Yoshi (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * This article is about Yoshi's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Yoshi.

Yoshi (, Yosshī) is a character appearing in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He is relatively unchanged from the previous games - with a few major exceptions: he can now use his Egg Toss as a recovery move (it only gives him a small upward boost, but he can use it multiple times to gain significant horizontal distance). Double-jump cancelling no longer exists, so he can now do many things with his second jump that were previously inaccessible. His smashes appear less powerful, but his aerials and tilts are slightly more powerful. He has also taken on an upright posture and his appearance is like the younger Yoshi in Yoshi's Story. Moreover, he appears to be slightly larger now in relation to the human-sized characters.

Yoshi currently ranks 29th on the tier list thanks to his extremely high learning curve due to incredibly difficult advanced techniques, a double jump that severely limits his approach options (and frequently puts him in the air above the opponent), abysmal out of shield options with a poor roll dodge (although immunity to shield stabbing obviates this somewhat) and poor kill power without quick attack speed (excluding his up-air, which is, aside from being somewhat situational, one of Yoshi's best moves). This has resulted in lackluster match-ups and even worse tournament results.

Changes from Melee to Brawl
Yoshi received both major buffs to some of his moves and major nerfs to other moves. His aerials and tilts are slightly stronger (although his d-air does less damage, and his f-air now has a sweetspot and weaker meteor smash capability), but his smashes are slightly weaker(although his F-smash does 1% more damage and d-smash is much weaker). His grab speed has slightly increased, but this has very little impact in tournament play as far as neutral grabs and practical shield grabs are concerned. Egg Toss can now be used as a recovery move due to the very slight boost it provides, but Egg Roll gives very little horizontal distance when used in the air, making it ineffective as a recovery move (though it does completely Momentum Cancel). Yoshi Bomb now shoots down at a faster speed, but has weaker priority and knockback. When used from the ground, it also takes an enemy standing directly in front of Yoshi up with him, comparable to Final Cutter. the comboed yoshi bomb does more damage and knockback(sends oponents vertically) His eggs do less damage and knockback, and they can no longer be tossed backward. They also have a finite number of throwing angles/strengths. Yoshi's side-to-side air speed has increased to the fastest in the game (up from a tie for second-fastest with Mewtwo). Double-jump cancelling is no longer a part of the game, so if Yoshi attacks during his double jump he does not stop momentum (unless he uses his special moves, like Egg Lay). This means that Yoshi can no longer double jump cancel with his aerials. It also means Yoshi can recover while using his up-air and he can move freely in mid-air. Yoshi is largely a weaker-hitting character than he was in Melee, but he also tougher to knock out(faster and better recovery overal).

Yoshi also had changes that are either not related to buffing/nerfing or hard to tell which. He has a new forward tilt: a tail swat (slightly stronger than the previous one) instead of a strong kick. He is slightly larger to match the human size. His stance is different; Yoshi stands upright, moves his arms more and slightly jogs on the spot. While Yoshi's tail is smaller in Brawl, his tail grows bigger for its attacks than it did in Melee. The spikes on his back are curved rather than spiky (like they are in recent appearances). His tongue makes a different sound. His d-tilt no longer has set knockback and his taunt yells "Yoshi, Yoshi" in an excited way instead of saying "Yoshi" the way he said it in Melee.

Attributes
Few characters are as unusual in Brawl as Yoshi. Yoshi is a rather heavy character, tied with Wario in weight, but rather small and weak for his weight. He is also very maneuverable in the air, with a slow falling speed and the fastest horizontal air speed in the game - uncommon attributes for a heavy-weight. His midair jump is the largest in the game, giving limited knockback resistance during its ascent. Tied with Wario, he is thought to have the fastest ground-to-air acceleration in the game.

Many have insisted that one of Yoshi's major flaws is that - because of his minuscule third jump - Footstool Jumps, grabs (such as special grabs that can catch in the air), and attacks with enough knockback to cancel his midair jump's resistance are devastating to Yoshi when he is trying to recover. This is quite false, however; Yoshi's up-air has incredible priority and super-armor frames, and can be used simultaneously with Yoshi's second jump. In essence, it works to make Yoshi's second jump function as an up-B that hits everything above and immediately to the sides with virtually transcendent priority. People do not understand this because they still aren't used to the fact that double jump cancelling is gone, so it does not occur to them to flick their tail as they are rising through the air. Once in this habit, however, it is literally impossible for any opponent to do any of the above before getting nailed by Yoshi's potent up-air (often resulting in a KO). Also, after being hit, Yoshi virtually always regains his second jump the way other characters regain their up-b. This renders the (nonexistent) issue of getting hit or grabbed on the way up irrelevant, as Yoshi can simply try again. Footstool hopping doesn't count as hurting Yoshi, so Yoshi won't regain his second jump - but if anyone tries to footstool hop an even remotely competent Yoshi, they will be sent into the ionosphere with no questions asked, so this too is not a concern. Furthermore, Yoshi can air dodge with his second jump, giving him the distance of his second jump while mitigating its lag, allowing Yoshi to capitalize upon having the fastest air speed in the game while covering substantial distance. He is also the only character in the game with a fast recovery move that is also a projectile move (and hits the opponent with a projectile that is unrelated to the recovery), allowing him to exercise his projectile game while recovering. In short, it is almost literally impossible to edgeguard a competent Yoshi.

He's quite speedy on the ground, having one of the highest running speeds in the game, but he has few effective ways to approach the opponent. Yoshi's standing grab range has unacceptable start up lag, and his dash grab is very punishable, with both being relatively short for tether grabs. To ameliorate this problem, Yoshi arguably has the best Pivot Grab in the game. Yoshi can perform a pseudo-wavedash known as the Dragonic Reverse. Yoshi's moves generally have decent speed (though not as quick as several characters), and his range and priority are both good for jointed moves. On the flip side, his killing power and number of KO moves are rather low, and he has only average attack speed. His Flutter Kick (d-air) can hit for 33% if used correctly, making it one of the most damaging attacks in the game (although it can be escaped with Smash DI). His specials are largely situational due to a mix of poor range, speed, and/or priority. Although his shield gives him immunity to shield stabbing and lasts slightly longer than others, it has a long exiting animation (17 frames to shield drop instead of the standard 7 frames that others enjoy) and it cannot be jumped out of, giving him the worst out-of-shield options in the game - especially when his very slow standing grab is taken into consideration. This makes it almost impossible for Yoshi to reliably shield-punish an opponent - a major drawback. His roll is also poor, though he has one of the best Spot Dodges in the game.

As long as Yoshi has his double jump, he can be one of the most effective edge-guarders in the game, with options ranging from a d-air footstool combo to a Meteor Smash to a n-air that knocks them even farther from the ledge. Add this to explosion-priority eggs and the ability to reach the stage from almost anywhere on the course, and you have a superb edge-guarder.

One of Yoshi's major advantages is his grab-release on a large number of cast members. He currently has a grab-release on at least nineteen cast members, and he can grab-release-spike seven of those.

Yoshi is a character with very clear advantages and disadvantages. Many of his advantageous match-ups stem from his grab-release or other tricks he can pull off, but his relatively short, slow grab can be an impediment (though he can Pivot Grab to remedy this). Yoshi's extremely high learning curve and difficulty in using his chain grabs on some characters means that only dedicated Yoshi players can do very well with him. It may take awhile for those new to Yoshi to fare as well.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack- Left kick, then right kick. Deals 9% if both hit. Quick with decent priority makes it a solid "panic" move. The second kick can even interrupt projectile attacks.
 * Dash Attack- Headrush- Running headbutt that causes 9% damage. Quick and powerful, with horizontal knockback useful at the edge, where Yoshi can start edge guarding.
 * Forward Tilt-Tail Flick- Flicks out his tail. Causes 9% damage. Insanely fast. Has incredibly high priority (it can cancel the hammer of King Dedede's side smash, projectile moves like Snake's rockets and Samus's powerballs, bats, most smashes and tilts, virtually all aerial moves, Wolf's side smash, etc.). Can be used to juggle many characters across the stage at certain percentages. Ideal against characters like Sonic.
 * Down Tilt- Shin Whip- Low tail whip. The attack does more damage the closer the opponent is to Yoshi. Hitting with the larger section of Yoshi's tail causes 10% damage and hitting with the tip causes 5% damage. Has the same priority as Yoshi's side tilt. It's forward range is actually greater than Yoshi's down smash.
 * Up Tilt- Stiff Tail- Tail uppercut. Deals 11% damage. Has the same priority as his side tilt.

Smash

 * Forward Smash-Headsmash- Headbutt that causes 16% damage uncharged and 22% damage fully charged. Can form a good combo when following Yoshi's bair (if Yoshi's bair tips them). Good horizontal knockback.
 * Down Smash-Happy Yoshi- Double tail whip (hits on both sides). Causes 14% damage uncharged and 19% fully charged. Hitting an opponent behind Yoshi causes 1% less damage. Very quick, but surprisingly low knockback, for a smash attack. Assuming the move is fresh and uncharged, it cannot KO until at least 150%. Mostly used to rack up damage, set up combos or clear some space. Useful against opponents recovering from a ledge.
 * Up Smash-Headswing- Upward headbutt. Deals 16% uncharged and 22% fully charged. The attack can hit behind Yoshi and cause the same amount of damage. Good vertical knockback.

Other attacks

 * Ledge attack- Gets up and whips his tail. Low range. 6% damage.
 * 100% Ledge attack- Slowly gets up and slams his head forward with short range. The third most damaging ledge attack in the game, right behind Ganondorf when sweetspooted on foot, and Lucario at max damage. It does 12% damage.
 * Floor attack- Whips his tail while spinning. 6% damage.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial- Air Kick- Sex kick. Yoshi's feet grow large while kicking. Causes 12% damage. Can be performed immediately after the ending of Flutter Kick to try and break through shields. Good Knockback if it connects with an opponent as it's executed. Also has knockback protection for the majority of the kick.
 * Forward Aerial- Air Head- Headbutt with the capability to Meteor Smash with average power. Deals 15-16% damage. Where and when it hits decides where the opponent goes. Has a few super armor frames at the end (when Yoshi is flipping around).
 * Back Aerial- Tail Wags- Quadruple tail whip. Causes a maximum of 14% damage. Low priority.
 * Down Aerial-Flutter Kick- Performs trademark Flutter kick. Most damaging aerial attack. Can potentially Meteor Smash after the last kick. Causes a maximum of 33% damage. Good for wearing down shields, nairs or footstool set-ups.
 * Up Aerial- Tail Flip- Does a flip and hits hard upward with his tail, good range, great knockback and low starting lag too. Yoshi's best kill move, easy to set up with eggs and double jump. Has a few super armor frames at the end (when Yoshi is flipping around). Top priority.

Grabs and Throws

 * Grab - Along Snake, he is the only character in the game able to force jump breaks in the game and also the only character in the game completely unable to ground release a grabbed character.
 * Standing grab - 17 frame grab and not very long range makes it one of the worst standing grabs.
 * Dash grab - Faster start-up than his standing grab but a lot of ending lag. Yoshi tends to slide a considerable amount if he grabs someone during the first few frames of the grab.
 * Pivot grab - Much longer range than his standing grab range and 1 frame faster than his dash grab. It has very little lag for an extended grab, starting and ending, and is considered to be the best Pivot grab in the game.
 * Pummel-Chew- Chews on the opponent. 2% damage. When Grab Release Chain grabbing, it counters move decay (Stale Negation)
 * Forward Throw-Spit- Spits the opponent out. 7% damage.
 * Back Throw-Food Backup- Spits the opponent backward. 7% damage.
 * Up Throw-Upchuck- Spits the opponent upward. 5% damage.
 * Down Throw-Intense Barf- Jumps up and spits the opponent hard into the ground. 4% damage. Has good hitstun, combos well with Up Aerial for a KO.

The following characters can be chain grabbed by Yoshi, though some are harder to chain grab than others: Bowser, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Wario, Link, Ganondorf, Zero Suit Samus, Pit, Meta Knight, King Dedede, Falco, Captain Falcon, Pikachu, Squirtle, Charizard, Ike, Lucas, Snake, and Sonic.

Taunts
Up: Dances around in a circle and says "Yoshi!".

Side: Spins around, chasing his tail, then looks at it.

Down: Waves to the screen, saying "Yoshi! Yoshi!" This is an update of the taunt he had in SSB and Melee.

On-Screen Appearance
Hops out of a Yoshi Egg.

Role In The Subspace Emissary
After removing the Master Sword from a pedestal in a forest, Link encounters Yoshi, who is sleeping on a tree stump. However, the passing Halberd drops Shadow Bugs, which in turn form Primids. Peaceful sleep is now impossible, so Yoshi teams up with Link to fight them off. Yoshi's next role in the story depends on which princess Kirby saved at the stadium. If you chose Peach, Yoshi and Link battle against a Shadow Bug clone of Peach (who was recently trophied by Bowser), who was trying to trophy an unsuspecting Mario and Pit until Link sliced the cannon in half. After the battle, the trophy disintegrates. Thinking that they killed the real princess, Mario and Pit attack Link and Yoshi. If you saved Zelda, then Mario and Pit would fight a Shadow Bug clone of her instead, and Link and Yoshi would attack Mario and Pit. Either way, both teams fight each other. After Link and Yoshi/Mario and Pit defeat the opposing characters, King Dedede passes by in the cargo and snags the trophies with a metal arm, while Link/Mario notices the real trophy of Zelda/Peach in the back. After King Dedede raises his fist in triumph, Kirby jumps onto the cargo and performs a Final Cutter, severing the arm and reviving the trophies. Pit/Link quickly hits the cargo with an arrow as it passes by, damaging it. Kirby, Link, Yoshi, Mario, and Pit then team up to find Dedede's castle.

Later on, they find the Ancient Minister setting off a Subspace bomb, and see the real regret that he feels in this deed. As the bomb goes off, Yoshi carries Mario to safety by running really fast, while Pit, Kirby and Link fly overhead on a warp star. Yoshi carrying Mario in this SSE cutscene reflects on how Yoshi was used for transportation for Mario (most notably in Yoshi's Island and Super Mario World).

Yoshi joins his companions when they reinforce Marth's team in the Canyon. Later, he joins the heroes in the battle against the Subspace Gunship and again against Tabuu. After being trophied by Tabuu's Off Waves, Yoshi is revived by Dedede and Kirby, and afterward, joins Sonic and the others against Tabuu.

Event Matches

 * Event 10: All-Star Battle Regulars- The player must choose a character and take on the "original eight" fighters, two at a time.
 * Event 11: Yoshi's Rainbow- As the Ice Climbers on Rainbow Cruise, the player must KO the Yoshis in the following order: Red, pink, yellow, green, light blue, and blue. Not killing them in order is instant failure.
 * Event 12: Sleeping in the Eggs- Using Yoshi’s Egg Lay standard special move, the player must put Kirby and Pikachu in eggs simultaneously.
 * Event 37: The Pirate Airship- The Pirate Ship will continuously be caught in a hurricane and be sent to the sky. KO both Yoshis as Toon Link when the ship is in the air.

Co-Op Event Matches

 * Co-Op Event 3: Fastest, Shortest, Sudden Death- All Players start with 300%. Survive as Yoshi and King Dedede against Lucas and Pit for 10 seconds on WarioWare.
 * Co-Op Event 5: The Yoshi Team of 50- As Meta Knight and Pit, KO all 50 Yoshis on Rainbow Cruise before completing one lap of the stage.
 * Co-Op Event 9: Those Who Stayed in Onett- KO Luigi and Yoshi, playing as Lucas and Ness on Onett.
 * Co-Op Event 21: The True All-Star Battle- Select any character and take on the entire roster on Battlefield.

Trivia

 * Yoshi is the only character with a ranged grab not to have a Tether Recovery.
 * Yoshi is the only character who can eat opponents but not items.
 * Yoshi is the only character with a grab that makes enemies invisible.
 * Yoshi, Link, Bowser, Luigi, and Toon Link are the only characters to wear their default costumes in team battles, when they are on the green team.
 * The Bunny Hood and Metal Box do not affect the height of Yoshi's second jump.
 * Yoshi holds the world record for Co-op Target Smash!! Level 4 with Pikachu (completed in 4.81 seconds).
 * With a Bunny Hood, Yoshi can use Egg Throw to stall in certain places, such as the under the lip of the original Pokémon Stadium.
 * Unlike Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Bowser, Yoshi retains his cartoonish voice from the Mario games, as using a realistic voice would not fit his character.