Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island contains a frustrating jump. It allows you to levitate, and it allows you to gain just a little more height than you initially got. But if you’re not intimately familiar with this jump, it’s the difference between making it to the platform you wanted to hit, or falling into an enemy trap. That’s not to say this is a bad game. This is among the best platformers ever made. But I can understand why Yoshi’s Island didn’t gain the immense popularity of the game it followed, Super Mario World, because that game has a very simple jump, and you can breeze right through the levels. But if you can put up with a tiny bit of frustration, you’ll find Yoshi’s Island has sublime graphics, divine music, and some of the best level design in a 2D platformer ever. It definitely achieves cult-classic status, but did not have quite the mass appeal that big N probably hoped for in 1995, selling just 4 million copies–low figures for a Nintendo game.
Yoshi can eat enemies, which should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Yoshi games. Those enemies then turn into eggs, which Yoshi can throw as an attack. But the attack is a little fuzzy, with an aiming reticle that’s gradually shifting between straight up and straight ahead. It’s the dynamic of dodging enemies, jumping properly, and throwing eggs the right way that make up the trifecta of gameplay. Switch up the type of enemies you face, the level design (and beautiful graphics that are different in each level), and throw in a handful of collectibles, and you have a terrific recipe for platforming. Even indie devs don’t reach this level of polish. It’s never that difficult, and that’s one of my biggest criticisms. Unless you’re trying to 100% the game and see all the secrets, anyone can finish Yoshi’s Island. The boss battles are especially easy. But if a lack of challenge makes you lose interest, the perfect graphics and great music keep you coming back for more.
Yes, the graphics are some of the best you’ll see on the SNES. Apparently, an early version of the game was demo’ed to the marketing department, who said the graphics “lack[ed] punch,” especially compared to the recent Donkey Kong Country. So the team switched to a hand-drawn cartoon-look that was actually drawn on paper first, then lovingly made digital, pixel by pixel. The game uses the Super FX2 chip to push its cute look and runs at 60 fps. The music is terrific and memorable too, although one complaint is there’s not enough of it. You will be intimately familiar with each track by the game’s conclusion. The audiovisual experience is basically the best there ever was on SNES, maybe with the exception of the DKC series, or a with isometric graphics in Super Mario RPG.
I have a handful of complaints about the game. One is that the bosses are too darn easy. This might actually be to the game’s strengths though, because you could probably get the physical cartridge of this game, and plug it into a working SNES, and finish the whole thing due to it’s easy nature, without resorting to emulation save scumming, or a handy rewind feature (which I would like to note, was mostly broken during my playthrough). Also, it is really frustrating when Yoshi takes a hit, and Baby Mario ends up in a bubble, floating in the air, because it’s super difficult to grab him within the time limit. He always seems to be just out of reach, and if Yoshi takes another hit, it’s even harder to get Mario back in the ten seconds (or more, depending on collectibles) you have. The game is good at making you just frustrated enough to keep playing, but not too frustrated to throw the controller in rage. Again, even when the game isn’t great, it redeems itself. Restarting a level, or at a checkpoint, never felt like a chore.
Yoshi’s Island isn’t just the best 2D platformer for SNES. It’s one of the best 2D platformers ever made. Still, it isn’t perfect. Easy bosses and frustrating mechanics keep it from being the all-time best. It’s an easy five stars from me, but if I had to pick one 2D platformer as the greatest, it would be Sonic 3 & Knuckles, although maybe that’s unfair, because it’s two games. Just try it, and don’t be surprised if you can’t put it down until the very end. It’s so refreshing to have a Mario game where you’re not saving the princess, or rehashing the controls from 1985. Maybe we need a Kirby / Mario crossover, or a Mario Metroid crossover to keep the Mario series this fresh. The Yoshi games have taken on life without Mario. Though Yoshi’s Story, the direct sequel, was trash, I do want to try newer titles like Yoshi’s Wooly World. Meantime, though, this is the best platforming the big N ever did up to 1995, and a top five 2D platformer of all time. Just try it, you’ll see.
5/5
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