Finally Finished Yoshi’s Island DS

So, I finally beat Yoshi’s Island DS today. And now, away it goes, never to be played again…

Okay, so maybe not never, but I won’t feel as strong an inclination to play it as the original, or even Yoshi’s Story. That last world was brutal, and not even in the fun kind of way; more like a “if I could just see where I was going/what’s coming at me” sort of way. In truth, I think the format of two small screens did the game a great disservice; it might have worked better on a single, bigger screen.

It wasn’t all bad; earlier worlds were fun, some of the bosses were neat in that Yoshi’s Island way. I can sort of see why they called it Yoshi’s Island DS, though. It wasn’t quite good enough to be Yoshi’s Island 2… more like Yoshi’s Island, Too. And since that probably wouldn’t sell very well…

Earlier stages could almost work as an expansion pack to the original, like some extra stages. But once you reach World 5… look out. You’re going to hear a lot of baby cries. Baby Mario somehow sounds even worse than in the Super NES/Game Boy Advance game, and the others are pretty bad, too. Baby DK is somewhat bearable, but Baby Bowser (not to be confused with Bowser Jr.) may just be the worst of all.

I got up to the final castle a couple of days ago, and decided to leave the final level for another day, as the three levels before it were rather draining. As it turns out, the very last level wasn’t that bad… well, sort of.

Not very far in, you have a choice of five paths, depending on the baby you have equipped. First I tried Wario, and things seemed to get twisted after a while. Then I tried Bowser, same deal. The fact that things get chaotic and it’s hard to tell where your Yoshi wound up after being hit doesn’t help.

Tried Donkey Kong, then Peach. “Fffffffff—-” was the word of the night, with growing intensity. Well, it was, until I finally decided to try Mario. The most “basic” of the babies, I never imagined his would be the easiest route. Go figure.

Actually, it looked like that would go sour as well, but I guess the designers either had mercy or overlooked a way to potentially torture the player (as earlier levels seemed to do). Either way, it worked out in my favor, so I’ll withhold any complaints about that for now.

I won’t go into any details about the final battle, which I arrived at much sooner than I had expected, given the game’s other levels. I will say that it is pretty cool, though not quite as epic as the final battle of the first Yoshi’s Island. But that and the accompanying story elements, which pop up throughout the game, were pretty cool.

The ending was okay, too, with a couple of small laughs thrown in. I won’t go into any specifics, except to say “poor Waluigi,” who was left out. “Left out of what?” you might be asking. Well, not only the game, but this scenario (caution: spoilers) as well.

Following my efforts in World 5 prior to today, I had said elsewhere that Artoon should be forbidden from making video games ever again. Perhaps it would be better to say they shouldn’t make any games with more than four worlds, instead. And maybe they should stick to games that play on a television, if this is the best they can do.

I don’t hate the game, but it certainly doesn’t leave me wanting more. And 100 percent completion (all flowers, red coins, and stars)? Forget about it.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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