Character Sheet: Yoshi (Original Sidescrollers)

YOSHI

Now that we have all of the original sidescrolling Mario titles for the NES and SNES under our belt, I think it's time we go through and evaluate every character we have picked so far as being playable.

This time we have several, many of which can be fully developed right now, many who do not have a full moveset yet but have been pegged for their role in the series, and many with only half a moveset. We'll start with our main cast for now:

1. Mario
2. Luigi
3. Princess Toadstool
4. Toad
5. Yoshi
6. Bowser
7. Koopalings
8. Wart

Today, we will cover Yoshi, who, up to this point, has only appeared in Super Mario World so far. Despite this, given that whole gimmick of the game was built around Yoshi's moveset in tandem with Mario, this gives us quite a bit to work with going forward.

Naturally, Yoshi will be a quick and powerful fighter, with a solid jump to him as well. His moves in Super Mario World were generally based off of what color Yoshi he was, be it green, red, blue, or yellow, (all easy color swaps) or what he had in his mouth at the moment. His main attack was eating enemies or items with his long tongue, though this did not come with the ability to pop them back out as eggs. Instead, he simply swallowed the item. He could also breathe fire, fly with a pair of wings, and slam on the ground to kick up a damaging cloud of dust. He also had a baby form that swallowed everything in its path, but I'm not sure entirely how to incorporate that part.

Here is the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Swallow

Yoshi will stick out his tongue and eat an opponent. As he cannot lay eggs yet, this move will act more like King Dedede's standard B, and he will spit them out after a moment or two.

Side B: Fireballs

Yoshi will spit three fireballs, which will spread out in three different directions. They will deal heavy damage and inflict burns.

Up B: Wings

Yoshi will sprout wings and use them to fly up briefly. This attack is non-damaging, but can carry him a good distance.

Down B: Ground Pound

Yoshi will slam on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that damages anyone touched by it. This move is fairly similar to Yoshi's current Down B.

Final Smash: Super Dragon

Considering Yoshi's original final smash was clearly based on these two abilities, I supposed for now it is only fitting to combine his fireballs and wings together, allowing him to fly and breathe fire at his opponents.

Entrance: He hatches from an egg.

Taunts: That cute little dance he does when he completes a level would be a pretty good one.

Next up: We will cover Bowser, everyone's favorite Mario bad guy.