Yoshi

Smash Attacks

SIDE SMASH

Yoshi winds back before hurling his head forward. You can aim this slightly up or down.

DOWN SMASH

A double tail sweep that hits on both sides of Yoshi. Good damage on both hits!

UP SMASH

Yoshi performs a standing flipkick, knocking your opponent upward.

Basic Attacks

Standing Attack

Yoshi’s basic attack is a standing kick that hits nearly over his head. It combos into a short string for a little extra damage and knockback.

Forward Tilt

This tail whip can be angled up or down and has both good range and knockback potential.

Up Tilt

Yoshi whips his tail upward to launch your opponent up into the air. Can be followed up with an UP SMASH at lower percentages.

Down Tilt

Yoshi swings his tail around to sweep your opponents off their feet.

Dash Attack

Yoshi runs and does a jump kick attack before landing on the floor.

Edge Attack

Yoshi leaps onto the stage and strikes with his tail.

Air Attacks

Neutral Air Attack

A quick double-leg kick in the air. This doesn’t have a lot of range, but it stays out for a long time.

Up Air Attack

Yoshi strikes upward with his tail. Use this to knock opponents out of the tops of stages. Its forward range is minimal, so your opponent has to be nearly on top of you.

Down Air Attack

Yoshi goes into a run animation while in the air, stepping and kicking multiple times on anyone he comes in contact with below him. This move is fantastic and can net over 30% damage if all hits connect.

Forward Air Attack

Yoshi winds up then performs a headbutt attack. If this hits from above, it can cause a meteor smash.

Back Air Attack

This multi-hit tail whip deals good damage and covers Yoshi’s back well.

Special Attacks

Egg Lay (Neutral Special)

Yoshi sticks out his tongue to grab opponents, swallows them, and turns them into eggs. The higher percentage they have, the harder it will be for them to break free! Opponents take less damage while in the eggs, so attack them as much as possible!

Egg Roll (Side Special)

Yoshi turns into an egg and rolls into battle! The faster you roll, the more damage you do. While rolling, you can also jump once. And though you can start the move while airborne, it won’t do any damage until Yoshi is on the ground again.

Egg Throw (Up Special)

Throw an exploding egg at your enemy! You can affect its trajectory with directional inputs. To throw the egg straight up, press backward. How long you hold the button determines whether it is a light throw or a heavy throw.

Yoshi Bomb (Down Special)

Yoshi jumps before slamming himself down to the ground, emitting stars on both sides. This is more damaging when used from the ground, as it hits on the way up and on the way down. From the air it only does the second half of the attack.

Final Smash

Super Dragon

Yoshi sprouts wings and begins to shoot fireballs! You can fly around the stage by using the control stick. Line up as many opponents as possible for your fireball shots. Also, make sure you’re back over the stage before Super Dragon runs out!

Strategy

Everyone’s favorite dinosaur is back, and he’s adjusted his posture a bit! Yoshi now stands up taller but is just as fast as (if not faster than) he used to be! While this makes him more like the rest of the cast, one key difference is that Yoshi’s Egg serves as his shield. This lets him be more defensive than everyone else! Yoshi’s strengths are his speed, zoning, throws, combo abilities, and above average weight. Yoshi does have some super armor on his Egg Lay and on his double jump but not a significant amount. So, use his speed and Egg Roll to stay away from your opponents so you can harass them with Egg Throw. Yoshi can now move horizontally while performing Egg Throw, so you can use this to close distance on hit or to keep away and harass even more effectively. Try a quick upward Egg Throw while moving horizontally away from your opponent. When your opponent gets close, don’t be afraid to shield—now that Yoshi can jump out of shield, you can try to punish with his Down Air attack for lots of damage. Additionally, you can keep opponents from advancing on you by using his Forward Tilt. If opponents jump in at you, keep them out with Yoshi’s Up Tilt, UP SMASH, Neutral Air, or Up Air.

Another strength for Yoshi is his throw game. Egg Lay acts as a throw and drops opponents quickly. If you can catch opponents while your back is to the edge, they may not have time to break free before the egg drops them to their doom! This can be a very tricky tactic, especially on stages with slight declines near the edges, like Yoshi’s Island. Of course, once an opponent is trapped in an egg, you need to deal as much damage as possible, so be sure to chase and combo afterward! Separately, Yoshi’s regular throw has quicker recovery now, while his pivot throw has more recovery but longer range.

Yoshi Bomb is one of your better knockout moves. It’s risky, though, because of its long recovery. In general, use Yoshi’s charged SMASH attacks, Back Air, and Up Air attacks for knockouts. Don’t forget that his Forward Air can also meteor smash your opponent. When edge guarding, be sure to use his Egg Roll, Egg Throw, Forward Air, Down Tilt, and DOWN SMASH. Additionally, you can cancel his double jump into any special attack, so keep this option in the back of your mind at all times.

Recovery

Compared to how other characters recover, Yoshi may seem like he is lacking in this regard. While most characters’ Up Special gives them some kind of vertical recovery, Yoshi’s Egg Throw only gives him a little bit of extra height. And while other characters’ Side Special helps them recover horizontally, using Yoshi’s Egg Roll off stage is basically knocking yourself out of the battle! New to this game, however, is the opportunity for Yoshi to attempt to recover if he flies off the stage while using his Egg Roll; he will no longer be in free-fall after this move. Because those primary options don’t work well for Yoshi, his double jump is significantly higher than that of other characters. This makes double jump his main recovery, and it comes with super armor to help Yoshi avoid flinching from attacks. This isn’t foolproof, though, so you can’t rely on it all the time. Additionally, your first Egg Throw gains some height, while subsequent Egg Throws gain less and less vertical height, so be sure to use it, too. In addition to getting some height, you can also move horizontally with Egg Throw and potentially hit your opponent with it! Egg Throw can also be useful when hanging from an edge to attack opponents and regrab the edge. The only other attack useful for recovery is Yoshi’s Yoshi Bomb when returning to the stage from high above. Yoshi Bomb snaps to the edge as long as you are lined up correctly.