Yoshi (video game series)

Yoshi
Genre(s)
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Platform(s)
First releaseYoshi
December 14, 1991
Latest releaseYoshi's Crafted World
March 29, 2019
Parent seriesMario

Yoshi is a video game series of platform games and puzzle games that is a spin-off of the Mario franchise published and produced by the Japanese video game company Nintendo. The games have been developed by a variety of developers including Nintendo, Game Freak, Intelligent Systems, Artoon, its successor Arzest, Good-Feel and Bullet-Proof Software. Yoshi games have been released for Nintendo video game consoles and handhelds dating from the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) to the current generation of video game consoles. Some of the original NES and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) games have been ported to Game Boy Advance or the Virtual Console (both, in the case of Super Mario World).[1] [2]

The series revolves around Yoshi, a green dinosaur character. He was first introduced in 1990 in the SNES game Super Mario World, where Mario and Luigi can ride on him.[3] The antagonists of the series are Baby Bowser, the young king of the Koopas, and Kamek, a Magikoopa who was Bowser's caretaker as a child.

The first Yoshi game was the Nintendo Entertainment System puzzle game released in 1991, Yoshi,[3] which was developed by Game Freak.[4] The first game in what is considered the main series, as well as the first to feature Yoshi in a playable main-character role, is the game released in 1995, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, which introduces the universe staples which are used in many following games. These staples include colorful storybook graphics, and several gameplay elements.

Yoshi's Story, released for the Nintendo 64 in 1997, took a more puzzle orientated approach was later followed by the spin-offs Yoshi's Universal Gravitation and Yoshi Touch & Go, released on the Game Boy Advance and DS respectively. The next mainline game in the series was Yoshi's Woolly World, originally released for the Wii U in 2015 and later the 3DS in 2017. The latest game, Yoshi's Crafted World, was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2019.

Video games

Main series

Title Details
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Original release date(s):[5]
  • JP: August 5, 1995
  • NA: October 4, 1995
  • EU: October 6, 1995
 Release years by system:
1995 - Super Nintendo Entertainment System[5]
2002 - Game Boy Advance[6]
2011 - Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console (GBA version; Ambassador Program exclusive)
2014 - Wii U Virtual Console (GBA version)[7]
2019 - Nintendo Switch Online (SNES version)
2023 - Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack (GBA version)
Notes:
  • Known as Super Mario: Yoshi Island[a] in Japan[8]
  • The title was developed by Nintendo.[9]
  • It is the first platforming game in the Yoshi series.
  • It was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2002.[6]
  • The Game Boy Advance port was re-released for Wii U Virtual Console in 2014.[7]
  • The original version was included on the Super NES Classic Edition.
  • It was one of the original selection of Super NES games released in 2019 for Nintendo Switch Online.
Yoshi's Story

Original release date(s):[10]
  • JP: December 21, 1997
  • NA: March 10, 1998
  • PAL: May 10, 1998
 Release years by system:
1997 - Nintendo 64[10]
2007 - Wii Virtual Console[11]
2016 - Wii U Virtual Console[12][13]
2021 - Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack[14]
Notes:
Yoshi's Universal Gravitation

Original release date(s):[16]
  • JP: December 9, 2004
  • EU: April 22, 2005
  • NA: June 13, 2005
 Release years by system:
2004 - Game Boy Advance[16]
Notes:
  • Known as Yoshi Topsy-Turvy in North America[17]
  • The title was developed by Artoon.[17]
Yoshi Touch & Go

Original release date(s):[18]
  • JP: January 27, 2005
  • NA: March 14, 2005
  • EU: May 6, 2005
  • AU: May 19, 2005
 Release years by system:
2005 - Nintendo DS[18]
2015 - Wii U Virtual Console[19]
Notes:
  • Known as Catch! Touch! Yoshi! in Japan[18]
  • The title was developed by Nintendo.[20]
  • It was re-released for Wii U Virtual Console in 2015.[19]
Yoshi's Island DS

Original release date(s):[21]
  • NA: November 13, 2006
  • AU: November 17, 2006
  • EU: December 1, 2006
  • JP: March 8, 2007
 Release years by system:
2006 - Nintendo DS[21]
2015 - Wii U Virtual Console[19]
Notes:
  • The title was developed by Artoon.[22]
  • It was re-released for Wii U Virtual Console in 2015.[19]
Yoshi's New Island

Original release date(s):
  • NA: March 14, 2014
  • EU: March 14, 2014
  • AU: March 15, 2014
  • JP: July 24, 2014
 Release years by system:
2014 - Nintendo 3DS[23]
Notes:
Yoshi's Woolly World

Original release date(s):
  • AU: June 25, 2015
  • EU: June 26, 2015
  • JP: July 16, 2015
  • NA: October 16, 2015
 Release years by system:
2015 - Wii U[25]
2017 - Nintendo 3DS
Notes:
Yoshi's Crafted World

Original release date(s):
  • WW: March 29, 2019
 Release years by system:
2019 - Nintendo Switch[27]
Notes:

Spin-offs

Title Details
Yoshi

Original release date(s):[4][29]
  • JP: December 14, 1991
  • NA: June 1, 1992
  • EU: December 10, 1992
 Release years by system:
1991 - Nintendo Entertainment System[4]
1991 - Game Boy[29]
2007 - Virtual Console[30]
Notes:
  • Known as Yoshi's Egg in Japan and Mario & Yoshi in the PAL region
  • It was developed by Game Freak.[4]
  • It was re-released for Wii, 3DS, and Wii U Virtual Console.[30]
Yoshi's Cookie

Original release date(s):[31][32]
  • JP: November 21, 1992[33]
  • NA: April 1993
  • EU: April 28, 1994
 Release years by system:
1992 - Nintendo Entertainment System[31]
1992 - Game Boy[32]
1993 - Super Nintendo Entertainment System[34]
2008 - Wii Virtual Console[35]
Notes:
Yoshi's Safari

Original release date(s):[38]
  • JP: July 14, 1993
  • NA: September 17, 1993
  • EU: November 19, 1993
 Release years by system:
1993 - Super Nintendo Entertainment System[38]
Notes:
Tetris Attack

Original release date(s):[40][41]
  • JP: October 27, 1995
  • NA: August 11, 1996
  • EU: November 28, 1996
 Release years by system:
1995 - Super Nintendo Entertainment System[40]
1996 - Game Boy[41]
Notes:

Cancelled games

Title Details
Yoshi Racing

Original release date(s):[43]
Cancelled 		Release years by system:
Cancelled - Nintendo 64[43]
Notes:
  • In 1996, Argonaut Games approached Nintendo with a tech demo of a proposed 3D Yoshi game for Nintendo 64. Nintendo, however, rejected the pitch, ending all future business relations between the two companies. The game was then eventually turned into a similar but unrelated game titled Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, developed by Argonaut Games, released by Fox Interactive for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Microsoft Windows, and followed by a sequel, Croc 2, which was released for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows.
Yoshi Sample

Original release date(s):[44]
Cancelled 		Release years by system:
Cancelled - Game Boy Advance[44]
Notes:
  • The demo was shown off when Nintendo first unveiled the Game Boy Advance to U.S. game developers. It was a tech demo that was mainly derived from Yoshi's Story. The gameplay drastically differed from the original game. For instance, Yoshi could not throw eggs or use his tongue. The demo was meant to show off the graphical capabilities of the Game Boy Advance and it was never released as a completed game.

Reception

Sales and aggregate review scores
As of December 2022.
Game Year Units sold Metacritic
Yoshi's Island 1995 (SNES)
2002 (GBA) 		4 million (SNES)[45] 91/100 (GBA)[46]
Yoshi's Universal Gravitation 2004 60/100[48]
Yoshi Touch & Go 2005 73/100[49]
Yoshi's Island DS 2006 2.91 million[50] 81/100[51]
Yoshi's New Island 2014 2.06 million [52] 64/100[53]
Yoshi's Woolly World 2015 1.37 million[54] 78/100[55]
Yoshi's Crafted World 2019 3.35 million[56] 79/100[57]

Reception toward Yoshi games has been largely positive. Yoshi's Island is the most well-received entry, holding a critic score of 91/100 on the review aggregation website Metacritic, the highest for any Yoshi game on the site. Conversely, Yoshi's Universal Gravitation is the worst-received title, holding a critic rating of 60/100 on the same site.[58]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: スーパーマリオ　ヨッシーアイランド, Hepburn: Sūpā Mario: Yosshī Airando
  2. ^ Japanese: ヨッシーのパネポン, Hepburn: Yoshi no Panepon

References

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