Nintendo had a big showing at E3 2021 with new entries in multiple first-party franchises includingMetroid Dread,The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild2,WarioWare: Get it Together!, andMario Party Superstars. The upcoming 2D Metroid game developed by MercurySteam, known forMetroid: Samus Returnsin 2017, was arguably the biggest surprise of the bunch given it serves as the official “Metroid 5” coming over19 years afterFusionreleased. It’s also potentially good news for other Nintendo franchises likePikmin,or perhapsYoshi’s Island.
One reasonMetroid Dreadexcites fans is it shows Nintendo’s willingness to release multiple games in the long-running but traditionally less active franchise within a short time frame.Metroid Prime 4is also in development for Switch, having restarted under Retro Studios a few years ago. If the company is open to putting out a traditional, mainlineMetroidgame and a new entry in its popular first-person spin-off series on the same console, it may be up to doing something similar forYoshi’s Islandeven thoughYoshi’s Crafted Worldhit the hybrid console in 2019.
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While technically a sequel to the SNES launch titleSuper Mario World, 1995’sYoshi’s Islandstood out for its unique playroom aesthetic and whimsical music. It also defined how the general populace would imagine Yoshi for the foreseeable future, turning the character from just a dinosaur Mario rides into its own platforming beast with a flutter jump and ricocheting egg toss. Yoshi maintains this general move set even though the character continues to appear in mainlineMariogames likeSuper Mario Odyssey, spin-offs likeMario Golf: Super Rush, and crossovers likeSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Despite the overwhelming popularity of the originalYoshi’s Islandin its SNES debut and as a part of theSuper Mario Advanceseries, its sequels have not been nearly as acclaimed.Yoshi’s Island DS(2006) was direct follow-up that introduced numerous additional baby characters with unique abilities, andYoshi’s New Island(2014) brought the series up to the 3DS using a claymation art style and “Mega Eggdozer” attacks to try and stand out. That’s not to mention more gimmick-y titles likeYoshi Topsy-TurvyandYoshi Touch and Go(2005).
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Both Yoshi games developed by Good-Feel,Yoshi’s Woolly World(2015) andYoshi’s Crafted World, retain similar platforming gameplay to mainYoshi’s Islandentries, but largely feel like their own series contiguous with the developer’s previous endeavorKirby’s Epic Yarn.WoollyandCrafted Worldfocus more on hand-built craft universes, and though this is appealing in its own right it doesn’t provide for the same kind of experience and world design as traditionalYoshi’s Islandgames.
That’s where the connection withMetroid Dreadcomes into play. TheMetroid Prime Trilogyis arguably as beloved as 2DMetroidgames, but it’s hard to say the 3D first-person shooters offer the same experience. Both branches of the franchise have Metroidvania designs that encourage players to acquire new skills for Samus so she can make the worlds she explores more accessible, but the change in perspective also changes how players absorb and interact with their environments.
Thus, if Nintendo is willing to give fans both a 2D and 3D Metroid game on Switch, it should do the same for those who would like to play aYoshi’s Islandgame more focused on its uniquely charming, child-like world than Good-Feel’s arts-and-crafts style. There’s clearly room for both on the hybrid console, and a game withYoshi’s Islandaesthetics would be a great selling point for theSwitch OLED model’s more vibrant screen. Nintendo has had a few years to learn from what fans didn’t enjoy aboutYoshi’s Island DSandNew Island, so it should take advantage of that to make a truly beloved follow-up to the SNES classic.
