Yoshi's Island DS
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| Yoshi's Island DS | |
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| Developer(s) | Artoon |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Release date(s) |  November 13, 2006 November 23, 2006 December 1, 2006 March 8, 2007 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (E) PEGI: 3+ |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Media | 32 MB DS Card |
Yoshi's Island DS is a platforming video game developed by Artoon for the Nintendo DS. Published by Nintendo, it was released in North America and Australasia in November 2006,[1] and was released in Europe in December 2006. Announced at Nintendo's E3 press conference in May 2006,[2] the game was well received by critics, scoring an average of 83% on Metacritic's aggregate.[3] DS is a direct sequel to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.[4]
The game's story focuses on the Yoshi clan as they attempt to rescue newborn children that have been kidnapped by Kamek.[5] Yoshi's Island DS uses the updated graphical style from Yoshi Touch & Go but retains the same core gameplay as its Super NES prequel,[2] but whereas the Super NES game featured only Baby Mario, DS introduces Baby Peach, Baby DK, Baby Wario and Baby Bowser, who each give Yoshi a different ability.[5] The aim of the game is to use these abilities to progress through various themed worlds.
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[edit] Story
As in Yoshi's Island, Baby Mario and the Yoshi clan must recapture the endangered Baby Luigi, who was snatched by Bowser's minion; Kamek. However, this time the Yoshi's have the combined assistance of both Baby Peach and Baby DK -- who also escaped the botched capture of the Magikoopa. During their adventure, theye also become acquainted with Baby Wario and Baby Bowser, who both join, offering their specialised abilities so that the group may proceed.[5] Unsurprisingly, Baby Wario's insatiable lust for treasure leads him to abandon his duties whilst Baby Bowser betrays the group upon arrival of Bowser's castle. Despite this, the babies and Yoshis prevail; in both defeating Bowser and retrieving Baby Luigi.
[edit] Gameplay
Yoshi's Island DS's gameplay is fundamentally the same as the previous game. The player guides various different coloured Yoshis through side scrolling stages[6] in "get from A to B" fashion. To this end, Yoshi is able to jump and hover 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 say, smash crates).[5] Some stages offer Yoshi the ability to morph into vehicles for a short time.[6] DS, like the original Yoshi's Island, differs from many platforming games 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/her before a timer runs out.[5]
DS differs from the previous game in that five babies are available for Yoshi to carry, each bestowing a different ability. Baby Mario allows Yoshi to dash and makes special 'M' blocks appear, Baby Peach allows Yoshi to float and fly on wind currents, Baby DK can grab and swing on vines and ropes, Baby Wario uses his magnet to attract metal objects and Baby Bowser spits fireballs.[7][5] 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, nothing special is done with the dual screen feature.[5] The game does not make use of the bottom screen's touch sensitivity.[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 about the game's stages. These are totalled 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). Perfect scores are required to unlock one of the two sets of secret levels[5] (the other set being unlocked upon completing the 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]
Keys scattered throughout the stages unlock minigames which are playable both mid-level and from the main menu.[6][5]
[edit] Visuals, audio and development
DS was announced at E3 2006 under the name Yoshi's Island 2,[2] originally featuring only baby versions of Mario, Peach, and DK.[2] The developer, Artoon, have made one other Yoshi game: Yoshi Topsy-Turvy for the GBA. Topsy-Turvy 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 is better, the black outlines around objects aren't as thick and the backgrounds are less cluttered[5] - but the visuals are still "tightly centered" on those of the Super NES game.[7] The music in DS, as is the case in Yoshi's Story, centers around the same basic melody.
[edit] Reception and Sales
Yoshi's Island DS's reception was positive, being given high scores by some of the most prominent gaming critics. These include gaming websites IGN and GameSpot, who gave it 8/10 and 9.1/10 respectively.[7][5] 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".[8] The game sold more than 300,000 copies in its first week of release in Japan. [9]
[edit] Voices
- Yoshi: Kazumi Totaka
- Baby Mario, Baby Wario and Baby Luigi: Charles Martinet
- Baby Peach: Nicole Mills
- Baby Donkey Kong: Takashi Nagasako
- Baby Bowser: Dolores Rogers
[edit] References
- ^ IGN site staff (2006). Game Details for Yoshi's Island DS. IGN. Retrieved on November 25, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Harris, Craig (2006). Return to Yoshi's Island. IGN. Retrieved on November 25, 2007.
- ^ Metacritic site staff. Yoshi's Island DS Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on November 25, 2007.
- ^ Nintendodojo site staff (2006). Yoshi's Island DS. Nintendojo. Retrieved on November 25, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Provo, Frank (2006). Yoshi's Island DS Review. GameSpot. Retrieved on November 25, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Review: Yoshi's Island DS. GamePro (2006). Retrieved on November 25, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Yoshi's Island DS Review. IGN (2006). Retrieved on November 25, 2007.
- ^ Gamespot staff (2006). Best Nintendo DS game. GameSpot. Retrieved on January 10, 2007.
- ^ N-Europe site staff (2007). Charts: Latest Japanese Software & Hardware Sales. N-Europe. Retrieved on March 19, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Official Yoshi's Island DS Site
- Yoshi's Island DS at GameSpot
- Yoshi's Island DS at IGN
- Yoshi's Island DS at GameFAQs
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Video games featuring Yoshi
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Yoshi's Island • Yoshi's Story • Yoshi's Island DS |
