Mario Was Originally Punching Yoshi in The Head

By Hope Corrigan

In the original Super Mario World, it has been confirmed that the animation used when Yoshi sticks out his tongue is meant to depict Mario punching him in the head.

An official Nintendo interview (via Kotaku) with Super Mario World developers Takashi Tezuka and Shigefumi Hino revealed details about how Yoshi came to be and elements of his design, including one specific animation.

“Lots of people think that while Mario is pointing his finger forward, he’s saying ‘Go,’ and Yoshi’s tongue comes out,” Hino said. “However, the set up that I drew was that when Mario punches Yoshi in the head, the character’s tongue shoots out in surprise.”

Tezuka explains that the popular dinosaur came about because Miyamoto seemed to want Mario to ride a horse.

“When we were making [Super Mario Bros. 3], he drew a picture of Mario riding a horse and had put it up on wall next to where he sits. When I saw that, I thought, ‘I guess he wants Mario to ride something.’ So, when we were making Super Mario World, we had this ‘dinosaur land’ concept, and I had Hino draw reptile type art,” Tezuka said.

Hino originally produced a much more reptilian design that didn't really fit in the Mario world, so Tezuka and Hino worked together to create a cuter character which became Yoshi.

Unfortunately, this new more adorable design didn't save Yoshi from being punched in the head.

Hino goes on to clarify the passivist change to the animation, saying “There’s an added ‘bop’ sound. However, it seemed like people would say ‘Poor Yoshi,’ so that’s why it became that Mario is saying ‘Go.’”

Mario has changed a lot over the years from this dinosaur beater — most recently Nintendo even confirmed that the plucky hero is no longer a plumber.

His newest adventure Super Mario Odyssey is out next month and feels like it's taking cues from Zelda: Breath of the Wild. And for those looking to revisits Super Mario World, and this animation, the game is part of the SNES Classic, which IGN recently reviewed.

Hope Corrigan is an Australian freelance writer for IGN who is shocked and appalled! You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

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