Yoshi's New Island

 3DS
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 203 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 81 out of 203
  2. Mixed: 61 out of 203
  3. Negative: 61 out of 203
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  1. Tarren
    Apr 21, 2014
    4
    I am very disappointed in Yoshi's New Island. I have fond memories of playing the Yoshi's Island port on the Game Boy Advanced and replayed it the weekend leading up to its direct sequel's launch. I had big expectations for Yoshi's New Island, hoping it would bring back what I loved about the original. However, Nintendo seems to have missed the mark in this respect.
    Let's start with    I am very disappointed in Yoshi's New Island. I have fond memories of playing the Yoshi's Island port on the Game Boy Advanced and replayed it the weekend leading up to its direct sequel's launch. I had big expectations for Yoshi's New Island, hoping it would bring back what I loved about the original. However, Nintendo seems to have missed the mark in this respect.
    Let's start with what was good about the game: red coins, smiling flowers and starmen all return as collectables and nabbing all of them in every level of a world will net you a bonus level. This adds a bit of replay value and encourages poking around every nook and cranny instead of simply rushing to the goal ring at the end of the stage. The keys and locked doors also make a reappearance, further enticing the player to scour the level for that hidden winged cloud. Lastly, the art style, which is based off a myriad of mediums from oil paintings to crayons, is a treat to the eye.
    However, it seems that every good thing Yoshi's New Island has going for it, three not-so-good things are there to weigh it down. Ironically, there's not a lot of new in Yoshi's NEW Island. Every level feels like something that was in the original game, and one could be forgiven for assuming this game was simply an upscale remake at first glance. The transformations feel shoehorned and unnecessary; every transformation sequence has the player move into a doorway into another room, where they will transform into a vehicle of some type, complete the segment they needed the transformation for, then leave via another doorway as regular ol' Yoshi. Having the player go into another room where they immediately transform, but only until they leave said room breaks the flow of the game. Also, while the art style is pretty, Yoshi and some of his enemies are anything but. This gives an odd experience of seeing an ugly blob fluttering around on some gorgeous backgrounds.
    But the biggest fault with Yoshi's New Island are the teeny, tiny, almost negligible little nags that the game has. There are A LOT. It starts when the game is selected on the 3DS home screen; the game makes an annoying, squeak-toy like sound that is found nowhere in the game proper. Then there is the fact that, after returning to the game, Yoshi is sitting on the last level beaten, not the level the player has reached but has yet to beat. And those little nags are before you even start playing a level. Yoshi controls like a mess; he has an odd feeling of momentum that gives him a brief startup time before he reaches running speed, yet he stops on a dime. If the player ground pounds and then tries to move in a direction without taking their thumb off the control pad, Yoshi will just sit on the ground frozen in the warped ground pound pose. If Yoshi cancels his flutter kick before it reached its max duration he cannot flutter kick again until he reaches the ground and jumps. Annoying kazoo music starts playing if you manage to "win" on the roulette at the goal ring. And the most infuriating little nag is when Yoshi stands still and tries to throw an egg; there is a half-second animation where he turns, grabs an egg, and heaves it onto his shoulder. This half-second doesn't occur when you move and throw an egg, nor did it appear in the original game when Yoshi stood still. However this brief animation can easily mess with the player's timing when they are in areas where they cannot move, such as the many small moving platforms, and they need to hit an enemy or the like.
    In short, I cannot recommend Yoshi's New Island. It's a very bland platformer that we've all played before. What little it does have going for it is overshadowed by is flaws and every little annoying tidbit can really deter the player from wanting to pick it up after one or two hours of play.    … Expand
  2. the_GEX_rating
    Apr 6, 2021
    0
    it is not gex ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍
  3. mausfiles
    Mar 14, 2014
    3
    Yoshi controls like garbage for some reason. How is this possible.

    The second you turn this game on and hear that title screen music, your soul is crushed. Then the intro cutscene story starts and you're like, "this is a little cute, it's not perfect but maybe there's hope..." Then you look at the graphics and how everything animates on the map and hope is lost. Seriously though, the    Yoshi controls like garbage for some reason. How is this possible.

    The second you turn this game on and hear that title screen music, your soul is crushed. Then the intro cutscene story starts and you're like, "this is a little cute, it's not perfect but maybe there's hope..." Then you look at the graphics and how everything animates on the map and hope is lost.

    Seriously though, the controls suck. There's this weird delay when you pull out an egg (upon revisiting, this is only when you're standing still). There's no run button and the build up to Yoshi's full speed is too slow.

    Why did I do this to myself. The reviews warned me about almost every aspect of this game. But they didn't tell me I'd hate the controls. I do.    … Expand
  4. Jaylen
    May 31, 2014
    2
    I've barely played it (only played 4 levels) as I can't stand how it looks. I realize it's supposed to be a "Story effect" like on Yoshi's Story... but bleh!!! It just looks awful!!! I'd rather play the SNES version of this game than put any more effort into this one... This is the only Mario Game that I'm never going to complete unless Nintendo decide to release more junk like this! AlsoI've barely played it (only played 4 levels) as I can't stand how it looks. I realize it's supposed to be a "Story effect" like on Yoshi's Story... but bleh!!! It just looks awful!!! I'd rather play the SNES version of this game than put any more effort into this one... This is the only Mario Game that I'm never going to complete unless Nintendo decide to release more junk like this! Also it's too easy!!! it's a mockery to the original game!… Expand
  5. godef
    Mar 14, 2014
    2
    I'm sad,because I bought this game thinking it would be great,but it's not.The levels are too easy.The look is awful,the first one in snes is amazing!!this one is a bad,really bad game.40 euro spent in a game that it does not deserve it.A waste of money :(
    Since December last year,3ds has not any good game,3 months of nothing at all,and the future looks bad,only Smash looks good.I'm start    I'm sad,because I bought this game thinking it would be great,but it's not.The levels are too easy.The look is awful,the first one in snes is amazing!!this one is a bad,really bad game.40 euro spent in a game that it does not deserve it.A waste of money :(
    Since December last year,3ds has not any good game,3 months of nothing at all,and the future looks bad,only Smash looks good.I'm start to think in buying another handheld :(    … Expand
  6. DarthSidious63
    Mar 14, 2014
    4
    There is nothing "New" about Yoshi's New Island. Nintendo brought nothing innovated to the franchise and the artwork and especially the music is so childish that only kids under 4 would like it. After one minute I turned off the volume. I wished that Nintendo would have created a different soundtrack for older fans.
  7. PinkLight
    Mar 14, 2014
    4
    This is the worst game ever! Seriously, it doesn't have any charisma at all! The music SUCKS, it is just toooo boring and monotone, just like the level design: simply uninspired. Like the devs just threw the game out with no will. You will feel the same way when you play this game, soulless, if you played the original Yoshi's Island for SNES: while that game is full of life, this one isThis is the worst game ever! Seriously, it doesn't have any charisma at all! The music SUCKS, it is just toooo boring and monotone, just like the level design: simply uninspired. Like the devs just threw the game out with no will. You will feel the same way when you play this game, soulless, if you played the original Yoshi's Island for SNES: while that game is full of life, this one is full of death boringness, considering this game is a sequel to it. I DONT recommend it.… Expand
  8. Namel
    Jun 4, 2019
    0
    This is a disrespect with me.
    Yoshi games are supposed to be fun and memorable.
    This game sucks, I just can't play it again. the story is the same thing from Yoshis Island, the Music is the worst thing I ever heard, and the graphics are trash compared to other 3DS games, Mario 3D land, A Link Between Worlds,and Kirby Triple deluxe. if your a Yoshi Fan, don't play this game. I give    This is a disrespect with me.
    Yoshi games are supposed to be fun and memorable.
    This game sucks, I just can't play it again.
    the story is the same thing from Yoshis Island, the Music is the worst thing I ever heard, and the graphics are trash compared to other 3DS games, Mario 3D land, A Link Between Worlds,and Kirby Triple deluxe.
    if your a Yoshi Fan, don't play this game.

    I give this game a 0
    And the fact that the flutter jump is heavy and the eggs take a eternity to be launched it lets it the worst Yoshi Game ever.

    i won't say okey.    … Expand
  9. TheFredinator
    Jun 20, 2014
    2
    I'm a big fan of Yoshi's Island games and this one wasn't fun. Its honestly the worst Yoshi's Island you will see out there. I really disliked the world, music, and overworld. Everytime I beat a level, it felt like a chore. Yes I beat the game and it felt like I was watching Les Mis (3 Years). I don't see a reason to replay this game because it is worse than New Super Mario Bros 2. This isI'm a big fan of Yoshi's Island games and this one wasn't fun. Its honestly the worst Yoshi's Island you will see out there. I really disliked the world, music, and overworld. Everytime I beat a level, it felt like a chore. Yes I beat the game and it felt like I was watching Les Mis (3 Years). I don't see a reason to replay this game because it is worse than New Super Mario Bros 2. This is not a MUST BUY for anyone. The only good thing it has is controlling the vehicles. Thats fun but its not in many levels at all. Do not pay full price for this game because it is only worth $5.

    Yoshi's New Island gets a 2/10 :(    … Expand
  10. ProtoAdvance
    Aug 12, 2020
    0
    Why doesn't Yoshi have legs? Yoshi's supposed to have legs. Did the creators play too much Rayman? Yoshi's supposed to have legs.
  11. Zsyarchiver
    Mar 24, 2023
    4
    If you haven't played the original game and the NDS sequels before, you'll probably find it a good game: the graphics are cute and pretty, and the music is good, if not versatile.
    However, there are a lot of steps back when compared to the previous SNES and NDS versions, especially the removal of all mini games. As a result, the game is even less playable than the original game 19 years    If you haven't played the original game and the NDS sequels before, you'll probably find it a good game: the graphics are cute and pretty, and the music is good, if not versatile.
    However, there are a lot of steps back when compared to the previous SNES and NDS versions, especially the removal of all mini games. As a result, the game is even less playable than the original game 19 years ago. And some of the so-called new features are nothing compared to the original game. All that said, it felt good to play, but I still think it's a pretty lame and disappointing remastered on the original, especially after building on the fact that the original was one of the best SNES games.    … Expand
  12. GDChrome
    Dec 29, 2022
    0
    This game ruins all of the charm of the original game, the soundtrack is god-awful. the graphics are worse than the ones of the original, a game 14 years older than this one. this game's game play spits in the face of the original. yes, it may control well, but that doesn't mean it's fun. the levels are not nearly as unique as the ones in the original, and are WAY too easy, the addition ofThis game ruins all of the charm of the original game, the soundtrack is god-awful. the graphics are worse than the ones of the original, a game 14 years older than this one. this game's game play spits in the face of the original. yes, it may control well, but that doesn't mean it's fun. the levels are not nearly as unique as the ones in the original, and are WAY too easy, the addition of the invincibility wings make this game feel like it was made for babies, literal babies. half of the bosses are Kamek and the other half are ridiculously easy. I really can't stress this enough, this game both sticks too close to the original, and strays too far away. i'm fine with a game trying something different, but downgrading the difficulty as much as this isn't a welcome change, but it's too close to the original game in the way that the only new thing they add is something that does nothing to enhance its experience. This is my actual least favorite game of all time, it came out in 2014 and I'm still mad about it in 2022… Expand

Awards & Rankings

39
#39 Best 3DS Game of 2014
10
#10 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2014
10
#10 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
65

Mixed or average reviews - based on 71 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 71
  2. Mixed: 51 out of 71
  3. Negative: 4 out of 71
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    May 11, 2014
    85
    Yoshi's New Island is a fun, cute and a lot easier platformer than other recent Nintendo games. It's a perfect match for a platformer novice, but gives thrills to a veteran too, especially when used as a sedative between much harder games. [Apr 2014]
  2. Official Nintendo Magazine UK
    Apr 13, 2014
    67
    Most will find something to like, but it's not even close to the classic it apes. [Apr 2014, p.84]
  3. D+PAD Magazine
    Apr 12, 2014
    50
    The more lacklustre Yoshi’s Island games there are, the more Nintendo continue to suggest that the original was a glorious one-off, released when the company was approaching the very peak of its creativity.
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