Yoshi

**Yoshi** (ヨッシー *Yoshi*) is a Yoshi, who lives in Yoshi's Island. Yoshi gave Mario help. His first appearance is in *Super Mario World.*

In the main series, Yoshi is a deuteragonist and Mario's sidekick. Yoshi is also the main protagonist in his series with the same name. He debuted in Super Mario World, claiming that he was trapped in an egg.

## Profile

### Physical description

Yoshi is a little green dinosaur-like creature that helps his friend Mario on various quests, serving as transportation. He has light green skin. His stomach, chest and mouth are white. He has two big blue eyes, round cheeks and a big round nose. On his nape, he has three red spikes. On his back has a red saddle that can be used for riding him and he has orange shoes on his feet. In some rare cases, he is without shoes, when he does it, he reveals he has padded feet. He has a long sticky tongue that can be used for swallowing food or enemies.

### Friends

See the infobox in the right.

Note that in some Mario Party games, Yoshi appears to be friends with any characters in the game, even for Bowser, but most of the times Yoshi is friends with the characters above.

### Personality traits

Yoshi is kind and generous but can be childish at times. He loves his friends and is very compassionate and playful. 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 him 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, to the point of outright gluttony.

### Powers and abilities

#### Powers

* **Flutter Jump**: Yoshi's unique ability allows him to stall in the air for a short duration.
* **Super Eating**: Yoshi can eat enemies and trap them in eggs.
* **Shell Fusion**: As seen in *Super Mario World*, by eating a certain color shell of a Koopa Troopa, Yoshi can gain certain powers by either spitting the shell out or keeping it in his mouth until he swallows it.
	+ **Red:** By eating a Koopa with a red shell, Yoshi can spit out three fireballs that travel in the direction he is facing. This can be useful in taking out enemies from afar.
	+ **Blue:** By eating a Koopa with a blue shell and keeping it in his mouth, Yoshi will grow wings and will be able to fly for a short time. This is needed for a level where Yoshi must fly underneath it in order to get to the secret exit. This doesn't last long as when Yoshi eventually swallows the shell, he loses his wings.
	+ **Yellow:** By eating a Koopa with a yellow shell and keeping it in his mouth, Yoshi gains a stomping ability when he jumps in the air. This lasts until he either swallows the shell or spits it back out.
	+ **Green:** Eating a Koopa with a green shell doesn't do much special ability-wise as Yoshi simply spits the shell back out. However, the can be used to defeat any enemies ahead from a distance without worry.

#### Abilities

* **Athleticism**: Yoshi participates events in *Mario & Sonic* series, with his athleticism aligning with other *Mario & Sonic* participants.
* **Vehicular Combat**: In *Mario Kart* series, Yoshi can attack with Item Boxes. This ability also applies to other *Mario Kart* contestants.

## Biography

### Meeting Mario

Yoshi took a walk at Yoshi's Land. When Baby Mario landed on Yoshi, Yoshi decided to take Mario to his clan. The clan Yoshis panicked and yelled at each other to what to do for Baby Mario. Baby Mario points at something, sensing Baby Luigi's location. Yoshis agree to carry the baby to its destination. Yoshis carried Baby Mario safely one-by-one to reach to King Bowser's Castle. Yoshi fought Baby Bowser, Kamek enhanced his size for Baby Bowser to continue the battle. Yoshi defeated Baby Bowser, then Kamek took Baby Bowser and left. Yoshi rescued Baby Luigi and the stork. Baby Bowser's castle collapsed and Yoshi marked the flag on his map. The stork set his duty to send Baby Mario and Baby Luigi to their parents' house.

### Dinosaur Island

Yoshi's friends have been captured by Bowser. When Yoshi tried to rescue his friends, Bowser trapped him inside an egg and he needed help.

Mario went to Dinosaur Land to have a vacation with Luigi and Peach. However, Bowser kidnapped Peach without Mario and Luigi knowing.

Mario spots an egg. Curious, Mario opens it, only to reveal Yoshi. Yoshi thanked Mario and they joined forces. Mario and Yoshi ventured together and rescued the princess. Peach thanks Yoshi for helping Mario.

## In *Super Mario* series

### *Super Mario World*

Yoshi made his first appearance in *Super Mario World*. Yoshi can use his long tongue to eat almost any type of enemy, including foes Mario and Luigi could not otherwise defeat. He can also eat power-ups. 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 cannot enter Ghost Houses (except the Sunken Ghost Ship), fortresses, the Koopalings' castles, or Bowser's Castle. Mario or Luigi enters these levels solo, and Yoshi waits outside for either of them to return. While Mario or Luigi is riding Yoshi, percussion is added to the game's music, a detail applicable to most games where Yoshi is rideable.

When Yoshi eats different types of Koopa shells, he gains different abilities depending on which color shell he ate. When Yoshi eats a Green Shell, he can spit it out as a projectile. When he eats a Red Shell, he can spit out three fireballs. When Yoshi eats a Yellow Shell, he can stomp on the ground, causing miniature earthquakes. Finally, when Yoshi eats a Blue Shell, he can fly for a limited amount of time.

Yoshi can also acquire wings from an item block. These wings turn Yoshi blue (except in Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, where Yoshi retains his color upon acquiring the wings), allowing him to fly. In the Star World, Mario can feed Baby Yoshis of different colors various items and enemies, eventually turning a Baby Yoshi into a full-grown Yoshi. These colored Yoshis each have a specific ability that they can use whenever they hold a shell in their mouths, regardless of the color of said shell.

### *Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island*

Before the events of *Super Mario World*, *Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island*, Yoshi is the protagonist.

### *Super Mario 64*/*Super Mario 64 DS*

Yoshi made an appearance in *Super Mario 64*. After Mario collects 120 Stars, he must go to the cannon. There, Yoshi is at the back. Yoshi gives Mario 100 lives and an improved triple jump, then jumps off the castle roof.

Yoshi then appears in *Super Mario 64 DS* as a playable character. At the beginning of the game, he is sleeping on the roof. Yoshi then wakes up mysteriously on the ground and Lakitu then tells him that Mario, Luigi and Wario have gone have not returned. Yoshi then frees Mario, Luigi and Wario while collecting Power Stars, and they all teamed up to rescue Peach from Bowser. In this game, Yoshi can swallow enemies, shoot eggs at them, and use his Flutter Jump.

### *New Super Mario Bros. Wii*

Yoshi appeared in *New Super Mario Bros. Wii*. He does the same thing as in *Super Mario World*. The only difference is that he can't travel through levels with the player/s. And in this game, he now has the ability to Flutter Jump.

### *New Super Mario Bros. U/New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*

Yoshi appears in New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. He acts exactly the same as in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

### *Super Mario Odyssey*

Yoshi appeared in Super Mario Odyssey as a playable character. First found upon Peach's Castle in Mushroom Kingdom, breaking his egg and throwing Cappy at him will allow you to become him. You can flutter jump and use your tongue to eat fruits (when eating all the fruits, he will give you a Power Moon) and stick to walls. He also appears on the Dark Side and Darker Side.

## In the *Super Smash Bros.* series

Yoshi appeared in all *Super Smash Bros.* as a playable character. Although he only has two jumps, his second jump is very high, and can help Yoshi reach places that otherwise would require three or four jumps to be made. In *Super Smash Bros. Brawl*, Yoshi's "Egg Throw" move is Yoshi's third jump. Yoshi's final smash is Super Dragon, where Yoshi grows wings, and can fly freely around the stage while breathing fire or shooting fireballs at opponents.

## In other media

### *Super Mario Bros. (film)*

Yoshi appears in the movie based on the Super Mario Bros series where he is voiced by Frank Welker. He is shown as a baby tyrannosaurus who is Koopa's pet. He takes a liking to Princess Daisy and befriends her.

## Behind the scenes

### Creation and development

Yoshi's concept artfully differs from his current appearance. Nintendo developers came up with the idea of Mario riding onto Yoshi, but they could not do it on the Famicom.

### Etymology

*Yoshi* has different scripts in Japanese. They mean "good luck", "righteous" and "good, virtuous, respectable" respectively. The "good luck" may relate to the event when Baby Mario happened to land onto Yoshi's back.

## Real-world influences

### Cultural impact

In Tokyo, people dress up as different *Mario* characters and ride on karts.

On the internet, **Yoshi Committed Tax Fraud** is a meme refers to jokes that Yoshi illegally evaded paying his taxes; it has lasted since 2016. The meme may also be based off his quote in *Fortune Street*.

### Reception

Brad Fear (from WhatCulture!) considered Yoshi to be #1 on "20 Top Video Game Sidekicks Of All Time" on his blog. Lit Lists has placed Yoshi #3 on the list as "10 Of The Best Mario Characters", having a "variety of abilities that stand out relative to other characters in the Mario series".

## Trivia

* Yoshi was originally supposed to be a type of Koopa, and the saddle on his back would have been his shell.
* In some Mario games (such as in *Super Mario Sunshine*), Yoshi can't swim; however in *Super Mario 64 DS*, he is the fastest swimmer.
* Yoshi appeared as a doll in *The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening*.
* A picture of Yoshi can be found in Hyrule Castle Courtyard in *The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time*. This picture was omitted from the 3D remake.
* Yoshi and Mario appeared in *Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes* as dolls on Otacon's desk. When the doll was shot, it made the famous Yoshi sound and shooting Mario made the 1up sound effect, refilling Snake's health. Yoshi also appeared in *Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D* as an easter egg.
* Yoshi was named after Yoshio Sakamoto (Director of Metroid series) due to the friendship between him and Shigeru Miyamoto.
* Yoshi did appear in *Super Mario 64* as a non-playable character, but appeared in the DS version as a starting character.
* In *Mario Kart 64*, Yoshi's sound effects are when Mario sits on him from *Super Mario World*.
* The furniture item Yoshi's Egg in *Animal Crossing: City Folk*, and Animal Crossing: New Leaf when activated, bounces and makes his famous Yoshi sound.
* Yoshi (along with Mario) had a cameo in *Donkey Kong Country 2* as one of Cranky's Video Game Heroes. Yoshi is in second place (third if the player beats Mario's first place score) with 29 DK Coins.
* In *Super Mario World*, it seems that Mario is actually hitting Yoshi to make Yoshi extend it's tongue. Mario actually points but does not have a finger pointing animation and Mario's hand animation seems like his fist is always bald up. Mario hand or "fist" goes diagonally when Mario is trying to make Yoshi extend it's tongue indicating that he is pointing.
* Yoshi's full name is T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas. This was shown in a Nintendo Character Guide published in 1993 and came to light on August 6, 2014.
* Yoshi was the main star of 3 Nintendo puzzle games, *Yoshi* (a.k.a. *Yoshi's Egg* by Game Freak), *Yoshi's Cookie* by TOSE, and *Tetris Attack* by Intelligent Systems (a western adaptation of *Panel de Pon*). He was also the main star of the Super NES game, *Yoshi's Safari* and a sidekick to Luigi in a 3rd party spin-off game, *Mario is Missing*.
* Yoshi can speak English, first time speaking in Mario Kart: Super Circuit.
* Yoshi's gender can never be fully confirmed. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Yoshi was called an "asexual", it can simply produce its own eggs on its own, like Birdo. But in instruction booklets Yoshi is sometimes referred to as "he"; as seen in many games too like *Mario Party 3*.
* Draglet and **Yoshi** both have a resemblance to Eeries.