Nintendo Reveals Surprising Fact About Yoshi’s Origins and His Saddle

Ready for some good ol’ Nintendo lore? Today, Nintendo of America took to twitter to share some old-school facts about Mario’s best bud and trusty steed, Yoshi. While we got to know the Yoshi of current Super Mario “canon” a little better in the classic Yoshi’s Island, some behind the scenes knowledge about the character is always fun to have. Here’s what Nintendo said:

The on-and-off debate over whether Yoshi has a saddle or a shell has been settled once more with a simple answer: technically, both. The saddle was meant to be a shell in its original design, but the red half-bulb on Yoshi’s back is specifically meant for a rider. But, fate led the designers down a different path, and Yoshi bridged from Koopa to companion, which is probably a good thing for Mario in the long run.

Yoshi first appeared in 1990’s Super Mario World for the SNES, but plans for the creation of a ‘dinosaur companion’ to assist Super Mario in his adventures ran all the way back to the first Super Mario game. Unfortunately, according to Shigeru Miyamoto himself, software limitations meant that Yoshi wouldn’t debut until some time later. Since then, Yoshi has appeared in a number of Super Mario franchise games, including a few where he played the title hero. The character even appeared in the Super Mario Bros. live action film, as an animatronic puppet that required nine different people to operate it. Yoshi’s most recent game, Yoshi’s Woolly World, landed on the Wii U in 2015, and the character can be seen in the most recent, smash-hit Super Mario game for the Nintendo Switch, Super Mario Odyssey.