Yoshi's New Island
- This article is about the Nintendo 3DS game. For the Play Nintendo gallery also known as simply "Yoshi's New Island", see Yoshi's New Island image gallery.
| Yoshi's New Island | |||||||||||||||||||||
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North American box art For alternate box art, see the related gallery. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Developers | Arzest Nintendo SPD Group No.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Publisher | Nintendo | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Platform | Nintendo 3DS | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Release dates | Original release: Nintendo Selects: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Languages | English (United States) English (United Kingdom) Japanese Dutch French (Canada) French (Europe) German Italian Korean Portuguese (Europe) Russian Spanish (Latin America) Spanish (Europe) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Platformer | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Ratings |
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| Modes | Single player, multiplayer | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Format | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Input | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Serial code | |||||||||||||||||||||
- “New Island. New Adventures. Same Extraordinary Yoshi!”
- —Game tagline
Yoshi's New Island is a 2.5D platform game developed by Arzest for the Nintendo 3DS, released in North America and Europe on March 14, 2014; in Australia on March 15, 2014; in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong on July 24, 2014; and in South Korea on December 4, 2014. As the third and most recent installment in the Yoshi's Island subseries, it is the second chronologically. The game continues the story told from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island prior to Yoshi's Island DS, in which the stork attempts to find Baby Mario and Baby Luigi's real parents after he learns they were delivered to the wrong couple. Mid-flight, the stork is attacked by Kamek, who captures him and Baby Luigi while Baby Mario is dropped on Egg Island, a location similar to Yoshi's Island. There, a group of Yoshis discovers the baby and sets out to carry him back to the stork.
The game retains many key elements from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, such as Yoshi's Flutter Jump, eating and egg-throwing abilities, and the time-based health mechanic. Many familiar objects, enemies, and sceneries make a return. The highlighted features of Yoshi's New Island are two new types of eggs called Mega Eggdozers and Metal Eggdozers, which allow Yoshi to destroy rows of enemies, pipes, and rocks in his path. Additionally, Yoshi's New Island introduces the Flutter Wings and Golden Flutter Wings, which help struggling players finish levels they find too difficult, functioning similarly to the Invincibility Leaf from Super Mario 3D Land. This game is the only Yoshi's Island game to have characters and objects live-rendered with 3D models, and the game takes advantage of the Nintendo 3DS effects with gyroscopic control and stereoscopic 3D. Yoshi's New Island was also the only Yoshi's Island game to have Wi-Fi capabilities (a feature originally intended for Yoshi's Island DS before being scrapped), as players could also send gameplay data statistics via Nintendo Network; however, the service was terminated on April 8, 2024, rendering this feature defunct.[13][14]
The game was eventually re-released as a Nintendo Selects title in Europe on October 16, 2015; in North America on March 11, 2016; in Australia on May 26, 2016; and in South Korea on December 7, 2017, being one of the best-selling titles on the Nintendo 3DS.
Story
General
Right after the events of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and before the events of Yoshi's Island DS, the couple to whom the stork delivered Baby Mario and Baby Luigi allege that the brothers are not their babies. The stork then flies away to search for the real parents, when he clashes with Kamek and his goons once more. Kamek proceeds to defeat the stork in a fight and kidnap Baby Luigi, but Baby Mario slips and falls on the nearby Egg Island. He is found by a group of Yoshis who decide to take him to his brother and defeat Baby Bowser, now that he is planning to turn Egg Island into his resort.
After Baby Bowser is defeated at his castle, Yoshi and Baby Mario head over to the stork and Baby Luigi to rescue them. However, an adult Bowser travels through space and time and disrupts the reunion, challenging Yoshi to another battle.[a]
After Bowser loses to Yoshi once again, Baby Luigi and the stork are rescued, and peace is restored to Egg Island. The stork then leaves the island in a spectacle of fireworks to resume its job of delivering the brothers to the right parents. After a long journey, it eventually arrives at their house and leaves the babies at the doorstep, where the couple discovers them shortly after. The cutscene fades to black and another ensues, where Mr. Pipe is seen revealing his true identity in the shadows before warping away, presumably back to his own time.[b]
- Footnotes
- ^ The adult Bowser battle only occurs if the player has cleared all of the levels without using the Flutter Wings. If the Flutter Wings were used at least once, Bowser travels through space and time and tells the player to beat all of the levels without them in order to challenge him.
- ^ Similarly, the cutscene with Mr. Pipe only plays if the player has cleared all of the levels without using the Flutter Wings once.
In-game
From the game's first opening cinematic:
Narrator: This is a story that takes place a long, long time ago... Way up in the sky is a magical, cuddly land where babies come from. Storks come here to pick up infants for delivery to their soon-to-be parents. The stork has plenty of memories from his time with these special babies... Now he's off to deliver Baby Mario and Baby Luigi to their new happy home...
Parents: "Huh?! Excuse me, but... who are these babies?! We're not expecting any babies!"
Narrator: The couple is surprised and confused by this unexpected delivery. It seems our silly stork has delivered the babies to the wrong house!
Stork: "The wrong house?! OH NO..."
Narrator: Oh my word! We must get Baby Mario and Baby Luigi to their rightful parents! The stork rushes off in search of their true home. But then... HUH?!? WHOA!!! It's...it's Kamek! He's back to steal those babies once and for all! The dastardly Kamek swiftly nabs the brothers from our frantic stork. NOOO!! What terrible luck! Baby Mario has fallen down toward the big, blue sea...
From the game's second opening cinematic:
Narrator: Welcome to Egg Island. The floating paradise was once a peaceful second home for the Yoshi clan. Until one day... Baby Bowser took over deciding the island would be an epic vacation home. The Yoshi clan searched all over but couldn't find Baby Bowser's hideaway. Now they live in fear of the evil power terrorizing their once-peaceful home. These Yoshis are all abuzz about where Baby Bowser and his castle might be. WHAT'S THIS?!? Suddenly, a baby with a red hat floats down from the sky. Thank goodness! Little Mario seems to be unharmed by the fall. Without skipping a beat, Baby Mario begins to crawl with determination... Wow! Using some kind of brotherly telepathy, Mario can sense Luigi's location! The Yoshis agree the island is too dangerous for a little baby. They decide to help by taking turns carrying the little guy on their backs. With Mario settled, the first Yoshi takes off. And so their adventure begins... Can Mario and the Yoshi clan rescue poor Luigi? Let's find out!
Gameplay
Yoshi's New Island is a platformer game which plays the same in style as its predecessors, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Island DS, though the game reverts to the more traditional approach seen in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island without the addition of extra babies from Yoshi's Island DS. In addition, the game does not take advantage of the Nintendo 3DS dual screen; only the top screen displays gameplay while the bottom screen is used purely for HUD elements such as keeping track of the level's collectibles, the amount of coins collected, and how many lives a Yoshi has left.
The goal of the game is to best the obstacle course by running, jumping, and defeating enemies to reach the goal, represented by the Goal Ring. A Yoshi has the ability to stick its tongue to swallow enemies and turn them into eggs that Yoshis can carry up to six of. These eggs are the main projectiles Yoshis use to defeat enemies, collect items, and solve puzzles in a level. Eggs thrown bounce around, up to three times while changing color, before dropping. In addition, Yoshis can Flutter Jump to prolong their jump distance and Ground Pound posts and defeat certain enemies. Time-based health from the first two Yoshi's Island games also returns, where if a Yoshi gets hit by an enemy, Baby Mario flies off and gets encased in a bubble. A timer appears, signalling how much time left a Yoshi has to rescue Baby Mario before he gets taken away by Kamek's Toadies and therefore causing the player to lose a life. The timer gets replenished up to 10 automatically, while Yoshis can extend the amount of time by collecting stars or going through Checkpoint Rings. In Yoshi's New Island, extra lives are earned from hitting certain obstacles with eggs, collecting five Smiley Flowers, collecting 100 coins, or when Egg Medals are collected. In addition to the player losing a life if Baby Mario is taken away, players can instantly lose lives if the Yoshi comes in contact with spikes, thorns, lava, gets crushed, or falls down a pit.
Returning to the game from prior entries of the Yoshi's Island franchise is the collectible system, where players need to collect thirty stars, twenty red coins, and five Smiley Flowers. However, unlike prior entries, the game records when all of one group of items are collected; players are not required to collect them again if they aim to collect the other items. At the Goal Ring, if the timer stops on a Smiley Flower, the player earns an Egg Medal, while the number of Egg Medals obtained is dependent on the amount of Smiley Flowers collected in the level. Whirly Gates serve as the replacement for morph bubbles from the previous entries, though they transport the Yoshi to an obstacle course rather than be integrated into the main course. The Yoshi Star additionally replaces the Super Star from the earlier Yoshi's Island entries, though it functions similarly: it turns the Yoshi into Super Yoshi, where the Yoshi gains invincibility, higher speed, and the ability to walk on walls. Introduced is the Red Yoshi Star, which allows a Yoshi to blast forward and destroy walls and enemies in the process. Poochy also returns and is able to walk on hazardous obstacles as before.
The main addition to gameplay is the ability to swallow extremely large enemies and turn them into colossal eggs called Mega Eggdozers, which are bigger than Giant Eggs. When thrown, they function similarly to Mega Mushrooms, wrecking everything in their path, the accumulating damage filling a meter that can provide the Yoshi with up to three extra lives. Metal Eggdozers are smaller, metallic variants of Mega Eggdozers that can be rolled on the ground, though they weigh a Yoshi down, which disables its ability to Flutter Jump but allows it to walk underwater. Another new addition to the game is a player assistance mechanic similar to the Assist Block in Super Mario 3D Land; when a Yoshi fails a level three times, Mr. Pipe can give it Flutter Wings, which enable it to flutter-fly. If the Yoshi loses four lives under the effects of the Flutter Wings, Mr. Pipe gives the Yoshi Golden Flutter Wings, which grant it invincibility. However, if the game is completed without use of the Flutter Wings, a battle with Bowser at the end of the game is encountered before rescuing Baby Luigi.
Controls
Returning from the previous Yoshi's Island installments is the two control schemes: patient and hasty, with patient being the default control style. When throwing an egg, patient requires the player to push the egg throwing button again to throw the egg while hasty control schemes allow the Yoshi to throw an egg when the button is released. A third control scheme, Gyro, is introduced, which takes advantage of Nintendo 3DS gyro capabilities to line up the cursor rather than the cursor moving being automatic back and forth; in this control scheme, players need to tap the button again as in patient to throw the egg.
There are two control styles, A style and B style. A style is the default style used for the game and in the game manuals.
| Action | Input(s) |
|---|---|
| Move | |
| Jump | |
| Ground Pound | |
| Eat, spit out | |
| Flick tongue upward | |
| Crouch, swallow | |
| Aim/throw egg | Patient: |
| Hasty: | |
| Lock target reticule | |
| Look up | |
| Pause menu | |
| Level options |
Worlds and levels
There are six worlds with eight regular levels each, the same amount as in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Special levels are unlocked when a player collects all items in every level of each respective world; these levels tend to be much shorter and more difficult than the other levels. When players collect thirty Egg Medals, they unlock an extra level based on a transformation where a Yoshi can partake in to obtain extra lives. Levels that are beaten with the aid of Flutter Wings are indicated by the marker being yellow. Each world has a theme to theme as indicated by the setting in the world map, such as World 3 taking place in a jungle while World 5 has snow. As the player progresses through Worlds, extra instruments get layered on top of the theme piece that plays. This game additionally is the only game in the Yoshi's Island subseries to not use designated level icons to represent its levels, though the general layout, animation effects, and sound effects used when a level is selected mirrors that of the preceding installments. Unlike Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's New Island employs fewer autoscrolling levels, where the only level in the game to have an autoscrolling element is Hotfoot Hurdle.
Many of the levels' and worlds' theming heavily alludes to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. For example, Koopa Canyon alludes to Visit Koopa And Para-Koopa as both are the first levels of World 2, while World 5 in both games are snow-themed and feature Bumpties, riding Ski Lifts, riding Goonies, levels that take place in the clouds, and encountering Ravens. In addition, the settings in the game follow a drawing and painting aesthetic, such as Ukiki Jammin' and Ukiki Trouble in Clawdaddy Cove using a Japanese oil painting art style while Hidey-Hole Hooligans has its sky with visible brush strokes to denote gradients. While the characters and some items are live-rendered with 3D graphics and use shaders to imitate the hand-crafted art style, the environments remain as 2D assets.
If the player is in World 6 and waits there for five minutes, "Totakeke's theme" plays. If they are in any other world, the music does not play though players hear a pause in music.
Characters
The Yoshi species are the primary playable characters in Yoshi's New Island, where they relay Baby Mario to each other every time a level is completed, and they all play identically. The game's use of Yoshis primarily reverts to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island where Green Yoshi is used for the special levels, omitting Black and White Yoshi in Yoshi's Island DS, though Brown Yoshi has been replaced by Orange Yoshi as of Yoshi's Island DS. In the game's multiplayer mode, the host uses a Green Yoshi while the second player or the downloaded play player uses a Pink Yoshi. The Stork and Baby Luigi are seen only in the game's opening and ending, where both require assistance from the Yoshis. Unlike Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Baby Mario's role is entirely passive, as Superstar Mario, being the only time players directly control him in the preceding installments, is replaced with Super Yoshi.
Mr. Pipe is the only introduced helper character in Yoshi's New Island, where he can give a Yoshi Flutter Wings if they are struggling with a level, as well as giving out helpful items prior to boss fights. The only helper characters and species to have returned are Poochy and Blarggwich, both which reprise their role from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and both make limited appearances in specific levels designed after their abilities.
Playable characters
| Name | Playable levels |
|---|---|
Green Yoshi |
First levels, special levels, Bowser's Castle Break-In, Make Way for King Bowser! |
Pink Yoshi |
Second levels |
Light Blue Yoshi |
Third levels |
Yellow Yoshi |
Forts (fourth levels) |
Purple Yoshi |
Fifth levels |
Orange Yoshi |
Sixth levels |
Red Yoshi |
Seventh levels |
Blue Yoshi |
Castles (eighth levels), excluding Bowser's Castle Break-In |
Supporting characters
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
Baby Mario |
Mario as an infant who reprises his role. If he gets knocked off a Yoshi, he gets encased in a bubble, crying, and a timer starts counting down. If the timer reaches zero, he gets taken away and the player loses a life. |
Baby Luigi |
Luigi as an infant. He reprises his general role in the Yoshi's Island series where he is taken by Kamek and requires to be rescued. |
![]() Stork |
The bird who delivered Baby Mario and Baby Luigi to the wrong parents. He gets ambushed by Kamek and his Toadies, which causes him to drop the babies. |
![]() Mr. Pipe |
A character with an initial ambiguous identity. He helps Yoshis struggling through levels by giving them helpful items as well as assisting them before boss fights. He is revealed to be Mario if the player clears the game without using the Flutter Wings once. |
Poochy |
A dog-like creature that helps Yoshis cross dangerous terrain such as spikes. He can move in the same directions the Yoshis face and run through enemies. |
Blarggwich |
Ghost-like Blarggs that carry green Flatbed Ferries on their head take a Yoshi through a level. |
![]() Blarggwich (sandwich) |
Ghost-like Blarggs stuck between two Flatbed Ferries which rise when ground pounded. Blarggwiches in between yellow Flatbed Ferries are stationary while those with red Flatbed Ferries move in a set path. |
Enemies
Much of the enemies from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island have returned to this title, while none of the introduced enemies from Yoshi's Island DS make an appearance. All the introduced enemies with the exception of Mame-san are variations of older enemies, though Mega Guys have been repurposed to give a Yoshi a source of Mega Eggdozers. Enemies are primarily introduced in a few levels designated after them; the only appearance of Boo varieties in the game are found in Beware the Boo Brigade, alongside some other themed ghost enemies such as Boo Blahs and Grim Leechers also being in the level. All enemies in the game are live-rendered with 3D models, with many of the Yoshi's Island series exclusive enemies having their debut as live-rendered 3D models.
Most enemies can be defeated when a Yoshi grabs them with their tongue, with a few exceptions; the exceptions tend to be spiked, ghosts, fiery, and large enemies. Yoshis cannot eat underwater enemies, requiring them to either stomp on them or hit them with the Metal Eggdozer. Another common way of dealing with enemies that cannot be eaten are throwing eggs at them, though some enemies are additionally impervious to eggs. Ground pounding most stompable enemies instantly defeats them, such as Bandits and Zeus Guys. Some enemies get defeated when Yoshi spits them out with their tongue, used as projectiles, while other enemies continue their behavior. Only a few enemies drop items when they are defeated, such as Bandits dropping coins or being able to use Lakitu's Cloud after defeating the Lakitu riding it. Some enemies cannot be defeated, though they can be thrown with eggs to either stun them or retract to allow a Yoshi to pass.
Bosses in this game use the same concept from the game's predecessors; the bosses tend to be large variants of enemies powered up by Kamek's magical hammer, and their levels primarily feature the regular variants of them. Unlike the game's predecessors, however, Kamek is the mid-boss of the forts; all bosses are found in castles at the end of each world. Bosses typically require eggs being thrown at them three times while they are vulnerable, and all bosses, when hit, have an invincible phase where they attempt to hit a Yoshi, usually attacking more times the more times it has been struck. When a boss is defeated, it leaves a large key behind, allowing access to the next world.
New
| Name | Description | Level(s) |
|---|---|---|
![]() Door Guy[derived] |
Shy Guys that carry doors and run away from a Yoshi. The doors they carry lead to bonus areas. | Beware the Boo Brigade Ready, Steady, Go! |
![]() Fake Yoshi |
Shy Guys masquerading as a Yoshi, who copies a Yoshi's moves. They are summoned by activating a Winged Cloud, and they are required to be led to spikes. | Inside the Outside |
![]() Fire Incoming Chomp[derived] |
Enflamed Incoming Chomps that approach from the background and slam into breakable terrain. A Yoshi loses a life if it touches the enemy. | Seesaw Scramble Chomp Shark Chase Chomp Rock Challenge |
Mame-san |
Bean-like enemies that slowly hop around. Big Beanie additionally spits them out to attack Blue Yoshi. | Big Beanie's Castle |
![]() Mega Guy |
Gigantic Shy Guys that give Yoshi a Mega Eggdozer when eaten. Some spawn out of Warp Pipes. | Chomp Rock 'n' Roll Hidey-Hole Hooligans Fort Key Calamity Make Way for King Bowser! |
![]() Mega Kantera |
Gigantic Lantern Ghosts that can be swallowed to be turned into Mega Eggdozer, as a Mega Guy. | Bandit Valley |
![]() Metal Guy |
Giant metallic Shy Guys that spawn from giant, metal pipes. A Yoshi can swallow them by repeatedly tapping |
Koopa Canyon Rise of the Nasty Nep-Enuts Slime Drop Drama Lose the Lunge Fish Make Way for King Bowser! |
Slave Basabasa |
Purple variants of Fang that appear next to Count Fang. They circle Count Fang to protect him from eggs. | Count Fang's Castle |
![]() Tetu Kantera |
Giant, metallic Lantern Ghosts that can be swallowed to be turned into a Metal Eggdozer, similar to a Metal Guy. | Bandit Valley |
![]() Tree Guy[derived] |
Tree-carrying Shy Guys. If approached by a Yoshi, the Shy Guy pops out and moves away from the Yoshi. | Ukiki Trouble in Clawdaddy Cove |
Returning
| Name | Description | Level(s) |
|---|---|---|
![]() Ball and chain |
Boo Guys that operate a spiked ball on a chain. They send the spiked ball falling down and slowly lifting it in a set pattern. | Furious Fred de Fillet's Castle |
Bandit |
Quick-moving thieves that attempt to take Baby Mario away from Yoshi. If they are stuck below a Yoshi, they continuously jump. It takes six eggs, three jumps or a Ground Pound to defeat them. | Ski Lift Leap Bandit Valley |
![]() Big Boo |
Bigger Boos that have a similar attack pattern to a Boo, where they stop if a Yoshi looks at them and move if a Yoshi looks away. A Yoshi can defeat it with an egg that has bounced off a wall if they are facing away from them. | Beware the Boo Brigade |
Bill Blaster |
Cannons that emit Bullet Bills. There are variants of Bill Blasters that have cannons on only one side. Green variants emit Bouncing Bullet Bills and they point to their cannons to a Yoshi's position. | Diagonal Valley Rally Hop 'n' Pop Till You Drop Flatbed Ferry Freefall Snow Go Mountain Spray Day Mayday Pyro Guy Peak |
![]() Blargg |
Blarggs that leap out of lava when a Yoshi approaches them. | Fort Bucket Booby Trap Hotfoot Hurdle Leapin' Lava Meltdown |
Blooper |
Enemies that appear in Submarine Yoshi sections, where they drift down slowly and move diagonally left and right. Submarine Yoshi can defeat it with a torpedo. If Submarine Yoshi gets hit by them, they ink the screen. | Spray Day Mayday |
![]() Blow Hard |
Cactus enemies that aim and shoot Pokey projectiles at a Yoshi. They can be temporarily stunned with eggs or by ground pounding while they are on-screen. | Diagonal Valley Rally Underground Pokey Patrol |
Boo |
Circular ghost enemies that follow a Yoshi when a Yoshi has turned away from them, and stop when a Yoshi faces them. They can be defeated when Yoshi bounces an egg towards them while the Yoshi is facing away. | Beware the Boo Brigade |
Boo Blah |
Ghost enemies that slowly pace back and forth on floors and ceilings. They stretch themselves periodically, which damage a Yoshi. Boo Blahs cannot be defeated, though if they are concealed, they do not harm a Yoshi. | Beware the Boo Brigade |
Boo Guy |
Shy Guy ghosts that slowly hover around. They additionally appear to operate traps in fort and castle levels. | Crumble Rock Rumble |
Bouncing Bullet Bill |
Green Bullet Bills that bounce off surfaces. If they hit another Bouncing Bullet Bill, they both get defeated. | Pyro Guy Peak |
Bowling Goonie |
Wingless Hefty Goonies that roll along the ground. Yoshis can defeat them with a ground pound. | Fine Feathered Friends or Foes? Eggstraordinary Terrain Punkey the Pokey Prince's Castle |
Bubble Dayzee |
Purple Crazy Dayzees that emit bubbles. | Cruise the Clouds |
Bumpty |
Penguins that bounce Yoshis around when they are touched. Yoshis can grab them with their tongues but they cannot eat them. | Brave the Bumpty Blizzard Ski Lift Leap Ready, Steady, Go! Fire Watermelon Wonderland |
Bullet Bill |
Bullets fired from Bill Blasters. They travel in a straight line and go through walls. | Diagonal Valley Rally Hop 'n' Pop Till You Drop Flatbed Ferry Freefall Snow Go Mountain Spray Day Mayday |
![]() ![]() Caged Ghost |
Two variants of ghosts found in King Clawdaddy's Sewer Castle. One of them serves as a large, amorphous mound while another moves through tunnels. Caged Ghosts emit green Shy Guys or Woozy Guys at a Yoshi when they are at their largest size. They shrink when eggs are tossed at them, though they slowly regenerate over time. | King Clawdaddy's Sewer Castle |
![]() Chain Chomp |
Spherical metal balls that are attached to a post. Ground pounding the post defeats them. | Chomp Shark Chase |
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![A Door Guy[derived] in Yoshi's New Island](https://mario.wiki.gallery/images/6/6c/YNI_Door_Heyho.png)






![A Tree Guy[derived] in Yoshi's New Island](https://mario.wiki.gallery/images/d/dd/YNI_Tree_Heyho.png)







