Yoshi Bomb
| Yoshi Bomb | |
|---|---|
 Yoshi Bomb in Super Smash Bros. | |
| User | Yoshi |
| Universe | Yoshi |
| Article on Super Mario Wiki | Ground Pound |
| “ | Pound enemies directly or shock those nearby with stars when you hit the ground. | ” |
| —Melee's instruction manual | ||
| “ | Jump forward and up, then slam down in a flash. Sends you straight down when done in the air. | ” |
| —Brawl's instruction manual | ||
| “ | Jump up and then slam down. | ” |
| —Description from Smash for 3DS's foldout | ||
Yoshi Bomb (ヒップドロップ, Hip Drop) (also referred to as Ground Pound, see below) is Yoshi's down special move. When used, he smashes straight downward into the ground, releasing a star on either side, which provides minor protection against nearby enemies. If used on the ground, Yoshi will jump forward before dropping down. The aerial version is a stall-then-fall move. This move can be canceled by grabbing the ledge while dropping. The Yoshi Bomb is capable of inflicting some serious shield pressure, and can also break a near-full shield.
This move's drop deals 18% damage in Super Smash Bros., while the stars produce 3% each. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the Yoshi Bomb was slightly weakened in damage, with the stars only dealing 1%, but it still inflicts powerful knockback. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the attack was further weakened, but the grounded version now possesses a weak, fixed-knockback hitbox during the jump that links more successfully into the second hit. In all games, the stars can be reflected and absorbed. In Super Smash Bros. 4, and in a similar fashion to Bowser, the grounded version has the potential to break an almost-full shield if all of its hitboxes connect. However, like Bowser, the opponent can roll out of the way.
Name
In the original Super Smash Bros., the move is called "Hip Drop" by Yoshi's in-game character profile, which was the standard name for the maneuver in the Mario Party series at this time; elsewhere in the Mario and Yoshi series the move is known as "Ground Pound". However, the move is listed as "Bomb" in the manual, which is likely an error.
The move was then named as the Yoshi Bomb in Melee, Brawl, and SSB4. This is a bit of an unsubstantiated choice; no move has ever been known as "Yoshi Bomb" in the Mario or Yoshi series, and the Japanese name for the move remains ヒップドロップ (Hip Drop). In most in-depth Japanese sources, Luigi's new down throw in SSB4 also shares this exact name which implies that it's the exact same technique.
Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:
| 1. Yoshi Bomb | 2. Star Bomb | 3. Crushing Bomb |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| "Jump up quickly and slam to the ground, shooting stars out left and right." | "Deals less damage with the bombing motion, but the stars are powerful and fly far." | "A full-power slam attack. So powerful, in fact, that the stars forget to fly out." |
- Yoshi Bomb: Default.
- Star Bomb: The ground pound itself deals just 4% damage, and has little KO power, however upon hitting the ground much larger stars are produced which deal 4-8% damage and fly out a long distance. The move also has more ending lag, and is less effective at breaking shields, although still possesses decent shield damage.
- Crushing Bomb: Yoshi jumps up higher, and the ground pound deals more damage (15/12 -> 18) and knockback, but no stars are produced upon landing. Additionally the move has more startup and ending lag. Furthermore the removal of the stars means the grounded version is no longer a guaranteed shield break if all hits connect, although it leaves shields with so little health that if the shield is even very slightly damaged, it will still break.
Origin
The move has become a somewhat standard move in Mario and Yoshi games, originating in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island where Yoshi could use it to pound down stakes, crush crates, slam through soft dirt, and of course, damage and defeat enemies. Yoshi's animation during the midair descent is modeled after the Ground Pound from Yoshi's Story.
The stars emitted from the Yoshi Bomb are original to Smash Bros. Alternatively, as many mechanics of the Smash Bros. series are derived from the Kirby series, it's possible that the stars are a reference to how a great deal of ground-smashing attacks produce stars on impact, which Kirby can suck up and spit out.
The Japanese name for Yoshi Bomb on the other hand (Hip Drop) is a common alternate name for this type of move in several of the Mario and Yoshi-based games alike.
Trivia
- This is Yoshi's only special move (excluding his Final Smash) that is not egg-related.
- The instruction booklet for the original Super Smash Bros refers to the move as simply "Bomb", causing it to share a name with special moves of Link and Samus, both of which coincidentally are also down special moves.
- In Melee, despite CPUs rarely shielding physical attacks, they will always roll dodge or air dodge away from this attack when used in their vicinity.
Gallery
Yoshi Bomb in Melee.
Yoshi Bomb in Brawl.
Yoshi Bomb in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Yoshi Bomb in for Wii U alongside other stall-then-fall attacks.
