Review: Poochy and Yoshi’s Woolly World

Yoshi has had numerous games since the 1990’s, it’s been a long time since we saw baby Mario and Yoshi team up in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island. Since then, Nintendo has continually pushed how innovative their titles are. When Yoshi’s Woolly World launched in 2015, we reviewed it and felt it was aesthetically pleasing, rewarding and an improvement in terms of gameplay.

Nintendo announced that they were porting the game over to the Nintendo 3DS, adding Poochy and renaming the game Poochy and Yoshi’s Woolly World, it’s the same game despite an obvious visual downgrade. Thankfully, though, the game is still a competent platformer that feels right at home on the Nintendo handheld.

The handheld version is a straight port of the 2015 game, bar some new additions to take advantage of the Nintendo 3DS. Poochy is the biggest addition to the game, Yoshi’s dog, and trusted companion. The New Nintendo 3DS is also the best way to play it, the added specs of the system bring the game to a full 60ps adding a smoother experience than that on the Wii U.

The biggest change I’ve seen is the way you select each level. Gone are the 3D maps of the worlds, and is now replaced by a much simpler straight to the level design.

The level design is a delight, often providing many secrets to discover as you explore the level. Each level provides enough content to make one or two if not more trips to ensure you’ve gotten everything available.

While the visuals received a downgrade, the overall look and feel are still intact. While there is some blurriness, the added 3D makes up the difference in visuals.

Woolly World comes in two flavors when you load it up. The first is “mellow mode,” and this mode drops the difficulty considerably, providing Yoshi with wings that prevent death making it near impossible to die during gameplay. Poochy pups help Yoshi by searching out the treasure that would otherwise be hidden to the player and act as projectiles to launch at enemies.

Then, there is a “classic mode,” which is the standard mode you would expect from a Nintendo title.

Poochy is an amiibo and has a purpose in Woolly World! By using the amiibo in a level, Poochy arrives to assist Yoshi, he can also be ridden throughout levels and adds Time Attack mode to bonus stages. In addition, other amiibos can be used to import patterns to use on Yoshi based on the character.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWBS_pzp3ZM

 

Yoshi’s lighthearted, bright, and offbeat adventure feels right at home on the Nintendo 3DS. If you skipped out on the original Wii U version of Woolly World, this is right up your alley. While some aspects were downgraded to fit the platform, the gameplay and excitement remain. The new additions of Poochy and mellow mode make playing the game a breeze, giving those without much time to just play the game and enjoy it.