Yoshi's Crafted World

Yoshi's Crafted World is a title in the Yoshi franchise and the follow-up to the 2015 Wii U game Yoshi's Woolly World, released for the Nintendo Switch on March 29, 2019. It was developed by Good-Feel, the developer behind Yoshi's Woolly World and its Nintendo 3DS port Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World. The game places a great emphasis on its 3D environments; Yoshi is able to aim eggs into objects that appear in the foreground and background and can travel through a pseudo-3D environment along yellow tape trails.

Unlike the previous game, the game adopts a hand-crafted art style, with every level being made to have a "theme of things crafted in kindergarten." The Yoshis in particular are made out of a material called "flocky". A variety of cardboard costumes are available to unlock within the game, including some based off Nintendo Labo. The game also features amiibo support, with certain amiibo granting the player exclusive themed costumes.

General
At the start of the game, the Yoshis are seen resting on their island, gathered around the Sundream Stone, an artifact said to possess the power to make dreams come true. Suddenly, Kamek and Baby Bowser, who have heard the legend of the Sundream Stone, arrive at the island to take it for themselves. The Yoshis attempt to save the artifact from being stolen, which leads to its gems becoming detached and being flung across multiple worlds. The Yoshis then embark on a journey to search for the gems.

Multiple times over the course of the game, the Yoshis meet up with Kamek and Baby Bowser, who are also in search of the gems. After a short conversation, Kamek uses his magic to create a creature out of the surrounding landscape and pits it against the Yoshis. After defeating a boss, the Yoshis find one of the gems nearby and put it back into Sundream Stone.

After the Yoshis collect all the gems, Kamek steals them and grants Baby Bowser's wish, creating the "biggest, baddest, [and] most awesomest" robot. He then transforms Baby Bowser into a giant. After he is defeated, the Yoshis restore the Sundream Stone back to its original state and wish to return home. The stone then uses its power to create a large ship from the wreckage of The Great King Bowser that carries them back to their home island, which they continue to use as their base of operations.

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Gameplay
Similar to the previous Yoshi games, Yoshi can run, jump, lick up enemies, Flutter Jump, Ground Pound, and throw Yoshi's Eggs/Poochy Pups. Conversely, Yoshi does not need to crouch anymore in order to turn an enemy into an egg, as this action is now performed automatically upon grabbing an enemy with the tongue. The mechanics of Yoshi's egg throwing have likewise changed considerably. Instead of an autonomously moving cursor, Yoshi can freely aim the cursor anywhere on the screen, so that they can aim at objects in the foreground and background. When an object on a different plane is highlighted, the player can throw an egg at it, but eggs are otherwise restricted to a 2D plane. Some objects get knocked away while others stay in place after the impact. Yoshi can often travel between planes by following paths that connect them. While on one of these paths, Yoshi can only ground pound with the L or ZL buttons, due to the down command being assigned to moving towards the player.

Like Yoshi's Woolly World, Yoshi has a health meter that can be replenished by hearts, up to 20. These can be obtained by hitting certain Winged Clouds, reaching Check Points, or hitting Roulette Blocks at the right time. Costumes can also be applied to Yoshi which allow him to take extra hits based on the costume's rarity (three for Common, four for Rare, and five for Super Rare/amiibo). These extra hits are replenished upon reaching a checkpoint, but if enough hits are taken, the costume is irreversibly destroyed for the rest of the level (though the costume can be reapplied from the World Map).

Each level contains a unique level style and features, such as spotlights that summon enemies if they spot Yoshi and ropes that he can swing on. Generally, these features are only used in one level, though a few of them do make reappearances in Hidden Hills.

A number of levels in the game include alternative gameplay styles and challenges, often involving vehicles on auto-scrolling planes. In these, up to three Smiley Flowers can be collected based off how many points players get, with the exception of Solar Zoom, where it is instead based off how they place in the race.

This is the first Yoshi game without the game files option at the start.

Flip side
Each level (aside from boss fights and the levels in Hidden Hills) provide access to both the "front side" and the "flip side." The flip side gives a look at levels from the backside, often showing off how certain contraptions within the levels work, emphasizing the hand-crafted feel. The flip side can only be accessed upon beating the corresponding front side, and only after Poochy's Tape Trail has been completed.

In each flip side, the only collectibles remaining are hearts, which are the only items available in Winged Clouds. Some souvenirs can also be found on the flip side.

Instead, three Poochy Pups can be found scattered throughout the level. They can be found in a variety of situations: jumping between bushes, hanging onto rotating blocks, or even riding on solar cars. Once touched, licked, or hit with an egg, the Poochy Pup will follow closely behind Yoshi. They can be used as projectiles that can return to Yoshi, effectively giving an infinite supply of eggs.

For each pup brought to the end goal, a Smiley Flower will be obtained. Additionally, if all three pups are brought to the goal under a certain time limit, Poochy will appear holding a fourth Smiley Flower in his mouth.

Collectibles
Each level has a variety of collectibles to obtain, each requiring different conditions to find. In addition to the Smiley Flowers strewn about each level, obtaining all of the collectibles of another type will give the player another Smiley Flower. Players do not need to collect all the collectibles in one run; previously obtained Smiley Flowers and Red Coins will remain translucent upon replays. Some collectibles are found in presents in the background.

Smiley Flowers are used to unlock new subworlds by paying a "toll" to the Blockafeller resting in front of it. Once all of them are collected, they can be paid to the big Blockafeller in Hidden Hills to unlock the Sundream Stone costume. Getting all the Smiley Flowers in a subworld will adorn the diorama with festive pinwheel flowers.

Blockafellers appear in each subworld to provide the Yoshis with missions to find souvenirs in the form of crafts, themed decorations that appear in the foreground or background. One at a time, Yoshi will be requested to find a certain number of the souvenir in a certain level. Once Yoshi finds and throws eggs at each of them, he can leave the level immediately, or continue to play through. Either way, after returning to the world map, the Blockafeller will give Yoshi a Smiley Flower as a reward and, if the are still uncollected souvenirs in the subworld, request another type of souvenir.

Similarly, a small Blockafeller named Sprout can be found hiding in every level, on the ground, once Baby Bowser is defeated. Although he does not give Smiley Flowers for being found, finding him in every level will award a costume based off himself.

Modes
There are two modes, Classic and Mellow.

Co-op
Two players are able to play the entire game together, each one being a differently colored Yoshi. Each player can also choose their own costume and control options from the menu.

While playing, both players share the same screen, with a camera that dominantly follows Player 1. Each Yoshi has all of the abilities they can use in single-player, and they are able to eat and spit out each other. Additionally, one Yoshi can ride on the other, losing control of movement, but in turn having an unlimited supply of eggs to throw.

Only one Yoshi needs to have 20 hearts at the end of a level to obtain the level's corresponding Smiley Flower.

Mellow Mode
Brought back from Yoshi's Woolly World, Mellow Mode is an option in available at any time in the menu. When selected, Yoshi grows a pair of wings that allow them to Flutter Jump infinitely by holding down the jump button. Yoshi also has the capacity to hold additional hearts, allowing them to take more hits.

Worlds and courses
Yoshi's Crafted World sees the player exploring 17 diorama-like worlds, each one incorporating a unique theme and different styles of craft; for example, Pastel Pathway is a child's bedroom and sweets-themed location that makes great use of yarn and other kinds of fabric, while Acorn Forest is a set in the woods and built mainly from debris such as twigs and rocks. Most worlds in the game feature two to four levels, and only six of them include a boss stage. This contrasts with previous Yoshi mainline titles, which tipically include fewer worlds with a consistent, higher number of levels and one boss per world.

In order to progress to different worlds, Yoshis will often need to hand over Smiley Flowers to Blockafellers they meet along the way. The first and final sections of the game are linear, with each world leading to a single other. After Origami Gardens however, the path branches into two, giving the player more options regarding the order in which to complete the middle portion of the campaign. The paths converge again in Ninjarama. A bonus area, Hidden Hills, becomes available after beating the main campaign.

A few courses in the game center around scoring-based challenges in timed or auto-scrolling settings, with the player's final score translating into an amount of Smiley Flowers as a reward. These levels are marked below with an arrow (▷).

Minor characters

 * Rhinono
 * Baby Rhinono
 * Uckykong
 * Snow Ucky Kong

Enemies
New enemies are marked with an asterisk (*).

Bosses
Main story bosses must be defeated to retrieve the Dream Gems. The game also features three mini-bosses, indicated by an asterisk (*) in the list below, and a bonus boss fight with Kamek.

Crafts


In the game's worlds Blockafellers may request the player to collect crafts from the level, which can be obtained by hitting them with an egg. Smiley Flowers are rewarded for collecting requested crafts, and there are a total of 121 crafts requested in the game. These appear in both the Front and Flip Side of the level, and certain worlds may have souvenirs which have to be collected from three different levels.

Costumes


Costumes can be obtained and worn in the game. They can protect Yoshi from a set amount of hits before breaking, depending on the costume's rarity. Most costumes in the game can be obtained from capsule machines which appear in each world, though certain costumes can be obtained through amiibo use, and three more can be obtained by completing certain late-game objectives. A total of 185 costumes in the game, with 173 being obtainable without amiibo use.

Trailers

 * The game was first revealed during where it was tentatively titled Yoshi and given an expected release date of 2018. Nintendo Treehouse demonstrated roughly half an hour of gameplay for the new game.
 * On September 18, 2018, during a Nintendo Direct presentation, the game's official title was revealed as Yoshi's Crafted World.
 * On November 1, 2018, additional gameplay of Yoshi's Crafted World was featured during a Nintendo Treehouse: Live presentation.
 * On January 8, 2019, a story trailer for the game was released on the Nintendo YouTube channel.
 * On February 15, 2019, a demo trailer was released to promote a demo for the game being published on the Nintendo eShop.
 * On March 22, 2019, co-op gameplay of the game from Nintendo Minute was released on the Nintendo YouTube channel..
 * On March 25, 2019, a trailer demonstrating the game's basic mechanics was released on the Nintendo UK YouTube channel.
 * On March 29, 2019, the Nintendo UK YouTube channel released a launch trailer to promote the release of the game. This was followed by a launch trailer from NintendoAU on April 2, 2019.
 * On April 1, 2019, the game was featured in the Spring Game Guide during a Nintendo Power Podcast.
 * On April 15, 2019, an accolades trailer for the game was released on the Nintendo YouTube channel.

Other
In January 2019, Amazon Japan featured a preorder bundle containing the game, a tote bag themed to the game, and ten Yoshi plushes by Sanei Boeki.

On March 20, 2019, in celebration of the Yoshi's Crafted World's launch at the time, Nintendo of UK announced a partnership with KidZania London to host an event titled Yoshi's Easter Egg Hunt, which lasted from April 8 to April 21, 2019.

Sometime in 2019, a quiz was released on Play Nintendo called the Yoshi's Crafted World Trivia Quiz.

Several T-shirts promoting the game were made available as merchandise on the Nintendo Store section of Amazon.com.

Development
Unusually for a Nintendo title, Yoshi's Crafted World was developed with in place of an in-house engine. According to producer Etsunobu Ebisu, the engine was chosen in order to more accurately represent the realistic materials featured in the game. As for the concept behind the art style, the developers claimed the game is supposed to take place in a kindergarten class within the Super Mario universe.

Critical reception
Yoshi's Crafted World has received generally positive reviews. Critics have praised the game's aesthetic and number of collectibles, but the difficulty and repetitive music have been criticized.

Staff
Yoshi's Crafted World was developed by Good-Feel in collaboration with some staff for Nintendo, most of them are a follow-up from Yoshi's Woolly World. The game was directed by Masahiro Yamamoto, game design was led by Yosuke Suda, programming by Yasuhiro Masuoka, art by Ayano Otsuka, the whole game soundtrack was composed by Kazufumi Umeda, and was produced by Etsunobu Ebisu and Takashi Tezuka.

References to other games

 * Mario Kart 64: Milk cartons can be seen in the background of certain levels that brandish the logo of Moo Moo Farm, a track from the game.
 * Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga: Certain level elements are made from Starbeans Iced Coffee boxes, referencing the Starbeans Cafe from this game.
 * Super Mario Galaxy: Kamek's paper artwork is based on the Magikoopa's artwork from this game.
 * Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Many of the craft materials are packaging from products, including the sponsors Fuzzy Battery, Moo Moo Meadows Milk and Princess Orange from these games, as well as Fountain Cafe and Tropical Bakery, which use their updated logos from these games. Additionally, "Handle with care" stickers featuring ? Blocks from Sunshine Airport appear on various objects in the scenery.
 * Yoshi's Woolly World: Green Yarn Yoshi, Light-Blue Yarn Yoshi, and Pink Yarn Yoshi all appear as collectible amiibo costumes by scanning their respective amiibo. In certain levels such as Skulking Around, stickers reading "15.07.16" can be seen stuck on the level environments, which is the Japanese release date of this game in the yy/mm/dd date format. The level Stitched Together reuses many assets and features from this game, such as Mobiles and Accordion walls. Mellow Mode returns from this game.
 * Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World: Poochy Pups return from this game.

References in other games

 * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Yoshi's in-game design is featured as one of his alternate colors in this game, and also appears as a spirit.