As of now, in my humble opinion, a game by the name of “Yoshi’s Island”, released in 1995 for the outstanding Super Nintendo machine is the undisputed king of 2D platformers. Every single thing about that game was not only done right, but polished to a point that only Nintendo is known to achieve in the world of video games. The level design was impeccable, the music was fantastic, the art style was and still is beautiful and vibrant, and last but not least, the boss battles. Oh the boss battles, what a key part to this gem. A boss battle in a video game is one of the most important parts OF a video game. It’s the ultimate challenge of the said world, the climax to what you’ve worked so hard to reach. When you think of ‘boss’ you think big, badass, pain-bringing beast…right? I do at least, and while this game may not give off the most ‘badass’ vibe in the world, it does provide with unmatched boss battle after boss battle, each and everyone being fun and unique in its own way. Not only that though, the game emphasized on making sure these bosses were big. Not just another enemy, these were monumental baddies out for blood. And as a rabid video game antic, to this day I can say that no other game in the same vein as Yoshi’s Island has been able to outmatch the final showdown in this very game. For those not in the know, flee this site and grab a copy of the game to see for yourself, its something of epic proportions to say the least. Spoilers beware, Yoshi’s final match with baby Bowser is unlike anything before its time. On the then mighty (but now deemed weak) 32-bit system, a more-than-fully sized Bowser, comparable to say Mount Everest, was rushing at your still tiny Yoshi and baby at an unknown speed (guessed to be 170 mph) like a linebacker set to make his move. At the climax of your epic quest, dodging gigantic fireballs and chucking oversized dinosaur eggs over 3000 feet was a no brainer, or your only choice to succeed. Either way, things were as serious as ever and a boss battle hasn’t stained my memory as much as that one ever since.
But when you take a look back at that final boss battle specifically, you will notice that that showdown would be an amazing experience in 3D. Imagine being able to judge the depth of where gigantically sized baby Bowser actually was, and when he’s rushing at you being able to actually see him coming closer and closer in real 3D sounds incredibly intriguing. And as you dodge the overgrown fireballs, as they whiz past Yoshi they’ll head straight for your face. Lastly, being able to watch your T-rex eggs go from 10 feet to 20 feet to 2000 feet would be amazing. Its just an event that screams to be made in 3D.
So whats all this lead up to? The perfect 2D? platformer. By this I mean a platforming game played on a 2D plane with 3D effects of course. I’m not asking for a Yoshi’s Island sequel. Although I wouldn’t attest to one done right, I’ve played Yoshi’s Island DS, and while a decent platformer in its own right, in all honesty it doesn’t hold a candle to the original. To be cut and dry, Artoon isn’t Nintendo. ‘Nuff said. But back to the point, I’m saying a game that really does 2D platforming right, innovative concepts thrown on a 2D plane with long and interesting level designs, a unique but artistic graphic style, suberb music, and an intense focus on boss battles. It can be original, it can be a sequel, I don’t care. I just want it to be done and done right. The Nintendo 3DS is such an interesting piece of gaming tech, something that not only has the press raving, but me as well. As excited as I am, I really hope developers do take advantage of its features done right, and create some awesome experiences utilizing the 3D tech. Lets be honest, one of the reasons 3D is so intriguing, esspecially in the video game market is because it really hasn’t been done before (to a quality extent). Seeing all of your favorite video games pop out at you is new, and new is interesting. And with Nintendo, we are guarenteed things will be done not only right, but practically perfect. Can we expect the perfect 2D? platformer to be released on the 3DS? I sure hope so, and if anyones to do it its the king of head-bopping themselves, Nintendo. I’m sure we can expect a few classy platformers from them, but my question is will any of them have the quality to out match the best, that being Yoshi’s Island. Only time will tell my friends.
