Mario (SSBM): Difference between revisions

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Mario (''SSBM'')}}

{{disambig2|Mario's appearance in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee''|the [[clone]] of Mario, see {{SSBM|Dr. Mario}}; and for the semi-clone of Mario, see {{SSBM|Luigi}}, and for the character in other contexts|Mario}}

|tier = E

'''Mario''' ({{ja|マリオ|Mario}}, ''Mario'') returns as a [[starter character|starter]] character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''. He was announced at [[E3]] 2001. He also has a [[clone]], {{SSBM|Dr. Mario}}, whom with he shares a lot of attributes and special moves. He is voiced once again by Charles Martinet, albeit via recycled voice clips from ''[[Smash 64]]''.

Mario is ranked 15th out of 26 on the current tier list, placing him in the E tier. This is very similar to his previous ranking in ''Smash 64'', where he is ranked 7th out of 12. It also places him four places lower than his clone {{SSBM|Dr. Mario}} at 11th place and two places lower than his younger brother {{SSBM|Luigi}}. Like in ''Smash 64'', Mario acts as a well-rounded character, with average attributes across the board. He has above average comboing ability due to the somewhat low knockback and the angles at which his moves tend to send on, and a very versatile grab game: his powerful back throw can KO most opponents with ease and [[gimp]] some recoveries, while his up and down throws can [[chain-grab]]. Mario also has a solid [[edge-guarding]] game, with a solid projectile in his [[Fireball]], and his [[Cape]] which can easily and efficiently gimp almost every other character's recovery. Mario, however, lacks a reliable finisher, with many moves with aforementioned low knockback with the exception of his forward and down smash. His recovery is also predictable and short, though he can extend it, which leaves him vulnerable to being gimped by characters such as {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}}. His mediocre range also leaves him with trouble against characters with disjointed hitboxes such as {{SSBM|Marth}}. Overall, Mario has average matchups in tournament play, with favorable matchups against most lower tiered characters though having disadvantageous matchups against higher tiered characters, especially against those who can either gimp or outrange him.

Mario, however, suffers from some KOing problems. He lacks particularly powerful or reliable finishers; while his forward smash has good range, coupled with a very visible and easy to land sweetspot, his other smashes are rather short ranged. Additionally, while Mario's back throw is strong, it requires grabbing the opponent first; this can be a challenge, due to Mario's poor grab range. Mario's single meteor smash is also rather unwieldy and risky to use.

Overall, Mario could be considered to be a poor-man's Marth. While both characters have great combo ability and a similar recovery, Marth has a much easier time finishing off opponents as well as having longer range in his attacks and his grab range making it much easier for Marth to chain-grab fastfallers compared to Mario.

==Changes from ''Smash 64''==

When making the transition from ''Smash 64'' to ''Melee'', Mario got a mix of [[buff]]s and [[nerf]]s, but was neither strongly buffed or [[nerf]]ed. Mario is faster on the ground and he greatly benefits from the introduction of [[air dodging]] giving him a solid [[wavedash]] which makes his grounded movement much more solid overall. The speed of Mario's attacks has been considerably improved as most of his attacks have decreased ending lag and a decent amount of them have decreased startup lag as well. His edgeguarding has also considerably improved as his back aerial is considerably faster and his up aerial has been retooled to give it more edgeguarding potential. His new side special [[Cape]] also gives him a new powerful edgeguarding tool as well as an extra tool for recovering.

As for his nerfs, Mario's damage output has been decreased and his KO power has been considerably decreased as many of his previous KO moves have been greatly weakened making it far more difficult for Mario to KO his opponents. His strongest KO moves (his forward and down smashes) while faster now have sourspots making them more difficult to use effectively. While Mario has a few new options to recover such as his cape and [[wall jump]], his recovery is overall worse (especially when relative to the cast) as his air speed is slower, he falls faster, his fireballs are smaller making them a worse option to wall out opponents while recovering and his [[Super Jump Punch]] travels less distance making him easier to edgeguard.

Overall, Mario is largely a much weaker character as his damage output is lower, his combo game is weaker in some aspects and many of his previous KO moves can no longer KO under 90-120%. In exchange, his attacks are much faster and his grounded movement has been improved especially due to the introduction of wavedashing. Mario remains in a similar spot on Melee's tier list and he overall struggles against higher tiered characters limiting his success in competitive play.  

*{{change|The higher quality of the [[Nintendo GameCube]] console allows for a more detailed appearance of Mario. His physique looks much more similar to its official art, while his red cap and shirt are slightly darker and the seams on his overalls are more accentuated.}}

*{{change|Mario gains a new [[victory pose]]: he makes a fire and when the fire disappears, Mario strikes a pose. It replacing his hoping victory pose in ''Smash 64''.}}

*{{buff|Mario [[walk]]s faster (0.3 → 1.1).}}

*{{buff|Mario [[dash]]es faster (44 → 1.5).}}

*{{nerf|Mario's [[air speed]] is slightly slower (30 → 0.86).}}

*{{change|Mario [[falling speed|falls]] faster (44 → 1.7), improving his vertical endurance but making him easier to combo.}}

*{{buff|Mario can now [[wall jump]], aiding his recovery.}}

*{{buff|The introduction of [[wavedashing]] improves Mario's movement options.}}

*{{change|Mario's green palette swap from ''Smash 64'' is now accessible through normal battles instead of just Team Battles.}}

*{{change|Attacks are generally weaker, albeit faster.}}

*{{buff|The first and third hit of [[neutral attack]] deal more damage (2%/4% → 3%/5%).}}

*{{buff|Neutral attack's first and second hits now have [[set knockback]], allowing the third hit to connect more reliably. All hits also have less ending lag (frame 18 → 16 (hit 1), frame 20 → 19 (hit 2), frame 26 → 23 (hit 3)).}}

*{{change|Third hit of neutral attack can now [[clang]].}}

*{{nerf|The second hit has a shorter duration (frames 3-5 → 3-4) and the final hit has more startup lag (frame 3 → 5). Mario also can no longer cancel the first hit into [[grab]].}}

*{{buff|Dash attack has less startup (frame 8 → 6) and ending lag (frame 41 → 38).}}

*{{nerf|Dash attack deals less damage (12% (clean), 10% (late) → 9%/7%) and lower knockback (16/10 (base), 100 (scaling) → 70/50). Its duration is also one frame shorter.}}

*{{change|[[Dash attack]] now knocks opponents behind Mario (361° → 110°).}}

*{{buff|[[Forward tilt]] has less startup (frame 8 → 5) and ending lag (frame 43 → 33).}}

*{{nerf|Forward tilt deals less damage (12%/13%/14% → 8%/9%/10%) and has lower base knockback (10 → 6), has a much shorter duration (frames 8-17 → 5-7) and down angled forward tilt now has very weak set knockback (10 (base), 100 (scaling) → 1 (set), making it extremely punishable at any percentage.}}

*{{buff|[[Up tilt]] has less startup (frame 5 → 4) and ending lag (frame 42 → 30) and combos more reliably at lower percentages.}}

*{{change|Up tilt deals less damage (10% → 8%) and knockback (0 (base), 150 (scaling) → 26/125). These changes hinder its KO potential but improve its juggling potential.}}

*{{nerf|Up tilt has a shorter duration (frames 5-16 → 4-12).}}

*{{buff|Down tilt has less ending lag (frame 40 → 35).}}

*{{change|[[Down tilt]] now hits opponents vertically instead of horizontally (361° → 80°).}}

*{{nerf|Down tilt deals less damage (12% → 8%) and knockback (0 (base), 100 (scaling) → 10/80). It also has a shorter duration (frames 5-11 → 5-8).}}

*{{buff|Mario has a new [[forward smash]] in which he extends his palm and produces small explosion from it. It has less startup (frame 16 → 12) and ending lag (frame 54 → 42), deals 1% more damage at the sweetspot (18%/17%/16% → 19%/18%/17%), and has more [[range]].}}

*{{nerf|New forward smash has a sourspot that is much weaker dealing less damage (18%/17%/16% → 15%/11%/10%/13%) and knockback (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → 25/96). Its sweetspot deals slightly less knockback as well, despite dealing more damage (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → 25/95).}}

*{{buff|[[Up smash]] has a new animation; Mario now takes a massive step forward as he leans for the headbutt. This gives it a bit more horizontal range than before.}}

*{{buff|Up smash has significantly less ending lag (frame 60 → 40).}}

*{{nerf|Up smash is much weaker dealing less damage (19% → 15%) and knockback (26 (base)/120 (scaling) → 32/97) no longer being one of Mario's reliable KO moves and is no longer the strongest up smash (this title now belongs to {{SSBM|Pikachu}}). It also has slightly more startup lag with a much shorter hitbox duration (frames 7-15 → 9-11).}}

*{{buff|[[Down smash]] has less startup (frame 8 → 5) and ending lag (frame 45 → 38).}}

*{{nerf|Down smash deals less damage (17% → 16% (front), 12%/10% (back)) and knockback (20 (base), 100 (scaling) → 40/75 (front), 35 (back)/75) greatly hindering its KO potential. The back hit is also drastically weaker than the front hit now.}}

*{{nerf|Forward, up and down aerials [[auto-cancel]] later (frame 26 → 43 (forward), frame 11 → 16 (up), frame 32 → 33 (down)). Mario can no longer auto-cancel neutral, forward or down aerials in a short hop which is hindered further by the weakening of [[L-canceling]].}}

*{{buff|[[Neutral aerial]] has higher base knockback (15 (clean), 0 (late) → 20/15) and has less ending lag (frame 50 → 46).}}

*{{nerf|Neutral aerial has a shorter duration (frames 3-36 → 3-32) and deals less damage (14% (clean), 11% (late) → 12%/10%).}}

*{{buff|Mario has a new [[forward aerial]]: an extended downward punch in front of him. Compared to his old forward aerial from ''Smash 64'', it is a [[meteor smash]] (361° → 280°) and lacks a sourspot.}}

*{{nerf|New forward aerial has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 11-26 → 18-22) and has more ending lag (frame 40 → 60). It is a less reliable [[edgeguarding]] move overall due to the introduction of meteor canceling. It also deals less damage (16% → 15%) and knockback (10 (base), 100 (scaling) → 30/70), and has less combo potential, now being one of the weakest forward aerials, and it also has less range.}}

*{{buff|[[Back aerial]] is more useful for [[edgeguarding]] as it has less startup lag with a longer duration (frames 10-19 → 6-17) and ending lag (frame 40 → 29) making it a more effective [[wall of pain]].}}

*{{nerf|Back aerial deals less damage (16% (clean), 10% (late) → 11%/9%) greatly hindering the sweetspot's KO potential although the sourspot's base knockback was compensated (0 → 7).}}

*{{change|Back aerial has a new animation, where Mario kicks more sideways with his right side facing up, instead of kicking backward face-down. Mario also recovers differently without curling up into a flip.}}

*{{buff|Up aerial has less ending lag (frame 40 → 30).}}

**{{nerf|Despite this, Mario can no longer perform two up aerials in a short hop due to his higher fall speed and lower short hop.}}

*{{nerf|[[Up aerial]] has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 2-11 → 4-9), deals 1% less damage (12% → 11%) and has reduced knockback scaling (120 → 100). The sourspot is also no longer able to combo into moves such as itself and up smash as easily.}}

*{{change|Up aerial's angle changed (80° (clean), 70° (late) → 55°). This improves its edgeguarding potential but hinders its juggling and combo potential. It also no longer has a weaker late hit.}}

*{{buff|Down aerial has less ending lag (frame 39 → 38).}}

*{{change|Down aerial now has a landing hitbox.}}

*{{nerf|[[Down aerial]] has a much lower maximum damage output (24% → 10%), it can only hit the target 7 times instead of 8, and is no longer a meteor smash (-70° → 94°) removing its edgeguarding potential and making it connect less reliably. It can also no longer setup moves such as up aerial and up tilt as easily due to its new angle along with L-canceling being less effective. Mario can also no longer perform another aerial after it in a short hop.}}

===Grabs and throws===

*{{buff|Mario now has a [[pummel]], [[up throw]] and a [[down throw]], increasing his options out of a grab. He can also [[chaingrab]] characters with said throws.}}

*{{nerf|Grabs have more startup lag (frame 6 → 7 (standing), 11 (dash)) and ending lag (frame 16 → 31 (standing), 41 (dash)).}}

*{{nerf|Back throw deals less damage (16% (throw)/12% (collateral) → 12% (throw)/10% (collateral)) and knockback (70 (base), 70 (scaling) → 80/65), making it much weaker.}}

*{{nerf|Forward throw deals less damage (12% → 9%) and knockback (80 (base), 70 (scaling) → 60/65).}}

*{{buff|[[Fireball]] has less startup (frame 16 → 14) and ending lag (frame 46 → 44) and travels faster.}}

*{{nerf|Fireballs are smaller and deal 1% less damage (7% (US/PAL) → 6%).}}

*{{change|Mario's side special, [[Cape]], allows him to deal better with [[camp]]ing and gives him a additional recovery option while in the air. It is also a deadly edgeguarding tool, making Mario one of the best edgeguarders in the game.}}

*{{buff|[[Super Jump Punch]] can now be canceled with a wall jump near the apex of the move, further aiding Mario's recovery.}}

*{{change|Super Jump Punch's first few hits (110 (set) → 130) and the final hit (0 (base), 170 (scaling) → 40/140) have altered knockback.}}

*{{nerf|Super Jump Punch has more startup lag (frame 2 → 3), has less [[intangibility]] (frames 2-5 → 3-5), gains much less distance and deals slightly less damage (15% → 14%).}}

*{{buff|The last hit of [[Mario Tornado]] no longer has set knockback (120 (base), 0 (scaling) → 60/115), allowing it to KO at high percentages. Mario Tornado also has less ending lag (frame 87 → 80).}}

*{{nerf|Mario Tornado has more startup lag (frame 1 → 8), can only hit 8 times instead of 14, deals less damage (14% → 10%), its first hit deals no knockback, and it now has a delay before the last hit allowing foes to escape the attack more easily. Due to this, the move is now considered nearly useless outside of recovering, and as a situational vertical launcher.}}

===PAL differences===

Mario was nerfed in the [[PAL]] version of ''Melee'' although due to many characters ranked above him being nerfed, his viability remains similar overall.  

*{{change|Mario is slightly lighter (100 → 98).}}  

|neutralname= 

|ftiltname= 

|utiltname= 

|dtiltname= 

|dashname= 

|fsmashname= 

|fsmashdowndmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|17}} (fire), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|13}} (arm)  

|fsmashdesc=Launches a blast of fire from his palm. Its sweetspot is the fire blast and has [[Priority#Transcendent_priority|transcendental priority]], and the sourspot is at Mario's arm. When sweetspotted, it has high knockback, KOing at around 70% when fully charged. Can be angled.

|usmashname=Lead Headbutt

|dsmashname= 

|nairname= 

|fairname=Meteor Knuckle

|bairname= 

|uairname= 

|dairname= 

|grabname=

|pummelname= 

|fthrowname= 

|bthrowname=Airplane Swing

|uthrowname= 

|dthrowname= 

|dthrowdesc=Throws his opponent on the ground. At lower to mid percentages, it can chaingrab characters with moderate falling speeds (such as {{SSBM|Pikachu}}), and at high to very high percentages, it can chaingrab fastfallers.

|desc-us=Ma-ri-o!

|desc-jp=Ma-ri-o!

|desc-2=Makes fire explode from his palm and strikes a pose.  

==In [[Competitive play]]==

In the current metagame, Mario's matchups against two characters who are higher then him, Yoshi and Pikachu, is being called into question due to their increasing dominance in the metagame while Mario's own metagame has began to stagnate. As it now stands, it is seen that he loses to those two in the current metagame instead of beating them which was originally thought. At the current moment, his clone and semi-clone are higher then he is, which is calling into question his matchups. Dr. Mario and Luigi appear to have an easier time dealing with matchups that Mario wins while also having an easier time in matchups that Mario struggles with, ex. Jigglypuff.

:''See also: [[:Category:Mario professionals (SSBM)]]''

*{{Sm|Matt Deezie|USA}} - Former Mario main, best in World when active.

*{{Sm|Maverick|USA}} - Best Mario in Florida

*{{Sm|PPMD|USA}}

*{{Sm|SchlimmShady|Germany}} - Formerly the best Mario player in Europe prior to switching to Captain Falcon.

Very early in the ''Melee'' [[metagame]], when few players knew the potential of now-top tier characters, Mario was considered one of the best characters in the game, ranking as high as 5th on the first tier list. This could be attributed to Mario's simple but effective [[combo]] setups, strong attacks, low learning curve, and lack of any outstanding drawbacks due to being well-rounded, as well as his extendable [[recovery]]. As the metagame advanced, however, Mario's average statistics were magnified as the potentials for many other superior characters, such as {{SSBM|Peach}}, {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}, and the {{SSBM|Ice Climbers}}, were discovered. This caused Mario to slowly slip down the tier list as time progressed, as well as lose significant placing in large tournaments; eventually, {{Sm|Mango}} (under the alias "Scorpion Master") was the only person who placed anywhere significant with him, but even he rarely placed high enough to earn money from playing Mario, cashing in at 25th place at [[Apex 2010]] instead of his usual top 8 placements when using better characters. On the current [[tier list]], he ranks 15th place in the E tier; on the other hand, his clone {{SSBM|Dr. Mario}} and semi-clone {{SSBM|Luigi}}, who were once widely considered worse than Mario, have surpassed him in ranking. In today's metagame, some players, such as Shroomed, believe Mario could potentially be better than Doctor Mario, due to his faster aerials, better recovery, and longer reach and disjoint in some of his attacks, such as Forward Smash and Down Smash.

==In [[Solo#1-P_Mode|1-P Mode]]==

In the game's Adventure Mode, Mario teams up with {{SSBM|Peach}} against the player in the second part of the first stage, taking place on Princess Peach's Castle. If the player finished the previous segment, [[Mushroom Kingdom (Adventure Mode)|Mushroom Kingdom]], with the remaining time registering 2 in the seconds digit, {{SSBM|Luigi}} will take his place in a cutscene that will trigger right before this battle.  

==Trophy descriptions==

:'''Mario'''

:''Known worldwide as Mr. Nintendo, Mario uses his incredible jumping ability to thwart the evil Bowser time after time. While he's best known as a hero, Mario has played many roles, including racer, doctor, golfer, and villain. His tastes have changed over 20 years of gaming; he long ago swapped the colors of his shirt and overalls.''

:*''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong Arcade]] 1981

:'''Mario''' [<span style="color:#FF0000">Smash</span>]

:''Mario is a character without any glaring weaknesses and plenty of strong attacks: he's even equipped with a Meteor Smash. He's a straightforward character who'll reflect the actual skills of the player. Mario's Cape will turn other characters in the opposite direction and can also reflect missile weapons.''

:*B: Fireball

:*Smash B: Cape

:'''Mario''' [<span style="color:#0000FF">Smash</span>]

:''Mass determines how easily a character can be sent flying, as well as a character's physical strength: Mario's mass is the standard upon which other Smash fighters are measured. His Super Jump Punch sends foes skyward in a shower of coins, while the Mario Tornado pulls in nearby foes, spins them silly, and scatters them every which way.''

:*Up & B: Super Jump Punch

:*Down & B: Mario Tornado

 

Mario Trophy (Smash).png|[<span style="color:#FF0000">Smash</span>]

Mario SSBM art.png|Alternate artwork of Mario.

Mario Landing SSBM.jpg|Mario landing on [[Corneria]].

MarioTornadoMelee.jpg|Performing [[Mario Tornado]] on [[Brinstar]].

Mario SuperJumpPunchSSBM.jpg|Hitting {{SSBM|Ness}} with a [[Super Jump Punch]] on {{SSBM|Kongo Jungle}}.

Ssbmmario4.jpg|Tossing a [[Fireball]] on [[Onett]].

Mario Cape Kirby SSBM.jpg|Flipping {{SSBM|Kirby}} with his [[Cape]] on [[Mute City]].

Mario Forward Smash Image SSBM.jpg|Performing his [[forward smash]].

*Mario's taunt also expands his hitbox size, getting hit during the taunt animation causes Mario to automatically transform to back to his normal size.