Today, I'm going to try and figure out one of the many questions that has yet to have a full-on answer;
"Why do Yoshis always have shoes on"?
A very intriguing question indeed. Why DO they always have shoes on? Why do they never take them off? Well, today, I plan to answer those questions so that maybe, JUST maybe, we can make some inter-species connections in the Mario universe. Why? Because SCIENCE!
So, the first thing we have to analyze is this; the egg. Why the egg? Because, straight from birth, Baby Yoshis have their boots on. This has led many to believe that the boots are just the Yoshi species' TRUE feet. But that just isn't true. Sure, they're born with them and always wear them. This must mean that they don't ever want to take them off, right? Well, not exactly.
Take a look back to Super Mario RPG, where on Yoshi's Island (called Yo'ster Isle in-game), there's a blue, punk-like Yoshi named Boshi (or, in japan, Washi, like Wario and Waluigi's names). One key aspect about Boshi is that he wear shoes that don't completely cover his feet. From this, we see that the Yoshi species has 3-toed paws (which is what I'll be calling them from this point forward). And yet, it goes BEYOND that!
Recently, I found this picture on the Mario Wiki: http://41.media.tumblr.com/430f2a211b19cecf52f7a3b14b0... That, my friends, is Yoshi without a shoe. But one other key aspect that is revealed about the Yoshi species is that they have white pads on the bottom of their paws. Well, since it's clear that they have pawpads, why do they always keep their shoes on? Are they shy about people seeing their paws? Are the shoes too comfortable to take off?
Well, perhaps it's the fact that their pawpads are too soft, and thus, too weak to use while adventuring and such. To help with this theory, let's take a look at another 3-toed, single-padded species of the Mushroom Kingdom; the Koopas. There are many members of the Koopa kind, but we're just going to look at one specific member that has, ever since his debut, decided to stick with being bare-pawed and shoe-less. This member is none other than the great Koopa King, Bowser.
Bowser always walks around without any protection of his pads. He can do anything without protection of his paws, while it seems that Yoshi cannot. With this in mind, this must mean that Bowser's race (as well as a few other members of the Koopa species) has adapted to tough conditions, which would explain why he never really hurts his feet. This would also mean that Yoshi's pads, compared to Bowser's, are too soft and vulnerable to use in tough conditions. And this is only further proven by a cousin(?) of the Yoshi Species...Birdo.
Birdo (the poor gender-confused bastard) always walks around without shoes either, meaning that (s)he must have durable pads, like Bowser does. Plus, (s)he's Yoshi's exact size! Why Yoshi's paws are barely as strong and durable as even Birdo's, I'm not even sure of. Maybe the little guy just needs some exorcise. Either way, it seems that the conclusion to this mystery is: Yoshis always have their shoes on to protect their vulnerable paws from extreme conditions. And to be honest, those shoes hold up pretty well, so it's easy to see exactly why they'd always wear them! That's all I've got for now, but who knows? Maybe there's more to it. Ya never know.
What do you guys think about this analysis? Do you guys have your own theories as to why Yoshi never takes off his shoes or walks around bare-pawed? Or perhaps you have other mysteries that you'd like to have solved? Let me know in the comments below!
I hope you all liked this, and I'll talk to you guys later! ^w^
