I have a weird relationship with Yoshi Touch & Go. I bought it at release back before the Nintendo DS had started to gain momentum. It is one of the many games from the Nintendo DS’s early life that just cobbled together ideas of how a game could be played using the system’s new features; the dual screen layout, microphone and touch screen.
Yoshi moves forward automatically while you draw clouds for him to cross over. You can also touch him to make him jump, circle enemies to encase them in bubbles and tap the environment to throw eggs. It all comes together well and is a fantastic first attempt at making a game without the use of any buttons.
It’s also very challenging. You have to be quick and precise to keep Yoshi alive as he marches forward.
So, mechanically Yoshi Touch & Go is great. The problem is that it lacks content. There are four modes with little variety beyond the rules that govern them. Some are score based, while others are distance focused. For full retail price, it was disappointing. Today, it’d probably be more fitting as an inexpensive download.
That being said, over time I’ve gotten my value out of it. Every two or three years, I can’t help but to come back to it. It’s pretty easy to pick up and play. I’m personally a big fan of the Marathon mode, which is essentially an endless set of levels that slowly scale in difficulty.
Oddly enough, it ended up as one of my most memorable experiences on the Nintendo DS.
