Giant chore from start to finish. Whenever I wasn't thoroughly underwhelmed by the total lack of atmosphere, I was actively mad at the infuriating gameplay. The worst part of this game by far is the camera/dual screen implementation. Not only is there a huge gap between the two screens where you can't see anything, there is also screen crunch for some reason...on a game that was specifically made for the DS. I don't think I've ever been hit by something flying in unreactably from off screen in any other game this much. It is maddening. Sometimes it seems very intentional too, like the fake flower in the insanely long cave level (fucking terrible idea btw). Additionally, the visuals and particularly the soundtrack are really bad. Pretty much the only good looking assets in this game are ripped straight from Yoshi's Island on the SNES. The rest ranges from ehh to horrible (the "kangaroo", Bowser, the bull enemies). The music is bland and utterly unfitting. Just compare the cave or castle themes to those of SNES Yoshi's Island and you'll get exactly what I mean. So yeah...I'm just glad it's finally over.

The map is a bit small and it gets kinda monotonous after a while but I'd say this is a good learning tool for beginners. Especially features like the collocations you can find by flipping cards in your album are awesome. That being said, I've been learning Japanese for almost 5 months now, and there weren't really a lot of words I didn't already know. Also, the game only teaches you nouns, and only those broadly applicable in a city setting in Japan. I'd say play this after about one month of learning and you'll get the most out of it. Finally, apart from the educational aspect, the atmosphere is really cozy and I love the implementation of irasutoya art.

I adore the aesthetic and I think some parts of this game are really really creative and fun but as for the game itself...I just couldn't completely get into it. First of all, I don't really like how Yoshi feels all that much. It's a little slippery. Secondly, a lot of the level design was really frustrating and stressful, not being helped by the weird checkpoint placement. Enemies also sometimes fly straight in your face from off screen, which is quite annoying. Speaking of, getting hit in this game is insanely annoying. Not only does Baby Mario immediately start shouting the most ear-destroying horrible cry known to man (yes it IS as bad as everyone says), he also seems to always fly straight up to a point where Yoshi can't physically reach him. Unless there is an even more annoying spot (like immediately above lava or spikes), in which case he will of course make a beeline there instead. Maybe I'll like it more on an eventual replay, but for now, since giving it an average score would feel weird, I'll rate it "I liked it".