Do you want to win a free Gameboy Color, Gameboy/Gameboy Color game, and a Pikachu figure form the 1990’s?
OF COURSE YOU FLIPPIN’ DO.
We did it! We finally hit 1,000 views on systemshuffle.com! As a thank you to everyone for the constant support, I’m doing a giveaway!
On October 19th, 2013, I’ll be randomly drawing a winner who will receive these prizes: A turquoise Gameboy Color, A Pikachu figure from the 1990’s, and a mystery Gameboy/Gameboy Color game!
Click here to learn how to enter!
In 1995, Nintendo released Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island in America, presenting it as the sequel to the previously loved Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo system. The main heroes of the Mario Brothers series, Mario and Luigi, are presented as infants who were separated before the stork could deliver them to their parents. Bowser, the main bad guy, sends a minion to capture the babies, but only gets Luigi and sends Mario falling down to the grounds of Yoshi Island. The Yoshis put their heads together and decide to follow a map the stork dropped, save baby Luigi and bring the babies to their parents.
This game was actually requested by my friend Billy, in hopes that I could come up with a good review for one of his childhood games. From the moment I pressed start though, the whole game shouted “childhood”. The colors of the graphics looked a lot like a coloring book, and the graphics had a pop-out book effect to them. They have this strange layout of looking extremely childish by covering the game in patterns or dots and strips, but do it in a very neat storybook fashion that it doesn’t come off as messy.
In this game you play as Yoshi, carrying baby Mario on your back and bringing him from start to finish without losing him. When you’re hit, Mario flies off of you in a bubble, giving you only 10 seconds to jump into the bubble. If you fail to get him in time, you lose a life and start off from the last checkpoint. There are little stars hiding around the level that add seconds to your timer, giving you more time to get Mario, giving you a bit of leeway.
Right away, I ran into a bit of confusion with the game controls. Usually in video games, the universal rule is the the A button makes you jump and interact with NPCs, doors, ext. In this game, the B button is used to jump, while the A button is used to attack. The Y button is also used to to attack with Yoshis tongue to gather enemies, turn them into eggs, and throw the eggs as ammo. Only having 3 buttons to memorize makes the game play easier for younger players, and all players a like. The only complaint with movement is that the D Pad is slippery by the slightest bit, making it harder to time your movement or your landings after jumps.
The levels are sort of cramped, having enemies every few steps, places to fall, or even bonus items you could miss if you rushed through. If you move through the levels at a slow pace, you won’t have much trouble dying and you’ll even find little hidden passages or items easier. Slow and steady definitely wins the race in this game. When the game throws something new at you, for example falling platforms, they show you the platforms in a safe zone where you can’t die when they fall. A little bit further into the level, it shows the platforms again but in a way where you can now die, but you use your knowledge of what you saw before to avoid them. There’s boxes you can hit along the way throughout levels that tell you step by step how to continue on in the game if you get stuck, or giving you hints on different ways you can attack enemies . The game holds your hand while you play, making it player friendly all around.
Overall, I’d give this game to a slow player, or someone who just wants a game to pass the time. Its point system makes it more of a challenge for more advanced players, but yet keeps it as an accomplishment more than something needed to complete the game. It’s very cute, entertaining and appealing to the eye, while still having a good story line. The levels are short, the bosses nearly explain themselves on how to defeat them, and the game guides you through for a very smooth and fun ride.
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