Every Yoshi Game Ranked

In 1992 Nintendo released a follow up to the NES Zapper Gun with the Super Scope and one of the games to make use of the peripheral was Yoshi’s Safari. In Yoshi’s Safari we technically don’t play as Yoshi but as Mario riding Yoshi. With the Super Scope, players make their way through 12 unique levels set in Jewelry Land. The story doesn’t stray far from classic Mario games; Bowser kidnaps King Fret and Prince Pine and it’s up to the duo to save them. While Yoshi’s Safari may not be the first game that comes to mind when we think of Yoshi games, it was early on in Yoshi’s career of starring in his own games.

The first game starring the adorable green dinosaur, Yoshi was released on both the NES and Gameboy and is a falling block puzzle game. Each piece represents an iconic Mario baddy. Simply swap rows of the baddies to create matches. Similar to other puzzle games like Tetris, you can’t let your rows get too high or you'll lose. Yoshi shells will fall and can be used to take out a whole row of enemies and when the eggs are connected a Yoshi will hatch. The higher your score the faster baddies will fall and the game can become quite difficult.

Released on NES, Gameboy and SNES, with the SNES version having one more gameplay mode, Yoshi’s Cookie is another puzzle game, but instead of falling blocks it’s a tile matching game. All versions have an action mode which has the player complete levels which get harder as you progress and a versus mode that lets players go head to head. The SNES version has an additional verses mode that would let you go head to head with a computer player and Puzzle mode with predefined puzzles that players must clear with a set number of moves.

Yoshi Island is under attack by Boswer and he turns all the Egglings into apples. Yoshi Topsy-Turvy has very unique gameplay with the use of gyroscopic controls with the gyros built into the cartridge. While you can control Yoshi with traditional controls, (move Yoshi around with the d-pad, A is jump, and B is to use your tongue), the gyro controls let you tilt the world, which is handy when it comes to moving boulders or the Shy Guy Ships throughout the levels. If you find the game a little too easy, you could always try hard mode, which is playing it on the GBA Player on GameCube.

New Island had the potential to be a top tier Yoshi game, but the controls knocked it down a peg. New Island takes place directly after the events of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island so that means Baby Mario is back. At first New Island will feel great as the game plays similar to the first Yohis’s Island, but when vehicles are introduced, that's where the controls fall short. There is something that felt a little off when moving the 3DS around while controlling a hot air balloon or submarine. Not only does it feel weird it also interferes with the 3D aspect of the game since the 3DS’s 3D worked only when playing still and not moving the console.

How can you make a Yoshi game that heavily relies on touch controls? Yoshi Touch & Go does just that and does it well. Yoshi is constantly on the move, in fact we don’t control him at all. Our main goal is to help Yoshi cross hazards by drawing clouds which can open up new paths. If we draw a circle around an enemy we’ll trap them in a bubble. The top screen has other enemies that can be taken down by throwing eggs at them. Touch & Go is a great example of how gimmicks can help create something fun and came at the peak hype for the DS.

The Yoshis are living a happy life on Yoshi’s Island and Baby Boswer is quite jealous. Baby Boswer steals their Super Happy Tree and traps the island in a book. Six Yoshis venture off to retrieve the Super Happy Tree and bring joy back to Yoshi’s Island. Yoshi’s Story plays like a traditional platformer moving left and right to find 30 fruits placed throughout each level. Each Yoshi has specific fruits that they prefer; if you’re the yellow Yoshi, you’ll prefer bananas, if you’re the red Yoshi you’ll prefer apples, which will give you more health and more points. And somehow Yoshi’s Story has both one of the best and one of the most annoying theme songs in video games!

A spiritual successor to Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Yoshi’s Wooly World follows the same formula. Have a cute Nintendo character and make them even cuter by turning them into yarn versions of themselves. Another traditional platformer full of charm. Everything in the world is created with yarn or wool which for some reason has the already cute world of Yoshi games and cranks it up to 100. Woolly World, while easy, is still a great game to at least play through once, mainly due to the detail in all the characters. Woolly World also has pretty cool Amiibo support. Each Amiibo will unlock other versions of Yoshi.

Why are so many Yoshi games so cute? Crafted World continues that trait by having the whole world created with crafting supplies. Just like Woolly World, Crafted World is a bit on the easier side. Most enemies won’t attack you and if you fall in a hole the game picks you right back up. Crafted World is full of replayability as well, each world having the classic flowers to find, red coins that are actually well hidden, and scavenger hunt style missions. Crafted World is a beautiful game and it’s super cute seeing how everything is made with simple craft supplies. This is a great game to play if you have a younger gamer with you.

Yohi’s Island DS takes everything from the original Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island game and doubles down on it. The game is a classic platformer and although it’s on the DS, it doesn’t use the touch screen for moment to moment gameplay. The touch screen can be used for navigating menus and mini games, but when you’re playing the main story they’re nowhere to be found, which is a good thing since gimmicks can ruin some games. If you weren’t a fan of Mario’s cry in the original game, be warned there are even more crying babies in this game with the addition of Baby Peach, Baby Donkey Kong, and Baby Wario who probably has a smelly diaper. Each baby will change up the gameplay. Baby Wario has a magnet which attracts anything made of metal, Baby Donkey Kong can push heavy objects, and Baby Peach can use her umbrella.

One of the best Super Mario games, let alone the best Yoshi game, Yoshi’s Island set the groundwork of what a Yoshi game should be. Yoshi’s Island is essentially a 2D collectathon with each level having many hidden collectables. Each level has 30 stars, 20 red coins, and 5 flowers. If you’re able to collect all items in a level you would unlock bonus challenges and extra levels. Yoshi must take Baby Mario to defeat Boswer and rescue both Baby Luigi and the stork that will deliver the babies to their parents. Yoshi’s Island has diverse levels with each world having classic world tropes like ice levels, fire levels, jungle levels, etc. It’s easy to see why it has become fans' favorite Yoshi game, even with Baby Mario crying all the time.