Yoshi (character)

**Yoshi** (**ヨッシー** *Yosshī*?, Yoshi) is the main and titular character representative of his species of the same name. He, like most of the other Yoshis, live at Yoshi's Island. Yoshi and his species first appear in *Super Mario World*. Since his debut, Yoshi has been one of Mario and Luigi's main allies throughout their journeys and a recurring playable character in the spinoff games. Yoshi is also the main protagonist of his own franchise of the same name.

## 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 Bowser, 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*, Yoshi humbly 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.

## 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 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 *Super Mario 64 DS* as a starting character.
* In *Mario Kart 64*, Yoshi's sound effects are when Mario sits on him from *Super Mario World*.
* 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 Manual 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.
* Yoshi is the only character in *Mario Kart: Super Circuit* who has a different loss reaction than in *Mario Kart 64*.