Yoshi

"Yoshi Gets His Licks In!"

Yoshi is a supporting character in the Super Mario franchise and the main protagonist of the Yoshi subseries, debuting with the 1990 release of Super Mario World.

He is also a playable character in Nexed.

Real-World History
In interviews conducted after the release of Super Mario Bros., creator Shigeru Miyamoto stated that he wanted Mario to ride a horse, but the technical limitations of the NES made it impossible for such a feat. With the release of the SNES, however, it would become possible for Mario to ride a steed in-game.

When creating this steed for the upcoming Super Mario World, designer Shigefumi Hino took inspiration from large lizards, seeing as the game would take place in Dinosaur Land. However, this design would be redone with the help of Takashi Tezuka. During this period, other elements of the character that would become Yoshi began to take place, such as his saddle shell to resemble that of the Koopa Troopas and his chameleon-like tongue. The name "Yoshi" stems from a combination of a portmanteau of staff member Mie Yoshimura's nickname and "Nessie".

Once Super Mario World released, Yoshi became a popular character, appearing in various spinoff games and getting his first self-titled game in the form of Yoshi for the NES the following year. The official sequel to Super Mario World would be centered around Yoshi, being dubbed Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and being released in 1992. This game would also be very successful, kickstarting the Yoshi's Island series.

Gameplay Information
"While Yoshi's Island is home to several colorful Yoshi, one among them is best known for his adventures with the Mario Brothers. With his chipper attitude and insatiable appetite, Yoshi has been a reliable ally to Mario and Luigi since the two were babies! Whether they need a trusty steed to rescue Princess Peach or a pitcher for their baseball team, the Mushroom Kingdom knows to count on this lovable dino!

Yoshi loves his peaceful life on Yoshi's Island, but he's always up for a new adventure! That's why when Mario was first invited to the Nexus Tournament, one of the first people he invited was his prehistoric pal. Ready for a fight (and possibly some victory fruit), Yoshi rides into battle!"

Yoshi is an all-arounder character with no major strengths and weaknesses. He has many of the fundamental tools of a platform fighter, and his stats are fairly average aside from his high dash speed. That said, his long-range grab and aerial options give him a slight advantage against some fighters.

That said, Yoshi also struggles with combos, focusing on single hits as opposed to strings. In addition, he lacks a reliable answer to projectiles other than his own, having no moves which can effectively block them. Despite this, Yoshi remains a great character to introduce players to the game.

Moveset

 * Crawling: Yoshi can crawl.
 * Tether Grab: Yoshi can use his grab in mid-air, allowing him to grab onto ledges from afar.

Grounded Attacks

 * Jab: Yoshi throws a headbutt.
 * Dash Attack: Yoshi performs a running headbutt, similar to his dash attack in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
 * Forward Light: Yoshi throws a straight kick.
 * Up Light: Yoshi swings his tail upwards.
 * Down Light: Yoshi gets on all fours and swings his tail across the ground.
 * Forward Strong: Yoshi spews a stream of fire out of his mouth. This references the Fire Watermelon's ability from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.
 * Up Strong: Yoshi throws an overarching headbutt. This is Yoshi's best kill move.
 * Down Strong: Yoshi jumps up and stomps the ground, creating a damaging dust cloud on each side of himself. This references Yoshi’s ground-pound ability when holding a Yellow Shell in Super Mario World.
 * Counter: Yoshi grabs the opponent with his tongue and throws them forward.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Air: Yoshi rapidly kicks his legs, resembling his down air from the Super Smash Bros. series. This move deals multiple hits of damage and slows down Yoshi's descent while being used.
 * Forward Air: Yoshi throws a flying kick.
 * Back Air: Yoshi swings his tail behind himself.
 * Up Air: Yoshi throws a straight headbutt upwards.
 * Down Air: Yoshi sweeps his tail beneath himself, being able to spike opponents with the sweetspot.

Grabs / Throws

 * Grab: Yoshi swallows the opponent after grabbing them with his tongue.
 * Pummel: Yoshi chews on the opponent.
 * Forward Throw: Yoshi spits the opponent out.
 * Back Throw: Yoshi lays an egg with the opponent aside before horsekicking it from behind.
 * Up Throw: Yoshi spews fire from his mouth straight up, burning the opponent as they are launched upwards. This move resembles the Dino-Torch's attack in Super Mario World. This is Yoshi's best kill throw.
 * Down Throw: Yoshi lays an egg with the opponent inside, acting as a visually different version of the buried status. This is Yoshi's best combo throw.

Stage Intro
A Yoshi Egg appears on-screen, with Yoshi hatching out of it.

Taunts

 * Yoshi jumps up and down while chanting.
 * Yoshi performs a dance resembling one of his taunts from the Super Smash Bros. series.
 * Yoshi leans forwards while growling, resembling his animation before fighting a boss in Yoshi’s Story.
 * Yoshi chases his tail, running in circles.

Victory Animations
Yoshi's victory theme is a remix of the goal and results theme from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, which replaces the normal results music.
 * Yoshi flutters before landing, spinning around, and posing with a peace sign.
 * Yoshi jumps in the air twice before landing, spinning around, and posing on one foot.
 * A watermelon is seen on-screen, with Yoshi grabbing it with his tongue and swallowing it in one gulp. He then sits down and pats his stomach, satisfied.

Colors / Costumes
  Storybook Yoshi is based on promotional art for several Yoshi games, such as Yoshi Touch & Go and Yoshi's New Island. This costume gives Yoshi a cel-shaded style, making him appear as if he were a drawing from a children's storybook. This also applies to Yoshi's props, such as his eggs and the Yoshis which appear as part of his Level 3 Nexus Attack.

Trivia

 * Boshi was originally planned for a Yoshi costume, but was seen as redundant with the release of a Boshi mod. Crafted Yoshi was also planned, but was replaced with Storybook Yoshi for aesthetic reasons.