Yoshi is all about egg-related moves, like throwing eggs, swallowing opponents and turning them into eggs, or turning into an egg and charging toward an opponent. With a high jump, recovery is a piece of cake for Yoshi! And for his Final Smash, a Yoshi army stampedes through the stage.
Yoshi (ヨッシー, Yoshi) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was revealed for the game along with the rest of the veterans on June 12th, 2018; he was the last veteran to be confirmed along with Luigi, appearing at the very end of the trailer. Yoshi is classified as fighter #05.
As in all previous Smash Bros. games, Kazumi Totaka's portrayal of Yoshi from Yoshi's Story and other games of the Mario series was repurposed for Ultimate.
Yoshi is a heavyweight fighter with above-average mobility, good frame data, and decent KO potential. He sports a unique shield in the form of a Yoshi Egg, which generally lasts longer than most shields and is larger in size; thus, it does a good job of protecting Yoshi from powerful attacks.
As stated previously, Yoshi sports excellent mobility: having the 26th fastest walking speed, the 18th fastest dashing speed (with an above-average initial dash to boot), the single fastest air speed in the game, and the 14th highest air acceleration. Additionally, Yoshi sports the 17th highest jumping prowess in the game; this can be owed to his especially high double jump. However, his traction and gravity are only the 60th and 63rd highest in the game; further compounding this, his falling and fast-falling speeds are among the bottom 10 in the game. Thus, Yoshi is a very speedy, yet a bit floaty character, which is very unusual for his weight.
Complementing his high mobility, Yoshi's moveset possesses very good utility. Both hits of neutral attack can connect into each other, and the first hit can also be used to jab lock; forward tilt serves as a reliable combo starter at low-mid percents, due to its moderate base knockback and vertical launch angle; up tilt is an effective combo starter with low knockback growth, and leads to KO confirms at higher percents; and down tilt is his fastest tilt, sporting good range and serving as a reliable tech chasing option. Lastly, dash attack has a high reach and duration; this, combined with its decent knockback, makes it good for KOing opponents at later percents and punishing rolls or techs. Yoshi's smash attacks are also useful in their own right: forward smash has a powerful sweet spot that out prioritizes its slightly weaker sour spot - allowing it to KO at reasonable percents - and has decent start-up, can be angled, and grants Yoshi intangibility for its duration; up smash has good horizontal and vertical range, reasonable start-up, and a powerful sweet spot, allowing it to KO at percents as low as 120% provided the sweet spot hits; lastly, down smash is extremely quick in both start-up and ending lag which, coupled with its good range, makes it an adept option for punishing rolling opponents.
Although his grounded moveset comes with potent attacks, it is Yoshi's aerial attacks that possess high usefulness and make up his fantastic air game. Neutral aerial has a very fast sex kick with low all-around lag, decent range, and good power, allowing it to either KO at surprisingly early percents, serve as an effective combo breaker, be a tech-chase set-up, and be his primary out of shield option. Forward aerial also possesses high range and reasonable all-around lag, and comes with impressive damage; its tipper hitbox meteor smashes opponents, allowing for offstage KOs to occur as early as 20%. Back aerial boasts high speed and high power, with its first two hits being effective combo starters and its final hit KOing below 130%. Up aerial possesses high vertical range and a hitbox that hits behind the opponent which, in tandem with its impressive damage output and low all-around lag, makes it an effective juggling option. Lastly, down aerial serves as the most damaging aerial in the game; its hits can easily link into each other, with its high vertical knockback allows it to KO at reasonable percentages near the upper blast zone. His grab is also relatively decent: his grab release and throws grant invincibility during their animations, pummel is fast and deals average damage, forward and back throws are decent KO options by the ledge, up throw has combo potential into his up air at low percents, and down throw has little ending lag making it his most useful combo throw.
Yoshi's special moves are also very effective tools for the character. Egg Lay is a command grab which traps the opponent in an egg for a short amount of time, allowing it to work as a damage racker, and when B-reversed is an effective surprise trapping option. Egg Roll travels decently fast on the ground and deals effective damage when running into an opponent, Yoshi Bomb gives Yoshi an option to escape juggles if the situation allows for it, can go through soft platforms, does high damage in both the ground and air, and the grounded version deals high shield damage. However, his best special move is easily his Egg Throw, his only but incredibly effective projectile. The trajectory of the move can be changed depending on the angle of the joystick, can bounce on the ground, and allow Yoshi to have an option for zoning.
Although Yoshi's strengths allow him to be effective in many instances, he has some noticeable weaknesses. Main problem being that his recovery is very limited: his double jump and airspeed make getting back onstage with him more plausible, but his double jump can only be used once and if his opponent has a move that breaks his super armor limit, then he'll be in a very bad situation for getting back onstage. His other recovery options outside of his double jump are very short-ranged and punishable, with Egg Throw only giving vertical distance upon its first three usages and directional air dodges having high ending lag.
His approach can also be very punishable as his moves outside of tilts are noticeably slower, with every one of his aerial attacks outside of his neutral and up aerials having below-average speed, and most of his attacks have short-range that leaves him vulnerable to getting stuffed out by disjointed hitboxes. His grab is also very punishable when missed despite its invincibility and long-range, Egg Lay is very limited and has no usage if the opponent is far away, Egg Roll has very predictable trajectory and is hard for Yoshi to get out of if the attack doesn't work well in his certain situation, and Yoshi Bomb is also predictable if used unsafely and has high ending lag when Yoshi hits the ground.
Overall, Yoshi is still a strong character despite his glaring weaknesses. With his fast speed and reliable attacks, he has the ability to combo, take out stocks, and play an effective neutral game. His tournament results have been very strong because of these attributes, with players such as Suarez, Ron, and Meme showing the potential that he has, and some players even consider him to be better than he was in Smash 64, although the latter is debatable.
Yoshi was greatly buffed in the transition to Ultimate.
One of the biggest buffs was to his previously poor KO power for a heavyweight. His KO power has been noticeably improved, as has his ability to rack up damage at lower percents thanks to changes to moves like back air and forward tilt. All of his aerials have reduced landing lag, and the universal nerfs to air dodging make his edge guarding with both aerials and Egg Throw much more potent. His already excellent mobility was increased even more, as his walk and run speed are now faster, while Yoshi still has the fastest airspeed in the game (which itself was increased).
Yoshi's recovery received both buffs and nerfs. His increased airspeed allows him to better come back to the stage horizontally, while the reintroduction of directional air dodges allows him to mix up his recovery options; Egg Throw, Yoshi's up special, grants more diagonal distance during its first three uses. However, Yoshi's overall jump height - while still impressive - has nevertheless been lowered, hampering his vertical survivability offstage. Further compounding this, air dodges have more ending lag - making them considerably more punishable; thus, players have to cautiously use their air dodges in tandem with Yoshi's double jump and Egg Throw or face a guaranteed self-destruct.
Yoshi has received some minor nerfs. One nerf was to his up tilt, which has less range, no longer hitting opponents from up close. Another slight nerf is that while his dash attack was buffed overall, it is more punishable since it can't cross up shields. Lastly, Yoshi retains some significant flaws from SSB4, particularly his very underwhelming grab game and lack of effective recovery options other than his double jump, despite the buffs to Egg Throw.
Overall, Yoshi's buffs outweigh his nerfs, granting him a stronger competitive presence and lower learning curve. As such, Yoshi's buffs have resulted in a positive perception among the community. Most professionals consider him to be a high-tier character. As a result, Yoshi players such as Suarez, Meme, Ron, and Danbi have garnered strong results with Yoshi, with some even arguing that he is better than his Smash 64 iteration. In recent times, however, Yoshi’s placements have not been as strong and consistent compared to the early metagame. As such, while improved from SSB4, his viability is debatable.
Aesthetics
Due to the aesthetic used in Ultimate, Yoshi's model features a more subdued color scheme, but unlike in Brawl, it retains its brighter green color from the Mario and Yoshi series used in Smash 64 and SSB4. His irises appear larger while his shoes feature subtle detailing.
Spot dodge grants less intangibility (frames 3-18 → 3-17).
Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 3-28 → 3-30).
Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 34 → 59).
The reintroduction of directional air dodges benefits Yoshi, as due to Egg Throw not causing helplessness, he can get additional distance with a directional air dodge after using it.
The removal of shield platform dropping benefits Yoshi, as he was the only character unable to perform the technique in Smash 4. When combined with his unique shield rendering him immune to shield stabbing, this effectively gives him the best shield in the game.
Yoshi's double jump armor has been altered. The armor duration is significantly shorter, but like in Smash 64 and Melee, knockback taken is reduced if the armor is broken by an attack with sufficiently high knockback.
The first hit transitions into the second hit faster (frame 9 → 6).
Both hits have a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.5× (hit 1), 2× (hit 2)), giving opponents more time to SDI the first hit and DI the second hit.
The first hit has altered angles (60°/90°/50° → 361°/180°) and knockback (30 base/50 scaling → 40/35/10 base/30/28/20 scaling) to keep opponents close to Yoshi, akin to other neutral attacks. This allows it to connect better into the second hit and jab lock, but removes some of its guaranteed jab cancel setups.
Due to this change, and the second hit using the Sakurai angle, grounded opponents hit by the move are launched at a lower angle. This allows it to get them offstage more effectively, but makes followups harder.
Forward tilt has drastically less ending lag (FAF 39 → 30).
It launches opponents at higher angles (80°/65°/50° → 88°/85°), and has more base knockback (50 → 60), but less knockback scaling (80 → 75). Combined with the previous change, this turns it into a reliable combo starter, while also improving its KO ability.
It deals more damage when not angled (7% → 8%).
The outermost hitbox is slightly larger (2.8u → 3u).
Its animation has been altered, with Yoshi no longer performing a full spin when swinging his tail. Yoshi also has an angry expression.
Forward smash has two different hitboxes instead of three, with the sweetspot taking priority over the sourspot and being located closer to Yoshi. This effectively removes its weaker sourspot (that dealt 13%) and makes the sweetspot easier to land.
It has a longer hitbox duration (frame 14 → 14-16) and grants more intangibility on Yoshi's head (frames 12-14 → 12-16).
The sweetspot has more knockback scaling (98 → 102).
Down smash launches at a lower angle (30° → 26°) and deals more knockback (hit 1:40/42 base/73/57 scaling → 51/46/75/63, hit 2: 40/42 base/81/75 scaling → 51/44/83/75), allowing it to KO around 150% with the first and 130% with the second hit from center stage.
Aerial attacks
All aerials have less landing lag (11 frames → 7 (neutral), 17 → 12 (forward), 19 → 11 (back), 14 → 8 (up), 24 → 17 (down)).
Back aerial deals more damage (2.5% → 3.5% (hits 1-2), 5% → 5.5% (hit 3), total: 10% → 12.5%) with knockback not compensated on the third hit, increasing its KO potential.
It has much lower hitlag multipliers (2× → 0.5× (hits 1-2), 1.5× (hit 3)), allowing it to execute faster and making the first two hits harder to SDI.
The second and third hits have less startup lag (frame 17/25 → 14/18), causing them to connect more reliably.
However, the move's total duration remains unchanged, giving it more ending lag.
The move's first two hits deal much less knockback (30/50 base/200/150 scaling → 20 base/100 scaling), and use the autolink angle against grounded opponents as well (361° → 367°) instead of only aerial ones. This allows them to connect more reliably, and combined with the move's lower landing lag, start combos at a wide range of percentages.
All hitboxes have been moved upwards (Y offset: 2u-4u → 3u-5u (hit 1 and 2), 3u → 5u (hit 3)), increasing the move's range above Yoshi, but reducing it below him.
Back aerial has a slightly altered animation, with Yoshi striking a new pose at the end of the move.
Down aerial's looping hits have a lower hitlag multiplier (1.1× → 0.6×), use the autolink angle (270°/260°/280° → 367°), and have consistent knockback scaling (100/80 → 100), allowing them to connect more reliably and making them harder to SDI, despite their higher SDI multiplier (1.5× → 1.8×).
The landing hit deals more knockback that is no longer set (40 set/100 scaling → 65 base/100 scaling), causing opponents to tumble even at 0%. This allows it to set up edgeguards more effectively, and grants it followups at low percents if the opponent fails to tech.
The move's initial auto-cancel window has been removed.
It has smaller hitboxes (6u/4.5u → 5u/3.5u (looping hits), 7u/5u → 6.5u/4.5u (last hit)).
The looping hits deal less damage (3%/2% → 2.3%/1.8% (hits 1-6), 2.2%/1.5% → 1.9%/1.4% (hits 7-12)), reducing the move's maximum damage output (32.2% → 28%) despite the last hit dealing more damage (1% → 2.8%).
The last hit's knockback has not been fully compensated for its higher damage output (60 base/200 scaling → 55/179), improving its KO potential.
The last hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (1.1× → 1.5×).
All grabs have noticeably less ending lag (FAF 56 → 49 (standing), 68 → 57 (dash), 65 → 52 (pivot)), especially compared to the rest of the cast, as all non-extended grabs have conversely had their ending lag increased.
Dash and pivot grab have more startup lag (frame 11 → 16 (dash), 10 → 17 (pivot)), no longer being faster than his standing grab. His pivot grab in particular has gone from among the fastest to one of the slowest.
Yoshi's pivot grab animation has been altered; Yoshi pauses for a bit before turning around on one foot.
Yoshi's grab animation has changed. After grabbing an opponent and holding them in his mouth, his cheeks become swollen and jiggle, as if the fighter inside is trying to break out. He also holds his mouth closed with his hands, and no longer crouches down to the ground.
Down throw releases the opponent later (frame 15 → 25), making it easier to DI.
However, its ending lag has been reduced relative to its release frame (FAF 44 → 51). Combined with Yoshi's faster jumpsquat and jump speed, this improves its combo potential, possessing followups even up to high percents.
Egg Roll deals drastically more damage (4%-≈9% → 10%-≈13.8%).
Its base knockback and knockback scaling have been reversed (50/70 → 70/50), making it safer on hit at low percents, while still improving its KO potential due to its higher damage output.
Yoshi always bounces once when using Egg Roll on the ground. This makes the move's execution slower and more predictable.
Yoshi has a new Final Smash called Stampede!. He headbutts in front of him and an army of multicolored Yoshis stampede over the trapped players, similar to his part of the Super Smash Bros. Melee opening.
Update history
In addition to a single glitch being fixed, Yoshi has received a mix of minor buffs and nerfs via game updates.
Yoshi pushes opponents away less while charging his forward smash, no longer causing certain characters' grabs to be unable to reach him from the front.
Yoshi's shield hitbox is bigger. Since it is impossible to shield stab Yoshi, this does not improve his shield's safety, instead making it easier to hit from a distance.
Yoshi's head and legs are briefly intangible after activating his shield.
Yoshi uses a Yoshi Egg as his shield, rather than a bubble like the rest of the cast. Rather than shrinking, his shield grows darker as it weakens, rendering him immune to shield stabbing.
Yoshi possesses a special type of armor during the entire duration of his double jump that subtracts 120 units of knockback, with Yoshi not flinching at all if the result is negative, or otherwise only receiving the knockback difference.
Swings his tail in a forward direction. Due to the vertical launch angle, moderate base knockback, and drastically reduced ending lag, it can reliably start combos. It can follow into up smash, neutral and up aerial at low to mid percents.
Brings his tail upwards, going from front to back. The front hitbox is now placed higher off the ground, making it unreliable in hitting grounded opponents. However, the back hit still hits close to the ground. Yoshi's most effective combo starter due to low knockback growth and can even reach the low platforms of Battlefield, it leads into devastating combo strings at around low to mid percents and KO confirms at higher percents.
Lays on all fours and spins his body around to attack with his tail. The attack does the least amount of damage out of all his tilts but has the lowest ending lag out of all of Yoshi's tilts. It can be useful for tech chasing and stage control.
A far-reaching sidekick. Its long-range and duration can create cross-ups and is capable of punishing rolls or techs. However, its high amount of ending lag can make it very punishable.
Rears his head back to perform a headbutt. The sweet spot takes priority over the sour spot and can be made into a fast KO option. It can also be angled and his head is intangible during the attack. It has a high amount of ending lag, however, and makes it punishable because of it. Yoshi's head becomes intangible, starting from frame 12. It comes out on frame 14.
Performs a bicycle kick. The attack has a clean hitbox and can be a potential KO option. It can hit opponents who are behind Yoshi but has somewhat punishable ending lag.
Crouches and swings his tail forward, and then backward. Compared to his other smash attacks, it lacks any real versatility outside of reading ledge rolls or instances where forward and up smash are punishable.
A flying sex kick with very low startup (frame 3). Good power and one of Yoshi's most versatile moves. Its low landing lag allows it to lead reliably into follow-ups at low to mid percents, depending on which hitbox connects. A potent out-of-shield option, as well as a combo breaker. Effective at setting up tech chases.
Rears his head back and then performs a downward headbutt. Possibly Yoshi's best edge guarding tool, with both hitboxes dealing an impressive amount of damage, knockback, and the tip is a meteor smash. But it has decent startup lag (16 frames) and can no longer autocancel in a short hop.
Hits three times with his tail. Moderate startup lag, with its first hit coming out at frame 11, but has a solid damage output and good knockback. Grounded opponents receive low vertical knockback from the first two hits, making them effective at starting combos. Autocancels in a full hop.
Flicks his tail upwards. Yoshi's fastest aerial attack, having frame 5 startup. Autocancels in a short hop and has good knockback, making it a reliable KO option. It has a large vertical hitbox where the back can even hit grounded opponents, and due to being a very effective juggling option, it’s one of Yoshi’s most useful moves.
Yoshi performs a series of downwards kicks that closely resembles his Flutter Jump. Notorious for being the most damaging aerial move in every iteration of the game, it deals 28% base damage if all the hits connect. Hits link reliably into each other and the final hit has high base knockback, making the move a powerful vertical KO option when near the top blast zone.
Opens his mouth and lets out his tongue to pull the opponent into his mouth. Compared to other fighters, Yoshi’s grabs have a lot more range, but a considerable amount of startup and ending lag.
Spits the opponent upwards. The throw has significantly increased knockback, allowing it to KO at around 230% compared to 500% in previous games. Otherwise, it has limited utility outside of tech chase setups on high platforms.
Yoshi swallows the opponent and traps them in a Yoshi Egg. When the opponent is trapped, they can escape by button mashing. They stay trapped longer the more damage they have. Upon escaping, opponents gain brief intangibility.
Yoshi will encase himself in a large Yoshi Egg after a small hop then rolls around the stage. Damage dealt is proportional to momentum. Can jump once during the move. The attack has limited usage due to its predictable movement, slow startup and end lag, and lack of armor or disjoints. It does not deal damage until it first touches the ground. Can stall at the ledge if the control stick is not held towards it, but does no damage when stationary. It can be canceled earlier by hitting the special button. Can move through shields.
Throws a Yoshi Egg that travels on a controllable, parabolic arc. When used in midair, the first three throws cause Fall Breaks that grant Yoshi significant vertical distance based on his current vertical momentum, with the largest possible jump being nearly as high as his double jump. After three uses in midair, it no longer grants upward momentum, and Yoshi must land to recover this. A very effective projectile that can now bounce upon hitting the ground, which makes it a more versatile option.
A Ground Pound that produces damaging stars upon landing. The attack deals a good amount of damage and has very little startup lag. It's been given more safety since it can now sweet spot ledges, now allowing it to act as a 2 frame punish option. Also can go through soft platforms if the player holds down or is close to the platform on startup. Has increased shield damage; the grounded version can break a full shield if it is not stale and all hits connect on shield.
Yoshi rushes forward and attacks the opponent with an upward headbutt. If the attack hits, it cuts to a cinematic cutscene that takes place in a rocky gorge. Suddenly, a stampede of multicolored Yoshis are seen rushing down the gorge, and they attack by trampling the opponent. It has a striking resemblance to the Super Smash Bros. Meleeopening movie, where it has a similar stampede as well as the similar rocky environment.
Left: Does a flutter jump, spins once, and gives the V sign. Based on an animation from "Yoshi's Story" when a stage is completed.
Up: Punches the air twice, spins, and poses while standing on one foot. (Based on his "character chosen" animation from Smash 64 but has been drastically altered.)
Right: Angrily punches a few times, and then turns his back on the screen facing right. A reference to Akuma's pose after the successful use of the Shun Goku Satsu.
A flourished, orchestrated remix of the title music of Yoshi's Story, significantly sped up.
In competitive play
Yoshi was, for some reason, the only original eight-character to be excluded from the E3 demo build. It was difficult to find a pre-release consensus on Yoshi in Ultimate as those who did play the game early went to other characters first. When Yoshi eventually did release, however, numerous players of all skill levels took an interest; on top of his strengths, he was rather easy to play and learn the game with. Also helping his early representation was that he was an overall similar character to his SSB4 iteration, making the transition even easier. At the same time, however, this meant that methods on how to fight Yoshi didn't change either. Thus in the competitive scene, despite having the tournament popularity of a top-tier character, he was generally seen as a mid- to high-tier by most players.
In today's competitive scene, Yoshi remains very popular, mostly because of his ease of use. He has begun to fall off in the current meta as perceived higher tiers like Palutena are further optimized, but given his playstyle, he is one of the most popular characters to use below the top level. Even so, top Yoshis such as Suarez, Ron, Meme, and Raptor still get results at top levels of play, leading a continued advancement of Yoshi's metagame even as the character's initial hype has begun to cool off.
Notable players
Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Fall 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from July 13th, 2019 to December 15th, 2019.
DIO - Placed 17th at Sumabato SP and 25th at Sumabato SP 4 with both Yoshi and Snake. While he hasn't officially dropped Yoshi, he rarely uses him in the bracket and prefers to use Snake in all of his sets.
ESAM (#14) - Uses Yoshi as a secondary. Placed 1st at Battle of BC 3 and 2nd at Don't Park on the Grass 2018 using Yoshi as one of his characters. While he hasn't officially dropped Yoshi, he rarely uses him in the bracket and prefers to use Pikachu in all of his sets.
Yoshi's adversaries consist of playable dinosaur-like reptiles. His boss, Rathalos, also fits with the theme due to it being a classical draconic wyvern.
Each character can be unlocked by clearing Yoshi's Classic Mode, or the Classic Mode of any preceding character if all preceding characters have been unlocked. Once all the above characters are unlocked, clearing Classic Mode with any of them will default to Mario's character unlock tree, starting with Sonic.
Although Yoshi does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.
He can be found in a ribbon pathway to be awakened, which can be accessed in a short time after taking Sheik's route.
Yoshi's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Yoshi in World of Light allows the player to preview the second spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His Crafted World outfit has a Fighter Spirit of its own, available through the shop. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.
Additionally, Yoshi makes an appearance in various Primary and Support Spirits.
•The enemy becomes more powerful after eating •Certain items will appear in large numbers after a little while •The enemy is easily distracted by items
•The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy has increased move speed when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy is easily distracted by items
Alongside Mr. Game & Watch, R.O.B. and Bowser Jr., Yoshi is one of four characters with a Spirit battle where all of his alternate costumes appear in a single Spirit fight, due to the presence of the Baby Mario spirit.
Prior to 4.0.0, when Yoshi charged his forward smash, he pushed opponents so far it actually caused some moves to miss him entirely. [1]
Yoshi's Crafted costume is the only one that does not appear during his Final Smash, although its texture was added to the palette of the Yoshis that appear.[2]
Due to the aesthetic used in Ultimate, Yoshi's model features a more subdued color scheme, but unlike in 
Yoshi no longer reverts to his posture and 
Like all characters, Yoshi's 
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