I'm getting around to writing something here. Just sit tight, kids. I promise there will be tons to read and see herein the coming weeks. ;-)
to Nijon76; Firstly, I apologize greatly for editing this page- I couldn't find a way to contact you otherwise. I saw you said you were an avid Bubble Bobble memorabilia collector on the discussion page, and I've come to you for assistance with finding any items at all. I should be contactable via wikipedia, as I tried to set it up for that (I'm Reg_06).
I'd like to take a moment and say that Wikipedia Nazi's are a menace to all Wikipedia users.
User:Punctured Bicycle has been known to track Wikipedia changes by specific users and have them taken down for reasons such as "Neutral Point of View" and "Unsourced Material" Violations. This is despite the fact that the work is sourced and accurate. The Yoshi's Story article is the best example, where all information from the Reception section was removed after weeks of continuous work. Take a moment and look at the Reception section as it existed before Punctured Bicycle took it all down in the name of WikiAvenging. It needs to be put on a page where he can't rip it down, so here's its new page.
Reception edit
While Nintendo brought a Yoshi game early in the Nintendo 64's lifespan, critics were generally displeased with Yoshi's Story. As a spiritual and literal successor to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, the game was drastically downsized in size and scope. Critics cited many omissions, from the removal of smart, complex level designs and graphical details to the complete absence of vehicle morphing. Joe Fielder of GameSpot noted that Yoshi's Story "was obviously designed so that younger players could play through quickly and feel some sense of accomplishment."[1] Well-known publications and websites, such as GameSpot[2], awarded the game a "5.3" for "Mediocre", and All Game Guide and Game's Domain both awarded Yoshi's Story a "5.0" out of 10. However, currently, Yoshi's Story maintains a "Meta Score" of 65 (out of 100) on the MetaCritic website[3] and a 68 (out of 100) on GameRankings.com[4]. While the price of the game didn't deter customers, the lasting impression has become timeless among Nintendo fans.
Probably the hardest aspect for Nintendo fans to stomach was the original MSRP of Yoshi's Story[5]. In the United States, Yoshi's Story's MSRP was $59.99, which, at the time, was $9.99 more than an average game for Sony's PlayStation console[5]. This figure was coupled with the fact that, due to Yoshi's Story's early release in the N64's lifespan, the price of the console itself was still fresh in consumer's minds. Despite these issues, Yoshi's Story still sold well in the marketplace; Yoshi's Story sold over 2 million copies worldwide[6], earning it the Player's Choice re-release. Despite this, fans and critics were displeased with Yoshi's Story's core aspects, including the gameplay.
The difficulty of Yoshi's Story was simple and forgiving, giving older players little to appreciate. For example, a single playthrough only required an hour of continuous play. This was a large disappointment to the 10+ hours provided by Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. As another example, the "final boss" fight provided the player with an endless supply of health items. This prevented even the youngest players from losing a game life. Through these inclusions and the aforementioned omissions, Yoshi's Story failed to live up to the high expectations set by the game's predecessor. However, Yoshi's Story is credited with a much broader effect it had on customer's perceptions of Nintendo.
Yoshi's Story's release marked the beginning of the ongoing issue that Nintendo had a "focus on children" instead of all ages during the Nintendo 64 era[7]. While Nintendo had been known to censor and downgrade dialog to ensure a broader audience appeal, this did not prevent games, such as Final Fantasy VI, from being released outside Japan. However, with the release of Yoshi's Story, consumers started noticing a more "childish" trend that would put all other Nintendo titles under scrutiny[7]. This issue would later resurface during Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker's development, when the game's cel-shaded graphics became a controversy among fans of the previous two games, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask[7]. Since these debates, Nintendo has set up exclusivity agreements with companies, such as Konami and Capcom, to bring franchises like Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil (respectively) to Nintendo's consoles. This has continued through numerous other methods, such as the character Solid Snake appearing in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Despite these impacts, Nintendo has continued to show support for Yoshi's Story by releasing it for the Virtual Console on the Wii. However, being re-reviewed after the Nintendo 64's time, editors were much harsher to the game.
Yoshi's Story's Virtual Console sales have highlighted the appeal of the franchise and fan reception. Yoshi's Story made second place on the Virtual Console downloads behind Super Mario Bros. on the week of its release. However, the Virtual Console reviews of Yoshi's Story are generally low[8][9]. When GameSpot reviewed the Virtual Console version of the game, it received an even lower score of "4.0"[8] In addition, GameSpot's Virtual Console review gave Yoshi's Story five negative descriptors: "Derivative," "Shallow," "Short," "Stripped," and "Too Easy." IGN Editor Lucas M. Thomas wrote a review for the Virtual Console version stating that Yoshi's Story's gameplay is "nonsensical" and "unengaging."[9] Thomas commented that Yoshi's Story's "system of grocery-hunting was far and away removed from the style of play presented in the SNES Yoshi's Island, and far and away removed from that game's sense of fun."[9] In addition, the absence of Baby Mario and 50+ levels made the "premise [feel] disconnected. Boring."[9] In the end, Thomas felt that Yoshi's Story was "not the sequel to Yoshi's Island that it could have been."[9] This more contemporary review further verifies the negative impact Yoshi's Story had on the market and "Yoshi" franchise.
When Nintendo began marketing Yoshi's Island DS, it was obvious that the game was meant to stand apart from its 64-bit predecessor. Nintendo initially titled the game "Yoshi's Island 2," disassociating Yoshi's Story's presence from the general chronology. However, 2 weeks prior to the game's US release, Nintendo switched to the "Yoshi's Island DS" title. Aside from Yoshi "sounds" and allowing HAL Laboratories to create themes from the game for their Super Smash Bros. series, Nintendo has ceased directly referencing Yoshi's Story. In addition, it has been confirmed that the latest Smash Bros. game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, will feature a Yoshi's Island themed level in place of a Yoshi's Story-styled stage. These situations have highlighted Yoshi's Story's effect on Nintendo and the "Yoshi" franchise.
I agree with the critics that this segement is too biased and doesn't source absolutely every sentence. But I followed this article controversy because I lived through this entire scenario and I was old enough to understand what kind of an impact Yoshi's Story really had. User:Punctured Bicycle obnoxiously accused Eliot Andrews of violating Wikipedia Terms of Use and had pretty much all the information removed.
Now Nintendo Fanboys celebrate because Nintendo's history is no longer flawed according to Wikipedia. That's just censorship and I think more work must be done to keep articles like this online. It's not just "original research" if it's sourced and relevant, people! You can't use that as your trump card every time and expect it to work!
If we let Wikipedia Nazi's like Punctured Bicycle win debates by throwing out random trump cards, we might as well shut Wikipedia down.
- ^ http://www.gamespot.com/n64/action/yoshisstory/review.html
- ^ http://www.gamespot.com/n64/action/yoshisstory/index.html?tag=tabs;summary
- ^ "Yoshi's Story (N64:1998) Reviews". MetaCritic. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
- ^ "Yoshi's Story Reviews". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
- ^ a b Jake Richter (2004-02-14). "The Nintendo 64". The Richter Scale. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ VGChartz (2007-12-15). "Yoshi's Story Sales". VGChartz. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c GameCubicle.com (2001-08-21). "Miyamoto Interview". GameCubicle. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Frank Provo (2007-09-24). "Yoshi's Story review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c d e Lucas M. Thomas (2007-09-18). "Yoshi's Story Virtual Console Review". IGN. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
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