Yoshi

Sturdy mount and loyal friend.
Yoshi
Species	Yoshi
Weaponry	Yoshi's Eggs
Voiced by	Isaac Marshall (1996) Kazumi Totaka (1997-Present)
Debut	Super Mario World

This article is about Yoshi as a character. For the species, see Yoshi (species).

Yoshi is a perky green dinosaur who has made several appearances as a partner character within the Super Mario series as well as starring in his own spin-off subseries. A lifelong friend of Mario, Yoshi is well known for his long tongue, endless appetite, and arsenal of spotted eggs. As is the case with Toad, Yoshi has the same name as his species and resembles its most common variant, so it is difficult to distinguish the character's individual appearances from appearances by generic members of the species.

Background

Prequel Games

Yoshi's Island

There are several games set in the past featuring Yoshis, and it is unsure which (if any) of these green Yoshis are the 'main' Yoshi featured in present-day games. First, a tribe of Yoshis appeared in several games set in this time era. In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, this tribe carried Baby Mario across the island after discovering him and saved his brother, Baby Luigi, from Kamek and Baby Bowser. They also rescued the stork that was supposed to deliver them. Yoshi's New Island later retconned that the Mario brothers were accidentally brought to the wrong parents. While the stork was in the process of correcting the mistake, Baby Luigi was dropped again, and Baby Mario ended up back in the custody of the Yoshis. The Yoshis went on another adventure to save Baby Luigi again and also to save Egg Island from Baby Bowser and his future self.

In Yoshi's Island DS, the tribe ended up carrying not only Baby Mario and Luigi, but also Baby Peach, Baby Donkey Kong, Baby Wario and even Baby Bowser in order to save Baby Luigi and various other infants from future versions of Bowser and Kamek. It turned out that they were searching for seven children containing magic stars, known as the star children, and the babies that the Yoshis carried in this game happened to be sixth of them. The seventh child was a green Yoshi that hatched during the game's credits.

What seemed to be the same tribe from the Yoshi's Island games also appeared in the past segment of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time on Yoshi's Island.

Yoshi's Story

A newly-hatched group of Yoshis containing a green Yoshi was featured in Yoshi's Story. In this game, they went on an adventure and defeated Baby Bowser in order to retrieve the Super Happy Tree that he had stolen, as well as to undo the curse that he had placed on the island, which turned it into a storybook.

It is commonly believed that the green Yoshi from the tribe seen in Yoshi's Island is the Yoshi appearing in the modern day games, but this is uncertain. It is also very likely that the main Yoshi is the one born at the end of Yoshi's Island DS, who is one of the seven children born with a star piece. The green Yoshi from Yoshi's Story is the last possibility, who could possibly be the same as the star child Yoshi.

Additionally, Yoshi's Woolly World and Yoshi's Crafted World each starred a green Yoshi who may or may not be the Yoshi's Island or Yoshi's Story Yoshi, in further conflicts against Baby Bowser and Kamek.

Modern Timeframe: The SNES/N64 Era

Yoshi's first appearance in the Mario universe was in Super Mario World. However, both Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2 were retconned to include Yoshi when they were rereleased as Super Mario Bros. DX and Super Mario Advance: Super Mario Bros. 2. Yoshi Eggs were hidden in each level, and had to be hunted down before they would hatch into a Yoshi, although those may have been generic Yoshis.

In Super Mario World, Yoshi was shown as a resident of Yoshi's Island in Dinosaur Land. Bowser had stolen seven eggs containing baby Yoshis, and Yoshi's attempt to save them ended with him being trapped in an egg. According to the manual, Mario and Luigi found the egg and freed him, after which he agreed to help them and gave them the magic cape. In the game, either brother could find his egg in ? Blocks, the first of which was located at his home, after which he can be ridden. When damaged, he will run away and disappear if one of the brothers does not get back on him in time.

Yoshi was also featured in a pair of puzzle games, both of which were based on his appetite. In Yoshi, Yoshi assisted the Mario Bros. in cleaning up heaps of enemies by adding his eggs into the mix. After cramming enemies between the top and bottom shells, they turned into more Yoshis. Yoshi's Cookie had Mario baking cookies in his spare time for Yoshi to eat. The version in Nintendo Puzzle Collection later featured a story in which Mario and Yoshi had to retrieve cookies that had been stolen by Bowser.

Yoshi went on another adventure with Mario in Yoshi's Safari, where he and Mario were sent to Jewelry Land by Princess Peach to save Prince Pine and King Fret. In this game, Mario used the Super Scope while riding on Yoshi to shoot down enemies, while Yoshi must safely lead Mario through the level and avoid being shot in the back of the head. He is also the lead character in Tetris Attack, where his friends (based on various characters from Yoshi's Island) were hypnotized by Kamek, who was also flooding the world under Bowser's orders. But Yoshi was able to free his friends, and together they defeated Kamek and Bowser.

In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Yoshi was found hanging out on Yo'ster Isle, where he would gladly translate the other Yoshis' speech to Mario. With Mario's help, he was able to beat the local cookie tycoon, Boshi, in a race. The original Super Mario 64 also featured Yoshi in a hidden appearance. He can be found on the castle roof after collecting all 120 stars, or by performing a number of jumps up the side of the castle. Yoshi presented Mario with 100 lives and an enhanced triple jump, but he must be revisited each time the game is started up to get the triple jump again.

The Gamecube-Switch Eras

Yoshi's appearances in the present era from this point on became much more sporadic, as most of the Yoshi games have been set in the past era, and a number of Mario games have either not included Yoshi or have included what seem to be generic members of his species rather than Yoshi the character.

In Yoshi Topsy-Turvy, Yoshi's Island was again turned into a pop-up book by an adult Bowser, and Yoshi set out to defeat him. Along the way, he discovered the ability to tilt the world around him, which ultimately gave him an edge in the final battle with the Koopa King. This has been Yoshi's only solo conflict with the adult Bowser.

For the remake of Super Mario 64 on the DS, Yoshi was given the lead role and was the first character playable in the game. He was sleeping on the roof of Peach's Castle when Mario, Luigi, and Wario went inside and never came out, after which Lakitu convinced him to go in and find them. He entered the castle and found that they had all been captured and trapped inside paintings. Collecting stars and defeating the likes of Bob-omb King and Goomboss, he rescued Mario, and they in turn worked to rescue Luigi, Wario, and Peach. Of the four playable characters, Yoshi was the most unique; he could turn some enemies into eggs and throw them, but he could not pick things up. A green Yoshi and several Yoshis of other colors also appeared as mounts in several levels of New Super Mario Bros. Wii and New Super Mario Bros. U, similar to his original role in Super Mario World.

Yoshi also appeared in Super Mario Galaxy 2 in a supporting role. He was shown to have a house in the Sky Station Galaxy, but he had already left when Mario arrived. Mario was first reunited with him in the Yoshi Star Galaxy, where he had been overwhelmed by enemies and trapped in an egg. After being freed from his egg, Yoshi offered his services as a steed. Yoshi appeared in various other galaxies and gained temporary special abilities from eating unique fruits. Yoshi also teamed up with the adult Mario against a boss for the first time in the battle with Bowser Jr. in his Megahammer. At the end of the game, Yoshi returned to the Mushroom Kingdom with Mario and the others for the final festivities. In Super Mario Run, Yoshi could be unlocked as a playable character by building Yoshi's House in Kingdom Builder, which was acquired by recruiting 30 Red and Yellow Toads through Toad Rally and spending 1000 coins. Yoshi was also temporarily playable in some individual courses of Remix 10 mode, regardless of whether or not he was officially unlocked at the time.

In Super Mario Odyssey, Yoshi visited Peach's Castle after the main story and was found on its roof by Mario in egg form. Mario could release Yoshi from the egg with a hat toss. Mario could also use Cappy to possess Yoshi. In this appearance, Yoshi could eat fruits and enemies with his tongue, and he could also use his tongue to cling and swing himself off of surfaces similar to a wall kick. He could not produce or throw eggs in this case, but each fruit he ate added to a stomach-filling meter that would produce one of three Power Moons each time it was filled. Yoshi would also disappear if he came into contact with deep water. Yoshi was also shown to have a home near the castle (similar to his home from Super Mario World), and he also appeared at parts of the Dark and Darker Sides of the Moon. In Dr. Mario World, Yoshi appeared as one of the playable doctors, known as Dr. Yoshi. Yoshi also appeared as a playable character in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. In that game, he was among the group of Mario's friends who answered Prince Florian's invitation to visit the Flower Kingdom. In the opening scene, he was seen carrying Peach to the meeting if neither of those characters were being controlled by the player. After Bowser attacked the Flower Kingdom, Yoshi followed the others in embarking on a quest to stop him. As a playable character, the Yoshis were similar to Nabbit in that they could not use power-ups but also could not be harmed by being hit by enemies. Yoshi also retained his flutter jump and ability to eat enemies. It was also still possible for other characters to jump on Yoshi's back and ride him.

In Other Mario-Related Games

Sports, Racing and Party Spin-Offs

Like the other main characters within the Mario series, Yoshi is a regular participator in the various sports and racing spin-off games.

• Golf: Yoshi was playable in Mario Golf, Mobile Golf, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Mario Golf: Advance Tour (though not in the main adventure), Mario Golf: World Tour and Mario Golf: Super Rush. He also appears in Mario Golf GB.
• Kart Racing: Yoshi has appeared as a playable racer in all of the kart racing games, including: Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (in which he is paired with Birdo), Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Mario Kart DS (where he drives the Egg 1, Standard YS, and Cucumber), Mario Kart Arcade GP, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Kart Arcade GP VR, Mario Kart Tour (unlockable through the game's gacha feature or the in-game shop) and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (only during Relay Races added in November 2021). In Tour, there have also been variants of Yoshi that were made temporarily available during certain tours: one wearing reindeer accessories and an Egg Hunt variant that consisted of Yoshi wearing pieces of a Yoshi egg.
• Tennis: Yoshi was playable in every tennis game as well, including: Mario's Tennis, Mario Tennis, Mario Tennis GBC, Mario Power Tennis, Mario Tennis: Power Tour, Mario Tennis Open, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash and Mario Tennis Aces.
• Baseball: Yoshi appeared as one of the playable captains in Mario Superstar Baseball, his co-captain being Birdo, and in Mario Super Sluggers.
• Soccer: Yoshi was also one of the captains in Super Mario Strikers, Mario Strikers Charged and Mario Strikers: Battle League.
• The Olympics: Yoshi was playable in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
• Other Sports: Yoshi was playable in Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Mario Sports Mix and Mario Sports Superstars.

Yoshi has also been playable in every game of the Mario Party subseries. In the Story Mode of Mario Party 3, he was associated with the Star Stamp of Kindness. As a playable character in Mario Party Advance, Yoshi began at the beach area. It was required to play as him in order to complete the Loch Dorrie mission. During this mission, Yoshi would cheer Dorrie up by showing him that he was not the only dinosaur around.

Cameos and Non-Storyline Roles

• Yoshi made a cameo appearance in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Land 2 as one of the competing video game heroes collecting DK Coins for Cranky Kong. He was automatically ranked second, just below Mario while scoring above Link.
• In Game & Watch Gallery and its sequels, Yoshi has appeared in the Modern versions of various Game & Watch games as both a playable character and NPC.
• Yoshi was featured in Yoshi Touch & Go, which consisted of minigames based on Yoshi's Island where the Yoshis had to return Baby Mario to the stork.
• A Yoshi doll could be seen on the title screen for Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure.
• In Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker 2, Yoshi was available to place within stages, with both a Super Mario World and a New Super Mario Bros. U version available. In the Wii U version, he was also playable as a possible Mystery Mushroom costume that Mario could turn into, which was unlocked with the scanning of a Yoshi amiibo or as a possible reward for clearing a 100-Mario Challenge, in both his normal form and his yarn form from Yoshi's Wooly World.
• In Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, one of the Papercraft constructs made by Toadette that Mario and Luigi could pilot was a Papercraft Yoshi made in Yoshi's image.

Abilities

Yoshi's exact abilities vary from game-to-game, but he generally possesses the baseline abilities shared by most Yoshis. He has a tongue that can stretch out to grab most enemies for instant consumption. Some standard Yoshi abilities were not introduced until Yoshi's Island, such as the ability to produce Yoshi eggs from eaten enemies and throw them at enemies as exploding projectiles (although the eggs were actually first weaponized by Yoshi when controlled by the CPU in Super Mario Kart). He was also given the abilities to flutter jump through the air by kicking his legs and a ground pound. Yoshi has also shown a resilience to enemy attacks in some appearances. In games where he acts as a mount, such as Super Mario World, being hit by an enemy will startle Yoshi and make him throw off his rider while running around. Yoshi himself does not seem to be harmed, though, and the rider can continue riding him by jumping on his back before he gets too far away or runs into a pit. Similarly in Yoshi's Island, Yoshi is thrown back by enemy attacks and will lose Baby Mario, but he can regain him. In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Yoshi is barely impacted by enemy attacks. Yoshi could also be used for a boosted jump by leaping from his back after having Yoshi jump into the air, although Yoshi will typically be lost in the process.

Some abilities are specific to certain games. In Super Mario World, Yoshi can eat Koopa shells of specific colors to gain abilities to fly, breathe fire, or stomp the ground extra hard. In Super Mario Galaxy 2, Yoshi had his standard moves, but certain fruits could give him special abilities while changing his color. The Dash Pepper is spicy enough to turn Yoshi red and will make him temporarily run at high speeds, making the dinosaur capable of running on water as well as up steep walls. The Blimp Fruit inflates Yoshi and turns him blue, and in this form he will float upwards while blowing air until he runs out. The final fruit is the Blub Fruit, which makes Yoshi grow yellow and reveals hidden platforms. Super Mario Run would later be unique as being one game in which Yoshi behaved similarly to Mario, including alternating between Small and Super forms when hit and receiving a power-up. Super Mario Bros. Wonder instead portrayed Yoshi more similarly to his usual self, and he was incompatible with power-ups.

There are Yoshi abilities that have been unique to certain games, such as the Yoshis in Yoshi's Story being able to sniff out fruits and other items. In Super Mario Sunshine, Yoshis can spray fruit juice to wash away thick goop made by Bowser Jr. and damage enemies, an ability that has not been exhibited by the main Yoshi.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• He has made appearances in several of the edutainment games made featuring Mario. In Mario is Missing!, Yoshi had accompanied the Mario Brothers to Antarctica, and after Mario was captured, Luigi could summon Yoshi to ride him around. In the NES version of Mario's Time Machine, Yoshi was captured by Bowser and needed to be rescued. Yoshi also appeared in the Mario's Early Years! series.
• In The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, a Yoshi doll could be won from the Trendy Game and was used to set off the game's trading sidequest. A portrait of Yoshi along with portraits of other Mario characters could also be seen through a window in Hyrule Castle's garden in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
• In Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle Stadium, Yoshi was added as a playable racer for the fourth and final episode. He replaced Luigi in the roster.
• Yoshi appeared as a playable character in the board game-themed crossover games Itadaki Street DS and Fortune Street.
• A Yoshi figurine was seen on Otacon's desk in Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes!, and shooting it would cause it to call out its name as in other games.
• In Sonic Lost World, there was a free DLC stage based on Yoshi's Island called the Yoshi's Island Zone. There, Sonic could collect several Yoshi eggs that hatched to reveal a group of Yoshis at the end of the stage.
• Yoshi is part of the Super Mario Mash-up Pack for Nintendo versions of Minecraft as a playable skin. All saddles are also replaced with Yoshi saddles.
• Yoshi was featured as one of the playable characters in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, along with a Rabbid counterpart named Rabbid Yoshi. Rabbid Yoshi was recruited by saving him from the midboss of the third world, Spooky Trails, while Yoshi was the last character to be recruited, joining the party after the defeat of the midboss of the fourth world, Lava Pit. Yoshi and Rabbid Yoshi did not return in the following game, but they were mentioned, and an associate producer for the game claimed that both Yoshi and Rabbid Yoshi were away on vacation during the game's events.

Super Smash Bros.

Yoshi has appeared as a playable fighter throughout the Super Smash Bros. series, appearing in Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. His special attacks consist of turning opponents into eggs, throwing eggs, rolling himself into an egg, and ground pounding his foes. Yoshi is also notable as the only contestant to have his own shield; he uses a giant egg while most other characters project a type of colored bubble around themselves. His original Final Smash involved turning into Super Dragon form, but it was replaced by a a different one featuring a stampede of Yoshis in Ultimate. Ultimate also added an alternate costume based on his appearance in Yoshi's Crafted World.

In Ultimate, a hat and outfit of Woolly Yoshi was also available as a Mii Brawler costume.

Abilities

Yoshi in Brawl.

His moveset was primarily based on the Yoshi abilities from Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Story, with some new moves such as the ability to encase himself within a large egg as a method of defense. The following are his special moves:

• Standard Special Move: Egg Lay- Yoshi lashes out his tongue, and if anyone is caught in it, they will be temporarily entrapped in an egg until they can break free. This can be done near a ledge to instantly drop an opponent down the pit.
• Side Special Move: Egg Roll- Added in Melee. Yoshi will encase himself in an egg and roll across the stage. It is a way to strike enemies quickly, but it is hard to control.
• Up Special Move: Egg Toss- This is Yoshi's trademark move, where he will throw an exploding egg into the air.
• Down Special Move: Yoshi Bomb- Also known as the Ground Pound, this is simply the attack where Yoshi goes into the air and then slams back down to crush an enemy.
• Final Smash: Super Dragon- This move is achieved through usage of a Smash Ball and appears only in Brawl. It seems to be an exaggerated version of his Koopa shell-granted abilities from Super Mario World, as Yoshi will grow a pair of elegant wings which allow flight and can breathe powerful fireballs at enemies. Yoshi also glows with a blue aura in this form, and the official website compares this to "the legendary tricolor Yoshi".

Trophies/Stickers/Spirits

In Melee, he has three unlockable trophies, and in Japan it was also possible to obtain an extra trophy of Mario and Yoshi together. Within Brawl, he has a standard trophy and one that depicts his Final Smash. There are also stickers of Yoshi from Mario Party 2, Yoshi Touch & Go, the right Yoshis from Super Mario Land 2: Yoshi's Island, in Car Yoshi form from Yoshi's Island, in ship form from Yoshi Topsy-Turvy and with Mario from Super Mario Sunshine. In the 3DS/Wii U games, Yoshi has two trophies in both versions. In the 3DS game, Yoshi is also part of a trophy for Yoshi's New Island and a trophy of Yoshi with the Egg 1 kart from Mario Kart 7, while the Wii U game also has a trophy for Yoshi's Final Smash. In Ultimate, Yoshi had two Fighter Spirits, one for his ordinary form and one of his Crafted World form. There was also a separate Ace-rank Primary Spirit for Yarn Yoshi, and Yoshi was one of the characters appearing in the image that represented the River Survival Spirit.

Brawl: The Subspace Emissary

Within Brawl's Adventure Mode, "The Subspace Emissary", Yoshi was first seen in The Forest taking a nap on the stump near the Master Sword's pedestal. When minions of the Subspace Army arrived and woke Yoshi, Yoshi teamed up with Link to fight them off. Yoshi continued traveling with Link and later helped him in the fight against Mario and Pit which resulted from a misunderstanding (which is strange considering that Yoshi knows Mario and usually would not have turned on him so quickly). After the misunderstanding was cleared, the four united and then teamed up with Kirby in pursuit of King Dedede; although this hunt failed, they did eventually meet up with Marth and Ike and teamed up with them, eventually forming the main party that traveled into Subspace to fight in the final battles.

Ultimate: Adventure and Classic Modes

In the Adventure Mode of Ultimate, "World of Light", Yoshi was among the majority of fighters who were captured by Galeem and placed under his control. Yoshi could be found along a pink ribbon-like trail in the northern area of the Light Realm's western continent. In Classic Mode, Yoshi's route was called "Jurassic Journey", and it was themed around Yoshi fighting reptilian opponents. The final boss of this route was Rathalos.

Other Media

• Yoshi appeared in the Super Mario Bros. live action film, where he is a pet of King Koopa who befriends Daisy. The Yoshi of this movie is small and resembles a realistic dinosaur, looking almost nothing like the Yoshi of the video games. Yoshi does, however, have his recognizable extending tongue.
• Yoshi appeared as a main character in the Super Mario World cartoon series. He was voiced by Andrew Sabiston, who would later provide the voice of Diddy Kong in the Donkey Kong Country animated series.

Canceled Appearances

• In one build of Diddy King Pilot, Yoshi was shown to be a playable racer, riding Lakitu's cloud as a vehicle. The game was ultimately canceled.
• Yoshi was planned to appear in Super Mario 3D Land at some point in development, but he was ultimately removed. He was similarly considered for Super Mario 3D World.

Trivia

• He is named Yoshi in both English and Japanese, which makes leaves him with no name to differentiate himself from his species.
• The concept of Yoshi was first thought of shortly after Super Mario Bros. was released, but due to hardware limitations, Miyamoto was unable to implement Mario riding a dinosaur until the Super NES with Super Mario World. Additionally, according to the Super Mario History booklet, Yoshi was initially conceived as a type of Koopa that could be ridden by Mario.
• In the Japanese edition of Super Mario World, in the sign at his house Yoshi refers to himself with the title of "Super Dragon", possibly due to the dragon's resemblance to dinosaurs. This title was used again years later for Yoshi's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and at one point in Super Mario Galaxy 2, a sign by Yoshi's house has him refer to himself as a "space dragon", reflecting the game's setting.
• He is often paired with Birdo in sports games.