Yoshi Touch & Go

You know, I don't believe I have ever read or seen the extended relationship between Yoshi and Mario. Clearly they have teamed up together in countless games. Sometimes as rivals, but for the most part they are tried-and-true friends. And if the events of the previous "Yoshi's Island" are to be believed, then Yoshi is older then Mario and has for some reason made it his lifelong mission to protect Mario.

OK, I can buy that, I mean the whole Mario universe is rife with characters that have all gone on to star in their own games. Luigi's Castle, Warioware, Donkey Kong Adventure, Yoshi's Cookie, Toadstool trollop... OK, maybe not that last one, but given the Nintendo game machine I'm sure we'll all be playing Princess Toadstool Racing sometime next year. But I digress, the fact is that we are hear to talk about the latest NDS game starring our familiar friends. 

In Yoshi's Touch and Go, you play the game using the stylus rather than like a standard platform game. That's right, you don't use the buttons or the D-pad to maneuver our heroes out of harm's way, rather the game character's are rolling along and you must use the stylus to direct clouds to block pointy objects or tap an enemy and Yoshi spits an egg at it. It's a real slick way of approaching what could be another good, but predictable scroller. The ability to create little bridges and direct your little heroes is directly tied to you drawing on the lower screen. And in a clever move, should you need to have those clouds disappear, you actually "blow" into the microphone and the clouds all blow away. Yes, that is awesome on so many levels. In fact, the game actually has you playing the game both vertically and horizontally, first with Baby Mario floating downward attached to balloons with you moving clouds to direct him as he avoids danger. Since you see Baby Mario only on the top screen, the game has you using some more strategic thinking since you can only draw on the bottom screen.  When he reaches the bottom, Mario hops on Yoshi's back and they're off as you place puffy weapons of mass destruction (kidding) where they will do the most damage to the saccharine-sweet villains that always seem to breed in these games. Just a quick circle around a baddie and they are taken care of.   

Yoshi, has some fairly sharp graphics. The game has no real slowdown, even when the game is at it's craziest and tons of movement is occurring on screen, the game powers through and I still am surprised my touch screen even works with all the beating I've done on it lately. As is the norm for a "Mario/Yoshi" game, the colors are bright and clean, and feels just as sugary sweet as you would expect.

Which can be said for the audio featured in the game. Yoshi makes some cute little squeaks and grunts, but it's nothing you haven't heard before, the same could be said of the actual music, if it sounds familiar, chances are you're right.

What I found to be the game's greatest strength is in it's presentation, the game is clearly trying something new with the "stylus only" controls, but it's more than that. I was surprised at how quickly the difficulty can increase and the sense of urgency that was being heaped on me and my desire to prevent poor Yoshi and Mario from being destroyed. The game actually felt a little like the old PC game Lemmings, where the poor creatures will just keep on going and if you don't save them from themselves, well, you know. The fact is that you must think quickly, and by George, I like that sort of thing. Clearly this is a game that was not meant to help someone unwind after a hectic day.
 

Gameplay: 9.0
Using only the stylus and blowing into the mic is absolutely awesome. This is exactly why I bought my DS and I am happy to see that game programmers really seem to be opening up to the idea of non-traditional gameplay.

Graphics: 7.8
Typical Mario Bros.-type graphics. The colors are bright and the lines are clean, but maybe I'd like to see something that actually surprised me visually. Look sharp and you will see some familiar faces popping up in this title.

Sound: 7.0
Again, you can practically hum along with the game's music as it was made by DJ Nintendo and apparently they have no desire to mix things up as far as in-game music goes. However, it is like a familiar friend in an otherwise unfamiliar game.

Difficulty: Medium
The game has it's tough spots, but wasn't nearly as long as I thought it should be. The game comes at a really panicked pace at some points making you think quickly. The perfect amount of escalating difficulty for most gamers.

Concept: 8.5
Now where the idea of another Yoshi scroller is nowhere near innovative, the simple act of having the game controlled with the stylus in a second-person perspective certainly is. Again, love the use of the microphone.

Multiplayer: 7.0
The good part is that this is another game where only one person has to buy the game for two people to play on their respective DSes. The bad part is that the multiplayer game is merely a one-dimensional race where you defeat enemies making floating spiked balls appear in front of your opponent. Sadly, this is the only multiplayer game available and it doesn't hold the interest as long as it could have.

Overall: 8.2
I liked this one, mostly because the gameplay is so strong. It would have been better had the game been longer and the designers tried breaking the mold in terms of the look and sound of the game, but trust me when I say this game can be addictive to those of us ready to embrace the DS's alternative controls.