Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

Baby Mario?s brother has been captured?and only a herd of colorful Yoshis can save the day! Er, wait, is it flock? Or pack...?

A late arrival in the SNES life cycle and public perception that the game was designed ?for kids? meant that a lot of gamers missed the Yoshi?s Island boat when the game first arrived. Here?s your chance to make up for sins of the past.

One Hell of a Tongue
While Yoshi?s Island (the sequel to Super Mario World) models its Mushroom Kingdom predecessor in many ways, there are two key differences that set it aside from the plumber?Yoshi can consume enemies to make eggs (which then trail behind him); and whenever Yoshi is hit, Baby Mario is knocked off his back, a countdown begins, and you have to grab him before it expires. Aside from those weird nuances, Yoshi?s Island features everything that makes Mario games so great?impeccable platform-jumping controls, ingenious level designs, and a plethora of crazy secrets. While Super Mario World?s world map is MIA (and missed), the game makes up for it with tons of clever secret doors and hidden bonus sections; and the levels themselves are generally longer and more involved.

Prehistorical Crayola
The graphics are among the best to ever grace the Game Boy screen, a vibrant canvas decorated in brilliant crayon and eye-popping pastels?Yoshi?s Island is a veritable work of art. Enemies and stages stretch and morph, lending the game a unique sense of elasticity. The music is magical, too, especially the instantly infectious ?underground theme,? and the sound effects are classic stuff. One minor item is on file in the Complaint Department, however?though it is an old gripe: Throwing eggs (an angled targeting reticule starts swinging around Yoshi in an arc) seems unnecessarily weird.

As the Game Boy Advance grows up, SNES ports are becoming a less and less welcome sight on store shelves. Yoshi is the exception that proves the rule.

A side note: Yoshi?s Island, much like the first two Super Mario Advance titles, also features a great version of the original Mario Bros. game. Four players?even owners of the first two Super Mario Advance games?can link up for multiplayer play.

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WarioGarlic

This game wasn't half bad. I loved it that you can't die unless the seconds run out while Baby Mario's in the air, you land on spikes, you hit lava, or you fall. If you avoid all that, you'll stay alive forever. It was hilarious when you use the little snowmen as ammo or when you eat a fat Shy Guy and you get a giant egg.

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