Before going into the review itself, which is the superior version? Well, that's up to you to decide because unlike something like the many versions of Hyrule Warriors, there's no clear cut answer because the content added isn't really substantial. As to be expected, the Wii U version of the game looks superior, and it's easier to tell that the textures are wool. The bonus Minigames after completing levels (if you get the timing right) is also more interesting (I'll explain more on that later), and the game is noticeably harder for specific challenges, thanks to the 3DS version's inclusion of the Poochy Pups. In the 3DS version though, you do get more skins for Yoshi, both by way of updated amiibo support and customizable Yoshi skins replacing the Miiverse support in the WiiU version. There's also an endless runner mini-game for Poochy, and Poochy himself has alternate costumes that can be saved to the Yarn Poochy amiibo. There are also a handful of short stop motion animations on the 3DS version, which revolves around the three regular sized Yarn Yoshi amiibo and the Yarn Poochy amiibo. While the shorts are charming, I'm not a fan of the way to unlock them (24 hours per clip), because it's a stretch to think that players will be playing the 3DS version for at least a month, neither version of the game is very long. The reason I focused on the 3DS version for this review is more for convenience, due to the nature of the handheld, but most of the views expressed here can be applied to either version of the game.
Like with Kirby's Epic Yarn, Yoshi's Woolly World leans heavily into the aesthetic theme being made of wool, from how the collectables are obtained, what some of the collectables even are, how to complete puzzles and even the very basic story. Baby Bowser (not to be mistaken for Bowser Jr. or Kid Koopa), wants to build a bigger castle and thus needs more yarn. To do this, Kamek decides to be a bit spiteful, and turn almost all the Yoshi's into yarn balls, with only two escaping (cause this can be played multiplayer in the Wii U version, though why it's still two in the 3DS version is beyond me). As such, it is up to the Yoshi's (and Poochy pups if you're playing the 3DS version) to recover the yarn making up their friends, and stop Baby Bowser's plan. The big problem I have with the story is that there's not much to it in terms of presence. There's the opening cutscene, cutscenes before boss battles which can all be summed up as Kamek telling the boss "Stop that Yoshi", and nothing until the last level of the main story, where we finally learn why the yarn was stolen in the first place. It feels underdone when compared to Kirby's Epic Yarn, where, even though that story is basic as well, there were cutscenes dedicated to fleshing out the world, like what Yin Yarn's doing in Dream Land, and what Kirby and Prince Fluff are getting up to in Patch Land. It's something I really do hope they improve on for Yoshi's Crafted World.
While Kirby's Epic Yarn was quite removed from the traditional Kirby games, thanks to a lack of iconic Kirby moves like the copy abilities, Yoshi's Woolly World is a very traditional Yoshi game when it comes to actions. Yoshi can still flutter jump, turn enemies and specific objects into yarn balls of varying size and colour, and has his own transformation sections that play out like the original Yoshi's Island and Kirby's Epic Yarn. One new thing at his disposal though is the option to tailor your experience, thanks to Mellow and Classic Mode options. Classic Mode plays like a traditional Yoshi game, with Mellow Mode being aimed at more inexperienced players, thanks to a basic ability to fly, more health at the start of levels and an optional power up if the level is too hard to give Yoshi invincibility for the level. If you play the 3DS version, Mellow mode is where the Poochy Pups come into the equation. While on by default, it is possible to disable the Poochy Pups by touching an icon on the touch screen, though if you leave them on, they are extremely powerful. The Poochy Pups act as an infinite source of yarn balls to use, can stun and even kill enemies automatically, and even tell the player where hidden secrets are in the level, though that can still be easily missed depending on the secret and what you are doing at the moment, the range isn't extremely far after all. The Poochy Pups though do make an already pretty easy game even easier though, as they make some bosses a complete joke, the biggest examples being the World 1 and World 5 Castle bosses, and even make puzzles like a colour matching puzzle in the World 6 Castle a minor inconvenience rather then a challenging end of game puzzle.
That being said though, the game never really felt hard, it was a very comfortable experience for most of the time, with only a few special levels being the exception mostly due to a lack of checkpoints, or frustrating gimmicks. Like Kirby's Epic Yarn, the game oozes charm thanks to the art style, the animations, and the soundtrack, all of which keep even the more frustrating levels from being "Rage quit material" due to frustration. The soundtrack is a delightful earworm, thanks to songs like Bounceabout Woods and other similar songs that are so cheerful and upbeat that you can't help but smile. What helps with the charm as well are all the alternate costumes for Yarn Yoshi, with costume potentials in the millions for the 3DS version. By collecting five yarn balls in each level, you can unlock a costume themed around that level, or in the case of the Special levels, Nintendo home consoles that even come with alternate colour pallets. You also have costumes based on most amiibo released around the time of the game releases, with the 3DS version having more costumes due to new amiibo being released after the launch of the WiiU version. As silly as many of these costumes look, there's still a distinct charm to them which makes me smile, though one big problem many will have with the amiibo costumes is that they are locked to the amiibo. This isn't something like Super Mario Maker, where the amiibo can be used to speed up unlock times for costumes, you do actually need them if you want a Mario Yoshi, or a Shulk Yoshi, or a Samus Yoshi, etc.
The major thing for Poochy in the 3DS version are six endless runners like levels that get unlocked after each of the Fortress levels, with these serving as a replacement for the WiiU versions "Get lots of fruit" mini-games. They're ok, though nothing spectacular, about the same as the fruit mini-game in the Wii U version, though more spaced out. I honestly don't know why Poochy's endless runner replaced the fruit except for maybe cartridge space. The difficulty is also very sporadic, with the only really challenging level being the final one, though it feels more like a difficulty spike rather than a progressive difficulty curve. The way to get the fruit mini-game is by getting a Flower when crossing the finishing line, and if you do it on the 3DS version, you unlock a gold rush mode for a Poochy level of your choice to help you get a lot of beads for unlockable power badges, such as fire immunity.
While it won't scratch the itch for a hard platformer, Yoshi's Woolly World is still a charming experience. My only major complaint is that it's quite short, I would have liked two more worlds to go through because I enjoy this aesthetic so much. It's why I'm looking forward to Yoshi's Crafted World when it comes out. The aesthetics and soundtrack though are the only thing keeping it from being mundane though, because aside from those, it's a standard platformer, and doesn't do anything mechanically to separate itself from other Yoshi games. That being said though, it does work as an introduction to Yoshi games, especially because you don't have to worry about things like Baby Mario. At least the aesthetics give it something interesting, at least when compared to New Super Mario Brothers U Deluxe.
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