Dr. Mario (SSBM)

Dr. Mario in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Dr. Mario
Universe	Mario
Availability	Unlockable
Tier	C (9)

Dr. Mario (Dr. マリオ Dokutā Mario) is a character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. He is a clone of Mario, meaning almost all of their moves are exactly alike, though Dr. Mario and Mario do have some differences in their attack physics.

Dr. Mario currently ranks 9th on Melee’s tier list in the C tier, two places higher than Mario. His tier placement is for his great combos and overall uniqueness as a fighter, such as an unusual sex kick. His approach options are also very good, with a long wavedash and a good air game, as well as a very good SHFFL. Dr. Mario also has a good projectile, which itself can be used to aid his approach. However, Dr. Mario's primary weakness is his abysmal recovery, which is one of the worst in the game, due to its predictability and few methods of increasing its distance. Dr. Mario also suffers from some range problems.

How to unlock

• Clearing Classic Mode or Adventure Mode on any difficulty or stock setting with Mario without using any continues.
• Playing 100 Versus Mode matches.

Attributes

Dr. Mario fits under the archetype of being the slower, heavier clone of another character, in this case Mario. Dr. Mario, however, has multiple differences from Mario, making him a different fighter.

Dr. Mario's primary strength is his ability to be relatively fast while relatively powerful. Despite supposing to be the heavier, slower clone of Mario, Dr. Mario has almost the same speed attributes as Mario, but increased power; Dr. Mario and Mario have the same dashing speed and the same falling speed, for instance. On the contrary, Dr. Mario also has a slightly higher air speed, improving his combo potential over Mario. True to having relatively low traction and a slightly above average falling speed, Dr. Mario has a rather long floaty wavedash. A low short hop, above average falling speed, low lag aerials and fast attacks also give Dr. Mario a very good SHFFL, aiding his approach in the air. Despite this relatively high speed, Dr. Mario has a slew of good finishers, including an up smash that is actually faster than Mario's and possibly the best aerial finisher in the game: his forward air, sometimes referred to as "The Fist".

Dr. Mario also has access to a very good projectile, his Megavitamins. Their travel path makes them more difficult to break through, they deal good damage, and good hitstun, allowing them to combo into other attacks if Dr. Mario acts fast enough. Notably, on flat stages, Dr. Mario can perform the Pill Rush technique as an extreme pressure option against his opponents.

Dr. Mario also has some properties unique to him that make him a more capable fighter. His neutral aerial attack is an ordinary sex kick that grows stronger the longer it's held out, making it a good SHFFL option, and it can act as a reliable vertical finisher at higher percentages. Dr. Mario's up tilt varies in trajectory and power depending where it hits opponents; as a result of these two potential outcomes, his attack is able to act both as a comboing attack and a KO move. His back air acts as a semi-spike, and it has low ending lag, making it an effective edgeguard tactic. His down tilt sends opponents behind him and has more hitstun, making it a moderately useful combo starter.

Dr. Mario also has a good grab game; his up and forward throws can set up combos, while the latter can also act as a potential KO move at high percentages. Dr. Mario's down throw also gives decent chain grab possibility, along with a good combo starter. Dr. Mario's back throw, like Mario and Luigi, is incredibly powerful, potentially gimping characters on smaller stages at low damage percentages, and it acts as a reliable KO move at higher percentages.

Dr. Mario's main flaw, however, is his abysmal recovery. A combination of predictability, few options, and shortness makes it among the worst in the game. Super Jump Punch grants only decent horizontal and vertical distance; Dr. Tornado only grants negligible vertical distance and even then, only with very fast taps of the B button; and his Super Sheet only grants vertical recovery once.

Dr. Mario also has flaws in his range. While very powerful, his most powerful attacks require close ranges to work at their absolute best. His forward smash is a notable example, as its sweetspot is closer to Dr. Mario's body. Similarly, his up smash is also rather close ranged, as is his forward aerial attack.

Moveset

Ground attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack- Dr. Mario does a weak punch forward, followed by a second weak punch before a stronger kick forward. Damage in respective order: 3-4%, 2-4%, 5-6%
• Dash attack- He slides on the ground feet first, has slightly more range than Mario's. Launches foes in a random trajectory. 9% damage.
• Forward tilt- A kick forward, stronger than Mario's. 8% damage.
• Up tilt- Dr. Mario punches upwards. Slightly more knockback than Mario's with a different trajectory based on where it hits. If the player hits them while they're in front of the player, they will sent forwards. If the player hits them when they're above the player, they'll go upwards. 10% damage.
• Down tilt- While crouching, does a quick sweeper kick in front of him. Sends foes behind him, unlike his clone counterpart. 9% damage

Smash attacks

• Forward smash- Launches a somewhat short ranged electrical shock from his palm, in a very similar fashion to his clone. In comparison with Mario's, the sweetspot is closer to his body. 19% sweetspotted uncharged, 25% fully.
• Up smash- Dr. Mario headbutts upwards. Slightly more speedy and a little weaker than Mario's. 16% uncharged, 21% fully.
• Down smash- A very sudden break-dance like sweep, which is very fast and powerful. 18% uncharged, 24% fully.

Other attacks

• Ledge attack - Does a somersault and then kicks upwards. 8% damage.
• 100% ledge attack - Gets up then does an attack similar to his forward tilt. 10% damage
• Floor attack -Gets up then punches behind him, then in front of him. 6%.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial- Does a "sex kick". Oddly, the move's power increases the more it's out, unlike other sex kicks. 10% when first out, 14% at the very last frames.
• Forward aerial- Winds up and punches in a downwards angle, though cannot spike. However it is very powerful. 16% damage
• Back aerial- Mario kicks backwards. Good for edgeguarding, has low lag, acts as a semi-spike. 8%
• Up aerial- Flip kicks upwards, which is good for juggling fast fallers. 10% damage
• Down aerial- Does a drilling kick. 12% if all hits connect

Throws

• Pummel- Headbutts opponent. 2-3% per pummel
• Forward throw- spins opponent once, and tosses them forward with decent knockback. Good for an edgeguarding follow up. 9% damage.
• Back throw- Spins around three times and tosses the foe behind him, with impressive knockback. One of the strongest back throw in the game. 12% damage.
• Up throw-Dr. Mario heaves his opponent upwards, can lead into a combo against fast fallers. 8% damage.
• Down throw- Slams opponent to ground, good for a short-hopped neutral aerial follow up. 6% damage.

Special moves

Dr. Mario's special moves

Neutral special	Megavitamins
Side special	Super Sheet
Up special	Super Jump Punch
Down special	Dr. Tornado

Taunt

Dr. Mario pulls out random color pills, rolls it down his arm, uses his shoulder to toss it into the air, then catches it.

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Melee Character Matchups

Avg.

Differences with Mario

• The Super Sheet is longer and thinner than Mario's cape and has more lag, making it less useful for recovery. Additionally, it only gives vertical distance once.
• His pills do more damage than Mario' fireballs and have more hitstun.
• His down tilt sends opponents behind him.
• His forward aerial is not a meteor smash like Mario's, it rather sends opponents upward and is much more powerful.
• Keeping opponents locked in the Dr. Tornado is more difficult than locking opponents in the Mario Tornado, however, it is harder to escape the Dr. Tornado than it is to escape the Mario Tornado.
• He is slightly stronger in terms of damage and knockback.
• Dr. Tornado sends opponents in a random direction, while Mario Tornado sends them upwards.
• Dr. Mario's forward smash has less range. The sweetspot is also closer to his hand, whereas Mario's sweetspot is farther away from his hand.
• His "sex kick" gets stronger the longer it sticks out, contrary to the effects of all other sex kicks.
• Slightly faster air speed.
• Forward smash deals Electric damage rather than Fire.
• Most of his attacks have different sound effects.

Techniques

General gameplay

• Pill Rush: Bombard the enemy with a wall of Pills exerted after a short jumped into a fast fall and at ground point. Repeat this three Pill fire sequence while approaching the opponent to render them almost stunned. This technique does not work as well for Mario, due to the Pills added weight and higher bounce.
• Wall of Pain: Use of backward aerials to effectively keep the opponent off the edge. Doctor Mario can use multiple back aerials off the edge making him an excellent edge guarder.
• Super Jump Punch cancel: Dr. Mario is the only character able to cancel his up special move. Within the first four frames, the player must activate the move so that Dr. Mario moves in the backward direction of where he's facing by quickly moving the control stick in the opposite direction. The opponent will be sent up at a trajectory based solely on their weight and Doctor Mario will be able to move. Another way the player can do this is by using Super Jump Punch so that Dr. Mario would jump backwards and then tilting the control stick downward during the first few frames of the animation. This can be used to shield cancel and punish the opponent for approaching or for trying to break the player's shield

Throw combos

Down throw

• Down throw + Dr. Tornado - a reliable and basic combo. Dr. Mario's version of the Mario Tornado sends foes on a random trajectory, making it hard for the foe to counter it.
• Down throw + up tilt + up tilt - A basic up tilt and up tilt, where the first up tilt usually doesn't launch the foe in a random trajectory due to close range, but the second one does.
• Down throw + up smash- reliable against fast fallers between low to mid-high damage percentages, good for leading into aerial follow ups.
• Down throw + Super Jump Punch - a near-useless combo, but doable nonetheless, where Dr. Mario can use his up special after his down throw, though usually only hits once or twice, and sends him and the foe in opposite directions.
• Down throw + neutral combo - a situational combo where Dr. Mario can just barely connect his neutral attacks with a fallen foe.
• Down throw + Cape- another situational combo where Dr. Mario can assume the foe will try to dodge roll away from him when they try to fastfall and land, only to have them rolling the other way into a combo.
• Down throw + Down smash- this combo usually works at low damage percentages. The foe is almost always hit before they can escape due to the down smash's speed

Up throw

• Up throw + up tilt- a basic combo, where the foe is sent at a random trajectory due to his up tilt physics.
• Up throw + Super Jump Punch - if the foe DIs slightly just right immediately after, his up special can be used for good damage.
• Up throw + Dr. Tornado - a DI-able combo, similar to one of his down throw combos.
• Up throw + up smash - a basic combo, good for setups and low to mid-low %s
• Up throw + any aerial - a multi-purpose setup for aerials.

In Single Player modes

In Classic Mode

Upon being unlocked, Dr. Mario can appear in one on one battles, in a team with Luigi or as an ally, as a giant character or as a metal character. In all appearances, his stage is Mushroom Kingdom.

In Adventure Mode

Adventure Mode makes no concessions to Dr. Mario when he is unlocked. Unlike some other characters, the song Dr. Mario does not play on any stages.

In All-Star Mode

In All-Star Mode, Dr. Mario and his allies are fought on Mushroom Kingdom II. In these cases, the song Dr. Mario plays.

In Event Matches

Dr. Mario appears in the following event matches:

• Event 35: Time for a Checkup: As Luigi, the player must fight against a CPU team consisting of Dr. Mario and Peach, the latter in her white costume, on Yoshi's Story. All characters have one life each, and the event must be completed in three minutes.
• Event 49: All-Star Match Deluxe: Dr. Mario is the first opponent fought in this series of staged battles. The selected character battles him on the Mushroom Kingdom stage with a stock of 2 while Dr. Mario has 1. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat him and the other five characters one-by-one with the overall time and damage: Falco, Pichu, Young Link, Roy and Ganondorf.

Trophies (3)

Dr Mario (Classic Mode, trophy #61)
Immaculate in his medical garb, Dr. Mario destroys killer viruses with his amazing vitamin capsules. With his dedicated nurse, Princess Peach, at his side, Dr. Mario spends day and night in his laboratory working on new miracle cures. Somehow he's managed to keep up with all the new viruses that have arisen over the years.

• Dr. Mario, 10/90

Dr. Mario (Smash Red, Adventure Mode, trophy #62)
There's hardly any difference in the abilities of Mario and Dr. Mario, so choosing is largely a matter of taste. Dr. Mario is a tad slower due to his lack of exercise, but his Megavitamins pack a bit more punch than Mario's Fireballs. The capsules travel on a unique trajectory and make a distinct sound on impact.

• B: Megavitamins
• Smash B: Super Sheet

Dr. Mario (Smash Blue, All Star Mode, trophy #63)
The differences between Dr. Mario and Mario are more pronounced in some areas than others, but basically they can be played in a similar fashion. While it may be hard to spot the contrasts, they do exist. For example, Dr. Mario's Super Sheet is longer and narrower than Mario's cape, and any opponents hit by Dr. Tornado will fly off in diverse directions.

• Up & B: Super Jump Punch
• Down & B: Dr. Tornado

Costume gallery

File:Alt-drmario.jpg

Dr. Mario's alternate clothing in SSBM

Trivia

• Dr. Mario is the only clone whose voice is exactly the same as his original character.