Yoshi’s Island DS

The Super NES Yoshi’s Island of 1995 is one of the most loved platformers Nintendo ever made, and for eleven years it had a Game Boy Advance remake but no direct sequel. Yoshi’s Island DS is that sequel: the same crayon-and-pastel island, the same flutter jump, egg-throwing and star countdown, and the same storks and babies, with a new tale of kidnapped infants and a much bigger nursery on Yoshi’s back.

It was made by Artoon, the Japanese studio founded by Naoto Ohshima, who co-created Sonic the Hedgehog and had already made Yoshi Topsy-Turvy for Nintendo. That made it the first Yoshi’s Island game developed outside Nintendo, though Takashi Tezuka, one of the directors of the original, oversaw it as senior producer alongside Ohshima. Revealed at E3 2006 as Yoshi’s Island 2, it arrived in the West in time for Christmas 2006.

The big idea is the babies. Baby Mario is back, but Stork Stops let Yoshi swap him for Baby Peach, Baby DK, Baby Wario or Baby Bowser, each changing how Yoshi runs, jumps and throws and each opening up different parts of a level. The other big idea is the hardware: the playfield stretches across both DS screens, giving a tall view of the world but leaving a band of blindness between the two that critics never stopped mentioning.

Reviewers liked it a great deal (GameSpot gave it 9.1) while wishing it took more risks with its famous template. Players bought it in large numbers, nearly three million in under eighteen months, and its five-baby line-up gives it a character all its own.

“Baby Luigi has been kidnapped!”

The opening line of the story in the Yoshi’s Island DS instruction booklet (Nintendo, 2006).

The booklet goes on to describe two babies falling from the sky onto Yoshi’s Island, one of whom gazes at a mysterious castle floating overhead.

The questions people ask most about Yoshi’s second trip to the island.

The game opens with a picture-book recap of the Super NES adventure, scrolling right to left, before a new crisis arrives. It is a story told mostly between worlds, in short scenes before and after the boss fights, and it is a good deal busier than the original: two Kameks, two Bowsers, a baby who runs off to join a gang of thieves and another who is thrown out of a window by his older self.

Babies falling from the sky

Kamek and his Toadies are stealing babies across the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond, and carrying them off to Bowser’s castle. Among those taken is Baby Luigi. The stork, never one to sit by, attacks a pair of Toadies in mid-air, and the two babies they were carrying tumble down onto Yoshi’s Island: Baby Mario and Baby Peach.

Yoshi thinks he recognises one of them, and both keep staring up at a mysterious castle floating in the sky. They want their friends back, so the Yoshi clan agrees to carry them there, and this time the stork comes along to help.

World 1: Mario, Peach and a gooey castle

The first world teaches the new tricks: the M Blocks only Baby Mario can use, a Kangaroo ride, a Super Big Tap-Tap, and Baby Peach’s parasol in the wind. Yellow Yoshi fights the twin Big Burt Bros. in the World 1 fort, and Blue Yoshi takes on Gilbert the Gooey, a bouncing blob who has to be picked apart sphere by sphere.

No sooner is Gilbert beaten than a band of Ukiki monkeys snatches Baby Peach.

World 2: the jungle king

In the jungle, Yoshi and Baby Mario find a baby the Toadies had left behind: Baby DK. With his help they track down the monkeys and win Baby Peach back, and DK joins the team, swinging from vines and barging through walls.

World 2’s fort is a haunted house whose ghost, Hector the Reflector, can only be seen in a mirror on the touch screen, and its castle is the lair of Big Bungee Piranha, a giant plant that drops from above to swallow Yoshi.

World 3: a storm and a greedy baby

At sea, the Yoshis board a battleship and beat Bessie Bass, a huge fish that leaps from the waves to swallow Yoshi. Then a storm blows up and a tidal wave scatters the Yoshis and the babies.

When they regroup they have company: Baby Wario, another baby the kidnappers missed, who joins with a magnet that draws in every coin in sight. His loyalty lasts exactly as long as the money. After the castle of Priscilla the Peckish, he walks out to join the Bandits, who he thinks will make him rich.

World 4: Bowser meets Bowser

Beating Six-Face Sal in the World 4 fort reveals who is really behind it all: a Bowser and a Kamek from the future, hunting for the seven star children, babies whose hearts hold stars powerful enough to make their owner ruler of the universe.

The future Kamek tries to carry off Baby Bowser while the present-day Kamek tries to stop him, and Baby Bowser ends up in a fight with his own grown-up self, who knocks him out of a castle window. He lands on Yoshi’s back and joins the party, much to everyone’s unease. After Big Guy the Stilted is pushed into the lava, Baby Bowser leaves with Kamek. Back at the castle, Kamek checks the captured babies with a Crystal Ball and finds no star children among them (Baby Luigi avoids the test by hiding), and Bowser sends the Toadies out for more.

World 5: at last, Bowser’s castle

Inside the castle the Yoshis come across Baby Wario and Baby Bowser squabbling about Bowser’s treasure. The two of them help Yoshi through the castle, until at the top Baby Bowser decides Yoshi is after his treasure and fights him, and loses.

Then grown-up Bowser storms in, furious at what has happened to his younger self, and loses too. Kamek’s magic makes him a giant, and the finale has four babies riding four Yoshis, pelting him with Giant Eggs. Kamek flees with four Toadies carrying the defeated Bowser, and Baby Bowser hitches a ride on the broomstick.

Home by stork, and the seventh star

The Yoshis free every kidnapped baby and the storks fly them home. Baby Wario has his stork drop him on a raft piled with treasure; a flying rock knocks Baby Bowser off Kamek’s broomstick and straight into the hoard, and the two start squabbling over it all over again.

The last scene names the seven star children: Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Peach, Baby DK, Baby Wario, Baby Bowser and a Baby Yoshi, who hatches from a Yoshi’s Egg as the game ends.

Every level in Yoshi’s Island DS

A prologue course, then five worlds. Each world has eight levels, each played by a Yoshi of a set colour (Green, Pink, Light Blue, Yellow, Purple, Orange, Red, Blue), with a mid-boss in the level 4 fort and the world boss in the level 8 castle. A secret level, played by Black Yoshi, opens once the eight are cleared; an extra level, played by White Yoshi, needs 800 points in the world. Each world also has a bonus challenge.

1. 
   0-0 Welcome Back to Yoshi’s Island!Prologue · Green YoshiWhere the adventure starts, and Green Yoshi’s first course.
2. 
   1-1 Ba-dum BUM!World 1 · level 1 · Green YoshiBaby Mario climbs aboard, to music that opens like the Super NES game’s first course.
3. 
   1-2 Hit the M Blocks!World 1 · level 2 · Pink YoshiIntroduces the M Blocks, solid only while Baby Mario is riding.
4. 
   1-3 Mario’s Fleet FeetWorld 1 · level 3 · Light Blue YoshiThe first Kangaroo ride, and a Super Big Tap-Tap.
5. 
   1-4 Castle of the Big Burt Bros.World 1 · fort · Yellow Yoshi · Boss: Big Burt Bros.Two giant Burts that bounce at Yoshi and take six egg hits.
6. 
   1-5 Catch the Breeze!World 1 · level 5 · Purple YoshiBaby Peach joins, and her parasol rides the wind.
7. 
   1-6 Glide Guys Take to the SkiesWorld 1 · level 6 · Orange YoshiGlide Guys in the air, and the only Helicopter morph in the game.
8. 
   1-7 Baby Mario and Baby Peach: Dynamic DuoWorld 1 · level 7 · Red YoshiBoth babies in one level, and the Mole Tank’s debut.
9. 
   1-8 Gilbert the Gooey’s CastleWorld 1 · castle · Blue Yoshi · Boss: Gilbert the GooeyA Gargantua Blargg on the way in, and a blob to dismantle one sphere at a time.
10. 
    Secret 1: Welcome to Yoshi Tower!World 1 · secret · Black YoshiBlack Yoshi’s first course.
11. 
    Extra 1: Return of the Moving Chomp Rock!World 1 · extra · White YoshiWhite Yoshi’s first course.
12. 
    Flip CardsWorld 1 · bonus challengeWorld 1’s bonus game, a chance at extra lives.
13. 
    2-1 Baby DK, the Jungle King!World 2 · level 1 · Green YoshiBaby DK joins, climbing vines with Yoshi in tow.
14. 
    2-2 Underground MysteriesWorld 2 · level 2 · Pink YoshiPink Yoshi heads underground.
15. 
    2-3 Windblown WildernessWorld 2 · level 3 · Light Blue YoshiThe last of the Kangaroo rides.
16. 
    2-4 Hector the Reflector’s Haunted HouseWorld 2 · fort · Yellow Yoshi · Boss: Hector the ReflectorA ghost visible only in the touch-screen mirror, which cracks with every hit.
17. 
    2-5 Boing!World 2 · level 5 · Purple YoshiPurple Yoshi’s World 2 level.
18. 
    2-6 Donuts and EggsWorld 2 · level 6 · Orange YoshiSet against a sunset that was missing from an early trailer.
19. 
    2-7 Yoshi on StiltsWorld 2 · level 7 · Red YoshiThe Stilts make their debut.
20. 
    2-8 Big Bungee Piranha’s LairWorld 2 · castle · Blue Yoshi · Boss: Big Bungee PiranhaA Chomp Rock exposes the plant’s tongue; hit it three times.
21. 
    Secret 2: Yikes! Boiling Hot!World 2 · secret · Black YoshiBlack Yoshi’s second secret course.
22. 
    Extra 2: Moving Statues, Standing StatuesWorld 2 · extra · White YoshiWhite Yoshi’s World 2 challenge.
23. 
    Scratch and MatchWorld 2 · bonus challengeWorld 2’s bonus game.
24. 
    3-1 Up the CreekWorld 3 · level 1 · Green YoshiWorld 3 begins.
25. 
    3-2 The Goonie Coast Isn’t Clear!World 3 · level 2 · Pink YoshiA coastline crowded with Goonies.
26. 
    3-3 Island of PerilWorld 3 · level 3 · Light Blue YoshiThe only level with the Submarine morph.
27. 
    3-4 Bessie Bass’s BattleshipWorld 3 · fort · Yellow Yoshi · Boss: Bessie BassA giant fish leaps to eat Yoshi; three eggs to the lips sink her.
28. 
    3-5 Heeeeeeere’s Wario!World 3 · level 5 · Purple YoshiBaby Wario joins, magnet and all.
29. 
    3-6 Use the Magnet to Get Rich Quick!World 3 · level 6 · Orange YoshiBaby Wario’s magnet put to work.
30. 
    3-7 Tap-Tap’s Sunken CaveWorld 3 · level 7 · Red YoshiA sunken cave and the spiky Tap-Taps.
31. 
    3-8 Castle of Priscilla the PeckishWorld 3 · castle · Blue Yoshi · Boss: Priscilla the PeckishShe pops out of holes spitting Pokeys; three hits.
32. 
    Secret 3: A Light in the DarkWorld 3 · secret · Black YoshiThe first level with Skis.
33. 
    Extra 3: Number Ball SpecialWorld 3 · extra · White YoshiWhite Yoshi’s World 3 challenge.
34. 
    Match CardsWorld 3 · bonus challengeWorld 3’s bonus game.
35. 
    4-1 Rock ’n’ FallWorld 4 · level 1 · Green YoshiWorld 4 begins.
36. 
    4-2 High-Speed Cart RaceWorld 4 · level 2 · Pink YoshiThe first Cart ride: jump, but no flutter.
37. 
    4-3 In the CloudsWorld 4 · level 3 · Light Blue YoshiLight Blue Yoshi among the clouds.
38. 
    4-4 Six-Face Sal’s FortWorld 4 · fort · Yellow Yoshi · Boss: Six-Face SalA Pokey-spitting boss who takes four hits, and the truth about future Bowser.
39. 
    4-5 Friend or Foe?World 4 · level 5 · Purple YoshiBaby Bowser drops in and joins the team.
40. 
    4-6 Slip Slidin’ AwayWorld 4 · level 6 · Orange YoshiOrange Yoshi’s World 4 level.
41. 
    4-7 Teeth-Chattering Chill ZoneWorld 4 · level 7 · Red YoshiThe last run on Skis.
42. 
    4-8 Castle of Big Guy the StiltedWorld 4 · castle · Blue Yoshi · Boss: Big Guy the StiltedPush the giant into the lava, then ground-pound him three times; the Stilts’ last outing.
43. 
    Secret 4: Hurry and Throw!World 4 · secret · Black YoshiBlack Yoshi’s World 4 course.
44. 
    Extra 4: Let There Be Light!World 4 · extra · White YoshiWhite Yoshi’s World 4 challenge.
45. 
    RouletteWorld 4 · bonus challengeWorld 4’s bonus game.
46. 
    5-1 Rompin’, Stompin’ ChompsWorld 5 · level 1 · Green YoshiGiant stomping Chomps open the last world.
47. 
    5-2 Goonie HeightsWorld 5 · level 2 · Pink YoshiPink Yoshi’s final level.
48. 
    5-3 Spear Guys’ Village Found!World 5 · level 3 · Light Blue YoshiA Spear Guy village, with a Shy Guy hiding in a bush near the goal as in the Super NES game.
49. 
    5-4 The Fort of Moltz the Very GoonieWorld 5 · fort · Yellow Yoshi · Boss: Moltz the Very GoonieThe Rocket’s debut, and a boss bird fought in open sky with three ground pounds.
50. 
    5-5 The Cave That Never EndsWorld 5 · level 5 · Purple YoshiPurple Yoshi’s last level.
51. 
    5-6 Find the Number Ball!World 5 · level 6 · Orange YoshiOrange Yoshi’s last level.
52. 
    5-7 Superhard Acrobatics!World 5 · level 7 · Red YoshiRed Yoshi’s last level, and as tough as it sounds.
53. 
    5-8 At Last, Bowser’s Castle!World 5 · castle · Green Yoshi · Bosses: Baby Bowser, Bowser, Giant BowserSeveral routes in, a giant golden Tap-Tap, the Rocket, and three final fights.
54. 
    Secret 5: Yoshi’s Island Easter EggsWorld 5 · secret · Black YoshiBlack Yoshi’s last course.
55. 
    Extra 5: Quit it Already, Tap-Tap!World 5 · extra · White YoshiThe final challenge, with the Mole Tank and Cart one last time.
56. 
    Slot MachineWorld 5 · bonus challengeWorld 5’s bonus game.

In the final castle Green Yoshi takes the place of Blue Yoshi, who plays every other castle. Bonus challenges unlock on the map once a world totals 700 points.

If you have played the Super NES game you know how this works, and that was the point. Yoshi runs, flutter-jumps and ground-pounds his way to the goal roulette at the end of each level, gobbling enemies with his tongue and turning them into eggs to throw. If he is hit, the baby on his back floats off in a bubble and a countdown begins.

What is new is the shape of the screen. The action is played across both of the DS’s screens at once, one stacked on the other, so Yoshi can see far above or below him; menus, files and the world map sit on the touch screen and are chosen with the stylus. The game saves automatically after every level.

Eat, lay, throw: Yoshi’s moves

Yoshi’s tongue swallows most enemies whole; spit them back out as a projectile or press down to lay an egg. He can trail up to six eggs behind him, and a new one pushes the oldest off the end. Eggs come from swallowed enemies, Egg Blocks and Egg Plants, and they open Winged Clouds, knock out enemies that cannot be eaten or stomped, collect coins and trigger switches.

Not every egg behaves the same. Green eggs ricochet off walls several times; a yellow egg turns red after its first bounce and makes a coin appear when it hits an enemy, and a red one can release stars. Holding the jump button after a jump gives the flutter jump, down in mid-air is the ground pound, and Yoshi can stick his tongue straight up.

There are two control sets: throw on R or A with eat on Y and jump on B, or jump on A and eat on B. Aiming can be Hasty (hold to aim, release to throw) or Patient (press again to throw), and L locks the cursor in place.

Five babies and the Stork Stops

Every baby changes the rules. Baby Mario makes Yoshi faster, lets him dash by holding the eat button, makes M Blocks solid and can turn into invincible Superstar Mario with a Super Star. Baby Peach gives the longest, highest flutter jumps and lets Yoshi ride gusts of wind on her parasol, but his eggs no longer bounce. Baby DK slows Yoshi down and shortens his flutter, but climbs vines and chains with Yoshi in tow, makes eggs explode and smashes through enemies and walls with a charging Dash Attack.

Baby Wario’s magnet pulls in coins (even through walls), metal objects, Magnet Blocks and Magnet Platforms. Baby Bowser breathes fire that melts ice, breaks Winged Clouds and burns through dirt, but Yoshi cannot make eggs while carrying him; he can only pick them up from blocks and plants. Each baby joins in a particular level, and from then on a Stork Stop lets you swap to whichever baby the moment calls for.

The star countdown and scoring

Yoshi does not have a health bar; the baby does. Each level starts with 10 points of star power. Take a hit and the baby floats away in a bubble while the counter drops by one each second; catch the bubble before it reaches zero, or Kamek’s Toadies carry the baby off and Yoshi loses a life. Stars from clouds, crates and Middle Rings (worth ten) push the counter up to a maximum of 30. Spikes, lava, pits, crushing and the jaws of Lunge Fish and Boss Bass cost a life instantly.

At the goal, the remaining stars become points, added to the 20 Red Coins and 5 Smiley Flowers hidden in each level for a possible 100. Every flower you found adds a flower space to the goal roulette, and landing on one starts a bonus challenge. A hundred coins is an extra life.

Morph bubbles and rides

Touch a morph bubble and Yoshi becomes a machine for a while: the Helicopter (flying, in one level only), the Mole Tank (digging through narrow tunnels and crawling up walls) or the Submarine (one level, underwater). He cannot attack in these forms, and changes back at a Yoshi Block or when the timer runs out.

He also gets five rides: the Kangaroo, which bounds along on its own while you steer; Stilts, for walking safely over hazards; the Cart, which follows a track and lets Yoshi jump but not flutter; Skis, for a few snowy runs; and the Rocket, entered from huts in World 5, steered with the +Control Pad and destroyed by anything it touches.

Bonus challenges, minigames, Time Trial and the museum

The five bonus challenges (Flip Cards, Scratch and Match, Match Cards, Roulette and Slot Machine) are won from the goal roulette and can pay out extra lives; once a world’s total reaches 700 points its challenge can also be played from the map. Locked doors opened with keys lead to minigames, and five timed minigames (Tulip Shooter, Flutter Challenge, Bouncy Maze, Speed Eating and Egg Toss) reward high scores with lives. Collecting the character coins in a world, each of which needs the matching baby, unlocks harder versions.

Beat the adventure and Time Trial opens: every level against a 100-minute clock that keeps running when you pause, with a second off for each star, two for a Red Coin and ten for a flower, up to two minutes in total, so a negative time is possible. The Island Museum, opened from the map, displays every enemy you have hit with an egg, sorted into exhibits.

Items, blocks and transformations

The eggs, collectibles and gadgets of the island, with the morphs and rides Yoshi uses along the way.

• 
  Yoshi’s EggMade from swallowed enemies or Egg Blocks; up to six follow Yoshi. With Baby Mario aboard it changes colour as it bounces.
• 
  Yellow EggTurns red after its first bounce; hitting an enemy produces a coin.
• 
  Red EggThe shortest-lived egg; hitting an enemy can release stars.
• 
  CoinA hundred make an extra life.
• 
  Red CoinTwenty hidden in every level, each worth a point of the 100.
• 
  Smiley FlowerFive per level; each adds a flower space to the goal roulette.
• 
  StarOne second of safety for the baby; up to 30 at a time, counted at the goal.
• 
  Character coinCollected only with the matching baby; a full set opens harder minigames.
• 
  Super StarBaby Mario only: turns him into invincible Superstar Mario for a while.
• 
  KeyOpens a locked door, often to a minigame.
• 
  Winged CloudHit it with an egg for coins, stars, switches, paths or lives.
• 
  Middle RingThe checkpoint; adds ten stars when touched.
• 
  Stork StopCalls the stork to swap babies.
• 
  Goal rouletteThe end of every level except forts and castles; land on a flower for a bonus challenge.
• 
  M BlockSolid only when Baby Mario is aboard; holds coins or a sunflower seed.
• 
  Egg BlockSupplies eggs; yellow and red versions give a single special egg.
• 
  Magnet BlockA giant metal block only Baby Wario’s magnet can move.
• 
  Morph bubbleTouch it to become the vehicle inside.
• 
  HelicopterMorph: short flights. Only in Glide Guys Take to the Skies.
• 
  Mole TankMorph: digs through small openings and crawls up walls.
• 
  SubmarineMorph: underwater travel. Only in Island of Peril.
• 
  KangarooRide: bounds along by itself; hold a direction to steer, B to float.
• 
  StiltsRide: safe passage over dangerous ground.
• 
  CartRide: runs on rails; Yoshi can jump but not flutter.
• 
  SkisRide: one-way runs through the snow.
• 
  RocketRide: steer through narrow passages; touching anything costs a life.

Yoshi’s Island DS has had a quiet but lasting afterlife: its music in Smash, its babies on the baseball diamond and in hospital whites, and guides and adverts of its own.

Super Smash Bros. BrawlNintendo · Wii · 2008Includes “Wildlands”, an arrangement of the game’s above-ground theme, and its Yoshi’s Island stage uses graphics based on this game. Our Brawl page.

Mario Super SluggersNintendo · Wii · 2008Baby DK returns with the other babies (minus Wario and Bowser), and Wario uses his younger self’s magnet in Challenge Mode. Our Sluggers page.

Super Smash Bros. UltimateNintendo · SwitchThe spirits of Superstar Mario and Crazee Dayzee are drawn with this game’s artwork.

Dr. Mario WorldNintendo · mobileBaby Wario is a playable doctor, and his special skill is the magnet from this game.

Yoshi’s New IslandNintendo / Arzest · 3DS · 2014The next Yoshi’s Island game, set between the Super NES original and this one. Our page.

Nintendo Power Player’s GuideNintendo of AmericaThe official American strategy guide.

Prima official guidePrima GamesPrima Games’ official guide.

Print advertsNorway and JapanNintendo’s magazine adverts for the game.

Yoshi stylus setMerchandiseA Yoshi-themed stylus set.

A Yoshi in every colour, five babies on their backs, one baby to rescue, and two of every villain: the Kamek and Bowser of the present, and the ones who came back from the future.

Character	Who they are	In this game	Abilities & notes
The YoshisHeroes, eight colours and two guests	The Yoshi clan of Yoshi’s Island, who once before carried Baby Mario to his brother.	Carry the babies to Bowser’s castle in relay. Each level slot has its own colour: Green (first and final levels), Pink, Light Blue, Yellow (forts), Purple, Orange, Red and Blue (castles).	Moves: flutter jump, ground pound, tongue, eggs. Orange Yoshi takes the place of the Super NES game’s brown one.
Baby MarioThe original passenger	The future hero, dropped on Yoshi’s Island again after the stork knocks him from a Toady’s grasp.	Joins in 1-1 and rides to the end. Wants his brother back.	Faster running and a dash; eggs bounce; M Blocks; Superstar Mario with a Super Star.
Baby PeachThe floating princess	The infant princess, first seen in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, rescued in mid-air alongside Baby Mario.	Joins in 1-5, is stolen by Ukiki monkeys after the World 1 castle and won back in World 2.	Longest and highest flutter jumps; her parasol rides the wind; eggs do not bounce.
Baby DKThe jungle king (first appearance)	Donkey Kong as a baby, making his first appearance; the Toadies left him behind.	Joins in 2-1 and helps rescue Baby Peach from the monkeys.	Slower Yoshi, shorter flutter; climbs vines and chains; exploding eggs; Dash Attack.
Baby WarioThe magnet (first appearance)	Wario as a baby, also making his debut, and already fond of money.	Joins in 3-5, defects to the Bandits after the World 3 castle, and is found arguing over treasure in Bowser’s castle.	Shorter flutter; eggs bounce; a magnet that pulls coins, metal and Magnet Blocks.
Baby BowserFriend or foe?	The young Koopa king of the present day, the villain of the first adventure.	Thrown out of a window by his future self, he joins in 4-5, leaves after the World 4 castle, and fights Yoshi first in the final castle.	Fire breath that melts ice and burns dirt; Yoshi cannot make eggs while carrying him. As a boss: three egg hits.
Baby LuigiThe one to rescue	Mario’s little brother, kidnapped in the opening scene.	Held in Bowser’s castle; dodges Kamek’s Crystal Ball test by hiding. Revealed as a star child.	Not playable.
The StorkDelivery and swaps	The bird whose delivery Kamek ambushed in the first game.	Knocks Baby Mario and Baby Peach free, then follows the Yoshis, swapping babies at Stork Stops; the storks fly every baby home at the end.	Called with a Stork Stop.
KamekBowser’s magician, present and future	Bowser’s Magikoopa adviser, here in two versions: the older Kamek from the future and the younger one of the present.	Future Kamek runs the kidnappings and tries to abduct Baby Bowser; the present Kamek tries to stop him. Kamek tests the babies with a Crystal Ball, makes Bowser giant, and flees at the end.	Not fought directly.
Kamek’s ToadiesThe baby-snatchers	Kamek’s propeller-headed minions.	Steal the babies, take the baby whenever Yoshi’s star counter hits zero, and carry the beaten Bowser away.	Shown here carrying off Baby Luigi.
BowserThe king from the future	The adult Bowser, who has travelled back in time with Kamek.	Hunts the seven star children to rule the universe, throws his younger self out of a window, and is the final boss.	Phase one: Giant Eggs and three ground pounds. Then Giant Bowser: six Giant Eggs.
UkikiMonkey business	The mischievous monkeys of the jungle.	Kidnap Baby Peach after the World 1 castle.	Regular enemies too.
Black YoshiSecret levels	A Yoshi colour back from Yoshi’s Story.	Plays every secret level, from Welcome to Yoshi Tower! to Yoshi’s Island Easter Eggs.	Green Yoshi never plays the secret or extra levels.
White YoshiExtra levels	The other Yoshi colour returning from Yoshi’s Story.	Plays every extra level, from Return of the Moving Chomp Rock! to Quit it Already, Tap-Tap!	Extra levels need 800 points in a world.
Baby YoshiThe seventh star child	A newborn Yoshi.	Hatches from a Yoshi’s Egg in the final scene and is revealed as the last of the seven star children.	Appears in the ending only.

Bosses & enemies

Twelve boss fights: five mid-bosses in the forts and seven in the castles, three of them in the final battle. Most regular enemies are redrawn from the Super NES game. The full roll-call of regular enemy types, grouped as the game’s bestiary groups them: Aquatic: Blooper, Boss Bass, Cheep Cheep, Egg-enut, Flopsy Fish, Lunge Fish, Nep-Enut, Pirate Guy, Spray Fish, Toober Guy. Plants: Blow Hard, Bungee Piranha, Crazee Dayzee, Drool Hard, Eggo-Dil, Hanging Blow Hard, Nipper Dandelion, Nipper Plant, Nipper Spore, Piranha Plant, Pointey, Pokey (as a projectile), Sanbo flowers, Wild Ptooie Piranha, Windbag. Shy Guys: Dancing Spear Guy, Fat Guy, Fly Guy, Glide Guy, Petal Guy, Shy Guy, Shy Guy on Stilts, Shy Stack, Spear Guy, Woozy Guy. Underground: Bill Blaster, Blargg, Bullet Bill, Dizzy Dandy, Gargantua Blargg, Gobblin, Gooey Goon, Hot Lips, Lantern Ghost, Podoboo, Scorchit. On land: Bandit, Bumpty, Burt Brother, Crabble, Debull, Fleeper, Green Glove, Koopa Troopa, Para-Koopa, Slugger, Snap Jaw, Tap-Tap, Ukiki, Unshelled Koopa. In the air: Cloud Drop, Fang, Flightless Goonie, Goonie, Gusty, Baron von Zeppelin, Lakitu, Rocket Guy, Wall Lakitu. Haunted houses: Big Boo, Boo, Boo Guy, Flightless Skeleton Goonie, Invisighoul, Potted Ghost, Polterpiranha, Skeleton Goonie. Giants: Chomp, tall Gargantua Blargg, Incoming Chomp, Shark Chomp, Super Big Tap-Tap.

• 
  Big Burt Bros. (boss)1-4 Castle of the Big Burt Bros.Two giant Burts who jump at Yoshi; six egg hits. A double version of the first game’s Burt the Bashful.
• 
  Gilbert the Gooey (boss)1-8 Gilbert the Gooey’s CastleSprings up and down and sways; destroy every sphere on him.
• 
  Hector the Reflector (boss)2-4 Haunted HouseVisible only in the touch-screen mirror, which breaks a little with each of six hits.
• 
  Big Bungee Piranha (boss)2-8 Big Bungee Piranha’s LairLunges down to eat Yoshi; a Chomp Rock exposes its tongue for three hits. Crumbles to dust, like the first game’s Naval Piranha.
• 
  Bessie Bass (boss)3-4 Bessie Bass’s BattleshipLeaps from the water to swallow Yoshi; three hits to the lips.
• 
  Priscilla the Peckish (boss)3-8 Castle of Priscilla the PeckishPops out of holes spitting Pokeys; three hits.
• 
  Six-Face Sal (boss)4-4 Six-Face Sal’s FortSpits Pokeys; four hits.
• 
  Big Guy the Stilted (boss)4-8 Castle of Big Guy the StiltedTries to push Yoshi into the lava; push him in instead, then three ground pounds.
• 
  Moltz the Very Goonie (boss)5-4 The Fort of Moltz the Very GoonieTries to land on Yoshi in the open sky; three ground pounds.
• 
  Baby Bowser (boss)5-8 At Last, Bowser’s Castle!Ground-pounds the floor to make shockwaves; three egg hits.
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  Bowser (boss)5-8 At Last, Bowser’s Castle!Leaps about breathing fire; Giant Eggs and three ground pounds.
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  Giant Bowser (boss)5-8 At Last, Bowser’s Castle!Kamek’s magic makes him huge; four Yoshis need six Giant Eggs to finish him.
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  Shy GuyShy GuysThe basic enemy, in red, green, yellow and blue.
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  Shy Guy on StiltsShy GuysShy Guys on stilts, in four colours; World 4’s boss is a giant stilt-walker.
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  Glide GuyShy GuysAirborne Shy Guys; a whole level is named after them.
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  Spear GuyShy GuysSpear-carrying Shy Guys with a village of their own in World 5.
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  Pirate GuyAquaticThey can pile up into towers.
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  Lunge FishAquaticBeing swallowed by one costs a life at once.
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  Boss BassAquaticThe other fish whose bite is instant death.
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  Crazee DayzeePlantsFlowers in yellow and white; later a Smash Ultimate spirit.
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  Bungee PiranhaPlantsThe small cousins of World 2’s boss.
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  Nipper PlantPlantsSmall biting plants that also turn up in the Big Bungee Piranha fight.
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  Burt BrotherOn landThe bouncing creatures behind the first mid-boss.
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  Tap-TapOn landGrey and orange varieties; a giant golden one chases Yoshi in the final castle.
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  BanditOn landThieves, and the gang Baby Wario briefly joins.
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  UkikiOn landMonkeys; a troop of them kidnaps Baby Peach.
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  GoonieIn the airBirds that give their names to The Goonie Coast Isn’t Clear! and Goonie Heights.
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  Skeleton GoonieHaunted housesA flock guards the approach to Bowser’s castle, as in the first game.
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  Baron von ZeppelinIn the airComes carrying either a bomb or a Pokey.
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  Potted GhostHaunted housesA regular enemy based on the first game’s boss, Roger the Potted Ghost.
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  InvisighoulHaunted housesGhosts disguised as a chair, a flower pot or a table.
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  ChompGiantsHuge stomping Chomps, the stars of 5-1.
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  Gargantua BlarggUndergroundLurks in Gilbert the Gooey’s castle.
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  Shark ChompGiantsOne of the giant enemies.

Key staff

Artoon developed the game for Nintendo; the credits combine both companies.

There is no Iwata Asks for this one and few interviews, but the credits, the trade-show build and the finished cartridge tell a good part of the story.

A sequel from outside Nintendo

Nintendo handed its follow-up to Artoon, a studio founded by Naoto Ohshima, best known as one of the creators of Sonic the Hedgehog. Artoon had already made one Yoshi game, Yoshi Topsy-Turvy for the Game Boy Advance, which strayed a long way from the classic formula. This time Artoon stayed close to the original concept.

Hidetoshi Takeshita directed and Toyokazu Nonaka produced, with Ohshima and Takashi Tezuka, one of the directors of the 1995 game, as senior producers and Satoru Iwata as executive producer. Nintendo’s Hisashi Nogami and Yasuhisa Yamamura are credited as supervisors, and Koji Kondo and Kazumi Totaka supervised the sound.

Yoshi’s Island 2 at E3 2006

Nintendo unveiled the game at its E3 press conference in May 2006 as Yoshi’s Island 2, with four babies announced: Mario, Peach, Donkey Kong and Wario. Baby Bowser was not mentioned. In the show demo, enemies could only be defeated by stomping on them with Baby Mario aboard, and Baby Peach’s cry sounded different.

The early box art carried a Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection logo, suggesting online features that were later dropped, and the name changed to Yoshi’s Island DS only a month before the North American release. Early screenshots show other differences, from a Purple Yoshi in Gilbert the Gooey’s castle to a Big Guy the Stilted who seems to have been a creature of flesh rather than patched-up machinery.

Borrowing from Touch & Go

The look updates the original’s pastel, hand-coloured style using the graphics of Yoshi Touch & Go (2005). Many sprites, including Yoshi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi and Kamek, were redrawn from that game, and some of its artwork was reused, the Baby Mario and Yoshi on the box among it. Bowser looks as though he was traced over his pre-rendered sprites from Yoshi Topsy-Turvy. Most of the regular enemies are updated versions of the Super NES sprites.

The music, by Yutaka Minobe and CHAMY.Ishi, echoes the original: the opening of the first level’s theme is the same as the first course of the Super NES game.

Left in the code

The cartridge holds a few things that never made it. There are character coins for Baby Wario and Baby Bowser, drawn but never animated or used. At least two title screens were scrapped, two of them still bearing the Yoshi’s Island 2 logo; the most complete appears if the game is made to load a level that does not exist, just before it crashes. The finished title screen is the only one that moves.

Three firsts that can be pinned down.

There are no button codes, but there is plenty to unlock.

Secret levels

Clear all eight levels of a world and its secret level opens on the map, played by Black Yoshi.

Extra levels

Score 800 points across a world (a perfect 100 on every level: all 20 Red Coins, all 5 flowers and 30 stars at the goal) to open its extra level for White Yoshi.

Bonus challenges on demand

Once a world reaches 700 points, its bonus challenge can be played from the map instead of only through the goal roulette.

Character coins

Each needs the right baby on Yoshi’s back. Collecting them all in a world unlocks harder versions of the minigames.

Time Trial

Beat the game to open it. Collect everything on the way: every star, Red Coin and flower takes time off, up to two minutes per level.

Juggling Baby Bowser

Yoshi cannot lay eggs while carrying Baby Bowser, so stock up at Egg Blocks and Egg Plants, or rely on his fire breath.

Erase everything

Hold A, B, X, Y, L and R together while the game starts up to erase all save files. There is no undo.

No famous glitches, but a crash with a secret behind it and a couple of things the packaging got wrong.

The crash with a hidden title screen

Forcing the game to load a level that does not exist crashes it, and on the way down it shows the most complete of the scrapped title screens.

The box that mixes up the babies

The cover shows Baby Bowser on Yellow Yoshi and Baby Wario on Light Blue Yoshi, pairings the levels never make: those two babies are carried only in the last four levels of a world, while those Yoshis play the first four. The one exception is the final battle, where Baby Wario does ride Light Blue Yoshi.

The booklet that undercounts

According to the instruction booklet, Baby DK alone among the babies has more than one special ability. Baby Mario has three.

The gap between the screens

Not a bug but the game’s most discussed flaw: the strip hidden by the gap between the DS screens can swallow enemies, projectiles and items, and Eurogamer felt some levels exploited it.

Nintendo’s own trailers from 2006 are not on an official channel, so here are two fan-preserved recordings from E3 2006, when the game was still called Yoshi’s Island 2: the trailer, and footage from Nintendo’s show presentation.

• The game was announced as Yoshi’s Island 2 and renamed only about a month before its North American release. In Japan it is Yoshi Island DS, and it arrived there almost four months after America.

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  The final castle is played by Green Yoshi, not the Blue Yoshi who handles every other castle, and like the Super NES finale it starts outside the walls, past a flock of Skeleton Goonies, with an aircraft-themed power to get in and a choice of routes, one of them a chase by a giant golden Tap-Tap.
• The bosses mirror the first game’s: a doubled Burt the Bashful, a ghost that changes size, an aquatic boss that tries to eat Yoshi, a slime boss you can eat pieces of, a Piranha Plant that crumbles to dust, a bird fought in the open sky and a final giant Bowser beaten with Giant Eggs.
• A regular enemy, the Potted Ghost, is based on a one-off boss from the Super NES game, Roger the Potted Ghost.
• In Spear Guys’ Village Found!, a Shy Guy hides in a bush just before the goal, exactly as one does in the Super NES level Watch Out For Lakitu.
• Black and White Yoshi, who play the secret and extra levels, are colours brought back from Yoshi’s Story, and Orange Yoshi stands in for the original’s brown one.
• DK’s Tree House appears just as it does in Donkey Kong Country.
• The M Blocks come from Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, which is also where Baby Peach first appeared.
• Every world has a secret level, a structure borrowed from the Game Boy Advance version of the first game.

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  The game’s graphics outlived it: the Yoshi’s Island stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl is drawn in its style, and Crazee Dayzee’s Smash Ultimate spirit uses its artwork.
• Data for unused Baby Wario and Baby Bowser character coins is still on the cartridge.
• Studio staff from Artoon later founded Arzest, the developer of Yoshi’s New Island.

The cover pairs Yoshis and babies in ways the game never does (see Glitches & Oddities), and early covers carried a Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection logo for online features that were later dropped.

More from the island, and from the ending.

Official artwork, logos and adverts. Select any image to view it larger.

One re-release, one sequel by a related studio and a handful of babies who went on to bigger things.

Releases and re-releases

• E3 2006 May 2006Revealed at Nintendo’s press conference as Yoshi’s Island 2.
• Nintendo DS 13 November 2006North America.
• Nintendo DS November 2006Australia (sources give 17 and 23 November).
• Nintendo DS 1 December 2006Europe.
• Nintendo DS 8 March 2007Japan, as Yoshi Island DS, and Taiwan.
• Nintendo DS 8 November 2007South Korea.
• Wii U Virtual Console 1 April 2015North America; Japan followed on 8 April.
• Wii U Virtual Console 7 May 2015Europe and Australia. Single player only.
• Wii U eShop 27 March 2023Sales end with the closure of the Wii U eShop.

The Yoshi’s Island line after DS

The next game in the line came eight years later on 3DS. Yoshi’s New Island (2014) was developed by Arzest, a studio set up by former Artoon staff, and slots into the story between the Super NES game and this one.

Babies with careers

Baby DK, who made his debut here, joined the other babies on the field in Mario Super Sluggers, where Wario also borrows his own baby self’s magnet. Baby Wario turned up as a doctor in Dr. Mario World with the magnet as his skill, and the game’s music and art reached Brawl and Ultimate.

Sales figures

Japan bought it fast: just over 300,000 copies in its first week in March 2007, according to chart figures reported by N-Europe at the time. By the end of Nintendo’s financial year on 31 March 2008 it was in the company’s million-seller table with 2.91 million copies worldwide, 1.04 million of them sold in that year alone (about 480,000 in Japan and 550,000 elsewhere).

We found no later figure from Nintendo, so 2.91 million is the most recent official number.

• 2.91mworldwide, Nintendo, to 31 March 2008
• 1.04msold in the year to March 2008
• 300,000+first week in Japan
• 81Metacritic
• 81.15%GameRankings

Reception and review scores

Metacritic averages 81 and GameRankings 81.15 per cent. The scores below come from published review round-ups; Nintendo Life’s was checked against the review itself.

Most critics welcomed it as a faithful, handsome sequel. GameSpot’s Frank Provo felt it managed to seem fresh while staying every bit as good as the original, and gave it an Editor’s Choice; IGN’s Craig Harris called it a solid recreation of the Yoshi’s Island formula in a two-screen-high format, liked the extra babies and the taller view, and several reviewers called it the best Yoshi game on a handheld.

The complaints were consistent. It was too close to the Super NES game, so veterans would see its surprises coming (Harris, Tom East of the Official Nintendo Magazine and Eurogamer’s Tom Bramwell all said so). The gap between the screens hid attacks, which GameSpy called a pain and Bramwell thought the designers exploited. Harris thought Baby Wario felt like a last-minute addition that had not been properly tested, and Nintendo World Report warned that 100 per cent completion was harder than The Lost Levels. Reviewing it in 2009, Nintendo Life’s Kaes Delgrego found it an enjoyable platformer on its own terms but no match for the original, with baby-swap sections that seemed to exist mainly to justify the extra babies.

Honours

Yoshi’s Island DS has yet to receive a community review on Super Luigi Bros.

If you’ve played Yoshi’s Island DS and would like to submit a review, please get in touch.

Every fact on this page was checked against the 12 sources listed here.