Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Still a blast from the past.
Protagonist(s): Yoshi Genre(s): Platform Platform(s): Super Nintendo Entertainment System Game Boy Advance iQue Player Release Date: SNES JP: August 5, 1995 NA: October 4, 1995 EU: October 5, 1995 AU: December 31, 1995 Game Boy Advance JP: September 20, 2002 NA: September 23, 2002 EU: October 4, 2002 AU: October 11, 2002 iQue Player CHN: March 2, 2006 Developer(s): Nintendo EAD Publisher(s): Nintendo Country: Japan Series: Yoshi Predecessor: Super Mario World Successor: Yoshi's New Island (chronologically)

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is the sequel to the original Super Mario World (in actually, a prequel). It was released in 1995 worldwide. Nintendo published and developed the game. It was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and then later ports on the Game Boy Advance under the name Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3. It serves as a prequel to the original Super Mario Bros..

Plot

Kamek, a powerful Magikoopa predicts that two babies (Mario and Luigi) will grow up to cause trouble for his master, Bowser. Kamek finds the stork carrying the children and snatches him, but he only manages to capture one baby, Luigi, the other falls down to an island on top of a member of the Yoshi Clan. The baby senses his brother and the Yoshis decided to help the two reunite and defeat Kamek and Bowser.

Why It's Still The Big One

1. Beautiful and colorful graphics and environments, especially for 1995 standards. The game takes great advantage of the Super FX chip with very colorful hand drawn art styles which would be used in every Yoshi game onwards.
2. Solid and fluid controls.
3. This is the first game in the series to introduce Baby Mario and Baby Luigi.
4. Getting a 100% completion on each stage for a world will unlock extra levels (one for each world) and mini-games, great for obtaining power-ups and extra lives.
5. Numerous power-ups, including increasing star count and temporary abilities.
6. Lots of creative puzzles.
7. While the main goal of each stage is to get the end, the stages offer chances to obtain 5 flowers, 20 red coins (hidden among yellow coins) and 30 stars. Completing a stage with all of these will enable a 100% stage completion. Stars can be lost if Yoshi is hit causing Baby Mario to float in a bubble.
8. Impressive boss battles, such as:
   • Tap-Tap the Red Nose: can be defeated by destroying the blocks under him and sending him into the lava;
   • Hookbill the Koopa: hence the name, he is a giant red Koopa Troopa and the way to defeat Hookbill is knocking him on the back, then you have to ground pound his belly to destroy Hookbill's shell and return him to original size;
   • Prince Froggy: Kamek shrinks you and sets the fight inside Froggy's mouth, so you have to make eggs out of falling Shy Guys and destroy the uvula, making it red, and progressively, Yoshi will make his way out of Froggy's gut. Also, Yoshi's face after the escape is priceless and the fight itself, while absolutely ludicrous, is original;
   • Baby Bowser battle.
9. Memorable and incredible soundtrack composed by Koji Kondo. Most themes are really jolly and fun to listen to, while others are just either happy, mysterious, or intense depending on the level and the boss battle. The ending theme is also really beautiful and emotional, especially its ending part.
10. A gorgeously beautiful ending, where Yoshi and Baby Mario reunite with Luigi and free the stork, who delivers the Bros. to their parents and the game says in the end "The heroes are born!". Sadly, it was completely ruined in Yoshi's New Island...

Bad Qualities

1. Baby Mario's crying is obnoxious and annoying. Though in the Game Boy Advance port of the game, his crying has toned down significantly.
2. Getting a perfect score requires reaching the end with 30 stars which means not getting hit at all once you reach 30 because stars are hard to replenish.
3. Some of the levels are very frustrating, especially The Very Loooooong Cave (6-5) and Poochy Ain't Stupid (1-extra).
4. The final boss (Baby Bowser) could be considered scary for young gamers.
5. Some of the levels can drag on for way too long if the player tries to go for a perfect score.
6. Some animations when you defeat bosses can be disturbing like Burt the Bashful (the first boss) getting naked, turning red and flying all over the place and Tap-Tap the red nose falling into lava, trying to get out of it, closing his eyes and not moving at all which implies that he died, and Sluggy the Unshaven's heart shrinking and disappearing from existence, followed the boss's body falling off the stage!
7. The Prince Froggy boss is extremely painful.
8. The infamous "we mean" INFAMOUS "Still the Big One" commercial is extremely disgusting.
9. There is a small divide over the GBA version of the original game, as it is sometimes considered a porting disaster due to screen crunch, washed out colors and lower-quality music.

Reception

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island was the last 2D Mario platform game for a home console until New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The game was also popular enough to give Yoshi his own sub franchise with numerous games inspired by Yoshi's Island.

Trivia

• According to a prototype from a gigaleak in 2020, it's working title was "Super Mario Bros 5".

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