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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 |
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
Quotes
“Yoshi!”
— Yoshi, virtually every game he’s appeared in since 1990 — his entire vocabulary in most titles consists of variations on his own name
“Yo-shi!” / “Mwa-hee!”
— Yoshi, Super Smash Bros. series (1999–present) and Mario Party series
“Hoo hoo hoo!”
— Yoshi, Yoshi’s Story (1997) — the trademark giggle that has stuck with him ever since
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.
Super Mario World (1990)
Yoshi’s legendary debut, originally on the Super Nintendo. Yoshi spent the first half of the game trapped inside an egg in Yoshi’s Island, waiting for Mario to crack him open and use him as a mount through the levels. His trademark tongue-grab, jump-flutter, and stomp-spit gameplay was born here.
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (1995)
Yoshi’s first solo starring role — a SNES platformer where Yoshi must carry Baby Mario to safety after the stork delivering the Mario brothers was attacked. The hand-drawn crayon art style and egg-throwing mechanics defined what a “Yoshi’s Island” game would mean for decades.
Yoshi’s Story (1997)
Yoshi’s first 3D-era platformer, on Nintendo 64. Players play through 6 worlds as Yoshis of various colours, with the goal of restoring happiness to Yoshi Island by collecting fruit. The “Hoo hoo!” giggle became Yoshi’s defining vocal trait here.
Yoshi’s Island Series (1995–present)
Yoshi’s flagship platformer series has continued through Yoshi’s Island DS (2006), Yoshi’s New Island (2014) on 3DS, Yoshi’s Woolly World (2015) on Wii U, and Yoshi’s Crafted World (2019) on Switch — each entry experimenting with distinctive visual styles.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010) & Super Mario Odyssey (2017)
Yoshi returned as a 3D Mario sidekick in Super Mario Galaxy 2, again as a mount that Mario rides. He has cameo appearances throughout Super Mario Odyssey as a statue Mario can capture.
Mario Kart series (1992–present)
Yoshi has been a playable racer in every single Mario Kart from Super Mario Kart (1992) onwards. His mid-weight handling and dinosaur-cute design have made him one of the franchise’s most-picked characters. He returns in Mario Kart World (2025) on Nintendo Switch 2.
Super Smash Bros. series (1999–present)
Yoshi has been a starter character in every Super Smash Bros. game since the original Nintendo 64 entry. His unique double-jump (which gives super-armour) and egg-throw projectile have made him a fan favourite competitive pick.
Super Mario Maker 2 (2019)
Yoshi appears as a rideable Mario power-up in the user-generated course creator, complete with all his iconic mechanics from the original SMW.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023) & Switch 2 Edition (2025)
Yoshi (alongside Light-Blue Yoshi, Yellow Yoshi and Pink Yoshi) is selectable as one of the easy-mode characters in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, taking no damage from enemies. He returns in the Switch 2 Edition with the Bellabel Park meetup in 2025.
Trivia & Official Sources
- Yoshi was designed by Shigefumi Hino specifically for Super Mario World (1990) after Shigeru Miyamoto had wanted to give Mario a dinosaur companion since the original Super Mario Bros. — the technology simply hadn’t allowed it on the NES.
- According to MarioWiki, Yoshi’s full official name is “T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas” — revealed in the original SMW manual. Few sources have used this name since.
- The Yoshi’s Island series’ distinctive hand-drawn art style was a deliberate choice by Miyamoto and director Takashi Tezuka to evoke a children’s picture book — a reaction against the photorealistic graphics being pursued by Sega and other rivals at the time.
- Yoshi comes in many colours — Green is the default, but Red, Blue, Yellow, Pink, Light Blue, Purple, Brown, Orange, Black and White Yoshis have all appeared across various games. Each colour sometimes has different abilities (e.g., Blue Yoshi can fly with a shell in Yoshi’s Story).
- Yoshi has appeared in over 80 games and is one of Nintendo’s most-recognised mascots. He has had his own dedicated platformer series running for over 30 years.
- Despite typically being treated as Mario’s loyal mount, Yoshi has his own home (Yoshi’s Island) and his own community of fellow Yoshis. The Yoshi clan reside primarily on Dinosaur Land.
- The 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie featured a baby Yoshi which Mario and Luigi rescue at the end — making Yoshi the only major Mario character to appear in a live-action mainstream Hollywood adaptation.