Pros: Yoshi stars in their own game, without any semblance of Mario, baby or otherwise, which certainly put this series on the map as its own thing once and for all, paving the way for their appearance in Smash under its own series label. As for the game itself... There are some neat 2D effects, like Inviso's background bending transparency, or the large dragons that curve and bend through the air, those are neat... Oh, and finding the White and Black Yoshis was kinda fun... And uhhh, the ACM graphics in general aren't bad to look at. But...
Cons: This game stinks, man. Especially when it was billed as a sequel to Yoshi's Island, which was a perfect game. And this doesn't come anywhere close, at all. One, the mechanics, like egg throwing and fluttering, are slower and clunkier, feels like I'm dragging myself through mud trying to maintain a flutter in this, and stopping dead in your tracks to throw an egg that doesn't even ricochet? Lame... Then they went ahead and made the Yoshis all stand upright, changing their more dinosaur proportions. Plus they gave Yoshi a dumb baby voice (I loved that weird artificial trumpet sound they made in World, Island, and Mario Kart 64!!), which, just made the whole game feel incredibly childish. And you know what, it is. The game is unremarkably basic and easy, just eat a bunch of fruit and you make it to the next stage, sure, eat more specific fruits to gain high scores to make it to other boring stages, but even that's not much a challenge, nor is it fun. It's just a game of "I won't eat this fruit, so I'll keep moving on until I see the fruit I want" and god, that's real compelling isn't it? The bosses take literally three seconds to kill, and the final boss gives you unlimited invincibility during the entire fight that doesn't even provide any semblance of spectacle.
WHAT HAPPENED
The music sounds like Playskool instruments, with one annoying melody repeating over and over... With Yoshi's baby singing in the background from time to time. This one game did irreparable damage to the Yoshi franchise that's still being felt to this day. It even did irreparable damage to Yoshi himself, where often we'll still see Yoshi standing completely upright, and we most definitely still hear the baby voice. It's sad... The setting, the cardboard and pillows, doesn't even look good, it just adds to the childish vibe the game has everywhere else. And sure, Yoshi's Island had the crayon aesthetic, which you could argue is childish too, but everything else in that game reminds you that it's no stroll in the park, and that game literally had Baby Mario in it to explain that visual perspective. Oh and that's another thing, these are apparently Baby Yoshis, cool... We already had Baby Yoshis in SMW, and they looked nothing like this. Anything this game did, it did for the worse of the future of the Yoshi character and franchise... Well, except the shoe colors, I kinda dig those shoe colors, haha!
What it means to me: I was so hyped for this game, being such a huge fan of Yoshi's Island, I felt no reason why I shouldn't expect something great after that. It was made by Nintendo internally, and still a 2D platformer like Island was... What could go wrong? Well... Upon getting the game... My disappointment was immeasurable and my day was ruined.
Cons: This game stinks, man. Especially when it was billed as a sequel to Yoshi's Island, which was a perfect game. And this doesn't come anywhere close, at all. One, the mechanics, like egg throwing and fluttering, are slower and clunkier, feels like I'm dragging myself through mud trying to maintain a flutter in this, and stopping dead in your tracks to throw an egg that doesn't even ricochet? Lame... Then they went ahead and made the Yoshis all stand upright, changing their more dinosaur proportions. Plus they gave Yoshi a dumb baby voice (I loved that weird artificial trumpet sound they made in World, Island, and Mario Kart 64!!), which, just made the whole game feel incredibly childish. And you know what, it is. The game is unremarkably basic and easy, just eat a bunch of fruit and you make it to the next stage, sure, eat more specific fruits to gain high scores to make it to other boring stages, but even that's not much a challenge, nor is it fun. It's just a game of "I won't eat this fruit, so I'll keep moving on until I see the fruit I want" and god, that's real compelling isn't it? The bosses take literally three seconds to kill, and the final boss gives you unlimited invincibility during the entire fight that doesn't even provide any semblance of spectacle.
WHAT HAPPENED
The music sounds like Playskool instruments, with one annoying melody repeating over and over... With Yoshi's baby singing in the background from time to time. This one game did irreparable damage to the Yoshi franchise that's still being felt to this day. It even did irreparable damage to Yoshi himself, where often we'll still see Yoshi standing completely upright, and we most definitely still hear the baby voice. It's sad... The setting, the cardboard and pillows, doesn't even look good, it just adds to the childish vibe the game has everywhere else. And sure, Yoshi's Island had the crayon aesthetic, which you could argue is childish too, but everything else in that game reminds you that it's no stroll in the park, and that game literally had Baby Mario in it to explain that visual perspective. Oh and that's another thing, these are apparently Baby Yoshis, cool... We already had Baby Yoshis in SMW, and they looked nothing like this. Anything this game did, it did for the worse of the future of the Yoshi character and franchise... Well, except the shoe colors, I kinda dig those shoe colors, haha!
What it means to me: I was so hyped for this game, being such a huge fan of Yoshi's Island, I felt no reason why I shouldn't expect something great after that. It was made by Nintendo internally, and still a 2D platformer like Island was... What could go wrong? Well... Upon getting the game... My disappointment was immeasurable and my day was ruined.