 Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 for GBA 7 of 9 people found this review helpful.
I was a bit skeptical at first; in my opinion, Super Mario World was the best of the Mario games, and the idea of a sequel where Mario wasn't the main character seemed like it just wouldn't work. But after only a few minutes at an "Old School Game Week" at my college, my roommate and I thought it would be worth buying. We picked up the GBA release only because it was cheaper than the SNES original.
I have had so much fun playing this game. Each level is so much fun--figuring out where all the Red Coins, Flowers, and Stars are makes the game one of very, very few with instant replay value. I decided to play through one time with my goal being to just make it to the end of each level, and then start at the beginning again and try to get a perfect score on each level. Also, controlling Yoshi is fun. The Flutter Jump, making enemies into eggs, and using a various array of watermelons as ammo are all very fun and important parts of this game. I thought the use of the targeting system to control the direction of an egg was awesome and very fun--much better than when Mario throws fire and can only throw a "bouncy ball" in Super Mario Bros. or Super Mario World. All the castles are great as well. From the first battle to the last, each boss has a trick that, if figured out, helps you defeat them. Much better than a simple cut 'n' slash, button mash fest.
This is an excellent game. While others may have more popularity, this game has substance, replayability, and excellent design--all adding up to make it my new favorite Mario game, and one of the best games I have ever played.
Review ID: 10000000002226294  Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our guidelines, it will be posted within 24 hours. You cannot vote on the helpfulness of a review you wrote. Your request cannot be processed at this time. Please try again later.  BEST MARIO GAME ON GBA Review created: 09/20/07(updated 09/20/07) 5 of 7 people found this review helpful.
The story starts with a stork carrying two babies, when one of them is stolen mid-flight by Kamek, an evil magikoopa. The other baby, which turns out to be Mario, falls unnoticed to Yoshi's Island below. Mario lands on an unsuspecting Yoshi while he is out for a stroll and the game takes over from there. For this outing, players take control of Yoshi who is carrying Baby Mario while trying to find Baby Luigi and get them both to their parents.
Gameplay:
Mario's platform games have always had great gameplay and control. This is one case where the GBA really comes through and improves upon an already great control. Despite having fewer buttons than an SNES controller, the streamlined feel on the GBA works a lot better than the original and the D-pad feel is superior to the original.
On this outing the object is not only to get through each level, but also to collect all of the hidden red coins, flowers, and stars in each level to unlock bonus levels. At his disposal Yoshi is able to jump on enemies in the traditional sense and also has the ability to toss eggs, stomp out enemies, and do some floating to get across large gaps. Yoshi is essentially invincible other than traditional spikes, lava, water, or falling off the map. To Yoshi's apparent toughness, anytime Yoshi takes a hit Baby Mario is un-seated from his back and starts to float away in a bubble with a really annoying cry. In order to not loose a life Yoshi needs to get him back before the timer runs down and Mario gets snatched by Kamek's minions. This new twist on the traditional 2D platforming proves there is still life left in the genre.
I had no complaints with the top-notch control or the gameplay for this title. This is an improvement on what was already one of the best around. Other developers should take note.
Lasting Appeal:
The game consists of 6 worlds that containing 8 stages with 2 of those each containing a boss fight of some kind. Included are the original bonus stages as well as an additional bonus stage for each world exclusive to this GBA version as a bonus for reaching 100% collection rate on each stage. This game will have you replaying levels over and over trying to find all the secrets and get everything unlocked.
Final Words:
If you have never played this game before then there is no reason you shouldn't own this title, so go, now, and get it. Even if you have played through the original there is still a lot of fun to be had here and some new things to discover. Games like this justify ports and make you forget the countless mediocre games out there.
BEST MARIO GAME ON GBA
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