S.O.M.A.R.-Yoshi's Story

Hey g1s! Whitly here, bringing you another edition of S.O.M.A.R. for all of you to see. Before I begin, I just want to thank all of you for your wonderful feedback. S.O.M.A.R.s take me a very long time to do, so having all of you respectfully informing me as to where I can improve is greatly appreciated.

Now that that's out of the way, allow me to introduce to you a cult-classic. I'm talking about, of course, the 1998 N64 game, Yoshi's Story:

Now, what was so special about this game? Well, for starters, the game was an unusual twist on the Yoshi IP. To explain what I mean, allow me to fill many of you in (assuming you don't already know.) See this:

Purely awesomesaucetacular (don't bother looking that word up,) correct? Released in 1995 to capitalize on the 10th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. 1, this game paid its due to the old game while keeping things fresh for the youngun's. According to GameRankings.com, this title averages at a 94% score. (I'm only using GameRankings because Metacritic didn't exist yet.) Also, according VGChartz.com, the game has sold 4.12 million in sales to date. While this technically makes the game the worst selling addition to the Mario series, it's still an excellent sales run. Perhaps some people were turned off by this

but it was still a very good game; in fact, I've heard people say that Nintendo should have rereleased this game instead of Yoshi's Story on the virtual console (but alas, what can you do?) Personally, I think it's one of the best platformers to grace the SNES, but I'm losing track of what I'm talking about.

Anyway, back to Yoshi's Story. In 1998, as the N64 was in full-swing, Nintendo decided to make a unique sequel to the SNES game. At first glance, seeing this

is weird, especially when the gameplay looks like this:

Yoshi eating FRUIT? AHHH!

Seeing something that disturbingly cutesy would definitely turn some people off as well, and it did. It also turned some reviewers off too. Currently, Yoshi's Story sits at a 65 on Metacritic; for those who want a comparison, this is 5 points higher than the game I re-reviewed last time. However, does this make it a bad game? I don't think so!

Once again, I shall give a little bit of background on how I first started liking this game: it was 1998. I use to always go over to my cousin's house and use his N64, as he lived only 7 houses away from me and I never owned one. One day, as I arrived with my younger and older brother to sleep over there for the night (I forget why,) my cousin-who's only a year younger than I am, pulls out Yoshi's Story from a Roger's Video bag and pops it into his console. To be honest, I'd both seen and played the game at his neighbour's house before, but I never really got a chance to appreciate it before. Sure enough, my cousin turns on the N64, and we're greeted by a cutesy and Crayola-esque "Nintendo" by a bunch of Yoshi's (or, as they said it, "Neeteyndo!")

I was a little confused...at first. Being an 8 year-old at the time, this is usually the age where you start to consider cutesy stuff to be "stupid." Although this wasn't the first time I'd heard this, it was definitely the first I'd actually paid attention to it. I remember that my cousin tried to imitate it in a cutesy voice, obviously thinking it was funny-me, I just raised an eyebrow.

Of course, that was when the game actually started. To be honest, I didn't really mind the Yoshi's singing voices, but I must admit that they WERE a little bit weird at first. They sounded a lot like adult babies who were going through a perverted version of puberty (don't ask me what that means, as I have no idea.) Fortunately, I was surprised to find out that the cutesy style of this game was backed up by simple-yet-solid gameplay; and while the difficulty level wasn't entirely there, there were some pretty challenging parts that added extra depth to the game. And, in typical, classic fashion, this game was highly replayable.

The years went by, the N64 was replaced by the Gamecube and then Wii and I reached teenagehood. Although I should've been into Halo and guns by now (something many people my age were into by now,) I still couldn't help but occasionally reminisce about Yoshi's Story; after all, despite this

being childish, it still stood out as something odd. So, once I got my Wii and heard that Yoshi's Story was heading to the Virtual Console, I decided to look up the game on my old Dellbook and see what the critics had to say; sure enough, I stumbled upon this very old video review made by NAViGaTR in 1998:

Ouch! As much as I enjoy watching your videos, aren't you being a little bit harsh?

Truth be told, it was a little bit shocking to hear this: people don't like Yoshi's Story? However, I didn't think much of it. I went onto Wikipedia to see what other people had to say. To quote:

"Upon its initial release, critics were generally displeased with Yoshi's Story. As a spiritual and literal successor to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, the game was seen as being comparatively smaller in size and scope. Critics noted many disadvantages with the level design: there were only 24 levels in this game (as compared to the 50+ levels in Yoshi's Island), each of them could be completed in minutes, and only six of them needed to be completed to clear story mode. The critics also disliked many other things about the game such as the graphical details, the music, and the absence of vehicle morphing. Joe Fielder of GameSpot noted that Yoshi's Story "was obviously designed so that younger players could play through quickly and feel some sense of accomplishment" and called it "good for a rental at best."[16] GameSpot awarded the game a "5.3" for "Mediocre" while Allgame and Game's Domain both awarded Yoshi's Story a "5.0" out of 10. Currently, Yoshi's Story maintains a "Meta Score" of 65 (out of 100) on the MetaCritic website[11] and a 68 (out of 100) on GameRankings.com.[12]" (Source of info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshi's_Story)

I know, I know: you can't always trust Wikipedia. But still, seeing that this game would be hated at all was a little shocking; after all, how can you hate this:

and not this:

when they're equally as cutesy? (Seriously people, admit it: you know I'm right!) Fortunately for me, once this game came out on the VC, I bought it anyway. And guess what: I still enjoyed it! (Take that, reviewers!)

However, it wasn't until I stumbled onto Metacritic last year that I actually decided to do something about. But before we start, Yoshi's Story is placed at a 65 and is based off of 8 reviews. (This means that this rebuttal will be shorter than my last one.)

So now, in typical S.O.M.A.R. fashion, I'm going to pull out the reviewers' comments and respond to them:

"81
TotalGames.net
Mischief Makers dropped some hints about what the N64 can do in 2-D, but Yoshi's Story pushes the boat out so far it''s run ashore on the other side ... but once you've got past the initial sense of ''ahh, isn''t that sweet'' it doesn''t take long before all that sugar rots your teeth and sets your stomach a-churning."

Firstly, the visuals are awesome! You can't take a look at this

and tell me it doesn't for a 1998, Nintendo 64 exclusive. Unfortunately I haven't played Mischief Makers (I know, stone me now,) but I guess that this

looks pretty good too. (In fact, it looks awesome!) So I can see your comparison as being legitimate. However, unless you were referring to this

when you said, "it doesn''t take long before all that sugar rots your teeth and sets your stomach a-churning," then I'm not so sure I entirely follow what you mean by that. However, I'm glad you liked the game! It's makes it a lot harder for me to make fun of you for your review...

"80
Nintendojo
Where most titles stress the importance in challenge in completing a level, Yoshi's Story emphasizes challenge in exploration--something rarely done in two-dimensional games. While Yoshi's Story isn't Yoshi's Island II, it is another shining example of simple, unadulterated entertainment in gaming."

I agree with this statement 100%! However, I'd have thought that this type of a comment would've warranted at least an 85!

"70
Nintendorks
Not everyone is going to like Yoshi's Story. I do. It's Yoshi. It's easy, but it's fun."

That's a weird thing to say; it's like me saying, "Not everyone enjoys anchovies. I do. They're anchovies. They're salty, but tasty." You see how that doesn't work? And why is easy a bad thing? What's more important: easy, or fun? Also, perhaps if you changed your score to an 80 I'd take you a little bit more seriously...

"70
Hot Games
In the short term at least it's fun, very good fun in fact, and excellent for those retro fans who are desperate for a 2D platforming fix. Just don't expect to be playing it a year from now."

I disagree, as there's plenty of long-term enjoyment to be had here as well. I also don't think that only those "desperate for a 2D platforming fix" (as you so-put-it) should play this, but rather those who don't mind this kind of stuff (like myself.) Also I: a. Would definitely see people playing this a year from now. b. Would think that a review like this would warrant a 75 as opposed to a 70. You see where I'm going?

"70
IGN
Yoshi's Story is a fun game. At its best, the level design is right up there with the original Mario games and it impresses with innovative control, great graphics and original levels. But at other times, Yoshi is an unchallenging romp through levels that reek of recycled game ideas, derivative layout, and clueless enemies."

Firstly, why does everyone hate easy?! Is it some sort of disease or something? "Hey look! I just caught a big fish!" "Really? Cool!" "Yeah. Unfortunately, it was too easy!" "Eww! Go away!" Also, I thought the game was fairly imaginative, and I stated in my last S.O.M.A.R. that plenty of good games are guilty of recycling material. Sorry, IGN, but I'm gonna have to call you out on this one...

"53
GameSpot
There's a pervading feeling of trying to keep yourself busy (almost like a cat playing with a mouse) than being kept on your toes by your foes.In the end, Yoshi's Story is good for a rental at best."

This sounds like 60 material, especially coming from a reviewing site like yours. However, I also take issue with the first thing you said, as there were plenty of situations that threw me off guard in this game (ie that giant blooper on page 4 or 5. I forget which of the two pages it was.)

"50
Games Domain
I can't recommend Yoshi's Story to anyone but the youngest of gamers."

I can't recommend this review to anyone at all! Also, why would you only recommend this game to little kids? I'm sure that many people here would disagree with you (including Craig,) and we're all not little kids...

"50
All Game Guide
You may find that Yoshi's Story can be a wonderfully irresistible experience. It's like Super Mario Bros. 2 in that it's quite a bit different from the usual Mario fare. Many people loved Super Mario Bros. 2, whereas some didn't. That will be the case here as well."

Once again, this sound like an 80 review. Also, if you're calling Yoshi Story garbage, why are you comparing it to this game?

I'm pretty sure that, while some people didn't like this game, that it was far from being terrible; if it was, it wouldn't have warranted two remakes (as I highly doubt that Nintendo would've allowed something like that to happen.)

I guess I can state that user opinion is much higher. It averages at an 8.6 and is based off of 21 votes. (Here's the link for further info: http://apps.metacritic.com//games/usercomments.jsp?id_string=2532:chjwfwwDK$3MHEE-zQsOgg**) But this is just another example of why people should try games out before making judgement. The game, while somewhat simplistic, is very fun. The controls are solid, the graphics are colourful, the visuals have aged fairly well considering the system the game was on, it has plenty of replay-value and if you really want a challenge, you can always try getting only melons in each level and/or trying to find the white and black Yoshis. If you want, the game is only 1000 points to download on the VC, or you can try tracking down the game for N64. But at least give it a try! After all, you'll never know until you play it yourself!

I shall now leave with the ending theme to this game. I'm just warning you right now: it has the potential to make you cry.

I still feel the urge to cry when I listen to this. I hate you for making this so sad and beautiful, Nintendo!

Until next time, this is Whitly saying, "enjoy, comment and good night!"

Final score: 90.