Yoshi is an interesting puzzle game. It is a match-two game that uses enemies from the Mario Bros games as its game pieces. It is a nice take on the falling block genre of games.
This isn’t as good as Tetris, Dr. Mario, or even Yoshi’s Cookie. However, Yoshi is a fun little game that can be played for a short period.
There isn’t much variety in its gameplay. If you have a friend that wants to play the game with you, I recommend the NES version. It is easier to do two players on that than on the Game Boy.
TLDR: Yoshi is a fun game that can get old quickly.
History
Yoshi was developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. It was released in Japan in 1991, and North America and Europe got the game in 1992. This is how the NES and Game Boy versions were released.
It wasn’t ported to other systems, and I think that Nintendo has forgotten about this game. You could say this about many other games in Nintendo’s library. I guess they thought side-scrollers were a better option for Yoshi games.
The NES version has been available on Nintendo’s virtual store over the years and was put on the Switch’s subscription service in 2018. This is the version I would recommend playing.
Yoshi is one of the first games that Game Freak worked on with Nintendo before Pokemon. I always find it interesting to see where these relationships start and the early games from developers that I like.
Gameplay
In Yoshi, you control Mario. This is probably why the European version was called Mario and Yoshi. It makes more sense to call it this.
As Mario, you move platforms to create stacks of two enemies or create eggs. Here is a list of the things that will drop down from the top of the screen:
- Goombas
- Boos (Could be Big Boo, but I think it is the little one)
- Bloopers (Squids)
- Piranha Plants
- Top Egg
- Bottom Egg
Your goal is to connect the tops and bottoms of the eggs that randomly fall. In the bottom right corner of the screen, Yoshi tracks the number of eggs you have completed. You can also use the eggs to take out more enemies you couldn’t deal with.
Because you only have four spots to stack stuff, you might get into trouble. You lose the game if you let the stacks get too high. You’re only trying to get a high score in this game, so don’t feel frustrated about losing.
Visuals
This is a good-looking game. The only problem I have is how big everything is on the screen. This has to do with the small Game Boy screen.
I didn’t look too closely at the NES game, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Game Boy slowed the game down to make up for the smaller playfield. It is the only thing that I don’t like about the game.
Yoshi does look better on the NES. The sprites are nicely detailed on both ports of the game, and the animation is good. The NES is in color, and the playfield is bigger.
Replayability
This is a game that you can play over and over. You want to do better each time, especially when you learn how to play the game.
It is an odd game. Most puzzle games like this are because no story mode was added to them. It does make for a good pick-up and play game.
I would still prefer other puzzle games. The NES version is better than this one. The NES version has a larger playfield and controls better than this one.
6.5/10. I had fun with this game. There isn’t much to the game, and once you have played it for a few minutes, you have experienced everything.
Pros
Some of these are going to be hand-held specific. They might not be pros for the NES version.
- Easy to learn
- It is a fun game
- No story to follow
Cons
- Lack of game modes
- You need a second Game Boy and link cable for the Two-Player mode.
- Small screen
Conclusion
There were a lot of interesting puzzle games on the Game Boy. They usually work well on a handheld system. Yoshi is an example of a game that does work well but lacks some features that would have made the game stand out.
Other puzzle games are better than this one. It isn’t a bad game, but it isn’t as good as Tetris. Game Freak tried to capture the magic of Tetris, but they fell short.
I enjoyed playing Yoshi. While I like the game, I think I would rather play Tetris or Yoshi’s Cookie. I think those two are better and offer more replayability.