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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 C (29)
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. He was also among the first wave of amiibo figures. Kazumi Totaka reprises his role as Yoshi's voice actor, albeit via recycled voice clips.

Yoshi is currently ranked 29th out of 58 on the tier list, placing him in the C tier and directly in the middle of the entire tier list. This is a vast 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 (surpassed only by a fully Limit Charged Cloud, the lightest possible Mii Brawler, Wario-Man, and Giga Mac), while his double jump grants the farthest distance out of any double jump in the game and nearly 70 frames of armor. Yoshi's grounded mobility has also been improved, as his dashing speed is now considerably faster.

Another of Yoshi's strengths is the utility of his moveset: his neutral attack and up tilt are very useful combo starters, his neutral aerial is a very useful approach and edgeguarding option, Egg Lay is a command grab, Egg Roll can force approaches and escape from pressure, Egg Throw is a versatile projectile that has recovery and mindgame potential, and Yoshi Bomb is strong enough to either KO outright or 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, a trait previously only possible in Super Smash Bros., which further improves its reliability.

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. Despite his useful shield, Yoshi's defensive presence on the ground is surprisingly lacking, as his rolls and sidesteps are short-distanced, among the slowest in the game, and have some of the lowest amounts of intangibility frames in the game. By extension, his very low traction further compounds his issues with shield pressure, and significantly hinders his otherwise useful and versatile out of shield options.

Yoshi's KO potential is also fairly unimpressive for a heavyweight. Although his smash attacks are quite powerful, they are burdened with short ranges, very short durations and punishable ending lag. His up aerial and Yoshi Bomb are also affected under similar circumstances: the former has a very short duration, while the latter has very short range and punishable ending lag. 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.

Overall, Yoshi's strengths are widely considered to outweigh his weaknesses, and when coupled with his fairly low learning curve, he can be a force to be reckoned with when mastered. Even though his rather exploitable weaknesses have resulted in a minimal presence in competitive play, Yoshi has nonetheless achieved varying degrees of success. This has been evident with him winning several local tournaments in singles and doubles play, thanks to the collective efforts of Firefly, Nikes, Raptor, JFK, Papa Wall, Kamikaze, and DIO. Outside of this, DIO has also achieved a few top 10 and top 50 placings at the regional level, while Raptor, Sky, Papa Wall, Kamikaze, and Poltergust have each achieved a few top 50 placings at the national level.

Attributes

As in previous installments, Yoshi is a heavyweight that noticeably deviates from his weight class' archetype. He has above average walking and dashing speeds, average air acceleration and, most notably, the fastest air speed by default. 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 grounded mobility, yet do not leave him frail or susceptible to juggling. He is also able 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 possesses a lot of momentum, which allow for easy cross-ups and make it tricky to punish. His smash attacks possess decent speed, power and ranges, 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 is the second fastest of its kind due to coming out frame 3, and possesses a long-lasting hitbox, both of which make 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 with 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. Lastly, 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 with a jump and the opponent still has their shield up by the end.

Yoshi's special moveset is also very useful. Egg Lay is a command grab that 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 for approaching or retreating, and deals damage upon contact in either situation. Egg Throw gives Yoshi a dependable projectile that can be used to stop approaches, allow Yoshi to close in on the opponent and, when continuously B-reversed in the air, 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 armor, 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. Yoshi's pummel is the only positive trait of his grab game, thanks to its quick speed, decent damage output, and its release being a useful set-up into his neutral attack. Outside of this, his grabs' good ranges offset by their very punishable amounts of start-up and ending lag. Yoshi's forward and back throws are his fastest and strongest throws, but they cannot KO until 270% and have only four follow-ups (dash attack, up smash, forward aerial and Egg Throw), with none of them being guaranteed. His up and down throws are too slow to combo effectively, while his up throw is also unable to KO even well past 350%. Yoshi's ability to escape pressure is also limited, since his rolls do not grant much distance and, along with his sidestep, are among the slowest in the game.

Lastly, Yoshi has fairly unimpressive KO potential despite being a heavyweight. His smash attacks and up aerial are his most reliable KOing options thanks to their respectable power, yet they are burdened with short durations and, in regard to his smashes, punishable ending lag. While Yoshi's neutral, forward and back aerials and Yoshi Bomb also possess KO potential, these aerials are best suited for edgeguarding due to their launching angles (most notably forward aerial's meteor smashing hitbox), while Yoshi Bomb is best suited as an out of shield attack due to its very short range and punishable ending lag.

Yoshi gains noticeable benefits from his custom moves. Lick is possibly his best custom move, as it is a viable KOing option thanks to its high knockback growth, and can even provide horizontal recovery due to it slightly boosting Yoshi forward. 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 armor 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 Yoshi Eggs being thrown. Star Bomb has less power, but the stars are larger and more damaging. Conversely, Crushing Bomb is punishable due to being slower and emitting no stars. However, it has much more power, as it can KO as low as 80%.

Overall, Yoshi's lack of glaring issues against the majority of the cast, yet easily exploitable weaknesses, collectively make him a heavyweight version of the all-rounder archetype. However, even though Yoshi's strengths outweigh his weaknesses, and professionals such as Raptor, Sky, Papa Wall and Poltergust have each achieved respectable placings at national tournaments, his tournament results and representation have nevertheless remained below average in competitive play since the game's release.

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's design is more cartoonish and his body has been somewhat re-proportioned, making him better resemble his appearances in the latest Mario and Yoshi games. Additionally, his overall color scheme is much lighter due to the aesthetics used in SSB4. Lastly, Yoshi is more expressive.
  • Change Like Bowser, Yoshi's posture is more erect and he has a more "battle ready" stance. This is translated into his moveset, be it through a tweaked animation or a completely new move.
  • Change Yoshi's boots and double jump's sound clips are much lower pitched. Yoshi also vocalizes much less frequently while double jumping.
  • Change The Yoshi Eggs used during 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 a Yoshi Egg featuring his own selected color scheme.

Attributes

  • Buff Yoshi's straighter posture adjusts his hurtbox, resulting in its shape being less awkward. However, he will revert to his hunched standing animation from Brawl if he holds a small item, which includes his previous idle poses as well.
  • 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. However, his air speed is still the fastest in the game by default.
  • Buff Yoshi is able to jump out of shield for the first time since SSB. His shield drop also has decreased ending lag (frame 17 → 7), now matching the rest of the cast's. These changes significantly improve its defensive potential.
  • 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 tilt has decreased start-up lag (frame 6 → 5).
  • Nerf Forward tilt has increased ending lag (frame 30 → 39).
  • 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. Compared to the previous up smash, it has more knockback (23 (base)/83 (growth) → 37/95) and less ending lag (frame 50 → 47), making it better at KOing.
  • Nerf Up smash has 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 has decreased start-up lag (frame 19 → 16) and a longer duration (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. When coupled with the increased shieldstun as of update 1.1.1, these changes improve its shield pressuring potential. Its last hit also 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 → 14) and ending lag (frame 63 → 56).
  • Nerf Dash and pivot grabs have increased ending lag (frame 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. Yoshi can also 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 and 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 on contact (8% → 3%). Its duration has also noticeably decreased.
  • Change Super Dragon's Fireball and fire breath no longer deal consistent damage (17% → 18%/14%/12% (Fireball), 6% → 6%/4%/3% (fire breath)).
  • Buff Super Dragon's Fireball can now pierce multiple opponents.

Update history

Game updates have brought Yoshi a few slight buffs and nerfs. These include an increase to Egg Lay's start-up lag 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

  • Buff Yoshi gained 5 frames of partial intangibility in certain situations.
  • Nerf Dash attack's ending lag increased.
  • Nerf Down aerial's landing lag increased.
  • Nerf Egg Lay's start-up lag increased.
  • Change Using Yoshi Bomb on slopes no longer allows Yoshi to slide on them.
  • 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.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.0.6

  • Buff Upward angled forward tilt's start-up lag decreased: frame 6 → 5. This matches its other angles' start-up lag.
  • 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 Edge attack's ending lag decreased.

Super Smash Bros. 4 1.1.0

  • Buff Back aerial's SDI multiplier 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 Edge attack deals more shield damage: 0 → 1.
  • Buff High Jump's ending lag decreased.

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, which allows Yoshi to follow-up with his tilt attacks, smash attacks, or Yoshi Bomb at low percentages. Conversely, 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 has the lowest amount of start-up out of Yoshi's tilt attacks and can be angled, making it an ideal out of shield option. The base of Yoshi's tail launches opponents vertically, while the tip launches them diagonally. However, it lacks range and has the highest amount of ending lag out of his tilts.
7%
8%
Up tilt   7% Crouches 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 from low to medium percentages.
Down tilt   5% (base), 4.5% (mid), 4% (tip) Crouches and spins around to swing his tail forward, similarly to Pikachu's down tilt. It is a weak semi-spike and has the lowest amount of ending lag out of his tilts, which make it useful for tech-chases. It can also interrupt an opponent's attempt at grabbing an 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. However, it has fairly high ending lag, which can make it punishable if it is not spaced sufficiently.
Forward smash   13% (head's tip), 15.5% (head), 14% (body) A headbutt. It is Yoshi's strongest smash attack, as its nose hitbox is able to KO middleweights at 109% while near the edge. It also renders his head intangible, can be angled and despite being a headbutt, it has a hitbox around his body. However, it has punishable ending lag.
Up smash   14% (clean), 12% (late) A backflip kick, similar to Fox's up smash. Its clean hitbox is strong enough to KO middleweights at 134% and it renders his legs intangible. Although situational, it can also hit opponents behind him, such as immediately after using Egg Lay. However, it has punishable ending lag.
Down smash   12% (tail), 10% (body) Quickly swings his tail forward at a low angle and then backward at a low angle. It is a semi-spike like his down tilt, but deals much more damage and knockback, which make it much more useful for setting up an edgeguard in comparison and allow it to actually KO outright. Despite involving his tail, it has a hitbox around his body. However, it is Yoshi's weakest smash attack overall. While its back hit is much more viable than its front hit in regard to KOing due to its much higher knockback growth, it is merely average at doing so, as it does not KO middleweights until 142% while near the edge.
Neutral aerial   10% (clean), 7% (mid), 5% (late) A flying kick. It is a sex kick that has the lowest amount of start-up out of Yoshi's aerials and high knockback growth, which make it very useful for approaching, edgeguarding, or breaking out of combos. It KOs middleweights at 130% while near the left/right blast line.
Forward aerial   15% (head), 14% (nose) Rears his head back and swings it downward to strike with his nose. Its nose hitbox can meteor smash if spaced properly. However, its head hitbox also deals impressive damage and has high knockback growth, to the point that it KOs middleweights at 131% while near the left/right blast zones. It is also capable of autocanceling with a short hop, which allows it to function either as an approach option or as a way to hinder approaches.
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 has extremely high knockback growth, making it a great edgeguarding option. It KOs middleweights at 113% while near the left/right blast line.
Up aerial   12% Somersaults to flick his tail upward. One of Yoshi's most useful moves overall, due to its very high knockback growth, fast speed and disjointed hitbox. It can combo into itself or juggle at low to medium percentages, and KOs middleweights at 112% while near the upper blast line.
Down aerial   3% (center hits 1-6), 2% (side hits 1-6), 2.2% (center hits 7-13), 1.5% (side hits 7-13), 1% (hit 14), 1% (landing) A Flutter Jump-style series of kicks. Its numerous hits make it very useful for damage racking and pressuring shields, while its last hit has deceptive horizontal range. It is Yoshi's most damaging aerial and, by extension, the most damaging aerial in the game. However, it has the highest amount of ending and landing lag out of his aerials, which makes it punishable if used unwisely.
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 the opponent. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw   7% Spits the opponent forward. It has very minimal set-up potential, as its only follow-ups are a forward aerial or Egg Throw when throwing the opponent off-stage. However, both of these are 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 due to its very high base knockback and very low knockback growth, 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 they use button mashing 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, unlike Egg Lay or Egg Launch, it is a viable KOing option due to its high knockback growth, as it KOs middleweights at 137% while near the edge. It also slightly boosts Yoshi forward, similarly to Jumping Inhale. This quirk allows it to function as a punishment option when spaced properly, and even as a horizontal recovery option, the latter of which can be used in conjunction with the vertical recovery granted by Egg Throw. It is comparable to how Egg Lay functioned in The Subspace Emissary.
Custom 2 Egg Launch 10% Deals more damage, has slightly less start-up, 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 stronger, to the point that it can deal a maximum of 15% in one roll with sufficient momentum. It also grants armor. However, it is significantly slower.
Custom 2 Light Egg Roll 4%+speed The roll is considerably stronger and faster, to the point that it can deal a maximum of 11% with sufficient momentum. It is also makes Yoshi perform a short hop upon being used, similarly to Spin Dash, which grants it recovery potential so long as Yoshi performs it on the stage or a platform. However, only one roll can be performed and it travels a set distance.
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 vertical boost, which loses effectiveness with each consecutive use. A very versatile projectile, it can be used for pressuring, edgeguarding, hindering approaches and performing mindgames.
Custom 1 High Jump The vertical boost is considerably higher, but no Yoshi Egg is thrown.
Custom 2 Timed Egg Throw 9% The Yoshi Egg's explosion deals more damage and has a flame effect, but travels harmlessly through opponents instead of exploding on contact. However, it has slightly more start-up, while the aerial version grants a shorter vertical boost.
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. It boasts impressive power and has very minimal start-up lag, which allow it to function as a viable surprise KOing option, especially from out of shield. The grounded version KOs middleweights at 135%, while the aerial version KOs them at 130% while near the upper blast line. Both versions also deal bonus amounts of shield damage, with the grounded version being capable of almost breaking a full shield when all of its hitboxes connect.
Custom 1 Star Bomb 3% (hop), 4% (drop), 8%/6%/4% (stars) The Ground Pound produces much larger stars that deal more damage. However, the Ground Pound itself deals significantly less damage and knockback, to the point that the grounded version does not KO until 383% and the aerial version does not KO until 429%.
Custom 2 Crushing Bomb 5% (hop), 18% (drop) The Ground Pound deals more damage and much more knockback, to the point that the grounded version KOs at 96% and the aerial version KOs at 102%. However, it has significantly more start-up and ending lag, and produces no stars.
Final Smash Super Dragon 3% (contact), 18%/14%/12% (Fireball), 6%/4%/3% (fire breath) Sprouts a pair of angelic wings and gains the ability to breathe fire. While transformed, Yoshi can shoot large Fireballs with the attack button, with the most damaging Fireball being strong enough to KO middleweights at 108% while near the edge. Conversely, he will breathe a continuous stream of flames by staying idle. Yoshi can also make use of his flight and invincibility to ram into opponents, but receiving damage decreases Super Dragon's duration.

On-screen appearance

  • Bursts out of a Yoshi Egg and strikes a pose.
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 then jumps excitedly up and down with his arms flailing and while saying "Yoshi! Yoshi!"
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.
  • Angrily performs two alternating punches and then turns his back to the screen, facing right.
  • Looks up at the sky with his hands together, spins once, and then strikes the V sign.
  • Punches the air, then strikes a pose with his arms outstretched. It is based on his "character chosen" animation in Super Smash Bros.
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

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Tier placement and history

Yoshi's perception has been positive since SSB4's release, as players pointed out how his buffs had resulted in him once again becoming a viable choice in competitive play. Even so, his tournament representation and results have not been high as other characters, with very sparse results from professionals, such as Papa Wall placing 13th at 2GGT: Mexico Saga. As a result, he was ranked 15th on the first tier list, making him the second highest ranking mid-tier character. While Yoshi has achieved somewhat more tournament success since then, his continually sparse results resulted in his ranking dropping to 23rd on the second tier list, and then again to 29th on the third and current tier list. While his current ranking is respectable, it has resulted in him losing distinction as the highest ranking mid-tier character to Ness, while his drop between the second and third tier lists is tied with Kirby and Pit's for the second largest.

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. In Yoshi's case, the only poster he appears on is Bayonetta's.
  • 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 installment in which Yoshi receives new alternate costumes under normal circumstances.
  • Yoshi, Jigglypuff and Captain Falcon are the only characters to use voice clips from every installment of Super Smash Bros.
  • Yoshi is the only veteran who can no longer be rendered helpless upon using any of his special moves.