Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

Yoshi's Island goes back in time to recount the touching story of the various Yoshis' attempts to unite Baby Mario with his parents. You don't actually control the Italian plumber-to-be but instead his dinosaur pal, who has the curious ability to eat his enemies and then immediately turn them into eggs, which he can then fling at more enemies.

Since Yoshi isn't particularly fast and can float in midair for a few seconds after making a jump, the whole dynamics of the normal Mario gameplay have changed, but the same incredible attention to detail and endless imagination that mark all of Nintendo's best efforts are still here in full effect. In fact they're joined this time, after the rather plain-looking prequel, by some wonderful pastel-shaded graphics that were jaw-dropping when the game was originally released in 1995 and still manage to impress now.

As with the other Super Mario Advance titles, this game also contains a four-player version of the original Mario Bros. arcade game, making it even more of a bargain than it already was. --David Jenkins, Amazon.co.uk

Product Description
Yoshi's Island: Super Mario 3 puts you in control of Yoshi for his wildest new adventure! You can even connect with three friends in a multi-player game of Mario Bros.

Hours (and I mean hours) later, I ran down two sets of rechargeable NiMH batteries on my GBA and looked up at the clock to see it was 2am (lol) and I had been playing it for 5+ hours straight. Be warned this game is very difficult to put down, I have occasionally missed my train stop and had to catch another one going the opposite direction.

Now that, by definition, are the qualifications for a great game. Get it, you won't regret it.


Another great SNES game brought to Game Boy Advance   November 29, 2002
ffootballguru27
22 out of 22 found this review helpful

I have been a proud owner of a Super Nintendo for over 10 years now. The first game I ever got was Super Mario World and played it hours on end day after day. Then last year my friend gave me Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island for my SNES. I found myself playing through the night. Now thankfully this game has been ported from the Super Nintendo to the Game Boy Advance. Ever since the original Mario game on the NES, the Mario games seem to keep getting better and better.

In Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island you are Yoshi and you go through the levels with Baby Mario sitting on your back. If you get hit by an enemy then you lose Baby Mario and he starts to cry, but you have 10 seconds to get him back. If the timer runs down to zero, he is kidnapped and you lose a life. As Yoshi you can "eat" the enemies and they become eggs which you can shoot at other enemies and at bonus clouds that hold coins, stars or flowers. Every red coin that you get that is hidden throughout each stage it worth one point to your score. Each star you collect adds one second to your timer. And each flower gives you 10 points. If you collect all 5 flowers in a stage you get an extra life, similar to collecting the Yoshi coins in the first Super Mario World. You can earn up to 100 points for each level (50 for all the flowers, 30 for all the red coins, and 20 for all the stars). If you get 100 points for each level in the game, you can unlock secret levels that are really awesome!

There are many great, challenging stages in this game. In all, there are 48 levels in the whole game, only half as many as Super Mario Advance 2. After you beat each stage you jump into a hoop and a light starts going around the hoop. If it lands on a flower you get to play a bonus game, if not you just advance to the next stage. It takes a while to get used to this game if you are a veteran Super Mario World player (on GBA or SNES) because this game is so much different than it. This is one of the best games ever for the Game Boy Advance. Go buy it NOW!


One of the best mario games is back   November 3, 2002
18 out of 22 found this review helpful

This game rocks, there are a total of 6 worlds with 8 levels. Plus!, if you get a perfect score in each world, there is an extra level for that world. I've played this game for the Super Nintendo and let me tell you, It was amazing. The graphics are crisp and its very challenging as your playing it too. This game, of course, surpasses the sequel "Yoshi Story" because it has more levels and has a very unique plot for a mario game. The only annoying thing about this game is when mario cries. But that does not stop me from giving this game 5 stars. I highly recommend this game to any fan of mario. Especially if you've never played it before. Oh, I forgot to mention that they added 6 new levels for this game since its on Game Boy Advance. You'll find those additional levels after finishing the game. I can't wait to get this game for Game Boy Advance.


Widely hailed as the pinnacle of 2-D platforming.   September 30, 2002
Ryan Bancroft (St. Louis, MO United States)
15 out of 16 found this review helpful

Many reviews claim this; I wholeheartedly concur. Yoshi's Island is a brilliant offering of two dimensional level design and pure platforming goodness. From the start, you can expect hectic thrills (good, long ones too; this game is quite lengthy) while playing as the beloved Yoshi saddled with a wailing baby Mario. From here, gaming bliss takes over.

Yoshi's Island made the transition from Super Nintendo to Gameboy Advance surprising smoothly, suffering only from minor sound compression and scrolling issues (which are a minute annoyance at worst, negligible at best). The old-time, tried (and still true), beloved gameplay has remained perfectly intact. It's an immense joy to re-experience this, yet the greatness of this gameplay still eagerly welcomes newcomers.

Everybody who has an interest in platform games would do themselves a favor by picking up this marquis gem (a crystalline supplement to those all-too-common diamonds in the rough).


Cute enough, but I just can't get into it   April 24, 2005
The No Evil Killer (Everywhere, Anywhere, Nowhere)
12 out of 20 found this review helpful

Super Mario World 2: Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island. Phew! How about that for a title. I admit I found it a bit confusing putting these Mario Advance games in order but I think I've figured it out now. You gotta admit it's a bit convoluted.

This game is a simple 2D platformer like most of the retro Mario games only it has four more levels than the SNES version released in 1995. It's got easy-going gameplay in the typical Super Mario style, gorgeous graphics, generic sounds and not much to keep me interested. Yoshi IS impossibly cute but even for a guy who likes cute stuff this game is just TOO childish.

Graphics A
Sound C
Gameplay B-
Lasting Appeal C