Of all the characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee, perhaps the most widely misunderstood has been Yoshi. Throughout much of Melee’s tier list history, Yoshi has fluctuated between the middle tiers and lower tiers, being ranked as low as 22nd in the game and only in the most recent tier list climbing to his all-time apex of 12th. The progression we have seen (and are continuing to see) in Yoshi’s metagame can largely be attributed to one man: aMSa. aMSa proved that Yoshi could compete at the highest level of play early on in his career, defeating Mew2King as early as 2014.

Still, aMSa’s performances left reasonable doubt about whether or not Yoshi could truly be a consistent competitive threat. It was quite plausible to believe that aMsa’s success in the United States could simply be attributed to match-up unfamiliarity on the part of his opponents; after all, aMSa has generally suffered worse losses in Japan than in the States, even placing below Rudolph on the Japanese power rankings in 2016, suggesting that Yoshi might fare poorly when his opponent understands the match-up.

This theory, however, does not hold the same weight today as it did two years ago. Since he has started traveling to America more frequently, aMSa has not a seen in a drop in results as more players have had the opportunity to “figure him out.” On the contrary, aMSa has proven himself to be a top 10 player, maintaining consistent results and accruing solid wins throughout most of 2018. Players such as nebbii, Whisker$, and Peanutphobia have also had success with Yoshi, albeit to a much lesser extent. These recent results give us reason to believe that Yoshi may have more competitive potential than our Melee “ancestors” would have ever imagined. In this article, I will examine some of Yoshi’s strengths and weaknesses and discuss his match-ups against the game’s most relevant characters in an attempt to determine just how well Yoshi players can expect to do in today’s meta.

General Overview:

With a vast array of quirks and weird mechanics, Yoshi is one of the most unique characters in the game. With the quick air movement he can pull off with his double jump and waveland, Yoshi is fast enough to be somewhat of an offensive rushdown character, especially on smaller stages where he can easily travel across the whole stage in order to sneak up on his opponent and continue combos. At the same time, he is a heavyweight, allowing him to be more of a tank than other rushdown style characters. This is perpetuated further by the armor on his double jump, which can allow him to survive powerful moves even at high percents. Yoshi has tools which allow him to be an offensive character, though his ability to plank at the ledge while throwing eggs gives him at least one major option that behooves a defensive playstyle.

Yoshi’s armored double jump provides him with a generally solid recovery. Of course, the flip side is that, if the opponent is able to take away his double jump, Yoshi is almost certainly dead due to his lack of an Up-B recovery move. Typically, Yoshi looks for high percent kills off the side or edgeguards rather than kills off the top, since he has a harder time comboing into off-the-top kill moves (of course, this varies to some extent from match-up to match-up). Some of Yoshi’s best edgeguarding tools in general include Up-B, down smash, forward-air, neutral-air, down tilt, and occasionally Down-B; his unique double jump also grants him quicker ledgehogs, adding to the strength of his edgeguarding game. Though he relies mostly on these kinds of setups, Yoshi can also net the occasional off-the-top kill with moves like up smash, up-air, or Down-B.

Yoshi’s unique ability to access shield invincibility before his shield actually comes up grants him the ability to parry, giving him some of the strongest counterplay options of any character in the game. Yoshi’s unique shield is somewhat of a double-edged sword though. On one hand, he can’t be shield-stabbed, and he is able to powershield multiple times in a row. On the other hand, he has lackluster out of shield options (including an inability to jump out of shield), which may discourage him from going into shield in the first place. Of course, the latter problem is somewhat alleviated by the characteristics of Yoshi’s light shield, which allows him to slide far away from his opponent if they hit his light shield. Another peculiar tool at Yoshi’s disposal is his down tilt, which has set knockback and can be used to force opponents offstage or to cause low percent knockdowns onstage. Ultimately, Yoshi has a lot of odd techniques which, though difficult to utilize effectively, can make him a strong character in the hands of a skilled player.

vs. Fox

Like many other mid- to low-tiers, Yoshi is largely outclassed by Fox, but has the potential to do quite well against him (especially when the Fox player makes mistakes). As a character who can combo just about the entire cast to some extent, Yoshi has no trouble at all comboing Fox. In addition, double jump cancel aerials provide Yoshi with a solid approach, along with the ability to decently control the air space, making it more difficult for Fox to set up his own approaches. While Fox isn’t bad at edgeguarding Yoshi, unfamiliar Fox mains may struggle to do so, especially since Yoshi’s double jump armor makes shine spiking largely useless (unless Fox manages to eat Yoshi’s double jump without being blocked by the armor, in which case shine can become an insta-kill). Double jump armor can also allow Yoshi to survive in unexpected scenarios, like tanking an up smash or up-air at high percents, as long as he is able to activate his double jump before taking the hit. Yoshi is able to edgeguard Fox and combo into kill confirms without too much difficulty, giving him a solid offensive game overall.

Beyond these strengths, however, Fox does convincingly well against Yoshi. Though Yoshi is known for his ability to aggressively combo his opponents, Fox is strictly better as a rushdown character, with down-air acting as a particularly potent approach and punish tool against Yoshi, especially since it is such a safe option on Yoshi’s shield. Fox is able to shine out of some of Yoshi’s combos, giving him some counterplay options of his own. On top of this, Fox has the tools to play defensively against Yoshi, “running and gunning” and giving Yoshi few opportunities to employ his powerful punish game.

While Yoshi has to play a somewhat offensive playstyle (since Fox can power through eggs and down tilt Yoshi at the ledge if he tries to defensively ledge camp), Fox has a little more freedom to choose whether to play the match-up offensively or defensively, and he has the tools to take advantage of Yoshi’s lack of stylistic freedom. While Yoshi’s approaches, combos, and kills are all rather good against Fox, Fox’s approaches, combos, and kills tend to be even stronger and more reliable.

vs. Falco

This match-up is very momentum based, since Yoshi and Falco both have such strong combos against each other. Much like Fox players, unfamiliar Falco players may put themselves into precarious situations by going for what works in other match-ups. The most obvious of these scenarios is Falco going for a down-air to try and spike Yoshi, only to have Yoshi tank the hit with his double jump armor and retaliate with an aerial of his own. While Falco is able to combo into kill moves, he typically has to build up a little more percent than Fox would have to against Yoshi. That being said, Falco can net incredibly early kills if he is able to connect a shine into another shine off the top. Falco is a little easier to edgeguard than Fox, which does make this match-up a little closer to even as far as offense goes.

As far as defense goes, Yoshi can use eggs both to hit Falco while he’s offstage and to wall Falco out onstage. Yoshi can duck under Falco’s lasers and land a down tilt, or simply parry them, making them a suboptimal neutral tool for Falco. Falco’s lasers can, however, aid in his approach, as Yoshi may find himself stuck in shield if he attempts to powershield Falco’s lasers, giving Falco ample time to near closer to Yoshi and punish his attempt to come out of shield. Both of these characters have decent options for blocking the other’s aerial approaches, with Falco’s up tilt and Yoshi’s up smash both acting as effective anti-airs.

Interestingly, Yoshi’s stage preferences get flipped a little in this match-up. While Yoshi generally adores the small space on Yoshi’s Story, Falco’s early kill setups on this stage make it a dangerous option. Conversely, while the lack of movement options on Final Destination leave Yoshi with a worse approach, Falco’s kill power is significantly less on Final Destination since it is harder for him to kill off the top, giving Yoshi greater reason to counterpick here. Overall, Yoshi has a better time in this match-up than he does against Fox, though Falco still does better than Yoshi in many aspects.

vs. Marth

The Marth match-up is actually one of Yoshi’s better ones and is fairly close to (if not totally) even. Marth’s biggest advantage is his ability to space outside of Yoshi’s range using forward-air and to block incoming approaches using neutral-air, potentially invalidating Yoshi’s generally laudable approach options. While Marth has a solid neutral in this regard, Yoshi’s ability to parry Marth’s approaches gives him a defensive edge and a slight boost to punish game. Neither character gets particularly explosive punishes against the other, and smaller combo/juggle sequences are much more commonly seen.

One of Yoshi’s biggest advantages is the fact that Marth is not particularly good at killing Yoshi. On top of this, Yoshi is quite good at edgeguarding Marth, since he can easily crouch cancel Marth’s Up-B and quickly follow up with a down smash or instant edgehog to take Marth’s stock. When edgeguarding, it is important for Yoshi players to note that Yoshi can use his normal shield to perform the Marth killer rather than using light shield. Ultimately, though Marth has enough fundamental strengths to do well against Yoshi, Yoshi’s unique characteristics are a little more troublesome for Marth than for many other high-tier characters.

vs. Sheik

Sheik and Yoshi both have the tools to effectively combo each other, though Sheik has a slight advantage when it comes to racking up damage since she can set up combos using her grab, a luxury which Yoshi lacks in many of his match-ups. Though both of these characters have a reputation for doing well at the ledge, they are actually able to counter each other’s ledge strategies, leaving neither of them as safe at the ledge as they typically would be. Yoshi can catch Sheik at the ledge with a down tilt to set up an early edgeguard, and his quick ledgehog makes it dangerous for Sheik to stall at the ledge. Similarly, Sheik’s Needles can counter Yoshi’s egg camping at the ledge, potentially eating his jump and bringing about his demise.

Sheik has really solid options for playing defensively, and for countering any attempt at playing defensively on Yoshi’s part. Final Destination is a particularly hard stage for Yoshi to fight Sheik on, since she has such a strong grab game and can control the air and ground space using her Needles. Both of these characters are pretty decent at edgeguarding the other. Sheik gets the slight edge in kill power since her forward-air is such a potent kill move (as long as Yoshi does not armor through the hit) and she can combo into it off of down throw at high percents.

One unique trick Yoshi does have at his disposal against Sheik involves moves like his grab and forward smash: these moves cause Yoshi to reel his head back, which in turn may cause Sheik to miss her grabs, enabling Yoshi to instantly punish Sheik’s whiffed grabs. Of course, doing this intentionally would require quite a bold read, making it more of an occasional blessing than something Yoshi players should actively try to do.

vs. Peach

Though Peach is a character known for her dominating aerial presence, Yoshi can give her a challenge with a strong aerial game of his own, thanks to his incredibly quick aerial movement options. For how floaty Peach is, Yoshi can combo her decently well. Of course, Peach can do the same thing, floating all across the stage to follow Yoshi and continue her combos. Yoshi has solid approach options he can use to get in against Peach, such as back-air, as well as particularly powerful combo options on the ground (although Peach does have down smash and down tilt which make her a threat on the ground as well). Both of these characters can also apply massive pressure to each other’s shields; Yoshi does so with double jump cancel neutral-airs, while Peach does so by using down smash.

Though Yoshi and Peach are fairly evenly matched in all of the aforementioned categories, Peach does have a few more strengths which help her to have an edge in the match-up. To counter Yoshi’s attempts at ledge camping, Peach can either down smash or, if she wishes to stay a safer distance away, throw turnips. Peach’s ability to float makes her one of the strongest characters in the game when it comes to edgeguarding Yoshi; if she is able to eat Yoshi’s jump and Yoshi is forced to air dodge, Peach can simply wait out his air dodge with her float and send him offstage with an aerial. This unique technique also helps Peach avoid getting edgeguarded herself, as she can float back and forth in order to safely dodge the eggs Yoshi may throw at her while she is offstage. In addition, Peach has better defensive tools than Yoshi, which she can use to force Yoshi into precarious situations, giving her a lot of control when it comes to dictating the pace of the match.

vs. Captain Falcon

Thanks to his quick ground speed, Captain Falcon has little trouble getting in against Yoshi and Yoshi lacks good options for keeping him out. Offensively, Falcon does better against Yoshi than perhaps any other character; he has a strong approach, reliable grab combos, and serious kill power against Yoshi. While Falcon has little trouble comboing into his kill moves, Yoshi struggles a bit more to get kills, often relying on edgeguard setups.

Though Falcon cannot safely challenge Yoshi offstage because of his double jump armor, he is quick enough to wait out the armor and potentially sneak in a strong aerial punish as soon as the armor wears off (often securing a kill in the process). Neither character really benefits from trying to play this match-up defensively, so Falcon vs. Yoshi matches tend to be fast-paced and aggressive.

Despite Falcon’s obvious strengths in the match-up, Yoshi isn’t totally hopeless against Captain Falcon. Though Falcon may have more reliable combo setups, Yoshi’s powerful combo game, coupled with Falcon’s fast fall speed and heavy weight, allows Yoshi to pull off more explosive punishes at times. Yoshi can use his double jump armor to get out of Falcon’s combos occasionally (though Falcon’s combo game is still rather oppressive against Yoshi).

Because of his ability to counter his opponent with double jump cancel aerials and parries, Yoshi can shut down a Falcon who tries to play an aerial-heavy playstyle; of course, this just gives the Falcon player more motivation to play an optimal, grab-heavy playstyle. While Yoshi may not get many off-the-top kills, his Up-B, down smash, and instant ledgehog are all quite good for edgeguarding Falcon’s slow, linear recovery. Down tilt is a decent tool which Yoshi can use to get it against Falcon or to keep him out, and is perhaps Yoshi’s best option on the ground, where Falcon otherwise tends to be in control.

vs. Ice Climbers

Yoshi’s match-up against the Ice Climbers is perhaps his best among the top tiers, as Yoshi has an overwhelming approach, decent combo potential, and the ability to force the Climbers offstage and keep them there. Yoshi can take to top platforms where the Ice Climbers are pretty helpless to approach on their own, and then he can fall into the Climbers using forward-air, a solid tool for initiating combos and opening opportunities to push the Climbers apart. Yoshi gets a lot of mileage out of his down smash: he can use it to separate the Ice Climbers if he finds himself in the middle of the two, to edgeguard Sopo after crouch canceling his Side-B recovery attempt, or to force Nana offstage and set up for easy ledgehog edgeguards (the latter can also be accomplished using down tilt).

Yoshi’s Egg Lay is more useful in this match-up than in any other. It is especially potent against Nana, since she cannot mash out of it very quickly, meaning Popo will be left to fend for himself for quite a while after Nana is trapped in the egg; if she is left offstage in the egg, she will almost certainly die then and there. Of course, the Ice Climbers technically have the better punish game because of the existence of wobbling, and the fact that Yoshi has a harder time parrying grab attempts allows the Ice Climbers to put up a fight against an impetuous Yoshi.

The Climbers can also meteor smash Yoshi to the stage with their forward-air and follow up on the ground with something like a down smash, meaning Yoshi can’t get too reckless with is aerial approaches. Even so, Yoshi’s strong edgeguards, combos, and approaches are very good at leaving the Ice Climbers overwhelmed, especially if Yoshi does not leave himself open to getting grabbed.

vs. Samus

Because of his fast movement, Yoshi has an advantage against Samus in terms of approach. However, Samus can counteract this with her solid neutral, as her Missiles allow her to play a more effective defensive style and her range enables her to excel at outspacing Yoshi. Samus can use Missiles to get rid of Yoshi’s stocks once she has him offstage, and both down smash and Up-B are useful as grounded punish options against Yoshi. While Yoshi may attempt to move about platforms using his classic waveland strategy, Samus can intercept this with either Up-B or up-air (although if she misses, Yoshi will be in a prime position for an easy punish). Samus' Up-B can also be used as an anti-air against a Yoshi who is trying to drop in on Samus with forward-air, if Samus reacts quickly enough, that is.

Even though Yoshi has the better approach overall, Samus has a solid approach option in her forward-air, which has multiple hits that Yoshi will be hard-pressed to counter with his double jump cancel. While Yoshi can juggle Samus decently well at lower percents, she is very hard to combo at higher percents. As a result, it takes Yoshi quite a while to kill Samus, as he relies on landing multiple stray hits at high percents.

Samus’ combo game is rather weak at any percent, thanks to Yoshi’s ability to interrupt her combo attempts with his double jump cancel. Samus rarely benefits from grabbing in this match-up, as Yoshi can usually counter any follow-up hitbox Samus tries to put out after using her down throw. Samus does have a counter-option to Yoshi’s ledge camping in her up tilt. In terms of kill power, these two are fairly even; that is to say, they both struggle to kill each other. Because of the overall lack of combos, edgeguards, and early kills, matches between these two characters tend to be slower than those of Yoshi’s other top tier match-ups, and are fairly evenly-matched as well.

vs. Jigglypuff

While both of these characters flourish when they are in control of the air, and both have the aerial speed to do so effectively, Yoshi’s aerial style is better suited for heavy offense, whereas Jigglypuff’s is better suited for heavy defense. Though both of these characters generally like the ledge, these two have tools for keeping each other off of the ledge for too long: Yoshi can hit a Puff on the ledge with eggs, while Puff can hit a ledge camping Yoshi using dash attack. Puff’s dash attack can be particularly devastating against a Yoshi in this scenario since it has the potential to eat his jump and result in an early kill, something which Yoshi can’t hope to achieve with an egg alone. This scenario acts as a microcosm of how each character secures kills; Yoshi is better at getting kills outright, while Puff is better at edgeguarding.

Yoshi has decent combos against Puff, whereas the only real strings of moves Jigglypuff can pull off are her iconic Wall of Pain and a few two-piece combos off of down-air. That said, Jigglypuff’s drill into up smash combo is incredibly potent against Yoshi, and it is even possible for her to perform a drill into Rest combo, increasing her otherwise lackluster kill power.

Some of Puff’s most prominent strengths in the match-up include her ability to juggle Yoshi onstage after taking his jump and then force him offstage, as well as her quick aerials, which can intercept Yoshi’s aerial movement and easily break through Yoshi’s eggs, nullifying the effects of his Up-B in the neutral. His Up-B is, however, a solid punish tool against Puff, since it allows him to rack up some damage while also setting up for an easy aerial follow-up. Yoshi’s up-air is a particularly strong kill option against Puff, and he can even approach with a falling down-air. Not only are Yoshi’s strong approach and punish options noteworthy, but he also fares pretty well against Puff defensively because of his ability to parry Puff’s incoming aerial approaches.

Going for an aerial Rest against Yoshi can be quite dangerous for Jigglypuff, as he may be able to activate his double jump armor, tank the hit, and get a free punish on her. In addition, though Puff might be expected to be the more timeout-friendly character, Yoshi actually fares quite well against Puff in timeout scenarios. If he is ahead in percent, Yoshi can throw eggs to keep Puff away while still racking up damage, or double jump out of Puff’s reach at the last minute. If he is behind in percent, Yoshi has solid approach and combo options, giving him a better chance than Puff at closing the gap at the very end. Nevertheless, Puff's solid edgeguards and effective punish game still give her a slight edge in the match-up.

After seeing players like aMSa bring out Yoshi’s full potential, it hard to deny that Yoshi has earned his spot among the mid-tiers in the most recent tier list. Though he has noticeable struggles against many of the top tiers, he can at least boast near-even match-ups against Marth and Samus, and a winning match-up against the Ice Climbers. Even against those who more convincingly beat him, Yoshi has plenty of options which could help him to pull off the upset. With a strong punish game, powerful kill setups, an oppressive aerial game, unique shield and jump mechanics which benefit him both offensively and defensively, and an overall ability to dominate the stage with his quick movement and fast-acting hitboxes, Yoshi is truly a character with a lot going for him.

Of course, a character as quirky as Yoshi is naturally more susceptible to jank and more difficult to master than some other characters, meaning Yoshi is truly at his best against an opponent who is unfamiliar with the match-up. His recovery is exploitable (and outright bad if he is left without a jump), his weight and size make him an easy target for just about any hitbox his opponent may put out, and his approach suffers significantly whenever platforms are taken away from him. Even so, Yoshi has the tools to keep up with the toughest of competition even at the highest level. If controlled intelligently and precisely, Yoshi is undoubtedly much more than a mere gimmick character.

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