Yoshis Woolly World made the leap to from the Wii U to the 3DS and made some small changes. Check out Kidzworlds review of the new game, Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World for 3DS.
By: Max Cannon
Yoshi's Woolly World hit the Wii U in October of 2015 and was a beloved game. Now the game has jumped from the Wii U onto the 3DS and made a couple of small changes ranging from subtle to significant. The biggest addition to the new game comes in the new titular character. Yoshi's new pet dog is added onto the Nintendo 3DS's Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World.
Yoshi's Epic Yarn
Here's what Kidzworld thought of the original game on the Wii U.
"Nintendo knows how to make people smile and it's is easily one of their biggest strengths.Yoshi's Woolly World is proof of this. It's insanely charming, surprisingly relaxing and most of the time, a heck of a lot of fun. Its biggest drawback only its inability to truly show us something new."
Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World - Trailer
That's all true of this 3DS port but there are some small yet key changes that enhance the experience in some ways and worsen it in other ways.
Poochy and Yoshi's Woolly World is a simple platformer that utilizes Yoshi's iconic toolset. Eating enemies, hatching eggs, and throwing projectiles are staples of the Yoshi games all the way back to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. The game is incredibly simple to play. Jumping, throwing, and running through the world uses Nintendo's well-refined platforming skills and it feels good to actually play. Sadly, it doesn't look quite as good as it plays.
The Poochy and Yoshi shorts are the most charming part of the game.Courtesy of Nintendo
Stitching a Story
This style is reminiscent of the gorgeous Wii title, Kirby's Epic Yarn. When Yoshi got this new treatment on the Wii U it looked cute and added an adorable sense of style to the game. Scooting that game over to the 3DS really hurt the charm of this game's appearance. Textures look flatter and less detailed than the original game and the world feels a little bland and by the numbers. Maybe this is hyperbole just from looking at the Wii U version but it was a feeling I couldn't shake throughout playing.
Animations are fine and there's a fine bit of variety to every world, but when you've seen one type of level you've seen them all. The game will occasionally do some fun things, like adding movable chain chomps early on in the game, but they ditch the unique ideas before they can be fully fleshed out. Nintendo's modern platformers will oft\en exemplify these changes to the formula, look at the stellar Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, and Poochy and Yoshi's Woolly World doesn't quite reach those heights.
A screenshot from the game running on a 3DS.Courtesy of Nintendo Everything
Small Tweaks to a (Mostly) Similar Game
Poochy is the biggest addition to this game and he doesn't really do much outside of "Gold Rush" and "Mellow Mode." Mellow Mode makes the game so easy that you basically can't die; Yoshi grows wings to fly, replaces his eggs with collectible-hunting Poochy's, and takes more hits on the easier difficulty. It's a great addition for the youngest of players and the ability to switch between the regular and easier difficulty will be welcomed by parents.
Gold Rush is a game mode with Poochy automatically running to the right and the player jumping and collecting as much gold as possible. It's probably my favorite addition to that includes Poochy.
I was definitely let down by how underused Poochy is in the game. There are some cute short films on the game which highlight the relationship between Yoshi and Poochy, they're a welcome break from the gameplay.
The adorable, and underused, Poochy!Courtesy of Polygon
Final Thoughts
I stand by the thoughts of the original review and think they apply to this game as well. However much of that charm is lost because of the weaker graphics, it's a small but very noticeable change. I would still recommend this game but not if you've played, or can play, the original version on the Wii U.
Poochy and Yoshi’s Woolly World 3DS GameCourtesy of Nintendo
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Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World 3DS Game Rating:
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