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Preview: Yoshi’s New Island

The Yoshi’s Island format clearly works and although it’s been quite a while since we’ve seen the little green dinosaur star in his own game  Nintendo’s handheld system seems like a perfect fit.

The latest installment brings a new art style to the series which is in some ways similar to Yoshi’s Story on the Nintendo 64, but raises the question, “Was it necessary” ? I’ve always been fond of the hand drawn pencil style of Yoshi’s Island and I do prefer it to the new artistic direction, but it’s not a deal breaker. What really matters is that the gameplay is a whole lot of fun.

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I’m a big fan of this series, but after playing each subsequent game I’ve found myself annoyed rather than concerned when Mario falls off his mount and starts crying. In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island I remember being filled with a paternal drive to protect the mustache-less plumber to be. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve become cranky and jaded in my old age or if there simply wasn’t a compelling sense of urgency to do my dino duty in the later games, but for Yoshi’s New Island to impress me it needed to bring something new to the table. And impressed I was. New abilities include being able to swallow huge enemies which in turn create massive eggs that destroy the surrounding world help to make this a little different from the older games. While unannounced during E3 I’m keen to see what — if any — StreetPass integration the game will have.

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If you’re a fan of platformers, a Nintendo fan or you simply like the previous games in the series you’ll definitely get a kick out of Yoshi’s New Island.  That being said, while there are some new features and the game looks like a lot of fun don’t expect the same experience you had playing Yoshi’s Island for the first time. Nintendo are playing it pretty safe with this release.

With yet another first party Nintendo game being revealed the 3DS is looking more and more attractive everyday. With new games coming almost every month it’s a shame the Wii U didn’t get the same attention.

Yoshi’s New Island will be available exclusively for the 3DS in 2014.

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About the author

Shane Wall

I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe. A game geek turned audio engineer/musician. Shane's life is a delicate balance of video games, music and science fiction.