Another rare platformer has graced the DS and this time it’s another classic - Yoshi’s Island DS. Those who grew up with the SNES should remember Yoshi’s Island and this new title is a semi-sequel. The story tells of how evil Kamek the Magikooper is out to snatch babies from the storks again and unfortunately, the Mario Bros. and Princess Peach are amongst them! Luckily, his little subordinates manage to drop Mario and Peach along the way who lands on Yoshi’s Island where the Yoshi Clan lives. Now it’s up to them to keep Mario and Peach safe while trying to rescue Luigi from Kamek’s castle. Otherwise, they’re going to have a hard time stopping the Koopas in the future!


Kamek the Magikooper wants that baby!
Gameplay remains very much the same as the original SNES game. With baby Mario on one of the Yoshi’s back, you must navigate your way through the levels, weaving your way through obstacles and fighting the enemy. There are also various power ups contained in bubbles that morph Yoshi into something such as a tunnelling machine to get him through.


Plenty of familiar obstacles to get through.
Apart from the familiar plop on the head, Yoshi can also swallow up enemies to turn them into eggs or, spit them back out to use them as deadly projectiles against other enemies. Most of the time, you’ll be choosing to turn them into eggs since they are much more useful as they trail along behind you. The eggs can then be used to kill off enemies, collect out of reach items or clearing obstacles. Firing off the eggs are really easy thanks to a simple aiming system that allows you to shoot them away quickly or take your time to aim the crosshair first.


Aim… Fire! Hope he likes eggs!
As you would expect from a Mario game, there’s the usual pipes and coins lying around for you to use and collect but apart from that, hidden in each level is a much bigger giant coin for you to find. There are also five giant daisy heads scattered throughout the level and by collecting these, you can increase your chance of winning a little roulette at the end of the stage, granting you lives or items.

Earlier, I mentioned you have to keep the baby safe which means you have to avoid being hit by the enemies. Being hit means whichever baby you’re carrying is sent floating away inside a bubble. A timer then starts ticking and if you don’t get the baby back before it runs out, Kamek will come to take him/her away and you’ll end up losing a life. This is where stars come in. By collecting stars from clouds with question marks, you can increase the timer giving you more time to retrieve the baby should you find yourself overwhelmed with enemy attacks.