For many years now fans of games in the Yoshi series have been clamouring for a successor to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, yet the games Nintendo has presented us with so far haven't quite hit the mark. Yoshi's Story ditched the somewhat irritating Baby Mario mechanic much to the delight of many, but overhauled many other gameplay elements to the point that its resemblance to its predecessor was lacking. Yoshi's Island DS and Yoshi's New Island have attempted to recapture that magic, but Baby Mario's return - coupled with gameplay that was just 'okay' - meant that a majority of fans have been left hungry for a truly wonderful follow-up. Can Yoshi's Woolly World match the original's ingenuity and playful charm?
One of the most obvious things about Yoshi's Woolly World is the new art style. Everything in the world is made of wool, except for certain geographical elements and some more powerful enemies. Due to their wool-less appearance, these enemies cannot be simply unraveled with Yoshi's tongue, but instead have to be bested by first being bound in wool and then jumped upon. Many of the smaller, standard enemies are veterans of the Yoshi series, with the likes of Shy Guy, Nipper Plant, Lakitu, and Gusty; every enemy has been rendered beautifully to reflect the artistic style whilst retaining the look and feel we've come to expect.
Every single part of this game bursts with colour and detail to the point that it's almost a sensory overload. This writer found himself on many occasions just running around a previously completed work just to have another look at its splendour, something that can't be said about most platforms, woolly or otherwise. This is a style developer Good-Feel coined back on the Wii with Kirby's Epic Yarn, and bringing it into full 3D with Yoshi in HD is even more of a treat for the eyeballs.
From the moment you enter the first level you'll (likely) immediately breathe a sigh of relief, as Baby Mario is nowhere to be seen; Yoshi instead has a more traditional health bar and takes damage as you'd expect him to, only being able to recover health by collecting hearts that have a distinct resemblance to the jumping star collectables from previous Yoshi games. It handles essentially identically to previous games in the series, with Yoshi's iconic tongue being his primary method of despatching enemies. This time however, due to the woolly aesthetic, Yoshi doesn't consume enemies and turn them into eggs, rather he unravels them and turns them into balls of wool. These then function in much the same way as eggs have in the past, only their applications are more varied. They can be used to bind larger enemies made of materials other than wool, create warp pipes, boxes, platforms, and many other parts of the world to help Yoshi achieve his goal. You can also uncover hidden areas simply by unraveling them via a loose bow, revealing secret passageways or hidden items.
That's actually one of Woolly World's most notable aspects: there are dozens of hidden items scattered all throughout the level including the traditional Flowers, as well as some new items such as Beads that have replaced the traditional coins, Stamp Patches that are hidden within certain Beads, and Wonder Wools. Flowers, for example, allow you to achieve 100% in a stage and access a mini-game to garner more Beads. Beads are used as a generic currency and can be used to buy special badges that can assist you in a level, while Stamp Patches are used to unlock Stamps to use on Miiverse once a certain amount have been collected.
Wonder Wools are the most exciting of the collectables - if you manage to collect all five within a level you can unlock a new Yoshi design to use throughout any and every level should you so desire. These designs vary enormously, ranging from colourful Flower Yoshi and Circus Yoshi to one that's based upon the Shy Guy enemy. This gives a real sense of reward from completing a level by giving you something tangible to use rather than just the acknowledgement that you have done more required for standard progression.
Another gameplay mechanic (as odd as it is) is Yoshi's ability to transform, and given Yoshi's new malleable form it'll come as no surprise to learn that these transformations return in this entry. Yoshi can transform into an umbrella, a mole, a giant version of himself, and a motorbike to name a few, the latter being one of the most fantastically out-of-place moments of the series thus far. These transformations occur a few times per world and task you with reaching a goal within a certain time limit, or face having to restart it all again. These really help to keep the experience fresh and exciting; you never know what transformation is going to happen next, and every single one of them is an absolute riot to control.
A new feature known as Mellow Mode also makes its début in Woolly World and, despite what many assumed upon its announcement, it doesn't remove all the challenge from the game. The only difference in Mellow Mode is that you control Winged Yoshi whose Flutter Jump is replaced by the ability to float at Yoshi's current height indefinitely. It's certainly easier to play in this mode, but you'll still take damage and failing a level is still a very real possibility. It's interesting to see that despite its child-friendly graphics Woolly World is a difficult game even with this additional mode to help you.
If you're still having trouble you can always have a friend join in the fun as a second Yoshi. You both run around simultaneously in an effort to reach the goal, and should you run out of balls of wool, one Yoshi can be used as a short-range substitute.
Yoshi's Woolly World is shaping up to be an absolutely stellar entry in the Yoshi series. It's ditching unwanted gameplay mechanics and introducing new ones that reflect the woollen style help keep the experience fresh, interesting, and more importantly bags of fun. This could well be the sequel Yoshi fans have been waiting nearly 20 years for.
Yoshi's Woolly World is out on the Wii U on 26th June 2015 in Europe. The North American release date is TBA.
Comments 71
So excited for this!
Good! I am absolutely excited for this game. Such a bummer that the U.S. doesn't have a release date yet...still, looking forward to it!
Glad to hear this.
Looking forward this.
Sounds excellent. Could very easily be a successor to Kirby's Epic Yarn rather than Yoshi's Island. This is no bad thing.
"Mellow Mode" is for people who need a break from the game's more challenging mode: "Getting All Three Amiibo Without Breaking the Bank"
Glad it already comes out in june ^_^
I'm also glad that this game seems to be another great one for Wii U.
But I still haven't found a confirmation anywhere that the Super Smash Bros Yoshi amiibo also works with this game. Do I really need the Yarn Yoshi to unlock this double Yoshi mode or can I use the normal Yoshi amiibo for that as well?
To me one of the biggest lacks of most recent entries in the Yoshi series is music! The catchy music of Yoshi's Island strongly contributed to do that magic we all miss.
I will be getting it. Still doubt it will beat the SNES Yoshi's Island though. (Didn't enjoy Kirby Epic Yarn at all).
@Tisteg80 @Tsurii897
The Smash or Super Mario wave Yoshi amiibos apparently won't work with this game, it was mentioned around the time of the Yarn Yoshi preorders I believe.
I've preordered one of the yarn Yoshis anyway
Still looking forward to this game immensely
@Tsurii897 it's a good thing - Baby Mario isn't there because he's fine and doesn't need rescuing
@Tsurii897 @Flopsy86
Oh boy, that would be a bad thing. Didn't Nintendo also said that you could use every version of a character? I mean, not related to Yoshis Woolly World but in general. That's what I relied on and so I didn't preorder a yarn Yoshi. I already paid too much money for amiibo and I just don't see why I would need more than one Yoshi, Mario and so on.
Really, really looking forward to this one.
I'm actually getting quite excited for this now. I got it pre-ordered as I love the art style and havnt played a yoshi game in years. But I think I'm ready for a game like this and the more gameplay details I hear the more I want the game.
I've got my yarn yoshi pre ordered but I'd be furious if I had a 'normal' yoshi amiibo that did nothing. I don't think they would do that tbh. To the people posting that they have confirmed it........I'm calling bull until somebody provides a link to a statement to confirm. Everyone loves to pedal bad news but without facts to back it up its just opinion!
I LOVE Yoshi's Island, had it on SNES and GBA and I'm so hopeful this can live up to it!
@Tisteg80 I only just started collecting amiibos a few months back, I do have the Super Mario wave Yoshi but I got that amiibo for Mario Party 10's amiibo party so I wouldn't be able to use it with another game anyway without deleting the MP10 data so it's not so bad for me having to get another Yoshi amiibo, the yarn one looks great quality anyway and can't wait to get it.
@Tsurii897 @Tisteg80 @Flopsy86
According to NoA amiibo compatibility page the yarn yoshi amiibo will work with all games the other yoshi amiibo worked with. There are no information regarding Yoshi's Woolly World yet, though.
@Flopsy86: You can use all amiibo with different games simultaneously as long as only one of those writes data on it. Currently there are only two games that write data on amiibo: Super Smash Bros and Mario Party 10. Just as the majority of amiibo compatible games, Yoshi's Woolly World only reads the amiibo data, so you could use your other yoshi amiibo as well (in case it will end up working with YWW, which we don't know yet for sure).
Yayyyy, the NA release is TBA........
but this game does look very fun, I do plan on getting it.
I think they always say that this is the yoshi sequal we want.
Do people actually legit hate the crying Mario from previous Yoshi games? I never thought it was a bad system.
Excellent. Kirby's Epic Yarn is really one of the best platformers I've ever played, I hope this is as delightful.
Never realised how happy I'll be that baby mario is gone
Cannot wait to play this. Every thing I see/hear about it just looks amazing.
Splatoon and Woolly World are my most anticipated games for 2015 for the Wii U. Nope, not Zelda even before the delay. I'm glad we'll get them both in Europe within 2 months. Plus Fatal Frame, StarFox and Xenoblade for the second half.
"This could well be the sequel Yoshi fans have been waiting nearly 20 years for."
I'm genuinely starting to think it might just be, finally, and that's a very exciting thing!
@benptooey Yeah; Kirby's Epic Yarn is one of the best platformers I've played in ages, with only a few minor issues such as the lack of real dying and therefor challenge (along with the sense of real risk/reward and satisfaction when you do succeed as a result), and I would certainly have no problem with this being the next "Kirby's Epic Yarn. In fact, I said from day one of seeing Kirby's Epic Yarn that I actually thought the entire design concept was more suited to Yoshi all along, so to me this is like that concept finally being realised as it should have been done all along. Actually, I'm twice as happy now that we're basically ending up with two great games done in this style etc
@EarthboundBenjy Well personally I never really hated baby Mario in Yoshi's Island but at the same time I'd have no problem with them removing that particular health/life aspect as long as the new solution is either as good or better.
I was delightfully surprised to read this piece. Hopefully NOA will annouce a release date soon.
I will be preordering this soon!
Sounds great! Glad to hear it's going to have some challenge, even in Mellow Mode. Those Wonder Wools sound like great additions; I'll probably end up being obsessed with collecting them.
But all those jabs at Baby Mario...he's only an innocent baby...
@outburst Same. I could care less about Zelda. Splatoon and Wooly World are my most hyped as well. Xenoblade X looks very interesting, because I've started getting into anime lately, and I love sci-fi, so I'd love to play it. But Zelda? I've never really been excited for a Zelda game. The only one I've actually ever bought myself was Wind Waker on GameCube.
I'm not entirely sold on how the 3D approach is a step up from what we saw in Epic Yarn. At first I thought it would be too obvious that the materials are fake now, with no benefits, but there's a couple of ideas attempting to justify it all in this trailer.
I'm still excited for the game, of course!
What if you scan a Smash amiibo, and get a Mario, Samus, or Fox costume.
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is one of the best games ever made. I really don't think the Baby Mario mechanic was that "irritating."
Anyways, apart from those digs this was a great preview that got me more excited for this game. Can't wait to play it!!
Really looking forward to this!
I've heard that the two sequels had average level design, but saying that fans were clamoring for a sequel to Yoshi's Island because the two that were made had one of the key mechanics to Yoshi's Island seems a bit weird. Sort of unfair. Baby Mario never bugged me, though. Well, I am quite fond of Yoshi's Island and Kirby's Epic Yarn, so I've been keeping my eye on this one.
I see this as more of a Yoshi's Story follow up. I loved that game! The music was so AWESOME, and the game played well! I'm waiting ever so patiently for this thing to get released in the states!
I've been waiting for this game to hopefully make up for the hot mess that was YNI
@FantasiaWHT I hope we get a kirby epic yarn remake for the new 3ds
I liked Yoshi's Island DS but it wasn't nearly as good as the original. This game looks very charming and it seems they're putting a lot of stuff into it. I just hope the level design is great and it's not too easy. Multiplayer is a big plus. I haven't bought a retail game for Wii U for a while. Splatoon and Yoshi's Woolly World are excellent summer titles.
This looks really good.
Can't wait to get this game!
Very good info there, thanks @AlexOlney!
When the heck is the Japanese release date?
My kids loved Kirby's Epic Yarn, so when they saw this they instantly fell in love. Me too! We just started playing Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (birthday gift for little guy) which we are enjoying quite a bit. Whole family plays it together taking turns with Elline which is quite tricky but ends up being the best part of the game for me (besides the clay aesthetic which is so well done.
We are so saturated with platform games though! Haven't really wrapped up Super Mario 3D World or Rayman Legends which are both amazing games in their own right. Oh, and barely scratched the surface of Donkey Kong but it is the most traditional and none of us are as big fans of Donkey Kong.
Tack on the one that is probably my favorite: Shovel Knight and the Wii U is definitely a haven for platform game lovers.
can't wait until this game comes out. I hope we get it before the year is up. I love Yoshi.
I had no idea the baby mario mechanic annoyed people so much! It was something different, something to get used to in the first game, sure, but Yoshi's Island is one of my most treasured games, I don't ever remember thinking it'd be better without that unique feature. I've never heard any criticism of it before. Weird!
Yeah, I never really knew Baby Mario bugged people so much either. Like, I knew people thought he was annoying, but to wish the mechanic didn't exist at all? I thought it was a very interesting mechanic! I'm of course very happy that Yoshi is getting a game all of his own without Baby Mario again (and one that looks to be coming close to the awesomeness of the original for once!), but I really wouldn't have minded if they kept Baby Mario in here. To me, it always just gives this extra sense of emergency to hear him cry when you lose him, and not because it's annoying, but rather because 'oh no, Baby Mario is crying! Quick, save him!'.
...that said, I didn't think I would have said this before I started reading/watching this preview, but you guys left me even MORE stoked for this game than I already was! Being the huge Yoshi fan I am, I was already super stoked for this game, but hearing some of the features mentioned in this preview (such as unlocking new designs for Yoshi; really did not see this coming!), and all the praise it gets in general, really gets me pumped for this game.
I am definitely one of those fans who has been waiting for a new game in this series that would match the quality of the original, ever since I did play the original. I still find it funny that, when I saw my sister playing that, I thought it looked 'too kiddy'. Heheh, kids, y'know, I wasn't even 10 years old I think. Nowadays, after having still played it way back in the day despite its kiddy looks, it's one of my most favourite, if not MOST favourite games of all time, and the adorable crayon visuals are now a big part of that as well. And from the looks and sound of it, I can say with almost 100% certainty that the same will happen to Yoshi's Woolly World! I'm really stoked for this one, and I can't wait to get my hands on it, along with the three Yarn Yoshi amiibo. <3
Something they didn't mentioned in the video.
How is the music?
Is it the same lazy thing like in New Island which is the same theme, albeit different?
I'm glad you pronounce it "Yosh-e" not "Yo-she" ^_^
Now all we need is a good Wario Land game. He still hasn't happened in HD yet, tsk tsk..
I was not aware that people sounded out SNES phonetically as the single word "sness". I've always heard it spelled out, letter by letter as "Ess-en-ee-ess". Eh, toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe...
I am really bummed about NoA choosing a "fall" release date. I hope they bump it up to at least July or August. Otherwise, Splatoon will be the only major summer release (that we know of) and the end of the year will be packed with Mario Maker, Yoshi, Xenoblade X, and StarFox.
I am really bummed about NoA choosing a "fall" release date. I hope they bump it up to at least July or August. Otherwise, Splatoon will be the only major summer release (that we know of) and the end of the year will be packed with Mario Maker, Yoshi, Xenoblade X, and StarFox.
Very excited to play this one!
What's the problem with Baby Mario? If you play the game well, you'll never hear him cry.
Anyway, this looks great. I've really enjoyed Good Feel's works so far and this looks like the best of their efforts. I really wish we were getting this sooner than Fall.
I can't wait for this game. It looks so beautiful and fun.
I've been saying it from day one- this game is going to rival the likes of platforming masterpieces such as DKC Tropical Freeze and New Super Mario Bros U (and say what you will about NSMBU, but one thing people cannot deny is that the platforming was excellent).
This game very well could be the greatest platformer of the generation. I'm a huge platforming connoisseur, and fairly good at judging games in advance. And I'm telling you this game is gonna be one to remember...
And great video @AlexOlney, really good stuff...
This game is definitely on my list of must-haves for the Wii U but I gotta say I still don't understand the hate for the Yoshi series' other games. Yoshi's Story was a little underwhelming, but I have a great amount of love for it. Yoshi's Island DS and New Yoshi's Island are every bit as good as the SNES original in my opinion. The only difference is nostalgia for everyone, which I didn't have as the first game I played in the series was Yoshi's Story. I played SMW2 around the same time Yoshi's Island DS was coming out and I fell in love with the series after that.
It's very hard to recapture the wonder a younger you felt when you first played Super Mario World 2, but this candle that seems to be held for the original game is held far too high. It's a wonderful game, one of my favorite platformers even, but it's not the be all end all of the Yoshi games.
I am so looking forward to this game. Such a creative, beautiful Yoshi game.
Yea, I would love to hear some feedback on how the music is as well.
@AshFoxX It's not nostalgia. The level design in YNI was boring and uninspired, the music was dreadful, all in all it was way too easy (except for bonus stages). I never played YIDS, but the baby system is apparently tedious (which I can imagine) and the level design far from the greatness that was the original YI.
@sketchturner We know nothing about Nintendo's release schedule after June. Summer is only starting on June, 21.
I'm super duper stoked. I just hope the Woolly Yoshi Amiibo 3-pack is plentiful...
@sketchturner I honestly think the delay would be to make up for other delays. For example: Star Fox delayed to 2016 but don't worry we still have another game to take its place in Q4, Yoshi's Woolly World in October. This wouldn't be something new, NoE tried doing this for Captain Toad given the 3 month Kirby delay and Smash given the month Captain Toad delay.
Sure they changed their minds very close to the US releases but the fact is the plan was put in place.
@Grumblevolcano The Kirby delay was by choice.
@scamander I thought it wasn't by choice due to the NoE offices being moved but the other 2 planned delays were because the release changing showed they were sitting on a completed game.
@Grumblevolcano The translation offices have been in Frankfurt for many years. Doesn't make sense that this would cause such a delay. Especially, since Kirby games don't even have much text to translate. Kirby games also have a history to get delayed in Europe, because they are not really popular here. I'm confident NoE decided to push the game back, because some data showed it wouldn't do good in February.
@scamander YIDS and YNI both suffer from being very slow and tedious games. The original Yoshi's Island has a more brisk pace that makes exploration enjoyable. The less said about YS the better. It looks like they finally recaptured the brisk feel with this new game.
And given that Good Feel made the underrated Wario Land: Shake It (which is pretty hard if you go for 100%), I feel they'll nail it with this.
I was so happy when I heard the game is actually hard! At first I thought it would be like Epic Yarn, where you couldn't even die.
Buying this on DAY ONE!!!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/232018307/foxhound-style-yoshi-3d-printed-badge
I have to admit from the preview, it looks really good! Also, thumbs up for the purse-crabs!
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