- This article is about Mario's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For other uses, see Mario.
“ | Mario is an all-around fighter who uses his wide variety of techniques to respond to any situation. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he shows up in his wedding tux and builder outfit, and Cappy even makes an appearance! | ” |
—Description from the Super Smash Blog. |
Mario (マリオ) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, representing the Super Mario franchise. He was hinted at in the game's first teaser trailer in March 8th, 2018 and officially confirmed on June 12th at E3 2018. He is classified as Fighter #01.
Moveset[]
Attributes[]
- Mario's general moves and balance fits him in the jack-of-all-trades archetype of fighter; he is a versatile and adaptable character with good combo opportunities only limited by his short range. This is keeping in line with his appearances in other games such as Mario Kart and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games where he is designed to be an all-rounder, as well as his games being known for their welcoming nature to casual/first-time gamers.
- True to the main games in his series, Mario is capable of wall jumping.
Strengths[]
- Excellent frame data, which is easily among the fastest; most of his moves have low startup and ending lag, making Mario shine in close-quarters combat and quite difficult to punish.
- Amazing combo ability, as Mario can quickly and reliably rack up damage with tons of options.
- Versatile moveset; a disruptive projectile in his Fireball, Cape can reflect projectiles and easily gimp recoveries, and F.L.U.D.D. is a decent edgeguarding option.
- All of Mario's smash attacks are reliable KO moves.
- His aerials have good utility in many cases, with good range and respectable power.
- His dash and pivot grabs have unusually disjointed range for a character of his archetype.
- Mario's pummel is fairly quick, making it a good damage racking option.
Weaknesses[]
- Mario's moves have short range with relatively small and stubby hitboxes, giving him difficulty against characters with disjointed range.
- His KO potential is largely inconsistent, as he lacks any reliable finishers outside of his smash attacks, while back throw is slow and easy to DI; he also lacks consistent KO setups due to his predictable and unsafe kill options at high percentages.
- His recovery is easy to gimp and is rather predictable as Super Jump Punch travels a mere average distance, making him very vulnerable to semi-spikes.
- Lacks reliable burst options.
- None of his moves function reliably as a safe approach or get-off-me option against characters that can pressure him well.
- While Mario possesses a remarkable air game thanks to his high air speed, his ground game is rather limited due to his slightly below-average dashing speed and the aforementioned range problems.
General Moveset[]
- Note: The gifs used are not accurate representations of their standard knockback settings from 0%
Attack | Damage | Description |
---|---|---|
Jab - Jab / Straight / Kick Up | Jab: 2.6%
Straight: 2% Kick Up: 4.8% |
A left-hand punch, followed by another punch from his right, and then a kick. It is his 3-Hit B-button combo from Super Mario 64. |
Grab & Pummel - Grab Headbutt | Pummel: 1.5% | Grab: Reaches out to the opponent with one hand. Pummel: Repeatedly headbutts. |
Edge Attack | 10.8% | Dropkicks as he climbs up the stage. |
Front Floor Attack | 8.4% | Punches both behind and in front of himself as he gets up. |
Back Floor Attack | A sweepkick similar to the one in Super Mario 64. | |
Trip Attack | 6% | A one-legged kick on either side of Mario as he gets up. |
Dash Attack - Sliding | Full hit: 9.6% Late hit: 7.2% |
The Slide Kick from Super Mario 64. |
Aerials | ||
Neutral Aerial - Mario Kick | Full hit: 8% Late hit: 5% |
A Sex Kick, reliable in Edge-guarding and breaking combos. Resembles the Jump Kick from Super Mario 64. |
Up Aerial - Air Slash | 7% | A bicycle kick. It can chain into itself, and can lead to near inescapable KO setups on the top blast line if used with Super Jump Punch. |
Forward Aerial - Meteor Knuckle | Sweetspot: 14%
Early hit: 12% Late hit: 10% |
An overhead punch. Has a sweetspot that can Meteor Smash. |
Back Aerial - Drop Kick | Full hit: 10.5% Late hit: 7% |
An aerial dropkick. |
Down Aerial - Mario Tornado | Hits 1-5: 1.4%
Launcher: 5.5% Lingering hit: 2% |
Performs an aerial spin, damaging opponents with discus clotheslines and spinning backfists five times before launching them away. A great anti-juggling tool with respectable power. Based on the Spin Jump from Super Mario World. |
Tilts | ||
Up Tilt - Uppercut | 5.5% | An uppercut as Mario twirls that can combo into itself, especially at low percentages. Resembles the second hit of the Mega Glove attack from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. |
Forward Tilt - Middle Kick | 7% | A wheel kick or roundhouse kick that can be angled with high knockback. |
Down Tilt - Spinning Low Kick | Leg hitbox: 7% Foot hitbox: 5% |
The Sweep Kick from Super Mario 64. Can be used as a combo starter. |
Throws | ||
Up Throw - Throw Up | 7% | Thrusts the opponent upwards. Can be used as a combo starter at low percentages. Possibly based on the animation of Mario throwing Cappy upwards in Super Mario Odyssey. |
Forward Throw - Swing-Around Throw | 8% | Spins once to throw the opponent forwards. |
Back Throw - Airplane Swing | Throw: 11% Collateral: 8% |
Spins thrice to throw the opponent backwards. It can reliably KO opponents at the ledge of the stage and even earlier with rage. Mario can also harm opponents with the fighter he's swinging with. Based on his throw attacks during the boss battles against Bowser in Super Mario 64. |
Down Throw - Throw Down | 5% | Bodyslams the opponent. Serves as a combo starter or a follow-up into another attack. |
Smash Attacks | ||
Up Smash - Lead Headbutt | 14% | A headbutt arching upwards. Mario's head is intangible in its duration. |
Side Smash - Fire Palm Heel | Explosion: 17.8% Arm hitbox: 14.7% |
An exploding palm thrust. It can be angled. The explosion also contains a sweetspot. |
Down Smash - Break Spin | Front: 10% Back: 12% |
A powerful breakdance; it is a semi-spike, making it useful against offstage opponents. Possibly inspired by Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, or Super Mario 64. |
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 |
On-screen appearance[]
Mario will say one of his catchphrases, "Let's-a go!", as he jumps out of the Warp Pipe.
Idle Poses[]
Taunts[]
- Mario's pose in his Up Taunt resembles a piece of promotional artwork made for Club Nintendo.
- Mario's Side Taunt is based on the Cap Throw attack from Super Mario Odyssey. He will exclaim "Woohoo!" as he does so.
- Mario's Down Taunt recreates his losing animation in the original Donkey Kong.
Victory Screens[]
- Mario's third victory screen recreates an animation from the original Super Smash Bros. that he performs when he's selected in the Character Select Screen.
Aesthetic[]
- Mario's overall design now matches with his current appearance as of Super Mario Odyssey though with more muted colors, as is the aesthetic of Ultimate. Some of his animations and positioning have also been altered compared to past Smash games to make him face the screen more as well as being more expressive in general, now notably smiling and being happier in certain moves like in his appearances outside of Smash but also getting angrier in others such as when hanging on the ledge.
- Outside of his Side Taunt, Cappy has a random chance of briefly revealing himself whenever Mario performs Super Jump Punch, usually occurring when the normal coins change to the Regional Coins from the Metro Kingdom from Super Mario Odyssey.
- Some of the Mario series' iconic sound effects are carried over into Smash and play with certain actions, such as when Mario jumps off the ground or when he performs Super Jump Punch.
Classic Mode: Let's-a-Go![]
Mario's Classic Mode route is done in a traditional style, akin to both his home series and other fighting games. Specifically, his opponents in the first five rounds are representing other major Nintendo franchises before encountering a miniboss and finally battling Bowser (like in the mainline Mario games). The song "Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Medley" will play during the end credits.
Clearing Mario's route allows him to unlock any of the following in order: Sonic, Bayonetta, Little Mac, Ike, Luigi, Roy, Dr. Mario, and Olimar.
Round | Opponent | Stage | Music | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Link and Zelda | Great Plateau Tower | "Overworld Theme - The Legend of Zelda (Brawl)" | |
2 | Kirby, Meta Knight, and King Dedede | Green Greens | "Green Greens (Melee)" | The match will be a free-for-all. |
3 | Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong | Kongo Falls | "Jungle Level (Melee)" | |
4 | Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, and Pikachu | Pokémon Stadium | "Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Blue (Brawl)" | The match will be a horde battle. Pokémon Trainer will be absent. |
5 | Marth, Chrom, and Ike | Coliseum | "Story 5 Meeting" | |
6 | Bowser Jr. (x8) | Princess Peach's Castle | "Fortress Boss - Super Mario Bros. 3" | A horde battle against Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings, fought in the same order of appearance as their individual boss battles in Super Mario Bros. 3 with Bowser Jr. himself as the final opponent due to having debuted years after. |
7 | Bonus Stage | |||
Final | Bowser, then Giga Bowser | Final Destination | "King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3" (against Bowser)
"Giga Bowser" (against Giga Bowser) |
Recreates the final level of Melee's Adventure Mode, with Bowser transforming into Giga Bowser after being defeated. A Maxim Tomato will spawn after the transition. |
Role in World of Light[]
Mario appears in the opening cutscene with the other fighters along the cliffside facing the army of Master Hands. When Galeem unleashes his beams of light, Mario is one of the many characters to be destroyed by them off-screen. Mario is later seen in a captured state and is used to demonstrate how the puppet fighters were created, with his particular clone is hosting the imprisoned spirit of Smoky Progg.
Mario can be found in The Light Realm on the starting path before the crossroads, making him the very first fighter to be fought and unlocked.
Mario is later seen arriving at the final battle between Galeem and Dharkon, as well as making an appearance in two of the story's bad endings if only one of the entities is defeated:
- If Galeem is defeated, Mario is seen collapsing on the ground as Dharkon covers the world in darkness.
- If Dharkon is defeated, Mario is seen reacting in shock as Galeem covers the world, presumably being vaporized again as in the beginning of the story.
Fighter Battle[]
No. | Spirit | Type | Power | Stage | Song |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
01 | 2,500 | Final Destination | "Final Destination" |
Palette Swaps[]
Red |
Based on his current appearance since Super Mario Odyssey. |
---|---|
Striped |
Mario wears his Golf Cap and Golf Outfit from Super Mario Odyssey, itself based on his outfit in Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course and NES Open Tournament Golf. |
Blue |
Based on his appearance on the Japanese box art for Mario Bros.. |
Black |
Inspired by Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew '98. |
Green |
Resembles Mario's appearance on Japanese and European box arts for Wrecking Crew. It also resembles Luigi's appearance on the arcade version of Mario Bros., as well as bearing a resemblance to Jinbe from Mole Mania (another game produced by Shigeru Miyamoto). |
Purple |
Based on Waluigi. |
Yellow |
Builder Mario from Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Odyssey. |
White |
Wedding Mario from Super Mario Odyssey, wearing the Top Hat and Tuxedo amiibo set. |
Gallery[]
Video[]
Trivia[]
- Mario's render from the E3 Demo of Ultimate used his in-game model rather than the official artwork. He shares this oddity with Link, Pikachu, and Villager.
- Ultimate marks Charles Martinet's 100th credit as the voice of Mario, making him hold the world record for highest amount of performances for one character.
- Mario's Fighter Showcase video is the only one to include vocal lines.
- He and Yoshi are the only characters to have their vocals heard in the E3 trailer.
- Mario has seemingly endured the most physical violence in the trailers for the game, moments of which have become memes within the Super Smash Bros. fandom. These include getting crushed by Ridley, being blown up by a Creeper, and getting nearly impaled by Sephiroth.
- Five of Mario's alternate costumes (Default, Striped, Waluigi-inspired, Builder Mario, and Wedding Suit) are also in Super Mario Odyssey (six if one counts Dr. Mario).
- His Wedding Suit is also the only one to change the textures of his gloves.
- Due to Mario making an appearance in one of Piranha Plant's victory screens, he is one of two characters with the distinction of being a part of another character's victory screen, the other being Chrom.
- Mario is the only character to be present in all but one of the cutscenes in World of Light, which is excluding the true ending.
- World of Light marks Mario's first and only time being an Unlockable character.
- Mario is one of only three fighters to have Neutral-type battles in World of Light, the other two being Bowser and Ken.
- If Mario gets hit hard in the head, there's a chance his face will flatten, as this is reusing the same facial expression he takes on when Screen KO'd. The same can happen for Dr. Mario.
- If one looks underneath the Wedding Suit, it will reveal a gap in between Mario's shirt and pants.
[]
· Fighters | |
---|---|
Veterans | Bayonetta · Bowser · Bowser Jr. · Captain Falcon · Cloud · Corrin · Dark Pit · Diddy Kong · Donkey Kong · Dr. Mario · Duck Hunt · Falco · Fox · Ganondorf · Greninja · Ice Climbers · Ike · Jigglypuff · King Dedede · Kirby · Link · Little Mac · Lucas · Lucario · Lucina · Luigi · Mario · Marth · Mega Man · Meta Knight · Mewtwo · Mii Fighters (Mii Brawler · Mii Gunner · Mii Swordfighter) · Mr. Game & Watch · Ness · Olimar · Pac-Man · Palutena · Peach · Pichu · Pikachu · Pit · Pokémon Trainer (Charizard · Ivysaur · Squirtle) · R.O.B. · Robin · Rosalina & Luma · Roy · Ryu · Samus · Sheik · Shulk · Snake · Sonic · Toon Link · Villager · Wario · Wii Fit Trainer · Wolf · Yoshi · Young Link · Zelda · Zero Suit Samus |
Newcomers | Banjo & Kazooie · Byleth · Chrom · Daisy · Dark Samus · Hero · Incineroar · Inkling · Isabelle · Joker · Kazuya · Ken · King K. Rool · Min Min · Piranha Plant · Pyra/Mythra · Richter · Ridley · Sephiroth · Simon · Sora · Steve · Terry |