Hai! You may be thinking, “Who’s this joker? Why is he here? What’s the dealeo?” My good friend Speedy mentioned that he needed more game reviews on his website. He asked me to fill this gap, and I agreed. This is a sort of ‘trial’ to prove my worthiness for this great undertaking. But enough of the yip-yap, time to review my chosen game, Yoshi’s Woolly World, for the Nintendo Wii U.
This game was released on July 26 2015 in Europe and was developed by Good-Feel, and published by Nintendo. The main concept of the game is that you are exploring a world made of wool to try and re-knit your fellow yoshis back together, who were unravelled by Kamek, the Magikoopa. The plot is simple, but it works.
WARNING: Because this game is still relatively new, I will try to keep from spoiling bosses, major plot points, or item locations. However, a few details may slip through.
Firstly, the art style. It’s obviously wool based, but it’s not like Kirby’s Epic Yarn; where everything was a wool outline. This is all wool. Everything. This looks more consistent. I really like the art style; it fits in well with the happy world of Yoshi and his character. But the best thing about it is that it isn’t just for show, the game mechanics are based on this art style.
Does Batman: Arkham Knight look as nice as this?
Throughout the world there are little knots of wool which you can unravel, usually opening up a secret passage or area. I like this mechanic, because it makes you keep an eye away from Yoshi and gives you a chance to take in the world. Another wool based mechanic I like is the wire frame platforms. You normally go right through them, but fire a yarn ball and BAM! Poundland Instant Platform. This allows for some great puzzles for hidden items and stuff!
Speaking of hidden items, there are 3 different types of collectable. There are stamps, flowers and yarn packets. The stamps unlock little icons for Miiverse posts. There are 30 in each level and they are hidden in some gems. There are 5 yarn packs and flowers in a level too. If you get all 5 yarn packs, you unlock a Yoshi skin based on that level, and if you get all the flowers in a world, you unlock a bonus stage. These items are normally hidden behind a puzzle or similar.
But that’s not the only way to unlock costumes, you can also use any (except Pokémon) Amiibo! I was a bit sceptical at first, but the Amiibo don’t lock much behind them — only costumes. If you touch an Amiibo to the gamepad during play, Yoshi will turn into a Yoshi based on the character. I like the look of a lot of them, but my favourite has got to be Captain Falcon. Show me your moves! I’m sorry… I couldn’t help it.
Oh boy!
The best thing is, as long as you’ve used the Amiibo once, you can use the costume without it any time you want.
Next, the badges. You slowly unlock these as you play through the game, and you can spend gems to get perks, like make all yarn balls big, or play with POOCHY! POOCHY’S FREAKIN’ BACK! I like this because if you’re struggling on a level, these two things can help you out a bit, and also, Poochy is awesome, so it’s good to have hime back anyway. Alternatively, you can switch to mellow mode, where you can glide and have way more health. It’s good that it’s there, for younger players, obviously, but it’s something I would never use.
The controls. Perfect. Different button layouts. Yarn throw method. It’s all there. Yoshi feels good to control too. When he’s flutter jumping, you can really feel that he’s trying really hard to go up. It’s hard to explain without playing it, but he feels like he’s really there.
Finally, the problems. My biggest gripe is the difficulty. It’s super easy. There are some tricky sections, but overall, it’s easy. You also get unlimited lives, the worst that can happen is you go back to the last checkpoint, never a game over. This kills tension in some places, because deep in your mind, you know you can just respawn and try it again.
No need to worry. If the piranha plant eats me, I can just try this bit again!
Furthermore, the game doesn’t feel quite long enough and the 2-player mode, where quite fun and good for a laugh, isn’t good for actually playing through the game. You constantly get in each other’s way. But you can have some funny moments!
Yoshi’s Woolly World is a great game. Brilliant aesthetics, amazing music and clever level design. It is only hindered by its difficulty, sense of hand-holding and relative shortness.
I rate this game: 78/100
Insert phrase of comedic value here.
Marcus
Stuff and That. 
Nice review. I’ve still not played this, but I’ve seen a lot of love for it out on the internet! Hope I get a chance to try it out some day.
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