Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island on the SNES started the "Yoshi" series as its own separate thing. Since then, I've played every single sequel, and found them all disappointing. Until this one.
Simply put, this game improves everything, while choosing an adorable and creative aesthetic to go with it.
Everything is made of either yarn, or other crafts. Water is blue yarn threads. Lava is red/orange/yellow scarves. Clouds are cotton. Everything is simply a joy to look at. Sometimes the visuals result in things that make no realistic sense, such as objects passing through lava scarves.
The gameplay is basically the exact same core mechanics the series has had since the first game, with pretty much just minor tweaks. But here the game is improved is in both amazing and diverse level design, and subtle tweaks that collectively add up.
In the previous games, unlocking new levels was done through collecting all of particular items within a level, and then completing the level, and also not having taken damage (or too much of it, if you can recover). If you make one mistake, that necessitates redoing the entire level if you're aiming for those collectibles!
Here, collectibles are wisely divided by item type. Want new levels? Collect all 5 flowers. Want new Yoshis to play as? Collect all 5 yarn spools. In an excellent tweak that really cuts down on frustration, the specific items you collected are saved, and you can revisit the level to collect only the particular ones you missed, to get credit for collecting them all. No more "Crap, I missed the 3rd flower! Restart!" Instead, you can come back later and get it.
There's also optional difficulty tweaks if you please. Switching to "mellow mode" gives you wings and lets you hover in the air infinitely - however, getting good vertical height in the first place is still a challenge, so it doesn't make it too much easier. Coins are gone (along with lives - they're now infinite), replaced with beads that can be traded in for "badges", which give you temporary abilities per level such as infinite watermelons, or bouncing off of bottomless pits.
Having played this game with my nephew when he was both 7 and 8, I really appreciate these difficulty-lowering tweaks, and I know he sure does, since he uses them all the time. Indeed, they actually make the game a bit more fun in their own way.
Yet, if you want real challenge, look for those hidden items! And definitely play those extra levels!
And how can I forget the 2-player? Two players can make the game more fun and a bit chaotic. You can interact with each other by doing things like eating each other and spitting each other out, which helps tremendously in boss fights and to reach things you'd normally need a yarn ball for. Of course, you keep getting in each other's way as well. 2-player neither makes the game overall harder or easier, just different.
Overall, it's the sequel the first game was waiting for.
Incredibly polished and the true successor to the 1995 original
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island on the SNES started the "Yoshi" series as its own separate thing. Since then, I've played every single sequel, and found them all disappointing. Until this one.
Simply put, this game improves everything, while choosing an adorable and creative aesthetic to go with it.
Everything is made of either yarn, or other crafts. Water is blue yarn threads. Lava is red/orange/yellow scarves. Clouds are cotton. Everything is simply a joy to look at. Sometimes the visuals result in things that make no realistic sense, such as objects passing through lava scarves.
The gameplay is basically the exact same core mechanics the series has had since the first game, with pretty much just minor tweaks. But here the game is improved is in both amazing and diverse level design, and subtle tweaks that collectively add up.
In the previous games, unlocking new levels was done through collecting all of particular items within a level, and then completing the level, and also not having taken damage (or too much of it, if you can recover). If you make one mistake, that necessitates redoing the entire level if you're aiming for those collectibles!
Here, collectibles are wisely divided by item type. Want new levels? Collect all 5 flowers. Want new Yoshis to play as? Collect all 5 yarn spools. In an excellent tweak that really cuts down on frustration, the specific items you collected are saved, and you can revisit the level to collect only the particular ones you missed, to get credit for collecting them all. No more "Crap, I missed the 3rd flower! Restart!" Instead, you can come back later and get it.
There's also optional difficulty tweaks if you please. Switching to "mellow mode" gives you wings and lets you hover in the air infinitely - however, getting good vertical height in the first place is still a challenge, so it doesn't make it too much easier. Coins are gone (along with lives - they're now infinite), replaced with beads that can be traded in for "badges", which give you temporary abilities per level such as infinite watermelons, or bouncing off of bottomless pits.
Having played this game with my nephew when he was both 7 and 8, I really appreciate these difficulty-lowering tweaks, and I know he sure does, since he uses them all the time. Indeed, they actually make the game a bit more fun in their own way.
Yet, if you want real challenge, look for those hidden items! And definitely play those extra levels!
And how can I forget the 2-player? Two players can make the game more fun and a bit chaotic. You can interact with each other by doing things like eating each other and spitting each other out, which helps tremendously in boss fights and to reach things you'd normally need a yarn ball for. Of course, you keep getting in each other's way as well. 2-player neither makes the game overall harder or easier, just different.
Overall, it's the sequel the first game was waiting for.