Yoshi inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Yoshi
Other playable appearances	inSSB inMelee inBrawl inSSB4
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Stampede!
Tier	S- (13)

Yoshi (ヨッシー,Yoshi) is a playable character inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. Initially teased in the then-unnamedUltimate's announcement trailer, he was revealed for the game along with the rest of the veterans onJune 12th, 2018; he andLuigi were the last veterans confirmed, with both appearing at the very end of the trailer. Yoshi is classified asFighter #05.

As inSuper Smash Bros. 4,Ultimate uses all of Kazumi Totaka's voice clips fromYoshi's Story.

Yoshi is ranked 13th out of 82 on the currenttier list, placing him at the bottom of the S- tier. This is a significant improvement from his 33rd out of 54 placement inSuper Smash Bros. 4, and is his best placement in the series. Yoshi is gifted with overall high movement speed, especially hisair mobility, allowing him to easily weave around opposing attacks and space effectively. This also grants him fantasticedgeguarding abilities, withEgg Throw and his long-lasting neutral aerial being particularly effective, the latter also being a strongout of shield option. Rounding out his offense is a high damage output, solid combo game, and versatile and powerful aerials, withdown air being the most damaging in the game. In addition, he has among the best endurance inUltimate, as not only is he heavy, but his double jump armor allows him to take potentially fatal attacks. His unique shield also always covers his entire body, protecting him fromshield stabbing. Finally, Yoshi has a solid recovery, with Egg Throw and directionalair dodges complimenting his aforementioned great air speed and high-reaching armored double jump.

Despite these strengths, Yoshi has several notable flaws. His unimpressive range can cause him to get stuffed out by characters with disjointed hitboxes and struggle against certain zoners. In addition, only half hisspecial moves are considered useful, withEgg Roll being considered one of the worst special moves in the game, andEgg Lay being rather niche. His double jump armor can potentiallygimp him if he tanks a move that exceeds his armor's threshold. Yoshi also struggles against juggling, as he is surprisingly floaty for a heavyweight and most of his aerial attacks are ineffective when he is in disadvantage; notably, using his double jump to escape pressure is more detrimental to Yoshi than any other character, as it removes his best recovery option. Finally, Yoshi's grab game is mediocre, with his throws and Egg Lay possessing limited combo or KO potential.

Overall, Yoshi is a strong character in the metagame, particularly in Japan, where he is considered a top 10 fighter. Japan is also home to a slew of top-level Yoshi players such asYoshidora andRon. Although less popular outside of Japan, Yoshi maintains a positive reception and strong results from players such asMeme.

Attributes[edit]

Yoshi is aheavyweight fighter with above-average mobility, good frame data, and decent KO potential. He sports a unique shield in the form of a Yoshi Egg, which covers his whole body no matter the damage it has taken; thus, it makes Yoshi immune toshield stabbing.

As stated previously, Yoshi sports excellent mobility: he has the 27th fastestwalking speed, the 19th fastestdashing speed (with an above-averageinitial dash as well), the fastestair speed in the game, and the 14th highestair acceleration. Additionally, Yoshi sports among the highestjumping prowesses in the game; this can especially be owed to hisdouble jump, which is the second-highest in the game, only behindMewtwo's. Along with this, his double jump possesses a unique form of subtractive knockbackarmor that is active immediately on frame 1, granting him an excellent combo breaker. However, histraction andgravity are the 23rd and 20th lowest in the game, respectively; further compounding this, hisfalling andfast-falling speeds are among the bottom 10 in the game (the 7th slowest to be specific). Thus, Yoshi is quite speedy overall, yet at the same time, he's one of the floatiest characters in the game, which is incredibly unorthodox for a heavyweight, arguably more so than any other in the game.

Complementing his high mobility, Yoshi's moveset possesses very good utility. Both hits of neutral attack can connect into each other, and the first hit can also be used tojab lock as well as combo into moves such as down special for akill confirm; forward tilt serves as a reliable combo starter at low-mid percents, due to its moderate base knockback and vertical launch angle; up tilt is an effective combo starter with low knockback growth, and leads to KO confirms at higher percents; and down tilt is his fastest tilt, sporting good range and serving as a reliabletech chasing option. Lastly, his dash attack has a long duration and good range; this, combined with its decent knockback, makes it good for KOing opponents at later percents and punishing rolls or techs.

Yoshi's smash attacks are also useful in their own right: forward smash has a powerful sweetspot that out prioritizes its slightly weaker sourspot, allowing it to KO at reasonable percents. It also has decent start-up, can be angled, and grants Yoshiintangibility for its duration; up smash has good horizontal and vertical range, reasonable start-up, and a powerful sweetspot, allowing it to KO at percents as low as 120% provided the sweetspot hits; lastly, down smash is extremely quick in both start-up and ending lag which, coupled with its good range, makes it an adept option for punishing rolling opponents.

Although his grounded moveset comes with potent attacks, it is Yoshi's aerial attacks that possess high usefulness and make up his fantastic air game. Neutral aerial is a very fastsex kick with low all-around lag, decent range, and good power, allowing it to either KO at surprisingly early percents, serve as an effective combo breaker, be a tech-chase set-up, and be his primaryout of shield option. Forward aerial also possesses high range and reasonable all-around lag, and comes with impressive damage; its tipper hitboxmeteor smashes opponents, allowing for offstage KOs to occur as early as 20%. Back aerial boasts high speed and high power, with its first two hits being effective combo starters and its final hit KOing below 130%.

Up aerial possesses high vertical range and a hitbox that hits behind the opponent which, in tandem with its impressive damage output and low all-around lag, makes it an effectivejuggling option. Lastly, down aerial serves as the most damaging aerial in the game; its hits can easily link into each other, with its high vertical knockback allowing it to KO at reasonable percentages near the upper blast zone. His grab game is also relatively decent: his grab release and throws grant invincibility during their animations,pummel is fast and deals average damage, forward and back throws are decent KO options by the ledge, up throw has combo potential into his up air at low percents, and down throw has little ending lag making it his most useful combo throw.

Yoshi's special moves are also very effective tools for the character.Egg Lay is acommand grab which traps the opponent in an egg for a short amount of time, allowing it to work as a damage racker, and whenB-reversed is an effective surprise trapping option.Egg Roll travels decently fast on the ground and deals effective damage when running into an opponent,Yoshi Bomb gives Yoshi an option to escape juggles if the situation allows for it, can go through soft platforms, does high damage in both the ground and air, and the grounded version deals highshield damage. However, his best special move is easily hisEgg Throw, his only but incredibly effective projectile. The trajectory of the move can be changed depending on the angle of the joystick, can bounce on the ground, and allows Yoshi to have an option for zoning.

Although Yoshi's strengths allow him to be effective in many instances, he has some noticeable weaknesses; the main problem being that his recovery is very limited. His double jump and air speed make getting back onstage with him more plausible, but his double jump can only be used once and if his opponent has a move that breaks his armor limit, then he'll likely be in a difficult situation for getting back onstage. His other recovery options outside of his double jump are very short-ranged and punishable, with Egg Throw only giving vertical distance upon its first three usages and directional air dodges having high ending lag. His reliance on his double jump to recover also impacts his disadvantage state - unlike most other fighters, who can use their midair jump to escape unfavorable positions when landing, the height it grants Yoshi can simply keep him landing for longer, and if he is knocked offstage after using it, then much of his recovery is limited. Because of this, Yoshi players must be especially careful in juggling scenarios, which can be exploited.

His approach can also be very punishable as his moves outside of tilts are noticeably slower, with every one of his aerial attacks outside of his neutral and up aerials having below-average speed, and most of his attacks have short-range that leaves him vulnerable to getting stuffed out bydisjointed hitboxes. His grab is also very punishable when missed despite its invincibility and long range, Egg Lay is very limited and has no usage if the opponent is far away, Egg Roll has a very predictable trajectory and is hard for Yoshi to get out of if the attack doesn't work well in his current situation, and Yoshi Bomb is also predictable if used unsafely and has high ending lag when Yoshi hits the ground. Finally, his shield, as useful as it is due to never shrinking when weakened, presents a double-edged sword situation: a weakened shield can still be hit easily, and as such can break more easily than a normal shield.

Overall, Yoshi is still a very reliable character despite his glaring weaknesses. With his fast speed and useful moveset, he is very capable of performing combos, scoring KOs, and playing an effective neutral game. As a result, opinions on Yoshi have remained high throughout the game's competitive lifespan.

Changes fromSuper Smash Bros. 4[edit]

Yoshi has been considerably buffed in the transition toUltimate. Many of his most notorious attributes have been improved, with comparatively very few nerfs to balance out his buffs.

One of Yoshi's biggest buffs was to his previously poor KO power for a heavyweight. All of Yoshi's smash attacks have had their power increased, andforward smash has lost one of its sourspots, making it a more consistent option. Moves likeforward tilt andback aerial now lead much more reliably into other moves thanks to their improved combo potential, either improving Yoshi's KO confirms into other moves or outright granting him new ones.Egg Throw now consists of one hit that deals more damage, which puts the opponent into a more disadvantageous position at low percentages, allowing Yoshi to win theneutral game with more ease and also improving his combo game; additionally, Egg Throw grants more diagonal distance during its first three uses.

Yoshi benefits from many of the universal engine changes. All of his aerials have reduced landing lag, which combined with his vastly improved forward tilt improves Yoshi's combo and damage racking potential, especially at low percentages. As with other veterans, Yoshi's already excellent mobility has been further increased, helping hisapproach. The changes to air dodging strengthen his edge-guarding with both aerials and Egg Throw, and also grant Yoshi a useful, invincible recovery tool, which also drastically improves his notoriously limited recovery in combination with his buffed Egg Throw.

However, Yoshi is not without a few nerfs. Hisup tilt has less range, no longer hitting opponents up close, which limits its combo potential to hitting opponents above or behind him, and forces Yoshi to use his improved forward tilt in front of himself.Dash attack can no longer cross-up shields, making it more punishable and risky as an approach option. Finally, Yoshi's overall jump height, while still impressive, has nevertheless been lowered, hampering his vertical survivability offstage; further compounding this are the increased ending lag on air dodges and the ability to use one at a time before landing or getting hit, forcing Yoshi to cautiously use his own air dodge in tandem with his recovery options to avoid a guaranteed self-destruct. This also affects his forward aerial, which can no longer autocancel in a short hop due to his lower short hop. Of note is that Yoshi still retains one of his most noticeable flaws fromSSB4, that being his grab game, which, while improved, is still lackluster.

Overall, Yoshi's changes have improved his core kit fromSSB4, resulting in a lower learning curve; while this does not change his playstyle significantly, this allows Yoshi to better play to his strengths thanks to his moves' improved consistency and utility. Because of this, and a comparatively lower amount of nerfs, Yoshi is a significantly better character than he was inSSB4.

Aesthetics[edit]

• Due to the aesthetic used inUltimate, Yoshi's model features a more subdued color scheme, but unlike inMelee andBrawl, it retains its chartreuse color from theMario andYoshi series used inSmash 64 andSSB4. His irises appear larger while his shoes feature subtle detailing.
• Yoshi has a newalternate costume based on his felted design inYoshi's Crafted World. It replaces hisBlack Yoshi costume fromSSB4.
• Yoshi now always faces the screen regardless of the direction he turns. Because of this, both his stance and moveset are mirrored.
• Yoshi is more expressive, he scowls when using his aerials and grabbing onto a ledge.
• Idle pose, dashing, falling, and double jump animations have been updated to match Yoshi's upright posture.
  • Yoshi no longer reverts to his posture andidle poses fromBrawl while holding a smallitem.
• All of Yoshi'svictory poses were slightly altered:
  • His left-inputted victory pose now has him performing aFlutter Jump before spinning around once and striking a V sign.
  • His up-inputted victory pose now has him strike a new pose, where he stands on one leg while extending his arms out.
  • His right-inputted victory pose now has him punch the air twice and strike a pose with his right leg farther back.

Attributes[edit]

• Like all characters, Yoshi'sjumpsquat animation takes 3 frames to complete (down from 6).
• Yoshiruns faster (1.86 → 2.046).
  • Yoshi's initialdash is significantly faster (1.33 → 1.98).
• Yoshiwalks slightly faster (1.15 → 1.208).
• Yoshi'sair speed has been increased, now being faster than he was inBrawl (1.28 → 1.344).
• Yoshi has significantly highertraction (0.0426 → 0.095), allowing him to punish out of shield much more easily.
• Yoshi'sjump height has been slightly reduced.
  • However, the reduction to hisshort hop height noticeably improves his ability to utilize short hop aerials against grounded opponents.
• Forwardroll has less ending lag (FAF 36 → 31).
• Forward roll grants lessintangibility (frames 4-21 → 4-15).
• Back roll has more startup and grants less intangibility (frames 4-21 → 5-16).
• Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 28 → 27).
• Spot dodge grants less intangibility (frames 3-18 → 3-17).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 3-28 → 3-30).
• Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 34 → 59).
• The reintroduction of directional air dodges benefits Yoshi, as due toEgg Throw not causinghelplessness, he can get additional distance with a directional air dodge after using it.
• The removal ofshield platform dropping benefits Yoshi, as he was the only character unable to perform the technique inSmash 4. When combined with his unique shield rendering him immune toshield stabbing, this effectively gives him the best shield in the game.
• Yoshi's double jump armor has been altered. The armor duration is significantly shorter, but like inSmash 64 andMelee, knockback taken is reduced if the armor is broken by an attack with sufficiently high knockback.

Ground attacks[edit]

• Neutral attack:
  • The first hit transitions into the second hit faster (frame 9 → 6).
  • Both hits have a higherhitlag multiplier (1× → 1.5× (hit 1), 2× (hit 2)), giving opponents more time toSDI the first hit andDI the second hit.
  • The first hit has altered angles (60°/90°/50° → 361°/180°) and knockback (30 base/50 scaling → 40/35/10 base/30/28/20 scaling) to keep opponents close to Yoshi, akin to other neutral attacks. This allows it to connect better into the second hit andjab lock, but removes some of its guaranteedjab cancel setups.
    • Due to this change, and the second hit using theSakurai angle, grounded opponents hit by the move are launched at a lower angle. This allows it to get them offstage more effectively, but makes followups harder.
    • At low percents, the outermost hitbox now doesn't have enough hitstun to prevent opponents from shielding the second hit.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has significantly less ending lag (FAF 39 → 30).
  • It launches opponents at higher angles (80°/65°/50° → 88°/85°), and has more base knockback (50 → 60), but less knockback scaling (80 → 75). Combined with the previous change, this turns it into a reliable combo starter, while also improving its KO ability.
  • It deals more damage when not angled (7% → 8%).
  • The outermost hitbox is slightly larger (2.8u → 3u).
  • Its animation has been altered, with Yoshi no longer performing a full spin when swinging his tail. Yoshi also has an angry expression.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt's hitboxes start from a higher position, making them unable to hit short characters in front of Yoshi.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has slightly more base knockback (65 → 67).
  • Down tilt's animation is reversed, with Yoshi spinning towards the screen rather than away from it.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has less ending lag (FAF 50 → 41).
  • It deals more damage (9% → 11% (clean), 6% → 8% (late)).
  • It has altered knockback scaling (52 → 45 (clean), 44 (late)). Overall, the clean hit deals less knockback, hindering its KO potential, while the late hit deals around the same knockback.
  • The move has noticeably shorter travel distance, worsening its utility as a grounded burst option. It also no longercrosses up shields consistently, making it easier to punish despite its reduced ending lag and higher damage output.
  • The late hit has smaller hitboxes (5u/3.5u → 4u/2.5u).
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash has two different hitboxes instead of three, with the sweetspot taking priority over the sourspot and being located closer to Yoshi. This effectively removes its weaker sourspot (that dealt 13%) and makes the sweetspot easier to land.
  • It has a longer hitbox duration (frame 14 → 14-16) and grants more intangibility on Yoshi's head (frames 12-14 → 12-16).
  • The sweetspot has more knockback scaling (98 → 102).
  • Yoshi now sports an angrier expression while headbutting, instead of closing his eyes like in previous games.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash deals more knockback (37 base/95 scaling → 38/99).
• Down smash:
  • Down smash launches at a lower angle (30° → 26°) and deals more knockback (hit 1:40/42 base/73/57 scaling → 51/46/75/63, hit 2: 40/42 base/81/75 scaling → 51/44/83/75), allowing it to KO around 150% with the first and 130% with the second hit from center stage.

Aerial attacks[edit]

• All aerials have less landing lag (11 frames → 7 (neutral), 17 → 12 (forward), 19 → 11 (back), 14 → 8 (up), 24 → 17 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • The clean and mid hits have been moved further away from Yoshi (z offset: 5.5 (clean)/4 (mid) → 7.5/5), improving their range.
• Forward aerial:
  • The removal ofteching for groundedmeteor smashes improves forward aerial's combo potential onstage, compounded further by its reduced landing lag.
  • The sourspot has been removed, with the sweetspot and meteor hitboxes being made bigger to compensate (2.4u (sweetspot)/3.5u (meteor) → 4.2u/4u).
  • Despite the auto-cancel window remaining unchanged, it no longerauto-cancels in a short hop due to Yoshi's lower short hop duration.
  • It has a different animation, with Yoshi no longer flipping after the headbutt.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial deals more damage (2.5% → 3.5% (hits 1-2), 5% → 5.5% (hit 3), total: 10% → 12.5%) with knockback not compensated on the third hit, increasing its KO potential.
  • It has much lower hitlag multipliers (2× → 0.5× (hits 1-2), 1.5× (hit 3)), allowing it to execute faster and making the first two hits harder toSDI.
  • The second and third hits have less startup lag (frame 17/25 → 14/18), causing them to connect more reliably.
    • However, the move's total duration remains unchanged, giving it more ending lag.
  • The move's first two hits deal much less knockback (30/50 base/200/150 scaling → 20 base/100 scaling), and use theautolink angle against grounded opponents as well (361° → 367°) instead of only aerial ones. This allows them to connect more reliably, and combined with the move's lower landing lag, start combos at a wide range of percentages.
  • All hitboxes have been moved upwards (Y offset: 2u-4u → 3u-5u (hit 1 and 2), 3u → 5u (hit 3)), increasing the move's range above Yoshi, but reducing it below him.
  • Back aerial has a slightly altered animation, with Yoshi striking a new pose at the end of the move.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has less ending lag (FAF 39 → 37).
  • It auto-cancels earlier (frame 33 → 31).
  • It has a new animation where Yoshi raises his tail up from behind without flipping.
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial's looping hits have a lower hitlag multiplier (1.1× → 0.6×), use the autolink angle (270°/260°/280° → 367°), and have consistent knockback scaling (100/80 → 100), allowing them to connect more reliably and making them harder to SDI, despite their higher SDI multiplier (1.5× → 1.8×).
  • The landing hit deals more knockback that is no longerset (40 set/100 scaling → 65 base/100 scaling), causing opponents totumble even at 0%. This allows it to set up edgeguards more effectively, and grants it followups at low percents if the opponent fails totech.
  • The move's initial auto-cancel window has been removed.
  • It has smaller hitboxes (6u/4.5u → 5u/3.5u (looping hits), 7u/5u → 6.5u/4.5u (last hit)).
  • The looping hits deal less damage (3%/2% → 2.3%/1.8% (hits 1-6), 2.2%/1.5% → 1.9%/1.4% (hits 7-12)), reducing the move's maximum damage output (32.2% → 28%) despite the last hit dealing more damage (1% → 2.8%).
    • The last hit's knockback has not been fully compensated for its higher damage output (60 base/200 scaling → 55/179), improving its KO potential.
  • The last hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (1.1× → 1.5×).

Throws and other attacks[edit]

• Grabs:
  • All grabs have noticeably less ending lag (FAF 56 → 49 (standing), 68 → 57 (dash), 65 → 52 (pivot)), especially compared to the rest of the cast, as all non-extended grabs have conversely had their ending lag increased.
  • Dash and pivot grab have more startup lag (frame 11 → 16 (dash), 10 → 17 (pivot)), no longer being faster than his standing grab. His pivot grab in particular has gone from among the fastest to one of the slowest.
  • Yoshi's pivot grab animation has been altered; Yoshi pauses for a bit before turning around on one foot.
  • Yoshi's grab animation has changed. After grabbing an opponent and holding them in his mouth, his cheeks become swollen and jiggle, as if the fighter inside is trying to break out. He also holds his mouth closed with his hands, and no longer crouches down to the ground.
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals less damage (2% → 1.3%).
  • It deals more hitlag (4 frames → 14), but has much less startup (frame 4 → 1) and ending lag (FAF 16 → 7).
  • It uses a unique, cartoony chomping sound effect, rather than a standard "kick" sound effect.
• The speed of Yoshi's throws is no longer weight-dependent.
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw deals more damage (7% → 9%) with no compensation on knockback.
• Back throw:
  • Back throw deals more damage (7% → 9%) with no compensation on knockback.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has significantly more knockback scaling (43 → 90), allowing it to KO at around 230%, compared to being unable to KO under 500% withoutrage.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw releases opponents 3 frames later (frame 15 → 18), reducing its effective ending lag, and improving its combo potential.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves[edit]

• Egg Lay:
  • Egg Lay has less startup lag (frame 21 → 19), with its total duration equally reduced (FAF 44 → 42).
  • Opponents can no longer move left and right in the air while in an egg.
  • The aerial version's animation is longer (43 frames → 61), as is the laying animation (37 frames → 52). This increases the amount of time aerial mobility is locked, and Yoshi cannot grab the ledge, if the move is not interrupted.
  • Opponents in an egg can shift themselves left and right on the ground by mashing the respective direction and slightly jump if mashing diagonally upwards.
  • It has a slightly altered animation, inflating Yoshi's cheeks more as he swallows opponents, similar to his grab.
• Egg Roll:
  • Egg Roll deals drastically more damage (4%-≈9% → 10%-≈13.8%).
  • Its base knockback and knockback scaling have been reversed (50/70 → 70/50), making it safer on hit at low percents, while still improving its KO potential due to its higher damage output.
  • Yoshi always bounces once when using Egg Roll on the ground. This makes the move's execution slower and more predictable.
  • Changing direction takes longer.
  • Yoshi strikes a new pose before using Egg Roll.
• Egg Throw:
  • Yoshi gains slightly more vertical distance on the first Egg Throw, particularly after a jump.
  • Eggs have a higher hitlag multiplier (0.3× → 0.6×), giving Yoshi more time to follow up.
  • Eggs can bounce on the ground and retain their horizontal momentum before they break, giving Yoshi a new option to stop approaches.
  • Eggs deal a single hit to opponents instead of two, with the same total damage (1% (hit 1), 5% (hit 2) → 6%) and no compensation on knockback.
  • Egg Throw has more startup (frame 15 → 16) and ending lag (FAF 54 → 56).
  • Eggs have received negativeshield damage (0 → -3), effectively dealing half their usual damage to shields.
  • Yoshi can use either his right arm or left arm to throw eggs, due to his mirrored stance.
• Yoshi Bomb:
  • Yoshi Bomb can sweetspot a ledge even if Yoshi is facing away from it.
  • Both the grounded and aerial versions allow Yoshi to go throughsoft platforms if he is high enough above them and the control stick is held down.
    • If too close to them, he will always go through.
  • Yoshi once again vocalizes when using the grounded version, much like in previous games up untilBrawl.
  • Yoshi falls more slowly (5 → 4.8).
• Final Smash:
  • Yoshi has a new Final Smash calledStampede!. He headbutts in front of him and an army of multicoloredYoshis stampede over the trapped players, similar to his part of theSuper Smash Bros. Melee opening.

Update history[edit]

Yoshi received a mix of buffs, nerfs, and a glitch fix via game updates. All of the buffs Yoshi received were homogeneous updates to make Yoshi function more like the rest of the cast. However, the roster-wide increase in shield size in Version 7.0.0 actually nerfed Yoshi due to the impossibility to shield stab, only making it easier to hit without the compensation of being harder to break. Other nerfs include the universal projectile shield damage nerf of Version 3.0.0 affecting Egg Throw and decreasing the push back of forward smash in Version 4.0.0 making making it less safe on certain characters.

Due to changes received being relatively minor, Yoshi's viability has remained virtually unchanged since the launch ofUltimate, and he continues to achieve respectable results in tournaments.

2.0.0

• Shortened the amount of time the player is unable to grab a ledge after using forward aerial (71 frames → 68).
• Yoshi is now granted grab invincibility during his grab release and throw animations.

3.0.0

• Egg Throw deals less shield damage (0 → -3).

3.1.0

• Fixed a glitch where Egg Lay would cause trapped opponents to fast fall while caught during hitstun.

4.0.0

• Yoshi pushes opponents away less while charging hisforward smash, no longer causing certain characters'grabs to be unable to reach him from the front.

5.0.0

• Yoshi can now buffer a grab after rolling or spotdodging.

7.0.0

• Yoshi's shield hitbox is bigger. Since it is impossible to shield stab Yoshi, this does not improve his shield's safety, instead making it easier to hit from a distance.
• Yoshi's head and legs are briefly intangible after activating his shield.

Moveset[edit]

• Yoshi cancrawl.
• Yoshi uses aYoshi Egg as his shield instead of a bubble like the rest of the cast. Rather than shrinking, his shield darkens as it weakens, rendering him immune toshield stabbing.
• Yoshi possesses a special type of armor during the entire duration of his double jump that subtracts 120 units of knockback, with Yoshi not flinching at all if the result is negative, or otherwise only receiving the knockback difference.

For a gallery of Yoshi's hitboxes, seehere.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the1v1 multiplier.

Stats[edit]

Announcer call[edit]

This article could use additional or higher-quality audio files. The editor who added this tag suggests:Needs announcer calls from other languages. If you have a good audio file for this article, upload ithere.

• English/Japanese/Chinese

On-screen appearance[edit]

• Breaks out of aYoshi Egg and strikes a pose while shaking his tail. The color of the Yoshi will determine the color of the spots on the egg. Based on Yoshi hatching from a Yoshi Egg inSuper Mario World.

• 

  Yoshi's on-screen appearance

Taunts[edit]

• Up taunt: Dances around in a circle, chanting "Yoshi!" as he finishes.
• Side taunt: Chases his tail in circles, then looks back at it as he finishes.
• Down taunt: Faces the screen and jumps up and down whilst chanting. This is similar to his reaction to finding a secret whilesniffing inYoshi's Story.

• 

  Yoshi's up taunt.

• 

  Yoshi's side taunt.

• 

  Yoshi's down taunt.

Idle poses[edit]

• Performs a short dance.
• Looks around.

• 

  Yoshi's first idle pose.

• 

  Yoshi's second idle pose.

Crowd cheer[edit]

	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian)	Cheer (Dutch)	Cheer (French)
Cheer
Description	Yo - shi!	Yo - shi! *claps 3 times*	Yoshiiiiii!	Yoshiiiiii!	Yo - shi!

	Cheer (German)	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian)	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer
Description	Yo - shiiiiii!	Yo - shi!	Yo - shi! Yo - shi!	Yo - shi! *claps 3 times*

Victory poses[edit]

• Left: Does a flutter jump, spins once, and gives the V sign. Based on an animation from "Yoshi's Story" when a stage is completed.
• Up: Punches the air twice, spins, and poses while standing on one foot. (Based on his "character chosen" animation fromSmash 64 and his second-place win animation fromMario Party 10.)
• Right: Angrily punches a few times, does a roundhouse kick, then turns his back on the screen facing right. A reference to Akuma's pose after the successful use of the Shun Goku Satsu.

Incompetitive play[edit]

Most historically significant players[edit]

See also:Category:Yoshi players (SSBU)

•  Fui - First known for his back-to-back 25th place finishes at the supermajorsUmebura SP 9 andKagaribi 9 despite being relatively new to the offline scene, and has since become the third-best Yoshi player in Japan, placing 2nd atWAVE Champions 6 defeatingKEN, 5th atUltCore Second defeatingApolloKage, and 9th atDELTA 7 [FAT] defeatingNeo.
•  JMafia - One of the best Yoshi players in the United States since late 2019, when he was first known for defeatingESAM to place 3rd atFight For 95. He has seen success at several majors since, including placing 17th atCirque Du CFL 3 andMomoCon 2022, defeatingKola in the former tournament while using Yoshi to win the last 2 games, and placing 33rd at2GG: Kongo Saga andLet's Make Moves Miami.
•  Meme - One of the best Yoshi players in the world, and a top 5 player in Mexico, during his prime in the early metagame, winning several large Mexican events includingSmash Fest to the Sky andBIT MASTER MTY 9. He has also seen success outside of Mexico, most notably placing 9th atLow Tier City 7 defeatingLight and 17th atGENESIS 7 defeatingVoiD. Although less active since 2019, he continues to place highly at events he does attend, most notably placing 7th atSmash Factor X.
•  Ron - The second-best Yoshi player of all-time, having been a top Yoshi player since 2019 thanks to performances such as 2nd atSumabato SP Ultimate defeatingMiya, 3rd atSumabato SP 6 defeatingShuton, and 9th atBattle of BC 6 defeatingMkLeo. However, due to his location, he infrequently attends tournaments, and as such is often consideredUltimate's strongest hidden boss.
•  Rotsuku - The second-best Yoshi player in the world in 2019, placing highly at a multitude of majors including 13th atUmebura SP 3 defeatingKuro andUmebura SP 5 defeatingTea, as well as 25th atEVO 2019 defeatingVoiD. He became significantly less active in the post-online metagame, with his performances varying at the events he does attend.
•  Suarez - The best Yoshi player inUltimate's early months and the first Yoshi player ever ranked globally, ranking 49th on theSpring 2019 PGRU thanks to consistently strong performances at majors including 9th atCollision 2019, 17th atMomoCon 2019, and 25th atPound 2019. Although less consistent since 2019, he remained one of the best Yoshi players in the United States, with his best recent performances being 17th atGlitch - Infinite and 25th atCollision 2022, before becoming inactive in early 2023.
•  Yoshidora - The best Yoshi player of all-time, as well as the only Yoshi player ever ranked top 10 globally, ranking 8th on theLumiRank 2023. He most notably wonMaesuma TOP 8, making him the only Yoshi player to win a major, and has come close several other times, such as placing 2nd at bothMaesuma TOP 14.5 "in Hyogo" andMaesuma TOP 15 "FINAL", as well as 3rd atUmebura SP 9.

Tier placement and history[edit]

FollowingUltimate's release, numerous players of all skill levels took an interest in Yoshi due to his overall similarity to how he was in the previous game, making him rather easy to play and learn the game with. Yoshi's new strengths, especially his improved KO power, also reinvigorated his playerbase from the previous game, allowing him to have a sizeable representation in the early metagame, which was spearheaded by players such asSuarez,Meme, andRon. As such, most players considered Yoshi to be a high-tier character, with his overall representation peaking at 20th by the end of 2019.^[1]

However, Yoshi's representation began to take a hit as the metagame progressed. His best players in the early metagame either saw a stagnation in results (Suarez) or became far less active than before (Meme). Furthermore, Yoshi's weaknesses, particularly his linear recovery and weakness to disjoints, became more apparent. These negatives slowly decreased Yoshi's representation in the metagame, with it ultimately hitting 36th by the end of 2022.^[2] Nevertheless, Yoshi players still managed to find success, particularly in Japan, thanks to Ron's occasional appearances in tournaments and the rise ofYoshidora, who has placed top 8 at multiple majors since the pandemic period. These strong results would help keep Yoshi's reputation afloat. As a result, Yoshi sat at 20th on the first tier list at the top of the high tier, with some players believing he should be ranked higher. This was especially the case in Japan, where most of Yoshi's best players flourished and as such, most panelists for this tier list ranked him in the top 10. Japan's higher perception was justified in the following year, as Yoshidora traveled to several international tournaments and ranked in the top 10 for all of 2023. Though Yoshdora's results slightly declined in the following year, many other Yoshi players in Japan remained notable threats in competitive play, including Ron andFui. As such, Yoshi rose in the following two tier lists, ranking 14th on the second (at the end of the A+ tier) and 13th on the third (towards the end of the S- tier).

Classic Mode: Jurassic Journey[edit]

Yoshi'scongratulations screen.

Yoshi's opponents resemble older pop culture depictions ofJurassic Period animals. His boss,Rathalos, fits with this theme due to it being a classical draconic wyvern.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Ivysaur	Distant Planet	World Map - Pikmin 2	Ivysaur'sPokémon Trainer is absent.
2	GiantRidley	Great Bay	Yoshi's Tale
3	King K. Rool	Jungle Japes	Wildlands
4	Koopalings	Yoshi's Island	Flower Field	Horde Battle (3 at a time). The Koopalings are fought in the same order as Yoshi’s debut game,Super Mario World.
5	Charizard	Garden of Hope	Bandit Valley	Charizard's Pokémon Trainer is absent.
6	GiantBowser	Mushroom Kingdom U	Melty Monster	Likely a reference to a recurring element in theYoshi's Island series, in whichKamek transformsBaby Bowser into a giant upon the latter's defeat.
Bonus Stage
Final	Rathalos	Forest Hill	Roar/Rathalos

Note: With the exceptions of Rounds 1 and 6, a song from theYoshi universe is played regardless of the stage.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Yoshi hasYoshi's Tale accompany the credits.

Character unlock tree[edit]

Yoshi's Classic Mode character unlock tree includes the following characters in order:

1. Lucario
2. Marth
3. Ryu
4. Ganondorf
5. Lucina
6. Ridley
7. Chrom
8. Ken

Each character can be unlocked by clearing Yoshi's Classic Mode, or the Classic Mode of any preceding character if all preceding characters have been unlocked. Once all the above characters are unlocked, clearing Classic Mode with any of them will default toMario's character unlock tree, starting withSonic.

Role inWorld of Light[edit]

Finding Yoshi in World of Light

Although Yoshi does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sansKirby) whenGaleem unleashed his beams of light.

He can be found in a ribbon pathway to be awakened, which can be accessed in a short time after takingSheik's route.

Fighter Battle[edit]

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
05		Yoshi	Grab	3,600	Super Happy Tree (Ω form)	Obstacle Course - Yoshi's Island

Spirits[edit]

Yoshi's default fighter spirit can be obtained by completingClassic Mode as Yoshi. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold. Unlocking Yoshi in World of Light allows the player to preview the second spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. HisCrafted World outfit has a fighter spirit of its own, available through the shop. Each fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork inUltimate.

Additionally, Yoshi makes an appearance in various primary and support spirits.

In Spirit Battles[edit]

As the main opponent[edit]

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
38		Hammer Bro	Super Mario Series	•Yoshi		3,400	Golden Plains (Battlefield form)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Hammer Bro)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy favors up specials	Ground Theme - Super Mario Bros. 3 (Remix)
60		Wiggler	Super Mario Series	•Yoshi		1,600	Yoshi's Island (Melee)	•Attack Power ↑ •Item:Lip's Stick	•The enemy becomes powerful when badly damaged	Ground Theme - Super Mario World
77		Plessie	Super Mario Series	•GiantYoshi		2,100	Great Bay	N/A	•The enemy is giant	Slide
156		Rattly	Donkey Kong Series	•Yoshi		3,400	Kongo Jungle	N/A	•The enemy loves to jump •The enemy has increased jump power	Snakey Chantey
167		Kip	Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast	•TinyYoshi Team×4		1,800	Yoshi's Story	N/A	•The enemy starts the battle with aRocket Belt	Boss 2 - DK: Jungle Climber
182		Like Like	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Yoshi		4,000	Great Bay (Battlefield form)	•Sudden Damage •Item:Food •Hazard: Sticky Floor	•The floor is sticky •You'll occasionally take sudden damage after a little while •The enemy favors grabs and throws	Overworld & Underworld - The Legend of Zelda (for 3DS / Wii U)
218		Dimitri (The Legend of Zelda)	The Legend of Zelda Series	•Yoshi •Young Link		1,700	Great Bay	N/A	•The enemy favors neutral specials	Tal Tal Heights
318		Spirit Who Loves Surprises	Yoshi Series	•Yoshi Team×4		2,000	Super Happy Tree	•Hazard: Screen Flip	•The screen will suddenly flip after a little while	Yoshi's Story (64)
321		Yarn Yoshi	Yoshi Series	•Yoshi Team×4		9,200	Super Happy Tree	•Easy to Launch	•All fighters are easy to launch	Main Theme - Yoshi's Woolly World (Remix)
395		Leon Powalski	Star Fox Series	•Yoshi •Wolf •Ally:Falco		3,700	Venom (Ω form)	N/A	•You lose if your CPU ally is KO'd	Star Wolf's Theme / Sector Z (for 3DS / Wii U)
405		Tricky	Star Fox Series	•Yoshi		1,600	Garden of Hope (Battlefield form)	•Earthquake	•Periodic earthquakes will shake the stage	Break: Through the Ice
424		Metapod	Pokémon Series	•Yoshi		2,500	Distant Planet (Ω form)	•Defense ↑ •Hazard: Sticky Floor	•The floor is sticky •Timed battle (1:30) •The enemy has increased defense after a little while	Road to Viridian City - Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue
459		Eevee	Pokémon Series	•Yoshi		1,400	Yoshi's Island	N/A	•Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Eevee) •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Melee)	Vaporeon (blue costume) Jolteon (yellow costume) Flareon (red costume)
514		Cresselia	Pokémon Series	•Yoshi		9,200	Spear Pillar (Cresselia only)	•Defense ↑	•The enemy has increased defense after a little while	Battle! (Dialga/Palkia) / Spear Pillar
544		Zygarde (50% Forme)	Pokémon Series	•GiantYoshi Team •TinyYoshi×7		2,100	Frigate Orpheon	N/A	•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •The enemy is giant •Defeat an army of fighters	Battle! (Team Flare)	Zygarde Cell (Tiny Yoshi)
743		Pyoro	WarioWare Series	•Yoshi		3,700	Balloon Fight (Battlefield form)	•Item:Deku Nut	•The enemy is easily distracted by items	WarioWare, Inc.
810		Bulborb	Pikmin Series	•GiantYoshi (140 HP)		4,400	Distant Planet	•Attack Power ↑	•Timedstamina battle (1:30) •The enemy has increased attack power •The enemy favors neutral specials	Main Theme - Pikmin (Original)
837		Gracie	Animal Crossing Series	•Yoshi		4,100	Smashville (Battlefield form)	•Item: Transforming Types •Hazard: Slumber Floor	•The floor is sleep-inducing	Plaza / Title Theme - Animal Crossing: City Folk / Animal Crossing: Wild World
1,201		Pig	Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest	•Yoshi Team×6		2,000	Duck Hunt	•Item Tidal Wave	•The enemy becomes more powerful after eating •Certain items will appear in large numbers after a little while •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Gourmet Race (Brawl)
1,231		T-Rex	Fossil Fighters Series	•GiantYoshi		4,400	Coliseum (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Lava Floor	•The floor is lava •The enemy is giant	Battle Start - Fossil Fighters: Frontier
1,232		Nibbles	Fossil Fighters Series	•Yoshi •Charizard •Ridley •Bowser		1,800	Arena Ferox	•Item:Pitfall	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Battle Start - Fossil Fighters: Frontier
1,409		Flick	Animal Crossing Series	•Yoshi		4,400	Tortimer Island (hazards off)	•Move Speed ↑ •Attack Power ↑	•The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy has increased move speed when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Tortimer Island Medley

As a minion[edit]

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
118		Wanda	Super Mario Series	•TinyPalutena •Yoshi •Peach •Mario		1,500	Green Greens (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Mario Paint Medley	Yoshi
128		MC Ballyhoo & Big Top	Mario Party Series	•Mario •Yoshi •Peach •Luigi		1,600	Mario Circuit	•Item Tidal Wave	•Certain items will appear in large numbers after a little while	Pandemonium	Yoshi
299		Baby Mario	Yoshi Series	•TinyMario •Yoshi Team		8,800	Yoshi's Island	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy shields often	Yoshi's Island (Brawl)	Yoshis
525		Cobalion, Terrakion, & Virizion	Pokémon Series	•Lucario •Duck Hunt •Yoshi		9,000	Kalos Pokémon League	N/A	•The enemy's melee weapons have increased power •The enemy can unleash powerful critical hits at random •The enemy starts the battle with aBeam Sword	N's Castle	Cobalion
1,301		River Survival	Super Mario Series	•Bowser •Kirby •Yoshi •Rosalina & Luma		5,500	Kongo Falls (Ω form)	•Bob-omb Festival •Item Tidal Wave •Item:Food	•Survive until the timer runs out (1:00) •Bob-ombs will rain from the sky after a little while	Slide	Yoshi

Alternate costumes[edit]

Gallery[edit]

• 

  Yoshi's fighter card.

• 

  Yoshi's unlock notice when obtaining him inWorld of Light.

• 

  Yoshi about to use hisforward aerial attack onTortimer Island.

• 

  Air dodging a shot fromZelda'sSuper Scope onMario Galaxy.

• 

  Extending histongue at a shrunkenKirby onGaur Plain.

• 

  Performing his sidetaunt onColiseum.

• 

  Idling withMr. Game & Watch onSkyloft.

• 

  Green and Yellow Yoshis onSkyworld.

• 

  Green, Yellow, Blue, and Red Yoshis onGreen Greens.

• 

  Getting hit byPac-Man's down smash onBig Blue.

• 

  Stuck in aBlack Hole withPit on Big Blue.

Fighter Showcase Video[edit]

Trivia[edit]

• Yoshi is the only "Original 8" member:
  • Who was not playable in theE3 demo, and by extension, did not have their Final Smash revealed at E3.
  • Who did not appear beforeUltimate's title was revealed.
  • To not appear in theWorld of Light trailer.
  • To face a boss (namelyRathalos) from a third-party franchise in their Classic Mode route.
• Yoshi has the most stages out of all playable sole series fighters in a single game, with four.
• Yoshi's stock icon inUltimate bears a strong resemblance to his stock icon fromSuper Smash Bros. 4.
• Yoshi is the only character to have an alternate costume based on a game (namelyYoshi's Crafted World) afterUltimate was released.
  • As a result, this is the second time theYoshi universe has had, in some way, representation from an upcoming game;Woolly World appeared as a stage inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U beforeYoshi's Woolly World released.
• AlongsideMr. Game & Watch,R.O.B., and Bowser Jr., Yoshi is one of four characters with a Spirit Battle where all of their alternate costumes appear in a single Spirit Battle, due to the presence of the Baby Mario spirit.
• Before 4.0.0, when Yoshi charged his forward smash, he pushed opponents so far that it caused some moves to miss him entirely.^[3]
• Yoshi'sCrafted costume is the only one that does not appear during his Final Smash, although its texture was added to the palette of the Yoshis that appear.^[4]
• Yoshi's reverse throwing animation with a heavy item will have him turn his back to the screen for a brief moment. This is due to the animation being a carryover fromSmash 4.

References[edit]

v • d • e Yoshi universe
Fighter	Yoshi (SSB ·SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU)
Stages	Super Happy Tree ·Yoshi's Story ·Yoshi's Island (SSBM) ·Yoshi's Island (SSBB) ·Woolly World
Enemies	Shy Guy ·Fly Guy
Other	Kamek
Trophies,Stickers, andSpirits	Trophies (SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4) ·Stickers ·Spirits
Music	Brawl ·SSB4 ·Ultimate
Masterpiece	Yoshi
Related universe	Mario

• Characters (SSBU)
• Yoshi universe
• Yoshi (SSBU)
• Spirits

• Articles in need of audio