Yoshi's Safari

Yoshi's Safari is a video game made for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. It is one of the few games to use the SNES's Super Scope light gun peripheral, and is the only dedicated rail shooting game in the Mario series.

In Yoshi's Safari, Mario and Yoshi (at the request of Princess Peach) have to save King Fret and his son, Prince Pine, from King Bowser and his Koopalings, who have invaded the kingdom of Jewelry Land. The Koopalings are equipped with powerful mechs built by Iggy Koopa and command legions of minions. Mario rides Yoshi and uses the Super Scope to combat the Koopas.

Story
Bowser and the Koopalings attack Jewelry Land and imprison its rulers, King Fret and Prince Pine. They also steal the twelve gems that keep the land stable and the resulting earthquake splits the kingdom into two halves: the Light Realm and the Dark Realm. The gems are distributed amongst Bowser, the Koopalings and five powerful minions, all of whom lord over the many regions of the captured kingdom. Fortunately, Prince Pine is a friend of Princess Peach, who promptly sends Mario and Yoshi to save Jewelry Land; she gives them the Super Scope to aid in their quest.

After defeating the Koopalings in the Light Realm and freeing King Fret, Mario and Yoshi head to the Dark Realm to save Prince Pine from Bowser. At the end of the game, a code for a harder game is given to use at the title screen. This not only changes the colors of the levels, but it also makes the bosses harder and changes the text of the story scenes to say that the events of the story are repeating themselves.

Script
(Peach talking to Mario and Yoshi.) Narrator: ''One day, Mario and Yoshi came to see Princess Peach... She told them of a nearby kingdom, a place called Jewelry Land. Princess Peach: ''You must go to Jewelry Land. Its rulers, Prince Pine and King Fret are in terrible danger. You must go there and save them. Please Mario, they are my friends! (Mario nods) Thank you! You must go at once. Good luck and take care, both of you! (Mario riding Yoshi across the land.) Narrator: ''As a favor for the Princess, Mario and Yoshi begin on their journey. The Princess told them King Fret and Prince Pine had been kidnapped. And the treasure of Jewelry Land, 12 gems, had been plundered!!! Who could be responsible? Could it be that evil Koopa clan? King Fret: ''Well now, you've saved me. Thanks! But they still have five gems, as well as my son, Prince Pine. Now go to the Dark Realm to get them. To return peace to this land, finish collecting the gems and save the Prince. I'm counting on you. (Mario and Yoshi ride to a Warp Pipe and go down it.) (Prince Pince talking to Mario and Yoshi atop Bowser's castle.) Prince Pine: ''Thanks for saving me Mario! Princess Peach told me about you. You are such a brave man. Now, with the gems you collected, we can return peace to this land. Throw the gems above your head and look up toward the sky. The secret power of the gems, will make the worlds one again. (Gems fly into sky, circle around and flash brightly. Switch scenes to King Fret and Prince Pine talking to Mario and Yoshi surrounded by a cheering crowd.) King Fret: ''Oh! Thank you for saving this world. I don't know how to thank you... Prince Pine: ''Thank you so much. The two worlds, have become one. Everything I have, I owe to you. next time you come to visit, please bring Princess Peach. King Fret: ''Please be careful on your way home. (Mario riding Yoshi back to the Mushroom World.) Narrator: ''After restoring peace to Jewelry Land, Mario and Yoshi returned to the Mushroom World. There Princess Peach awaits. But, what has become of Bowser? He has taken the Koopalings and returned to whence they came. This story is now over. '''The End (Peach talking to Mario and Yoshi.) Narrator: ''When Mario and Yoshi returned to Princess Peach... She told them of a nearby kingdom, a place called Jewelry Land. Princess Peach: ''You must return to Jewelry Land. Its rulers, Prince Pine and King Fret are in danger again. You must go there and save them. Please Mario, they are my friends! (Mario nods) Thank you! You must go at once. Good luck and take care, both of you! (Mario riding Yoshi across the land.) Narrator: ''As a favor for the Princess, Mario and Yoshi restart their journey. The Princess told them King Fret and Prince Pine were kidnapped again. And the treasure of Jewelry Land, 12 gems, had been plundered again!!! Who could be responsible? Is that evil Koopa clan at it again? (Prince Pince talking to Mario and Yoshi atop Bowser's castle.) Prince Pine: ''Thanks for saving me Mario! I'm sorry you had to save us twice. You are such a brave man. Now, with the gems you collected, we can return peace to this land. Throw the gems above your head and look up toward the sky. The secret power of the gems, will make the worlds one again. (Gems fly into sky, circle around and flash brightly. Switch to King Fret and Prince Pine talking to Mario and Yoshi surrounded by a cheering crowd.) King Fret: ''Oh! Thank you for saving this world. Not just once, you saved us twice. I don't know how to thank you... Prince Pine: ''Thank you so much. The two worlds, have become one. Everything I have, I owe to you. next time you come to visit, please bring Princess Peach. King Fret: ''Please be careful on your way home. (Mario riding Yoshi back to the Mushroom World.) Narrator: ''After restoring peace to Jewelry Land again, Mario and Yoshi returned to the Mushroom World. There Princess Peach awaits. But, what has become of Bowser? He has taken the Koopalings and returned to whence they came. This story is now over, for good. '''The End
 * Beginning Cutscene
 * Saving King Fret (both difficulty levels)
 * Saving Prince Pine and Conclusion
 * Beginning of Hard Mode
 * Saving Prince Pine and Conclusion

Gameplay
The game is played from the perspective of Mario, who rides on Yoshi's back and must shoot incoming enemies with the Super Scope. Yoshi's head is always visible, and accidentally shooting at him causes a loss of health. The Super Scope could fire automatically, which quickly drained power. The RPM of the Super Scope would decrease when its Power Meter was close to empty; when it becomes completely empty, the Scope will continue firing, but only one shot at a time, even if the Fire Button was still held down (signifying that the player needs to release the Fire Button and let it recharge). There are two Fire Flowers in the game, and collecting them increases the amount of time that the Scope can shoot before needing to recharge.

Yoshi's Safari puts some emphasis on platforming, and at times it's imperative to jump (via the Cursor button) in order to avoid some obstacles. Also, there are branching paths that leads to different enemies, mini-bosses or prizes; they always end with the same main road, which leads to a boss. The bosses include the Koopalings, with some of them piloting Mechs; bigger versions of normal enemies (such as a large Magikoopa or the Big Boo); and Bowser himself, wearing a suit of armor equipped with two Gun-Hands and a devastating energy cannon located in the stomach.

Playable

 * Mario
 * Yoshi

Non-playable

 * Princess Peach
 * King Fret
 * Prince Pine

Normal enemies

 * Paragoomba
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Koopa Paratroopa
 * Bullet Bill
 * Cheep Cheep
 * Blooper
 * Octo
 * Nipper Plants
 * Podoboo
 * Spiny
 * Spiny Egg
 * Boo
 * Bob-omb
 * Monty Mole
 * Mecha-Koopa



Mini-bosses

 * Hammer Bro.
 * Boomerang Bro.
 * Sledge Bro.
 * Lakitu
 * Fire Snake
 * Octopot

Bosses

 * Lemmy Koopa
 * Ludwig Von Koopa
 * Wendy O. Koopa with a Winged Anvil
 * Larry Koopa
 * Morton Koopa Jr.
 * Iggy Koopa
 * Roy Koopa
 * Magikoopa
 * Big Boo
 * Chargin' Chuck
 * Koopa Troopa Sub
 * Bowser

Levels
(While they are all numbered, the levels in each realm can be played in any order, except for Bowser's Castle, which is unlocked after beating levels 8-11.)


 * Light Realm of Jewelry Land
 * 1. Grass Land (Boss: Lemmy Koopa)
 * 2. Mushroom Land (Boss: Ludwig Von Koopa)
 * 3. Pipe Island (Boss: Wendy O. Koopa)
 * 4. Crescent Coast (Boss: Larry Koopa)
 * 5. Spirit Mountain (Boss: Morton Koopa Jr.)
 * 6. Grand Bridge (Boss: Iggy Koopa)
 * 7. Float Castle I (Boss: Roy Koopa)
 * Dark Realm
 * 8. Cornice Cave (Boss: Magikoopa)
 * 9. Ghost Mansion (Boss: Big Boo)
 * 10. Float Castle II (Boss: Chargin' Chuck)
 * 11. Dark Sea (Boss: Koopa Troopa Sub)
 * 12. Bowser's Castle (Boss: Bowser)

Appearances in other media
There was a manga by Kazuki Motoyama, who also wrote adaptations of Yoshi and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.

Trivia

 * Yoshi's Safari is the first game outside Japan to refer to Princess Toadstool as "Princess Peach".
 * Yoshi's Safari is the first and only dedicated shooting game that Mario has starred in.