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 appears relatively unchanged, except for one thing--he can now use his Egg Toss as a recovery move (though it only gives him a small boost towards the top of the screen). His smashes appear less powerful, but his aerials and tilts are slightly more powerful. He has also taken on his upright posture and his appearance is like the younger Yoshi in Yoshi's Story. He appears to be slightly larger now in relation to the human-sized characters as well.

Yoshi ranks 33rd on the Tier List due to his fairly mediocre matchups, over reliance on his second jump to recover (making footstool jumps very dangerous), only character unable to jump out of his shield, poor and slow roll and shield, poor kill power with only average attack speed as well as lackluster tourney results. However, due to grab release chaingrabs (in conjunction with an excellent pivot grab and ability to either KO chaingrab victims with his Up Smash or spike them off the edge with his Forward aerial, but his grab range is quite short and relatively laggy), he has one of the best Meta Knight matchups (around 40/60), and is one of the best Wario counters in the game (70/30) despite his tier placement. This leads many smashers to believe that he will rise in tier placement once his metagame starts to develop, as Meta Knight and Wario are both high tier characters that do well at tournaments.

Changes from Melee to Brawl

 * Egg Toss can be used as a recovery move, providing a very slight boost
 * New Forward Tilt
 * Aerials and tilts are slightly stronger
 * Smashes are slightly weaker, Down Smash was weakened significantly
 * Yoshi Bomb is weaker in terms of knockback.
 * The Yoshi Bomb, when used from the ground, now takes an enemy standing directly in front of Yoshi up with him, like the Final Cutter.
 * Stance is different than in Melee
 * Tail is now longer with greater reach
 * Eggs can no longer be tossed backwards very far. To throw backwards, quickly tilt the control stick/pad in the reverse direction (like doing a Reverse Falcon Punch)
 * His Egg Roll now gives him very little horizontal distance when used in the air, making it ineffective as a recovery move.
 * Attacking during his double jump does not stop all of his momentum.
 * Faster Air speed, now the fastest in the game (up from a tie for second-fastest with Mewtwo)
 * Yoshi Bomb shoots down at a faster speed
 * Eggs do less damage and less knockback compared to SSBM
 * Spikes on his back are curved rather than spiky, like they are in his recent appearances
 * Forward Aerial is no longer an automatic Meteor/Spike
 * His tongue makes a different sound.
 * Down tilt no longer has set knockback.

Attributes
Few characters are as unusual in Brawl as Yoshi. Yoshi is a comparatively weighty character, but rather small for his weight. He also is fairly floaty (even compared to characters of other weights), which is usually not an attribute found in heavyweights. His lateral air speed is the best in the game (beating out even Jigglypuff), and his midair jump is the largest in the game, giving knockback resistance during the ascent. He's also quite speedy on the ground as well. Yoshi can perform a pseudo-wavedash known as the Dragonic Reverse. His moves are usually well-ranged, with decent speed and priority, and his Flutter Kick (downwards aerial) can hit for 33% if used correctly, making it among the most damaging attacks in the game. Egg Throw is an effective projectile attack that can help change directions in midair and can help recovery, and Yoshi has solid aerials and ground moves otherwise. Also, contrary to popular belief, Yoshi is among the harder characters to edgeguard, as he can air dodge, use an upwards aerial right after the second jump, and he doesn't flinch during his second jump if his damage is low enough, though rarely he will survive if he gets hit and flinches. And as long as Yoshi has his second jump, he can be an effective edge guarder as well, either finishing them off with his meteor-smashes, or using his n-air at the right time to knock them back even further. He also has good knockback for most of his moves (although no-where near good enough to KO opponents) which Yoshi can use to set people up for combos.

Yoshi's major advantage is in his grab-release on a large number of cast members. He currently has a grab-release on at least eleven cast members, and he can grab-release-spike seven of those, including Meta Knight. This is the main reason why he is considered an effective choice against Meta Knight.

However, Yoshi has several major flaws in his game. His shielding is notoriously bad, due to the unique shield he has (can't be poked and lasts a long time, but it has a long exiting animation and Yoshi cannot jump out of his shield) and his slow dodge roll. Yoshi has few effective ways to advance on the opponent, His killing power is rather low and he only has normal attack speed. His specials are largely situational due to a mix of either poor range, speed, and/or priority. One other significant flaw is that because of his lackluster third jump compared to his second jump, footstool jumps can be devastating to Yoshi, should they be performed while he is in his second jump. (Although Yoshi is hard to edgeguard, this still should be taken into consideration.) His match-ups are below average against those (most characters) he can't chain grab.

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 and laggy grab can be an impediment (though he can pivot grab to remedy this). Yoshi's myriad of quirks and gimmicks means that only truly dedicated Yoshi players can do very well with him. Those new to Yoshi are likely to not fare as well.

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 Shadowbugs, which in turn form Primids. Peaceful sleep is now impossible, so Yoshi teams up with Link to fight them off. Later, Yoshi/Pit and Link/Mario will be seen running on a path, a Shadowbug clone of Zelda/Peach will try to turn the duo into trophies, but then Pit/Link slashes the clone's Dark Cannon into two. Mario and Pit/Link and Yoshi will then fight the clone. After the battle, Link/Mario will notice Mario and Pit/Link and Yoshi nearby the clone's trophy, thinking that they killed the real princess, Link/Mario tries to slash/punch Mario/Link. The two teams will then fight each other. After Link and Yoshi/Mario and Pit defeat the opposing characters, King Dedede will pass by and snag the trophies, while Link/Mario notice a trophy of Zelda/Peach in the back. Kirby then later rescues the Link & Yoshi/Mario & Pit trophies and Link/Pit with come to life and strike the cart with an arrow. After which, Kirby, Link, Yoshi, Mario, and Pit team up to find Dedede's hideout.

Later on, they find the Ancient Minister setting off a Subspace bomb, and we 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 joins his companions when they reinforce Marth and his companions in the Canyon. Later, he joins the heroes in the battle against the Subspace Gunship and again against Tabuu. After trophization, Yoshi is revived by Dedede and Kirby, and 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.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack- Left kick, then right kick. Deals 9% if both hit. Quick with decent priority makes it a solid "panic" move.
 * Dash Attack- 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. Causes 9% damage. Very quick.
 * Down Tilt- 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.
 * Up Tilt- Tail uppercut. Deals 11% damage.

Smash

 * Forward Smash- Headbutt that causes 16% damage uncharged and 22% damage fully charged.
 * Down Smash- 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. Mostly used to rack up damage.
 * Up Smash- Upward headbutt. Deals 16% uncharged and 22% fully charged. The attack can hit behind Yoshi and cause the same amount of damage.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial- Single kick. Causes 12% damage. Sex kick.  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.
 * Forward Aerial- Headbutt with the capability to spike. Deals 15-16% damage. Where and when it hits decides where the opponent goes.
 * Back Aerial- Quadruple tail whip. Causes a maximum of 14% damage. Combos well into up-smash, Ftilt, or AA.
 * Down Aerial- 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 or footstool set-ups.
 * Up Aerial- 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 setup with eggs and double jump.

Grabs and Throws
The following characters can be chain grabbed by yoshi, though some are harder chain grab than others. Bowser, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Wario, Link, Ganondorf, Zero Suit Samus, Pit, Meta Knight, Falco, Captain Falcon, Pikachu, Squirtle, Charizard, Ike, Lucas, Snake, and Sonic
 * Pummel- Chews on the opponent. 2% damage. When Grab Release Chain grabbing, it counters move decay (Stale Negation)
 * Forward Throw- Spits the opponent out. 7% damage.
 * Back Throw- Spits the opponent backward. 7% damage.
 * Up Throw- Spits the opponent upward. 5% damage.
 * Down Throw- Jumps up and spits the opponent hard into the ground. 4% damage. Has good hitstun, combos well with Up Aerial for a KO.

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!"

Trivia

 * Yoshi is the only character with a ranged grab but not a Tether Recovery.
 * Yoshi is the only character that can eat opponents but not items.
 * Yoshi is the only character with a unique shield. Instead of a spherical bubble, he uses an egg for protection. The egg does not shrink when it weakens (instead it darkens), so trying to shield stab Yoshi is futile. However, he cannot jump out of his shield, and it takes longer than anyone else to drop it.
 * The Bunny Hood and Metal Box don't affect Yoshi's second jump.
 * Yoshi holds the world record for Co-op Target Smash!! Level 4 with Pikachu (completed in 4.81 seconds).
 * Yoshi's palette swaps are a reference to the primary and secondary light colors.
 * The soles of his shoes stay the same color, no matter what color he is.
 * With a Bunny Hood. Yoshi can start stalling with Egg Throw, in some cases, such as the under the lip of the original Pokemon Stadium.
 * Yoshi carrying Mario in a SSE cutscene reflects on how Yoshi was used for transportation for Mario (most notably in Yoshi's Island, where he carries Baby Mario everywhere and Super Mario World where Yoshi used to have a taller neck and was able to ride him except in the Ghost House and Castle stages.)
 * When Kirby copies Yoshi's egg lay, the tongue sticks out for less distance.
 * Ironically, Yoshi is currently ranked 5th from last in all three Smash Bros tier lists.