Yep, today marks the 16th anniversary of when Yoshi’s Island was first released in Japan!

Often overlooked in the main Mario canon, Yoshi’s Island boasts some of the best gameplay and level design Nintendo has ever crafted. And its crayon-drawing inspired visuals are striking to this day!

I actually just got started playing Yoshi’s Island again the other day after setting up my Super Nintendo (still waiting for that Virtual Console release Nintendo), and I have to say it is still easily one of the greatest video games ever made. Rarely has a game just got everything so right the way Yoshi’s Island did.

The beautiful visuals are accompanied by one of the best soundtracks of the SNES era, it’s level design exudes brilliance, and its gameplay is as timeless as the best of them.

Simply put, Yoshi’s Island is a gaming masterpiece, and happy 16th to it!