Yoshi
- For fighter info, see Yoshi (SSB), Yoshi (SSBM), Yoshi (SSBB), Yoshi (SSB4), and Yoshi (SSBU).
Yoshi | |
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{{{content2}}} Official artwork of Yoshi from Mario Party 10 and Yoshi's Crafted World. | |
Universe | Yoshi |
Debut | Super Mario World (1990) |
Smash Bros. appearances | SSB Melee Brawl SSB4 Ultimate |
Most recent non-Smash appearance | Super Mario Maker 2 (2019) |
Console/platform of origin | Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
Species | Yoshi |
Gender | Male (Yoshi) Varies (species) |
Place of origin | Yoshi's Island |
Created by | Shigefumi Hino[1] Takashi Tezuka[1] |
Designed by | Shigefumi Hino[1] |
Voice actor | Kazumi Totaka |
Article on Super Mario Wiki | Yoshi |
Yoshi (ヨッシー, Yoshi) is a character in the Mario series. Since his debut in Super Mario World as an ally of Mario and Luigi, Yoshi's popularity has resulted in him starring in his own series, which follows his and his species' adventures.
As a member of the "perfect-attendance crew", Yoshi has been featured as a playable character throughout the Super Smash Bros. series.
Origin
During the development of Super Mario Bros. 3, Shigeru 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.[1]
Due to 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.[1]
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.[1]
Yoshi is the most recurring member of the sentient and friendly species of the same name. Like other members of his species, Yoshi is a reptile that features an amalgamation of physical characteristics from a few reptiles: he has the physique of a theropod dinosaur, a turtle-like shell that functions like a saddle,[1] and a chameleon-like tongue. On a related note, a chameleon's ability to change their skin coloration is referenced by the variety of color schemes present among the various other Yoshis.
Yoshi and his species debuted in Super Mario World, where Mario or Luigi would be able to find Yoshi Eggs, which would hatch automatically to reveal a fully grown Yoshi. Later in the game, Baby Yoshis 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 breathe Fireballs, and Yellow Yoshi can emit a 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 breathe Fireballs. By extension, the other three Yoshis can do the same.
Due to Shigeru Miyamoto's dislike of subsequent Yoshi games, he aimed to make a game starring Yoshi that was authentic to his character.[2] This game would come to be known as Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, which saw a myriad of differently colored members of the the species appear.
The Yoshis' ability to eat virtually anything was expanded to include the ability to create Yoshi Eggs capable of being thrown. In addition, Yellow Yoshi's sand cloud-generating jump was modified into a Ground Pound usable by any other Yoshis. Outside of these updated abilities, the Yoshis also gained the ability to Flutter Jump[1] and transform into certain vehicles.
In addition to being the first installment of the Yoshi's Island sub-series, Super Mario World 2 is the first installment in the Mario series' in-universe timeline: it details Baby Luigi being captured by Kamek and his Toadies while being delivered by a stork, while a group of Yoshis discover the missing 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.
However, upon arriving at its supposed destination, the husband and wife declare that the babies are not theirs, which leads to the events of Yoshi's New Island. This mishap results in the stork once again being attacked by Kamek and his Toadies, who recapture Baby Luigi while Baby Mario falls to 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.
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 star children, thus leading to the events in Yoshi's Island DS. Unlike the previous two instances, the stork attacks Kamek and the Toadies, thus resulting in Baby Mario and 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, Baby Donkey Kong and Baby Wario). Meanwhile, it is revealed that Bowser traveled back in time 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 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 Bowser himself, 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 Baby Yoshi, thus strongly implying him to be the very same Yoshi that the grown up Mario Bros. would go on to rescue and ally with in Super Mario World and subsequent Mario games.
In Super Smash Bros.
As a playable character
Yoshi makes his first appearance in a fighting game in the original 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 Yoshi Egg instead of a standard bubble that shrinks, which makes him immune to shield stabbing.
Another noticeable distinction Yoshi possesses is his lack of a recovery move. Instead, he makes up for it with a massive and generally safe double jump. Although Yoshi's unique traits make him rather difficult for beginners to learn, his very versatile combo options, most notably his double jump canceled aerials, are very useful for combos, pressuring and KOing. Thanks to his strengths, Yoshi is currently ranked 5th on the tier list, placing him in the A tier.
Yoshi's in-game description reads:
- Yoshi
- Yoshi is the friendly dinosaur of Yoshi's Island. He began as Mario's partner, but has since built his own identity, and now appears in many games. He uses his unique ability to turn whatever he swallows into an egg as his foremost attack. Yoshis come in a rainbow of colors and are said to have a high IQ from a very early age.
- Works:
- Super Mario World (SNES)
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES)
- Yoshi's Story (N64)
In Super Smash Bros. Melee
As a playable character
Yoshi returns in Melee as a starting playable character. His design is still based on his appearance from Super Mario World. Yoshi stays relatively unchanged, but is given a few new visual properties, such as a more dinosaur-like posture. He has also received several new and unique techniques, such as edge-canceled eggs.
Although Yoshi can continue to double jump cancel, he was somewhat nerfed; he is now unable to jump out of his shield and continues to lack a third jump, two distinct traits that must be adapted to in order to bypass their drawbacks. However, Yoshi's unique shield physics, agile yet heavy hurtbox, and powerful attacks nonetheless make him a capable character.
While Yoshi was initially regarded poorly, his position in the current metagame has improved significantly, due to recent high tournament results by particular Yoshi professionals, notably aMSa. As a result, he is currently ranked 12th on the tier list, placing him in the D tier.
Trophies
- Yoshi
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 08/91 (SNES)
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
As a playable character
Yoshi once again returns as a playable character in Brawl. Unlike in SSB and Melee, he now sports his design from Yoshi's Story. His moves are relatively unchanged from his Melee moveset, except for the fact that his up special move, the Egg Toss, can now function somewhat as a 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 canceled combos. Like other characters, Yoshi has received a Final Smash; in his case, it is Super Dragon. Super Dragon involves him growing angelic wings that allow him to fly and gaining the ability to breathe fire either as a powerful Fireball or a stream of flames, while he is rendered invincible throughout its duration.
As a result of the severity of his nerfs, Yoshi is currently ranked 27th on the tier list, placing him in the D tier.
Trophy
- Yoshi
- A creature that hails from Yoshi's Island. Yoshi's come in a variety of colors, and all possess gentle personalities. No matter what problems they face, they always look like they're having fun. Yoshi's use their long tongues to grab and swallow fruit and enemies. They can convert what they swallow into eggs, which they then lay. They also give Mario rides.
- : Yoshi's Safari
- : Yoshi's Story
Stickers
Name | Game | Effect | Character(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Car Yoshi | Yoshi's Island | Attack +7 | |
Eight Yoshis | Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island | Attack +18 | |
Yoshi | Mario Party 2 | +35 | |
Yoshi | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door | Attack +5 | |
Yoshi | Yoshi Touch & Go | Attack +8 | |
Yoshi Ship | Yoshi Topsy-Turvy | Attack +32 |
Car Yoshi (Yoshi's Island) |
Eight Yoshis (SMA 3: Yoshi's Island) |
Yoshi (Mario Party 2) |
Yoshi (Paper Mario TTYD) |
Yoshi (Yoshi Touch & Go) |
Yoshi Ship (Yoshi Topsy-Turvy) |
In Super Smash Bros. 4
As a playable character
Yoshi returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. Unlike in Brawl, Yoshi's overall color scheme is considerably brighter. He also he appears more cartoony and now stands in a more upright position, all of which make him appear much more in line with his appearances in the latest Mario and Yoshi games.
Yoshi has been buffed in the transition from Brawl to SSB4, with increased speed and utility to his moveset, while his decent dashing speed has become considerably faster. His aforementioned altered posture is also a buff, as it makes his hurtbox's positioning less awkward. Yoshi's KOing options and set-ups were also improved, while he also regained the ability to jump out of shield, something he could not do since SSB. His shield was further buffed by his shield drop becoming much quicker.
However, Yoshi also received nerfs to his overall damage output. His grab game has been also drastically nerfed, as the removal of chain grabbing removed his useful grab release follow-ups. Despite his improved shield, Yoshi's rolls are still short-distanced, limiting his ability to escape from pressure.
Overall, Yoshi's buffs are significant enough to have noticeably improved his viability from Brawl. To reflect this, Yoshi is currently ranked 34th on the tier list, placing him in the D tier. While Yoshi has a minimal presence in competitive play despite this strengths, he has achieved varying degrees of success regardless. This includes winning a few local tournaments in both singles and doubles play, and achieving several top 50 placings (some of which are top 10 placings) at regional and national tournaments.
Trophies
- Yoshi
- As dependable a partner as one could hope for, Yoshi often aids Mario in his adventures. Yoshi can swallow just about anything and make an egg of it instantly. He's got some serious airborne power, making launching opponents skyward and then following up with more attacks a wise choice.
- They say man's best friends is a dog, but Mario's may well be Yoshi. He lives on Yoshi's Island, and can swallow up just about anything, then lay it as an egg. In this game, jumping is his forte - he can leap really high, then quickly land again, making chasing after launched opponents and getting in sneaky follow-up strikes easy.
- Yoshi (Alt.)
- Yoshi's up special move Egg Throw is a projectile attack that travels farther the longer the button is held. Yoshi will also rise a bit if this move is used in midair. The side special Egg Roll turns Yoshi into a rolling, damaging egg. Yoshi won't roll off an edge if no directions are pressed.
- When you use the Egg Throw up special, how far Yoshi throws the egg depends on how long you hold the button. In mid-air, the move also makes him rise a bit. Egg Roll, a side special, sends him rolling inside an egg. If you don't control him while he's rolling, he'll stop just before he rolls off the edge of a platform.
- Yoshi + Egg 1
- This heartwarming contraption looks more at home in a theme park than a raceway, but don't be fooled—this egg-shaped frame can dive under the sea or soar through the skies with ease! Your opponents will be filled with envy when you break this out in Mario Kart 7.
- This kart combo looks like it belongs in a theme park rather than on a racetrack. But, of course, looks can be deceiving! The egg-shaped frame known as the Egg 1 is a speed demon in the water. Mario Kart 7's tracks include everything from deep blue seas to soaring slide routes, so you've got to be prepared for anything!
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
As a playable character
Yoshi is confirmed to be a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He now has a new alternate costume based on his appearance in Yoshi's Crafted World, which replaces his Black Yoshi costume, while his Final Smash has been updated based on his appearance during the intro of Melee.
As a costume
A Mii Costume based on Yoshi's appearance from Yoshi's Woolly World is available for Mii Brawlers.
Spirits
Trivia
- Although Yoshi is a heavyweight in the Super Smash Bros. series, this is highly unusual in comparison to his weight classification in the Mario Kart series. Yoshi is characterized as being the fastest of the lightweights in Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64, and has been a middleweight as of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! He shares this quirk with Bowser Jr.
- Rosalina follows an inversion of this quirk. She is a heavyweight in the Mario Kart series, yet is a lightweight in the Super Smash Bros. series.
- Yoshi is the only character in the Super Smash Bros. series to use the same set of voice clips since SSB.
- Unlike Bowser, the Donkey Kong characters and Petey Piranha, Yoshi retains his voice actor from the Mario series. He shares this trait with Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings, who are all voiced by their respective Mario series actors, and Banjo & Kazooie, who are voiced by Chris Sutherland.
- Additionally, Yoshi has been using the same voice clips for longer than any other character in the Super Smash Bros. series. Since the first Super Smash Bros. game, his voice clips have all been reused from Yoshi's Story.
- Yoshi is the only character to have a unique shield. In his case, it is a Yoshi Egg instead of a bubble.
- Prior to SSB4, the color of the Yoshi Egg used during Egg Roll and Egg Throw would remain white with green spots, regardless of Yoshi's selected color scheme.
- Yoshi is the only member of "The Original 8" to not appear in the SSB4 E3 2013 trailer.
- He is also only the member to not be playable in Ultimate's E3 demo.
- As of Brawl, he is the last of the "Original 8" to be revealed as a veteran for a subsequent Super Smash Bros. game. He was also the only one in Brawl to be confirmed on the Smash Bros. DOJO!! before appearing in a trailer.
- "Melee" marks the latest time Yoshi was not revealed last.
- Yoshi and Captain Falcon are the only singular representatives to appear throughout the Super Smash Bros. series.
- He is also the only singular representative to consistently remain a starter character throughout the Super Smash Bros. series.
- He is also the only member of "The Original 8" to remain a singular representative, since the other members have been joined by other representatives either in their debut or in later installments.
- Currently as of Ultimate, Yoshi has remained a singular representative out of all members of the "Original 8" accross the series.
- He is also the only "Original 8" member to have no Assist Trophy or item representation for the Yoshi series, discounting Yoshi's Egg.
- Due to Pokémon being neutrally aligned, he is also the only "Original 8" representative to not have an antagonist from the Yoshi universe as a playable character.
- He and Wario are the only Mario representatives to be sole representatives of their sub-universes.
- Including sub-franchises, Yoshi is the only Mario representative to not have "Congratulations" written in Mario-themed font in his congratulations screen in SSB4.
- Prior to Brawl, Yoshi and Jigglypuff were the only characters whose up special moves could not be used for recovery.
- Yoshi's punching victory pose is likely a humorous reference to one of Akuma's victory poses or his Raging Demon (瞬獄殺, Blinking Prison Killer), which concludes with an identical pose. This is even referenced in Ryu's All-Star Mode congratulations screen in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and later again in a challenge board image in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
- Yoshi, Piranha Plant, Inkling, R.O.B., the Mii Fighters, and the Pokémon are the only playable characters to share their name with their respective species.
- Yoshi, Luigi, Snake, Wario, 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 a stage based on various levels from Yoshi's Woolly World in SSB4, and an alternate costume in Ultimate based on his appearance in Yoshi's Crafted World.
- Currently, Yoshi has the most stages of out of all singular representatives throughout the entire series with a total of 5.
- With the exception of Melee, and ignoring Wario and Little Mac's Final Smashes prior to Ultimate, Yoshi has the fastest air speed of any fighter.
- Depending on the weight of Mii Brawler in Smash 4, this would make the fourth installment the only other exception for Yoshi.
References
Yoshi universe | |
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Fighter | Yoshi (SSB · SSBM · SSBB · SSB4 · SSBU) |
Stages | Super Happy Tree · Yoshi's Story · Yoshi's Island (SSBM) · Yoshi's Island (SSBB) · Woolly World |
Enemies | Shy Guy · Fly Guy |
Other | Kamek |
Trophies, Stickers, and Spirits | Trophies (SSBM · SSBB · SSB4) · Stickers · Spirits |
Music | Brawl · SSB4 · Ultimate |
Masterpiece | Yoshi |
Related universe | Mario |