Yep, seems like it
In yet another indication that time is indeed marching on and on, it seems that Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island has somehow turned 30 years old.
Released in Japan on 5th August 1995, Yoshi’s Island marked a significant departure from its predecessor, yet received widespread critical acclaim regardless. It also happened to be the last 2D entry in the Super Mario series for over a decade before New Super Mario Bros. followed in 2006. And if we’re being honest, the DS entry definitely lacked some of the ingenuity displayed in Yoshi’s Island.
‘Ingenuity’ is really the key word here. The original Super Mario World had this in spades, so Yoshi’s Island had an awful lot to live up to. But by shifting the gameplay to focus on Yoshi, who was once merely a secondary character, players could now execute several new abilities, including the ‘flutter’ jump, egg throwing, and simply gobbling up and spitting out your enemies.
If that wasn’t enough, environments within the game could actually be destroyed, whether it be from a well-placed egg throw or from one of the game’s many enemies. We make a big fuss about how well Donkey Kong Bananza does environment destruction in 2025, but for those who perhaps weren’t around 30 years ago, seeing something similar in an SNES game was simply astounding.
Oh, and let’s not forget that you can turn in a helicopter. Amazing scenes.
So take a bow, Yoshi’s Island. Amongst the likes of Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario Galaxy, you perhaps get forgotten a bit too often for our liking. But you’re still one of our favourites, and you remain one of the greatest 2D platformers of all time (even if our beloved editor couldn’t get on with it…).
What are your favourite memories of Yoshi’s Island on the SNES? Leave a comment in the usual place and let us know.
Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry.
