Yoshi's Island DS
| Yoshi's Island DS | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 For alternate box art, see the game's gallery. | |||||||||||||
| Developer | Artoon | ||||||||||||
| Publisher | Nintendo | ||||||||||||
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS, Virtual Console (Wii U) | ||||||||||||
| Release date | Nintendo DS: Template:ReleaseVirtual Console (Wii U): Template:Release[?] | ||||||||||||
| Language(s) | English (United States) French (France) German Spanish (Spain) Italian Japanese Korean | ||||||||||||
| Genre | Platformer | ||||||||||||
| Rating(s) |
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| Mode(s) | Single-player | ||||||||||||
| Format | Wii U:  Digital downloadNintendo DS:
Game Card
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| Input | Wii U: Nintendo DS:
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| Serial code(s) | Template:Serials | ||||||||||||
- Everyone
- Three years and older
- All ages
- General
- All ages
- All ages
Yoshi's Island DS is a 2D platformer developed by Artoon for the Nintendo DS. The second original installment in the Yoshi's Island series, the game was released in North America on November 13, 2006, in Australia on November 23, 2006, in Europe on December 1, 2006, in Japan and Taiwan on March 8, 2007, and in South Korea on November 8, 2007. It is the sequel to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and tells the story of the Yoshis rescuing all the babies in the world that Kamek and the Toadies have kidnapped in search for the star children, a group of seven babies who possess powerful stars in their hearts. This is the first Yoshi's Island game to be developed by a third party studio, rather than in-house from Nintendo EAD, unlike previous games such as Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and its enhanced Game Boy Advance port, Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3.
While the game is heavily derivative from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, including general gameplay, themes, and graphics, the game primarily differentiates itself from its predecessor by taking advantage of the Nintendo DS's dual screen to display levels while introducing multiple babies to carry on a Yoshi's back, who all have special abilities that are required to complete levels. Aside from carrying Baby Mario, Yoshis can additionally carry Baby Peach, Baby DK, Baby Wario, and Baby Bowser; Baby DK and Baby Wario make their overall debut in this game.
A third original game, Yoshi's New Island, was released in 2014 for the Nintendo 3DS and continues the story told before Yoshi's Island DS. The game was rereleased for the Wii U's Virtual Console in North America on April 1, 2015, in Japan on April 8, 2015, in Europe on May 7, 2015, and in Australia on May 8, 2015.
Story
From the instruction booklet:
Baby Luigi has been kidnapped!
Our adventure begins one sunny day on Yoshi's Island. Yoshi is out enjoying the day with a leisurely stroll when, all of a sudden, two babies drop out of the sky. One of them looks very familiar to Yoshi. With a forlorn look on his face, the baby just gazes longingly at a mysterious castle that has appeared in the sky. Yoshi wonders if the castle holds other babies.
Once again, it's up to the Yoshi clan to save the day. This time, the stork is coming with them too.
A new journey begins. Can the Yoshis and babies triumph over Kamek and save Baby Luigi?
Kamek and his army of Toadies steal all of the babies in the Mushroom Kingdom, as well as in other nearby areas. The Toadies take the babies to Bowser's Castle, but the stork comes in and attacks two Toadies, making them drop the babies they are carrying. The two babies land on Yoshi's Island and are revealed to be Baby Mario and Baby Peach.
The Yoshis find the babies and decide to help them. They figure out that Baby Mario, once again, wants to save Baby Luigi and the other babies from Kamek and his Toadies. The Yoshis take the babies with them and go to rescue the kidnapped babies. Later on in the adventure, sometime after the defeat of Gilbert the Gooey, a group of monkeys kidnaps Baby Peach. The Yoshis and Baby Mario find another baby, Baby DK, who was left behind when the Toadies were kidnapping all the other babies. With the help of Baby DK, Yoshi is able to rescue Baby Peach from the monkeys. Baby DK joins the team when the monkeys are defeated.
Promptly after defeating Bessie Bass on a battleship, the Yoshis and the babies are swept away by a tidal wave in a storm. They eventually find Baby Wario, who is also left behind. Baby Wario then decides to join the party.
When Priscilla the Peckish is defeated, Baby Wario decides to join a team of Bandits in hope of getting money. Meanwhile, after the Yoshis defeat Six-Face Sal, it is revealed that future Bowser and future Kamek are the ones kidnapping the babies and that they are looking for the seven star children. The star children are young children that have magical stars in them. If one collects all the stars, then they become the ruler of the universe. Kamek kidnaps Baby Bowser (while Kamek of the past tries to stop him), and Baby Bowser and Bowser get into a fight, ending with Bowser causing his infant self to fall out of a window of the castle. Baby Bowser lands on Yoshi's back and joins their team, although they are worried that he might attack them.
Baby Bowser does not stay for the rest of the adventure. When Big Guy the Stilted is defeated, he leaves with Kamek, who then returns to Bowser's Castle and uses a Crystal Ball to check every baby they have kidnapped (with the exception of Baby Luigi, who hides from it) to determine if they are star children, which they are not. Bowser becomes furious, and he sends the Toadies to keep looking for more babies.
The team finally arrives at Bowser's Castle where Baby Wario and Baby Bowser are arguing over who gets to keep some treasure. They then notice the Yoshis and help them travel through the castle. When they finally get to the top of the castle, however, Baby Bowser tells the Yoshis to leave. When they do not leave, Baby Bowser thinks Yoshi is there to steal his treasure. Baby Bowser fights Yoshi, but Yoshi defeats him.
Bowser then comes in the room and is angry at what Yoshi did to his younger self. He then fights Yoshi, but gets defeated just like his younger self. Kamek then uses magic to help Bowser become giant. The four babies with four Yoshis fight against the Giant Bowser using Giant Eggs and are eventually able to defeat him. Kamek escapes when Bowser is defeated, with four Toadies carrying Bowser right behind him. Baby Bowser decides to escape with Bowser and Kamek, and holds on to his broomstick.
The Yoshis save all the kidnapped babies, and the storks take all the kidnapped babies back to their homes, except for Baby Wario, who gets the Stork to land so he can play on a raft holding the treasure stolen from Bowser's Castle. A flying rock hits Kamek's broomstick, and Baby Bowser lets go and falls down right in his treasure. Baby Wario and Baby Bowser start arguing about who gets to keep the treasure again.
It is then revealed that the seven star children are Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Peach, Baby DK, Baby Wario, Baby Bowser, and a newborn Baby Yoshi, who hatches from a Yoshi's Egg at the end of the game.
Gameplay
Gameplay typically consists of platforming throughout the game's levels, where a Yoshi needs to navigate through the various obstacles in order to reach the Goal roulette. Yoshis have various means of dealing with the obstacles, with basic actions being running, jumping either to dodge obstacles or defeat enemies, and Ground Pounding harder to defeat enemies or posts. Yoshis can Flutter Jump repeatedly in the air to increase distance and slow down descent speed. Unique to Yoshis and their primary method of dealing with enemies and obstacles are their extendable, sticky tongues, which allows them to swallow most enemies and turn them into essential, versatile projectiles: Yoshi Eggs. Eggs have a wide variety of purposes, whether they activate Winged Clouds, defeat enemies that cannot be eaten or stomped on, open up traps and obstacles, retrieve coins, reveal hidden Winged Clouds, and more. Eggs by default come in green, changes color when bouncing off walls and the color indicates how many times eggs bounce off walls before they are destroyed. Green eggs can bounce off walls three times, Yellow Eggs two, and Red Eggs instantly get destroyed when they touch a wall. If a Yellow or Red Egg hits an enemy, it spawns coins or a star respectively. Yoshis can retrieve bounced eggs by using their tongue at them before they get destroyed, though some items such as colored Egg Blocks can give Yoshis different colored eggs. Yoshis can carry up to six eggs, and eggs get discarded if a Yoshi creates more eggs. In addition, Yoshis can obtain eggs by hitting Egg Blocks or retrieving them from Egg Plants.
Yoshi's Island DS retains the health system in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. When a Yoshi is hit by an enemy or an obstacle, the baby is knocked loose from his back, crying, and the star power–the source of the protective bubble that keeps the Toadies from taking the baby–goes down by one star per second. If that number goes down to zero, Toadies take away the baby and a life is lost. The Yoshi, however, still has a small amount of time to recover the baby even after the Toadies have grabbed. The Yoshi can rescue the baby by touching the bubble with its body or its tongue. If the Yoshi hits the bubble with an egg, the bubble gets knocked down, making the baby easier to reach. The star power starts at ten in each level. If a baby is recovered with less than ten stars, the star power slowly increases to ten. Additionally, groups of five stars can be found in Winged Clouds and crates, and goal roulettes give twenty additional star power, allowing the star power to max at thirty. Remaining star power also counts toward the score at the completion of the level. Although Yoshis cannot be defeated in normal circumstances, they instantly lose a life if they touch spikes, lava, fall into bottomless pits, get crushed, or eaten by Lunge Fish or Boss Basses.
New to Yoshi's Island DS is the addition of extra babies and Stork Stops, who affect the gameplay in various ways. By default, Yoshis carry Baby Mario, who retains gameplay most similar to the original entry and allows Yoshis to hit M Blocks. At Stork Stops, Yoshis can swap out babies once they have been unlocked. Carrying Baby Peach, for example, allows Yoshis to flutter jump further and ride winds thanks to the use of her parasol while Baby DK allows Yoshis to climb vines, explode eggs, and use the DK Dash Attack to charge through rocks and enemies; however, Baby Peach causes a Yoshi to lose the ability to bounce eggs while Baby DK is heavier to carry and thus reduces flutter jump distance.
Controls
From the Options menu, players can change the controls of the game. The player can choose from two sets of controls: 
and 
, and two modes: Hasty and Patient, Below are the controls of the game:
: Used to move the Yoshis. Pressing it down makes Yoshi crouch or make eggs. If the down arrow is pressed in the air, Yoshi ground pounds.
: Pauses the game and opens the "Options" menu.- : Used to make Yoshi throw a Yoshi's Egg. In Hasty mode: Holding the button, makes Yoshi aim at his target. Letting go of the button makes Yoshi throw the egg, in Patient mode the player has to press the button again to make Yoshi throw the egg.
- : While Yoshi is aiming up and down, pressing the button makes Yoshi lock on a specific location.
First set:
- : Used to jump, pressing it again makes Yoshi Flutter Jump.
- : Used to Eat or spit an enemy. With Baby Mario, the player can dash by holding the button.
In this set: the and can be used instead of the and respectively.
Second set:
- : Used to jump, pressing it again makes Yoshi Flutter Jump.
- : Used to Eat or spit an enemy. With Baby Mario, the player can dash by holding the button.
Minigames
Minigames are unlocked in Adventure Mode:
- Tulip Shooter - Yoshi must grab and spit enemies into a tulip.
- Flutter Challenge - Yoshi must try to flutter-jump as far as possible.
- Bouncy Maze - Yoshi must maneuver his way through a simple maze of Bouncies.
- Speed-Eater - Yoshi must try to swallow as many enemies as possible.
- Egg Toss - Yoshi must hit targets with eggs.
All minigames have a set time limit. Achieving a high score in any minigame awards Yoshi with lives. Harder versions of all the minigames can be unlocked by collecting all the character coins in a world.
Time Trial
Time Trial is unlocked once Adventure Mode has been beaten. It is similar to Adventure Mode, but the player is timed. Yoshi has 100 minutes to finish each level - even when the player presses the Start Button, the time keeps going. Red coins, flowers and stars, when collected, each subtract a set amount of time taken to finish the level: -1 second per star, -2 seconds per red coin, and -10 seconds per flower.
Island Musuem
Accessible in Adventure mode, the Island Museum is a live bestiary of the enemies in the game. Any enemies hit by Yoshi's Eggs appear in exhibits and are organized by the class they are in (eg, many water-based enemies appear in the aquatic-based exhibit).
Worlds and levels
The level selection of the game is heavily inspired from the original, where throughout the five worlds, a different colored Yoshi takes on one out of eight levels, with a mid-boss in the fourth level and the world boss in the eighth level. Levels contain multiple features; various items such as flowers, Red Coins, and stars are required towards 100% completion, unlocking extra levels and are found throughout all levels in the game while other items and features are found in specific levels such as keys and Egg Plants. If all normal levels are cleared, the secret course is unlocked. If every level in a world has 100% adding to a total of 800, the extra course is unlocked.
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Characters
Playable characters
Babies
New to the sequel at certain spots are Stork Stops, which let Yoshis change babies, providing different unique abilities. All four hidden babies in order can be unlocked by completing boss levels of the Adventure Mode. Template:Content appearances
Other characters
| Image | Name | Description
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|---|---|---|
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Stork | The stork appears at Stork Stops, where he brings the babies to the Yoshis. |
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Baby Luigi | The only unplayable baby, reprising his role from previous games, Baby Luigi is taken hostage and must be rescued. |
Normal enemies
These enemies can also be seen in the Island Museum after they are hit by eggs (even if the eggs do not defeat them) in the actual levels.
Template:Content appearancesTemplate:Content appearancesTemplate:Content appearancesTemplate:Content appearancesTemplate:Content appearancesTemplate:Content appearancesTemplate:Content appearancesTemplate:Content appearances| Aquatic enemies | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Botanical enemies | ||||
| Shy Guy enemies | ||||
| Subterranean enemies | ||||
| Land enemies | ||||
| Airborne enemies | ||||
| Haunted House enemies | ||||
| Giant enemies |
Bosses
As in the original game, each world has a midway fort and an end-wirld castle (the fourth and eighth levels of each world, respectively), with a boss battle taking place in each. Kamek uses his magic to enlarge common enemies.
| Mid-bosses | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image | Name | Description
|
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Big Burt Bros. | The Big Burt Bros. are the mid-boss of World 1, fought in Castle of the Big Burt Bros.. They try to jump onto Yoshi. The Big Burt Bros. must be hit by an egg six times to be defeated. |
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Hector the Reflector | Hector is the mid-boss of World 2, fought in Hector the Reflector's Haunted House. He invisible on the top screen but visible via a mirror on the touch screen, and must be hit six times to be defeated. Each time Hector is hit, he breaks a part of the mirror. |
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Bessie Bass | Bessie Bass is the mid-boss of World 3, fought in Bessie Bass's Battleship. She jumps out of the water and tries to eat Yoshi. Yoshi must throw an egg at Bessie Bass' lips three times to defeat her. |
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Six-Face Sal | Six-Face Sal is the mid-boss of World 4, fought in Six-Face Sal's Fort. Its faces spit Pokeys at Yoshi. It takes four hits to defeat Six-Face Sal. |
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Moltz the Very Goonie | Moltz the Very Goonie is the mid-boss of World 5, fought in The Fort of Moltz the Very Goonie. He tries to land on Yoshi. Yoshi must ground pound Moltz's head three times to defeat him. |
| Big bosses | ||
| Image | Name | Description
|
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Gilbert the Gooey | Gilbert the Gooey is the big boss of World 1, fought in Gilbert the Gooey's Castle. springs up and down and then swinging from side to side. All the spheres on Gilbert must be destroyed for him to be defeated. |
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Big Bungee Piranha | Big Bungee Piranha is the big boss of World 2, fought in Big Bungee Piranha's Lair. He lunges down at Yoshi and eats him. When Big Bungee Piranha is about to lunge down, a cursor appears, so a Chomp Rock must be moved to this cursor so its tongue is exposed. The tongue must be hit three times for Big Bungee Piranha to be defeated. |
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Priscilla the Peckish | Priscilla the Peckish is the big boss of World 3, fought in Castle of Priscilla the Peckish. She jumps out of her hole at Yoshi, also spitting out Pokeys. Yoshi must hit Priscilla with an egg three times to defeat her. |
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Big Guy the Stilted | Big Guy the Stilted is the big boss of World 4, fought in Castle of Big Guy the Stilted. He tries to push Yoshi into lava. Yoshi must hit Big Guy the Stilted into lava and then ground pound him three times to defeat him. |
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Baby Bowser | In the World 5 level At Last, Bowser's Castle!, Baby Bowser ground pounds the floor. Yoshi must throw eggs at him three times to defeat him. |
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Bowser | In the World 5 level At Last, Bowser's Castle!, Bowser jumps around and spits fireballs. Yoshi must hit him with Giant Eggs and then ground pound him three times. |
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Bowser (giant) | In the World 5 level At Last, Bowser's Castle!, after three hits, Bowser becomes giant and four Yoshis must throw Giant Eggs into his face six times to defeat him. |
Yoshi's abilities
Morph Yoshi
A Yoshi can morph into several different types of vehicle with the help of a morph bubble. To revert to normal, the Yoshi must either touch a Yoshi Block or wait until the time runs out, as the forms last only for a certain period of time. The Yoshi, however, must touch the Yoshi Block to progress the level; otherwise, he is directed back to the morph bubble. While Baby Mario stays protected in a bubble, Yoshi is also invincible while in these forms, but if he is hit, he is stunned and knocked into a certain direction, making him lose time. Yoshi also can no longer attack in these forms. Template:Content appearances
Vehicles
There are five types of vehicles that Yoshis can use to progress through various levels. Template:Content appearances
Items and objects
It has been requested that this section be rewritten and expanded to include more information. Reason: Missing various objects for the sections (tagged on July 9, 2021)
Blocks
| Image | Name | Description
|
|---|---|---|
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Egg Block | An Egg Block gives Yoshi an egg if he hits it when he has less than six eggs. |
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Expansion Block | An Expansion Block is a block that grows bigger when a Yoshi hits it. |
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Message Block | When the Message Block is hit, it tells the player how to use certain moves. |
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M Block | An M Block is a block that can only be used if a Yoshi has Baby Mario on its back. An M Block can contain coins, or seeds that create giant sunflowers. |
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Yoshi Block | A Yoshi Block is a block that transforms a Yoshi back from his vehicle form after it uses a morph bubble. |
Collectibles
| Image | Name | Description
|
|---|---|---|
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Character coin | These coins are hidden in a level, and a Yoshi must have a specific baby to collect them. When they are collected, harder versions of the minigames can be played. |
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Coin | If 100 coins are collected, an extra life is rewarded to the player. |
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Flower | A flower is a collectible that increases the score at the end of the level. All five need to be collected for the maximum score. |
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Red coin | A red coin is a collectible that increases the score at the end of the level. All twenty need to be collected for the maximum score. |
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Stars | Stars increase the time that a baby is protected in the bubble when they are knocked off of Yoshi's back. They contribute to the score given at the end of the level. Thirty need to be collected for a maximum score. |
Eggs
| Image | Name | Description
|
|---|---|---|
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Red Egg | A Red Egg functions as a normal Yoshi's Egg, but it can only rebound off a wall once. If Yoshi throws a Red Egg at an enemy, two stars appear. |
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Yellow Egg | A Yellow Egg functions as a normal Yoshi's Egg, but it can rebound off walls only twice (if it rebounds once, it becomes a Red Egg). If Yoshi throws a Yellow Egg at an enemy, a coin appears. |
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Yoshi's Egg | When Yoshi ducks after stuffing an enemy in its mouth, the Yoshi swallows the enemy and creates Yoshi's Eggs. Egg Block and a few other objects also give Yoshi's Eggs. Yoshi can throw eggs to defeat enemies, destroy gravel, hit switches and activate Winged Clouds. Yoshi's Eggs can be rebounded off walls three times, but only if he is carrying certain babies, such as Baby Mario. When the eggs rebound from walls, from every rebound, they change from green to yellow to red. |
Hazards
Miscellaneous
| Items | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image | Name | Effect
|
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Key | Keys are used to unlock locked doors. |
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Morph bubble | When a Yoshi touches a morph bubble, it transforms. |
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Super Star | A Super Star transforms Baby Mario into Superstar Mario. Baby Mario is the only baby who can use this. |
| Objects | ||
| Image | Name | Effect
|
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Bouncy | Giant pink spheres that bounce the Yoshis. |
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Crate | A crate contains stars, coins, or a key. It can also be pushed and used as a platform. |
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Giant sunflower | A giant sunflower grows when its seed hits the ground, the seeds can be found in M Blocks or Winged Clouds. Yoshi can then jump on the sunflower's leaves to reach higher places. |
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Goal roulette | The goal roulette is the end of the level. |
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Magnet Block | A giant metal block that Baby Wario can move with his magnet. |
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Magnet Platform | A metal platform that can be raised or lowered with Baby Wario's magnet. |
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Middle Ring | The Middle Ring is the checkpoint in each level. When a Yoshi goes through it, if it dies in the level, it is returned to the Middle Ring. The Middle Ring also contributes ten stars to the star total. |
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Stork Stop | When a Yoshi waits on a Stork Stop for a certain amount of time, the stork arrives and allows Yoshi to change which baby it is carrying. |
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Winged Cloud | When a Winged Cloud is hit with an egg, it creates a pathway for Yoshi to use, reveals a switch, acts as a switch, gives coins or stars or an extra life. |
Bonus Challenges
Any flowers the player collects in a level appears in the goal roulette at the end of a level. After a Yoshi passes through the ring, the spinning slows. If it stops on a flower, the Yoshi is able to play a mini-game and can possibly earn 1-Ups. There are five different flowers in each level.
These are the Mini-games that may pop up if a Yoshi is able to get a flower in the goal roulette. They can also be played via the World Map screen if the player obtains a total of at least 700 points in a world.
Similarities to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
- The first piece of Ba-dum BUM! is same as the one from Make Eggs, Throw Eggs.
- In both Watch Out For Lakitu and Spear Guys' Village Found!, an Itsunomanika Heihō can be encountered in a bush just before the goal roulette.
- The first mid-boss, Big Burt Bros., is a dual version of Burt the Bashful, the first mid-boss in the original game.
- The first world boss (Salvo the Slime/Gilbert the Gooey) is a blob-like creature, parts of whom can be eaten by Yoshi.
- The second mid-boss (Bigger Boo/Hector the Reflector) is a ghost whose size changes throughout the battle.
- The third mid-boss (Froggy/Bessie Bass) is an aquatic enemy capable of eating Yoshi, and both fights require Yoshi to fire eggs at a part of the mid-boss' gastrointestinal tract directly above him.
- The jungle world boss (Naval Piranha/Big Bungee Piranha) is a Piranha Plant, and Nipper Plants are present during the battle. Both bosses also turn gray and crumble into dust upon defeat.
- The fourth World Boss (Hookbill the Koopa/Big Guy the Stilted) is a giant variation of an enemy that appeared in earlier levels.
- In the fifth world, one of the bosses that Yoshi fights (Raphael the Raven/Moltz the Very Goonie) is a bird enemy, and the battle takes place in the sky rather than an enclosed environment.
- One boss (Hookbill the Koopa/Bowser) is a giant Koopa who Yoshi defeats by throwing eggs at his face to flip him on his back before ground-pounding his belly.
- At least one world boss (Roger the Potted Ghost/Priscilla the Peckish & Six-Face Sal) is a completely unique species, not based off of any particular enemy in the game. Incidentally, Yoshi's Island DS introduces a regular enemy based on the unique boss from the first game.
- Multiple similarities exist with the final normal levels of each game:
- The final level is set in Bowser's Castle, and is explored by Green Yoshi instead of Blue Yoshi.
- Both levels start outside the castle walls and require Yoshi to clear through a flock of Skeleton Goonies and use an aircraft-themed power to get inside.
- Both levels require Yoshi to choose one of several different pathways, each with their own gimmick.
- One path requires Yoshi to flee from a giant golden Tap-Tap in a volcanic cavern.
- The first part of each final battle is against Baby Bowser, who creates shockwaves as an attack, and the last is against a giant version of Bowser, age unconsidered, who uses falling boulders and fireballs as attacks.
- Both final battles require the use of Giant Eggs carried into the field by Item Balloons, and Bowser's castle is destroyed during the transition to the final phase of both battles.
References to other games
- Donkey Kong Country: DK's Tree House appears as it does in that game.
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: The game is the sequel to this game, and also takes place on the same titular island, and most of the enemy sprites are from this game, albeit with updated shading. Its events are mentioned at the start of the game.
- Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3: Each world has a secret course.
- Yoshi Topsy-Turvy: Bowser's sprites seem to have been drawn over the prerendered sprites of him from this game. Much of the artwork is also borrowed from this game.
- Yoshi Touch & Go: Many of the game's sprites are redrawn from Yoshi Touch & Go, such as Yoshi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, and Kamek's sprites. Artwork is reused as well, including the Baby Mario and Yoshi artwork on the box artwork.
- Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time: M Blocks appear again. Baby Peach originates from this game, too.
References in later games
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl: The game's "above ground" theme has been remastered and included in this game, and has been given the title "Wildlands." The Yoshi's Island stage is based on Yoshi's Island DS's graphics.
- Mario Super Sluggers: Baby DK returns, along with all of the other babies, with the exception of Baby Wario and Baby Bowser. Wario uses his baby counterpart's magnet in Challenge Mode.
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Kamek turns Bowser into a giant for the final battle.
- Yoshi's New Island: This game continues the events told before Yoshi's Island DS.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Baby Mario (Superstar Mario) and Crazee Dayzee appear as spirits, using their artwork from Yoshi's Island DS.
- Dr. Mario World: Baby Wario returns as a playable doctor, and he uses his magnet from Yoshi's Island DS as his special skill.
Staff
- Main article: List of Yoshi's Island DS staff
Yoshi's Island DS was developed by the company Artoon, instead of Nintendo EAD like other Yoshi games were. The game was directed by Hidetoshi Takeshita and the lead programmer was Yuki Hatakeyama. Takashi Tezuka, served as one of the senior producers of the game, with Naoto Ohshima being the other one.
Reception
Yoshi's Island DS received mainly positive reviews from critics. It was praised for having similar gameplay to its predecessor, as well as the artwork, although the gameplay's being too similar to its predecessor is frequently cited. Some critics also considered it the best portable Yoshi game released.
In a positive review, Craig Harris of IGN has praised the game for its design.[1] He has described the game more of a nostalgic reminder of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island rather than an advancement of the series. As a result, he suggested that the designs stuck too close to original formula, ruining surprises for veteran players of Yoshi's Island. He praised the different babies, although he felt that Baby Wario "was a last-minute edition and not tested properly". Although he noted that the dual screen gave the players a bigger view, but criticized the blind spot between the dual screens.
Tom Bramwell of Eurogamer was reluctant to praise Yoshi's Island DS in the same way as Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, as he considered the game to be a "distended version of Yoshi". He acknowledges Artoon's effort in the game and the variety of babies and levels. He also criticizes the developers' abuse of the blind spot between the two screens and that the developers failed to establish trust for the player to explore. He finally stated that "Artoon is cribbing from the same notes. It's a shame, because there are times when you catch glimpses of the sort of thing the Japanese team is really capable of[...]."
Yoshi's Island DS was placed 46 on Gamesradar's Top 50 DS games. The small feature called it a fresh and new experience, a beautiful 2D world, and that they'd never tire of playing the game.[2]
| Reviews | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release | Reviewer, Publication | Score | Comment |
| Nintendo DS | Tom Bramwell, Eurogamer | 7/10 | "The problem is that it's a sensation that you felt all the time in Yoshi's Island. You gave up counting the ways. Counting them here would result in a much smaller number, like, ooh..." |
| Nintendo DS | Frank Provo, Gamespot | 9.1/10 | "It's hard to top a masterpiece, but that's just what Nintendo and Artoon have done with Yoshi's Island DS. By incorporating one major new feature and leaving everything else alone, they've produced a sequel that seems fresh and new while remaining every bit as awesome as the original. If you enjoy side-scrolling platformers, you have to play this one." |
| Nintendo DS | Craig Harris, IGN | 8/10 | "Don't let the negative tone throw you -- Yoshi's Island DS is a great game. It's just a egg throw's distance away from having the same impact the original Yoshi's Island did more than a decade ago. It sets out to emulate everything that made the first game so great, and does a really good job doing that. But it runs into the problem of not doing enough to make it its own game. No huge surprises, and no significant additions to the genre...it's just a solid recreation of the Yoshi's Island elements in a two-screen-high format. It's fun and challenging with a couple of unpolished quirks." |
| Nintendo DS | Kaes Delgrego, Nintendo Life | 7/10 | "As a stand-alone game, Yoshi's Island DS is an enjoyable platformer. But to compare it to the SNES classic would be akin to comparing Sean Lennon to his father: expecting him to live up to the walrus would be entirely unrealistic." |
| Nintendo DS | Tom East, Official Nintendo Magazine | 87% | "Yoshi's Island DS might be too similar to the first game, but that's not entirely a bad thing - the original was amazing and so is this. One of the best platformers on the DS." |
| Aggregators | |||
| Compiler | Platform / Score | ||
| Metacritic | 81 | ||
| GameRankings | 81.15% | ||
Sales
In its first week in Japan, the game sold approximately 300,000 copies. As of March 31, 2008 Yoshi's Island DS has sold 2.91 million copies worldwide.[3]
Media
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 Yoshi's Island DS - Title screen theme | File info 0:29 |
Gallery
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Yoshi's Island DS.
Baby Mario and Yoshi
Baby Peach and Pink Yoshi
Baby Luigi being kidnapped by a group of Toadies.
Pre-release and unused content
- Main article: List of Yoshi's Island DS pre-release and unused content
- Yoshi's Island DS, initially titled Yoshi's Island 2, was originally going to be compatible with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. This, however, was scrapped from the game for unknown reasons.
- Early screenshots showcasing a battle with Big Guy the Stilted seemed to suggest that Big Guy was once going to be organic, as he had no patches on him in that picture (although one patch is visible near his right foot, which may mean his graphics were slightly incomplete).
An early battle with Big Guy the Stilted, who appears to lack mechanical features.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese (traditional) | 耀西之島DS[4] Yàoxī zhī Dǎo DS |
Yoshi's Island DS | |
| French | Yoshi's Island DS[?] | - | |
| Korean | 요시 아일랜드 DS[?] Yosi Aillaendeu DS |
Yoshi Island DS | |
| Spanish | Yoshi's Island DS[?] | - |
Trivia
- The box art shows Baby Bowser riding Yellow Yoshi, and Baby Wario riding Light Blue Yoshi; they do not ride these Yoshis in the game other than when Baby Wario is in the final boss fight, however. This is because the babies are only playable in the last four levels on the world map, as opposed to the Yoshis they ride, which are in the first four.
- The instruction booklet erroneously states Baby DK is the only baby with more than one special ability, as Baby Mario has three abilities.
