Yoshi's Woolly World is a 2015 platform game created by Good-Feel and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It follows Yoshi's New Island (2014) and is the seventh main game in the Yoshi series. It is the third game in the series released for a home console, the first such release since 1997's Yoshi's Story, which was over 17 years earlier. The game is inspired by 2010's Kirby's Epic Yarn. In the game, two Yoshis go on a mission to save their friends. Kamek has turned their friends into bundles of yarn to build a new castle for Baby Bowser.

Like Kirby's Epic Yarn, Yoshi's Woolly World uses an art style that looks like yarn. The gameplay focuses on how yarn works, along with the series' usual gameplay. In this game, Yoshi makes yarn balls instead of eggs. He can also change into different forms, similar to Kirby in Kirby's Epic Yarn.

A version for the Nintendo 3DS, called Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, was released globally in early 2017. Both versions received mostly positive reviews. Critics praised the art style, gameplay, and creativity, but some said the game was too easy. The next game in the series, Yoshi's Crafted World, was released in 2019 for the Nintendo Switch.

Gameplay

Yoshi's Woolly World is a platform game where players control Yoshi. The game is similar to Kirby's Epic Yarn, as both take place in a world made of yarn and cloth. Yoshi uses many of the same moves from the Yoshi's Island series, such as using his tongue to swallow enemies and his flutter jump to reach high places. Features like flowers and mystery clouds also return. However, instead of producing eggs when swallowing enemies, Yoshi creates balls of yarn. These yarn balls can be thrown to tie up enemies or fill in missing parts of platforms. Players can also collect white chicks in certain levels, which create temporary cloud platforms when thrown. The game allows up to two players to work together. Both players can swallow and throw their partner, helping them reach areas that would otherwise be unreachable. Some parts of the game give Yoshi special transformations, like a motorbike or an umbrella.

Throughout each level, Yoshi can collect beads, which are used to buy Power Badges. These badges help players during a level, such as by giving stronger attacks or the ability to recover if they fall into bottomless pits. Each level contains five Flowers, five Wonder Wools, and twenty Stamp Patches, which are hidden behind beads. Collecting all five Flowers in a world unlocks a secret level. Finding all Yarn Bundles in a level changes Yoshi’s appearance, which players can choose on the overworld map. Collecting enough Stamp Patches unlocks special stamps for use in Miiverse posts. The 3DS version uses Pencil Patches instead, which provide pre-set models for Yoshi customization. At any time, players can switch between Classic Mode and Mellow Mode. Mellow Mode gives Yoshi wings, letting less experienced players fly continuously through stages. Poochy and Yoshi's Woolly World includes a special mode where players control Poochy, who can only crouch, jump, and run to collect Poochy Pups and beads.

The game works with Amiibo figures, including a unique knitted Yarn Yoshi Amiibo. Using any Yoshi Amiibo allows players to create a second Yoshi during solo play, enabling solo players to perform actions usually only available in co-op play. The Yarn Yoshi Amiibo can also save designs based on other characters. Other Amiibo, like Mario and Donkey Kong, unlock new patterns inspired by those characters. The game can be played with the Wii U GamePad, Wii Remote, Wii Classic Controller, or Wii U Pro Controller.

Plot

On a yarn-covered island filled with many Yarn Yoshis of different patterns, the evil Magikoopa named Kamek turns nearly all the Yoshis into bundles of yarn for his master, Baby Bowser. He sends them to different worlds. Two Yoshis escape being turned into yarn and begin a journey to find Kamek and save their friends. They visit six different worlds before reaching Baby Bowser's castle. When the Yoshis enter the castle, they learn that Kamek took the yarn to build a new castle for Baby Bowser. After defeating Baby Bowser, Kamek uses the yarn to make Baby Bowser very large. When Baby Bowser is defeated again, he returns to his usual size, and the Yoshis rescue their friends from Kamek and Baby Bowser. Kamek and Baby Bowser try to fly away but crash-land on the moon, where they are left alone by the Yoshis. At the end of the game, Poochy is seen at the back of the Moon, sticking his tongue out happily.

Development

Yoshi's Woolly World was first announced by Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata on January 23, 2013. The game was initially called Yarn Yoshi and showed different ways to play, with an art style that looked like Kirby's Epic Yarn. The game was being made by Good-Feel, with game designer Takashi Tezuka overseeing the project. The game was not at E3 2013 but was playable at E3 2014, where it was said to be released in the first half of 2015. The music was created by Good-Feel composers Tomoya Tomita (now working independently) and Misaki Asada. The main theme was written by Nintendo's Kazumi Totaka.

Release

Special editions of the Wii U version's retail package included the game with a knitted Yarn Yoshi Amiibo figure, available in green, blue, or pink. These bundles offered either one Yarn Yoshi Amiibo or all three colors. Players who bought the game on the European Nintendo eShop before July 23, 2015, received a free download code for a Virtual Console version of the Nintendo DS game Yoshi Touch & Go.

A version for the Nintendo 3DS, titled Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, was released globally in early 2017. This version features a unique gameplay mode where players control Poochy, who can only crouch and jump to collect Poochy Pups and beads. Instead of Stamp Patches, the 3DS version includes Pencil Patches, which provide pre-set designs for the exclusive Yoshi customization mode. A Poochy Amiibo was released alongside the retail version of the game.

Reception

Yoshi's Woolly World received mostly positive reviews, with an average score of 78 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 83 reviews. Reviewers praised the game’s art style and creative ideas but noted that the difficulty was too simple.

GameSpot’s Rob Crossley gave the game a score of 6 out of 10. He wrote that players do not need to collect any hidden items to complete the game, which makes it easy to play. However, he said that players who want a more challenging experience must seek out additional items on their own.

IGN’s Daniel Krupa gave a moderately positive review. He said the game felt familiar but its colorful art style made it feel fresh. He added that while some levels had fun mechanics, others were not fully developed and focused too much on collecting items that were frustrating to find.

Nintendo Life’s Thomas Whitehead said the game had some of Nintendo’s best cooperative gameplay and clever level designs. He also praised the game’s visuals but said the boss fights were repetitive and disappointing.

The 3DS version of the game also received mostly positive reviews, with an average score of 77 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 56 reviews. Reviewers said the game worked well on a handheld device, but some criticized the lower quality of visuals and the lack of local multiplayer. Whitehead called the lack of multiplayer “a pity if not entirely surprising.”

Yoshi's Woolly World sold about 31,000 physical copies in Japan at launch and 43,000 copies after two weeks. In the UK, it reached fourth place on the charts. As of March 31, 2016, the game sold 1.37 million copies worldwide. The 3DS version sold 80% of its initial shipment in Japan but only reached twentieth place on the UK charts.