Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

I first played this way back as a kid, but Baby Mario's ear-piercing cries were so annoying, I couldn't finish it. I tried it again a few years later and finally got the hang of it enough to finish the game.

The story explains Mario and Luigi's origins and shows how their feud with Bowser all began and how Yoshi knows them.

Thanks to the Super FX2 chip, the games graphics are a step up from the SMW. The sprites are much better detailed and had beautifully fluid movements that reminded me of Donkey Kong Country. There were even some pre-rendered 3D graphics used cutscenes and for Baby Bowsers supersized advancing boss sprite.

I loved the cartoonish level layouts and backgrounds. The scenery is all hand drawn. The boss fights are more challenging, especially the final one where you must carefully and aim and throw red eggs at Baby Bowsers face before he destroys the platform you're standing on.

As a substitute for Mario, Yoshi really shines in this game with his very own move set that involves jumping, ground pounding, hovering, and throwing eggs at enemies. It really helped build him up as a true game character and hero instead of just a gimmick character to assist Mario.

There are more advanced and quirky vocalizations, like Yoshi's record-scratch call and tongue slurping sound, Kameks jabbering and Baby Bowser's high-pitched roars and growls. And, infamously, we've got Baby Mario's ear-piercing cries. I'm guessing the designers wanted to make him as annoying as possible to keep you on your toes and avoid losing him.

Returning composer Koji Kondo gave the game a soundtrack is as awesome as the predecessor like the catchy and playful Flower Garden and Athletic level themes. But best of all was the rapid and pulse-pounding heavy metal song played during the final battle against the super-sized baby Bowser.

Just like the prequel, Yoshi's Island is still fun to play and is available on the Nintendo Switch.

This game pits you as Yoshi, who made his debut in the previous Mario game, Super Mario World, which was one of the SNES's first games. This time, you must guide Baby Mario to his brother, who has been kidnapped by the evil Kamek.

The action takes place over six worlds, each comprising eight stages, plus two mystery stages that can only be accessed when all eight of the main stages have been completed with a perfect score of 100 (see below).

Loads of baddies exist. There are some familiar ones, such as Koopa turtles, Boo Diddlies, Lakitu and Goomba, as well as new ones such as Milde, Goonies and a different kind of Piranha Plant. As well as jumping on the smaller ones as per the previous games (and using shells exactly as before), you can also swallow baddies to make eggs to throw at other baddies and power-ups etc..

You collect coins as normal, with every 100 giving you an extra life, but as well as that, twenty red coins exist (most are disguised as yellow coins). You can also collect five flowers in each stage (if you can find them), which will give you an extra life if you get them all.

If Yoshi gets hit, Mario gets knocked off his back, and he has a limited amount of time to get him back on his back before Kamek's Toadies kidnap him, costing you a life. This timer normally starts at ten, but can be increased via power-ups and collecting stars.

When you reach the Goal at the end of each stage, your score for that stage is based on the number of stars you have (i.e., the level of the aforementioned timer, which has a maximum of 30), how many red coins you found, and how many flowers you picked up (each flower gives you ten points). If you have all 30 stars, all 20 red coins and all five flowers, you get a perfect score of 100 for that stage.

This game is brilliant, from the sumptuous graphics (with the obligatory Mode 7, particularly on the bosses) to the wonderful sound, and the gameplay is so slick and varied that even if you have Super Mario World, this is different enough to warrant a purchase. It's also quite challenging at times, particularly the bonus stages I mentioned earlier.

GET IT NOW IF YOU CAN!

Yoshi's Island is one of those games that tricks you. You look at the pastel crayon visuals, the cutesy music, the baby protagonist, and you think, "Ah, this will be a gentle, relaxing ride." Then the gameplay slaps you with flying monkeys, lava monsters, and that horrifying crying sound that echoes through your soul every time Baby Mario floats away in a bubble.

The core concept is bizarre but brilliant. You play as a line of heroic Yoshis passing around a helpless infant like a scaly green relay team. Baby Mario doesn't do much except wail like a car alarm, but Yoshi does everything else: ground-pounding, flutter-jumping, and turning enemies into eggs like some kind of adorable bio-weapon specialist.

The game shines with its creativity. Each level feels like it was dreamed up by an over-caffeinated artist with access to crayons and nightmares. There's a boss fight inside a giant frog's stomach. There's a level where everything is spinning. There are transformations. There's that awful monkey water level. It's chaos, but the kind that makes you smile through clenched teeth.

The art style is still gorgeous today. That hand-drawn aesthetic hasn't aged a day. It's like a children's book that someone threw into a blender with a Super Nintendo and a handful of sugar.

Sure, it's not as tight or polished as the original Super Mario World, and yes, Baby Mario's scream still haunts many childhood memories. But this game takes risks and has fun doing it.

8/10. Beautiful, bonkers, and occasionally stressful in a very specific diaper-wearing way.

Super Mario Bros. is one of the most famous video games of all time! The characters, the jumping, the power-ups, and the sure thrill of adventure makes this entire series a fun non-stop playing time! Below is a brief look how I think the game is!

Game Play: The game play is very good. There is really basic controls here and is easy to perform. Novice gamers should have a good time here!

Graphics: The graphics are wonderful. The backgrounds are really beautiful!

Difficulty: The game is easy but as it goes on you''s find out that it will become more difficult!

Music: The music is great! Just fantastic catchy tunes through out the game! In My opinion its some of the best music ever in a video game!

Sound: The sound is great. Nuff said!

Overall: I have always loved Super Mario Brothers! If you like excellent adventure games then I strongly recommend you play this game!

To purchase this video game check out Amazon.com!

The pinnacle of 2D platformers and still unmatched in level design. I've never seen a game that has 56 completely unique levels with individual concepts. It's quite amazing the variety in Yoshi's Island. I'm amazed when it's not mentioned on a list or discussion of games that hold up well still today, Yoshi's Island should be THE standard answer. It's gorgeous art style, catchy music, plus brilliant controls & physics make it an absolute delight to play through from start to finish. My personal favourite game of all time!