Who doesn't plumb?

You might say that we trusted Nintendo--to bring us the next marvel of console gaming, at least. Granted the Super Nintendo Entertainment System's processor was an upgraded cousin of the Nintendo Entertainment System’s CPU, the adoption of co-processors introduced games to a new world of possibilities. Pretty smooth marketing, if you ask me. Well, Commadore had figured that out with the Amiga, so how does it work out for our Bros who never plumb but (almost) always stomp?

History says "real darn good" but let's examine the what and the why of it all. To begin with, everything is more colourful. The opening doesn't start with the visuals, though, treating us to a bright and cheery musical theme of sampled audio possibilities before circle transitioning to a small Mario doing things we've never seen him do before.

Holding things not over his head! It sounds ridiculous when I write it like that, but the fact is he's not taking year and half to yank something out of the ground. You'll discover just how easy the mechanic is shortly, but that's not all they've got up their sleeves. He jumps on a Koopa and then kicks the shell at a block from which an egg spawns, hatching into Yoshi! Mario jumps on his back and by that point you've probably slammed your thumb onto the Start button.

I mean, I know I did. This, naturally, pops up a save selection list of three items giving you a level completed count if there is one. Nintendo is signaling that there's more than 32 levels to consider in this brand spanking new adventure.

Next, you hit start again and then choose 1 or 2 players. If you're starting from scratch you're given a paragraph long introduction to the story and then dropped on the world map. If not, you appear where ever you left off. Let's assume you're starting fresh. I don't know about you, but I skipped the little house, not knowing it was interactable, and went right off to the little yellow bead to the right.

There's so much to do, where do you even start? Well, you run. We're running and jumping on enemies, but there isn't a lot of brick smashing at first. You don't have to run, but if you don't it's going to take a good long time to get to Bowser's castle in World 8. You'll get used to Mario and Luigi's momentum easily, though Luigi's jump is exactly like his brother's, on the SNES.

The first thing you're likely to notice is just how personality laden everything is. Even the towering grassy mountains in the background are gazing at you in expectation. Another point that will catch your attention is the variety of the platforming. Diagonal hills rise up and encourage you to run and leap heedless into trouble. Oh wait, that's the one I usually do later when I have to unlock the Yellow Brick Palace.

See what I mean about wondering where to start? The overworld map has returned from Super Mario Bro 3, but each level is nested in a more detailed region of the world, increasing your travel distance, somewhat, while affording the developers to flex the SNES' new technical muscle. Speaking of muscle, Mario isn't the only one with new tricks.

Koopas, those turtle-lookin' enemies, pop out of their shells when stomped. They're a minor threat, but can throw you for a loop when they creep over to you and bite you in the butt, or jump back into their shells and give you chase. Beware that coloured shells might give them invincibility, so hope for a ledge they can't reach, when that happens.

Quite a few enemies break the mould with new behaviours, so be wary of just-stomped foes who may change their tactics once offended. For instance, Chargin' Chuck, the football gear wearin' fella, has a few means of attack that include a football, baseball, and his namesake when his first attack is thwarted. Not all foes have learned from previous (ancestral?) experience, because some of the new behaviours come in the form of environmental differences.

The first boss fight you encounter takes place on a small rocky platform wherein you must dodge the Koopaling's spinning shell attack. It's not much to reckon with, but does reinforce the concept of environmental threats alongside enemy opposition. From there the second world opens up many times the size of Yoshi's home island.

While you're booting about the larger, more difficult levels, you might notice something when you fall into the vast, empty pits below the narrow, moving platforms. Yellow dotted outlines of bricks. Remember that Yellow Brick Palace I mentioned? It's just beyond the level I used to skip, at the top of the left side of the house I never knew I could visit.

Putting the two together will afford you new traversal paths throughout the entire game. For example, that ignoble house informs you that the Yoshis have been captured as well and stuffed into blocks. Rescuing them means extra help and access to the abilities you saw demonstrated on the title screen. I don't think Yoshi has ever been so solidly useful in any mainline Mario title, since.

As you explore you'll learn that most levels have two exits, particularly the "level beads" on the map coloured a particular way. Add to that other secrets--not so secret now--like the Star World and its habit of connecting the different worlds together and granting you access to Yoshis with special powers. That level counter at the title screen is an indicator of your progress. You'll know you've unlocked everything when you see a certain change, and in the tradition of Super Mario Bros, you can unlock new sprite art as well.

Gee whizz, what doesn't this game do? Saves your progress; gives you hours upon hours of exploration and secrets; new powers to play with and even new moves with which to tackle your colourful new foes. Nintendo's tradition of improving on old staples, like water levels, holds true here, because for some reason Yoshi doesn't dissolve in water. They hadn't figured out how to do that yet.

Until they do, you can take a Yoshi almost anywhere, except castles and fortresses, for some reason, but that's not a big loss. He'll rejoin you as soon as the level is over. He also can walk on things that Mario and Luigi can't reasonably be expected to. What a useful ally! Shame about that whole whacking on the head business.

Oh, did I mention that Yoshi can also fly? Crimney! What can't he do? Latch his tongue onto the right colour shell (or grab the right powerup) and Yoshi will fly until he spits out the shell. Then there's his ability to spit out fire if he snags a red shell, or shake the ground with a yellow one...like, wow. No wonder he's on the box cover!

Don't take my enthusiasm as sarcasm. This is truly Yoshi's first and best outing. I don't think that any game has served our favourite dinosaur as well as SMW. No yelling babies, no dissolving in water, no crazy-as-a-punchbowl story that no one can understand...well, there's still hope for future titles. Clearly the director of this game new what he was about. What was his name again?

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