Yoshi

"I know! We should team up! Come on! Hop on my back!"

- Yoshi

Yoshi is a dinosaur-like character that acts as an ally of Mario and Luigi and is the protagonist of his own franchise. Among members of the Yoshi species hailing from Yoshi's Island, any Yoshi may be identified as the "Yoshi" character, and as such, not all iterations of the character are necessarily the same one. According to the Super Mario World manual, he got his name from Yoshi's Island because he was first discovered there. In the Super Mario series, he often acts as a rideable character for the heroes, while in most of the spin-off games, he is a playable character on his own. Yoshi's defining traits include his cutesy appearance, his cheerful and friendly personality, his flutter-jumping and egg-laying abilities, his rideability as a steed, and exclaiming his own name.

Creation and development
Shigeru Miyamoto has stated in interviews that he wanted Mario to ride a horse after the completion of Super Mario Bros. However, technical limitations on the NES kept this from being possible, but with the development of the Super Famicom, an animal partner for Mario could be added. The character of Yoshi was specifically created by Shigefumi Hino, a graphics designer, with the help of Takashi Tezuka. According to Yoichi Kotabe, Yoshi's name (alternately romanized as "Yossy") is a of female staff member Mie Yoshimura's nickname and "." His name is the same as the Japanese interjection 良し (yoshi), meaning "good!", "okay!", or "all right!"

Since Super Mario World was supposed to take place in Dinosaur Land, Hino initially designed a reptile similar to a large lizard. Since the initial design felt out of place, Tezuka redesigned him by making a rough sketch that then Hino polished. During the redesign, Tezuka tried making Yoshi related to the Turtle Tribe, with the saddle actually being his shell. Kotabe had previously sketched a chameleon that would eat by sticking out its tongue, and suggests that the drawing may have helped inspire the concept of Yoshi.

Yoshi's design has been altered and refined between games over the course of the SNES and Nintendo 64 eras, gradually becoming more turtle-like. In his earliest appearances, Yoshi is shown as having a long neck and back and small arms. In later games, such as Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Mario Party, Yoshi is shorter and stouter, with longer arms and more human-like hands. In Mario Kart 64, he is given a more upright appearance. The Mario Kart 64 design has been used for his general design ever since, with a few minor yet notable alterations from Mario Party 4.

Super Mario World
"Hooray! Thank you for rescuing me. My name is Yoshi. On my way to rescue my friends, Bowser trapped me in that egg."

- Yoshi

Yoshi makes his debut in Super Mario World, along with other Yoshis. Bowser magically encases some of the Yoshis in eggs. These eggs are then given to the Koopalings to be watched over. When Yoshi sets off to rescue them, he also gets trapped in an egg, which is then hidden in a block in a field on Yoshi's Island.

Mario and Luigi eventually stumble across Yoshi's egg and free him. Once released, Yoshi informs the Mario Bros. that Dinosaur Land is in danger. Together they rescue the other imprisoned Yoshis and save Princess Toadstool from Bowser.

Yoshi can use his long tongue to eat almost any type of enemy, including foes Mario and Luigi could not otherwise defeat. He can also eat power-ups. If an enemy hits Yoshi, he runs away, meaning Mario or Luigi must chase him down and jump on him in order to calm him down and keep riding. Yoshi cannot enter Ghost Houses (except the Sunken Ghost Ship), fortresses, the Koopalings' castles, or Bowser's Castle. Mario or Luigi enters these levels alone, and Yoshi waits outside for either of them to return. While Mario or Luigi is riding Yoshi, percussion is added to the game's music, a detail applicable to most games where Yoshi is rideable.

When Yoshi eats different types of Koopa shells, he gains different abilities depending on which color shell he ate. If Yoshi eats a Green Shell, he can spit it out as a projectile. If he eats a Red Shell, he can spit out three fireballs. If Yoshi eats a Yellow Shell, he can stomp on the ground, causing sand clouds. Finally, if Yoshi eats a Blue Shell, he can fly for a limited amount of time.

Yoshi can also acquire wings from a Prize Block. These wings turn Yoshi blue (except in Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, where Yoshi retains his color upon acquiring the wings), allowing him to fly. In Star World, Mario can feed Baby Yoshis of different colors various items and enemies, eventually turning a Baby Yoshi into a full-grown Yoshi. These colored Yoshis each have a specific ability that they can use whenever they hold a shell of any color in their mouths,

The Mario Bros. manage to defeat the Koopalings and Bowser, thus rescuing the seven Yoshi eggs and Princess Toadstool. Mario, Luigi, Toadstool, and Yoshi return to Yoshi's House to celebrate their victory over the Koopa Troop. During the celebrations that follow, the seven rescued eggs hatch into Baby Yoshis.

Super Mario 64
"Mario!!! It [sic] that really you??? It has been so long since our last adventure! They told me that I might see you if I waited here, but I'd just about given up hope!"

- Yoshi

In Super Mario 64, Yoshi plays a very minor role, making his first appearance in the 3D Super Mario series. If Mario manages to acquire all 120 Power Stars, a cannon outside the castle becomes accessible, which can be used to shoot Mario onto the roof of the Mushroom Castle. There, the player can speak to Yoshi, who congratulates the player for completing the game by delivering a message from the developers and then rewards Mario with 100 extra lives and an improved Triple Jump. After that, Yoshi jumps off the castle roof into the waterfall, and he cannot be spoken to again unless the game is restarted. If Mario does not visit Yoshi after collecting 120 Power Stars, Yoshi remains and can be seen on the roof during the end credits.

While speaking to Mario, there is a mistake where he says, "Mario!!! It that really you???" instead of "Mario!!! Is that really you???"

Super Mario World is referenced in this game when Yoshi tells Mario that "it has been so long since their last adventure."

Super Mario Bros. Deluxe


In the 1999 remake of Super Mario Bros., the player can search for Yoshi Eggs in the challenge mode. If they find one and get it to the end of the stage, the egg hatches and Yoshi emerges in his adult form. Additionally, Yoshi makes other minor appearances.

Super Mario 64 DS
Yoshi, alongside Mario, is one of the main protagonists in Super Mario 64 DS, as well as the first available playable character. At the beginning, Princess Peach invites Mario to her castle. When Mario, Luigi, and Wario arrive at the castle, Yoshi is sleeping on the roof. During this time, Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach, steals the castle's Power Stars, placing them in the worlds inside the castle's paintings, and seals everyone inside. Yoshi, on the ground, is awakened by one of the Lakitu Bros., who informs him that Mario and company have not returned from the castle. After retrieving the key to the castle's front doors from a rabbit, Yoshi gains access inside and takes on the quest to save the castle, Mario, Luigi, and Wario. After Yoshi saves Mario, Luigi, and Wario (the latter two being optional), the team reclaims the castle's Power Stars, and Mario ultimately defeats Bowser and rescues Princess Peach.

Yoshi is the only character that does not have any "power," according to the instruction booklet for the game, as he is not capable of slide-attacking, ground-pounding Bricks or Boos, lifting up enemies/objects, or punching and kicking enemies (though he can still jump on them, and he can punch and destroy Bricks only if he eats a mushroom). In place of this, Yoshi has the ability to eat certain enemies and either spit them out and defeat them or swallow them and create an egg, which can be used to defeat other enemies. In addition to swallowing enemies, Yoshi can also swallow coins, items, and even Power Stars to collect them.

Yoshi features average running and swimming speed, as well as having the highest jump out of the four playable characters, tied with Luigi; while jumping, the player can hold the button to perform a Flutter Jump, giving him a boost while in the air to reach further places (this does not work while triple-jumping). Yoshi, however, does not triple-jump and long-jump as high and far as Mario and Luigi do. Additionally, Yoshi's Power Flower ability is Fire Power, which allows him to breathe fire that can melt blocks of Ice and defeat most enemies on contact; he can also breathe a single breath of fire by eating a source of fire and spitting it out. Yoshi will also breathe fire if he swallows enemies such as flame throwers and Fly Guys. Yoshi's fire breath can also destroy signs. Since Yoshi cannot punch or grab objects, like mentioned above, he cannot defeat bosses that require these moves without wearing a cap; in some cases, however, they toss objects, such as Bob-ombs, that Yoshi can eat and use to attack. Additionally, when entering a course, if any of the other player characters have been unlocked, Yoshi can enter a level and wear one of their caps by default if the player taps the icon on the Touch Screen while on the mission-selection screen. Due to not being able to defeat Boos, Big Boo's Haunt is the only main course Yoshi cannot access.

If any playable character goes into their own door to switch characters, Yoshi will be the one the player will switch to.

New Super Mario Bros.
Even though Yoshi does not appear in the story mode of New Super Mario Bros., he appears in some of the minigames, along with Red Yoshi, Blue Yoshi, and Yellow Yoshi in the multiplayer games. He is also Player 4's playable character.

Super Mario Galaxy
Yoshi himself does not appear in Super Mario Galaxy (although he was planned to); however, he has three notable Yoshi references:
 * One of the heads used to represent the player's save file is Yoshi's.
 * In the Good Egg Galaxy, there is a planet that resembles a Yoshi's Egg.
 * A wooden planet that is carved into the shape of Yoshi's head appears in the Space Junk Galaxy. The mission in which Mario retrieves the Power Star on this planet is even titled "Yoshi's Unexpected Appearance."

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Yoshi reappears in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, this time as a rideable character like in his first appearance. Yoshi appears only in World 1-3, World 2-5, World 3-2, World 4-5, World 6-4, and World 7-6. Yoshi makes the same sounds as he does in Super Mario World. Yellow, Light Blue, and Pink Yoshis also appear in multiplayer.

When one player rides a Yoshi, Yoshi drums are added to the music like in previous titles. Yoshi can flutter-jump, such as in the Yoshi franchise, and has his usual tongue ability. He can easily eat a normal enemy such as a Goomba or Piranha Plant. If Yoshi eats a shelled enemy, he can spit it out as a projectile instead. Unlike in Super Mario World, different shell colors do not result in special abilities. If Yoshi jumps on a Koopa Troopa, the Koopa does not retreat into its shell but is instead instantly defeated as if it were hit by a Spin Jump. Yoshi can also jump on certain enemies that players cannot normally jump on, such as Piranha Plants and Spinies, though it will not defeat the enemies, once again drawing parallels to the Spin Jump. In this game, eating a Venus Fire Trap allows Yoshi to spit out a fireball. He can also do the same by eating a fireball (from a Venus Fire Trap or the player), and he can swallow and spit out an ice ball thrown by an Ice Bro, hammers thrown by a Hammer Bro, other players, and specific blocks, such as Light Blocks. However, if Yoshi enters a sub-level, the item in Yoshi's mouth disappears, and the character appears out of Yoshi's mouth. Like with Super Mario World, if Yoshi is struck by an enemy without swallowing or jumping on it, he drops the player and runs about until the player regains control of him. If not stopped, Yoshi may run off a cliff or sink in quicksand.

Fruit can be found in the levels that Yoshi appears in, and if Yoshi eats five fruits, he lays an egg that contains an item. This happens also if Yoshi eats a Pokey while it is covered in leaves. At the end of a level, the player dismounts Yoshi and he waves goodbye. The player cannot take him to another level like in Super Mario World.

According to unused in-game data, Yoshi cannot be used while underwater, as the player will automatically dismount Yoshi if they fall into the water. Yoshi also cannot use Bouncy Clouds properly; this is resolved with the Green Yoshis in New Super Mario Bros. U.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Yoshi appears in Super Mario Galaxy 2, where he assists Mario and Luigi on a quest to save the universe from being ruled by Bowser and to retrieve the Power Stars.

After finding out that Bowser has stolen all the Power Stars, Yoshi decides to go and look for most of them himself. As he explores the universe, he ends up in a galaxy known as the Yoshi Star Galaxy. He then gets lost and starts running around in circles in his confusion. Bowser then orders a Magikoopa to go and get rid of Yoshi.

Later on in the game, Mario arrives in the Yoshi Star Galaxy and, after some exploration, finds a little Luma, who informs Mario on what has happened to Yoshi. The Luma tells Mario that a Magikoopa appeared out of nowhere, trapped Yoshi inside an egg, and encased it in a magical forcefield. Mario easily defeats the Magikoopa, negating its forcefield and allowing him to crack open the egg. Yoshi thanks Mario for saving him and offers his assistance to help Mario throughout the rest of his quest. From there on, Yoshi is playable on Starship Mario and occasionally teams up with Mario (and Luigi) to get back the Power Stars and save the universe. Yoshi can talk properly in this game too, since a dialogue box appears above him when he is first encountered in the Yoshi Star Galaxy.

Yoshi can eat various fruits in order to change his color and gain power-ups like in Super Mario Sunshine. These abilities include the red Dash Yoshi, who can run at high speeds over water and up walls when he eats a Dash Pepper; the light blue Blimp Yoshi, who inflates like a balloon and floats towards virtually unreachable areas when a Blimp Fruit is ingested; and the yellow Bulb Yoshi, who can illuminate hidden objects by eating a Bulb Berry. Drums play when Mario is on Yoshi, as in Super Mario World.

Yoshi has the ability to perform Flutter Jumps, but he cannot do Triple Jumps. Additionally, he is faster than both Mario and Luigi. He can eat objects when players target them with the Wii Remote and press the button, replacing the player's ability to shoot Star Bits. If players want to stop riding Yoshi, they must hold down and press. Yoshi can swim in this game, but he cannot dive, and unlike in earlier games, Yoshi cannot do Ground Pounds, since the command to do so is instead used as part of the command to make Mario jump off.

Also, like in the past games, if Mario takes damage while on Yoshi, Yoshi runs off (however, the second player can use the Co-Star Luma to prevent him from doing so). If he is not mounted for a while, Yoshi retreats into his egg in the nest where he was initially encountered in the area. Electrical attacks, electric barriers, lava, or certain fire attacks also send Yoshi back to his egg. In Bowser's Galaxy Generator, however, once Yoshi is dismounted right before the fight with Bowser, he waves goodbye to Mario or Luigi instead.

As in Super Mario Galaxy, the player has the option to choose Yoshi's head as one of the planets that represents their save file. Additionally, when the player completes a level with Yoshi, he does his own victory pose (with Mario) and makes a victory sound.

Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS / Super Mario Maker 2
Yoshi and his eggs appear in Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, and Super Mario Maker 2, in the Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U styles, working as they do in those games.

Yoshi (and his kind's yarn forms) also appears as an unlockable Mystery Mushroom costume in the original game, which can be unlocked either at random upon completion of the 100-Mario Challenge or by scanning a compatible Yoshi amiibo. The standard Yoshi costume replaces the usual Super Mario Bros. sound effects with sounds from Super Mario World, while Yarn Yoshis use sound effects from Yoshi's Woolly World.

In Super Mario Maker 2, a Ninji Speedruns course called Yoshi's Piranha Plant Picnic features Yoshi, who must swallow twenty-five Piranha Plants.

Knocking on a Warp Door in the Super Mario World style may cause Weird Mario to appear while riding Yoshi.

Super Mario Odyssey
Yoshi makes an appearance as a capturable character in Super Mario Odyssey. He can be found on top of Peach's Castle, like in Super Mario 64, in the Mushroom Kingdom. He is also found in Yoshi's Eggs in secret areas reached from the Dark Side, where he must eat fruits in order to cause a Power Moon to appear, and he appears in one of the Darker Side's sections. Once captured, Yoshi is able to use his trademark Flutter Jump and eating abilities, playing similarly to his Super Mario Galaxy 2 appearance. However, unlike in the aforementioned game and like in Super Mario World and the New Super Mario Bros. games, Yoshi can only stick out his tongue directly in front of himself. He is also able to side-somersault. While he can double-jump, he is unable to do a full Triple Jump like in Super Mario 64 DS and Super Mario Sunshine. If the player continuously shakes the controller, Yoshi will stick his tongue to the ground and run in circles around the spot where his tongue is stuck. Yoshi also has a new ability that allows him to latch onto walls with his tongue; he can still extend his tongue or jump off while stuck to a wall, potentially allowing him to latch onto another wall, much like wall-jumping.

Super Mario-kun
Yoshi appears in the first volume of Super Mario-kun and has since been a frequently occurring character accompanying Mario. Yoshi often makes unexpected actions and mistakes, resulting in Mario scolding him. In volume 23, Yoshi abandons Mario, Luigi, and Wario due to them taking advantage of him. Yoshi enters a haunted house and decides to settle with the Boos. The Big Boo, however, uses a stamp marked with Bowser's face to turn Yoshi evil. When Mario, Luigi, and Wario venture in the house, looking for Yoshi, they are attacked by their former friend. During the attack, however, Yoshi runs through a wall and gets stuck. When Yoshi is about to be crushed by a Thwomp, Mario leaps in to save his friend and struggles to hold up the Thwomp, shocking Luigi and Wario with his sudden strength. The Bowser stamp falls off, restoring Yoshi, but the two end up getting crushed.

Super Mario World television series
Yoshi appears as one of the four main characters in the Super Mario World animated series produced by Nintendo and DIC Entertainment, replacing Toad from the previous cartoons. In the cartoon, Yoshi is depicted as being very young and childish (despite being older than Mario and Luigi in the games). Yoshi appears to have a large appetite, which has the tendency to get him into trouble. Like other inhabitants of Dinosaur Land in the cartoon, he speaks in a more simple and primitive manner. As explained in "Mama Luigi," Luigi first finds Yoshi while trapped in the Lava Pits; he is searching for an item when, after hitting a coin block several times, an egg pops out of it. The egg soon after hatches into a young Yoshi, who believes Luigi to be its mother. The rim on his shell appears to have a grayish shade, rather than white.

Yoshi appears in every episode with the following roles:
 * Fire Sale: At the start, Yoshi is stopped from eating the Dome City's barbecue and told to go to Mama Fireplant's dome to buy more fireballs. On the way there, Yoshi learns that Mama Fireplant was in trouble and rushes off to tell Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool. Yoshi and his friends try to save Mama Fireplant from Kootie Pie Koopa, and he ends up saving the plant and melting Kootie Pie Koopa's Ice Palace. This episode also shows that Yoshi has an irrational fear of water.
 * The Wheel Thing: Yoshi eats plenty of "STOP" signs that Luigi had made for when something wrong happened. Then, he helps Mario and Luigi defeat Kooky and King Koopa's Mega Mechanasaur by creating potholes.
 * Send in the Clown: At the start of the episode, Yoshi is seen acting as the ballboy for a tennis match between Mario and Princess Toadstool. After Yoshi gets into trouble for eating the fireball they were using, the group notices the poster for Koopa's circus. Yoshi and his friends go to Koopa's circus, only to be trapped in a cage. In the end, Mario defeats Koopa and saves them, and they perform their own circus with Yoshi as the clown.
 * Ghosts 'R' Us: Yoshi and his friends venture into the enchanted forest, only to find a Koopa wizard named Wizenheimer. The wizard captures and locks away everybody but Yoshi, who escapes. Soon after, Yoshi ventures into the wizard's house and saves all his friends.
 * The Night Before Cave Christmas: Yoshi and Oogtar are seen fighting over food at the beginning of the episode, which gives Mario the idea of having Cave Christmas (even though it is August). Yoshi and his friends make presents for all the Cave People to celebrate Cave Christmas, only for Koopa to steal the presents. Yoshi and Mario then go and take back all the presents Koopa stole and then give them to the Cave People.
 * King Scoopa Koopa: Yoshi and his friends find a new fast-food stand run by Koopa. Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi chow down until they become fat. Unfortunately, Yoshi and Luigi become Chickadactyls along with the rest of the Cave People. In the end, Mario saves everyone by destroying the shop.
 * Born to Ride: Mario and Luigi are installing plumbing in the Dome Castle for Princess Toadstool, only to have it eaten by Yoshi. The Mario Bros. scold Yoshi for eating it, which upsets Yoshi. Yoshi runs away from Dome City and joins a biker gang called the Dino Riders. They secretly try to hand the Mario Bros. over to King Koopa, but Yoshi soon finds out and saves them.
 * Party Line: Yoshi helps clean up the vines scattered across the town by eating them.
 * Gopher Bash: Luigi attempts to teach the Cave People how to farm and has Yoshi help him with the various tasks. Yoshi's appetite ends up causing some problems, such as him chasing a berry while plowing the fields and eating the seeds that Luigi plants. After some vegetables are grown, Cheatsy Koopa and a group of gophers steal the crops, and Yoshi, Luigi, and Mario chase after them to regain them. In the end, however, Yoshi ends up eating everything and is forced to redo it all.
 * Rock TV: Yoshi helps save Mario and Luigi from being pummeled in wrestling and eats all of Koopa's Rock TVs, including the giant one.
 * The Yoshi Shuffle: Yoshi and Mario try to save Luigi, who has been turned into an egg, by playing a game of football with Bully Koopa. In the end, Yoshi and Mario win and turn Luigi back into his normal self.
 * A Little Learning: Yoshi helps Oogtar the caveboy grow an "eggabega" for the science fair, but Hip and Hop sneak a Piranha Plant in it. The Piranha Plant starts to wreck the school and eats King Koopa, Hip, and Hop. Yoshi then eats it and spits the Koopas back to Neon Castle.
 * Mama Luigi: Yoshi is being tucked into bed by Luigi, who proceeds to tell him the story of how he met Yoshi. As told in the story, Yoshi manages to save Mario and Luigi from Mechkoopas and rescues Princess Toadstool from King Koopa. At the end, Yoshi falls asleep.

Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land
Yoshi is a main character in the interactive OVA Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land. Princess Peach was on vacation visiting him in Dinosaur Land, but when Mario and Luigi arrived, they found that King Koopa had invaded the area, and neither Princess Peach nor Yoshi was anywhere to be found. However, when Luigi hits a Block, an egg comes out, and Yoshi hatches from it. The three decide to save Princess Peach, the rest of the Yoshis, and Dinosaur Land from the Koopas. Yoshi lets the brothers ride on his back, much like in the game.

Super Mario Adventures
Yoshi appeared in Nintendo Power's Super Mario Adventures comics. According to the comics, Yoshi was the Chairman of the Dinosaur Chamber of Commerce, and as such, he was one of the official leaders of Yoshi's Village. In these comics, Yoshi joined Mario and Luigi in their search for Bowser, as the King of the Koopas had captured several Yoshis from the village.

A Wiggler attacks Mario and Luigi until Yoshi eats it. Then, later, Yoshi eats a blue Koopa Paratroopa and sprouts wings. The Mario Bros. ride him. Yoshi flies to the pipe that supposedly leads back to the Mushroom Kingdom, but it is fake, so Mario asks Yoshi where to go instead, causing him to spit out the shell, and Yoshi sputters down to the ground. The Mario Bros. spot a Ghost House. Luigi enters, and Mario attempts to follow atop Yoshi, but the low entrance knocks him off and the dinosaur gets locked out. After the Mario Bros. eventually get out and find Yoshi, the three head for Bowser's Castle.

When Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi get to the castle, Bowser is in a wedding with Princess Toadstool. Kamek hypnotizes Toadstool into loving Bowser and Yoshi's friends into being slaves. Yoshi and Luigi find some eggs and start freeing the Yoshis, who stampede on Kamek, breaking his wand and setting Toadstool free. Bowser hides in the wedding cake, but at Mario's command, the Yoshis start eating the cake. Bowser rushes to the top, but the cake crumbles. Afterwards, the Mario Bros. tease Bowser about his defeat, and in the end, the narrator tells the reader that the Yoshis were freed and that the Mario Bros. and Toadstool went home to have some rest.

Yoshi
Yoshi appears in the puzzle game named after him, counting the number of eggs hatched on the side of the screen during gameplay.

Yoshi's Cookie
In Yoshi's Cookie, Yoshi appears as a character in V.S. mode. Yoshi has to make horizontal and vertical rows of the same kind of cookie to proceed to the next level. In the Nintendo Puzzle Collection version, there is now a story mode in the game, where Mario and Yoshi are making cookies but get exhausted from the many cookie deliveries. Mario and Yoshi then go to sleep. Unfortunately, Bowser steals all the cookies while they are asleep. Mario and Yoshi, soon after waking up, find out that Bowser stole their cookies. They then set out to find Bowser and reclaim their cookies. In Japan, National Human Electronics released a version of the game called Yoshi no Cookie: Kuruppon Oven de Cookie to promote their Kuruppon oven.

Tetris Attack
In Tetris Attack, Yoshi must break a spell put on his friends by Kamek. First, he has to defeat his friends themselves in head-to-head battles by constantly lining up three or more matching panels either horizontally or vertically in head-to-head. Yoshi's allies consist of several creatures from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, including a Baby Yoshi, a Lakitu, a Shy Guy, a Bumpty (SNES version only), Poochy, a Flying Wiggler, a Gargantua Blargg, a Lunge Fish, Raphael the Raven, and Prince Froggy. After he breaks the spell, he must face many bosses, including Naval Piranha, Hookbill the Koopa, Kamek, and finally Bowser.

Yoshi's Safari
During the events of Yoshi's Safari, Bowser conquers a nation called Jewelry Land, kidnapping its rulers, King Fret and Prince Pine, and stealing the twelve magical jewels that gave the kingdom both its name and stability, causing it to break into two distinct realms: the Dark Realm and the Light Realm.

Princess Peach sends for Mario and Yoshi to set things right. To aid the two, Peach gives Mario a new weapon, the energy gun known as the Super Scope. With this new weapon in hand, Mario and Yoshi enter a Warp Pipe, sending them to Jewelry Land.

During their adventures in Jewelry Land, Mario rides on Yoshi's saddle armed with the Super Scope. As Yoshi navigates the terrain of Jewelry Land, it is Mario's responsibility to shoot down any enemies in Yoshi's way and defeat Bowser, the Koopalings, and the other minions in possession of the gems, many of whom are equipped with giant robots. If Mario accidentally shoots Yoshi in the back of the head, it injures him. In the end, Bowser and his troops leave Jewelry Land, and the liberated Prince Pine uses the twelve gems recovered by Mario and Yoshi to reunite the two realms of Jewelry Land. After receiving many thanks from Prince Pine and King Fret, Yoshi and Mario return home to Princess Peach.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island / Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3
One morning years before the events of most Mario games, during the events of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, the Magikoopa sorcerer Kamek foresees that two newborn brothers will bring ruin to the Koopas and attempts to capture them as the stork carries them to their mother and father in the Mushroom Kingdom. While Kamek snags Baby Luigi, his twin brother, Baby Mario, falls unnoticed to Yoshi's Island. Fortunately, Yoshi happens to be taking a walk through the forest that day, and Baby Mario lands on his saddle unscathed, along with a map leading to Bowser's Castle, where Kamek has taken Baby Luigi.

Yoshi decides to take Baby Mario back to his clan. As the Yoshis argue about what to do with the infant, Baby Mario points to the horizon. Yoshi decides that his clan should rescue Baby Mario's brother and help both of them find their parents, and the other Yoshis agree. Taking the initiative, Yoshi proposes that they use a relay system between eight Yoshis to transport Baby Mario: Each Yoshi travels some distance, then hands Baby Mario to the next dinosaur. Taking the lead, Yoshi sets out in the direction Baby Mario was pointing, helping him through the preliminary level and then through World 1-1.

Unfortunately, Kamek's forces had invaded the island and were searching for Baby Mario, complicating the Yoshis' task. To battle the enemies, Yoshi uses his egg-making abilities to transform enemies and other objects into Yoshi's eggs, which he then throws at enemies. Yoshi also uses a variety of morph bubbles to transform himself into various vehicles to aid in his quest. With these abilities, Yoshi manages to help Baby Mario through the dangers of the first level of each of the six worlds, as well as through all the secret worlds discovered along the way, and eventually Bowser's Castle. He eventually reaches Baby Bowser's bedroom in his search for Baby Luigi, and after being attacked by the young Koopa, he handily defeats him. Kamek then uses his magic to transform Baby Bowser into a larger version of himself that destroys the castle, but Yoshi defeats Baby Bowser through the use of Giant Eggs.

Ultimately, in the rubble of the castle, Yoshi discovers Baby Luigi and the stork originally charged with delivering the babies. After untying the stork, Yoshi says his goodbyes to the babies and allows the bird to continue on his journey, and Baby Mario and Baby Luigi arrive home, safe and sound.

Yoshi's Story
In Yoshi's Story, Yoshi appears as one of the eight playable Baby Yoshis.

Yoshi Topsy-Turvy
During the events of Yoshi Topsy-Turvy (also known as Yoshi's Universal Gravitation), Bowser and his forces attack Yoshi's Island, causing chaos and disorder. In a twist of fate, a spirit named Hongo encases the entire island in a storybook to contain Bowser and his armies (similar to Baby Bowser's own actions in the earlier game, Yoshi's Story). Fortunately, Yoshi manages to convince the powerful spirit to restore Yoshi's Island if he can personally trap Bowser, for if there is no threat posed by Bowser, there will be no need to keep the island isolated. As such, Yoshi sets off through the chapters of the storybook version on Yoshi's Island.

During this adventure, Yoshi acquires a unique and powerful ability: Not only can Yoshi use his long tongue to defeat enemies, but he can also manipulate gravity. As Yoshi changes the force of gravity, he can cause enemies to fall backwards or even transform walls into hills. This unique ability helps Yoshi complete the various daunting stages before him.

However, Yoshi cannot merely walk through a course to complete it. Each course is controlled by a different spirit, and each demands that the green dinosaur fulfill a specific task before they will allow Yoshi to move to the next level. These tasks include destroying a certain number of enemies or acquiring a certain number of coins. Ultimately, after satisfying the task of every spirit, Yoshi confronts and defeats King Bowser, and Hongo restores Yoshi's Island to its natural state.

Balloon Trip
Balloon Trip was a Tech Demo for the Nintendo DS shown in 2004. While it was never released as a full game, it evolved into Yoshi Touch & Go. While the stork was carrying Baby Mario and Baby Luigi to their parents, Kamek zipped by and stole Baby Luigi and knocked Baby Mario out into the sky. While Baby Mario descended, he found three balloons and slowly started to float down to Earth. While floating, he avoided enemies and eventually landed on Yoshi's back.

Yoshi Touch & Go
Yoshi also appears in Yoshi Touch & Go. At the start of each mode, players have to safely help Baby Mario glide down to the forest. They can use clouds with the stylus to block enemies or move him around, make circles around spike-less enemies to make a coin bubble, and add coins to Baby Mario. The player can be hit only three times. How many coins the player collects affects which color Yoshi that Baby Mario travels with when he lands.

In the second part, as Yoshi, players can shoot eggs if they have any. The number of eggs a Yoshi carries varies with the color of Yoshi. For example, Green Yoshi has up to 20 eggs, while Brown Yoshi has up to 40 eggs. Players can also eat spike-less enemies, which give them coins. If players run out or is low on eggs, then they must eat fruit to gain more eggs. When they collect 100 coins, a Super Star appears, and when Yoshi and Baby Mario touch it, Baby Mario turns into Super Baby Mario, with Yoshi becoming a Giant Egg. Now invincible, they can run very fast, shoot many eggs, and even destroy enemies in one touch. After a few seconds, the power-up ends and they return back to normal.

If players get hit by an enemy or its attack, the game ends. In most modes, players race to get the most coins or time or to save Baby Luigi from the Toadies. In marathon, players race to see how far they can go. After every 1,000 yards, the Yoshi is swapped for a different-colored Yoshi. If Baby Mario is defeated, the player starts over. If the player loses a life as Yoshi, they can choose to start over or start at the beginning of Baby Mario and Yoshi's partnership.

Yoshi's Island DS
In Yoshi's Island DS, Kamek and Bowser travel back in time to try to capture the fabled star children, who had special energy in their bodies that, once in his possession, would allow Bowser to take over the world. Not knowing the identity of the star children, Kamek and Bowser simply set out to steal all the children of the Mushroom Kingdom, only to have their quarry escape their grasps one way or another and join Yoshi in a quest to free the other children.

The stork saw the Toadies carrying the babies away, and he managed to crash into some of them, freeing Baby Mario and Baby Peach and later on the others. Baby Luigi does not escape the castle, but he does evade detection throughout the game.

Upon reaching Bowser's Castle, Baby Bowser finds no reason to further accompany Yoshi, so he immediately abandons the group. Yoshi refuses to continue without him, however, and so Baby Bowser begins battling him. Yoshi quickly defeats him, only for an enraged Bowser to emerge and engage in battle with Yoshi right after the young Bowser's defeat. After Yoshi manages to defeat the future Bowser, Kamek finally cuts in and enlarges Bowser to an enormous size. Four Yoshis team up to defeat the gigantic incarnation of Bowser, after which Kamek and the Toadies quickly flee from the destroyed castle. The Yoshis rescue Baby Luigi and the other kidnapped children.

However, among Babies Mario, Luigi, Peach, Donkey Kong, Wario, and Bowser, only six of the seven star children were accounted for. During the credits, a green-colored Baby Yoshi is shown to hatch, and he has the missing star above his head.

Yoshi's New Island
Yoshi reappears along with Baby Mario and Baby Luigi in Yoshi's New Island. The game takes place between Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Island DS.

It turns out that the stork had given the babies to their wrong parents. While the stork searches for the babies' real parents, Kamek launches another attack on the stork, grabbing Baby Luigi once again, and Baby Mario is sent flying to Egg Island. The Yoshis on the island agree to help Baby Mario find his brother as Baby Bowser is turning Egg Island into his vacation home. Yoshi and Baby Mario manage to beat Baby Bowser and his older self, saving Egg Island, and Baby Luigi is rescued. The stork later gives the brothers to their real parents.

Yoshi's Woolly World / Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World
In Yoshi's Woolly World and Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World, Kamek tries to turn all of the Yoshis on Craft Island into Wonder Wools to help build a new castle for Baby Bowser, but he misses Yoshi himself along with Red Yoshi. The two then set off on a journey to restore Craft Island to its former glory.

Yoshi's Crafted World
In Yoshi's Crafted World, Yoshi and the rest of his kind are gathered around the Sundream Stone, which is said to make anyone's dream become a reality. Kamek and Baby Bowser attempt to take the stone for themselves. The Sundream Stone breaks into five gems that scatter across the island along with the Yoshis and villains. After gathering four of the gems, the Yoshis confront Kamek and Baby Bowser, who steal and use the gems to turn Baby Bowser giant with a robot. After their inevitable defeat, the Yoshis use the Sundream Stone to wish upon a ship that carries them back to their home island.

N-Gang
Yoshi made several appearances in the German comic N-Gang:
 * Freeze Frame: After Diddy takes B through a wormhole, they find a freezing Yoshi on a snowy landscape. After Yoshi is heated, he, Diddy, and B find Bomberman and Kirby frozen in ice blocks. Yoshi then thaws them by using his fire breath to melt the ice. Then they find that King K. Rool is behind this and go to his castle. After defeating King K. Rool, they celebrate with many other Nintendo characters.
 * N-Gang vs. Nintendo: Yoshi appears here as a player on the Nintendo team at a soccer camp the N-gang went to. Yoshi and his team later faced off against the N-gang in a soccer game.
 * Die Hexe lacht um Mitternacht: Here Yoshi appears trying to stop Gruntilda along with Toni, B, Gecko, VIP, and Banjo. At the end of the comic, Yoshi lays an egg for Banjo, and he throws it at Gruntilda, defeating her.
 * Die Ostereier-Situation: In this comic, Yoshi is projected from a video game and into the real world by VIP. Since it is Easter, Yoshi helps out Big B by laying eggs, which B needed for his class.

Club Nintendo
In the German Club Nintendo comics, Yoshi appeared in quite a few comics, some of which involved him in a starring role. He also appeared in the special issues Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Die Nacht der leuchtenden Yoshis!, and Das Lied der Yoshi's! (along with various other Yoshis). The Yoshi's Story story arc was compiled in comic book form in Yoshi's Story Comic.
 * Ostern im Schwammerlland and Super Mario: Die unheimliche Begegnung der Yoshi-Art: Yoshi's first meeting with Mario is depicted in these two comics. Mario and his friends were out picnicking one Easter morning when they saw the Easter Bunny. They tried to catch it but to no avail, although it did drop a large green-spotted egg, which happened to be a Yoshi egg. The egg eventually hatched into Yoshi, who started searching for his mommy. The first person he saw was Mario, so he proceeded to shout, "Mommy!" The surprised and scared Mario ran from Yoshi, but the dinosaur followed. After a long time of chasing, Mario and Yoshi decided to be friends.
 * Super Mario: Im Rausch der Geschwindigkeit: Mario abets Yoshi to go faster than 80 dinosaur-power, a fictional speed limit. As a result, Luigi, who works as a police officer in this story, demands a 60-coin fine from them.
 * Super Mario: Die Bescherung: Yoshi is seen going to Mario's Christmas party and ends up meeting a man that seems to be Santa Claus.
 * Super Mario: Coole Klänge: Yoshi briefly appears as Mario's horse while his rider is trying western style music.
 * Super Mario: Mario im Wunderland: Yoshi is ridden by Mario to a client's house but is left outside. Later, a different Yoshi accompanies Mario, Toad, and Kirby on their quest to find the Crab wizard because he wants darker skin; he ends up becoming a Black Yoshi.
 * Super Mario: Erholung? Nein, danke!: Yoshi and his friends go on a vacation to an island called Koopabiza, where they take the airline KoopAir. Unfortunately, the airplane they ride in is in very bad shape and is piloted by a blind clerk who also operated the booking office. After the flight, they find themselves checked into a bad hotel in horrible condition. After a while, Yoshi suggests they go swimming, but they find no body of water large enough to go swimming in. At night, they are awoken from their sleep, only to find that the hotel disco is making the noise, which is so loud that it eventually ruptures the floor beneath them, and they fall directly onto the disco. Because of all this, they hurry off the island and go home.
 * Super Mario: Verloren in der Zeit: Yoshi appears in part 1 as a taxi from the stone age, who offers his services to Mario but is declined. He also appears in Mario's house in part 4 wearing sunglasses and a red jacket, relaxing on a stool.
 * Warios Weihnachtsmärchen: Yoshi appears at the end of the comic having a Christmas party with Mario and his friends.
 * Mario in Mariozilla: Yoshi accidentally eats a shrunken Mario and Kamek. Dr. Light then plans to make Yoshi lay an egg, but after hearing this, Yoshi runs away, only to lay an egg two hours later with the pair inside.
 * Blast Corps in Yoshis Knallkekse: Yoshi drives a truck full of Yoshi Cookies until Kamek curses them, and then the truck drives off on its own without Yoshi. Yoshi then calls the Blast Corps, and Netty from the Blast Corps arrives. Yoshi and Netty then continue to chase the truck until it is stopped by Blast Corps robots.
 * Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: In this special comic, Yoshi starts out with a falling Baby Mario and a map landing on his back. After rescuing Baby Mario, Yoshi is then chased by Toadies who are after Baby Mario. During this time, Yoshi goes through a tutorial of the game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island with a Message Block for a guide.

Mario is Missing!
During the events of Mario is Missing!, Yoshi accompanies the Mario Bros. to Antarctica to stop Bowser from melting Antarctica and flooding Earth. After Mario gets captured, Luigi decides to stop Bowser himself. Using the Globulator, Luigi can determine where he is. After doing this, Luigi can summon Yoshi for a ride. Here, Yoshi's abilities prove once again to be of great use, as the exit pipe is occupied by a large Pokey that only Yoshi can defeat. With Yoshi's help, Luigi rescues Mario and defeats Bowser.

Mario's Time Machine
In the PC release of Mario's Time Machine, Yoshi makes an appearance to help get Mario out of the Cretaceous Period if the player makes a mistake with the timulator. He does not appear in the SNES conversion, which instead takes Mario back to the present. Yoshi has a more prominent role in the NES version, where he is captured by Bowser in the opening when he scouts the museum head of Mario. After returning the historical items stolen across time and space, Mario has to defeat Bowser to get the key and free Yoshi from his cage in the museum.

Mario Kart series
Yoshi appears as a playable character in every game in the Mario Kart series since the series' first installment, Super Mario Kart. Throughout the games, Yoshi is classified as either a lightweight or a middleweight driver.

Yoshi's has several racing courses throughout the series as well as being depicted as course elements.

Super Mario Kart
In Super Mario Kart, Yoshi is part of "The Dragon and the Lady" duo of racers, alongside Princess Peach. When played as by a CPU, he will shoot eggs.

Mario Kart 64
In Mario Kart 64, Yoshi is a lightweight driver, alongside Peach and Toad. Yoshi Valley is a course themed around him.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Yoshi is also a lightweight character in Mario Kart: Super Circuit, having great acceleration but poor speed and weight. He also has his own race course being Yoshi Desert.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Yoshi's weight is changed to medium in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! His partner is Birdo, and his special item is the Yoshi's Egg, while his personal kart is the Turbo Yoshi. While the relationship between Birdo and Yoshi is merely implied in English versions, the Japanese website of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! confirms it. On Birdo's profile, it says, "Appears to be Yoshi's girlfriend... or is that boyfriend?!" There is also a sponsor named Yoshi Yoshi that features a drawing of Yoshi on its trackside banners. His own course is Yoshi Circuit.

Mario Kart Arcade GP / Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 / Mario Kart Arcade GP DX
Yoshi is also playable in all three arcade Mario Kart games. In Mario Kart Arcade GP 2, when in his standard kart, Yoshi has exceptional acceleration but poor weight and top speed. When in his personal kart, however, he has a slightly higher top speed at the expense of slightly lower acceleration. He shares these traits with Peach and Blinky. In Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, Yoshi is a lightweight character, having poor speed, great acceleration, and average handling. He also has two downloadable palette swaps in this game (red and black), which both change his special item. He shares his stats in this game with Peach and Waluigi.

Mario Kart DS
In Mario Kart DS, Yoshi's personal karts are Cucumber and Egg 1. He has his own course, Yoshi Falls, which is the second course in the Mushroom Cup. In the Missions mode, he must fight Big Bully. Yoshi is once again a lightweight driver in this game, sharing his weight with Shy Guy.

Mario Kart Wii
In Mario Kart Wii, Yoshi is a medium-sized racer (alongside Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Birdo, Diddy Kong, Bowser Jr., and medium Miis) and features a great off-road speed bonus. He also has a small weight, traction, and drift boost. His emblem is seen in Dry Dry Ruins along with a Yoshi statue resembling a Sphinx similar to Yoshi Desert.

Mario Kart 7
Yoshi later returns in Mario Kart 7 as a lightweight racer, sharing this weight division with Peach and Daisy.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Yoshi returns in Mario Kart 8. While the official website classifies him as a middleweight, Yoshi is actually a lighter middleweight, focusing a little more on acceleration, handling, and traction than with speed and weight. He shares these traits with Peach and Daisy. By purchasing both DLC packs, the buyer is awarded Light Blue, White, Red, Yellow, Black, Blue, Pink, and Orange alternate colors; they all handle exactly like the original Yoshi but may have different kart color schemes. Additionally, from this game onward, Yoshi's voice becomes more high-pitched.

In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Yoshi still shares stats with Peach and Daisy, while having his stats slightly altered when compared to the Wii U game.

Mario Kart Tour
Yoshi appears in a playable role once more in Mario Kart Tour, where he is a Super driver. His special skill is the Yoshi's Egg. The game has introduced a number of High-End variants of Yoshi. A reindeer variant called Yoshi (Reindeer) was made available in the 2019 Holiday Tour as the second spotlight driver and, like with the standard version, he has the Yoshi's Egg as his special skill. Yoshi (Egg Hunt), a variant of Yoshi in an egg costume, was introduced in the eponymous Yoshi Tour of 2020 as the first week's spotlight driver and, as with both the standard and reindeer versions, his special skill is the Yoshi's Egg. Yoshi in a outfit, named Yoshi (Kangaroo), was added in the September 2021 Sydney Tour; unlike any of the aforementioned Yoshi variants, his special skill is the Boomerang Flower. A derivative of Yoshi (Egg Hunt) with a gold egg costume, Yoshi (Gold Egg), was introduced in the 2022 Yoshi Tour, and his special skill is the Coin Box. For availabilities of Yoshi and his variants, see List of availabilities for Yoshi in Mario Kart Tour.

Yoshi (Kangaroo) and Yoshi (Gold Egg) have yellow skin coloration (for the former, reminiscent of common depictions of boxing kangaroos) and their emblem displays a yellow-spotted Yoshi's Egg, which would identify them as a Yellow Yoshi instead of the main Yoshi character; however, while other non-green Yoshi drivers are specifically named after their colors ("Red Yoshi", "Blue Yoshi" etc.), Yoshi (Kangaroo)'s and Yoshi (Gold Egg)'s names follow the naming scheme of Yoshi (Reindeer) and Yoshi (Egg Hunt). Their shoes are also the same color as the standard Yoshi variant, like in the original depictions of yellow Yoshis in Super Mario World, whereas the shoes seen in modern designs of Yellow Yoshi are typically green.

Mario Tennis series
Yoshi is typically an agile sports player, allowing him to make quick maneuvers (this was especially prevalent in the Mario Tennis competitions). Yoshi appears in the game Mario's Tennis as well as its successor, Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64. In Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64, Yoshi appears as a speed character and has three different courses: the Baby Mario & Yoshi Court, which has the fastest ball speed but a weak bounce; the Birdo & Yoshi Court, which has a slow ball speed with a strong bounce; and the Yoshi Court, which has a fast ball speed with a strong bounce. In the game's intro, Yoshi participates in the tournament, where he wins against Princess Daisy to advance to the semifinals. Yoshi loses to Mario in the semifinals match, however. This is also the first game to partner Yoshi with Birdo.

In Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color, Yoshi is unlockable through a transfer pack with the N64 version. Yoshi also has a minigame called Fruit Factory. In Mario Power Tennis, Yoshi's skill type is speedy, his Offensive power shot is Rainbow Flutter, and his Defensive power shot is Rolling Egg Return. His default doubles partner is Koopa Troopa. Yoshi's Mario Power Tennis trophy animation begins with him entering the stage, where Luigi is about to present Yoshi's trophy to him. Yoshi then begins to feel hungry, and his stomach growls. Mistaking the trophy for a pineapple, he lashes out with his tongue to eat the trophy, accidentally swallowing Luigi in the process. Yoshi can then be seen wondering about Luigi's sudden disappearance.

Yoshi also appears in Mario Tennis Open, where he is once again a playable Speed type character. Also, different-colored Yoshis, as well as a Yoshi costume for the player's Mii, can be unlocked in this game by scanning specific QR Codes.

Yoshi is again a default speedy character in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash. He also appears as a speedy character in Mario Tennis Aces, where his Special Shot involves him sprouting wings and hitting the ball midair. He was also playable in the game's online tournament demo, available from the start.

Donkey Kong series
Yoshi appears at the end of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Land 2, appearing with Mario and Link in the Cranky's Video Game Heroes awards ceremony. Yoshi is in the second place position, with 29 DK Coins. In the GBA port of Donkey Kong Country 2, Yoshi is in the third place spot, with 39 DK Coins collected.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Yoshi meets up with Mario again during events of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. In this adventure, Yo'ster Isle can be accessed from the mainland via the Pipe Vault, to participate in the various races held there. This racing competition was known as the Mushroom Derby. Unfortunately, the last winner of the Mushroom Derby was an arrogant Yoshi named Boshi. After winning the race, Boshi declared himself the boss of Yo'ster Isle. He suspended the races, allowing only one-on-one races between himself and a lesser competitor (and only when Yoshi Cookies were on the line).

Upon Mario's arrival, Yoshi and Mario team up once again, this time to defeat Boshi and end his reign over the small isle. As such, Yoshi puts his cookies on the line and challenges the arrogant Yoshi champion to a race.

After a difficult and grueling race, Mario and Yoshi cross the finish line before Boshi. With Boshi defeated, the Yoshis declare Yoshi their new boss, but Yoshi declines the offer, instead suggesting that the races should be owned by everyone.

As thanks for his help, Yoshi gives Mario a few Yoshi Cookies. He can be summoned if Mario uses a cookie in battle. Yoshi will then attempt to eat an enemy and convert it into an item for Mario to use. If Yoshi fails, he will give him a Yoshi Candy, an item that can heal 100 HP.

Yoshi is depicted in this game as bilingual, due to speaking both the Yoshi language and Mario's language. During the events of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Yoshi acts as Mario's interpreter as the Yoshis on Yo'ster Isle speak only the Yoshi language.

Mario Party series
Yoshi has been playable in every Mario Party game that has been released. In Mario Party, he has his own board called Yoshi's Tropical Island. In Mario Party 2 and 3, Yoshi's favorite item is a Warp Block; if he is set on as a computer, he is more likely to buy a Warp Block over any other item. Also in Mario Party 3, Yoshi's star stamp is Kindness and his partner is Boo. In Mario Party 4, Yoshi's favorite thing is the Warp Space, which does something similar to the Warp Block. In Mario Party 5, Yoshi is partners with Toad. Yoshi does not have a default partner in Mario Party 6, but he is partners with Birdo in Mario Party 7, Mario Party 8, and Mario Party 9. Yoshi's Special Orb in Mario Party 7 is the Egg Orb. Yoshi is featured in Mario Party 9. His constellation is the "Hero's Best Buddy." Yoshi returns in Mario Party: Island Tour, Mario Party 10, Mario Party: Star Rush, Mario Party: The Top 100, and Super Mario Party as a playable character. Yoshi's Dice Block has one 0, one 1, two 3's, one 5, and one 7, making it very balanced.

Game & Watch Gallery
In Game & Watch Gallery, Yoshi appears in three of the four Modern versions of the playable Game & Watch games, two as an NPC and one as a playable character.

Yoshi is the playable character in Manhole, where he has to keep up the titular manhole covers to ensure that various Toads, Donkey Kong Jrs., and Marios cross safely to the other side, with him using his head to keep them up for the upper portions and his tongue to keep up the lower portions. If any of the pedestrians fall into the water, Yoshi will duck his head and cover his eyes in shame, and he will get a miss.

In Fire, Yoshi is one of three NPCs who need to be rescued by Mario and Luigi from a blaze at Princess Peach's Castle, the others being Toad and Donkey Kong Jr. Aside from this, a Yoshi Egg is utilized at some points and grants either a Super Star or a Bob-omb.

Lastly, Yoshi appears in Oil Panic, where he spends time running around the castle Bowser is on while Mario is trying to gather up the oil that Bowser is spilling inside. Yoshi in this mode acts as a quasi-ally to Mario, as feeding him oil will have him ingest it to create blocks via his fire breath. Feeding him enough for a particular side will have him scale the blocks and blast Bowser away temporarily.

Game & Watch Gallery 2
In Game & Watch Gallery 2, Yoshi appears in the Modern versions of four games.

In Parachute, Yoshi, like in Fire, is one of three NPCs who need to be caught by Mario, the others being Toad and Donkey Kong Jr. Yoshi tends to open his chute immediately, mid-fall, or at the last minute depending on how far he jumps from the flying ship. In the Game Boy Color version, he is his usual green in his in-game sprites, but his miss icon depicts him as red due to palette limitations.

In Chef, Yoshi is quasi-playable alongside Princess Peach, where the player has to feed food to Yoshi in order to gain points. After the player feeds him enough cooked food, he will lay an egg, which after further feedings will result in the egg hatching, Yoshi striking a pose with the Baby Yoshi, and then having the baby replace him, with the baby eventually growing into Yoshi if the player feeds it enough food. If the player feeds Yoshi burnt food, he will become Baby Yoshi.

Yoshi also appears in Vermin and Ball; however, in the Game Boy Color version, he is respectively depicted as an Orange Yoshi and a Light Blue Yoshi, despite Vermin's artwork and Game Select "dancing" animation depicting him as green.

Game & Watch Gallery 3
In Game & Watch Gallery 3, Yoshi is playable in the Modern versions of Egg and Greenhouse. Contrary to these games' respective images for the key art of the collection, as well as the animation for the former that appears on the Game Select screen, his in-play sprites depict him as a Light Blue Yoshi in Egg on the Game Boy Color and an Orange Yoshi in Egg on the Super Game Boy and Greenhouse on the GBC.

Game & Watch Gallery 4
In Game & Watch Gallery 4, Yoshi appears in the Modern versions of four games.

In Rain Shower, Yoshi appears on the hammock in the upper right-hand corner, and as such, the player as Mario has to protect Yoshi from the water balloons that Bowser is throwing in the tree above. If a water balloon hits Yoshi, he will eat it, only to spit out the colored water in disgust, and the player will receive a miss.

In Mario's Cement Factory, Yoshi appears on the left conveyor belt, eagerly waiting for cookies to emerge so he can eat them. If the player overfills any of the tanks, he will be dunked with the batter, earning the player a miss.

Aside from his roles in the games above, Yoshi also reprises his roles in Fire and Chef.

Yoshi also appears in the preview animations for both Mario's Cement Factory and Chef:

In the former, Yoshi and Toad are putting cookie batter on a conveyor belt each, only for Toad's batter to get stolen by a Boo, causing him to sob, and then the Boo, as a prank, drops the batter on Yoshi, with it being a large enough quantity that Yoshi is completely engulfed save for the eyes, while the Boo sticks out his tongue in a taunting manner as Yoshi is baffled at the entire situation.

In the latter, Yoshi appears nearing the end after Peach buries Mario under a mass of flipped eggs, where he comes in, eats them all, and then takes an overwhelmed Mario away.

Super Smash Bros.
Yoshi is a playable character in Super Smash Bros., representing his own series of games rather than Mario. Yoshi is one of the heaviest fighters in the game (behind Samus and Donkey Kong), but his attacks are not as powerful as other heavyweights. In addition, despite his weight, Yoshi has an average ground speed, the highest air speed, and a high second jump. Yoshi has a tether grab in the form of his tongue, and he is also unique in that his shield is a Yoshi's egg rather than the normal shield.

Notably, Yoshi's down aerial is the Flutter Kick, which deals the most damage out of any attack in the game when all hits connect (dealing precisely 56%). The Flutter Kick also slows down Yoshi's descent in midair.

Most of Yoshi's special moves revolve around the use of eggs, mostly based on his abilities in the Yoshi platforming games. Yoshi's standard special move is Egg Lay, in which Yoshi grabs an opponent with his tongue, swallows them, and turns them into an egg to trap them. His up special move is Egg Throw, in which Yoshi tosses an egg to deal damage. His down special move is Yoshi Bomb, in which Yoshi leaps up and does a Ground Pound.

Yoshi's recolors in this game are all different-colored Yoshis: Red, Yellow, and Light Blue. Pink and Blue Yoshis also make an appearance, but only in single-player mode as opponents. Yoshi is the only character to have unplayable alternate costumes.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Yoshi returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. He is given a side special move, Egg Roll, in which he encases himself inside an egg and rolls across the ground. While his general stats have been retained, he does not have the fastest air speed in this game (this is instead Jigglypuff). Yoshi also cannot jump out of shield in this game, the only character to hold this distinction. Yoshi's shield is also unique in that any attack that hits him sends him moving forward, allowing him to evade opponents.

Yoshi's up tilt is now an upwards tail swipe performed while jumping, and his back aerial is now a series of weak tail wags instead of a strong backwards tail swipe. Yoshi's down aerial has been nerfed: In the NTSC version, it deals a maximum of 53%, but the PAL version has it deal 39%.

Yoshi also has two additional recolors for this game that were previously CPU-exclusive from the previous game: Blue and Pink.

In Adventure Mode, ten Yoshis are fought halfway through the first stage. After defeating all ten Yoshis, the player can continue through the second half of the course.

The opening for Melee shows a herd of Yoshis of various colors stampeding.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl


In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Yoshi once again returns as a playable character. Yoshi's appearance in this game has been modified to be more consistent with his modern appearance. He once again has the fastest air speed of any character. In addition, many of his attacks are now tail-based, due to his forward tilt being changed. Yoshi gains a Final Smash: Super Dragon, which gives Yoshi a massive pair of wings, allowing him to fly freely and breathe large fireballs.

The Subspace Emissary
Yoshi is first seen sleeping on a tree stump in a forest. Link walks by him without seeing him. Soon, the Halberd attacks the peaceful area, deploying Primids against Link and Yoshi. Yoshi wakes up and walks up to Link, and the two advance through the forest together. After making it through the dangers of the wood, they watch from a cliff as the Halberd flies away, high in the sky, but continue their pursuit of it, undaunted.

If Peach is rescued from Petey Piranha: After reaching a grassland, Link and Yoshi see False Peach about to shoot a Dark Cannon at Mario and Pit, but before she can, Link cuts the cannon in half, and he and Yoshi start to fight. After they win, Mario stops to see Yoshi and Link standing over a dissolving trophy. Mario gets mad at Link, thinking that he is a member of the Subspace Army and that he defeated Peach. He runs to Link and Yoshi very fast and tries to hit Link. Mario and Pit then attack Link and Yoshi.

If Zelda is rescued from Petey Piranha: Link stops to see Mario and Pit standing over a dissolving trophy of False Zelda. Link gets mad at Mario, thinking that he is a member of the Subspace Army and that he defeated Zelda. He quickly runs towards Mario and tries to hit him. Yoshi then joins Link in fighting Mario and Pit.

Soon, after the battle, the four understand each other and the four become a team. They see King Dedede, who had taken Luigi, Ness, and the other princess. He attempts to take Mario and Pit/Link and Yoshi as well, until Kirby comes and rescues them. Either Link or Pit blows out the engine of the Cargo depending on which fake princess was initially fought (if Peach, it is Pit; if Zelda, it is Link). Along with Kirby, they follow Dedede to his castle, only to find that Bowser had taken the princess and got away.

Eventually, they reach a desert where the Ancient Minister is carrying a Subspace Bomb. Pit fires an arrow at the Ancient Minister, trying to stop him from placing the bomb. However, the Ancient Minister places the bomb and his R.O.B.s install it. Although Mario and Pit try to stop them, the bomb is about to blow up. The Ancient Minister leaves the area, and the bomb explodes. Mario hops on Yoshi, while everyone else hops on Kirby's Warp Star, and they all leave the area before the explosion of the Subspace Bomb reaches them.

After a battle at the Canyon, Yoshi and his teammates meet up with the other heroes and enter Subspace, only to have Tabuu turn everyone into trophies. Yoshi was rescued by Kirby, who had been revived by one of Dedede's badges that he had eaten. Everyone, including Yoshi, then joins forces and eventually defeats Tabuu.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
Yoshi once again returns for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. His appearance has once again been changed in this game, his model being reproportioned and his stance made more upright, making him even more consistent with his current appearance in the Mario and Yoshi series. While his special moves are no different, some of his other moves have been changed to fit with his new appearance. Yoshi is also able to jump out of shield in this game once again, for the first time since the original Super Smash Bros. Lastly, Yoshi's mobility is increased, but in exchange, his overall damage output is lowered. For equipment, Yoshi is the only character that can use the Egg and Saddle equipment for offense and defense, respectively, and is able to use Boots for speed.

Yoshi finally has two additional colors in this game: Purple and Black.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Yoshi returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Yoshi's Eggs in Egg Throw now have the ability to bounce off the ground. His new idle animation is now similar to his idle animation from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, while his running animation has him in an upright stance. Most of Yoshi's costumes from the previous game reappear in this game, except for Black Yoshi, who is replaced with a new alternate costume that is based on Yoshi's appearance in Yoshi's Crafted World. His new Final Smash, Stampede!, has him summoning a herd of Yoshis of varying colors to trample the opponents (with the herd being derived from Yoshi's appearance in the Super Smash Bros. Melee opening).

On a side note, as with several other returning fighters, Yoshi's victory theme has been slightly shortened and sped up compared to in the previous installments.

Yoshi's overall mobility has been further improved, sporting faster walking, dashing, and air speeds, as well as a higher initial dash. Yoshi benefits from other universal changes, such as reduced short hop timing, lowered landing lag in his aerials, the reintroduction of directional air dodging, the ability to use any ground attack out of a run, and the ability to use his aerial attacks on ladders. Yoshi's pummel is much faster, but it is also weaker; however, his overall damage output is slightly improved, while many of his attacks deal more knockback.

Classic Mode route
By completing Yoshi's Classic Mode route, it is possible to unlock Lucario, Marth, Ryu, Ganondorf, Lucina, Ridley, Chrom, or Ken.

Yoshi's Classic Mode route has him fight reptilian opponents. Yoshi also has a cameo in the ending screen for Ridley's Classic Mode route, where he is watching in shock as Rathalos and a giant version of Ridley are roaring at each other at the Bridge of Eldin.

Mario Golf series
In the Mario Golf series, Yoshi has a straight golf shot that achieves average heights. In Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64, Yoshi's drive is 230 yards and his shot is straight, and he is also the only male character with a straight shot, as the rest of the golfers with straight shots are females, and all the other males have either fade or draw shots.

In Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Yoshi is seen in the opening clip with a Koopa Troopa, entering the golf course to challenge Wario and Waluigi to a round. Yoshi is scared by a Chain Chomp as he tries to get his ball back, and he falls asleep with the Koopa Troopa when Waluigi takes too long to sink his ball. Yoshi also appears in Mario Golf: Advance Tour.

Yoshi returns in Mario Golf: World Tour with the same straight, average-height drive. A new golf course, Yoshi Lake, appears and contains giant Yoshi eggs, bouncy blocks, and many pools of standing water. Completing all Star Coin challenges for this course unlocks his costume. The course also appears with the aesthetics of Yoshi's Woolly World. Miis can use Yoshi's golf clubs and ball, and clothes based on him are available at the shop or through participating in tournaments.

In Mario Golf: Super Rush, Yoshi is a Speed character who is tied with Ninji as the character with the highest speed, being 10. Yoshi's Special Shot is the Eggschanger while his Special Dash is the Egg-Roll Dash.

Mario Baseball series
In Mario Superstar Baseball, Yoshi not only can run at high speeds but can also use his long tongue to field baseballs. While he does have some power, Yoshi is a Speed captain, his item is an Egg, his special ball is Egg Ball, and his home field is Yoshi Park. In Mario Super Sluggers, Yoshi's home field is once again Yoshi Park, and its minigame is Piranha Panic. On the map, Yoshi can use Manholes and ground-pound the ground next to the trees to make characters come out.

In both games, Yoshi has around average fielding skills, very good running skills, and fairly weak pitching skills. However, in Mario Super Sluggers, his batting skills are weaker than in Mario Superstar Baseball.

Mario Strikers series
Yoshi appears as a balanced and courageous captain in Super Mario Strikers and again in the sequel, Mario Strikers Charged. In Super Mario Strikers, Yoshi's Team number is 8, his captain type is balanced, and his Super Strike is Foot of Fury.

In Mario Strikers Charged, his Team number is once again eight, his captain type is balanced, his Mega Strike is Winged Yoshi, his super ability is Egg Roll, and his theme is Energetic Broadway.

His clothing in the first game is a blue and orange jersey with a Y on it with blue and orange cleats. His second soccer outfit is a green and blue armored jersey with his team logo on it with green and white cleats.

Mario Hoops 3-on-3
In Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Yoshi appears as an all-around player. His special move is the Flutter Dunk, which can be used after the player taps the letter "M" on the Nintendo DS. Alternate colors of himself can be unlocked.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, a strange pink and green egg mysteriously appears on the island. This egg is much larger than any Yoshi egg, and soon the mysterious object becomes a tourist destination. Unfortunately, the strange egg eventually hatches into a gigantic Yoshi-like monster known as Yoob.

Fortunately, Yoshi, apparently the same Green Yoshi that saved Baby Mario, organizes his fellow Yoshis and helps them escape the wrath of Yoob. While in hiding, Yoshi encounters some old friends, for Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, along with their time-traveling adult counterparts, had returned to Yoshi's Island to help eliminate the Shroob threat. Unfortunately, this reunion is cut short when Yoob discovers the secret hideout. The Yoshis attempt to flee, but Yoob swallows them, one by one. Yoshi attempts to battle Yoob by himself, but the monster simply grabs him with its long tongue.

Yoshi ends up in Yoob's Belly, the location of the factory that makes eggs. Knowing he has to find a way out, Yoshi looks around and discovers a Chomp Rock sitting in the monster's stomach. Yoshi concludes that if he could push the massive rock through Yoob's intestines, he could widen the internal organs and thus allow the captured Yoshis to escape. Unfortunately, Yoshi is not strong enough to push the Chomp Rock by himself. Fortunately, the four Mario Bros. of past and present arrive to lend a hand. The brothers rescue the other Yoshis, and with their combined power, the Yoshis manage to force the Chomp Rock through Yoob's intestines, opening the way to the exit. Yoshi leads his fellow Yoshis through the dark intestines, rescuing a few more imprisoned Yoshis along the way. Eventually, after the four Mario Bros. defeat the guardian of the factory, Sunnycide, Yoshi and his companions exit through Yoob's digestive tract and return to Yoshi's Island. With the factory ruined and the Yoshis freed, Yoob deactivates and Yoshi's Island is safe once more.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is Yoshi's only appearance in the Mario & Luigi series as a standout and distinctive character from the other Yoshis.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
In Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Yoshi makes a cameo as a playable Papercraft, which has the ability to use its tongue to grab enemies.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Yoshi appears as a speed type playable character in both the Wii version and Nintendo DS version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. In the Wii version's opening, Yoshi appears with all of the other athletes at the start and end, as well as later competing in Singles and 110m Hurdles.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Yoshi returns as a speed type playable character in the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, appearing in the opening with the other athletes at the start as well as competing in Skeleton and Curling. A Mii outfit based on Yoshi is also introduced in this game. In addition to appearing as a playable character in the Nintendo DS version, Yoshi also appears as a character that can join the team in Adventure Tours mode, and is required to complete the Light Five Lamps! minigame.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Yoshi appears again as a speed type playable character in the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, appearing in the opening with the other athletes at the start as well as later competing in Football and Dream Uneven Bars. The Mii outfit returns from the previous installment, and Yoshi appears as a character that can be spoken to in London Party mode to play minigames to earn stickers.

In the Nintendo 3DS version, Yoshi is included in the Challengers group, meaning that he can only be used to compete in certain Events. In the Story Mode, Yoshi first appears helping Sonic and Tails defeat some imposters and investigating the Phantasmal Fog in the area in an effort to allow Tower Bridge to be lowered. After gaining help from Shadow, Silver and Jet, the group manage to defeat Bowser Jr. and destroy the fog machine, clearing the fog from the area and letting the bridge be lowered. When Bowser Jr. tries to escape, Yoshi follows after him. Yoshi also appears supporting Mario, Luigi, Sonic, and Tails when they Bowser and Dr. Eggman, later appearing at the opening ceremony as well. Yoshi also appears in the bonus episode Junior Hits England, where he meets Bowser Jr. while training at Stonehenge and challenges him to an event, eventually being defeated but congratulating Bowser Jr.'s performance. A badge of Yoshi can also be obtained from the badge machine.

Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
Yoshi returns as a speed type playable character in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, alongside the Mii costume based on him.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Yoshi reappears as a Speed type playable character in the Wii U version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, as well as the Mii costume based on him, which, like other outfits found in the game, is now separated into two separate parts that must be collected, each with their own set of stat changes. In the Nintendo 3DS version, Yoshi is exclusively playable in 100m and Football, with a small supporting role in the Road to Rio mode. In Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition, Yoshi is playable as a speed type playable character in all events, but specifically has recommended events of 110m Hurdles and Trampoline.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Yoshi appears as a Speed type playable character again in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and he also appears in Story Mode, helping Luigi and Tails try to help rescue Mario, Sonic, Toad, Bowser, and Dr. Eggman from the Tokyo '64. He is also a playable character of the same type in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Arcade Edition.

Mario Sports Mix
In the Wii game Mario Sports Mix, Yoshi is an all-rounder. He features average power, above-average speed, and below-average technique. Additionally, he has three alternate colors that can be picked upon unlocking: Pink, Light-blue, and Yellow.

Fortune Street
Yoshi appears as a Rank B playable character in the Wii game Fortune Street. This rank means that when faced as a CPU opponent, he has average or medium difficulty.

Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure
In Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure, Yoshi makes a cameo as a doll in the title screen background, where it is seen sitting on a shelf next to a Light-blue Yoshi doll with a Capsule in its lap.

Dr. Mario World
Yoshi is a playable doctor in Dr. Mario World. In the game, he is not dressed up but rather wears a strap containing a case. Dr. Yoshi is a reward in World 2's special stage since version 1.2.0, though beating the stage prior to the update will allow him to be obtainable through the doc box.

In this game, Dr. Yoshi's skill is to eliminate objects in random locations. It is represented by berries falling before he sticks his tongue out, after which berries fall on the objects to be eliminated. His stage mode skill clears five objects (three prior to version 1.3.5), but in versus mode, the amount of objects that can be cleared is dependent on the level, where from level 1 to 5, it will clear 4, 7, 10, 13 and 16 objects respectively (3, 5, 7, 9 and 12 objects respectively prior to version 1.3.5). In the initial version of this game, this skill will target any object that can be eliminated, but since version 2.1.0, viruses are prioritized as targets including those covered in objects, meaning that other objects will only be targeted if there are less viruses than the amount of targets (Capsules will only be eliminated if other objects are not available).

Paper Mario: Color Splash
Yoshi appears in Paper Mario: Color Splash, stolen from a Tea Party Toad of the Dark Bloo Inn by a Shy Guy. He is invisible and known as "it". Mario defeats the boss of the Shy Guy, a Shady Sledge Bro, making his henchmen run away and allowing Mario to return Yoshi to the Tea Party Toad, who puts him on the table of his room. At this point, Mario can hit Yoshi with the Paint Hammer, making him visible again. If Yoshi has not been revealed after the Dark Bloo Inn returns to normal, a Toad staying in the room says he has a feeling there is something on the table. Mario has an option to ride him; however, when Mario attempts to do so, Yoshi will run away. He can be seen later in the game outside the Emerald Circus. He will thank Mario for rescuing him from the Dark Bloo Inn and says he came to free all the Yoshis that were trapped in a cage. Although Yoshi initially likes the cage, he changes his mind after stepping into it himself. Like in the other Paper Mario games, Yoshi's posture is similar to that of his original design.

Mario Sports Superstars
Yoshi appears in Mario Sports Superstars as a Balance type character in most sports, having thus balanced stats all around. In tennis, he is a Speed type character as per the Mario Tennis series. In golf, Yoshi's default drive is 212 yards, and his shots travel straight and at a medium height.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Yoshi appears in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle as a playable character late during the story. He is unlocked after defeating Mecha Jr. in the Lava Pit. As a character, his Team Jump technique can deal damage to opposing units with a Ground Pound. He also wields the gatling gun-like Rumblebang weapon (a weapon that his Rabbid counterpart, Rabbid Yoshi, also uses) and the long-ranged Rocket weapon. Notably, Yoshi's voice actor, Kazumi Totaka, provides him with a few cat-like voice clips, which make it sound as if Yoshi is meowing. Yoshi also stores his Rumblebang weapon in his mouth.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
Yoshi does not return in Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, as the heroes disbanded after defeating the Megabug according to the "The Story So Far" Memory. According to associate producer Cristina Nava, Yoshi and Rabbid Yoshi are stated to be on vacation during the events of the game.

Other appearances, cameos, and references
In The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, a Yoshi doll can be found as one of the prizes for winning the Trendy Game in Mabe Village; the doll is required for the game's trading sequence. In the original game, the text that appears upon acquiring it reads, "Recently, he seems to be showing up in many games!" while in the Nintendo Switch remake (released 26 years later), it instead reads, "You can't count how many games you've seen him in now!" Additionally, a portrait of Yoshi can be found hanging on a wall in Hyrule Castle (and can be seen from the castle's courtyard) in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

A figurine of Yoshi can be spotted on Otacon's desk in . Shooting it causes a sound clip of Yoshi saying "Yoshi!" to play.

Yoshi makes a cameo appearance in WarioWare: D.I.Y. as one of the instruments for making records in the game.

Yoshi was originally going to appear in Super Mario 3D Land but was removed from the game.

Yoshi was also considered and planned to appear in Super Mario 3D World, but he was dropped because other features were similar to his abilities, according to the game's co-director Kenta Motokura.

Yoshi is referenced and makes several cameo appearances in . A trailer presented at E3 2011 shows scanning the jungle with his binoculars, only for him to become surprised and bewildered when he sees Yoshi in the distance. It is later revealed that all the in the game had been replaced with Yoshi dolls. If one is to find and shoot all the Yoshis, they are rewarded with the "Yoshi" rank at the end. An optional radio call with Para-Medic about Yoshis can be heard as well. The Yoshis have two sound effects for them. If the player is in close proximity to them, they make the sound effect for when they grab an enemy with their tongues. If the player shoots them, they make the sound effect that was used for them prior to Yoshi's Story, albeit looped for a certain period of time.

A free DLC stage for the Wii U version Sonic Lost World titled Yoshi's Island Zone is heavily based on the Yoshi's Island series of games, mainly Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island in terms of gameplay and Yoshi's Story in terms of art style. In this stage, Rings are replaced by Yoshi-imprinted coins and Red Rings are replaced by flowers. There are also four Egg Blocks located throughout the stage that release three Yoshi Eggs each when Sonic the Hedgehog hits them from below; getting hit by an enemy causes Sonic to lose all of the eggs he has collected, and the player cannot get them back. Once Sonic passes through the goal roulette at the end of the stage, a single Yoshi pops out of each of the eggs Sonic has collected, and each rescued Yoshi grants Sonic an extra life. Due to this fact, the stage cannot be played again until the player has gained another 100,000 points in other stages.

Outside video games, Yoshi appears in Nintendo Monopoly, along with a large cast of Mario characters. Here, he takes the role of Illinois Avenue and costs $240. He is also one of the four base characters included in the Standard Edition (five in the Collector's Edition) of Monopoly Gamer. In UNO Super Mario, Yoshi is pictured on the 0 card.

In the Super Mario Mash-up in Minecraft, Yoshi appears as a playable skin. Saddles are replaced by Yoshi's saddle. The files for the game show that horses were originally replaced by Yoshi, which does not happen in the actual game.

Physical description and traits
Yoshi, like all other Yoshis, is a dinosaur-like character with a large round nose, a row of orange spines along his head, orange shoes, and a saddle-shaped shell on his back, which is used by Mario and company when being ridden on. Yoshi's initial design is more dinosaur-like, with a narrower, longer, more hunched appearance and shorter arms. He is also noticeably taller than Mario. Since Mario Kart 64, however, Yoshi's build has been adjusted to be more anthropomorphic, with an upright posture, longer arms, a bigger head, and a stouter build, although he is still taller than Mario (comparable to Luigi's height). This newer depiction has slowly replaced the older depiction, although by Mario Party 4, the older depiction is generally replaced. Notably, Yoshi's initial design is used in the Paper Mario series, with the design used in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door following the original design more strictly and Paper Mario: Color Splash still using a posture similar to that of the initial design. In recent times, dating at least back to the Mario Hanafuda cards, an alternate modern design of Yoshi was introduced. It features more defined nostrils, eyelids clearly distinct from the brows, a smaller white region on the cheeks, crest spikes pointing downwards and being nearer to each other, and a bigger protrusion behind the eyes. Interestingly, most of these features stem from the original Yoshi design. Said alternate design so far has not been adapted into a 3D model; as a result, the artwork used in most games uses the standard modern design, with the main exceptions so far being Mario Party: Star Rush, Super Mario Maker 2, and the launch artwork of Mario Kart Tour (that then uses the standard modern design in its badges and icons).

Yoshi's saddle is considered his shell. A few sources, such as Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games or the official Japanese bio from Nintendo's own site, have stated that it is actually a shell, and more recent depictions show it as a shell-like swelling rather than a flat or inwardly curved saddle. Eventually, in 2017 an interview on Super Mario World confirmed that Yoshi's saddle has always been a shell from the beginning. Nonetheless, specific depictions of Baby Yoshi from Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U are shown without a saddle, although other depictions of Baby Yoshi, such as from Yoshi's Story, do include this saddle.

Yoshi is known for having a long red tongue, often used for picking up objects or swallowing them, although it is capable of assisting acrobatic maneuvers, such as its interaction with flowers in Super Mario Galaxy 2. Yoshi can also use this tongue as a physical weapon, shown in Mario Strikers Charged and as a custom move in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. Even though he is usually shown without visible teeth, in his older design he actually has both a set of upper teeth and lower teeth as shown in Super Mario Story Quiz Picture Book 2: Mario's Sports Day, and Super Mario Chie Asobi Ehon ④ Larry No Itazura (Super Mario Wisdom Games Picture Book ④ Larry's Mischief), with Yoshi's Island DS showing that his new design still has a full set of teeth.

Yoshi is always seen wearing his orange shoes, although in Super Mario Story Quiz Picture Book 5: Mario's Amusement Park (「スーパーマリオおはなしクイズえほん 5 マリオの ゆうえんち」), a book published by Shogakukan and written in collaboration with Nintendo, it was revealed that he has green feet with three toes and a single white pad on each of them. The orange shade in this shoe has varied across appearances, from brownish to reddish. Some games call these shoes "boots" such as the equipment Yoshi can wear in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. These shoes protect Yoshi from obstacles normally harmful to Mario, such as Munchers and spikes (although in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and its successors, spikes can defeat Yoshi in one hit), so Yoshi can allow Mario to safely cross them. Additionally, Yoshi, when stomping on enemies, typically defeats them in one hit with a special sound effect, similar to Mario's Spin Jump.

Like with all other Mario characters that are featured in the Super Smash Bros. series, Yoshi's appearance is heavily altered. In the first Super Smash Bros., Yoshi's design takes after his Super Mario 64 appearance, though with minor adjustments. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Yoshi's color scheme is darker, and he stands with a more realistic dinosaur stance; additionally, his skin is also mottled. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Yoshi is redesigned to match his current appearance, with him standing in a more upright posture, though his color scheme is even darker than before; also, many of his actions are still performed in a hunched stature. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U gives Yoshi a more vibrant, cartoonish color scheme (the same applies to his alternate skins), while further adjusting his posture, which also extends to some of his attacks involving his legs. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Yoshi's color scheme is subdued (though mostly vibrant overall).

Normally, Yoshi does not wear clothes (shoes notwithstanding), although exceptions can be found with the Yoshi from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, who wore polka-dotted pants of varying colors; his Reindeer outfit in Mario Kart Tour, which had Yoshi wearing reindeer antlers, a jingle-bell collar, red shoes with a white trim, and a red circular nose on his snout; and his Egg Hunt outfit in the same game, where he wears the cracked top and bottom halves of an Easter egg.

Speech
Prior to the SNES version of Yoshi's Cookie and especially Yoshi's Story, with the last game to use it being Mario Party 3, Yoshi's "speech" was a sound effect consisting of two pitch-bent orchestra hits. Although it has been largely retired to some extent for Yoshi's current appearances, it does appear to a certain extent in Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 when Yoshi retrieves Baby Mario, and out-of-series in Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes as well as Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D. Yoshi's speech capabilities are rather limited since his most common phrase is his name (sometimes adding exclamations or tones of surprise to make his speech sound different depending on his emotions). Yoshi's voice actor, Kazumi Totaka, also provides him with various grunts and yells, though almost none of them are actual words. The only known instances that Yoshi was shown to speak in the Mario games are Super Mario World (when Mario is first introduced to him, and to a lesser extent, the message box at his house), Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (which also has him acting as the translator of various Yoshis), the initial release of Super Mario 64 (where he gives Mario a message congratulating him on 120 Stars), and Tetris Attack (where he provides tutorials and tips for the player and has more lines than any other character in the game). However, all of these were given in text. In Yoshi's Story, Yoshi still says his name, but like the rest of his species, he also uses nonsensical words such as "Ho hup" and "Blum," which have no true discernible meaning. However, Yoshi is capable of saying exclamations such as "Yeah!", "Oh, yeah!", and "Woo-hoo!" as well as "No!!!" in various Mario spinoffs, though this trait is somewhat rare. It is known that Yoshi is capable of saying the word "Smash!" as heard in Mario Power Tennis. In DIC Entertainment's Super Mario World television series, Yoshi can speak intelligibly, with his exclamations completely ignored. Yoshi exhibits the ability to speak intelligibly in Super Mario-kun, where he is depicted as a more childish character; as a result, he is easily excitable and yells on a frequent basis. In stark contrast, Yoshi cannot speak fully in Nintendo Power's Mario comic series (most notably Super Mario Adventures), where he reverts to solely saying his own name. However, Friendly Floyd has a translation book of the Yoshi language, so it is (somewhat) possible to understand what Yoshi is saying. Yoshi also speaks intelligibly in the Club Nintendo comics. In a commercial for Yoshi, Yoshi speaks in "meeps," similar to from .

Nature
In the West, Yoshi is known to be a dinosaur since his introduction in Super Mario World. Likely due to dinosaurs being known in Japan as scary dragons (「恐竜」), in the original Japanese manual of said game, he was introduced as a dragon (「ドラゴン」), and in the game, Yoshi himself signed his message in Yoshi's House referring to him as Super Dragon Yoshi (「スーパードラゴン ヨッシー」). He was as well explicitly referred to as a dinosaur in the Nintendo Official Guidebook of Super Mario World. Yoshi being a dragon was reconfirmed as well in Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 and Super Mario Galaxy 2, since in the Peewee Piranha's Speed Run mission of Sky Station Galaxy, on the sign that Yoshi has put up, Yoshi states that he is a space dragon (「スペースドラゴン」). Nonetheless, in his commentary on the Super Mario History Booklet, released in 2010, Takashi Tezuka stated that Yoshi was originally supposed to be a type of Koopa. Him possibly being a turtle rather than a dinosaur was then suggested in his official bio of the Kids section of Nintendo Co., Ltd.'s site, published in 2016, with Tezuka eventually confirming in a 2017 interview about Super Mario World and reconfirming in a 2019 interview about Yoshi's Crafted World that Yoshi is indeed a turtle.

In Mario Kart Tour, several badges that could be obtained by using drivers with a shell could be obtained by using Yoshi, marking the first time Yoshi having a shell affected gameplay while indirectly grouping Yoshi among the other turtles featured in the game as well.

Powers and abilities
Like other Yoshis, Yoshi has a long, sticky tongue that he uses to eat almost anything, even things much larger than himself. Yoshi can transform any enemies and objects he eats into eggs, which he can then use as projectile weapons. In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Island DS, Yoshi could keep up to six eggs at a time or up to four Huffin' Puffins, which would return to him as if they were boomerangs and were renewable.

Yoshi can also transform things that he eats into other objects. For example, in Super Mario World, after Yoshi ate an enemy, one coin would be added to Mario's coin total. Yoshi could also transform berries into eggs. However, instead of using them as projectiles, these eggs would break apart and reveal items, including Super Mushrooms and Yoshi Clouds that would drop Bonus Coins. In Super Mario RPG, Yoshi could eat enemies to produce eggs that would break apart to reveal a variety of helpful (and often rare) items. In Super Mario Galaxy 2, Yoshi could eat enemies to produce Star Bits.

Despite his egg-laying abilities, Yoshi is considered male in most regions. However, Shigeru Miyamoto has gone on record and stated he is not sure if Yoshi is male or female. It could be that Yoshi does not officially have an assigned gender, as the original Japanese does not use gender pronouns. However, on several occasions that he has dialogue, such as his rescue in Super Mario World and the story mode of Mario Party 3, he uses the masculine pronoun ぼく (boku) in the Japanese versions.

Yoshi has a hard time swallowing Koopa Shells. In fact, in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi had to spit out Koopa Shells before he could eat another enemy. In Super Mario World, Yoshi could eventually swallow a Koopa Shell but could also use it to boost his own abilities. While Yoshi could only spit out a Green Shell, he would instead shoot three large fireballs after ingesting a Red Shell. A Yellow Shell allowed Yoshi to create sand clouds whenever he jumped and hit the ground, destroying nearby enemies. A Blue Shell provided one of the two ways to turn Yoshi into his Winged Yoshi form, allowing him to fly for a limited amount of time. However, if a shell were left in Yoshi's mouth for too long, he would inevitably swallow the shell and, as such, lose any abilities he may have possessed.

Yoshi is very proficient with jumping and ground-pounding abilities, rivaling the capabilities of world-renown jumper Mario. However, in Super Mario World, Yoshi's jump attacks were much more powerful than Mario's normal jump attacks. Yoshi could destroy most enemies in one hit (i.e., a Koopa would be completely destroyed, not sent flying out of its shell). As such, Yoshi's jump had the same power as Mario's special Spin Jump technique. Yoshi is also a master of the Flutter Jump technique, allowing him to jump with incredible horizontal distance. Yoshi is also capable of creating shockwaves with his Ground Pound, which can be seen when the player uses the Team Jump technique in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.

Yoshi is a speed character in several sports games, such as the Mario Tennis series, which shows that he is a fast runner. However, he is not particularly fast in every game, such as Super Mario 64 DS, where his speed is the same as Mario and Luigi's (according to the instruction booklet).

According to Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Yoshi is one of the few members of his species who can speak the language of the other characters; however, it seems that this is not his first language, since, as in other games, his statements are translated through parentheses.

Alternate forms
Throughout his adventures, Yoshi has acquired a variety of alternate forms to help him combat the forces of evil. Most of these transformations are a result of special morph bubbles that could transform Yoshi into a helpful vehicle. Several canceled alternate forms have been found in the coding of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Their purpose is unknown, but one can assume the plane has a similar function to the helicopter.
 * Super Mario World
 * Winged Yoshi
 * Super Mario 64 DS
 * Mega Mario
 * Super Mario Run
 * Small Yoshi
 * Super Yoshi
 * Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
 * Car
 * Helicopter
 * Mole Tank
 * Submarine
 * Train
 * "Plane" (canceled)
 * "Tree" (canceled)
 * "Mushroom" (canceled)
 * Super Mario Galaxy 2
 * Dash Yoshi
 * Bulb Yoshi
 * Blimp Yoshi
 * Yoshi's New Island
 * Balloon Yoshi
 * Bobsled Yoshi
 * Jackhammer Yoshi
 * Mine-Cart Yoshi
 * Super Yoshi
 * Yoshi's Woolly World
 * Mermaid Yoshi
 * Mole Yoshi
 * Moto Yoshi
 * Sky Pop Yoshi
 * Umbrella Yoshi

Personality
Yoshi has a very similar personality to Mario, being brave and kind, albeit underdeveloped. Yoshi is a friendly individual who always lends a helping hand to those in need. He could be considered a hero and has helped his friends, defeated the evil King Bowser Koopa, and saved his island more than once. He is also very courageous, allowing him to stand and fight enemies much larger than himself, including Yoob, an enlarged Bowser, Nep-Enuts, Tap-Tap the Golden, and the gigantic Baby Bowser. As a result of this courage, Yoshi often takes on a leadership position to the Yoshi clan, although Yoshi has no official political status (unlike the Village Leader from Lavalava Island). In fact, when Yoshi was offered a leadership position in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the humble character declined the position. Like Mario, Yoshi has a large appetite, to the point of outright gluttony. While Yoshi eats mostly fruits (mainly melons), he eats almost anything, including enemies (except peppers and certain inedible enemies). In volume 3 of Super Mario-kun, Yoshi gets hurt and begins to cry while red liquid is seen. It turns out to be juice from Yoshi's fruit, to which he glumly states, "What a waste."

Friends
Yoshi is one of Mario's closest friends, with their relationship stretching back to Mario's birth, when Yoshi helped reunite the newborn Baby Mario with his kidnapped brother, Baby Luigi. Mario, as an adult, has returned the favor in Yoshi's New Island by handing Yoshi powerful items if Yoshi is struggling in the level. Later, Mario has helped free Yoshi's homeland from Bowser in Super Mario World. Mario and Yoshi share loyalty to one another, with Yoshi often aiding Mario on his journeys by acting as his steed. This relationship is more pronounced in Super Mario-kun. While Mario and Yoshi are great friends, Yoshi often makes mistakes, much to Mario's annoyance, such as in volume 1 where Yoshi eats a map, so the two frequently bicker. Despite this, when Yoshi is in danger, even when he is manipulated, Mario risks himself to save Yoshi, shown in volume 23. Super Smash Bros. Brawl takes Yoshi's relationship to a more negative level, since the dinosaur-like character and Link aggressively attack Mario and Pit for defeating "Zelda" (who was a false clone trying to turn the former duo into trophies). Similarly, when Yoshi and Link defeat False Peach, Mario misinterprets them as defeating the real Peach, so he decides to fight the duo, with Pit following suit. However, Yoshi and Mario realize the error in their ways and team up as usual to fight Tabuu and the Subspace Army. Yoshi and Luigi are also good friends and allies, although their chemistry in the Mario baseball games is neutral. In the Super Mario World TV show, Luigi is the one who found Yoshi, and the dinosaur initially believed him to be his "mama," with Luigi even continuing to act as a parental figure of sorts, and Luigi is known to tell him bedtime stories. This aspect of their relationship is unique to the TV show, however. Other characters Yoshi is friends with include Princess Peach and Toad, and he is also on good terms with Donkey Kong more often than not.

Yoshi and Birdo are partnered up in various spinoff and sports games, and it has been implied that they are romantically involved. They were seen nuzzling each other on the title screen of Mario Tennis, and on the official Japanese site for Mario Kart: Double Dash!! the description for Catherine states, "Catherine appears to be Yoshi's girlfriend... or does that mean boyfriend!?" (「ヨッシーの彼女に見えて実は彼氏!?」)

Yoshi has been shown to get along with his Rabbid counterpart, since they are willing to cooperate to save the Mushroom Kingdom from the Megabug's grasp. Yoshi and Rabbid Yoshi also slide on their own tails, store their weapons in their mouths, and use Rumblebangs as their primary weapons, which shows Rabbid Yoshi's respect and admiration for the real dinosaur-like hero, as well as Yoshi's appreciation for being idolized by someone.

Yoshi is shown to get along with Link, since they have worked together to fend off Tabuu's forces and save the World of Trophies from ultimate destruction. Yoshi and Link both show heroic behavior, since they defeat False Peach to save Mario and Pit (though the latter duo has a miscommunication). Yoshi's loyalty towards Link is unwavering, since he joins him in the fight against Mario and Pit for defeating "Zelda" (though he later learns that their battle was a mistake).

Enemies
Kamek is one of Yoshi's most persistent enemies. Kamek, devoted to the Koopa Troop, views Yoshi and his friends as a major threat and attempts multiple times to hinder their progress to save Baby Luigi. He often transforms normal enemies into bosses, but he additionally kidnaps the stork several times. Kamek, prior to a boss fight, frequently insults Yoshi and his friends, such as calling Yellow Yoshi an "overgrown lizard." With a condescending tone, he threatens or tries to trick Yoshi to give Baby Mario to him. Bowser, who has close ties to Kamek, is also one of Yoshi's major enemies. When Bowser is a baby, he often causes trouble for the Yoshis ranging from stealing cookies to kidnapping the Super Happy Tree. While Baby Bowser once teamed up with the Yoshis and the other babies in Yoshi's Island DS, he eventually betrayed them in the end in favor. Yoshi, without Mario's direct aid, has also faced against and defeated adult Bowser several times, such as in Yoshi Topsy-Turvy, Yoshi's Island DS, and Yoshi's New Island.

Instruction booklet
"A dinosaur that boasts surprising jumping prowess."

Portrayals
Yoshi was voiced by Andrew Sabiston in the Super Mario World cartoons (Sabiston would later provide the voice of Diddy Kong in the Donkey Kong Country cartoon series).

In the video games, Yoshi has been voiced by Kazumi Totaka since Yoshi's Story (who also composed the musical score for the game).

Quotes

 * "Mario!!! It [sic] that really you???" – Super Mario 64
 * "I know! We should team up! Come on! Hop on my back!" – Super Mario Galaxy 2
 * "Hooray! Thank you for rescuing me. My name is Yoshi. On my way to rescue my friends, Bowser trapped me in that egg." – Super Mario World
 * "Tell how Luigi find Yoshi, and Yoshi rescue Princess." – Super Mario World television series ("Mama Luigi")
 * "(Think anyone would notice if I ate some fruit? I'm so hungry!)" – Mario Golf: World Tour
 * "Yoshi, Yoshi!" – Mario Party 9
 * "It's Mario! I've gotta try extra hard!" – Super Mario Party

Trivia

 * Yoshi's kart's horn in Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart 8 sounds similar to the sound heard when mounting on Yoshi in certain Mario games.
 * In Super Mario Sunshine, Yoshi can perform Triple Jumps, Spin Jumps, and Ground Pounds but not Side Somersaults. In Super Mario Galaxy 2, this is reversed, as Yoshi can perform Side Somersaults but not Triple Jumps, Spin Jumps, or Ground Pounds. Additionally, Yoshi cannot swim in Super Mario Sunshine but somewhat can in Super Mario Galaxy 2.
 * In the Club Nintendo comic The Hunt For Happiness, newborn Yoshis are stated to be 1.3 meters tall and bright enough to be seen in the darkness up to 50 meters away.
 * According to a 1993 Nintendo character guide, Yoshi is "properly" known as T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas.