Yoshi (SSBM)

Yoshi in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Universe	Yoshi
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Tier	B (18)

“	A dinosaur that boasts surprising jumping prowess.	”
—Melee's instruction manual

Yoshi (ヨッシー Yosshī, sometimes spelled Yossy in Japan) is a character in all three games in the Super Smash Bros. series. He was announced as a playable character at the E3 2001. He possesses a more realistic dinosaur crouching posture and mottled skin in Melee.

He is currently ranked 18th on the current tier list, in the B tier. Yoshi has a good combo ability, great aerial game (coupled with the third best meteor smash in the game), and some decent approach options. He can also play mindgames with his unpredictable Egg Toss. However, Yoshi's biggest flaw is his lack of a "true" third jump; this creates a reliance on his large double jump, causing Yoshi to be extremely easy to edgeguard and gimp. His high falling speed, while aiding in his SHFFL, also makes him a target for combos. Additionally, his shield acts as a double edged sword; it makes Yoshi immune to shield stabbing, but at the same time, it disallows shield jumping and sidestepping, two maneuvers that all other characters have. Yoshi has poor matchups all around, with five matchups considered nearly unwinnable, and only one being considered favorable against Kirby, and he has the dubious distinction of being one of only three characters that have an even matchup against Pichu.

Attributes

Yoshi does not fall into an specific character archetype, due to a large amount of strongly varying characteristics. Yoshi has among the highest jumping prowess in the game, as well as a very high air speed, average falling speed, average traction, and above average dashing speed. As a result of these properties, Yoshi has a rather short, slow wavedash.

Among Yoshi's greater strengths is his air game. His high air speed and a highly maneuverable midair jump, as well as fast, low-lag, sometimes multi-hitting aerials, aid his comboing game; the addition of a meteor smash via his forward air also gives him a viable combo finisher. Adding to this, Yoshi's small short hop, above average falling speed and low-lag aerials make his SHFFL useful for approaching. Additionally, Yoshi's aerial attacks can be of significant power; his neutral and up aerial have KO potential, as does his forward aerial due to its meteor smash potential. Yoshi's down aerial is also one of the most damaging attacks in all the game; if all hits connect, it can deal 44% on the outset, aided by a variety of weak meteor smash hitboxes. Adding to this rather strong aerial game, Yoshi can also Double Jump Cancel, leading to a variety of interesting possibilities and mind games in his combos.

Yoshi's ground approach is also above average, due to a variety of ground-based tactics. In addition to a down tilt with semi-spike and fixed knockback properties, Yoshi has among the most flexible projectiles in all the game; Egg Throw is a powerful spacing tool, to its ability to be aimed, its ability to play mind games on opponents, and its ability to be used as a powerful camping tool when on the ledge. Yoshi's grab game is also above average; in addition to a ranged grab, Yoshi's up and down throws can lead to a variety of combos, as his forward and back throws can force edgeguarding.

Yoshi's biggest flaw, however, is his lack of a true third jump; while his midair jump is the longest in the game, goes a considerable distance due to his good air speed, and comes with some invincibility frames, Yoshi is among the most vulnerable characters to edgeguarding; a single hit with even a weak attack can knock back Yoshi enough so he cannot recover with a directional air dodge, sending him to his doom. A lack of damaging hitboxes in his limited recovery options makes Yoshi easy to edgehog.

Yoshi's shield game is also among the worst in the game. Yoshi's shield is unique in that it completely protects his body, leading to an impossibility of shield stabbing, and it also has the unusual property of sometimes perfectly shielding some attacks. However, this shield also prevents Yoshi from being able to adequately defend himself. Yoshi's rolling dodges are slow, and his hurtbox remains large, making it difficult to effectively evade opponents. Yoshi lacks a sidestep dodge, and, perhaps most importantly, he is unable to jump out of his shield, leading to a lack of options when put onto the defense.

Moveset

For a gallery of Yoshi's hitboxes, see here.

Ground attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack- When A is pressed, Yoshi will do very fast short-ranged kick that will do 2-3% damage, followed by a more powerful kick if A is pressed again that does 4-6% damage.
• Forward tilt- A similar attack to the first hit of his neutral attack, only with more range and knockback. 9-10%.
• Down tilt- Swipes his tail. Has set knockback and can be used as a gimping move. 9%.
• Up tilt- A fast but very short ranged tail swipe to the air. 10%.
• Dash attack- Headbutts in front mid-dash. 8% damage.

Smash attacks

• Forward smash- Reels his head back, charging in place, and headbutts forwards. Somewhat predictable, but has good KO potential. 16% uncharged, 20% fully charged.
• Down smash- Swipes his tail in front and then back. Uncharged, 10% front 8% back, fully charged, 14% front, 11% back.
• Up smash- Headbutts upwards in an arch. 13% uncharged, 19% fully charged.

Other attacks

• Ledge attack- Picks himself up and whips his tail in front. 6% damage
• 100% ledge attack- Slowly gets up and forces his head out. 12% damage, the most powerful ledge attack in the game.
• Floor attack- Swirls around, tail extended. 6% damage.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial- A sex kick. 14% when first comes out, weaker afterwards.
• Forward aerial- Brings his head back and brings it down. It's the 3rd most powerful meteor smash. 17%.
• Back aerial- Several fast tail swipes behind him. 17% if all hits connect.
• Up aerial- Thrusts his tail upwards very fast. 12% damage.
• Down aerial- Kicks his feet down very fast and continuously, weakly meteor smashes enemies. Most damaging aerial in Melee. 44% damage if this attack is used against normal sized opponents. 53% damage if this attack is used against giant sized opponents.

Grabs & throws

• Pummel- Chews on foe. 2-3% damage per pummel.
• Forward throw- Spits foe out. 6% damage.
• Back throw- Turns around and spits foe out. 6% damage.
• Up throw- Chunks the opponent upwards. 4% damage.
• Down throw- Forcefully slams foe into the ground. 4% damage.

Special moves

Yoshi's special moves

Neutral special	Egg Lay
Side special	—	Egg Roll
Up special	Egg Throw
Down special	Hip Drop	Yoshi Bomb

In Competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Melee Character Matchups

Avg.

Notable players

See also: Category:Yoshi professionals

• aMSa
• Fumi
• Leffen
• Vectorman

In Single Player Modes

In Classic Mode

In Classic Mode, Yoshi can appear in one-on-one battles, as an ally in the team and giant battles, as a giant opponent, as part of a team with either Ness or Luigi, or as a metal opponent. In all of his appearances, Yoshi appears on Yoshi's Island or Yoshi's Story.

In Adventure Mode

Yoshi is the only character of a starting universe that does not have his own stage in the Adventure Mode; rather, his universe is incorporated into the Mario universe in Stage 1.

Yoshi's appearance in the Adventure Mode occurs halfway through the first stage of the Adventure Mode. In the Mushroom Kingdom, the player comes across a team of 10 Yoshis; defeating all ten allows the player continue to the end of the stage.

In All-Star Mode

Yoshi and his allies are fought on Yoshi's Story in All-Star Mode.

In Event Matches

Yoshi appears in the following Event Matches:

• Event 4: Dino-wrangling: The player, with three stocks, has to take on a Yoshi considerably larger than normal size, moreso than from a Super Mushroom; Yoshi, however, has only one stock.
• Event 10: All-Star Match 1: Yoshi is the third of five opponents the player must fight in this series of staged battles. The player's character battles him on the Yoshi's Story stage, and their character has 2 stock while Yoshi has 1. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat him and the other four characters one-by-one with the overall time and life the player has: Mario, Donkey Kong, Bowser, and Peach.
• Event 13: Yoshi's Egg: In the event match, the player takes control of Yoshi in a free for all against Donkey Kong, Fox, and Pikachu. As a twist, there is an extra item on the stage, Yoshi's Egg, which Yoshi must prevent others from breaking for 55 seconds.
• Event 24: The Yoshi Herd: In this event, the player has to defeat 30 Yoshis, who appear on the stage in groups of three. After defeating 29, a giant Yoshi takes the place of the 30th, and the player has to defeat it as well. The player, however, has a strict time limit of 2 minutes to complete the event.

Ending images

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  Classic mode

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  Adventure mode

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  All-Star Mode

Changes from SSB to Melee

When making the transition from Super Smash Bros. to Melee, Yoshi received both nerfs and buffs, but he was nerfed overall.

Among Yoshi's buffs include a longer ranged up tilt, and multi-hitting back aerial that deals more damage; in addition to this, Egg Throw now has greater versatility. Yoshi's primary nerfs are an increase in starting lag in his forward aerial, a diminished DJC ability (though it's still quite potent), and an inability to jump out of his shield.

In cosmetic changes, Yoshi received a slightly more realistic appearance, with mottled skin and a more dinosaur-like posture, and he has a new special move, Egg Roll.

PAL Differences

Yoshi received changes in the PAL version. While his down aerial deals 8% less damage (36% instead of 44%), Yoshi is heavier and his forward smash is more powerful.

Trophies

Yoshis are gentle, fleet-of-foot dinosaurs that make their home on idyllic Yoshi's Island. They come in a variety of colors and have evolved an interesting trait to help increase their numbers: they can transform anything they swallow into an egg. With adhesive tongues and bottomless bellies, Yoshis have been known to eat anything.

• Super Mario World 8/91

Smash Red

Trophy #284: To make up for his lack of powerful airborne attacks, Yoshi has a miraculous jumping ability and is resistant to damage while in the air. Yoshi can also swallow a foe and transform him or her into an egg: try doing this close to an edge! The speed and power of the Egg Roll increases if you hold down the B Button, but it'll be tougher to control.

• B: Egg Lay
• Smash B: Egg Roll

Smash Blue

Trophy #285: Yoshi has no third jump, so the timing of his second jump is of vital importance. The angle and distance of his Egg Throw can be altered by how you tilt the Control Stick and how long you press the B Button. When Yoshi lands after doing his Yoshi Bomb, stars appear on either side of him, making it hard for enemies to deliver counterattacks.

• Up & B: Egg Throw
• Down & B: Yoshi Bomb

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  Character trophy

• 

  Smash red

• 

  Smash blue

Costumes

Yoshi's changeable palette swaps in SSBM

Trivia

• Yoshi, Bowser, Young Link, Link and Luigi are the only characters in Melee to use their default costume when on the green team.

Videos

Jurassic Parkour - a Yoshi tech skill video