Yoshi's Story

In stores now, the Japanese version of Yoshi's Story has made its way into the VGS offices. Players choose from six Yoshis, then begin exploration in this 2D/3D, sidescrolling world of epic proportions. Levels are a bizarre hybrid of Tim Burtonesque aesthetics and Barney colors and made even more bizarre because the hybrid works and works well. In fact, the game's style is probably its greatest strength: It's bright, colorful, and fun enough to appeal to a Sesame Street audience, and so highly and sophisticated stylized that older, jaded gamers will also be wowed.

Players complete levels when the requisite number of pieces of fruit (grapes, bananas, apples) have been sucked in by Yoshi's long tongue and absorbed by his tummy. (Chili peppers hurt.) The lifebar is represented by a flower whose petals fall one by one, and when the final petal falls and the flower crumples and turns blue, the player is returned to a screen with the remaining five Yoshis - five more chances. Eggs materialize both when Yoshi eats an enemy and also when he repeatedly hits a soft white box speckled with green cow-like spots. Eggs follow the player around and are used both to combat bigger enemies and burst bubbles containing fruit. Yoshi retains the midair flight acrobatics - with grunts that sound awfully like a small child working to fill his diapers, Yoshi can propel himself upward through the air. Control is tight, a necessary feature when there are perilous jumps to be made.

The music ranges from interesting to annoying, with silly songs at the end of each level that beg for that ridiculous white dot to bounce along and lead you through the words - the electronic chirping of tiny voices in song is almost enough to do you in.