Overview

Yoshi is a dinosaur, so he’s naturally one of the heavier fighters in the game. He has a remarkably high maximum air velocity, allowing him to cover large distances with a full short hop as he soars through the air. He can crawl low to the ground, allowing him to evade certain mid and high projectiles as he traverses the stage.

Although he’s a heavyset fighter, Yoshi’s ground attacks start up quickly and cause knock-ups and knockbacks that are easily followed up on. His up tilt launches enemies directly above him for potential combos, while his down tilt sets up knockdowns for potential grab and Egg Lay mix-ups. His up smash and side smash attacks have intangibility where it matters, so if you can time and space them properly, you can cleanly finish off high-damage foes.

His aerial mobility and recovery options are unconventional in that he doesn’t have a special move designed for boosting altitude. His up special is an egg toss, and while it isn’t an explicit aerial-recovery move, it boosts Yoshi up slightly as he throws his egg. But he has an outstanding double jump; not only does it quickly double his jump altitude, but it grants him super armor.

As soon as Yoshi double-jumps, attacks don’t inflict hitstun on him, allowing him to push through them with his aerial attack. The more Yoshi’s damage value grows, the weaker this effect becomes, meaning he won’t be able to shrug off certain attacks. For instance, at around 70%, attacks that deal over 10% damage inflict hitstun, while weaker attacks don’t. Above around 110%, even the weakest attacks knock him out of his double jump. You can think of aerial Egg Throw as a conventional low-altitude midair jump, and his normal double jump as his recovery special.

Yoshi’s egg shield is unique. Unlike other brawlers, Yoshi’s shield size is static, regardless of how much shield health he has remaining. While he’s in his egg, he doesn’t have to adjust his shield to deflect attacks coming from below or above. But his shield can still be broken if he leaves it up long enough or if it takes too much damage. You can tell how much shield health he has remaining by the shading of his egg: as his shields are depleted, his eggshell becomes much darker.

Overall, Yoshi has a versatile toolkit with moves that synergize well together. His various attacks launch at specific angles that allow you to follow up with mix-ups naturally. His up tilt and up air have low lag, making juggle-trap combos easy to execute, while his ground grab offers extended reach so you can punish defensive foes without dashing all the way into range. Yoshi’s main weaknesses are his recovery game, since he relies heavily on having his double jump, and his lack of a quick shield grab.

Yoshi Vitals

Movement Options

Movement Ranks