Yoshi strolled along the beach in a carefree manner, thoughts floating casually through his mind. It was a beautiful, sunny day, with white clouds scattered across the sky. This was how it usually was here; the weather was almost always pleasant, and everyone was in a good mood. Nothing unusual ever happened on Yoshi's Island.

Find reviews, trailers, release dates, news, screenshots, walkthroughs, and more for Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island here on GameSpot.

Except for today. As he gazed out over the ocean, Yoshi thought to himself how the waves on the water always seemed to roll in the same calm pattern, and the trees of the island always seemed to be rich with ripe fruit. He couldn't recall the last time he had faced danger, or felt a real rush of adrenalin. He wasn't complaining, of course; he simply missed the feeling of adventure.

Zulu Yoshi's Island Map

And then, just as Yoshi was considering purposely chasing excitement himself, excitement found him.

Zulu Yoshi S Island Restaurant

The next thing that happened threw Yoshi completely off his train of thought. Something surprisingly heavy came falling down from the sky above... and hit the green dinosaur right on the head. Fortunately, due to several generations of head bashing potential threats as a defense mechanism, Yoshis have acquired usefully thick skulls. Therefore, Yoshi didn't sustain any serious damage from the blow. He was merely knocked down as whatever it was that had hit him bounced off his head and landed lightly somewhere else.

Yoshi scratched his head in confusion, suddenly realizing he was sitting on the sand. He looked left and right, wondering where the strange object had fallen. Standing up, he discovered he felt a weight on his back. Yoshi then looked behind him to find the solution to the mystery. What had fallen from the sky was now on the saddle on his back, but it wasn't an object; it was a baby.

Of all the strange things he wondered that could have fallen from the sky onto his head, a baby was definitely not on Yoshi's list. The green dinosaur picked the child up off his saddle, and held him up to see him better. The little baby boy was wearing a red shirt and small blue overalls, and he had a red cap on which was a bit too large for his head. The cap had a red capital M in a white circle printed on it.

At first, Yoshi felt nothing but relief over the child's safety. The baby was indeed very lucky; Yoshi's Island was the only mass of land for miles around, and even then the little boy could have fallen on a dangerously hard surface. Once the dinosaur was sure the child was fine, his relief faded to make way for puzzlement. What was a baby doing so far up in the sky to begin with, and how on Earth had he fallen?

Yoshi decided it was best to consult his friends about this matter. So he replaced the baby on his saddle, then turned towards the mass of trees close to the beach, and made his way through the forest back to his village.

Some time later, Yoshi and his seven friends gathered in a small clearing in the forest to discuss the mysterious occurrence. Everyone was speaking at the same time, each giving their own opinion about why the baby had fallen to the island and what they should do with him now.

'Maybe we should keep him here', said the light blue Yoshi. 'We could all help raise him. He'll be safe and happy with us.'

'But he doesn't belong here!' exclaimed the red Yoshi. 'He belongs to somebody. He must have a family somewhere.'

'But how will we find them?' asked the yellow Yoshi. 'We don't exactly have a map to his parents.'

Just then, the baby boy on the green Yoshi's saddle began to squirm and babble excitedly. Everyone fell silent and turned their attention to the child. They couldn't possibly know it, but the baby had a special connection with his twin brother, who had been the victim of the half-successful kidnapping attempt of the evil Koopa King's wizard servant. This connection allowed each one to know the whereabouts of the other, and would serve as the little boy's own map to his brother. Yoshi seemed to understand the baby's idea.

'I think this little guy knows where he wants to go', he told his friends. 'Maybe we should follow his lead.'

'But how will we all get him to where he wants to go?' the pink Yoshi asked. 'It could be a long way from here.'

The green Yoshi thought for a minute as the baby continued to squirm on his back. Finally, he came to a solution.

'I have an idea', he said, smiling to his friends. 'We'll form a relay system. Each of us will carry the baby a short distance at a time, then pass him on to the next Yoshi. That way, we can all get him to where he needs to go, and we won't tire ourselves out on the way.'

The others all agreed it was a good idea. Even the little boy seemed to become more excited at the dinosaur's proposal.

'All right, let's go!' Yoshi exclaimed.

The eight Yoshis cheered, then rushed off into the forest together, the green one taking the lead with the baby boy on his back. Yoshi didn't know it yet, but he was about to set off on the most thrilling experience he could ever hope for, the greatest adventure of his life.