- This article is about Mario's appearance in Super Smash Bros. For other uses, see Mario.
| “ | The internationally-famous, mustachioed superstar. Mario's jumping ability is the key to his success. | ” |
| —Super Smash Bros's instruction manual | ||
Mario (マリオ, Mario) appears as a default character in Super Smash Bros. He is considered an "all-around" character (as in most games).
Mario is currently ranked 7th on the tier list for good offensive capabilities, good defense and speed, and having an excellent combo ability. He has powerful smash attacks, one of the best projectiles and a linear yet versatile recovery. However, he has bad range (besides Fireballs), which limits his approach options.
Attributes[]
Mario is considered to be the most balanced character in Super Smash Bros. His stats are overall average to slightly subpar, with average weight, size, and falling speed, and below-average walking, dashing, and air speeds. He overall has a good combination of low power and high power attacks, giving him a pretty strong combo ability with many options, yet a variety of KO moves and options. He also has a projectile in his Fireball, that is a decent way to prevent opponent approaches due to falling downward while moving forward if used in the air. On the ground, it travels too slowly (along with the move's ending lag) to be effective however.
Mario's down aerial, a drill kick, is an excellent damage racker, being able to combo straight into an up aerial or itself (if offstage or high enough). It, being a meteor smash with consistently low knockback, is a rather effective way to gimp opponent's recoveries, and isn't of very high risk to use offstage due to Mario's good recovery. Mario's short hopped down aerial to up aerial combos are usually considered the best way to rack damage at base to low percentages, when his up tilt has too much ending lag to combo efficiently. His up tilt can chain into itself easily at moderate or close to moderate percentages, can combo into aerials, and is an effective move to use for juggling along with his up aerial. Mario's up smash and back throw are very powerful KO moves, with the former being able to KO on Dream Land as low as 73%, and being able to be combo'd into with a short hopped z-cancelled down aerial, and the latter easily being able to garner KOs or at least set up edgeguards when used near the edge. His down smash is also a powerful move, with its two hits being spread out over a somewhat long duration, allowing it to easily read defensive options such as rolls, and also being able to hit characters on the edge. Even his forward throw and forward smash, weaker than his main KO moves, are strong enough to be able to KO near the edge.
Mario also has one of the best offstage games. His forward aerial consists of multiple hits, with the last few being able to semi-spike, while his back aerial is a solid KO move. Both can also be used for spacing efficiently. His down aerial can drag opponents down if used repeatedly, as it is a meteor smash with extremely low set knockback, though it isn't very fast, meaning characters with better recoveries (mostly Pikachu, other Marios to a lesser extent) are able to escape. His neutral aerial, while inferior to back aerial in terms of power, may be used to edgeguard whenever Mario is in the situational position to use it after a combo. Super Jump Punch and Mario Tornado also grant Mario a good recovery (though the latter requires quick button mashing), especially vertically, and while both moves travel in a linear way, Mario Tornado can be used at different times to mix up his options and make his recovery more unpredictable.
Despite his advantages which compensate for his disadvantages, Mario still has some weaknesses that prevent him from being in the higher tiers. His attacks generally have short range, allowing many characters to outspace and outcamp him easily, particularly ones with some disjointed moves (most notably Kirby, Pikachu, and maybe Fox). He also lacks a reliable way to deal with projectiles, which combined with his poor mobility, gives him difficulty approaching characters such as Fox. Mario's attacks also aren't very fast, with his best finisher (up smash) having major ending lag, and only very few of his moves (such as up aerial) having notably fast startup. Mario also isn't too good at dealing with pressure due to his poor mobility, though his out-of-shield options are pretty decent.
Mario, overall, has above average matchups. His only disadvantageous matchups are Pikachu on Dream Land, with a handful of his matchups being even.
Moveset[]
| Image | Name | Damage | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral attack |  |
2% | Two punches and a kick. This attack is taken directly from Mario's combo attack in Super Mario 64. | ||
| 2% | |||||
| 4% | |||||
| Forward tilt | ↗ |  |
11-14% | Mario kicks straight forward. An okay move for spacing but rarely used due to Mario having better options. Comes out fast with decent range. This attack can be angled up or down. | |
| → | 10-13% | ||||
| ↘ | 9-12% | ||||
| Up tilt |  |
8-10% | Mario twirls and punches upwards. A good combo tool that launches enemies upward for easy follow-ups and can KO at higher percents. | ||
| Down tilt |  |
9-12% | Kicks one foot forward. Has decent range, but not much useful for knockback purposes. | ||
| Dash attack |  |
9-12% (clean), 8-10% (late) | Does a sliding tackle, taken from Super Mario 64. Above-average ending lag and doesn't contain many follow-up options. | ||
| Forward smash | ↗ |  |
14-18% | Mario winds up for a second and and unleashes a straight punch ahead. A decent finishing move with medium speed and good power, though inferior to both his up and down smashes and back throw in terms of KO power. This attack can be angled up or down. | |
| → | 13-17% | ||||
| ↘ | 12-16% | ||||
| Up smash |  |
15-19% | Mario jumps and delivers a powerful headbutt aimed upwards. His whole head has a large disjointed hitbox for the duration of this attack, and it's a very powerful vertical finisher, being the strongest up smash in the game (tied with Luigi's and Jigglypuff's). However, both the move's ending lag and somewhat short horizontal range limits its effectiveness. | ||
| Down smash |  |
13-17% | Mario swings both his legs around in a double-leg sweep attack. A decent spacing and KO-ing move, being used to punish tech and rolls. | ||
| Neutral aerial |  |
11-14% (clean), 9-11% (late) | Mario performs a sex kick attack. It gets weaker the longer it's out; though when it first comes out, it's a good finisher (though inferior to back aerial). | ||
| Forward aerial |  |
12-16% (clean), 8-10% (late) | Performs a spinning dropkick forward. The last hitboxes can semi-spike, so it can be used for a gimp. Highly useful against the majority of recoveries in the game. | ||
| Back aerial |  |
12-16% (clean), 8-10% (late) | Performs a reverse dropkick that has good power, being a useful edge-guarding tool. | ||
| Up aerial |  |
9-12% (clean), 7-9% (late) | Performs a midair flip kick. The direction of the knockback depends on which angle the foe was hit on. | ||
| Down aerial |  |
8% (hits 1-8) | Spins while doing a downwards drill kick. This attack can hit multiple times. | ||
| Grab |  |
— | |||
| Forward throw |  |
9-12% | Quickly swings the foe once and tosses them forward. A good throw in terms of power, though back throw is better for KOs. | ||
| Back throw |  |
12-16% (throw), 8-10% (collateral) | Grabs opponent by the legs and swings them around three times before tossing them behind him. One of the most powerful back throws in the game, a very reliable finisher. | ||
| Floor attack (front) |  |
5-6% | Gets up and does a headbutt on both sides. | ||
| Floor attack (back) |  |
5-6% | Attacks with a sweepkick that hits on both sides. | ||
| Edge attack (fast) |  |
5-6% | Mario pulls himself up from the edge and performs a double-legged kick attack aimed upwards. | ||
| Edge attack (slow) |  |
5-6% | Slowly gets up and delivers a low kick at the opponent's feet. | ||
| Neutral special |  |
Fireball | 6-7% | Throws a fireball, which travels forward and loses momentum with each bounce. Because of this, they are best used in the air, and at higher locations. They can be spammed, though with some difficulty (and at a slower rate of fire than Luigi's), and are a decent approaching tactic. The move can be more efficient when used in the air, falling to meet the enemy at ground level, while still moving, and negating lag. | |
| Up special |  |
Super Jump Punch | 4-5% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-9), 3% (hit 10) | Does a jumping uppercut, which causes damage and makes coins fly out of the opponent. Can be used to rack up damage. Mainly used for recovery, with great vertical range and decent horizontal range if aimed forward. | |
| Down special |  |
Mario Tornado | 1% (hits 1-14) | Does a spinning tornado attack, resembling the Spin Jump from Super Mario World. Has set knockback. If the lower segment of the final hitbox lands successfully, the move is a meteor smash. If the special button is pressed repeatedly in midair, Mario will rise upwards. | |
Taunt[]
- Puts his arms by his sides and grows, as if receiving a Super Mushroom. He shrinks shortly after. A very long taunt, so it is often used sparingly. Mario's taunt can be cancelled repeatedly if used on the platforms on Dream Land while the wind is blowing or by pressing the Z button when he starts to shrink.
On-Screen Appearance[]
- Jumps out of a Warp Pipe.
Matchups[]
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In 1P Game[]
In the game's single-player mode, the player and a randomly chosen ally fight against Mario and Luigi in a team battle on Peach's Castle. Later on in the single-player mode, Metal Mario, a metallic incarnation of Mario (introduced in Super Mario 64), is featured as a "boss character" to duel in Metal Mario's Stage. He is not merely a heavier texture-swap of Mario; his weight is drastically higher than Mario's, and his attacks deal much more knockback as well. He can also take far more damage than regular Mario before being KO'd. Throwing is highly effective against him because of the high hitstun and Metal Mario's extremely heavy weight.
Strategies[]
Tornado Spike[]
If Mario catches someone with the Mario Tornado over a pit and the last thing the opponent hits is Mario's feet, the opponent will be spiked downward. It can be used to spike a recovering opponent, but it's easy to DI out before the last kick so that the spike doesn't hit. Very situational.
Tornado Recovery[]
Mario can gain vertical distance during the Tornado if the B button is mashed often enough during the attack animation.
Mario Bros. Pseudo Spike[]
Both Mario and Luigi can spike an opponent with repeated Down aerials. This involves hitting the opponent with the D-Air repeatedly off the edge and then taking advantage of Mario and Luigi's huge vertical recoveries to get back on the stage. This does not work against Pikachu, who has a longer and faster vertical recovery than either Mario or Luigi.
Glitches[]
There is a glitch where Mario can deal 999% of damage. Unfortunately, this glitch can only be done on Training Mode. By placing four Green Shells next to your opponent, and doing his Up B/Down B special next to the shells and the opponent, Mario will hit infinitely the shells as well as the opponent, until long after 999% is reached. If Red Shells are used however, Mario will take about 500% instantly.
Another glitch can be pulled off if Mario does a backward Dodge against a wall continuously. If done quickly he will roll out of the stage into the background. While doing this, Mario can't get hit by items or attacks, however, he still can be affected by hazards such as the tornado in the Hyrule Castle stage.
Character description[]
- Although best known as the mustached plumber who battles the Turtle Tribe with his distinct jumping action, this internationally famous hero has also acted as a referee, a driver, and even a doctor! He's been linked to Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom for years, but to this day their true relationship remains a mystery.
- Works:
- Super Mario Bros. (NES)
- Super Mario Kart (SNES)
- Mario Kart 64 (N64)
Alternate Costumes[]
Mario's changeable clothing in Super Smash Bros.
Trivia[]
- Mario's artwork pose has him holding up a peace sign, as he did in several older games such as Super Mario World and Super Mario 64; the pose very nearly matches a piece of official artwork from that game as well.
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