Getting Dizzy: Let's Play Yoshi's Island

Okay, these next few stages throw a lot of different mechanics at us, so these may be longer than usual. Bear with me.



This is the only time I've heard them called "Para-Koopas."



Well, that didn't take long!




There aren't nearly as many crazy variants of Koopas as there are in SMW, but considering YI has more than 100 other enemies, I think that's forgivable. The shell mechanics get more interesting with Yoshi's ability to spit them at different angles. You also can give some thought in how you fight them: you can't make an egg from their shell, but you can from an exposed Koopa. Paratroopas perform the usual double duty of aerial obstacle/springboard, with the added touch of scattering feathers on impact, plus a slight change in gameplay. Yoshi gets the typical boost from bouncing off an enemy (though not as dramatic as in some Mario games), but he also gets one boosted flutter. This can give you a lot of options as far as your aerial coverage. Oh, and for a nice detail, as they hit their lowest point, Paratroopas beat their wings extra hard to reverse direction and ascend.



This pipe can be easy to miss if you're moving fast.



Hmm, a flower out of reach and...aww, even the Starman's a baby!

Powerful Infant This song actually has played a few times already: It's used in secret areas and the Bandit mini-games. This is the point where they add the portion of the song that's probably most famous as the Wing Cap theme.




Even the invincibility in this game pays attention to detail! In SMW, Mario could run up walls if he had a slope leading up to them. Since that was a typical Mario game, said slopes were typically artificial triangle blocks, but Yoshi's Island is abundant with natural slopes, so this ability is carried out to its "logical" conclusion. He also gets a variant of the cape's descent-controlling ability.

And just FYI, those blocks only appear when controlling Mario.



But my favorite detail is that there's a run button exclusively for Mario. He's no faster than Yoshi, and you pretty much always want to be running in these segments anyway, so it wasn't necessary at all. But you hold down a button to run with Mario, and that's just the way it is. I love it!

I also like that invincibility in this game tends to be more of an exploration tool than an enemy-slaughterer. This wasn't a unique idea: SMB3 has stuff like that level where you have to get consecutive Starmen to make it through a gauntlet of Munchers. But his wall-climbing abilities, the fact that blocks/platforms only exist when he's in charge, and his small size are more valuable than his invincibility.

Oh, and I love the pine-tree background and the sun shining through.



Anyway, visiting Koopas. Certain rocks start to fall when we land on them, making this stretch a bit more urgent.



They're really not lying about the "visiting" part. This is the last we'll see of Koopas for two full worlds.



Aww, aren't you the cutest thing?!

And a death beast.



Poochy's also immune to insta-death spikes, and can get us to a crate (containing a key) and some red coins.

Poochy takes some flack, but as the message block explains, he simply runs in the direction you're facing. He'll typically run to Yoshi's location if you're separated, then once you climb aboard, he'll take off in whatever direction you please. I think what gets some people is that his acceleration is a little odd, starting very slow before suddenly lurching forward. If you need to keep him in place, you can simply turn back and forth quickly. I certainly don't see why people would call him stupid...

Plus, it's amusing to think of a baby riding a dinosaur riding a dog.



We're back on the other side of the wall, only to spring to a new location. This stage sure is throwing concepts/setpieces at us rapid-fire.



Huh, no way out.



Ahhhhh!

All the coins in here are normal, so they're really just to give us something to strive for while we hop around dodging rocks.



Most games would consider the introduction of super-baby or invinci-dog as a centerpiece of the stage, but YI still feels compelled to include a game of Death Tetris. And it amuses me to think that even stealing from YI didn't help Mega Man X6.



If you can climb out of Tetris Canyon a bit early, the impact of the last few rocks falling will shake off that flower's petals just like a ground pound would. The details, man!



This is a fun little breather. We get a glimpse of all the Fly Guys toting red coins, so we're prepared to drop in and try to snag them all as we drop. It's the first real need for multiple flutters in one leap. It is, of course, pretty much safe, and if we miss one, we can climb back up and try again.



Now for one of the best-hidden secrets in the entire game. The only clue is that this pipe is here and has no apparent function (which is generally rare in YI, though not unheard of).



There's a hidden cloud that releases a switch along this wall. It's out of jumping reach, so you'd have to fling an egg up there for no reason to find it (One improvement by the GBA version was lowering it so you just have to jump up there for no reason).



This opens a passage to a castle-themed room. That weird gunk on the ceiling will briefly get us stuck. You can ground pound to break out quickly (not recommended here!). It's neat, because when we encounter this stuff later, it's usually just an inconvenience, but here we can use it to traverse a long lava pool (feels very Super Metroid-ish). Of course, this is the earliest the gunk appears, so you may not be able to appreciate the "detriment becomes useful" concept. On the other hand, this is most recent area of the game that I've found, first seeing it just a few months ago (I'd say it's the final area of the game that I've found, but now I'm suspicious there may be more spots I don't know about).

There's nothing essential down here (just a ton of 1Ups and a few coins), so I bear no ill will for the sheer deviousness of the hiding place. I'm just kind of shocked.

After winning our trust with all those shiny 1Ups, the devious Baron Von Zeppelin finally strikes! If they're carrying enemies or hazards, they'll drop them the second we pass beneath them. We have to get goodies like that crate ourselves.




The level continues its efforts to bury us in a rockalache. We have to be quick here, first darting in to grab a flower before it's covered by rocks, then springing off a slow-falling rock to reach a high ledge with the last flower.



We conclude with a dead sprint to the finish, just making sure to collect the final, easy-to-reach reds. And oh yeah! We have a key we haven't used yet.



There's a slight element of luck to this one, but it's not too bad. You're basically racing to find the prize inside one of the balloons. If the prize is in the lowest balloon on the right, there's basically no stopping Bandit from getting it first. But you can effectively prevent him from popping any of the others if you're vigilant. Note that the platforms on the second tier may or may not be moving. Also, if you ground pound a balloon too far off the center, it won't pop and you'll bounce off at an awkward angle, so this is a combination of speed and precision. It's generally fun and fast-paced, and look: a 20-spot! That's about as useful a prize as you can get. The 8-year-old in me is also happy that you can pop any remaining balloons after you win.

Next Time: Talkin' Baseball.

The baseball level is the first that is really long. Most of the levels prior only take a few minutes, whereas to get 100% in the next it could take you up to twelve.

Plus the baseball boys are just really inventive bad guys. They're probably my favorite in the whole game.

Let's step up to the plate!




We meet the Green Glove right off the bat, and we're also introduced to these cloud arrows. Like Bandits, Green Gloves are implied to be part of the Shy Guy family. They take three stomps or a ground pound to kill, but there's no real need now. They just wander slowly when unprovoked. Toss an egg at them, however, and their aggressive athleticism kicks in. They'll catch it and hurl it back with gusto. Your own eggs can't hurt you, but they will knock you around.




Slugger requires a bit more caution to approach (he'll smack Yoshi with the bat if he wanders too close), and he'll swing away at any egg that comes at him. We can use that to hit this cloud and open the way forward (sure, I could've just thrown the egg at the cloud, but why would I do that?).




Another new enemy! Now these projectiles will hurt (they're also edible, if you get the opportunity to scarf one up). The cacti are very tough, and the most reliable way to get past them is to ground pound nearby, which briefly stuns them.



We get a good look at our new background and head up (man, Yoshi's worse than I am about blinking for pictures).




We work our way up through the rock formation and forward.

Soon we're stymied by this very lethal passage. Time to look for an alternate route.



Well...there's that.




We have to loop back through the last few screens we just traversed, but no complaints about backtracking here. Changing characters/abilities gives the same area a completely different feel. It may have nothing to do with Baseball Boys, but this is my favorite part of the stage.



Here's an interesting scenario. The Slugger will repel attempts to hit that cloud from the left. There's a Green Glove on the platform on the right (with a few eggs already at its disposal to chuck at you). The layout isn't right to lure the Green Glove to throw at the cloud.



You can simply stomp the Green Glove, but even throwing an egg at it will push it off the ledge (it will make the catch, but slide backward from the force). Now we can take a clear shot from the right. Another option is to simply take out the Slugger with invincible Mario if you're quick.



We have a few jumps over bottomless pits and spikes while being bombarded. Nonlethal projectiles can still be dangerous in the right (wrong?) situations.




This always makes me smile. In addition to the red, we get a 1Up for our trouble.



Ice melon!



This melon gives us three breaths of ice. It will freeze just about any enemy (except huge ones like Chomps and Gargantua Blarggs). They'll thaw after several seconds if left alone, edible ones can be eaten like normal, and any other contact will shatter them instantly. Oh, it can also activate winged clouds.



There are several goodies scattered among these rocks. This is a section where we really see exactly what our jump height is. It's like a mini-maze, trying to reach certain rocks.



We're not even close to done. What's that ahead?

(Whoa, weird color scheme on the cactus!) These are Little Mousers. They don't want us to have some bombs; they'd rather have our eggs. They can be annoying, but in an admirable sort of way. They'll dart in behind us when we're distracted by more pressing foes, grab an egg, and run until they reach one of those tiny tunnels we can't follow them into. Stealing the eggs even works as a defense mechanism, since trying to snag them with Yoshi's tongue will just grab the egg back.

I really like the range of enemy "objectives" in this game. You have the Baseball Boys, who are really just "playing" with you, the Bandits (kidnapping), and the Mousers (stealing). It's rare to have so many enemies with distinct purposes, especially in a platformer.



The Mouser labyrinth provides a few ice melons in case we're running short on eggs. I like the frozen Piranha look!



Well, we're in a rodent's subterranean home. When in Rome...This stretch is more straightforward than our first mole tank adventure. Just don't waste time. Heck, as long as you grab all the red coins, you don't even need to make it to the block.



Things really open up now, with a few layers of criss-crossing paths. The Mousers are even more defined, peeking out of holes before dropping out (they even look back and forth), and donning skulls to seem more intimidating (shattering it will cause the little guy to drop to the ground, winded).



We get a couple more goodies stashed behind tougher enemies.



Hey, the game finally explicitly shares the ability to spit foes into tulips!



This is a great setup. Not only do we need to perfectly line up the shot, but we need to wait until the Glove is as far right as possible so it can't snag the egg out of the air (it will still try, as you can see). We can also deliberately toss one to it, then toss more to pick up the coins while it's preparing to throw. Or jump up there and kill it.




We conclude with another great setup. We've seen the little mouse trails splintering off the main path for a while, and up until now, they've just been flavor. But due to the angle of this one, we can drop in and reach the last flower (I like how there's still another mouse trail in the lower right corner to show that their true refuge is still out of our reach). This is another tricky shot, with no real way to cheat it. It can be tricky mitigating our spring back out with that Piranha dangling above us, but the ice melon in the corner can take care of that easily.

And with that, we finally conclude this stage! Up to this point, we've had tastes of what makes Yoshi's Island unique, but this is our first full-course meal. The Baseball Boys are very appealing, with nice character designs that build off Shy Guys, combined with great animation and a simple premise that holds a lot of potential. I always like it when you can manipulate enemies to help you.

But I think the setpiece of the Mouser lair is the surprise of this stage. You just kind of stumble onto it, and suddenly you're going through a network of tunnels, with mice jumping out of the walls and darting into cracks in the floor. The cartoonish look of the game really shines here, with mice peeking from the darkness, wearing skulls and jumping around to seem intimidating, and swiping eggs from our hero when his back is turned.

Throw in the "traverse the same area in two different ways" element, and you have one great stage.

Oh, what's this? A new bonus challenge!



Well, that was quick.

You can only win lives in Slot Machine, and I'm terrible at stopping the tumblers with any sort of accuracy (I don't know if there is actual skill/reflex involved). But it's over much faster than Scratch and Match, and I do appreciate that you can stop them in any order that you choose.

I...I don't know.



They're definitely edible though!

Gusties fly in straight lines, emerging at several different heights. As odd as the title is, it is kind of helpful. Yoshi is known for not mixing well with ghosts, so it's assurance that yes, you can eat these.



These suspicious dirt patches and the outlines of coins reveal that switches can temporarily create coins.



Just a small stretch over crazy terrain and then we're underground, done with Gusties for the remainder of the stage. They sure like naming stages after the first enemy you see in them, regardless of their prominence in the stage as a whole.



We're reminded that we can egg our way through dirt. We can always retreat back to the Lantern Ghost pipe if we run out, but with efficient shooting, we can actually get through this with more eggs than we had to start.



This middle cloud gives us a single ordinary coin for some reason. It was removed entirely in the GBA version.



Oh hey, a star. Let's see where it goes.



Lead on, little guy!




RUN!



Oh...we're done...

This block will spew coins and stars for as long as we're Mario and it remains tangible.



But we still have some stuff to find.

While backtracking, there's this curiosity. A 1Up and some coins with no apparent access point.



There's also a key we can't currently get at.



The solution to both problems is the Mole Tank!



We actually have to crawl down the pit to our left, under the stage, and up to the 1Up. This isn't THE most intuitive solution in the world, but it's for a 1Up, so no harm, no foul. It does feel clever when you get it (just be careful with the Tank. It's itching for an excuse to detach and plummet to death).




Well, the Mole Tank bubble doesn't regenerate unless we leave the area, so may as well use seeds and eggs to clear out this massive dirt patch tucked away in the left corner. We actually have to use some caution in how we do this, since we need to use some dirt to reach the upper area of the room.



Well, that could be easy to miss.



The awesome waterfall background has some context now.




This is a Nep-Enut (Neptune with the second syllable reversed...), which functions just like a Gargantua Blargg. Several of these coins are red, and we have to be quick while extracting them. You can easily get pinned in the upper areas or against walls, so make those eggs count.



Running behind it before it surfaces is always a good move.



Well, we're done, but now I feel compelled to keep snooping around.



Stepping into the lake area and back gives us another shot at the Mole Tank, so we can retrieve the key.



We glimpsed this while following the star down.



Noooooooo!



At least Yoshi picks up the win.



Baby Mario could steamroll through the home stretch, and now Yoshi can too!

This stage is odd. Again, I like being able to run through the meat of it in two different ways. I also like how things are tucked away in various branches. The underground lake is definitely the most fun secret area yet.

On the other hand, there's going to be a lot of backtracking, especially if you don't already know what to do. Chances are you'll grab the star as soon as you see it, so you won't be able to get far with it. You may see the outlines of blocks and realize where you're supposed to go, but that's back to the first star with you. Those running birds (Goonies) and bats make following the star really obnoxious, since they keep spawning from different sides.

Also, this is the first time that the dirt has concealed something necessary to 100 percent. There have been clearly visible items within/on the other side of dirt, but here we have to keep destroying it until we find something. Fortunately, we're only really cut off from the first quarter of the stage, so after clearing everything out, we can make a reasonable guess that something's hidden here. But that's just more backtracking in a stage that's already backtrack-heavy.

It's more a testament to the game's quality than a condemnation of the stage when I say this is probably the weakest one so far.

Oh, we found a new bonus challenge at the end of the last stage.



Drawing Lots is boring, but at least it's fast and you have decent odds of snagging an item. You just pick one of the squares and have a 50/50 chance of getting something good.



Alright, now it's time for the next stage. I like how we first introduce a YI-exclusive breed of ghost, then bring in the Boos. Luigi's Mansion is kinda similar in that respect.



Aw, look how little and happy it is!



We meet Big Boo, and see yet another function of switches. This is like something between the P-Switches and Switch Palaces of earlier Mario games, creating temporary block/platforms.



I like how they use a Boo to cover a coin here. They don't really do much with this, though.



Now we enter the "hub" of the stage. Although it's called a Fort, it bears more of a resemblance to SMW's Ghost Houses (which is totally fitting). Obviously, it's full of Boos and other ghosts, but we also have the wooden structure, some secret rooms, and requiring some puzzling to find the exit.



First, this room provides us with some eggs and teaches us how to kill Boos (they're invulnerable while being watched). This is just a beautiful blending of YI's mechanics with a classic Mario enemy's behavior.



We can now hit that cloud, giving us access to a third-story passage (and a door, but it's locked). However, the staircase seals off the second story.



More Gusties.



Here's something new. I was always under the impression that these were building on the Boos that crawled along the floor and ceiling in SMB3, but much more animated.



This just had me confounded as a kid. We have the switch, and the passage onward, but pressing the switch seals the passage off! Madness!

Here's a new experience: making a bank shot under duress. Of course, we can still retreat when the platform's about to expire, so it's not cruel (it's a bit hard to see, but our prize is a key).




Boo Guys are functionally identical to Shy Guys. Spitting the first one out and watching it bowl through all of its companions and out the flippers is something I feel compelled to do every playthrough.



We can get into this room (and pick up some coins along the way).




Rooms like this really highlight how wonderfully Yoshi controls. You can run circles around the Boos with ease, and it makes even the simple task of cleaning out this room's goods a joy.



We pop out on the other side of this crate, so we can shove it down and obtain the stars within.



More importantly, the staircase cloud has been reset, and we're high enough to reach the elusive remaining passage.



Now we can cross with the greatest of ease.



Suddenly, we've gone all SMB1 with the stone-and-lava look.



We even have classic firebars, which rotate in a pseudo-3D fashion. Their hit detection is awful, but it's in our favor, so just enjoy the callback.



Boat ride! This is really just for the game to show off. The waves, the stones on the back wall showing various degrees of heat, the splashing off the boat, it all looks pretty neat.

We're back to the Ghost House setting (and we see something sorta new: what appears to be a Big Boo is revealed to be a formation of Boos).



What's this? A technique that was just for money/shortcuts in Burt's place is now essential for 100 percent.




This is a bizarre little room, with TWO extremely rare enemies. The Boo Man Bluff is unique to this room and completely invincible. I'm not sure what exactly draws it, but watch its expression to determine whether it's about to give chase. The Boo Balloons do show up in one other stage, but they're quite rare (and durable) themselves. It takes three shots to turn one into a switch, which we can use to get the final flower (and some cash).

This can be really hectic, with all three of them flying around and you attempting to reach that upper corner with one or two of them still pestering you. Of course, you can simply snag the flower with a single well-placed shot and leave.



We're done here, but the game feels like showing off a little more before the boss. These polygon planks actually feel pretty natural in terms of where you can land and how you move on them. There's a checkpoint immediately before them, so you don't really lose anything if you happen to slip up.



And with that, it's boss time! Kamek transforms a Big Boo into...



Oh, that's not bad.



Unlike its ordinary brethren, Bigger Boo turns truly transparent when "hiding" (and you can safely pass through it).




This is another really easy fight. We have to do just what we learned against normal Boos: bounce shots off the wall to hit it. It grows with each shot, which makes it a bigger target more than anything. It really serves as more of a distraction/takes up space to set us up to be hit by one of the Fangs that are constantly fluttering through the room (to provide ammo). Keep an eye on those and remember you can always turn the boss transparent if you need room. You should have no trouble. Five hits does the trick.

Still, the transparency effect is cool, as is seeing the boss at full size. Most Mario platformers have very easy bosses, but (I believe), at least YI has interesting ones. I don't know if everyone agrees, but know that they will get a little harder, much more interesting, and less round/white/yellow as we go on.

Next Time, a Rarity: A YI level I'm not looking forward to.

Here we go...



Unlike the longer, pinker seesaws we've used earlier, these will fall off entirely, and the spike left behind will hurt.



Here are a couple of the recurring elements of this stage: entire sections of floor made of dirt (so no ground pounding) and Koopa shells (but no Koopas).




Let's talk about those items we've been gathering! You can access them from the pause menu at any time during a stage, except in boss rooms. We have:

+10 Star
+20 Star
Winged Cloud
Super Green/Red/Blue Melon
Magnifying Glass
"Full" (the egg icon)
POW Block

The +10/20 Star item will simply add that many seconds to our timer upon application (capping at 30, of course). It's not the most fun one to use, but probably the most valuable items on the list, since they can erase a dumb hit you may take on a stage's home stretch and let you finish with 100 percent without replaying.

Winged Cloud turns most enemies onscreen into clouds. Each produces one coin when hit.

POW Block is basically a superior version of that, sending out a shock wave that turns most enemies into stars. Better reward, and you don't need to expend ammo to get to it.

Full simply gives you six eggs. It's usually not necessary, but can be nice in a pinch.

The Super Melons give you a mouthful of seeds/fire/ice breath. You get a lot more than you would from finding a melon in the wild (you get nine or ten blasts of fire/ice versus three), though you still lose them by going through a pipe/door/screen transition.

Finally, the Magnifying Glass will reveal all red coins and invisible clouds in a stage.



Here's Lakitu! He looks nice, with his cloud leaving a little puffy trail as he travels in lazy loops. For better or worse, he's not nearly as terrifying as he's been in the past. He only throws Spinies in their egg form (what, this game has 120-plus enemies, but they couldn't include Spinies?), so there's no accumulating threat on the ground.

We also have some abilities at our disposal that we lacked in previous Lakitu attacks. Tossing eggs upward and Yoshi's vertical tongue go a long way to nullifying the threat. There is a slight tradeoff to this, though: Both of these methods will disperse Lakitu's cloud, sending the turtle itself falling offscreen and leaving you with no ride (and no egg if you opt to eat the cloud). You have to jump on Lakitu to hijack the transportation, and that's considerably tougher.




Here's the Magnifying Glass at work.



Oh, and one of those clouds produces a switch that gives us some solid ground to stand on, but it's not for long enough to get much done, so it seems a bit pointless.



Unless you know this is here and run past red coins and such to pound it before the blocks expire. Otherwise, it's a matter of shoving it onto solid ground in order to obtain the key inside. We can also knock some Koopa shells around to clear a path to collectibles while also threatening the ground we stand on, but it rarely feels set up in a very interesting way. Most of the time it can remove a layer of dirt (either stuff that's in our way or the layer we're standing on), but you have to stand around waiting for it to happen. When it's meant to be helpful, there are faster, more direct approaches. When it's meant to endanger you, there's way more than enough time to leave the unstable area.

Aw, poor guy(s?). They're so happy just bouncing around, and then Yoshi goes and eats the top portion, both saddening the plant and causing it to droop, giving us an easy hurdle to clear. After a few seconds, another top segment will grow, and they can enjoy their day once again.




Behind the locked door is our third transformation, the train. The main point of it is to traverse the rail markings in the background. It's a nifty premise, seeming to inspire Paper Mario and Link Between Worlds. But there really isn't a lot done with it beyond the sheer novelty.



Oh yeah, the Shy Guys that are seemingly drawn on the wall come to life once you start riding the rails. They can briefly stun you if they touch you.




This bonus room is a little mean. We have to pound down the stump to access the little nook, but the passage appears on top of the cliff, so we can't pound the stump all the way down.



But it's just a side area for us to rack up coins and get another rare view of the twirling planks.




Things get really chaotic in the final stretch. The game introduces possibly its worst mechanic: red-coin-bearing Fly Guys who will fly away after hovering for just a moment. With 1Ups, it's just a little test of reflexes and skill. With essential items, screwing it up means needing to restart from the last checkpoint if you're after 100 percent.

Worse, while the game has typically been very gentle with introducing concepts, this one is brutal. There are a few Fly Guys strewn through the home stretch, which is full of tall walls we need to spring over, these new spiny enemies that either require a very precise jump to clear or an egg shot to move, a new breed of Dayzee that spits bubbles (which can push us backward), and Lakitu, who is a particular nuisance when having to deal with all this other stuff and trying to spring over walls quickly (they love to sit right in your path).

Oh, and as a final kick in the pants, run behind this bush right before the goal line, and Bandit will pull a "switch the baby" maneuver. I'll admit it's a fun sight gag that's right at home with the cartoonish visuals, but losing a perfect timer on the last screen of the stage can be really annoying after scrambling to fetch all of the red coins.




With the stage cleared out, we can check out the non-essentials at our leisure. Yoshi got a crystal-cave bonus area to frolic around in, so Baby Mario gets one too (invincible Mario gets a lot of mileage in World 2; his appearances will be much more sporadic after this).



The bubbles are a fun concept that don't get enough use. We can use them to reach great heights, or even eat them and spit them at enemies (unfortunately, they don't effect very many enemies).




We conclude with the "Taking Out Frustrations on Lakitu" collection.

Whew. Like I said, not my favorite level. Fortunately, things are looking up, even if we're heading down next time.

It's attracted to sound. If you lay an egg or ground pound it will go towards you, but it you fling an egg at the wall it will head towards the impact.

Shame it's only in the one spot.

Ah, thanks! I figured it was sound-related, but since virtually every action makes a sound, I wasn't sure which ones "counted." That is pretty neat that you can send it away by hitting a wall. The GBA version actually does bring it back in one of its exclusive stages (as it does with several of the rarer enemies), but it really doesn't do anything more with it. It's been a while, but I recall Yoshi's Story having a Boo-centric level that emphasized them a lot more (that game was its best when emphasizing lots of variations of one "family" of enemies).



On with the show!



After going through a stage where ground pounding the dirt would mean instant death, we now have to do it to advance. This calls back some memories of digging in SMB2, but is much quicker.




There are several nooks and crannies to loot on the way down. Eggs are the best way to move horizontally through the dirt, so keep a healthy supply on hand.




We find the door forward, but there's still more pit to go. The bottom only has a few stars and a key that leads to a mini-game hut, but it does illustrate one issue that crops up occasionally in the game. Normally, I feel like the game hits a sweet spot between platforming and exploration, but sometimes you run into situations where you don't know which way to go, and which way will lock you out of previous branches. It's generally best to save a screen transition or a one-way passage like doors, pipes, or flippers for as long as possible, but that's not always the ideal route. This case is no big thing though.

On another note, we learn that while burrowing, we can vary our distance by holding Down or releasing it early.



As we get deeper underground, the cave darkens, with a nice new palette and some mist rolling in. There are some suspicious tiles on the ground, and a patch of dirt up in the ceiling a little ways past that, but let's pretend we don't take notice.



We eventually get steered upward. We can loop around to the left, or continue up.



We get tantalized with a door we can't reach (and arrows pointing at it), and we get a glimpse of some rather intimidating enemies: walking cannons that send cannonballs bouncing forward and exploding. We get some red coins for our trouble, but this is otherwise here to give us an idea of the direction we need to travel and give us a glimpse of how some more difficult enemies operate.



With that being a dead end otherwise, we head left to find...another dead end with a red coin consolation prize. There's no ignoring the dirt now, though, and since we've spent the first stretch of the level ground pounding it, it's only natural to do it now.



Well look, a cloud > door > room full of enemies > prizes!

I didn't get a shot of it, but if you move far enough to grab those coins in the previous dead end, you can see a vertical shaft to the left.



Which makes this fair game.




We can keep going with some well-timed bouncing, looping around and dropping down to the mini-game hut (and we can get a flower).




Here's the final (and my favorite) mini game. Melons will pop out of different pots, and you and Bandit snatch them up and try to hit each other with seeds. The Bandit has apparently created a Yoshi helmet for the sole purpose of seed-spitting. Bandit can hide behind walls, but Yoshi's vertical spitting still gives him an advantage. Fire melons will occasionally appear (with Bandit getting a cool blue flame); they knock off half the life bar. Ordinary seeds will do a quarter.



It's finally time to take the path forward and confront the Kaboombas. This is definitely one of the toughest enemy encounters we've had so far (which isn't saying a whole lot, but still). The angle that they fire their cannons and the low ceiling makes jumping on or over them risky. Ordinary jumps don't do anything to them anyway. A ground pound will finish them, but between their unpredictable gait and their constant firing, that can be tough to do. They're inedible, so eggs are the most reliable way to finish them off, though the slope you're on and their firepower can make even that tougher than you'd think.



Now for a rather pointless section where we make some easy jumps past stationary/slow-moving enemies. We can at least see what happens when we hit one of these round, spiky foes: they roll until they hit a wall, and burst into a bunch of coins (which we probably won't be able to get).




And we get ANOTHER background change before the end (with a very nice sunset). We also get an introduction to these numbered platforms. Each time you jump off of one, the number goes down, until it vanishes after jumping on it the last time. There was something similar in SMW that was very rarely used.

Oh, you better have an egg on hand (or at least a Full or green super melon item) if you want that last flower. I mean, it'd be unlikely to the extreme to be totally out of eggs AND have neither of those items in stock, but some people get upset at that one part in Mega Man 3 where you can TECHNICALLY get stuck halfway through a level if you use up all of your Rush Coil AND Jet in the first half of one stage, so I mention it for those people.

Next Time: If you don't eat your Shy Guys, you can't have any eggs!

And we're back.



In a departure from established style, the stage name ignores the prominent new enemy.



Bouncing off its head gives us a new avenue to explore right off the bat.



A lot to absorb here. Lakitus hanging out on a wall are usually a welcome sight. They're very slow to actually attack, they're an easy source of ammo (unlike their cloud-riding brethren), and they're stationary stepping stones.

Meanwhile, Fat Guys yield giant eggs. They won't fly very far, but when they land, the ground shakes, turning all onscreen enemies into stars. These are a lot of fun to wreak havoc with, and the stage gives us plenty of large batches of enemies to plow through (but don't throw them at a message block).



The key's easy to retrieve, and leads to another Gather Coins mini-game.



Back on the primary path, we have more foes to wipe out.




Another new old enemy! The blasters clearly inflate before firing, giving us ample warning of the oncoming Bullet Bills. They're big enough to be easy jumping targets, while still being small enough to eat. They're more stepping stones than threats, at least in this context.



In this stretch, we get a few Fat Guys and nice clusters of enemies to devastate.



But they're only distractions. The only object of real value down here is being guarded by a solitary Tap Tap.




Tired of causing earthquakes with gigantic eggs? Hop across a completely unrelated chasm for a little while to take your mind off of it.

Here's where the stage gets a bit tiresome. Since red coins can be hidden in stumps, we have to search every single one of these if we want 100 percent. I really wish stumps worked like dirt, and you would continue to pound as long as you hold down (in a rare improvement over the original, YIDS included this if you were using Donkey Kong).



Oh, looks like that screen-high stump was completely optional. That's okay, it was fun pounding it twenty times.



But we can experience that joy again!



After that, it feels good to spring into the clouds. There's a lot of open air to make some big jumps here, and we get a great look at the background. We can also reach this secret passage with some skillful leaps.



And then the stage drops the ball again. One of these four paths contains score-relevant items. If you choose wrong, you better have an egg to shoot up the correct path (and hope it picks everything up), or else it's time to retry from a checkpoint.




But this is a nice way to conclude things. We descend through a few screens of Lakitu's Wall. We have a lot of room to work with, and a lot of things to grab. We can try to bounce our way down without touching the ground, wreck them for stars, eat them for ammo, and even dodge a Spiny or two every once in a while!

There were a couple missteps, but this was a nice conclusion, bringing together the two major concepts introduced in the stage and increasing the scope...wait, we're not done?




Yes, even though everything score-related is behind us, the stage decides to introduce us to the fourth transformation: the car. This is a strange one. Not counting GBA-exclusive content (which does about as much as you can ask for with its limited abilities), this is its only appearance. Beyond driving through small gaps (which the chopper and mole tank can also do), it has no functions that Yoshi couldn't ordinarily perform.

The car's lone gimmick is its "stilts," allowing it to pass over small enemies and snag platforms slightly above ground level. I've said before that I think the vehicles were a concept inspired by Donkey Kong Country's animal buddies, and this one takes a page right out of Expresso the Ostrich's book (he could run harmlessly over smaller enemies).

There are two issues with this. First, Expresso also brought speed and extended leaps to the table, plus he had to contend with larger enemies as well as small ones, varying your approach. Secondly, he still seemed to have been ruled the least interesting of the animals, being the only one from DKC1 who neither returned nor inspired a replacement with similar abilities.




In fact, the only part of the car's journey that isn't completely straightforward is this passage that can be easy to overlook. Unfortunately, it ends the game's only car ride early, and has you switch to the chopper, reaping greater rewards than the car has access to (plus being able to grab the lone 1Up that IS in the car's reach). It's just so weird to introduce this vehicle, barely use it, and undermine its one appearance with another vehicle.

That aside, the stage as a whole feels more open than most of what we've played so far. From the skies to the wall, we often have a lot of real estate at our disposal, and we're given ample opportunity to play with the new giant egg mechanic. Exploration and puzzle solving are emphasized here from the beginning, with the upper path, several chances to peek at what's ahead from the other side of walls, reaching the hidden passage, and getting at the flower behind the Tap Tap. Even the car segment isn't really bad; it's just very odd.

The stage does suffer a bit with the way the hidden passage is set up (requiring a random guess) and with all the stumps to pound. Maybe it's just me, but I'm okay with a platformer that isn't threatening my life (or doesn't have much actual platforming for stretches), as long as I can run, jump, and climb freely. Asking us to pound a bunch of stumps without being challenging is another story. Oh well.

We get a new background and an intro screen to this castle.




We begin with lava (and nifty flickering torches in the background). We can stand on the little stumps. They sink slightly under Yoshi's weight, but not actually into the lava.



This lava-ball dude actually gives pursuit as we ride a painfully slow lift (but we can easily just eat it).



We get a brief demonstration that yellow lifts move faster than green ones, which will play a larger role later.



We can progress to the next room very easily and safely, but there's a lot of stuff to be had in this one. This is our first true test of driving an Arrow Lift, since one slip-up is instant death.



At the far side of the room is a little area for us to use the train again. It's nothing terribly exciting; just choosing the right path and being quick to backtrack if you choose the wrong one.



A quick trip back to the right side of the room, and we enter a dark network of tunnels. We can go right, but we'll eventually be stymied, so follow the general rule of going in the opposite direction of progress first.




I love these guys. They can't be harmed, and they'll pass dynamite along, attempting to drop it on you. By itself, it's a decent distraction hazard: You can see it coming and prepare for it, but you have to deal with it while contending with what's in front of you. But you can get them to drop it prematurely, which has both a gameplay purpose of forcing them to drop it on your terms, and is hilariously animated. They're all visibly stunned, then the dropper just looks down with despair, while the others close their eyes and shake their heads in disapproval. The GBA version actually makes an addition to this sequence, having the next one in line look back and forth in confusion, like he's wondering what the deal is.

This game is the best, guys.

Oh, it's that spongy stuff we saw in the secret room in 2-1. Also, an evil flower that's actually rolling on the floor laughing. They'll roll at you if you get too close or try to shoot it with an egg.



You can get this flower with a very careful ground pound or an egg, but manipulating enemies for your benefit is more fun!



Finally, the main purpose of this branch: a pot with a key in it. It's a long shove to get it off the ledge, and we have to keep retreating to avoid dynamite blasts (which definitely isn't foreshadowing anything).



Advancing to the right, we run into these very nasty-looking barricades, that basically exist to explicitly spell out another thing we've been able to do from the beginning: Freeze our cursor in place by holding the shoulder buttons (you can also freeze it straight up by holding Up. I forget if they ever mention that; I guess we'll find out.)



Burts remind us that they exist in this "kill enemies for a prize" room (though I think this is the last we'll see of them).



We have another "Arrow Lifting through thorns" challenge, this time a vertical one. As the block says, we can destroy them, but in this case, they're way too numerous for that to do much good (especially since we'll be on the move while doing so). This feels like a very good challenge here. Even a fall should be survivable with some careful hovering. The sponge adds an interesting element where you have to fight against instinct if you get caught in it (since you'll probably want to hold Down to get out).



Here's where the "destroy thorns" thing comes in. Small patches of them are suspicious, and this one hides a cloud that hides a door.




This room is a blast. It seems innocent at first, then we find out that it's crawling with Bandits. Like with the huge room full of Boos, it's a chance to really feel the ease of control as you scramble around the room, fighting and dodging them. It also manages to expand on what seemed like a pretty one-note mechanic, throwing in lots of vases with only one containing the key. There's also a checkpoint within the room, so you can recover if some kidnappings occur (or wipe the Bandits out, but you'd have to know it's there/be inclined to rush straight up, plus it's unlikely that they'd all be onscreen).

There are a few more pots full of money just to reinforce the theme of this castle (plus one on a high ledge that we need eggs to knock down), then it's boss time!




I've been told this guy's name is Roger, but I don't know where that's from. Anyway, he materializes in a very cool fashion, and then the battle begins!




I love the range of expressions on this guy. He's yet another boss that's showing off more than anything. But again, it's not like Iggy Koopa was a brutal test of reflexes. If you're gonna have pushover bosses, they may as well act and look interesting.

Anyway, there are three "attacks" here. He'll spit a trio of blue, indestructible flames. They'll move toward your location as they descend, but they move slowly, and once they sink past your level, they vanish. Just don't cut off your own exit.

Next, the Ghost will lunge, which doesn't actually hurt at all. It will shove Yoshi backward, so pay attention to how close the pit on the left is and if there are any fireballs in the vicinity. The only real way to get hurt in this battle is to lure fireballs toward your left, start shoving the Ghost, then suddenly be pushed back into the fire. If you crouch, you can avoid this entirely or greatly reduce the distance pushed, depending on where you are.

Finally, the pair of Shy Guys will push PG forward, cutting into your real estate (with the end goal of shoving you into the pit on the left). Unfortunately for them, you can easily outmuscle them. Just don't leave them be for too long (it's prudent to retreat occasionally to avoid the upper two attacks, but you should spend most of this battle pushing the pot, and if you do, it will be over in seconds).



Push one Shy Guy off the ledge, and the fight's basically over. The pair of them can make decent progress if you let them get going, as well as stall your own. But just one, backed up against the ledge, really can't do anything.



It's all over but the falling now.



And what a fall it is, cartoon gravity and pot shards and all!

This is a great stage to end the world on. The enemies are lively and animated, there are fun sequences with the Arrow Lifts, the dynamite-dropping Shy Guys, and the Bandits, and the boss is amusing if nothing else.




With that, World 2 is (mostly) conquered and we're moving on! World 2 moved beyond the tutorial territory of the first world, and it reached higher highs and lower lows. I mean, those lows are basically 2-3, 2-5, and 2-7 being slightly more tedious than anything in World 1, but there it is. It got off to a very strong start with its first two stages, both castles were quite satisfying, and the Mystery Maze was a fun change of pace. The laid-back, wide-open Lakitu's Wall had its moments, too.

While World 1 was the "Flower Garden," I have a hard time assigning a theme to this one. From the title screen view of the island and the first couple stages, it seems like it's going to be a forest world, but then caves become just as prominent. Then there's both castles being ghost-themed (plus What's Gusty Taste Like). I don't think worlds need to have a theme or anything, it's just weird to consider. It also stands out because the next world's theme is very distinct.

Next Time: Fun and games, drive me mad, make me crazy, rumble, bungle, and the bare necessities.

Are you sure? I thought I always just jumped up there and pushed it down.

...Oh. Looks like you can do that. They hand you a bunch of yellow eggs right beforehand, so I guess I always felt that was The Way To Do It.

Maybe it is! I don't know.

I share your passion for shaming the Shy Guy Ghost Bomb Squad. I do it to 'em about ten times every time I play this level.

Great LP so far!

I never noticed the animations of the shy guy bomb squad. This game is so well-designed.

I love Yoshi's Island. The only thing I'm not a big fan of are the vehicle sections and most of the underground / cave stages. I just never liked the pacing of those.

The American strategy guide calls him "Roger the Potted Ghost."

I always like it when a game shows the courtesy of welcoming me.




Monkeys! These little guys show a lot of personality, grinning at us, running and jumping away from us, climbing trees and vines, throwing projectiles down, and plenty more that we have yet to see.



They make great, recyclable projectiles. Jumping on them or spitting them at something will only stun them momentarily. They'll blink, scratch their heads, get up, and run away. I actually tend to feel bad and try to avoid abusing them. I do like that the most varied, animated enemies tend to be tougher to kill, so you can play with them and see their full range of actions.



Here are a couple new varieties already. The one dropping spiky projectiles in the previous stretch could be seen as playful (and makes a convenient ammo refill station), but this crazy dynamite-tossing monkey is clearly out to get us. We also get the seed-spitting monkey, using one of our tools against us (kind of a reminder that Yoshi is sort of rampaging through their habitat). The seeds hurt, but like eggs thrown by Baseball Boys, they can trigger clouds and collect coins just as if Yoshi spat them. Oh, and we can steal the melon and spit seeds ourselves (and since it's half-eaten, there aren't very many. Details!).



We reach the muddy jungle shoreline. Trudging through mud makes a distinct sound effect, causes us to slip around, and even spatters as we move through it. The grass and cattails are nice touches as well. After spilling into the water, we come to one of the game's most deviously hidden, entirely optional secrets. Notice that brown platform in the middle of the mud for no reason? And see how the ground to the right is visible even beneath the water, but not on the left?



Presto! Yoshi can't really swim beneath the surface, but if he falls from a significant height or ground pounds, he'll sink beneath it momentarily. (I love this little detail about the ground pound. It truly is about manipulating environment, even if that environment is water).



The spring leads us to this Fly Guy shooting gallery, complete with giant donut lifts that never appear anywhere else in the game.



The water limits our mobility while contending with projectiles above. Also, there are harmless little crickets (or maybe they're tiny frogs?) bouncing around!



Now we climb. The vines hold up platforms that Yoshi can use, but the monkeys can climb on the vines themselves. One thing I actually liked about Yoshi's Island DS was how you could climb on anything monkeys could when you had Baby Donkey Kong. It was a nice way to build on established mechanics, something the game didn't do very often.

As we enter the home stretch, frequent pits make the relatively harmless monkeys a bit more dangerous. Also, we get a really nice background, with mist gathering around waterfalls.




The monkeys present one final obstacle before the stage ends: the Jungle Book maneuver. Come into contact with this chain of monkeys and they'll snag Mario right off Yoshi's back (also, doing it above a pit can send you plummeting straight down). Previously, although monkeys would throw/spit projectiles, direct contact with them wouldn't hurt. From this point on, touching one will cause it to grab Mario and run. It's like they took a while to size up this strange intruder before deciding on a course of action.



Here's another bonus challenge, and the only one where we can actually lose something. We decide how many lives we want to bet, then spin the roulette wheel. The left wheel can land on an addition or multiplication sign, and the right wheel can land on a number 0-3. So at worst we can lose our entire bet and at best we can triple it.