How Yoshi went from Mario's sidekick to the star of his own distinct platforming series.
Yoshi first appeared as Mario's rideable companion in Super Mario World, but Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island flipped the formula — putting Yoshi in the lead role, with baby Mario riding on his back instead.
Rather than power-ups like the Fire Flower, Yoshi's Island centers on Yoshi's egg-throwing mechanic, a distinctive hand-drawn crayon-and-watercolor art style, and a damage system where losing baby Mario briefly — rather than an instant life loss — raises the stakes of every hit.
Later games continued exploring Yoshi-focused mechanics with different visual styles, including yarn-and-fabric and crafted-diorama aesthetics, while keeping the core egg-throwing, floating-jump gameplay intact.
The original Yoshi's Island is frequently cited as one of the most visually distinct entries in the wider Mario universe, and its art style has aged in a way that still feels fresh compared to more standard pixel-art platformers of its era.
It's a Yoshi-led spin-off within the Mario universe — Yoshi carries baby Mario rather than Mario being the playable character directly.
Yoshi's core ability across the series is eating enemies and turning them into eggs, which are then thrown to solve puzzles and defeat other enemies.
No, Yoshi's Island stands on its own, though it's set as a prequel showing Mario as a baby.
Jump into a free browser version of the original side-scrolling Mario game.
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