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Yoshi (SSB4)

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This article is about Yoshi's appearance in Super Smash Bros. 4. For the character in other contexts, see Yoshi.
Yoshi
in Super Smash Bros. 4
Yoshi
YoshiSymbol.svg
Universe Yoshi
Other playable appearances in SSB
in Melee
in Brawl
Availability Starter
Final Smash Super Dragon
Tier D (23)
Yoshi's stock icon in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Yoshi Rolls into Battle!
—Introduction Tagline

Yoshi (ヨッシー, Yoshi) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. His return to the series was confirmed during the April 8th, 2014 Super Smash Bros. Direct, making him the last of the "perfect-attendance crew" to be announced. Additionally, he was among the first wave of amiibo figures. Kazumi Totaka reprises her role as Yoshi's voice actor, albeit via voice clips recycled from earlier installments of Super Smash Bros. and every game Yoshi has spoken in since Yoshi's Story.

Yoshi is currently ranked 23rd out of 58 on the tier list, placing him at the top of the D tier and making him the highest ranking mid-tier character. This is a vast improvement from his placement in Brawl, where he was ranked 27th out of 38. Yoshi sports a healthy mix of speed and power, as well as impressive aerial mobility for a heavyweight. He boasts one of the fastest air speeds in the game (which is surpassed only by Cloud's Limit Break status, the lightest possible Mii Brawler, Wario-Man, and Giga Mac) and a double jump that grants both the farthest distance out of any double jump in the game and nearly 70 frames of armor. Altogether, these traits make Yoshi difficult to contend with in the air.

Another of Yoshi's strengths is the utility of his special moveset: Egg Lay is a command grab, Egg Roll can force approaches, Egg Throw is an effective and versatile projectile that also aids his recovery and has mindgame potential when B-reversed multiple times, and Yoshi Bomb can KO and heavily pressure shields. Another valuable trait is his shield, which is completely immune to shield stabbing and provides many out of shield options should the opponent be stuck in lag. Yoshi is also able to jump out of his shield (which was previously possible in SSB), which further improves its reliability.

Yoshi has also gained a nimble and improved combo game, courtesy of his neutral attack, dash attack and tilt attacks. When coupled with his very quick frame data, Yoshi can rush in and deal heavy damage to an opponent with his highly damaging moves so long as he can find an opening. These factors make Yoshi not only a challenge to intercept, but can force the opponent to play cautiously, as a single mistake on their part can be all it takes for Yoshi to turn the tide and regain momentum in his favor, regardless of the opponent's damage.

However, Yoshi also has noticeable flaws. His grab game is still infamously poor: all of his grabs are among the slowest in the game, while his throws have little to no utility due to their unimpressive knockback and glaring inability to initiate combos. His defensive presence on the ground is surprisingly lacking despite his dependable shield, as his rolls and sidesteps are short-distanced, among the slowest in the game, and have some of the lowest intangibility frames in the game. As such, Yoshi can be susceptible to shield pressure should the opponent close the gap between them.

To add further stress on his struggle with shield pressure, his traction, which is the third lowest in the game, significantly hinders his otherwise useful and versatile out of shield options. This makes his out of shield game rather underwhelming, if not poor, as these factors limit the amount of times he can attempt an out of shield punish without getting punished himself. This makes close quarters combat against characters with better out of shield games, such as Little Mac, rather risky and unrewarding. Yoshi's KOing ability is also noticeably unimpressive for a heavyweight: his smash attacks have short ranges, punishable ending lag and very short durations, his up aerial's duration is only 1 frame long, and his neutral, forward and back aerials are best suited for edgeguarding.

Lastly, Yoshi has very minimal vertical recovery outside of his double jump, as his primary recovery move, Egg Throw, offers little vertical momentum and deteriorates in distance when used consecutively without landing on the ground. Despite his excellent air speed, these traits make Yoshi very vulnerable to aggressive edgeguarding should his double jump not be available.

Overall, Yoshi's strengths are widely considered to outweigh his flaws. He has the tools to take on any character, thanks to his impressive mobility, quick attack speed, and the versatility of his moveset. Like Mario, Pit and Cloud, he has a fairly low learning curve, which results his all-rounder moveset being a force to be a reckoned with when mastered. However, due to his weaknesses being rather exploitable and somewhat glaring, his impact in the current competitive scene has not been very massive, as his tournament representation is below average, and his results are not frequent. However, thanks to the efforts of dedicated players such as Raptor, Sky and The Wall, he has maintained decent placings when present at tournaments, and has even managed high placements on a few occasions.

Attributes

As in previous installments, Yoshi is a heavyweight that noticeably deviates from his weight class' archetype. He possesses slightly above average walking speed, average air acceleration, above average dashing speed, and the fastest air speed. However, he has among the slowest falling and fast falling speeds, below average gravity, and the third lowest traction. These traits give Yoshi excellent aerial mobility and great ground mobility, yet do not leave him frail or susceptible to juggling. Additionally, he has the ability to crawl.

Yoshi's greatest strength is the utility of his moveset. His neutral and tilt attacks are all very fast, leaving him exposed only very briefly. They additionally launch opponents either vertically or horizontally, allowing follow-ups or edgeguarding opportunities, with his up tilt being a reliable combo starter into itself, neutral aerial, up aerial, or up smash at low percentages. His dash attack has decent knockback and a lot of momentum, which allow for easy cross-ups and make it tricky to punish. His smash attacks possess decent speed and ranges, as well as fairly high power, with his forward smash being his most reliable out of the three in regard to KOing. His down smash is a semi-spike like his down tilt, but possesses much more power in comparison, which also makes it good at edgeguarding.

His air game is also versatile and synchronizes very well with his attributes. His neutral aerial has a lasting hitbox and comes out very quickly (on frame 3, making it the second fastest neutral aerial in the game), making it great for stopping approaches and breaking out of combos or juggles. His forward aerial can either meteor smash or diagonally launch opponents with high knockback, and is capable of autocanceling from a short hop. His up aerial is his strongest aerial, as it can easily KO opponents of any weight class near the upper blast line, and also possesses disjointed range. Yoshi's back aerial is excellent at edgeguarding, because the first two hits launch opponents at the auto-link angle and the third hit has high base knockback. Finally, his renowned down aerial hits repeatedly and is the most damaging aerial in the game, as it can deal a maximum of 32% and strongly pressure shields. It can even be followed up by a Yoshi Bomb for a shield break if it is autocanceled from a full hop and the opponent still has their shield up by the end.

Yoshi's special moveset is also very useful. Egg Lay immobilizes opponents and allows for free hits. If opponents do not break out of the egg while near the edge, they will also be KO'd or unable to recover. Egg Roll can be used instead of dashing as a retreating option and deal some damage in the process. Egg Throw gives Yoshi a dependable projectile that can be used to stop approaches, allow Yoshi to close in on the opponent and, when in the air and continuously B-reversed, trick the other player as to where Yoshi is going to go next. Lastly, Yoshi Bomb can be used from out of shield as a surprise KOing option due to its power, or even as an alternative to fast falling.

However, Yoshi has noticeable weaknesses. His main weakness is his vertical recovery. While his attributes alone allow for long horizontal recovery, Egg Throw grants only minimal vertical distance. Even though he has the highest midair jump with a certain amount of launch resistance, he is overly reliant on it to recover, and will be unable to reuse it if he is hit out of it. As such, Yoshi is heavily susceptible to meteor smashes and footstool jumps, as a single opening made by Yoshi off-stage could potentially prove fatal.

Another very glaring weakness is his poor grab game, which is often considered to be among the worst in the game. His grabs, despite having good ranges, have 14 frames of start-up and high ending lag, making them very punishable if missed. His pummel is the only positive trait of his grab game, thanks to its quick speed and decent damage output. Yoshi's forward and back throws are his fastest and strongest throws, but they cannot KO until 270% and have only three follow-ups (dash attack, up smash and forward aerial), with none of them being guaranteed. His down throw is too slow and its base knockback is too high to combo effectively. Lastly, his up throw is too weak to KO even well past 350%, yet too strong to combo and too slow for pressuring. Finally, Yoshi's ability to escape pressure is limited, since his rolls do not grant much distance and, along with his sidestep, are among the slowest in the game.

Lastly, Yoshi also has trouble in regard to his KOing ability. Despite having speed and versatility, his KOing ability is outmatched by most of his fellow heavyweights, such as Captain Falcon, Wario, or Link. His smash attacks and up aerial are often the most effective at finishing off his opponents, while his neutral, forward and back aerials are best suited for edgeguarding. However, his smash attacks and up aerial have very short durations, while his smash attacks are further burdened with short ranges and punishable ending lag.

Yoshi gains noticeable benefits from his custom moves. Lick can act as a potential KOing option thanks to its high knockback. Egg Launch deals more damage and can launch opponents off-stage, thus minimizing their chances of recovering and giving Yoshi some space. Heavy Egg Roll is slower, but deals much more damage and has launch resistance throughout. Conversely, Light Egg Roll has more power and moves higher and faster, but ends after the bounce. High Jump gives more distance, improving vertical and horizontal recovery, but at the cost of Yoshi's projectile game due to no eggs being thrown. Star Bomb has less power, but the stars are larger and more damaging. Conversely, Crushing Bomb is slower and emits no stars, which make it easily punishable. However, it has much more power, as it can KO as low as 80%.

Overall, Yoshi fits the all-rounder archetype, much like Mario and Pit. As a result, he has no glaring issues against the majority of the cast, even though his weaknesses are easily exploitable. However, his tournament results and representation have remained below average in competitive play since the game's release, with few professionals such as Poltergust, Raptor and The Wall achieving good tournament results with him.

Changes from Brawl

Yoshi has been significantly buffed in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. Many of his attacks have more speed and utility in addition to improving his combo game. He also has less trouble KOing with some of his attacks thanks to his new KO set-ups and his KOing options having been strengthened. Yoshi can now jump out of shield, removing his main weakness in Brawl. However, Yoshi received sizable nerfs to his damage racking ability. Many of his attacks also deal less damage, most of his aerials have higher landing lag and he can no longer perform his powerful air release chain grab. In addition, his fastest grab (pivot grab) has more ending lag. Despite these nerfs, Yoshi's buffs have had a significantly greater impact, leading to him being a better character than in Brawl.

Aesthetics

  • Change Yoshi looks more cartoonish and his body has been somewhat re-proportioned, making him better resemble his appearances in the latest Mario and Yoshi games. To further keep in line with the more vibrant aesthetics in SSB4, his overall color scheme is now noticeably brighter compared to the much darker and more reserved color scheme he had in Brawl. Additionally, Yoshi is more expressive.
  • Change Like Bowser, Yoshi's posture is more erect and he has a more "battle ready" stance after having stood hunched over like a dinosaur in previous installments. This is translated into his moveset, be it through a tweaked animation or a completely new move.
  • Buff Yoshi's straighter pose adjusts his hurtbox, resulting in its shape being less awkward. However, he will revert to his previous hunched standing animation from Brawl if he holds a small item, which curiously includes his previous idle poses as well.
  • Change The eggs formed with Yoshi's on-screen appearance, shield, Egg Lay, Egg Roll and Egg Throw now match his selected color scheme. However, a Yoshi swallowed by Kirby's copied Egg Lay will be trapped in an egg featuring his own selected color scheme.

Attributes

  • Change Yoshi is lighter (107 → 104). This makes him less susceptible to combos, but hinders his endurance.
  • Buff Yoshi dashes faster (1.68 → 1.86).
  • Nerf Yoshi's air speed is slower (1.316 → 1.28), hindering his recovery. Despite this, his air speed is still the fastest in the game, barring a fully Limit Charged Cloud.
  • Buff Yoshi is able to jump out of shield for the first time since SSB. His shield drop is also significantly faster (17 frames → 7), now matching the rest of the cast's. These changes significantly improve its defensive potential and Yoshi's ability to deal with pressure.
  • Change Double jump now decelerates after starting at full speed.

Ground attacks

  • Nerf Neutral attack's second hit deals 2% less damage (6% → 4%).
  • Buff Neutral attack's first hit has improved set-up potential.
  • Nerf All tilt attacks deal less damage (8%/9%/10% → 8%/7% (forward), 11%/10% → 7% (up), 10%/5% → 5%/4% (down)).
  • Buff Forward and down tilts are faster.
  • Buff Yoshi has a new dash attack, a side kick. It has more range, less lag, and a longer slide afterward compared to the previous dash attack.
  • Nerf All smash attacks deal less damage (16% → 15%/14%/13% (forward), 16% → 14% (up), 14%/13% → 12%/10% (down)).
  • Buff Yoshi has a new up smash, a backflip kick. It has more knockback (23 (base)/83 (growth) → 37/95) and less ending lag compared to the previous up smash, making it better at KOing.
  • Nerf Up smash covers significantly less range behind Yoshi compared to the previous up smash.
  • Buff Sweetspotted down smash has increased knockback (30 (base)/53 (growth) → 40/81), significantly improving its KO potential.

Aerial attacks

  • Nerf All aerial attacks deal less damage (12%/9%/6% → 10%/7%/5% (neutral), 16%/15% → 15%/14% (forward), 14% → 10% (back), 13% → 12% (up) and 35% → 32% (down)). However, neutral, back and down aerials had their knockback compensated.
  • Nerf Neutral, forward and back aerials have increased landing lag (9 frames → 11 (neutral), 16 frames → 17 (forward), 9 frames → 19 (back)).
  • Buff Forward aerial is faster and is active longer (frames 19-21 → 16-20).
  • Nerf Back aerial deals 4% less damage (14% → 10%) due to consisting of three hits instead of four.
  • Change Back aerial has altered damage outputs (4% (hit 1)/3% (hits 2-3) → 2.5% (hits 1-2)/5% (hit 3)).
  • Buff Back aerial's hits connect together better.
  • Buff Down aerial's animation is significantly faster and the increased shieldstun as of update 1.1.1 improves its shield pressuring potential. Its last hit now hits grounded opponents horizontally, improving its safety against grounded, non-shielding opponents.
  • Nerf Down aerial's last hit launches aerial opponents upward, removing its meteor smashing potential.

Throws/other attacks

  • Buff Grab has decreased start-up (frame 17 → frame 14) and ending lag (IASA 63 → 56).
  • Nerf Dash and pivot grabs have increased ending lag (IASA 63 (dash)/36 (pivot) → 68/65).
  • Bug fix Fixed a glitch where opponents could escape from the tip of Yoshi's tongue during his grab and before they enter his mouth, resulting in a game crash.
  • Nerf The removal of chain grabbing removes Yoshi's air release chain grab, hindering his grab game.
  • Buff Front and back floor attacks deal 1% more damage (6% → 7%).

Special moves

  • Buff Egg Roll no longer renders Yoshi helpless, improving its safety. Additionally, Yoshi can now jump while using it, improving its approach potential.
  • Nerf Egg Throw's explosion deals 3% less damage (8% → 5%). Egg Throw also covers less distance and it can no longer be edge canceled.
  • Buff Egg Throw is slightly faster. Additionally, Yoshi now retains his horizontal momentum while using it. These changes improve its horizontal recovery potential and grant it approach and combo potentials.
  • Buff Aerial Yoshi Bomb has increased base knockback (55 → 70), restoring its KO potential.
  • Change Yoshi no longer vocalizes when using Yoshi Bomb.
  • Nerf Super Dragon deals 5% less damage upon contact (8% → 3%). Its duration has also been noticeably decreased.
  • Change Super Dragon's fire breath and fireball no longer deal consistent damage (6% → 6%/4%/3% (fire breath), 17% → 18%/14%/12% (fireball)).
  • Buff Super Dragon's fireball pierces multiple opponents.

Update history

Game updates have brought Yoshi a few slight buffs and nerfs. These include an increased to the start-up lag of Egg Lay in update 1.0.4 and his forward smash's range being decreased in update 1.0.6. However, he has also obtained a few buffs that help compensate. Yoshi also benefits from the changes to shield mechanics brought about by updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1, which allow his down aerial and Yoshi Bomb to wear down shields much better.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS 1.0.4

  • Bug fix Fixed a glitch that allowed Yoshi to perform a much higher High Jump immediately after using Yoshi Bomb.
  • Bug fix Fixed a glitch that allowed Yoshi to teleport back to an edge after using his up special.
  • Bug fix Fixed a glitch that allowed Yoshi to make characters grow to gigantic sizes in Multi-Man Mode after repeatedly using Egg Lay.
  • Change Using Yoshi Bomb on slopes no longer allows Yoshi to slide on them.
  • Nerf Egg Lay's start-up lag increased.
  • Nerf Dash attack's ending lag increased.
  • Buff Yoshi gained 5 frames of partial intangibility in certain situations.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.0.6

  • Buff Part of forward smash has been made irreversible.
  • Nerf Forward smash's body hitbox's size decreased: 3.1u → 2.9u. This hinders its range, particularly behind Yoshi.
  • Buff Upward angled forward tilt's start-up lag decreased: frame 6 → 5. This matches its other angles' start-up lag.
  • Buff Edge attack's ending lag decreased.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.0

  • Buff Back aerial's SDI multipliers decreased: 1x → 0.5x and its angle altered
  • Nerf Back aerial stops autocanceling earlier: frame 11 → 6.
  • Bug fix Fixed a glitch that allowed Yoshi to grab an edge as long as he used Yoshi Bomb while being very close to it and the control stick was tilted upward or toward the stage.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.1

  • Buff High Jump's ending lag decreased.
  • Buff Edge attack's shield damage increased: 0 → 1.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.4

  • Nerf Trip invincibility and all trip followups except floor attack have one less frame of invincibility.


Moveset

  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack   3% A front kick followed by a roundhouse kick. The first hit can be jab canceled and thus act as a set-up into a KOing option, such as Yoshi Bomb or a smash attack, while the second hit can act as a set-up into a dash attack or a dash grab at low percentages.
4%
Forward tilt   8% Spins around to swing his tail. It is very quick and can be angled, but lacks range, making it an ideal out of shield option.
7%
8%
Up tilt   7% Crouches down and flicks his tail upward. A good combo starter, it can combo into itself, an up smash, a short hopped neutral aerial and a short hopped up aerial.
Down tilt   5% (base), 4.5% (mid), 4% (tip) Swings his tail in front of himself, similarly to Pikachu's down tilt. It is a semi-spike, but deals low knockback, making it useful for interrupting an opponent attempting to grab the edge.
Dash attack   9% (clean), 6% (late) A side kick. It has a long-lasting hitbox, which makes it capable of punishing rolls or techs.
Forward smash   13% (tip), 15.5% (nose), 14% (body) A headbutt. It deals strong knockback and can be angled, but has punishable ending lag.
Up smash   14% (clean), 12% (late) A backflip kick, similar to Fox's up smash. It deals strong knockback and can hit opponents behind him, such as immediately after using Egg Lay, but has punishable ending lag.
Down smash   12% (tail), 10% (body) Quickly swings his tail forward and then backward. It is a semi-spike like his down tilt, but deals much stronger knockback, which makes it capable of KOing. It is also useful for setting up an edgeguard and punishing rolls.
Neutral aerial   10% (clean), 7% (mid), 5% (late) A flying kick. It is a standard sex kick and is useful for spacing, particularly from out of shield option. It is also a decent off-stage edgeguarding option.
Forward aerial   15% (body), 14% (head) Rears his head back and performs a downward headbutt. It can meteor smash if spaced properly, but also deals respectable knockback otherwise. It has a slightly tweaked animation in that Yoshi now bends his head to the side while performing the attack. Capable of autocanceling from a short hop.
Back aerial   2.5% (hits 1-2), 5% (hit 3) Rapidly flicks his tail up and down repeatedly. Its first two hits launch at the auto-link angle and its third hit deals high base knockback, making it a great edgeguarding option.
Up aerial   12% Somersaults to flick his tail upward. One of Yoshi's most useful moves overall due to its speed and disjointed hitbox. It can combo into itself or juggle at low to medium percentages, and KO super heavyweights like Bowser around 130% when near the upper blast line.
Down aerial   3% (hits 1-6 center), 2% (hits 1-6 sides), 2.2% (hits 7-13 center), 1.5% (hits 7-13 sides), 1% (hit 14), 1% (landing) A Flutter Jump-style series of kicks. The last kick is able to hit opponents horizontally, improving its range against on grounded opponents. The most damaging aerial in the game and a very useful tool for pressuring shields.
Grab   Uses his tongue to grab an opponent and pull them into his mouth. His dash grab cause him to trip if he does not grab the opponent. Despite its appearance, Yoshi's tongue is not a tether, though its range and lag are between tethers and normal grabs.
Pummel   2% Chews on the opponent. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw   7% Spits the opponent forward. It has very minimal set-up potential, as its only follow-up is a forward aerial when throwing the opponent off-stage, although this is largely situational.
Back throw   7% Spits the opponent backward. It has no utility outside of dealing damage.
Up throw   5% Spits the opponent upward. Like back throw, it has no utility outside of dealing damage.
Down throw   4% Spits the opponent onto the ground. It has very minimal set-up potential, as its only follow-up is an up aerial, although this requires a proper read.
Floor attack (front)   7% Spins around and swings his tail around himself.
Floor attack (back)   7%
Floor attack (trip)   5% Spins around and swings his tail around himself.
Edge attack   7% Swings his tail inward while climbing up.
Neutral special Default Egg Lay 7% Swallows the opponent and encases them in a Yoshi Egg. When encased, the opponent receives less damage and can button mash in order to break free, but they are completely immobile and vulnerable to Yoshi's attacks while trapped. They also stay trapped longer the more damaged they are.
Custom 1 Lick 10% Pokes the opponent with his tongue. Deals more damage and decent knockback, enabling it to KO under 150%. It is comparable to how Egg Lay functioned in The Subspace Emissary.
Custom 2 Egg Launch 10% Deals more damage and the Yoshi Egg laid is fired away from Yoshi, which gives it spacing potential. However, the Yoshi Egg is much easier to break out of.
Side special Default Egg Roll 4%+speed Seals himself inside a Yoshi Egg and rolls around, barreling through opponents to attack. Yoshi can jump while rolling and thus play mindgames, although it only deals damage while on the ground.
Custom 1 Heavy Egg Roll 4%+speed The roll is significantly slower, but also significantly stronger and grants super armor.
Custom 2 Light Egg Roll 4%+speed The roll is considerably stronger and faster, but bounces once and breaks on the second bounce.
Up special Default Egg Throw 1% (contact), 5% (explosion) Throws a Yoshi Egg in a controllable, parabolic arc. When used in midair, it gives Yoshi a small boost upward, which gets weaker and weaker with each consecutive use. A very versatile projectile.
Custom 1 High Jump The vertical boost is considerably higher, but no eggs are thrown.
Custom 2 Timed Egg Throw 9% Yoshi Eggs are stronger when they explode, but travel harmlessly through enemies instead of exploding on contact. It also grants no vertical boost when performed in midair, making it comparable to how Egg Throw functioned in SSB and Melee.
Down special Default Yoshi Bomb 4% (hop), 15% (grounded drop), 12% (aerial drop), 4% (stars) A Ground Pound, which produces damaging stars in front and behind him when he lands. Deals bonus damage to shields and is almost able to destroy a full shield when all parts of the grounded version connect.
Custom 1 Star Bomb 3% (hop), 4% (drop), 8%/6%/4% (stars) The Ground Pound deals less damage and knockback, but the stars it produces are larger and deal more damage.
Custom 2 Crushing Bomb 5% (hop), 18% (drop) The Ground Pound deals more damage and knockback, but it is slower and produces no stars.
Final Smash Super Dragon 3% (contact), 6%/4%/3% (fire breath), 18%/14%/12% (fireball) Sprouts a pair of angelic wings and gains the ability to breathe fire. While transformed, Yoshi can shoot large fireballs with the attack button, or breathe a continuous stream of flames by staying idle. Lastly, Yoshi can make use of his newfound power of flight and invincibility to charge into opponents, but taking damage reduces the amount of time he stays transformed, as with most other transformation-based Final Smashes.

On-screen appearance

  • Bursts out of a Yoshi Egg.
YoshiOnScreenAppearanceSSB4.gif

Taunts

  • Up taunt: Dances around in a circle and says "Yoshi!" upon finishing.
  • Side taunt: Chases his tail, then briefly pauses to stare at it.
  • Down taunt: Looks towards the screen and jumps excitedly up and down with his arms flailing, saying "Yoshi! Yoshi!" This taunt originates from Super Smash Bros.
Up taunt Side taunt Down taunt
Yoshi's up taunt in Smash 4 Yoshi's side taunt in Smash 4 Yoshi's down taunt in Smash 4

Idle poses

  • Performs a short dance.
  • Looks around.
Yoshi's first idle pose in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Yoshi's second idle pose in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Crowd cheer

English Japanese
Cheer
Description Yo-shi! Yo-shi! *claps 3 times*
Pitch Group chant Female

Victory poses

A flourished remix of Yoshi's Story, the title screen theme of the game of the same name.
  • Punches the air, then strikes a pose with his arms outstretched. This is his "character chosen" animation from Super Smash Bros.
  • Looks up at the sky with his hands together, spins once, and then strikes the V sign.
  • Angrily performs two alternating punches and then turns his back to the screen, facing right. This is likely a humorous reference to one of Akuma's victory poses or his Raging Demon (瞬獄殺, Blinking Prison Killer) from Street Fighter, which concludes with an identical pose and is even referenced in Ryu's All-Star Mode congratulations screen in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
YoshiPose1WiiU.gif YoshiPose2WiiU.gif YoshiPose3WiiU.gif

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character Custom sets available
Yoshi's stock icon in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Yoshi 3111 2111 1311 1211 3211
3311 2211 2311 2113 3112

Notable players

Tier placement and history

Yoshi's perception has been positive since SSB4's release., as players pointed out his abundance of buffs had led him to become once again a viable choice in competitive play. Even so, his tournament representation and results have not been high as other characters, with very few professionals making good impressions with Yoshi, with one example being The Wall placing 13th at 2GGT: Mexico Saga. As a result, he was ranked 15th on the first tier list, placing him in the C tier and making him the second highest ranking mid-tier character. He then saw a drop on the second tier list, now being ranked 23rd and being placed at the top of the D tier. Despite his lower ranking, Yoshi is now the highest ranking mid-tier character due to the restructuring of the tiers.

Trophies

Yoshi
Ntsc As dependable a partner as one could hope for, Yoshi often aids Mario in his adventures. Yoshi can swallow just about anything and make an egg of it instantly. He's got some serious airborne power, making launching opponents skyward and then following up with more attacks a wise choice.
Pal They say man's best friends is a dog, but Mario's may well be Yoshi. He lives on Yoshi's Island, and can swallow up just about anything, then lay it as an egg. In this game, jumping is his forte - he can leap really high, then quickly land again, making chasing after launched opponents and getting in sneaky follow-up strikes easy.
SNES: Super Mario World (08/1991)
SNES: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (10/1995)
Yoshi (Alt.)
Ntsc Yoshi's up special move Egg Throw is a projectile attack that travels farther the longer the button is held. Yoshi will also rise a bit if this move is used in midair. The side special Egg Roll turns Yoshi into a rolling, damaging egg. Yoshi won't roll off an edge if no directions are pressed.
Pal When you use the Egg Throw up special, how far Yoshi throws the egg depends on how long you hold the button. In mid-air, the move also makes him rise a bit. Egg Roll, a side special, sends him rolling inside an egg. If you don't control him while he's rolling, he'll stop just before he rolls off the edge of a platform.
SNES: Super Mario World (08/1991)
SNES: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (10/1995)
Super Dragon
Ntsc Wings sprout from Yoshi's back and he transforms into a super-cool dragon! While transformed, Yoshi is invincible and will constantly breathe fire. He can also ram into foes and shoot fireballs at them. The fireballs are great for launching foes and most powerful when used at close range.
Pal A pair of wings appear on Yoshi's back, turning him into an angelic dragon. While the Final Smash is active, he can fly freely through the air, and is invincible to boot. He constantly breathes fire, can ram into opponents, and can also shoot fireballs that deal a lot of damage and have great launching power, especially at close range.

In Event Matches

Solo Events

Co-op Events

Alternate costumes

  • The eggs Yoshi creates now match the respective alternate costume.
Yoshi Palette (SSB4).png
Yoshi's stock icon in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. YoshiHeadRedSSB4-U.png YoshiHeadBlueSSB4-U.png YoshiHeadYellowSSB4-U.png YoshiHeadPinkSSB4-U.png YoshiHeadCyanSSB4-U.png YoshiHeadPurpleSSB4-U.png YoshiHeadBlackSSB4-U.png

Gallery

Trivia

  • Yoshi is the only member of "The Original 8" to not be revealed at E3 2013 and the last one to be revealed overall.
    • He, Ness and Jigglypuff are also the only members of the "perfect-attendance crew" to be absent from non-DLC posters containing newcomers.
      • The only poster he is shown in is the one for Bayonetta.
  • Yoshi is the only non-DLC veteran that is not an alternate form or part of a set to have splash art and an introduction tagline accompany his reveal.
  • Even though Yoshi no longer vocalizes upon using Yoshi Bomb, its voice clip is still available in Sound Test.
  • SSB4 is the first game in which Yoshi receives new alternate costumes under normal circumstances.
  • Yoshi, Jigglypuff and Captain Falcon are the only characters to use voice clips from all four Super Smash Bros. installments.
  • Yoshi is the only veteran who can no longer be rendered helpless upon using any of his special moves.