Nintendo dropped the opening cinematic for Yoshi and the Mysterious Book on Tuesday, giving fans their first look at the Switch 2 platformer ahead of its Thursday launch.

The cinematic introduces the game's core premise: Yoshi jumps into a magical book where both the character and the world transform into a hand-drawn picture book aesthetic. This artistic shift isn't just visual—it ties directly into gameplay. As Yoshi explores the book's pages, you'll collect other creatures to ride on your back, each granting unique abilities to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles.

The game marks the next entry in Yoshi's platformer lineage, which stretches back over three decades. The dinosaur sidekick first starred in a major role with Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island on SNES in 1995, then got his own series with Yoshi's Story on Nintendo 64 two years later. More recently, Yoshi's Crafted World launched for the original Switch in March 2019, introducing a similar arts-and-crafts visual style.

Beyond games, Yoshi continues to expand across Nintendo's other franchises. The character appears in everything from Mario Kart to Super Smash Bros., and now has a film presence. In The Super Mario Galaxy Movie—the sequel that hit North America on April 3 and Japan on April 24—actor Donald Glover voices Yoshi, making the dinosaur's biggest screen appearance yet.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book arrives exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 Thursday. For fans who've followed the character since Super Mario World on the original Super Nintendo, this new adventure continues a legacy of charming, accessible platforming that appeals to both longtime players and newcomers alike.