Yoshi is one of the most beloved Nintendo characters in the history of the Big N and the Super Mario universe. What many don’t know about the past of Yoshi and his initial artistic concepts, is that the character became a dinosaur instead of a horse for various design and concept reasons.
We have to go back to the original thought of Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mariowho always wanted that Mario had a mount. Hence the first thing when thinking about a mount was a horse. But the limitations of the time at a technological level and the NES
With the arrival of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)the improved graphical capabilities of the console allowed for a greater variety of characters, designs, and concepts. This is where the creation of Yoshi as a character was greatly facilitated. One that also h as a really distinctive appearance.
Why did Yoshi end up being a dinosaur instead of a horse?
Dinosaurs were especially popular in late 19th century culture. 80s and early 90s which was right where Super Mario was just establishing itself as a franchise. This popularity influenced the decision Nintendo to opt for a dinosaur instead of a horse for Yoshi.
It may seem like a simple decision, but there was much more behind it. In fact, the legendary Takashi Tezuka He declared years ago, about the creation of the little dinosaur Yoshi:
“Shigeru Miyamoto wanted Mario to ride a horse. When we were making Super Mario Bros. 3, he drew a picture of Mario on a horse and hung it on a wall near where he used to sit. I would look at it and think, ‘I think he really wants Mario to ride something. ’ When we started making Super Mario World, we started out working with the concept of a dinosaur land, so I asked Hino to make art of some kind of reptile.”
Design to Yoshi as a dinosaur allowed him to be granted unique abilities, such as:
- Eat enemies
- Spit fire
- Fly briefly and lay eggs, etc.
He design de Yoshi As a dinosaur, it also allowed Nintendo’s artists to create a colorful and expressive character that better fit the visual style the Big N wanted for the Mario franchise.