Yoshi's Story
Nintendo 64
I'm certain I rented Yoshi's Story when it first came out in 1998. But do I remember much, if anything, about it? Not really. My memories of playing the game are as vague as vague can be. I remember liking it, but not much else.
I've been in a bit of a video game playing rut lately, so I decided to come back to this game and check it out because I know it is short. Is the game any good here in the year 2024, or did I lose all memories of this game for a reason? Let's dive in.
Story:
This game at least attempts to tell you a good story. I appreciate the creativity, like how the events are read to you from a pop-out children's book. Unfortunately, the story just isn't very good. Fortunately, this is an action platformer so the story doesn't really matter.
In the story, Baby Bowser attacks Yoshi's Island and steals the Happy Fruit Tree from the island. Six Yoshi eggs hatch after surviving the attack, and they proceed to make their way through the game's stages in order to fight Baby Bowser and get the tree back.
Gameplay:
This is a very easy game to pick up and play. In fact, I could just stop at this is a very easy game. Why? Because it is very easy. When the game starts up, you are given a choice of six different colored Yoshis to pick from. What's the difference, aside from their colors? Not much of anything. They all have the same abilities and handle exactly the same, at least from what I experienced.
You have to make your way through six stages before you fight Baby Bowser at the end of the game. Just six stages? That's right. I found myself beating this game in no time whatsoever. Not even two hours. I guess there are other paths you can take when you play the game again, resulting in different levels you can play through. These extra levels are unlocked by finding hearts, or some bullshit. Each of the six "zones" ends up with three or four different stages to pick from. Why they didn't just include these as part of the main quest, since the game is so short, I have no idea. I came back and played through a bunch of these levels, but ended up quitting when one of them (the one with the springs) glitched out on me.
Basic gameplay consists of walking forward, jumping, and eating things with your long Yoshi tongue. You can also perform a ground pound and hold the jump button in mid-air to "float" forward. It's all very easy to get a hang of. Oh, I almost forgot how you can pick up eggs from time to time and launch them at your enemies.
Unlike most games, you aren't just looking for the level exit. What you have to do is collect enough fruits that are hidden around the level. Once you reach the needed number of fruits, the level ends and you move onto the next one. As I mentioned earlier, this is a very easy game. I only died once the entire time I played it, and that is because I mistimed a jump and ended up falling into a pit. Otherwise, I made it through the game almost completely unscathed. When you lose a life, you must select a different colored Yoshi to play as. What happens when you run out of Yoshis to pick from? I don't know, I never died that may times.
All in all, this was a fun little game. Its shortness and ease of difficulty hurts it a little bit, but while I was playing it I was never not enjoying myself.
Graphics:
This is a pretty darn good looking Nintendo 64 game. The presentation is top-notch, with its children's pop-out book story sequences. The game's colors and worlds are bright and colorful and full of life. Stages look like a mix between Paper Mario and Kirby's Epic Yarn. It's like a child's play time fantasy come to life.
In fact, the whole thing seems extra geared towards kids, much more so than other Mario or Nintendo games. That may explain the easiness and extreme shortness of the game. They want it to be kid-friendly, and for you to be able to beat it in one sitting.
Sound:
The game sounds good, I suppose. I only say "I suppose" because I just finished it yesterday and, thinking back, I can't even remember one single stage theme from the game. What I can remember is the silly, nonsensical Yoshi singing that plays during the game's introduction, and in-between some of the stages during the story sequences. Again - it is very clear this game is for kids.
That said, all the sound effects fit the action of the game perfectly. The sound that Yoshi makes when he sticks his tongue out is present in full force in this game. One of my favorite video game sound effects. I don't really have any complaints in this department.
Overall:
Now I know why I couldn't remember a single dang thing about this game: it's just not very memorable. It's too short, it's too easy, and I probably beat the whole thing in one day before never playing it again.
It's not a bad game, though. It's enjoyable while it lasts. It's just not particularly memorable. There's not enough substance to the game to make it stand out in your head. No challenge, no real stand out stages or game events. There aren't even any minigames or anything to break up the action. It's all just very simple, easy, and - as I said before - geared towards little children.
Not that there is anything wrong with that. I'm glad this is a kid friendly game. Little kids need games geared towards them, too, that aren't frustrating and are easy to pick up and complete. So in that way, the game is a success. But to me, there's just not much about it that makes it stand out from the crowd. Will I be returning to this game at any point in the future? Probably not.
I'm going to give it a C+ because I feel it is definitely an above average game. As I said, it's not bad. But that's about as far as I am willing to go.
THE GRADE:
C+
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