I recently received Yoshi's Story for N64 and played it for the first time today. I had some mixed feelings at first with the childish noises but after playing the game and seeing all of the visuals I'm loving the game! The graphics are amazing! It's hard finding 2-D side scrollers for the N64. This game is pleasing me so far. Looking forward to playing it more. I also want to try Paper Mario. Never had these games when I was younger but I'm looking back and trying to get some games that I've always wanted to try but never did. I feel like a big kid again.
I can pinpoint the start of all my disappointment with the N64 to that game. It was such a huge step down from Yoshi's Island in virtually every way. I remember being crushed because it was one of my most anticipated titles on the system. I endured the extremely slow launch period where, for months, it seemed like the only games available were Mario 64, Pilotwings, and Shadows of the Empire. I endured lack of a KI1 port, the lackluster effort that was MK:Trilogy, the announcement that FFVII was going to the PSX. but Yoshi's story was like the tipping point for me. I've gone back and replayed it - it's not as awful as I remember, but the flow of the game is so off (requiring multiple playthroughs to see the whole game isn't a bad idea, but it was executed poorly) and I can't get the taste of disappointment out of my mouth. It doesn't help that Yoshi's Island is the game that got me to buy an SNES. Glad you enjoy the game, I'd imagine, going into it today with no expectations makes it much easier to swallow. At the time, though, it was the epitome of n64 let down. I actually remember returning my copy of the game to EB Games for NBA Hangtime (which, despite being NBA Jam 3, was still way more fun IMO).
I tried playing it on my N64 emulator about a month ago and I was primarily confused by it because I was expecting Yoshi's Island 2 and got poop in return.
I agree Yoshi's Island is an extremely amazing game and would be hard to compete against but damn, the graphics amaze me on Yoshi's Story. I traded a couple PS2 games in Brasil or Yoshi's Story and I'm glad I did.
Yeah, it's very pretty but I also thought it was a huge disappointment to be honest. I suppose when you make so many great games it's hard to keep the standard up but I was very let down by this.
I wasn't particularly taken by the art style, but different strokes for different folks. Most of the reasons I don't like the game are circumstantial and sort of a mental block, I admit. Like I said, it's probably much easier to stomach now when it's just one game out of an entire library on the N64, and you have no sort of expectations. Back in the day, it was such a colossal disappointment that I don't think I can objectively appreciate the game at face value.
I remember playing this game as a kind, i rather liked it. I'm actually fairly glad you brought this up as now i will have to go buy it. It definitely is no yoshi's island, but i still find it a good game. The story sounds a bit like something a 60's hippie would tell, but gameplay wise it's entertaining and well put together. At least in my opinion.
I was surprised too at how childish it is. Just enjoy it. It's a really cute and fun game. Too bad they aimed to kids, because it's fun but too easy. You will love Kirby 64. This one is more polished.
Mischeif Makers is another great 2D Action Platformer created by the same great companies named "Treasure" & "Enix"! Really awesome game man!
I played it when it originally came out, and it's still one of my favorite N64 games. I don't think it's fair to compare it to Yoshi's Island because, although it's sort of a sequel, they're very different games. Yoshi's Story is aimed at a younger audience, I think. It's also a lot easier. I still love them both, though. For the time, the graphics were pretty impressive. The one thing that always bothered me was how short it was. I was also disappointed that they never released a GBA port. The tech demo proved it could be done. Oh well.
It's almost impossible not to compare them though, la-li-lu, as anyone who purchased it back then was expecting a sequel to Island. The main problem was difficulty, as it was easier than pie. This does seem intentional in a way to cater to a younger audience, but when I played Yoshi's Island, I was a little kid, and the challenge is part of what made it so damn good! If you make games way to easy and childish, it limits the demographic to kids. If you make a game like Yoshi's Island, it attracts people of all ages, & that's what is so beautiful about it. If we look at Story as a stand alone title, it is just "meh." If we look at it as the game to follow Yoshi's Island, then we should cry.
Back when it was released it probably was meant to be the follow up game. But Nintendo did release the true sequal on the DS (dunno how good it was though).
I seem to remember reading an interview with Miyamoto or one of the other people who worked on both games, where he said that he didn't really consider Yoshi's Story to be a true sequel to Yoshi's Island. He wanted to take it in a different direction, he didn't want to just follow up with what had already been done with Yoshi's Island. They have a lot of the same gameplay mechanics, sure, but they're very different games. You can say whatever you want about its difficulty (or lack thereof) or length, but I still think it's good game. Side note: the GBA port of Yoshi's Island is really good too.
You're right, its solid in its own ways, and maybe I am just a fool for the SNES. N64 just seemed to take a different direction with some of my favorite series (Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Pilotwings, Castlevania), so maybe I hated them before I evaluated why. I should give it a try again, though, before I sell all my systems and games. Anyway, I wanted to add that the GBA port of it is awesome. & camdman mentioned that DS Yoshi's Island... Can anyone who has played that chime in with how good it is? Now I am curious as I totally forgot it existed.
Derp. I said Yoshi's Story several times when I meant to say Yoshi's Island. You seemed to figure it out anyway, though.
So yeah I finished Yoshi's Story and was a little bummed out. It's wayyyy shorter than it should be. It ended so fast. I wish there were many more levels to be played. That's the big disappointment.
I've heard really good things about the DS sequel. And there is that 3DS sequel coming next year right?
It was short, it wasn't a sequel to YI by any means, and I didn't care much for the fruit being the goal instead of well...an actual goal...but it wasn't a bad game.
