Game:

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 25:27

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In this episode, we have two stages that I used to absolutely HATE when I was younger. Most of this was not due to difficulty but certain other...things...in the stages. I don't mind them all that much now, but...yeesh...

So what was the first of these nightmare stages? 3-3: Nep-Enuts' Domain. In the first room, we are attacked by a succession of huge purple monsters that come up from the swamp. I guess they would be the eponymous Nep-Enuts, the name presumably based off the Roman god Neptune. Once one comes up in your way, you need to either shoot it or spit something at it to make it go back down, and they cannot be defeated outright. You also have to deal with them on staggered platforms and with monkeys jumping around. There are six Nep-Enuts in the first room, along with the first Middle Ring in the stage...yes, I said "first". There are three Middle Rings in all, and 3-3 deserves them all; it's probably one of the longest stages in the game. However, the Nep-Enuts might be everywhere in the first room, but they don't show up again for the rest of the stage. The second room isn't so bad, just a few basic enemies, more monkeys (well, this is World 3), and a helicopter bubble..that, chances are, anyone doing this stage for the first time blocked off the first time around. You spawn a red line bridge over a large pool of water, and if you create the bridge before hitting the bubble, you can't get the bubble until you reenter the room. However, you need to bridge for a few point items beyond the gap, some of which are a door that can be used to reset the room and make the morph bubble accessible once again. You need the helicopter morph to get to the next room.

In the third room is the second Middle Ring and an area that is one of the reasons I hated this stage so much. Yoshi floats on water like a duck, so how are you supposed to get all those goodies far beneath the surface? Why, you use the all-new submarine morph! In submarine form, you can travel through water as you wish. You can also shoot homing torpedoes, although only one can be on the screen at a time. You must navigate through a slew of enemy fish, falling bombs, and rotating spikes to reach the Yoshi Block, transform back, and enter the door at the end. The fourth room has the third Middle Ring...and the other thing I hated about this stage. Here, we are introduced to the Frog Pirate, one of the most annoying enemies in the game. They can stick out their tongue, snatch Mario right away, and then hop right off with him, and they're pretty darn fast. The fifth room is the last, but you're not out of the woods yet! There are jumping fish here, but the real threat is...more Frog Pirates. Yikes. Watch the heck OUT in this room, particularly if you're trying to get 100 points.

3-4 is shorter than 3-3, but it used to be even more of a nightmare. It's definitely one of the more interesting fortresses, though. You start out in a jungle area with water and the same stone blocks that were in 3-2, and then you move into the main area of the fortress...which also contains water. At least, the second room does. The bomb-dropping Shyguys are back, and there are several side rooms, along with jumping fish, spraying fish, and Ball 'n' Chains. After this comes a dark area with a couple of the crab enemies (Clawdaddies, aren't they?). The next room one is interesting because it is the only place in the game with Mini-Slimes (okay, their official name is Lemon Drops, but I prefer mine), small yellow enemies...that continuously drop from the ceiling...over death spikes. In the second half of the room, you even have to maneuver a manually-rotating platform over spikes while dodging them. After this, however, is the boss anteroom, which contains more Frog Pirates...ugh. At least this is the last we'll ever see of them. Frog Pirates appear only in 3-3 and 3-4, and I will not miss them.

Prince Froggy himself is probably the most...*unique* boss in the game. He's based off a Frog Pirate (which is already a bad sign), but instead of Kamek casting a spell on him to make him grow, he instead makes Yoshi shrink...and then Prince Froggy swallows Yoshi in one gulp. The boss battle is fought IN HIS STOMACH. To beat this boss, you have to hit the uvula dangling from his throat, which will make his digestive system spaz out. Once you hit him for the last time, Yoshi sort of...squirts out his intestine, you end up outside his body, and grow back to normal size. Prince Froggy lies there next to you, apparently with the mother of all upset stomachs. What makes 3-4 such a nightmare? The word "nightmare" is almost literal here. Even the *stage* was a little bit creepy, but the boss battle itself used to absolutely scare the crap out of me. Of course, now I think this stage is actually pretty cool.

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