Yoshi is one of those characters who has gotten his share of video games but not as many as you probably would have expected. It’s a shame because there’s a ton of potential for more adventures with him and they just don’t happen a whole lot. Either way I can safely say that this is an all right game but one that ends wayyyyyy too fast and loses some points there. They did some interesting things with the gameplay and tried to stand out but it ultimately just didn’t work as well as it could have.

The general plot is basically that Yoshi and his buddies are having fun and getting into lots of trouble. They wander across different areas and have their jollies but at the end of the day it’s always a tricky situation. You can definitely appreciate the wholesomeness of the adventure all the way through but it’s over so fast. I want to say the game probably isn’t even 2 hours long. There are 6 levels here and each one is fairly short as you just have to collect a lot of fruits. Once you have enough fruit then the level ends abruptly. Otherwise you can technically keep looping in the level as it won’t end until you eat the fruit. I didn’t realize this during the first level so I was speeding along but once you know the objective then it gets easier.

The final boss is reasonably tough though as you learn what you need to do in order to beat him. Make no mistake though, as a whole this game is fairly easy and not one that is likely to give you a big challenge or anything like that. You’re playing this for the fun visuals and gameplay. The 2D platforming is similar to Mario but different at the same time as you can of course eat your enemies which is a bit different and you can glide using Yoshi’s fancy boots. That helps to really make things a bit different as well. Even the objective of eating the fruits is unique.

You’ll have a fun time playing through the game which is why it’s a shame that it’s not longer. You can easily picture playing through 20+ levels with this style and the game would get progressively harder as you go. I am curious what would happen if you lose enough times for all Yoshis to be captured though. Would it be a game over where you start back from level 1 or would they be saved? Ultimately I never got to find that out but if you lose enough times then you may be able to pull that off.

The graphics aren’t bad here. The animation style isn’t really my thing so it hasn’t aged as well as it could have but I still wouldn’t call it bad or anything like that. The soundtrack is also a bit on the forgettable side although the Yoshi song that plays after every level is fun. They can really sing and you aren’t likely to forget the tune after you have heard it. That’s how intense it gets.

There isn’t much in the way of replay value though. No extra zones that I could see and there weren’t any collectibles in the levels anyway. Maybe there is some kind of bonus content hidden in the game but it really looks like one of those games that’s one and done. You complete it and then that’s the end of the road. Nothing wrong with a game like that of course but that’s why I can’t wholeheartedly recommend this one the way that I would like to.

Overall, Yoshi’s Island has a high level of quality put into the levels and gameplay. That much is absolutely clear while playing it but I have to imagine that the team had a very short development time window. That would explain why it’s just so short. It feels like a game that is basically unfinished and so when you can play it for free like through the Switch Online it is a good bargain but I have to imagine that I would have been pretty disappointed if I had bought the game at full price. It wouldn’t last the evening, let along a full weekend. Yoshi’s definitely had better games in the present that I would much sooner recommend over this one.

Overall 5/10