Yoshi's New Island for the 3DS is the third game in the Yoshi's Island series and plays very similar to its predecessors. It's a side-scrolling platformer that stars Yoshi who carries Baby Mario on his back. The player must guide Yoshi to the end of each level, escorting the baby on his back to safety, with boss fights at the end of each world.
General Gameplay
Yoshi can run, jump and flutter jump when the jump button is held down, allowing Yoshi to float for a brief time. He can also ground pound on enemies and objects. His main form of attack is his tongue slurp which allows him to swallow enemies and turn them into eggs. The eggs can then be aimed and thrown via a target reticle, allowing him to attack enemies, break obstacles and even bounce them off of walls and ceilings.
Yoshi's mission is to safely guide Baby Mario to the end of each stage. When Yoshi is attacked by an enemy, the baby is knocked off of his back and begins to float away in a bubble. A timer then begins to count down and Yoshi must retrieve the baby before the time runs out. If Yoshi fails, then the enemies capture the baby and the player must play the level again. Collecting stars increases the length of the time limit the player has to retrieve the baby, up to a maximum of 30 seconds at a time.
The main new addition is that Yoshi can swallow very large enemies which allows him to create Giant Eggs. These are extremely powerful when thrown and the damage they create fills a meter that can provide Yoshi with extra lives.
Collectibles
There are flowers to collect in each stage and for each one you nab, you'll get one chance at receiving a medal from the goal at the end of a level. Once you obtain 30, you unlock a bonus level.
You'll need to explore each level thoroughly to achieve 100% completion. There are some instances where a level will likely have to be played more than once to find everything since it sometimes requires knowing things in advance, such as jumping on a rolling rock to reach a higher platform before it rolls away. To fully complete a level, the player must find the 5 flowers and 20 red coins scattered throughout the stage in addition to finishing the level with a full 30 stars.
Fortunately, unlike standard Super Mario platformers, there is no time limit to completing a stage in Yoshi's New Island, making it much easier to hunt for collectibles.
Transformations
Yoshi can transform into various forms throughout the game including the return of the helicopter and submarine transformations from the original game. Two new transformations, a jackhammer, which allows Yoshi to break rocks, and a mine cart transformation make their debut. Each transformation can be controlled using the gyro controls of the 3DS.
The super star power-up also returns, which allows Yoshi to run along walls and ceilings as well as hurl himself horizontally through objects and enemies. Yoshi can also don the Flutter Wings, which are similar in nature to recent powerups in Nintendo games that are acquired upon dying one too many times during a level.
