Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island Playthrough

1995, SNES; 2002, GBA. Rating: 4 out of 4 stars The talk around Super Mario World 2 had been rampant for a few years and there was speculation if the game would ever come out. When it finally did, it’s safe to say few had any idea the game would star Yoshi, rather than Mario. Oh, Mario’s in the game, but as a baby. He can’t do very much except cry, either. At first blush, it doesn’t sound like a promising entry to the franchise. It turns out to be an absolute gem, though. Nintendo pulled out all the stops in its gameplay and game design to create a new kind of movement and poetry that somehow feels very organic and natural. That’s a very hard thing to do. Especially when Yoshi, because of his design, is limited in what he can do. Nintendo gave him the ability to eat most enemies, create eggs, shoot them and flutter over large gaps. There are other skills he gains, as well, including the ability to temporarily transform into vehicles to get over obstacles. Mario isn’t completely useless; he is able to take the lead when he gets an invincibility star, but those occasions are thankfully few and far between. This is Yoshi’s game through and through. The game design, as always, is first-rate, with a particular emphasis on non-linear levels that encourage exploration (especially if you’re going for all the red coins and the flowers). Even beyond that, the levels often have a puzzle element. It’s not just about going from point A to point B. Some genuine thought is required and the platforming sometimes requires an equal amount of precision to succeed. The visuals are a little softer by design and the background have a hand-drawn quality that is very cute while still being deep and expressive. The character designs are first-rate and some of the bosses Yoshi encounters are quite imaginative. So are the fights, which don’t entirely rely on brute force to get to the finish. The music is also quite charming with some great songs peppered throughout. The athletic theme is a particular standout. Inevitably, someone will bring up Baby Mario’s annoying crying when Yoshi gets hit. Yes, it’s annoying, but by no means a dealbreaker. Maybe they could have made it less high-pitched, but some gamers take this as encouragement to avoid taking damage. Yoshi is quite strong (spikes and pits are still an automatic death) so something had to be done to counteract this. That small quibble aside, Yoshi’s Island is a masterpiece of gameplay and game design execution and one of the crown jewels of the SNES library. GBA Version: Of the four Mario Advance games, Yoshi’s Island has the fewest changes. Level to level, the game is virtually identical to its SNES counterpart. Even the aesthetics such as visuals and sound effects are a near-perfect replica. Yoshi talks a little more often and Baby Mario’s wails, thankfully, are less grating. The camera does cause an occasional challenge, but these are few and far between. This is a must-play regardless of what version. 0:00 Prologue 1:12 World 1-1 to 1-4 12:59 World 1-5 to 1-8 24:17 World 2-1 to 2-4 39:01 World 2-5 to 2-8 56:36 World 3-1 to 3-4 1:16:03 World 3-5 to 3-8 1:32:02 World 4-1 to 4-4 1:53:15 World 4-5 to 4-8 2:11:42 World 5-1 to5-4 2:33:56 World 5-5 to 5-8 2:54:06 World 6-1 to 6-4 3:16:29 World 6-5 to 6-8 3:37:05 Final Boss 3:39:44 Ending and Credits