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Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 Review


Zera
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Greetings, folks. This is my review of Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, a Game Boy Advance game that includes an updated port of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Isand, simply titled Yoshi's Island, as well as Mario Bros Classic, a remake of Mario Bros that is included in all Super Mario Advance games.

Story: The story is summed up in the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE9YAJO7wJw

Despite its original supertitle, Yoshi's Island is not a sequel to Super Mario World. In fact, it's an origin story for the Mario Bros themselves. It also established the homeland of the Yoshi's, who would appear in many more games in the future. It's a simple story, but it's a nice change to have Yoshi be the main character, even if Mario is still riding him.

Presentation: Yoshi's Island has a crayon-drawn look and bright color palette that set it apart from other 2D games (except perhaps Kirby’s Dreamland 3). It's a very cute visual style, and it's done with a surprising amount of detail. This gamed also used a Super FX 2 chip, which allowed for more impressive graphical effects than those in Super Mario World.

Since I played this via the Wii U's Virtual Console, I should mention that there's a very nice feature for GBA games called "screen smoothing". Basically, it uses anti-aliasing to make everything look... smoother. Here's a comparison image - http://www.nintendo-insider.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/metroid-fusion-screen-smoothing-large.png It's particularly useful for making diagonal and curved surfaces look better, and Yoshi's Island benefits greatly from this.

The music is excellent, beating you over the head with saccharine cheerfulness even when you’re dying repeatedly. The GBA port added some sound effects from Yoshi’s Story; particularly sounds that Yoshi makes when he jumps and performs other actions.

Gameplay: Yoshi can extend his tongue to eat enemies and transform them into eggs. These eggs can be thrown at different angles, and some objects can only be interacted with via egg throwing. Yoshi can only carry six eggs, which makes the game more challenging since you’ll always want to make your shots count.

Clearing a level is straightforward – reach the end and that's it. To complete a level however, you need a score of 100. There are three kinds of collectibles for score - 20 red coins, 5 special flowers, and 30 stars. Red coins are often disguised as normal Coins. This is clever since it encourages players to collect normal coins they might otherwise ignore. Collecting all the special flowers will earn an extra life and increase the chances of a bonus game at the end of the level. Stars act as your "health", and you will continuously lose them when Mario is knocked off Yoshi after you're hit. If they deplete beneath 10, they will be slowly be restored to 10 upon retrieving Mario.

Levels DO NOT remember items you've collected, so the only way to complete a level is to get everything in one run. I am dumbfounded that a game with an emphasis on collectibles doesn’t keep track of them. It’s almost as dumb as Nintendo releasing an RPG where you can’t level up. Good thing that'll never happen. Luckily, there are expendable items you can use at any time to give Yoshi eggs, stars, and other things. Strategic use of items and checkpoint rings will make completing levels easier.

The levels themselves are all very good. For the first few worlds, nearly every level introduces new enemies, level mechanics, etc. There's quite a bit of variety in this game, and the levels never fall into a rut of predictability. For example, 1-7 "Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy" has you avoiding fuzzies that will make Yoshi high, making the level more challenging. Although the visuals imply a Kirby-esque level of difficulty, this game is actually pretty hard – at least as much as Super Mario World. Some of the later levels are loaded with pits, spikes, and lava – all of which kill you instantly, which almost makes me wonder why there’s a health system to begin with.

Unfortunately, a small game view and a couple annoying enemies occasionally sour the experience. There were many times I missed collectibles or got hit by enemies simply because I couldn’t see them early enough. If this game is ever ported again, I’d like to have an option to increase the game view. As for the enemies, most of them are fine, but “Bandits” and “Wild Ptooie Piranhas” can die in a fire, or at least have fewer hit points.

Length and Value: Yoshi’s Island has six worlds, with eight levels each. The levels are quite long if you take the time to grab all the collectibles. There is also an extra level in each world unlocked after totally completing it. Although the SNES version is arguably the definitive one, the GBA version has six more levels, portability, and the inclusion of Mario Bros Classic, making it an excellent alternative. Currently, the GBA version is available on the Wii U's Virtual Console for $7.99.

Conclusion: I’ve heard many great things about Yoshi's Island. Some people consider it the best SNES game, best 2D platformer, etc. I personally disagree, but it’s a very good game – The unique mechanics, distinct style, and varied level designs make this a worthwhile title.

8 out of 10 (Great!)

Mario Bros is an arcade action game released in 1983. Although it stars the Mario Bros, the gameplay is different from that of the Super Mario Bros series. Your goal in every phase is to flip enemies by hitting the platforms they’re on, then touch them to defeat them. There are three basic enemies. Turtles slowly walk around. Crabs are faster and must be hit twice to flip, since hitting them once will only make them angry and even faster. Bees are slow, but they move by hopping and can’t be harmed in midair. If you defeat enemies consecutively, you'll get bonus points.

Although defeating enemies is fairly easy, other obstacles will get in your way. Freezies slide along the ground, and fuse with a platform after reaching its center to create an ice platform. Ice platforms are slippery and drop deadly icicles. Fireballs will form at the sides of the screen and ricochet off platforms, making them hard to avoid.

There are two POW blocks in the stage - one on the top and one on the bottom. A POW block can be used up to three times by hitting it, and each use will create a quake that flips all grounded enemies. Coins can be collected for extra points. On the fourth and ninth phases, and every seventh phase afterwards, you will get a bonus phase in which you can collect coins for an extra life. Each bonus phase also restores the POW blocks.

With a large variety of hazards and mechanics, there’s a surprising number of tricks in this game. Hitting platforms flips enemies, but it can also be used to collect coins indirectly, or destroy freezies and fireballs. You can even jump into icicles before they're fully formed to destroy them. Enemies collide with each other and turn around, but they also collide with coins. As a result, it's useful to keep track of where coins are even if you don't care about score. When you hit a platform, it will actually undulate for a moment, and hitting an enemy on the side will send it flying in a different direction. Because of this, you can control where the enemies end up after hitting them, letting you set up combos. It's details like these that give Mario Bros that extra layer of depth and make it feel like a complete experience.

Although I don't think Mario Bros is the kind of game many people would pay money for nowadays, it is a substantial, well designed one. Mario Bros Classic is a superior version of this game, and it adds significant value to any of the Super Mario Advance games.

9 out of 10 (Awesome!)

Yoshi's Island + more levels + Mario Bros Classic = Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

9 out of 10 (Awesome!)

Bonus: Want 999 lives in Yoshi's Island? Here you go - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS3uPWZPHKk

Want a remix of the Athletic theme? Here you go - https://youtu.be/78bKZ00Gci4?list=PL6akIKaXBeU0Q0Sob3KqkS8iavzg6hDsv

Edited by Zera
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Although the SNES version is arguably the definitive one, the GBA version has six more levels, portability, and the inclusion of Mario Bros Classic, making it an excellent alternative.

Please talk about these extra levels. I don't know anything about them.

I love Mario Classic but there's no way I'd rank it above Yoshi's Island.

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The six "Secret" levels in the GBA version are all unlocked after the final boss. There's one per world, not to be confused with the "Extra" levels that are unlocked for completing worlds. I haven't played them yet, but I assume they're as good as the others.

As for why I rated Mario Bros higher, I think Yoshi's Island is better, but I also think Mario Bros is executed more competently for its scope. In any case, it's apples to oranges, so I wouldn't compare the ratings if I were you.

Edited by Zera
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