#takashi tezuka says yoshi is a turtle

[lore-of-the-mushroom-kingdom]

Developer Interviews And Miyamoto Quotes Are Not The End All Be All Of Mario Lore

So something that I come across way to often is people taking developer interviewers or Miyamoto quotes as gospel, and that anything that contradictions them including the games themself is just wrong. This also something I only see happen with Mario lore, because as soon Miyamoto says something wrong about the Zelda Lore, people get on him for it. Now I am not saying Miyamoto and Developer interviews can't be used for gaining lore about the games. I have done so myself with Waluigi, Captain Toad, and Donkey Kong to name a few. What I am saying it's not always reliable, could have been retconned like with the Star Child Yoshi (I'll explain in a future post), or just straight up wrong.

So for Miyamoto, Miyamoto has had a history people have noticed where often times whenever he's asked questions about lore he either changes the subject, says something blatantly false, or turns it into a Scott Cawthon level joke. So I'll give a few examples here alongside, and I hope to add more to this list in the future, and I'll eventually make a link to my Zelda Lore Blog when I create that list.

The first thing is Bowser's Junior's mother which is in the joke camp, which originates from the video Miyamoto Answers Popular Fan Questions. You have one that is a mix of both humorous and serious in the suggestion Dr. Mario is not a legitimate Doctor. This can be seen in Mario's Creators Answer Burning Questions About The Series, Don't Compare Him To Disney: Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto on The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Miyamoto Answers Popular Fan Questions. A suggestion that in universe is incorrect, I expand upon this in a future post which I will link. When it came to Miyamoto saying Mario's last name is Mario, he also claimed Link's last name was Link clearly making a joke out of it. This can be seen in the video 51 Rapid-Fire Questions About The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild. More pending. Meanwhile when it comes to other examples we have. Takashi Tezuka claiming Yoshi is a Koopa/Turtle. But in the manuals, descriptions, and in game dialogue Yoshi are only ever established to be Dinosaurs/Dragons. Never once are they implied to be Koopas/ Turtles. Koichi Hayashida once claimed Toads weren't Mushrooms. Another claim that contradicts the manuals, descriptions, and in universe dialogue alongside other details. Something I plan to make a future post about. So you might be wondering, how should can we discern what is useful or not useful at all. Well...

If it's not done in the form of a joke, given that's one of the most obvious.

If there was nothing in game to go off of, and in addition to being repeated elsewhere that further cements it's validity. Like with Donkey Kong for example.

If it is meant to clarify something like with Captain Toad.

If it's something that would have obviously been retconned.

If it is backed up by the games and manuals like with Waluigi or the Bowser Kingdom.

If it doesn't contradict the games and manuals like with Yoshi.

If it's not a quote mine.(This happens a lot)

Priority for lore should be in-game dialogue and descriptions, then the Japanese manuals, then the manuals, then website information, then developer interviews, and then stuff Miyamoto says.

In addition to that last one, if only one source claims it and everything else contradicts that one source then the single source is wrong. Case in point, DK64's line.

[lore-of-the-mushroom-kingdom]

Are Yoshis Dinosaurs, Dragons, Or Turtles Part 1

So you may ask what is Yoshi supposed to be? Well here's some information that may help us figure out. So, in the Super Mario Bros. 4 Super Mario World section of the Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition Wii booklet on page 13, Takashi Tezuka said that Yoshi was supposed to be a Koopa and that his saddle is a shell. "Yoshi was originally supposed to be a type of Koopa. That saddle you see on his back was actually his shell." It makes sense since Baby Yoshi's lack shells, and shells are detachable are more like a type of clothing or armor in the Mario world. Not to mention the probable existence of mass produced disposable shells. Also, apparently in 2016 on the Japanese Nintendo a bio for Yoshi showed up saying, "Even though there's a shell on his back, we don't know if he is a dinosaur or a turtle." I don't know if that last one there is correct, if anyone can confirm this for me let me know.

In a Nintendo Dream 2019 interview involving Yoshi's Crafted world Takashi Tezuka would bring talk about this again. "We talked about this in a previous interview for the SNES Classic Edition, but Yoshi is a turtle, isn’t he? Tezuka: Yes, I had to always insist he was a turtle… (All laugh) Because we wanted a character that wouldn’t feel out of place in the Mario universe, we decided on a turtle. It might have been Miyamoto’s idea but I’m not entirely sure. I think because the message you can read at Yoshi’s house says ‘Super Dragon’ people thought that he might have been a dinosaur (The Japanese word for dinosaur contains the character for dragon). Tezuka: I think we wrote that without really thinking about it too much. (laughs),"

So Yoshi MIGHT be a type of turtle, they do have some superficial similarities. This might also could the constant fights Bowser and Kamek start with the Yoshies, if Yoshies are a type of Turtle they are ones that work against the Koopa Kingdom. Yoshi's Tospy Turvy makes more sense.

However, for the longest of time there has been the debate on whether or not Yoshi is a dinosaur or dragon, let's take a dive into that. So Japanese has 2 words for dragon, one is ryu which is used for eastern dragons, and the other is doragon which is used for western dragons. The Japanese word for dinosaur is Kyoryu, which comprised of 2 kanji, with a literal meaning of scary dragon.

So, as we know Yoshi has been called a dragon and a dinosaur countless times. In the Super Mario Bros. 4 Super Mario World manual on page 2 he is called a dinosaur. "Suddenly hatched, and out popped a young dinosaur named YOSHI." The Japanese version of the Manual, at Yoshi's house in Super Mario World, and the back of the Japanese box call him a dragon. The house sign is signed Super Dragon Yoshi. The Box's story description has the line "the remaining pair Mario and Luigi joined forces with the mysterious Dragon Yoshi" Box art source Japanese Mario World is VERY Different - Region Break. He is called a dragon in Super Mario Galaxy. "Yoshi the space dragon. Listen here, dino-dragon things!" His description in Mario Party DS calls him a dinosaur. "He's everyone's favorite cute dino!" In Paper Mario: Color Splash they are called Dino-Dragons. "Hello friend! Please go around back!" This last part is telling, dinosaurs and dragons might be the same thing in the Mario canon alongside other creatures.

Dorries are called see dragons in Super Mario 64, though they are a marine reptile. Dino Rhinos and Reznors look like ceratopsian dinosaurs and can breath fire like dragons. Rexs are called dragons in Japanese but are stated to look like dinosaurs and are expected to be from Dinosaur land. This would be similar to the real life grouping of dinosaurs alongside other extinct reptiles under the term dragon.

So, while Tezuka claims Yoshi is a turtle and a type of Koopa, many sources in game or the manuals call Yoshi a dinosaur or dragon which both seem to mean the same thing in the Mario world. So it seems like the debate should be whether or not Yoshi is a dino-dragon or a species of Turtle. Note, a follow-up on this post is in the works.