Yoshi

* Yoshi
* Yoshi (Reindeer)
* Yoshi (Egg Hunt)
* Yoshi (Kangaroo)
* Red Yoshi
* Orange Yoshi
* Yellow Yoshi
* Blue Yoshi
* Lightblue Yoshi
* Pink Yoshi
* White Yoshi
* Black Yoshi

*“I know! We should team up! Come on! Hop on my back!”*
—**Yoshi**, *Super Mario Galaxy 2*
**Yoshi** is a dinosaur-like character that acts as an ally of Mario and Luigi and is the protagonist of his own franchise. Among members of the Yoshi species hailing from Yoshi's Island, any Yoshi may be identified as the "Yoshi" character, and as such, not all iterations of the character are necessarily the same one. According to the *Super Mario World* manual, he got his name from Yoshi's Island because he was first discovered there. Yoshi managed to rescue and protect Baby Mario and Baby Luigi from Kamek and the Koopa Troop. In the *Super Mario* series, he often acts as a rideable character for the heroes, while in most of the spin-offs, he is a playable character on his own. Yoshi's defining traits include his cutesy appearance, his cheerful and friendly personality, his flutter-jumping and egg-laying abilities, his rideability as a steed, and exclaiming his own name.

### *Mario Kart* series

Yoshi appears as a playable character in every game in the *Mario Kart* series since the series' first installment, *Super Mario Kart*. Throughout the games, Yoshi is classified as either a lightweight or a middleweight driver.

In *Super Mario Kart*, Yoshi is part of "The Dragon and the Lady" duo of racers, alongside Princess Peach. When played as by a CPU, he will shoot eggs.

In *Mario Kart 64*, Yoshi is a lightweight driver, alongside Peach and Toad.

Yoshi is also a lightweight character in *Mario Kart: Super Circuit*, having great acceleration but poor speed and weight.

Yoshi's weight is changed to medium in *Mario Kart: Double Dash!!* His partner is Birdo, and his special item is the Yoshi Egg, while his personal kart is the Turbo Yoshi. While the relationship between Birdo and Yoshi is merely implied in English versions, the Japanese website of *Mario Kart: Double Dash!!* confirms it. On Birdo's profile, it says, "Appears to be Yoshi's girlfriend... or is that boyfriend?!" There is also a sponsor named Yoshi Yoshi that features a drawing of Yoshi on its trackside banners.

In *Mario Kart DS*, Yoshi's personal karts are Cucumber and Egg 1. He has his own course, Yoshi Falls, which is the second course in the Mushroom Cup. In the Mission mode, he must fight Big Bully. Yoshi is once again a lightweight driver in this game, sharing his weight with Shy Guy.

In *Mario Kart Wii*, Yoshi is a medium-sized racer (alongside Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Birdo, Diddy Kong, Bowser Jr., and medium Miis) and features a great off-road speed bonus. He also has a small weight, traction, and drift boost.

Yoshi later returns in *Mario Kart 7* as a light racer, sharing this weight division with Peach and Daisy.

Yoshi returns in *Mario Kart 8*. While the official website classifies him as a middleweight, Yoshi is actually a lighter middleweight, focusing a little more on acceleration, handling, and traction than with speed and weight. He shares these traits with Peach and Daisy. By purchasing both DLC packs, the buyer is awarded Light Blue, White, Red, Yellow, Black, Blue, Pink, and Orange alternate colors. They all handle exactly like the original Yoshi but have different colors for karts that change their color. Additionally, from this game onward, Yoshi's voice becomes more high-pitched.

In *Mario Kart 8 Deluxe*, Yoshi still shares stats with Peach and Daisy, while having his stats slightly altered when compared to the Wii U game.

Yoshi appears in a playable role once more in *Mario Kart Tour*, where he is available as a Super character in said game. A variant, called "Yoshi (Reindeer)," was made available during the Holiday Tour as the second spotlight character. Like with the standard version, he uses the Yoshi's Egg as his special item. Yoshi in his Egg Hunt costume also acted as the main spotlight character for the eponymous Yoshi Tour. As with both the standard and Reindeer versions, he uses the Yoshi's Egg as his special item.

Yoshi is also playable in all three arcade *Mario Kart* games. In *Mario Kart Arcade GP 2*, when in his standard kart, Yoshi has exceptional acceleration but poor weight and top speed. When in his personal kart, however, he has a slightly higher top speed at the expense of slightly lower acceleration. He shares these traits with Peach and Blinky. In *Mario Kart Arcade GP DX*, Yoshi is a lightweight character, having poor speed, great acceleration, and average handling. He also has two downloadable palette swaps in this game (red and black), which both change his special item. He shares his stats in this game with Peach and Waluigi.

Yoshi's racing courses are Yoshi Valley, Yoshi Desert, Yoshi Circuit, and Yoshi Falls. In *Mario Kart Wii*, his emblem is seen in Dry Dry Ruins along with a Yoshi statue resembling a Sphinx similar to Yoshi Desert. In *Mario Kart 8*, multicolored Yoshis can be found on Sweet Sweet Canyon, Donut Plains 3, and Super Bell Subway.

## Quotes

* *"Mario!!! It[*sic*] that really you???"* – *Super Mario 64*
* *"I know! We should team up! Come on! Hop on my back!"* – *Super Mario Galaxy 2*
* *"Hooray! Thank you for rescuing me. My name is Yoshi. On my way to rescue my friends, Bowser trapped me in that egg."* – *Super Mario World*
* *"Tell how Luigi find Yoshi, and Yoshi rescue Princess."* – *Super Mario World* television series ("Mama Luigi")
* *"(Think anyone would notice if I ate some fruit? I'm so hungry!)"* – *Mario Golf: World Tour*
* *"Yoshi, Yoshi!"* – *Mario Party 9*
* *"It's Mario! I've gotta try extra hard!"* – *Super Mario Party*

## Names in other languages

*Yosshī*
 Russian
*Yoshi*
 Korean
*Yosi*
 Chinese
*Yàoxī*