New Super Mario Bros. U
Yoshi’s Land - What we want to see in Yoshi’s first solo Wii U game
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Breaking out of his shell
Since he first burst out of his egg to help Mario in Super Mario World, Yoshi has become one of Nintendo’s most beloved characters. The friendly dinosaur has starred in his own platformers and puzzle games, on top of appearing in virtually every Mario title that hits a Nintendo system. Any two-bit fortune teller could predict Yoshi will eventually star in his own Wii U game, but it’s starting to look like that’ll be happening sooner than later.
A persistent rumor says Nintendo is working on a game called Yoshi’s Land, a title fitting for the tradition of releases like Yoshi’s Island, Yoshi’s Cookie, and Yoshi’s Safari. If it’s true that Nintendo is working on a new game for our favorite scaly, green creature, we’ve got a few ideas on how to make it his best yet.
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It should bring back the felt and thread storybook look of Yoshi's Story...
Yoshi’s Story is the black sheep of the mainline Yoshi games, mostly because it’s mediocre compared to the unforgettable classics that he’s appeared in before and since. Even if the content in the N64 sidescroller was a little light, the children’s storybook style was way ahead of its time, and definitely worth returning to.
Similar to the style used in Kirby’s Epic Yarn and recently reintroduced to Yoshi fans in Nintendo Land attraction Yoshi’s Fruit Cart, the aesthetic is seemingly on some Nintendo employees' minds already. The low-fi, children’s book appearance works for the all ages feel of the Yoshi series, and more importantly, it could really look great in HD. And as nice as it could look in 2D, we hope to see it in three dimensions.
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...but it should be totally in 3D
Yoshi has had a strange relationship with three dimensions. Most of his solo games have been 2D adventures, but he’s also appeared and been playable in multiple 3D Mario games. Yoshi’s never really had a 3D, polygonal adventure of that he could call his own, something Yoshi’s Land should really rectify.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 has already created a terrific standard for controlling Yoshi, getting his fluttery jumps and stretchy tongue to work perfectly in 3D space. Now all they need to do is dump the extra baggage--aka Mario--and let the dino fly free. And unlike the prospect of another Yoshi sidescroller, a 3D game is full of potential ideas that the talented developers at Nintendo have never tried before.
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Mario should be the only baby
Even if he isn’t playable, having Mario in a Yoshi game is a bit of a tradition, or perhaps you could call him a good luck charm. And if the devs stick to tradition, then the version of Mario tagging along with Yoshi will be de-aged to his youth and clad in diapers. Sorry, but the players that can’t stand Baby Mario’s piercing cry better get used to it, because it wouldn’t feel like a real solo Yoshi game if he didn’t do a little babysitting.
However, we hope they limit the roster of babies to just Mario, because Nintendo tends to overdo it when creating child versions of their most famous characters. Though Yoshi’s Island DS had a novel idea of giving Yoshi different abilities based on which baby he carries around, when the game included Baby Wario and Baby Donkey Kong, the series had gone too far. Let’s scale it back to Mario, or else the series is in danger of burying itself in babies and forgetting what really makes Yoshi so special.
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Let’s have Birdo co-op
In case you haven’t been paying attention to the many Mario sports, party, and other assorted spin-offs, Yoshi has been making a habit of teaming up with the franchise’s other bipedal dinosauric character, Birdo. Known for being just a little bit weird, Birdo has gotten pretty close to Yoshi over the last 10 years, so it’s about time that they teamed up in a non-spin-off, perhaps taking advantage of that new fangled co-op everyone keeps talking about.
Imagine player one using the GamePad to control Yoshi while player two holds either the Pro Controller or a Wii Remote/Nunchuk combo. Both will possess similar speed and jumping abilities, but while Yoshi eats enemies and tosses eggs, the second player will spit eggs while looking fabulous in Birdo’s pink bow. And if she were included, we’d break that “no new babies” rule, because it’d be adorable to see Birdo accompanied by a toddler version of Princess Peach.
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Motion controls for classic moves
Assuming we’ll be using the GamePad to navigate levels as Yoshi, the traditionalist in us wants all the controls mapped to the analog sticks and face buttons. However, that doesn’t mean we’d hate the option to use motion controls at least some of the time for basic Yoshi moves, so we hope Nintendo has those as well as regular controls, like they did in New Super Mario Bros. U.
What motions would fit Yoshi’s arsenal? How about tilting the controller to aim an egg toss? And since Yoshi is a master of the Ground Pound--or Butt Stomp as some prefer--how about shaking the GamePad down while Yoshi is in the air to make him slam into the earth? Lastly, how about flicking the controller upward to get Yoshi to perform a Flutter Jump? We’re not saying these moves should be mandatory, we’d just like to try it every now and again.
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First-person tongue controls for specific segments
Work with us, here, because things are about to get weird. While we think the game should control relatively plainly, with analog sticks and buttons and everything, we think there should be some first-person tongue shooting for super precise licking--and it should totally use the GamePad’s screen to make us feel extra Yoshi-like.
Essentially, we want it to control like the archery mini-game in Nintendo Land--hold up the GamePad to get a first-person view, and move the screen around to aim. Though we don’t think this should be used all the time (far be it for Nintendo to turn Yoshi’s Land into a latterday Metroid Prime), we think it could add some fun variety.
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Include a Tetris Attack minigame...
When the DS hit the scene in 2004, Super Mario 64 DS wasn’t merely a remake of the N64 masterpiece. The DS cartridge was packed with minigames that showcased the new touch screen’s capabilities. Nintendo should consider doing that with Yoshi’s Land, and we know just the puzzle game to include.
Known currently in the US as Puzzle League and as Panel de Pon in Japan, the insanely addictive block-swapping puzzle game was first introduced to the English-speaking players as Tetris Attack, and it was covered in imagery from Yoshi’s Island. Given that history, Tetris Attack would be a much appreciated extra mode for the retail release. Based on the DS incarnations we know the game works great on touch controls, making it a perfect fit for the GamePad, and some players might even spend more time with it than the real game. Then again, Nintendo could include a totally different time sink of a minigame.
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...or just make it a fuller version of Yoshi's Fruit Cart included
Yoshi’s Fruit Cart wasn’t really the most innovative game in Nintendo Land, and the single-player nature kept us from playing it too much, but we don’t want to see Nintendo outright abandon the silly minigame. If it’s ever going to bring back the “drawing a line on the GamePad to move around on the screen” genre, it should do so in Yoshi’s Land.
With enough tender love and care, Yoshi’s Fruit Cart could be an addictive, engaging puzzle game. Add in more things to do than pick up fruit in different orders, or figure out how to work in multiplayer support, and BAM! Nintendo has its own Geometry Wars. See how that works? So simple.
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Where would you go in Yoshi's Land?
Do you have any clever ideas of what to do with a new Yoshi game for Wii U? We'd love to hear all about it in the comments!
Want more of Mario and his friends? Check out our list of the Mario’s most memorable boss fights and a blast from the past of Unknown Mario - 40 obscure facts and random trivia about Nintendo's mascot.
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Rub3z - December 2, 2012 9:06 a.m.
But... but... Baby Wario and DK were just so gosh-darned ADORABLE!!! They were, like, miniaturized baby versions of their older selves. DK liked to smash things and Wario liked shiny things, like coins you collected throughout the game. Just like certain babies! It made so much sense and it was (I'm about to use a word that I hate using and personally regret making use of...) SOOOO CUTE!!!! -
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Klonoa1545 - November 29, 2012 2:06 p.m.
Really, I'm all about bringing back the awesome gameplay of Yoshi's Island, but can we PLEASE have the guy that did the soundtrack for the FIRST Yoshi's Island?! PLEASE?! The DS soundtrack was just... so non-memorable in comparison. -
ghostling55 - November 29, 2012 1:59 p.m.
You referred to Birdo as a "she", a common mistake. Birdo is actually a male. -
ghostling55 - November 29, 2012 2:01 p.m.
Oh wait nevermind, my mistake. Turns out Nintendo eventually turned her into a female. -
Meleedragon27 - November 29, 2012 8:33 p.m.
Last I heard, Birdo was still a guy in Japan. At least, I'm pretty sure that's still the case (also, I think Birdo is called Katherine, too... or was it Catherine...?). -
Godzillarex - November 29, 2012 1:57 p.m.
I wholeheartedly agree with the 3D and Tetris Attack ideas. But I would HATE if it would bring back the look of Yoshi's Story. It is because of that mediocre game that Yoshi was turned from a badass dinosaur into the cute cuddly creature without a tail and a bump for a saddle who can only say his name with a high pitched voiced like a Pokémon we now know today. In case you can't tell, I truly despise Yoshi's current design. I believe he looked perfect in Smash Bros. Melee. They need to go back to what made Yoshi's Island so insanely good. Beautiful level design, addictive and challenging gameplay, and a great level of replayability to obtain the highest scores. As far as Co Op goes, imagine bringing back Boshi from Super Mario RPG? Now that would be awesome. Unlikely as hell since Square owns that character, but it be great. -
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Redeater - November 29, 2012 2:18 p.m.
You beat me to it. It seems incredibly stupid to want this option just to "try it every now and again.". If they do include this they had better include the ability to turn it off! I don't want to adjust my seating while playing and suddenly drop into a pit because the tablet senses motion! Plus....shaking a screen you are trying to looking at.....Nintendoland requires you to do it sometimes and it is beyond ridiculous..... -
Boonehams - November 29, 2012 1:44 p.m.
I think the crayon/children's drawing aesthetic of Yoshi's Island would be better than Yoshi's Story's felt and yarn design. The craft-like look has been done recently before and is starting to look old hat, especially considering how Nintendoland pushed that as far as it can go. It would be more unique and interesting overall to go back to the hand-drawn look of the SNES classic.
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Nikku7 - December 4, 2012 10:32 p.m.