Yoshi's Story
Reviewed by Brian H
Yes, Yoshi's Story has been out for a while, and yes, I finally got off my lazy butt
and helped out the poor soul slaving away at his computer, updating this site.
Well, a bit too much exaggeration there but he deserves some credit, doesn't he?
Editors Note: No there isn't too much exaggeration here. I spend between 30-40
hours a week working on the page, all by myself!!!
Yoshi's Story is another remake of classic Nintendo or Super NES games,
however Yoshi's Story falls slightly short of the mark of "classic" which all
other games remade on N64 certainly have reached. With all due honesty,
Yoshi's Island was indefinitely the last true 2-D platform game I have
played that has achieved "classic" status. However, when Shigeru Miyamoto
decided to take a shot at a 2D game for N64, it turned out to be different - WAY
different. Probably more different than Nintendo probably intended it to be.
Graphics 9 out of 10
Nintendo always loves to take a different visual approach to games, and they
certainly did with the unique hand-drawn look of Yoshi's Island. Yoshi's Story, on
the other hand, tries to replicate a child's picture book, and looks just like you'd
expect a 64-bit 2D game to look like - absolutely gorgeous. The colors vibrant,
animations smooth and fluid, neat and detailed special effects (like real-time
morphing and light-sourcing) spell out a wonderful game to look at. It's just so
pleasing to look at it makes you feel quite happy. It does. The only reason I am not
giving it a 10 is because why Nintendo didn't use as much of the hardware as they
should have. Nintendo squeezed every last drop of juice out of the SNES and the Super
FX chip. Unfortunately, while the game still looks fantastic, there is still more
Nintendo could have done to make it look twice as better.
Music and Sound 9 out of 10
Sound must be the one reason why Nintendo took 2 years to develop this game.
Nintendo has a reputation of putting as many details as they can into their games,
and Yoshi's Story surpasses that reputation. All the sound effects, music, and
voices (yes, voices) are recorded in near CD-quality and in full Stereo. There are
little effects for everything, even the plodding of Yoshi's and other enemies feet.
It works extremely well in creating a cute, happy, and joyful playing experience.
Unfortunately, because of the voices, it does have a tendency to become incredibly
annoying- out of preference I would gladly shoot the Yoshi's in Turok than play them
in this game. If they didn't sing, I would (probably) reconsider. The detailed sound
is probably also why the game took a whopping 16 MB, and why the developers
couldn't squeeze other things into the game.
Game Challenge 3 out of 10
This is where Yoshi becomes disappointing. When announced last year, Yoshi was
supposed to have 60+ levels, yet here we are settling with only 24. Yoshi's Story
is over just as it begins to get good, and because the game is so damn easy, this
goes by heavily unforgivable. There are only 4 bosses in the game and each can
easily be dispatched and pose as much of a threat as, say, a Shy-Guy - and sometimes
even less. Fortunately, they have designed it in such a way that it doesn't rely on the
"conquer levels" formula - instead, you must perfect the levels until you feel satisfied.
But with all due honesty, it can be beaten in a matter of 30 minutes.
Game Play-Fun 10 out of 10
Yoshi's Story is a blast while it lasts. It is just as addicting as other Mario games - in
some cases even more. Even if you are reluctant to even rent the game because it looks
too saccharine (I can't spell), you must at least try it out for the wonderful look and
experience of entering "Nintendo's World." Which, granted, can seem a bit strange - but
you'll never deny having fun there, and often find yourself going back many times.
Rumble Pak 10 out of 10
You'll be surprised how well this works here, folks. In fact, I dub this game "The Best
Rumble Pak Game Next to Star Fox 64."
Frustration
Frankly, there isn't. I only had mild frustration when I was zooming for all melons on a
certain stage when I lost the melon-mini-games, or accidentally ate a different fruit.
Replayability 8 out of 10
Nintendo played their cards right to get you to come back once in a while to try
and perfect that one level you blasted through quickly. Even better, since you only
have to play through 6 levels to beat the game, you want to unlock all 24 levels by
collecting hearts - not a hard feat, but enjoyable and very hard to anyone under 7,
this game's primary age-group.
Game Value 5 out of 10
It's a sticky issue. Many people won't even touch the game from what they've heard
about it. Some people have been brainwashed by Resident Evil to demand violence
in games. Some would demand more out of Shigeru Miyamoto. Unfortunately, those
people will be solely disappointed about this game. If Miyamoto were given more
priority and time to work on Yoshi, it would be far superior to Yoshi's Island.
Unfortunately, the game supervisor hardley gets a voice in game development.
Everyone else who doesn't want to compare this with other companies efforts - go
for it. Definitely a winner in its own regards.
Overall 8 out of 10
Disappointment: Yes.
Bad Game?: By all means, no.