Super Mario Advance 3 Yoshi's Island on GBA, port of Nintendo's enchanting island. Unique watercolor universe, perfect egg mechanic, overflowing creativity. An absolute GBA masterpiece.
Your verdict
Category
Platformer1 player3+
Description
European version of Super Mario Advance 3 published by Nintendo in Europe in November 2002. Contains Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island - the Super Nintendo classic where Yoshi carries Baby Mario to find kidnapped Baby Luigi - and the original arcade Mario Bros. Levels with hand-drawn graphics, Yoshi transformations and gameplay centered on protecting Baby Mario. Third episode of the Super Mario Advance series in Europe.
Super Mario Advance 3 - Yoshi's Island review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Crayon-and-pastel settings, soft outlines and characters drawn as in a children's book: the aesthetic stands as an adorable oddity. This handcrafted signature, warm and inventive, turns every level into a coloured page. This unique graphic choice remains one of the most beloved in the entire library.
Tender and inventive, the music of Yoshi's Island signed by Koji Kondo wraps the crayon world in an unforgettable childlike gentleness. From the soothing "Flower Garden" to the livelier themes, every tune breathes carefreeness and whimsy. This melodic freshness, deeply endearing, remains a peak of video-game tenderness.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Swallowing enemies, laying eggs and aiming to throw them makes for a platformer far more tactical than it looks. The teeming level design, blending exploration and hidden challenges, overflows with ideas in every stage. Its crayon style and gentle handling have held up beautifully, for a journey as enchanting as ever.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Playing as Yoshi carrying baby Mario, gulping enemies to turn them into eggs and aiming at targets with gleeful precision: this crayon-styled masterpiece overflows with ideas and tenderness. Every level reinvents its mechanics with wild inventiveness. Gorgeous, clever and deeply satisfying, a platformer apart that charms as much as it challenges.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Protecting Baby Mario, aiming for a hundred points per level and uncovering flowers and red coins turns every stage into completion terrain that drives you to start over for perfection. The crayon style and the game-design finds enchant. Baby Mario's cries are stressful and the pace sometimes searches, but this creativity keeps a lasting pull.
European PAL edition of Super Mario Advance 3 Yoshi's Island, GBA port of the 1995 Super Mario World 2 Yoshi's Island, augmented with secret stages and a star based challenge system. That GBA version remained for the PAL market the main physical way into the Tezuka masterpiece before Virtual Console availability, and the broad Nintendo Europe run leaves the object accessible but clearly values a clean cardboard box with intact manual for Yoshi completists.
Is Super Mario Advance 3 - Yoshi's Island still worth playing in 2026?
Super Mario Advance 3 brings Yoshi's Island to the GBA, and one of the most creative 2D platformers Nintendo ever made finds an excellent second life. The aim and throw egg mechanic, Yoshi's reach, the hidden objective stages and the pastel art direction still shine. A few exclusive stages and the Mario Bros arcade bonus extend the appeal. The port handles its framing better than SMA2. For anyone wanting to discover Yoshi's Island on cartridge or revisit the Nintendo masterpiece, an ideal entry point.
