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• Yoshi: Evolution of a Dinosaur

  well, he might not even be a "he" at all -- since he does have a habit of laying eggs. His name is Yoshi. And he's been with us now for 20 years.

  Super Mario Galaxy 2's arrival in 2010 has marked the event, as, aside from being the next big sequel in Nintendo's main Mario series, the game's also served as an anniversary marker for one of its franchise's key secondary stars -- Yoshi the Dinosaur. It's an important and maybe overlooked point, especially since it's hiding in plain sight right on the box art. But Yoshi's a character who's been on the backburner for a while -- a mascot whose history with Nintendo has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, as he's sometimes headlined games all by himself, sometimes been tossed into titles as a simple cameo or background character, and sometimes gone for years without seeing much action at all -- so it's an anniversary that might be easily missed.