Yoshi's New Island Reviews
Nintendo once again proves that they know the platforming genre better than almost anyone. While polished in its design, I can’t help but wish it was a little more challenging. You can fly through the levels rather quickly without breaking much of a sweat; extra challenges add some life for more advanced players but young ones are likely to get more out of the game.
Yoshi's New Island is a solid little platformer, but it struggles to be much more than that. It will, at least, kill a few hours of time, even if that time will hardly be remembered afterwards.
Yoshi’s New Island is a decent little package. The jumping can be a bit of a challenge to master, but the rest of the game is a breeze. Even with the difficulty not being very challenging, the number of worlds and levels can last most players a good eight hours or more depending on how much they want to collect in each level. It may not have the feel of a flagship title like Mario, but Yoshi still knows how to have some fun – just make sure to go into it knowing it’s not going to be a very difficult ride.
Yoshi’s New Island is amazing from beginning to charming end. Don’t hesitate for a second to buy it folks, unless you hate smiling.
It's just not as thrilling as some of its 2D platforming counterparts, or as innovative, especially at a time when the genre is going through something of a renaissance period.
It's a shame Arzest routinely steps out of line when it comes to the visual and aural artistry of Yoshi's New Island, because the gameplay ushers the little spin-off that could into the current century.
Yoshi's New Island is a fine salute to a SNES classic and an adorable, approachable platformer in its own right, but it's only likely to have value for players new to the genre - and even then, any appreciation of the game that they have is likely to be fleeting.
It may say “new” in the title, but there’s simply not enough to get excited about in Yoshi’s New Island. Fans of the original will probably be turned off by this inferior and all-too-familiar retread.
Yoshi's New Island isn't the creative masterclass in platforming the original was, but it is the best platformer Nintendo's released for the Nintendo 3DS to date.
Yoshi’s New Island may bring a more relatively easy experience to more hard-pressed Nintendo fans, but its pastel charms and colorful spirit shouldn’t be off-putting to anyone. What it may lack in technical and gameplay innovation, it more than makes up for in creativity and charm – it would be hard for even the most sour-faced Nintendo fan to not crack a smile and want the best for Yoshi and Baby Mario to make it to safety. Yoshi may not be Mario, but he stills gives plenty a reason for gamers to take a trip to his own little paradise in Yoshi’s New Island, even if it’s just for a day-trip.
Yoshi's New Island is more than a love letter to the original game -- it's a worthy successor. There's really no reason to pass on playing it, and if you enjoy the original or feel frustrated by the current side-scroller landscape, then you absolutely can't go wrong by giving this a try.
Solid platforming with interesting, sometimes non-linear level design and varied mechanics that influence movement and how you play. The bosses are a little dull, but the levels before and in between make up for it. Fans of the series should be rather pleased.
The biggest problem with Yoshi’s New Island is that it feels stripped of the style, substance, and ingenuity that once made the series such treasured property. By watering down the game design and failing to incorporate new ideas that enhance the established mechanics in any meaningful way, you're left with an egg that's not necessarily bad, just dull and unimpressive. It’s completely functional and could serve as filler while waiting for the next big 3DS or Wii U release, but there’s little denying that it’s an underwhelming outing for Yoshi.
Yoshi's New Island is a solid platformer that sadly lacks the child-like crayon drawing graphics that made the first game work so well.
Given the difference in capabilities between the Nintendo DS and the 3DS, we had rather high expectations for Yoshi's side-scrolling return.
Yoshi's New Island follows a similar formula as previous Nintendo remakes/reboots but ultimately falls short of recreating the magic we expect from Nintendo platformers. It is a shame that Yoshi's New Island could not provide enough new content to warrant its "new" name. Even if you enjoy the gameplay pulled directly out of the original title, it's hard to recommend playing this game over its predecessor (even if you've already played Yoshi's Island). Yoshi's Island DS has a little more variety and difficulty but ultimately, Nintendo just hasn't been able to reproduce the greatness of the original title.
Yoshi’s New Island places almost all of its eggs in the nostalgia basket. It's a bold decision, but one that ultimately holds back the game by bringing with it some retro-inspired design best left to the 90s. Series fans will enjoy a trip back to this oft-forgotten Mario spin-off, and some of the newly introduced mechanics are good, if used too sparsely. Ultimately, though, Yoshi’s New Island is an enjoyable, but underwhelming, romp.
I was more than a little disappointed in the lack of challenge and overall content in Yoshi's New Island. The features that are included lack cohesion, and the bare bones multiplayer is laughable. Nintendo could argue that the design of the series is meant for a younger audience, yet I was twenty-seven when I played Yoshi's Island DS and thoroughly enjoyed it. Yoshi has had some grand adventures of his own, but sadly this is not one of them.
A reliable, friendly and sumptuous romp through another beautifully built Nintendo world, and yet another great reason to own a 3DS. It’s the machine that keeps on giving.