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This article is about Mario's appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. For other uses, see Mario. For his clone, see Dr. Mario.

Mario (マリオ, Mario) is Nintendo's eponymous mascot, returning to battle once again in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. He was unveiled on June 11th, 2013, during the E3 2013 Nintendo Direct, along with six of the Original 12.

He currently ranks 9th on the tier list, his best tier placement so far. Furthermore, this is a huge improvement over his bottom tier placement in Brawl, where he was ranked 31st out of 38th in the most recent tier list. His biggest strength is his fantastic frame data, as all of his moves have low startup and endlag. He also possesses good speed, an impressive grab and combo game, and has good KO confirms. He is one of the most balanced characters in the game. His weaknesses are that he lacks range and consistent KO set-ups.

Attributes[]

Strengths[]

  • Balanced on most attributes.
  • Has an incredibly low learning curve, and is easy to pick up.
  • A moveset that can adapt him to any situation.
  • Has no big flaws or crippling weaknesses.
  • Great mobility on both ground and air, notably having the 9th highest air speed in the game.
  • Good variety of combos, being one of the best jugglers in the game as well having flexible combo throws.
  • Has a reliable sex kick in the form of Neutral Aerial, that is great for starting combos and breaking off enemies combos.
  • All of his Smash Attacks are great KOing options as they reliably KO without having noticeable startup or end lag.
  • Has a Meteor Smash with rather high base knockback in his Forward Aerial.
  • Can Wall Jump to assist recovery.
  • Cape both reflects projectiles and flips foes, which can disrupts enemy combos and frustrate recoveries.
    • Cape can also assist in recovery.
  • Good at edge-guarding with his Special Moves.

Weaknesses[]

  • Has problems with approaches, as he relies mainly on Fireballs, which cannot be spammed.
  • Lacks range on a lot of his moves which causes him to struggle against characters that can outrange him.
  • Relies too much on combos to do proper damage, as their damage output alone is only average.

Summary[]

Kuroham-mario

Mario's stats by Kurogane Hammer.

Mario is an All-Rounder type of character, being a very easy fighter to pick up, especially for new players. All his attributes are very balanced and above average, with decent speed, weight and mobility, which added with his good variety of combos and Special Moves makes him very flexible, being a reliable well-rounded character capable of adapting to any situation. Of all of the characters in Smash Bros., Mario is the definition of well-rounded. He is a very versatile fighter, being able to deal with just about any situation.

Mario's Fireball is a good projectile move; though average in speed and only having a decent range, the move is useful for putting some damage on opponents as well as other uses. Fireball has good range and speed and can poke opponents to frustrate their movement. Mario can use the move in the air to toss the fireball onto an opponent from above or he can use it on the ground to force an approaching opponent into the air so that he can hit them with an aerial attack. The fireball can also gimp recovering opponents by using it at the edge. The move can be reversed by slightly inputting the opposite direction Mario is facing and then pressing the button; this can only be reversed in the air but is a good way to surprise opponents; just don't tilt it too far or Mario will use Cape instead.

Speaking of Cape, it is a great move both offensively and defensively. It reflects projectiles and gives Mario a slight horizontal momentum when used in the air which can help with recovery. Mario will also turn an opponent around when he uses this move on them, so if an opponent is running towards Mario or attempting to attack him, he can use this on the opponent to direct them away from Mario and then grab them. Using this off-stage on recovering opponents is a good way to direct their recovery away from the stage, resulting in a K.O., especially against characters with already poor or predictable recoveries.

Mario's up special, the Super Jump Punch, travels in a diagonal trajectory and grants moderate distance, making it a good recovery move, but it can also be used offensively as well. Super Jump Punch has good combo potential, thanks to being quite fast in execution, boasting from above average priority, and easily comboing out of down throw, up aerial, and up tilt. It's also great for getting a kill off the ceiling.

F.L.U.D.D. is useful for pushing recovering opponents away from the stage, F.L.U.D.D. can be a surprise move that has a special type of priority, as it will ignore other projectiles and push approaching opponents away to give Mario some breathing space. Nonetheless, it is still situational.

At low percentages, Mario's jab combos out of down throw; it is a good combo move as well. All of Mario's tilts have combo potential, as forward tilt is good for ground combos and spacing, and down tilt can combo into his other tilts. His up tilt is one of his best combo moves; it combos out of down throw and then into itself from low to mid-high percentages, which can then combo into most aerial attacks and up special. Mario's dash attack, depending on when in the attack it hits the opponent, launches them at different angles; it can combo into back air, neutral air, up air, and another dash attack.

Mario's aerials all have great utility. His neutral aerial stays out for a good amount of time, and is a great combo move. It also hits on frame 3 allowing it to be used for breaking combo strings. His forward aerial is a nice combo finisher and meteors, making it good for securing kills off-stage. Back aerial has the highest range and knockback out if all his aerials, making it good for spacing and easily able to KOing offstage. His down aerial is fast and a good combo finisher, and is great for dealing with juggling. Mario's up aerial is great for juggling opponents, continuing combos, and killing off of the ceiling.

Mario's smash attacks are all good kill moves that come out fast, enabling them to be easily integrated into combos. Mario's forward smash is his strongest smash attack, able to KO opponents as low as 60% when fully charged and sweetspotted. His up smash can combo out of down throw and up tilt, and is also great for baiting counters. If Mario has trapped an opponent in an up tilt string and they try to counter out of it, charge up the up smash, wait for the counter animation to end, and then punish by releasing it. Mario's down smash is good for covering rolls because of its speed and range as well as an edge-guarding tool.

Mario's throws all have their uses, whether for comboing or KOing. Forward throw can combo into dash attack or aerial Fireball, and can set up edgeguards. Up throw combos into up aerial, neutral aerial, and down aerial. Mario's back throw is by far his strongest throw, KOing below 150% when used on the edge and is great for getting opponents off-stage. His down throw combos into jab, forward tilt, down tilt, forward smash, and up tilt at low percentages, and up tilt, up aerial, up smash, up special, and neutral aerial at mid-high percentages.

His mobility also allows him to pull quick combos, making him one of the best jugglers in the game. His moves are all quite fast and considerable weak in terms of damage and knockback, meaning he can string moves in succession. One of his best tools are Up Tilt and Up Aerial; both can combo into themselves at mid-low percentages. With a combination of manipulating stale-move negation and making use of rage, Mario can score reliable kills.

However players must be creative to setting up their kills with Mario, as most opponents can overcome Mario in a specific field, which is one of his main weaknesses. As the saying goes, 'jack of all trades, but master of none.' Mario is skilled in a lot of things, but make a mistake and the opponent will be able to capitalize on it easily. Being very balanced, he doesn't really excel at any field, being outclassed by characters that have specific traits to their advantage. Notable examples include Sonic having much higher movement speed, Ryu and his brother having greater combo versatility, Donkey Kong having higher raw power, and Cloud having larger range. The lack of range causes him to struggle against characters who wield weapons which boast from disjointed hitboxes, meaning they will always have the upper hand when clashing with Mario's attacks, though thankfully they also tend to have more sluggish frame data as well.

Ultimately, Mario is the jack-of-all-trades. He can go up against any opponent with decent reliability but is not truly a master in any specific fields. When playing as Mario, players must make use of his entire moveset and be creative when setting up combos for KO'ing rather than relying on a single kill move.

Changes from Brawl[]

Aesthetics[]

Due to his low tier position in Brawl, Mario has been largely buffed and nerfed, but the buffs make Mario stronger so it surpasses the nerfs.

  • Notice Due to the aesthetic used in Smash 4, Mario has a sleeker design, and his overall color scheme is more vibrant. His overalls also lose the back pockets used previously in Melee and Brawl. Altogether, these changes make him appear virtually identical to his appearance as of Super Mario 3D Land.
  • Notice Mario has a new blue alternate costume. His hat and overalls are now cyan, while his shirt is now pink. These changes make it based on Mario's attire on Mario Bros. Japanese box art. Additionally, Mario's yellow alternate costume has been slightly updated. The "M" on his cap is now green instead of blue. Lastly, Mario has received two new alternate costumes. The first is based on his appearances in Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course and NES Open Tournament Golf, while the second is based on Waluigi.
  • Notice The sounds Mario's up taunt makes are now identical to the sounds heard when powering up and getting hit or using a pipe respectively in Super Mario Bros.
  • Notice Mario's chest now faces the foreground regardless of whether he's facing left or right, mirroring his animations.
  • Notice Mario's dash attack while holding an item has slightly changed. He now holds the item with one hand instead of two.
  • Notice Mario is much more expressive. For example, his irises now shrink whenever he is hit, and he also appears surprised in several instances, such as when grabbed, pummeled, and/or launched. He also opens his mouth when using Fireball this time around.
  • Notice Mario's previously unused damage yells from Brawl's Sound Test are now heard when taking high knockback.

Attributes[]

  • Buff Mario dashes faster (1.5 → 1.6). His initial dash speed was also equally increased (1.5 → 1.6).
  • Buff Mario‘s air speed is significantly faster (0.94 → 1.15), going from the 19th fastest out of 39 characters to the 9th fastest out of 58.
  • Nerf Mario's air acceleration is slightly lower (0.09 → 0.08).
  • Notice Like most other characters returning from Brawl, Mario falls much faster (1.28 → 1.5). He also falls faster relative to the cast, going from having the 28th fastest falling speed out of 38 characters to having the 31st fastest out of 58. As a result, he is no longer considered to be floaty. This makes him less susceptible to vertical KOs, and it also noticeably improves his ground-to-air transitioning, but in turn, it makes him more susceptible to combos.
    • Buff His fast-falling speed is significantly faster (1.792 → 2.4). This makes him much less susceptible to juggling.
  • Notice Mario's gravity is higher (0.075 → 0.08715). This further increases his susceptibility to combos, but improves his aerial mobility and, when combined with his much faster falling speed, allows him to land more safely.
  • Buff Mario jumps higher despite his increased gravity.
  • Nerf Mario's traction has been significantly decreased (0.06 → 0.045), going from being tied for the 11th highest out of 38 characters to being tied for the 6th lowest out of 55 which makes it harder for him to punish out of shield.
  • Buff Rolls have less ending lag (FAF 33 → 30).
  • Nerf Rolls have a shorter duration (frames 4-19 → 4-16).
  • Buff Air dodge has less startup lag (frame 4 → 3) and ending lag (FAF 50 → 33).
  • Nerf Air dodge has a shorter duration (frames 4-29 → 3-27).
  • Nerf Spot dodge has a shorter duration (frames 2-20 → 2-17) and has more ending lag (FAF 26 → 27).
  • Buff The changes to hitstun canceling and directional influence greatly improve Mario's combo potential.
  • Buff The removal of edge hogging, combined with Mario’s faster air speed and air dodge, drastically improve his recovery, remedying one of his main weaknesses from the previous game.


Ground Attacks[]

  • Neutral attack:
    • Nerf The first two hits of neutral deals less damage (3% → 2.5% (hit 1), 2% → 1.5% (hit 2)), resulting in all three hits dealing less damage overall (9% → 8%).
    • Nerf All three hits have more ending lag (FAF 16 (hit 1)/19 (hit 2)/30 (hit 3) → 20/22/34).
    • Nerf The third hit has a shorter duration (frames 7-10 → 7-8).
    • Nerf The third hit deals less knockback (30 (base)/95 (scaling) → 45/80).
  • Forward tilt:
    • Nerf Forward tilt deals less damage (8% → 7%) and the down angled version no longer has higher base knockback (13 → 8).
      • Buff However, this allows it to lock for longer.
    • Nerf It has a shorter duration (frames 5-7 → 5-6).
    • Nerf It has more ending lag (FAF 25 → 31).
  • Up tilt:
    • Notice Up tilt has a new animation. Mario no longer smiles during the move and he has a more elaborate landing animation after performing the up tilt.
    • Nerf It deals less damage (7% → 5.5%) hindering its KO potential.
      • Buff However, this drastically increases its comboing and juggling ability, being able to chain into itself more reliably at lower percents while now having much more combo potential at higher percents due to the changes to hitstun canceling/DI.
  • Down tilt:
    • Buff Down tilt has less ending lag (FAF 35 → 28).
    • Buff It has increased base knockback (20 → 35). When combined with the previous change, this makes down tilt much safer on hit (no longer being dangerously punishable right up until higher percents), and it grants the move combo potential.
      • Buff As a result of these changes, down tilt has gone from a completely useless and dangerous move, to a decent combo starter, which can be useful in certain situations.
    • Nerf It no longer has a hitbox on Mario's body.
  • Dash attack:
    • Nerf Dash attack deals less damage (9% (clean)/7% (late) → 8%/6%).
    • Buff It has more favorable hitbox placements, giving it more range.
    • Buff It deals more knockback (70 (base)/50 (scaling) (clean), 45/30 (late) → 100/43 (both)) and both its clean and late hits have consistent angles (110°/80° → 60° (clean), 120°/70° → 110° (late)).
    • Buff The changes to hitstun canceling grants the late hit follow-ups when combined with the move's higher base knockback.
  • Forward smash:
    • Buff Forward smash deals more damage when angled down (13% (arm)/16% (fire) → 14.42%/17.51%).
    • Buff It has more knockback scaling, especially on its sweetspot (90 (sweetspot)/100 (sourspot) → 99/103).
    • Buff The sourspot uses a single extended hitbox that covers less horizontal distance, rather than having two sourspots, making the sweetspot easier to land.
      • Nerf However, this gives the move less range behind Mario.
    • Notice The sourspot can no longer send opponents behind Mario.
    • Nerf It deals less damage when angled up (15% (arm)/18% (fire) → 14.7%/17.85%).
    • Nerf Mario no longer lunges farther when performing a pivoted forward smash, decreasing its range. This considerably hinders forward smash's whiff punish potential.
  • Up smash:
    • Buff Up smash has slightly more knockback scaling (90 → 94) improving its KO potential.
    • Nerf It has a shorter duration as well as decreased intangibility (frames 9-14 → 9-12) reducing its range in front of Mario despite its altered animation.
  • Down smash:
    • Buff Both hits of down smash deals more knockback (40 (base)/73 (scaling) (front), 35/75 (back) → 30/100), improving the back hit's KO potential.
    • Buff Both hits are now semi-spikes (361° → 32° (front)/30° (back)), significantly improving their edgeguarding ability; especially the back hit.
    • Nerf The front hit deals much less damage (15% → 10%), hindering its KO potential despite its increased knockback/altered angle.
    • Nerf It has more ending lag (FAF 38 → 44).


Aerial Attacks[]

  • Neutral aerial:
    • Nerf Neutral aerial's clean hit deals less damage (10% → 8%) without compensation on knockback, removing its already lacking KO potential.
  • Forward aerial:
    • Buff Forward aerial's clean hit deals more damage (13% → 14%) and has increased knockback (20 base/75 scaling → 32/78). When combined with the removal of meteor canceling, this significantly improves its edgeguarding potential.
    • Buff The clean hit has a longer duration with the late hit's duration being compensated (frames 17-19 (clean)/20-21 (late) → 17-20/21), making it easier to land.
    • Buff The changes to hitstun canceling makes it significantly easier to combo into, now being a potential follow-up out of a down throw at certain percents.
  • Back aerial:
    • Buff Back aerial is more effective to use for a wall of pain due to Mario's much faster air speed, higher jumps and the changes to hitstun canceling. The increased shieldstun also improves its utility as a spacing option against shields despite its increased landing lag.
    • Buff Its clean hit deals more knockback (10 (base)/95 (scaling) → 12/106), marginally improving its KO potential despite its reduced damage.
    • Nerf Its clean hit deals less damage (12% → 10.5%).
    • Nerf It has a shorter duration (frames 6-8 (clean)/9-13 (late) → 6-7/8-10 (late)).
    • Nerf It has more landing lag (10 frames → 12).
  • Up aerial:
    • Buff Up aerial now launches opponents vertically (45° → 75°), similar to its Smash 64 counterpart. When combined with the changes to hitstun canceling/DI, this makes it a much better combo move and allowing it to KO more reliably near the upper blast line especially if it leads into Super Jump Punch.
      • Nerf Its new angle removes its decent edgeguarding potential.
    • Buff The hitbox on Mario's foot is positioned higher (Y-offset: 2.2 → 3.8), increasing its range.
    • Nerf It deals less damage (11% → 7%) without full compensation on its knockback (9 (base)/100 (scaling) → 10/135).
    • Nerf It has a shorter duration (frames 4-9 → 4-8).
    • Nerf It has more ending lag (FAF 30 → 32).
    • Nerf It auto-cancels later (frame 16 → 18).
    • Nerf It has more landing lag (10 frames → 12).
  • Down aerial:
    • Buff Down aerial has decreased SDI multipliers (1.5× (hits 1-5)/1× (final hit) → 0.8×), which along with the weakening of SDI makes it significantly harder to escape.
    • Nerf The final hit deals less damage (7% → 5%), with its knockback scaling being compensated (80 → 100).
    • Nerf The speeding up of air dodges now allows most fighters to air dodge in order to escape the final hit of down aerial, unless Mario has enough rage.


Grabs and Throws[]

  • Grabs:
    • Notice Mario now grabs with one hand as opposed to two. He still uses both hands during his pummel, however.
    • Buff All of Mario's grabs have slightly increased range, particularly dash grab (z offset: 8.4 (standing)/9 (dash)/-14 (pivot) → z stretch: 8.7/10.6/14.7). Dash grab also has a larger grabbox (2.5u → 2.6u).
    • Buff Dash and pivot grabs have less startup lag (frame 12 → 8 (dash), frame 11 → 9 (pivot)).
    • Buff All grabs have less ending lag (FAF 30 (standing)/40 (dash)/36 (pivot) → 29/36/34).
    • Nerf Standing and pivot grabs have slightly smaller grabboxes (3.36u (standing)/3.5u (pivot) → 3.3u (both)).
      • Nerf Additionally, pivot grab does not extend as far behind Mario, due to now only consisting of one grabbox.
  • Nerf All throws deal less damage (9% → 8% (forward), 12% → 11% (back), 8% → 7% (up), 6% → 5% (down)). This makes his forward and back throws less effective for KOing, despite the latter having slightly more knockback scaling.
  • Pummel:
    • Buff Pummel deals more damage (3% → 3.25%).
  • Back throw:
    • Buff Back throw's knockback scaling has been slightly increased (63 → 66), although this does not fully compensate for its lower damage.
    • Buff It has less ending lag (FAF 67 → 60).
    • Buff The collateral hit has increased knockback (20 (base), 100 (scaling) → 100/70).
    • Nerf The collateral hit has much more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 1-43 → 13-39).
  • Up throw:
    • Buff Up throw's lower damage combined with the changes to hitstun canceling improves its combo potential at low to mid percents.
  • Down throw:
    • Buff Down throw has much less base knockback (75 → 40), which coupled with its lower damage output makes it much better for starting combos, most notably into a string of up tilts at low percents. The changes to hitstun canceling also significantly improve its combo potential beyond low percents.
    • Notice Down throw has a more horizontal angle (80° → 68°) with more knockback scaling (50 → 90). This makes ground attack followups less reliable at higher percents, but instead allows it to combo more effectively into aerial attacks.
  • Floor attack:
    • Buff Floor attacks deal more damage (6% → 7%) and shield damage (1 → 8) per hit, with minimally compensated knockback scaling (50 → 48).
    • Nerf Their angles have been altered (361° → 48°) making them weaker despite their increased knockback.
    • Buff They have less startup (frame 19 (front)/20 (back) → 16/19) and ending lag (FAF 50 → 46).
  • Edge attack:
    • Buff Edge attack no longer has set knockback (110 (set)/100 (scaling) → 90 (base)/20 (scaling)).
    • Notice Edge attack deals consistent damage (8% (legs)/6% (body) → 7%).
    • Buff Edge attack has increased intangibility (frames 1-20 → 1-21).


Special Attacks[]

  • Fireball:
    • Buff Fireballs have greater velocity when they touch the ground (0.8 → 1.4) and they have a greater a greater bounce velocity multiplier (0.75 → 0.97), allowing them to cover more distance on the ground.
    • Notice When a Fireball hits a foe, the sound effect when an enemy is defeated in Super Mario Bros. plays. Fireballs also look more realistic, with smoke and ashes coming out of the flames. The same applies to the Mario Finale.
    • Notice Fireballs have much more gravity (0.036 → 0.1). This means that when they are used above the ground, they now drop down at a steep vertical rather than gradually falling at a more diagonal angle.
      • Buff This can allow Mario to hit low recovering opponents, or linear recoveries easier. It also makes full hop Fireball a viable approach/fade back option at close range.
      • Nerf However, this gives the fireballs much less horizontal range in the air, hindering its ability to be used as a long range camping and edgeguarding tool.
    • Notice Fireballs now bounce at a fixed height regardless of how far they fell prior to bouncing, reducing its blindspot on short opponents but making them worse at hitting airborne opponents off a bounce.
    • Notice Fireballs have altered knockback (30 (base)/25 (scaling) → 35/20 (clean), 22/20 → 28/15 (mid), 11/15 → 22/10 (late)).
    • Nerf It has more startup (frame 14 → 17) and ending lag (FAF 44 → 53), hindering its camping potential.
      • Nerf As a result, Fireball can no longer effectively auto-cancel in a short hop.
    • Nerf Late fireballs deal less damage (5% → 4%).
    • Nerf Fireballs have a shorter maximum duration (74 frames → 69).
    • Nerf Fireballs have a smaller hitbox (2.4u (clean)/2.2u (mid)/2u (late) → 2u/1.8u/1.6u).
  • Cape:
    • Buff Aerial Cape deals more damage (6% → 7%).
    • Buff Its far hitbox has been positioned further out (z offset: 9 → 9.7), giving it more range).
    • Buff It no longer gives certain characters their recovery moves back.
    • Buff The reflector is larger (6.5u → 9u).
    • Buff It has a longer reflection duration multiplier (0.5x → 0.75x).
    • Notice Hitting with the Cape now makes a sound effect akin to Mario spinning his cape in Super Mario World, but with a faster and higher-pitched sound, rather than a medium burning sound.
    • Notice Its hitboxes are positioned slightly higher up (y offset: 6 → 6.7).
    • Nerf It has a shorter reflection period (frames 6-30 (ground)/6-33 (aerial) → 6-20 (both)).
    • Nerf The grounded version deals less damage (8% → 7%).
    • Nerf The aerial version's far hitbox is smaller (8.5u → 7.5u).
    • Nerf It momentarily gives the opponent super armor after it hits them, decreasing its ability to KO early.
    • Nerf It gives Mario less lift in the air (0.5 → 0.3 (vertical momentum), 0.029 → 0.031 (gravity), 0.9 → 1 (falling speed)), hindering its recovery potential.
      • Nerf When combined with Mario's increased falling speed/gravity, this effectively removes Edge Cape-cancelling.
    • Nerf The removal of edge momentum shifting has significantly hindered Cape's utility; removing its use as an approach option and hindering its edgeguarding potential.
    • Nerf The removal of edgehogging further hinders its edgeguarding potential.
  • Super Jump Punch:
    • Buff Super Jump Punch gains slightly more vertical distance (Height multiplier: 1.0x (ground)/0.95x (aerial) → 1.1/1.08) and no longer possesses a sharp drop in height just before the move ends, significantly improving its recovery potential.
      • Buff The removal of edgehogging also greatly improves its recovery potential.
    • Buff With the changes to hitstun canceling and the introduction of rage, it is much more useful as a combo finisher near the upper blast line that can potentially score KOs even at extremely early percents.
    • Notice Super Jump Punch makes a slightly higher-pitched "ding" on the last hit.
    • Notice The coins from the Super Jump Punch are now rendered in 3D and designed closer to the Star Coins from the New Super Mario Bros. games.
  • F.L.U.D.D.:
    • Buff F.L.U.D.D.'s pushforce (32 → 50 (set knockback), 35 → 55 (pushback strength)) has been significantly increased, greatly improving its zoning and edgeguarding potential and allowing Mario to effectively set up a Cape edgeguard with the move, drastically increasing its utility.
    • Buff It takes less time to fully charge (90 frames → 80).
    • Buff The water's base speed is much higher (1.7 → 4.3).
    • Buff The water's speed and knockback multiplier while charging is much higher (1.9 → 4.3).
      • Buff Because of this, the water covers more distance despite its shorter duration (25 frames → 11), further improving its spacing potential.
    • Notice The water is shot at a slightly higher intial angle (10° → 12°).
    • Notice The water has higher gravity (0.06 → 0.17).
    • Notice After using or fully charging F.L.U.D.D., it does not stay on Mario's back.
    • Nerf The water cannot be angled as low (16° → 18°).
    • Nerf Mario can no longer glide toss while charging F.L.U.D.D.
  • Mario Finale:
    • Buff Mario Finale's startup slows down opponents much more (4x → 10x) and for a longer duration (30 frames → 60), making it much easier to land the attack, especially at close range.
    • Notice Mario Finale no longer has the small damage burst during the very beginning of the attack before the actual hitbox comes out which stops the opponent from being pushed far enough to possibly avoid the blast. However, this also means Mario is forced to rely on the looping hits in order to get reliable KOs with the move.
    • Notice It has a higher hitlag multiplier (0.2x → 0.3x) but it has a lower SDI multiplier (0.7x → 0.6x).
      • Buff Due to the universal decrease to hitlag, it is now impossible to SDI.
    • Buff Its angles have been altered (32° → 28°/26°) with its hits being sharper semi-spikes.
    • Nerf It has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 9-243 → 11-210).
    • Buff It deals less knockback (40 (base)/100 (scaling) → (24/28)/103), keeping opponents trapped in the attack more consistently.

Moveset[]

Ground Attacks[]

Normal[]

  • Neutral Attack: Does two quick punches, finishing with a forward kick. 2.5%, 1.5%, 4%
  • Forward Tilt: Does a reverse roundhouse kick forward. Can be angled. 7%
  • Up Tilt: Performs a spinning uppercut. 5.5%
  • Down Tilt: Performs a sweeping kick. 5% from foot, 7% from body
  • Dash Attack: Slides along the ground feetfirst. 8% if clean, 6% if late

Smash Attacks[]

  • Forward Smash: Steps forward and thrusts his hand out, releasing a small burst of fire. Can be angled.
  • Up Smash: Headbutts in an upward arc.
  • Down Smash: Does a breakdancing sweep kick.

Other attacks[]

  • Floor Attack (Front): Gets up and kicks behind him, then kicks in front. 7%
  • Floor Attack (Back): Gets up and punches behind him, then punches in front. 7%
  • Floor Attack (Trip): Kicks behind him, then in front of him while getting up. 5%
  • Ledge Attack: Does a somersault and kicks upwards from a laying down position. 7%

Aerial Attacks[]

  • Neutral aerial: A sex kick attack. 8% if clean, 5% if late
  • Forward aerial: Swings his fist in a downward arc. 12% if early, 14% if clean, 10% if late
  • Back aerial: Dropkicks while spinning. 10.5% if clean, 7% if late
  • Up aerial: Performs a flip kick. 7%
  • Down aerial: Performs the Mario Tornado, in which he spins around while hitting the opponent multiple times. 1% (hits 1-5), 5% (hit 6), 2% (landing)

Grabs and Throws[]

  • Pummel: Headbutts the opponent. 3.25%
  • Forward Throw: Spins around and throws the opponent forward. 8%
  • Back Throw: Spins around a few times and throws the opponent backward.
  • Up Throw: Tosses his opponents upwards. 7%
  • Down Throw: Slams his opponent to the ground. 5%

Special Moves[]

Mario's Special Moves
64 Melee Brawl 3DS/Wii U Ultimate
Standard Special Fireball
Side Special Cape
Up Special Super Jump Punch
Down Special Mario Tornado F.L.U.D.D.
Final Smash Mario Finale

Mario's Custom Special Moves
Custom 1 Custom 2
Standard Special Fast Fireball Fire Orb
Side Special Shocking Cape Gust Cape
Up Special Super Jump Explosive Punch
Down Special Scalding F.L.U.D.D. High-Pressure F.L.U.D.D.

Taunts[]

  • Up Taunt: Grows in size and shrinks down. Based on his animation after using a Super Mushroom from the original Super Mario Bros., albeit with the new sound effect from recent Mario titles.
  • Side Taunt: Spins in place while taking off his hat. Based on his victory animation after completing a level from New Super Mario Bros.
  • Down Taunt: Jumps, spins, and falls on his back onto the ground. Based on his dying animation from the original Donkey Kong.

On-Screen Appearance[]

  • Exits out of a Warp Pipe and says "Let's-a go!"

Idle Poses[]

  • Adjusts his cap.
  • Holds his fists in front of him while moving from each side.

Victory Poses[]

  • Winds up his fist and punches forward.
  • Performs a spinning jump before posing. Based on his character select animation in the original Super Smash Bros.
  • Summons fire from his hands before posing.

In competitive play[]

Upon the game's release, players immediately noticed the significant buffs Mario had received to his mobility, combo game, KO power, and reach. Meanwhile, although not a direct consequence, his tougher matchups from Brawl such as Marth, Meta Knight, and King Dedede were nerfed (especially with the former two's range reduced; the lack of range was Mario's critical flaw in Brawl). These buffs and the less hostile environment caused Mario to be viewed as a viable character throughout the game’s lifespan. The result of these buffs was a character with the lowest learning curve of any character in the game, who provided high reward for low risk, with caveats including great all-around mobility, a powerful, yet easy combo game, an improved zoning tool in his Fireballs, outstanding frame data that, in some cases, can leave him near-unpunishable (letting him abuse otherwise unsafe moves like charged smash attacks), and a strong recovery aided by a Cape that also works as a reflector. While some of these strengths were not perceived until much later, these caused him to quickly gain good tournament representation in all levels of play, and was considered a mid to high-tier character. Despite this, opinions of Mario slowly began to rise due to the fact he remained stagnant in game updates, as well as the nerfs to Diddy Kong, who was one of his most troublesome matchups. As a result of this, he started to gain much higher representation and results, especially by top players such as Ally and ANTi, both of whom have placed among the top 8 in large tournaments such as The Big House 5, with ANTi also taking top player ZeRo through very close games in the former tournament. This resulted in Mario ranking 8th on the first 4BR tier list.

On the earlier half of 2016, Mario's already strong results would significantly improve. Game updates would nerf Sheik, Zero Suit Samus and Bayonetta, some of his most difficult matchups, while Mario himself remained unchanged. Although it was unknown how these nerfs to the top tiers would affect him at first, it later became clear many characters (and players themselves) started to have a hard time fighting even inexperienced Marios. Furthermore, Ally would go on to win multiple national-level tournaments such as Smash 'N' Splash 2 and EVO 2016 using Mario, while ANTi won CEO 2016 using Mario for the majority of the tournament. Due to this streak of successes, players would commonly advocate that Mario was among the best characters in the game, which would be reflected in him rising to 5th place on the second tier list. On the third tier list, Mario suffered a very slight drop to 6th place and the A tier, as while he remained a very successful character, his results had dropped compared to 2016, and this drop also paved the way for Bayonetta to establish dominance. Despite this, many players argued that Mario still deserved a top 5 ranking due to his spectacular prior results.

Towards the end of the game’s lifespan, however, Mario's top level results became noticeably worse than some top tier characters such as Fox, Marth, Ryu, Sonic and Zero Suit Samus, all of which have achieved stronger tournament representative and placings. His even or disadvantageous matchups lurking in the lower tiers became more prominent, and characters exploiting Mario's below average range, such as Corrin, Donkey Kong, and Lucina became more successful in tournaments. As a result, Mario's decline in tournament results saw him drop to 9th place on the fourth and current tier list. Regardless, Mario's significant improvements from Brawl ensured he would achieve excellent tournament success and results throughout the competitive metagame.

Trophy Description[]

Mario[]

As iconic as iconic gets, this gaming celebrity is known for saving the world from Bowser. He's got amazing jumping skills and makes use of a wide range of transformations. In his free time, he plays too many sports to count. In Smash Bros., he's a well-rounded fighter you can rely on. Say it with me: "It's-a me, Mario!"

  • NES - Donkey Kong Classics (09/1988)
  • NES - Super Mario Bros. (10/1985)

Mario (Alt)[]

Super Jump Punch is an up-special move that lets you leap high into the air, carrying any fighters you strike along with you. You'll be invincible for a moment after you launch this attack. The default side-special move, Cape, will flip a fighter around. Keep a foe from returning with this move!

Tanooki Mario + Kitsune Luigi[]

If you find a Super Leaf, Mario transforms into Tanooki Mario! His newfound tail works as a weapon and as a propeller to slow his fall. His brother, Luigi, won't turn into a Tanooki, though—he becomes Kitsune Luigi. Wouldn't want to have trouble telling the two apart, would we?

Statue Mario[]

Statue Mario is invincible and will be ignored by his enemies. If he transforms in midair, he'll do a nice Thwomp impression but he can't move! Well, unless a moving platform carries him into unlucky enemies. Give it a try in Super Mario 3D Land!

Baby Mario[]

A baby version of Mario, sans mustache, who first appeared in Yoshi's Island. Still in diapers, he mostly leaves the adventuring to Yoshi unless a Super Star is involved. If that happens, he becomes invincible and runs around with a cape--a little smooth-faced Super Mario!

Boomerang Mario[]

If you know how the Boomerang Bros. like to fight, they really aren't that tough. But if Mario BECOMES a Boomerang Bro--Boomerang Mario--what then? Will his opponents be stunned by his new moves? At the least, throwing a boomerang makes things more fun!

Mario (With Propeller Box)[]

Mario with his head in a Propeller Box. He looks like something you'd see in a parade. But wait! That propeller isn't just for show--Mario can use it in the middle of a jump to go even higher. And it'll slow his fall back to the ground too!

Mario + Standard Kart[]

Customizing your ride is part of the fun of Mario Kart 7. Choose the best frame, tires, and glider to make your own dream machine! You can come up with some outlandish combinations, but I think Mario looks best when you keep things simple.

Mario (Gold Block)[]

Oh no! Has the karma for smashing all those blocks finally caught up with Mario, and now he's doomed to wear a block on his head forever? Not at all! This Gold Block gives Mario coins whenever he runs and jumps. Cha-ching! Everyone loves getting more coins!

Paper Mario[]

The paper-thin Mario from the Paper Mario series recently quested for the wish-granting Royal Stickers. These magic stickers are for more than just collecting, though. Mario can use them to change his paper world, and nothing helps him in battle more than a stickers!

Mario Golf: World Tour[]

Looks like Mario is really on his game today! Or he just sent his ball off the course and into the trees--it's hard to tell. Getting a ball out of the rough is part of golf! It adds a bit of adventure to the game, though the undersea course in this world tour probably adds more.

Costume Gallery[]

Mario Palette (SSB4)

Gallery[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Mario is the first fighter that is capable of wall jumping.
  • He is also the first fighter to be cast in the SSB4.
  • SSB4 is the final game to include his Wario-styled outfit, as well as fire-flower.

External links[]

MarioSymbol Super Mario universe
Characters Mario (64  · Melee  · Brawl  · 3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Luigi (64  · Melee  · Brawl  · 3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Princess Peach (Melee  · Brawl  · 3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Bowser (Melee  · Brawl  · 3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Dr. Mario (Melee  · 3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Rosalina & Luma (3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Bowser Jr. / Koopalings (3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Daisy (Ultimate)
Piranha Plant (Ultimate)
Side Characters Bosses Metal Mario  · Metal Bros.  · Petey Piranha
Assist Trophies Waluigi  · Hammer Bro  · Lakitu and Spinies  · Chain Chomp  · Thwomp  · Flies & Hand
Mii Fighter Costumes Mario  · Luigi  · Princess Peach  · Daisy  · Wario  · Waluigi  · Chain Chomp  · Spiny  · Shy Guy  · Super Mushroom  · Toad  · Geno  · Builder Mario  · Cappy
Background characters Koopa Troopa  · Banzai Bill  · Goomba  · Pidgit  · Toad  · Boo  · Toad Brigade  · Chain Chomp  · Luma  · Pauline
Stage Hazards Piranha Plant  · Banzai Bill  · Birdo  · Shy Guy  · Shellcreeper and Sidestepper  · Kamek  · Nabbit
Enemies Goomba / Giant Goomba  · Koopa Troopa / Koopa Paratroopa  · Bullet Bill  · Banzai Bill  · Bill Blaster  · Chain Chomp  · Flame Chomp  · Hammer Bro.  · Lakitu and Spinies  · Magikoopa  · Shy Guy  · Spike Top
Stages Peach's Castle  · Mushroom Kingdom (Super Smash Bros.)  · Princess Peach's Castle  · Rainbow Cruise  · Mushroom Kingdom (Super Smash Bros. Melee)  · Mushroom Kingdom II  · Delfino Plaza  · Mushroomy Kingdom  · Figure-8 Circuit · Luigi's Mansion · Mario Bros.  · 3D Land  · Golden Plains  · Paper Mario  · Rainbow Road  · Mushroom Kingdom U  · Mario Galaxy  · Mario Circuit  · Super Mario Maker  · New Donk City Hall
Mushroom Kingdom (Adventure)
Items Banana Peel  · Bob-omb  · Boomerang  · Bullet Bill  · Fire Bar  · Fire Flower  · Freezie  · Golden Hammer  · Grass  · Green Shell  · Hothead  · Lightning Bolt  · Metal Box  · Poison Mushroom  · POW Block  · Red Shell  · Soccer Ball  · Spiny Shell  · Super Leaf  · Super Launch Star  · Super Mushroom  · Super Star
Music Lists List of Music (Mario series)  · List of Music (Mario Kart series)
Songs "Main Theme (Super Mario 64)"  · "Paper Mario Medley"  · "Rainbow Road Medley"  · "Jump Up, Super Star!"
Collectibles Trophies Melee Trophies  · Brawl Trophies  · 3DS Trophies  · Wii U Trophies
Stickers List of Stickers (Super Mario series)
Spirits List of spirits (Mario series)
Masterpieces Super Mario Bros.  · Super Mario Bros. 2  · Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels  · Super Mario World  · Super Mario Kart  · Dr. Mario
Related universes Donkey Kong · Yoshi · Wario · Wrecking Crew
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