Yoshi
Page 2
Characteristics
-Shield
-Running
-Roll
-Jump
-Flight Path and Falling
Cpu Tendencies
Strategies
-Jumping Around
-Send Downs with Yoshi
Versus
-Luigi
-Mario
-DK
-Link
-Samus
-Captain Falcon
-Ness
-Yoshi
-Kirby
-Fox
-Pikachu
-Jigglypuff
Pros/Cons list
Final Verdict
Characteristics
Shield
Buttons: Z or hold R while on the ground.
Description: Yoshi's shield is different from all other characters'
shields in the game. Instead of a translucent sphere, Yoshi's shield
is an Yoshi egg. When Yoshi shields, he goes into egg form. The egg
will start out white but will turn more towards red everytime it gets
hit. If the shield breaks, Yoshi will still jump up and then by stunned
like most other characters. The egg doesn't seem to be able to take
as many hits as the sphere, but it has an advantage that I will talk
about later.
Running
Buttons: Tap control stick sideways while on the ground.
Description: Yoshi runs with his head slightly forward and his tail
up to balance himself. Yoshi isn't a fast runner, but is not the slowest
character by a long shot.
Rolling
Buttons: Z or hold R + push stick sideways
Description: Unlike all other characters, Yoshi rolls in his egg form,
with his shields on. There is an advantage to rolling like this. Although
every character is invincible during a roll, there is a moment after
the roll when most characters are vulnerable because they have to recover
from the roll. Even though that period is very short, it is still long
enough for the character to get hit. Yoshi, however, has his shields
on all the way through the roll, and if you hold Z (or R) the shield
stays on after the roll, protecting Yoshi from hits. Yoshi's roll isn't
particularly fast, but not slow either.
Jump
Buttons: Tap stick upwards or press any C buttons
Description: Yoshi jumps straight up for his first jump no matter what.
For his second jump, Yoshi gets something special. During the second
jump, Yoshi will make a constipation noise (sorry for my rude description,
but that is what it sounds like) and moves his legs as if he is running
in mid air. This jump is special in that 1: it lets Yoshi jump further
than any other character in his/her second jump; 2: On the rising part
of Yoshi's jump, Yoshi will go through most hits without flying off
in another direction. Only very strong hits can stop Yoshi's jump momentum,
and even then, Yoshi doesn't fly as far as he should have in normal
situation. The final thing is that Yoshi can change directions at the
start of the jump. For most characters, if you started jumping facing
one way, you can not turn around until the third jump. Yoshi can turn
the other way on his second jump, probably because he has no third jump.
Yoshi has the best second jump of the whole game, and will probably
enable Yoshi to get back to the stage, but he still really needs is
a third jump.
Flight Path and Falling
Yoshi is about average when it comes to flight paths. He doesn't fly real high, but he doesn't fly low either. Yoshi is also average when it comes to falling speed. He doesn't fall real fast, but doesn't fall real slow either.
Cpu Tendencies
The cpu Yoshi can sometimes exhibit moments of brilliance, but most of the time he's not all that bright. Cpu Yoshi is pretty easy to kill. Just hit him out and when he tries to come back, hit him back out on the descending part of his second jump. This is easy with cpu Yoshi since he won't dodge you on purpose. Yoshi will use all his attacks in the game. He doesn't really know how to pull the flurry kick/ up smash combo off but he does know how to juggle. One of the things he likes the most is turning you into an egg. Cpu Yoshi is very good with the egg lay. If he wants to, cpu Yoshi can catch people while both him and the victim are moving in the air. This is one of the most amazing feats in the game, but of course it probably won't kill many people. I don't know if it is just me, but in both my N64 and my emulator, the cpu Yoshi will sometimes stop at one place, shake uncontrollably and make constipation noises. I'm not quite sure what he is doing right there, but it is an opportunity for you to bash him off the stage. Cpu Yoshi also exhibits a pretty high self destruct rate, because he sometimes missed the ground with his second jump (happens when he tries to attack someone near an edge with an air move) and falls to his death.
Strategies
Jumping Around
Yoshi has that nice second jump that can carry him far, so you should use the jump to your advantage. A lot of people still don't realize that Yoshi cannot be knocked away by usual means during the rising part of his jump (more people will know if they read this). You can use this characteristic of the jump to enhance Yoshi's air combat abilities. Even if you get hit in mid air, Yoshi won't move and will not be stunned, so you can immediately whack the person back. The other character (unless it's another Yoshi during the rising part of his second jump) will fly away from your blow while your Yoshi keeps on going as usual. You can also use Yoshi's long jump to evade people or get out of tough situations. Jumping back and forth across an arena with Yoshi will make it hard for your opponents to get you.
Send Downs with Yoshi
Yoshi has a pretty good send down move in his forward a air attack, and he is a pretty good jumper despite the fact that he lacks a third jump. Even without the third jump, I would say Yoshi is a more flexible spiker than either Captain Falcon or DK. Yoshi could in fact fall below the level of the edge, spike someone down and still has enough oomph in his second jump to make it back on the stage. The best place to be in relation to the target during a send down attempt is either to be right in front of the target or slightly above and in front of the target. Yoshi is also the only character who can send other characters down during comeback. This is, again, because of people not realizing that no spike move has the power to stop Yoshi during the rising part of his second jump. Yoshi can in fact use his forward A to send the spiker down to teach him a lesson. I have done this more than once before against pretty good human players (Well, only good human players will attempt to jump off the stage and attack). The victims have no idea what happened to them.
Yoshi vs...
Luigi
Feel free to juggle Luigi since he doesn't have a high priority stomp move to counter Yoshi's juggles. If he runs at Yoshi, use the egg lay, dodge him, or use the ground pound to surprise him. Avoid Luigi's smashes and the drill kick/ fire punch combo, which will hurt Yoshi a lot. Dodge Luigi's fireballs to avoid extra damage. Use Yoshi's quicker hits (strong attacks) to set up for an smash and of course smash Yoshi when an opportunity comes. Use Yoshi's second jump to jump around the stage. If Luigi comes after Yoshi from below, ground pound him. Beat Luigi off the stage and then edge guard or spike him down.
Mario
Mario is about the same as Luigi, but he has no fire punch but a better running move and fireball. Watch out for the fireballs, since they can be annoying. Use the same strategy as the one used for Luigi to beat Mario.
Donkey Kong
DK's big size makes him an easy target for the flurry kick/ up smash combo. Since DK is really heavy, Yoshi needs to raise his damage up a bit before sending him off stage. Take the fight into the air where DK can't use his powerful smashes. This also takes away DK's grab speed advantage and his dangerous back throw. Don't let DK's smashes get Yoshi. The giant punch is also very lethal, so avoid it by all means possible. Hit DK off the stage. DK is an easy spike target, so just jump over DK and send him down to the abyss, or you can edge guard with both the forward or up smash. If you feel like being creative, you can try and egg DK during comeback too.
Link
Link is another powerhouse like DK. Yoshi will want to avoid Link's powerful sword attacks, especially his down and forward smash, spin slash, and forward and down air attacks. The boomerang is annoying too so get out of the way or block if you see it coming. If Link tries the down A, dodge it and hit Link while he's recovering. Another opportunity is if Link tries to grab with his hookshot. Dodge the hookshot and Yoshi gets a free hit. Since Link is quite heavy and hard to kill outright, it'll take more work to star finish him. It's much easier to kill link over the sides since Link falls fast and is bad at jumping back. Edge guard him or spike him down and he should die easily. Juggle Link if you can, but it may not be a great idea since Link's downward sword stab is powerful and has a lot of priority. Just use the usual combination of smashes, air attacks and ground pounds to get Link. Yoshi has faster moves in the air than Link, and is a much better jumper.
Samus
The key to beating Samus is to stay close to her, since Yoshi has a faster grab and better smashes. Staying close also prevents Samus from charging her charge shot, which can pack a wallop. Always watch out for the screw attack that might come from nowhere. Use Yoshi's variety of attacks to raise Samus' damage when her damage is high, hit her off the stage. Yoshi can then edge guard or spike Samus. Watch for Samus' forward smash and her aerial back kick. The charge shot also shouldn't be ignored, since a good Samus player will manage to get away some of the times.
Captain Falcon
Falcon has a speed advantage over Yoshi on the ground, but Yoshi can jump out of the way. Catch Falcon when he is recovering from his hard hitting attacks and give him a taste of Yoshi's own powerful moves. Yoshi can juggle Falcon, but Falcon can juggle Yoshi back. Watch for Falcon's forward smash, and his special moves. The Falcon punch may be slow, but a hit will send Yoshi to kingdom come. Falcon is hard to star finish but easy to kill over the sides since he can't recovery all that well. Edge guard or spike him to make sure he dies.
Ness
Nesses like throw, spike and juggle. Yoshi can juggle Ness back and
use the ground pound to prevent juggling. Good Ness players will also
use their step kick to combo, so avoid that as well. The PK fire can
also cause headaches. Yoshi however doesn't have to worry too much about
Ness' spiking and edge guarding abilities since Yoshi doesn't fly away
during the first part of his second jump. If Ness jumps to spike Yoshi,
Yoshi can also take the opportunity to send Ness down.
As Yoshi, you should definitely avoid Ness' throws. Ness is light, so
it wouldn't be hard to launch him off the stage. Don't try to jump out
at Ness unless you think you can get him before the PK Thunder hits
him because his recovery move can cause a lot of damage. Just continue
to bash Ness off the stage when you get the chance.
Yoshi
It's mirror match time. This is the match of the dinosaurs!!! Okay, it isn't that exciting. Anyways, Yoshi probably won't be able to spike the other Yoshi, so use the smashes, ground pound and air moves to try to knock the other Yoshi out.
Kirby
Kirby is very cheap. Kirby has faster power moves than Yoshi. Kirby's most dangerous weapon is his forward smash lunge kick, which happens to be the most powerful forward smash in the game and is quick and combos very nicely. Kirby's running combo consisting of lunge kicks and tackles are very effective and hard to escape if your damage is low. Do not get trapped between Kirby and a wall, because Kirby will bounce Yoshi against the wall like a pinball or trap him there with his infinite combo. Kirby's air moves are also formidable with an array of power moves and drill kicks, but Yoshi's air moves aren't too shabby either. If Kirby is stupid enough to get under Yoshi in the air, either ground pound to kill Kirby or use the flurry kick to cause some major damage. Kirby's stone also hurts a lot, but you should be able to dodge it if you pay attention and get Yoshi to hit back when Kirby transforms back. Yoshi needs to dodge and jump a lot to avoid Kirby's array of dangerous attacks. Get Kirby when he misses a power move. Kirby is quite light so he shouldn't be hard to kill, especially with the up smash. Yoshi shouldn't be too concerned about Kirby stealing his power, since most people don't want Yoshi's crappy power anyways.
Fox
Fox is fast and nimble, and he juggles real well. Don't try to be above Fox because his juggle kick and up smash are very powerful. You can teach Fox a lesson by juggling him with Yoshi. Fox also has his annoying blaster that he likes to peg people with. Avoid getting hit by the blaster and never run straight at Fox because he'll peg you like crazy. Fox's deflector is not a real threat to Yoshi since Yoshi's egg don't fly straight. Use Yoshi's power moves to knock Fox off the stage and then edge guard or spike Fox down.
Pikachu
Pikachu is pretty fast and nimble also, but he doesn't juggle like Fox. Pikachu players like to throw a lot and for good reason. Pikachu has one of the fastest grabs in the game and has a very strong back throw. Pikachu's forward smash is great for edge guarding, but too slow for hand to hand combat, so make him pay by dodging the hit and then pay him back with a power move. His other smashes are pretty quick, so some quick dodging and blocking are needed. Do not block for too long or Pikachu will throw Yoshi. Pikachu is pretty light, which means he'll get killed pretty easily. Pikachu will usually recover from attempts to knock him out of the stage sideways, unless of course you send him over the boundary outright. Watch out for Pikachu's thunder jolts and try to avoid being straight above Pikachu because he'll probably thunder Yoshi.
Jigglypuff
Jigglypuff is an easy opponent unless the player is extremely skilled. Jiggly is basically a weakened and lightened version of Kirby with less jumping ability. Jigglypuff is simply too light to do much. He'll get killed at absurdly low percentages, so you shouldn't have too hard of a time killing Jiggly. The two things you should watch out for against Jiggly is the up smash, which isn't any weaker than Mario's headbutt and the drill kick/rest combo which can kill at really low damages. Don't get hit by his other smashes as well since they still hurt pretty bad. Jiggly also has a pretty good back throw, and the pound move can become annoying over time. Anyways, Jiggly shouldn't be too hard for anyone. Just hit Jiggly off the stage. Just juggle him into the sky or smash him over the sides. You can also send Jiggly down if you like. Any of Yoshi's power moves will kill Jiggly pretty easily, but the one that gets most hits is the ground pound.
Pros and Cons List
Pros:
-good damage tolerance
-special second jump
-special roll
Cons:
-no third jump (That's a big minus right here)
-awkward projectile
Final Verdict
There are several good things about Yoshi. He is pretty heavy, is pretty powerful and not too slow. He also has the best second jump in the game. However Yoshi is not as good as he could have been without a third jump. Still, Yoshi is not someone to be taken lightly and can smash and bash with the best of them, if you know what you are doing.
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