This ended up being pretty different from Yoshi's Island despite the surface similarities, which I was not expecting. Its a cute little game with some creative ideas and probably the nicest looking 2D visuals on the N64 (though you kinda need a CRT tv or a good CRT filter in an emulator for it to look its best, the raw pixels look kinda gross at times without it like most games that use prerendered sprites, whereas the CRT blending effect smooths that out and makes it look like an illustration). There's a cartoon elasticity to the animations, and all kinds of lively little touches, its really a cute and energetic game visually. The music is also really great with all kinds of strange songs, including some with like this weird beatboxing. Also the yoshis sing and it is heart meltingly-cute.

You get 6 yoshis that are gone permanently if they "die" which is kinda wild considering the storybook, kid's game aesthetic. Kids love permadeath! There are 6 worlds and you get to choose one level per world on each playthrough, meaning each playthrough can be a totally different sequence of levels. Each level is based around exploring enough to gather 20 fruits, and then it ends. Its a neat way to structure a platformer that I've never seen before.

Not as classic as Yoshi's Island but its a weird, creative offshoot with a lot of heart and I enjoyed playing it quite a bit.

Reviewed on Mar 25, 2021


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3 years ago

review cultitss simeletor