Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3
When I first laid eyes upon this game, I had to admit to myself, Nintendo churned out another jewel. Is it just another jewel among jewels, or is it a jewel in the rough?

Is this really a Mario game? Instead of just another number in the Mario series, this game is in a class of its own. Mario takes a bow as Yoshi takes the center stage in this game, and it is simply amazing. The story starts out as this, told in a surprisingly clean and detailed cut scene. The stork, when he was on his way bringing our future heroes (Mario and Luigi) to their parents, is suddenly rushed upon by a dark figure, causing him to drop the tiny babies. Mario falls to earth, crashing into Yoshi and landing on his back, whereas Luigi is snatched away by the shadow. Yoshi, being the helpful green dinosaur that he is, brings the tiny Mario to his other yoshi friends and they all decide to help. Who would have guessed?

With a new leading character, the game has a much different feeling than previous Mario games. Many of Yoshi’s old moves are still available to him, along with plenty of new ones. Yoshi is still fast in his youth, and turning his enemies into eggs is still his pastime. This time though, the eggs serve a vital importance. Cradling an egg in his hand (paw?), Yoshi is now able to hurl these projectiles baseball style at his many enemies, and even deflect them off the walls to complete some puzzles (and one boss!). Precise aim is important, as there are plenty of enemies to hit and eggs can run scarce when you need them the most.

As you guide Yoshi and his multicolored friends traveling across the six worlds, you’ll notice the vibrant landscape drawn in brilliant pastels and crayon (who said you needed real paint to make art?). If you’re not too busy with that, you’ll also take a minute to be amazed by the non-repetitiveness of the levels, each unique and with different challenges to conquer. The level design of this game has to be one of the best parts of the game, and each world features a different “feel” to each set of 6 (7 or 8 if you unlock them) and also features populations of familiar enemies, and some new ones. All of them are outstanding and unique in their own ways, and each is out for baby Mario. In some games, the struggle to come up with decent believable bosses is apparent, yet Yoshi’s Island does this with ease. Each boss is a large version (yes, just a large version) of some of the more common enemies you’ll face, and they all require different strategies to defeat.

One key difference that makes this game stand out from the rest of the Mario games is that Yoshi does not lose lives when he is hit. Instead, the baby Mario on his back floats away on a bubble, crying and whining all the way. This can create many tense situations as you rush to grab him before the timer runs out, and sometimes Mario will float just out of reach. Frustrating. Other memorable moments in gameplay are surely when Yoshi transforms into different vehicles, including a sub and a snow sled, and when he is hit by a spore-like creature and whigs out (hallucinogenics anyone?).

All in all Yoshi’s Island is an amazing game, packed with many extras. Mini games and a hard mode just beg you to replay levels over and over in search of 100% completion. The musical score is whimsical and catchy at points, yet the whining of Mario could cause you to miss out on it when you turn the volume down (trust me, you will if you hear it).

Graphics: 10/10
The graphics cry out in all its crayola glory.

Sound and Music: 8.5/10
The musical score is amazing, yet there is something about Mario’s cry that makes ME want to cry…

Storyline: 8.5/10
A heart wrenching story of a green dinosaur and his boy.

Gameplay: 9/10
Lots of action and some tense moments. The fact that the constantly moving aiming cursor moves a tad fast at times and when you get into a groove a boss will suddenly seem disappointingly easy seems trivial.

Controls: 10/10
Can they get any easier to learn?

Replayability: 9/10
As with most Mario games, levels almost never get old and you’ll find yourself going back to them again and again in search of coins and stars to get a 100% completion score.