Scoring Note: This game will be graded on a scale of 60, the number of coins Yoshi needs to get an extra life.

Yes, Yoshi's Safari is a real game, though it is very obscure and not a lot of people know about it. It came out in 1993 for the Super Nintendo and uses the Super Scope, a light gun accessory. Both game and Scope are tough to find, but I managed to track them down and play, and here is what I thought...

Graphics: 60

Yoshi's Safari is a first-person shooter, and while it's not 3D like the new N64 adventures, the graphics are really terriffic. The backgrounds are well done, the enemies are clear, and Bowser looks like his true self for the first time. Hey, the Koopalings look great too!

Sound: 45

I'm not that fond of the music, but it fits in well and most of the time you're shooting your gun and can't hear it well. The sound effects are nice.

Moves: 10

Well I can't give good marks in this category seeing as the only two moves in the game are shoot and jump, and jump is only useful when on a jump pad so you can get over a really long hole. In two-player mode the second player can also move Yoshi a bit. Wow.

Control: 60

Well I've never had a problem with this; the Scope shoots where you tell it to. Sometimes if you move you have to pause the game and recalibrate because you'll lose your aim. I also get into trouble when I get lazy because I'll let the sight of the Scope drop too low for the infrared scanner to pick it up, so then it doesn't read my firing.

Terrain: 60

Most Mario games score well in this category, and this is no exception. The terrain is diverse, but the most interesting parts are when Yoshi is fighting underwater and while falling. I really have to ask him how he survived the landing that must have followed the fall.

Items: 35

Items don't play a major part in the game. There's the Mushroom, which restores life power, and the Fire Flower, which increases how often you can quickly fire, and the 1-Up Mushroom. There's also the Starman, this watch that you can use to increase your time remaining, and some other item which I haven't figured out the use for yet. I prefer to save the items when possible to increase my score.

Characters: 60

Although there aren't that many characters in the game, a good selection had been made. Enemies come back from Mario 1, Mario 3, and Mario World, and they have, as much as possible, the same moves they had before. I have to wonder, though, where did Luigi end up? Hmm...

Gameplay: 50

Personally I really enjoy shooting my fellow Koopa Troop members, although I feel that I am too easy to defeat in the game. I get this wimpy little robot... well at least I don't stick out my head for Mario to shoot like Morton does! Uh, well anyway, this game is really cute. I had to take off points because the game can get tiring, mostly because the Super Scope is so heavy. Iggy was playing and he couldn't win because he just became exhausted.

Difficulty: 30

Gamers looking for something really challenging won't find it here. Heh, I'm not that good a player but I beat Roy without even getting hit one time. Although, I hear you can put in a code that brings up challenge mode. Maybe that makes the game more challenging? This is a really good game for young players, if they are strong enough to hold up the Scope for an hour or so.

Length: 50

The length is pretty good. The whole game can be beat in about an hour with not much left to do, but if it were much longer than the Scope would become even heavier. If there was a save feature then I would want a longer game, but as it is I won't complain too much.

Replay Value: 20

It's a good game, but other than the desire to play again because you liked it, the game offers little reason in and of itself to play again. Some of the courses have alternate routes you can take, but that's about it. Well, except for that aforementioned challenge mode, which I have yet to try.

And finally…

Fun Factor!: 53

Not bad at all! This is a cute game to play when you have an hour and nothing to do, or when you have some energy you just need to blow. Somehow Nintendo came out with a cartoony shooter. Fortunately, Mario didn't get too trigger happy.

Recommendation:

I'm not going to dare recommend that you get this game because it is very hard to find. I mean, if you happened to be able to, by all means go for it, but good luck getting it! I managed to find the game online at Ebay, and I also got the Scope at Ebay, but when the seller said "gun only", I didn't know that meant no infrared piece, which is required. I was stuck since I had the game and Scope, and I managed to find parts for the Scope, though not the Scope itself, at Nintendo's online store. Whoo, that was hard!

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