Yoshi[a] is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Throughout the mainline Super Mario series, Yoshi typically serves as Mario's trusted steed. Yoshi debuted in Super Mario World (1990) on the SNES as Mario and Luigi's steed.
Yoshi has been well-received, with some critics noting that he is one of the most recognizable characters and one of the best sidekicks in video games. Yoshi's image has also appeared on a range of products, including clothes and collectibles.
Concept and creation
Considered after the development of Super Mario Bros., Yoshi's early design differs greatly from his finished appearance.
Shigeru Miyamoto, the video game designer at Nintendo credited with inventing the Mario series, had wanted Mario to have a dinosaur companion ever since the first release of Super Mario Bros.; however, Nintendo engineers could not add such a character into the game due to the limitations of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).[11][12][13] The inspiration for Yoshi can be traced back further, to the green dragon Tamagon in the 1984 video game Devil World: also designed by Miyamoto, both are green lizards that hatch from eggs and can eat enemies with their large mouth, and also emit the same noise when they hatch.[14][15] During the development of Super Mario Bros. 3, Miyamoto had a number of sketches around his desk, including an image of Mario riding a horse.[16][17]Takashi Tezuka, a Mario series developer, speculated that Miyamoto's love of horse riding as well as country and western themes influenced Yoshi's creation.[14][18] The concept of Mario riding a dinosaur also came from the NES video game Excitebike, which featured people riding motorcycles.[14]
Once the more powerful Super NES was released, Miyamoto was finally able to implement Yoshi into the series, putting Yoshi into the video game Super Mario World.[19] As development of Super Mario World progressed, the team opted to set the game in a "dinosaur land", so Tezuka asked designer Shigefumi Hino to draw a reptile-like creature based on Miyamoto's sketches.[16] Hino originally produced a design that Tezuka deemed too reptilian, and "didn't really fit into the Mario world", so he encouraged the designer to create a "cuter" character.[16] According to Hino, Yoshi's tongue attack was originally conceived as Yoshi sticking out his tongue in surprise when Mario hit the back of his head. This was later "passed off" as Mario merely pointing forward to signal Yoshi to stick out his tongue.[20][21] Alongside the individual Yoshi, Super Mario World also introduced other members of the Yoshi species, characterized by their variety of colors.[22]
Yoshi proved to be popular in this debut, which caused the next game in the series, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, to focus on the Yoshi species.[11][23] At Miyamoto's prompting, Hino landed on the idea of using Yoshi as the main character of a platforming game, with the goal of being more accessible than previous games in the Mario series.[24] To give the gameplay a more "gentle and relaxed pacing", the levels lack time limits and feature more exploration elements than previous games; Yoshi's flutter jump also makes him easier to control in the air than Mario.[25] In this game, he is responsible for Baby Mario, which leads him to Bowser's Castle, where he is reunited with Baby Luigi. Yoshi successfully pulls the twins together just in time to go home after beating a huge Baby Bowser.[23]
The version of Yoshi seen in the live-action Super Mario Bros. film was realized using a 0.91-metre-tall (3.0ft)animatronic dinosaur. Yoshi was designed in the film by Dave Nelson. The animatronic had nearly 60 meters (200ft) of cable and hundreds of moving parts inside of it and was controlled by nine puppeteers. The body was cable-controlled, while the head was radio-controlled. Nelson described the overall process as being "difficult."[26] The creation of Yoshi was handled by a company independent from the filmmakers.[27]
Appearances
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In Super Mario series
Super Mario World featured Yoshi's first video game appearance (left). The inspiration for Yoshi can be traced back even further; Miyamoto designed a green dragon for the 1984 game Devil World which shared many similarities with Yoshi.[15]
Yoshi makes a minor cameo in Super Mario 64, where he is found on the roof of Peach's castle after Mario collects all 120 Power Stars, where he delivers a message from the developers and rewards Mario with 100 extra lives and an improved Triple Jump.[28] Yoshi is one of the primary protagonists and the first playable character in Super Mario 64 DS, alongside Mario.[29]
Yoshi appears in Super Mario Bros. Wonder as a playable character, with red, yellow, and blue variants. The Yoshi's have the Flutter Jump ability, along with the ability to be ridden by other players.[35][36]
In Yoshi series
The Yoshi egg used to represent the character
Yoshi's initial appearance in the Yoshi series was in the puzzle game Yoshi, where he counted the number of eggs hatched on the side of the screen.[37] In another puzzle game, Yoshi's Cookie, Yoshi appears as a character in V.S. mode. [38]
Yoshi appears alongside Mario as a playable character in Yoshi's Safari, where they must defeat Bowser and save Jewelry Land.[39]
Yoshi is the protagonist of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, acting as the caretaker to Baby Mario.[40] The next Yoshi game, Yoshi's Story, has the Yoshis world turned into a storybook, with six Yoshis as the protagonists.[41] Kamek and Bowser travel back in time in Yoshi's Island DS and kidnap all of the Mushroom Kingdom's youngsters, only to have some escape and join Yoshi in a journey to save the other kids.[42] Yoshi reappears alongside the baby Mario brothers in Yoshi's New Island, a prequel to Yoshi's Island DS.[43]
Yoshi's next two games feature the character made of wool. In Yoshi's Woolly World, Yoshi and Red Yoshi must save Craft Island from Kamek and Baby Bowser.[44] The sequel, Yoshi's Crafted World, has the Yoshis collecting the broken pieces of the Sundream Stone.[45]
Yoshi is also the protagonist of the game Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, scheduled to launch in Spring 2026, in which Yoshi finds a magical book containing information about unusual creatures so he decides to jump in and investigate.[46][47]
Yoshi appeared as a supporting cast member in Mario is Missing for NES, SNES, and MS-DOS in 1993.[54]
The Yoshi species makes its Paper Mario series debut in the fifth chapter of Paper Mario when Mario comes across a village of Yoshis. In the sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Mario rescues a Yoshi egg that hatches into a baby Yoshi, who then joins his team during the third chapter of the game and can be named upon doing so. He also appears in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.[30]
Yoshi appears as a playable character in every installment of the Super Smash Bros. series. Yoshi's moveset mostly consists of kicks, headbutts, tail attacks, and tongue grabs.[60]
Yoshi is one of the most recognizable characters in the Mario series and is featured in a myriad of Mario merchandise, such as toys, shirts, and figures. Yoshi also appeared in two of Happy Meal promotions of Mario toys, which only featured Mario, Donkey Kong, and Yoshi.[65] Yoshi was also one of the 12 initial amiibo figurines.[66] As part of the release of Yoshi's Woolly World, Yoshi Amiibo made out of yarn are either bundled with the game or sold separately.[67] In addition to the regular-sized green, pink and light blue yarn Yoshi Amiibo, an 8-inch tall, green "Mega Yarn Yoshi" has been released.[68]
Since debuting in Super Mario World, Yoshi has received largely positive reception. An article in Electronic Gaming Monthly commented, "Maybe it was the undeniable dino charm. Maybe it was the insatiable appetite that put fellow foe-eater Kirby to shame. Or maybe it was the status of being Mario's newest best buddy. Whatever the reason, gamers took an immediate liking to Yoshi and his multicolored kin when Super Mario World hatched him into the pantheon of classic game characters."[69] The 2011 issue of the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition ranked Yoshi at 21st place in their list of the "Top 50 Video Game Characters of All Time", making him the second highest-ranked Mario character on the list, of which Mario himself is ranked first.[70] In a poll conducted in 2008, Yoshi was voted as the third-favorite video game character in Japan, with Cloud Strife and Mario placing second and first, respectively.[71]GameTrailers created a special tribute video for Yoshi for the release of Super Mario Galaxy 2.[72]Yardbarker included Yoshi in their "The most memorable characters from old school Nintendo games", stating that "Yoshi began life in Super Mario World. However, the dinosaur with the lengthy tongue was swiftly spun off into his own video games. There's Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Cookie, and more. Yoshi is off doing his own thing a lot of the time."[73] Chris Carter of Destructoid described Yoshi, along with Poochy, as "cute as hell" in the "Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World" promotion.[74] Yoshi was voted one of the finest dinosaurs of pop culture by Jim Vorel of Paste, who stated that "Yoshi has been a fan favorite since he first appeared alongside Mario on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. That's why he's the most famous dinosaur in the world."[75]
Yoshi was also praised for being the best video game sidekick. GameSpy ranked Yoshi as the seventh-best video game sidekick, above Luigi by reasoning that only Yoshi can pull off being green and still be cool.[76]Complex ranked Yoshi at fourth place among "The 25 Most Kickass Dragons in Video Games", adding "Yoshi would have to be one of the best sidekicks of all time".[77] Australia's Official Nintendo Magazine called Yoshi a "cute, trustworthy, a plumber's best friend" and compared Yoshi's loyalty to that of a dog.[14] Yoshi is ranked at 52nd place on GamesRadar's Top 100 video game heroes.[78] 4,228 gamers from all over the world were asked to choose their favorite "most loved sidekick characters in video games." Yoshi from Super Mario World came in top place and was voted the most popular sidekick character with 71 percent of the voting.[79] Yoshi was included in IGN's "The Best Video Game Wingmen Ever", stating that "Always ready to give his plumber friend a ride, Yoshi doesn't shy away from putting in extra effort, whether that means holding a Koopa shell in his mouth for an entire level or kicking his feet to get a little extra air during a jump, Yoshi has Mario's back."[80] Yoshi has been named one of the best-supporting characters in video games by Kevin Wong of Complex, stating that "Yoshi has everything Mario and Luigi need in a sidekick – a monstrous appetite, boots that can walk on Munchers, and the ability to breathe fire, fly, and cause earthquakes, depending on the Koopa shell's color. You have to love a sidekick that hatches with a built-in saddle."[81] Alyssa Mercante of GamesRadar also included Yoshi in their list of "The ten best video game animal companions," stating that "Yoshi is another companion that has achieved a level of fame virtually unrivaled by video game sidekicks."[82] "Yoshi Committed Tax Fraud", an internet meme that began in May 2018, is a reference to jokes about Yoshi dodging taxes.[83]
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