Show Posts
TalkBack / Yoshi's New Island Impressions
« on: June 11, 2013, 04:08:11 PM »Three level segments, a boss fight, giant eggs, binoculars, and one cute little baby Mario.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressions/34566
Developed by Arzest, Yoshi's New Island is the third entry in the Yoshi's Island series. The demo present on the E3 show floor featured three level segments as well as a boss fight, and is equally filled with promise as it is with skepticism.
The game handles like a Yoshi's Island title in many ways, featuring all of the enemy swallowing (with the Y button) and egg throwing (with the A or shoulder buttons) you would expect. Jumping and flutter-jumping is handled by the B button, and handles with roughly similar physics to previous entries. Furthermore, getting hit still knocks Mario off Yoshi's back as he flies around in a bubble and needs to be retrieved within the time limit or else you get a game over. It's still a collectathon with flowers (now potentially more than 5 per level), red coins, and little stars that increase your Baby Mario timer.
As Yoshi carrying Baby Mario, levels are less about getting from point A to point B and more about exploring levels and collecting items, while inevitably getting to the goal (note: the goal rings in previous entries were not present in the demo, but for all we know they could still be in the game). Two of the levels were set in a field-like stage (think the Nintendo Direct showing in April), while the third stage was set in a cave. The levels felt very much like they belonged in a Yoshi's Island game, with the difficulty balance (rather low) also reflecting this. Lastly, the boss, a large version of the common bat enemy found in previous entries, was a simple affair of turning the surrounding bats into eggs and throwing them at the bat twice.
In addition to the old stuff now, the Yoshi's New Island demo introduced two mechanics. The first is the huge throwable Yoshi egg seen in the original footage of the game. The egg itself breaks through rocks in the area to collect stones and open up pathways. It doesn't change the game excessively, but it sure is a neat addition. You can also swallow enemies like giant shy guys to make giant eggs. The other new "feature" I saw was a pair of bonoculars that you can grab for a brief look at the entire surrounding area, which is very useful for knowing where to throw a giant egg.
Although the game was fun and felt like Yoshi's Island, the physics do feel like they could use a bit of fine tuning. Jumping around feels a bit clunkier than older games, and egg-throwing while stationary takes twice as long as it should.
On a positive note, the game is really pretty, and looks less sterile than older footage may suggest. The game looks really smooth in 3D, with an art-style that combines old Yoshi's Island with that of Yoshi's Story. The 3D also makes the game pop in a small yet quite effective way. The music also sounded pleasant, and Yoshi and Mario's sound effects sound right at home with the franchise.
Because the team has something of a history with Yoshi's Island DS, I am a bit reserved about the final product. That said, what I played definitely felt like a Yoshi's Island game on 3DS, and that is a good thing.
