Yoshi's Island DS

YOSHI'S ISLAND DS

Today, let's go over Yoshi's Island DS, a sequel to Yoshi's Island for the Nintendo DS. This game featured Yoshi, accompanied by five babies (Mario, Peach, DK, Wario, and Bowser), as Kamek and Bowser have traveled back in time to abduct as many children as they could find in order to track down a super star that they lost.

Our star, Yoshi, functions much the same as he always does: running, jumping, flutter jumping, eating enemies, making eggs, throwing eggs, and having a number of transformations including a helicopter, a mole tank, a submarine, and a rocketship. Our babies, when riding Yoshi, all offer up one different ability or another. Baby Mario can make Yoshi run faster, or he can run on his own when wearing a cape. Baby Peach carries an umbrella that can catch the wind and carry Yoshi up really high. Baby Donkey Kong can cling to vines and charge forward through tough blocks. Baby Wario carries around a giant magnet to draw in coins and metal objects. And Baby Bowser can shoot fireballs from his mouth. He also acts as a boss toward the end of the game, likewise breathing fireballs and slamming down. They can all float around in bubbles when knocked off Yoshi.

The stork carrying the babies plays a much more central role here, appearing at Stork Stops so the Yoshis can trade out the babies riding them. Baby Luigi is our "damsel in distress" once again, and instead of Poochy, we have a Kangaroo with a giant pouch to ride in, who bounces through a long course.

Bowser and Kamek act as the central villains of the game. Kamek rides around on his broom and casts spells, including transformation spells to turn ordinary enemies into bosses. Bowser's boss battle consists of his jumping around and breathing fire, before growing into a giant and dropping rocks as well. The Toadies serve the same purpose of kidnapping babies if they are let cry for too long.

Shy Guys are our most common enemies, of course. Throughout the game, they walk around like normal, fly with a propeller, carry things, float with an umbrella, walk on stilts, float on inner tubes, get fat, carry a spear and shield, bounce around like they're drunk, and have a ghost, pirate, and Snifit form (the Snifit also breathes fire). Standard Mario enemies Koopa Troopa, Piranha Plant, Nipper, Boo, Cheep Cheep, Blooper, Lakitu, Chain Chomp, and Bullet Bill also appear, functioning similarly to how they have before, so nothing much new.

A number of returning Yoshi series enemies have once again made an appearance as well. Bandits, Green Gloves, and Sluggers return, performing their same function. Also the little monkeys called Grinders are apparently the same thing as Ukiki, the monkey who you had to catch in Super Mario 64, as they are now referred to by said name. Others who return are Crazee Dayzees, Lantern Ghosts, Tap Taps, Blarggs and Nep-Enuts, Burts, Cloud Drops and Gusties, Goonies, Lunge Fish, Potted Ghosts, Fangs, Hot Lips and Spray Fish, and Bumpties, all performing their general basic functions. New enemies include: Windbags, who blow air to spread Nippers; Pointies, who extend themselves upward; Gooey Goons, who dangle from the ceiling; Debulls, little buffalos who charge around; Gobblins, giant yellow balls that like eating eggs; Crabbles, a basic crab enemy; Snap Jaws, basically Klaptraps climbing on vines; Egg-enuts, similar to Nep-enuts who lure you in with fake eggs; and Fleepers, little birds who jump around.

Our bosses are once again regular enemies either enlarged or otherwise mutated by one of Kamek's spells. The Big Burt Brothers are basically a repeat of the Burt the Bashful fight, except you fight two this time. Gilbert the Gooey is a giant Gooey Goon with gumballs stuck all over him. Hector the Reflector is a ghost who is only visible in the DS's lower screen; Big Bungee Piranha is a giant piranha plant hanging from the ceiling lunging out to bite you, dangling its tendrils, and dropping nipper spores. Bessie Bass is a giant fish who swims around and leaps from the water to try to swallow you. Priscilla the Peckish is a little bug creature living in a sand pit who spits out projectiles and jumps out to try and grab you. Six-Face Sal is a giant wheel-thing with six faces that will spin around and you will have to time aims to hit each of his faces. Big Guy the Stilted is a giant Shy Guy walking around on stilts. Finally, we have Mortz the Very Goonie, a giant Goonie bird who can fly and fire rockets at you.

Once again, the game is built around five chapters, each with eight stages within, and once again the stages tend to be a wide mix of biomes with only loose themes between them. These biomes include Plains, Castle, Forest, Lava, Jungle, Cavern, Sky, Underwater, and Coast.

The items are pretty basic Yoshi series fodder.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:
Yoshi: run, jump, eat, make eggs, flutter jump, throw eggs, butt bash, breathe fire, ice, spit seeds, helicopter, mole tank, train, submarine, ski, fire as egg, rocket ship
Baby Mario: float in bubble, cry, super cape, float with cape, run on walls and ceilings, run faster.
Baby Peach: float on the wind with umbrella
Baby Donkey Kong: charge forward, cling to vines
Baby Wario: giant magnet
Kamek: fly on broom, cast spell, teleport, sweep, giant spell
Baby Bowser: stomp, shockwave, fireball, drop rocks, jump, ride pets
Bowser: jump, breathe fire, grow giant, drop rocks
Poochy: walk across hazards, find stuff
Kangaroo: hop around
Stork: fly, carry babies
Shy Guy: propeller, stilts, fat, bombs, spear and shield, swing mace, fire, ghost, submarine, pogo stick, blocks, limbo stick, pirate ship, umbrella, balance spear, inner tube, bounce, Snifit, breathe fire
Koopa
Goomba
Piranha Plant: spit projectiles
Boo
Blooper
Lakitu: rain
Wiggler: wings, fuzzy
Chain Chomp: bounce, incoming chomp, Chomp Rock, Chomp Shark
Bandits: steal things, toss ball, pop balloon, Green Glove, Slugger, Zeus Guy, Grunt
Little Mouser: steal
Grinder/Ukiki: bounce, climb vines, eat fruit and spit seeds, drop bombs
Gabons: basically Spikes

Bosses:
Burt the Bashful
Salvo the Slime
Bigger Boo
Roger the Potted Ghost
Prince Froggy
Naval Piranha
Marching Milde
Hookbill Koopa
Sluggy the Unshaven
Raphael Raven
Tap Tap the Red Nose
Cloud N. Candy
Inviso
Cloudjin
Don Bongo
Big Burt Brothers
Gilbert the Gooey
Hector the Reflector
Big Bungee Piranha
Bessie Bass
Priscilla the Peckish
Six-Face Sal
Big Guy the Stilted
Mortz the Very Goonie

Stages:
plains
cave
fortress
sky
forest
lava
lake
valley
sewer
snow
Beginning
Cavern
Summit
Jungle
Ocean
Finale
Plains
Castle
Forest
Lava
Jungle
Cavern
Sky
Underwater
Coast

Items:
Eggs
Stars
Clouds
Chomp Rock
Fruit!!

Thanks for reading! Tomorrow, let's warp through time and space and cover Yoshi's New Island!

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