Welcome to DS on DS. This is where I'm going to be taking a look at the Nintendo DS and all of it's games. And when I say all, I mean it. We will be going from Metroid Prime: Hunters to Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends. From Tetris DS to Barbie 12 Dancing Princesses. Yes, I said Barbie.  Every Friday, I will write a review on the game I have chosen for the week.

This week I am going to be taking a look at Yoshi's Island DS.

Super Mario World. Those three little words sparked the launch of what was arguably one of the best video game consoles ever, the Super Nintendo. Then word came of a sequel: Super Mario World 2. There was something different about this game though. Instead of playing as Mario, you played as Yoshi, who was carrying around a Baby Mario on his back. While it was a departure from the standard Mario fare, the game was excellent. Eleven years and a few spin-offs later, Nintendo finally decided to grace us with a proper sequel by way of Yoshi's Island DS.

As far as the story goes, Baby Luigi was taken by Kamek, and it's up to you to rescue him. Fairly standard fare for a game in the Mario-verse. Someone gets kidnapped, you go and beat the crap out of Bowser, then you team up with him later to defeat Waluigi and Diddy Kong in a rousing game of tennis.

They really didn't change much for Yoshi's Island DS, and in this case, it's a good thing. Other than the second screen, the only real additions were the new babies. Though it may seem like a small addition, in actuality it is a very big one. Baby Peach helps Yoshi float along air currents. Baby Donkey Kong can climb vines. Baby Wario has a big magnet. And Baby Bowser shoots fireballs. This also adds some slight puzzle elements to the game, though obviously none of them are extremely difficult.  On top of that, it also adds some replay value to the game, even if it is forced replay.  When you first start out the game, there are plenty of places and coins that you can not react until you get the other babies.  So if youwant to get 100% on all of the levels, you will have to go back and replay some of them with the other babies.

The controls are the same as in the original game as well. You still run around swallowing Shy Guys and other enemies, pooping them out as eggs, and then throwing the eggs at other enemies. You still collect flowers for 1-ups and bonus games, and you still collect the hidden red coins. If you get hit, the baby floats away and you have to get them back before the countdown reaches zero. The game does a great job at motivating you to get your baby back quickly as well, because the entire time they are floating away, they are screaming in their shrill little baby voices.  Once again, this is one of those things where change would have been bad.
   
Not much has changed from the SNES classic in the sound and art departments either.  Everything still has that ultra cutesy, colorful, and vibrant look.  Well, except for the darker areas, but even those are adorable.  The music is all similar in tone as well.

This is an excellent game, and is highly recommended if you enjoy excellent platformers, or just need to have any game with Mario in it.

Final Score: 8/10