Topic: Series Series - Wii in Third - Next Round finally up!

[Caterkiller]

The question should have been, "what is on Yoshi's back? Saddle or Shell? Obvious answer being a shell.

[UltimatePartyBear]

Is Mario a species other than human because he has special powers?  Or is that just something we overlook for the sake of gameplay?  If we're willing to overlook that, then why the hangup on Yoshi?

Also, "Dinosaur" isn't a species.  Triceratops and Utahraptor don't look much alike, but they're both dinosaurs.

[Halbred]

Yeah, it's clearly a shell. He hatches with it, for pete's sake.

[TJ Spyke]

The games have made explicitly said that Mario is human, and that "Yoshi" is a species. Also, Mario himself has no special powers, it's the items that give him powers.

[Mop it up]

Yoshi is a dinosaur by land, a dragon by air.

And a reptile by sea?

The games have made explicitly said that "Yoshi" is a species.

Show me a game which specifically puts the words "Yoshi" and "species" into one sentence, and maybe I will believe it.

[MegaByte]

It doesn't help that the coins with Yoshi's face on them are called "Dragon Coins" in the US manual. (Plus there's the "Super Dragon" final smash in Brawl).

In the Japanese version of Super Mario World, Yoshi signs the message at his house as "Super Dragon Yoshi"

[UltimatePartyBear]

The games have made explicitly said that Mario is human, and that "Yoshi" is a species. Also, Mario himself has no special powers, it's the items that give him powers.

Yoshi's dragon-like powers are granted by items, too.  Thanks for missing the point.

[TJ Spyke]

The games have made explicitly said that "Yoshi" is a species.

Show me a game which specifically puts the words "Yoshi" and "species" into one sentence, and maybe I will believe it.

Maybe not those exact words ("species"), but the wording makes it clear that anyone with common sense will see that the species is Yoshi. Some examples:

*All of the Mario Super Sluggers profiles (there are 5 Yoshis in it) say something like "A speedy Yoshi with all-around skills."
*His Super Smash Bros. Melee Classic profile says: "Yoshi's are gentle, fleet-of-foot dinosaurs that make their home on idyllic Yoshi's Island."
*His profile on Mario Superstar Baseball includes: "Yoshi's use their tongues to eat anything and everything. It is said that Yoshi's can turn anything they swallow into eggs."

There is also the fact that many games use multiple Yoshis (i.e. Red Yoshi, Blue Yoshi, Yellow Yoshi).

[Mop it up]

If it doesn't specifically say that Yoshi is a species, it isn't explicit, it is indicative. Anyone who lives in an individualistic society (read: America) will want to interpret Yoshi as being a species, and there being a "main" green Yoshi named "Yoshi," in order to make him feel more like a unique character.

[TheBlackCat]

If he was a dragon, he would have leathery wings, but he has feathered wings, hence he is a dinosaur (since only dinosaurs have feathers).  He also lays eggs shaped like bird eggs, which also indicates he is a dinosaur.  Plus his two-legged stance with legs directly under his body and smaller forelimbs useful only for grasping (at most) is characteristic of therapod dinosaurs, while most dragons you see walk on all fours (although they might be able to use their front limbs for grasping on occasion, there front and rear legs are much closer in size).

Also, if Yoshi lays eggs, doesn't that mean he's actually a she?  All yoshis seem to lay eggs, so they must either be asexual (which means yoshi is a she) or hermaphrodites (which means yoshi is really both).  We can't tell which because we never actually see Yoshi lay an egg with another yoshi in it as far as I am aware.

[Mop it up]

Personally I think Yoshi is a hermaphrodite (and I can't help but think Birdo is too).

But, if Yoshi's eggs don't hatch a Yoshi, are we sure they are eggs? I mean, Yoshi has the ability to turn anything he swallows into an egg, so could they perhaps be egg-shaped feces of some sort?

[Stratos]

Maybe "Yoshi" is the female and "Birdo" is the male? (a very confused male, but still a male)

[TheBlackCat]

But, if Yoshi's eggs don't hatch a Yoshi, are we sure they are eggs? I mean, Yoshi has the ability to turn anything he swallows into an egg, so could they perhaps be egg-shaped feces of some sort?

Feces doesn't usually have a shell.  Also, they look identical to the eggs that do hatch yoshis.  Also, I am not sure yoshi is so much "turning" it into an egg, it might be more like eating the enemy then using the nutrients to build an egg (birds do need to eat a lot before laying eggs).  There is also the fact that the input and output size rarely matches up.

[King of Twitch]

I have questions. What kind of intestinal system could the Yoshi's have that can propel the eggs at such a speed and distance, and with such accuracy? Are there any similar features in real-life dinosaurs? Was it originally a defense mechanism? Or did Mario, (like Olimar with the Pikmin) later show the Yoshi's how to use them offensively against predators? Or is it a spring-loaded mechanism that Doctor Mario implants into the backside of every Yoshi? Why would Mario make such a device? Why not just make a gun? Could Bowser use that for evil in the next Super Mario RPG? Could they port Super Mario RPG to 3DS? How could animals that size grab the nutrients so quickly before passing it along as an egg? Or is it a separate digestive system altogether, like a separate gizzard?

[Mop it up]

Feces doesn't usually have a shell.  Also, they look identical to the eggs that do hatch yoshis.  Also, I am not sure yoshi is so much "turning" it into an egg, it might be more like eating the enemy then using the nutrients to build an egg (birds do need to eat a lot before laying eggs).  There is also the fact that the input and output size rarely matches up.

The feces could be egg-shaped, in both appearance and composition, as a way to protect a Yoshi's real eggs. How many predictors would dare to eat Yoshi eggs after they sample one and it tastes like poo? And it would be likely that the feces of both males and females look like eggs, which would explain the male Yoshi "laying" eggs. Yoshi has the ability to encase things or creatures into eggs though, so the shell could be composed of... something the Yoshi can create.

Maybe "Yoshi" is the female and "Birdo" is the male? (a very confused male, but still a male)

So you think they are both of the same species? Or they're different species, but every Yoshi is female and every Birdo is male, so they go together? I've wondered the same thing before, but that's overthinking it. And it's fantasy so it's probably best to not overthink it.

[TheBlackCat]

I have questions. What kind of intestinal system could the Yoshi's have that can propel the eggs at such a speed and distance, and with such accuracy?

First, eggs are not formed in the intestinal system, they are formed in the reproductive system.  Second, Yoshi does not propel the eggs out of anything, he throws them. 

Are there any similar features in real-life dinosaurs?

We don't know much about the behavior of dinosaurs.  For all we know dinosaurs that seemed to die near nests may have been the victim of an attack.

Or did Mario, (like Olimar with the Pikmin) later show the Yoshi's how to use them offensively against predators?

Unlikely, considering the Yoshis were already able to do it when Mario was still an infant.

Why not just make a gun?

Because eggs are a lot cooler, of course.

Could Bowser use that for evil in the next Super Mario RPG?

I don't think Bowser is quite that smart.  The best he seems to be able to come up with is a flying smiley face (don't even get me started in the physics of that thing).

How could animals that size grab the nutrients so quickly before passing it along as an egg? Or is it a separate digestive system altogether, like a separate gizzard?

A gizzard doesn't really do much digestion, it is more from crushing and grinding stuff, especially for animals that lack teeth (a category which Yoshi may fall into).

[TheBlackCat]

Yoshi has the ability to encase things or creatures into eggs though, so the shell could be composed of... something the Yoshi can create.

I don't recall him doing this outside of smash bros, and that was a change necessary for the sake of balance (you can't have Yoshi or Kirby instantly kill anyone they eat like they do in their own games).  Do you have any examples from a real Mario or Yoshi game?

[Mop it up]

I'm not sure, I don't really play Yoshi games. But since the Mario series has no continuity, I take everything into consideration and not just the "real" ones. The real ones to me are the spin-offs, since they delve deeper into the universe than the platformers.

[King of Twitch]

Thanks TheBlackCat you rule.

[UncleBob]

Yoshi: Dragon, Dinosaur, or something else...

Dragon    - 5 (26.3%)
Dinosaur    - 3 (15.8%)
Both    - 3 (15.8%)
Neither, he's a Yoshi.    - 8 (42.1%)
Neither, something else (leave a comment)    - 0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 19

[TJ Spyke]

I have to go with Mario Kart DS, although Mario Kart Wii is not far behind.

[vudu]

Tough call, really.  My personal favorites are 64 and Wii, but that's mostly because I had people to play those games with on a regular basis.

So much of Mario Kart is dependent on the multi-player so you don't get the full experience by yourself.  I played battle mode on MK64 for hours; and while I sunk a lot of time into the GP mode of Wii, I didn't play the battle mode for more than a couple hours at most.

I'm going to have to vote Wii just because it's the freshest in my mind.

[BeautifulShy]

I'm going with Super Mario Kart because it is the most enjoyable to me. It had lots of shortcuts. The item selection was great. the multiplayer was fun.

[Caterkiller]

Mario Kart DS! If not for evil snakes I might be playing it right now. I might say wii but I still need to get it back form my brother.

[Stratos]

I still don't see the issue of snaking. But then again, maybe I snake myself and don't realize it so that is why it's not a problem for me. I am power slide happy in the MK games.

I'm torn between the DS and N64 ones for #1.

Though I would rank the Wii and GC ones in a sure 3rd and 4th respectively.

Then it gets tricky for me. I loved SNES Kart back in the day. My sister, dad and myself would play that one for hours. But it is just so unplayable for me now-a-days. I might go for MK GP instead since I found that to be a solid and enjoyable release. A pity the two arcade games never came to consoles. Maybe once MKWii sales drop they could release the two arcade games at a budget price with motion controls added in? Kinda like a NPC thing. The arcade game does give me a vibe of MK DS though. Probably because of how it brought back single kart racing.

I never played the GBA one outside of once or twice at a demo kiosk so it is automatically last because I didn't like what I played of it. I'll vote for Arcade GP2 over it because it is probably at least as decent as the first one.

At the end of this series poll you should do a quick poll asking us where we would place Diddy Kong Racing on the final list. I'd probably place it in 4th myself from my current list.

1-N64
2-DS
3-Wii
4-DKR
5-GC
6-GP1
7-SNES
8-GP2
9-GBA