Game Debate #116: Yoshi's Island

[OptOut | 8,889]

5 hours ago, CMR said:

I actually didn't know about this.  I'm going to have to look these up.

 

@OptOut How did you manage to get your copy signed?

Shigsy came to London in around 2002 or 2003 sometime around the launch of the GameCube. Went to a signing in Virgin Megastore, shook the dude's hand, and got him to sign it! It was a pretty boring event actually, my nan took me there and we were basically just standing in like a huge long line for like 2 or 3 hours.

It was worth it tho, I don't think that Shigsy has done that many signings since, so although it didn't seem that impressive at the time, over the years I feel more glad to have had that experience!

[fcgamer | 4,729]

1 hour ago, OptOut said:

Shigsy came to London in around 2002 or 2003 sometime around the launch of the GameCube. Went to a signing in Virgin Megastore, shook the dude's hand, and got him to sign it! It was a pretty boring event actually, my nan took me there and we were basically just standing in like a huge long line for like 2 or 3 hours.

It was worth it tho, I don't think that Shigsy has done that many signings since, so although it didn't seem that impressive at the time, over the years I feel more glad to have had that experience!

I hope you never washed your hand afterwards...

[Brickman | 3,993]

1 hour ago, OptOut said:

Shigsy came to London in around 2002 or 2003 sometime around the launch of the GameCube. Went to a signing in Virgin Megastore, shook the dude's hand, and got him to sign it! It was a pretty boring event actually, my nan took me there and we were basically just standing in like a huge long line for like 2 or 3 hours.

It was worth it tho, I don't think that Shigsy has done that many signings since, so although it didn't seem that impressive at the time, over the years I feel more glad to have had that experience!

Lol@Shigsy. Sounds like you became best friends.

[SNESNESCUBE64 | 541]

Love this game to death. It's one of my favorites and is one of the games I can play any time and still have fun. I'm overdue for playing it all the way through again, so maybe in the near future I will.

[Sumez | 2,966]

30 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

I hope you never washed your hand afterwards...

I really hope that he did. But you never know with OptOut

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,013]

If I played this game once, I've played it 20 times. That said I've never beaten the entire game, never saw the final few stages. Yoshi's Island is just not SMW2 like I wanted it to be. I like the idea of the game, Yoshi is a fun character to play as but for me it just was never enough to hold my interest until the end.

Because of that I gave it a 5. I like the game but it is definitely not something I would go out of my way to play. I even see the front cover art and think "Oh wow, I should fire it up one more time and see if I can see it through" like an Alzheimer's patient. But at this point, it's a game I'm not even going to go back to. 

[fcgamer | 4,729]

I'd give it an 8 or 9. That horrible Yoshi's Story killed this one for a bit as collateral damage, as well as Yoshi as a character. But I had tons of fun with this back in the day.

[OptOut | 8,889]

1 hour ago, fcgamer said:

I hope you never washed your hand afterwards...

What? Who WASHES their hands??? GHEEEEEEYYYYYYYY!!!!!! 

1 hour ago, Brickman said:

Lol@Shigsy. Sounds like you became best friends.

Oh yeah! Little known fact: OptOut dog was the original Nintendog!

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

Good game. A little tedious in spots when trying to 100% but some fun levels and interesting ideas. I didn't realize until much later that you can collect stars by getting a hit after a few egg ricochets.

The last boss battle is phenomenal with the tunes and setting/mechanics. Very fun and rewarding.

[CMR | 520]

I think it might have been a marketing decision to call it SMW2 than anything else.

[T-Pac | 7,560]

I grew up with Yoshi's Island on the GBA, and it's one of my all-time favorite games. The flutter-jump, the pastel graphics, the overworld format - it's all fantastic.

And the boss battles in particular are a highlight of the game. Fighting Raphael the Raven by circling the planet and ground-pounding posts is just so unique and fun.

-CasualCart

[T-Pac | 7,560]

Now I'm curious, though...

I've only ever played the GBA port - but does anyone know if the original SNES / SFC game is any different? (And are there any regional differences between the SNES and SFC release?)

-CasualCart

[Ankos | 442]

6 minutes ago, CasualCart said:

Now I'm curious, though...

I've only ever played the GBA port - but does anyone know if the original SNES / SFC game is any different? (And are there any regional differences between the SNES and SFC release?)

-CasualCart

The GBA has some small differences, but the only one of real note to my knowledge is that it has more levels

[Lynda Monica | 350]

I feel like Yoshi's Island is an incredibly well made game that often struggles to be any fun. Instant kill spikes, pits, and lava are everywhere in this game, and it all comes together to make a game that's too frustrating for its title character. As a kid I preferred playing Yoshi and Yoshi's Cookie with my friends, and later on I much preferred Yoshi's Story.

As for common arguments about the game, I never understood why anyone thinks of Yoshi's Island as a Mario game, considering it created all of the mechanics that characterized the Yoshi series moving forward.

Also Baby Mario is a good boy, and you made him sad by crashing his noodle into something. His crying is supposed to make you panic and hurry to rescue the poor guy. The Yoshi clan are the world's greatest uncles.

[mbd39 | 2,024]

7/10

It would be higher if not for the crying.

 

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

On 8/28/2022 at 3:53 PM, mbd39 said:

7/10

It would be higher if not for the crying.

 

That's what I gave it and for that same reason. That constant crying was seriously annoying.

[Sumez | 2,966]

17 hours ago, Bearcat-Doug said:

That constant crying

You're supposed to carry Mario on your back  

[Brickman | 3,993]

8/10. A really fun platformer with great visuals and music. It was fun to try and 100% the game but it’s also not required if that wasn’t your thing.

I never had any issues with the baby crying. Just keep Mario safe and you’re all good.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

11 hours ago, Sumez said:

You're supposed to carry Mario on your back  

I have a feeling I wasn't very good at the game.

[CMR | 520]

Is the crying really that annoying, or is the game stressing people in just the right way to drive them up the wall?

[MegaMan52 | 2,450]

8/10

Rented it several times in 2000/2001. I managed to beat it, too.

While Baby Mario's crying was maybe a little bit annoying, it didn't really bother me much and I still found the game to be very enjoyable. Finding red coins and flowers was fun. 

The music, honestly, isn't too great in my opinion, but there are some good music tracks. Like the title screen music, which would be updated and included in Yoshi Village in Paper Mario. And then there's the cave music, which is kind of nice and relaxing. I've listened to the cave music for over an hour before, and still like it.

I really like the visual style, and glad it was used again in Yoshi's Island DS. The characters, backgrounds, flowers, basically everything has a really fun look.

As I mentioned above, I rented Yoshi's Island several times in 2000/2001. I mailed a Money Order to Nintendo and bought the Yoshi's Island Player's Guide, which I still have. It is still in good shape.

I remember seeing Yoshi's Island at a Zeller's store for around $80. Didn't buy it. Oh well; I had Super Mario World and Super RPG at least (nowadays, I have the Japanese version of Super Mario RPG).

In 2014, I bought a sealed copy of the GBA version. While the screen may be smaller, the GBA version is a pretty faithful port. I actually like it a little more, because it has six secret levels that are not in the SNES version. Also, if played on a Game Boy Player with a Hori Digital Controller, it can be played with basically the same controls as the SNES version. You can, for example, throw with the X button instead of the R button by going to the Game Boy Player's menu and changing the controller option to the second setting.

Anyway, pretty good game. In addition to beating the SNES version over twenty years ago, I beat the GBA version a few years ago. I also really liked Yoshi's Story, Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, and Yoshi's Crafted World.

Edited September 16, 2022 by MegaMan52