Yoshi

Yoshi (sometimes specified as Green Yoshi) is one of the heroes of the Mario series, an ally of Mario and Luigi, and the protagonist of his own series. He is a member of the Yoshi species and has aided his brethren in saving their homeland on multiple occasions. 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 one of the few members of his species who can speak the language of the other characters, though it seems that that is not his first language, since, as in other games, his statements are translated through parentheses. In the Mario series, he is a major character and often acts as a steed for Mario. He is also a playable character in most of the Mario sports and party games, and has made some sort of appearance in every 3D Mario home console platformer, excluding Super Mario 3D World.
== History ==
In Super Mario World Yoshis appear in four colors, Yoshi (who is green), Red Yoshi, Blue Yoshi, and Yellow Yoshi. Bowser magically encases them in Yoshi Eggs. These eggs are then given to the Koopalings to be watched over. When Yoshi sets off to rescue them, he is also trapped in an egg, which is hidden in a block in a field on Yoshi's Island.
Mario and Luigi eventually stumble across Yoshi's egg and free him. Once released, Yoshi informs the Mario Bros. that Dinosaur Land is in danger. Together they rescue the other imprisoned Yoshis and save Princess Toadstool from Bowser.
Yoshi can use his long tongue to eat almost any type of enemy, including foes Mario and Luigi could not otherwise defeat. If an enemy hits Yoshi, he runs away, meaning Mario or Luigi must chase him down and jump on him in order to calm him down and keep riding.
Yoshi, alongside Mario, is one of the main protagonists in Super Mario 64 DS. At the beginning, Princess Peach invites Mario to her castle; when Mario, as well as Luigi and Wario, arrive at the castle, Yoshi is sleeping on the roof. During this time, Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach, steals the castle's Power Stars, placing them in the worlds inside the castle's paintings, and seals everyone inside. Yoshi, on the ground, is awakened by one of the Lakitu Bros., who informs him that Mario and company have not returned from the castle. After gaining access to the castle, Yoshi takes on the quest to save the castle and Mario, Luigi, and Wario. After saving Mario, Luigi, and Wario (the latter two being optional), the team reclaims the castle's Power Stars, and Mario ultimately defeats Bowser.
One morning years before the events of most Mario games, during the events of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, the Magikoopa sorcerer Kamek foresaw that two newborn brothers would bring ruin to the Koopas and attempted to capture them as the Stork carried them to their mother and father in the Mushroom Kingdom. While Kamek snagged Baby Luigi, his twin brother, Baby Mario, fell unnoticed to Yoshi's Island. Fortunately, Yoshi was happening to be taking a walk through the forest that day, and Baby Mario landed on his saddle unscathed, along with a map leading to Bowser's Castle, where Kamek had taken Baby Luigi.
Yoshi has appeared playable in every Mario Party game that has been 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. Also in Mario Party 3, Yoshi's star stamp was Kindness and his partner was Boo. In Mario Party 4, Yoshi's favorite thing was the Warp Space, which does something similar to the Warp Block. In Mario Party 5, Yoshi was partners with Toad. Yoshi didn't have a default partner in Mario Party 6, but instead he was partners with Birdo in Mario Party 7, Mario Party 8, and Mario Party 9. Yoshi's Special Orb in Mario Party 7 was the Egg Orb. Yoshi is featured in Mario Party 9. His constellation is the "Hero's Best Buddy". Yoshi returned in Mario Party: Island Tour, and he returned in Mario Party 10 as a playable character.
In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, a strange pink and green egg mysteriously appears on the island. This egg was much larger than any Yoshi egg, and soon the mysterious object becomes a tourist destination. Unfortunately, the strange egg eventually hatches into a gigantic Yoshi-like monster known as Yoob.
== Physical description ==
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.
== Personality ==
Yoshi has a very similar personality to Mario, being brave and kind, albeit underdeveloped. Yoshi is a friendly individual who always lends a helping hand to those in need. He could be considered a hero and has helped his friends, defeated the evil King Bowser Koopa, and saved his island more than once. He is also very courageous, allowing 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).