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This article is about the Nintendo character Yoshi. For information on the game, see Yoshi (video game).
Yoshi
'Mario series' character
File:Yoshi mp.jpg
Yoshi's current appearance since Mario Party 4
First gameSuper Mario World (1991)
Created byShigefumi Hino

Yoshi (ヨッシー, Yosshī, sometimes Romanized Yossy in Japanese language materials) (IPA: /ˈjəʊ.ʃi/) is a fictional dinosaur who appears in the Mario series of video games by Nintendo. Yoshi's debut was in Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario's mode of transportation in the game. Yoshi later became a protagonist of his own series with several platform and puzzle games, and is one of the major characters in the Mario series.

Species

Yoshi are commonly depicted in games as having very long, sticky tongues, with which they capture enemies to swallow. Yoshi can eat almost anything. They are omnivorous and seem to enjoy tropical fruits as depicted in the game Yoshi's Story. In Super Mario Sunshine Yoshi can only be awakened by feeding them such fruits.

Their noses can detect fruit and other secrets buried underground. Although they have teeth, these are rarely seen or used. A few times they are seen are in Yoshi's Story and Yoshi's Island. Yoshi are generally depicted in games as being quite intelligent from a young age, many being able to defend themselves while still infants. While the main Yoshi himself is depicted as green, they come in a variety of colors,[1] spanning every color of the rainbow. They also come in black and white, although rarely. Some Yoshi have the ability to fly, breath fire, etc.

In the more recent Mario sports games such as Mario Superstar Baseball and the Mario Tennis series, Yoshi is known for his speed and tongue capability. It is assumed by many that all other Yoshi are just as capable as this Yoshi, supported by the Yoshi's Island games, where different colored Yoshi have the same abilities throughout the game.

Appearances

Yoshi was created by Shigefumi Hino, a graphics designer. This was in response to Nintendo's design staff expressing a desire for Mario to ride a dinosaur.[2] In Super Mario World, the main green Yoshi would hatch immediately from his egg and grow to his "adult" height. The red, blue and yellow variations (which debuted in this game) had to be fed five enemies or one power-up before they would grow to a size on which Mario could ride. If a red, blue, or yellow Yoshi was fed a star, he would immediately grow to a size on which Mario could ride. Each of the colored Yoshi had a special ability that activated whenever they had a shell in their mouth; blue Yoshi could fly, yellow Yoshi caused small earthquakes upon hitting the ground, and red Yoshi breathed fire. In addition, every Yoshi did whatever abilities were directly linked to the color of the shell he swallowed as well as his own; for example, a blue yoshi swallowing a red shell could fly as well as breathe fire. If the shell flashed different colors, any Yoshi could use all three abilities. Green Yoshi had no special abilities of their own. Riding a Yoshi of any color would add a bongo-drum to the background music.

In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Yoshi had a rival in the form of a bad-tempered, sunglasses-wearing blue creature named Boshi (Washi in Japan). This was Boshi's sole appearance. In Super Mario RPG, Yoshi's main task was aiding Mario and his allies by attempting to eat an enemy when Mario or an ally used a Yoshi Cookie during battle.

Yoshi went on to star in four more adventure games (Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Safari, Yoshi's Story, and Yoshi's Island DS) and three puzzle games (Yoshi's Cookie, the simply-titled Yoshi, and Tetris Attack). Later, the Game Boy Advance re-release Super Mario Advance 3 was a port of Yoshi's Island with six bonus levels.

Yoshi is one of the characters in the original Nintendo 64 Super Smash Bros., and the GameCube sequel Super Smash Bros. Melee. He will also appear in the Wii sequel Super Smash Bros. Brawl [3]. Yoshi made a cameo in Super Mario 64 after collecting all 120 stars and In Super Mario Bros. 3 as one of the cursed kings. [4], and he is rideable in Super Mario Sunshine [5]. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, several Yoshi appear at a place called "Yoshi Theater." In order to obtain a piece of the Beanstar (one of the underlying goals in the game), the player is required to feed the Yoshi. In Paper Mario you get to visit a place called Yoshi's Village. A baby Yoshi is obtainable as a partner in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. This Yoshi was not necessarily entitled "Yoshi" in the game, as the player can name the partner whatever he or she wishes. Yoshi is a fully playable character in Super Mario 64 DS on the Nintendo DS. He is also the star of Yoshi Topsy-Turvy for the Game Boy Advance and Yoshi Touch & Go for the Nintendo DS.

Yoshi appears in Mario Kart DS, as well as other Mario Kart games. In Mario Kart DS his karts were the Egg 1, Cucumber and standard go-kart. In Mario Kart Double Dash his Kart is a sort of car version of himself. In The Rest of the Mario Kart Games he has a bright green standard kart. Every Yoshi stage in the Mario Kart games has a Giant Egg in it, and in Mario Kart Double Dash his arena is actually shaped like a Yoshi. Yoshi also appears prominently in Mario is Missing! , and the numerous sports and party games starring the cast of the Mario universe. Yoshi appeared again in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, in which several Yoshis appear, along with an oversized Yoshi-shaped Shroob named Yoob. The green Yoshi appears to be the prominent, main individual, and seems to be a leader of sorts against Yoob. However, he doesn't recognize the adult Mario & Luigi and slightly grown baby versions with clothes rather than diapers.

Yoshi did not make an appearance in the story mode of New Super Mario Bros., out of a desire from the creators to recreate the feel of the original NES Mario sidescrollers. However, he did appear in the mini-games, some of which were borrowed from Super Mario 64 DS [6].

Yoshi again has a starring role in Yoshi's Island DS on Nintendo DS was released in November 2006. Yoshi's Island DS is a direct sequel to Yoshi's Island in gameplay and content. Interestingly, unlike Yoshi Touch and Go on the DS, this game decided to introduce the concept of a [7]between the two screens of the DS to enable better aiming of Yoshi's eggs.

Yoshi, along with other Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog characters is set to appear in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games according to SEGA[8].

Yoshi has appeared in nearly all of the Mario sport and spin-off games. These include Super Mario Strikers, Mario Tennis, Mario Superstar Baseball, Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Mario Party, Mario Golf, and Mario Kart.

Television, film, and comics

File:SMA-YoshiTranslation.jpg
A "translation" for Yoshi's language is given in Super Mario Adventures.

An animated series followed Super Mario World, bearing the same name, and was similar in plotline to the previous series, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, but with a different setting. The show featured Yoshi as a regular character, voiced by Andrew Sabiston (who later provided the voice of Diddy Kong in the Donkey Kong Country cartoon). The cartoon portrays Yoshi with the personality of a very young child, and, therefore, he speaks like one, often in third person [9]. He is often afraid of many things that young children would be afraid of, such as Boos and water (perhaps referenced much later on in Super Mario Sunshine, a GameCube title in which the Yoshis dissolve when they hit water). This may be based on his reactions to attacks by enemies in Super Mario World (he runs off when hit and will even run off of a cliff if Mario fails to chase after him) and/or the fact that Yoshi refuses to enter Ghost Houses, fortresses, or castles. Interestingly, his design in the show changed over time to better match his video-game design.

In the episode "Mama Luigi", the plot tells how Luigi found Yoshi after being ambushed by Bowser while on vacation. After cracking Yoshi's shell, Yoshi emerges as a baby, calling Luigi "Mama Luigi." The episode continues to more or less adapt to the game of Super Mario World, as Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi travel to the castle of Bowser (referred to as his original Japanese name, King Koopa, in the cartoons), and save the princess.

Due to its early cancellation, Yoshi was not featured in the Super Mario Bros. comic books published by Valiant Comics. However, he managed to appear in the Nintendo Adventure Books, which were somewhat based on them. There, his dialogue consists of words that rhyme with "orp", as he does not speak English there like in the cartoon. The game version however, consists of some Yoshi that can speak English (including the main Yoshi himself), and others that only understand their native tongue.[citation needed] It also features prominently in the Super Mario Adventures comic serial printed in Nintendo Power. There, his dialogue consists mainly of his own name. (Incidentally, he talks this way in most Mario games since Yoshi's Story in 1998. But in a Japanese Mario Paint ad he does actually speak.) According to these comics, Yoshi is the Chairman of the Dinosaur Chamber of Commerce, who is searching for a group of missing Yoshi Villagers whom Bowser has captured. Yoshi also appears in the critically maligned Super Mario Bros. movie. In the movie, Yoshi took the form of a realistic animatronic dinosaur, very much like a smaller version of Jurassic Park's velociraptors, instead of a live-action animated character [10]. Although extremely different in appearance than his video game counterpart, he still shares some resemblance with a long tongue, friendliness and courage. He is also downsized to the point that he could not support Mario at all. He is also Bowser's (who is called "King Koopa" in the movie) pet, and befriends Princess Daisy.

Yoshi has also appeared in one episode of the Kirby Super Star manga[11].

Description and other notes

While green is considered the standard color for Yoshi, his brethren appear in different colors, including blue [12], red [13], yellow [14], brown, orange, pink, purple, azure, turquoise, dark blue [15], silver, bronze and, more rarely, black and white. Black and white Yoshi in the Nintendo 64 game Yoshi's Story have the distinct ability to digest chili peppers, which other Yoshis cannot. Black and white Yoshis also appear in Yoshi's Island DS in the unlockable levels. Generally, a Yoshi's shoe color is dependent on its color: red Yoshis wear blue shoes, for example. In Super Mario World for the SNES, different colors of Yoshi had different abilities, such as fire-breathing and flying.

A notable exception to these are Delfino Island Yoshis, who are found in Super Mario Sunshine. These Yoshis presumably different due to their habitat, and have many different qualities. Although Yoshi eggs typically hatch on their own, as seen in Yoshi's Story, Delfino Island Yoshis require a particular fruit in order to hatch. Delfino Island Yoshis can also change color and digest chili peppers readily. Unlike the natural born swimmers seen in Yoshi's Island, Delfino Yoshis cannot swim or even wade in shallow water without Mario riding them, and will revert back into an egg form. They also lack the ability to shoot fire or grow wings, but they can, in turn, spit "juice," which will turn enemies into platforms.

Yoshis also can make a variety of sounds. In Super Mario World, hopping onto Yoshi's saddle made one of a few sounds of affirmation; these were Yoshi's trademark noises until Yoshi's Story, when the character (voiced by Nintendo musician Kazumi Totaka) began muttering his name and unintelligible words (such as "gong", "hup" and "wah!"), usually when idle or jumping[16]. Besides "hup, "gong" and "wah!", Yoshi, in various games, has said his own name. In Mario Kart 64, Yoshi also makes a "pshee-pshoo" sound. Nonetheless, Nintendo 64 games like the Mario Party series, Mario Golf, and others, still feature Yoshi with the same sounds as in Super Mario World.

Yoshis have a limited social structure, shown in multiple RPGs as living in villages with a few wooden constructions. However, Yoshis inhabit many areas of the world, from the Mushroom Kingdom to Isle Delfino.

During the localization of Panel de Pon for the U.S., when the game was renamed Tetris Attack, Nintendo of America replaced the fairy-like characters with characters from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, with Yoshi stepping in for the Pon main character Lip.

Yoshi's appearances in video games, usually Mario sports games, typically portray him as an agile character. In Mario Kart games, Yoshi has excellent acceleration, but he is more likely to skid off the track than other characters. In Mario Golf, his shot is straight and average in height. In Mario Tennis and Mario Power Tennis, he is the fastest tennis player. In Mario Superstar Baseball, Yoshi is the speediest runner and can use his tongue to catch faraway balls. In Super Mario Strikers, Yoshi is a balanced captain. When he performs his Super Strike, green and yellow bubbles surround the character as he kicks the ball into the back of the net, usually hitting the goalie in the stomach and taking him into the net with it. In the recent sequel, Mario Strikers Charged, he is once again a balanced captain. This time when he performs his Mega Strike, he flies up into the air, with wings as he had in Super Mario World, he draws in a lot of breath and as he breathes out it creates a considerable force on the ball causing it to be fired into the net.In Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Yoshi is an All-Around character, in contrast to his speedy nature in other sports games. His Special Shot is the Flutter Dunk, performed by tapping an "M" pattern on the touch screen twice. At close range, he holds the ball as he hovers toward the hoop in typical Yoshi style, leaving a rainbow trail. When he is outside the three-point line, he throws the ball to another teammate, with another rainbow trail behind the ball. In most of these games, Yoshi is mostly teamed up with Birdo.

Yoshi's name may be derived from the typical Japanese interjection Yoshi!, the English equivalent of which would be "yes!", reflecting Yoshi's general upbeat nature.

The only Yoshi that can be considered bad is Boshi (Washi in Japan), a blue Yoshi with a spiked collar, and the only one not wearing traditional shoes, as the shoes he does wear have the toes removed. Boshi has only appeared in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.

Also, Yoshi seems to be the originator of the "ground pound" or "hip drop", a move where a character jumps into the air, flips and then slams into the ground. Yoshi first performed the move in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. The move has been performed many times in later games, such as Super Mario 64 and 64 DS, Super Mario Sunshine and various entries in the Mario Party franchise. The only other character who did this before him would be Bowser, where in Super Mario Bros. 3, he performs a ground-pounding move so devastating that the floor below him breaks. It should also be noted that many of the Yoshi species is referred to as many Yoshi. This is how it is written in Super Mario World 2:Yoshi's Island, other than on the title which refers to the island referring to the Yoshis; however, this is contradicted by the text in the manual of Yoshi's Island DS.

Physical appearance

Despite having the same general appearance throughout the course of his existence, Yoshi's appearance has slightly changed over the years. Originally, his features resembled much more of a dinosaur, having a long neck, small arms, and a wider back (conveniently for Mario to ride on.) Also he has small spikes from head to tail. According to Satoru Iwata, Yoshi "ended up looking like a dinosaur ... because something like a dinosaur was the shape which was allowed by the (Super Nintendo hardware's) technical limitations."[17]

The first game to have Yoshi's appearance altered is the SNES version of Yoshi's Cookie, with him being much shorter, chubbier, and having larger arms and hands. It is possible that this new look was intended to be his "younger" form, as the storyline takes place years before his first appearance in Super Mario World. This theory is supported by the fact that in Yoshi's Island, Kamek makes a reference to the young age of the Yoshi carrying Baby Mario when he and Kamek encounter each other for the first time, in Burt The Bashful's fort ("So you're still on the baby's side, Yoshi-Baby? Then take THIS!") This design was used again in Yoshi's Story, which had much more noticeable changes to his new look due to the game being 3-D, as well as the addition of infantile hatchlings. Yoshi's Story showed Yoshi having much more human-like features (i.e.: standing up straight instead of curved, swinging his arms while running.)Yoshi's Spikes have also gotten smaller and blunter over time.[18]

This new look for Yoshi has been used for the remaining Mario games ever since. Games such as the Mario Party series, the Mario Sports series, and even the Paper Mario series used this new appearance for Yoshi, likely making this his final design. Yoshi's design was changed for the remake of Super Mario 64 for the DS, from his original "dinosaur" look, to his new shorter sort of look (so that he looked similar to the other characters). It also inherited hovering and egg-throwing from the previous games, but he could only keep one egg with him as opposed to being able to carry much larger amounts (in Yoshi's Island, for example, he was able to carry up to six eggs at one time).

Speech

In most games, Yoshi does not actually talk. Either he has no voice (e.g. in Super Mario World) or he simply makes random noices such as saying his name (a la Pokemon). There have been a few instances where he actually has a speaking part. In the Super Mario World cartoon, he is given a speaking part. He is later given a speaking part in Paper Mario: the Thousand-Year Door.

References

  1. ^ "THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM DOT NET Mariopedia - Yoshi". Retrieved 2006-09-23. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |curly=, |accessyear=, and |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ "Mushroom Kingdom overview (2)". Retrieved 2006-09-23. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |curly=, |accessyear=, and |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/characters/yoshi.html
  4. ^ http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/n64/code/198848.html
  5. ^ http://www.NintendoWorldReport.com/media/768/1/th/5601.jpg
  6. ^ http://onnintendo.com/Posts/2006_04/25/2/00001.jpg
  7. ^ http://gamepeople.wordpress.com/2006/11/10/reality-gap/ gap
  8. ^ http://wii.ign.com/articles/776/776460p1.html
  9. ^ http://youtube.com/watch?v=8gdnqf1X00o
  10. ^ http://www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0905/
  11. ^ http://kirby.classicgaming.gamespy.com/multimedia/manga/other/kine/kine3r.jpg
  12. ^ http://nindb.classicgaming.gamespy.com/dol/images/cam/gal/gal_sm-4f.jpg
  13. ^ http://nindb.classicgaming.gamespy.com/dol/images/cam/gal/gal_sm-4b.jpg
  14. ^ http://nindb.classicgaming.gamespy.com/dol/images/cam/gal/gal_sm-4d.jpg
  15. ^ ttp://nindb.classicgaming.gamespy.com/dol/images/cam/gal/gal_sm-4c.jpg
  16. ^ http://youtube.com/watch?v=AV10o4fAnCQ
  17. ^ ""Iwata Asks", interview at Nintendo.com". Retrieved 2007-2-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |curly=, |accessyear=, and |coauthors= (help)
  18. ^ http://yoshi.2yr.net/pics/smw3-logo-yoshis-island-lg.jpg
Games
Films
  • Super Mario Bros., Hollywood Kuk Pictures, May 1993.
Websites
  • "Description: Yoshi". The Mushroom Kingdom. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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