Yoshi's New Island | |
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Developer(s) | Arzest |
Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
Director(s) | Masahide Kobayashi |
Producer(s) | |
Programmer(s) | Yuki Hatakeyama |
Artist(s) | Masamichi Harada |
Composer(s) | Masayoshi Ishi |
Series | Yoshi |
Platform(s) | Nintendo 3DS |
Release |
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Genre(s) | Platform |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
- Yoshi's Island Bowser's Fort
- Yoshi's New Island Bowser Music
- Yoshi S Island Bowser Music
- Yoshi's Island Faq
Yoshi's New Island[a] is a 2014 platform game developed by Arzest and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DShandheld game console. First released in Europe and North America on March 2014, Yoshi's New Island is the successor to the 1995 game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and the 2006 game Yoshi's Island DS, but chronologically takes place between them.
The gameplay focuses on controlling Yoshi characters who must escort Baby Mario through a series of levels. Like similar Yoshi games, the game features a hand-drawn art style, with level designs and backgrounds stylized as oil paintings, watercolors, and crayon drawings.[1]
In the Yoshi's Island series, his older self actually kidnaps him, causing Baby Bowser to become adult Bowser's enemy. And in Yoshi's New Island, the adult Bowser shows up out of nowhere to fight Yoshi after Baby Bowser’s defeat- though why he does so remains completely unknown. Yoshi's Island is a Spin-Off series of the Super Mario Bros. The games all star Mario's faithful dinosaur steed Yoshi, who originally debuted in Super Mario World. An interesting aspect of the series is that most of the games in the.
Gameplay[edit]
The gameplay is similar to other Yoshi's Island games, involving Yoshi needing to reach the goal at the end of each stage while protecting Baby Mario from enemies by throwing eggs as a weapon, and sometimes transforming into a vehicle. There are six vehicle forms in the game: Hot Air Balloon, Helicopter, Jackhammer, Mine Cart, Bobsled, and Submarine. They are controlled using the console's gyroscope. A new feature to this game are Mega Eggdozers, larger than usual Yoshi eggs, which are able to hit and destroy some obstacles in the way, as well as Metal Eggdozers, which are slightly smaller and roll across terrain. Yoshi obtains these by eating Giant and Metal Shy Guys, respectively. Underwater stages, where Yoshi must walk on the seafloor, are another new addition. If the player is having difficulty completing a stage, Yoshi can obtain Flutter Wings, which allow for indefinite hovering, and Golden Flutter Wings, which give Yoshi invincibility as well.
Plot[edit]
Yoshi's New Island takes place immediately following the events of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, where a stork delivers twins Baby Mario and Baby Luigi to a couple in the Mushroom Kingdom assumed to be their parents. The opening of Yoshi's New Island reveals that the stork had delivered the babies to the wrong couple. The stork reclaims the babies and sets off to locate their real parents, but is ambushed by Kamek in mid-flight. Kamek captures the stork and Baby Luigi, but Baby Mario falls and reunites with the Yoshi clan on Egg Island, a floating island that was conquered by Baby Bowser. Baby Mario can telepathically sense Baby Luigi's location; the Yoshi clan agrees to escort Baby Mario across the island and rescue Baby Luigi. Once Baby Mario and Yoshi make it to Baby Bowser's castle, Baby Bowser wakes up and jumps on Kamek who attempted to get Baby Mario and Yoshi out. When Baby Bowser tries to ride Yoshi, Baby Bowser is defeated. Kamek uses a Giant Magical Hammer to make Baby Bowser gigantic. After defeating Giant Baby Bowser, Yoshi proceeds to rescue the captured stork and save Baby Luigi only to be met by Adult Bowser, who appeared after warping through space and time. After Yoshi defeats Adult Bowser, Kamek once again uses a Giant Magical Hammer to make adult Bowser gigantic. After defeating Adult Bowser, Yoshi once again comes to the stork and Baby Luigi, and the stork delivers Baby Mario and Luigi back to their true home. The moving helping warp pipe, who helped Yoshi throughout the journey, is seen at the end is revealed to be adult Mario who also travelled back through time and space to help Yoshi to succeed and returns to his own timeline.
Development and release[edit]
Yoshi's New Island was developed by Arzest, which consists of key members involved in the development of its predecessor Yoshi's Island DS.[2] Masahide Kobayashi directed the game, and Takashi Tezuka was producer.[2][3]
The game was announced in a Nintendo Direct presentation in April 2013.[4] Its official name was revealed at E3 2013; a trailer of the game was also featured.[5]Yoshi's New Island was released in both North America and Europe on March 14, 2014,[6][7] and in Australia on March 21.[8] It was released in Japan on July 24, 2014.[9]
Reception[edit]
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Yoshi's New Island has received mixed reviews, with its familiarity to Yoshi's Island being met with both praise and criticism. Among the most positive reviews came from Joystiq, giving it 4 out of 5 stars, and IGN, giving it a 7.9 out of 10. Giant Bomb's Patrick Klepeck was more mixed and rated it 3 out of 5 stars, stating 'at its core, Yoshi's New Island is not a bad game. This is an acceptable, middle-of-the-road platformer, and one that I had an OK time with. But it's not particularly memorable until it's ready to say goodbye, and you're given a fleeting, tantalizing glimpse into the game that might have been.'[20]
Conversely, Eurogamer's Chris Schilling was more critical. Rating it 4 out 10, Schilling criticized the game's visuals, soundtrack and pacing as well as Arzest themselves, stating that 'It's startling that a game so outwardly similar to the Super Nintendo original can be so very inferior.'[14]GameSpot's Tom Mc Shea, who rated it 5 out of 10, echoed similar sentiments when discussing how Yoshi's New Island's similarities with Yoshi's Island were more of a hindrance than a boon. Mc Shea further elaborated that while Yoshi's Island DS 'had its own problems, it also had an identity' by citing that game's variety of babies and the unique abilities they possessed before concluding that Yoshi's New Island 'has no such identity.'[16] Many reviewers have criticized the game's soundtrack for the use of the kazoo as a primary instrument.[14][17][21]
Despite receiving middling reviews from critics, the game was added to the Nintendo Selects label on October 16, 2015 in Europe, and March 11, 2016 in North America.[22]
The game debuted at number two in the Japanese sales charts, with 58,285 copies sold.[23] By October 2014, it had sold 197,108 copies in Japan.[24]
Notes[edit]
- ^Known in Japan as Yoshi New Island (Japanese: ヨッシー New アイランド, Hepburn: Yosshī Nyū Airando)
References[edit]
- ^'Arzest Developing Yoshi's New Island - News'. Nintendo World Report. 2013-06-11. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
- ^ ab'E3 2013: Discovering Yoshi's Island (Again)'. IGN. 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on March 13, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^Robinson, Martin (2013-04-17). 'New Yoshi's Island announced for 3DS • News • 3DS •'. Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
- ^Ishaan. 'Yoshi's Island For 3DS Gets A New Name And A New Trailer'. Siliconera. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
- ^''Yoshi's New Island' Set for March 14 in North America and Europe'. Crunchyroll. January 10, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
- ^'VIDEO: 'Yoshi's New Island' Transforms in Latest Trailer'. Crunchyroll. January 25, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
- ^Whitehead, Thomas (2014-01-23). 'Yoshi's New Island Hatches in Europe on 14th March'. Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
- ^'ヨッシー New アイランド'. Nintendo. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^'Yoshi's New Island for 3DS'. GameRankings. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^'Yoshi's New Island Critic Reviews for 3DS'. Metacritic. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^Carter, Chris (March 13, 2014). 'Review: Yoshi's New Island'. Destructoid. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^'Yoshi's New Island review'. March 13, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^ abcSchilling, Chris (March 13, 2014). 'Yoshi's New Island review'. Eurogamer. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^Ryckert, Dan (March 13, 2014). 'Yoshi's New Island review'. Game Informer. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^ abMc Shea, Tom (March 14, 2014). 'Yoshi's New Island Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^ abOtero, Jose (March 13, 2014). 'Yoshi's New Island Review'. IGN. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^'Yoshi's New Island review'. Nintendo World Report. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
- ^'Yoshi's New Island for Nintendo 3DS review'. Nintendo Life. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
- ^Klepeck, Patrick (March 13, 2014). 'Yoshi's New Island Review'. Giant Bomb. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- ^Orland, Kyle (13 March 2014). 'Review: Yoshi's New Island is a solid new Yoshi's Island'. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ^'Nintendo of America Officially Announces New Nintendo Select Titles'. February 29, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
- ^Ishaan (July 30, 2014). 'This Week In Sales: Yoshi's New Island Arrives In Time For A Corpse Party'. Siliconera. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
- ^Ishaan (October 22, 2014). 'This Week In Sales: Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Week 2'. Siliconera. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
External links[edit]
- Yoshi's New Island at Nintendo.com
- Official Site for North America(in English)
- Official Site for Europe(in English)
- Official Site for Australia(in English)
- Official Site for Japan(in Japanese)
Yoshi's Island DS | |
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Developer(s) | Artoon |
Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
Director(s) | Hidetoshi Takeshita |
Producer(s) | Toyokazu Nonaka |
Artist(s) | Yasuhisa Nakagawa |
Writer(s) | Soshi Kawasaki |
Composer(s) | Yutaka Minobe Masayoshi Ishi |
Series | Yoshi |
Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
Release |
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Genre(s) | Platforming |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Yoshi's Island DS, later released in Japan as Yoshi Island DS (ヨッシー アイランド DS, Yosshī Airando Dī Esu), is a platformingvideo game developed by Artoon for the Nintendo DS. Published by Nintendo, it was released in North America and Australasia in November 2006, in Europe in December 2006, and in Japan in March 2007.[1] It is the sequel to the 1995 SNES game, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Announced at Nintendo's E3 press conference in May 2006,[2] the game was well received by critics, scoring an average of 81% on Metacritic's aggregate.[3] The game was originally to be titled Yoshi's Island 2, though its name was changed one month before its North American release. On April 1, 2015, the game was made available for the Wii U via the Virtual Console service shortly after a Nintendo Direct presentation.[4]
The game's story focuses on the Yoshi clan as they attempt to rescue newborn children who have been kidnapped by Kamek.[5]Yoshi's Island DS uses the same updated graphical style as Yoshi Touch & Go but retains the same core gameplay as its Super Nintendo Entertainment System predecessor;[2] but whereas the SNES game featured only Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, DS introduces Baby Peach, Baby Donkey Kong, and Baby Wario, while allowing the player to control Baby Bowser. Each baby bestows a different ability upon Yoshi.[5] The objective of the game is to use these abilities to progress through various themed worlds. An interquel, Yoshi's New Island, was released for the Nintendo 3DS in March 2014.
Gameplay[edit]
Yoshi's Island Bowser's Fort
Yoshi's Island DS's gameplay is the same as the previous game, with some additions. Just like in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island the player guides various colored Yoshis through side scrolling stages.[6] Yoshi can jump and hover (flutter jump) for a short time, eat enemies and turn them into eggs (which can be used for things like hitting switches and defeating distant enemies) and pound the ground (to smash crates, for example).[5] Some stages offer Yoshi the ability to morph into vehicles for a short time.[6] Like the original Yoshi's Island, the DS game differs from many platforming series in that Yoshi does not have a life bar; when Yoshi is hit, the baby he is carrying falls off his back and Yoshi must retrieve him or her before a timer expires (unless Yoshi falls on something that torments him instantly, such as a lava pit or a spike field).[5]
What makes Yoshi's Island DS different is the addition of five babies for Yoshi to carry, each bestowing a different ability — Baby Mario allows Yoshi to dash and makes special 'M' blocks appear, and can grab Super Stars to become Super Baby Mario, and grants ricocheting eggs; Baby Peach allows Yoshi to float and fly on wind currents and grants a more forgiving timing to use Yoshi's flutter jumping abilities effectively; Baby Donkey Kong can grab and swing on vines and ropes, grants a special dash attack, allows Yoshi's eggs to explode as per Yoshi's Story (but they do so on impact) and allows Yoshi to push objects faster; Baby Wario uses his magnet to attract metal objects and allows Yoshi's eggs to bounce; and Baby Bowser spits fireballs, but the Yoshi carrying him cannot make eggs, though the eggs Yoshi already carries can bounce. The last three babies slow down Yoshi's movement and make the timing for his flutter jumping less forgiving.[5][7] The need to switch babies at key points adds a puzzle element to the game.[7]
The Nintendo DS's two screens act as one tall screen;[6] however, in practice, this essentially just gives the player a better view of the surroundings and, save for one boss battle, (Hector the Reflector, where the bottom screen acts as a mirror through which to see Hector during the battle) only provides the benefit of being able to see more (above) and, when the player is on the top screen, below.[5] The game does not make use of the bottom screen's touch sensitivity for basic gameplay, though it is an option for selecting levels and in some mini-games.[5] Each of DS's five worlds has two bosses, each with a weakness that must be identified and exploited. Most of the time, these are simply giant-sized versions of normal enemies, though some are more inventive.[7]
Flowers and coins, as well as stars, are scattered around the game's stages. These are totaled at the end of each stage and a score is given depending how many of each were collected[5] (a maximum of 30 stars, 20 red coins and 5 flowers). Sufficiently high scores are required to unlock one of the two sets of secret levels[5] (the other set being unlocked upon completing the game, similar to the GBA remake of the original game). Special character coins are also introduced. Missing from the game are the power-ups of sorts — like the ability to spit seeds by eating watermelons — which were present in the original.[7] The fire breathing ability is retained though: Yoshi can use it when he snags a torch or fireball with his tongue. This allows him to shoot streams of fire up to three times. Keys found in the stages unlock mini-games and doors that would be closed otherwise.[5][6]
Plot[edit]
As in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Baby Mario and the Yoshi clan must rescue Baby Luigi, who was snatched by Bowser's minion, Kamek, who also wants to kidnap every baby around the world. However, this time the Yoshis have the combined assistance of both Baby Peach and Baby Donkey Kong, as well as the stork, who escaped Kamek's botched capture. They later join with Baby Wario and Baby Bowser, who offer their specialized abilities so that the group may proceed.[5] However, Baby Wario's lust for treasure leads him to abandon the group, while Baby Bowser is captured by Kamek (who is actually the future Kamek that appears throughout the forts and castles), and later kicked out by the Adult Bowser, who came from the future, because of his baby counterpart insulting him. Baby Bowser then joins the group until he notices Kamek is after him, leaving Yoshi and the other babies to continue their journey.
Much later in the game, Kamek's sinister plan for kidnapping the babies around the world is revealed. He and Bowser traveled back in time in search of the 'star children' - seven babies whose hearts possess unimaginable power necessary for him to conquer the universe. Despite kidnapping all of the babies, they could not find a single star child. Yoshi's group later arrives at Bowser's castle and find Baby Wario and Baby Bowser, arguing over the treasure from Bowser's castle. They later join the group and as they arrive at the final room, Baby Bowser betrays them, claiming that Yoshi and the other babies wanted Bowser's treasure in his castle. Yoshi easily defeats him and Kamek arrives, along with Bowser, angered at what Yoshi did to his infant self.
Despite this, the babies and Yoshis prevail in both defeating Bowser, and forcing Kamek and Bowser to retreat to their present time. Yoshi and the babies then retrieve Baby Luigi and the other babies. Bowser's castle then self-destructs, but Yoshi and the other babies (with the help of the other storks carrying all of the babies) escape unharmed. The storks continue to bring all the babies back to their respective homes.
In a post-credits scene, six of the star children are revealed to be Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Peach, Baby Donkey Kong, Baby Wario and Baby Bowser. Immediately thereafter, the seventh and final star child is revealed to be a newly hatched Baby Yoshi, who is also strongly implied to be the very same Yoshi that the grown up Mario Bros. would go on to rescue and ally with in Super Mario World and subsequent Mario games.
Development[edit]
Yoshi's Island DS was announced at E3 2006 under the name Yoshi's Island 2,[2] originally featuring only baby versions of Mario, Peach, Donkey Kong and Wario.[2] The developer, Artoon, has made one other Yoshi game — Yoshi's Universal Gravitation — for the Game Boy Advance. Universal Gravitation veered away from the 'Nintendo' design; but for DS, Artoon stuck close to the original concept.[7]
The game retains the classic pastel/crayon visuals from its predecessor.[6] Small changes are noticeable: water animation has been improved, the black outlines around objects are not as thick, and the backgrounds are less cluttered.[5] However, the visuals are still tightly centered on those of its predecessor.[7]
Reception[edit]
Yoshi's New Island Bowser Music
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Yoshi S Island Bowser Music
Yoshi's Island DS received positive reviews, being given high scores by some of the most prominent video game critics. These include gaming websites IGN and GameSpot, who gave it 8/10 and 9.1/10 respectively.[5][7] GameSpot's review commented that the developers have 'produced a sequel that seems fresh and new while remaining every bit as awesome as the original.'[5] Multimedia website IGN called it 'a solid recreation of the Yoshi's Island elements in a two-screen-high format,'[7] and GamePro in their review said that 'it's fun and light-hearted play.'[6] Reviewers were particularly pleased with how the core gameplay elements are the same as in the previous game. GamePro hails it as having 'the classical 2D side-scrolling action and colorful pastel artwork that brought Nintendo to prominence,'[6] while IGN — although impressed with the game in general — wonders whether or not the developers 'stuck too close to the established design in this new game,' because having played the previous game 'ruins a lot of the surprises.'[7] Other critics regard this as the best portable Yoshi's game, with the exception of the Super Mario Advance remake of the original Yoshi's Island because, in their context, '(Yoshi) Topsy-Turvy was not there and (Yoshi) Touch & Go was incomplete.'
One problem critics identified is the blind spot created by the gap between the Nintendo DS's two screens. IGN accepts that this blind spot is necessary for aiming eggs properly but still describe it as 'bothersome.'[7]GameSpy's reviewer calls it 'a pain' and expresses frustration at being hit by an enemy hiding in this gap.[10] On the whole, reviewers were pleased with the way the extra babies have been implemented,[5] but IGN felt that Baby Wario was 'a last minute addition that wasn't tested properly.'[7] They call his magnet 'wonky,' and says it 'misses items that are right next to him.'[7]
Yoshi's Island DS was given GameSpot's 'Editor's Choice' rating,[5] and reached the final round for 'Best Nintendo DS game.'[13] The game sold more than 300,000 copies in its first week of release in Japan.[14] As of March 31, 2008, Yoshi's Island DS has sold 2.91 million copies worldwide.[15]
References[edit]
- ^'Yoshi's Island DS'. GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
- ^ abcdHarris, Craig (2006-05-09). 'Return to Yoshi's Island'. IGN. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
- ^ ab'Yoshi's Island DS Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
- ^'Nintendo - Yoshi's Island DS'. 2015-04-01. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
- ^ abcdefghijklmnopqProvo, Frank (2006-11-14). 'Yoshi's Island DS Review'. GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 7, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
- ^ abcdefgh'Review: Yoshi's Island DS'. GamePro. 2006-11-14. Archived from the original on 2007-02-24. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
- ^ abcdefghijklmHarris, Craig (2006-11-13). 'Yoshi's Island DS Review'. IGN. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
- ^'Yoshi's Island DS'. GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
- ^McNamara, Andy (December 1, 2006). 'Baby's Got Back'. Game Informer. GameStop Corporation. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008.
- ^ abTheoBald, Phil (2006-11-14). 'Yoshi's Island DS Review'. GameSpy. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
- ^East, Tom (January 9, 2008). 'More of the Same, but We're Not Complaining'. Official Nintendo Magazine. Future Publishing. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
- ^'Yoshi's Island DS review'. Nintendo World Report. Retrieved November 26, 2006.
- ^'Best Nintendo DS game'. GameSpot. 2006. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-10.
- ^'Charts: Latest Japanese Software & Hardware Sales'. N-Europe. 2007-03-19. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
- ^'Financial Results Briefing for the Fiscal Year Ended March 2008: Supplementary Information'(PDF). Nintendo. 2008-04-25. p. 6. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
External links[edit]
Yoshi's Island Faq
- Official website(in Japanese)
- Yoshi's Island DS at IGN