Yoshi's Story

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Yoshi's Story
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Takashi Tezuka
Series	Yoshi
Release date(s)	Nintendo 64 December 21, 1997 March 12, 1998 April 9, 1998 Virtual Console September 17, 2007
Genre(s)	Platformer
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone (E)
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64, Nintendo iQue Virtual Console
Media	128-megabit cartridge
Input	Nintendo 64 controller Classic Controller GCN Controller

Yoshi's Story (ヨッシーストーリー, Yosshī Sutōrī^?) is the Nintendo 64 sequel to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. It was released on December 21, 1997 in Japan, March 12, 1998 in North America and April 9, 1998 in Europe. It was re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in North America on September 17, 2007. It will also be released in Europe, Australia and Japan on the Virtual Console in October when the Hanabi Festival is over.

Originally titled Yoshi's Island 64, (analogous to Super Mario 64), the platformer was developed by the Yoshi's Island team, and directed by Hideki Konno and produced by Takashi Tezuka. This was one of the first EAD developed titles that was not produced by Shigeru Miyamoto. It was renamed Yoshi's Story in August 1997. At the same time, the size of the game was changed to 128 megabits from an initially planned 96.

The game was among the first generation of games to support the Rumble Pak and the first in the Mario series to use it. Like most Yoshi games, it is a 2D platformer. It features digitized 2D graphics of high res 3D models (similar to Donkey Kong Country), which resemble patchworks of fabric and other materials, giving it a unique look. In interviews and previews, this was dubbed 2½-D.

[edit] Gameplay

Yoshi can eat fruit by throwing eggs at fruit trapped inside a bubble. The bubble will explode, and the fruit will drop. Alternatively, Yoshi can continuously bounce into the bubble so it will weaken and eventually burst.

The main aim of each level is for Yoshi to eat 30 pieces of fruit, while avoiding enemies and obstacles. Yoshi's health is portrayed by a flower with petals. Eating fruit gives Yoshi petals, but taking damage makes the flower lose petals. At the beginning of the game, a Lucky Fruit is chosen. The Lucky Fruit, when eaten, gives Yoshi full health. Turning off and restarting the game will prompt a new Lucky Fruit to be chosen. If a Yoshi eats its favourite fruit, it gains 3 points of health (3 petals). Eating melons also adds 3 petals to the flower. Eating a fruit that is neither a Lucky Fruit, favourite fruit or melon will restore only 1 petal. Favourite fruits are as follows: Red / Pink Yoshi: Apple. Blue / Cyan Yoshi: Grapes. Yellow Yoshi: Banana. Green Yoshi: Watermelon. Black / White Yoshi: Any. Also, there is the additional Heart Fruit, which when eaten, will make Yoshi "super happy". This will make Yoshi invincible, and increases the length of his tongue, and if he stomps the ground near Shy Guys, they will turn into Lucky Fruit. Also, in some areas, eating a Heart Fruit reveals hidden coins.

If Yoshi runs out of flower petals, is eaten by a giant fish, or falls down a hole, he will be abducted by Kamek's helpers, which are called Toadies. Unless the player chooses to leave the level and choose another one, however, progress so far in that level is not lost and another Yoshi can be selected to continue.

Throughout the game, Yoshi is aided by Poochy, who in this game can sniff out hidden melons and other such valuable items. The game's most common enemy is the Shy Guy, most of which can be eaten or stomped on. Shy Guys are seen in many different ways, from walking on the ground to on stilts and pogo sticks.

In addition to six basic colors (green, red, pink, yellow, blue, and cyan), two hidden black and white eggs can be found that allow up to eight Yoshis to be chosen from. The black and white Yoshis are wildcards in that they like more fruit varieties than other colors, which means the player can get higher scores. They also like peppers, and every Shy Guy colour is their 'favourite'. There is also a white Shy Guy hidden on many levels. If Yoshi finds it, it follows him around the level, and if he finishes the level with it, it appears on the Select a Yoshi screen, despite not being a Yoshi. If selected, it rescues one of the abducted Yoshis from Baby Bowser's tower. The Yoshis' abilities include eating with its tongue, throwing eggs, jumping and pounding.

The game has a built in "trial mode" where the player can aim to get the highest score. Good scores usually range from 5-7000 points depending on the level. Eating nothing but melons boosts your score considerably. In the story mode, scores are even higher (mainly because of the black and white Yoshis) and a good player can score over 40,000 points.

Another aspect of the game is the 'melon quest'. There are exactly 30 melons in each level, which offers the more difficult goal of eating nothing but melons within the level. Completing a level with nothing but melons not only boosts your score, but a melon will be displayed at level end instead of a heart as would be normal, suggesting that you haven't really finished the level until you complete the 'melon quest' - in this 'mode' of play the game can be more difficult and even unfair, as you have to get perfect runs in some minigames, like the melon race, and if you miss out on one melon you must start the level over.

[edit] Plot

Baby Bowser casts a spell on Yoshi's Island that turns the island into a storybook. The Super Happy Tree, the "elixir of life" for the Yoshis, was also stolen. Luckily for the Yoshis, six eggs survived and hatched. The Baby Yoshis were confused, as the island should have been happy instead of gloomy. They decided that if they were all Super Happy, they would thwart Baby Bowser and save the island and the Super Happy Tree.

The Yoshis travel across six different "pages", or worlds, with four levels each. Players can unlock the levels by collecting hearts in the page before it (Page 1 has all four levels unlocked from the start). Collecting one heart would unlock the second level, two hearts would unlock the third, and all three hearts would unlock the fourth. This makes a branching storyline of sorts.

[edit] Game Boy Advance

A Game Boy Advance tech demo based on the game was created to better show the capabilities of the Game Boy Advance, in a graphical style similar to Yoshi's Story. Although it was rumored that Yoshi's Story was to be re-released as Super Mario Advance 5: Yoshi's Story, it never came to be. However, the game has seen a Game Boy Advance spin-off called Yoshi Topsy-Turvy, which is unrelated in basic gameplay but features similar pre-rendered graphics.

[edit] Reception

While Nintendo brought a Yoshi game early in the Nintendo 64's lifespan, critics were generally displeased with Yoshi's Story. As a spiritual and literal successor to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, the game was considered a "let-down" to long-time fans. Critics cited many omissions, from the removal of smart, complex level designs and graphical details to the complete absence of vehicle morphing. Joe Fielder of GameSpot noted that Yoshi's Story "was obviously designed so that younger players could play through quickly and feel some sense of accomplishment."^[1] Well-known publications and websites, such as GameSpot^[2], awarded the game a "5.3" for "Mediocre", and All Game Guide and Game's Domain both awarded Yoshi's Story a "5.0." The plot of Yoshi's Story further alienated older players.

The storyline and general difficulty did not sit well with critics or fans. The plot of the game involved the theft of the Yoshi's "Happy Tree." The difficulty was generally simple and forgiving. For example, a single playthrough only required an hour of continuous play, and the final boss room was equipped with an endless supply of health power-ups. Through these inclusions and omissions, Yoshi's Story failed to live up to the high expectations set by the game's predecessor. In addition, Yoshi's Story's reception brought the issue of "Nintendo's focus on children" to the forefront due to the cute graphical touches and story. The Virtual Console version received much harsher reviews.

The Virtual Console reviews of Yoshi's Story are considered the most accurate. When GameSpot reviewed the Virtual Console version of the game, it received an even lower score of "4.0"^[3] In addition, GameSpot's Virtual Console review gave Yoshi's Story five negative descriptors: Derivative, Shallow, Short, Stripped, and Too Easy. IGN Editor Lucas M. Thomas wrote a review for the Virtual Console version stating that Yoshi's Story's gameplay is "nonsensical" and "unengaging."^[4] Thomas commented that Yoshi's Story's "system of grocery-hunting was far and away removed from the style of play presented in the SNES Yoshi's Island, and far and away removed from that game's sense of fun."^[4] In addition, the absence of Baby Mario and 50+ levels made the "premise [feel] disconnected. Boring."^[4] In the end, Thomas felt that Yoshi's Story was "not the sequel to Yoshi's Island that it could have been."^[4] This more contemporary review further verifies the negative impact Yoshi's Story had on the market and "Yoshi" franchise.

"Yoshi's Island 2" was the original title of Yoshi's Island DS."

When Nintendo began marketing Yoshi's Island DS, it was obvious that the game was meant to stand apart from its 64-bit predecessor. Nintendo initially titled the game "Yoshi's Island 2," and it was known as such until 2 weeks prior to the game's release, when Nintendo switched to the "DS" title. Aside from Yoshi "sounds" and allowing HAL Laboratories to create themes from the game for their Super Smash Bros. series, Nintendo has ceased directly referencing Yoshi's Story. In addition, it has been confirmed that the latest Smash Bros. game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, will feature a Yoshi's Island themed level in place of a Yoshi's Story-styled stage.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Yoshi's Story at MobyGames
• Game Boy Advance tech demo at IGN - Screenshot and specs
• Yoshi's Story - The Mushroom Kingdom