Mario (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * This article is about Mario's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Mario.

Mario returns once again for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. His moveset is basically the same as the previous games, except that his Down Special Move has been changed to F.L.U.D.D., while Mario Tornado has become his Down Aerial.

His tier position (F tier) is the worst it has ever been, ranking 31 out of 37 (the lowest ranked character in the Mario series), compared to 5 of 12 in SSB, and 14 of 26 in SSBM, largely because his slightly nerfed range and power, lack of outstanding attributes (outside of edge-guarding), his huge lack of reach without the mobility to compensate for it, poor and unreliable recovery, his lack of finishers (which is made worse by the fact that they are all smashes only), and reduced hitstun (meaning weaker combos) result in slightly below average matchups.

Attributes
Mario is considered a beginner character that people can learn with. This is due to him having no major size or speed flaws and is considered all around and balanced. He is a middleweight, and he is well balanced. Despite being an average-sized middleweight, Mario is one of those who King Dedede can infinitely chain grab without a wall, which is a true problem at high level play. A major offensive flaw of Mario is his lack of finishers. His only attacks that can reliably KO under 150% are his forward smash and up smash. His other possible finishers are situational. For example, his forward aerial is a meteor smash which helps him edgeguard, but it is slow and can be difficult to meteor smash with, it has quite low knockback for a meteor smash as well, but if sour-spotted, it deals good horizontal knockback that can kill off-stage foes at high percentages. The back throw, while one of the strongest throws in the game, will have difficulty KOing without being on the edge, a problem made worse by how slow the throw is, making it very easy to DI. The fact that Mario lacks a reliable finisher that is not a smash attack makes getting KOs even more difficult, due to giving him less versatility. His forward special, the Cape, allows him to turn enemies around and reflect projectiles. The cape also propels him forward a little when used in the air. Additionally, the cape reverses momentum and can be used to Cape Glide which greatly enhances his edgeguarding capabilities. His Neutral Special, the Fireball, is spammable and helps him control the enemy's approach, it can also be used to hinder some characters offstage. His Down Special, F.L.U.D.D., has to be charged up and deals no damage but pushes enemies back similar to Kyogre or Water Gun which also can be used as edge-guard on recoveries like Link's Spin Attack. This can make it difficult to recover for some characters, while for others, it is a mere hindrance. Also, it takes a long time to charge, meaning Mario must wait a good amount of time before it is effective, although it can be saved by shielding and rolling. Excluding F.L.U.D.D. and Fireball, Mario does not have many long ranged attacks. For his recovery, he can wall jump and use his Cape, along with his Super Jump Punch. Super Jump Punch, however, is a relatively poor recovery move in general and is easily edge-guarded due to its predictable trajectory (straight upwards, slightly diagonal), though, it is considered to be a great out-of-shield option. F.L.U.D.D. can also be used to push him back horizontally. His Smash attacks are quick, so he can execute them with little start-up lag. He is also known for being a good juggler with his quick attacks and aerials.

Changes from Melee to Brawl
Mario has been slightly nerfed from Melee to Brawl. He has less options and cannot combo as effectively because of the reduced hitstun. Many of Mario's attacks are slightly weaker and/or have less range. For example, his fireballs travel considerably less distance and deal 1% less damage. On the upside, they now have slightly more hitstun and a larger hitbox. Mario now has a slightly smaller model. Mario also has a new down special move (F.L.U.D.D.) and down aerial (Mario Tornado), making his recovery worse because he can no longer preform the Rising Tornado technique. Mario's cape now reverses the enemy's momentum rather than just reversing their direction. However, it's no longer as effective as an edge-guarding technique due the auto ledge grab feature. On the upside, it is more effective in assisting recovery and disrupting the opponent. Mario's neutral aerial is weaker, and his forward aerial now requires a sweetspot to meteor smash (along with dealing 1% less damage and having lower knockback). However. it is much safer to meteor smash with due to Brawl's slower falling speed. His back aerial is also stronger. Mario's back throw now launches enemies more vertical than horizontally (somewhat like Dr. Mario) but was weakened by a rather large amount. Mario's forward smash is much more difficult to sweetspot but the sourspot was strengthen significantly, being capable of KOing below 150%.

In term of cosmetics, Mario has been updated graphically, with his overalls looking more realistic. His Fireballs look more realistic as well. While he has the same voice actor as in Melee, Mario now has a new voice, instead of having recycled voice clips from Super Mario 64. His back air now has the animation of his forward aerial in SSB. He no longer speaks during his first jump, and all of his jumps make variations of the "boing" noise from Super Mario Bros.; the pitch increases with each jump: the short ground and wall jumps make a shortened version, the high ground jump uses the unaltered standard version, and the second jump and Super Jump Punch each make higher pitched versions.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack - Jabs with his right, then his left, and then kicks with his right foot. All are from Super Mario 64. Beneficial in making combos. First hit jab locks character laying on the ground and does 3% damage, second punch does 2%, and kick does 4% for a total of 9%.
 * Forward Tilt - Does a roundhouse kick with his right leg. Has average damage and knockback, but has better reach than his other tilts (it is still short). Has some IASA frames. Does 8%.
 * Up Tilt - Delivers an uppercut while spinning. Similar to a move in Super Mario RPG. Average damage and above-average knockback. An excellent juggler that can be combod into itself, a up smash, and a uair juggle. 7% damage.
 * Down Tilt - Sweeps low to the ground with his leg. Though it has a very fast start-up, it deals very little damage, has high ending lag, low knockback, very low hitstun, and very short reach. Deals 5% if Mario's foot connects, while hitting with his leg/body deals 7%.
 * Dash Attack - Slides forward and kicks with both feet. Also from Super Mario 64. Has low diagonal knockback behind Mario that is difficult to follow up on. (Has IASA frames near the end.) Does 9% if connected with the initial hitbox, does 7% if it hits later.

Smash

 * Side Smash - Steps back and then forward, causing a blast of fire out of his hand. One of Mario's best reaching moves (though its reach is only average at best). It has rather fast start-up for a forward smash but it does have punishable ending lag. Damage and knockback is highest when sweetspotted at the flame. Can also be angled up and down. It has low base knockback but its knockback scaling when sweetspotted is very high. This is Mario's most powerful attack and can be considered his best finisher. The attack is derived form Mario's ability to shoot fireballs. Does 14% if Mario's arm connects and 17% if the fire connects; angling up increases the damage to 15%/18% and angling down decreases it to 13%/16%. If fully charged, deals 19.6% (arm) or 23.8% (fire) (angled up: 21%/25.2%, angled down: 18.2%/22.4%). The sweetspot is a hitbox with transcendent priority.
 * Up Smash - Sends opponents skyward with a headbutt. Has fast start-up lag and its ending lag is rather low as well. It does have good base knockback and knockback scaling, but its KO power is rather average for a up smash. This is Mario's only other reliable finisher and it is his only attack that can KO vertical under 150%. 14% uncharged and 19.6% fully charged.
 * Down Smash - Does a breakdance sweep. Like Mario's other attacks, it has fast start-up and ending lag but short reach. While stronger than his tilts and aerials, it isn't strong enough to reliably KO under 150%. Another attack from Super Mario 64. The front hit deals 15% damage (21% charged), while the back hit does 12% (16.8% charged).

Other

 * Ledge Attack (below 100%) - Does a somersault and then kicks upwards, from a laying down position. 8% to those on the stage and 6% to those extremely close by.
 * Ledge Attack (above 100%) - Gets up then does a kick similar to his forward tilt. Does 10%.
 * Floor Attack (faceup) - Gets up then kicks behind him, then in front of him. Does 6%.
 * Floor Attack (facedown) - Gets up then punches behind him, then in front of him. Does 6%.
 * Floor Attack (sitting) - Kicks behind him, then in front of him while getting up. Does 5%.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial - Performs a Sex Kick kick in the air. Similar to an attack from Super Mario 64. Its almost instantaneous start-up can be used to break certain chainthrows and combos but it has low knockback and short reach. Initially does 10%, then 5% afterwards.
 * Forward Aerial - Punches downward. This is a slow Meteor Smash if it is sweetspotted. It is a very weak meteor smash that is difficult to land, but it does have the benefit of sending opponents on a diagonal trajectory instead of straight down. When sourspotted, it sends opponents on a horizontal trajectory with decent knockback. Does 13% when sweetspotted, does 12% when sourspotted, and 10% if landed with the later hitbox.
 * Back Aerial - Spins and kicks backward. Similar to his Fair in the original Super Smash Bros.. Very fast start-up with decent reach and knockback. Can WoP at low to mid percentages and KO at very high percentages (but not below 150% outside of edgeguard situations). Does 12% when the initial hitbox is landed, does 7% if landed with the later hitbox.
 * Up Aerial - Does a somersault and kicks upward. Very low start-up and ending lag with low knockback, it works very well as a juggler at low to mid percentages. Does 11% with diagonal knockback.
 * Down Aerial - Mario Tornado. Spins with fists then strikes with both on opposite sides. Like the original move, it looks somewhat like the Spin Jump from various Mario games, such as Super Mario World. Similar to his other aerials, it has almost no start-up with short reach, but it does have some ending lag. The final hit does low vertical knockback. Hits 5 times for 1% each before a final hit of 7% for a total of 12%. If Mario lands while spinning, nearby opponents receive 2%.

Grabs & Throws

 * Pummel - Headbutt for 3% damage. One of the slowest pummels in the game.
 * Forward Throw - Mario spins around once then throws his opponent in front of him. It has low knockback scaling even for a throw. It is mostly only used to get the opponent off the edge. Does 9%.
 * Back Throw - Mario spins around several times then throws his opponent backwards. It is similar to when Mario grabs Bowser by the tail, and then swings him around in an attempt to throw into the bombs in Super Mario 64. While a very slow throw, he can damage other characters with the character he is swinging around. This is by far Mario's strongest throw and its knockback scaling is high enough to reliably KO around 185%. While powerful for a throw, it is very slow, making it very easy to DI, limiting its KO potential. It is also Mario's most damaging throw dealing 12%.
 * Up Throw - Mario throws his opponent high into the air. Good base knockback but it has low knockback scaling. It can be follow up by a uair juggle but is mostly inferior to the down throw for setting up. Does 8%.
 * Down Throw - Mario slams his opponent into the ground. Its low base knockback and knockback scaling with its vertical trajectory makes it great for setting up with a u-tilt and uair juggle, but it is Mario's weakest throw otherwise. Does 6%.

Taunts

 * Up - Turns into Super Mario. The way he does it is how he changes in the original Super Mario Bros. (Same as in SSB and Melee.)
 * Side - Takes off his hat, twirls around, and puts his hat back on, similar to the level clear animation from New Super Mario Bros. or "Super Mario Sunshine".
 * Down - Spins in the air and falls on his back, based on the dying animation from the original Donkey Kong.

Role in the Subspace Emissary
In the beginning, a trophy of Mario and Kirby are thrown into the Midair Stadium, where they come to life and have a friendly fight. The player chooses the one they want to play as. If Mario is chosen, the opponent will be Kirby, and vice-versa. After the battle between the two, the winner revives the loser, they shake hands, and wave to the crowd. Suddenly, red ominous clouds appear above the stadium, and the Halberd emerges from it. It releases Shadow Bugs which form into Primids. Peach and Zelda, who were watching the match, come to help, and after defeating all of the enemies, they are all confronted by the Ancient Minister. After seeing the two R.O.B.s setting up a Subspace Bomb, Mario runs to try and stop it, only to be blasted out of the stadium and Star KOed by a cannonball. During his descent from Skyworld, Pit finds Mario's trophy, and revives him. Once Mario recounts what happened, the two proceeded on their journey. When they reach the ground, they fight Primids across the Plain and attempt to stop the Ancient Minister from delivering another Subspace Bomb. Mario attempts to reach the Minister, but falls short; Pit also tries to get him by using a Footstool Jump on Mario, but he also fails. They then continue on their quest.

False Peach
At the shore, Kirby chases after a menacing noise he heard, unaccompanied by Peach. The abandoned princess is turned into a trophy by Bowser's Dark Cannon. A False Character of Bowser appears and dissolves, engulfing Peach's trophy. Brought to life is a cloned Peach which tries to fire a Dark Cannon at Mario. Luckily, Link destroys the gun using his Master Sword, and fights the princess with Yoshi. Mario notices them standing by Peach's trophy, which disintegrates. Enraged, Mario attempts to attack Link, but he dodges the attack. Link, Yoshi, Mario, and Pit get into a two-on-two fight. Afterward, King Dedede's cargo, stolen from Wario and already loaded with the trophies of Zelda, Ness, and Luigi, grabs Link and Yoshi's trophies with its mechanical arm. Fortunately Kirby appears from behind and severs the arm with Final Cutter while reviving Link and Yoshi; Kirby had realized that the noise he heard was Dedede hijacking the cargo from Wario. King Dedede turns around and tries to get away, but Pit blows the cargo's tire with Palutena's Arrow.

The five follow Dedede across some plains and follow him into the Cave, where they see Dedede's castle in ruins from an ambush by Bowser. They pursue Bowser through a hole in the castle wall. Mario and friends then confront Bowser at a cliff. Mario jumps at the Koopa, but misses with his attack. Pit fires an arrow; Bowser, while sidestepping to dodge the arrow, drops the Dedede Brooch attached to Zelda's chest. He loses footing and falls off the cliff into the Koopa Clown Car with the trophy of Zelda, where he laughs maniacally as he flies up to the Halberd.

False Zelda
At the shore, Kirby chases after a menacing noise he heard, unaccompanied by Zelda. The abandoned princess is turned into a trophy by Bowser's Dark Cannon. A False character of Bowser appears and dissolves, engulfing Zelda's trophy. Brought to life is a cloned Zelda which tries to fire a Dark Cannon at Link. Luckily, Pit destroys the gun, and fights the princess with Mario. Link notices them standing by Zelda's trophy, which disintegrates. Enraged, Link attempts to attack Mario, but he dodges the attack. Link, Yoshi, Mario, and Pit get into a two-on-two fight. Afterward, King Dedede's cargo, stolen from Wario and already loaded with the trophies of Peach, Ness, and Luigi, grabs Mario and Pit's trophies with its mechanical arm. Fortunately Kirby appears from behind and severs the arm with Final Cutter while reviving Mario and Pit. King Dedede turns around and tries to get away, but Link blows the cargo's tire with his Hero's Bow.

The five follow Dedede across some plains and follow him into the Cave, where they see Dedede's castle in ruins from an ambush by Bowser. They pursue Bowser through a hole in the castle wall. Mario and friends then confront Bowser at a cliff. Mario jumps at the Koopa, but misses with his attack. Pit fires an arrow; Bowser, while sidestepping to dodge the arrow, drops the Dedede Brooch attached to Peach's chest. He loses footing and falls off the cliff into the Koopa Clown Car with the trophy of Peach, where he laughs maniacally as he flies up to the Halberd.

Story Merge
They later catch up to the Ancient Minister in a desert, and after failing to stop a Subspace Bomb from detonating, barely escape the blast. Mario then leads his team at the Canyon, saving Marth, Ike, Lucas, Pokémon Trainer and Ice Climbers from a horde of Primids. The ten of them camp out for a while, until Mario spots an enormous explosion of Subspace Bombs from the Isle of the Ancients. Shortly afterward the Halberd lands, which has been retaken by Meta Knight, Lucario, Snake, Peach, Sheik, Fox, Falco and Mr. Game & Watch. Next to it is the Falcon Flyer, containing Samus, Pikachu, Olimar, Captain Falcon, Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong and R.O.B.

Mario and friends destroy the Subspace Gunship and prepare to attack Tabuu. Unfortunately, their plan of assault is interrupted by Tabuu's Off Waves. Mario is later resurrected by King Dedede, Ness, Luigi and Kirby and helps the other heroes through the Great Maze. In Tabuu's Residence, Tabuu poises to unleash more Off Waves; Sonic impedes his doing so. Mario joins the battle against Tabuu, eventually defeating him and ending the Subspace invasion.

Exclusive Stickers
The following stickers can either only be used by Mario, or can only be used by a select few, including Mario:
 * 1-Up Mushroom: [Leg] Attack +4
 * Bowser (Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix): [Throwing] Attack +20
 * Bowser (Mario Kart 64): [Weapon] Attack +13
 * Bowser (Super Paper Mario): [Arm] Attack +23
 * Coin: [Specials: Indirect] Attack +4
 * Dice Block: [Arm] Attack +8
 * Dr. Mario: [Head] Attack +18
 * Koopa: [Body, Spin] Attack +10
 * Lakitu (Mario Kart: Super Circuit): [Leg] Attack +13
 * Mario (Mario Kart DS): [Leg] Attack +22
 * Mario & Yoshi: [Specials: Indirect] Attack +13
 * Mega Rush Badge: [Specials: Direct] Attack +8
 * Mushroom: [Arm, Leg] Attack +5
 * Peach (Super Princess Peach): [Weapon] Attack +23
 * Peach (Mario Superstar Baseball): [Slash] Attack +5
 * Rawk Hawk: [Arm] Attack +5
 * Red Fire: [Flame] Attack +26
 * Super Mario Bros.: [Arm, Leg] Attack +15
 * Toad & Toadette: [Head] Attack +16
 * Waluigi (Super Mario Strikers): [Slash] Attack +15
 * Waluigi (Mario Superstar Baseball): [Specials: Indirect] Attack +8
 * Yoshi (Yoshi Touch & Go): [Arm, Leg] Attack +8
 * Yoshi (Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door): [Throwing] Attack +5

Trivia

 * Mario is tied with Kirby for being the most playable character in the Subspace Emissary, being playable in 9 levels. Despite this, it is possible to never play as him at any time as your never forced to play as Mario unlike Kirby.
 * Mario rarely smiles in Brawl compared to his games and in Melee (he didn't have a mouth in SSB).
 * Mario, Bowser, and Ganondorf are the only returning characters in Brawl to have at least one completely different Special move. Mario's Down Special Move, FLUDD, is completely different from his previous Mario Tornado, while Bowser and Ganondorf have new Side Special Moves.
 * In Mario's bio section of the Prima Super Smash Bros Brawl guide, it incorrectly calls him "Maria"
 * Mario is the only character to have a special move from a previous game turned into a standard attack in Brawl.
 * Although Mario still has the same voice actor (Charles Martinet) as in his own games, in SSBB, it is somewhat less cartoonish than in said games - the same applies to Luigi and Wario.