Overview: Yoshi is another classic Mario game that has now vanished into obscurity. This is really too bad, since it is such a good game.
A Type: 5
The idea is ingeneous. In many puzzle games you
play with the falling blocks to make formations, such as matching lines
of four in Dr. Mario. In Yoshi, however, you have no control over the falling
blocks and must play with the layout itself to make them land where you
want. Left and right move Mario, and A makes him switch the trays he's
holding. In this way you position the trays so the enemies (Boo, Bloober,
Piranha Plant, and Goomba) land on matching enemies so they disappear and
give you 5 points (Wow! 5 points! That's a lot!). The real fun begins,
though, when a Yoshi egg shell appears. Then you can pile enemies on top
of it, and then finish the egg with the other half of the shell and get,
depending on how many
enemies you sandwiched, from 50 to 500 points!
When the enemies stack up above the line, you lose. This game can seem
extremely difficult at first, but once you get used to it it's pretty fun.
B Type: 6
Once you get used to A Type, you already know how to play this! The layout starts with enemies on the board already. Using the same controls as A Type, you must clear the whole board! When you clear a board, you get a bonus. Just like A Type, you lose when the blocks stack up too high. This mode is faster, so it's even more fun than A Type!
2-Player: ???
I've never played (my version's on Game Boy). But I hear that it's supposed to be a game B race for two players. I don't know much else, though.
Graphics: 5
The graphics are entertaining. The characters animate as they fall; the Goombas appear to be stepping forward, Piranha Plants open and shut their mouths, and so on. Mario actually spins around as he switches the trays. The Yoshi on the title screen even blinks! The graphics here may not be as good as in some modern games, but they were very great in their time.
Sound: 5
The sound effects and music in this game are few
and far between. The sounds that do exist are beautiful, however. My favorite
tune in this game is perhaps the flower music (it reminds me of some sort
of lullaby!) .
There's not much variety in the music, though,
so if you're in the mood for exciting music, this game may not be for you.
Overall: 5
This game may not be able to "stack up" to today's
modern puzzle games, but it still does a nice job. If you are familiar
with puzzle games and would like a change of pace, then you may want to
try and find this game
somewhere. Otherwise, though, you'd better keep
away, or else you may find this too hard.