Yoshi's Story

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Yoshi's Story is the Nintendo 64 sequel to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System game . Originally titled Yoshi's Island 64, in analogy with Super Mario 64, it was renamed Yoshi's Story August 1997 At the same time, the size of the game was changed to 128 megabits from an initially planned 96.

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.

The game was released in 1998, and was among the first generation of games to support the Rumble Pak. Like most Yoshi games, it is a 2-D platformer. It features beautiful 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 all interviews and previews, this was dubbed 2½-D.

Gameplay

Six variously colored baby Yoshies have to save the Super Happy Tree from Baby Bowser, who has turned Yoshi's Island into a storybook. Each world is set within the pages of the book, where there are 24 stages split into 6 worlds (or "pages").

The main aim of the game is for Yoshi to eat 30 pieces of fruit per level, while avoiding enemies and obstacles. 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. In addition to six basic colors, two hidden black and white eggs can be found that allow up to eight Yoshies to be chosen from. The black and white Yoshies are wildcards in that they like more fruit varieties than other colors, which means the player can get higher scores. The Yoshies' 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 Yoshies) 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.

Criticism

While this game was successful enough to be re-released in the Player's Choice series, this game has been commonly criticized by older gamers and Yoshi's Island fans for being too short (originally, it was planned to have about 50 levels) and very easy, as if the game has been targeted for younger children. Other shortcomings include the music and sound effects (particularly the Yoshis' voices and singing), loose controls (for example, the control stick sometimes has to be tapped and pushed diagonally in order to make Yoshi run), lack of variety and a highly childish atmosphere.

Some gamers defend this game arguing that the game has been created for younger players in mind, is completely family friendly, and is unfairly compared with Yoshi's Island. While clearly being aimed at a younger audience, the crisp presentation and charming atmosphere do not exclude any age group and can be enjoyed by all. Fans also claim that the game is not unchallenging to the point of boredom. The 'melon quest' may be used to show that the game is not as easy as it first appears.

In any event, it should be noted that the entire Mario/Donkey Kong/Yoshi franchise (mostly E-rated) is in fact targeted to a general all-ages audience, as opposed to franchises such as Tomb Raider (mostly T-rated), or Resident Evil (mostly M-rated), which are targeted specifically to older game players.

Spin-off

A Game Boy Advance tech demo based on the game was created to better show the capabilities of the Game Boy Advance. Despite expectations, it was eventually revealed that this was merely a tech demo. 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.

Trivia

The voices of the Baby Yoshies (provided by Kazumi Totaka) used in this game became the voices for Yoshi in all future games, with the exception of Mario Golf and several games in the Mario Party series.

External links

• [Yoshi's Story] at MobyGames
• [Game Boy Advance tech demo] on IGN.com - Screenshot and specs

 

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