Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

We all loved Super Mario World, the game that came bundled with the original SNES, for the same reasons we fell in love with Mario 3.  That isn't to say they are as popular as one another, but Super Mario World took all of the things that were great about Mario 3 and made many meaningful additions to the winning-platforming formula.
 
Now if you thought that those games were amazing, you were right, and they hold up to this day, but a lesser talked about gem that deserves just as much (if not more) acclaim for its breakthrough conventions, in not just platforming, but gaming in general, is Yoshi's Island.
 
Don't let Yoshi's Island's aesthetics fool you.  This is not child's play.  Present are many difficult platforming scenarios that do something a lot of platformers can't:  They provide more fun than frustration no matter how frustrating the game may get.  The platforming is driven by the story which goes as follows:  Baby Mario and Baby Luigi are being carried by a stork when Kamek appears, swoops in and carries Baby Luigi to Bowser's Castle.  Baby Mario is dropped by the stork and happens upon the titular Yoshi's Island, landing on a green Yoshi.  The Yoshi's decide they must help Baby Mario save his infantile brother and the game begins.
 
As mentioned, the graphics can be somewhat deceiving.  They may not look like much now-a-days but back when this game released it did a lot of truly ground breaking things in an art style that was fresh, interesting and stood on its own in uniqueness.  The game goes for a child's storybook look and I think it achieves it that goal brilliantly.  The light-hearted graphics never get stale and continuously re-introduce many well known characters in the Mario universe in this new graphic style, reinventing them in some cases, such as the Shy guys of various forms.  As you may imagine it introduces many new enemies/characters as well, as well as the first appearance by Baby Bowser.  The graphics still stand up today as impressive, although we have now seen the style they were aiming for (at least similar styles) in many games today.
 
The game also utilizes background space for gameplay purposes.  One of the first levels you see this in is the 2nd level where there are chomps in the background.  The chomps in the background will jump into the air and then come into the foreground, in full size, and demosh the ground that they land on, creating a death pit after their passing.  It is things like this that were so new and never-heard of before that really helped this game be something truly unique, and this is just one, very minor instance of innovation that this game introduces; there are many many more innovations that this game introduced as well.
 
The sound and music match the children's tone perfectly.  The first song you hear in the first level of the game is unforgettable and really helps to set this tone right alongside the graphics you experience every step of the way.  The sound effects are very Mario-esque with a twist of child's whimsy.  Don't let my over-use of relating everything to "child" like aspects dissuade you from this game however, as I assure you that this game won't dissappoint anyone.  As I was saying, the sounds are definitely unique and memorable.  From the sound of an egg being fired by Yoshi, to the sound of collecting all the red coins, to Kamek, and so forth.  There are enough variations between all of the sounds that you will hear from beginning to end of the game that you won't ever get annoyed at hearing any one particular sound.  Since I can't stress it enough, I'll just reiterate, the music is awesome and very well fitting for this game, and it is so unique that you'll never forget it.
 
Now all of this is great, but what about the gameplay?  It is perfect.  This game really nailed every aspect of a game perfect.  Graphics, sound and gameplay are all AAA and nothing less than what is expected from a Nintendo developed platformer.  The gameplay introduces so many new features that if I were to list them all, this review could very well double its already lengthy size.  So I will just say that Yoshi's Island takes everything you knew about previous Nintendo platformers and adds all sorts of new moves, platform-pratfalls, enemies and ways to deal with them, item collection, various forms that change the platforming all together (such as Yoshi being turned into a Helicopter temporarily) and many more additions and improvements to the platforming genre as a whole that can still be felt in today's games.
 
If you're a completionist this game will be doubly fun as there are 20 red coins, 30 stars and 5 flowers to find per level in order to get a score of "100" for the level.  This helps with the replayability, but honestly, most will probably get enough out of the game their first play through.  But this is a title you will want to own, not rent, as it is a game that is incredibly fun to go back to and play through again.  Trust me, I mean, why do you think I am writing this review anyway?
 
Now consider this:  Yoshi's Island was originally released in 1995 on the SNES to critical acclaim, 7 years later it was re-introduced on the GBA and that acclaim remained despite that it was a port of a 7 year old game!
 
So there you have it.  You can't go wrong.  This game can be found quite cheap today and is well worth your time.  You will get more satisfaction out of this game than many of today's games, I can guarantee it, and it is addictive once you start playing.  You owe it to yourself to play this game if you enjoy platformers in the least as this game is the origin of many post-Super Mario Brothers gaming conventions.  I urge you to seek this game out and play it, it won't be hard to find on the GBA, where very few changes have been made to the original, and you won't regret spending the money or time on this game.  So do the right thing, call in an Amber Alert on Luigi and get out there and save your baby brother!