It's unlikely you'll ever find someone who loves the original Yoshi's Island more than I do. I loved it to bits back when it was still fresh in everyone's mind and today I consider it to be among my all-time favorite games.
As such, I was a tad excited when I heard that the folks at Nintendo were working on another Yoshi's Island game for the 3DS.
Until I saw it in action, I mean. (Check out the game's latest trailer, below, if you've yet to lay eyes on it yourself.)
Now, I won't go as far as some people and declare Yoshi's New Island to be ugly or hideous, but I will say that its odd mishmash of an art style is a far cry from the one so brilliantly utilized in the original and in Yoshi's Island DS. (Hell, I even prefer the looks of Yoshi's Story at this point.)
My skepticism isn't based solely on Yoshi's New Island's aesthetics, by the way. I'm also a bit wary of its gameplay, which so far doesn't seem all that different or "new" from past efforts. (Yes, there are those humongous eggs, but I'd hardly call them game changers.)
If I've learned anything from my recent experience with The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, though, it's that just because a game doesn't look so hot in screenshots or even video, it doesn't mean it won't look a whole lot better while playing it on an actual 3DS system.
So, despite the conflicted feelings I currently have for Yoshi's New Island, I'm going to do my best to remain open-minded about it until a copy of it is sitting in my hands.
What do the rest you think about this upcoming release based on what you've seen of it so far? Share your opinions in the comments section below, if you're willing.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
24 comments:
I like it. I'm excited for a new Yoshi game no matter what. :)
*Raises hand* To be fair I haven't played any other Yoshi titles besides the original (and Touch & Go) but this has a real "ehhhh" look about it. I actually like the looks of the Yoshi stage for Sonic Lost World better (and I don't really like the looks of that either). A thing that immediately just stuck out to me as "an annoying thing" is when the game freezes so the vine can grow. I remember that from the first game, but New SMBU has a vine that grows in real time as you climb it! How come they're still doing that?
I'm kinda hoping it'll go like Mario 3D World, which started out kind of lukewarm and then they started revealing all kinds of crazy stuff.
Also, I thought the new Yoshi game was supposed to be another "yarn" title?
Ah! Before I get to the rest of your comment, Michael, what are your thoughts on Yoshi Touch and Go? I actually waited until the DS Lite was released to enter the DS fray, and so passed on Yoshi Touch and Go assuming it was a not-so-great launch title. My interest in it has been growing as of late, though, so I'd love it if you could share some opinions/thoughts.
As for this game: the vine thing doesn't bother me too much, but I can see being a bit annoyed by it, too.
My big issue with the game at this point is that it just seems kind of ... boring. Hopefully there are some new and interesting gameplay elements in it. Otherwise, what's the point?
I also dislike how disjointed the art style appears to be at this point. The blocks stick out too much from the backdrop (and look kind of cheap) and I'm still not sold on Yoshi's design, despite the fact that I kind of "get" what Nintendo's going for with it.
BTW, there's a Yarn Yoshi game being made for Wii U, too. I'm guessing it'll be released in 2014, but it hasn't been given an actual release date yet, as far as I'm aware.
Thanks, Michael! One reason I stayed away from this one is that I wasn't entirely impressed with the first two Wario Land games, so why continue picking them up after that?
So, maybe this one would be a good one for me to get back into the series?
And then maybe I can try playing the first two GB games again, as I know some folks like them a lot...
Oh boy again :D I really like Touch & Go! The thing about it is that it was such a hard sell at $30, but in an environment full of touch-based endless runners (I guess it's more of a "walker") playing it now you can really see how great it is (and the precision of stylus-based play, like Kirby Canvas Curse) compared to what else is out there, and it's so complex by comparison, not just "run and jump," you shoot, collect ammo, manipulate enemies and Yoshi, and periodically the game explodes into a fury of action when baby Mario goes into invincible + infinite ammo mode ("high level play" is when you can transition into that mode as often as possible). It's like Yoshi's Island is the "hardcore" game that today's endless runners would all be moving towards, except Nintendo released it 4 years before Canabalt existed and of course at the time "hardcore" players panned it.
It's also a great visual upgrade from the original Yoshi's Island while keeping a lot of the same feel, and despite my comment about "fury of action" it can be quite pleasant and laid back at times. With different user expectations I think Nintendo would have a tremendous hit on their hands if they released it on eShop at the right price and in the right context.
Oh I think it looks nice, the graphics of the original game really stood out on the SNES, that game is better looking that a lot of games released generations later.
I think it just looks more 'round' this time, it's kind of finding a place between the classic graphics, the aesthetics of the world and modern capabilities. It doesn't look quite right at first glance, but I imagine that's kind of like looking at a robot that looks so much like a human being but not quite right.
Damn. Guess I really need to pick it up soon, then. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Michael!
Any other GBA and/or DS gems you love that maybe I haven't heard of before now?
I think you hit the nail on the head with this comment in particular, Josef: I imagine that's kind of like looking at a robot that looks so much like a human being but not quite right. :)
It looks pretty terrible to me! Not just the art (which at least look a little bit better in motion than in early screenshots, but still far uglier than the original game), but overall it seems to have same excruciatingly dull atmosphere as the DS game. Movement is slow, the music just puts you to sleep, and don't get me started on Yoshi's horribly obnoxious voice. It will take a lot to convince me that this game will be worth any of my time.
Heh, I hope I didn't oversell it! :)
The other "obscure" pick I'd have on GBA is Ninja Five-O, which is sadly hard to come by, and I bet you've already got Drill Dozer. :) On DS I know you've got most of my picks, but maybe not Space Invaders Extreme? How about Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes? (That's another really strong recommendation, I was really surprised by how much I liked it)
Michael is absolutely right. Wario Land on GBA is an excellent game with a weird but fantastic art style, great music and crazy bosses. I highly recommend this game.
Thanks, Bodo. I have to admit that I think the game's art style also slightly turned me off back in the day, but it's grown on me since. So, with all of these recommendations I'll surely check it out sometime soon, if I can :)
Honestly, Michael, you didn't need to sell it too much at all, as like I said I've been considering buying it for a while now.
I've heard tons of great things about Ninja Five-O, by the way, but I've never played it. I do have Drill Dozer, though. In fact, I like my NA copy so much I want to buy a CIB copy of the JP version sometime, if I can find one for a decent price.
I've never had anyone recommend Space Invaders Extreme to me, so I'll have to check that out soon. Oh, and I've had M&M: Clash of Heroes on my "to buy" list for ages now. I have no idea why I've yet to purchase it.
Yeah, this game kind of makes you wonder what happened to the folks who made the original Yoshi's Island, doesn't it?
And like you said, it's not just the art style or specific graphics, it's the gameplay and the music, too.
Still, I feel like I'm going to have to "take one for the team," so to speak, and buy/play it just because I love the original (and even Yoshi's Story) so much...
I like pretty much everything I saw & heard in the trailer. I don't think it's gonna be as good as the first Yoshi's Island but I have rule where I don't set my expectations real high especially with sequels to my favorite games. I do find it weird they're using pre-rendered CG models for characters since I recall reading that Yoshi's Island's artstyle came about the development team wanting to rebel against that kind of stuff.
Ah, someone who likes what they see. I think that's great, Sam--truthfully. As for finding the pre-rendered models kind of weird: I hear you there. That said, Nintendo definitely has gone away from hand-drawn graphics in recent years (especially for their non-digital efforts), which is too bad.
Wow I dropped in in quite a timely manner. I was searching for some posts on Japanese box art to show to a class I had and found this. Only wish I could find one's with a lot of Super Famicom stuff. Squaresoft's box art back then was top notch for most of their games.
Yeah, the style of this one really isn't jiving with me. It feels like the enemies, pipes and other "obstacles," and even Yoshi himself have been plucked from another game and inserted into a dull husk of the original Yoshi's Island.
... okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but still! It's a bit hard to get too excited for it right now
Hello Jin! So, did your students find this post helpful--or at least interesting? I hope they did! You also may want to check out some of the previous posts I linked to at the bottom, plus some other previous posts about box/cover art.
Sadly, I don't think I've written/published any about Super Famicom box art, but you can rest assured I will soon now that you've put that idea in my brain! (And, yes, it'll likely include a Squaresoft title or two.)
I don't know, Anne, I think your assessment of it is pretty spot-on at the moment. Still, I'm hopeful the finished product will be better than these trailers are making us think it will be...
Based on these videos, there seems to be something missing from every aspect of this game. The graphics look mismatched, the animation looks like a few frames short, some ideas seem like a re-tread (breaking pipes like in New SMB), there is an emptiness to the levels, etc. There just seems like it didn't get enough attention. I thought Yoshi's Island DS was very poor purely for game play reasons while the assets were fine and this is being made by the same people so I have little faith in this games playability. But I am 100% with you on seeing it in 3D can be a total game changer like with Link between Worlds.
Gunna jump on the "Touch & Go" recommendation wagon. One of my absolute favorite DS games. Its very "Gameboy" if that makes any sense.
Hey there, Jeff--thanks for chiming in! It does make sense, and also has pushed me to pick up a copy of this game as soon as the holidays are over :)
I can't disagree with any of the points you make here, Jeff. I do hope that in the end, though, the game is better and more enjoyable then it seems it's going to be at the moment...
Post a Comment