Yoshi's Island DS

Yoshi's Island DS is a 2D platformer for the Nintendo DS. As the second installment in the Yoshi's Island series, it is the third main platform game starring Yoshi. The game is the sequel to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, where Kamek and the Toadies have kidnapped all the babies in the world in search for the star children, a group of seven babies who possess powerful stars in their hearts. While the game is heavily derivative from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, including general gameplay, themes, and graphics, the game primarily differentiates itself from its predecessor by taking advantage of the Nintendo DS's dual screen to display levels while introducing multiple babies to carry on Yoshi's back, who all have special abilities that are required to complete levels. Aside from carrying Baby Mario, Yoshis can additionally carry Baby Peach, Baby DK, Baby Wario, and Baby Bowser; Baby DK and Baby Wario make their overall debut in this game. Unlike Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Island DS was developed by a third party studio, Artoon, rather than in-house from Nintendo EAD.

Yoshi's Island DS was rereleased for the Wii U's Virtual Console in Japan and North America in April 2015 and in Europe and Australia in May 2015.

Story
From the instruction booklet'': Baby Luigi has been kidnapped! Our adventure begins one sunny day on Yoshi's Island. Yoshi is out enjoying the day with a leisurely stroll when, all of a sudden, two babies drop out of the sky. One of them looks very familiar to Yoshi. With a forlorn look on his face, the baby just gazes longingly at a mysterious castle that has appeared in the sky. Yoshi wonders if the castle holds other babies. Once again, it's up to the Yoshi clan to save the day. This time, the stork is coming with them too. A new journey begins. Can the Yoshis and babies triumph over Kamek and save Baby Luigi? Kamek and his army of Toadies steal all of the babies in the Mushroom Kingdom, as well as in other nearby areas. The Toadies take the babies to Bowser's Castle, but the stork comes in and attacks two Toadies, making them drop the babies they are carrying. The two babies land on Yoshi's Island and are revealed to be Baby Mario and Baby Peach.

The Yoshis find the babies and decide to help them. They figure out that Baby Mario, once again, wants to save Baby Luigi and the other babies from Kamek and his Toadies. The Yoshis take the babies with them and go to rescue the kidnapped babies. Later on in the adventure, sometime after the defeat of Gilbert the Gooey, a group of monkeys kidnaps Baby Peach. The Yoshis and Baby Mario find another baby, Baby DK, who was left behind when the Toadies were kidnapping all the other babies. With the help of Baby DK, Yoshi is able to rescue Baby Peach from the monkeys. Baby DK joins the team when the monkeys are defeated.

Promptly after defeating Bessie Bass on a battleship, the Yoshis and the babies are swept away by a tidal wave in a storm. They eventually find Baby Wario, who is also left behind. Baby Wario then decides to join the party.

When Priscilla the Peckish is defeated, Baby Wario decides to join a team of Bandits in hope of getting money. Meanwhile, after the Yoshis defeat Six-Face Sal, it is revealed that future Bowser and future Kamek are the ones kidnapping the babies and that they are looking for the seven star children. The star children are young children that have magical stars in them. If one collects all the stars, then they become the ruler of the universe. Kamek kidnaps Baby Bowser (while Kamek of the past tries to stop him), and Baby Bowser and Bowser get into a fight, ending with Bowser causing his infant self to fall out of a window of the castle. Baby Bowser lands on Yoshi's back and joins their team, although they are worried that he might attack them.

Baby Bowser does not stay for the rest of the adventure. When Big Guy the Stilted is defeated, he leaves with Kamek, who then returns to Bowser's Castle and uses a Crystal Ball to check every baby they have kidnapped (with the exception of Baby Luigi, who hides from it) to determine if they are star children, which they are not. Bowser becomes furious, and he sends the Toadies to keep looking for more babies.

The team finally arrives at Bowser's Castle where Baby Wario and Baby Bowser are arguing over who gets to keep some treasure. They then notice the Yoshis and help them travel through the castle. When they finally get to the top of the castle, however, Baby Bowser tells the Yoshis to leave. When they do not leave, Baby Bowser thinks Yoshi is there to steal his treasure. Baby Bowser fights Yoshi, but Yoshi defeats him.

Bowser then comes in the room and is angry at what Yoshi did to his younger self. He then fights Yoshi, but gets defeated just like his younger self. Kamek then uses magic to help Bowser become giant. The four babies with four Yoshis fight against the Giant Bowser using Giant Eggs and are eventually able to defeat him. Kamek escapes when Bowser is defeated, with four Toadies carrying Bowser right behind him. Baby Bowser decides to escape with Bowser and Kamek, and holds on to his broomstick.

The Yoshis save all the kidnapped babies, and the storks take all the babies back to their home, except for Baby Wario, who is homeless. Supposedly, the stork adopts Baby Wario and takes him to a raft where Baby Bowser's treasure ends up. A flying rock hits Kamek's broomstick, and Baby Bowser lets go and falls down right in his treasure. Baby Wario and Baby Bowser start arguing about who gets to keep the treasure again.

It is then revealed that the seven star children are Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Peach, Baby DK, Baby Wario, Baby Bowser, and a newborn Baby Yoshi, who hatches from a Yoshi's Egg at the end of the game.

Adventure
Gameplay mainly revolves around adventure mode, similarly played out as the original. Throughout the five unique worlds, a different colored Yoshi takes on one out of eight levels, with a mini-boss in Level 4 and a boss in Level 8 of each world. Enemies, items, coins, and other collectibles litter the levels. Some items count toward a score of 100, which is then displayed in the level select screen. If every level in a world has 100, one level, the extra course, is unlocked.

When a Yoshi is hit by an enemy, the baby is knocked loose from his back crying, and the star power - the source of the protective bubble that keeps the Toadies from taking the baby - goes down by one star per second. If that number goes down to zero, Toadies take away the baby and a life is lost. Yoshi, however, still has a small amount of time to recover the baby even after the Toadies have grabbed. Yoshi can rescue the baby by touching the bubble with its body or its tongue. If Yoshi hits the bubble with an egg, the bubble gets knocked down, making the baby easier to reach. The star power starts at ten in each level. If a baby is recovered with less than ten stars, the star power slowly reverts to ten. Additionally, groups of five stars can be found in Winged Clouds and crates, and goal roulettes give twenty additional star power, allowing the star power to max at thirty. Remaining star power also counts toward the score at the completion of the level.

Although Yoshi cannot be defeated in normal circumstances, he instantly loses a life if he touches spikes, lava, falls into bottomless pits, or gets crushed. The mode also features the Island Museum, which is accessible at any time. In this museum, all the enemies the Yoshis have defeated with Yoshi's Eggs appear as exhibits.

Minigames
Minigames are unlocked in Adventure Mode: All minigames have a set time limit. Achieving a high score in any minigame awards Yoshi with lives. Harder versions of all the minigames can be unlocked by collecting all the character coins in a world.
 * Tulip Shooter - Yoshi must grab and spit enemies into a tulip.
 * Flutter Challenge - Yoshi must try to flutter-jump as far as possible.
 * Bouncy Maze - Yoshi must maneuver his way through a simple maze of Bouncies.
 * Speed-Eater - Yoshi must try to swallow as many enemies as possible.
 * Egg Toss - Yoshi must hit targets with eggs.

Time Trial
Time Trial is unlocked once Adventure Mode has been beaten. It is similar to Adventure Mode, but the player is timed. Yoshi has one hundred minutes to finish each level - even when the player presses the Start Button, the time continues. Red coins, flowers and stars, when collected, each subtract a set amount of time taken to finish the level: -1 second per star, -2 seconds per red coin, and -10 seconds per flower.

Controls
From the Options menu, players can change the controls of the game. The player can choose from two sets of controls: and, and two modes: Hasty and Patient, Below are the controls of the game:

Shared controls

 * Used to move the Yoshis. Pressing it down makes Yoshi crouch or make eggs. If the down arrow is pressed in the air, Yoshi ground pounds.
 * Pauses the game and opens the "Options" menu.
 * Used to make Yoshi throw a Yoshi's Egg. In Hasty mode: Holding the button, makes Yoshi aim at his target. Letting go of the button makes Yoshi throw the egg, in Patient mode the player has to press the button again to make Yoshi throw the egg.
 * While Yoshi is aiming up and down, pressing the button makes Yoshi lock on a specific location.

First set:
In this set: the and  can be used instead of the  and  respectively.
 * Used to jump, pressing it again makes Yoshi Flutter Jump.
 * Used to Eat or spit an enemy. With Baby Mario, the player can dash by holding the button.

Second set:

 * Used to jump, pressing it again makes Yoshi Flutter Jump.
 * Used to Eat or spit an enemy. With Baby Mario, the player can dash by holding the button.

Forms
A Yoshi can morph into several different types of vehicle with the help of a morph bubble. To revert to normal, the Yoshi must either touch a Yoshi Block or wait until the time runs out, as the forms last only for a certain period of time. The Yoshi, however, must touch the Yoshi Block to progress the level; otherwise, he is directed back to the morph bubble. While Baby Mario stays protected in a bubble, Yoshi is also invincible while in these forms, but if he is hit, he is stunned and knocked into a certain direction, making him lose time. Yoshi also cannot attack in these form.

There are three forms:

Transportation
There are five types of transportation that Yoshis can use to progress through various levels.

Bonus Challenges
Any flowers the player collects in a level appears in the goal roulette at the end of a level. After a Yoshi passes through the ring, the spinning slows. If it stops on a flower, the Yoshi is able to play a mini-game and can possibly earn 1-Ups. There are five different flowers in each level.

These are the Mini-games that may pop up if a Yoshi is able to get a flower in the goal roulette. They can also be played via the World Map screen if the player obtains a total of at least 700 points in a world.
 * Flip Cards
 * Scratch and Match
 * Match Cards
 * Roulette
 * Slot Machine

Worlds and levels
There is a total of five worlds, with each one having eight normal levels, one secret course, and one extra course. The secret courses are unlocked when all the normal levels are cleared. The extra courses are unlocked by scoring a total of 800 points for each world.

Babies
New to the sequel at certain spots are Stork Stops, which let Yoshis change babies, providing different unique abilities. All four hidden babies in order can be unlocked by completing boss levels of the Adventure Mode.

Normal enemies
These enemies can also be seen in the Island Museum after they are hit by eggs (even if the eggs do not defeat them) in the actual levels.

Bosses
As in the original game, each world has two castles, with a boss battle taking place in each. Kamek uses his magic to enlarge common enemies.

Similarities to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

 * The first piece of the first level of World 1 is same as the one from the previous game.
 * In Spear Guys' Village Found!, there is a bush near the goal roulette containing a Shy Guy. If Yoshi passes through the bush without defeating the Shy Guy first, a Bandit swaps it out for Baby Mario, whom he tries to run off with. The Shy Guy stays on Yoshi's back until he grabs Baby Mario back from the Bandit.
 * The first mid-boss battle contains a Burt Brother.
 * The first world boss is a blob-like creature.
 * Parts of both first world bosses can be eaten by Yoshi.
 * The second mid-boss is a ghost whose size changes throughout the battle.
 * The third mid-boss is an aquatic enemy capable of eating Yoshi.
 * The jungle world boss is a Piranha Plant, and Nipper Plants are present during the battle.
 * At least one world boss is a completely unique species, not based off of any particular enemy in the game.
 * The fourth World Boss is a giant variation of an enemy that appeared in earlier levels.
 * In the fifth world, there's a boss that is a bird enemy.
 * There is a giant golden Tap-Tap in a possible path in Bowser's Castle.
 * The first part of each final battle is against Baby Bowser, who creates shockwaves as an attack, and the last is against a giant version of Bowser, age unconsidered, who uses falling boulders and fireballs as attacks. Also, both final final battles require the use of Giant Eggs carried into the field by Item Balloons, and Bowser's castle is destroyed during the transition to the final phase of both battles.
 * The final normal level is Bowser's Castle, and is explored by Green Yoshi instead of Blue Yoshi.

References to other games

 * Donkey Kong Country: Donkey Kong's treehouse appears as it does in that game.
 * Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: The game is the sequel to this game, and also takes place on the same titular island, and most of the enemy sprites are from this game, albeit with updated shading.
 * Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3: Each world has a secret course.
 * Yoshi Topsy-Turvy: Bowser's sprites seem to have been drawn over the prerendered sprites of him from this game. Much of the artwork is also borrowed from this game.
 * Yoshi Touch & Go: Many of the game's sprites are redrawn from Yoshi Touch & Go, such as Yoshi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, and Kamek's sprites. Artwork is reused as well, including the Baby Mario and Yoshi artwork on the box artwork.
 * Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time: M Blocks appear again. Baby Peach originates from this game, too.

References in later games

 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl: The game's "above ground" theme has been remastered and included in this game, and has been given the title "Wildlands". The Yoshi's Island stage is based on Yoshi's Island DS's graphics.
 * Mario Super Sluggers: Baby DK returns, along with all of the other babies, with the exception of Baby Wario and Baby Bowser. Wario uses his baby counterpart's magnet in Challenge Mode.
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Kamek turns Bowser into a giant for the final battle.
 * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Baby Mario (Superstar Mario) and Crazee Dayzee appear as spirits, using their artwork from Yoshi's Island DS.
 * Dr. Mario World: Baby Wario returns as a playable doctor, and he uses his magnet from Yoshi's Island DS as his special skill.

Staff
Yoshi's Island DS was developed by the company Artoon, instead of Nintendo EAD like other Yoshi games were. The game was directed by Hidetoshi Takeshita and the lead programmer was Yuki Hatakeyama. Takashi Tezuka, served as one of the senior producers of the game, with Naoto Ohshima being the other one.

Reception
Yoshi's Island DS received mainly positive reviews from critics. It was praised for having similar gameplay to its predecessor, as well as the artwork, although the gameplay's being too similar to its predecessor is frequently cited. Some critics also considered it the best portable Yoshi game released.

In a positive review, Craig Harris of IGN has praised the game for its design. He has described the game more of a nostalgic reminder of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island rather than an advancement of the series. As a result, he suggested that the designs stuck too close to original formula, ruining surprises for veteran players of Yoshi's Island. He praised the different babies, although he felt that Baby Wario "was a last-minute edition and not tested properly". Although he noted that the dual screen gave the players a bigger view, but criticized the blind spot between the dual screens.

Tom Bramwell of Eurogamer was reluctant to praise Yoshi's Island DS in the same way as Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, as he considered the game to be a "distended version of Yoshi". He acknowledges Artoon's effort in the game and the variety of babies and levels. He also criticizes the developers' abuse of the blind spot between the two screens and that the developers failed to establish trust for the player to explore. He finally stated that "Artoon is cribbing from the same notes. It's a shame, because there are times when you catch glimpses of the sort of thing the Japanese team is really capable of[...]."

Yoshi's Island DS was placed 46 on Gamesradar's Top 50 DS games. The small feature called it a fresh and new experience, a beautiful 2D world, and that they'd never tire of playing the game.

Sales
In its first week in Japan, the game sold approximately 300,000 copies. As of March 31, 2008 Yoshi's Island DS has sold 2.91 million copies worldwide.

Pre-release and unused content

 * Yoshi's Island DS, initially titled Yoshi's Island 2, was originally going to be compatible with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. This was scrapped from the game for unknown reasons.
 * Early screenshots showcasing a battle with Big Guy the Stilted seemed to suggest that Big Guy was once going to be organic, as he had no patches on him in that picture (although one patch is visible near his right foot, which may mean his graphics were slightly incomplete).

Trivia

 * The box art shows Baby Bowser riding Yellow Yoshi, and Baby Wario riding Light Blue Yoshi; they do not ride these Yoshis in the game other than when Baby Wario is in the final boss fight, however. This is because the babies are only playable in the last four levels on the world map, as opposed to the Yoshis they ride, which are in the first four.