Yoshi Touch & Go
Yoshi Touch & Go reminds me a lot of old school NES and Atari games. Before the era of unlockables, people replayed games just to get a higher score than they previously could. This is exactly how Yoshi Touch & Go is. The game doesn’t rely on an uber-amount of unlockables, and instead hopes that you’ll get so helplessly addicted to the gameplay that you’ll keep coming back for more. Luckily for Nintendo, that’s exactly what happened to me.

Graphics:

While the graphics in T&G aren’t exactly ground breaking, they are crisp, clean, and presented to fit the type of gameplay that the game offers. Anyone who has played Yoshi’s Island will know what to expect, as the graphical style is basically a more detailed and cleaned up version of what was used in that game. Everything has a storybook feel to it, with the environments looking as if they were colored with a box of crayons. Overall, the graphics work perfectly with the game and look gorgeous, but nothing too spectacular or new is really introduced.

Sound and Music:

As with the graphics, the music is really meant to fit the gameplay design well. While there may not be a huge number of different songs, each accompanying tune adds a sense of delightful fun to each level. The tunes are pretty upbeat and fit the Yoshi environment well, so those of you looking for intense and dramatic music a la games like Halo 2, you’d best turn the volume down. The sound effects are also pulled off very nicely. Yoshi makes his trademark noises when he jumps and hurls eggs, and the addition of old school Mario sound effects fit into the game nicely. Just like the graphics, everything is presented well and fits the type of gameplay perfectly.

Storyline:

The storyline in T&G is probably one of the weakest I’ve ever seen. Then again, I wasn’t expecting J.R.R Tolkien either. The basic premise of the game is that, as a stork flies over Yoshi’s Island carrying Baby Mario and Luigi to their parents, a dark shadow rushes by and drops the newborns. It is now up to Yoshi to catch the falling Baby Mario and safely return the babies to the stork. As I previously stated, it’s not very detailed or intricate. Then again…who really cares?

Gameplay:

This is where the heart and soul of T&G lies. The game takes us back to the days of simple side-scrolling games, where the point was to continually strive for a higher score instead of some sort of conclusion to the game. There are four different modes of play, including Score Attack, Marathon, Time Attack, and Challenge. There is also a multiplayer mode and a mini-game that involves popping balloons. However, the game only starts you off with Score Attack and Marathon, requiring you to get the high score in each mode in order to unlock the other two. Each mode follows the same basic setup. The first part involves Baby Mario falling from the sky, and you drawing clouds to ensure that he makes it down to Yoshi safely. This is where the second part begins. As Yoshi walks at a steady pace along the ground, it is your job to draw clouds over obstacles in his way and throw eggs to defeat any enemies that may block your path. One hit means game over, so keeping your eye on the screen and conserving eggs is of the utmost importance. Now then, onto the specifics of each mode. Score Attack is split into two sections, one of Baby Mario falling and one of Yoshi walking along the environments. It is your duty to get the highest score as possible before you reach your goal at the end of the second area. As with the rest of the modes, the higher the score you get in the first area results in a faster Yoshi that can carry more eggs in the second area. In Marathon, you’ll go through one stage of Baby Mario falling, and an endless supply of side-scrolling stages as long as you can manage to stay alive. As for Time Attack, the main object here is to fall from the sky as fast as possible using stars and then catch up to the Toadies who’ve taken Luigi. The basic objective is to reach the Toadies, destroy them, and rescue Luigi as fast as you possibly can. Then there’s Challenge Mode. Challenge Mode is endless like Marathon, but it’s much more difficult because a timer is counting down in the top right corner. The only way to keep the clock from counting down completely is to destroy enemies, each of which will add a few extra seconds to the clock. But to be honest, that’s not the hardest part. The hard part is that the areas are littered with an insane amount of enemies, requiring you to think uber-quickly to ensure that Yoshi does not get hit. Once you’ve obtained the high score in each mode, you’ll unlock a mini-game where you pop balloons as they go across the screen. It doesn’t get anymore complex than that, but it’s strangely amusing. Last but not least, there’s the Vs. Mode. In this mode, it’s you and another person trying to reach the goal before the other. All of your action will take place on the bottom screen, and you’ll be able to see what your friend is doing on the top screen. As you destroy combos of enemies on your screen, it’ll drop traps on your opponents screen, similar in fashion to the multiplayer of games like Tetris. The only true flaw is that the game doesn’t include a level-based adventure mode. However, if you get addicted to the different modes as much as I did, aspiring to reach a new high score is all the incentive needed to play the game non-stop.

Controls:

Since all of the action in T&G takes place on the touch screen, the buttons on the DS are basically rendered useless. In my opinion, this is a good thing, since someone is actually implementing a good use for the touch screen finally. Anyway, the control setup itself is very simple. Rubbing the stylus on the touch screen will draw clouds, tapping it on the screen will throw eggs (only in the side-scrolling stages), and tapping Yoshi will result in him jumping. If there’s any flaw to be noticed, it’s that sometimes you’ll draw a cloud when you want to throw an egg, and vice versa.

Replayability:

When you analyze it, Yoshi’s Touch & Go is basically an endless game. There’s no official conclusion, and there’s always the option to go back for a round or two and try to beat one of your high scores. The game does include a few unlockables, which come in the form of Time Attack, Challenge Mode, and the balloon popping mini-game. Once you’ve unlocked these modes of gameplay, it’s honestly all about how much you enjoy the game. If you’re like me, then you’ll continue to play it again and again on the basis that it’s extremely fun and addicting. If not, you’ll probably complete the game in a few days and wonder why you spent $30.00 on it.

When all is said and done, Yoshi’s Touch & Go is a genuinely fun game. While it may not have an official adventure mode, the gameplay it does offer is wickedly addicting. Along with that, Touch & Go creates unique touch screen based gameplay that only a few DS games have been able to accomplish. All in all, it’s definitely a must have for anyone looking to play a game that makes great use of the technology the Nintendo DS offers.
Graphics: 8.0/10
Sound and Music: 7.0/10
Storyline: 2.0 /10
Gameplay: 7.5/10
Controls: 9.5/10
Replayability: 8.0/10
8.0
Out of 10