Genre: Action
Platform: Game Boy Advance
This is the *drumroll please* THIRD
game in the increasingly annoying Super Mario Advance series! And it features
*another drumroll please* Mario Bros.! How original. And it *yet another
drumroll please* is a
remake of Yoshi's Island for the SNES.
Another extra feature (besides Mario Bros.) is *I promise this is the last
drumroll, really* a sleep mode. Anyway, the storyline is that a stork,
carrying two twin brothers, Mario
and Luigi, to their parents (believe
it or not, that's how some babies are born in the Mushroom Kingdom) is
intercepted by Kamek, an evil Magikoopa. Apparently there has been some
prophecy that says that if
these two babies grow up, they will
thwart the Koopa Clan's plans time and time again, or something like that.
Fortunately, he only gets ONE of the brothers, Luigi. The other (Mario)
falls towards the ocean, but
luckily lands on Yoshi's Island, right
on Yoshi, who is on a walk. Sheesh, what are the odds of that?
Anyway, the Yoshis decide to try to
rescue the kidnapped Brother from Kamek. Carrying Baby Mario with them,
as he can point in the direction of Baby Luigi i, they set off to rescue
Baby Luigi. Of course, we all
know that it ends up as a victory for
the Yoshis, but...
This is on a scale of 0-5 stars because I don't think people should change their scale every Review.
Graphics: ****
As per usual with Game Boy Advance games, the graphics are pretty good. Unlike SMA2, however (where I thought the graphics were somewhat improved), the graphics are practically the same as the original.
Sound and Music: **** 1/2
Maybe the music isn't as good as the music from the original Super Mario Bros., but it still has some good music. There's no music that I hate, and quite a few that I really like.
Difficulty: Medium
To be honest, the game is pretty easy until you get to the 5th world, and even then the difficulty doesn't really beef up until the 6th world, where it goes up REALLY high. It averages out to Medium. Also, it's easier to get to the Extra levels now. More on that later.
Controls: **** 1/2
It's a lot better than the original, that's for sure. Two less buttons to keep track of!
Levels: ****
I'll say this for the levels: they're diverse. Then again, that goes for most Mario games. Still, a bunch of the levels are similar. Then again, that goes for most Mario games. However, most are creative. Then again, that goes for (you guessed it) most Mario games.
Concept: ** 1/2
On one hand, there's no princess rescuing in this. On the other hand, it still doesn't seem amazingly imaginative in itself. It's YET another remake, for crying out louder! Or is it loudest?
Bosses: *****
Rather than repeats of practically the same things, as in Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3 (and to a lesser extent Super Mario World), the bosses are VERY different. VERY unique, which is VERY interesting.
Replayability: ***
Unless you're bound and determined to
get 100% on every single level, there isn't too much to do in this game
after you beat it. There are the all new levels, but they probably won't
last you too long. Yes, there
are the hidden levels (that were in
the original), but those are pretty hard and annoying. Most of them look
like they were created in a day. That's not to say they are incredibly
short, just that they don't seem like a lot of effort was put into them.
Secrets: *
The only secrets are the secret/extra/bonus levels, which aren't really too hard to get to. All you need is a score of 800 or more, which is a lot easier than before because of the secret levels you unlock when you beat the game. With their added scores, you don't have to get 100% on every single level to access levels like The Impossible? Maze and Poochy Ain't Stupid.
Mario Bros.: no stars
Hmm... this seems vaguely familiar... could it be the exact same game that was included in the two previous Super Mario Advances?
Sleep Mode: *****
I wanted to put this in someplace. I
think the Sleep Mode should be included in ALL Game Boy Advance games.
See, a lot of times I'm in the middle of a game when I need to go someplace
for a while. I don't want
to waste the batteries, but I don't
want to turn off the game. Now, with Sleep Mode, I can keep it where it
was and use a lot less battery power! Basically, you can select Sleep Mode
to put the GBA to "sleep". The monitor turns off, though it in itself is
still on. Press Select, L, and R to turn it back on. Best of all, you can
activate "Auto Sleep", putting it in Sleep Mode if it's been paused for
one minute or more. Great if you think you're only going to be gone for
a short amount of time, but it turns out to be a long time.
Maybe a lot of people aren't as enthusiastic about this, but I think it's really neat. Now, it's definitely not enough to affect the game's score at all, but I really like it.
Gameplay: **** 1/2
Just like nearly every Mario game, the gameplay is superb! It's different than the other ones, but not necessarily bad at all. I think the difference may make it better because having a change is nice. I'm sorry, but all of that "Hit the ? Blocks, grab the power-ups, fireball the enemies" sort of gets repetitive eventually.
Fun Factor!: **** 1/2
I'll be honest, this game is fun. I enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I did beat it pretty quickly, around three or four days. I don't know if it's this way for everyone, or if it was just quick for me because I had experience playing the original and spent a bunch of time on it. Well, it is fun, short or not.
OVERALL: **** 1/2
I'm giving this game the score it deserved. HOWEVER, this does not necessarily mean it's a good buy. If you have the original Yoshi's Island (and a SNES), forget it. They didn't add enough to make spending $30 worth it. Sure, Sleep Mode is neat, but that really is NOT enough to make it very good.
In other words, this is a good game, but just not worth it. Do NOT get it if you have (or at least have access to) the original Yoshi's Island. You may consider it if you don't, but be warned that it won't last you forever. Yes, some of the things are easier, such as getting to the secret levels, but it again really isn't worth it. If you want a really good game for Game Boy Advance, grab an Advance Wars. If you want a really good game for Game Boy Advance, grab an Advance Wars.
Is it just me, or is this Review full of deja vu?
| If you would like to send some feedback
to the author of this submission, please complete this form.
What's your name?
What's your Email address?
How do you rate this submission?
Does this submission belong in Little
Lemmy's Land?
Would you like to see more from this author? Comments and suggestions:
|
