Nintendo has a knack for porting over former faves to the N64. The first up at bat? Super Mario 64. The result? Extreme, unparalled success. Then, we were treated to PilotWings 64 and Wave Race 64. Both greatly improved over the originals. Then came Mario Kart 64 and Star Fox 64. They were great, but the originals fared better. Well, now we have Yoshi's Story, and compared to the great, underrated, best of the 2D Mario games, Yoshi's Island, it really, really pales. Do you notice a pattern here? Advice to Nintendo: Give us F-Zero, Zelda, and Metroid; then, quit.

What is simplified? The main thing is the shortening down of the game. Instead of letting us enjoy each of the 24 levels (which is about 40 less than Yoshi's Island), they let us enjoy 6 at a time. Like Star Fox, it would've been twice as good had they just let you play all the levels at once.

These levels also are simplified from Yoshi's Island. They are very linear and do not offer the perfect 2D level design of the original. Most of the stages are straight forward and do not take much skill to complete. Way to make stages better: make fruit more hidden. Reality check: fruit is about as easy to obtain as getting a coin in the original Super Mario Bros. Result: easy, easy game. The bosses, which are located at the end of some of the stages, are defeated as soon as you figure out their patterns, which are as easy to uncover as those in Super Mario World.

The graphics are about as beautiful 2D graphics can get. Beautifully rendered graphics make the game fun to play just looking at the scenery. Perhaps Nintendo was trying to disguise the fact that the game isn't as great as it seems, but who cares. The sound more than makes the graphics ups moot. While the music doesn't make your teeth grate (some of it is actually quite good), the sound effects and various tunes make your head explode. Maximize the cuteness in Diddy Kong Racing times a thousand and you get the annoying cuteness in Yoshi Story's sound alone. Everything from the sound effects when you don't move for a while to the obnoxious little song they hum when you beat a stage is enough to grant therapy.

Yoshi's Story is a story of "Could've been." Yoshi's Story could've been 2D games' saving grace. Yoshi's Story could've been a prime example of how the Nintendo 64 can be flexible. Yoshi's Story could've been a nice follow up to one of the Super NES's greatest games. Yoshi's Story could've been a top notch platformer. Sadly, Yoshi's Story is none of those.

Overall: 6.5