Yoshi's Story

This article is about the game Yoshi's Story. For the Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate stage of the same name, see Yoshi's Story (stage).

Template:Infobox Yoshi's Story is the second main platform game starring Yoshi, and the first one outside of the Yoshi's Island series, released for the Nintendo 64. It was released in 1997 in Japan and a year later in 1998 in the United States. Later, it received a port to the Wii's Virtual Console in fall of 2007 for all regions and the Wii U's Virtual Console in early 2016. The music of Yoshi's Story was composed by Kazumi Totaka, who voices Yoshi in this game, a first for the Mario franchise. The gameplay possesses similar mechanics to the Yoshi's Island series of games, but it does not include Baby Mario.

An unnamed Yoshi tech demo was unveiled at the time of the Game Boy Advance's first announcement. The title was seemingly either a port or a direct sequel to Yoshi's Story, but it is unknown if it was simply meant as a demo or was canceled. Years later, a spin-off title called Yoshi Topsy-Turvy was released, which featured the same art style and mechanics as Yoshi's Story and was perceived as a sequel. Yoshi's Story was also the first Mario/Yoshi game on the Nintendo 64 released in North America to be rated E for everyone due to the changeover by the ESRB from the previously used K–A "Kids to Adults" rating in 1998. The game sold 1.28 million copies in the Americas and 2.85 million worldwide.

Story

The Yoshis on top of the storybook

Yoshis live in harmony at Yoshi's Island, and their ultimate source of happiness is provided by the Super Happy Tree. Baby Bowser becomes jealous of their happiness and steals the Super Happy Tree, crushing their happiness, and then performs a spell to turn the entire island into a pop-up picture book.

Six Baby Yoshis hatch into the island and learn of what Baby Bowser has done, and thus, they set out to retrieve the tree. They venture through six "pages" of the island, until eventually fighting him at the end and retrieving the Super Happy Tree.

Gameplay

A gameplay screenshot from Rail Lift, one of the levels from Yoshi's Story

Yoshi's Story is played much like Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, although a few aspects were tweaked or removed, such as the timer that counted down for Baby Mario when Yoshi was hit or Yoshi's ability to morph. To complete a level, the Baby Yoshis have to eat exactly 30 fruits scattered through the level. Before starting a level, the player has to select a Baby Yoshi. Each Yoshi has different taste when it comes to fruits and Shy Guys and will recover more health (and score more points) if it eats a fruit or a Shy Guy that is of its own color. The top left corner of the screen has a flower that serves as the life bar; the flower's petals will fall off as a Yoshi loses more health, and its facial expression will also change accordingly (happy when full, sad when dying). Certain characters aid the Yoshis in various ways, including Miss Warp, who can teleport the Yoshis to different parts of the level, and Poochy, who can find hidden objects from far away.

If a Baby Yoshi is defeated within the level, that Baby Yoshi will be taken to Bowser's Castle by Baby Bowser's Toadies. If all of the Baby Yoshis are kidnapped, the game is over. However, any lost Baby Yoshi (aside from the secret, unlockable Black and White Yoshis) can be saved by finding a White Shy Guy and finishing the level with it. When the player starts a game on either Story Mode or Trial Mode, the game will randomly select a "Lucky Fruit." Said Lucky Fruit automatically heals all of the Yoshi's life, even if the Yoshi is not supposed to like the fruit.

Each world has four different levels to choose from; once a level is beaten, the player moves on to the next world without visiting the other three levels. This means to play through every single level, the player must play through the game at least four different times, going to the unvisited levels in each world. The game has four different difficulty levels: novice, easy, medium, and hard.

Yoshi's moves

The Baby Yoshis can perform various moves to complete their adventure. Most of these moves were taken from Yoshi's Island, although some were tweaked or now have a new function.

Jumping and fluttering

Pink Yoshi flutter-jumping

By pressing , the player can make a Yoshi jump; by pressing again and holding it, the player can make a Yoshi flutter-jump. This helps the player get to higher places. It is possible to flutter longer by holding after a Yoshi grunts.

Swallowing

To swallow an object, the Baby Yoshis have to lick with their tongues. It is possible to control the direction of the tongue with the Control Stick. Unlike in Yoshi's Island, a Yoshi automatically ingests the things he eats with his tongue.

Throwing eggs

Red Yoshi about to throw an egg

When a Yoshi eats an enemy, it can turn into an egg. By pressing or , a Yoshi can aim the egg he made at various things, and throw it by releasing the button.

Ground Pound

To utilize this move, a Baby Yoshi must jump and quickly press Down on the Control Stick. The Yoshi will pound the ground. A Ground Pound can be used to reveal a few items hidden in the ground or to defeat enemies.

Sniffing

Green Yoshi sniffing

A move exclusive to this game, sniffing is helpful in finding objects hidden in the ground. To execute it, the player must press . If a Baby Yoshi is near an object, a "!" will appear next to the Baby Yoshi's head. If the Baby Yoshi is standing on a hidden item, he will wave at the player. Any objects hidden in the ground can be revealed by ground-pounding them. Poochy can be found in a few levels and will sniff for the Yoshi clan.

Modes

Story Mode

The main cast of Yoshi's Story, featuring the eight Yoshis that appear in the game as well as Poochy

The main portion of the game, Story Mode contains 24 levels (four per world), but only six can be played during a single playthrough (the game jumps directly to the next world after a level is completed). The player can choose which of the four levels in page one they wish to start on. However, the choice of levels in later worlds is determined by the number of Special Hearts collected in the previous level. To finish each level, the Yoshis must eat 30 different fruits scattered throughout the level. Whenever a level is completed, the Baby Yoshis start singing and a text appears to explain what happened in the level.

Trial Mode

Trial Mode select stage screen with all stages unlocked

Trial Mode is a mode that allows the player to play any stage that they have beaten in Story Mode. In order to unlock all the stages, the player must play Story Mode at least four times and get all the Special Hearts from the stage that they were playing. This mode was created to save the player's highest score of the levels. To quit a stage, the + buttons should be pressed together. Also, the player cannot use Black Yoshi and White Yoshi; they are playable only in Story Mode.

Eating nothing but melons is a great method of increasing one's high score, although it can be really difficult to perform in some stages. If this is done, a marker appears at the end of the level. In order to eat all the melons from the stage, the player will need to sniff all the time to find hidden objects in the ground.

Also, if the player waits for two minutes and ten seconds, Totaka's Song is heard.

Practice Mode

Practice Mode consists of an exclusive level in which the various controls and techniques of the games are explained. This level is the only one that does not have 30 melons in it.

Characters

Playable

All the following Yoshis are playable. Their name is listed next to what their favorite fruit in the game is (since when a Yoshi eats one of its favorite food, the life bar heals more than it usually would). Eating melons will also have this effect, no matter which Yoshi color it is. They also serve as lives.

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  Green Yoshi – watermelon

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  Red Yoshi – apple

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  Yellow Yoshi – banana

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  Pink Yoshi – apple

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  Blue Yoshi – grapes

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  Light Blue Yoshi – grapes

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  Black Yoshi (unlockable) – all fruit types

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  White Yoshi (unlockable) – all fruit types

Supporting characters

Image	Name	Description
	Balloon Bully	A balloon-like entity that carries a log on its head, allowing the Yoshis to reach otherwise non-accessible locations.
	Dragon	A serpentine dragon that acts as a lift for the Yoshis to use while in the air or over lava.
	Ghost Rider	A whisp-like spirit that acts as a platform for the Yoshis to use.
	Huffin Puffin	Wanders around with chicks following. The chicks can be used as replacements for eggs.
	Miss Warp	An egg-shaped creature that is asleep, but soon warps Yoshis to another Miss Warp when awoken.
	Neuron	A slug-like creature that makes movements depending on its color.
	Poochy	A dog that can sniff items for the Yoshis. He follows a Yoshi.
	Power Bee	An insect that restores health to the Yoshis when eaten. These creatures cannot harm the Yoshis if touched.
	Snake	A serpentine creature that acts similar to a dragon, except it is much smaller.

Enemies

Image	Name	Description
	Air Bag	A balloon creature that appears from an immovable Mystery Crate.
	Attacky Sack	A circular, marble-like creature that bounces around, attempting to run into a Yoshi.
	Bamboo dancers	Two Shy Guys that each hold a long stick across a pathway, requiring the Yoshi to jump over it.
	Bee/Bumblebee	A bee that inhabits a hive and will sting any Yoshis that wander too close. The big bumblebees will fly in a straight line.
	Big & Little Boo	A line of Boos that follow each other, holding a melon within the line.
	Black Shy Guy	An aggressive version of large Flying Shy Guys.
	Blargg	A giant blob-like creature that randomly arises from lava.
	Blindfold Boo	A blindfolded Boo that uses sound cues such as the gathering of coins to attack a Yoshi.
	Blue Blurp	A giant fish that spits water up at Yoshis. If a Yoshi falls into the river the Blurp resides in, the Yoshi will be eaten by it.
	Bob-omb	A sentient bomb that wanders around, eventually exploding. Any Yoshis caught in the blast take damage.
	Bone Dragon head	A head of the Bone Dragon, apparently separated from the main body.
	Boo	A ghost enemy that stops moving when looked at and follows a Yoshi when facing away. It can be defeated only by looking away from it and bouncing an egg off a wall to hit it.
	Boo Block	A Boo disguised as a block, revealing its true form only when a Yoshi looks away from it.
	Bullet Bill	A bullet-like enemy that is emitted from a Bill Blaster and travels in a straight line.
	Bumpty	A penguin-like foe that can bump a Yoshi around.
	Burner Heihō	A Shy Guy that pushes around a Barbeque stand, releasing flames that trap Yoshis in between.
	Centipede	A caterpillar-like enemy that paces around with spiked segments.
	Cheep Cheep	A fish that swims around, either in a straight line or in a set pattern.
	Chomp	A dog-like enemy that jumps nearby to where a Yoshi is, smashing any ground below it.
	Clam	An aquatic clam that bubbles up air while underwater.
	ComBat	A strange, bat-like creature that attacks any Yoshi that gets too close.
	Do-Drop	A particle of water that drops down from a cloud.
	Flying Shy Guy (big)	An airborne Shy Guy that carries a fruit. If a Yoshi eats the fruit, the enemy will fly away.
	Flying Shy Guy (small)	A flying Shy Guy that appears in a group of four. If a Yoshi defeats all four with a single egg, that Yoshi is awarded a melon.
	Frog	An amphibious enemy that jumps around.
	Fuzzy Wiggler	A caterpillar enemy that wanders around endlessly. It can be defeated only if a Yoshi turns all of its segments purple.
	Gabon	A small enemy that coughs up and throws large spike balls.
	Goonie	A bird that flies around and can be ridden on. Some of them carry bombs. These creatures cannot directly harm a Yoshi if touched.
	Ick Worm	A worm that floats down on a leaf. If the worm is eaten, a Yoshi will lose health.
	Jellyfish	A jellyfish that has multiple behaviors depending on its color. Some actively chase a Yoshi, while others stay in one place.
	Jelly Ghost	A Boo that resides in jelly, lashing out at any Yoshi that comes near.
	Lakitu	A cloud-riding turtle enemy that chases its opponents while throwing various items.
	Lava Bubble	A fireball that jumps up and down out of lava.
	Lava Ghost	A spectral Lava Bubble that jumps out in an arced fashion.
	Little Boo	A miniature Boo that swoops down at Yoshis if provoked.
	Mr. Eel	An eel that swims mindlessly straight.
	Nipper Plant	An enemy that appears after a Nipper Spore has touched the ground.
File:Nipper Spore.PNG	Nipper Spore	A free-flying, dandelion-like enemy that becomes a Nipper Plant after it touches the ground. Eating it does not produce an egg.
	Pak E. Derm	An elephant that holds up a stop sign in an attempt to block a Yoshi's progress. It can be temporarily stunned with a Ground Pound.
	Peeper	A bird that flies around. If a Yoshi shoots one with an egg, it will lose its feathers and fall down.
	Piranha Plant	A plant enemy that grows on a vine, attempting to ensnare a Yoshi by wrapping around it.
	Piranha Pest	A Piranha Plant sprout that attempts to swallow a Yoshi with its long tongue. A swallowed Yoshi will temporarily shrink.
	Piranha Sprout	A small Piranha Plant that jumps from the ground in an attempt to eat a Yoshi.
	Pirate Guy	An enemy that remains in the background, shooting various items at Yoshis.
	Puffer	An elephant-like creature that releases balls of energy.
	Raven	A black, bird-like enemy that is found wandering around platforms.
	Red Blurp	A giant Cheep Cheep that jumps out of the water in an attempt to eat a Yoshi.
	Sea Anemone	A sea creature that reaches out towards a Yoshi with its long arms.
	Sea cactus	A spiked Neuron of varying sizes that can be found spinning from side to side near or under water.
	Sensuikan Heihō	A Shy Guy that pilots a submarine, shooting torpedoes at any intruders.
	Shy Guy	A mask-wearing enemy that is the ubiquitous enemy in the game. They wander about, come in different colors, and can be defeated in any manner.
	Shy Guys On Stilts	Shy Guys that walk around on stilts.
	Shy Guys on Pogo Sticks	Shy Guys that bounce around on pogo sticks.
	Snorkel Snake	A gigantic eel that attempts to encircle a Yoshi.
	Snow Guy	A Shy Guy dressed in winter attire, throwing snowballs at any Yoshi it sees.
	Spider	An arachnid enemy that attacks a Yoshi by dangling from a string.
	Spike	A metallic enemy that jumps around or straight up in the air.
	Spiked Fun Guy	An enemy that jumps from the background, before suddenly rolling down any slopes it lands on.
	Spiny Fish	A spined Cheep Cheep that causes a Yoshi to take damage if eaten.
	Tehee Butterfly	A butterfly that flashes between pink and blue. If a Yoshi eats a blue one, the Yoshi will lose all of its health.
	Toady	Toadies appear when a Yoshi faints, carrying them off to Baby Bowser's Castle.
	Togetoge Iwa	A giant Thwomp-like object dropped by a black Shy Guy.
	Vine Slime	A slug-like enemy that climbs up and down a vine.

Mini-Bosses

Image	Name	Description
	Bone Dragon	A three-headed skeletal dragon that shoots flames. The Yoshis must defeat each head either by throwing two eggs at each head or by ground-pounding each head two times.
	Slug	A giant colorful slug that can be defeated only by shooting its eyes, which stuns it, then pelting it with eggs.

Bosses

Image	Name	Description
	Cloud N. Candy	A Cloud boss that can be gradually eaten by a Yoshi. The boss is defeated when he is entirely eaten.
	Inviso	A ghost that remains invisible while releasing Peepers to attack. A Yoshi must hit him with three eggs to defeat him.
	Cloudjin	A giant, wind-bending genie that floats around. Three eggs in the stomach (while tangible) will defeat him.
	Don Bongo	A giant Gabon-like creature that creates earthquakes with each step. A Yoshi must shoot three eggs at his lips to defeat him.
	Baby Bowser	The final boss, Baby Bowser first rides around on his pet while throwing bombs. Said bombs must be sent back to damage him. Afterwards, the remainder of the battle is on foot.

Items and objects

Various items are found by the Baby Yoshis in their adventure. These are the following:

• Yoshi Eggs are the Yoshis' primary weapons.
• Heart Coins are found throughout the levels; they exist for only scoring purposes.
• Various kinds of fruit appear, the most prominent being the melon, appearing 30 times in every level.
• Bubbles are common floating objects containing fruit.
• Special Hearts unlock levels in Story Mode.
• Power Flowers restore a Yoshi's health when eaten.
• Bumber 'Chutes help the Yoshis glide to places.
• Bob-ombs can be thrown, much like Yoshi Eggs.
• Heart Fruits will make the Baby Yoshis Super Happy when eaten.
• Message Blocks give help and information when jumped from below.
• Mystery Crates contain hidden items, sometimes an Air Bag.
• ? Blocks contain melon-related prizes, namely coins that can be collected for one, the Melon Race, or melon box delivery.
• ? Bubbles contain various objects and occasionally enemies.
• ? Switches cause a variety of events.
• Surprise Balls allow Baby Yoshis to reach higher ground by licking them.
• Tulips transform Yoshis into eggs to reach high and seemingly inaccessible places.

Worlds and levels

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  Page 1: Beginning
  Treasure Hunt
  Surprise!!
  Rail Lift
  Tower Climb

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  Page 2: Cavern
  Bone Dragon Pit
  Blargg's Boiler
  Jelly Pipe
  Torrential Maze

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  Page 3: Summit
  Cloud Cruising
  The Tall Tower
  Poochy & Nippy
  Frustration

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  Page 4: Jungle
  Jungle Hut
  Jungle Puddle
  Piranha Grove
  Neuron Jungle

• World5YS65.jpg

  Page 5: Ocean
  Lots O'Jelly Fish
  Lots O'Fish
  Shy Guy Limbo
  Shy Guy's Ship

• World6YS65.jpg

  Page 6: Finale
  Mecha Castle
  Lift Castle
  Ghost Castle
  Magma Castle

Pre-release and unused content

Main article: List of Yoshi's Story pre-release and unused content

The game was first revealed back in Spaceworld 96' as "Yoshi's Island 64". The early logo looks similar to the SNES game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island logo, implying that Yoshi's Story was originally planned as a sequel to said game, be more complex, and would have been a title in the Yoshi's Island series. However, after the health meter was chosen, the game was considered the first miscellaneous title in the Yoshi series of platformers for Nintendo consoles.

Reception

Reviews
Release	Reviewer, Publication	Score	Comment
N64	Peer Schneider, IGN	7/10	"Story will most definitely sell many many copies based on the reputation of its predecessor. But there will be a lot of unhappy gamers once they discover that Nintendo's mantra seems to have changed to Quality over Quantity of Levels. Trust us: You'll love it when you rent the game, but don't buy it. You'll finish it in a weekend -- but don't quit playing until you have seen the fourth level on each page"
N64	Joe Fielder, GameSpot	5.3/10	"Yoshi's Story doesn't provide lots of motivation to make you want to pull this off or really even play the game for more than 20 minutes. After a while, you realize it's the same trick over and over: find a piece of fruit, find a heart, find a piece of fruit, find a heart. Altogether, it's just not a lot of fun. The slight changes that Nintendo made to the game from the Japanese version (such as an unnoticeable increase in difficulty and the addition of letters that you must collect for the best ending) didn't really seem to improve the title at all. In the end, Yoshi's Story is good for a rental at best."
Aggregators
Compiler		Platform / Score
Metacritic		65
GameRankings		59.91%

Staff

Main article: List of Yoshi's Story staff

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Yoshi's Story.

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  Green Yoshi

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  Poochy

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  Baby Bowser

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  White Shy Guy

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  Pak E. Derm

Music

Main article: Yoshi's Story (music)

Media

Yoshi's Story - Title Screen Theme

File infoMedia:YoshiStory- title screen.oga 1:16

Help:Media • Having trouble playing?

Appearances in other media

Yoshi's Story was the subject of volumes 19 and 20 of Super Mario-Kun.

Yoshi's Story was also featured in Club Nintendo's comics. These were later collected in a comic book titled Yoshi's Story Comic.

• 

  Volume 19 of Super Mario-Kun

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  Volume 20 of Super Mario-Kun

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  Yoshi's Story Comic

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  Reverse of Yoshi's Story Comic

• 

References to other games

• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island – Yoshi's Story was originally to be called Yoshi's Island 64. Many of the elements from this game return in Yoshi's Story, and the two games share very similar gameplay. Also, a small portion of the "Flower Garden" track can be heard 43 seconds into "Games of Happiness."
• Mario Kart 64 – Yoshi's design sprites for Yoshi's Story use Yoshi's same design from this game.

References in later games

• Super Smash Bros. – A stage called Yoshi's Island is based off Yoshi's Story. Yoshi's moves, animations, and voice clips are the same as in Yoshi's Story.
• Super Smash Bros. Melee – The Yoshi's Island stage from Super Smash Bros. returns, and a new one called Yoshi's Story is playable.
• Super Mario Sunshine – The main way of keeping the Yoshis healthy in this game is by eating fruits.
• Yoshi Topsy-Turvy – Yoshi's Island is turned into a storybook again.
• Mario Superstar Baseball – The Super Happy Tree appears in Yoshi's themed field.
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl / Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS – An arrangement of the ending theme from Yoshi's Story plays on the Yoshi's Island stage in both games.
• Super Smash Bros. for Wii U – The same arrangement of the ending theme from Super Smash Bros. Brawl and the 3DS version as well as the arrangement used for the Yoshi's Story stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee play on the Woolly World stage, while the arrangement used for the Yoshi's Island stage in Super Smash Bros. plays on the Yoshi's Island stage.
• Mario Super Sluggers – The Super Happy Tree can be found in Yoshi Park again. The park plays an arrangement of the theme music.
• Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games – Rail Lift appears as the setting of the Dream Long Jump event.
• Mario Tennis Open – All the Yoshis from Yoshi's Story (including the unlockable Black and White Yoshis) are playable in the game.
• Super Mario 64 DS – The Yoshis' Health Meter reappears in one of the minigames.
• Mario Golf: World Tour – Yoshi's Lake Course is inspired by Yoshi's Story.
• Nintendo Land – The Yoshi's Fruit Cart attraction requires the player to collect fruits. Also, Treasure Hunt's level theme and the ending theme appear here.
• Yoshi's Woolly World – Some of the elements from this game were borrowed from and inspired by Yoshi's Story, and it also stars Yoshi without Mario similarly to that game as well.
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – The Yoshi's Story stage reappears, along with the Yoshi's Island stage from Super Smash Bros., renamed "Super Happy Tree." Don Bongo, Pak E. Derm, the Super Happy Tree, and Blargg appear as spirits, using their appearances from Yoshi's Story.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ヨッシーストーリー Yosshī Sutōrī	Yoshi Story
Chinese	耀西故事 (iQue, Simplified Chinese) Yàoxī Gùshì	Yoshi Story