Yoshi Touch & Go
Encyclopedia
Yoshi Touch & Go, known in Japan as , is a video game that was developed and published by Nintendo
for the Nintendo DS
. It debuted in Japan on January 27, 2005, in North America on March 14, 2005, and in Europe on May 6, 2005. As of August 2007, the game sold 197,337 copies in Japan. Yoshi Touch & Go was produced by Takashi Tezuka
and directed by Hiroyuki Kimura
. It was one of the launch titles for the DS in Japan.
The game revolves around Yoshi
and Baby Mario/Baby Luigi. Its graphical style and cast of characters originate from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
. The game heavily utilizes the DS's touch screen capabilities, and makes use of the microphone as well. The challenge in the game comes from replaying the same modes over and over to get the best possible score, similar to the classic arcade game
s of the 1980s. Therefore, the difficulty of the game is based primarily on improving one's own skill.
As opposed to the earlier Yoshi games, in Yoshi Touch & Go the player cannot take direct control over the characters. Instead, the Yoshis move from the left to the right automatically at a certain speed. However, the player can draw lines on the lower screen with the stylus, which creates clouds that will support a character. This attribute allows to create alternate routes to avoid enemies and obstacles. If the drawn clouds are impeding the progress, they disappear by blowing into the microphone (sometimes blowing into the microphone won't work for the DS Lite). Enemies can be dispatched by drawing circles on them, which puts most of them into a bubble. In the side-scrolling level, a Yoshi can make an egg out of fruits by leading them to its mouth. By tapping on the screen, the Yoshi will launch an egg in that direction, which is useful for killing enemies or collecting coins and fruits. By tapping on a Yoshi himself, the player can make him jump, and tapping him again while he's in midair will cause him to do a flutter-kick jump.
The Nintendo DS
's two screens act as one tall screen, whereas the player can only create clouds on the lower one. However, by throwing eggs in the upper screen it is possible to collect coins or fruits from there. An exception provides the wireless "multiplayer vs. mode", where only the lower screen shows the player's view, while the upper screen shows that of the enemy. In the multiplayer, the goal is to be faster than the enemy. By clearing out enemies on the own screen, the player can cause spiky obstacles on the opponent's screen.
In some modes, there is a star point counter. Once this reaches 100, a Super Star will appear. If Yoshi touches it or the player drags it to Yoshi, Baby Mario will temporarily become Super Baby Mario
, who is considerably faster than Yoshi and has unlimited stars (instead of eggs) to throw. The star points will then return to zero. Also, by feeding fruits to Yoshi a certain amount of eggs will be replenished. The number of replenished eggs consists of the fruit (for instance, an apple only refills one egg, while melons refill twenty).
The color of Yoshi that Baby Mario rides depends on his score in the vertical falling part of the game. If he gets 60 points, he will ride a light blue Yoshi, and then the color will go up a level for every other 20 points he gets (for instance, pink Yoshi at 80 points, blue Yoshi at 100 points, etc.). The only two exceptions are white and orange Yoshi: In Marathon mode, when Baby Mario changes Yoshis, depending on his performance he might start riding a white Yoshi, who will switch to black Yoshi, unless it's at the 10,000 meters mark, in which case he will switch over to orange Yoshi. It will then switch to purple yoshi at 20,000 meters in Marathon. In challenge mode, after the high score is beaten, getting 0 points in the Baby Mario segment of future games will unlock a fast purple Yoshi. The same thing applies to time attack where a white Yoshi, which has unlimited eggs, can be unlocked.
and designer Keizo Ohta, Yoshi Touch & Go was originally planned to be designed for the Nintendo GameCube
as "Balloon Trip". A demo of the game was first exhibited during the E³ of 2004 and gained positive response. Thereupon, the executives of Nintendo green lighted the project. Though, Shigeru Miyamoto
considered that the game would create a bigger impact as a DS title.
Yoshi Touch & Go was produced by Takashi Tezuka
and director by Hiroyuki Kimura. The game's musical score was created by Kazumi Totaka
, Asuka Ota and Toru Minegishi
. Baby Mario and Baby Luigi were voiced by Charles Martinet
while the voice-over of the Yoshis was done by Totaka, including the 19-note song he did.
. It holds an average rating of 8.1/10 and 7.7/10 respectively at IGN
, as well as an average rating of 7.8/10 and 7.5/10 respectively at GameSpot
. Craig Harris of IGN said it "is one of the most original and unique games created for the system so far, and it's truly a design that's unlike anything you've played before." He especially commended the multiplayer mode and gave the game an 8.8/10. Additionally, it won the IGN Editors' Choice Award on March 11, 2005.
Some reviewers, however, criticised Yoshi Touch & Go for its lack of storyline and the simple gameplay. Also, the game gathered negative criticism for its price, which was found too high by some critics. Nevertheless, Touch & Go was a middle success, selling 197,337 copies in Japan.
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. It debuted in Japan on January 27, 2005, in North America on March 14, 2005, and in Europe on May 6, 2005. As of August 2007, the game sold 197,337 copies in Japan. Yoshi Touch & Go was produced by Takashi Tezuka
Takashi Tezuka
, sometimes credited under his nickname Ten Ten, is a video game designer working for Nintendo. A graduate of the Design Department of Osaka University of Arts, he joined the company in April 1984 and was involved with some of the most critically acclaimed Nintendo series, including Mario and The...
and directed by Hiroyuki Kimura
Hiroyuki Kimura
was born June 6, 1965 in Ishikawa, Japan. Kimura was originally assigned to Gunpei Yokoi and the famous Nintendo R&D1 team. Kimura designed a variety of games for Nintendo including several of the NES Zapper software and the Metroid series. Shortly after working on Super Metroid, Kimura was...
. It was one of the launch titles for the DS in Japan.
The game revolves around Yoshi
Yoshi
, is a fictional dragon-like character who appears in video games published by Nintendo. His debut was in Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick , and he later established his own series with several platform and puzzle games, including Super...
and Baby Mario/Baby Luigi. Its graphical style and cast of characters originate from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, originally released as in Japan, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the SNES console. Despite its title, this game serves as a prequel to all other games within the established Mario Bros timeline...
. The game heavily utilizes the DS's touch screen capabilities, and makes use of the microphone as well. The challenge in the game comes from replaying the same modes over and over to get the best possible score, similar to the classic arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
s of the 1980s. Therefore, the difficulty of the game is based primarily on improving one's own skill.
Gameplay
The game begins with three different gameplay modes: "Score Attack", "Marathon", and the "multiplayer vs. mode". Additionally, the player can unlock "Time Attack" and "Challenge modes" by getting the high score in the "Score Attack" and "Marathon" modes. When the high score on the two new modes is achieved, the mini-game "Balloon Trip" is unlocked. There are two basic level types: a vertical level, where the player must lead Baby Mario through the sky safely to the ground; and a side-scrolling level, where the player takes control over different colored Yoshis, carrying Baby Mario on their back.As opposed to the earlier Yoshi games, in Yoshi Touch & Go the player cannot take direct control over the characters. Instead, the Yoshis move from the left to the right automatically at a certain speed. However, the player can draw lines on the lower screen with the stylus, which creates clouds that will support a character. This attribute allows to create alternate routes to avoid enemies and obstacles. If the drawn clouds are impeding the progress, they disappear by blowing into the microphone (sometimes blowing into the microphone won't work for the DS Lite). Enemies can be dispatched by drawing circles on them, which puts most of them into a bubble. In the side-scrolling level, a Yoshi can make an egg out of fruits by leading them to its mouth. By tapping on the screen, the Yoshi will launch an egg in that direction, which is useful for killing enemies or collecting coins and fruits. By tapping on a Yoshi himself, the player can make him jump, and tapping him again while he's in midair will cause him to do a flutter-kick jump.
The Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
's two screens act as one tall screen, whereas the player can only create clouds on the lower one. However, by throwing eggs in the upper screen it is possible to collect coins or fruits from there. An exception provides the wireless "multiplayer vs. mode", where only the lower screen shows the player's view, while the upper screen shows that of the enemy. In the multiplayer, the goal is to be faster than the enemy. By clearing out enemies on the own screen, the player can cause spiky obstacles on the opponent's screen.
In some modes, there is a star point counter. Once this reaches 100, a Super Star will appear. If Yoshi touches it or the player drags it to Yoshi, Baby Mario will temporarily become Super Baby Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
, who is considerably faster than Yoshi and has unlimited stars (instead of eggs) to throw. The star points will then return to zero. Also, by feeding fruits to Yoshi a certain amount of eggs will be replenished. The number of replenished eggs consists of the fruit (for instance, an apple only refills one egg, while melons refill twenty).
The color of Yoshi that Baby Mario rides depends on his score in the vertical falling part of the game. If he gets 60 points, he will ride a light blue Yoshi, and then the color will go up a level for every other 20 points he gets (for instance, pink Yoshi at 80 points, blue Yoshi at 100 points, etc.). The only two exceptions are white and orange Yoshi: In Marathon mode, when Baby Mario changes Yoshis, depending on his performance he might start riding a white Yoshi, who will switch to black Yoshi, unless it's at the 10,000 meters mark, in which case he will switch over to orange Yoshi. It will then switch to purple yoshi at 20,000 meters in Marathon. In challenge mode, after the high score is beaten, getting 0 points in the Baby Mario segment of future games will unlock a fast purple Yoshi. The same thing applies to time attack where a white Yoshi, which has unlimited eggs, can be unlocked.
Development
According to director Hiroyuki KimuraHiroyuki Kimura
was born June 6, 1965 in Ishikawa, Japan. Kimura was originally assigned to Gunpei Yokoi and the famous Nintendo R&D1 team. Kimura designed a variety of games for Nintendo including several of the NES Zapper software and the Metroid series. Shortly after working on Super Metroid, Kimura was...
and designer Keizo Ohta, Yoshi Touch & Go was originally planned to be designed for the Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
as "Balloon Trip". A demo of the game was first exhibited during the E³ of 2004 and gained positive response. Thereupon, the executives of Nintendo green lighted the project. Though, Shigeru Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
considered that the game would create a bigger impact as a DS title.
Yoshi Touch & Go was produced by Takashi Tezuka
Takashi Tezuka
, sometimes credited under his nickname Ten Ten, is a video game designer working for Nintendo. A graduate of the Design Department of Osaka University of Arts, he joined the company in April 1984 and was involved with some of the most critically acclaimed Nintendo series, including Mario and The...
and director by Hiroyuki Kimura. The game's musical score was created by Kazumi Totaka
Kazumi Totaka
is a Japanese video game composer and voice actor who composed many major Nintendo games, including Mario Paint and Animal Crossing. He occasionally also does voice acting for Nintendo games, including Yoshi from the Mario and Yoshi series. He is also one of the various composers who worked on the...
, Asuka Ota and Toru Minegishi
Toru Minegishi
is a Japanese video game composer, best known for his work on Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. He was raised in a very musical family, and developed an interest in video games and their music from an early age. Minegishi did not receive any special education, but he gained experience as a...
. Baby Mario and Baby Luigi were voiced by Charles Martinet
Charles Martinet
Charles Martinet is an American actor and voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Mario, the titular character in Nintendo's flagship video game franchise. He has held this role since 1994, longer than any other actor. He also voices Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Toadsworth, and a select few...
while the voice-over of the Yoshis was done by Totaka, including the 19-note song he did.
Reception
The game was generally well received, though not as positive as earlier games of the Yoshi series, such as Yoshi's IslandSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, originally released as in Japan, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the SNES console. Despite its title, this game serves as a prequel to all other games within the established Mario Bros timeline...
. It holds an average rating of 8.1/10 and 7.7/10 respectively at IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, as well as an average rating of 7.8/10 and 7.5/10 respectively at GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
. Craig Harris of IGN said it "is one of the most original and unique games created for the system so far, and it's truly a design that's unlike anything you've played before." He especially commended the multiplayer mode and gave the game an 8.8/10. Additionally, it won the IGN Editors' Choice Award on March 11, 2005.
Some reviewers, however, criticised Yoshi Touch & Go for its lack of storyline and the simple gameplay. Also, the game gathered negative criticism for its price, which was found too high by some critics. Nevertheless, Touch & Go was a middle success, selling 197,337 copies in Japan.
External links
- http://yoshi.nintendods.com Yoshi Touch & Go official site
- Yoshi Touch & Go at GameSpotGameSpotGameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...