Yoshi (SSB4)

Yoshi in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Yoshi
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl in Ultimate
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Super Dragon
Tier	D (33)

“	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 announced during a Super Smash Bros. Direct on April 8th, 2014, making him the last of the "perfect-attendance crew" to be announced. He was also among the first wave of amiibo figures. Yoshi's voice consists of all of Kazumi Totaka's Yoshi's Story clips last used in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Yoshi is ranked 33rd out of 54 on the tier list, placing him in the D tier. This is a moderate improvement from his placement in Brawl, where he was ranked 27th out of 38. As in previous installments, Yoshi boasts excellent aerial mobility: he has the fastest air speed in the game by default, while his double jump is the second highest and grants him nearly 70 frames of armor. Yoshi also benefits from Smash 4's changes from Brawl. His already fast dashing speed is now considerably faster, his unique shield has had its blind spot fixed, and its ability to be jumped out of has been restored. Yoshi also packs effective combo and edgeguarding tools, which are complimented by his aforementioned mobility.

However, Yoshi has noticeable flaws. His grab game is still infamously poor, as his grabs are among the slowest in the game, while his throws are among the worst. Yoshi's defensive presence on the ground is also lacking despite the unique advantages of his shield. His rolls and sidestep are among the least safe, and he has the dubious distinction of being the only character who is unable to shield platform drop, while his very low traction significantly hinders his out of shield options. In addition, Yoshi has problematic KO potential for a fighter of his weight class, and a very short recovery outside of his double jump, as his up special grants minimal vertical distance that only deteriorates with consecutive use. Lastly, some of Smash 4's most popular fighters make up Yoshi's most challenging matchups.

Overall, Yoshi's strengths hardly outweigh his weaknesses, resulting in below-average representation and results. Even so, he has managed to place highly thanks to players like Raptor, Ron, and Seth.

Attributes

Yoshi is a heavyweight that deviates quite noticeably from his weight class's archetype. This is most obvious with his air speed, which is the fastest in the game by default, though it is surpassed under certain conditions (Giga Mac, Wario-Man, the lightest possible Mii Brawler, and a fully Limit Charged Cloud). By extension, Yoshi has the second highest double jump in the game (surpassed only by Mewtwo's), which also grants him 68 frames of armor that can withstand a maximum of 120 units of knockback. Yoshi's other attributes also deviate from the mold of an archetypal heavyweight, albeit not to the same degree as his air speed and double jump. He has an above average walking speed, a fast dashing speed (the 14th fastest in the game) and the 11th fastest air acceleration, but in contrast has moderately low gravity, the eighth slowest falling and fast falling speeds, and the fourth lowest traction in the game. Yoshi is also capable of crawling. Overall, these attributes grant him strong mobility, especially in the air, and also make him very floaty despite being heavy, yet do not render him frail or susceptible to juggling.

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, which makes them reliable as set-ups for combos or edge-guarding. Yoshi's dash attack has high base knockback and long range, which allows for easy cross-ups and makes it useful for punishing rolls or techs. His smash attacks possess decent power, with his forward smash being the strongest among them. However, each of Yoshi's smashes also has certain perks. Forward and clean up smash grant intangibility to his head and legs, respectively, whereas down smash is a semi-spike like his down tilt.

Yoshi's air game is also versatile and synchronizes very well with his attributes. Due to it hitting on frame 3, neutral aerial is the second fastest of its kind; when coupled with its sex kick properties, it is useful for edge-guarding, stopping approaches, and breaking out of combos or juggles. Forward aerial can either meteor smash or powerfully launch opponents diagonally, and is capable of auto-canceling with a short hop. Up aerial is one of Yoshi's most viable KOing options: due to it hitting on frame 5 and possessing a respectable damage output, very high knockback growth, and disjointed hitbox, it can quickly and reliably KO any opponent of any weight while near the upper blast line. Back aerial is excellent at edge-guarding, as its first two hits launch opponents at the autolink angle, whereas its third hit has extremely high knockback growth. Lastly, Yoshi's renowned down aerial hits repeatedly and is the most damaging aerial in the game. By extension, it can strongly pressure shields to the point of potentially breaking one if it is auto-canceled with a jump and followed by Yoshi Bomb.

The respectable utility of Yoshi's moveset also extends to his special moves. Egg Lay is a command grab that immobilizes opponents and thus allows for free hits. If opponents do not break out of the Yoshi Egg while near the edge, they also face the risk of being unable to recover. Egg Roll functions similarly to Spin Dash, as it can be used to approach or retreat quickly. Egg Throw is a projectile that can be used to stop approaches; allow Yoshi to close in on the opponent; and, when continuously B-reversed in the air, keep the opponent guessing as to where he is going to go next. Although it is not a traditional recovery move, it nevertheless grants minimal vertical recovery upon its first use in midair. Lastly, Yoshi Bomb is useful for pressuring shields, thanks to it dealing considerable shield damage. Outside of this, its grounded version's respectable damage output and deceptively low start-up lag make it one of Yoshi's most viable KOing options.

However, Yoshi has noticeable weaknesses, with his main one being his vertical recovery. Although his attributes allow for long horizontal recovery, Egg Throw grants only minimal vertical distance. By extension, Yoshi is overly reliant on his double jump for recovery, 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 he makes off-stage could potentially prove fatal.

Another very glaring weakness is his grab game, which is widely considered to be among the worst in the game. Yoshi's pummel is the only positive trait of his grab game, thanks to its quick speed, average damage output, and its release being a useful set-up into his neutral attack. Outside of this, his grabs' good ranges are offset by their very punishable amounts of start-up and ending lag. Yoshi's forward and back throws are his fastest and most damaging throws. However, they have average damage outputs; below-average base knockback; and low knockback growth, which makes them unreliable for scoring KOs or starting combos. His up and down throws are also unable to KO reliably and, despite having low damage outputs, lack combo potential because of their lag. Yoshi's ability to escape pressure is also limited, as his rolls and sidesteps are short-distance, among the slowest in the game, and have some of the lowest amounts of intangibility frames. By extension, his shield is the smallest in the game, and he is the only character who is unable to perform shield platform dropping.

Lastly, Yoshi's KO potential is problematic for a heavyweight. Although his smash attacks, up aerial and grounded Yoshi Bomb, are his most reliable KOing options thanks to their respectable power, they are burdened with very short durations and punishable amounts of ending lag. However, forward smash, down smash, and Yoshi Bomb also suffer from other particular flaws. Forward smash has noticeable start-up lag, down smash's back hit is more effective for KOing than its front hit, and Yoshi Bomb's short range makes it best suited from out of shield. While Yoshi's neutral, forward, and back aerials also possess KO potential, their very low base knockback makes them best suited for doing so while near the left or right blast line.

Yoshi gains noticeable benefits from his custom moves. Lick is effectively his best custom move: it is a semi-spike that is powerful enough to KO reliably, yet can also provide function as a horizontal recovery option, thanks to it slightly boosting Yoshi forward. Egg Launch deals more damage and launches opponents away, which can be used as a potent way minimize their chances of recovering. Heavy Egg Roll is slower, but deals much more damage and has armor throughout its duration. Conversely, Light Egg Roll has more power and moves higher and faster, but ends after its bounce. High Jump covers noticeably more distance, but in turn removes Yoshi's only projectile. Star Bomb has less power, but its stars are larger and more damaging. Conversely, Crushing Bomb is strong enough to easily KO opponents of any weight, yet is punishable because of its much slower speed and lack of stars.

Overall, Yoshi is effectively a heavyweight version of the all-rounder archetype, thanks to his lack of glaring issues against the majority of the cast. Due to his strengths and low learning curve, Yoshi has managed to achieve respectable placings at all levels of play, thanks to the likes of Raptor, Sky, Papa Wall, Poltergust, Kamikaze, Seth, Snoop, and Ron. However, Yoshi's easily exploitable weaknesses have nevertheless resulted in his representation remaining below-average in competitive play.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Yoshi was seen as a low to mid tier character in Brawl, as despite his fast mobility and great survivability, he had a severe lack of KO power for a heavyweight character, a very poor recovery without his double jump and the absolute worst shield in the game due to his inability to jump out of shield while still taking hitstun in shield, a shield drop animation that was much slower compared to everyone else, and the loss of all his advanced techniques from Melee. He was negatively affected by Brawl's mechanics and its focus on defensive options and the character's options out of shield, which worsened these problems, while the introduction of hitstun canceling and the loss of double jump canceling hindered his combos. Likely as a result, he received a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition, and while he received more nerfs than buffs, the buffs he received addressed his weaknesses. As a result, Yoshi was buffed in the transition.

Many of Yoshi's attacks have more speed, are stronger, and have more utility, while the issues that plagued him in Brawl were fixed: thanks to the changes to hitstun canceling, his combo game has improved to the point of granting him new KO set-ups, and his smash attacks, while dealing less damage, are stronger. Yoshi's biggest buff, however, was to his shield game, which was previously the main issue that plagued him. Yoshi's shield grab is faster, and for the first time since Smash 64, Yoshi can jump out of shield. The other issues which plagued his shield in Brawl such as his longer shield drop, his inability to powershield cancel and his inability to throw items out of a roll were all fixed, making his out of shield game much better; no longer being the worst in the game by a huge margin (although his out of shield game is still rather poor). The only new disadvantages Yoshi has while in shield are that he cannot shield platform drop and his spot dodge is significantly worse (going from one of the best to being fairly mediocre), but the buffs to his shields far outweigh these nerfs. Lastly, due to standing more consistently upright, his nose is less exposed, making him less vulnerable to spacing.

However, Yoshi has also received some noticeable nerfs. Yoshi's grab game was made even worse. He can no longer air release his opponents while he is pummeling them, and the general changes to air releases hinder him more than almost any other character as he has now lost all of the follow-ups he had out of an air release, and the removal of chain grabbing further exacerbates this issue. His previously excellent pivot grab is also much laggier, making it far less spammable and much easier to punish. His damage output is also lower, and his forward and up tilts are laggier making them worse spacing tools, and his down tilt is much weaker. His aerial game has also seen various downgrades. His air speed is lower, neutral aerial has worse KO potential and lingers for a shorter amount of time, forward aerial is weaker and has a stricter auto-cancel window, up aerial is weaker, and down aerial has less edgeguarding potential. Back aerial, while connecting more reliably and having a stronger final hit, has lost one of its looping hits, making it less damaging, and it has drastically reduced combo potential, as the first two hits have higher knockback and altered angles and the move has much higher ending and landing lag and cannot auto-cancel in a short hop anymore, which also greatly hinders its safety and spacing potential. The eggs from his Egg Throw also deal less damage, and Yoshi can no longer edge cancel Egg Toss, hindering its camping potential when used at the ledge, although Egg Throw is faster.

Overall, Yoshi's main issues from Brawl were fixed, resulting in him being stronger overall, especially when compared to the cast, although the general changes to Smash 4's mechanics do not benefit him as much as other characters. While Yoshi was initially regarded highly when Smash 4 was first released, his perception over time decreased as many characters were buffed significantly more than he was, and the inclusion of Bayonetta and Cloud proved to be problematic for him. When combined with his overall low representation, he is now generally agreed upon to be a mid-tier character.

Aesthetics

• Due to the aesthetic used in SSB4, Yoshi has a sleeker design, and his overall color scheme is significantly more vibrant. His body has a more chartreuse color, consistent with his appearance outside of Smash Bros. as well as Smash 64. Unlike in previous installments, he now stands upright, as with his standard appearances outside of mainline Mario games. Altogether, these changes make Yoshi appear virtually identical to his appearance as of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
• Yoshi has received two new alternate costumes. The first is Purple Yoshi, and the second is Black Yoshi.
• Yoshi now faces the foreground at a slight angle, instead of facing directly forward.
• Yoshi is slightly more expressive. His irises now shrink during the end of his pivot grab and when he is hit, launched, or prone/supine.
• Yoshi's boots and double jump's sound clips are lower pitched. He also vocalizes less frequently while double jumping.
• Yoshi Eggs now match Yoshi's selected color scheme. This also applies to Kirby's copied Egg Lay.

Attributes

• Yoshi has a new default idle animation where he stands more upright. This makes him harder to hit horizontally but easier to hit vertically.
  • As a sidenote, Yoshi retains his idle pose from Brawl while holding a small item.
• Yoshi's upright posture has translated into various moves in his moveset, be it through a tweaked animation or a completely new move.
  • Due to standing more consistently upright, Yoshi doesn't lean forward as much, leaving his nose hurtbox less exposed. This makes him less vulnerable to spacing from attacks aimed at his nose.
• Yoshi dashes faster (1.68 → 1.86).
• Yoshi's air speed is slower (1.316 → 1.28), although it is still the fastest in the game (excluding Giga Mac, Wario-Man, and lightest Mii Brawler).
• Yoshi's air acceleration is higher (0.08 → 0.098).
• As with all returning veterans from Brawl, Yoshi’s fast-falling speed is faster (1.806 → 2.064). However, it has gone from the 11th lowest out of 39 characters to the 8th lowest out of 58.
• Yoshi is lighter (107 → 104), hindering his endurance.
• Yoshi's gravity is higher (0.07347 → 0.08).
• Yoshi's shield drop is significantly shorter (16 frames → 7), now matching the rest of the cast.
• For the first time since Smash 64, Yoshi can now jump out of shield.
• Yoshi can now powershield cancel.
• Yoshi can once again throw items out of a roll; however, due to the removal of glide tossing, this has minimal impact. The removal of glide tossing benefits Yoshi more than any other returning veteran, as it hinders much of the rest of the cast's approach with items, and Yoshi still has access to his long super glide toss, making his approach with items much better relative to the cast.
  • Altogether, these changes significantly improve Yoshi's out of shield options; resulting in his shield no longer being near unusable.
• Yoshi can no longer shield platform drop, slightly hindering his out of shield game on platforms, although the other changes to his shield more than make up for it.
• Yoshi's double jump now functions more like other double jumps, with Yoshi now rising immediately, instead of moving downwards for some time before rising upwards.
  • This improves Yoshi's ability to chase opponents vertically, as well as improving his vertical recovery potential.
  • This also means it can now be affected by special gravity conditions.
  • However, this also reduces its horizontal distance as Yoshi reaches maximum height and starts falling sooner.
  • This also removes Yoshi's Dragonic Reverse and triple jump techniques, hindering double jump's utility.
• Yoshi can no longer grab ledges during the beginning of his double jump. When combined with the altered way the double jump functions, this makes it harder for Yoshi to grab ledges from behind.
• Rolls have a longer duration (frames 4-19 → 4-21), especially when compared to the rest of the cast.
• Back roll has less ending lag (FAF 38 → 36).
• Forward roll has more ending lag (FAF 35 → 36).
• Air dodge has less startup (frame 4 → 3) and ending lag (FAF 50 → 34).
• Spot dodge has more startup lag, a shorter duration (frames 2-20 → 3-18) and more ending lag (FAF 23 → 28), no longer being one of the fastest spot dodges in the game.
• The removal of meteor canceling significantly hinders Yoshi's endurance against meteor smashes more than any other returning veteran besides Olimar and Zero Suit Samus due to him previously having a shorter meteor-cancel window than most other characters.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack has an altered animation. Yoshi now jumps up when performing the first kick, and the second hit is now a roundhouse kick.
  • The near hitbox on both hits now has the lowest hitbox priority out of all the hitboxes rather than the highest (ID# 0 → 2).
  • Yoshi's attacking foot is no longer intangible when performing either hit or neutral attack.
  • Both hits have smaller hitboxes (5u/4u/4u → 3.3u/4.5u/3.3u).
  • The first hit has higher base knockback (8 → 30), significantly improving its jab canceling potential.
    • However, this also makes it connect less reliably into the second hit at higher percents, especially against aerial opponents.
  • The first hit has a lower SDI multiplier (1.5x → 1x).
  • The first hit has a shorter duration (frames 3-5 → 3-4).
  • The first hit's near hitbox has been moved further outwards, reducing its range inside Yoshi.
  • Yoshi now moves forwards when performing the second hit; however, he does not stretch his foot out as far. This gives it a similar amount of range overall.
  • The second hit deals less damage (6% → 4%) and knockback (25 (base), 100 (scaling) → 56/70).
    • However, the move is still capable of leading into follow-ups at lower percents due to Yoshi's new dash attack.
  • On the second hit's second active frame, Yoshi now moves his foot slightly backwards rather than moving it backwards and upwards, reducing its vertical range.
    • However, this also gives it a more consistent horizontal range.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has less startup lag (frame 6 → 5).
  • Forward tilt has higher base knockback (40 → 50), making the down angled version stronger.
  • Forward tilt has more ending lag (FAF 30 → 39), hindering its ability to set up juggles.
  • Forward tilt has smaller hitboxes (5u (near)/4.25u (mid)/3.5u (up/non-angled tip)/4u (down tip) → 4u/3.5u/2.8u) and the middle/far hitboxes have been moved closer to Yoshi (x offsets: 8/15 → 7.5/13.5), reducing its range.
  • The up and non-angled versions deal less damage (10% (up)/9% (non-angled) → 8%/7%).
  • The up-angled version's mid hitbox launches opponents at a lower, more horizontal angle (70° → 65°), now matching the other variants.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has a longer duration (frames 7-11 → 8-15).
  • Up tilt has an altered animation where Yoshi swings his tail at a much wider arc. This gives it a more horizontal and vertical range.
  • Up tilt deals less damage (11% (tail)/10% (tip) → 7%), without full compensation on its knockback scaling (40 → 45).
    • However, when combined with the changes to hitstun canceling and DI, this improves its combo potential despite its higher ending lag.
  • Up tilt has more startup (frame 7 → 8) and ending lag (FAF 30 → 32).
    • The move's higher startup lag makes the hitboxes start higher, with shorter characters now being able to consistently crouch underneath it.
  • Up tilt has smaller hitboxes (6u/6u/5u → 4u/4.5u/2.5u) with the move having less range inside of Yoshi.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has an altered animation where Yoshi moves forwards before he swings his tail, and his tail no longer becomes much longer. The tail's hitboxes have also been extended further outwards (x offset: 0/1.2/0.5 → 1/3/3.5). Both of these changes combined result in the move no longer having a deceptively short range, with the move now actually matching Yoshi's tail.
    • Despite this, down tilt still has roughly the same horizontal range overall.
    • This new animation is longer, however (23 frames → 41), increasing the amount of time Yoshi cannot crawl or turn around.
  • Down tilt deals much less damage (10% (near)/5% (far) → 5% (near)/4.5% (mid)/4% (far)) without compensation on its knockback, significantly hindering its edgeguarding potential.
    • However, these changes improve the move's tech-chasing potential when combined with the changes to hitstun canceling and DI.
  • Down tilt has smaller hitboxes (5u/5u/4u → 3.5u/3.5u/3u). This gives the move less vertical range as well as less range inside of Yoshi.
• Dash attack:
  • Yoshi has a new dash attack, a side kick.
  • Dash attack covers much more space in a shorter period of time, going from covering just over 25% of Final Destination to now covering just over 40% of Final Destination. This not only makes it a much better burst movement option as well as greatly improves its approach and cross-up potential, but it also makes it a much better combo extender.
  • The clean hit's far hitbox has been positioned further away from Yoshi (z offset: 6 → 9), improving its range.
  • Dash attack has much more base knockback but much less knockback scaling (15 (base), 100 (scaling) → 90/52). This drastically improves the move's safety on hit at lower percents but hinders its overall KO potential.
  • Dash attack launches opponents at a higher angle (361° → 65°). When combined with its increased distance and higher knockback, this enables it to set up juggles but hinders its edgeguarding potential, as well as removing its ability to lock opponents.
  • Dash attack's hitboxes are positioned lower (y offset: 7.5 → 6.2 (clean)/7 (late)).
  • Dash attack has a shorter duration (frames 10-13 (clean)/14-23 (late) → 10-12/13-20).
  • Dash attack has more ending lag (FAF 42 → 50).
  • Dash attack no longer grants intangibility to Yoshi's head.
  • Dash attack has smaller hitboxes (5.5u/4u → 5u/3.5u).
  • The near hitbox has been moved closer to Yoshi (z offset: 0 → 4 (clean)/3 (late)), giving the dash attack less range inside of Yoshi.
  • The late hit deals less damage (7% → 6%).
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash deals more knockback (20 (base), 92 (scaling) → 30/(97/98/97)) improving the head hitbox's KO potential.
  • The head hitboxes are larger (3.7u/4.2u → 4.8u/5u) and they have been moved further away from Yoshi (x/y offsets: 0/(2.8/-1) → (3.2/5.8)/1.2). This gives forward smash more range, giving it a smaller blind spot.
  • The far hitbox now has the lowest hitbox priority (ID# 0 → 2). As the far hitbox is now a sourspot, this benefits the move.
  • The near hitbox now always launches opponents in the direction Yoshi is facing.
  • Forward smash has a shorter duration (frames 14-16 → 14).
  • Forward smash grants less intangibility to Yoshi's head (frames 12-16 → 12-14).
  • Forward smash has more ending lag (FAF 50 → 53).
  • Forward smash deals less damage (16% → 15.5% (head)/14% (body)/13% (head's tip), hindering the near and especially the far hit's KO potential.
  • The near hitbox is slightly smaller (3u → 2.9u) and it has been moved closer to Yoshi, with it now only covering Yoshi's front foot rather than covering the lower end of his saddle up to the top of his back foot. This gives the move less range inside of Yoshi despite the near hitbox now being extended.
  • The near hitbox now has the highest hitbox priority (ID# 2 → 0). As the near hitbox is now a sourspot, this hinders the move.
• Up smash:
  • Yoshi has a new up smash, a bicycle kick. The move now hits in front of Yoshi and then behind rather than from behind to in front.
  • Up smash deals more knockback (23 (base), 83 (scaling) → 37/95), improving its KO potential despite its lower damage.
  • Up smash has more vertical range and downwards range in front of Yoshi due to its new animation.
  • Up smash has more ending lag (FAF 43 → 47).
  • Up smash deals less damage (16% → 14% ).
  • Up smash now has a late hit for the second half of its duration, which deals much less damage (16% → 12%), hindering its KO potential despite its higher knockback.
  • Up smash has smaller hitboxes (6u/5u → 5u/3.5u). When combined with its new animation, this gives the move less horizontal range both in front of and especially behind Yoshi.
  • Up smash has much less downwards range behind Yoshi, with the move now failing to hit smaller characters if they are behind Yoshi.
  • Up smash grants less intangibility (frames 11-16 → 11-13).
    • Additionally, since Yoshi's right foot is now intangible rather than his large head, this makes the move easier to intercept.
  • Up smash covers less distance out of an initial dash unless Yoshi jump cancels the up smash, making it harder to use as an approach tool.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash deals more knockback (30 (base), 63/53 (scaling) → 40/73 (front sweetspot), 43/57 (front sourspot), 40/81 (back sweetspot), 43/75 (back sourspot)) improving the first hit's sweetspot and the second hit's KO potential despite its lower damage, especially the second hit.
    • However, the first hit's sourspot's knockback was not fully compensated for its lower damage, hindering its KO potential.
  • Down smash deals less damage (14% (front)/13% (back) → 12% (mid tail)/10% (body/far tail)).
  • Down smash has more startup lag (frame 6 → 7).
    • However, its total duration was unchanged, slightly decreasing its ending lag.
  • Down smash has smaller htiboxes which are now extended (6u/5u/4.3u → 3.5u/2u), reducing its range.
  • The sourspot now uses an extended hitbox which stretches from Yoshi's body to the end of his tail. This means that the sourspot can now connect if the opponent is inside of Yoshi, as well as still connecting if they are far away from Yoshi.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial now uses one extended hitbox rather than multiple normal hitboxes. This gives neutral aerial a more consistent vertical range.
  • The clean hit has a larger hitbox (4.3u/4.3u/3.5u → 4.8u) which gives it more vertical range as well as slightly more range behind Yoshi.
  • The mid and late hit have higher base knockback (0 → 30), improving their KO potential, despite their lower damage.
    • However, this also hinders their locking potential as well as their follow-up potential at higher percents, especially when combined with neutral aerial's shorter duration/higher landing lag.
  • The mid and late hits are positioned further away from Yoshi (z offset: 3.3 → 4 (mid)/3.5 (late)) with the mid hit's hitbox also being larger than its previous foot hitbox (3.3u → 3.6u). This gives them slightly more range in front of Yoshi, especially the mid hit.
  • Neutral aerial has a shorter duration (frames 3-5 (clean)/6-15 (mid)/16-31 (late) → 3-4/5-11/12-25).
  • Neutral aerial has more landing lag (9 frames → 11).
  • The clean hit deals less damage (12% → 10%) without full compensation on its knockback (15 (base), 100 (scaling) → 40/86), hindering its KO potential.
  • The clean hit now has a static hitbox, rather than hitboxes attached to Yoshi's body. This gives it slightly less horizontal range during its later active frames.
  • The mid and late hits deal less damage (9% (mid)/6% (late) → 7%/5%).
  • The mid and late hits do not extend as far behind Yoshi, and they have smaller hitboxes compared to their previous body hitboxes (4u (mid)/3.5u (late) → 3.6u/3u), giving them less range behind Yoshi.
  • Yoshi can no longer perform a double jump after a short hop neutral aerial due to his lower short hop/higher gravity.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has less startup lag with a longer duration (frames 19-21 → 16-20).
    • However, its total duration was unchanged, giving it more ending lag.
  • Forward aerial has a new animation where Yoshi now slightly turns his head before and during the headbutt. Yoshi extends his head out further, giving the move considerably more range.
    • However, this animation is also longer (49 frames → 67), increasing the amount of time Yoshi cannot grab ledges after using the move.
  • Forward aerial has received a new horizontal launching hitbox, which is positioned in front of the head hitbox. When combined with the move's new animation, this significantly improves forward aerial's horizontal range.
    • However, this new hitbox has priority over the head hitbox, and it overlaps with the head hitbox, making th