Monday 16 October 2006
Often cited as SNES's last great hurrah, the original Yoshi's Island was a cracking twist on the Mario platforming template and a rare star outing for the plumber's trusty steed
Brought back from the grave a couple of years ago on Nintendo's portable Resurrection Engine (known to the general public as GBA), as the confusingly-named Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, Yoshi's baby-ferrying jump-a-thon has weathered the years remarkably well.
It just goes to show that good game design, rather than technology, is what weathers the years and sticks in the memory banks like that hormone-firing first kiss.
Obviously Nintendo knows when it's on to a good thing and, rather than consign the squeaking dinosaur's childcare adventures to the dustbin, has decided to reanimate Yoshi's classic gameplay a second time (well, a third, technically) on DS. This is cause for good cheer - assuming it doesn't mess it all up, natch.
Once again, Yoshi flutter-jumps through some artfully presented levels, carrying upon his permanently besaddled back an infant plumber. As before, if Yoshi gets hit by a bad guy, off flies the baby in a gravity-defying bubble, and a strict time limit allows the dinosaur to retrieve the errant wailer - if he doesn't, it's game over. This time around, however, there's more than just Mario to worry about.
