If you played the original Super Mario RPG on the SNES back in the nineties, you probably remember the first time you stepped onto Yo'ster Isle. It was a vibe. But then you saw him. The shades. The spiked collar. The bad attitude. Boshi wasn't just another dinosaur; he was the first time many of us realized that a Yoshi could actually be a jerk.
He’s basically the Wario of the Yoshi world.
Honestly, it’s kind of wild that Nintendo and Square Enix (then just Square) took the most wholesome creature in gaming history and gave him a rebel phase. In the 2023 Nintendo Switch remake, Boshi is still there, looking sharper than ever in HD, and he’s still the same gatekeeping speedster who refuses to let anyone else race unless they bring the cookies. People often get confused about his role, thinking he’s a boss you have to fight with Mario’s hammers and jumps. He isn’t. He’s a mechanical hurdle, a mini-game wall, and a piece of world-building that makes the Mushroom Kingdom feel way bigger than just Bowser’s latest kidnapping plot.
Why Boshi in Super Mario RPG Isn't Your Typical Villain
Most villains in Mario games want to take over a kingdom or steal some stars. Boshi just wants to be the fastest guy on a tropical island. He’s the self-proclaimed leader of the Yoshis on Yo'ster Isle, and he’s kind of a dictator about it. After winning the Mushroom Derby, he basically cancelled the races for everyone else.
It’s a low-stakes villainy that feels strangely personal.
When you first meet him, he’s standing apart from the other Yoshis. While they’re all rounded and friendly, Boshi has these sharp, angular sunglasses and a lone-wolf persona. He doesn't even use a saddle. That’s a huge detail. Every other Yoshi is basically evolved to be ridden, but Boshi’s lack of a saddle is a silent protest against being a tool for some plumber. He’s his own dinosaur.
The Japanese Name Connection
If you look at the original Japanese script, his name is Washi. It’s a simple play on words—taking "Yoshi" and swapping the "Y" for the "W" from "Warui" (meaning bad), exactly how Mario became Wario. In the West, we got Boshi, which actually fits the "Bad Yoshi" vibe perfectly without needing a linguistics degree.
Cracking the Mushroom Derby
You can’t just jump on Boshi’s back and trigger a fight. To take him down, you have to beat him at his own game: the Mushroom Derby. This is where a lot of players get frustrated. The rhythm game mechanics are deceptively tricky because the music is catchy as hell, but the timing is strict.
Here’s the thing: you have to alternate buttons. It’s A and B, back and forth, in time with the beat.
If you just mash them, Yoshi gets confused and stops. You have to feel the percussion. If you're struggling, watch the icons at the bottom of the screen, but honestly? It’s better to close your eyes and listen to the drum track. Once you beat him, the social hierarchy of Yo'ster Isle shifts. But Boshi doesn't disappear in a puff of smoke like Smithy’s goons. He stays. He mellows out—just a little bit—and the island becomes a place where the races can finally continue.
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The Yoshi Cookie Economy
Everything with Boshi revolves around Yoshi Cookies. These aren't just collectibles; they're the currency of his ego. You need them to challenge him, and you get them by interacting with the other Yoshis or winning races. It’s a closed-loop economy that exists entirely separate from the Gold Coins you’re collecting to buy armor for Geno or Mallow.
Is He Actually Evil?
Not really. Boshi is more of an anti-hero who failed the "hero" part. He’s a jerk. He’s selfish. He’s arrogant. But in the grand scheme of Super Mario RPG, he’s one of the few characters who represents a "civilian" conflict.
The game is brilliant because it mixes world-ending stakes (the Star Road shattering) with these tiny, localized dramas. Boshi is the king of a tiny pond. When Mario shows up, he doesn't care about the Smithy Gang. He doesn't care about the Seven Stars. He just wants to know if you're fast enough to keep up.
There’s a nuance here that modern Mario games sometimes miss. In the SNES era, characters had these weird, jagged edges. Boshi is a prime example. He has a spiked collar—where did he even get that? Who is making punk-rock accessories for Yoshis? The game never explains it, and it doesn't have to. The mystery makes him cooler.
The 2023 Remake: What Changed?
When Nintendo announced the remake, fans were worried Boshi might get "sanitized." They thought maybe his attitude would be dialed back or his design would be softened to fit the modern, polished Yoshi aesthetic.
Thankfully, they kept him exactly as he was.
The main difference is the visual clarity. In the 1996 version, Boshi was a cluster of blue pixels. He looked cool, but you had to fill in the blanks with your imagination. In the Switch version, the textures on his scales and the reflection in his shades are crisp. The rhythm game also feels a bit more responsive, likely due to the improved hardware, though input lag on some modern TVs can actually make it harder than it was on a CRT.
- The Visuals: Higher saturation, but the "tough guy" slouch remains.
- The Music: The remastered track for Yo'ster Isle keeps that bongo-heavy rhythm that’s essential for timing your button presses.
- The Dialogue: Still punchy. Still dismissive.
Hidden Mechanics and Yoshi Athletics
A lot of people don't realize that Boshi is actually the key to getting some of the best healing items in the game. Once you've settled the score with him, you can use the Yoshi Cookies to summon Yoshi in battle.
If you use a Cookie on an enemy, Yoshi pops up and tries to eat them. If he succeeds, he turns them into an item. If he fails, he usually gives you a "Yoshi Candy." It’s a gambling mechanic that adds a layer of strategy to standard turn-based fights. Boshi is the catalyst for this whole system. Without the Derby, the Yoshi-summoning mechanic feels much less earned.
The Fat Yoshi Evolution
There’s also the "Baby Yoshi" on the island. If you feed him enough cookies—which you get from racing—he turns into a massive, round Yoshi that gives you rare items like Red Essence. While Boshi isn't directly involved in the feeding, his presence as the "final boss" of the races is what drives the player to engage with the cookie system in the first place.
Why We Never Saw Him Again
It’s one of the great tragedies of the Mario franchise. Boshi is a "Square-era" character. Because Super Mario RPG was a co-production, many of the original characters like Geno, Mallow, and Boshi fell into a legal gray area for decades.
While Yoshi's species has seen many colors (Red, Blue, Yellow, Pink, even Black and White), the specific character of Boshi—with those shades and that collar—has remained trapped in this specific game. He didn't make it into Mario Kart. He hasn't appeared in Mario Party.
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He’s a relic of a time when Nintendo was willing to let outside developers get weird with their IP.
Strategy for the Win
If you're staring down Boshi right now and losing your mind because he keeps pulling ahead at the last second, stop looking at the racers.
Seriously.
Look at the green and yellow icons at the bottom. The rhythm is a simple "1-2, 1-2." But the game throws a curveball: you can use a "boost" by consuming a cookie mid-race. Don't waste your cookies the moment the race starts. Boshi always has a burst of speed near the end. Save your boosts for the final stretch to counteract his rubber-banding AI.
Also, talk to the other Yoshis. Some of them give you hints about his movement patterns. It’s one of the few areas in the game where "grinding" doesn't mean fighting monsters; it means getting your rhythm down until it’s muscle memory.
The Legacy of the Blue Outlaw
Boshi remains a cult favorite because he represents a version of the Mario world that feels lived-in. He’s not a minion. He’s not a hero. He’s just a guy who’s really into racing and really into himself.
In a world of Toads who all look the same and Yoshis who are all equally helpful, Boshi stands out by being difficult. He’s a reminder that even in a colorful, candy-coated RPG, there’s room for a little bit of teenage rebellion.
Actionable Steps for Players
- Calibration Check: Before challenging Boshi in the Switch remake, ensure your controller isn't suffering from Bluetooth lag. If you're on a TV, turn on "Game Mode." The rhythm window for the Mushroom Derby is tight, and even a few milliseconds of delay will make you fail.
- Cookie Hoarding: Don't spend all your Yoshi Cookies on Boshi immediately. Win a few easy races against the other Yoshis first to build up a surplus. You’ll want that safety net for when you inevitably mess up the beat.
- The Reward: After winning, remember to head back to the baby Yoshi. The cookies you earn from the revamped races are the only way to "evolve" the baby and unlock the Red Essence, which grants temporary invincibility—a literal lifesaver for the post-game boss rematches.
- Observe the Shades: If you’re struggling with the beat, watch the way Boshi moves. He stays perfectly on rhythm. If you can mirror his physical movement frequency, you’ll stay neck-and-neck until you can use a cookie to pull ahead.