Yoshi (SSB)

Yoshi in Super Smash Bros.
Yoshi
Universe	Yoshi
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Tier	C (6)

Yoshi (ヨッシー, Yosshī, sometimes spelled Yossy in Japan) is a starter character in Super Smash Bros.

Yoshi ranks 6th in the C tier on SSB's current tier list due to having the most damaging move in the game (his down aerial), an effective meteor smash in his forward aerial, a very unique double jump which allows him to get out of combos and/or reduce knockback of moves and to DJC, and a unique shield that allows him to egg parry. However, despite having these properties, Yoshi has a terrible grab and bad out of shield moves which prevents him from properly dealing with characters with high pressure, namely Kirby, Fox, and Pikachu.

Attributes

File:Yoshistoryending.jpg

Yoshi's ending picture in Super Smash Bros.

One of Yoshi's most known attributes is his shield. It lasts slightly longer than other shields, and it is immune to shield stabbing because it covers his whole body and does not shrink. On the down side, Yoshi has a sluggish roll, and it takes slightly longer for Yoshi to exit his shield than other characters. Yoshi has some fairly powerful moves, such as his forward aerial meteor smash, but not many KO moves. He has above average movement speed, with the fastest air speed in the game. His double jump also gives him launch resistance, probably to help his lack of a third jump.

Yoshi's forward and up tilts are effective combo moves. The former has high hitstun, and at mid percentages, it can lead into a forward aerial. The latter has moderate set knockback and can easily combo into an aerial, including a back or up aerial as a KO move at high percentages. His down tilt also hes set knockback, and good range, being a useful edgeguarding move. His smashes are also powerful, but aren't very fast. His up tilt and up smash allow him to juggle semi-effectively. Yoshi has effective aerials - a well known feature he can use is the double jump cancel, which is extremely useful and especially effective with a down aerial, as it can easily rack up huge damage (maximum of 56%), and even zero-death some characters. He can use DJC to "Counter" other attacks and escape combos due to the unique properties of his double jump. Yoshi can parry by using the shield at a perfect moment [within 4 frames of being hit] and can then hit his attacker immediately. In high level play, Yoshi is known for being able to break shields quickly using his Z-canceled neutral aerial while using DJC. This is known as a shield break combo. His forward aerial is an effective meteor smash, with high power and very fast speed, while being easy to land. His back aerial and up aerial are powerful KO moves, with the former being useful for edgeguarding. Yoshi can also use the Edge-canceled eggs and Egg Bomb cancel techniques.

Yoshi also has a projectile in his up special move, Egg Throw. It is difficult to control, however, due to the arc that it travels in, and it is too slow and short-ranged to be as effective as some of the other projectiles in the game. The explosion does have good range and power, though. Yoshi has knockback resistance during his second jump, but he lacks a third jump. Thus, he is highly vulnerable to being hit after his second jump while recovering.

What keeps Yoshi from being in the high tiers is that he has difficultly dealing with pressure. Yoshi also lacks a third jump, and so simply attacking him out of his double jump can prevent him from recovering (projectiles can also cause this), although his knockback resistance during his double jump and very high air speed help this problem. He also has possibly the worst grab in the game - while it is a ranged grab, it has short range compared to Link and Samus's grabs, and it is slow and laggy, leaving him very vulnerable if it misses. Yoshi is also fairly easy to combo due to his above average size and weight. He also has a very high learning curve, and it is substantial being that he must often use mind games to approach characters, in which his are harder to learn.

Yoshi has very average matchups overall. He is heavily countered by the top three characters in Smash 64 (Pikachu, Kirby, and Fox), with the hardest counter being Kirby. Overall, he does well against the lower tiers and poorly against the higher tiers, granting Yoshi a spot around the very middle of the tier list. What sets Yoshi apart is that his unique hit box and the overall lack of high level Yoshi players makes him a unique matchup for any character.

Moveset

Yoshi's aerial attacks

Yoshi in the SSB instruction booklet.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		{{{neutralname}}}	3%	{{{neutraldesc}}}
			5%
Forward tilt		Forward Kick	13%	Kicks suddenly forward. Can be angled. Below average upward diagonal knockback. Useful for setting up his fair spike due to its hitstun. Referred to as the best f-tilt in SSB due to its very fast speed and good power.
Up tilt		Upward Attack	11%	Upwards headbutt, has set upwards knockback. Great for setting up combos, and a very powerful move if used correctly.
Down tilt		Tail Sweep	10%	Tail sweeps in front of him, with set horizontal knockback. Great for edgeguarding.
Dash attack		Running Headbutt	12%	Headbutt tackle, punishable due to a small bit of ending lag. Resembles Pikachu's, but with less lag.
Forward smash		Headbutt Thrust	18%	Rears his head back (which can often throw off players attacking Yoshi) and then thrusts his head forward. Short ending lag, and has above average horizontal knockback.
Up smash		Headbutt Up	18%	Forceful headbutt. Has good horizontal knockback from behind to top, average upwards knockback when hit near the end.
Down smash		Smash Tail Sweep	14% on both sides	Tail sweeps on both sides, weak horizontal knockback for a smash attack, and has some ending lag.
Neutral aerial		Quick Kick	9-14%	Sex kick with below-average horizontal knockback. Can be used to ledge guard. This move also is a great shield breaker when coupled with DJC.
Forward aerial		Air Headbutt	15-18%	Aerial headbutt forward, a spike. Great knockback for a spike of its speed, can KO at medium percentages and combos into other aerial attacks at lower percentages.
Back aerial		Double Back Kick	12-14%	Two kicks backward, the move has good horizontal knockback.
Up aerial		Tail Whip	12-15%	Whips his tail upwards, is very powerful in combos using DJC.
Down aerial		Flutter Kick	56% if all hits connect	Flutter Kick that is capable of spiking at high percentages, does 14 hits of 3-4%. Is the most powerful move in Smash 64 (in terms of damage and combos). It is a shield breaker when used fully on platforms and can combo out of and into other moves. Less useful due to being a drill. With DJC, it can be a dangerous combo starter.
Grab		Tongue	—	Yoshi, along with Link and Samus, has an "extended grab". He uses his tongue while standing. This allows him to grab opponents from a distance, but the grab is very laggy if it misses. The grab range is notably shorter than Link and Samus's.
Forward throw		Spit Forward	9-12%	Reels back with opponent in mouth and throws them forward, good horizontal knockback.
Back throw		Spit Backward	12-16%	Turns around, and throws his opponent backwards, has better knockback than f-throw.
Forward roll Back roll		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			6%	Swirls around, tail extended.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			6%	Swirls around, tail extended.
Edge attack (fast) Edge getups (fast)			6%	Twirls up and whips his tail. Short range.
Edge attack (slow) Edge getups (slow)			6%	Steadily gets up, reels his head back, and headbutt forward.
Neutral special		Egg Lay	5%	Sticks his tongue forward (with much less lag than his grab). If it hits an opponent, they will be damaged and trapped in an egg behind Yoshi. Tilting the control stick rapidly back and forth will help the opponent escape the egg more quickly.
Up special		Egg Throw	14% (egg)	Throws an egg, which deals damage. The trajectory can be altered using the Control Stick.
Down special		Yoshi Bomb	18%	A Ground Pound attack. If done on the ground, Yoshi leaps forwards and then does the attack. If done in the air, Yoshi simply drops down.

Taunt

Spins 450 degrees while saying "Yoshi!", facing its left after the 450 degree twirl. He then does the following twice: raises his heels off the ground, raises his arms and opens his mouth, and says "Yoshi!" once while spinning.

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. (N64) Character Matchups

Avg.

Strategies

Special Combos

• Up tilt with a down aerial to a finishing move. It should rack a large amount of damage and KO at a low percentage. This can be DI'd out of however due to it being a drill.
• Up tilt with a forward aerial towards the edge of a stage. Great knockout, great spike.
• Neutral special move (Egg Lay) to a down aerial. Racks up less damage than a regular down aerial due to the Yoshi Egg absorbing half of the damage.
• Spam up tilt and up aerial for juggling.
• Up tilt to an up smash to KO.
• Up tilt to DJC aerials

Recovery

Yoshi's lack of a third jump is a major hindrance for beginner players, who often steer clear of him. However, Yoshi arguably has one of the best recoveries in the game. This is due to the fact that Yoshi gains knockback resistance during his midair jump, and that it can be canceled. The method of recovery then goes as follows: Yoshi uses his second jump at the last possible moment and then does an aerial attack right when he's above the ground, minimizing the time in which he is vulnerable of being edgeguarded. It is also important to note that while Yoshi gets only a second jump, he can cover much more distance than many other characters.

Description

From the Game

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 cloud 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)

From the Instruction Booklet

Yoshi is the cute dinosaur who lives on a tropical island. You'd be surprised what he can do with a simple egg.

Costumes

File:Alt-yoshi.jpg

Yoshi's changeable palette swaps in SSB

Trivia

• Yoshi is the only character to boast unplayable variants, a Purple Yoshi and a Pink Yoshi, seen when the player fights the Yoshi Team in the 1P Game.
• If the player uses Yoshi against the Yoshi Team, all colored Yoshis still appear, in the same shade as the player's Yoshi.
• Yoshi takes after his look in Super Mario 64, but because Super Smash Bros. came out a while after that game, and animation techniques were improved in that time, his appearance was slightly updated.
• Yoshi is the only character who has a different shield (an egg).
• Yoshi, along with Donkey Kong, is one of two characters in the original Super Smash Bros. to never be portrayed with head wear in-game.
  • Interestingly, they both wear headgear in the later game Mario Party 2.
• Yoshi, along with Jigglypuff and Kirby, is the only character without a helpless state.