Yoshi Touch & Go
Reviews

Lost that little stylus that came with your Nintendo DS? Then get a new one to play Nintendo's new highly addictive Yoshi Touch & Go, because the only button needed is the power button—you won't even need the D-pad! This all stylus-controlled action offers the best game play the DS has to offer.

Yoshi Touch & Go's whimsical audiovisuals are reminiscent of classic Nintendo platform games like Yoshi's Island, but this is not a typical platform game due to its lack of predetermined level progression or bosses, unless you count the Shy Guys that try to kidnap Luigi in Time Attack mode. Yoshi Touch & Go is more of an action arcade game because the goal is to get the best high score. The repetitiveness takes a little away from the game play, but adds a lot of replay value.

Yoshi Touch & Go has evolved a lot from the E3 2004 tech demo, Balloon Trip, and become one of the most addictive Nintendo DS games to date. In the tech demo, your goal was to direct a falling Baby Mario away from enemies and obstacles and safely to the ground by using the stylus to draw clouds. In Yoshi Touch & Go, each mode starts with a "Balloon Trip" style section in which Mario's score determines which color Yoshi he will ride for the next "Yoshi's Island" style levels. Drawing a cloud bubble around multiple coins or enemies will give bonus points. Get more points to get a faster Yoshi with more egg-carrying ability.

In the side-scrolling Yoshi's Island-style "levels," you draw clouds for the Yoshi that is now carrying Mario in order to cross gaps and avoid hazards. If you mess up, you can simply blow into the microphone to erase all the clouds on the screen. Touch Yoshi and he'll let out a squeal as he jumps. Tap the screen in the direction of an enemy to get Yoshi to throw an egg at it. Hit multiple objects with a single egg to get more points. Have Yoshi eat fruit to get more eggs. Get 100 star points to play as Super Baby Mario, which allows you to throw unlimited eggs for a short time.

When you first play Yoshi's Touch & Go, you are presented with Score Attack and Marathon modes. The point total in each section determines which Yoshi will carry Mario in the next section. In Score Attack your goal is simple: Get the best score by collecting coins and eliminating enemies. Getting the high score in Score Attack unlocks Time Attack mode, where your goal is to get to the end quickly while defeating all the Shy Guys that are trying to carry Luigi away. Marathon mode is a never-ending mode in which your goal is to get as far as possible. Get the high score to unlock the harder Challenge mode. Getting the top high score in all modes unlocks a mini-game.

The only way to play as Luigi is in Versus mode. In this mode, you play on the touch screen while your opponent is shown on the top screen. Versus mode offers a few more twists, but I'll leave those for you to figure out.

If you're trying to unwind with a good story after a hectic day, don't pick up Yoshi Touch & Go. If you'd prefer completely original stylus-controlled game play that is fairly easy to pick up, but quickly gets frantic as you try to keep up with the action on both screens, this game is for you.

Review by Luigison

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