Super Mario Advance 3 - Yoshi's Island (USA) Gameboy Advance game

Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 (or Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island) is a reissue of the 1995 SNES game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island for the Game Boy Advance as part of the Super Mario Advance series, as well as the only reissue in the Yoshi's Island series. It was released in 2002 and has a number of differences from the original surrounding gameplay, content, and graphics, as listed below. Aside from that, a remake of the classic Mario Bros. is included as it was in the other Super Mario Advance games. It was the last Yoshi platform game developed by Nintendo.

The game was rereleased on the 3DS's Virtual Console exclusively to the 3DS Ambassadors in Australia on December 15, 2011, and in Japan, North America, and Europe on December 16, 2011. It was later fully released on the Wii U's Virtual Console in North America and Europe on April 24, 2014; Australia on April 25, 2014; and Japan on October 15, 2014; and on the Nintendo Switch's Game Boy Advance - Nintendo Switch Online service on May 26, 2023.

General changes Much of the artwork from the original game is retouched to use shading effects to make it look more elaborate. Some images (such as those of Hookbill the Koopa, Baby Bowser, and Kamek) appeared in strategy guides for the original with wrong colors; however, no such mistakes are present in the retouched versions.

The pause menu has been changed. Instead of one menu handling all functions, there are now two. One is a map that allows the player to put their Game Boy Advance into sleep mode or return to the overworld map. The other is a redesigned version of the original's pause screen which allows the use of items and displays the player's current score for the level. The GBA version allows the player to carry up to 27 items at a time, rather than 25 as in the SNES version. The Yoshi's Island Mini Battle code was changed to accommodate the Game Boy Advance controls. Additionally, the Mini Battle huts are not sealed after a battle in the GBA version, so the hut can be re-entered and the battle fought as many times as the player wishes.

Yoshi can no longer collect Giant Eggs with his tongue, thus making it impossible to carry them to other stages with a trick from the original release. Yoshi also cannot hit Message Blocks with Yoshi Eggs. This includes Giant Eggs to prevent the screen from glitching. The Countdown Timer ticks down each second now, instead of nearly twice per second as in the original game.

Level design changes Six entirely new levels were added to the remake, called Secret Stages: Exercise in the Skies, Mystery of the Castle?, Go! Go! Morphing!, Fight Toadies w/ Toadies, Items are fun!, and Endless World of Yoshis. These are to the left of the Extra Stages on the map screen, and are unlocked by defeating Baby Bowser on World 6-8. Along with the six new levels, several levels from the original have had things added and/or removed from them. For example, a new room has been added to level 1-8 (Salvo The Slime's Castle), and an extra Middle Ring has been added to 4-4 (Marching Milde's Fort).

Graphical changes As is typical for GBA remakes, the palette is lightened to compensate for the original Game Boy Advance's lack of a backlight. Several other graphics have been updated beyond a lighter palette, however. Button prompts were changed to be in line with the GBA ones. The Yoshis now have different colored shoes, matching official artwork and the opening cutscene of the original game. Sealed and locked doors use slightly different versions of their sprites, and Kamek's magic has a different visual effect.

Sound changes The game's soundtracks were downgraded, trimmed, and/or replaced to match the sound capabilities of the Game Boy Advance. Some sound effects were also changed to fit the GBA's more limited capabilities. For example, the sound effects for Yoshi's actions and Baby Mario's cry were altered.

Textual changes In all regions, the font used is the thicker one instead of the thinner font in the Japanese and American SNES games. Much of the wording has changed throughout the game's dialog, such as in hint boxes and character interactions.

Reception The game received generally positive reviews upon release. Critics praised its gameplay, level design, and graphical updates.IGN named Yoshi's Island "Best Platformer" on a handheld console at E3 2002. Reviewers noted that while the Game Boy Advance version retained the essence of the original, it also introduced new content and improvements, making it a worthy addition to the Super Mario Advance series.