Dr. Mario (SSBM)

Dr. Mario (, Dr. Mario) is an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

This is his first 3D appearance as well as his first appearance in the Super Smash Bros. series, as he stems from a series of Mario puzzle games. As a clone of, Dr. Mario and Mario have nearly identical movesets with obvious differences in attack physics. Dr. Mario also uses Mario's Super Mario 64 voice clips that were also used in Melee for regular Mario, originally performed by Charles Martinet.

Dr. Mario currently ranks 13th on the Melee tier list, at the end of B- tier, two places higher than Mario's rank and his best placement in the series. His combo ability possesses unique qualities, such as an unusual-functioning reverse-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 while subsequently keeping away others. 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 lack of range in his attacks, leaving him vulnerable against characters with disjointed hitboxes such as.

How to unlock
To unlock Dr. Mario, players need to complete either Classic or Adventure Mode as Mario without using any continues.

Alternatively, players can play 100 VS. matches.

Dr. Mario is fought on Princess Peach's Castle, with the track "Dr. Mario" playing.

Attributes
Dr. Mario is essentially a stronger version of Mario (that despite claims from his Smash trophies within the game, is not slower in any form except for his neutral attack, and aerial attack landing lag). Both have the same dashing speed and falling speed, yet most of Dr. Mario's attacks deal greater damage and knockback than Mario's. Dr. Mario has a slightly faster air speed, rendering his combo potential and aerial approach superior. True to having relatively low traction and a slightly above average falling speed, Dr. Mario has a rather long wavedash. A low short hop, above average falling speed, and low lag aerials give Dr. Mario a good SHFFL, improving his air game. In addition, Dr. Mario has a good number of reliable finishers: a fast forward smash with no sourspots that can KO opponents under 100%, an up smash that is faster than Mario's and has low knockback to set up more combos, and forward aerial, sometimes referred to as "The Fist", which is a very powerful aerial with a large, lasting hitbox, that can KO opponents under 120%, and is relatively easy to combo into. Dr. Mario also has a great projectile, Megavitamins. Their bounciness and slow horizontal speed creates a temporary defensive wall that deters his enemy's approach. Although designed to be like Mario's fireballs, which are fast moving and weak, Megavitamins deal surprisingly high damage (8% each) and high hitstun, opening up far more opportunities for combos if Dr. Mario is quick to capitalize on them. Dr. Mario can strategically manipulate his jumping prowess while shooting Megavitamins to perform the Pill Rush technique, maintaining at least two Megavitamins on the stage for stage control and defensive purposes.

Dr. Mario also has some properties unique to him that make him a more capable fighter. His neutral aerial attack is a sex kick, but is the only one that increases in damage and knockback the longer it is held out, making it a good SHFFL and edge-guarding option, as well as a reliable horizontal finisher at high percentages. Dr. Mario's up tilt is a good juggling option, dealing decent damage and low knockback. His back aerial is one of Dr. Mario's best edge-guarding and approach options, semi-spiking with high base knockback and low ending lag. His down tilt sends opponents behind him and has more hitstun than Mario's, making it a moderately useful combo starter. Super Sheet, like Mario's cape, turns enemies around without dealing knockback, limiting the effectiveness of their recoveries and allowing for possible gimps and quick KO's.

Like Mario, Dr. Mario has a good grab game; his up and forward throws can set up combos and chain throws, while the latter can also act as a potential KO move at very high percentages. Dr. Mario's back throw, like Mario and Luigi's, is a very powerful throw (more powerful than Mario's and Luigi's), being effective for setting up edge guards at high percentages, and acting as a reliable KO move at very high percentages.

Dr. Mario also has his flaws. While powerful, the majority of the sweetspots in Dr. Mario's attacks are short-ranged. His forward smash is a notable example, where its reach is among the worst for a forward smash attack, requiring Dr. Mario to be right next to the opponent to land it. Similarly, his up smash is also rather close ranged.

Yet his greatest weakness is his abysmal recovery. A combination of predictability, poor distance covered, and few options to extend it makes it one of the worst in Melee. Although he has above average air speed, he also has above average falling speed, lowering his horizontal air movement. Super Jump Punch grants below average vertical distance and poor horizontal distance. Button mashing Dr. Tornado is a decent stalling tactic and can mindgame edge-guarding opponents, but grants negligible net vertical and horizontal distance. His Super Sheet, being not as effective as Mario's cape, only grants minor vertical distance once in the air.

Overall, Dr. Mario is a solid character with fast, relatively powerful attacks with great edgeguarding ability and good approaching options. As long as players can stay on the stage during the battle and keep their opponents within arm's reach, there is little an opponent can do against him.

Differences from
The most notable difference between the two is that Dr. Mario boasts higher attack power than Mario. Almost all of his attacks do more damage than his counterpart which allows him to rack up damage easily. He can also spike foes with his up smash, albeit only if they are on the ground, and has high KO potential on aerial foes. He can KO earlier than Mario, especially due to his throws being much stronger, with his back throw being among the strongest throws in the game.

However, Dr. Mario's recovery is worse since he cannot wall jump, his Super Sheet (side special) only lifts him up once and gains minimal height on usage, and both his Super Jump Punch and Dr. Tornado specials gain less distance in the air in comparison to Mario's up and down specials. Furthermore, even though Dr. Mario boasts much more damage and KO potential than Mario, his forward smash's hitbox has less horizontal reach, requiring him to be closer to his opponents to make efficient usage of it. His combo game is also worse than Mario's, as his up and down tilts launch at very awkward angles, his down aerial lacks a landing hitbox, his neutral aerial's sourspot is much harder to hit with, and his throws' higher power make them less effective at setting up. Despite this, he has the aforementioned up smash, and his up special can be cancelled, making this nerf negligible. His grab range is also worse overall.

Despite this, the numerous advantages that he has over Mario outnumber his disadvantages and makes him a solid choice in Melee, placing in the upper middle tier.

Ground attacks

 * Neutral attack:
 * Forward tilt:
 * Up tilt:
 * Dash attack:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Up tilt:
 * Dash attack:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Dash attack:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Dash attack:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Dash attack:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Down smash:

Aerial attacks

 * Neutral aerial:
 * Forward aerial:
 * Back aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Forward aerial:
 * Back aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Back aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Back aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:

Special moves

 * Megavitamins:
 * Super Sheet:
 * Super Jump Punch:
 * Dr. Tornado:
 * Super Sheet:
 * Super Jump Punch:
 * Dr. Tornado:
 * Super Jump Punch:
 * Dr. Tornado:
 * Super Jump Punch:
 * Dr. Tornado:
 * Dr. Tornado:
 * Dr. Tornado:
 * Dr. Tornado:
 * Dr. Tornado:
 * Dr. Tornado:
 * Dr. Tornado:
 * Dr. Tornado:

Moveset
For a gallery of Dr. Mario's hitboxes, see here.

Stats
NTSC

PAL

Taunt
Can be canceled by performing it right before running off of a ledge.

Most historically significant players

 * See also: Category:Dr. Mario players (SSBM)


 * - Best Dr. Mario in Denmark. Consistently places top 32 at notable European tournaments as a solo Dr. Mario player. Has multiple wins over . Was formerly ranked 25th on the European Melee Power Rankings and 2nd on the Danish Power Rankings.
 * - The best active Dr. Mario main in the world. Placed top 64 at and has wins over  and . He then placed 9th at  with wins over, , and , which is the highest solo Dr. Mario placement at a major since Shroomed placed 7th at.
 * - Best Dr. Mario in France. Placed 9th at, 17th at , and 25th at and . Ranked 7th on the French Power Rankings.
 * - One of the best players from the Netherlands and is the current best Dr. Mario player in Europe. Placed 5th at 9th at, and 17th at  with wins over , , and . Ranked 1st on the Dutch Power Rankings.
 * - Ranked 37th on the European Melee Power Rankings. Placed 7th at Awakening II and 25th at . Has switched to Captain Falcon.
 * - Was considered the best Dr. Mario before dropping him for . Consistently got Top 8 places at major tournaments with wins over and.
 * - Was considered one of the best Dr. Mario players during the "Golden Age", He switched to after coming back from a hiatus in 2015. Placed 5th at, 7th at , and 13th at.

Tier placement and history
Initially, Dr. Mario was considered an inferior version of Mario due to his slower attacks and worse recovery, with Mario ranked higher than Dr. Mario in the tier list (usually one spot above Dr. Mario). Many smashers such as began to show Dr. Mario's better attributes, such as better punish options than Mario. In 2005, Dr. Mario was recognized as a better character than Mario, placing at least one spot higher than him in the tier lists to come. However, even with evolutions in Dr. Mario's game, representation of him at tournaments was not very notable, with rarely anyone placing high enough to win money just using Dr. Mario.

It was not until 2011 when showed Dr. Mario's powerful grab game and projectile game, placing consistently in top 8 at national tournaments such as Apex 2013 and EVO 2013. Although Shroomed no longer uses Dr. Mario in tournament, Dr. Mario was still considered a solid high tiered character, sitting at 9th place at the top of the high tier in the eleventh tier list. However, his results have been worse as of late, with Shroomed himself stating metagame trends do not favor Dr. Mario as much. In spite of ’s success with the character, such as in and, Dr. Mario has fallen to 13th place in the current tier list, at the end of B- tier.

In
Upon being unlocked, Dr. Mario can appear in one on one battles, in a team with 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 track 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 track Dr. Mario plays.

In Event Matches
Dr. Mario appears in the following event matches:


 * Event 35: Time for a Checkup: As, the player must fight against a CPU team consisting of Dr. Mario and , 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:, , , and.

Trophies
In addition to the normal trophy about Mario as a character, there are two trophies about him as a fighter, unlocked by completing both Adventure and All-Star modes respectively with Mario on any difficulty:

Trivia

 * Dr. Mario is the only character in the series to have a sex kick that gets stronger the longer it is out.
 * Dr. Mario and are the only two characters in the game that can taunt cancel.
 * The trophy in Melee explains that Dr. Mario is slower due to his "lack of exercise". However, in Smash 4 the explanation given is "his doctor's coat is heavier".
 * Dr. Mario is actually not slower than Mario in any terms of mobility, making the trophy's description in Melee misleading.
 * Dr. Mario is the only clone to weigh the same as his original counterpart (100 units); and  are heavier than  and, respectively, and Young Link, , and  are lighter than , , and , respectively, though, he is heavier than Mario in the PAL version of the game.
 * Technically, Roy also counts towards this trait, as he weighs the same as Marth in PAL regions, where he is lighter in NTSC regions.
 * Dr. Mario is the only playable character in the game to have a unconvential spike (being his up smash).
 * Dr. Mario's Forward Smash is likely inspired by a defibrillator, with his palm emitting an electric current akin to those devices.
 * When Star KO'ing Giant or Giant Dr. Mario, their voice will immediately fade out. This will not happen with any other character.