 |
VOOZH | about |
|
VOOZH | about |
| Mario in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | |
|---|---|
π MarioSymbol.svg | |
| Universe | Mario |
| Other playable appearances | in SSB in Melee in Brawl in SSB4 |
| Availability | Starter |
| Final Smash | Mario Finale |
| Tier | A+ (22) |
Mario (γγͺγͺ, Mario) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was suggested to appear in the then unnamed Ultimate in its first teaser trailer at the end of the March 8th, 2018 Nintendo Direct, and officially announced in Ultimate's E3 2018 trailer on June 12th, 2018 alongside the rest of the returning roster. Mario is classified as Fighter #01, the first fighter number of the Super Smash Bros. veterans and the overall roster. As in Super Smash Bros. 4, Charles Martinet's portrayal of Mario from Brawl was repurposed for Ultimate in all regions.
Mario is currently ranked 22nd out of 82 characters on the tier list, placing him at the very end of the A+ tier. This is a slight drop from his 9th out of 54 ranking in Smash 4 where he stood at the lower end of top tier, despite not facing many changes during the transition. Much like his previous incarnation, Mario's greatest asset is his fast frame data; most of his moves have little startup lag and have relatively low end lag. This results in Mario being fairly difficult to punish relative to most of the cast. His combo game is quite flexible, as Mario can rack up damage quickly and reliably with a myriad of options to do so. In particular, his up aerial is one of the best juggling tools in the game, as the move can very easily chain into itself and can lead to near inescapable kill setups either on the top blast line or near the ledge. In addition, he also has a versatile moveset: a disruptive projectile in his Fireball, a reflection-based and reverse-based move in his Cape that can counteract camping, and a decent, if niche edgeguarding option with F.L.U.D.D.
However, Mario also has some notable weaknesses. His moves have short range, with his hitboxes being relatively small and stubby when compared to the rest of the cast. This causes him to have difficulty against characters with long or disjointed range. Mario also suffers from a lack of consistent KO setups, due to having predictable, low range, and unsafe kill options at high percents, alongside his short frame and relative floatiness for a middleweight. He also struggles at KOing opponents in general, as he lacks any reliable finishers outside of his smash attacks: while his back throw is slow and vulnerable to DI and other moves like back aerial, down aerial and Super Jump Punch tend to be dependent on edgeguarding or being near the top of the blast line to KO. Marioβs recovery, while good, is still predictable due to Super Jump Punch only travelling a mere average distance. Lastly, Mario's average attributes do not allow him to quickly gain an advantage either, as the strengths of other characters can contest his, with the most notable being his overall range.
Overall, Mario's strengths outweigh his weaknesses, and while there were some initial doubts over Mario's viability, Dark Wizzy and Kurama spearheaded his status as a top-level threat, proving to be one of the most popular characters in the early metagame. While metagame shifts have hurt Mario over time, his success continued into the post-pandemic metagame thanks to newer players like Nao and Snow; as such, Mario remains a strong character in the newer metagame.
Mario is a short middleweight with relatively balanced attributes, possessing slightly above average walking speed, air acceleration, dashing speed and weight, whereas his falling speed and gravity are below average relative to the cast. He also has a very fast air speed (tied with Sonic, Donkey Kong, Little Mac and Inkling for the 12th fastest in the game) and excellent jumps, in exchange for poor attack range and moderately low traction. These balanced stats don't give Mario the edge when it comes to overall movement, but they nevertheless make him adept at most situations where a key attribute is needed to gain the advantage, which, when combined with his very quick frame data, grants him a great neutral game. As a result, despite his attributes implying a jack-of-all-trades type of character, Mario is somewhat more of a rushdown character in practice.
Thanks to his incredibly quick attack speed, Mario shines in close-quarters combat. His fast attack speed allows him to consistently apply pressure to the opponent, and he is capable of quickly racking up damage once he gets the momentum, which is easy to do on characters that cannot match his attack speed without getting heavily punished for it. Excluding his forward smash, forward aerial, and special moves, all of Mario's moves have fast startup and low ending and landing lag (the latter in the case of his aerial attacks, except for his aforementioned forward aerial). All of his grounded moves are prime examples of his quick frame data: his neutral attack is his fastest move and an overall effective way to rack up damage, along with handy combo capabilities, while his up and down tilts are effective combo starters that can help rack up plenty of damage, and the former chains into itself at low percentages. All of his smash attacks are decent KO options, as they can reliably KO at high percentages and have low ending lag; his forward smash has a powerful sweetspot located on the fiery explosion that he emits from his palm and possesses the highest power of all of his smash attacks, down smash is a semi-spike, making it useful for forcing opponents offstage, and up smash is very hard to punish due to its speed, power and slight disjoint due to the intangibility it grants on his head.
Mario's aerial attacks are also very useful in many cases. Neutral aerial is a sex kick that can be useful in edgeguarding or for breaking combos. Back aerial has the longest reach and the highest knockback of Mario's aerial moves, allowing it to space effectively and reliably KO offstage. Up aerial's extremely quick startup, vertical launch angle, and lack of sourspots let it combo into itself or other moves, on top of letting it easily break or set up combos. Mario Tornado, which is Mario's down aerial, is a great anti-juggling move that also has respectable power, especially if used near the upper blast line. Finally, his forward aerial is a meteor smash with high base knockback for one, making it great for gimping all but the farthest-reaching of recoveries and being an extremely effective KO option offstage.
His special moveset is highly varied and has plenty of uses. Fireball is a projectile with a decently long range. It can be useful in the neutral game or in edgeguarding, thanks to its disruptive knockback and downward trajectory, and is very useful for disrupting direct approaches. Super Jump Punch travels in a controllable diagonal direction and grants moderate distance, making it good at recovery. It also has intangibility upon startup, allowing it to be used out of shield very effectively. Due to its extremely quick startup, it is also a useful combo finisher, especially near the blast line. Cape reverses opponents, with the induced disorientation often being enough to allow a free hit or efficiently gimp a recovery, which aids in edgeguarding opponents. It is also a powerful reflector, making it highly useful in matchups against projectile-heavy characters, such as Simon or Samus. F.L.U.D.D. is a mechanism that shoots water, pushing opponents away, which compliments his Cape. Though situational, it can occasionally be used to give Mario some breathing space. As a result of his Cape, F.L.U.D.D., and his fast aerials, Mario also boasts a versatile edgeguarding game.
Another valuable strength of Mario is his grab game. Though his grab reach is somewhat average, his dash and pivot grabs extend far past his hurtboxes, granting them unusually disjointed range for a character of his archetype. In addition, his grabs are tied for the fastest in the game, and his pummel is fairly quick. His forward throw puts the opponent at a disadvantageous position, where Mario can capitalize on their mistakes. His up throw is a useful combo starter at lower percentages, comboing into his up, down, and back aerials. His back throw is by far his strongest throw and one of the strongest of its type in the game as well, as it can reliably KO at around 160% near the ledge on any character, and even earlier with rage, being capable of killing as early as 107% with it. Finally, his down throw is a great combo starter that can lead to a vast amount of combo opportunities, most notably his up, back, and forward aerials.
Finally, due to the favorable angles his moves send at, his tremendously quick frame data, and his extensive amount of combo starters, Mario's combo ability is fantastic, and it is also worth noting that several of Mario's moves can lock, including his neutral attack. This makes it almost always imperative for Mario's opponent to tech all attacks at low to mid percentages when needed; otherwise, Mario can capitalize on the opportunity and tack on unavoidable massive damage in the process.
Despite Mario's numerous strengths, he is not flawless. His attributes, while well-rounded, are not exactly exceptional, as many characters outclass him in various ways. Notable examples of this include Pikachu having a more versatile edgeguarding game, Luigi and Kazuya having better combo potential, Steve having a superior camping game, Sonic having substantially faster mobility, Bowser having significantly stronger attacks, Snake and Sora having a much more effective recovery, and Shulk and Min Min having drastically larger reach. In particular, the last one is his main weakness: his attacks generally possess relatively poor range.
His lack of reach (which was further worsened by the changes to his up-tilt and dash grab) prevents him from fighting at a safe distance, and consistently forces Mario to approach characters on his own. This leads to him having great difficulty against characters with large or disjointed range, particularly weapon users like Lucina and Cloud. While back air is Mario's most effective spacing tool, it too suffers from a mediocre range that limits its utility against disjointed attacks, and fireball, while an overall solid projectile, is slow and lacks transcendent priority, which means it can easily be beaten by any attack with a large hitbox, making it mostly an unreliable tool for camping. While Mario's pressuring capabilities are formidable, his susceptibility to getting spaced out is among the worst in the game due to his moves possessing very stubby and small-sized hitboxes, this results in Mario having a lot of difficulty in approaching and getting his combo game started if his opponents space him properly, as even a character with a slightly disproportionate disjoint can severely limit his ability to get in. In such cases, he will often be forced to rely on reads and make good for what he has when he gets an opening.
Another notable weakness is that Mario can also have some difficulty scoring KOs, as he has few strong and reliable finishers and can have difficulty landing them, especially at high percents, which are further compounded by his short range, which limits his options. Outside of his forward and up smashes, none of his other KO moves are very reliable and consistently effective for doing what they're supposed to: his down smash can only KO reliably with its back hit and is unsafe on shield, Super Jump Punch can only KO at very high percentages or close to the blast zones, his back aerial has short range and is unsafe against disjoints, his down aerial has even shorter range and can sometimes have trouble connecting, his back throw is very slow and very susceptible to DI, and his forward aerial is slow and must be sweetspotted (mid hit) to meteor smash, while the early hit and late hit (first and last active frame, respectively) have too much ending lag to be used as a combo extender while still being unreliable for killing due to their rather low knockback. Because of this, Mario tends to rely too much on his forward and up smashes or reads to score a KO, and his inconsistent KO potential is further worsened by the changes to rage, which hinders him more than other characters, as it doesn't increase knockback as much as in SSB4. Since it also no longer affects set knockback, he can't use his Super Jump Punchβs connecting hits as a KO confirm at low percents anymore if he has high rage, similarly to Samus's Screw Attack and Peach Parasol. Because of this, he must keep his forward and up smashes fresh and be careful not to get predictable, especially with the existence of stale-move negation. While his forward and up smashes are considered among the best of their type, they have their flaws too: the former has noticeable endlag and a sourspot located on Mario's arm, which, while very difficult to hit with, outprioritizes the sweetspot and has rather mediocre power, while the latter has poor range in front of him, to the point where it will sometimes miss completely against short, crouching, or characters with hurtbox shifting properties.
Despite being known for his jumping ability (hence his original nickname, Jumpman), Mario's recovery is easy to gimp and is quite predictable. Despite his fast air speed and high double jump, Super Jump Punch, while fast and relatively safe, travels a merely average amount of distance altogether. This means that if Mario is knocked off stage without his double jump, he is extremely vulnerable to edgeguarding, and one hit could be all it takes to kill him. This also leaves Mario very vulnerable to semi-spikes, as they will likely launch him too far to recover at high percentages. Aside from Super Jump Punch, Mario has no other recovery options aside from utilizing Cape's momentum stalling as a mix-up. Nevertheless, Super Jump Punch still offers a serviceable amount of recovery ability and can get the job done, should it be used properly.
Lastly, some minor weaknesses Mario might also suffer from include a lack of reliable burst options, as due to the small size of his hitboxes, none of his moves (except up special and neutral aerial) can function reliably as a safe approach or get-off me option against characters that can pressure him well such as Fox or Sonic. Mario might also struggle to get back from the ledge, as his ledge options are slow and predictable, making him vulnerable to getting ledge-trapped. While Mario possesses a remarkable air game thanks to his high airspeed, his ground game can sometimes be rather limited due to his dash being slightly below average in speed and his aforementioned range problems, which means he's usually going to rely on rising aerials or grabs to start his combo game, which can be predictable.
Overall, Mario has many clear strengths and very few exploitable glaring weaknesses, resulting in said strengths outweighing said weaknesses. All in all, his above-average mobility and largely reliable combo ability allow him to get the edge easily against most characters, as it is hard to escape from his wrath once he gets the advantage, while it is also easy for him to escape from his opponentsβ wrath and regain the advantage. However, because of his low range, Mario must almost always fight in close quarters, and he often relies on reads to secure KOs. Mario has to be very careful off-stage as well, in spite of his respectable edgeguarding game, as one exploit of his defenses can cause him to be unable to recover.
Mario has undergone a mixture of buffs and nerfs in his transition to Ultimate, but despite being directly nerfed overall, the indirect changes to the game's engine drastically benefit his playstyle, and he has also received buffs to some of his underwhelming moves from his SSB4 incarnation. As a result, it is difficult to determine if he was buffed or nerfed overall.
Mario has received a few direct noteworthy buffs. Fireball has reduced endlag, a slightly larger hitbox, and inflicts more hitlag on opponents, greatly improving its safety and follow-up potential. F.L.U.D.D. has reduced ending lag and a stronger pushback effect as a result of its increased set knockback, allowing Mario to disrupt and edgeguard opponents with it more effectively. As a result of his buffed specials, Mario's approach and already oppressive edgeguarding ability have been improved. A few of his standard attacks have received buffs as well; forward tilt is much more effective as a spacing option due to its higher base knockback, lower ending lag, and the increased shieldstun for tilt attacks. Additionally, his down aerial connects more reliably than before and deals increased damage and knockback, improving its damage-racking capabilities and KO potential. Forward smash also deals consistent damage across all angles, and when angled up or down, has increased knockback scaling, slightly improving its already impressive KO potential even further.
Mario also benefits heavily from the changes to Ultimate's mechanics. His already strong set of aerials has been improved even further as a result of the universal reduction to landing lag; this not only makes them safer on shield despite the reduced shieldstun on aerial attacks, but it allows for more reliable combos and even devastating KO setups, such as up aerial into forward aerial. This is complemented by the universal 3-frame jumpsquat, with his up throw in particular becoming a much more effective combo starter as well. The universal increase to mobility further improves Mario's approach and allows him to string attacks together more effectively and close in on opponents more effectively. Lastly, the changes to air dodging further improve his excellent edgeguarding ability, and give him a situational recovery alternative to his predictable Super Jump Punch.
However, Mario has also received noteworthy nerfs. A notable detriment to his toolkit is the universal nerfing of grabs; while his throws' excellent utility and his potentially devastating throw combos from SSB4 remain, the increased startup on his dash and pivot grabs, the increased ending lag of all of his grabs and the reduced range on his dash grab make it harder for Mario to make use of his potent grab game. Furthermore, his neutral game, while still solid, has been toned down due to changes to some of his best moves. For example, his up tilt, one of his most pivotal moves, has an altered animation, causing the move's initial hitbox to be positioned higher above the ground while worsening its horizontal range; this not only further exacerbates his already bad range, but also significantly hinders the move's use as a reliable follow-up from his down throw at any percent against most characters, worsening both the move's combo potential and Mario's overall punish ability, as up tilt was considered to his most effective damage racking option. This is partially compensated by up throw's improved combo potential at low percents, however. His dash attack, while it can still serve as a 2 frame punish at the edge, is no longer capable of stage spiking off-stage opponents, due to its late hit's knockback angle being altered to send opponents away from Mario rather than towards him; additionally, the move's new animation gives him less protection overall. Additionally, the increased knockback on his forward tilt causes the move to lose its locking potential. On top of this, Super Jump Punch sweetspots edges three frames later, to the point of causing Mario to land on the stage and become much more vulnerable if he does not use it from a far enough distance; additionally, due to the changes to rage, it is much less effective for taking out stocks off the upper blast line below high percents. Finally, the changes to air dodging are a double-edged sword for Mario; while this makes Mario more effective at edgeguarding his opponents, he is, conversely, also easier for his opponents to edgeguard as a result.
Overall, Mario retains all of his strengths from SSB4, with his extreme combo and edgeguarding abilities benefiting noticeably from the reworked mechanics despite the nerfs to a few of his moves, though he now possesses a slightly worsened disadvantage state to go with it. His playstyle is fundamentally different due to Ultimate's reworked mechanics, requiring players to utilize different strategies to achieve the same level of effectiveness that his previous incarnation was capable of, and resulting in a slightly higher learning curve and cerebral curve. Combined with the higher playstyle diversity among the cast as a result of the various changes to other returning veterans and the introduction of various strong DLC characters, Mario performs slightly worse than in SSB4.
With only one nerf to Fireball, Mario was slightly buffed overall in Ultimate's game updates, most of them being quality-of-life updates to his Final Smash, Mario Finale.
Update 2.0.0 made his dash attack send opponents at a lower angle, improving its edgeguarding ability and gave the Final Smash Meter version of Mario Finale a slightly higher knockback multiplier. Update 3.0.0 brought the aforementioned nerf to Fireball, making it deal less shield damage, but also made it so that opponents close to Mario Finale were slowed down more. And finally, 8.0.0, made Mario Finale deal more damage and have more vertically stretched hitboxes, increasing its range and making the move harder to escape.
As a result, competitively speaking, Mario has remained mostly the same since launch, but nonetheless has remained a very successful character in competitive play.
π Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
2.0.0
π Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
3.0.0
π Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
4.0.0
π Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
8.0.0
For a gallery of Mario's hitboxes, see here.
Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.
| Name | Damage | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral attack | Jab (γΈγ£γ) Straight (γΉγγ¬γΌγ) Kick Up (γγγγ, Kicking Lift) |
2.2% | The Punch + Punch + Kick combo from Super Mario 64. The first and second hits can lock, and the general speed of the move makes it good as a grounded combo breaker or quick punish tool, as the first hit comes out on frame 2. | |
| 1.7% | ||||
| 4% | ||||
| Forward tilt | Middle Kick (γγγ«γγγ―) | 7% | A wheel kick. It can be angled. Very quick and good for getting opponents off of Mario due to its high base knockback, and angling it down enables it to hit ledge hangs, but it's weak and situational, as it cannot KO until 200% or even lock. | |
| Up tilt | Uppercut (γ’γγγΌγ«γγ) | 5.5% | A spinning uppercut. Effective for comboing into itself at low percents, and into aerial attacks from mid to high percents; however, the former combo can be escaped with the proper combination of DI and SDI, and can be punished on hit at very low percents. Unlike in SSB4, the move's altered animation results in the hitbox being positioned fairly high to the ground on the first frame it is active, creating a blind spot and making it fairly difficult or even impossible to hit shorter or crouching characters with the move. It vaguely resembles the second hit of the Mega Glove's combo from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. KOs at 160%. | |
| Down tilt | Spinning Low Kick (γΉγγγ³γ°γγΌγγγ―) | 5% (foot), 7% (leg) | A legsweep. A reliable combo starter that works at a wider range of percents than up tilt, at the cost of being less consistent due to its different hitboxes, and unable to combo into itself as effectively. It can also hit ledge hangs and combo off from ledge as well. | |
| Dash attack | Sliding (γΉγ©γ€γγ£γ³γ°) | 8% (clean), 6% (late) | The Slide Kick from Super Mario 64. Has a diagonal knockback angle, making its lingering hitbox useful for 2 frame punishing certain opponents and punishing spot dodges. The new animation is more unfavorable in terms of hitbox placements. | |
| Forward smash | Fire Palm Heel (γγ‘γ€γ’ζεΊ, Fire Palm Heel/Sole) | 17.8% (fire), 14.7% (arm) | A palm thrust that produces a small explosion. Though it is Mario's slowest ground attack, coming out on frame 15, it is among the quicker forward smashes and considered among the best in the game for several reasons: It is Mario's most powerful KO move when sweet spotted, KOing as low as 65% by the ledge and 90% center stage, the fireball itself is disjointed, can be angled downwards or upwards to hit ledge hangs, and the start-up animation has Mario pull back his hurtbox deceptively far, inadvertently allowing him to avoid several attacks. However, the sweet spot is out prioritized by the sour spot, necessitating good spacing to land. | |
| Up smash | Lead Headbutt (γΉγγγ·γ₯γγγγγγ, Smash Headbutt) | 14% | An upward arcing headbutt. One of Mario's most reliable KO options, being able to KO most middleweights at around 120%. Its quick startup at frame 9 makes it a useful out of shield option, as well as being difficult to react to if the opponent is within its range. His head is intangible while its hitboxes are active, giving it pseudo-disjointed range. Its hitboxes reach behind Mario a good distance but do not reach as far in front of him, thus having trouble hitting short or crouching opponents in front of him. It has very fast interruptibility for its strength, at frame 40, and its damage output is also just enough to make it difficult for most characters to punish out of shield. | |
| Down smash | Break Spin (γγ¬γ€γ―γΉγγ³) | 10% (front), 12% (back) | A breakdancing variation of the Sweep Kick from Super Mario 64. It hits in front of and behind Mario, and both hits semi-spike opponents, though the front hit is rather weak in comparison to the back hit. Mario's fastest smash attack, coming out as fast as all his tilts. Also capable of hitting ledge hangs. The first hit KOs at 153%, whereas the second KOs at 126%. | |
| Neutral aerial | Mario Kick (γγͺγͺγγγ―) | 8% (clean), 5% (late) | A flying kick. As a sex kick, it loses its average power after the first frames. It is useful for breaking out of combos due to its very fast startup (frame 3), and as a versatile horizontal combo extender, as well as for locking opponents. Autocancels in a short hop. Can combo into a tilt attack, up aerial, or grab at low percents if landing on the ground shortly after the hit, as well as boasting numerous KO confirms off the late hit at high percents. This move bears resemblance to the Jump Kick animation from Super Mario 64. | |
| Forward aerial | Meteor Knuckle (γ‘γγͺγγγ―γ«) | 12% (early), 14% (clean), 10% (late) | An overhand. When hit clean, it is a meteor smash with enough knockback to KO under 45% offstage and has deceptively high combo potential. It has the slowest startup of his standard moveset (frame 16), high ending lag, and is Mario's only aerial that doesn't autocancel in a short hop. Other than lacking combo potential, the early and late hits are too weak to KO reliably unless near the ledge. | |
| Back aerial | Drop Kick (γγγγγγγ―) | 10.5% (clean), 7% (late) | A dropkick. Has fast startup with low ending and landing lag, and more range than most of Mario's other aerials, making it an effective spacing tool and horizontal combo extender at low percents, as well as having the ability to pseudo Wall of Pain off stage. Also capable of KOing at higher percents near the ledge, and can be used twice in a short hop, or with neutral, up and down airs. | |
| Up aerial | Air Slash (γ¨γ’γΉγ©γγ·γ₯) | 7% | A bicycle kick. Has extremely fast startup (frame 4), consistent strength throughout the move, and very low ending and landing lag, making it one of Mario's most versatile combo starters and extenders in his moveset. Can combo into itself easily until higher percents, and can KO off the top at high percents. | |
| Down aerial | Mario Tornado (γγͺγͺγγ«γγΌγ) | 1.4% (hits 1-5), 5.5% (hit 6), 2% (landing) | Rapidly spins around, trapping opponents and damaging them with a series of discus clotheslines and spinning backfists before assuming a spread-eagle position to launch them. Possesses a rather low startup and ending lag, making the move reasonably safe to use barring its short range and lack of disjointed hitboxes. It also has a landing hitbox that combos reliably into tilts or a grab. However, opponents will occasionally break out of the move before the final hit, especially when Mario is moving quickly through the air. Useful as a combo finisher, combo breaker, and general damage-racking option, and can KO opponents deceptively well at high percentages. Resembles the Spin Jump, a technique that first appeared in Super Mario World. | |
| Grab | Grab (γ€γγΏ) | β | Reaches out. Mario's overall grab range is average, but tied for the fastest in the game. | |
| Pummel | Grab Headbutt (γ€γγΏγγγγγγ) | 1.3% | A headbutt. Average power and speed. | |
| Forward throw | Swing-Around Throw (γ΅γζγζγ) | 8% | Spins the opponent around once and throws them forward. Can be followed up with dash attack at lower percents, or be used to set up tech situations and mixups, or edge guards. It can KO at around 200% at the ledge. It is based on the throw that he uses against Bowser in Super Mario 64. | |
| Back throw | Airplane Swing (γΈγ£γ€γ’γ³γγΉγ€γ³γ°, Giant Swing) | 11% (throw), 8% (collateral) | A giant swing. Mario grabs the opponent by the feet, making them fall to the ground and spins three times while holding them by the legs before throwing them backward. Can KO even the heaviest of characters reliably at around 160% near the edge without the need of rage, but can KO middleweights as early as 120% if they fail to DI. It also has solid use in matches with more than one player, as the collateral hit has a large range and high knockback. Due to its slow speed, it is easy to DI, causing it to KO only above 160%. It is based on the throw that he uses against Bowser in Super Mario 64. | |
| Up throw | Throw Up (γΉγ«γΌγ’γγ) | 7% | Heaves the opponent upward. An effective combo throw at low to medium percents, comboing into all aerials except forward air. Due to its new animation, it heavily resembles the Upward Cap Throw from Super Mario Odyssey. | |
| Down throw | Throw Down (γΉγ«γΌγγ¦γ³) | 5% | A body slam. It can be followed up with several options, including but not limited to up tilt on certain characters at varying percents, Super Jump Punch, neutral attack, and up aerial at mid percents on most characters. Effective for starting ladder combos on platform stages. | |
| Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge |
β | β | ||
| Techs | β | β | ||
| Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front) |
7% | Punches behind himself and then in front of himself while getting up. | ||
| Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back) |
7% | Performs a modified version of the Sweep Kick from Super Mario 64 before getting up. | ||
| Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip) |
5% | Performs a side kick behind himself and then in front of himself while getting up. | ||
| Edge attack Edge getups |
9% | Performs a dropkick while climbing up. | ||
| Neutral special | Fireball | 5% (early), 4% (late) | Throws a Fireball. The Fireball bounces along the ground several times before disappearing. Despite its low damage, it is good for controlling space when performed in the air because Mario retains full aerial mobility throughout the move. Because the Fireball is subject to gravity, it can be used to cover Mario while recovering high, and can combo into quick attacks if Mario is close enough. | |
| Side special | Cape | 7%, 1.5Γ (reflection) | Dons a Cape around his neck and waves it in front of himself. It reflects projectiles and reverses enemies, as well as reversing the opponent's controls for a brief instant. In the air, it causes a Fall Break by stalling Mario in the air, allowing for timing mixups in juggle and recovery situations. Useful for gimping opponents who are trying to recover. | |
| Up special | Super Jump Punch | 5% (hit 1), 0.6% (hits 2-6), 3% (hit 7) | A jumping uppercut that produces Star Coins or Metro Kingdom regional coins on contact. Mario's only recovery move, but it leaves him helpless. Its extremely fast startup (frame 3) and intangibility frames on startup make it useful as an out of shield option. Can KO near the upper blast line, making it a good combo finisher out of a ladder. Can be angled to slightly change the direction it travels in. | |
| Down special | F.L.U.D.D. | 0% | Wields F.L.U.D.D. to launch a stream of water in front of himself. F.L.U.D.D. can be charged to create a larger stream and its charge time is rather fast. It can also be charge canceled and stored for later. The water pushes opponents, but does not damage them. Mario can change the angle of the stream upwards or downwards. Useful for edgeguarding, disrupting an approach and creating space, which can help alleviate pressure and potentially put his opponent in a vulnerable position. It also slightly pushes Mario backward if charged sufficiently, which further supplements its utility for creating space. | |
| Final Smash | Mario Finale | 2% (early), 2.5% (clean), 3% (late) | Rears his arms back before thrusting them forward to generate and launch two gigantic Fireballs, which trap and repeatedly damage any opponents in their path. Deals almost no knockback, but has decent damage and can carry opponents off the side of the stage when near the ledge. | |
| Stats | Weight | Dash speed | Walk speed | Traction | Air friction | Air speed | Air acceleration | Gravity | Falling speed | Jumpsquat | Jump height | Double jump height | Empty landing lag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | 98 | 1.936 β Initial dash 1.76 β Run |
1.155 | 0.102 | 0.015 | 1.208 | 0.01 β Base 0.07 β Additional |
0.087 | 1.5 β Base 2.4 β Fast fall |
3 | 36.33 - Base 17.54 - Short hop |
36.33 | 4 |
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Mario's on-screen appearance
Mario's up taunt.
Mario's side taunt.
Mario's down taunt.
Mario's first idle pose.
Mario's second idle pose.
See also: Category:Mario players (SSBU)
Upon the release of Ultimate, Mario was received lukewarmly and was regarded as an average mid-tiered character. This was seen through his poor range, which was impacted more in the game due to swordfighters and characters with disjoints being reworked; swordfighters, especially, were among the best characters in the early metagame. However, this perception quickly changed thanks to his sizable playerbase, with many Mario players placing highly at major events. Mario's representation was largely spearheaded by Dark Wizzy and Prodigy: Dark Wizzy saw a streak of top 8 finishes at majors -- ignoring full disqualifications -- that lasted from Shine 2019 in August 2019 to GENESIS 7 5 months later, while Prodigy 3-0'd MkLeo at Frostbite 2020. Both players showcased how Mario's combo game, while nerfed from the previous game, was still incredible, and had the potential to zero-to-death opponents. As a result of these strong results, many players agreed that Mario was a top-tier character.
However, the post-pandemic metagame brought about metagame shifts that hurt Mario in the long run. First, some of the new DLC characters introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic period either outranged Mario -- abusing one of his worst weaknesses -- or had a better time fighting him up close. In addition, players began adapting to Mario's zero-to-death combos, making them less deadly. Finally, Dark Wizzy performed notably worse than he did before the pandemic, while Mario's overall representation declined as well, going from 9th by the end of 2019[1] to 21st by the end of 2021.[2] These setbacks mellowed out opinions on Mario, with players now considering him as only a high-tier character.
Fortunately, Mario's representation saw a rebound in 2022 thanks to his best players remaining dedicated to him. For one, Prodigy, now going by Kurama, began seeing a streak of strong performances on-par with what Dark Wizzy had pre-pandemic. In addition, although he never regained his former glory, Dark Wizzy still saw strong performances once in a while. Finally, new Mario players began making their marks on the scene, most notably Nao and Snow in Japan. These positive results helped reverse Mario's declining representation in the metagame, as well as opinions on the character. As it stands, Mario is ranked 22nd on the current tier list, solidifying his status as a viable high tier, with some players arguing he should be considered a top tier.
In a similar fashion to the Classic Modes of past games prior to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Mario's opponents are groups of fighters from various universes fought on a home stage from that universe. The overall concept is also similar to Super Mario Odyssey, where Mario would travel to different kingdoms; this is reflected by the Japanese title (δΈηγγΎγγ«γγγ¦), which roughly translates to "Go Around the World". In this case, Mario's route emulates the idea of him traveling to different lands and meeting their local denizens, as in Odyssey.
Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Mario has Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Medley accompany the credits.
Mario's Classic Mode character unlock tree includes the following characters in order:
Each character can be unlocked by clearing Mario's Classic Mode, or the Classic Mode of any preceding character, if all preceding characters have been unlocked. Once all the above characters are unlocked, clearing Classic Mode with any of them will default to Donkey Kong's character unlock tree, starting with Bowser. Furthermore, Mario's tree can also be accessed by completing another starter character's unlock tree, then clearing Classic Mode with any character within, or with any DLC character.
Mario was among the fighters that were summoned to the cliffside to fight against the army of Master Hands.
During the opening cutscene, Mario was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. Mario was then destroyed by Galeem's light attack offscreen and imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters, with the exception of Kirby.
Mario is later seen under Galeem's imprisonment during the opening cutscene, where a puppet fighter of him is cloned from him to contain the spirit of a Smoky Progg. He is always the first character to be unlocked in this mode.
If Galeem defeats Dharkon, Mario watches in fear as Galeem unleashes a wave of light and is apparently vaporized with the rest of reality. If Dharkon defeats Galeem, Mario is seen lifelessly slumping over as the world is engulfed in darkness.
| No. | Image | Name | Type | Power | Stage | Music |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Mario | 2,500 | Final Destination | Final Destination |
Mario's default fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode as him. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold. Unlocking Mario in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His Builder and Wedding outfits have fighter spirits of their own, available through the shop, and in the Wedding outfit's case, can be obtained by scanning the Wedding Mario amiibo or by completing a challenge (Games & More: As Luigi, play solo All-Star Smash and deal damage with a taunt 3 times). Each fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces the character with their artwork in Ultimate.
Additionally, Mario makes an appearance in various primary and support spirits.
Conditions in italics aren't listed on the Spirit Battle preview screen.
| Spirit | Battle parameters | Inspiration | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Image | Name | Series | Enemy Fighter(s) | Type | Power | Stage | Rules | Conditions | Music | Character |
| 21 | Metal Mario | Super Mario Series | β’Metal π Mario (SSBU) |
9,600 | The Great Cave Offensive (Battlefield form) | N/A | β’The enemy is slow but has increased defense and attack β’The enemy is metal |
Metal Battle | |||
| 22 | Boo Mario | Super Mario Series | β’ π Mario (SSBU) |
1,900 | Dracula's Castle (hazards off) | β’Hazard: High Gravity β’Hazard: Low Gravity β’Invisibility |
β’The enemy is invisible β’Your jumping power decreases when the enemy's at high damage β’The enemy is less affected by gravity |
Castle / Boss Fortress - Super Mario World / SMB 3 | |||
| 34 | Toadsworth | Super Mario Series | β’ π Mario (SSBU) |
1,900 | Princess Peach's Castle | β’Item: Mushrooms | β’Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle | Ricco Harbor | |||
| 75 | Starship Mario | Super Mario Series | β’Giant π Mario (SSBU) |
4,100 | Mario Galaxy (Battlefield form) | β’Hazard: Low Gravity | β’Gravity is reduced β’The enemy is giant |
The Starship Sails | |||
| 78 | Cappy | Super Mario Series | β’ π Mario (SSBU) |
3,600 | Rainbow Cruise (hazards off) | β’Invisibility β’Item: Boomerang |
β’The enemy is invisible β’The enemy is easily distracted by items |
Jump Up, Super Star! | Mario | ||
| 81 | Goo-Goo Buggy | Mario Kart Series | β’ π Mario (SSBU) β’Luigi π Luigi (SSBU) |
3,400 | Figure-8 Circuit | β’Assist Trophy Enemies (Chain Chomp) | β’Hostile assist trophies will appear β’The enemy has increased move speed |
Mushroom Gorge - Mario Kart Wii | Baby Mario | ||
| 85 | B Dasher | Mario Kart Series | β’ π Mario (SSBU) Γ3 |
9,400 | Figure-8 Circuit | β’Uncontrollable Speed | β’All fighters move faster and can't stop quickly β’The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you |
Circuit - Mario Kart 7 | |||
| 119 | Kid | Mario Golf Series | β’ Team π Mario (SSBU) Γ4 |
2,500 | Golden Plains (Battlefield form) | β’Item: Beastball β’Hazard: Heavy Wind |
β’Dangerously high winds are in effect β’The enemy is easily distracted by items |
World Tour | |||
| 128 | MC Ballyhoo & Big Top | Mario Party Series | β’ π Mario (SSBU) β’Yoshi π Yoshi (SSBU) β’Peach π Peach (SSBU) β’Luigi π Luigi (SSBU) |
1,600 | Mario Circuit | β’Item Tidal Wave | β’Certain items will appear in large numbers after a little while | Pandemonium | Mario | ||
| 130 | Rabbid Mario | Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle | β’Bunny π Mario (SSBU) |
3,400 | 3D Land | β’Item: Shooting Types | β’The enemy starts the battle with a Ray Gun | Arcade Bunny's Theme | |||
| 132 | Mario (Mario Tennis Aces) | Mario Tennis Aces | β’ π Mario (SSBU) β’Peach π Peach (SSBU) |
8,800 | Wuhu Island (Swordplay Colosseum) |
β’Assist Trophy Enemies (Color TV-Game 15) | β’Hostile assist trophies will appear β’The enemy favors smash attacks |
Title Theme - Mario Tennis Aces | |||
| 299 | Baby Mario | Yoshi Series | β’Tiny π Mario (SSBU) β’Yoshi Team π Yoshi (SSBU) π Yoshi (SSBU) π Yoshi (SSBU) π Yoshi (SSBU) π Yoshi (SSBU) π Yoshi (SSBU) π Yoshi (SSBU) π Yoshi (SSBU) |
8,800 | Yoshi's Island | N/A | β’Defeat the main fighter to win β’The enemy shields often |
Yoshi's Island (Brawl) | |||
| 816 | Smoky Progg | Pikmin Series | β’ π Mario (SSBU) |
1,600 | Distant Planet (Battlefield form) | β’Metal Shift | β’The enemy will occasionally turn metal | Stage Select - Pikmin 2 | |||
| 941 | Von Kaiser | Punch-Out!! Series | β’ π Mario (SSBU) (120 HP) |
1,800 | Boxing Ring | N/A | β’The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power β’Stamina battle β’The enemy favors side smash attacks |
Minor Circuit (Original) | |||
| 1,147 | Maruhige Shop Owner | Trade & Battle: Card Hero Series | β’ π Mario (SSBU) (140 HP) |
3,700 | Pac-Land (Battlefield form) | β’Item: Assist Trophy | β’Stamina battle β’The enemy is easily distracted by items |
Welcome Center | |||
| 1,300 | Dice Block | Super Mario Series | β’ π Mario (SSBU) β’Peach π Peach (SSBU) |
1,900 | Princess Peach's Castle | β’Item Tidal Wave | β’Items will be pulled toward the enemy β’Certain items will appear in large numbers |
Pandemonium | Mario | ||
| 1,491 | Mario (Mario Golf: Super Rush) | Mario Golf: Super Rush | β’ π Mario (SSBU) |
9,600 | Yoshi's Island (Melee) (Ξ© form) | β’Temporary Invincibility β’Item: Balls |
β’The enemy will occasionally be invincible after a little while β’The enemy starts the battle with an Ore Club |
World Tour | |||
| 1,526 | Elephant Mario | Super Mario Series | β’Giant π Mario (SSBU) |
8,200 | Fountain of Dreams | N/A | β’The enemy has super armor but moves slower β’The enemy favors down specials β’The enemy is giant |
Ricco Harbor | |||
| Spirit | Battle parameters | Inspiration | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Image | Name | Series | Enemy Fighter(s) | Type | Power | Stage | Rules | Conditions | Music | Character |
| 27 | Baby Peach | Super Mario Series | β’Tiny Isabelle π Isabelle (SSBU) β’ π Mario (SSBU) |
3,600 | Princess Peach's Castle | N/A | β’Defeat the main fighter to win β’The enemy favors dash attacks β’The enemy has increased move speed |
Ground Theme - Super Mario Bros. (Melee) | Mario | ||
| 29 | Peach (Wedding) | Super Mario Series | β’Peach π Peach (SSBU) β’ π Mario (SSBU) |
9,900 | New Donk City Hall | β’Flowery | β’Defeat the main fighter to win β’You constantly take minor damage β’The enemy tends to avoid conflict |
Break Free (Lead The Way) | Mario | ||
| 79 | Pauline | Super Mario Series | β’Peach π Peach (SSBU) β’ π Mario (SSBU) β’Giant Donkey Kong π Donkey Kong (SSBU) |
13,700 | 75m (hazards off) | β’Jump Power β | β’Defeat the main fighter to win β’You have reduced jump power β’Reinforcements will appear during the battle β’The enemy tends to avoid conflict |
Jump Up, Super Star! | Jumpman (Mario) | ||
| 104 | Geno | Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars | β’Sheik π Sheik (SSBU) β’Peach π Peach (SSBU) β’Kirby π Kirby (SSBU) β’Bowser π Bowser (SSBU) β’ π Mario (SSBU) |
13,700 | Mario Galaxy (Battlefield form) | N/A | β’Defeat the main fighter to win β’Timed battle (2:30) β’The enemy's FS Meter charges quickly |
Rainbow Road Medley | Mario | ||
| 108 | Starlow | Mario & Luigi Series | β’Pac-Man π Pac-Man (SSBU) β’Luigi π Luigi (SSBU) β’ π Mario (SSBU) |
3,300 | Brinstar (Battlefield form) | β’Tiny β’Giant |
β’The enemy is giant β’The enemy is tiny after a little while |
Tough Guy Alert! | Mario | ||
| 118 | Wanda | Super Mario Series | β’Tiny Palutena π Palutena (SSBU) β’Yoshi π Yoshi (SSBU) β’Peach π Peach (SSBU) β’ π Mario (SSBU) |
1,500 | Green Greens (Battlefield form) | N/A | β’Defeat the main fighter to win β’Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd |
Mario Paint Medley | Mario | ||
| 1,107 | Fighting Alloy Team | Super Smash Bros. Series | β’Captain Falcon Team π Captain Falcon (SSBU) Γ4 β’Zelda Team π Zelda (SSBU) Γ4 β’ Team π Mario (SSBU) Γ4 β’Kirby Team π Kirby (SSBU) Γ4 |
3,300 | Final Destination (Battlefield form) | N/A | β’Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle | Cruel Smash | Yellow Alloy | ||
| 1,321 | Peachette | Super Mario Series | β’Peach π Peach (SSBU) β’Mii Brawler π Mii Brawler (SSBU) (Moveset 2121, Super Mushroom Hat, Yellow Toad Outfit, High Voice Type 7) β’Luigi π Luigi (SSBU) β’ π Mario (SSBU) |
10,000 | Mushroom Kingdom U (hazards off) | β’Easy to Launch β’Hazard: Low Gravity |
β’All fighters are easy to launch β’Timed battle (1:00) β’Gravity is reduced |
Ground Theme - New Super Mario Bros. U | Mario | ||
| 1,426 | Olivia | Paper Mario Series | β’Pikachu π Pikachu (SSBU) β’ π Mario (SSBU) β’Tiny Bowser π Bowser (SSBU) |
3,700 | Paper Mario | β’Defense β β’Attack Power β β’Item: Bob-omb |
β’The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage β’The enemy has increased defense when the enemy's at high damage β’The enemy favors air attacks β’Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd |
Battle! - Paper Mario: Color Splash | Mario | ||
| π Palette swap (SSBU) | |||||||
| π Mario (SSBU) |
π Mario (SSBU) |
π Mario (SSBU) |
π Mario (SSBU) |
π Mario (SSBU) |
π Mario (SSBU) |
π Mario (SSBU) |
π Mario (SSBU) |
Mario and Rathalos artwork, as posted on the official Japanese Monster Hunter Twitter account.
Link, Kirby, Mario, and Cloud artwork, as posted by Tetsuya Nomura's official Twitter account.
Shaking Sora's hand in Sora's reveal trailer.
Mario's fighter card.
Mario's unlock notice when obtaining him in World of Light.
Side Taunting in his Builder outfit on Wrecking Crew.
Mario's new Wedding and Builder costumes on Princess Peach's Castle.
Mario crouching near Isabelle on Tomodachi Life.
Mario using his Fireball on Isabelle on Skyworld.
With a giant Pikachu on Tortimer Island.
Trapped in the Black Hole item by Palutena on Gaur Plain.
Getting buried by Donkey Kong's Headbutt on Gaur Plain.
With Young Link on Tomodachi Life.
With Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Ice Climbers, Pit, Villager and Inkling on Battlefield.
With Peach and Bowser on Princess Peach's Castle.
Taunting with Terry on Princess Peach's Castle.
With Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Kirby and Sora in Mushroom Kingdom U.
Landing his forward aerial against Villager, resulting in a Finish Zoom.
Mario getting bitten twice by Piranha Plant in its victory pose.
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