Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3 (GBA) Review

Yoshi’s Island appeared as one of those very early technical demos that surfaced even before the GBA’s official release and was generally greeted with absolute amazement by those who encountered it. Obviously we’re going back well over 18 months here and in addition to two previous Mario titles, we’ve seen a fair few games that have pushed Nintendo’s new handheld to limits even the hardware manufacturer thought impossible.

Outside of its technical merits, however, there is one aspect of the Mario series that’s always stood out above everything else – playability. Given the consistently good track record of these games there’s no reason to believe that Yoshi’s Island wont live up to the hype. Or does it?

Gameplay

After the usual ‘highly original’ Nintendo story line you’ll find yourself as a baby Mario astride a rather bemused looking Yoshi. This is due to the fact that you’ve just tumbled from the great blue yonder following a failed kidnap attempt on you and your brother. Luigi has been snatched by the Koopa family while being delivered by a stork and it’s now up to you and Yoshi to discover his whereabouts.

You remain with Yoshi (although not the same one) throughout the island, which is a real plus as not only is he more effective over the terrain than you but he renders you almost invincible. He also brings lots of additional combat moves to the Mario franchise. The first of these is the incredibly powerful stomp, which flattens even the most persistent of enemies instantly. Then you can fire at other objects using a variety of projectiles, which really are very precise and can be fired in almost any direction.

Yoshi’s most intriguing, not to mention unique, skill though is his ability to morph into a variety of different vehicles depending on your needs at that time. You may wish for a helicopter in order to reach greater heights or a mechanical digger for… well digging. This is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the whole game and really gives this third installment an original and dynamic theme separating it from the previous Mario titles.

The whole game takes place over six different worlds which in turn are split into eight levels but while you’re still faced with challenges you never feel overwhelmed by the learning curve which is, as usual, pitched just right. A Nintendo title would be nothing without collectibles and Yoshi’s Island has loads of them. It’s always worth searching them out as they not only give you the usual power ups and extra lives but finding them all opens up an exclusive secret level.

Comments

Yoshi’s Island has been a long time coming and the GBA has already seen its fair share of great and not so great platformers. Nintendo, however, have always reigned supreme in this area and this latest Mario outing will remain an unmistakable blueprint of just how it all should be done.  Everything’s good here, from the tight control and design to the wonderful sounds and visuals. It is undoubtedly the best handheld platformers Nintendo have produced to date. If you’re upgrading to a GBA this Christmas and can only have one game you can’t go far wrong with Yoshi’s Island and there’s enough varied Gameplay here to keep you going until… well New Year at least. An instant classic and dare I say it ‘platforming perfection’.

Graphics 9.0

Gameplay 9.9

Sound 8.0

Tilt 9.0

Value 8.0

Rating: 4.5/5