[Phoenix Gamma]

It's definitely a hard game. Not crazy hard, but if you're going solo, it's tricky, especially if you're going for the special coins, which unlock bonus levels. Fortunately, the game gives you a shitload of lives, and by world 4, I had 99.

Playing with more people can be really fun, but really challenging, since you're constantly bumping into someone. Sometimes you reach new areas, other times you're hitting goombas and losing lives. So this is when having 99 lives is useful. Also, I love how the A button puts you in a bubble. It lets you float around, unharmed in multiplayer, so if you're playing with someone who sucks, they can skip hard parts until you free them. Basically, multiplayer is perfect for playing with anyone.

Yoshi's awesome in that he retains moves from Yoshi's island, but you don't get to keep him, and he only appears in certain levels. The new powerups are okay; the Ice/Penguin suit is definitely popular, but propeller isn't and fun as the Racoon of cape powers.

I give the game a B from what I've played so far.