It might have been the first Mario game on the Super Nintendo, but the star of Super Mario World was not the plumber from Brooklyn. It was a new green dinosaur found in an egg named Yoshi. He had one other game , a puzzle game for the NES, but Yoshi and his fans needed more. What was his origin story and how did he first encounter the koopas? In 1995, we got the answer, and a whole lot more, as Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island was released on the SNES.
The Yoshis are minding their business when a package falls from the sky. It seems a storks has been attacked by koppas, led by Kamek. The Yoshis learn that the baby has a twin that they must reunite. Using a sort of relay system, the Yoshis carry the baby through the different parts of the island. Kamek will not allow this to happen and uses all his magic to put a stop to Yoshi and the baby with the red plumbers cap.
Mario is just a baby, so Yoshi has to carry him while also fending off enemies. He does so by swallowing them and converting them into eggs. This eggs can be used to attack or hit secret areas. If Yoshi takes a hit, Mary begins to cry and is caught in a bubble that floats upward. Yoshi has to catch him before he is caught. Yoshi can also eat special items that give him abilities Shooting flames or even turning into different things, such as a helicopter.
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island is a game that looks like no other. The backgrounds look as if they came from a toddler’s coloring book. The enemies are bright and colorful. The bosses are enemies that are given abilities thanks to Kamek’s magic. Each one has a trick that must be learned in order to win. The music is one of Nintendo’s best,the songs keeping with the almost childlike atmosphere.
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island also added to the mythology of the Mario Universe. Yoshi had met Mario a long time ago, Luigi and Mario were twins and it’s suggested that Kamek targeted them because they would eventually attack his boss in the future. It was also the last 2D Mario game until the Will version over a decade later. Mario might take a backseat in this game, but it was one of the best in the series.
