Yoshi (video game series)

Yoshi is a video game series developed and published by Nintendo. It is a spin-off of the Mario franchise. The games, primarily consisting of platform games and puzzle games featuring the titular character, 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]

Yoshi
Genre(s)	Arcade Puzzle Platform
Developer(s)	Nintendo (1993−1995, 1997, 2005) Game Freak (1991) Bullet-Proof Software (1992) Intelligent Systems (1996) Artoon (2004, 2006) Arzest (2014) Good-Feel (2015−present)
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Platform(s)	NES Game Boy SNES Nintendo 64 Game Boy Advance Nintendo DS Nintendo 3DS Wii U Nintendo Switch
First release	Yoshi December 14, 1991
Latest release	Yoshi's Crafted World March 29, 2019
Parent series	Mario

The series revolves around Yoshi, a race of dinosaur-like creatures. They are first introduced in 1990 in the SNES game Super Mario World, where Mario and Luigi can ride on him.^[3]

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 staples include colorful storybook graphics, and numerous gameplay elements, serves as a prequel to the Super Mario series alongside its sequels, where Yoshis traverse levels with Baby Mario, Luigi and other characters. The antagonists of this sub-series are Baby Bowser, the young king of the Koopas, and Kamek, a Magikoopa who was Bowser's caretaker as a child; they recur in other Yoshi games without said Mario characters.

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 Classics (SNES version) 2023 - Nintendo Classics (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 Classics.
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 Classics[14]
	Notes: The title was developed by Nintendo.[15] It was re-released for Wii Virtual Console in 2007 and Wii U Virtual Console in 2016.[11]
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: The title was developed by Arzest.[24]
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: The title was developed by Good-Feel, who previously developed Kirby's Epic Yarn.[26] The game was ported to the Nintendo 3DS as Poochy and Yoshi's Woolly World in 2017.
Yoshi's Crafted World Original release date(s): WW: March 29, 2019	Release years by system: 2019 - Nintendo Switch[27]
	Notes: The title was developed by Good-Feel using Unreal Engine 4.[28]

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: It was developed by Bullet-Proof Software and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy.[31] The Super Nintendo Entertainment System version of the title was published by Bullet-Proof Software. It was included in the GameCube compilation Nintendo Puzzle Collection.[36] It was re-released on Wii Virtual Console in 2008 and was available until 2013.[37]
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: It was developed by Nintendo.[39] It is a light gun shooter game.[39]
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: A reskin of the Japanese game Panel de Pon, rebranded to use characters and settings from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. A Japanese version of this rebranded title, Yoshi's Panepon,[b] was released in Japan for the Satellaview satellite modem service.[citation needed] It was developed by Intelligent Systems.[42]

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[47]
Yoshi Touch & Go	2005		73/100[48]
Yoshi's Island DS	2006	2.91 million[49]	81/100[50]
Yoshi's New Island	2014	2.06 million [51]	64/100[52]
Yoshi's Woolly World	2015	1.37 million[53]	78/100[54]
Yoshi's Crafted World	2019	3.35 million[55]	79/100[56]

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.^[57]

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