Whether he is an infant, a young adult or a confirmed plumber, Mario is the victim of a spatio-temporal fault, a kind of loop – perhaps that of Moebius, who knows – which forces him to undergo the same stories over and over again. . When it's not Peach who is kidnapped, it's her brother, Luigi, who suffers the wrath of Bowser's henchmen. Here in this case a certain Kamek, a wizard by trade, who wants to prevent our two toddlers from growing up so as not to destroy Bowser's plans for the future. Lack of skin, in his Machiavellian kidnapping plan, Kamek lets Mario escape who falls to land on the island of the Yoshis, these adorable reptiles who will do everything to help our hero find his almost twin brother. This scenario, Nintendo fans know it by heart; and for good reason, it is the same as that of the previous episodes. Once again, Yoshi's New Island is not here to prove to us that the screenwriters at Nintendo are struggling to renew themselves, but to prove to us that despite the ages, the gameplay is still as square, despite perhaps a certain lack of originality and therefore novelty.
"He's my friend and more!"
But with this Yoshi's New Island, Nintendo wants to reach two target hearts, it seems obvious. The first is none other than the one who discovered the series at its beginnings, somewhere in 1995, and who wishes to find old sensations. The other is obviously the young player, a novice in the field and who has only one desire: to take control of Yoshi and his multiple abilities. Close to a Mario game in its main scheme, Yoshi's New Island is played in horizontal scrolling in an ultra colorful universe, where pastel colors and pencil strokes coexist in harmony. This is the graphic leg of the franchise and this episode does not disregard it, offering an overall very successful result. There is indeed a sweet scent of lightness while evolving in these idyllic levels where the sets take on relief thanks to 3D, as long as you do not play on a 2DS. If in the background, activating the stereoscopic effect does not ultimately bring much, it gives the title a certain charm, which will not be luxury when you know how limited the game is in terms of novelties. This is also felt in the gameplay, very close to the episodes we have known so far.
Close to a Mario game in its main scheme, Yoshi's New Island is played in horizontal scrolling in an ultra colorful universe, where pastel colors and pencil strokes coexist in harmony."
Indeed, well screwed on the back of Yoshi, baby Mario acts as a second life when our dinosaur does not have his eggs following him. The slightest contact with the enemy and Mario begins to fly away in his bubble, crying in despair, leaving a few handfuls of seconds for the player to try to catch up. A well-known concept that also applies to how to use the eggs that Yoshi carries around with him all the time. The latter is limited to six eggs in total, of different colors, which has the effect of collecting bonuses that are also different. For example, a green egg can be used to obtain Yoshi gold coins, red eggs for small stars and purple eggs for red coins. Each item has its particularity and its importance, especially for those who wish to complete the game in its entirety. Details like these, Yoshi's New Island abounds throughout the adventure, but paradoxically, they do not add much to the gaming experience, far too similar to previous episodes to mark the spirits.
Uh...genius?
Of course, we can count on these giant eggs that Yoshi can lay after having swallowed a giant Maskass, either to destroy everything in a level, or to be able to walk at the bottom of the water, or even to take himself for Sonic super warrior after having gobbled up a star, but those moments are far too rare for the game to get exhilarating. We could then mention these famous transformations of which Yoshi is capable, one of the main novelties of this episode, but we have the vague impression that they have been placed in the game without any real coherence. These passages where our Yoshi can take the form of a cart, a submarine, a sledge, a helicopter appear during special portals which propel the player into a level out of context. We then find ourselves directing our reptile through the gyroscopic features of the 3DS, with a certain curiosity at the start and then a great disdain towards the end. Not only are these mini-games far too short for us to appreciate the change, but in addition, they bring absolutely nothing to the adventure or the gaming experience. Admittedly, this has the positive effect of breaking a little rhythm – already very soft – of the adventure, but one wonders if these metamorphoses were not created to fill in a few holes in a somewhat meager specifications.
We could then mention these famous transformations of which Yoshi is capable, one of the main novelties of this episode, but we have the vague impression that they have been placed in the game without any real coherence.
Doing the job, without brilliance or genius, that's how we could sum up Yoshi's New Island, which is certainly a friendly and family platform game, but at no time does it manage to distinguish itself from the other episodes already known . Worse, it only repeats what already exists, with levels with an uninspired level design, a somewhat soft pace overall, a lack of real challenge and therefore a lifespan that is a little too short for our taste. In a straight line, it is possible to complete the game in 5/6 hours, the difficulty being really childish. It's not the bosses that you should be afraid of, the latter being eliminated very easily, but rather the attempts to recover parts and other items at first sight inaccessible, the only moments when you will see the screen of game over. But whatever, getting 1ups in the game is as simple as picking up coins and the means to inflate your life count really many. And then if the game notices that you are struggling to pass certain areas, it will throw wings at you to help you hover longer, or better yet, be invincible, which will allow you to finish a level without any worries.
The cursed island
Like any Nintendo-branded platform game, Yoshi's New Island takes pleasure in abounding in hidden areas and other well-hidden items that can be unearthed after a second pass. That said, we should not expect consistency in the secrets, the game giving the impression that they were placed a little at random, history once again to respect the specifications established by Nintendo. The replay value is therefore an asset for the game, but far from being enough to catch up with the wanderings of this sequel which clearly forgets to play the card of originality. So yes, there is a 2-player mode, which allows you to challenge yourself in mini-games – where you have to collect as many coins as possible in record time or knock out as many balloons as possible – but again, nothing extraordinary property to hope to cry genius. And it is this little spark that never comes that is undoubtedly the biggest disappointment of the game. Too bad.
