Yoshi is a well-known character in the gaming world alongside Mario. His cute looks and sharp moves have made him a well-loved character for many years.
This green creature has been featured in many games in the Nintendo world for decades.
Yoshi is considered one of the main stars of the Mushroom Kingdom. But do you know where Yoshi’s journey began?
Here are nine facts about Nintendo’s Yoshi that will make you want to play this wonderful character.
Yoshi can change color.
The character’s color is one of the key features that makes him so memorable. But Yoshi isn’t always green, and many might not know that he has color-changing abilities.
Within the Nintendo world, Yoshi has been yellow, blue, pink, purple, red, orange, black, white, and brown.
Each color has a unique set of abilities that makes them special.
For example, in Super Mario World, Yoshi is blue, and he can fly. Yellow Yoshi can stomp on the ground, and Red Yoshi spits fire.
These colors can be achieved through power-ups, on bonus levels, or in Star World.
Yoshi can produce Mega Eggdozers to throw at enemies.
One of Yoshi’s popular attack moves is to produce eggs and throw them at his enemy.
These weapons of attack are called eggdozers.
But did you know that Yoshi can produce Mega eggdozers, which will destroy anything in its path?
They can be used to break walls and destroy obstacles.
Yoshi’s debut in the USA was in 1991.
It may seem like this colorful character has been around for longer than that, but he was first introduced to the American gaming scene in 1991.
His journey began in 1990 when he first appeared in Japan in Super Mario World.
However, Yoshi was supposed to appear on screens much earlier.
Due to technical limitations, he couldn’t debut with Mario in 1985.
Yoshi is Mario’s sidekick.
It all started in the prequel of Yoshi Island: Super Mario World 2, where Mario was still a baby.
He was left to be raised alongside Yoshi, and Yoshi has always looked out for Mario.
Since then, they have appeared alongside each other in every game.
Mario can ride Yoshi and use him to help him fight and complete various levels.
Yoshi’s arch-enemy is Boshi.
Like Mario, with his evil counterpart being Wario, Yoshi has one of his own.
The blue version of Yoshi is called Boshi or Washi in the Japanese version.
Boshi is different in many ways, especially in appearance, as he wears sunglasses and a spiked collar.
Boshi was only seen in Super Marios RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and lives on Yo’ster Isle, home to various other versions of Yoshi.
Yoshi’s rival hasn’t been seen since in any other Mario-related game.
His full name is T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas
Alongside the original concepts for Yoshi was an interesting full name.
To have a scientific feel, the name T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas was given to the character.
However, the creators thought it needed to be shorter and simpler to remember as a name that’s hard to remember could impact Yoshi’s popularity and marketing.
Therefore his name was shortened to Yoshi.
As well as this reason for the change, the creators came up with something more meaningful.
The name “Yoshi” in Japanese translates to “respectful” and “good,” which reflects the character’s attitude and personality.
Yoshi has no defined gender.
The Japanese language rarely involves gender-specific pronouns. And Nintendo has never confirmed Yoshi’s gender.
However, Yoshi is commonly referred to with masculine pronouns, despite the fact that he can lay eggs. However, this act has nothing to do with gender, as Yoshi also does not need a mate to reproduce.
In various official Nintendo magazines and instruction booklets, Yoshi is commonly referred to as “he.”
However, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the mystery surrounding Yoshi’s gender was bought up when Solid Snake assumed Yoshi was female, only to be corrected by Otacon.
Both Solid Snake and Otacon use “it” rather than “he” or “she” when referencing Yoshi.
In the Japanese version of Super Mario World, Yoshi can eat dolphins.
Yoshi has many extraordinary abilities, and one of Yoshi’s most notable features is his tongue.
Yoshi can use his tongue to attack, but it can also be used to eat food… including dolphins.
Eating dolphins is nothing out of the norm in Japanese culture; however, this was removed in the western version as it was not considered acceptable.
The dolphins in the western games can be used for travel and help navigate the waters instead of being food for Yoshi.
Yoshi is the only character to have a special shield.
In Super Smash Bros, all the characters have the same shield apart from Yoshi.
Next time you play, you may notice that every other character has a bubble that protects them.
But Yoshi has a giant egg that protects them from harm.
Yoshi is a character that plays an essential role in the Nintendo world, and games wouldn’t be the same without him.
Famously known as Mario’s sidekick, Yoshi has been featured alongside Mario since the 1990s.
Thanks to its many colorful version, you can say that Yoshi is a special and unique character in the game.
Without this unique citizen, Mushroom Kingdom would not be such an interesting place.
