Developer(s) – Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s) – Nintendo
Director – Hideki Konno
Producer – Takashi Tezuka
PEGI – 3
Back in a time when the 2D side-scrolling genre was being phased out and the 3D platforming genre was coming into prominence, Nintendo attempted to revive the former by releasing a spiritual successor to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island in the form of Yoshi’s Story. But with considerably less success on both a commercial and critical level.
Graphics – 5/10
Whilst the scenery of Yoshi’s Story is fairly diverse and the game itself is very well polished, the overall visual style made it feel far too much like a kid’s game. Even for Nintendo. Everything from the storybook style to the pretty annoying sound bytes used for the Yoshi characters made me think very little of what was on offer. And severely lacked the kind of atmosphere that came with games. Such as Banjo Kazooie, Super Mario 64, or Ocarina of Time. This title for me just didn’t seem to give that kind of prominent impression, which other Nintendo games had; even for the time.
Gameplay – 6/10
Though it’s somewhat satisfying to rack up the highest score (something that was lacking in prior Mario titles), I still felt the game’s play was wanting. The bosses, in particular, stand out as being some of the easiest bosses I’ve ever encountered in video games. Yoshi’s Story also had attached to it the most pointless and least threatening Nintendo character in my opinion; Pak E. Derm. Who is an elephant with a stop sign, who blocks the player’s path. The player must pound the ground in order to make Pak E. Derm fall to the ground, allowing the player to pass. That mechanic is one of the most senseless things I’ve ever seen in any video game.
Controls – 10/10
There are no problems with the controls, at least. Yoshi’s Story plays out very similarly to Yoshi’s Island, except there is no Baby Mario to accompany Yoshi on the adventure. But by that token, I think the game becomes much less intense as a result, but that’s down to gameplay.
Lifespan – 2/10
As the late 90s was undoubtedly a pretty poor time to try and bring back the 2D side-scrolling genre, I was at that point used to playing games that would last in excess of 30 to 40 fours, such as Ocarina of Time or Final Fantasy VII. It took me a day to complete this game, which whilst that may have been acceptable prior to the release of the Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation, it certainly wasn’t then. And it definitely isn’t now. One fact about me is that I believe the longer a game can be made to last, the better. That opinion of mine was developed throughout the fifth generation of gaming. And since then, I’ve never looked back. I’ve grown to think little of games, which seem like fleeting experiences unless they have other decent elements or substance in gameplay.
Storyline – 5.5/10
Yoshi’s Story involves Baby Bowser turning Yoshi’s world into a storybook and stealing the super happy tree, with Yoshi resolving to reverse the damage. The game looks like a kid’s book; plays out like a kid’s book, and the story is very reminiscent of something someone would find in a kid’s book too. It’s as outlandish as anything else that Nintendo had come up with prior, but it’s just considerably more simplistic, and considerably less appealing and entertaining in my opinion.
Originality – 6/10
Nintendo can’t be faulted for attempting what they have succeeded at so many times. Revolutionizing games. But this time around, they failed in my opinion. Though they would eventually go on to revive the 2D side-scrolling genre with the New Super Mario Bros. series, they didn’t get off to the best start with Yoshi’s Story.
Angrii
To summarize, Yoshi’s Story is a forgettable title on an otherwise legendary console, in my opinion. Nintendo created some great experiences on the Nintendo 64 when 3D gaming started to find popularity, but they went back on themselves in a negative way with this game.