Character fact sheet
Name: Yoshi or "Yossy" in Japan First Appearance: Super Mario World Home: Yoshi's Island Last voiced by: Kazumki Totaka Associates: Mario, Princess, Luigi, Birdo, Donkeykong
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Biography
Yoshi or "Yossy" as he is known in Japan is a green dinosaur who was first introduced into the Mario universe when Mario and the gang went on a well deserved vacation after their heroic acts in Super Mario Bros. 3. Like all members of his species Yoshi has a large nose area, red spines along the back of his head going down to the saddle on his back. In the original Mario adventure games Yoshi sported brown or red shoes, however as a hardcore follower of dino fashion Yoshi has more recently started wearing orange shoes in the more modern Mario titles.
Yoshi and Mario after meeting one another then teamed up in Super Mario World to rescue Yoshi's friends and Princess Toadstool from Bowser, who had kidnapped the Princess and trapped Yoshi's friends in eggs. Since then Yoshi has been a part of Mario's gang and aided him in defending the Mushroom World. A determined character who will always do his best to help his friends - but in some situations not the bravest - he would for example not accompany Mario into a haunted house.
Yoshi is well respected by his people and often thought of as a leader, although he has no official position above them. On the contrary infact he was offered to officially be made the leader of the Yoshi's but being the modest dinosaur he is declined this honour.
Another notorious trait of Yoshi is the fact that he is known for his insatiable appetite for anything he can get his hands (or tongue) on, usually his diet like all Yoshi's would consist of melons however in the Super Mario World cartoons he would devour plate after plate of sandwiches made by Princess Toadstool and isn't adverse to eating enemies whole either, this makes Yoshi's omnivores (meaning they eat both meat and plants).
The key combat abilities possessed by Yoshi are his long sticky tongue which can be used to grab enemies and help him swallow them whole, even if they are very large, further abilities include pinpoint accuracy from distance when throwing eggs in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and the ability to stomp on some enemies which would hurt the other heroes.
A lesson in the Yoshi language
Enemies
The main enemies of Yoshi in the series are Bowser and Kamek. Bowser has been an enemy of the Yoshi's for decades whilst Kamek also tried to prevent the Yoshi's from saving the baby Mario Bros. in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and the Magikoopa's and Yoshi's have been sworn enemies ever since.
Friends
- Mario - Yoshi and Mario have been good friends since Super Mario World, but they go back even earlier than that as Yoshi helped Mario when he was a Baby to get back to his home. There is a good deal of respect between the two, both seeing each other as a hero and someone they each look up to. Mario often calls upon Yoshi to help him cross areas which would otherwise be impassable and ride on his back as a loyal steed.
- Birdo - Although Yoshi and Birdo have never been associated a great deal in the adventure games, they have been featured as a pairing in some Mario spin off titles, for example the two have been seen together in Mario Party 7, 8 and Mario Tennis.
- Donkey Kong - Yoshi helped Baby Donkey Kong in Yoshi's Island DS and the two have since been friends and were even seen as partners in Mario Power Tennis.
Appearances
Since his debut appearance in Super Mario World, Yoshi has made many appearances in the Mario series of games and cartoons. There has been a game featuring Yoshi on every platform since this and he also featured in The Adventures of Super Mario World cartoon.
Yoshi has been seen to be a keen sports fan making appearances in many Mario sport spinoffs ranging from baseball, basketball to tennis and more. He also enjoys taking time out to hit the biggest racetracks of the Mushroom world and is known to be quite the formidable racer.