The Verdict
Good Nintendo games come in one of two flavors. Some games are revolutionary, such as creating 3D platforming with Super Mario 64. Others are iterative and refine a previous concept further, like Super Mario Galaxy 2. In this way, Yoshi's Woolly World is the former. It takes the Yoshi's Island template and attempts to refine it even further.
In many ways it succeeds at that goal. Both games use eye catching art styles and push the visuals for their respective consoles. They even share the same major weakness in boss designs. In the end, Yoshi's Woolly World's biggest improvement is the breadth of difficulty options offered to players, simultaneously being easier and harder than all of its predecessors.
Yoshi's Woolly World provides an enjoyable experience for gamers of all skill levels. Mellow Mode and badges can save even the newest of newbies, while going for completion without badges can challenge long time fans of the genre. Yoshi's Woolly World is far and away the best successor to the original Yoshi's Island.
The Positives
- The best word to describe Yoshi's Woolly World, that isn't “cute,” would be approachable. The levels themselves are easy to complete, especially with Badges. If you want to challenge yourself, though, obtaining all the collectibles in a stage, without Badges, can provide all the challenge you want.
- The arts and handicrafts style of the series has never looked better that it does here. Yoshi's Island may have a timeless visual appeal, but until we learn to conjure up living yarn creatures in real life, Yoshi's Woolly World will be the leader of the digital yarn medium. LittleBigPlanet, eat your heart out.
- The controls are spot on and may be as close to perfect as humanly possible. If you fail, then the problem was exclusively human error. This is how a successor to the impeccable Yoshi's Island should feel.
- Nintendo has been bringing their 'A' game in the sound department this entire generation, and that hasn't changed here. The music is fantastic. It's light, breezy, and familiar, like a Yoshi soundtrack should be, and when the music shifts tones you really notice it.
- Nobody wants content locked behind a pay wall, but that's what the amiibo is at the end of the day. Fortunately, the implementation is almost entirely cosmetic for regular amiibo, unlocking silly yarn patterns, and the yarn Yoshi amiibo act exactly like the twin cherry power up in Super Mario 3D World. It's a nice bonus, and at the same time you aren't missing out on anything significant by not having them.
- Do you miss cheat codes? That's essentially what Badges are. Once a badge is unlocked, you can pay a cost in beads to equip it at the start of a level. Some are as mundane as collecting items from further away, but others can make you immune to lava or falling in pits. Perfect for goofing around or getting help with tough to reach or find items.
The Negatives
- The game feels like it moves much slower than the original Yoshi's Island. While some sections have yarn Yoshi tearing through an area as a motorcycle or an umbrella riding hurricane force winds, the watercolor Yoshi of old would run circles around him.
- The bosses are as nonthreatening as the cute style makes them appear. Three hits, simple patterns, and slow moving seems to be the hard and fast rule for bosses in this game. While they have neat gimmicks, the lack of anything resembling a challenge makes these encounters the weakest part of Yoshi's Woolly World.
Yoshi's Woolly World is Nintendo's latest attempt to recapture the magic of the original Yoshi's Island. It follows the same 6 worlds, 8 levels, and special stages format, and has the same moves as before. Yoshi can swallow enemies to produce eggs (or yarn balls in this case), throw said eggs, flutter jump (almost infinitely if your timing is good), and ground pound on his way through the game. There are also several fruit based power-ups and yarn based transformation sequences.
The story of Yoshi's Woolly World is simple and explained as soon as the game begins: Kamek appears out of the blue and begins deconstructing all of the Yoshis into bundles of yarn for some unexplained purpose. Fortunately, he misses both green and red Yoshi, who proceed to give chase in an attempt to find and reassemble their friends. It's not a very complex story, but it gives you a reason to go out and collect as much as possible in your pursuit of the magikoopa menace.
The Wii U is awash in 2D platformers, so Yoshi's Woolly World tries to stand out with a one-two punch of nostalgia and saccharine cuteness via its next level yarn tech. Is this a crutch or can this game stand on its own? Let's break it down.
