
The screen grabs don't do it justice. Yoshi's New Island is really pretty.Courtesy of Nintendo
The gorgeous art style from the original games has returned and looks better than ever. Nintendo has really taken advantage of the power of the 3DS to create some jaw dropping 3D layers. The whole game has a hand-drawn aesthetic, often times looking as if colored with pencil crayons. There are only a few levels of the 30+ that are included that don't quite gel visually, but they are few and far between. If you're looking for a new game to show off pretty graphics, Yoshi's New Island is a good one.
Watch out, Yoshi!Courtesy of Nintendo
Okay, so the game looks great, but how does it play? Luckily every bit as solid, fluid and responsive as you'd expect from the publisher behind Super Mario 3D Land . The core gameplay has returned from past games, with a few new mechanics peppered in.
Yoshi's new ability to morph into a few different things, including a submarine and hot-air balloon are interesting but feel less thought out than the rest of the game. You use the 3DS tilt functions to steer your "vehicle" through obstacles and while these segments offer a little extra variety to the gameplay, they are quickly abandoned once introduced. Luckily those segments aren't too frequent.
What's important is level deisgn and the core gameplay, which is as solid as ever.
Yoshi's New Island is available now!Courtesy of Nintendo
Yoshi's New Island is Nintendo doing what Nintendo does best. Creating imaginative, experimental, charming and heart warming adventures. It's not the most challenging of games, in fact I'd actually say Yoshi's New Island is one of the easier adventures Nintendo has made. Especially next to last months really challenging Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. But there is enough challenge to feel rewarded after finishing.
Don't miss Yoshi's New Island for the Nintendo 3DS!
Yoshi's New Island:
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