After finally playing this game I'm pretty surprised. This is the only platformer I've played where it's less about jumping and more a bunch of small, fun interactive gimmicks that make the levels really interactive. Are there any other games like this or is it one of a kind?
Ristar comes to mind. He can basically grab onto anything pick up and move objects to solve puzzles, etc.
iirc, ristar doesn't have any bottomless pits.
I love this game. I finished for the nth time this month, but whenever I replay it I never do 100%. The way most stages are made is completely against the idea of collecting stuff to get 100 score.
>The way most stages are made is completely against the idea of collecting stuff to get 100 score.
That's not the point of the scoring system though. The goal isn't to just "collect stuff." The goal is to get a perfect run. So you are supposed to memorize the layout and run through the level multiple times until you learn to get everything in one go. A perfect 100 score is the reward for mastering a level, not just collecting stuff.
That's why its called a "score" and not a checklist/objective/etc. Its literally scoring you on how well you completed the level in one go.
>A perfect 100 score is the reward for mastering a level
Would work if not getting a random attack means your count goes below 30, that is it baby, gotta start the whole stage depending on where you are, etc.
Gimmick on the NES is all about the star-tossing... uh, gimmick.
You could also try the GBA version OP, I think it has a few extra stages. There's also the non-/vr/ sequel Yoshi's Island DS which gives you four other babies with different abilities.
Don't play YI:DS
Artoon/Arzest took a basically 10/10 and made it a 4/10. It's not just challenging, it's challenging in all of the wrong ways. Already in the first stage or somewhere in the first world you encounter some locked up place where you basically need to do a blind egg shoot with limited eggs for 100% in the stage, whereas Yoshi's Island heavily limited those (if at all) when you'd have item stocks already
It feels like a terrible rom hack, the level design sucks. You took the wrong baby? No special coin for you. Usually in YI it was more obvious that a door would advance and lock you from going back while this one you get a LOT of these dilemmas where choosing wrong will lock you from 100% the stage and you have to restart. Every additions sticks out like a sore thumb and it has LESS effects and is less pretty than the Snes game despite reusing everything
Do NOT play that game
I didn't think it was that bad personally, though I can see why some people don't like it I guess
If you want something that's closer to YI, I'd say that Yoshi's Woolly World (I played the 3DS ver) does the job. It never truly reached the height of the original, but it's good enough. I gave it a chance and I was surprised how good was it, because Good Feel completely fricked up with Wario Land Shake it
The sequel however, really, really fricking sucks. It becomes boring exploration rather than being more pure platforming and it really feels more like a baby game (despite 100% being kind of hard, but really not worth it)
Imagine getting filtered by a toddler game made for toddlers and devd by toddlers
Also don't forget that 5% to 10% of the game field is hidden from you where the two screens meet and enemies could be hiding there without you knowing (or coins). The gimmicks are also annoying/boring/pointless. It really did feel like a romhack.
Your complaints are valid, but all those issues arose from the "100% completion" mentality that came out in the 90s and quickly got out of control. It affected many games. The solution was simply to tone down the number of collectibles (or putting a huge amount of hours into level design to make sure everything was well placed), so the player could focus more on the adventure than on sidetracking.
YIDS is fricking terrible but who the hell cares about 100%ing Yoshi's Island or its awful sequel? The original is horrendous for playing that way too, but it's great in every other way.
Yeah that game was surprisingly difficult. I remember abusing air pedal a lot or rather levels that forced you into that kind if gameplay. What were they thinking!
Yoshi's Island DS may have been a mediocre step down with less than half the soul, but it was still an enjoyable enough easy game with a dumb gimmick.
100%ing it is a dull and unfun, but the real play for postgame is to complete the museum which is the best part of the game.
came here to post (something like) this:
I was astonished at how much the quality dropped, considering it's effectively just extra levels. I didn't play it for more than a few hours.
I actually finished it. I started attempting for 100%, like I usually do for YI:DS, and quickly gave that up. Even giving that up, the game is a total pain to play and finish
>This is the only platformer I've played where it's less about jumping and more a bunch of small, fun interactive gimmicks
Doesn't make it much of a platformer then does it?
I was going to recommend Lemmings, then I realized it's maybe a bit too far off the map of what OP is looking for
Puggsy also fits this description but maybe not as good as Ristar
hey frick you buddy, yoshi is my bro
Yoshi's Island is more an adventure game
the main gameplay component is jumping from platform to platform, so it's still a platformer.
That's like saying RE1 is a shooter because it has guns. No, Yoshis Island SMW2 was designed around collecting, exploring, puzzles and gimmicks. This isn't necessarily a bad thing (unless you were wanting to play a Mario game / platformer)
it's one of a kind
Mischief Makers has gimmick-filled levels. Super Paper Mario too. You'll generally see more of that kind of thing with 3D platformers though.
Not really, certainly not in the same way.
Klonoa is an interesting puzzle platformer. You grab enemies, and can throw them for a double-jump if you have one. But you can do a very short flutter-jump if you don't, and holding an enemy can block low entrances. So the game is about trying to figure out how to get to specific areas for the bonuses with your movepool, since it isn't always about just grabbing an enemy and double-jumping to a platform. I enjoyed the games quite a bit, and for convenience, there's four games in the series.
>Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (PS1, Wii, Reverie Series on Steam)
>Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil (PS2, Reverie Series on Steam)
>Klonoa: Empire of Dreams (GBA)
>Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament (GBA)
There's a couple other Klonoa games, but there's not the same style.
Yoshi's Woolly World is fun but very easy. Finding all the bonus stuff is a bit more challenging, but just completing the base game Woolly World is even easier than Yoshi's Island. Yoshi's Island DS and Yoshi's New Island were more disappointing.
Game is very overrated
>crying Mario an annoying nightmare
>everytime Yoshi gets hit you have to stop and retrieve a floating baby. Every...time...
Non-traditional or gimmick focussed platformers:
ECCO & The Tides of Time
Kirby (All of them)
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Ape Escape
Abe's Oddyssey & Exodus
Dynamite Heady
Klonoa
Mario 64
Mario Sunshine
>platforming underwater
Dolphins dive through small continuous jumps, yes.
>Yoshi's Island is the only platformer I've played where it's less about jumping and more a bunch of small, fun interactive gimmicks that make the levels really interactive
Play Mario maker levels made by the Japanese, except those are usually not fun
It's a shitty game.