That reminds me a lot of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat:
Probably most well known for being controlled with a set of bongo’s. Great game.
I will keep my eyes open for Yoku.
Edited to add: I put Yoku’s Island Express to my nintypricer.com wishlist.
Also reminds me, in style, of Snake Pass:
Which is basically just one long tutorial for how to become a snake 
Snake Pass would be high on my list of the 50 best games.
