When you think of Nintendo, various game genres may come to mind, but most people will likely think of platformers first. This is because the Super Mario series, a flagship title that was also released as a movie last month, has established itself as the textbook representative of this genre for over 40 years.

Not content with this, Nintendo has continued to experiment with the platformer genre through various spin-offs. Among them was the Yoshi series, which features 'Yoshi,' the character Mario used to ride, as its core. It is also a series that has continued for over 30 years since 'Yoshi's Island,' released for the Super Famicom in 1995. Although Good-Feel has primarily been in charge of production since 2015, there is a history of the series having faithfully followed that philosophy to the point where one might think Nintendo made it themselves unless they skimmed through the credits or various information beforehand. As such, 'Yoshi and the Mysterious Encyclopedia,' which also marks the 30th anniversary, is a title of great significance to the series. In this critical situation, Good-Feel returned to the fundamentals of platforming and Nintendo's philosophy. As such, the fun of anyone moving as they please and discovering new things came through.

No worries about game over, enjoy challenging however you want

Recently, platformers have evolved in various ways, such as adding roguelike elements based on the existing simple and intuitive control system, or meticulously crafting level designs that require the user's control or sense to clear. With these advancements added to the genre's inherent intuitive appeal, it remains a representative genre that immediately comes to mind when thinking of games; however, there was a side effect where the focus on controls for overcoming difficulties or speedrunning left a lingering preconception that it was "difficult." In reality, the various elements intended to heighten tension effectively became barriers preventing access. That is why there is no "Game Over" in Yoshi and the Mysterious Pokedex. While it is not entirely impossible for Yoshi to fall, since these events take place within the Mysterious Pokedex, you can simply step back right away and continue the challenge without any restrictions. There were no effects like life points being deducted, so it was handled in a way that simply brushed it off as a brief mistake. It is OK to make a momentary mistake while racing excitedly ©INVEN While such loose level design is relaxing, one cannot help but question whether it is actually fun. This game addresses these concerns with a quest-based platforming design. Literally, *Yoshi and the Mysterious Encyclopedia* is a game where Yoshi personally enters the encyclopedia that landed on Yoshi's Island to complete it. The encyclopedia contains various mysterious creatures that have appeared in the Mario and Yoshi series, but their names and characteristics have all been erased. The premise is that Yoshi receives a request from the Pokedex to restore it, entering the creature's habitat to continue his investigation. In other words, the charm of this game lay in focusing on the fun of exploring how to utilize the creatures that literally inhabit the area, rather than on controls that involve running and jumping quickly toward a predetermined goal. By utilizing elements such as Yoshi sticking out his tongue to swallow, shooting eggs, or spitting out to intercept enemies, there was a certain satisfaction in learning how to use them one by one by literally trying them out, eating, pressing buttons, and spitting them out. As Bowser Jr. gets sucked into the Pokedex, the mysterious Pokedex lands on Yoshi's Island. Yoshi sets out to explore the inner world to fill the Pokedex, which was emptied by the shock. All of this was possible because there was no game over no matter what you did. So, you could boldly try everything without hesitation, and various discoveries followed in the process. For example, if you carry a violet seed on your back and approach a cotton plant, the cotton plant seeds will take root in the violet seed, causing the violet to periodically scatter cotton plant seeds. If you scatter these cotton plant seeds on rocks or stone statues, cracks will form; applying a strong impact at this point will cause the rocks or statues to shatter, revealing a hidden path. This pure joy of trying out one-sided possibilities to find solutions continued throughout my time playing *Yoshi and the Mysterious Encyclopedia*. What kind of ingenious solution will the next creature have? It’s the kind of thought that just naturally comes to mind. I thought it was just a snail that stretches out, but to think it combines the lightning rod principle with the ingenuity of the light bulb fruit... ©INVEN You have to keep hitting a spinning top from the side for the spin to get stronger. Let's go conquer the nation with this! ©INVEN **Section data-bid="17">

This kind of fun actually does not last long. The limitations are even more clear for this type of game, where you find new information to complete a collection. This is because the more you complete that information, the fewer new stimuli there are. In this game, the rate at which the stimulation diminishes was slowed down by distributing the creatures so they do not overlap as much as possible, but eventually, that point is bound to come.

Alternatively, since there is no clear goal like in other platformers, there was often room to get lost. Even though the puzzles and gimmicks weren't difficult, they were sometimes placed in unexpected spots, so there were actually a few times when I went around in circles because my field of vision was a bit narrowed. To minimize wasted time like this, the area of ​​such sections was set narrowly, but it is not exactly pleasant to wander around for the last piece after having already found most of the essentials. Instead, investigation tasks are clearly given only in a very few sections, and for the rest, you have to figure it out on your own. Instead, the map size and density were adjusted so that it does not take more than 15 minutes in a single location even when trying every possible method. The Mysterious Encyclopedia helps the wandering Yoshi, but it provides only the bare minimum of hints. Since the level design isn't complex, those hints are generally sufficient, but there were occasionally sections where that wasn't the case. In those instances, you cannot avoid the task of scouring every available piece of information learned in that section, as well as what you’ve learned in previous creature sections. The hidden secret of Yoshi and the Mysterious Encyclopedia was the exquisite pacing, ensuring that even after going through such a process, no section takes more than 15 minutes. If it had been even slightly longer, you would have gotten tired and bored out of it, but after experiencing it a few times, you would get a sense of how much you need to look around to find it. The pacing was also a masterstroke, as it kept clear times short while consistently throwing in things to explore and challenge. Just when you thought you had finished the investigation tasks and filled up a creature page, new hints would invariably appear right after it to entice you to search further. Some tasks were designed to be naturally solved not only within that stage but also through interactions in other biology sections. It was essentially designed so that even if you just ignored them and kept going, you would naturally feel a sense of accomplishment as you watched the tasks suddenly fall into place effortlessly. ??? I definitely found everything, did I miss something? Even when you feel like giving up, some items are filled in from other creature parts, naturally leading toward completion. The level design was extraordinary; it minimized stress and allowed for natural progress, while encouraging continued exploration through unexpected rewards even as new elements gradually diminished. It was enough to make you take the game to the bathroom to clear another stage or finish exploring the characteristics of flowers or creatures you hadn't yet discovered. Although short and simple, the delicate layers of level design built upon various experiences and know-how were so meticulous that they naturally compelled you to play. The diverse interactions built upon these fundamentals were also a factor that kept you holding the Joy-Con. Expanding the scope of exploration—such as riding a bubble to the very top of the map, digging into the ground with a drill, or freely swimming underwater on a fish—was a given. Furthermore, the fun continued in actually testing various imaginative scenarios, such as continuously stomping on bubble wrap to increase their numbers infinitely and making them explode like Mentos in cola, or feeding them chili peppers or apples to change their properties and utilize them in different ways.

An introduction to the fundamental fun of platformers, Yoshi and the Mysterious Encyclopedia