Review – Yoshi and the Mysterious Book

Yoshi, the gaming world’s favorite dinosaur, just got a new solo game. And as the series is known for presenting unique mechanics and visuals in each adventure, the expectation to discover what mysteries awaited us was quite high. Now, we can finally discover and explore each page of this enigmatic book to discover what awaits us in this cute adventure.

is a 2D adventure game that, right away, deviates from the traditional phase model as we know and saw in , for example. You could even say that we have an experience of investigation, research and notes here.

Each chapter of the book has a series of different creatures for us to get to know and, best of all, they all offer unique experiences, making reading, oops, gameplay, extremely exciting and addictive.

Devouring the mysterious book

Trapped in Bowser’s castle for a long time, the Mysterious Book ends up being discovered by little Bowser Jr. Upon observing its pages, he decides to delve deeper into that story in search of a certain treasure. However, reading while flying in his ship wasn’t the best idea. When the little bad guy used the magnifying glass in the book, he ended up being transported inside it.

The book then lands on the wonderful island of the Yoshis. Curious but cautious, the characters take care of the object, which now presents itself as N. Igma. The old book is confused and, surprisingly, you don’t know or simply don’t remember the content on its own pages. Therefore, he asks the Yoshis for help to uncover their secrets.

This help takes you on an adventure through several incredible chapters. Each of them has different habitats and creatures to discover, and the magic begins right at the beginning of the book, when we realize that the pages are alive: little animals move around and, with the magnifying glass, you can aim at what catches your attention to study it. This is how you will be transported to the levels of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book.

Within the stages, the look changes completely, remembering the colorful strokes of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, from the Super Nintendo. The colors are vibrant and full of details in the closest layers. In the background, the movements happen more smoothly, while loose sentences complete the canvas of this living book.

Each scene and its little characters are a visual delight: a charming and passionate cuteness that makes you want to squeeze it because it is so cute.

Suddenly, Yoshi comes across a small flower and, instead of turning it into an egg, he starts carrying it on his back. Seriously, what’s not to love? And everything gets even better, as each new discovery creates a record, almost like a sticker describing the revealed situation. This way, each interaction fills the screen with notes, and an important detail: everything in Portuguese.

Continuing with the flower as an example: when carrying it, the bushes gain flowers; when offered fruits, they change color, react and can even sprout new fruits in the vegetation. They take root if you jump hard on them, they are happy when placed in water, they can get dirty with mud or honey… in short, there are countless possibilities.

It seems simple, but this is just preparation so that other creatures can take advantage of the changes they cause in the environments. The dynamic applies to many other animals, okay? enabling you to combine your skills.

When you complete the main discoveries involving flowers and other creatures, the level ends. Back in the ‘real’ world, we have the chance to give a name to the creature analyzed and, with that, see the book transform. The blank pages are now filled with the notes created within the level, now accompanied by the name you chose for each of the pets.

Filling a mystical book

A really cool detail is that the color of Yoshi used in the level is also registered and everything results in very cute drawings that give the book a wonderful charm. You can even modify the position of each note and organize everything as you prefer. This is a perfect Bobbie Goods, for me.

Notes earn stars, which act as currency to unlock new chapters of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. In practice, it is not difficult to unlock them and in a short time you can free them all. On the other hand, new creatures appear as you complete the stages. This is because the book is alive and, as you interact, you will see, for example, a species of frog waking up to the noise caused by the birdsong that you moved to an adjacent page.

Progression in investigations paves the way for new species to emerge and, in turn, new phases to investigate. Naturally, the animals begin to move between the pages of the book and the different mechanics begin to mix.

The flower capable of generating a pepper sprout could be useful in discovering how a jellyfish reacts to food or even make the sting of a swarm of bees strong enough to break a rock. Most of the creatures have already appeared in other games in the franchise. The difference is that here they surprise with unprecedented reactions and abilities shared with Yoshi himself, transforming the game from start to finish.

Some highlights are worth mentioning: the little frog that creates bubbles and helps you float; little birds that function as jumping platforms; explosive nuts; a boomerang caterpillar; clouds with wings; a coral of sea creatures.

There are so many and so creative that it is difficult to choose favorites. Everyone is adorable and has that charisma that makes you want to put them on a farm or hug the Switch like it was a plush.

Reunindo o elenco de Yoshi and the Mysterious Book

Some more popular faces also appear here, such as the Shy Guys, who can point and indicate the next objective in a kind of hide-and-seek game. There are also those masked and trickster mice who, if you mess up, will even steal the mouse you are carrying on your back. It’s hilarious.

Describing each species would be a huge spoiler and would practically lead to another book. So I’ll limit myself to saying that there are many more than 30 creatures to know and name with their own names (or accept N. Igma’s suggestions), each one bringing something new to our dear Yoshi.

It’s easy to spend hours investigating new ways to interact with animals. Even with simple commands, the level design is full of details to create varied situations. And when the animals start to mix, everything becomes even more interesting. Even in the shorter levels, there will be many discoveries that will require creativity and curiosity, which reinforces replayability.

At a certain point, a stain on the book may appear. This small drop of ink is a way of indicating pending investigations. Completing them yields even more coins. It’s a welcome help for progression, without charging your resources, remembering that you can also use coins to preview research.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book also has a riddle beyond its own pages. Here, Yoshi doesn’t have a traditional health bar and there’s no life counter or real way to lose progress. Does this make the game easier? In part, yes. But it also seems to have been a decision to prevent searches from becoming repetitive and frustrating.

Imagine completing several investigations and having to repeat everything because you missed the level. Given the sheer amount of puzzles and interactions, this could easily break the pace and diminish the sense of discovery. Still, it’s worth saying: the progression actually ends up being smoother.

This immortality generates some curious moments. Especially in battles against Bowser Jr. and other enemies, where there is often not exactly a challenge, but rather a test of patience.

During a guided level, for example, if you fall, you are reborn back in the cloud and continue following the route until the end. It’s strange. But it also makes it clear that the objective is not to “win” the stage. The focus is to make the most of that visit to carry out your analyses. If something goes unnoticed, then it is worth repeating and the surprise continues to work because what has already been discovered remains recorded.

Finding new pages

Another important challenge is finding the famous smiling flowers, items that become useful in the post-game. And here’s a spoiler: upon completing the main story, N. Igma expands the content with four additional chapters, as well as two secret chapters full of new challenges. Maybe they are the ones asking for more skills.

All this turns the game into a true interactive encyclopedia. A full plate for those who like collecting items and unraveling content. He can easily hold you for many hours, always finding new ways to surprise.

Whether it’s a cute creature or an unexpected detail that yields an incredible discovery. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book also has an animal index, allowing you to consult each one with the creative names you chose.

In the post-game, it is still possible to enable a session of tools from the book, which help with habitat investigations. And there are many, so many that it becomes absurd. Each tool can be placed in the game interface, letting you customize the experience however you see fit.

It has sensors to indicate hidden items or interactions, egg counters and, look, even the much-questioned life bar. But there is a curious detail: it can reach a heart and, even if you throw yourself into the lava, Yoshi is reborn with that single heart. In other words: he doesn’t die like that.

There are also indicators with step counters, heart rate, temperature and water quality. And then the question remains: why? In the end, perhaps the exact function doesn’t matter so much. What’s really worth it is the surprise of discovering what each detail can reveal and completing these collectible relationships that make the book even more alive and enchanting.

Honestly, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is surprising. In addition to being extremely cute, it completely changes the logic of what could be just another adventure game with traditional levels. It’s no surprise that the series always manages to reinvent itself.

And this time it delivers surprises until the end. This entire proposal makes it one of the most enjoyable almanacs to complete. Easily surpassing even a certain sticker album that’s out there.