Yoshi's Cookie

Yoshi's Cookie (also known in Japan as Yoshi no Cookie) is a puzzle game, similar to Tetris, developed by Nintendo R&D 1 (NES and Game Boy) and Bullet-Proof Software (SNES) and published by Nintendo (NES and Game Boy) and Bullet-Proof Software (SNES) in 1992 for the NES, SNES, and Game Boy. Upon its release, Yoshi's Cookie received mixed to positive reviews.

The SNES version received a Japan-only Super Famicom re-release, titled Yoshi no Cookie: Kuruppon Oven de Cookie with an added mode. Additionally, a Japan-only remake for the Nintendo GameCube was made titled Nintendo Puzzle Collection, where it was bundled alongside Dr. Mario 64 and Panel de Pon. The remake added a story mode the previous three versions lacked. Yoshi's Cookie was later ported to the Wii's Virtual Console in 2008, but was delisted from the service on October 2013 in all regions except South Korea for unknown reasons. It was later delisted from South Korea too.

Gameplay
The objective of the game is to clear the stage of cookies, which appear from the top and the right of the screen. To clear cookies, the player needs an entire row of the same cookies either horizontally or vertically. To move the cookies, the player has to press // on a cookie and press a direction on the directional pad. Depending on the direction the player presses, the row the cookie is on is then moved either vertically or horizontally. There are six types of cookies: heart cookies, sunflower cookies, green cookies, checkered cookies, ring shaped cookies, and Yoshi Cookies (shaped like Yoshi's head). The game consists of two modes: Action and VS. The third mode, Puzzle, is exclusive to the SNES version.

Action Mode
Action Mode is a game consisting of 10 rounds, with each round containing 10 stages. Before the game starts, the player can set the round which who wants to play in, the falling speed of the blocks and the music. After the player beats a certain stage, who can view a short, humorous cutscene with Mario. Rounds 11-99 are also unlockable, and within them the cookies are replaced by Mario enemies (except for the Yoshi Cookie).

VS Mode
VS Mode is a simple 2 player game, with the player also able to challenge the computer in the SNES and Game Boy versions. The player starts off by picking one of four characters (except in the NES version): Mario, Peach, Yoshi, or Bowser.

The goal of the game is to make a certain number of matches before the opponent to win. The player must make a match within the time limit, as allowing the bar to fill up (or the fuse to run out) will result in a loss for the player. Getting 5 Yoshi Cookies in a row will either benefit or harm the player. Depending on the special shown, the player should be careful not to penalize themselves. Some specials include covering up the screen with question mark blocks (blind), taking control of the opponent field (slave), shuffling the tiles while unable to do anything (panic), and awarding and taking away points (+3 / &minus;3).

Once a player wins three rounds out of five, that player wins and ends the game.

Puzzle
This mode appears only in the SNES version of the game. The objective of Puzzle Mode is to clear the field with a limited number of moves. The puzzles range from simple to complex.

Staff
The Game Boy and NES versions were developed by Nintendo R&D 1 and published by Nintendo, with Gunpei Yokoi acting as the producer.

The SNES version was developed and published by Bullet-Proof Software as they retained the rights for the SNES version and Nintendo licensed the characters and allowed them to use the "Yoshi's Cookie" Branding. Alexey Pajitnov, creator of Tetris, designed the puzzles.

Cutscenes
The round completion cutscenes for Action Mode are as follows:


 * Round 1: Mario chases after a rolling ball (presumably cookie dough) and catches it, striking a pose.
 * Round 2: Mario chases after the rolling ball, only ends up rolling with the ball when grabbing on.
 * Round 3: Mario chases after the rolling ball, only to be humorously chased away by a larger bouncing ball (implied to be its parent)
 * Round 4: The ball bounces before hitting a wall, which then causes it to roll backwards into Mario (who was right behind it), knocking him over while the ball spins erratically.
 * Round 5: The ball spins erratically as Mario chases after it, only to end up eaten by Yoshi, to Mario's shock and Yoshi's amusement.
 * Round 6: Mario chases the ball down a slope, only to end up overtaking it in speed.
 * Round 7: The ball rolls then hits a wall and rolls back, with Mario proceeding to jump, only to end up squishing the ball.
 * Round 8: The ball falls down a ledge after rolling. Mario chases after it, only to find himself tripping due to unknowingly being on the ball, and the ball rolling away as Mario falls onto his back.
 * Round 9: The ball rolls to a cliffside as Mario chases after it, only for the ball to fall off the cliff, and ascend as an angel, with Mario looking sheepishly at the player.
 * Round 10: The ball is rolling and Mario and Yoshi, from opposite sides of the screen, proceed to grab it and then strike poses alongside the ball.

In the SNES version, the ball was revealed to be part of the Yoshi Cookie sign that fell off, and also has a slight animation of what occurs, and in the final one has Peach and Bowser joining the celebration during the credits.

Development
Yoshi's Cookie started as an arcade game named Hermetica (later renamed Archimedes) developed by the company Biox. This incarnation of the game featured alchemy-themed graphics. The game received a very poor reception when it was location-tested at arcades in Kansai and Tarumi, causing Biox to abandon further development and look for a partner to liquidate the arcade boards that had been produced and release an home version. Outside of answering design questions from designer Alexey Pajitnov, the creator of Hermetica had no involvement in the game's reworking as Yoshi's Cookie.

References in later games

 * Game & Watch Gallery 3: The Modern version of Egg has Yoshi consuming various cookies, their designs coming straight from Yoshi's Cookie.
 * Tetris DS: A stage from this game makes an appearance.
 * Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and Super Paper Mario: One of the cookies in the Zess Cookie and Sweet Cookie Snack icon resembles the checkerboard cookie from Yoshi's Cookie.
 * Super Mario Odyssey: In this title, Mario can wear a chef outfit that is identical to the one depicted in the NES version of Yoshi's Cookie.

Trivia

 * In the NES and Game Boy versions, there was a cutscene at the title screen where Mario would walk onto a screen with a jar of cookies. He would then try to open it, to no avail. He then gets an idea and walks off the screen. Yoshi comes up soon after and eats the jar whole. Mario then reappears with a hammer and begins chasing Yoshi off the screen. Later, he returns back on screen holding the cookie jar, which was empty to begin with. This, however, bears no influence on the game itself. This intro (slightly expanded to show Yoshi and Mario re-congregating and then striking a pose before walking off) was made for the SNES prototype of the game, but was taken out for final release.
 * The backgrounds used in the SNES version resemble those from Super Mario World.
 * The SNES version of Yoshi's Cookie featured a slightly-updated version of Yoshi's appearance, in which he has a bigger head, longer and more human-like arms and shorter neck. This appearance would be later used in Super Mario All-Stars, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and later games. This game also marks the first time in-game that Yoshi's speech comprises of his name, a trait later used in Yoshi's Story and popularized by Super Smash Bros..