Boy, do I ever wish I had a year like 2006 when I was growing up. Not only do we get a brand spanking new Mario side scroller -- New Super Mario Bros. on the DS -- and a brand new Mario 3-D platformer on a brand new system -- Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii -- but in the first months of 2007, we get a sequel to one of my favorite platformers of all time, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Nice!

Not that the story was ever a big part of a Nintendo platformer, but for those that are interested, the press release states:

“A mysterious floating island has suddenly appeared over peaceful Yoshi’s Island. Soon after its arrival, a gaggle of kids vanishes from the island school. Thankfully, Baby Mario, Baby Peach and Baby Donkey Kong manage to avoid being kidnapped. Now, Yoshi and the three young superstars must set out on a wild and colorful quest to rescue the kids and investigate the ominous island hovering overhead.”

Exciting stuff. Now then, let’s get to the question that you’re all wondering; namely, how is this going to be any different from Yoshi’s Story on the Nintendo 64? My answer would be to forget that the latter even existed. The game is still early in development, but it was clear from the demo that Yoshi’s Island 2 is almost like an expansion pack for the original than a sequel, except visually enhanced to take advantage of the DS’s extra horsepower. Enemies are just a little bit more amorphous, backgrounds just a little bit more Crayola-like. The end of level goals and the 100-point system return with few changes as well.

The biggest difference from Yoshi’s Island is that you’re not just restricted to playing Baby Mario, as you might have guessed from reading the story outline. At certain points in the level, you’re given the chance to switch to either Baby Peach or Baby Donkey Kong, with each character having particular advantages or disadvantages. Think Super Mario Bros. 2: when Yoshi carries Peach on his back, he loses the ability to kill enemies without the butt-stomp, but can now use the parasol to ride wind drafts to otherwise unreachable locations.

I’m guessing that Peach’s power is particularly important, because the second screen is an extension of the action rather than a separate map screen.

Not the most original idea, but one that works well nonetheless.

There’s really not much to complain about with this title. It exudes the refinement one expects of a Nintendo side-scroller, and improves upon what was already platforming’s finest hour. But here’s something to chew on as a gamer and responsible consumer: do you think it’s worth it to spend $40 on an expansion pack? Part of what made Yoshi’s Island so great was its imaginative, iconoclastic level design. Yoshi’s Island 2, other than the addition of different playable characters, seems so far to be a (gasp!) rehash, and I won’t deny some slight disappointment on my part with the deja vu I experienced while playing the demo.

But what the hell. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

(Originally published May 2006 at http://www.intlhouseofgames.com)