Very few people use Yoshi, probably because he comes across as
awkward and unwieldy. However, if you can master his unique rhythm and
move trajectories, you will find that he is one of Smash Brothers'
deadliest characters. He is well balanced, having medium running speed,
armor, and power. His smash attacks have a slight delay, but they more
than make up for this in range and sweep. Yoshi has the farthest jump
of any character. His aerial physical moves are very useful, but they
can be very difficult to time correctly. His down-A aerial attack can
deal as much as 25% damage in little more than one second, making him
ideal for boss fights. His powerful right / left-A meteor smash attack,
when combined with the incredible range of his jump, make Yoshi quite
possibly the best character for 1-hit KO meteor smashes. And if you
have trouble controlling Yoshi when he is airborne, you can instantly
return to the ground with his down-B pound attack.
Unfortunately, Yoshi has one great weakness: he lacks a true
recovery move. His right / left-B rolling move
offers some horizontal recovery, but I still recommend that you stay
firmly planted in the middle of any given level and avoid the edges
unless you have an opportunity to execute a 1-hit KO meteor smash over
the edge. Yoshi is extremely versatile, but he is best for a
combination of defense and sniping. Focus on his up-B egg toss. It's
difficult to aim, but if you master it, you will be able to hit
opponents pretty much anywhere in your general area, dealing around 9
damage per egg and knocking your them backward. You can keep your
enemies at a safe distance solely by using your egg toss, but should
they get too close for comfort, send them flying with a charged smash
attack. Or, if you're a coward, use Yoshi's left-right B move, which
allows him to roll away from danger at incredible speeds--just don't
roll off a cliff. Use Yoshi to dominate in large levels with good
sniping posts.
As a final note, I am fully convinced that Yoshi is the single best
character for team battles. My brother and I are invincible as Peach
and Yoshi because we keep a constant flow of projectiles bombarding our
opponents. If our opponents do reach us, I send them hurtling to the
other side of the level with one of Yoshi's formidable smash attacks,
or my brother smacks them into the air and I intercept them with a
meteor smash. Either way, they're dead the moment they reach us--that
is, if they reach us at all.