Yoshi: Difference between revisions

Official artwork of Yoshi from ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario Party 10}}'' and ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi's Crafted World}}''.

|lastappearance = ''{{s|mariowiki|Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door|Nintendo Switch}}'' (2024)

|gender      = Male (Yoshi)<br>Varies (species)

|voiceactor  = {{s|mariowiki|Kazumi Totaka}}

'''Yoshi''' ({{ja|ヨッシー|Yosshī}}, ''Yoshi'') is a character in the {{uv|Mario}} series. Since his debut in ''{{s|mariowiki|Super Mario World}}'' as an ally of [[Mario]] and [[Luigi]], Yoshi's popularity has resulted in him starring in [[Yoshi (universe)|his own series]], which follows the adventures of Yoshi and/or [[mariowiki:Yoshi (species)|his eponymous species]].

As a member of the "[[Fighter#"Perfect-attendance crew"|perfect-attendance crew]]", Yoshi has been featured as a playable character throughout the ''{{b|Super Smash Bros.|series}}'' series.

Shigeru Miyamoto considered giving [[Mario]] some kind of companion as far back as the planning stages of ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', but the concept was scrapped due to hardware limitations. During the development of ''{{s|mariowiki|Super Mario Bros. 3}}'', Miyamoto had drawn a picture of Mario riding a horse. Taking note of the picture, Takashi Tezuka came to the conclusion that Miyamoto desired Mario to ride something, and implemented that idea into the development of ''[[Super Mario World]]''.<ref name=YoshiDev/>

Due to {{s|mariowiki|Dinosaur Land}} being the setting of ''Super Mario World'', Tezuka had Shigefumi Hino draw artwork for a kind of reptile. According to Hino, he took "horse" as a keyword and designed a large lizard similar to a crocodile in order to better integrate the concept.<ref name=YoshiDev/> After reconsidering this design, Hino and Tezuka instead decided to use a rough sketch drawn by Tezuka, which was refined by Hino into what would become Yoshi's finalized design.<ref name=YoshiDev/>

Yoshi is the most recurring member of the [[mariowiki:Yoshi (species)|sapient and friendly reptilian species of the same name]]. The Yoshi species possesses an amalgamation of reptilian characteristics: the physique of a [[wikipedia:Theropoda|theropod]] {{s|mariowiki|dinosaur}}, a turtle-like shell that functions as a saddle,<ref name=YoshiDev/> and a chameleon-like tongue. On a related note, a chameleon's ability to change their skin coloration could be referenced by the variety of color schemes present among the various other Yoshis.

The Yoshi species debuted in ''{{s|mariowiki|Super Mario World}}'', where [[Mario]] or [[Luigi]] would be able to find {{s|mariowiki|Yoshi Egg}}s, which would hatch automatically to reveal a fully grown Yoshi. Later in the game, {{s|mariowiki|Baby Yoshi}}s could also be found. Baby Yoshis can be held, thrown, and matured into fully grown Yoshis. In order to do the latter, a Baby Yoshi must eat five enemies.

Alongside Yoshi himself, three differently colored Yoshis also appear, each of which has a distinct special ability that can be used so long as they have a [[Koopa Troopa]] shell in their mouths. Blue Yoshi can fly, Red Yoshi can spit out Fireballs, and Yellow Yoshi can emit a {{s|mariowiki|sand cloud}} after landing a jump. While Yoshi himself does not have any distinct special abilities, he can use each of the three other Yoshis' abilities by holding a shell of the same color as the respective Yoshi, such as a red shell allowing him to spit out Fireballs. By extension, the other three Yoshis can do the same.

After the success of ''Super Mario World'' and the positive reception of Yoshi, Nintendo capitalized by releasing several spinoff entries at a rapid pace. These include the puzzle games ''{{b|Yoshi|game}}'' and ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi's Cookie}}'', the light gun game ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi's Safari}}'' compatible with the [[Super Scope]]. Due to Shigeru Miyamoto's dislike of these games, he aimed to make a game starring Yoshi that was authentic to his character.<ref>''The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World'', p. 518.</ref> This game would come to be known as ''{{s|mariowiki|Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island}}'', which saw a myriad of differently colored members of the species appear. The Yoshis' ability to eat virtually anything was expanded to include the ability to create Yoshi Eggs capable of being [[mariowiki:Egg Throw|thrown]]. In addition, Yellow Yoshi's sand cloud-generating jump was modified into a {{s|mariowiki|Ground Pound}} usable by all other Yoshis. Outside of these updated abilities, the Yoshis also gained the ability to {{s|mariowiki|Flutter Jump}}<ref name=YoshiDev/> and [[mariowiki:Morph Bubble|transform into vehicles]]. Following this, {{uv|Panel de Pon}} would be reskinned as ''{{s|mariowiki|Tetris Attack}}'' for international markets, featuring Yoshi and the many new characters introduced in ''Yoshi's Island''.

In addition to being the first installment of the [[mariowiki:Yoshi's Island (series)|''Yoshi's Island'' sub-series]], ''Super Mario World 2'' is the first installment in the ''Mario'' series' in-universe timeline: it details {{s|mariowiki|Baby Luigi}} being captured by [[Kamek]] and his {{s|mariowiki|Toadie}}s while being delivered by a {{s|mariowiki|stork}}, while a group of Yoshis discover the missing {{s|mariowiki|Baby Mario}} and work to rejoin him with his twin brother. After being rescued by the Yoshis, the stork resumes its journey to deliver the newly reunited baby Mario Bros. to their parents. This same plotline would be retold in the endless runner game, ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi Touch & Go}}''.

That is followed by the next event in the ''Yoshi'' canon, ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi's New Island}}'', where upon arriving at its supposed destination, the stork discovers that the family living there were not expecting children. This mishap results in the stork once again being attacked by Kamek and his Toadies, who recapture Baby Luigi while Baby Mario falls to the floating {{s|mariowiki|Egg Island}}, which is home to another group of Yoshis. Much like their counterparts on Yoshi's Island, this group of Yoshis bands together to reunite the baby Mario Bros. and stop Baby Bowser from turning Egg Island into his own personal resort - with adult [[Bowser]] travelling back in time to serve as a secret final boss for players who don't use the Flutter Wings. Should the player beat him, it will also be revealed that adult Mario has travelled back in time under the guise of the helpful Mr. Pipe.

Despite the stork successfully delivering the baby Mario Bros. to their proper parents, Kamek and his Toadies nevertheless kidnap several babies from across the Mushroom Kingdom as part of their search for the seven {{s|mariowiki|star children}}, thus leading to the events in ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi's Island DS}}''. Unlike the previous two instances, the stork fights back against Kamek and the Toadies, thus resulting in Baby Mario and {{s|mariowiki|Baby Peach}} being dropped onto Yoshi's Island during the scuffle. Upon reuniting with Baby Mario, the Yoshis decide to save not only Baby Luigi, but also any other babies that were kidnapped. During their journey, they ally with three other star children: Baby Peach, {{s|mariowiki|Baby Donkey Kong}} and {{s|mariowiki|Baby Wario}}.

Meanwhile, it is revealed that the adult Bowser traveled back in time once more to extract the star children's stars in order to use their power to rule the universe. By extension, it is also revealed that the Kamek and Toadies that kidnapped the babies were not from the past, but rather came from the present, alongside Bowser. However, a squabble between the Baby and present day Bowsers results in Bowser inadvertently causing his infant self to fall out of his castle, land on a Yoshi's back, and thus create an uneasy alliance between {{s|mariowiki|Baby Bowser}} (who is a star child himself) and his longtime foes.

Despite Baby Wario and Baby Bowser leaving the group because of a desire for money and a retrieval by present day Kamek, respectively, the Yoshis nevertheless arrive at Baby Bowser's castle. Upon doing so, they reunite with Baby Wario, who sought Baby Bowser's treasure. Together, the green, pink, yellow and purple Yoshis band together with the remaining four babies to defeat Baby Bowser and then adult Bowser, thus foiling Bowser's plan and saving Baby Luigi and the rest of the kidnapped babies. Although the seventh and final star child is not encountered by the Yoshis, Bowser or Kamek, the ending reveals the final star child to be a newly hatched green {{s|mariowiki|Baby Yoshi}}, thus strongly implying him to be the very same Yoshi character that the grown up Mario Bros. would go on to rescue and ally with in ''Super Mario World'' and subsequent ''Mario'' games.

Several other ''Yoshi'' platformer games have also been released, seemingly outside of the ''Yoshi's Island'' canon, ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi's Story}}'' tells the story of a group of Yoshi hatchlings who must retrieve the [[Super Happy Tree]] that provides their adult counterparts with their undying optimism from Baby Bowser, ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi Topsy-Turvy}}'', a gyrometer-based game, introduces a set of mostly human-like characters known as the Yoshi Island Spirits, who Yoshi must complete missions from to prove he's worthy of taking on the adult Bowser, ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi's Woolly World}}'', where a group of Yoshis made of wool must work together to rescue one another after being scattered as bundles of yarn by Kamek and Baby Bowser, and ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi's Crafted World}}'' where the Yoshis have to recover pieces of the wish-granting Sundream Stone from Baby Bowser and Kamek - These titles all take place in worlds made to appear homemade out of materials such as cardboard and wool. The only baby shown in these particular games is Baby Bowser.

Yoshi makes his first appearance in a fighting game in ''Super Smash Bros.'' as a starting playable character. His design is based on his appearance from ''Super Mario World''. In comparison to the rest of the roster, Yoshi is arguably the most unique. His shield is a {{s|mariowiki|Yoshi Egg}} instead of a standard bubble that shrinks, which makes him immune to [[shield stab]]bing.

Yoshi once again returns as a playable character in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl''. Unlike in ''SSB'' and ''Melee'', he now sports his design since ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi's Story}}'', ''{{s|mariowiki|Super Mario Sunshine}}'', and ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario Party 4}}''. His moves are relatively unchanged from his ''Melee'' moveset, except for the fact that [[Egg Toss]] can now function as a makeshift [[third jump]] when used in mid-air. This is a welcome change for Yoshi, especially since his already fast [[air speed]] has become even faster, and the directional [[air dodge]] that aided his recovery in ''Melee'' has been removed. Yoshi also boasts a much better grab game, thanks to receiving grab release follow-ups.

However, alterations to Yoshi's double jump and aerial [[Egg Roll]]'s momentum have significantly harmed his recovery, while his new grab release follow-ups do not fully compensate for the loss of his [[Double jump canceling|double jump canceled]] combos. Like other characters, Yoshi has received a [[Final Smash]]; in his case, it is [[Super Dragon]]. Super Dragon involves him growing [[mariowiki:Winged Yoshi|angelic wings that allow him to fly]] and gaining the ability to breathe fire either as a powerful {{s|mariowiki|Fireball}} or a stream of flames, while he is rendered invincible throughout its duration.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

| {{s|mariowiki|Car Yoshi}}

| {{s|mariowiki|Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island}}

| {{s|mariowiki|Yoshi}}

| {{s|mariowiki|Mario Party 2}}

| {{s|mariowiki|Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door}}

| {{s|mariowiki|Yoshi}}

| {{s|mariowiki|Yoshi Touch & Go}}

| {{s|mariowiki|Yoshi Topsy-Turvy}}

Yoshi returns as a playable character in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''. He now sports an [[Alternate costume (SSBU)#Yoshi|alternate costume]] based on his appearance in ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi's Crafted World}}'', which replaces Black Yoshi. In addition, [[Super Dragon]] has been replaced by [[Stampede!]], which is based on Yoshi's appearance during the intro of ''Melee''.

A Mii Costume based on Yoshi's appearance from ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi's Woolly World}}'' is available for {{SSBU|Mii Brawler}}s.

==In other languages==

*Although Yoshi is a heavyweight in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, this is contradictory to his weight classification in the ''{{iw|mariowiki|Mario Kart|series}}'' series. Yoshi is characterized as being the fastest of the lightweights in ''{{s|mariowiki|Super Mario Kart}}'' and ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario Kart 64}}'', and has been a middleweight (slightly lighter than [[Mario]] and [[Luigi]], and tied with [[Princess Peach]] and [[Princess Daisy]]) as of ''{{s|mariowiki|Mario Kart: Double Dash!!}}'' He shares this quirk with [[Bowser Jr.]]

*Yoshi is the only character to have a unique shield. In his case, it is a {{s|mariowiki|Yoshi Egg}} instead of a bubble.

*Prior to ''SSB4'', the color of the {{s|mariowiki|Yoshi Egg}} used during [[Egg Roll]] and [[Egg Throw]] would be white with green spots, regardless of Yoshi's selected color scheme.

*Yoshi's punching victory pose is likely a humorous reference to one of {{iw|wikipedia|Akuma|Street Fighter}}'s victory poses or his Raging Demon ({{ja|瞬獄殺|Shun Goku Satsu}}, ''Blinking Prison Killer''), which concludes with [http://streetfighter.wikia.com/wiki/File:SF4_SGS_(Super).jpg an identical pose]. This is even [[:File:SSB4-Wii U Congratulations All-Star Ryu.png|referenced]] in {{SSB4|Ryu}}'s [[All-Star Mode]] congratulations screen in {{forwiiu}}, and later [[:File:SSBU challenge image 013.png|again]] in a [[List of challenges (SSBU)|challenge board]] image in ''Ultimate''.

*Yoshi, [[Wario]], [[Luigi]], [[Snake]], [[Roy]], [[Corrin]], and [[Joker]] are the only playable characters to feature material from games scheduled for release after an installment of ''Super Smash Bros.'' In Yoshi's case, he has [[Woolly World|a stage]] based on various levels from ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi's Woolly World}}'' in ''SSB4'', and an {{SSBU|alternate costume}} in ''Ultimate'' based on his appearance in ''{{s|mariowiki|Yoshi's Crafted World}}''.