The original Super Mario World was the launch title for the SNES, and of course the best selling game the console would produce. But between the game’s release in 1991, and 1995, there was no new Mario game to follow. Sure, there was Mario Paint, and those abysmal learning games, but nothing that called itself a successor to the mushroom-shaped throne. However, in 1994, a sequel was finally announced.
In mid-1995, Super Mario World 2 was finally released. However, it was certainly not what a lot of people were expecting. Instead of Mario being the main protagonist, it was his dinosaur partner Yoshi. In fact, barely anything from the game even remotely resembled the previous game. Much like Super Mario 2 in 1987, This sequel was its own unique game. However, unlike Super Mario 2, it wasn’t just a sprite change slapped to the “ignorant Americans”. This was 100% Original. The game still sold quite well, and would lead to a legacy for Yoshi, with spinoff games like Yoshi’s Story, Tetris Attack, and even a sequel to Yoshi’s Island for the DS. So, with some of the history down, let’s get into talking about the game, and what makes it one of the all time greats.
STORY
Many years ago, a stork is carrying two young infants to their home in the Mushroom Kingdom. These two youngin’s being Mario and Luigi, if you hadn’t guessed. However, in the midst of the stork’s delivery, an evil wizard known as Kamek attacks the stork, and kidnaps it, along with Luigi. the other baby, Mario, falls to his peril. However, by dumb luck, he lands on a wandering Yoshi.
However, the evil Kamek soon learns that the other baby is missing, and dispatches his toadies to recapture the baby. It’s up to the Yoshies of Yoshi’s Island as well as Mario to reunite the twins, stop Kamek, and save the day.
GAMEPLAY
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island is a one player platformer game. You control Yoshi (and occasionally Mario) as you head from world to world, defeat the many enemies within, to eventually face off with Kamek and Bowser to rescue Baby Luigi, and reunite the twins. Yoshi’s basic controls are movement with the D-Pad, jumping with the B button (you can do a hover by pressing the button a second time, or holding it in), using his tongue with the Y button, and aiming and firing with the A button.
Yoshi has multiple attacks that can help you in this journey. His main attacks are a jumping stomp, a butt bump that does more damage, or can break down posts, or heavy dirt. But the most important attack comes from Yoshi’s notorious gluttony. Using his long tongue, you can eat almost any enemy in the game, and turn it into an egg. With these eggs, you can aim and fire them at the many enemies in the game, as well as any secret items you find throughout the level. You can only store up to eight eggs at a time.
You can also use different watermelons for attacking. when ingested, you can fire for a short amount of time. A green one shoots seeds, a red one shoots fire, and a blue one shoots ice which can freeze enemies. And in certain areas, you will find a magic star that can have baby mario become invincible, which can get you far in some areas, as well as access spots that regular Yoshi can’t reach.
The basic object of each stage if, as expected, to go from the start of the stage to the finish, going through the goal to complete the level. However, that’s not all you must do in order to 100% the game. Each level holds several items you have to collect by the end of the stage. First are the red coins. There are 20 in each stage to find. They are easy to spot since they can be slightly darker looking than regular coins. They are also hidden in areas, or held by Shy Guys.
Another item to collect is 30 stars. Stars act as your health in each stage. You start with 10 stars, and can find others through different methods, like using pow blocks on enemies, shooting eggs into giant flowers, or hitting certain ? Clouds. You can collect 30 per stage. However, if hit, they begin to count down as Baby Mario floats away in a cloud, crying his head off. If they reach zero, the toadies will capture Mario, and it will count as a lost life. And considering how annoying Mario’s cry is, you really don’t want this to happen.
And finally there’s five sun flowers to find in each stage. These smiley face flowers are usually hidden in hard to reach spots, or in ? clouds. The more you collect, the more that appear at the goal in the end of the stage. Once you complete a stage, a roulette starts. If it lands on a sun flower, you will go one of the many bonus stages in the game. At the end of each stage, you are given a tally as to how many of each item you found. If you collected 5 Flowers, 20 Red Coins, and 30 Stars, you get 100%. Getting 100% in each stage will open up a bonus level you can play at any time, as well as another, more difficult stage.
There are several different bonus stages in this game. Some are for extra lives, while others are for items you can collect and use from the start menu (Though not in boss battles). These bonus games include scratch cards, drawing lots, a roulette wheel, a slot machine, and match cards. There’s also mini-battles you’ll find in certain levels with a bandit shyguy. These range from seed fights, balloon throwing contests, and find the coin. These battles usually give you extra lives for completing.
Another really cool thing Yoshi can do is his ability to transform. By jumping into a certain bubble, Yoshi will transform into everything from a Mole tank, a helicopter, and even a train. These can be used to help find many of the hidden items in each stage.
There are multiple enemies in the game, though most are the standard enemies you’d expect like Shyguys, piranha plants, and Koopa Troopas. There are also penguins, seagulls, mice, bats, hairy slugs, and even these weird creatures that look like Kirby. And most of these enemies will be the bosses of each level. In each of the six worlds there are eight non-bonus stages. Six being regular levels, and two being fortresses. Each fortess holding a boss, which would start as a regular creature that would be changed by Kamek into a giant beast.
Plenty of memorable boss battles. My personal favorites include Prince Froggy’s Fort, which has Kamek shrink you down, and you end up swallowed by a frog. you have to eat the giant shy guys he ingests, and shoot eggs at his uvula. Another classic is Salvo the Slime. A giant slime pile that fills the whole area. His exterior is tough and slimy, and you can’t hurt him with just a regular egg shot. Instead, you have to hit multiple eggs into him until you can get a clear shot at his hairy heart. Of course, you are being pushed by him to the edge of the room, where you’ll fall, so you have to be fast. There’s a giant koopa troopa, a giant boo, a piranha plant with a sore navel, marchine milde, and of course Raphael Raven.
There are also so many classic stages. Lest we forget “Touch Fuzzy Get Dizzy”. These weird puff balls fill the area. One touch of these creatures turns the entire area into a trippy, warped world where the ground rises and falls. It’s really an amazing sight for a SNES game. Every level has its own unique style, and the game never feels tedious throughout the quest.
The game has perfect controls, never feeling too tight or too loose, and no hit detection issues. the game autosaves after every level, so you don’t have to worry about losing too much progress after a long play. There are also unlimited continues, for when you get a game over. And trust me, the game’s difficulty will have you see a couple Game Overs, especially if you are going for 100% completion. The downside though is no real reward for a perfect game, except for stars added to the title screen.
GRAPHICS
MUSIC AND SOUND
OVERALL THOUGHTS
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