At its E3 2013 press conference, Nintendo announced the next chapter in its Yoshi’s Island franchise, Yoshi’s New Island for the 3DS.
Yoshi’s New Island is an expansion of the SNES title, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, from 1995. It retains the classic side scroller feel while adding new art styles for its environments, refining character models, and giving Yoshi something to hold his tongue in.
Among some of the new gameplay features, players will take control of screen-sized Mega Eggs that knock down obstructing stone columns and pipes and gather dozens of coins. Nintendo has also confirmed that the game will take advantage of the 3DS‘s motion sensor to offer a new approach in discovering hidden areas and unlockables.
The game is being developed by Japanese studio Arzest, which was involved in three games and applications including Wii Play Motion, Street Pass Mii Plaza, and Time Travelers for 3DS.
Yoshi’s New Island is scheduled for a Holiday 2013 release.
Want to see Yoshi in all enemy-swallowing, egg-rolling glory? Check out the trailer below:
Debuting in 1995 with Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, the Yoshi’s Island series went in a couple of directions — initially on console and then to mobile platforms. In 1997, Nintendo releases Yoshi’s Story for the Nintendo 64, but after lukewarm reception decided to put the series on hold for four years.
In 2001, Nintendo brought a revamped version of the original Yoshi’s Island to the Game Boy Advance, adding in new features and renaming it Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advanced 3.
As a result of its successful debut on the GBA, in 2005 Nintendo released two series spinoffs, Yoshi Touch & Go for the DS and Yoshi’s Topsy-Turvy for the GBA. The following year, Nintendo continued the franchise on its then-current handheld with Yoshi’s Island DS.
