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by Mythricity, Guest Contributor
Hi, I’m Mythricity. I have trained over 35 (and counting) bins of Yoshi and have accumulated 1 win and many top 3 and top 8 placements.
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AI Issues
Yoshi has 2 main AI issues that are part of the same problem: Yoshi’s recovery.
The first AI issue is how Yoshi will recover. When Yoshi is in the air if he can airdodge or Up B to stage immediately and without jumping he will, however if its an extended distance and yoshi needs to jump he has two options after jumping:
1. Air Dodge
2. Egg (Up B, which will be referred to as egg from now on)
If Yoshi air dodges, which it will all the time if in range, nothing will happen and he should be at the ledge. However problems arise if egg is used. If egg is used and Yoshi can still not make it to the ledge, Yoshi will continue to spam the egg to no end until he dies. This means Yoshi can not use Jump -> Egg -> Air dodge, because once egg is activated he can’t stop spamming it until his eventual death.
The second part of the recovery issue are his SD’s. Yoshi has an issue where if he is about to grab ledge he will decide to use an attack just before grabbing it. However, due to certain move usage this can cause him to no longer be able to grab the ledge and he will fall to his death. This is why we DON’T USE FORWARD AIR. Forward air is powerful and strong but is the main reason for this AI flaw and will cause your yoshi to sd. If you get hit by Forward air or use it by accident make sure to reset.
Overall Playstyle + How to Train the Yoshi amiibo
Yoshi is meant to build up damage through strong built in combos and then kill using a strong smash attack or through juggling. Yoshi will build up damage through two moves: Up tilt and Forward tilt. These two moves have many built in combos including the following:
- (Occasionally) Up Tilt – Up Smash
- Up Tilt – Up Air
- Forward Tilt – Up Air
- Forward Tilt – Neutral Air
These combos will be Yoshi’s bread and butter at low and high percentages. Up air can kill insanely early and these moves will lead into it nicely. Out of these make sure to prioritize Forward tilt combos over Up tilt ones because Forward tilt has more horizontal range, meaning it will connect more. Also when using up tilt combos focus mostly on Up tilt to Up air and only use Up tilt to Up smash when the opponent is high enough that they are nowhere near the ground.
Once you get your opponents to high enough percentages. Yoshi will need a strong K.O. move. Forward smash should be taken advantage of massively in this area. Forward smash is insanely strong and has a large horizontal range. Even at low percentages Forward smash is extremely good. This should be used frequently during training, however, make sure to use Forward tilt more than Forward smash.
Once your opponent is above you Yoshi can shine. Yoshi has two moves that should be used when catching landings. Up smash, and Up air. Up smash is very strong and has a large range. Up air is very strong and can kill very early. Up smash should be used more frequently than Up air, as Yoshi will become very jumpy otherwise. Do not use Up smash when the opponent is on the ground as Yoshi should utilize forward tilt and Forward smash on the ground.
When your opponent is off stage Yoshi can have two options here, off-stage play or ledge guarding. Yoshi should stay on stage however for a few reasons
- Limited move availability – Out of all his aerials nair would be the only reasonable option. Down air is not good off stage, Forward air is terrible as it will make yoshi sd, Up air will do nothing off stage. Neutral air is your only option
- Small hit box – while neutral air is strong it has a relatively small hit box
- Sweet spot – Neutral air is strongest when it first comes out and will do relatively nothing once out for too long (which most of the time it will be)
- Easily gimped – if the opponent gets back to stage before Yoshi, yoshi is in immediate disadvantage. Yoshi’s recovery is not good and will struggle to get back to stage
Since off stage play is not great for Yoshi, it should be taught down tilt at ledge. Yoshi on its own will use egg at ledge which is very effective. This does not need to be taught and will be used on its own. Down tilt is very effective and can two frame many opponents, gimping them.
When Yoshi is landing two moves should be utilized. Down air and Neutral air. Down air if used too often will cause yoshi to spam it, which will take away from the other great aerials attacks. This is why Neutral air should be used more than Down air, and Down air should only be used when landing.
When Yoshi is landing three moves should be utilized. Down air, Down B, and Neutral air. Down air and Down B if used too often will cause yoshi to spam it, which will take away from the other great aerial attacks. This is why Neutral air should be used a lot more than Down air and Down B, and Down air should only be used, very sparingly, when landing. Down B should be used about the same amount, if not more, than Down air.
Parrying and Shielding are BOTH good on Yoshi. Parrying is very good because it helps in his bad matchups against sword characters like Mii Swordfighter. Shielding is very good because Yoshi can shield attacks without worrying about shielding poking. This is because his shield stays in the egg shape the entire duration it is out. Shielding I find to be better on tiers like B and below, while parrying is useful on amiibo in the higher tiers, B+ and up.
Dash attack can be used optionally, however majority of the time you will want to stay walking, and this move can make Yoshi spam it, so if you do decide to use it, use only once or twice.
Once completed Yoshi should be grounded using Forward tilt and a little bit of up tilt combos while using f smash frequently. Once the opponent is in the air Yoshi should mainly catch them with Up smash, sometimes with up air juggling, and Yoshi should not have the SD problem.
Why It Works
Yoshi has a lot of power and range but struggles off stage due to recovery and AI issues. By keeping Yoshi on stage and utilizing his strong moves like Up air and good combos like Forward tilt combos, Yoshi shines and is able to keep up with many good amiibo.
– Mythricity
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