Yoshi's Island Super Mario Advance 3 Screenshots   The Final Say! Gameplay 9.9 Graphics 9.4 Sound 9.0 Value 9.5 Yoshi's Island Super Mario Advance 3  - reviewed by Tory Favro Review Date: 30 October 2002 Review Score: 9.5/10  Distributed By: Nintendo

Yoshi's Island is the latest in the Super Mario series on the Gameboy Advance and boy does it live up to the level of quality of the games gone before it. Yoshi's island is of such a high level that it could quite readily have been it's own game. Comprising of elements that will amaze and astound, Yoshi's Island is, in my opinion, the best platform game currently on the GameBoy Advance. Yoshi's Island - Super Mario Advance 3 Features 1 - 4 Players Simultaneous 3 Save Files on Cartridge Dolby Surround Pro Logic II Skill Level - Intermediate to Advanced Game Type: Platform/Adventure Game Link Cable Compatible In this title you must take control of the  Yoshi as he guides a baby Mario through Yoshi's island after having fallen from the stork taking baby Mario and Luigi to their parents. Luigi was kidnapped but baby Mario fell into the hands of the good hearted Yoshi's who know that they have to get baby Mario to his rightful home, but also first they must save baby Luigi from his kidnappers, the Koopa family. The amount of moves open to controlling the Yoshis are staggering and are what truly sets the game apart from any other that I have played on the GBA for some time. There are the standard attacks and moves that are common in a Mario Advance game and then Yoshi shows he can certainly hold his own as well with a surprising number of techniques including: Swallowing enemies and spitting them out again. Digesting them and laying them as eggs which can be thrown in all directions. And of course he has retained that time old favorite which is the hover jump that is acheived by holding down the jump button that will result in a delightful attempt to run through the air that almost works. And last  but not least is the stomp that crushes all beneath it. The level design of Yoshi's Island will delight as well with innovative design and absolutely wonderful backgrounds on every level as you can see from our screen shots. Colours are bright and objects are crisp and well defined. The game is grand to look at and will fully entrance all players. All I know is that I kept wishing that I could display this game on my television or somehow play it through the GameCube. The game deserves nothing less than that. It almost seems a shame that it's stuck on a small screen.

One of the main objectives of course other than rescuing Luigi is making sure that Mario stays on your back at all times as there are plenty of critters who'd love to carry him off for good and they will attack when you least expect it. If any bad guys do manage to cart off Mario, you have 10 seconds to recover him and get back on your journey. In fact your only real source of danger is baby Mario as Yoshi can handle most things.

As is visible in the screen shots I have provided, Yoshi's island is designed to look as though it has been drawn in crayon and coloured in by small children. It's adorable and  really fits into the scheme of the game with baby Mario and Luigi in peril. I would also recommend that you explore everywhere in this game as there are secrets and other treats for those who only look, not to mention the small fact that after perfectly completing the game, you will have access to a special level that was made for the GameBoy Advance. There are also a number of mini games for players to sink their teeth into that will increase the lifespan of this game.

Audio in Yoshi's Island is excellent and apart from the usual Mario style music there is also a nice collection of Yoshi voice samples that have been mapped to his actions to fully bring you into the wonderful world of Yoshi and his island. The speaker in the GBA handles most sounds without too much trouble although very occasionally there is slight distortion. This is once in a blue moon though and not of any concern.

Yoshi's Island is a must have platform game that will keep gamers busy for hours and hours on end, especially when you take into account the multiplayer aspect of the game as well. It is a real credit to the ongoing heritage of quality games with the word Mario in the title. Well worth the purchase for a brilliant game!

- Tory Favro

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