Yoshi's Island DS

🎮 Nintendo DS ⏳ 12 hours ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Expanded Yoshi Gameplay #

This title is a follow-up to the SNES classic Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island. It keeps the hand-drawn, colorful art style and platforming focused on guiding Yoshis who carry different baby characters (Mario, Peach, DK, Wario, and Bowser). Each baby gives Yoshi unique abilities, which adds variety to the puzzles and level design. This is it’s biggest standout compared to the previous title, making the gameplay and levels much more unique in comparison, so if you enjoyed the first one there are no excuses not to play this one too.

Faithful Yet Flawed #

The game plays very similarly to the original, but the dual-screen setup sometimes makes it hard to see hazards above or below, leading to cheap hits. While it doesn’t innovate much beyond the multiple babies mechanic, it’s still a solid and charming platformer with great music and plenty of challenge for completionists. Overall, this is a fun and faithful to the SNES classic, but not as polished or memorable, and I consider this a must-play for fans of platforming in general, truly a classic along with it’s predecessor.

Creative Level Variety #

Another highlight is how creative the level themes can get, from ghost houses and jungle stages to inventive castle levels with clever boss fights, the game constantly introduces new ideas to keep things fresh. The collectible system encourages replayability, especially for those aiming for 100% in every stage. Achieving perfect scores demands careful exploration and precise platforming, which adds a satisfying layer of depth beyond simply reaching the goal ring.

Worthy Yet Imperfect #

That said, some design choices feel slightly less refined than in the original, a few stages rely more on gimmicks that can interrupt the pacing, and the difficulty spikes may frustrate newcomers. Even so, this title remains a worthy successor, expanding on a beloved formula while preserving its charm. It may not surpass its predecessor, but it confidently stands as one of the stronger platformers on the Nintendo DS and a memorable entry in the Yoshi series.