Yoshi (character)

''This entry is for the character Yoshi, not the species. For other uses, see Yoshi (disambiguation)''

Yoshi is a protagonist from the Mario and Yoshi video game series. He first appeared in the SNES classic Super Mario World, and has ever since been a regular in most Mario spin-offs and sporadically will appear in platformers (though it should be noted that every platformer following Super Mario World referenced the creature in one way or another). He is noted as being either a dragon or dinosaur, though most refer to him as the latter, or comprehensibly just a Yoshi, which his species is also dubbed. Young, baby Mario would go around on Yoshi's back.

History
While Yoshi derived from Super Mario World, he chronologically first appeared during Mario and Luigi's initial adventure when they were nothing more than infants in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island for the SNES. In this game, Kamek, the malicious Magikoopa, foresaw the future. He saw that they would, when adults, terminate Bowser's untenable plans for destruction, and thus concluded that he should rid of the two twins now, rather than have to bother with them when they were fully grown.

With this, he raced toward the stork who was carrying the two brothers to their parents. He plowed straight forward into the stork, and captured Luigi, accidentally dropping Mario into the ocean below. Conclusively assuming that the newborn would submerge into the sea, he thought nothing of it and continued on. What he didn't know is that far down was an island that contained the Yoshi species. Right before Mario collided with the island, a lone Yoshi managed to save him. Along with the baby fell a map. The map would not only lead them to the parents, but would also lead them to the recently kidnaped Luigi as well. So, after analyzing the events with the other Yoshies, they decided to help the two babies reunite, and then ultimately bring them to their parents. With that, the Yoshi clan and Mario set off on their adventure to save Luigi. While traversing Yoshi's Island, the duo came across a hoard of antagonistic villains sent by Kamek, who by now learned of Mario's survival from his enduring fall. In the concluding engagement with the infant Bowser, Kamek used his sorcerous abilities to alter Bowser's appearance into a colossal version of himself. Yoshi then had to use equally enlarged eggs as projectiles to finally conclude Bowser's reign on Yoshi's Island.

Soon after the events that took place in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Kamek ordered a mass kidnapping of all of Mushroom Kingdom's infants in order to track down all seven star children, who, if found, would give the being in subject ultimate power. It can irrefutably be expressed that this may chronologically be the primary Yoshi's first appearance. This can be concluded because at the climax of the game, it is shown that a baby Yoshi who just hatched was in fact one of the seven star children. The other playable Yoshies from this game (and the previous installment) can then be said to have just been ordinary Yoshies, rather than the fundamental Yoshi who can be found in later games that take place during a current timeline. It can also be said that there is in fact no paramount Yoshi, and that each one you stumble upon is different from the previous. Nevertheless, fans tend to go the more appropriate route and assume that there is in fact a dominant Yoshi.

Kamek was capable of capturing all seven of the children mentioned, though they all eventually escaped thanks to the Yoshies. The star children included Mario, Peach, Donkey Kong, Wario, Bowser, Yoshi and Luigi, though only the former five were playable characters (though obviously adult versions of Yoshi were also there to carry them around). At the end of the game, a group of Yoshies and babies raided Bowser's castle and defeated the behemoth that awaited inside. Seeking revenge, the infant version of Bowser seemingly abandoned Kamek and planned to take on the Yoshi clan by himself and, of course, his large army in the events that took place in Yoshi's Story for the Nintendo 64. In this title, Bowser utterly steals the Yoshi's Super Happy Tree, and then converted their occasionally peaceful island into a hectic story book themed world. Not only this, but he also cursed every Yoshi on the island so that they were unable to do anything to stop his plans. However, this did not effect a group of Yoshies who were yet to be hatched from their eggs, and once they did, they set off on a quest to bring back their island, their tree, and to ultimately stop Bowser.

After successfully bringing back the island to its original state, an odd and enormous egg appeared on their island in the events that took place in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. It later was revealed that this egg contained a mutated Yoshi that was created by the alien race known as Shroobs. To fit their name, they rightfully so dubbed this creature Yoob. After hatching, the creature caused havoc across the island, and soon enough most of the Yoshies, Mario, Luigi and their infant selves were all swallowed up by the sizable beast. Eventually, Mario, Luigi and the Yoshies all managed to work together and escape the belly of Yoob.

After Partners in Time, it appeared that no dramatic events befell the Yoshies and their peaceful island, that is until Bowser grew up to become a king, where he decided to take over the island after unsuccessfully attempting to rule the Mushroom Kingdom. Once he arrived on the island, he captured all of the Yoshies into magical eggs that they were unable to escape from by themselves. Meanwhile, a now grown up Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach were getting their much deserved vacation, and decided to visit Yoshi's Island. It should be noted that the three of them seemingly don't remember what happened when they were babies, and thus probably would not recall the Yoshies at all. However, fate brought the two groups together once again when Mario rescued one of the Yoshies from an egg. By now, Mario and Luigi were already trying to save the recently kidnapped Peach, though they also agreed to save the Yoshi clan, and they united to take down Bowser's resolute army.

Before the final battle, Mario felt that it was proper to leave Yoshi behind (presumably to keep him out of danger!) and enter the castle unaided and by himself to take down Bowser and save Peach and the island. In Super Mario Sunshine, Mario and crew went on another vacation that was, in typical Mario fashion, ruined by some events that eventually was lead behind the evil forces of Bowser. During his quest to rid of all the paint on Isle Delfino, Mario eventually found a Yoshi egg on top of a building. Shadow Mario snatched it, and the chase was on. After Mario saved the egg from the clutches of Shadow Mario, he was then required to find a certain type of fruit for it. When he returned, the Yoshi awaiting inside would then pop out and Mario would once again be allowed to ride it. While in the game's artwork and in early images it was shown that the popular green Yoshi would appear in the game, Nintendo eventually removed the color from the game and stuck with pink, orange and purple.

Abilities
Yoshi has a wide variety of powers and abilities that range from unique forms of projectiles to incredible jumps. Super Mario World introduced a moderate amount of popular Yoshi abilities, though unarguably Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island was mainly the game that established a majority of Yoshi's powers.

It's customary for a Nintendo character to have an attack or ability that he or she is inevitability known for. Yoshi has a copious amount of these tremendous abilities that contribute extensively to the gameplay. When you execute his sticky tongue power, he'll launch out his tongue. If it grasps onto anything in particular such as an item or an enemy, then he'll bring it back in and swallow it whole. This will then cause him to eject an egg that can be used as a projectile. One of the strangest though nevertheless most beloved abilities that any Nintendo character can perform. This partly originated from Super Mario World though was mastered in Yoshi's Island.

His flutter jump will cause him to essentially glide in the air for a short time. This ability of his allows him to jump even farther than that which Mario is known for, and this can be visible in the multiple games that he's appeared in.

Yoshi is generally considered the originator of the ground pound, an attack that was introduced in Yoshi's Island. While most characters are capable of performing this ability in current generation video games, it's a little known fact that Yoshi in fact was the first one to fulfill it.

Yoshi is also capable of transforming into other forms, as shown in multiple video games including Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Topsy Turvy and Super Mario 64 DS.

Mario Kart Series
Yoshi has appeared as a main character in every single Mario Kart game, which includes Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart Super Circuit, Mario Kart Double Dash!!, Mario Kart DS, and Mario Kart Arcade GP. In the games, he usually is a light character, other than in Mario Kart: DD, where he was a medium sized character. In Mario Kart: DD, Yoshi's special exclusive item was the Yoshi egg, and his kart was the Turbo Yoshi. In Mario Kart DS, Yoshi's special Karts were the Egg 1, and the Cucumber. Also, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! proved once again that Birdo was one of Yoshi's partners and friends.


 * Super Mario Kart-In this game, Yoshi was the heaviest light characters, and has the same statistics as Peach. While the computer played as him, he would usually throw Yoshi Eggs at you. His speed and acceleration were great, while his steering was poor.
 * Mario Kart 64 - Yoshi, like the first game, was the heaviest of the light characters light and had great acceleration, as well as being able to be one of the highest jumpers. It should also be noted that this is the first game to use Yoshi's current design.
 * Mario Kart Super Circuit- In this game, Yoshi had one of the highest speeds, and, like previous games, had great acceleration. He was also in the heaviest in the Light category, and could drive over dirt better than any character.
 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!!- This was the first Mario Kart game to make Yoshi in the middle weight category, and is also the only. His partner is Birdo, and his exclusive item is a Yoshi Egg. His special kart is the Turbo Yoshi.
 * Mario Kart Arcade GP- In this game, he was able to use his egg body, which would make him invincible, his rolling egg, his whacking fan, and his Sticky Tongue.
 * Mario Kart DS- In this game, Yoshi would be the heaviest light characters once again. His exclusive karts are the Cucumber, the Standard YS, and the Egg 1. The Egg 1 is one of the few karts that snaking can be masterfully used on.

Super Smash Bros. series
Yoshi is a recurring character in the Super Smash Bros. series. He first appeared in Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64, where most of his primary attacks from previous titles were executable. He entered every fight by popping out of an egg. He's a unique character as he's both fast though at the same time heavy and strong. Because he has an outstanding jumping ability, the developers decided to rid Yoshi of a third jump in the first two titles, though gave him one in Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. As aforementioned, his special moves notably come from previous Mario and Yoshi titles. His standard special move, Egg Lay, is blatantly one of his most popular abilities which is to devour his opponents and turn them into an egg for a short time. His up ability causes him to thrust an egg, something he can perform in multiple titles following Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. They presumably made his down special attack a ground pound, seeing that Yoshi is noted as being the first character who ever performed such an attack.

His taunt causes him to look forward and say a little chant, while at the same time waving both of his arms into the air. Interestingly, he did this in Yoshi's Story after finding a special item buried in the ground.

His final smash in Super Smash Bros. Brawl will cause him to sprout wings and fly around the stage, spewing fire balls toward your opponents. He was capable of conducting such an attack separately in Super Mario World when a specific colored Yoshi came in possession of a Koopa Troopa shell.

Subpsace Emissary role
In Brawl's Subspace Emissary, Yoshi will team up with the Zelda protagonist Link. In the game, Link draws the Master Sword and walks through a forest with Navi nearby. He passes by a sleeping Yoshi and soon thereafter Meta Knight's Halberd passes over and drops a multitude of Primid. Yoshi awakens and teams up with Link to fight the foe.

Afterwards, they chase after the halberd, but the ship travels too fast for them. Afterwards two possible events can occur depending on what you did earlier in the game when Kirby fought Petey Piranha. If he saved Princess Peach, then Bowser will eventually meet up with her and construct a fake copy of her which he'll send off to fight Link and Yoshi. The duo eventually win though Mario notices this in the corner of his eye and assumes that they defeated the real Peach, and thus he and Pit attack them. If you saved Zelda, then a similar event will occur though the playable characters will be swapped with Mario and Pit.

After being defeated, either of the duos depending on who you were will turn into trophies and King Dedede will pick them up using his machine. Kirby comes to the rescue and saves both of them, and the five warriors set off to thwart the Ancient Minister.

Mario Baseball Stats
In the game Mario Superstar Baseball for the Gamecube, Yoshi is one of the 6 team captains. His main ability is being the fastest runner in the game. He is also able to catch balls that are far away just by using his sticky tongue. Other than that he has a poor Pitching and Batting abilities.


 * Batting: 5/10 - Average
 * Pitching: 4/10 - Below Average
 * Fielding: 7/10 - Above Average
 * Running: 9/10 - Above Average

Friends: Mario, Birdo, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi

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

Speech
Most of the time, Yoshi simply says his name and various sound effects. On rare occurrences, Yoshi has been seen communicating with other characters. In Super Mario World, upon his first appearance in the game, he gives his thanks to Mario and explains that Bowser trapped him in the egg (unusual, as Yoshis would later be revealed to naturally hatch from those eggs). In the corresponding cartoon, Yoshi would be given a speaking part. Yoshi would not speak again until Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, where he is made the partner of Mario and communicates with him constantly, referring to him by his nickname at the Glitz Pit, The Great Gonzales, having not been given Mario's real name. In Super Mario RPG, he acts as the interpreter for his species. The Yoshis can communicate with Mario in Paper Mario.

Trivia

 * While Yoshi is referred to as a 'he', his ability to lay eggs would, ordinarily, strongly suggest otherwise. Fortunately the fantastic nature of the Mario universe allows this discrepancy to be overlooked. Another reason would be that Yoshi eggs are typically used for weapons and to trap enemies after engulfing them. It could be understood that most eggs are this way and the eggs that Yoshis hatch from are laid by the female.
 * Though Yoshi does not appear in Super Paper Mario, there is a rock shaped like him in one of the areas.