Yoshis Land - What we want to see in Yoshis first solo Wii U game

Since he first burst out of his egg to help Mario in Super Mario World, Yoshi has become one of Nintendos 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 its starting to look like thatll be happening sooner than later.

A persistent rumor says Nintendo is working on a game called Yoshis Land, a title fitting for the tradition of releases like Yoshis Island, Yoshis Cookie, and Yoshis Safari. If its true that Nintendo is working on a new game for our favorite scaly, green creature, weve got a few ideas on how to make it his best yet.

Yoshis Story is the black sheep of the mainline Yoshi games, mostly because its mediocre compared to the unforgettable classics that hes appeared in before and since. Even if the content in the N64 sidescroller was a little light, the childrens storybook style was way ahead of its time, and definitely worth returning to.

Similar to the style used in Kirbys Epic Yarn and recently reintroduced to Yoshi fans in Nintendo Land attraction Yoshis Fruit Cart, the aesthetic is seemingly on some Nintendo employees' minds already. The low-fi, childrens 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.

Yoshi has had a strange relationship with three dimensions. Most of his solo games have been 2D adventures, but hes also appeared and been playable in multiple 3D Mario games. Yoshis never really had a 3D, polygonal adventure of that he could call his own, something Yoshis 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.

Even if he isnt 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 cant stand Baby Marios piercing cry better get used to it, because it wouldnt feel like a real solo Yoshi game if he didnt 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 Yoshis 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. Lets 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.

In case you havent 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 franchises 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 its 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 Birdos pink bow. And if she were included, wed break that no new babies rule, because itd be adorable to see Birdo accompanied by a toddler version of Princess Peach.

Assuming well 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 doesnt mean wed 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 Yoshis 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? Were not saying these moves should be mandatory, wed just like to try it every now and again.

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 GamePads 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 dont think this should be used all the time (far be it for Nintendo to turn Yoshis Land into a latterday Metroid Prime), we think it could add some fun variety.

When the DS hit the scene in 2004, Super Mario 64 DS wasnt merely a remake of the N64 masterpiece. The DS cartridge was packed with minigames that showcased the new touch screens capabilities. Nintendo should consider doing that with Yoshis 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 Yoshis 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.

Yoshis Fruit Cart wasnt really the most innovative game in Nintendo Land, and the single-player nature kept us from playing it too much, but we dont want to see Nintendo outright abandon the silly minigame. If its ever going to bring back the drawing a line on the GamePad to move around on the screen genre, it should do so in Yoshis Land.

With enough tender love and care, Yoshis 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.

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 Marios most memorable boss fights and a blast from the past of Unknown Mario - 40 obscure facts and random trivia about Nintendo's mascot.