Mario's forward tilt is a reverse roundhouse kick from his outside leg. Like all of Mario's tilts, it comes out relatively fast, on frame 5. It can be angled up or down, though this merely affects the vertical positioning of its hitboxes. The move's combination of low base knockback and launching at the Sakurai angle also makes it useful for jab locking opponents, as it can deal 21% damage (without counting stale-move negation) if three are landed, and lock middleweights until around 45%.
However, due to its low base knockback and rather high ending lag (24 frames) relative to the damage it deals, Mario's forward tilt is very easy to punish on shield, as well as on hit at very low percentages. It also lacks any valuable KO power whatsoever, being unable to KO middleweights on edges under 200% without rage. His down smash is often considered a better keep away option, due to coming out on the same frame while possessing better damage and knockback by comparison; as a result, aside from jab locking Mario's forward tilt is generally used only to hit opponents from positions that cannot be reached with his neutral attack or down smash, and is rarely used overall.
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Kick
