Nothing new on this island
by Jake Doolin
The Yoshi Island franchise has always been a series positioned between two
types of gamers. On the one hand the cutesy graphics and sugary sweet score
tend to give the appearance of a children’s game, while the gameplay and design
skew towards a more hardcore audience.
And yet the games manage to ride that line well, with innovative design choices and gameplay mixed along a kiddy ascetic. But with Yoshi’s New Island, the signs are showing that perhaps its time for the series to pick a lane.
Taking place after the events of the first Yoshi’s Island game, once again the player controls Yoshi, along with his multicolored friends, as they attempt to rescue baby Luigi from the evil Kamek and Baby Bowser.
While light on actual plot, the game finds a good amount of humor out of it’s supporting players, especially Kamek, who’s boss battle monologues become instantly quote worthy. The most frustrating part of the narrative is the lack of resolution in one of the more interesting elements of the story.
Throughout the game the identity of Mario and Luigi’s parents is kept from the
player through camera angles and shadow effects. While a cute idea, it becomes
infuriating when nothing comes of the games incessant teasing of their
identities.
The core platforming mechanics still work and are actually an improvement over the last game, Yoshi’s Island DS. Here Yoshi is more firmly planted, with minimal delay in his jumps, making platforming smooth and intuitive.
Unlike that last game though, the interesting mechanic of different babies having different abilities that Yoshi could use during gameplay is gone. Instead we are given one, Baby Mario, who has no real impact on the actual game. This is the first Yoshi’s Island game where the baby seems absolutely useless, and made me question including it at all.
The biggest offender to gameplay though is the inclusion of segments within
levels where Yoshi transforms into some kind of vehicle (car, air balloon, and sled).
While not bad in context, these segments only last about 1 to 2 minutes and
have no real impact on your traversing of the level. It’s a shame because if
these segments were a little more thought out, I could see them being a major
plus in the game; instead they are minor distractions at best.
Graphically the game sets itself apart from its predecessors by going for a coloring book style instead of the standard design. Characters and backgrounds look great, with each world having its own unique look and feel. While some do go into familiar territory (fire world, ice world) the game adds elements to make them feel fresh. It must also be said that Yoshi’s New Island looks great in 3D, making full use of the technology. The 3D adds a nice depth to the visuals and surprisingly, I didn’t experience any headaches, a staple of many 3D games.
By far the biggest complaint I have against the game is its music. Where most
Nintendo games are defined by its signature scores, Yoshi’s New Island is a
game best played on mute. Composer, Masayoshi Ishi, decision to use
children’s toys such as raddles and blocks as the main instruments in his score
makes sense conceptually, but in execution the music created sounds disjointed
and completely off putting.
Decisions to use children’s instruments in the score, and other minor issues
plague Yoshi’s New Island. The game has all the components of a great entry in
the series, but cannot find a way to make all of its pieces fit. While I
did enjoy my nine hours in the colorful world, what I am left with is game full
of unused potential.
+Unique Visual Style
+Gameplay Great As Ever
+Humorous Side Characters
-Little to no innovation gameplay
wise.
-Music is some of the series worst
-Experimentation to short to have
impact
7/10
