Dr. Mario (SSBU): Difference between revisions

Dr. Mario is currently ranked 78th out of 82 on the ''Ultimate'' [[tier list]], placing him at the bottom of the D- tier and making him a bottom five character. Despite being buffed overall, this is a slight drop from his placement in ''Smash 4'', where he was ranked 48th out of 54, and is his worst placement in the series. Dr. Mario's playstyle is effectively a slower yet stronger version of Mario's. As a result, all of his moves possess better KO potential and/or damage output compared to Mario, while he keeps most of Mario's frame data, which allows him to perform short yet effective [[combo]]s. Dr. Mario's signature projectile in [[Megavitamin]] is an effective projectile for approaching and neutral and it also opens up combos and KO confirms at higher percents into most of his moves. In addition, Dr. Mario has several strong yet effective KO options in his arsenals, including [[Super Jump Punch]], [[Dr. Tornado]], most of his aerials, and back throw. This means players have to play more carefully when close to Dr. Mario, as a single whiff could lead into a deadly [[punish]].  

However, Dr. Mario's weaknesses outshine many of his strengths. His most notable weakness is his poor mobility, which cripples his [[neutral game]] and makes him vulnerable to camping. In addition, as his playstyle largely revolves around him getting close to his opponent, his poor mobility also makes it harder for him to avoid retaliation from opponents, as Dr. Mario's short range means he is vulnerable to moves with long range or disjoints. Finally, Dr. Mario's recovery, while improved, is still one of the worst in the game, as while he can extend it with [[Dr. Tornado]], his slow air mobility and [[Super Jump Punch]]'s short vertical distance make him vulnerable to gimping.  

**{{change|Dr. Mario's down aerial is a double foot stomp, whereas Mario's has been [[Mario Tornado]] since ''Brawl''. Unlike Mario's, it consists in a single hit instead of six.}}

|neutraldesc=The {{iw|mariowiki|Punch}} + Punch + {{iw|mariowiki|Kick}} combo from ''{{iw|mariowiki|Super Mario 64}}''. Useful for spacing and comes out quickly. The first and second hits can also jab lock. Additionally, unlike Mario, the close-range hitbox of the first hit can [[jab cancel]] into Super Jump Punch at high percentages for a guaranteed KO confirm.

*{{Sm|Lui$|USA}} - One of the first Dr. Mario players to garner any noticeable results, placing 33rd at {{Trn|GENESIS 6}} with solo-Dr. Mario, 17th at {{Trn|Smash 'N' Splash 5}} with mostly Dr. Mario, and 33rd at {{Trn|Frostbite 2019}} using Dr. Mario to defeat {{Sm|ESAM}}. However, since mid-2019, he has dropped Dr. Mario in favor of other characters.

*{{Sm|Tsumusuto|Japan}} - The best Dr. Mario in the world from 2019 through 2022 and is the only Dr. Mario player who had ever finished top 8 at a major, placing 3rd at {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 9}} and taking a game off of {{Sm|acola}}. In addition, he has also finished strongly at several majors, including 9th at both {{Trn|Sumabato SP 5}} and {{Trn|Sumabato SP 6}}. He was ranked 115th on the [[OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse]], the highest ranking ever for a Dr. Mario main.

In the early metagame, opinions on Dr. Mario remained largely the same as it was in ''Super Smash Bros. 4''. Although his power, out of shield options, and damage racking capabilities were improved in the transition to ''Ultimate'', his sluggish speed, atrocious recovery, and mediocre range indicated that his worst weaknesses were still largely unaddressed, leaving him with poor matchups against characters such as {{SSBU|Palutena}}, {{SSBU|Shulk}}, and {{SSBU|Lucina}}. Although players such as {{Sm|Lui$}}, {{Sm|Locus}}, and {{Sm|Oryon}} saw decent success with Dr. Mario, most would either drop him or relegated him to a secondary, worsening his poor representation. As a result, most players, including {{Sm|Dark Wizzy}} and {{Sm|Mr.R}}, viewed Dr. Mario as a low tier, with some going as far as to say that he was one of the worst characters in the game. The first tier list reflects this, as Dr. Mario is ranked in the bottom five, just above the likes of {{SSBU|King Dedede}}, {{SSBU|Little Mac}}, and {{SSBU|Ganondorf}}, and he only rose one spot in the second and current one.

Despite this negative perception, however, Dr. Mario still saw glimpses of success thanks to the efforts of dedicated mains, including {{Sm|Tsumusuto}} in Japan, {{Sm|JaZaR}} in Mexico, and {{Sm|Meowscarada}} during the online metagame, who were able to achieve strong results in majors, with the former reaching 3rd place at the major [[Maesuma TOP 9]]. Furthermore, Dr. Mario received buffs from game updates that improved his combo and punish games and his KO potential, such a stronger neutral aerial, forward tilt and Super Jump Punch, reduced knockback and increased hitstun on his down tilt and a faster down aerial with more active frames. This left his true viability up to debate, with players such as {{Sm|Nairo}} and {{Sm|Leffen}} believing Dr. Mario was potentially a viable character, while other players maintained that he was still an unviable fighter due to improvements to other fighters, as well as the introductions of {{SSBU|Min Min}}, {{SSBU|Steve}}, and {{SSBU|Sephiroth}}. Nevertheless, Dr. Mario's perception has improved since the early metagame, although he is unanimously agreed to be inferior to {{SSBU|Mario}}.