In a day where graphic ability is usually the key to a game’s success, rather than its overall playability, Nintendo brings us “Yoshi Touch N Go,†a tribute to old school gaming that lives up to all the hype around it and then some.
“Yoshi: Touch N Go†is another game in the Nintendo DS library that takes full advantage of the DS’s capabilities. Players have to draw clouds to help guide baby Mario from the air to ground after he falls from the grip of a stork. After landing on the back of Yoshi, you have to guide baby Mario back to the stork by making your way through enemy filled environments. This is done by encircling enemies by drawing clouds around them using the touch screen. Enemies that can’t be reached on the bottom screen can be eliminated by throwing eggs by tapping Yoshi via the touch screen.
After playing this game for a while, it’s obvious to see that its creators have been influenced heavily by games the likes of the NES versions of “Super Mario Bros,†“Donkey Kong†and “Ice Climber.†At first glance, the game seems to not have many game play options, but after a few tries you’ll find yourself addicted. Not many games out right now have such a rock solid gameplay interface and are so fun to play.
However, what makes “Yoshi Touch N Go†so addictive is the control. Simply put, the control is perfect. No current game on the Nintendo DS uses the stylus the way Touch n Go does. The control immerses the gamer into the game in ways that just aren’t seen often. Despite the fact that you never have any sort of direct control over any characters in the game, controlling the environment around Yoshi and Mario provides a new and fun way of playing that has never been done before.
The graphics of “Yoshi Touch N Go†are nothing to scream about, but considering how great the game plays, they don’t need to be anything special. Brightly colored and full of life, the visuals here and are a throwback to the days on the Super Nintendo.
All this being said, any gamer looking for a great game for the DS needs to look no further. While the game never takes itself tremendously seriously, its overall charm and fun-factor are more than enough to keep any gamer busy for any prolonged period of time.
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports.
Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders.
His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023.
Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief.
Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale.
Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.
In a day where graphic ability is usually the key to a game’s success, rather than its overall playability, Nintendo brings us “Yoshi Touch N Go,†a tribute to old school gaming that lives up to all the hype around it and then some.
Leave a Reply