Yoshi's Island DS -- Final Opinion.

The pursuit of perfection is at the heart of Yoshi's Island DS. The game employs a scoring system. One could play through the game's forty main stages and ten secret stages without a concern for the score, but that would sort of missing the whole point in my opinion. In each level there are items to collect which add toward your point total for said level. A perfect score is one-hundred points. There are twenty red coins in each level to be found. Each red coin is worth one point. These coins also contribute to your standard coin count where one-hundred earns you an extra man. You'll also need to find thirty stars in each level. One again the stars are worth one point each. The stars also add to a timer that determines how long a baby can stay separated from the back of a Yoshi before the enemies will take it away and the player loses a life. When you start each level that timer is set at ten stars. As you go through the level you'll find stars hidden here and there and as you collect them you can get the timer to its maximum of thirty. A baby is thrown from a Yoshi's back whenever you take damage and the timers starts counting down. The stars aren't replaced beyond the initial ten of them. That means to earn the perfect score you'll have to be able to complete the level without taking damage to manage to get the timer to thirty. And then you'll have to be able to clear the rest of the level without taking damage to keep the timer at the thirty stars. There are also five flowers hidden throughout each level. The flowers are worth ten points each. Ten flowers at five points each plus the thirty stars and twenty red coins adds up to give you the perfect one-hundred points per level. This is easier said than done as the developers have been outright fiendish in their design of the levels and their use of action puzzles. Someone could play through the game without caring for the score and not have much to face in the way of challenge until world five. But for those pursuing perfection, the challenge ramps up much earlier. Yoshi's Island DS is one of the hardest games I've ever played. Completionists need be warned, this game might drive you insane. The game reaches the upper levels of challenge. It's up there with the like of the Ghosts 'n Goblins series as far as pure action challenge is concerned. Yoshi's Island DS is the best looking Nintendo DS game I've seen. I just love the art style. The graphics are bright and colorful and gorgeous. The game's sound effects are all crisp and clear and fit with the action. The game's music sounds great on a technical level. It sounds good through the speakers. The composition is a bit more vanilla. It's good, it just plays it safe and doesn't reach greatness. The game will provide more than enough challenge for anyone. The controls are perfectly responsive. This is the best Mario game I've played in years, which is saying something considering New Super Mario Bros. shares the same release year. I'm giving Yoshi's Island DS a 9.