Yoshi (universe)

File:YoshiSymbol.png

The Yoshi universe refers to the Smash Bros. series' collection of characters, stages, and properties that hail from the sub-franchise of the Mario series that deals with main sub-series character Yoshi. It is generally agreed on that Yoshi and related items count as Mario properties, but Yoshi has appeared in enough of his own games alongside enough original characters and properties that many consider him as holding sway over a "sub-universe" of Mario. Yoshi is also considered part of his own universe because his smasher's insignia consists of a spotted Yoshi Egg rather than the iconic image of a Super Mushroom held by other Mario characters.

Franchise description

Throughout the lifepsan of the Famicom / NES, Shigeru Miyamoto wanted Mario to have a dinosaur companion in his games following Super Mario Bros., but apparently, limitations to the NES could not fit this companion character in. However, Miyamoto was able to achieve the debut of the character, Yoshi, in the Super Famicom / SNES launch game Super Mario World. Yoshi was designed by the game's graphics designer Shigefumi Hino (who would become famous later on as the designer of the Pikmin series), and was introduced as a species of human-sized cartoon-like dinosaurs that came in multiple different colors, could swallow enemies with their elastic tongues, could lay spotted eggs that usually hatched into power-ups, and could be ridden by Mario through levels as a mount. The Yoshi specie became a permanent, recurring element in the Mario franchise forever onward, and any reference to "Yoshi" as a character typically refers to a green-colored individual that is one of the recurring heroes in Mario's world.

Yoshi, whether the character himself or the specie, has appeared in a "primary side-role" alongside various other Mario-series regulars in many Mario games, oftentimes as a selectable playable character; games involving Mario where Yoshi may be selected include the Mario Kart subseries, as a recurring racer, and the Mario Party subseries, as a recurring character choice for walking across the board and partaking in minigames. More significantly, there have been occasional games starring Yoshi in a leading role, with or without Mario in a side-role; aside from several occasional puzzle games, including Tetris Attack on the SNES, Yoshi's first high-profile starring role was in the very well-received and successful Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island for the SNES in 1995, several years after Yoshi's debut. In this game, Yoshi and his differently-colored friends, illustrated in a unique pastel style to help differentiate the game from the CGI imagery of Donkey Kong Country, help transport a baby version of Mario through their island's obstacles to bring him back to the stork that is supposed to deliver him to his parents. A spiritual sequel focusing exclusively on the Yoshis, Yoshi's Story for the Nintendo 64 in March 1998, featured a more saccharine aesthetic; by this point, Yoshi had settled into a different design that gave him a more anthropomorphic appearance, which has been used ever since.

Despite the close association Yoshi's modern design has with the Yoshi's Story aesthetic, that aesthetic actually never made a reappearance in a Yoshi-centric title, whereas the pastel design style of Yoshi's Island for the SNES has been reused in several later-generation follow-ups. These may be referred to as part of the "main" Yoshi series, the "Yoshi's Island" subseries, where Yoshi has to navigate platforming stages and attack foes with his eggs in order to transport Baby Mario and baby versions of other characters safely to the end. Aside from Yoshi Touch & Go for the DS, which appears to not even have any canonical relevance to the overall Mario franchise despite a similar scenario focused on transporting Baby Mario, there have been two direct sequels using the pastel aesthetic: Yoshi's Island DS, released for the Nintendo DS in November 2006, and the most recent Yoshi game, Yoshi's New Island, slated for a 2014 release on the Nintendo 3DS. Between these games and Yoshi's constant appearances in most Mario games, Yoshi has been enough of a recurring Nintendo character that the Super Smash Bros. series of fighting games not only included him as a regular playable character since the series' start, but saw fit to symbolically categorize Yoshi and related properties as "separate" from the Mario universe, the same way Donkey Kong and Wario have been categorized as "separate franchises" from Mario.

In Super Smash Bros.

If treated separately from the Mario universe, the Yoshi universe is only about as big as most of the other franchises represented in SSB, with one character and one stage represented, and there is no item that can be considered Yoshi-centric.

Character

The character, Yoshi, is considered both part of his own universe and part of the "Marioverse."

• 
  Yoshi: A multicolored species of bright, optimistic dinosaur first seen as a mount for Mario in Super Mario World, one particular green Yoshi, who the name Yoshi is often used to refer to, is often a costar in many Mario games, and it has also been made as the star of many of its own games, often platformers and puzzle games. Yoshi are used as a mode of transportation by Mario at times, and in other cases Yoshi take it upon themselves to transport baby versions of Mario characters in games like Yoshi's Island DS. All colored species of Yoshi have the ability to swallow up enemies with their strechable tongues and eject them as Yoshi eggs, which the Yoshi can find various uses for such as throwing the eggs as projectiles. Yoshi are also able to hover in the air momentarily. These abilities are directly reflected in Yoshi's appearance as a Smash Bros. fighter; however, it is one of two fighters not to have a third jump in its B-Up move, which is considered a major disadvantage.

Stage

If the Yoshi universe is counted as separate from the rest of the Mario universe, Super Smash Bros. features one Yoshi-themed stage:

• Yoshi's Island: This stage is designed to resemble Yoshi's Story (not '"Yoshi's Island" from the SNES platformer titles) for the N64 thematically, with the main stage itself consisting of a giant storybook with several clouds appearing and disappearing at the sides of the stage.

Music

• 9: A remix of music heard in Yoshi's Story for N64, heard on Yoshi's Island. Both the music and the stage were reused in Melee.
• 19: The victory fanfare of Yoshi is a lighthearted orchestration heard in Yoshi's Story.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

While Melee is much bigger than Smash, none of the game's items are based on Yoshi save for the Yoshi's Egg item which was only used in an Event Match, There is only one character, two new stages along with Yoshi's Island returning from the previous game, and a wide variety of new Trophies.

Character

• Yoshi is still the only character from the Yoshi universe that is actually featured as a playable character, reprising his role as a fighter with a high double jump but no third jump. He is able to turn himself into an egg and bowl through opponents on the ground as his new B-Forward Move.

Common Enemy

• Fly Guys: These appear as obstacles on the Yoshi's Story stage, carrying food. While their main-species, Shy Guy, debuted in Super Mario Bros. 2 from the Mario universe, the Fly Guy variant debuted in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, making a cross-over between the two universes.

Stages

Super Smash Bros. Melee features three Yoshi-themed stages, however, compared to the two-at-most stages for many other franchises (Mario, Donkey Kong, and Kirby being the only exceptions):

• Yoshi's Island: Yoshi's Island: This stage is a general depiction of Super Mario World`s tileset, with blocks that swivel when they are attacked and characters can fall through them while swiveling.
• Yoshi's Island: Yoshi's Story: A somewhat simplistic stage based on Yoshi's Story, featuring Fly Guys carrying food flying through the stage and Pak E. Derm being in the background.
• Past Stages: Yoshi's Island 64: The original Yoshi's Island stage returns in Melee totally unaltered.

Music

• 9: Yoshi's Story: A track straight from the N64 game Yoshi's Story, appearing on Yoshi's Island: Yoshi's Story.
• 10: Yoshi's Island: A repeating banjo track heard in several levels in Super Mario World for SNES. It appears on Yoshi's Island.
• 28: Yoshi's Island N64: The music for SSB64's Yoshi's Island stage, which comes from Yoshi's Story for N64, is brought back unaltered along with the stage itself as Past Stages: Yoshi's Island.
• 42: Yoshi's Victory: The victory fanfare of Yoshi is a lighthearted orchestration heard in Yoshi's Story.

Full Trophy List

• Yoshi
• Pak E. Derm
• Raphael Raven
• Mario & Yoshi

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

The Yoshi universe receives representation in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Character

• 
  Yoshi: Yoshi was the last of the "Original 8" to be revealed as a returning character in Brawl. He has been visually modified to more accurately resemble his more recent appearances in Yoshi's Story and other newer Mario games. In addition to some old moves being modified (his Up B, Egg Toss, now also functions as a third jump), Yoshi also enters the fray with a brand new attack: his Final Smash is Super Dragon, which is based off of the powers that Yoshi could obtain in Super Mario World by holding certain colors of Koopa shells in his mouth for extended periods of time. When the Final Smash is executed, Yoshi suddenly sprouts wings and can fly around for a short period of time, during which he can spew flames from his mouth with the press of a button.

On the final character select screen (after all characters are unlocked), Yoshi, despite being part of the Original 8, doesn't appear in the top row in the spot between Samus and Kirby (probably because Yoshi is the only character representing his franchise). Instead, he shares a column with fellow Mario side series characters Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Wario.

Common Ally

• Support Ghost: Support Ghosts appear on the Yoshi's Island stage periodically, acting as a platform for other characters.

Common Enemies

• Sky Guys: Sky Guys from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island fly into the stage carrying food, repeating the Fly Guy's function in Melee, although now they only appear in groups of one, two, or three.

Stages

• 
  Yoshi's Island: The first Yoshi stage to be based off Yoshi's Island instead of Yoshi's Story, this stage has the appearance of being drawn with crayons and pastels. The stage changes seasons during gameplay.

• 
  Melee Stages: Yoshi's Island: One of the few stages known to return from the previous game, it has only got some minor differences such as a few areas that differs and the addition of My Music. Otherwise, it's unaltered.

Music

See List of SSBB Music (Yoshi series)

• Obstacle Course - A medley consisting mostly of a remix of the "Athletic" level theme from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and also a bit of the final boss theme. It is used on the Yoshi's Island stage.
• Ending (Yoshi's Story) - A tropical sounding remix of the credits theme from Yoshi's Story. It is used on the Yoshi's Island stage. This song is also played during Yoshi's Classic Mode credits.
• Yoshi's Island - A jazzy remix of the commonly heard ground level theme from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, complete with a harmonica (which was used in the original version of the song). It is the theme of the Yoshi's Island stage.
• Flower Field - Taken directly from the DS title Yoshi Touch & Go, this was the theme to the level of the same name. It is used on the Yoshi's Island stage.
• Wildlands - A combination of the "level beginning" jingle and the Wildlands level theme from Yoshi's Island DS. It is used on the Yoshi's Island stage.
• Yoshi's Island (Melee) - Taken directly from Melee. It is used on the Yoshi's Island (Melee) stage.
• Yoshi's victory theme - A whimsical orchestration of the Yoshi's Story main theme and level complete fanfare.

Trophies

• Yoshi
• Super Dragon
• Baby Mario
• Baby Peach

Stickers

• Yoshi (Mario Party 2)
• Yoshi Ship (Yoshi's Universal Gravitation/Yoshi Topsy-Turvy)
• Mace Guy (Yoshi's Universal Gravitation/Yoshi Topsy-Turvy)
• Shy Guy (Yoshi's Story)
• Pak E. Derm (Yoshi's Story)
• Bone Dragon (Yoshi's Story)
• Don Bongo (Yoshi's Story)
• Propeller Shy Guy (Yoshi's Story)
• Blargg (Yoshi's Story)
• Tap-Tap (Yoshi Touch & Go)
• Yoshi's Egg (Yoshi Touch & Go)
• Yoshi (Yoshi Touch & Go)
• Brier (Yoshi Touch & Go)
• Super Baby (Yoshi's Island DS)
• Crazee Dayzee (Yoshi's Island DS)
• Goonie (Yoshi's Island DS)
• Stork Stop (Yoshi's Island DS)
• Stork (Yoshi's Island DS)
• Kamek (Yoshi Touch & Go)
• Car Yoshi (Yoshi's Island series)
• Kamek (Yoshi's Island series)
• Burt the Bashful (Yoshi's Island series)
• Bubble Baby Mario (Yoshi's Island series)
• Baby Mario (Yoshi's Island series)
• Raphael the Raven (Yoshi's Island series)
• Eight Yoshis (SMA 3: Yoshi's Island)

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Characters

• 
  Yoshi: Yoshi was confirmed to be a playable character in an April Nintendo Direct, and he closely resembles more of his recent appearances.

Games with elements in Smash Bros. games

Super Mario World

Technically, this game falls under the Mario universe category, but there are several elements from the game that goes with movesets and stages.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, there is a stage called Yoshi's Island that is based off of that game. A few of Yoshi's moves in all three Smash games are also based off of what he could do in that game. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Yoshi's Final Smash, Super Dragon, is based off the fact that when Yoshi eats certain kinds of Koopas, he gains some kind of ability, such as being able to breathe fire with a red Koopa.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

In Brawl, there is a stage called Yoshi's Island that is based on many elements from that game, such as the design of the stage (which looks similar to drawings) and the background characters. There are also some pieces of music that come from the same game. They all play on this stage.

Some of Yoshi's special moves come from this game.

Yoshi's Story

In Super Smash Bros., there is a stage called Yoshi's Island that was based on this game, featuring the Super Happy Tree and other characters from Yoshi's Story in the background, and a main platform resembling an opened book. This stage returned as a past stage in Melee.

In Melee, there is another stage based on Yoshi's Story, which is also named after it.

A remix of the game's closing music is included in Brawl and plays on the new Yoshi's Island stage, which is based more on the Yoshi's Island franchise than Yoshi's Story.

Yoshi's voice clips from all three games are from this game.

Other Games

Other games such as Yoshi Touch & Go and Yoshi Topsy-Turvy have their songs and stickers in Brawl.