POSTED 12/2/17


POOCHY & YOSHI’S WOOLLY WORLD

Nintendo

He’s been in the wilderness, but Itchy & Scratchy’s erstwhile pal Poochie finally returns to our screens.

Except, of course, that he doesn’t, for this is Poochy with a ‘y’, and he’s certainly not one third Fonzarelli. Instead he’s 100% woolly!

Yes, it’s the Wii U game that not enough people took the chance to fall in love with, but shrunkinated down to 3DS size. Knit-picky types may miss the co-op, and it doesn’t look quite as pretty, but much new stuff has been woven in to ease the pain – and we’ll get to that.

First things first – story! The Yoshis are kicking back, enjoying the sun when Kamek comes and makes them all wild and woolly. Literally. Stuck in a material world full of crafty puzzles, our hero Yoshi – as distinct from all of the other Yoshis - sets out to make things right.

He also has faithful Poochy pups by his side (when they’re not running off wherever they darned well please...) In the newly added ‘Mellow Mode’ they cotton on to hidden stuff – there are serious amounts of collectibles dotted about - and otherwise duck and weave about making things as easy as the name “Mellow Mode” implies. Yoshi sprouting wings also helps. Naturally this chill can be eschewed for more challenge in the standard mode.

But Poochy also has his own auto-run levels, plus he stars with his dino-bud in a collection of short movies. His amiibo – which sadly we don’t have - also adds extra assistance.

Other than recent Rayman outings, nobody does platformers like Nintendo. From the originator in Mario through to DK, Kirby and beyond, they have it tied down. This doesn’t mean that they’re the same experience though. Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World harks back to classic Mario, but has a more leisurely pace allowing the eking out of more fiendishly hidden stuff. It’s a masterpiece for kids or adults – and, dudemeisters, IT’S SO FLUFFY!

CLICK THIS!



CLICK THIS!