Mario & Yoshi is a side-scrolling platformer where Mario must rescue Princess Daisy from her kidnapper, Tatanga, a mysterious spaceman. The game follows largely the same formula as its predecessor, with Mario defeating enemies by jumping on them and collecting coins and power-ups by hitting floating blocks.
The gameplay involves navigating through levels, each leading up to a boss fight that can be defeated by collapsing the floor. A unique feature of this instalment is two scrolling shoot-'em-up levels, the first of which Mario pilots a submarine, and the second an aeroplane.