Mario (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


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

Mario is a starting character Super Smash Bros. Brawl representing the Mario universe. He was announced at E3 2006, alongside veterans Link, Kirby, and Pikachu.

Mario is ranked 31st on the current tier list, the top position of F tier. Although he has some fast moves and good edge-guarding skills, he lacks a fast, reliable K.O. move, does not have a good attack range, and is easily outclassed by other characters.

Strengths

 * Good edge-guarding moves


 * Most moves have low starting and ending lag that makes them difficult to punish


 * Cape is a reflector and can assist in recovery due to its horizontal movement


 * Super Jump Punch is a reliable out of shield option and combo finisher


 * F.L.U.D.D. has a special type of priority that allows it to destroy enemy projectiles, giving Mario a good tool for dealing with characters that possess heavy zoning game such as Link and Ness


 * Middleweight, having higher survivability than other characters


 * Possesses a meteor smash in the form of forward aerial


 * Back throw is a kill throw at the edge


 * Fireball is easy to spam and can place pressure on an approaching opponent


 * Possesses good grab game, with down throw being an excellent combo starter


 * Good combo game, as his fast attacks can quickly and easily flow into one another


 * Good at juggling opponents

Weaknesses

 * Lacks kill moves with low starting and ending lag


 * Predictable recovery that is easy to gimp


 * Most aerials have high landing lag


 * Low priority on moves makes him weak to characters with disjointed hitboxes


 * Few approach options


 * Middleweight, being able to be easily combed by most other characters


 * Forward aerial must sweetspot in order to meteor smash and even then it has low base knockback


 * Back throw has trouble killing when not used at the edge and even then it is slow and easy for an opponent to DI


 * F.L.U.D.D. takes a while to charge up completely and deals no damage, only pushing opponents


 * Though possessing good grab and combo game, his moves overall have low damage output, requiring Mario to keep constant pressure on an opponent


 * Mario is weak to opponents that can outrange him because he himself has low range on his own attacks

Summary
Mario is considered a beginner character that people can learn with due to having balanced attributes. Mario is an average-sized middleweight and possesses good speed and jumping height, allowing him adapt to any situation when an attribute is required

Mario possesses a very fast attack speed, which leads to a very effective combo game, which allows moves such as his up tilt to rack of quick damage and juggle opponents. Mario's attacks also have good edgeguarding abilities, with his aerials having the potential to knock opponents away (or down, in the case of his forward aerial) as well as breaking out of combos. Mario's Smash attacks are powerful options for edgeguarding, possessing decent KO potential and little startup lag.

Mario's grab game is also powerful, though it lacks range. His down, forward, and up throw can easily chain into other moves, and his back throw possesses KO potential if used at the edge.

Mario's Special Moves are highly adaptable to any situation. Fireball is a useful move for disrupting approaches, and can be spammed. Cape serves as both a reflector and a means to reverse opponents, making it useful for edgeguarding. Super Jump Punch is extremely powerful, and a decent recovery option. F.L.U.D.D. can cancel out other projectiles and push opponents away, which can be effective against characters with poor recoveries.

However, Mario also has many disadvantages of being balanced. Most importantly, he can easily be outclassed by others with greater attributes in terms of speed, combo ability, or range. Mario has difficulty landing KO moves, as they lack range and require certain places for it to be effective. Mario, though he possesses a decent recovery, can be gimped, and his middleweight status can result in him being comboed.

Overall, Mario is effectively the jack of all trades, mastering all attributes equally. Players should be prepared to adapt to any situation, and be precise in landing Mario's powerful KO moves.

Changes from Melee
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. Mario now has a slightly smaller model. Because Mario Tornado is is down aerial, his recovery is worse due to being unable to  preform the Rising Tornado technique. Mario's Cape is no longer as effective as an edge-guarding technique due the auto ledge grab feature. 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). Mario's back throw was weakened by a rather large amount. Mario's forward smash is much more difficult to sweetspot.

However, Mario has also received some buffs to his moves. Fireball has a larger hitbox and inflicts more hitstun. His Cape now reverses opponents' momentum and can edgeguard more effectively due to Cape Gliding. Super Jump Punch's hits connect more reliably, and deals more knockback at the final hit. The addition of F.L.U.D.D. gives Mario another edgeguarding ability to use against characters with poor recoveries. Mario's Foward Smash's sourspot is stronger, KO'ing under 150%. Because his down aerial is now Mario Tornado, it has faster startup and deals more damage and knockback, particularly at the final hit.

In term of cosmetics, Mario has been updated aesthetically, with his overalls looking more realistic. His Fireballs look more realistic as well. 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 Super Smash Bros. 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. Mario received a palette swap based on his Fire Mario appearance in the Mario series.

Attributes

 * Slightly smaller than in Melee.
 * Slightly lighter than in Melee.
 * Faster falling speed when compared to other veterans.
 * Higher traction when compared to other veterans.
 * Higher air speed.

Ground Attacks

 * Neutral attack deals less damage, but final hit deals more knockback.
 * Forward tilt deals less damage, but is faster.
 * Up tilt deals more knockback, but more startup.
 * Down tilt deals less damage.
 * Sourspotted Forward Smash is much more powerful, while sweetspotting Forward Smash is more difficult, which deals less damage and knockback.
 * Up Smash has more reach, but less knockback scaling.
 * Front hit of Down Smash deals less damage and knockback, but back hit of Down Smash is stronger and deals more damage.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral aerial is weaker, has a shorter hitbox duration, and less frames for sweetspotting, but autocancels earlier.
 * Forward aerial is safer to land due to slower falling speed, but deals less damage and requiring a sweetspot to Meteor Smash.
 * Back aerial deals more damage, but shorter duration and more end lag.
 * Up aerial deals more knockback, but has a lower trajectory.
 * Down aerial is now Mario Tornado, having faster startup, larger hitboxes, and deals more damage and knockback.

Grabs and Throws

 * Back throw deals much less knockback.
 * Down throw has increased knockback scaling, though it now has reduced combo potential.

Special Moves

 * Fireball travels a shorter distance and deal less damage, but produce more hitstun and have a larger hitbox.
 * Cape reverses opponent's momentum as well as direction, and allows Mario to Cape Glide, but deals less damage, has less reach and hitboxes, and is not as effective in edgeguarding due to opponents being able to grab the ledge from behind.
 * Super Jump Punch has more landing lag, but connects more reliably and dealing more knockback with the final hit.
 * F.L.U.D.D. is a new move that can push enemies away and cancel out projectiles, though this slightly reduces Mario's recovery potential.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack - Punches with his left, then his right, and then kicks with his right foot. 3%, 2%, and 4%.


 * Forward Tilt - Does a roundhouse kick with his right leg. 8%.
 * Up Tilt -Uppercut- 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, an up smash, and an 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 Attacks

 * 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 an overhand punch. 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 an 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 Attacks

 * 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 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 -Lowercuts. 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 -Back Kick- 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 whirls 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 an 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, what goes up must come down. (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.

Idle Animations

 * Briefly adjusts his hat.
 * Goes into a defensive pose, then moves his head from side-to-side.

On-Screen Appearance

 * A green pipe appears, Mario pops up and says "Let's a go!"

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, use Farore's Wind and Peach's Parasol to come down to help them. After defeating all of the enemies, they are 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 has a flashback of what happened, the two proceed 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 from King Dedede, unaccompanied by Peach/Zelda. The abandoned princess is turned into a trophy by Bowser's Dark Cannon. A False Character of Bowser appears and dissolves, engulfing Peach/Zelda's trophy. Brought to life is a cloned Peach/Zelda which tries to fire a Dark Cannon at Mario and Pit/Link and Yoshi. Luckily, Link and Yoshi (SSBB)/Mario and Pit destroys the gun using his Master Sword/Sacred Blade, and fights the princess with Yoshi/Mario. Mario/Link notices them standing by Peach/Zelda's trophy, which disintegrates. Enraged, Mario/Link attempts to attack Mario/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/Peach, Ness, and Luigi, grabs Mario and Pit's/Link and Yoshi's trophies with its mechanical arm. Fortunately Kirby appears from behind and severs the arm with Final Cutter while reviving Mario and Pit/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. However Mario and Pit defeated Link and Yoshi and then Link and Yoshi as trophies fell to the ground unconscious. Afterward, King Dedede's cargo, stolen from Wario and already loaded with the trophies of Peach, 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. 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 (The Wilds), 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, Zelda, 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 you're never forced to play as Mario unlike Kirby.
 * 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.
 * When Meta Knight use his Dimension Cape while Mario uses Cape (when timed correctly) it can lead to an instant K.O on Meta Knight.
 * He is also one of several characters who can be unlocked before entering Subspace but cannot fight any bosses in the Smash World on the first playthrough; he shares this distinction with five others: Mr. Game and Watch, Pit, Yoshi, Link, and Ice Climbers.
 * Mario, King Dedede, Ness, Diddy Kong, and R.O.B. are the only characters to wear their default costumes in team battles when they are on the red team.
 * Although Mario has the ability to crawl in his games, he cannot crawl in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * Interestingly, Yoshi battles Mario at one point in Subspace Emissary, even though they are allies in their own game. He also happens to disregard his own brother being captured, instead noticing only Peach.