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| - | YOSHI
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| - | Occupation: Egg chucker, compulsive eater
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| - | First appearance: Super Mario World (1991)
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| - | To really understand Yoshi's origin, one would have to first look at
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| - | Demon World, a Pac-Man clone Nintendo of Japan released for the
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| - | Famicom in 1984. The game starred Tamagon, a little lizard dude
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| - | who hatched from an egg and chased demons down dot-lined
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| - | corridors. Tamagon's big foe was Satan himself, and crucifixes
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| - | worked as the Devil's World equivalent of Power Pills.
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| - | Nintendo's strict censors would never permit such Christian icons
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| - | in an American release, Devil's World never saw the light of day
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| - | stateside. In fact, Nintendo of America was so leery of pissing off
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| - | American Christians that they even omitted Tamagon's trophy
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| - | from Super Smash Bros. Melee nearly twenty years later in 2001.
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| - |
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| - | But back to Yoshi. So maybe religious controversy prevented
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| - | Tamagon from figuring into the Nintendo universe as a whole, but
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| - | he seems to have influenced the creation Yoshi's creation. Also a
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| - | green lizard dude, Tamagon makes the exact same noise when he
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| - | hatches from his egg as Yoshi does.
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| - | While Yoshi didn't show up until Super Mario World in 1991,
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| - | Miyamoto has said in interviews that he had wanted Mario
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| - | mounted on a trusty steed since the days of the original Super
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| - | Mario Bros. Concept sketches even show an ostrich-looking
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| - | creature that programming limitations nixed from the three original
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| - | Mario games.
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| - | (Or so Miyamoto says. Curiously, in the second game of the Mario
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| - | Bros.-like Hudson's Adventure Island series, its hero Master
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| - | Higgins rode a variety of pre-Yoshi dinosaur buddies. So Master
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| - | Higgins can do it on his NES adventures, yet Mario apparently
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| - | could not.)
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| - | Yoshi finally joined Mario during his journey through Dinosaur
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| - | Land in Super Mario World in 1991. When Bowser stormed the
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| - | prehistoric vacation spot, he magically trapped Yoshi and his
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| - | friends in eggs. Mario freed Yoshi, hopped into his saddle, and
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| - | employed the lizard's sticky tongue in his quest.
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| - | The dinosaur proved to be a bottomless pit; he could eat nearly any
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| - | of Bowser's minions. And despite the notable handicap of being
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| - | male, Yoshi could also lay eggs that could produce — perplexingly
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| - | — mushrooms or smiling clouds that rained coins. Yoshi
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| - | accompanied Mario through nearly every section of Super Mario
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| - | World, excluding Boo Houses, fortresses, and the castles of the
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| - | seven Koopalings.
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| - | While the main Yoshi was green, Mario could also unlock three
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| - | other varieties: the Red Yoshi, the Blue Yoshi, and the Yellow
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| - | Yoshi. In each of them the shells of Koopa Troopas had magical
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| - | effects.
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| - |
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| - | Ending Bowser's terrible reign over Dinosaur Land freed both
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| - | kidnapped Peach and the seven Yoshi babies. The group returned
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| - | to the southwestern corner of Dinosaur Land, a subcontinent called
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| - | Yoshi's Island, where the Yoshies flourished in the shade of Kappa
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| - | Mountain. Eggs hatched. People rejoiced.
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| - | Cuddly, cheerful, green, and jolly, Yoshi instantly became popular.
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| - | He joined veterans like Toad and Donkey Kong Jr. in Super Mario
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| - | Kart in 1992 and then got his name in two multiplatform puzzle
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| - | games: Yoshi and Yoshi's Cookie.
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| - |
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| - | The fifth installment of Super Mario Bros. is completely Yoshi's
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| - | show. Its complete title is Super Mario Bros. 5: Super Mario
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| - | World 2: Yoshi's Island and it tells the story of how the Yoshi clan
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| - | saved the infant Mario Brothers from destruction at the hands of
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| - | Kamek and his charge, the newborn Koopa King. Released ten
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| - | years after Super Mario Bros. brought Mario to home video game
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| - | systems in 1985, this game has Baby Mario getting bucked from
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| - | the saddle of one Yoshi to another as he inches closer towards
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| - | reunion with Baby Luigi.
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| - |
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| - | In Yoshi's Island, Yoshi took egg production to a new level.
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| - | Eating anything now forced Yoshi to poop out an egg. Up to six
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| - | different eggs would trail behind the Yoshter, and he could aim
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| - | them at enemies with precision. Though colors granted them no
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| - | special effects, a full rainbow of Yoshies appeared in this game:
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| - | green, red, light blue, yellow, purple, pink, orange, and dark blue.
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| - |
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| - | The distinctively kiddy look to the game (backgrounds that
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| - | charmingly resembled a child's crayon scribblings) belied the
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| - | game's depth. Many argue that innovative play mechanics of
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| - | Yoshi's Island make it the greatest Mario game ever — even if
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| - | Mario's role is minimal. One gameplay element that never sailed
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| - | off Yoshi's Island, however, was the sticky tongued one's
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| - | transformation into various vehicles: helicopters, submarines,
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| - | racecars, trains, mole machines… much like a child's toys. While
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| - | now mostly forgotten, the Yoshicopter did make a cameo above
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| - | the Baby Park racetrack in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
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| - | Yoshi appeared in a third puzzle game in 1996: Tetris Attack,
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| - | dubbed perfectly by the Mushroom Kingdom website as "Tetris A-
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| - | Hack." Much like Doki Doki Panic's transformation into the
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| - | American Super Mario Bros. 2, Nintendo of America stripped the
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| - | Japanese release Panel de Pon of its original cast of cute fairies and
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| - | replaced them with Yoshi's pals from Yoshi's Island. The play
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| - | mechanics were virtually identical, but Nintendo figured American
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| - | players would rather solve puzzles with cuddly animals than a
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| - | bunch of girly-girl fairies.
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| - | (Notably, the main fairy was named Lip. While excised from
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| - | American gaming, her trademark flower staff showed up in 2001
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| - | in Super Smash Bros. Melee as Lip's Stick, which made opponents
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| - | sprout a flower out of their head when struck with it.)
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| - | The game itself had nothing to do with the original Tetris concept,
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| - | surprisingly. Rather than arrange falling blocks, the object of Tetris
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| - | Attack was to shuffle colored tiles so as to line up similar colored
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| - | ones.
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| - | The whole clan showed in a second dino-only venture in 1998 in
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| - | Yoshi's Story. That bratty Baby Bowser returned to Yoshi's Island
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| - | and plucked the source of all happiness and fruit, the Super Happy
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| - | Tree, from the ground it grew in. To really rub it in, the young king
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| - | also flattened Yoshi's Island into a storybook. The core six
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| - | Yoshies — green, red, yellow, blue, purple, and pink — were
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| - | joined by special black and white Yoshies that could stomach even
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| - | the hottest chili peppers.
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| - | (Feed your Yoshi right. Red and Pink Yoshi prefer apples, but
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| - | Blue and Purple Yoshi like grapes. Green Yoshi likes watermelons
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| - | (as opposed to normal melons), and Yellow Yoshi, predictably
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| - | hankers for bananas. Black and White Yoshi eat anything.)
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| - | The game boasted a circular level design, wherein the same
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| - | backgrounds were scroll by on an endless loop. The trick to level-
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| - | beating was fruit eating. Eating each Yoshi's choice fruits earned a
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| - | higher happiness rating (i.e., score) that opened up more levels
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| - | accordingly. Melons earned the highest scores.
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| - | Pestering Poochy the dog to sniff out melons wasn't most players'
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| - | idea of a great video game. Mixed reception, coupled with an
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| - | infuriating theme song sung by what sounds like a gibberish-fluent
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| - | kindergarten class, meant Yoshi didn't make a subsequent solo
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| - | effort.
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| - | Nonetheless, Yoshi still makes an appearance in nearly every
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| - | Mario game. Although he only made a cameo in Super Mario 64,
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| - | he was ready for action in Super Mario Sunshine. Just as well as
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| - | Mario's water pack, F.L.U.D.D., the orange, pink, and purple
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| - | Yoshies native to Isle Delfino could clear graffiti by high-pressure
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| - | vomiting their favorite fruits. Props to Nintendo for including the
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| - | rare but existent tropical durian fruit as Purple Yoshi's favorite
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| - | snack — a first, I'd imagine, for a video game.
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| - | Nintendo surprisingly posed Yoshi as the star of the Nintendo DS
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| - | remake of Super Mario 64. The player actually starts the game as
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| - | Yoshi, and rescuing Mario, Luigi and Wario is entirely optional, as
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| - | Yoshi can put on their hats to temporarily borrow their abilities.
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| - | Yoshi's transition into the three-dimensional world of Super Mario
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| - | 64 is so seamless that one wonders why he wasn't in the original
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| - | version of the game. For the first time, he can eat enemies and toss
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| - | eggs in any direction. In a way, Nintendo giving Yoshi the starring
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| - | role is almost an apology for his throwaway cameo in Super Mario
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| - | 64. There, Mario could meet Yoshi atop Peach's castle to gain
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| - | extra lives and an improved triple jump. At the beginning of Super
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| - | Mario 64 DS, the camera sweeps over Peach's Castle as Mario,
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| - | Luigi and Wario are entering. You can briefly spot Yoshi napping
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| - | on the roof — a nod to his original cameo.
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| - |
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| - | (For a detailed description of Yoshi's transformations, check the
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| - | miscellaneous lists section at the end of the guide.)
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| - | ***SMASH BROS. TROPHY INFO FOR YOSHI***
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| - | Yoshies are gentle, fleet-of-foot dinosaurs that make their home on
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| - | idyllic Yoshi's Island. They come in a variety of colors and have
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| - | evolved an interesting trait to help increase their numbers: they can
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| - | transform anything they swallow into an egg. With adhesive
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| - | tongues and bottomless bellies, Yoshies have been known to eat
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| - | anything.
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| - | ***SMASH BROS. TROPHY INFO FOR YOSHI***
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| - | ***SMASH BROS. TROPHY INFO FOR MARIO & YOSHI***
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| - | Yoshi was first introduced in Super Mario World, and the sight of
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| - | Mario riding the helpful character soon became an enduring image.
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| - | Despite his Cape, Mario can't fly while astride Yoshi. The pair can
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| - | make huge jumps and drift slowly back to earth, though. As a last
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| - | resort, Mario could leap off Yoshi's back to safety.
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| - | ***SMASH BROS. TROPHY INFO FOR MARIO & YOSHI***
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| - | MARIO KART: DOUBLE DASH!! DATA:
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| - | Partner: Birdo
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| - | Personal racecar: Turbo Yoshi
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| - | Special weapon: Yoshi Egg
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| - | Yoshi's starring roles:
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| - | Super Mario World (Super NES) - 1991
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| - | Super Mario Kart (Super NES) - 1992
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| - | Yoshi's Safari (Super NES) - 1993
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| - | Yoshi's Cookie (Game Boy) - 1993
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| - | Yoshi's Cookie (NES) - 1993
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| - | Yoshi's Cookie (Super NES) - 1993
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| - | Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World (Super NES) - 1994
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| - | Mario's Tennis (Virtual Boy) - 1995
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| - | Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (Super NES) - 1995
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| - | Tetris Attack (Super NES) - 1996
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| - | Game & Watch Gallery (Game Boy) - 1997
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| - | Mario's Tennis (Virtual Boy) - 1997
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| - | Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64) - 1997
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| - | Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle 4 (Bandai Satellaview-X) - 1997
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| - | Yoshi's Story (Nintendo 64) - 1998
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| - | Picross NP Vol. 2 (Super Famicom) - 1999
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| - | Mario Party (Nintendo 64) - 1999
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| - | Mario Golf (Nintendo 64) - 1999
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| - | Game & Watch Gallery 3 (Game Boy Color) - 1999
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| - | Super Smash Bros. (Nintendo 64) - 1999
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| - | Mario Party 2 (Nintendo 64) - 2000
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| - | Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64) - 2000
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| - | Mario Party 3 (Nintendo 64) - 2001
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| - | Mario Kart: Super Circuit (Game Boy Advance) - 2001
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| - | Super Smash Bros Melee (Gamecube) - 2001
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| - | Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World (Game Boy Advance) - 2002
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| - | Super Mario Sunshine (Gamecube) - 2002*
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| - | Mario Party 4 (Gamecube) - 2002
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| - | Mario Party-e (Game Boy Advance E-Reader) - 2002
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| - | Game & Watch Gallery 4 (Game Boy Advance) - 2002
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| - | Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 (Game Boy Advance) - 2003
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| - | Nintendo Puzzle Collection (Gamecube) - 2003
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| - | Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (Gamecube) - 2003
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| - | Mario Party 5 (Gamecube) - 2003
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| - | Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (Gamecube) - 2003
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| - | Mario Power Tennis (Gamecube) - 2004
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| - | Super Mario 64 DS (Nintendo DS) - 2004
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| - | Mario Golf: Advance Tour (Game Boy Advance) - 2004
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| - | Mario Party 6 (Gamecube) - 2004
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| - | Mario Party Advance (Game Boy Advance) - 2005
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| - | Other appearances:
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| - | Mario Paint (Super NES) - 1992
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| - | Yoshi (Game Boy) - 1992
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| - | Yoshi (NES) - 1992
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| - | Super Mario All-Stars (Super NES) - 1993*
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| - | Mario vs. Wario (Super Famicom) - 1993
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| - | Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World (Super NES) - 1994
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| - | Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (Super NES) - 1995
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| - | Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64) - 1996
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| - | Donkey Kong Land 2 (Game Boy) - 1996
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| - | Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES) - 1996
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| - | Super Mario 64 Shindou Version (Nintendo 64) - 1997
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| - | Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64) - 1998**
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| - | Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (Game Boy Color) - 1993
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| - | Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (Game Boy Color) - 1999
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| - | Paper Mario (Nintendo 64) - 2001*
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| - | Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64) - 1998*
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| - | Super Mario Advance (Game Boy Advance) - 2001*
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| - | Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga (Game Boy Advance) - 2003*
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| - | Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Game Boy Advance) - 2003
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| - | Mario Pinball Land (Game Boy Advance) - 2004
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| - | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Gamecube) - 2004*
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| - | * Because Yoshi is both a unique character and a generic term for his
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| - | whole race, I decided to differentiate between his appearances in this
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| - | list. Entries with an asterisk mean that Yoshi appears as a generic race
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| - | — not as the specific green Yoshi character we all know and love.
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| - | ** as a portrait in Hyrule Castle
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