Yoshi
- This article is on the character Yoshi. For information on the game, see Yoshi (game)
Yoshi (Japanese: ヨッシー [Yoshi / Yoshi] meaning "better" or "best" or "happy") is a species of fictional dinosaur from various Nintendo video games and, more commonly, the name of a specific member of that species. Yoshis have very long, sticky tongues, and can swallow almost anything, even things that are much larger than Yoshis themselves are. Almost everything they swallow is transformed into (or encased in) an egg, which they can throw as a weapon. They prefer fruit, although they can and usually will eat other things, including living creatures. Their noses, taking up half of their heads, can detect fruit buried underground and other strange secrets. Even though they have teeth, these are rarely seen or used. While Yoshi himself is depicted as green, other Yoshis in general come in a variety of colors, much like how Birdo is usually portrayed pink, but is also shown in many other colors. Yoshi is the protagonist of his own series as well as a minor character in the Mario series.
Appearances
Yoshi was originally known as "Super Dragon Yoshi" or "Yoshinki" in Japan, though today the debate rages on what a Yoshi is, some say a dinosaur, others a dragon, few a frog, none say turtle. It may be helpful to note that in Super Mario World (SNES, USA), the five large Yoshi-imprinted gold coins found in each level are referred to as "Dragon Coins" within the game. However, his debut game, Super Mario World, is set in Dinosaur Land. The simplest explanation is that Yoshi, in fact, is a Yoshi, especially since Yoshi's "friends" are always referred to as "Yoshis". Yoshi is Mario's dinosaur-like friend, first appearing in Super Mario World for the Super Famicom in his Japanese release. His North American and European debuts came on the SNES in Super Mario World. Yoshi was created by Shigefumi Hino, a graphics designer and the director of Pikmin, when Shigeru Miyamoto finished Super Mario Bros., and Nintendo's design staff expressed a desire for Mario to ride a dinosaur. In addition to the main green Yoshi, his red, blue, and yellow subspecies also appeared in the game. "Super Dragon" Yoshi would hatch immediately from his egg and grow to its current height; while his colorful friends each had to be fed five enemies (or one Mario item such as a mushroom or star) before they would grow to a size on which Mario could ride. No matter what color shell Yoshi eats, a blue Yoshi can fly, a yellow Yoshi makes clouds of dust when he hits the ground, a red Yoshi breathes fire, and a green Yoshi does whatever the shell is colored.
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Yoshi had a rival in the form of a bad-attitude, shade-wearing blue Yoshi named Boshi (Washi in Japan), who never again appeared in any other game. However, along with false rumors that Luigi could be unlocked in Super Mario 64, there were also some false rumors that Luigi would meet Boshi instead of Yoshi on the castle's roof (though Yoshi can be changed into "Boshi" with a Gameshark, sans the shades and spiked collar). Yoshi also aided Mario and his allies in the game by attempting to eat an enemy when Mario or an ally used a Yoshi Cookie during battle.
Yoshi went on to star in two more adventure games, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Story; 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 took Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and added six new levels.
Yoshi is one of the characters in the original Nintendo 64 Super Smash Bros., and the GameCube sequel Super Smash Bros. Melee. Yoshi made a cameo in Super Mario 64, and he is a playable character in Super Mario Sunshine. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, several Yoshis appear, and to obtain a piece of the Beanstar, feeding them is mandatory. A baby Yoshi is obtainable as a partner in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, which could be named anything the player wishes; his body color, style and color of his hair, and the color of his boots and shorts differ depending on multiple circumstances. Yoshi is a fully playable character in Super Mario 64 DS on the Nintendo DS. He also went to star in Yoshi Topsy-Turvy for the Game Boy Advance and Yoshi Touch & Go for the Nintendo DS.
In Mario Kart DS, Yoshi's trademark karts include the Egg 1, Cucumber and standard go-kart, but once a player completes a various tasks every kart becomes available to every character.
Yoshi also appears prominently in Mario is Missing!, Yoshi's Safari, and the numerous sports and party games starring the cast of the Mario universe.
The most recent appearance is in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, in which several Yoshis appear, along with a rather large monster Yoshi named Yoob. The green Yoshi appears to be the prominent "Super Dragon" 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.
In a recent issue of Nintendo Power, it has been confirmed in an interview with Takashi Tezuka that Yoshi will not make an appearance in the story mode of New Super Mario Bros., however he will appear in the mini-games.
Television, film, and comics
An animated series followed Super Mario World, called by the same name, and was similar in plotline to the previous series, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, except 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. He is often afraid of many things that young children would be afraid of, such as ghosts and water (perhaps predicting how the Yoshis featured in Super Mario Sunshine can't stand water, literally). 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 or Koopaling castles. Interestingly, his design in the show changed over time to better match his video-game design.
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 Yoshis that can speak English (including "Super Dragon" Yoshi himself), and others that only understand their native tongue. He 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.) 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. Although extremely different in appearance than its video game counterpart, it 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.
Cameos
Yoshi also makes a few cameo appearances in the Legend of Zelda series, specifically in Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (alongside Mario). In the former game, he appears as a doll item that Link must bring to a baby at the first town in Koholint Island, and the baby's parents give him a ribbon. In the latter game, he appears in a portrait hung in Hyrule Castle, next to a painting of Mario, seen through a window in the courtyard where Link meets Zelda.
Yoshi makes a brief appearance in Konami's Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for the GameCube, where Yoshi is a figurine on Otacon's desk along with a figurine of Mario. If a player shoots at the Yoshi figurine, it makes a sound similar to the one heard in the later Yoshi games. (Shooting the Mario figurine gives the player health with a 1-Up noise).
A track in Mario Kart 64 for the Nintendo 64 is named "Yoshi Valley", a maze-like track offering several routes, and includes a massive egg that squashes inattentive drivers, due to it's maze like pattern, and it says in the manual it is impossible for the game to figure out what place the racers are in until the race is over, however this is not true as one can find out a given racer's place by switching to the square, linear map and looking at it when a player has hit something. The icon representing the player on the map will shake. A track in Mario Kart: Super Circuit for the Game Boy Advance is named "Yoshi Desert", complete with a Yoshi-headed Sphinx in the background. A track in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! for the Nintendo GameCube is named "Yoshi Circuit" and is shaped like a Yoshi. A track in Mario Kart DS for the Nintendo DS is named "Yoshi Falls" with a huge egg floating in the water.
Yoshi also appears at the end of Donkey Kong Country 2 for the SNES. Once the player has beaten King K. Rool, during the ending sequence of the game, Mario, Yoshi and Link make an appearance. Link only appears if players collect fewer than nineteen DK Coins. Also, in the Game Boy Advance version, Yoshi only appears if players have fewer than thirty-five DK Coins.
In the Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Advance 4 adaptations of Super Mario Bros. 3, the king in the castle of World seven is transformed into a Yoshi by Ludwig von Koopa (whereas in the original version of the game, predating Yoshi's invention, the king is transformed into a Piranha Plant).
Yoshi in Super Smash Bros.
In Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee Yoshi has a variety of moves and is favored by semi fast multiple strike Gamers. He is the only one in the game with a shield that is different and looks like a larger egg than Yoshi throws. Yoshi is one of the only characters without a true third jump in the Super Smash Bros. series — although the player can fake it with a Directional Air Dodge — and his trademark move is swallowing opponents, as he originally did in Super Mario World.
The lack of a third jump is caused by his double-jump flutter going a huge distance. His upward special move was throwing eggs. Yoshi's "egg-rolling" move was introduced in Super Smash Bros. Melee, although Yoshis from Yoshi's Story could launch themselves as eggs in certain areas. The Egg Roll was copied to Mario Power Tennis as a Defensive Shot, which made Yoshi change colours. Incidentally, the egg is Yoshi's personal symbol in every game he's in. In both games, Yoshi is a relatively fast and heavy character with a unique playstyle.
Description and other notes
Yoshi has attained popularity almost as great as that of Mario himself. While green is the standard color for Yoshi, his brethren appear with many different skin colors, including blue, red, yellow, brown, orange, pink, purple, azure, turquoise, dark blue, silver, bronze and, more rarely, black and white. (Black and white Yoshis in Yoshi's Story have the distinct ability to digest chili peppers, which others Yoshis cannot). Generally, a Yoshi's shoe color is dependant on its color: red Yoshis wear blue shoes, for example. In earlier games, different colors of Yoshis had different abilities, like fire-breathing or flying.
Yoshis also can make a variety of sounds. In Super Mario World, hopping onto Yoshi's saddle made a "zip-zoo" or "phwe-phwew" sound — the character's trademark noise until Yoshi's Story, when the character (voiced by Nintendo musician Kazumi Totaka) began muttering his name and unintelligible words (such as "gong" and "hup"). In Mario Kart 64, he could also make a squeaking sound.
Yoshis have a limited social structure, shown in multiple RPGs as living in villages with a few wooden constructions. 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., where 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. It is speculated that NOA did this because the Pon characters were considered too effeminate for the primarily male US video game audience. Because of these changes, the game is sometimes referred to as "Tetris A-Hack" by enthusiasts.
Yoshi's appearances in video games, usually sports, often portray him as an agile character. In Mario Kart games, Yoshi has very good acceleration, but is most likely to skid off the track. In Mario Golf, his shot is very straight and average in height. In Mario Tennis and Mario Power Tennis, he is a very fast tennis player. In Mario Superstar Baseball, Yoshi is the speediest runner and can use his tongue to catch faraway balls. Most recently, Yoshi has appeared in Super Mario Strikers where he is a balanced captain who leads his team with fierce courage. When Yoshi performs his superstrike, green and yellow bubbles surround the character as he powerfully kicks the ball into the back of the net, usually hitting the goalie in the stomach and taking him into the net with it.
The only Yoshi that's considered "bad" is Boshi, a blue Yoshi with a spiked collar, and the only one not wearing traditional shoes.
Also, some enthusiasts consider Yoshi to be the originator of the "ground pound" or "hip drop" — a move in which 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 by many characters in later games, such as Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and various entries in the Mario Party franchise.
It is highly likely that the Japanese name for Yoshi (ヨッシー, [joʃ:i:] in IPA) was intended to rhyme with the Japanese pronunciation for another dinosaur-like creature, Nessie (ネッシー, [neʃ:i:]).
The plural for Yoshi has often come up in debates. Some argue that "Yoshis" is the proper term, while others argue that "Yoshies" is correct. Japanese plurals have no indicative marks, meaning that "Yoshi" is another (unlikely) possibility. Nintendo of America has used both "Yoshies" and "Yoshis" in the Super Nintendo and Game Boy Advance versions of Yoshi's Island, respectively. It could be that both versions are legal.
A big issue surrounding Yoshi is the question of the creature's gender. All of them seem to be able to create eggs, but their eggs appear to be used as projectiles as often as — if not more often than — a means of reproduction. This has left a lot of people wondering what this means about the gender of the stretchy-tongued dinosaur. Fans usually note that Yoshi is always referred to with male pronouns as a primary sign that Yoshi is male. It is probable that only the female Yoshis can lay eggs with the potential to hatch offspring. However, this fan-assumed notion is rebutted with Super Smash Bros. Melee; in the description of Yoshi's Trophy, it translates that "is neither male nor female" (オスでもメスでもない). However, this is censored out of all the text that isn't in Japanese. This would make the Yoshi species asexual, with "he" being used for more respect rather than "it". Since there has never been an official indication of male or female Yoshis within the actual games, this is apparently Nintendo of Japan's stance on the matter. Thus, the controversy about Yoshi's gender is ultimately put to rest. As this info was only available in Japanese, some fans are unaware or refuse to acknowledge Yoshi as asexual.
Yoshi's Helpers
In his adventures, Yoshi is aided by a host of different characters.
- Poochy, a small dog-like character who seems to be friendly with the Yoshi clan.
- Muddy Buddy, a purple blob with eyes and feet that helped him cross spikes in the castle of Sluggy the Unshaven.
- Huffin Puffin, a white puffin whose chicks Yoshi can volunteer as boomerang style projectiles in lieu of eggs. Acting like boomeranging eggs, these tubby little birds circle back after Yoshi throws them.
- Melon Bugs, harmless insects that turned into melon-shaped balls and could be kicked or eaten.
- Miss Warp, a race of a chubby, multicolored creatures with numbered bellies who teleport Yoshi from one Miss Warp to another. Slumbering throughout each stage are four roly-poly Miss Warps. Simply jump on one to wake her and save players' progress. If players leap off her head, they will warp to the next Miss Warp who is awake. Miss Warp 1 will take players to 2, 2 will take them to 3, 3 will take them to 4 and 4 will return them to 1.
- Boo, a ghost from the Mario games, was Yoshi's assistant in Mario Party 3.
- Birdo, originally an enemy from Super Mario Bros. 2 who spat eggs and occasionally fireballs. She has reappeared in many games since; sometimes as a foe, but - especially in the Mario sports series (Such as Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!) - has occasionally served as a partner to Yoshi, and is rumored to have a relationship with (Or at least a crush on) Mario's favorite dinosaur. Also teamed up in Mario Party 7.
- White Shy Guys - Shy Guys do not just work for evil. Some of them actually have a conscience. If players have lost a Yoshi, they might come across this pale little one, who will dutifully follow them around. They cannot eat a White Shy Guy even if they want to. If they complete the stage, the White Shy Guy will appear on your their Yoshi select screen. If players pick him, he will fly to Baby Koopa's castle and bring back their lost Yoshi.
- Power Bee - When eaten, many enemies partially restore Yoshi's Smile Meter. Players can eat a peaceable Power Bee, though, and they will instantly restore all eight petals to the Smile Meter.
- Power Flower - Gardeners and dinos alike treasure this fast-growing perennial for its ability to restore two Smile Meter petals with a simple lick. No matter how many times Yoshi licks a Power Flower, it always grows back.
- Turbo Tulip - Players can eat a Turbo Tulip to transform Yoshi into a giant egg. They can then aim their cursor, then pull down their Control Stick and release to catapult Yoshi into the air. They can press a C Button at any time to restore Yoshi to his dino form.
- Spirit who Loves Surprises - A Spirit of Hongo the Book Spirit's council, strongly resembling a clown. He gives Yoshi the Universal Gravitation Device allowing Yoshi to tilt and alter his surroundings in order to free Yoshi's Island from the magic pop-up book it was trapped in.
- Neurons - Big, multicolored, tentacled jelly creatures that help you reach new heights. Some act as a trampoline, others let players raise them up and down as they please.
- Long Dragons - A friendly, docile dragon species that Yoshi can ride through the Air or across Lava Pits.
- Sky Snakes - Windsock/Baloon snakes, ascending these winding snakes takes players to the clouds high above, simply pound there heads and they change direction. Depending on the color is the style in which the snake will rise.
- Raphael the Raven - Raphael the Raven: Raphael is the leader of the ravens on Mt. Lavalava, the volcano looming over Yoshi Village. If players find him deep within Jade Jungle, he'll be able to help them a great deal.
- Little Yoshi - A young yellow Yoshi whose only appearance is in Tetris Attack.
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