Finally, after three, long years, I have finished playing through Yoshi's Island DS! *flutter jumps* Gabby-Gabby-Gaboo!

Now, why has it taken so long for me to finish this game? Well, that's where the (Journal) part of this submission comes in.

Being the uber Yoshi fan that I am, I have made it a point since SMW II: Yoshi's Island to own every relevant, Yoshi game at, or around, its release date. Yoshi's Island DS was no exception.

Everything would've been business as usual if not for the fact that, at the same time, I had to undergo glaucoma and cataract surgery. The resulting effects of both left my already weak eye unable to no longer focus on close objects and, thus, my Nintendo DS was rendered useless to me just as I got my hands on my copy of YI DS.

My first glimmer of hope for dual-screened, Yoshi bliss came post-op early in 2007 when a low-vision specialist allowed me to keep a pair of high-magnification glasses that she was demonstrating. These glasses are what allowed me to continue to do my full-time job without having to resort exclusively to a screen reader program. However, they just weren't powerful enough to assist me in seeing the now, too dimly lit screen of my DS. Yoshi times would just have to wait.

Over the rest of 2007 and into 2008, I did not get to play the game much at all. This is because, due to a corneal ulsar that formed in my only eye, my vision went further down-hill and my ability to see small objects without extreme help became even more apparent. I wouldn't give up, though. I would find a way to play Yoshi's Island DS if it was the last thing I did!

My big break came around late spring of 2009. By this time, I had lost my job due in large part to all the eye surgeries I had undergone to save what sight I had left. However, in the process, I was able to recover some of what I lost thanks to a partial cornea transplant (DSEK) and a lens re-alignment. It was the culmination of these operations, those special glasses I got in 2007, and a friend's larger, and brighter, DS Lite that allowed me to finally work my way through the first world of YI DS.

Although I had to give back the DS Lite before I could get through world two, I at least knew there was a way for me to play the game I had been longing to enjoy for so long. My hopes especially rose when I got word of the DSi, which had an even larger and brighter screen than even the DS Lite.

So, now three years later, armed with a DSi and an even stronger pair of magnification glasses, I can now proudly say that I played through every level of the game. Heck, I even got a number of 100s to go along with it. There's still a bit for me to open up, but it's glorious to finally, after so long, say that I not only beat the game, but can also play it in a way that is genuinely enjoyable.

So, for all those who have played through it like I have, I hope this Yosh-E-O piccie is a proper homage to what is, in my opinion, one of the better endings I have seen in a game in a very long time.

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of playing through the game, I cordially invite you to follow this link to a piccie I found from the ending that referances what you see above.

http://www.mariowiki.com/images/b/b.....rchildren2.PNG

For those who read through this journal, I thank you for sharing in this most grand, personal accomplishment of mine. It is thanks to you that I have been able to push myself throughout 2009 to be my best despite all its set backs and why I am looking forward to making 2010 a most productive and amazing year.


Your Pal,

---Yosh E. O'Ducky ;)