Yoshi Junior

Yoshi Junior (also known as Yoshi's Brain Games in the United States, ヨシと一緒に学ぶのが楽しい in Japan, Yoshi enseigne les Mathématiques et le Français in France, Yoshi enseña Matemáticas y Español in Spain, Yoshi unterrichtet Mathematik und Deutsch in Germany, Yoshi insegna Matematica e Italiano in Italy and Maths & English with Yoshi in other regions) is an educational video game based on the original Yoshi's Island that was designed to teach children aged 6-8 years old the basics of mathematics and literacy. Many variations of the game are known to have been released for Super Nintendo starting from 1996, with the Nintendo 64 version being released in 2000.

Gameplay
The gameplay in Yoshi Junior is somewhat simplified specially for the young player. The number of levels in the game has been reduced to just twelve, two per world, and each one covers an educational topic, such as phonics, adding and subtracting, number recognition etc. The questions asked come in three difficulties, which may or may not be selectable depending on the version.

Each level starts with the Professor Lakitu giving Yoshi an overview on what he has to do. Then the player will see the Lakitu's cloud at various points of the level where he asks the player a question when you walk past it. The player then has three paths to choose from, the right path being the right answer to the question. A life is lost if the wrong path is taken. After the level is completed, the player is then sent to a bonus stage and given a time limit in which he or she must complete whatever challenge Lakitu has now set for him or her. Once all of these levels are cleared, Lakitu can then have access to Bowser's Castle.

The game contains a new world map, and, separately from the main levels, there is an extra one called Maribelle's Garden, which the player may use to practice.

Other names in different regions
Yoshi Junior is known as Yoshi's Brain Games in the USA. The UK version has three difficulty levels split across three separate games. Yoshi's Brain Games has all the difficulty levels in one game. The US release Amazing Learning Games with Yoshi and Friends, known as Maths and English with Yoshi in the UK, has all three difficulty levels on a single game. Maths and English with Yoshi just separates them into three games like Yoshi Junior. The difficulty levels indicate the volume number, for instance Volume 1 is level 1 and so on. However, Nintendo re-released Amazing Learning Games with Yoshi and Friends as Yoshi's Learning Centre in the Virtual Console for Wii, Wii U and 3DS. The Japanese release, ヨシと一緒に学ぶのが楽しい ('Yoshi to issho ni manabu no ga tanoshī', which means 'fun to learn with Yoshi'), was the first release of Yoshi Junior that was fully translated to Japanese (Interface and Dubbing).

Plot
“''Happiness abounds in Yoshi's Island. The sun shines brightly, the plants are green and the clear water of the river bubbles and sings merrily as it flows.''

''Deep in the forest, the Professor's cottage is peaceful and sheltered. There, he and Maribelle the Fairy spend time enjoying their idyllic world and protecting the Professor's Magic Book of Knowledge. Professor Lakitu, a very scholarly and philosophical person, has put all the secrets of wisdom and knowledge in this book; the secrets that keep the world happy and beautiful.''

''But one day, the evil wizard Kamek breaks into the Professor's cottage, destroying everything in his wake, and steals Book of Knowledge and the map to this secret hideout that Yoshi gave to the Professor! Now the world will be at the mercy of the evil wizard and his henchmen! So the Professor and Maribelle call for the one person who can save the world and return it to its former happiness and beauty. They call for Yoshi!!!''

''Only this superhero, who has proven his courage time and again, can save the world from such a grave situation. It will be a long and difficult journey, but Yoshi is strong and clever, and prepared to face the challenges ahead. Each time Yoshi successfully completes a challenge, he gets a piece of parchment which, when matched with all the other pieces he obtains along the way, forms the map that will show the way to Bowser's Castle. Once the map is pieced together, a final test will give Yoshi the chance to retrieve the Magic Book of Knowledge from Bowser, and fill his world with happiness and beauty again.''

Good luck Yoshi!!!!!”