''Yoshi's Woolly World'' is a
side-scrolling platform game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
developed by
Good-Feel and published by
Nintendo for the
Wii U
The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
Th ...
. The game is the seventh main entry in the ''
Yoshi
Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in ''Super Mario World'' (1990) on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Yoshi is the title character of the ''Yoshi' ...
'' series of games, the first home console title in the series since 1997's ''
Yoshi's Story
Yoshi's (also known as Yoshi's Jazz Club and Yoshi's Oakland) is a nightclub located in Jack London Square in Oakland, California, United States. The venue originally opened in 1972 as a restaurant in Berkeley, later moving to Claremont Avenue ...
'', as well as the spiritual successor to 2010's ''
Kirby's Epic Yarn
''Kirby's Epic Yarn'' is a platform video game developed by Good-Feel and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is an installment of the ''Kirby'' series and was released in October 2010 in Japan and North America and in February 2011 in Aust ...
''. The game was released worldwide throughout 2015. A port for the
Nintendo 3DS, known as ''Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World'', was released worldwide in early 2017. Both versions received generally favorable reviews, with reviewers praising the art style, gameplay, and innovation, but critiquing the lack of difficulty.
Plot
On a knitted island filled with many Yarn
Yoshi
Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in ''Super Mario World'' (1990) on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Yoshi is the title character of the ''Yoshi' ...
s of varying patterns, the evil Magikoopa
Kamek
The ''Mario'' franchise is a video game series by Nintendo. While Nintendo is usually the developer and publisher of games in the franchise, various series are developed by third-party companies, such as Hudson Soft and Intelligent Systems. ...
turns nearly all the Yoshis into bundles of yarn for his master
Baby Bowser, scattering them across different worlds. However, two Yoshis manage to avoid being transformed themselves, and they set off to pursue Kamek and rescue their woolly friends. After traveling through six different worlds, Yoshi manages to storm Baby Bowser's castle. When Yoshis reach Baby Bowser, Kamek reveals that he stole the yarn so that he could use it to grow Baby Bowser to a much larger size. After battling Baby Bowser, the Yoshis rescue their friends from Kamek and Baby Bowser. Kamek and Baby Bowser fly away, but crash land on the moon.
Gameplay
''Yoshi's Woolly World'' is a
platform game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
in which players assume the role of
Yoshi
Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in ''Super Mario World'' (1990) on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Yoshi is the title character of the ''Yoshi' ...
. Similar to games like
Good-Feel's ''
Kirby's Epic Yarn
''Kirby's Epic Yarn'' is a platform video game developed by Good-Feel and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is an installment of the ''Kirby'' series and was released in October 2010 in Japan and North America and in February 2011 in Aust ...
'', the game is set in a world where the characters and environment are composed of
yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manu ...
and cloth. Yoshi retains much of his moveset from the ''
Yoshi's Island
''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island'' is a 1995 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The player controls Yoshi, a friendly dinosaur, on a quest to reunite baby Mario with his ...
'' series of games, including using his tongue to swallow enemies and using his flutter jump to reach high areas. Many elements such as flowers and mystery clouds also return. However, unlike other games where swallowing enemies would produce eggs which Yoshi could then throw, Yoshi instead produces balls of yarn. These yarn balls have various uses when thrown, such as tying up enemies or filling in certain platforms and objects. Players can also gather white chicks in certain levels, which produce temporary cloud platforms when thrown. The game also supports up to two players cooperatively. With both players able to swallow and throw their partners, allowing them to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. In addition, some sections give Yoshi special transformations, such as a
motorbike
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruisin ...
or
umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally use ...
.
Throughout each level, Yoshi can pick up beads, which can be spent on Power Badges. These can support the player during a level, such as granting more powerful attacks, or the ability to recover when falling into bottomless pits. Each level contains five Flowers, five Wonder Wools, and twenty Stamp Patches, which are hidden behind certain beads. Flowers increase the odds of entering a bonus game at the end of the level, and collecting all Flowers within a world opens up a secret level. Finding all the Yarn Bundles within a level unlocks a new pattern of Yoshi, which players can switch to while on the overworld map. Collecting enough Stamp Patches unlocks special stamps that can be used in
Miiverse
Miiverse was a social network for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, created by Nintendo System Development and Hatena, and powered by the Nintendo Network. Integrated into many games, Miiverse allowed players to interact and share their experiences by w ...
posts; the 3DS version has instead Pencil Patches which gives predefinite models for its exclusive Yoshi customization mode. At any point in the game, players can toggle between Classic Mode and Mellow Mode, the latter of which gives Yoshi a pair of wings, allowing less skilled players to fly indefinitely through a stage. ''Poochy and Yoshi's Woolly World'' has a unique mode where the player controls Poochy through a level, with only the ability to crouch and jump, running to collect Poochy Pups and beads.
The game features compatibility with
Amiibo figures, including a unique knitted Yarn Yoshi Amiibo. Using any Yoshi Amiibo allows players to create a duplicate Yoshi during Solo Play, allowing solo players to replicate actions otherwise only available in Co-op Play. Additionally, the Yarn Yoshi Amiibo can be used to save a design based on another character. Other compatible figures, such as
Mario
is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his cre ...
and
Donkey Kong
is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...
, can be used to unlock additional patterns based on the respective character.
The game is playable with the
Wii U GamePad
The Wii U GamePad is the standard game controller for Nintendo's Wii U home video game console. Incorporating traits from tablet computers, the GamePad has traditional input methods (such as buttons, dual analog sticks, and a D-pad), touchscre ...
,
Wii Remote
The Wii Remote, also known colloquially as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact wi ...
,
Wii Classic Controller, and
Wii U Pro Controller
The is a video game controller produced by Nintendo for the Wii U video game console. It is available in Black and White.
History
Nintendo unveiled the Wii U Pro Controller at E3 2012. Many video game journalists have noted the similarity betwe ...
.
Development
''Yoshi's Woolly World'' was first announced by
Nintendo CEO
Satoru Iwata
was a Japanese businessman, video game programmer, video game designer, and producer. He was the fourth president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Nintendo from 2002 until his death in 2015. He was a major contributor in broadening the app ...
on January 23, 2013 under the tentative title ''Yarn Yoshi.'' The game was stated to be in development by
Good-Feel with game designer
Takashi Tezuka
is a Japanese video game designer, director, and video game producer, producer. He is a senior officer of Nintendo EPD and executive at Nintendo.
Career
Upon graduating the Design Department of Osaka University of Arts, he joined Nintendo in A ...
supervising the project.
The game was absent from
E3 2013
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2013 (E3 2013) was the 19th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California with many press conferences taking place at nearby venues including the Nokia Theater, ...
, but was playable at
E3 2014, where it was given a tentative release time frame of "the first half of 2015."
The soundtrack was handled by Good-Feel composers Tomoya Tomita (now freelance) and Misaki Asada, with the exception of the main theme, which was written by Nintendo's
Kazumi Totaka
is a Japanese video game composer and sound director who is best known for his various compositions in many Nintendo games. He occasionally does voice acting as well, including Yoshi from the ''Mario'' series. He also directed the development ...
.
Release
Special editions of the Wii U's version's retail release bundle the game with the knitted Yarn Yoshi
Amiibo, which is available in one of three colors; green, blue, and pink. Bundles included the game with a single Yarn Yoshi Amiibo, or all three. Players who purchased the game on the European
Nintendo eShop before July 23, 2015 received a free download code for a
Virtual Console
A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Uni ...
version of the
Nintendo DS title ''
Yoshi Touch & Go''. The 3DS version's retail's release has an accompying Poochy amiibo.
Reception
''Yoshi's Woolly World'' received generally favorable reviews, receiving an aggregated score of 78/100 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
based on 83 reviews.
Critics praised the art style and innovation but criticized the difficulty as too easy.
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
's Rob Crossley gave the game a score of 6/10, saying "Some would say that gives ''Woolly World'' its inherent accessibility, in that players aren't forced to take the hard road. But if you want to be fully entertained, the hard road is the only real option. It is your own degree of curiosity, and your compulsive nature, that will determine which route you'll take."
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's Daniel Krupa gave the game a moderately positive review, saying "It's incredibly familiar, but the imaginative and attractive art style makes it feel fresh and appealing. Outside of those great few levels, ''Woolly World'' is a more forgettable and fragmented experience. Cool mechanics are cooked up, but they're dropped into levels which never realise their full potential and fixate more on unearthing frustrating collectibles."
Nintendo Life's Thomas Whitehead stated that the game featured "some of Nintendo's best co-op platforming" with "clever, witty stage design" and "gorgeous" visuals, but found that boss fights were "repetitive and disappointing".
The 3DS version received similarly positive reception, also receiving an aggregated score of 77/100 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, based on 56 reviews.
Reviewers applauded the port for being a successful transition of the original game to a handheld, though some complaints were raised over the visual downgrade and lack of local multiplayer, with Whitehead describing it as "certainly a pity if not entirely surprising".
Sales
''Yoshi's Woolly World'' launched in Japan with roughly 31,000 physical copies sold, and after two weeks, 43,000 copies were sold. In the UK, it entered the charts in fourth place. As of March 31, 2016, the game had worldwide sales of 1.37 million copies. The Nintendo 3DS version of the game sold 80 percent of its initial shipment in Japan, but only entered the UK charts in twentieth place.
Legacy
A stage based on the then-unreleased ''Yoshi's Woolly World'' appeared in ''
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
and (colloquially and collectively referred to as ''Super Smash Bros. 4'' or ''Smash 4'') is a group of two 2014 crossover fighting video games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS ...
''. An upbeat remix of the music from the game's trailers is also present.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Portal bar, Video games, 2010s
2015 video games
Cooperative video games
Good-Feel games
Fantasy video games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Video games developed in Japan
Video games set on fictional islands
Video games produced by Takashi Tezuka
Video games scored by Kazumi Totaka
Video games that use Amiibo figurines
Wii U eShop games
Wii U games
Yoshi video games