Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Character Profiles: Yoshi

The Super Smash Bros. series has celebrated a milestone, celebrating 20 years. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate celebrates those 20 years as Nintendo's greatest fighting franchise. Everyone from every one of the previous Super Smash Bros. game is back for another battle, along with entirely new fighters to the series.

The game may be out in the wild, but with so many characters to choose from, Shacknews remains committed to taking a look at each and every one of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate characters individually. And we are continuing to do so beyond the game's arrival date.

The final version is in the consumer hands, but these profiles should still not be considered final and can be updated at any time. Any guide that has been updated will be clearly marked.

Here's what we have up so far:
#01 - Mario
#02 - Donkey Kong
#03 - Link
#04 - Samus
#06 - Kirby (Updated 9/8/18)
#07 - Fox
#08 - Pikachu
#09 - Luigi
#10 - Ness
#11 - Captain Falcon
#15 - Ice Climbers
#16 - Sheik
#17 - Zelda
#21 - Marth
#23 - Ganondorf
#24 - Mewtwo
#28 - Pit
#30 - Wario
#31 - Snake
#32 - Ike
#33, #34, #35 - Pokemon Trainer
#38 - Sonic (Updated 9/3/18)
#40 - Olimar
#42 - R.O.B.
#45 - Villager
#46 - Mega Man
#49 - Little Mac
#55 - Pac-Man
#61 - Cloud
#62 - Corrin
#63 - Bayonetta (Updated 1/11/19)
#64 - Inkling (Updated 12/15/18)
#65 - Ridley
#67 - King K. Rool

Today, we honor the official 20th anniversary of Super Smash Bros. by looking at the last of the core eight fighters from the original game.

Who is Yoshi?

Yoshi debuted as a part of Mario's supporting cast, appearing as his trusty dinosaur steed and an all-powerful eater of foes in Super Mario World. Yoshi's appetite is legendary, able to digest hundreds of Bowser's minions. To this day, he's remained a key member of the Mario universe, popping in a handful of the plumber's core games and various side games, like the Mario Kart and Mario Party games.

Yoshi has also broken out with his own gaming series over the years. Yoshi's Island is its own kind of special and Yoshi's own series has branched out and experimented with ideas like Yoshi's Woolly World and the upcoming Yoshi's Crafted World. Yoshi is a formidable fighter, which he's also proven throughout the Super Smash Bros. series.

Yoshi's Moves and Fighter Overview

Yoshi is one of the lightest characters in the game, but has a few qualities that stand out. He's the only character in the game to hide inside an egg, in lieu of the standard shield, which is a much more reliable defensive measure. He also doesn't have a standard recovery move, so he uses the double jump that he incorporates in the various Yoshi's Island games.

Yoshi is light as a feather and can use his aerial abilities to great effect. He's one of the fastest characters in the game and can hit opponents multiple times on his way down.

Here are Yoshi's special moves:

Egg Lay (Neutral B): Yoshi swallows his opponents and leaves them trapped inside an egg. While trapped inside the egg, the opponent is vulnerable to further attacks.
Egg Throw (Up B): Yoshi tosses an egg in an arc, similar to the Yoshi's Island games. These eggs hit for minor to moderate damage and can be used for edge-guarding.
Egg Roll (Side B): Yoshi rolls around while encased in an egg for moderate damage. It moves incredibly fast, but Yoshi can now cancel this in mid-move.
Yoshi Bomb (Down B): Yoshi delivers a ground pound, like in the Yoshi's Island games. This move has KO potential when it hits directly, but be careful. It can go through platforms, so if you get sloppy, it might lead to a self-destruct on certain stages.
Stampede! (Final Smash): If Yoshi connects with a forward strike, the opponent will be crushed by stampeding Yoshi's, like that scene out of The Lion King.

Yoshi started off fast, but now he's practically quick as a hiccup, with a much faster dash, run, and aerial speed. Players can use this as they wait for openings to strike. Fortunately, Yoshi also strikes quicker, with his standard three-hit combo and tilt attacks also unleashing faster. Yoshi's smash attacks also have a little more punch to them, with his up and down smash attacks able to reliably KO higher-percentage opponents.

Yoshi's specials are mostly improved, with his Egg Roll now able to deal noticeably greater damage. It's still not a reliable KO move, but Egg Roll is now better as softening up foes. Egg Throw will now bounce once on the ground before they shatter, making it an even better pressure move.

Esports Observations

The VGBootCamp crew is back and they go over Yoshi's various moves. They also cite the character's significant improvements, like his jab, his aerial moves, and some of his improved specials. They also go into the ins-and-outs of the new-look Yoshi Bomb and how it may not work quite as well as it used to.

Various Smash pros like Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios and Jason "ANTi" Bates have weighed in on Yoshi on Twitter, noting that he's vastly underrated. For more details, we turn to Eric "ESAM" Lew. He's quite impressed by Yoshi, mostly because of his quick aerials and his new combo potential. ESAM talks about Yoshi's improved moves and where they fit into a player's everyday arsenal, as he explains what makes the character a sleeper choice.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is out now on Nintendo Switch. We're still going through every single character, so be sure to check back in often for more profiles. For more on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, be sure to check out our recent guides.