Yoshi

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

- Yoshi

Yoshi (sometimes specified as Green Yoshi) is one of the heroes of Mushroom World and an ally of Mario and Luigi. He is a member of the Yoshi race and has aided his brethren in saving their homeland on multiple occasions. Yoshi has also saved other kingdoms from the villain Bowser as well. In his youth, Yoshi managed to rescue and protect Baby Mario and Baby Luigi from the wrath of Kamek and the Koopa Troop. According to Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Yoshi is the only one of his species who can speak the human language. However, in later games, he doesn't speak the human language (as shown in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers). This is contradicted once again, in Super Mario Galaxy 2, when Yoshi speaks in perfect English. Yoshi made his very first appearance, game-wise, in the Super Mario World level, Yoshi's Island 2.

Super Mario World
Yoshi debuted during Super Mario World, when Bowser launches his biggest assault yet against Dinosaur Land. To eliminate the threat of Yoshi, Bowser magically encases the green dinosaur and his friends in Yoshi Eggs. Many of these eggs are given to Bowser's own children, the Koopalings, to be watched over. Fortunately, for some reason, Yoshi's egg escapes the confines of one of the Koopalings' castles. Instead, Yoshi's egg prison winds up in the open field of Yoshi's Island.

Eventually, Yoshi is freed by none other than Mario and Luigi, now grown up and stronger than ever. Coincidentally, the Mario Bros., along with Princess Peach, are vacationing in Dinosaur Land when King Koopa's attack occurs. As Mario and Luigi take a nap on the beach, Bowser's forces kidnap the princess on behalf of their master. The two plumbers search for Peach for hours, and eventually stumble across Yoshi's egg and free their old friend. Once released, Yoshi tells the Mario Bros. of Dinosaur Land's plight. Together, all three agree to rescue the other imprisoned Yoshis and save Princess Toadstool from the forces of Bowser.

Yoshi proves to be an invaluable ally during this adventure, acting as a quick and powerful form of transportation for the heroic Mario Bros. The green dinosaur can use his long tongue to eat almost any type of enemy, including enemies even Mario and Luigi can not defeat on their own. If an enemy hits Yoshi, he runs away, leaving Mario or Luigi behind. However, the plumbers can simply jump back on their friend's saddle to calm the dinosaur down and continue the adventure. Unfortunately, Yoshi is unable to enter Ghost Houses (except the Sunken Ghost Ship), Fortresses, the castles of the Koopalings, and, ultimately, the castle of King Bowser. In these locations, the Mario Bros. have to go in alone, but Yoshi patiently waits outside for the brothers to return.

Ultimately, the Mario Bros. manage to defeat the Koopalings and Bowser, thus rescuing the seven Yoshi Eggs and Princess Toadstool. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi return to Yoshi's House to celebrate their victory over the Koopa Troop. During the celebrations that follow, the seven liberate Yoshi eggs hatch and become Yoshi Babies, thanks to the efforts of Mario and Luigi, with help from their friend Yoshi. Peace is restored to not only Yoshi's Island, but also the entire continent of Dinosaur Land.

Super Mario 64
In Super Mario 64, Yoshi plays a very minor role. If Mario manages to acquire all 120 Power Stars, a cannon near the castle will become accessible, which Mario can use to shoot himself to the roof of Princess Peach's Castle. There, Mario finds Yoshi who congratulates the player for completing the game and rewards Mario with one hundred extra lives and an improved Triple Jump. After that, he jumps off the roof and is never seen again in the whole game.

The fact that Yoshi is seen sleeping on the roof in Super Mario 64 DS during the intro is probably a reference to his original role in Super Mario 64.

Super Mario Sunshine
Yoshi plays a major role in Super Mario Sunshine of transportation for Mario as well as the key to several Shine Sprites, since they are native to Isle Delfino. Yoshi normally appears in three different colors depending on what he eats: orange, pink, and purple. To get Yoshi, Mario must first find a Yoshi Egg and give it the specific fruit it wants. Then Yoshi will hatch and Mario can ride him. Yoshi is also given the ability to spit different colored juice (the "Juice" ability replaces the function of F.L.U.D.D.) that affect enemies in different ways, also depending on what color he is. The orange juice can turn enemies into an orange hovering block that would disappear after a short amount of time. The purple and pink juices make a similar block of the corresponding color but move vertically or horizontally depending on the color. He can destroy the orange oozy liquid which the F.L.U.D.D. cannot do this.

If Yoshi falls into water or runs out of juice (which depletes as time goes on and as Yoshi sprays it), he will turn Green and vanish a few seconds later. In the few seconds before he vanishes, Yoshi can spit water instead of juice.

Super Mario 64 DS
Yoshi found himself to be the primary hero in Super Mario 64 DS. During this adventure, Princess Peach decides to invite Mario, Luigi and even Wario to her castle. Coincidentally, Yoshi is sleeping on the roof of the castle when the trio of heroes arrive.

Unfortunately, Bowser has arrived at the castle before Mario, Luigi, and Wario. The Koopa King and his forces have stolen the castle's Power Stars, the magical artifacts that protect Peach's Castle. With the power of these stars, Bowser plans to take over the castle. To do this, Bowser intends to convert the denizens of the worlds accessed via the paintings in Peach's Castle into monsters. With these newfound forces, Bowser then gets ready to attack the castle, and, potentially, the entire Mushroom Kingdom. With the Power Stars under his control, Bowser captures not only Peach and Toad, but Mario, Luigi, and Wario as well. As such, it is up to Yoshi to free his imprisoned allies and rescue the Princess from Bowser's clutches.

In fact, while Mario himself is required to open Star Doors and, ultimately, face the final confrontation with Bowser, rescuing Luigi and Wario was optional, as Yoshi can discover magical caps that will allow himself to temporarily assume the form and abilities of the other three characters. He can also eat enemies and toss eggs to help him in his quest. Ultimately, with Mario's help (and with or without that of Luigi and Wario,) Yoshi manages to help defeat Bowser and acquire the castle's Power Stars. With stability returned to the castle, Peach rewards the four heroes by baking them all a cake.

New Super Mario Bros.
Even though Yoshi did not appear in New Super Mario Bros., he appears in some of the minigames, along with Red Yoshi, Blue Yoshi and Yellow Yoshi in the multiplayer games.

Super Mario Galaxy
Yoshi himself does not appear in Super Mario Galaxy – however, there are three notable Yoshi references.
 * When starting a file, the player is given the choice of what character head they want to resemble the "planet" that is their save file, and one of the heads is Yoshi's.
 * In the Good Egg Galaxy, there is a planet that resembles a Yoshi 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". However this planet shoots steam from its nostrils.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Although he never appeared in New Super Mario Bros., Yoshi is in the game's sequel, New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Yoshi only appears in World 1-3, World 2-5, World 3-2, World 4-5, World 6-4, and World 7-6, making him quite rare. Yoshi makes the same sounds as he does in Super Mario World. Green Yoshi, Yellow Yoshi, Light Blue Yoshi, and Pink Yoshi are the Yoshi colors that appear in this game.

When one player rides a Yoshi, Yoshi drums are added to the music. Yoshi can flutter jump, such as in previous titles, and has his usual tongue ability. He can easily eat a normal enemy such as a Goomba or Piranha Plant. If Yoshi eats a shell enemy, he can't swallow it, so the player can spit the shell out. If Yoshi jumps on a Koopa Troopa, the Koopa won't retreat into its shell, but instead will be defeated. If Yoshi eats a Venus Fire Trap, he is able to spit out a fireball. He can also swallow and spit out an ice ball from an Ice Bro. and hammers thrown by a Hammer Bro.. Yoshi can also jump on certain enemies that players can't normally jump on, such as Piranha Plants and Spinies, though it won't affect the enemies in any way. If Yoshi is struck by an enemy without swallowing or jumping on it, he will drop the player and run about until the player regains control of him. If not stopped, Yoshi may run off of a cliff into a hole or sink in quicksand.

Berries can be found in the levels that Yoshi appears in, and if Yoshi eats 5 berries, he will lay an egg that holds an item. This happens also if Yoshi eats a Pokey while it is covered in leaves. At the end of a level, past the flagpole, when Mario, Luigi, Yellow Toad, and/or Blue Toad will run off, and Yoshi will just wave goodbye.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Yoshi appears in the game, 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 Yoshi Star Galaxy, where he also has a house. He then gets lost and starts running around in circles in his confusion. Meanwhile, Bowser has noticed that Yoshi is attempting to retrieve the Power Stars, as he fears that if Mario was to meet up with Yoshi, then the pair could form an alliance to get the Power Stars back together. Bowser then orders a Magikoopa to go and get rid of Yoshi so he can focus on building his new evil empire in the center of the universe. Later on in the game, Mario arrives in Yoshi Star Galaxy and begins to explore this weird place. Mario then encounters a little Luma, who informs Mario on what has happened to Yoshi. The Luma tells that a Magikoopa appeared out of nowhere, trapped Yoshi inside an egg and encased Yoshi (still within the egg) in a magical forcefield, making it virtually impossible for Yoshi to escape. Mario, shocked by this bad news, sets out to free his best friend from his dilemma. Mario then encounters the Magikoopa who is guarding the forcefield, but the enemy is easily defeated when Mario attacks it, thus eliminating the forcefield. Mario then proceeds to get Yoshi out of his egg prison by cracking it open. Yoshi thanks Mario for saving him, and Yoshi then offers his assistance to help Mario throughout the rest of his quest. From there on, Yoshi occasionally teams up with Mario (and Luigi) to get back the Power Stars and save the entire universe.

Yoshi can eat various fruit 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 (similar to Mario's Power Flower ability from Super Mario 64 DS); and the yellow Bulb Yoshi, who can illuminate hidden objects by eating a Glimmer Bulb Berry. Once again, drums play when Mario is on Yoshi.

Yoshi has the ability to perform flutter jumps, but he lacks the ability to do triple jumps. Additionally, he is faster than both Mario and Luigi. He can also eat objects when players targets them with the Wii Remote and by pressing the B button. However, players cannot shoot Star Bits while riding on Yoshi. If players want to stop riding Yoshi, they must hold down Z and press A. On a side note, Yoshi can swim in this game, but he cannot dive. 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.

After collecting the first Power Star, "Saddle up with Yoshi", from the Yoshi Star Galaxy, a Yoshi Egg will appear on Starship Mario's nose. Like in Delfino Plaza from Super Mario Sunshine, Yoshi is playable in the hub. Yoshi can also talk properly in this game too, since a dialogue box appears above him when he is first encountered in Yoshi Star Galaxy.

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. Electrical attacks (such as Giga Lakitu's Thunder attack, a Fizzlit's electrical pool, Megahammer's shock waves, etc.), electric barriers, lava or certain fire attacks make Yoshi retreat back to his egg.

As in Super Mario Galaxy, the player has the option to choose Yoshi as one of the planets that represents their save file.

Super Mario World television series
Yoshi was a regular character in the Super Mario World animated series produced by DiC Entertainment. In the cartoon, Yoshi was depicted as being very young and childish. As such, he was afraid of many things, including ghosts and even water. Regardless, Yoshi regularly teamed up with Mario and Luigi to help save Princess Toadstool from the clutches of King Koopa. Of course, Yoshi used his long tongue to get the heroes out of many sticky situations. Yoshi appears having a large appetite which has the tendency to get him into trouble, such as in "Born to Ride" when he ate all the pipes that Mario and Luigi had laid out to build a sink system and they yelled at him for destroying their hard work. He referred to himself in third-person, saying things like "Yoshi scared", or "Yoshi think Luigi mama!". Yoshi called Luigi "Mama Luigi" because he found Yoshi as an egg. He had a pal named Oogtar.

Fire Sale: Yoshi and friends try to save Mama Fire Plant from Kootie Pie Koopa and end up saving the plant and melting Kootie Pie Koopa's Ice Palace. This episode also shows that Yoshi has a fear of water.

The Wheel Thing: Yoshi helps Mario and Luigi Defeat Kooky and Bowser's Mega Mechanasaur.

Send in the Clown: Yoshi and friends go to Bowser's circus only to be trapped in a cage. In the end Mario, ends up saving them and they perform there own circus with Yoshi as the clown.

Ghosts 'R' Us: Yoshi and friends venture in to the enchanted forest only to find a Koopa wizard named Wizardheimer. The wizard captures and locks away everybody but Yoshi, who escapes. Soon after Yoshi ventures in to the wizards house and saves all his friends.

The Night Before Cave Christmas: Yoshi and friends make presents for all the cave people to celebrate Cave Christmas (which happens to be in August) only for Bowser to steal the presents. Yoshi and Mario then go and take back all the presents Bowser stole and then give them to the cave people.

King Scoopa Koopa: Yoshi and friends find a new fast food shop run by Bowser and Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi chow down on burgers until they become fat. Unfortunately, Yoshi and Luigi become Chickadactyls along with the rest of the cave people. In the end, Mario saves every one by destroying the shop.

Born to Ride: Yoshi joins a biker gang called the DinoRiders who secretly try to hand the Mario Bros. over to King Koopa. Yoshi soon finds out and saves the Mario Bros.

Party Line: Yoshi helps clean up the vines scattered across the town by eating them.

Gopher Bash: Yoshi, Luigi, and Mario chase after Cheatsy Koopa for the stolen crops and end up saving them only to be eaten by Yoshi himself.

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 a Yoshi 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 Cave-boy grow a "eggabega" but Hip and Hop plant a Piranha Plant instead. When the Piranha Plant starts to wreck the school, Yoshi eats it.

Mama Luigi: Yoshi is being tucked into bed by Luigi. Luigi proceeds to tell him the story of how he met Yoshi. At the end, Yoshi falls asleep.

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

''N-gang
Yoshi made several appearances in the German comic N-gang. He appeared in "Freeze Frame", "Die Ostereier-Situation", "N-Gang vs. Nintendo", and "Die Hexe lacht um Mitternacht"

Freeze Frame: After Diddy takes B through worm hole, 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 Gruntilla, 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 Yoshi eggs which B. needed for his class.

''Club Nintendo
In the German Club Nintendo comics, Yoshi appeared ten normal comics with about six comics being partly or mainly about him. 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!.

Ostern im Schwammerlland and Super Mario: Die unheimliche Begegnung der Yoshi-Art: Yoshi's first meeting with Mario is depicted in these two comics. Where Mario and friends were out picnicking one Easter morning when they saw the Easter bunny. They tried to catch it but to no prevail 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 Yoshi 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 60 Coins 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 Mario 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 and ends up becoming a black Yoshi.

Super Mario: Erholung? Nein, danke!: Yoshi and 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 a is piloted by a blind clerk who also operated the booking office. After, the flight the reach 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. The noise is so loud that the floor ruptures from beneath them and they fall directly on to the disco floor. Because of all this the 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 appers 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 friends.

Mario in Mariozilla: Yoshi accidentally eats a shrunken Mario and Kamek. Dr. Light then plans to make Yoshi lay and egg, but Yoshi has other ideas. After hearing this Yoshi runs away only to lay an egg two hours later with the pair inside.

Blast Corps in Yoshi's 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 Hint Block for a guide.

Auf der Suche nach dem Glück!: In this comic, Kamek sucks all of the color out of Yoshi's Island. But out of six gray Yoshi eggs hatches six colorful Baby Yoshis. The Yoshis soon see that something is wrong with the world around them when a colorful Lakitu flies over to them and tells them the predicament that they're in. The Yoshis then go to town and start eating all of the fruit in the market. After their feast, the color starts returning. They are soon on a talk show that Baby Bowser is watching which makes Baby Bowser furious. So he and Kamek go out to find the yoshis. Meanwhile the Yoshi finish the talk show and start a band concert about fruit. Baby Bowser and Kamek soon interrupt their concert and trap them in a force field. The people in the stands then start throwing fruit at the Yoshis, in which the Yoshis eat and then break out of the force field. Baby Bowser and Kamek then fly away only for Baby Bowser to fall off and land in a cannon. A clown then blasts the cannon and shoots Baby Bowser into the sky ending the comic.

Die Nacht der leuchtenden Yoshis!: This comic is part 2 of the comic above. The Yoshis are at the beach and having a great time when a shark appears in the water. Everyone flees for there lives except a Green and Yellow Yoshi who are still swimming. When they notice the shark they start going crazy. they try to swim in but they can't so the paddle as hard as they can but with no dice. Until a lifeguard saves them from drowning and getting eaten by the shark. After they are all out of the water, it turns out to be a Black Yoshi. When the Yoshis see him they think he has dirt all over him because they have never seen a Black Yoshi before. So thinking they're cleaning him, they wash him. He turns out still black when he tells them this is his skin. They all reject and leave him and he stands in the same spot until night falls. the Yoshis then camp out as soon as night falls. Meanwhile, hiding in a bush, Baby Bowser and Kamek hide in a bush planning the Yoshis capture. When the Yoshis go to sleep Baby Bowser, Kamek, and an army of shy guys raid the campsite and capture the Yoshis. Then out of nowhere a Yoshi egg hits Kamek and then Baby Bowser. They then get angry and ask who did that. Then dozens and dozens of Yoshi egg attack Baby Bowser and Kamek chasing them away. It turns out that Black Yoshi is the one who threw the eggs. He then unties the Yoshis and tells them his story. It turns out that he is the same Yoshi from Super Mario: Mario im Wunderland who was turned black by the wizard. It turns out that after he was turned black life got harder: he wasn't allowed into movies, he was yelled at, and he was chased by a chef who wanted to make a meatball out of him. The Yoshis then have a good rest of the night and the Yoshis accept the Black yoshi as a friend.

Das Lied der Yoshi's!: This short 1-page comic is part 3 of the comics above. It pictures the Yoshis continuing their life and doing many different things. The last part of the comic shows all of the Yoshis singing together.

''Mario is Missing!
During the events of Mario is Missing!, Yoshi accompanied 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 proved 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.

''Yoshi
This is the first Yoshi series game for Yoshi to appear in as well as the first Yoshi series game. In Yoshi, Yoshi appears in four forms in this game: Small, Tall, Winged, and Star. To get a Small Yoshi, Mario must combine two halves of a Yoshi egg. To get a Tall Yoshi, Mario must have one to four enemies in between the two halves of an egg. To get a Winged Yoshi, Mario must have Five or six enemies in between the two halves of an egg. To get a Star Yoshi, Mario must have Seven enemies in between the two halves of an egg. If a Small Yoshi hatches, 50 points are awarded. If a Tall Yoshi hatches, 100-250 points are awarded. If a Winged Yoshi hatches, 300-350 points are awarded. If a Star Yoshi hatches, 500 points are awarded.

''Yoshi's Cookie
In Yoshi's Cookie, Yoshi appeared as a character in V.S. mode. Yoshi had 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 story mode in 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, found out that Bowser stole their cookies. They then set out to find Bowser and reclaim their cookies.

''Tetris Attack
In Tetris Attack, Yoshi must break a spell put on his friends by Kamek. Except in order to break the spell, Yoshi must beat one of his allies by lining up three or more matching panels either horizontally or vertically constantly. After he breaks the spell, he must face many bosses, and then Bowser himself. Yoshi's allies include Little Yoshi, a Lakitu, a Shy Guy, a Bumpty (SNES version only), Poochy, a Flutter (named Flying Wiggler in this game), a Gargantua Blargg, a Lunge Fish, Raphael the Raven, and Prince Froggy. Bosses include Naval Piranha, Hookbill the Koopa, Kamek, and Bowser.

''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Yoshi, like most of his kind, spent the early part of his life living on Yoshi's Island, the homeland of the Yoshis and the entrance to Dinosaur Land. The island was a relatively peaceful place filled with relaxed and laid-back Yoshis. However, this was all to change on the day the legendary Mario Bros. were born. A day that would not only change Yoshi's life, but the entire course of history.

One morning, during the events of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi decided to take a stroll through the jungles of Yoshi's Island. The day started out like any other day until a strange, white bundle and a map landed on his back. Inside the bundle, Yoshi discovered a small baby with a red cap called Baby Mario. Prior to this, Kamek, a powerful Magikoopa, had attempted to capture both Baby Mario and Baby Luigi as the Stork carried the babies to their mother and father in the Mushroom Kingdom. Kamek had divined that the two babies born that morning would bring ruin to the Koopas. As such, the powerful sorcerer knew he had to eliminate the babies before they matured. Regardless of his intent, Kamek's abduction attempt failed as he only snagged one of the babies. The other, Baby Mario, fell to the ground and wound up on Yoshi's back.

Yoshi decided to take Baby Mario back to his clan. The arrival of Baby Mario caused a state of panic to take hold in the normally stress-free Yoshi society. As the Yoshi's argued and yelled about what to do with the infant, Baby Mario pointed to the horizon. Eventually, Yoshi recognized that Baby Mario could detect where his brother was, as their brotherly bond was so strong, even at such a young age. Yoshi decided that the Yoshi clan should find Baby Mario's brother and help both of them find their parents. The other Yoshis agreed. Taking the initiative, Yoshi said they should use a relay system between eight Yoshis to transport Baby Mario. Each Yoshi would travel some distance, then hand Baby Mario to the next young dinosaur. Of course, Yoshi took the lead and set out in the direction Baby Mario was pointing. Yoshi helped Baby Mario through the preliminary level, then through World 1-1. Unfortunately, the task would not be easy, as Kamek's forces had invaded the island and were searching for Baby Mario.

To battle against the agents of Kamek, Yoshi used his amazing egg-making abilities to transform enemies and other objects into Yoshi Eggs. Yoshi used these eggs as projectile weapons against enemies, fending off the forces of Kamek. The green dinosaur also used a variety of Morph Bubbles to transform himself into various vehicles to better avoid or battle agents of the Koopa Troop. With these abilities, Yoshi managed to help Baby Mario through the dangers of the first level of each of the six worlds, allowing the green dinosaur to pass the infant to Pink Yoshi after each completed level.

Besides bringing Baby Mario through the first level of each world, Yoshi also braved the dangers and traps of all the secret worlds discovered along the way. In fact, as a testament to his commitment and courage, Yoshi even braved the final challenge that awaited the Yoshis. After fighting through six worlds, the Yoshis finally reached Bowser's Castle, the site of an imprisoned Baby Luigi. Taking Blue Yoshi's place, Yoshi fought past powerful enemies and avoided the traps of the dangerous Koopa fortress. Yoshi even dodged a series of magical attacks by the sorcerer Kamek himself, allowing the green dinosaur to enter Baby Bowser's bedroom in search of Baby Luigi. In the bedroom, Yoshi confronted the young Koopa King and bested him in combat. Unfortunately, Kamek used his magic to transform the relatively small Baby Bowser into a gigantic, hulking monstrosity. Fortunately, Yoshi managed to fight off the giant menace, causing both Kamek and Baby Bowser to retreat. Ultimately, in the rubble of the castle, Yoshi discovered Baby Luigi and the Stork originally charged with delivering the babies. After untying the Stork, Yoshi said his goodbyes to the babies and allowed the bird to continue on his journey. In the end, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi returned home safe.

''Yoshi's Story
Of course, Baby Bowser was not happy with such a loss. As such, the young Koopa king initiated an act of revenge during the events of Yoshi's Story. Baby Bowser and his forces returned to Yoshi's Island and stole the Super Happy Tree, the source of the island's happiness. The young Koopa then cast a spell on the island, transforming the vacation paradise into a storybook. Lastly, the Yoshi denizens were cursed. This last spell incapacitated the Yoshis, making them unable to do anything to stop Baby Bowser's attack.

Fortunately, Baby Bowser's spell did not affect every Yoshi. Six baby Yoshis were still in their eggs when the spell was cast, allowing them to avoid the curse. When they hatched, the six newborns sensed that the island was in disarray. Taking the lead, a new Green Yoshi decided the babies must find the Super Happy Tree to refill the island with happiness. The five other baby Yoshis agreed and together they set out to find the tree and restore peace to the island.

The Yoshis traveled across the island, eating fruits to boost their own happiness levels. Green Yoshi personally enjoyed watermelons the most. As their collective happiness increased, more and more worlds became available to the Yoshis. Eventually, Green Yoshi and his companions reached Baby Bowser's Castle. Together they confronted the young king, and ultimately defeated Baby Bowser in combat. The Yoshis reclaimed the Super Happy Tree and restored the island to its natural, peaceful, and joyful state.

''Yoshi's Universal Gravitation
During the events of Yoshi's Universal Gravitation (also known as Yoshi Topsy-Turvy), the Koopa King and his forces attacked Yoshi's Island, causing chaos and disorder. In a twist of fate, a spirit named Hongo encased the entire island in a storybook to contain Bowser and his armies (Bowser did exactly the same thing to Yoshi's Island as a baby; however, he did so as revenge against the Yoshi clan.). Fortunately, Yoshi managed to convince the powerful spirit to restore Yoshi's Island if the green dinosaur could personally trap Bowser. If the threat of Bowser was contained, there would be no need to keep the island as an isolated storybook. As such, Yoshi set off through the chapters of the storybook version on Yoshi's Island.

During this adventure, Yoshi acquired a unique and powerful ability. Not only could Yoshi use his long tongue to defeat enemies, the green dinosaur could also manipulate gravity. As Yoshi changed the force of gravity, the green dinosaur could cause enemies to fall backwards, or even transform walls into hills. This unique ability helped Yoshi complete the various daunting stages before him.

However, Yoshi could not merely walk through a course to complete it. Each course was controlled by a different spirit, and each demanded that the green dinosaur fulfill a specific task before he or she would allow Yoshi to move on. These tasks included destroying a certain number of enemies or acquiring a certain number of coins. Ultimately, after satisfying the task of every spirit, Yoshi was allowed to confront King Bowser. Of course, the green dinosaur emerged victorious in the end, and Bowser was once again defeated. With the threat of Bowser eliminated, the spirit Hongo released Yoshi's Island, restoring it to its natural state. Yet again, Yoshi had saved his homeland from a terrible fate.

Yoshi Touch & Go
Yoshi makes its first appearance on the Nintendo DS in Yoshi Touch & Go. In the start of each mode, players will have to safely help Baby Mario glide down to the forest. They will use clouds with the stylus to block enemies or move him over to safety and/or coins, or make circles around spike-less enemies to make a coin bubble, and adds coins to Baby Mario. If hit three times, the player is done. The more coins the player collects, the different color Yoshi Baby Mario will travel with when he lands.

In the second part, as Yoshi, players can shoot eggs if they have any. The different colored Yoshi, the different amount of eggs. 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 will give them coins. If players run out or low on eggs, then they must eat fruit to gain more eggs. When they collect 100 coins, an Invincible Star will appear, and when Yoshi and Baby Mario touch it, Baby Mario will turn into Super Baby Mario, with Yoshi in a giant egg. Invincible, players will be able to run very fast, shoot many eggs, and even destroy enemies in one touch. After a few seconds, this will end and the player will 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, time, or to save Baby Luigi from the Toadies. In marathon, players race to see how far they can go. After every 1000 yards, players will change different color Yoshis. If Baby Mario is defeated, the player will start all 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.

''Yoshi's Island DS
Kamek and Bowser suddenly interrupted the peace of the Mushroom Kingdom by stealing all of the babies they could find, hoping to get all of the Star Children in Yoshi's Island DS (the Star Children were Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Peach, Baby Donkey Kong, Baby Wario, Baby Bowser, and Baby Yoshi; all but the last of these seven were captured by Bowser's forces). These seven children had special energy in their bodies that, if in his possession, would allow Bowser to take over the world. Toadies had kidnapped babies from across the Mushroom World, in hopes of finding the seven Star Children.

Eventually, the Star Children that were kidnapped all escaped one way or another. The Stork saw the Toadies carrying the babies away, and he managed to crash into some of them, freeing Baby Mario and Baby Peach. Baby Donkey Kong's escape was not specifically mentioned, but he eventually fell from the sky and helped Yoshi (presumably a Toady had unintentionally dropped him, as an unseen baby was carried off in Baby DK's cloth). Baby Wario caused the Toadies to forcibly abandon him when he had an outrageous tantrum. Baby Bowser got into an argument with his future self, to the point where Bowser finally threw him out of the castle to Yoshi's feet. Baby Luigi was rescued last, at the end of the adventure.

Upon reaching Bowser's Castle, Baby Bowser found no reason to further accompany Yoshi, so he immediately abandoned the group. Yoshi refused to continue without him, however, and so Baby Bowser began battling him. Yoshi quickly took the tyrannical toddler out, only for an enraged Bowser to emerge and engage in battle with Yoshi right after the young Bowser's defeat. After Yoshi managed to defeat the future Bowser, Kamek finally cut in and enlarged Bowser to an enormous size. Four Yoshis teamed up to defeat the gigantic carnation of Bowser, and he was finally defeated for good.

After the defeat of both versions of Bowser, Kamek, and the Toadies quickly fled from the destroyed castle. The Yoshis rescued Baby Luigi, as well as the other kidnapped babies. But soon, the Yoshis realize that they only had six babies, when there were seven Star Children.

A Baby Yoshi (who is shown hatching at the end of the game credits) is then revealed to be the final Star Child. It is likely that this Yoshi is the Mario series Yoshi. But, because it is thought that the Green Yoshi in this game is also "the" Yoshi, the Baby Yoshi may have been born before Yoshi's Island DS, and the birth was not shown until the game's ending.

Balloon Trip
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 in to sky. While Baby Mario descended he found three balloons and slowly started to float down to the mushroom world. While floating he dodged tons of enemies and eventually landed on Yoshi's back.

Mario Kart series
Yoshi has been a competitor in the Mario Kart series since the very first Mario Kart game, Super Mario Kart. Yoshi typically is a lightweight driver (with the exception of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart Wii), meaning he has high acceleration, but low top speed. In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Yoshi was partners with Birdo, and his special item was the Yoshi Egg. While the relationship between Birdo and Yoshi was merely implied in English versions, the Japanese website of Mario Kart: Double Dash confirms it. On Birdo's profile, it says, "Yoshi no kanojyou ni mie te jitsuha kareshi?!" This means, "Appears to be Yoshi's girlfriend... or is that boyfriend?!"

In Mario Kart Wii, Yoshi was a medium-sized racer, and featured a good off-road bonus (though not as good as that of Toadette and Dry Bowser). He also had a small weight and drift boost.

''Yoshi's Safari
During the events of Yoshi's Safari, Princess Peach personally requested Yoshi's (as well as Mario's) aid in liberating yet another land, the peaceful kingdom of Jewellery Land. Bowser had recently conquered the nation of the twelve magical jewels. These national gems protected the kingdom from disaster and were the source of Jewellery Land's order and stability. However, Bowser and his Koopalings had stolen the magical jewels, and kidnapped King Fret and Prince Pine, Jewellery Land's royal family. As a result, a great earthquake broke the land apart into two distinct realms: the Dark Realm and the Light Realm.

Princess Peach was an old friend of Jewellery Land's Prince Pine, and when she heard of her friend's plight, she immediately sent for Mario and Yoshi. She entrusted the salvation of the fallen kingdom to these two heroes, but they were not going in alone. To aid the two, Peach gave Mario a new weapon, the energy gun known as the Super Scope. With this new weapon in hand, Mario and Yoshi entered a Warp Pipe, sending them to the regions of Jewellery Land.

During their adventures in Jewellery Land, Mario rode on Yoshi's saddle armed with the Super Scope. As Yoshi navigated the terrain of Jewellery Land, it was Mario's responsibility to shoot down any enemies in Yoshi's way. Occasionally, Mario would shoot Yoshi in the back of the head, injuring the green dinosaur. Whether this "friendly fire" was accidental or intentional has yet to be confirmed. Regardless, in the end Mario and Yoshi made a great team. Even though Bowser and his Koopalings came into the possession of some advanced weaponry, Yoshi and Mario managed to defeat the royal Koopa family. After the Koopalings and Bowser surrendered, the two heroes rescued Prince Pine and King Fret and recovered all twelve magical gems. In the end, Prince Pine reunited the two divided realms of Jewellery Land using the power of the magical jewels. The royal family of Jewellery Land thanked Mario and Yoshi for their help, and yet another kingdom was saved by the heroic efforts of Mario and Yoshi.

Mario Tennis series
Yoshi is typically an agile sports player, allowing him to make quick manoeuvres (this was especially prevalent in the Mario Tennis competitions). Yoshi appeared in the game Mario's Tennis as well as its succesor Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64). In Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64), Yoshi appeared as a speed character and had three different courses: the Baby Mario and Yoshi Court which has the fastest ball speed but a Weak bounce, the Birdo and 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 Mario Tennis (Game Boy Color) Yoshi was unlockable through a transfer pack with the N64 version. Yoshi also has a mini game called Yoshi Fruit Factory. In Mario Power Tennis Yoshi's skill type was speedy, his Offensive power shot was Rainbow Flutter, and his Defensive power shot was Rolling Egg Return. Yoshi's Mario Power Tennis trophy animation begins with him entering the stage, where Luigi is about to present him his trophy. He then begins to feel hungry and his stomach growls. Mistaking the trophy for a pineapple, he leashes 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.

''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Yoshi was one of the many heroes who took on Cranky Kong's video game hero challenge in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. He placed in the top three (along with Mario and Link). If Diddy Kong gathered more DK Coins than Yoshi or Mario, the young monkey would steal second place from the dinosaur, moving Yoshi down to third, and knocking Link out of the top rankings.

''Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Yoshi would meet up with Mario again during events of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. In this adventure, Yoshi had traveled to Yo'ster Isle, a Yoshi-populated island that 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). No one was able to beat Boshi, until Mario showed up to lend a hand.

Upon the plumber's arrival, Yoshi and Mario teamed up once again, this time to defeat Boshi and end his reign over the small isle. The plan called for Yoshi (with Mario riding on his saddle) to challenge Boshi to a race and beat him, thus usurping his authority as boss of Yo'ster Isle. To do this, the green dinosaur asked a friend of his to loan him a few Yoshi Cookies (one of Boshi's weaknesses). As such, Yoshi put his cookies on the line, and challenged the arrogant Yoshi champion to a race.

To win the competition, Yoshi had to race to the beat of the Mushroom Derby's music. As such, the player had to alternate between pressing the A and B buttons in sync with the music's tempo. If the player alternates too fast, Yoshi would stop moving. While the tempo of the derby music could stop or even change, the player had to press the A and B buttons to the original beat. Mario could also help in the race by tossing Yoshi a Yoshi Cookie to give the dinosaur a boost of speed.

After a difficult and grueling race, Mario and Yoshi inevitably crossed the finish line before Boshi. With Boshi defeated, the Yoshis declared Yoshi their new boss. However, Yoshi declined the offer to become the new boss. Instead Yoshi suggested that the races should be owned by everyone. No one was to have control over the races; everyone who wanted to participate could. The green dinosaur even managed to reform the former champion Boshi, convincing the blue Yoshi that an egalitarian approach to racing was superior to a totalitarian one.

As thanks for the plumber's help, Yoshi gave Mario a few Yoshi Cookies. Whenever Mario needed aid in battle, the red-clad hero could use one of these cookies to summon Yoshi to the battlefield. Yoshi would then attempt to eat an enemy and convert it into an item for Mario to use. If Yoshi failed, he would give the plumber a Yoshi Candy, an item that can heal a whopping one hundred HP.

Mario could also return to the island later in his adventure to catch up with his old friend. During these visits, Mario watched and even participated in subsequent Mushroom Derbies. The plumber could either jump back on Yoshi's saddle (and aid the green dinosaur with Yoshi Cookies) or simply encourage Yoshi from the sidelines as the Mushroom Derby championed raced on his own.

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

Mario Party series
Yoshi has appeared playable in every single Mario Party that was released. In Mario Party, he had his own board called Yoshi's Tropical Island. In Mario Party 2 and 3, Yoshi's favorite item was a warp block. If Yoshi was set on as a computer, he would be more than likely to buy a warp block over any other item. In Mario Party 4, Yoshi's favorite thing was the Warp Space, which does something similar to the Warp Block. Also in Mario Party 3, Yoshi's star stamp was Kindness. In Mario Party 3, Yoshi's partner was Boo. In Mario Party 5 and 6, Yoshi was partners with Toad. In Mario Party 7 and 8, Yoshi was partners with Birdo. Yoshi's Special Orb in Mario Party 7 was the Egg Orb.

Super Smash Bros. series

 * Main articles: SmashWiki:Yoshi (SSB), SmashWiki:Yoshi (SSBM), SmashWiki:Yoshi (SSBB)

Yoshi is a playable character in all three Super Smash Bros. games. Yoshi is a heavy fighter with strong smash attacks and amazing jumping ability. Unlike other fighters, Yoshi's shield is not an energy bubble but a green-spotted Yoshi Egg. Although Yoshi lacks a true special jump in the first two games in the series, he makes up for this handicap with an extremely long flutter jump. This pays off for his very short triple jump. This second jump can help Yoshi reach platforms that would take some fighters three jumps to reach. When using the flutter jump, Yoshi can also resist being knocked away. Unfortunately, Yoshi's extended grab attack (which is not too different from his Egg Lay move) cannot grab onto edges (unlike Link's Hookshot technique). Most of Yoshi's Special Moves revolve around various uses of Yoshi Eggs.

Yoshi has 6 different recolors in all the Super Smash Bros. titles, but only four of them were playable in Super Smash Bros.. Beginning with Super Smash Bros. Melee, all 6 of Yoshi's recolors were playable. The colors include green, red, blue, yellow, pink, and light blue.

Although Yoshi is part of the Mario series as a whole, his emblem is a Yoshi Egg, which represents the Yoshi series.

Yoshi maintains his cartoonish voice in the Super Smash Bros. series, unlike Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Bowser, whom were given more realistic animal voices.

Solid Snake Codec Conversation

 * Snake: Otacon! What's this lizard thing?
 * Otacon: That's a Yoshi. It's a dinosaur from Yoshi's Island. Watch out for its long, chameleon-like tongue. If it gets you, you'll be swallowed whole.
 * Snake: It lays eggs and throws them, right? ...Then it must be female.
 * Otacon: ...Actually, it's a "he." At least, that's what it says.
 * Snake: It talks!?
 * Otacon: Yes! It talks! Well, kind of...
 * Snake: Now you've got me curious. ...How about I capture one so we can see what they taste like?
 * Otacon: Uhh, Snake...

The Subspace Emissary
Yoshi is sleeping on a tree stump in a forest. Link walks by him, without seeing him. Soon, the Halberd attacks the peaceful area sending Primids out to attack Link and Yoshi. Yoshi slowly wakes up and walks up to Link, who takes his Master Sword out ready to fight. Yoshi decides to join Link's team, and the two advance through the forest following the Halberd. Standing on the edge of a cliff, the two see the Halberd in the sky flying away. Link and Yoshi continue their quest following the Halberd.

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 could Link cuts the cannon in half and 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 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 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 intinially 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. 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. Yoshi then joins everyone and eventually defeats Tabuu.

Egg Lay


Egg Lay is a move that Yoshi is able to perform in Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Super Smash Bros Brawl. The player has to simply press the B Button to activate the move. Yoshi will go on to stick his tongue forward, and will eat anyone he hits. He will then lay an egg containing the player he just ate, causing him to become immobile. Yoshi can then proceed to attack the trapped player, while he can't retaliate. The player will hatch out of the egg eventually. It can also be used to run away from the opponent, in order to regroup.

This is also the way Yoshi does his grab attempts. However, instead of swallowing the opponent, he'll spit them out.

The attack is based on Yoshi's ability in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, where he is able to eat an enemy and turn it into an egg.

Egg Roll


Egg Roll was a move used by Yoshi in the game Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Yoshi used it when the player pressed Side+B. The move allowed Yoshi to roll around the stage in an egg and is able to turn around while in this form. When rolling, Yoshi could knock into players, causing damage. It is very similar to Jigglypuff's Rollout move. However, Egg Roll has better control. Despite this, Yoshi can still roll off the edge easily, if he's not careful. The attack is a very good run away move, and is also good at attacking multiple enemies at once. Holding down B during the move will increase the power, but makes it harder to control. It was actually the first time Yoshi could roll in an egg, and was carried on into later games, like Mario Power Tennis. However, it may or may not be a reference to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, when Baby Mario obtains a Star, which is likely the first time.

Egg Throw


Egg Throw is also an attack that Yoshi can perform in the Super Smash Bros. Series. It is done by Pressing B and tilting the Control Stick up. Once done, Yoshi will proceed to hold the egg, aim it, and throw it, just like in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. However, In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Yoshi cannot aim it as well as he did in Yoshi's Island. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he has a much wider range of fire. Also, in the Smash Bros. Series, unlike the Yoshi's Island series, the eggs will form an arc and starting falling, rather than keep on going in a constant direction. The distance of the egg can be influenced by tilting the Control Stick in a direction after initiating the attack, along with how long the player holds the special attack button. He cannot jump high, which is its disadvantage.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl (but not Super Smash Bros. or Super Smash Bros. Melee), Egg Throw somewhat acts as Yoshi's third jump, because he rises a little as he does the move.

Yoshi Bomb


Yoshi Bomb (originally known as Ground Pound) is a move that Yoshi can use in all three Super Smash Bros. games. It is done by pressing down on the Control Stick, then pressing the B Button. Although, basically a Ground Pound, once Yoshi lands, two stars appear at his side, hurting anyone who hopes to attack him while he's getting up. The attack is best used while Flutter Jumping over an opponent, to land a powerful hit. The attack can be easy to dodge, however, and can leave Yoshi open for a long-distance attack. A new feature has been added to this move in Brawl. When used on the ground, Yoshi hits anyone who is right in front of him upon leaping in the air, stunning them, allowing Yoshi to get an easier hit with the actual attack. A similar attack is the Bowser Bomb.

Super Dragon


Super Dragon is Yoshi's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The move reflects Yoshi's sporadic, yet powerful fighting skills on the battlefield and greatly improves his ability to recover from a fall. Rather than a single, powerful attack, Super Dragon temporarily transforms Yoshi into Winged Yoshi and gives him the ability to breathe fire. However, Yoshi must first break open a Smash Ball in order to charge himself up for the attack. Once this happens, Yoshi can activate the attack at any time. He can even save himself from an otherwise deadly fall.

While the attack has not specifically appeared in any other game, by eating Red or Blue Koopa Shells in Super Mario World, Yoshi could breathe fire or fly respectively. However, only one of these moves could be used at a time. By using a Rainbow Shell, he could become Super Dragon, but he hasn't much aerial mobility like when he uses his Final Smash, and could only breathe out one set of three Fireballs, causing the transformation to end. However, in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi could spew multiple short streams of fire after eating a Red Watermelon. This ability is closer to that seen in the Super Dragon ability.

Yoshi can shoot fireballs if the player presses the standard attack button; however, he will also spew a stream of fire if the player doesn't press any buttons for about three seconds. Both attacks do heavy damage. Yoshi will also cause damage if he simply makes contact with an opponent.

Oddly enough, Yoshi's Final Smash trophy has him without a saddle.

Mario Golf series
In Mario Golf, Yoshi had a straight golf shot that achieved average heights. In Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64, Yoshi's Drive was 230 yards and his shot was straight. Yoshi also appears in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and Mario Golf: Advance Tour.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Yoshi plays a major role in this game as the fourth recruitable character, but as a child. The Yoshi Kid is recruited at Glitzville, when King K. messages Mario, saying that Mr. Hoggle, the Hot Dog salesman, has a new food for sale, called the Southern Fried Egg Dog of Tastiness, which requires a southern Yoshi Egg. While the pig is using the egg, he loses control of it and it bounces all around. He chases after it, and Mario catches it. Hoggle says that Mario can keep it since "people don't like eating things that move". For a while, it follows Mario and his partners. Then, after the match with the Armored Harriers, the Yoshi will have hatched from his egg. After naming him, he'll always recognize Mario as the Great Gonzales, Mario's stage name in the Glitz Pit. He travels with Mario as one of his partners for the rest of the game. After the final boss is defeated, Yoshi joins the Glitz Pit under the title "Great Gonzales Jr."

Super Paper Mario
Although Yoshi doesn't appear as a character in this game, a stone statue of him appears in Chapter 5: Land of the Cragnons.

Mario Baseball series
In Mario Superstar Baseball, Yoshi could not only run at high speeds but could also use his long tongue to field baseballs. Yoshi is a Speed captain, his item is a Yoshi 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 by trees to make characters come out.

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

In Mario Strikers Charged Football, 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.

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

''Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, a strange pink and green egg mysteriously appeared on the island. This egg was much larger than any Yoshi egg, and soon the mysterious object became a tourist destination. Unfortunately, the strange egg eventually hatched, and a gigantic Yoshi-like creature emerged. This creature was Yoob, a monster sent by the extraterrestrial invaders known as the Shroobs to cause havoc on the island. In fact, Yoob was programmed to eat any Yoshi it could find. Inside the hulking monster was a Yoob-making factory - Yoshis that were eaten would be transported to this factory then encased in pink and green eggs. Eventually, these eggs would transform the peaceful Yoshis into monstrous Yoobs, who would cause even more destruction when hatched.

Fortunately, Yoshi, apparently the same Green Yoshi that saved Baby Mario, organized his fellow Yoshis and helped them escape the wrath of Yoob. While in hiding, Yoshi encountered some old friends. Baby Mario and Baby Luigi had returned to Yoshi's Island to help eliminate the Shroob threat. However, this time the adult Mario and Luigi accompanied the two babies. The two adults had traveled from the future to the past to save Princess Peach, who had been transported to the Mushroom Kingdom of the past via a Time Machine. Unfortunately, this reunion was cut short, as Yoob managed to discover the secret hideout. The Yoshis attempted to flee, but Yoob swallowed them, one by one. Yoshi, in an act of courage, attempted to battle Yoob by himself. However, Yoob proved to be too powerful and the giant monster simply ate Yoshi with its long tongue.

Yoshi eventually ended up in Yoob's belly, the location of the factory which makes Yoob eggs. The green dinosaur knew he had to find some way out. Looking around, he discovered a Chomp Rock sitting in the monster's stomach. Yoshi concluded 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 was not strong enough to push the Chomp Rock by himself. Fortunately, the four Mario Bros. of past and present arrived to lend a hand. The brothers rescued the other Yoshis that were either imprisoned or being tortured by RC Shroobers, allowing them to lend Yoshi a hand. With their combined power, the Yoshis managed to force the Chomp Rock through Yoob's intestines, opening the way to the exit. Yoshi heroically led his fellow Yoshis through the dark intestines, and even rescued a few more imprisoned Yoshis along the way. Eventually, after the four Mario brothers defeated the guardian of the factory, Sunnycide, Yoshi and his companions exited through Yoob's digestive tract and returned to Yoshi's Island. With the factory ruined and the Yoshis freed, Yoob deactivated and became dormant. Yoshi's efforts, with some help from the Mario brothers of past and present, had saved the island and, ultimately, the entire world from destruction by an army of Yoobs.

Mario & Sonic series
Yoshi appears as a speed character in the game, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. He later appeared in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, classified as a speed character as well. His swim style is the Doggy Paddle.

The Legend of Zelda series
Yoshi seems to be very popular in the far away land of Hyrule. A Yoshi Doll could be found in Mabe Village on Koholint Island during the events of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Additionally, a portrait of Yoshi could be found hanging on a wall in Hyrule Castle (and could be seen from the castle's courtyard) during the events of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
In the game, a figurine of Yoshi can be spotted on Otacon's desk. Shooting it causes a sound clip of Yoshi saying "YOSHI!" to play.

The Simpsons Game
In the Natural History Museum, the area with the dinosaurs in has a Yoshi skeleton. Pushing a switch makes its long tongue come out.

Physical Description and Traits
Yoshi, like all other Yoshis, has a large nose, a row of red spines along his head, a saddle on his back, which is used by Mario and company when being ridden on. However, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games later states that it is in fact a shell. He also has a long sticky tongue, often used for swallowing things. The green dinosaur typically wears orange shoes in recent games, but he originally wore brown shoes and also red shoes in a few appearances. Although Yoshi normally has lime green skin, he has been known to change his colour. For example, in Super Mario World, Yoshi could become blue in colour after collecting a pair of Yoshi's Wings (he would stay green in the GBA remake). In fact, Yoshi would become a literal Blue Yoshi, providing Yoshi with the same strengths and weaknesses as a Blue Yoshi. Yoshi would not return to his original color unless he ran off and became re-encased in a Yoshi Egg.

Powers and Abilities
Like other Yoshi's, Yoshi has a long, sticky tongue that he uses to eat almost anything, even things much larger than himself. Yoshi can transform the enemies and other objects he eats into eggs, which he can then use as projectile weapons. The green dinosaur has pinpoint accuracy, allowing him to conserve his egg supply during heated battles. During the events of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Island DS, Yoshi could keep up to six eggs at a time.

Interestingly, 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. The green dinosaur 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 strange, smiling clouds that would drop 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 can eat enemies to produce Star Bits.

Yoshi has a hard time swallowing Koopa shells. In fact, in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, the green dinosaur simply had to spit out the Koopa shell before he could eat another enemy. In Super Mario World, Yoshi could eventually swallow a Koopa shell, but could also use them to boost his own abilities. While Yoshi could only spit out a green shell, the green dinosaur would instead shoot three large fireballs after ingesting a red shell. A yellow shell would allow 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 Jump and Ground Pound, 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. The green dinosaur is also a master of the Flutter Jump technique, allowing him to jump with incredible horizontal distance.

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 isn't particularly fast in every game, such as Super Mario 64 DS where his speed is the same as Mario's (according to the instruction booklet).

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 cancelled 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 Yoshi

''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

 * Yoshi Helicopter
 * Yoshi Mole Tank
 * Yoshi Submarine
 * Yoshi Car
 * Yoshi Train
 * Yoshi Plane (cancelled)
 * Yoshi Tree (cancelled)
 * Yoshi Mushroom (cancelled)

Super Mario Galaxy 2

 * Dash Yoshi
 * Bulb Yoshi
 * Blimp Yoshi

Personality
Yoshi has a very similar personality to Mario. 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. Once Yoshi takes on a task, he does not give up until he completes it. Yoshi never backs down at defending his homeland and friends. He is also very courageous, allowing the green dinosaur 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 during the events of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the humble dinosaur declined the position. Like Mario, Yoshi has a large appetite. While Yoshi mostly eats fruits (mainly melons), he will eat almost anything including enemies (except peppers and certain inedible enemies).

Mario
Yoshi has been one of Mario's allies ever since the events of Super Mario World. Their connections have been explored further in Yoshi's Island, where Yoshi has helped the plumber in his diaper years. Yoshi has always looked up to Mario like a hero and a close friend ever since he met him, and Mario looks up to Yoshi in the same manner. Yoshi occasionally joins Mario on his adventures, serving as his loyal steed who carries him across certain obstacles that Mario himself would not be able to get pass. Throughout the years, Mario has gained a strong trust over Yoshi because of Yoshi's loyal and friendly personality. Yoshi is also the second character in which Mario trusts to help him complete several of his quests, with the first character being Luigi. Due to all these events, Mario and Yoshi have become solid best friends.

Luigi
According to the Super Mario World TV Show's episode, Mama Luigi: Luigi found Yoshi, and at first, Yoshi thought that Luigi was his "mama." And it seems that Yoshi likes Luigi more than Mario, due to the fact that Luigi brings Yoshi to bed, and Yoshi asked him to tell a bedtime story.

In-game, Yoshi and Luigi seem to be as close friends with each other as they are with Mario, teaming up on many occassions. Oddly, however, their chemistry in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Super Sluggers is neutral.

Birdo
Yoshi and Birdo are often partners in many of the spin-off games, especially in the sports games. In the Mario Party 7, Yoshi and Birdo appear to be partners. In Mario Party 8, they also reappear as partners in this game. They were seen nuzzling each other on the title screen of Mario Tennis. Of course, their relationship has been quite unclear.

Bowser
While Bowser has antagonized Mario many, many times, Bowser has been an enemy to the Yoshis since he was an infant, evidenced in Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Story. But, in games like Yoshi's Island DS, Yoshi befriended Baby Bowser for half a world, but the young Koopa turned traitorous in the end. Ever since their past dealings, Bowser and Yoshi have never seemed to be very fond of each other, even so, as Yoshi is one of the three heroes that Bowser coldly hates (the other two being Mario and Luigi).

Kamek
Kamek has been the antagonist on most Yoshi games. In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Kamek tried to stop Yoshi and his clan from saving the baby Mario Bros. and has been antagonizing them ever since. In Mario Super Sluggers, Yoshi has a bad chemistry with Kamek's species, Magikoopas.

Character Development
Yoshi did not appear until Super Mario World, which was released in 1990. However, Shigeru Miyamoto has stated in interviews that he wanted Mario to ride an animal companion after the completion of Super Mario Bros. Apparently, technical restrictions kept Mario from being able to ride an animal. Of course, with the development of the advanced Super Famicom in 1990, Yoshi could finally be brought to life. The character of Yoshi was specifically created by Shigefumi Hino, a graphics designer.

Yoshi likely originated from another Nintendo character, Tamagon. Tamagon was the star of the game Devil World, a game released in Japan for the Famicom in 1984 and later in Europe for the NES. Like Yoshi, Tamagon was a green lizard that hatched from an egg and could eat enemies with his large mouth. Interestingly, Tamagon makes exactly the same noise when he hatches as Yoshi does in Super Mario World.

Appearance Development
Yoshi's appearance has changed dramatically throughout his video game history. In Super Mario World, Yoshi's first appearance, the green dinosaur was very much created in the image of an actual dinosaur. Yoshi had a long neck, small (almost useless), strangely orange arms, and a long back. This design changed in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. In this game, Yoshi was made shorter and stouter. Additionally, much longer human-like arms, complete with large hands to manipulate objects, replaced his short, tyrannosaurus-like arms. This design change was developed even more in Yoshi's Story. Instead of being hunched over, Yoshi stood up straight and swung his arms as he walked, much like a human. This design has stuck ever since. However, in the Super Smash Bros. series, Yoshi returned to the original hunched over, dinosaur-like design from Super Mario World (however, he appears to have his upright design in Brawl).

Portrayals
Yoshi was voiced by Andrew Sabiston in the Super Mario World cartoons (interestingly, 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 to the game).

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Info

 * Partner: Birdo
 * Personal Kart: Turbo Yoshi
 * Special Item: Yoshi Egg
 * Bio: "Taking a break from carrying Mario, Yoshi's ready to burn up the courses."
 * Bio 2: "You can't help but laugh when you see Yoshi. But when he bowls you over with his giant egg, he'll be the one laughing at you."

Mario Kart: Super Circuit Info

 * Speed: ****
 * Weight: **
 * Bio: Yoshi is a bit heavier than Toad and Peach, but slightly slower as well. If you're willing to sacrifice a little speed for increased stability, give the dino a go.

Mario Kart DS Info

 * Bio: "While Yoshi is usually ridden by Mario, this time he's ready to race. Yoshi's traction is excellent."

Mario Kart Wii Info

 * Size: Medium
 * Actual Bonuses
 * Weight: +1
 * Drift: +1
 * Off-Road: +2

Mario Power Tennis Info

 * Offensive: Rainbow Flutter
 * Defensive: Rolling Egg Return

Mario Smash Football Info

 * Jersey Number: 8

Mario Strikers Charged Football Info

 * Type: Balanced
 * Super Ability: Egg Roll!
 * Deke: Normal

Stats

 * Movement: 6
 * Shooting: 6
 * Passing: 6
 * Defence: 6

Mario Party 7 Info

 * Partner: Birdo
 * Special Orb: Egg Orb

Mario Party DS Info

 * Bio: He's lean, he's green, and he's a party machine - he's Yoshi!

Mario Hoops 3-on-3 Info

 * Baller Name: Piranha Playa Hater
 * Type: All-Around
 * Special Shot: Flutter Dunk
 * Letter to Tap: M

''Mario Superstar Baseball

 * Team Captain: Yes
 * Teams: Yoshi Eggs, Yoshi Speed Stars, Yoshi Islanders, and Yoshi Flutters.
 * Player Type: Speed
 * Star Swing: Egg Ball
 * Star Pitch: Egg Ball
 * Special Skill: Clamber, Tongue Catch

Bad Chemistry

 * Magikoopa
 * Bowser

Stats

 * Batting: 5
 * Pitching: 4
 * Fielding: 6
 * Running: 9

Bio
"A denizen of Yoshi's Island. Mario's dependable buddy always helps him out of jams. Yoshi's use their tongues to eat anything and everything. It is said that Yoshi's can turn anything they swallow into eggs. On the diamond Yoshi's fast legs and accurate tongue make him a great fielder."

Bio
"Yoshi is a green dinosaur with a big nose and sticky tongue. He's got serious wheels, and his awesome Speed will keep him near the front of the pack in all the racing events, while his quick reflexes will make him a strong table tennis competitor."

Bio
"Yoshi is Mario's friend living on Yoshi Island and usually accompanies Mario and Luigi on their Adventures. Yoshi will put forward great effort in the Olympic Winter Games with his Flutter Jump Ability on the Wii and DS and his Thrash Dash Ability on the DS."

Super Smash Bros. Profile
''Yoshi is the friendly dinosaur of Yoshi's Island. He began as Mario's partner, but has since built his own identity, and now appears in many games. He uses his unique ability to turn whatever he swallows into an egg as his foremost attacks. Yoshi's come in a rainbow of colours and are said to have a high IQ from a very early age.''

Quotes

 * "Mario!!! It that really you???" – Super Mario 64
 * "Mario!!! Is that really you???" – Super Mario 64 Virtual Console Remake
 * "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 save Princess." – Super Mario World TV Show - Mama Luigi

Trivia

 * In Super Mario 64, Yoshi will start his speech by saying, "Mario!!! It that really you???". It should be, "Mario!!! Is that really you???" (However, they might have been trying to emulate Yoshi's broken English from the cartoon series). This "error" was fixed for the Virtual Console remake.
 * In-universe, Yoshi is said to be named after Yoshi's Island, on which he was first discovered.
 * Yoshi appeared in Nintendo Monopoly, along with a large cast of Mario characters. Here, he took the role of Illinois Avenue, and cost $240.
 * Shigeru Miyamoto revealed in an interview that he wanted Mario to have a horse-like creature that he could ride on even before Super Mario Bros..
 * In Super Mario World, Super Mario Sunshine, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Super Mario Galaxy 2, when riding Yoshi, there are added drums and percussion to the music.
 * Yoshi's kart's horn in Mario Kart DS sounds very similar to the sound heard when mounting on Yoshi in certain Mario games.
 * In Mario Party 6, Yoshi doesn't have a default partner.
 * Super Mario 64 DS is the only adventure game in the main Mario series (AKA Excluding Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Wario) where Yoshi is playable but is not ridden on.
 * Under Super Mario World's article in the History of Mario booklet from the Super Mario All-Stars - 25th Anniversary Edition game for Wii, Tezuka said that Yoshi was originally going to be a type of Koopa, and the saddle on his back was suppose to be his shell.
 * Contrary to popular belief, Yoshi was Yoshi's very first game.