Yoshi Touch & Go - TV Tropes
- ️Wed Jul 20 2022
Yohsi Touch & Go is a spinoff game in the Yoshi's Island series that was released for Nintendo DS in 2005. The game is based very heavily on elements from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island but is designed around the DS's gameplay elements.
This game is a throwback to 1980's arcade games, since the gameplay revolves around getting a high score, not finishing a story. Every play session takes place across two levels. In the first, Baby Mario is falling through the sky and the player must guide him down safely by drawing clouds on the touchscreen. After Baby Mario lands on Yoshi's back, the second level begins where the player must guide Yoshi through a side-scrolling level by drawing clouds until they meet up with Baby Luigi at the goal.
The game features four modes: Score Attack, Marathon, Time Attack, and Challenge.
This game features the following tropes:
- Arduous Descent to Terra Firma: During the start of a level, Baby Mario begins falling from the high skies (likely because the stork transporting him either accidentally released or got attacked like in the original game). At first, it seems to be a harmless descent (three balloons act as a collective parachute), but between the sky and the lush mainland of Yoshi's Island, there are Fly Guys, Briers, and Gusties aiming to burst the baby's balloons. The player has to draw Solid Clouds on the touch screen to guide Baby Mario and evade the enemies along the way until reaching the ground, where Yoshi awaits to grab the baby and escort him through the second half of the level. If all three balloons are burst, Kamek will appear to intercept Baby Mario and kidnap him, resulting in a Game Over.
- Auto-Scrolling Level: This is how Yoshi's levels in the game play. Yoshi continues to walk and that keeps the screen moving.
- The Cameo:
- Baby Bowser will taunt the player alongside Kamek should they have a good run in Challenge Mode.
- Some of the ranking icons depict the cast of Super Mario Bros., including Princess Peach, Hammer Bro., and Toad who otherwise have almost nonexistent roles in the other Yoshi titles.
- Easter Egg: Totaka's Song can be heard during the windy stage if the player pauses the game and waits for three minutes and 45 seconds.
- Endless Game: Marathon and Score Attack modes only end if Baby Mario or Yoshi are defeated by enemies.
- In-Universe Game Clock: Yoshi's stages run through morning, day, evening, and night as the game continues.
- Minigame: If the player earns a high score in the Marathon and Score Attack modes, they unlock a minigame called Balloon Trip.
- No Ending: Even though the game is based on Yoshi's Island, and the game starts with the stork getting attacked, Kamek kidnapping Baby Luigi, and Baby Mario landing on Yoshi's Island and meeting Yoshi just like in that game, it doesn't adapt the latter parts of the game and there is no ending besides Baby Luigi being temporarily freed when a Yoshi defeats the Toadies carrying him until Kamek eventually kidnaps him once again and so on.
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: Yoshi will die in a single hit. Averted with Baby Mario at the beginning, who will lose one of his three balloons whenever he gets hit.
- Tech-Demo Game: Hiroyuki Kimura who directed the game, made it for the Nintendo DS because he wanted to create a simple game that made use of its gameplay interfaces.