YOSHI'S ISLAND: SUPER MARIO

Picture this. You are a pea brained, old, baby-carrying stork nearing retirement carrying two twins, one of which has just soiled himself, when some hyped up boy racer on a broomstick smashes in to you at a speed which should be banned at this time of night and steals the clean baby.Now lets put ourself in the mind of the baby.

Your companion has been carried off by some sort of baby kidnapping cult ( this might not be exactly what he was thinking but there you go ) And the stinking feather duster that's carrying you who's no doubt had a few too many pints down the pub drops you from a unspeakable height onto some sort of island. You land on the back off a strange dinosuar with a shell on his back like a saddle that looks quite hard yet you have a soft landing, and you won't find out why until you put on a clean nappy.

Now let's get to the game. Some may say that the graphics are babyish and for that reason may not buy the game but they are missing out on something amazing. It may be quite hard near the end but the gameplay is simply out standing.The conrols are simple and easy to get to grips with, so you'll be egg blasting in no time. The bosses are innovative and funny and the backgrounds are bright and colourful. In my opinion it is one of the best games ever made without a doubt.

YOSHI'S ISLAND: SUPER MARIO Review Part II

But while it is a tad on the easy-side (most of the time), it must be said that this game can get very frustrating - despite the usual catchy tunes and creative, fun-to-beat bosses. ...It is "babysitting", after all! Unlike Super Mario, Yoshi cannot 'die'.

Instead, each time he feels pain, Baby Mazza floats away in a bubble, and you must retrive the future-hero before time runs-out. Otherwise, it's back to square-one (or, perhaps, a save-point). How much time you have depends on how many little stars you've collected. The more you collect from bursting ?-marked clouds and feeding plants, the longer you will have to save him.

But, no matter what you may think (being Yoshi and all), it's not always 'that-easy' to retrive bubble-boy when air-borne foes like Lakitu are at large. When they constantly get in your way, you just KNOW there's nothing you can do to stop that clock ticking-away.

But, in all honesty, that's the only bad-point I have to make about this game! Aside from that, any Mario World-fan should instantly fall-in-love with this platforming 'gem' that shines 'fun' all-over. An essential purchase for any GBA-owner who missed out on this classic first-time around.