1. Yoshi's Crafted World 100 Speedrun 2
2. Yoshi's Crafted World 100 Speedrun 1
3. Jonathan Davenport Racing
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Jan 17, 2017  Yoshi's Crafted World - All Bosses + Cutscenes (No Damage) - Duration: 41:55. ProsafiaGaming 2,342,492 views.

Long time no see right? To anyone who remembers me, sorry it’s been so long since I posted a review. For anyone that hasn’t seen my work before, hello! I don’t know how well this will go, but I hope over the coming weeks and months I can try and get back into this. But now that the introduction is done, what game are we talking about today? Well, today i’m gonna give my thoughts on Yoshi’s Crafted World, a game that seems to have quite the mixed reactions among the community. Lets get started.

History:

In 2015, a company named Good-Feel took on the IP of Yoshi. They previously had worked with Nintendo on Kirby’s Epic Yarn, and they have a very unique style with these games. Yoshi’s Wooly World was a traditional 2D platformer, with a focus on platforming and some hidden items. Personally, it was one of my favorite Wii U games. I would assume Nintendo agreed, as they let them take another swing at the IP. The initial project was shown off at E3 2017, and simply titled, Yoshi. It would be another year before we heard from the game again. And then, for some reason, Nintendo just dropped the release date on Twitter, with no context, cool. The game came out March 29th, 2019. The game is similar in a way to Wooly World, with a lot more emphasis on the collectibles.

Story:

The game starts off similarly to other Yoshi games. All the Yoshi’s are relaxing next to this new object called the Sundream Stone, which has the power to grant wishes. Kamek and Baby Bowser swoop in and steal the Stone, scattering 5 gems around the land. It is your job to get them back, while defeating both Kamek and Baby Bowser. Overall a simple plot, but that’s fine for a game like this.

Presentation:

For what is standard with Nintendo’s properties, this game looks gorgeous. The game has a scrapbook-esque aesthetic, and it definitely invokes a feeling of child-like wonder. All the characters and enemies look adorable, and they fit right in. The music is nothing to write home about, its alright. Though the music that plays during the costume minigame is mind-numbingly grating. Everything else is relatively average though.

Yoshi's Crafted World 100 Speedrun 2

Gameplay:

As mentioned before, this game is a 2D platformer(my favorite), but its a bit different this time around. There are some sections that are laid out in 3D, but still play on a 2D path if that makes sense? Crafted World plays like most of Nintendo’s 2D platformers, Yoshi can flutter jump, eat enemies to make eggs, and freely throw them. In addition to simple egg throwing, you can also throw them into the foreground and background, this becomes important in a minute. The main goal of the level is simply to reach the exit.The game also has branching paths on the map screen, which is a nice change of pace. But a lot of the mixed reception comes from this games reliance on collectibles.

There are your usual Yoshi items, the Flowers, 20 Red Coins, finishing the level with full health. But now there are also crafts you have to gather, or certain requirements to get certain flowers. This is a perfect time to transition to my gripes with this game.

Difficulty:

So this game is a relatively easy game. It's a simple, family-friendly 2D platformer, there shouldn’t be much struggle here. But then you reach the post-game. See, if you’re a normal human being, you may put the game down, say you’ve had your fill, and move on. Maybe play just a bit more, but once you see the completion requirements, most would turn and sprint away. So, if you’re like me, and completely insane, you decide to take a crack at it. Take a guess at how many Flowers there are in this game? I almost guarantee whatever number you’re thinking is too low. 693. 693 flowers. Some may point out how with Super Mario Odyssey I didn’t mind the 880 Moons, why is it a problem now?

Well sit down bud, and let me tell ya.

So of course you can just find some in the normal levels, out in the open, maybe completing a simple egg throwing challenge, or defeating a certain enemy. And that will be more than enough to complete the game on a normal run. But if you want to be a completionist, you have to help the block people(named Blockafellers), by finding crafts. There can be around 10 or more crafts for each set piece, and it gets boring really fast. I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t get tired of it around the 400 mark. I tried to do it legitimately, but if I got stuck, I would often just say screw it and look it up.

Before we even get to the worst part, I still forgot to mention you can collect all the costumes(though that doesn’t reward you), and you have to find a character named Sprout in basically every level. It’s sort of a fun game of Hide-and-Seek, but it slowly gets more and more tedious.

But that still won’t be enough, of course not. Each boss fight level has 3 new challenges. Usually one revolving around the bosses moves, one making you clear it without getting hit, and one requiring you clear it in a certain time. Usually it’s not too bad, but you may need to look into some speedrunning strategies for that last one. But the Kamek boss fight challenges? Honestly I'm surprised I don’t wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat over that fight. It requires stupid amounts of accuracy and timing, it is a ridiculous spike in difficulty. It probably took me around 2-3 hours, and if you think, “wow it took you that long to beat something in a Yoshi game?”, I implore you to try it yourself.

But what does all that amount too? Padding. Realistically, it should probably only take about 8-10 hours to beat this game. Pretty short for a AAA game. With all the collectibles? It took me 30+ hours. And what do you get from dragging yourself through all that? Not much really:

Price:

Currently you can grab Yoshi’s Crafted World for around $50 USD on Amazon. But it still retails at $60 at Gamestop for example. While it is a AAA game, and still a good game despite my complaining, I personally would skip on this if it’s $60. $50 maybe, and $40 or lower definitely pick it up.

Conclusion:

This game is very charming and I did enjoy my time with it. All the padding though definitely hurts this game and my overall enjoyment of it. But for the love of everything don’t 100% it, its not worth it. Probably the least fun i’ve had reaching 100% in a game in a long time. But otherwise, another solid 2D platformer. If you can find it somewhat cheap, I would definitely recommend it.

Overall Verdict: 8/10

Yoshi's Crafted World is out now on the Nintendo Switch, and it's another great example of a Nintendo platformer featuring a broad range of challenging and easy content. Depending on your skill and interest level, you can easily breeze through the game without a care in the world, or you can challenge yourself to collect every single hidden item, unlock the hidden levels, and beat every boss. Regardless, Yoshi's Crafted World will give you the tools you need to overcome however difficult a goal you set for yourself.

Whether you're floating by on Mellow Mode or trying to find that last hidden Smiley Flower, here are some tips and tricks for Yoshi's Crafted World that will hopefully help you collect the gems and free the world from Kamek and Baby Bowser once again:

Decide how much you want to collect

Yoshi's Crafted World is not especially difficult to beat if your aim is just to get through levels. You can easily slap on Mellow Mode and float on through. But the meat of the game is in its collectibles. Some of those are required to proceed, but not many. The rest are just for fun and exploration. With that in mind, you'll want to decide early on how dedicated you are to collecting them all, then focus your goals in each stage accordingly.

Yoshi's Crafted World 100 Speedrun 1

You can get by each level just by grabbing a handful of things. You'll likely want to aim for the easiest Smiley Flowers, which are almost always 100 coins and a few of the more visible flowers within the level. Heart Smiley Flowers can be easy as well, but sometimes they'll trip you up with a hidden ? cloud. Once you get past the first few areas, you can also return and do the level backwards, collecting Poochy Pups for one free Smiley Flower per pup. The pups usually aren't too hard to find, especially if you aren't worried about the time limit.

Keeping expectations low, you'll get through the game fine. However, if you're someone who wants to 100% the game...

Repeat levels

Sorry, but you'll very likely have to repeat some levels multiple times to get everything. You'll miss items almost as a guarantee, but there are also some points in levels that are effectively points of no return (an early example of this is riding the train in the very first level). Once you do something in particular, you won't be able to go back and reach things. Or if you fail something like a blue coin collection challenge, you won't be able to do it again in that run of the level. You'll have to start it over for another shot at it.

Jonathan Davenport Racing

There's nothing wrong with redoing a level, as you'll already have collected a great deal of the level's items and can just breeze by them while looking for the one you want. Smiley Flowers in particular are easy to gauge where to look, as they'll appear on your menu in the order they appear in the level. If you've collected the second and fourth Smiley Flower, for instance, you know to look in between those two locations for the third.

Walk everywhere

One of the biggest tricks of Yoshi games is hiding invisible ? clouds in hard-to-reach places, or just off the path where you might not necessarily go. These clouds will become visible if you throw an egg at the spot they're in, or if you touch them with Yoshi. However, when they're tucked away in areas you're not already in or throwing things at, they're easy to miss! And they often contain coins, hearts, or sometimes access to Smiley Flowers you need to 100% a level.

If you're struggling to find something, try walking and jumping Yoshi through any areas of seemingly empty space, or areas that may have enemies but not much else. Little alcoves below platforms, or blank spaces next to walls often hide blocks like this. And if you're still struggling to find that last block, you can always just switch modes...

Switch to Mellow Mode

There's no shame in swapping to Mellow Mode. Seriously! Mellow Mode doesn't just give you infinite flutter jumps and a better ability to take damage. It also will notify you when a Smiley Flower is nearby, and reveal all invisible ? clouds. You can toggle it on and off at any time, so you don't need to play the whole game with it on. Just turn the mode on if you're really having trouble finding a particular collectible, grab it, and move on!

Or, alternatively, play as much of the game as you like with this mode on and enjoy a breezy, untroubled experience. Mellow Mode doesn't just make it easier to find collectibles - it also makes it less of a struggle to overcome enemies, obstacles, and platforming challenges, especially as they amp up the difficulty late in the game.

Play with a friend

Another way to make the game a bit easier on all fronts is to bring a friend along. Yoshi's Crafted World has drop-in/out co-op, so you can play with a second Yoshi in the room at any time. Your friend will have all the same abilities you do, so they can help you defeat enemies, continue even if you're defeated, ensure you have enough eggs with you to find secrets, and help you find hidden areas. Plus, the game's even more fun when you bring someone along with you.

Don costumes

Finally, another simple way to overcome some challenges in Yoshi's Crafted World is to make sure your Yoshi is always wearing a costume. Costumes aren't just adorable, they also help Yoshi be able to handle more damage. If you're struggling with bosses or enemies or falling into pits, a costume is a good way to protect yourself from danger.

Costumes that are rarer can take more damage, and it's very easy to get one. Once you encounter the first gachapon machine, keep returning to it and putting coins in until you have the Super Rare costume within. You'll never get duplicates and your costumes are never permanently destroyed, so you're guaranteed to get the rarest costumes fairly quickly if you just keep trying, especially since the early levels have so many easy to get coins. Then, just make sure you put the costume on before you head into a level, and you'll have an extra layer of cardboard protection against the Shy Guys!

Any questions?

It's hard to get lost or stuck in Yoshi's Crafted World, but if you're struggling to find the best way to play, let me know in the comments and I'll try to help!

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