Welcome to a new series on Mario Party Legacy that grants the readers and Forum members a chance to express their thoughts on various topics regarding the Mario series. For more info on how to get involved, head over to this link.
Yoshi was a dinosaur created to be Mario and Luigi’s ally as they searched for Princess Peach in the first Super Mario World. Soon after, Yoshi’s popularity started to grow. He began popping up in the spin-off games, some of the main games, and ultimately getting his very own series. As Yoshi’s popularity continues to grow, what will become of him in the future? The main Yoshi series hasn’t been getting too many new games, and he’s mostly been appearing in the spin-off titles and the console New Super Mario Bros. games. We know he has his own mini-game in the upcoming Nintendo Land titled Yoshi’s Fruit Cart, but what about the rest of the Mario games? Yoshi never had a console game since Yoshi’s Story on the Nintendo 64, nor a game in the whole series since Yoshi’s Island DS about six years ago. Is Yoshi falling back down to the standards of characters like Toad, appearing in spin-offs and main games, but only playing a minor role?
First off, let’s take a look at how Yoshi came to be. When Yoshi was first created, he was just a simple idea by Shigeru Miyamoto, a creature for Mario to ride. In fact, the idea of “Yoshi” was created in Super Mario Bros., but due to the Nintendo Entertainment System’s limitations, Mario was unable to ride anything, resulting in Yoshi being merely an idea. However, after the Super Nintendo Entertainment System came out, Yoshi was finally able to come to life, and he became an instant fan favorite. Because Yoshi was so popular after one game, Nintendo decided that Yoshi should get to star in a few games of his own, and a new game series was created.
Of course, many video game characters go through stages of development during the 8-bit period and beyond, and Yoshi is no exception. We don’t see too much of this change now, but when Yoshi was first created, his overall character was been changing quite the amount. He first started off looking mainly like a dinosaur, just as he was intended to be. In fact, he was originally designed to be a type of Koopa, but it would not make much sense at this time to be getting aid from a Koopa against Bowser. When his first plat-former, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, came out, Yoshi started to look more like a human, having his neck become shorter and arms longer to support the features of the game, like throwing eggs. Overall, the design looked better than it had before, and it also made Yoshi look more like a lively character, with his eyes no longer looking half-closed, for example. This new design also allowed him to perform new moves, like his signature flutter jump and egg-making and throwing skills, some of which are key factors that separate Yoshi from the other characters. It was on his Nintendo 64 title, Yoshi’s Story, that Yoshi’s final design was created. Yoshi finally was able to stand up straight, and his voice became a little more than just random noises. This design lasted for a long time, and has proven to be the best one for Yoshi, being used in all Mario and Yoshi games afterwards.
Speaking about the games, though Yoshi remains in the some of the mainstream Mario games, as well as most of the other spin-off titles, he was still able to get a decent amount of his own games, similar to the Donkey Kong and Wario series. Games in the Yoshi series usually ended off being puzzle games and plat-former games. Most of these games came in the form of small puzzle games, all differing from game to game. While the puzzles usually had some strong ties to other series, it was the plat-forming games that really made the series stand out. After Yoshi’s Story, with all the Mario spin-off games, it seemed as though Yoshi had abandoned his own series. About five years later, when Yoshi’s Island was re-released on the Game Boy Advance, the series started to come back to life for a time, with a couple more games coming out on the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS. While it would have been cool to see Yoshi star in a new console game on the Nintendo GameCube or Nintendo Wii during this time, which did not become a reality, probably due to the number of Mario titles that Yoshi was featured in. Thankfully, Yoshi appeared in Super Mario Sunshine, but not in a game of his own like Donkey Kong and Wario did. Though Yoshi himself remains popular by his fans, his series have surely fallen down.
So what does the future hold for Yoshi? What will remain the same is Yoshi’s involvement in the Mario series, as once again, he appears in the upcoming New Super Mario Bros. U, as well as his recent activity in most of the spin-off titles. It’s also quite possible Nintendo has plans for a new Yoshi game with the upcoming Wii U, especially since Yoshi is getting his own mini-game in Nintendo Land like many other major characters and series. They could make the game again like Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, but try out some new features like they did with the babies in Yoshi’s Island DS. For example, changing the eggs around so instead of the different colors having different items, they could have different effects on the environment they’re in. Also, the Wii U GamePad could be useful when it comes to throwing these eggs, having you throw eggs with just a simple tap on the screen. Another possibility is that Yoshi could face a new villain because, as of all his games so far, Bowser was always the final boss, as both a baby and an adult. Since Bowser seems much occupied with Mario at the moment, it could be a great time to introduce a new enemy, or even re-introduce one of Mario’s old enemies to battle against Yoshi for the first time. Take Wart from Super Mario Bros. 2 as an example. You could try and throw eggs into his mouth like you did with vegetables, but with him in a much harder to reach spot. Shy Guys, the basic enemy in the Yoshi series, are Wart’s main force as well, so enemies could easily work with Wart in the series.
Yoshi still remains one of the most popular characters in the Mario series, as you can see by our recent poll held just two weeks ago. With the recent number of Mario games out, it seems like Yoshi had no time to start his own adventures. It’s as if he fell down to the same level as Toad, just as a supporting character. Yoshi needs to be in a new game soon on the Nintendo 3DS or the Nintendo Wii U, and not just some spin-off or mainstream Mario title, too! It’s about time Yoshi should make his comeback into his own series again and take the lead again!
Thanks to Nintendrawer for the fan art!