Genre: Platformer
Year: 1995
Developed by: Nintendo EAD
Published by: Nintendo
Platforms: SNES
#23
Feeling Like: Kissing my lucky egg
Super Mario World is the better game, but I had a better time with Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island. We were still a year out from the N64 taking over our lives, so Dave V. and I bunkered down at his place and played endless amounts of Super Nintendo.
I can still smell his house on St. Patrick. Not a bad one by any means, it was welcoming. I still haven’t found another place with a duplicate aroma. I think it was a combination of bike tires (Pete was really into biking) and three teenagers living right next to each other. It was a four minute walk from my place and even that felt too long. I was always excited to come over. Dave’s parents were far more welcoming than I deserved; I was a loud, spazzy kid. But boy, was I a happy one.
We fixated on a few games, mostly the ones we could rent & beat in one sitting. If it was within a few hours, Blockbuster or Yo Video would even let us swap it for another, free of charge! Nothing like two earnest, sweaty kids who had just biked their little butts off to tug at the ol’ heartstrings, I suppose. We tried everything: Knights of the Round, some terrible Roadrunner game, some awful Godzilla game and every manner of RPG we could find. Final Fantasy 4 and Super Mario RPG were completely alien to us, we had no idea what we were doing. But we knew we liked it.
But we were platformer junkies, first and foremost. Super Mario World, yes, and all the Donkey Kong Countries we could find. But out of all them, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island was our drug of choice. I couldn’t believe how cool it looked, as Nintendo opted to go for a cel-shaded look that reminded me of a comic book, or even a child’s drawing with crayons. It looked so different from Super Mario World, yet equally as good. I’m torn on which set of graphics I prefer.
The music? Also just as good, if not better. Flower Garden is a jolly jaunt. This is the single best Underground theme in any Mario game, I don’t know why it doesn’t get more love. The Athletic rendition here is terrific. And the End Boss Theme is as epic as the fight itself.
Dave and I played it loud, which did cause at least one member of the Vallance/Bigelow clan to come down every few hours to ask if we could turn it down and/or if we were hungry. The answer to both, always, was yes. We loved minor shenanigans but we weren’t about to risk our video game privileges. Plus, we went to private school; obeying authority was hammered into us at an early age.
I know you don’t play as Mario in this, which put some players off and I honestly don’t know why. Everybody loves Yoshi. Yoshi is awesome. He’s the dinosaur that could, fluttery kicking his way to double jump territory. He can butt stump, slurp up baddies and turn them into eggs. That’s the game’s main hook this time, you see. Eggs. You can then use said eggs to fire at enemies adding a completely different dimension to combat. Should I risk jumping on this weird goopy thing, or use up crucial egg ammo? Eggs can also be directed and banked off of walls to snatch power ups or flick switches. Even typing that out makes me want to go play it again from start to finish. For the seventh time.
What kept us coming back where the scores you recorded for each level. Nothing to do with time limits (there aren’t any here, another improvement!), it’s out of 100 based on how many stars, red coins (first appearance of red coins! how many notches can a single game have in its belt?) and flowers. This meant we had to scour every nook and cranny to find all 20 red coins, 5 flowers and ensure Baby Mario didn’t fall off our back for the 30 star score and the perfect 100 on the level.
It was addicting. No, 93 wasn’t good enough, as we’d read in a Nintendo Power that getting 100 on every level meant MORE levels to play. Secret ones. Well, that was all the motivation we needed, particularly since the entire game could be beaten in about ten hours. As two kids in grade six, we had a lot more than ten hours to kill in the summer. And the spring. And the winter, naturally – too cold to go outside. Now that I think about it, Dave’s parents deserve a medal. I should have paid some rent, especially since I broke a plate or two in my time there. Luckily, Dave’s dad was a potter so he told me not to worry about it. I think he made about 25 plates a day.
Side note – Dave’s a potter now too! Check out his and his partner Alisha’s stellar works here!
It made it easy to pass off the controller. If we died, swap. Unless the turn was very brief, then hold on, hold on, one more try. If we beat the level, swap. If we retried the level and only got a 95, swap. Finally found that last flower behind some clouds? Believe it or not, swap. Couches and snacks kept the observer occupied, and eventually we did get tired enough to sleep.
Look, I get Baby Mario whining is annoying. It’s supposed to be! Don’t get hit! There are very few noises in video games that will trigger a player more than wailing Baby Mario. HEY! HEY! HEY! is accompanied by an incessant beeping and arrow. WE GET IT, WE’RE TRYING TO GET OVER THERE. SHUT UP.
Didn’t bother me all that much. Unless you got hit right near the end of a stage when you were at 100 points and get knocked down to 98. That stung.
The Mode 7 graphics were really put to work, particularly during the final confrontation. This is STILL the best end boss fight in any Mario game. It’s such a tonal shift from the happy-go-lucky, colorful theme you’re used to. It feels more like an apocalyptic hell as Baby Bowser grows to the size of a small mountain. You have to hurl giant eggs at him on a pseudo-3d plane. It kicks so much ass, and again, that theme makes it.
It’s as cozy as a game gets. The little touches like having Yoshi transform into various vehicles (the helicopter was the best!), or how it’s a different colored Yoshi for every stage of the World you’re in. Palette swap, or subtle message of accepting a fellow dinosaur, regardless of the color of their skin? Or the little “boing” noises when Yoshi jumps. Or the reticle popping out of nowhere when you want to take aim. Everything feels thought out, and is as different from Super Mario World as Super Mario Bros. 2 felt from Super Mario Bros.
Leave it to Nintendo to never rest on their laurels.
The 500 