Baby Bowser has cast a spell on Yoshi's world, turning it into the pages of a picture book. It is up to the remaining Yoshi's to restore happiness to the world.Baby Bowser has cast a spell on Yoshi's world, turning it into the pages of a picture book. It is up to the remaining Yoshi's to restore happiness to the world.Baby Bowser has cast a spell on Yoshi's world, turning it into the pages of a picture book. It is up to the remaining Yoshi's to restore happiness to the world.
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Unfortunately, although it's sort of fun, it's also very disappointing. The game is way too short and way too easy, as if it was made in a hurry and targeted at small children. Unlike "Paper Mario" (2001), which used the same 2-D visual processor, "Yoshi's Story" isn't puzzling or very hard at all. It's also not very complex. And unlike "Paper Mario," it isn't very interactive. It's a basic go-straight-through-the-level, versus a fully-immersible "wide range" world such as "Paper" and "Grand Theft Auto III," in which you can run around doing whatever...whenever...
All in all, not a bad game, but not one in my collection that I play very much. Buy "Paper Mario" instead.
Anyway, during the time of Mario and Luigi's infancy, eight baby Yoshis go on an adventure to get back their precious Super Happy Tree that was stolen from Baby Bowser. The story is told in the style of a pop-up book, making it appealing to very young gamers being introduced to the N64 and the Mario universe.
Although not a fully-3D game like Super Mario 64, the visuals are still beautiful, and the sound effects and high-pitched Yoshi voice clips are cute and funny sounding. The music is bright and catchy, although the level theme is simply remixed with each new chapter.
The difficulty, as fitting for kids, was very easy. You do little more than run around and eat fruit to advance further. The enemies and bosses are easy to beat. Even Baby Bowser was a cakewalk for me as a kid. The entire game only took me a few hours to beat.
While you can still play this game on the Nintendo Switch, I'd suggest skipping it for something more challenging unless you're a veteran gamer who want to show it to your children.
2/10 stars.
Graphics: A- For its time, the pop-up book art style was super creative. It's colorful, unique, and still kind of delightful to look at today. It made the most of the N64's strengths.
Sound: B The soundtrack is upbeat and catchy, and the audio effects are adorable. That said, the constant Yoshi noises might drive you a little nuts after a while.
Gameplay: C+ Eating fruit is a fun twist at first, but it quickly becomes repetitive. The levels are short and lack challenge, and the fruit-gathering mechanic doesn't offer much variety.
Controls: B+ Tight and responsive. Yoshi moves and feels great to play. The flutter jump is as fun as ever, and the tongue mechanics still work well.
Replay Value: C There are secrets and alternate paths, but they don't feel rewarding enough to make you want to replay the whole thing. It ends up feeling too easy and too short.
Charm Factor: A Yoshi himself, the enemies, the narration - everything is absolutely adorable. If you're into cute games, this one's overflowing with it.
Overall: 6/10 Yoshi's Story is sweet and likable, but it's also shallow and over too soon. Great for a quick nostalgia hit, not for a lasting impression.
Did you know
- TriviaA special 19-note melody, known as "Totaka's Song", can be heard when the Trail Mode screen is left on for 2 minutes and 10 seconds.
- Quotes
Narrator: [Opening lines] Out of the blue the island fell, darkened by an evil spell. The blink of an eye was all it took and the island became a storybook.
Narrator: [the seven Yoshi's suddenly went from happy to being depressed] The Super Happy Tree vanished too, and once happy Yoshi's began to stew. Only Baby Bowser could be so mean, to ruin the happy Yoshi's dream. The island had paid for an awful cost, for the Super Happy Tree was lost.
Narrator: [the storybook page turns to 6 spotted eggs unhatched] Elsewhere on the pop-up isle, some Yoshi eggs survived the trial. The spotted eggs in that Yoshi nest would soon face Baby Bowser's test.
Narrator: [the 6 spotted eggs hatched and out came baby Yoshi's] One by one, they began to hatch, Six little Yoshis a perfect batch!
Narrator: [the page turns to 6 baby Yoshi's gathering around] They scratched their heads and looked around, some even tried to pound the ground. Sadness darkened every Yoshi's face, it should've been a super happy place. They quickly saw the problem at hand required a cunning Yoshi plan. If we grow super happy the Yoshi's thought, we'll spoil Bowser's evil plot. Their mission then was crystal clear, they had to go and spread the cheer!
Narrator: [the page turns to show the Super Happy Tree with fruit] So it was they all agreed, to rescue the Super Happy Tree. They set out to follow the trail of fruit to find where the tree had taken root. One Yoshi wondered as he bounced, if Baby Bowser could be trounced. We'll stay together the others cried, and stomp his Baby Bowser hide. By eating fruit and having fun, the deed would surely soon be done. And so the Yoshi's quest began, to find the tree and save the land. Just turn the page and you will see how happiness grows in a tree.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Nintendo 64 - The New Dimension of Fun (1996)
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