RSS
Our favorite dinosaur makes a return trip on the Game Boy Advance with a new spin on platform gaming.
July 11, 2005 | 11:54 PM PSTby: Stephen Smith
Here we are again with another game using a tilt sensor from Nintendo. This time around starring Mario’s favorite dinosaur-dog pal, Yoshi. Unlike Wario Ware: Twisted!, Yoshi: Topsy Turvy tries to incorporate a more balanced game design by incorporating platforming. Does it work? Read on to find out.
The background story revolves around Bowser making a powerful spirit very angry. So the spirit traps Bowser in a pop-up book, but since he was visiting Yoshi’s Island at the time, it too got trapped inside the book. Realizing this, other spirits came to Yoshi and explained that if he were to capture Bowser then he, and his island would be set free.
Yoshi: Topsy Turvy is basically a side scroller, but the tilt sensor is what really makes things interesting. Simply tilting the Game Boy Advance causes the actual game world to tilt in that direction. You can tell which direction the game is tilting by Yoshi’s stance, he will lean in the opposite direction of the tilt. Consequently, if he is not leaning, then the game world is perfectly level.
This tilt feature opens up a variety of new game play mechanics. Yoshi can now run up walls, jump large distances, unroll carpets, and even move boulders -- all thanks to the motion sensor in the cartridge. Levels in Yoshi: Topsy Turvy are separated into three or more smaller stages, complete with a starting and stopping point. The goal is not to simply make it to the finish line because that would be far too easy. Levels have a mission goal that must be met. Once this goal is obtained you will receive a medal for that particular level. Mission goals can vary from collecting coins, to even leaving a certain number of enemies unharmed.
Not surprisingly, these goals are what makes Yoshi: Topsy Turvy feel like a puzzle game. Since the levels themselves don’t present any real challenge, they function simply to guide your progression. Reasons for this may lie in the fact that when presented with a difficult level, the game becomes tedious at best. Not to spoil anything for would-be-players of this game, but my first encounter with a boss was so frustrating that I quit playing Yoshi: Topsy Turvy for a while.
Yoshi: Topsy Turvy isn’t a terribly long adventure. I completed 80% of the actual game in the first day I received my review copy. The first couple worlds didn’t present much of a challenge, but for me this just made the experience more enjoyable. I can never really fault a game with a easy difficulty curve, unless it rewards stupidity.
The tilt control is wonderfully sound providing an analog control of the overall environment. Even calibrating the tilt sensor is remarkable easy, and the settings are saved to the cart. The game also supports all versions of the Game Boy Advance, as well the Nintendo DS.
Adding a little to the mixture is an assortment of mini games. After each level, Yoshi spins a wheel to get a chance to play one of three mini games. One of these games has Yoshi’s head bouncing back and forth in an arcane form of Pong. You simply tilt the Game Boy Advance to guide his head towards destructible barriers, and enemies. The other two games have you protecting ground-based structures from an aerial assault (a.k.a. Missile Command) by again tilting the Game Boy Advance.
Yoshi can also perform transformations in Topsy Turvy. But unlike Yoshi’s Island, these are automatic transformations, and they only occur for specific stages. Transformations can vary from a hot air balloon to a sailboat. Regardless of what Yoshi turns into, he is controlled only with the tilt sensor. These levels are fun, but they are far to simple to add anything substantial to the overall game. This approach feels like they just tried to add some much needed variety to the mix.
Closing Comments
While Wario Ware: Twisted! is polished, and amazingly original, Yoshi: Topsy Turvy, unfortunately didn’t fare as well. I feel that this has more to do with the control drawbacks, and less about a design flaw. Combining platform manipulation and a tilt sensor works, but can become very frustrating when the game starts to become more difficult. Trying to balance out the gameplay while keeping the experience entertaining really proved difficult with this title. Especially when you factor in the unusual control scheme. Yoshi: Topsy Turvy is at its core a good game, but it could have benefited from being a little more balanced, and a tad less tipsy.
The background story revolves around Bowser making a powerful spirit very angry. So the spirit traps Bowser in a pop-up book, but since he was visiting Yoshi’s Island at the time, it too got trapped inside the book. Realizing this, other spirits came to Yoshi and explained that if he were to capture Bowser then he, and his island would be set free.
Yoshi: Topsy Turvy is basically a side scroller, but the tilt sensor is what really makes things interesting. Simply tilting the Game Boy Advance causes the actual game world to tilt in that direction. You can tell which direction the game is tilting by Yoshi’s stance, he will lean in the opposite direction of the tilt. Consequently, if he is not leaning, then the game world is perfectly level.
This tilt feature opens up a variety of new game play mechanics. Yoshi can now run up walls, jump large distances, unroll carpets, and even move boulders -- all thanks to the motion sensor in the cartridge. Levels in Yoshi: Topsy Turvy are separated into three or more smaller stages, complete with a starting and stopping point. The goal is not to simply make it to the finish line because that would be far too easy. Levels have a mission goal that must be met. Once this goal is obtained you will receive a medal for that particular level. Mission goals can vary from collecting coins, to even leaving a certain number of enemies unharmed.
Not surprisingly, these goals are what makes Yoshi: Topsy Turvy feel like a puzzle game. Since the levels themselves don’t present any real challenge, they function simply to guide your progression. Reasons for this may lie in the fact that when presented with a difficult level, the game becomes tedious at best. Not to spoil anything for would-be-players of this game, but my first encounter with a boss was so frustrating that I quit playing Yoshi: Topsy Turvy for a while.
Yoshi: Topsy Turvy isn’t a terribly long adventure. I completed 80% of the actual game in the first day I received my review copy. The first couple worlds didn’t present much of a challenge, but for me this just made the experience more enjoyable. I can never really fault a game with a easy difficulty curve, unless it rewards stupidity.
The tilt control is wonderfully sound providing an analog control of the overall environment. Even calibrating the tilt sensor is remarkable easy, and the settings are saved to the cart. The game also supports all versions of the Game Boy Advance, as well the Nintendo DS.
Adding a little to the mixture is an assortment of mini games. After each level, Yoshi spins a wheel to get a chance to play one of three mini games. One of these games has Yoshi’s head bouncing back and forth in an arcane form of Pong. You simply tilt the Game Boy Advance to guide his head towards destructible barriers, and enemies. The other two games have you protecting ground-based structures from an aerial assault (a.k.a. Missile Command) by again tilting the Game Boy Advance.
Yoshi can also perform transformations in Topsy Turvy. But unlike Yoshi’s Island, these are automatic transformations, and they only occur for specific stages. Transformations can vary from a hot air balloon to a sailboat. Regardless of what Yoshi turns into, he is controlled only with the tilt sensor. These levels are fun, but they are far to simple to add anything substantial to the overall game. This approach feels like they just tried to add some much needed variety to the mix.
Closing Comments
While Wario Ware: Twisted! is polished, and amazingly original, Yoshi: Topsy Turvy, unfortunately didn’t fare as well. I feel that this has more to do with the control drawbacks, and less about a design flaw. Combining platform manipulation and a tilt sensor works, but can become very frustrating when the game starts to become more difficult. Trying to balance out the gameplay while keeping the experience entertaining really proved difficult with this title. Especially when you factor in the unusual control scheme. Yoshi: Topsy Turvy is at its core a good game, but it could have benefited from being a little more balanced, and a tad less tipsy.
February 8, 2010
