Yoshi

Origin and Development

Yoshi did not make an appearance until Super Mario World. However, Shigeru Miyamoto has stated in interviews that he has wanted Mario to ride a dinosaur from the moment the original Super Mario Bros finished development. Technical limitations rendered this obsolete, but when the SNES came out, Yoshi made his very first appearance and has now become synonymous with the Mario series.

In the instruction booklet of Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition for the Nintendo Wii, game designer Takashi Tezuka stated Yoshi was originally going to be a type of Koopa and the saddle on his back was supposed to be his shell.

Interestly, while Miyamoto said the NES couldn't handle Yoshi, some unofficial games on the NES have Yoshi perform like he did in SMW, the most faithful being a Mario homebrew on the NES that had Yoshi play almost identical to his SNES counterpart.

Notable Appearances

Yoshi first appeared in Super Mario World as an Egg similar to a ? block,that Mario was able to break. 

Mario encountered Yoshi on his way to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser,once again.

If Mario takes any damage riding Yoshi,Yoshi will frantically run around in panic and if you let him do this too long, he will dissapear.

The dialogue that appears when you first rescue Yoshi in Super Mario World.

In Super Mario World 2:Yoshi's Island, Baby Mario falls out of the sky and loses his brother. Yoshi and his friends guide him through various levels so that he can re-unite with his brother Luigi.

Yoshi departing with Baby Mario in Super Mario Advance 3:Yoshi's Island.

Once Mario collected all 120 Power Stars in Super Mario 64,he could use a cannon to shoot himself onto the castle roof and Yoshi would reward him with 100 lives(along with a message from the development team.) Upon doing this, encountering him again is only accessible should the player deplete all 100 lives.

Yoshi returned in Super Mario Sunshine and was found in his traditional egg.  Depending on what fruit you gave him,Yoshi would turn different colors and assist you with platforming. However,in this installment once Yoshi touches deep water,he will disintegrate and you must find him again. (Note that this does not occur in shallow water,that Yoshi can easily run on) Yoshi was only found in certain levels and was present in Delfino Square always.

In Super Mario 64 DS,Yoshi is given a role reversal. For one, the game opens with him as the starting character. For the first time in main series Mario history, Yoshi is playable standalone. He is unable to pick up objects like the other characters (though suprisingly,he can triple jump) Yoshi's speciality is is the ability to eat enemies and capture them in eggs, which can then be thrown at enemies, harkening back to the Yoshi's Island game. Yoshi can also find special hats scattered around every level morphing into other characters, using their same movesets and properties (such as allowing him to punch.)

Yoshi plays a very minor role in New Super Mario Bros Wii and can only be found in certain levels.

Different colored Yoshi's appear by default,unlike Super Mario Sunshine and Yoshi's old voice returns for this outing.

Contrary to Super Mario Sunshine,Yoshi will not wait for you either. Instead,Yoshi will run around frantically like he did in Super Mario World.

Berries will appear in levels with Yoshi and if Mario collects 5,Yoshi will lay a special egg.

In Super Mario Galaxy 2, Yoshi appears fairly early in the game,as opposed to Super Mario Sunshine.

Mario only spends one Galaxy without him.

Yoshi first appears en route to the first Power Star in Yoshi Star Galaxy.  Mario must rescue him by defeating the Magikoopa holding him captive in a cage,who thanks Mario for his efforts.

Yoshi's moveset is the exact same as it was in Super Mario World,meaning egg eating and throwing is absent from this installment. Instead,Yoshi's tongue can spit out Spiky shells and the like at enemies and can be used to pull platforms towards him. There are also flowers that Yoshi can grapple onto with his tongue to advance through the level.  Super Mario Galaxy 2 also sports various power-ups exclusive to Yoshi,like the Bell Pepper that can make Yoshi dash rapidly up steep hills for a limited period of time and the Blimp fruit which allows Yoshi to float similiar to Mario's power up in Super Mario 64 DS.

In New Super Mario Bros U, more different colored Yoshi's appear and even Baby Yoshi's are added to the mix.

Baby Yoshi's can spit bubbles and other Yoshi's behave exactly like they did in  New Super Mario Bros Wii.

In Yoshi's New Island Yoshi  nurtures Baby Mario once again,in the same way he did in Super Mario World 2:Yoshi's Island.

All abilities from the original return. However,new to the series are Giant Eggs which can be thrown into pipes to grant 1-ups to the player. Metal Eggs are also introduced,serving as a way to keep Yoshi underwater.

Controversy

However,since Yoshi's appearance in Super Mario World was in Dinosaur Land, many began to question whether he was a dinosaur or a lizard. Nintendo has never confirmed what Yoshi actually is,but perhaps they're trying to keep the mystery alive.

Yoshi's Island is considered a prequel to the entire Mario series. Yoshi nurtures Mario as a baby and his friends guide him through various levels and worlds.

Since Super Mario World has Mario all grown-up,the question still remains whether the Green Yoshi in Super Mario World 2:Yoshi's Island is the same as the one Nintendo uses in the series.

Canonically, Green Yoshi is the Yoshi Nintendo use the most,having appeared in multiple spin-off games. In addition, Yoshi is always green on the boxart for Yoshi platformers.

When playing Super Mario World or Super Mario Galaxy 2, you can jump off Yoshi to get onto higher platforms. Many theories suggest that Yoshi dies from this and that Mario is a "murderer". Considering how Yoshi raised Mario in Yoshi's Island, the backlash is no surprise. Once again,Nintendo haven't confirmed whether Yoshi truly dies or not but since the Green Yoshi is a staple to the series, one could say it's invincible.

Voice

Yoshi's voice has gotten significant upgrades throughout the Super Mario series.

In Super Mario World Super Mario World 2:Yoshi's Island and Super Mario 64 Yoshi's voice is significantly lacking compared to his later outings.

From Super Mario Advance 3:Yoshi's Island onwards,Yoshi is given an entirely new voice. Not only has his voice changed,but now Yoshi will now shout out his  name.  In addition,he will shout out "Nintendo!" when you start up the game.  Yoshi will also shriek while doing a Flutter Kick.

Yoshi's voice changes back to Mario World/64 style in New Super Mario Bros Wii.

Concept Art

List of Games Featuring Yoshi

• Super Mario World (Debut, can be ridden by Mario)
• Yoshi (NES/Game Boy) (Starring Role)
• Super Mario Kart (Playable)
• Yoshi's Cookie(NES/Game Boy) (Starring Role)
• Yoshi's Safari (Starring Role)
• Yoshi no Cookie: Kuruppon Oven de Cookie (Starring Role)
• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (Starring Role, can be ridden by Baby Mario)
• Super Mario 64 (Non-Playable Character/Easter Egg)
• Super Mario All Stars+Super Mario World (Contains his debut title, appears on the title screen and can be ridden by Mario)
• Mario Kart 64 (Playable)
• Game & Watch Gallery (Playable only in select minigames)
• Game & Watch Gallery 2 (Playable only in select minigames)
• Yoshi's Story (Starring Role)
• Mario No Photopi
• Mario Party (Playable)
• Super Smash Bros (Playable)
• Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (Viewable on Challenge Mode clear screens only)
• Mario Golf (Playable)
• Game & Watch Gallery 3 (Playable only in select minigames)
• Mario Party 2 (Playable)
• Mario Tennis (Playable)
• Mario Party 3 (Playable)
• Mario Kart:Super Circuit (Playable)
• Mario Family
• Super Smash Bros. Melee (Playable)
• Super Mario Sunshine (Playable, and can be ridden by Mario)
• Super Mario Advance 2:Super Mario World (Playable, and can be ridden by Mario)
• Super Mario Advance 3:Yoshi's Island (Starring Role, and can be ridden by Baby Mario)
• Mario Party 4 (Playable)
• Game & Watch Gallery 4 (Playable only in select minigames)
• Mario Golf:Toadstool Tour (Playable)
• Mario Kart:Double Dash!! (Playable)
• Mario Party 5 (Playable)
• Mario Golf:Advance Tour (Playable)
• Paper Mario:The Thousand-Year-Door. (Playable, and can be ridden by Paper Mario)
• Super Mario Fushigi No Kokoro Party
• Mario Power Tennis (Playable)
• Mario Party 6 (Playable)
• Super Mario 64 DS (Semi-Starring Role as the first playable character)
• Yoshi Topsy-Turvy (Starring Role)
• Mario Party Advance (Playable)
• Yoshi Touch & Go (Starring Role)
• Yakuman DS
• Mario Superstar Baseball (Playable)
• Mario Tennis:Power Tour (Playable)
• Mario Kart Arcade GP (Playable)
• Super Mario Fushigi No Kokoro Party 2
• Mario Party 7 (Playable)
• Mario Kart DS (Playable)
• Super Mario Strikers (Playable)
• Tetris DS
• Mario Slam Basketball (Playable)
• Game & Watch Collection (Playable only in select minigames)
• Yoshi's Island DS (Starring Role, and can be ridden by all playable Baby characters)
• Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 (Playable)
• Mario Strikers:Charged Football (Playable)
• Mario Party 8 (Playable)
• Itadaki Street DS
• Mario & Sonic At the Olympic Games DS/Wii (Playable)
• Super Smash Bros Brawl (Playable)
• Mario Kart Wii (Playable)
• Mario Super Sluggers (Playable)
• Mario Party Fushigi No Kokoro Catcher
• New Play Control! Mario Tennis(Wii) (Playable)
• Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games (Playable)
• New Super Mario Bros Wii (Playable)
• Super Mario Galaxy 2 Wii (Semi-Starring Role can be ridden by Mario)
• Mario Sports Mix (Playable)
• Mario & Sonic At The London 2012 Olympic Games 3DS/Wii (Playable)
• Mario Party 9 (Playable)
• Mario Tennis Open (Playable)
• New Super Mario Bros U (Playable)
• Mario Kart Arcade GP DX (Playable)
• Mario And Sonic At The Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (Playable)
• Mario Party:Island Tour (Playable)
• Yoshi's New Island (Starring Role, and can be ridden by Baby Mario and Baby Luigi)
• Mario Golf:World Tour (Playable)
• Mario Kart 8 (Playable)
• Super Smash Bros For Nintendo 3DS (Playable)
• Super Smash Bros For Wii U (Playable)
• Yoshi's Wooly World (Starring Role)
• Super Mario Maker (Playable, can be ridden by Mario)
• Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash (Playable)
• Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (Non-Playable Character)
• Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge (Playable)
• Mario & Sonic at the RIo 2016 Olympic Games (Playable)
• Paper Mario: Color Splash (Non-Playable Character)
• Mario Party: Star Rush (Playablr)
• Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS (Playable, can be ridden by any character)
• Super Mario Run (Playable, must be unlocked)
• Mario Sports Superstars (Playable)
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Playable)
• Mario Kart Arcade GP VR (Playable)
• Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Playable, must be unlocked)
• Mario + Luigi: SuperStar Saga + Bowser's Minions (Non-Playable Character)
• Super Mario Oddysey (Playable, can be captured by Mario)
• Mario Party: The Top 100 (Playable)
• Mario Tennis Aces (Playable)
• Super Mario Party (Playable)
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Playable)
• New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Playable)
• Yoshi's Crafted World (Starring Role)
• Super Mario Maker 2 (Playable, can be ridden by any character)
• Mario Kart Tour (Playable, must be unlocked)
• Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (Playable)
• Super Mario 3D All Stars (Playable in Sunshine only, Easter Egg in 64)
• Mario Golf: Super Rush (Playable)
• Mario Party SuperStars (Playable)
• Mario Strikers: Battle League (Playable)