Movesnin

1. Yoshi Woolly World Wii U

Oct 10, 2016 Woolly World certainly hurls them in at an impressive pace, grabbing an impressive selection of favourites from Super Mario World, Yoshi’s Island and New Super Mario Bros. U, then giving them.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Yoshi’s New Island. The 3DS platformer was the most blatant attempt yet to reclaim the glory of Yoshi’s Island, but fell short to me because of a quirky hitch to the targeting reticule for egg throwing, middling graphics, and a score that bordered on atrocious. Yoshi’s Woolly World largely avoids all of those pitfalls, as the game confidently plays with the established Yoshi formula while also injecting new life into the series by adapting elements from Kirby’s Epic Yarn and improving upon them. Woolly World is a delightful return to form for the franchise.

Yarn is everywhere in Woolly World. Visually, the environment and its cast are all lovingly rendered in the fuzzy wool, along with sheets of fabric, sequins, buttons, and more. Developer Good-Feel’s design makes the entire adventure feel like a traipse through a legitimately handcrafted world as a result, but it’s made all the more special by the clever mixing of materials to mimic things like water and lava. The yarn water in particular is quite a sight, and a testament to the ingenuity and creativity of the title’s creators. It’s widely accepted that graphics are second to gameplay in regard to how “good” a game is, but when the visuals are as luscious and brilliant as what’s found in Woolly World, they become an integral part of the experience that can’t be glazed over. The yarn, in every way, makes this game.

This is especially true given how closely the gameplay is intertwined with the environment itself; the yarn isn’t just window dressing. Yoshi’s established move set returns, with the usual flutter-jumping, ground-pounding, and throwing on offer. Good-Feel made the wise decision to jettison Baby Mario, a move I was more than welcoming of; I’m not opposed to seeing the pairing again down the road, but without the youngster in tow it freed the design team to try something new. Good-Feel might have brought some familiar moves along for the ride, but the ever present yarn genuinely spices things up by playing with the staple mechanics that so many fans have grown accustomed to. First off, eggs are gone and replaced with yarn balls. Functionally, they’re lobbed and ricocheted much like eggs usually are, but they also provide new abilities to exploit, too. Yarn balls can build platforms out of thin air, entangle foes, and when players get their hands on an oversized bundle of the spun thread, it will split into two balls and hit multiple targets. Some of the most clever puzzle mechanics in Woolly World revolve around using yarn balls or tugging on pieces of yarn sticking out of the floors and walls to alter the environment. Woolly World is littered with clever mechanics like these that come one after the other, and each is fun and well-implemented.

Good-Feel, despite the adorable visual direction of the game, didn’t skimp on the difficulty level. Woolly World isn’t up there with the likes of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, but it’s a stiff enough challenge that even veteran players will take pause at times. The level designs are varied, with some stages focusing on vertical progression and others sending Yoshi through labyrinthine cave networks. Interspersed throughout are Yoshi’s signature transformation segments, which provide a change of pace at just the right times. The boss fights, on the other hand, were a mixed bag to me, unfortunately. As a whole, they’re visually arresting and among the best-looking moments in the game. In terms of gameplay, however, some encounters left me wanting, with overly simplistic “three-and-done” fights that took a matter of seconds to complete. It’s the one real blemish on an otherwise superb platformer.

Newer players aren’t left in the wind, as there are ample safety nets in place to help them through, including Mellow Mode (which can be turned on and off at will), which sticks a pair of wings on Yoshi and lets him fly through the level with minimal resistance. There’s also a two-player co-op that plays very smoothly and offers less-skilled players yet another opportunity to progress through the game with the assistance of someone else. Longtime players who still aren’t taxed by Woolly World‘s difficulty and want even more of a challenge will be satiated by scouring the environment to gather each stage’s hidden Wonder Wools and Smiley Flowers. The former serves to unlock new body patterns for Yoshi, while the latter unlocks a bonus stage to complete (which are way more difficult than the majority of regular ones!). Speaking of body patterns, as someone who owns a ton of Amiibo, I can verify that a lot of them unlock new designs for Yoshi in-game, so be sure to whip out your favorites and see if it’s compatible! Yarn Yoshi Amiibo also plop a duplicate Yoshi into single player who will follow around and help facilitate some of the actions that are normally only available in co-op, which is a nice, optional bonus.

Woolly World was a delight to play, and one that I think any platformer fan will enjoy. It’s reminiscent of Yoshi Story with its fabric-focused art design, but the addition of yarn has almost reinvented what a Yoshi game can be. The new puzzle types and mechanics that the thread has allowed for are among the best that I’ve ever experienced in any Yoshi title, and that includes Yoshi’s Island. The difficulty level is hovering right in that Goldilocks-zone of “just right,” leaning enough toward the hard end of the spectrum that experienced players don’t have to depend on item-gathering to feel challenged, while offering safety nets for newer players who might otherwise be intimidated away. Wii U’s library continues to grow and be populated by top-tier, AAA games, and Woolly World is the latest gem added to the pile.

Yoshi’s Woolly World

It really has been a long time since we have received a really good Yoshi title on any Nintendo platform. It could be argued that the last, really good Yoshi game was the original Yoshi’s Island! Nintendo laid out their plans for Yoshi’s Woolly World a long time ago, and the game has underwent some major transformations from what was originally shown. The time it took to get this game out to the public made a lot of fans worried, especially as during the time period Nintendo released a fairly mediocre Yoshi’s New Island. After playing through all six worlds, I can safely say that any concerns over Yoshi’s Woolly World have been completely erased, as this is one of the best Yoshi titles to date!

Nintendo has never been known for ground breaking stories, and Yoshi’s Woolly World is no different. One day, all the Yoshi’s are gathered on Craft Island doing who knows what – crafts perhaps? – when Kamek arrives and turns all but two of the Yoshi’s into balls of yarn and spreads them across the six worlds. As the two remaining Yoshi’s, it is your job to rescue all your friends and defeat Kamek, returning Craft Island back to normal. It’s a passable story that acts as the catalyst for what players are really looking forward to here: another Yoshi game with excellent puzzles, great platforming, and unrivaled visuals.

New to Yoshi, Because of Yarn

And this is exactly what players are treated too. Yoshi’s Woolly World is built entirely out of yarn, so aesthetically it is beautiful. In fact, we have nominated Yoshi’s Woolly World for the Best Visuals award that we give out in mid December. If you happened to see the behind the scenes video that was posted at E3 2014 related to Yoshi’s Woolly World, you will understand the dedication and work that went into crafting this title. The reality is that words really don’t justify the look of this game. If you have yet to see this game in all of its glory, erase those thoughts of Kirby’s Epic Yarn from a few years ago, because this is nothing like that. Half of the value you will find in Woolly World is the visuals. The Yoshi’s are equally as impressive as the environments, especially when you use amiibo to ‘theme’ your Yoshi after your favorite Nintendo characters!

With the visuals comes fantastic level design, and puzzles that only work in a world created out of yarn. Throughout the levels you will find strands of yarn that Yoshi can unravel with his tongue. This will often open up new areas to explore – creating large balls of yarn which can move through multiple objects or enemies. The yarn does create very unique puzzle opportunities. Often, silhouettes will be placed throughout the level waiting for Yoshi to throw a ball of yarn at it, creating platforms and other unique items.

One level really uses the yarn environment to the max. When traveling through the level, Yoshi is followed by a silhouette skeleton of Chain-Chomp. At varies parts in the level, Yoshi needs to cover the Chain-Chomp in yarn, effectively turning him into a big rolling boulder that will smash through barriers. After getting through, Yoshi needs to use his tongue to unravel the yarn so that the Chain-Chomp will continue to follow him through the rest of the level. Multiple times Yoshi will turn the Chain-Chomp into a boulder of yarn to complete obstacles. In moments like these, it is hard to not be impressed with the puzzle sophistication, and how well it is married to the environments.

Same Old Mechanics Feel New, Because of Yarn

Like previous Yoshi games, there are TONS of things to collect in Yoshi’s Woolly World. Like previous games, Yoshi will need to collect 5 sunflowers – used to open a bonus level at the end of each world – 20 stamps that can be used in Miiverse – these replace the red coins – and of course, attempt to finish the level with full health. A fourth collectible has been added to Woolly World, and it is by far the most fun to collect. Each level has 5 packages of yarn hidden throughout. When all 5 are collected, a new Yoshi design will be made available to you for use in other levels. Although this is only really a cosmetic change, and doesn’t really add anything to the level you are playing, it is still fun to try and collect all the available Yoshi’s, especially since some of them look fantastic.

The gems that you collect during each stage finally have a purpose in Woolly World. Gems can be used to buy badges, and these badges are an excellent addition to the game. Some badges will allow you to move through lava without taking damage, while others will make all your small balls of yarn large, and yet others that will allow you to play through levels with your friend Pooch. I never really used badges on my first play through of each level, but they definitly came in handy during consecutive playthroughs when I attempted to get all the collectibles. Getting the collectibles in each level is insanely difficult, and any potential bonuses that will help are always welcome.

The one things that doesn’t feel changed from previous Yoshi titles are boss battles. In Woolly World, the bosses are very forgettable, whether it be the mid world bosses – which are just repeated throughout the entire game with slight variations on how to finish them – or the end world bosses that are so unbelievably easy that even when doing trial-and-error to figure out how to defeat them, I still never lost. That being said, the developers again make the most out of hte world being created in yarn, so even when they are easy, the way they are defeated is unique and shows a great relationship between the platforming and the environment.

Mulitplayer

Playing Yoshi’s Woolly World with someone else will either be lots of fun or oddly frustrating. If your second player is more of a tag along instead of an actual asset, you are in for a rough go. When playing with my six year old son, it was a long string of frustrating moments after frustrating moments. If he wasn’t licking me up making me lose all my yarn balls, he was running far ahead making me miss out on many collectibles. However, when playing with my wife, it was much more enjoyable. Like using badges, retrieving all the hidden items with two players can be much easier than trying to do it solo, especially if you both are using badge powers as well. Overall, I am happy that Nintendo added the option to play with two players. Absolutely no one would fault them for making the game single player only, but they should be applauded for yet again upholding the value of couch cooperative play.

Conclusion

Yoshi’s Woolly World goes much deeper than just great presentation. Outside of the mediocre boss fights, the platforming and puzzles make great use of the yarn environment. Yoshi is equal parts charm, puzzles, and platforming, which makes it one of the best Yoshi games ever made, and my personal favorite. After the disappointment that was Yoshi’s New Island, it is great to see Nintendo giving the Yoshi franchise a shot in the arm with this outstanding title. Yoshi’s Woolly World might just be one of the best titles on Wii U thus far, and that is saying a lot when you look at the great lineup that Nintendo has rolled out this generation.

Trailer

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Yoshi Woolly World Wii U

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