Mario (SSBU)

Mario in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
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Universe	Mario
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Mario Finale

“	Mario is an all-around fighter who uses his wide variety of techniques to respond to any situation. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he shows up in his Wedding tux and his Builder outfit, and Cappy even makes an appearance!	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Mario (マリオ, Mario) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was suggested to appear in the then unnamed Ultimate in its first teaser trailer at the end of the March 8th, 2018 Nintendo Direct, and officially announced in Ultimate's E3 2018 trailer on June 12th, 2018 alongside the rest of the returning roster. Mario is classified as fighter #01.

As in Smash 4, Charles Martinet's portrayal of Mario from Brawl was repurposed for Ultimate.

Attributes

Mario is a middleweight staying true to the majority a balanced character in terms of attributes, possessing average walking, dashing and falling speeds, air acceleration, gravity and weight. However, he also has high air speed and jump power. These balanced stats do not give Mario the edge when it comes to overall movement, but they nevertheless make him adept at most situations where a key attribute is needed to gain the advantage, which when combined with his very quick frame data, grants Mario a very effective neutral game. As a result, despite his attributes implying a jack-of-all-trades type of character, Mario is more of a rushdown character in practice.

Thanks to his incredibly quick attack speed, Mario shines in close-quarters combat. His fast attack speed allows him to consistently apply pressure to the opponent, and he is capable of quickly racking up damage once he gets the momentum, which is easy to do so on characters that cannot match his attack speed without getting heavily punished for it. Excluding his forward smash, forward aerial and special moves, all of Mario's moves have fast startup and low ending and landing lag (the latter in the case of his aerial attacks). All of his grounded moves are prime examples of his quick frame data: his neutral attack is his fastest move and an overall effective way to rack up damage, along with handy combo capabilities, while his up and down tilts are effective combo starters that can help rack up plenty of damage, and the former chains into itself at low percentages. All of his smash attacks are excellent KO options, as they can reliably KO at high percentages without being endlag-heavy; his forward smash has the highest power of all of his smash attacks when sweetspotted, down smash is a semi-spike, making it useful for forcing opponents offstage, and up smash is very hard to punish due to its speed, power and the fact it grants intangibility on his head.

Mario's aerial attacks are also very useful in many cases. Neutral aerial is a sex kick that can be useful in edgeguarding or for breaking combos. Back aerial has the longest reach and the highest knockback of Mario's aerial moves, allowing it to space effectively and reliably KO offstage. Up aerial's extremely quick startup, vertical launch angle and lack of sourspots let it combo into itself or other moves, on top of letting it easily break combos and setup the aforementioned. Mario Tornado, which is Mario's down aerial, is a great anti-juggling move that can also KO if used near the upper blast line. Finally, his forward aerial is a meteor smash with high base knockback for one, making it great for gimping all but the farthest-reaching of recoveries.

His special moveset is highly varied and has plenty of uses. Fireball is a projectile with decently long range. It can be useful in the neutral game or in edgeguarding, thanks to its disruptive knockback, along with very useful chances to disrupt direct approaches. Super Jump Punch travels in a controllable diagonal direction and grants moderate distance, making it good at recovery. It also has intangibility upon startup, allowing it to be used out of shield very effectively. Due to its extremely quick startup, it is also a useful combo finisher, especially near the blast line. On the other hand, Cape reverses opponents, with the induced disorientation often being enough to allow a free hit or efficiently gimp a recovery, which aids in edgeguarding opponents. It is also a powerful reflector, making it highly useful in matchups against projectile-heavy characters, such as Simon or Young Link. F.L.U.D.D. is a mechanism that shoots water, pushing opponents away, which compliments his Cape. Though situational, it can occasionally be used to give Mario some breathing space. As a result of his Cape, F.L.U.D.D. and his fast aerials, Mario also boasts a versatile edgeguarding game.

Another valuable strength of Mario is his grab game. Even though his grab reach is only average, his grabs are fairly quick, and his pummel can rack up some damage before throwing the opponent. His forward throw sends the opponent at a disadvantageous position, where Mario can capitalize on their mistakes. His up throw has been repurposed into a fairly useful combo starter at lower percentages, comboing far more reliably into his up aerial or down aerial compared to the previous installment. His back throw is by far his strongest throw and can reliably KO at around 160% near the ledge on any character, and even earlier with rage. Finally, his down throw is a somewhat useful combo starter, though not as useful as before due to up tilt's decreased range. Finally, and due to the favorable angles his moves send at, his tremendously quick frame data and his extensive amount of combo starters, Mario's combo ability is potent, and it is also worth noting that several of Mario's moves can lock, including his neutral attack. This makes it almost always imperative for Mario's opponent to tech all attacks at low percentages when needed; otherwise, Mario can capitalize on the opportunity, and tack on unavoidable massive damage in the process.

Despite Mario's numerous strengths, he is not flawless. Mario's attacks, while well-rounded, are not particularly exceptional, and most characters are able to outperform him in various areas: notable examples include Pikachu having better comboing ability, R.O.B. having a more effective projectile game, Mewtwo having greater mobility, Ganondorf having higher attack power right off the bat and Marth having larger reach. In particular, the latter two are his main weaknesses: his KOing ability is largely inconsistent, with very few guaranteed KO set-ups, and all of them being hard to confirm. While much of his moveset can get the job done, there is a noticeable gap in power between his strongest moves and his other ones, with this meaning he'll usually have to rely on his sweetspotted forward smash, up smash, down smash's back hit, or back throw to score kills, which are all further compounded by the poor reach of his attacks. As such, he cannot afford to get predictable, especially with the existence of stale-move negation. His lack of reach also prevents him from fighting at a safe distance and consistently forces Mario to approach characters. This leads into having some difficulty against characters with large or disjointed reach.

Lastly, his recovery is rather limited. He has a fast air speed, a high jump, and a very fast and safe up special in Super Jump Punch. However, Super Jump Punch does not travel a very long distance and is fairly linear, making it easy to predict. His other options also are unreliable, as Cape and F.L.U.D.D. each travel very little momentum and are extremely easy to edgeguard, F.L.U.D.D. being useful only to substitute for his air speed, and Cape only to guard break edgeguarders or wait them out. This necessitates that Mario returns to the stage quickly, as a single opening offstage may be fatal for him. Nevertheless, Mario's recovery provides serviceable distance, but caution must be exercised when offstage.

Overall, Mario has many clear strengths, and very few glaring weaknesses. Despite being intended as a jack-of-all-trades character, his very quick speed overall and largely reliable combo ability allows him to get the edge easily against most characters, as it is hard to escape from him once he gets to combo the opponent, while being easy for him to escape and regain the advantage. However, because of his low range, Mario must almost always fight in close quarters. Mario has to be very careful off-stage as well in spite of his viable edgeguarding game, as a single vent in his defenses can cause him to be unable to recover.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Comparatively to other fighters, Mario has received very few major direct changes in his transition from SSB4 to Ultimate, possibly less than any other fighter. However, changes and overhauls to pre-established mechanics from SSB4 to Ultimate have impacted Mario to a higher degree, resulting in a healthy mix of buffs and nerfs overall.

One of the biggest detriments to Mario's toolkit was the universal nerfing of grabs; infamously known for his potentially devastating throw combos in SSB4, the increased endlag of all grabs have affected Mario more negatively compared to other fighters. Furthermore, up tilt, one of his most pivotal moves previously, has had altered hitbox placements resulting in not only a range reduction, but it also significantly hinders its use as a reliable follow-up from his down throw at any percents. His dash attack can also no longer serve as a reliable 2 frame punish that leads into a stage spike, due to its late hit's angle being altered to send opponents away from Mario. On top of this, because of the changes to rage, Super Jump Punch is much less effective for taking out stocks off the upper blast line below high percents.

However, changes to Ultimate’s mechanics have also benefited Mario; his already strong set of aerials has been improved even further as a result of the universal changes to the landing lag of aerials. This not only makes them safer on shield, but it also allows for more reliable combos and even devastating KO setups, such as up air into forward aerial. Mario also benefits from universal faster walking, dashing, and air speeds, since his higher mobility allows him to string attacks together more effectively and close in on opponents' more effectively. Lastly, the added ability to run cancel with any ground attack has improved Mario's ground game further given his strong set of tilts, with up tilt and down tilt serving as reliable combo starters. The universal jumpsquat and decreased landing lag across the cast also give him greater combo opportunities, with his up throw in particular becoming a much more effective combo starter.

Lastly, Mario has received a few direct noteworthy buffs as well. His forward tilt is much more effective as a spacing option due to its higher base knockback, lower ending lag, and the increased shieldstun for ground attacks besides smash attacks. Furthermore, Fireball and F.L.U.D.D. have slightly less ending lag, making them safer options at longer distances. Not to mention, his down aerial connects better, making it a better combo option as well as doing more damage.

Overall, Mario hasn't truly been buffed or nerfed from Smash 4, as both his buffs and nerfs impact him to a similar degree. Nevertheless, he has amassed highly strong results in the early metagame of Ultimate, and is currently represented by notable players such as Prodigy, Dark Wizzy, Zenyou, MastaMario, and Super Dan. This indicates that Mario is still a viable character due to his representation, but it is unknown how strong he is compared to other fighters, as his tournament results aren’t as dominating as in SSB4.

Aesthetics

• As with all veterans returning from Smash 4, Mario's model features a more subdued color scheme. His clothing and hair now feature simple detailing, similar to his design in Brawl.
• Mario's standard cap has been replaced by Cappy from Super Mario Odyssey. Cappy's eyes can appear during Super Jump Punch, but he otherwise has no effect on gameplay.
• Mario's idle animation is altered slightly; his head is turned more towards the screen, but he still looks toward his front.
• Mario, like many other characters, has been made much more expressive in this game, to an even greater degree than its predecessor. In particular, he will sometimes smile and appear whimsical or happy in battle, in line with his canon depiction, although he still looks serious and with angry brows most of the time. In contrast, Mario will also make much angrier expressions than before, particularly when he's preparing to throw someone or when grabbing onto a ledge.
• Many of Mario's animations have been slightly altered. His walking, helpless, skidding, and ledge-hanging animations are just a few examples.
• Mario has a slightly different pose during air dodge, and has an angry expression on his face.
• Mario's mustache now moves during certain animations.
• Mario's attacks, especially ones involving fire, have been given brighter, flashier particle effects.
• Mario has two new taunts: one where he turns his back to the camera and gives a thumbs-up, and another where he throws Cappy around in a circle. They replace his previous up and side taunts, respectively.
  • Up taunt no longer massively increases Mario's hurtbox, which combined with its much faster speed and taunt canceling makes it much harder to punish.
• Mario performs his down taunt much faster.
• Mario's Builder outfit from the Super Mario Maker series and his Wedding tuxedo and top hat from Super Mario Odyssey are present as alternate costumes. They replace his Wario-inspired costume and his Fire Mario costume, respectively.
• Mario's spin jump victory animation has been altered slightly; he jumps much higher, spins around only once, and has a happy expression after landing.
• Mario now smiles when applauding the winner after a match.
• Mario's sleeping animation is mirrored. He now faces the screen instead of away.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Mario's jumpsquat animation now takes 3 frames to complete (down from 5).
• Mario walks slightly faster (1.1 → 1.155).
• Mario runs much faster (1.6 → 1.76).
  • Mario's initial dash is significantly faster (1.6 → 1.936).
• Mario's air speed is faster (1.15 → 1.208).
• Mario's traction is much higher (0.045 → 0.102), allowing him to punish out of shield more easily.
• Mario's gravity is slightly lower (0.08715 → 0.087).
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-16 → 4-15).
• Back roll has more startup with less intangibility (frames 4-16 → 5-16), and more ending lag (FAF 30 → 35).
• Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 27 → 26).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 3-27 → 3-29).
• Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 33 → 53).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Consecutive uses of the first hit of neutral attack are faster (9 → 6 frames).
  • The first two hits transition into the subsequent hits faster (hit 1: frame 8 → 5, hit 2: frame 7 → 6).
  • The third hit comes out faster (frame 7 → 3) and goes higher, allowing it to connect better from the first two hits. It also has slightly increased knockback.
    • However, its total duration remains unchanged, giving it more ending lag.
  • The first two hits deal altered damage (2.5% → 2.2% (hit 1), 1.5% → 1.7% (hit 2)), resulting in the move dealing slightly less damage in total (8% → 7.9%).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt deals more base knockback, increasing its safety on hit at low percents.
    • However, this renders it incapable of locking opponents.
  • It has less ending lag (FAF 31 → 26).
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has less horizontal range, and its hitboxes start from a higher position, rendering it unable to hit some characters on the ground.
  • Up tilt's animation has been reversed, with Mario spinning towards the screen rather than away from it.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt's animation has been reversed, with Mario spinning towards the screen rather than away from it.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack covers a longer distance.
  • The clean hit launches at a lower angle (60° → 50°), allowing it to set up edgeguards more effectively.
  • It has an altered animation that lowers Mario's hurtbox less, which prevents him from sliding under certain attacks.
  • The late hit launches opponents away from Mario rather than towards him (110° → 48°), hindering its combo potential and preventing it from stage spiking opponents below edges.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash deals consistent damage across all angles, increasing it overall. (14%/17% (forward), 14.7%/17.85% (up), 14.42%/17.51% (down) → 14.7%/17.8% (all)).
• Up smash:
  • Up smash's animation has been reversed, with Mario facing towards the screen rather than away from it.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash's animation has been altered, resembling both the Sweep Kick move from Super Mario 64, and the break dance Mario performs on the cover of Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have reduced landing lag (10 frames → 6 (neutral), 26 frames → 17 (forward), 12 frames → 6 (back, up), 19 frames → 15 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial auto-cancels later (frame 34 → 39).
• Forward aerial:
  • The removal of teching for grounded meteor smashes improves forward aerial's combo potential onstage, compounded further by its reduced landing lag.
  • It has a different animation, with Mario now punching downwards with his opposite hand and twisting around afterwards instead of flipping.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has less ending lag (FAF 32 → 31), marginally improving its combo potential.
  • It auto-cancels earlier (frame 18 → 17).
  • Its hitboxes have a shorter duration (frames 4-8 → 4-7).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial's final hit comes out faster (frame 25 → 23), allowing it to connect better and preventing opponents from air dodging out of it.
    • However, its total duration remains unchanged, giving it more ending lag.
  • The move deals more damage (1% → 1.4% (hits 1-5), 5% → 5.5% (hit 6); 10% → 12.5% (total)).
  • It auto-cancels earlier (frame 33 → 32).
  • It can no longer be frame cancelled.
  • The final hit has an altered animation, and the vortex emitted around Mario is larger.

Throws and other attacks

• All grabs have increased ending lag (FAF 29 → 35 (standing), 36 → 43 (dash), 34 → 37 (pivot)).
• Dash and pivot grab have slightly more startup lag (frame 8 → 9 (dash), 9 → 10 (pivot)).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals more hitlag (5 frames → 14), but has significantly less startup (frame 16 → 1) and ending lag (FAF 24 → 7), shortening its duration.
  • It deals much less damage (3.25% → 1.3%).
  • It has a slightly different animation: Mario now uses one hand during it instead of both like in previous installments, to keep consistent with his grab animation.
• All of Mario's throws have been altered with more exaggerated animations.
• Mario's throws are no longer weight-dependent. This improves their combo potential on heavyweights, but reduces it on lightweights.
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw has gained slight combo potential at low percents due to Mario's faster initial dash speed.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has increased combo ability due to Mario's faster jumpsquat and jump speed.
  • Mario now faces horizontally rather than facing the screen.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw can no longer combo into up tilt except against large characters due to the latter's altered hitbox placements, hindering its damage racking potential at low to mid percents.
  • Mario no longer spins after throwing the opponent.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves

• Fireball:
  • Fireball has less ending lag (FAF 53 → 50), improving its safety.
  • Fireballs disappear later (frame 70 → 88).
  • Fireball deals less shield damage.
  • Mario no longer opens his mouth when using Fireball on the ground.
• Cape:
  • Cape forces opponents to show their back side while they're using their moves; this even works to characters with mirrored stance, causing them to turn away from the screen.
  • Cape is now worn around Mario's neck when used, akin to its appearance in Super Mario World.
  • Cape no longer puts opponents into hitstun during ledge return vulnerability.
    • However, this makes the move much more useful for potential follow-ups.
• Super Jump Punch:
  • Super Jump Punch's second through fourth hits have two frames in between them as opposed to one, resulting in the move having a slightly longer duration (frame 3/7/8/9/10/12/14 → 3/7/9/11/13/15/17).
  • It requires a longer travel distance before being able to sweetspot a ledge.
  • Due to rage being changed to not affect set knockback, the linking hits can no longer KO off the top blast line as easily, removing Mario's low percent KO setups.
  • The second through sixth hits deal less damage (1% → 0.6%).
  • The window to reverse the move is shorter, no longer being reversible during the first hit. This makes it easier to angle vertically, but harder to recover with when facing away from the stage.
  • The coins spawned by the move have reverted to their Super Mario 64 design, instead of the Star Coin design used in Smash 4. Occasionally, they'll appear as regional coins found in the Metro Kingdom from Super Mario Odyssey. Cappy's eyes appear when this occurs.
  • Super Jump Punch has an altered landing animation where Mario lands on his feet as opposed to his back.
• F.L.U.D.D.:
  • F.L.U.D.D. has greater range, and reduced ending lag (FAF 75 → 68).
  • It can be charge-canceled by jumping or spot dodging.
  • It has an altered charging animation.
• Mario Finale:
  • At the start of Mario Finale, nearby opponents are slowed more and for longer.
  • Mario Finale has less knockback than it did before, where it used to drag opponents far to the side at low percents or KO opponents at around 30%. Because of this change, it KOs later than before, requiring the opponent to be at 55% or higher.
  • Mario sports an angrier expression than in previous games when unleashing the move.
  • Damage from each hit is dealt solely based on how long the attack has been out, with the fireballs becoming more powerful as the attack continues. This makes the front fireball worse early during the Final Smash, but the back fireball stronger later during it.

Update History

Mario received a mix of buffs and nerfs, but he was buffed overall via game updates. His dash attack’s launch angle is lowered, which means it is essentially better for edgeguarding. Mario Finale has seen some buffs as well.

2.0.0

• Dash attack's launch angle has been lowered (60° (clean)/58° (late) → 50°/48°). This makes the move more effective for edgeguarding.
• The Final Smash Meter version of Mario Finale has a higher knockback multiplier (x0.9 → x0.91).

3.0.0

• Fireball deals less shield damage.
• Cape no longer puts opponents into hitstun during ledge return vulnerability.
  • However, this makes it much more useful for potential follow-ups.
• At the start of Mario Finale, nearby opponents will be slowed more and slowed longer.

Moveset

• Mario can wall jump.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2.2%	The Punch + Punch + Kick combo from Super Mario 64. The first and second hits can lock.
			1.7%
			4%
Forward tilt			7%	A wheel kick. It can be angled.
Up tilt			5.5%	A spinning uppercut. Effective for comboing into itself at low percents, and into aerial attacks from mid to high percents; however, the former combo can be escaped with the proper combination of DI and SDI, and can be punished on hit at very low percents. Unlike in SSB4, the move's altered animation results in the hitbox being positioned fairly high to the ground on the first frame it is active, making it fairly difficult or even impossible to hit shorter or crouching characters with the move. It appears to be based on the second hit of the Mega Glove's combo from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.
Down tilt			5% (foot), 7% (leg)	A legsweep. A reliable combo starter that works at a wider range of percents than up tilt, at the cost of being less consistent due to its different hitboxes, and unable to combo into itself as effectively.
Dash attack			8% (clean), 6% (late)	A baseball slide. Has a vertical knockback angle, although its moderate endlag makes it subpar for starting combos. Its lingering hitbox is useful for 2-framing certain opponents and punishing spotdodges. Very similar to the Slide Kick from Super Mario 64.
Forward smash			17.8% (fire), 14.7% (arm)	Steps back and does a palm thrust that produces a small explosion. It can be angled.
Up smash		Lead Headbutt	14%	An upward arcing headbutt. One of Mario's most reliable KO options. Its quick startup makes it a useful out of shield option, as well as being difficult to react to if the opponent is within its range. His head is intangible while its hitboxes are active, giving it pseudo-disjointed range. Its hitboxes reach behind Mario a good distance, but do not reach as far in front of him. Has very fast interruptibility for its strength at frame 40, and its damage output is also just enough to make it difficult for most characters to punish out of shield.
Down smash			10% (front), 12% (back)	The Sweep Kick from Super Mario 64. Mario does a breakdance kick that hits both sides. Mario's fastest smash attack, coming out as fast as all his tilts, and both hits semi-spike opponents, though the frontal hit is rather weak. The animation in Ultimate more closely resembles Mario's breakdance from Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix.
Neutral aerial			8% (clean), 5% (late)	A flying kick. As a sex kick, it loses its already below-average power after the first frames. It is useful for breaking out of combos due to its very fast startup (frame 3), and as a versatile horizontal combo extender, as well as for locking opponents. Autocancels in a short hop. Can combo into a tilt attack at low percents if landing on the ground shortly after the hit.
Forward aerial		Meteor Knuckle	12% (early), 14% (clean), 10% (late)	Rears back his fist and then throws an overhand. When hit clean, it is a meteor smash with enough knockback to KO under 45% offstage. It has the slowest startup of his standard moveset (frame 16), high ending lag, and is Mario's only aerial that doesn't autocancel in a short hop.
Back aerial			10.5% (clean), 7% (late)	A dropkick behind Mario. Has decent knockback, fast startup with low ending and landing lag, and more range than most of Mario's other aerials, making it an effective spacing tool and horizontal combo extender at low percents.
Up aerial			7%	A bicycle kick. Has extremely fast startup (frame 4), consistent strength throughout the move and very low ending and landing lag, making it one of Mario's most versatile combo starters and extenders in his moveset. Can combo into itself easily until higher percents, and can kill off the top at high percents when close to the upper blast line.
Down aerial		Mario Tornado	1.4% (hits 1-5), 5.5% (hit 6), 2% (landing)	Rapidly spins around, trapping opponents and damaging them with a series of discus clotheslines and spinning backfists before assuming a spread-eagle position to launch them. It resembles the Spin Jump, a technique that first appeared in Super Mario World. Useful as a combo starter and damage-racking option.
Grab			—	Reaches out. Mario's overall grab range is somewhat short.
Pummel			1.3%	Headbutts the opponent.
Forward throw			8%	Spins the opponent around once and throws them forward. Can be followed up with dash attack at lower percents, or be used to set up tech situations and mixups.
Back throw		Airplane Swing	11% (throw), 8% (collateral)	Spins the opponent by their legs three times before throwing them backward. Can KO even the heaviest of characters reliably at around 160% near the edge without the need of rage, but can KO middleweights as early as 120% if they fail to DI. It is based on the throw that he uses against Bowser in Super Mario 64.
Up throw			7%	Heaves the opponent directly overhead with both hands. An effective combo throw at low to medium percentages. Very similar animation to the Upward Cap Throw from Super Mario Odyssey.
Down throw			5%	A body slam. It can be followed up with several options, including up tilt on certain characters at varying percents, Super Jump Punch, neutral attack, and up aerial at mid percents on most characters.
Floor attack (front)			7%	Performs a modified version of the Sweep Kick from Super Mario 64 before getting up.
Floor attack (back)			7%	Punches behind himself and then in front of himself while getting up.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Performs a side kick behind himself and then in front of himself while getting up.
Edge attack			9%	Performs a dropkick while climbing up.
Neutral special		Fireball	5% (early), 4% (late)	Throws a Fireball. The fireball bounces along the ground several times before disappearing. Has a lot of endlag for how weak it is, but Mario retains full control over his aerial mobility while using it, allowing him to continue drifting unpredictably while controlling space. Because the fireball is subject to gravity, it can be used to cover Mario while recovering high.
Side special		Cape	7%, 1.5x times the reflected projectile	Dons a Cape and waves it in front of himself. It reflects projectiles and reverses enemies, as well as reversing the opponent's controls for a brief instant. In the air, it stalls Mario for a short period of time, allowing for timing mixups in juggle and recovery situations. Useful for gimping opponents who are trying to recover.
Up special		Super Jump Punch	5% (hit 1), 0.6% (hits 2-6), 3% (hit 7)	A jumping uppercut that produces Star Coins or Metro Kingdom regional coins on contact. Mario's only recovery move. Its extremely fast startup (frame 3) and intangibility frames on startup make it useful as an out of shield option. Can KO near the upper blast line at high percents.
Down special		F.L.U.D.D.	0%	Wields F.L.U.D.D. and charges up water to launch a stream at the opponent. The charge time is rather fast, and it can be charge canceled and stored for later. The water pushes opponents, but does not damage them. Mario can change the angle of the stream. Useful for disrupting an approach and creating space, which can help alleviate pressure and potentially put his opponent in a vulnerable position. Can also be used as an edgeguarding tool.
Final Smash		Mario Finale	2% (early), 2.5% (clean), 3% (late)	Rears his arms back before thrusting them forward to generate and launch two gigantic Fireballs, which trap and repeatedly damage any opponents in their path. Deals almost no knockback, but has decent damage and can carry opponents off the side of the stage when near the ledge.

On-screen appearance

• Jumps out of a Warp Pipe punching his right fist in the air while shouting "Let's-a go!".

Taunts

• Up taunt: Turns his back to the camera and gives a thumbs-up, while smiling. The pose Mario strikes resembles a piece of promotional artwork first released for Club Nintendo, but without the wink.
• Side taunt: Cheerfully tosses Cappy in a circle, saying "Hoohoo!", then grabs him out of midair and puts him back on his head. Based on the Cap Throw from Super Mario Odyssey.
• Down taunt: Spins in the air and falls to the ground with his legs in the air. This is a reference to his dying animation from Donkey Kong.

Idle poses

• Moves his head from left to right and holds his fist in front of his face.
• Adjusts his hat.

Victory poses

• Winds up for a punch and steps forward while punching in front of the screen.
• Makes fire explode from his palm and strikes a pose. This pose is somewhat similar to his Super Smash Bros. 4 artwork.
• Does a spin as he jumps high in the air and lands in a strongman pose. It originates from his "character chosen" animation in Super Smash Bros.

A flourished remix of the Course Clear Fanfare used in Super Mario Bros., slightly sped up.

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In competitive play

Notable players

•  Ally - The best Mario player in Canada. Plays Mario as a secondary. Placed 2nd at Battle of BC 3 with wins over ESAM and Nurse.
•  Dark Wizzy - One of the best Mario players in the world. Placed 9th at Smash Conference United, 17th at GENESIS 6, 3rd at Suplex City Smash and 13th at Pound 2019. Has wins over ZD, Light and Mr.R
•  MastaMario - One of the best Mario players in the United States. Has wins over NAKAT, Armando, Zenyou, Charlie, Rich Brown, and Slither2Hunter.
•  Prodigy - One of the best Mario players in the world. Placed 13th at GENESIS 6 with wins over FOW, Abadango, Dark Wizzy, and ImHip.
•  Rice - Placed 9th at Super Splat Bros and 25th at SoCal Chronicles.
•  Super Dan - Placed 4th at Retro Arena 64. Ranked 4th on the Chicago Power Rankings.
•  Tatsutsuyo - Placed 13th at Sumabato SP.
•  Teb - Placed 7th at Super Splat Bros.
•  Zenyou - Placed 33rd at GENESIS 6. Has wins over Larry Lurr, Razo, Rich Brown, Slither2Hunter, and Nicko.

Classic Mode: Let's-a Go!

In a similar fashion to the Classic Modes of past games, Mario's opponents are groups of fighters from various universes fought on a home stage from that universe. The Japanese title and overall concept are also similar to Super Mario Odyssey, where Mario would travel to different kingdoms.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Link and Zelda	Great Plateau Tower	Overworld Theme - The Legend of Zelda (Brawl)
2	Kirby , Meta Knight , and King Dedede	Green Greens	Green Greens (Melee)	Free-for-All
3	Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong	Kongo Falls	Jungle Level (Melee)
4	Squirtle , Ivysaur , Charizard , and Pikachu	Pokémon Stadium	Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Blue (Brawl)	Pokémon Trainer is absent.
5	Marth , Chrom , and Ike	Coliseum	Story 5 Meeting
6	The Koopalings and Bowser Jr.	Princess Peach's Castle	Fortress Boss - Super Mario Bros. 3	The Koopalings are fought in the order Mario faces them in Super Mario Bros. 3.
Bonus Stage
Final	Bowser , then Giga Bowser	Final Destination	King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3 (Against Bowser) Giga Bowser (Against Giga Bowser)	A Maxim Tomato spawns on the stage after Bowser is KO'd.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Mario has Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Medley accompany the credits.

Character unlock tree

Mario's Classic Mode character unlock tree includes the following characters in order:

1. Sonic
2. Bayonetta
3. Little Mac
4. Ike
5. Luigi
6. Roy
7. Dr. Mario
8. Olimar

Each character can be unlocked by clearing Mario's Classic Mode, or the Classic Mode of any preceding character, if all preceding characters have been unlocked. Once all the above characters are unlocked, clearing Classic Mode with any of them will default to Donkey Kong's character unlock tree, starting with Bowser. Furthermore, Mario's tree can also be accessed by completing another starter character's unlock tree, then clearing Classic Mode with any character within.

Role in World of Light

False Mario along with the other Puppet Fighters.

Finding Mario in World of Light

Mario was among the fighters that were summoned to the cliffside to fight against the army of Master Hands.

During the opening cutscene, Mario was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. Mario was then destroyed by Galeem's light attack offscreen and imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters, with the exception of Kirby.

Mario is later seen under Galeem's imprisonment during the opening cutscene, where a puppet fighter of him is cloned from him to contain the spirit of a Smoky Progg. He is always the first character to be unlocked in this mode.

When the fighters make their last stand against Galeem and Dharkon, Mario is seen leading the charge. He is also prominently featured in both of the bad endings. If Galeem defeats Dharkon, Mario watches in trepidation as Galeem unleashes a wave of light and is ostensibly vaporized with the rest of reality. If Dharkon defeats Galeem, Mario is seen lifelessly slumping over as the world is engulfed in darkness.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
01		Mario	Neutral	2,500	Final Destination	Final Destination

Spirits

Mario's Fighter Spirits can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. They are also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 coins. Unlocking Mario in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As Fighter Spirits, they cannot be used in Spirit Battles and are purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, Mario makes an appearance in various Primary and Support Spirits.

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  1. Mario

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  2. Builder Mario

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  3. Mario (Wedding)

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  21. Metal Mario

• Boo Mario.png

  22. Boo Mario

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  23. Rock Mario

• Gold Mario Spirit.png

  24. Gold Mario

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  75. Starship Mario

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  77. Plessie

• Goo Goo Buggy Spirit.png

  80. Goo-Goo Buggy

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  93. Paper Mario

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  110. Papercraft Mario

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  126. Mini Mario

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  127. Mini Mario & Hammers

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  132. Mario (Mario Tennis Aces)

• Babymario.png

  299. Baby Mario

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  300. Baby Mario (Superstar Mario)

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  302. Stork

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  319. Mega Eggdozer

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  1133. MONSTER

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
21		Metal Mario	Super Mario series	•Metal Mario		9,600	The Great Cave Offensive (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy is slow but has increased defense and attack •The enemy is metal	Metal Battle
22	File:Boo Mario.png	Boo Mario	Super Mario series	•Mario		1,900	Dracula's Castle (hazards off)	•Hazard: High Gravity •Hazard: Low Gravity •Invisibility	•The enemy is invisible •Your jumping power decreases when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy is less affected by gravity	Castle / Boss Fortress - Super Mario World / SMB 3
34		Toadsworth	Super Mario series	•Mario		1,900	Princess Peach's Castle	•Item: Mushrooms	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Ricco Harbor
75		Starship Mario	Super Mario series	•Giant Mario		4,100	Mario Galaxy (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Low Gravity	•Gravity is reduced •The enemy is giant	The Starship Sails
78	File:Cappy spirit.png	Cappy	Super Mario series	•Mario		3,600	Rainbow Cruise	•Invisibility •Item: Boomerang	•The enemy is invisible •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Jump Up, Super Star!
81	File:Goo Goo Buggy Spirit.png	Goo-Goo Buggy	Mario Kart series	•Mario •Luigi		3,400	Mario Circuit	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Chain Chomp)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy has increased move speed	Mushroom Gorge - Mario Kart Wii
85	File:B-dasher.png	B Dasher	Mario Kart series	•Mario (x3)		9,400	Figure-8 Circuit	•Uncontrollable Speed	•All fighters move faster and can't stop quickly •The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you	Mario Circuit - Mario Kart 8
119		Kid	Mario Golf series	•Mario Team (×4)		2,500	Golden Plains (Battlefield form)	•Item: Beastball •Hazard: Heavy Wind	•Dangerously high winds are in effect •The enemy is easily distracted by items	World Tour
128		MC Ballyhoo & Big Top	Mario Party series	•Mario •Yoshi •Peach •Luigi		1,600	Mario Circuit	•Item Tidal Wave	•Certain items will appear in large numbers after a little while	Pandemonium
130		Rabbid Mario	Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle	•Bunny Mario		3,400	3D Land	•Item: Shooting Types	•The enemy starts the battle with a Ray Gun	Arcade Bunny's Theme
132		Mario (Mario Tennis Aces)	Mario Tennis Aces	•Mario •Peach		8,800	Wuhu Island (Swordplay Colosseum)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Color TV-Game 15)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy favors smash attacks	Title Theme - Mario Tennis Aces
299	File:Babymario.png	Baby Mario	Yoshi series	•Tiny Mario •Yoshi (×8) ()		8,800	Yoshi's Island	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy shields often	Yoshi's Island (Brawl)
816		Smoky Progg	Pikmin series	•Mario		1,600	Distant Planet (Battlefield form)	•Metal Shift	•The enemy will occasionally turn metal	Stage Select - Pikmin 2
941		Von Kaiser	Punch-Out!! series	•Mario		1,800	Boxing Ring	N/A	•The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power •Stamina battle •The enemy favors side smash attacks	Minor Circuit (Original)
1,147		Maruhige Shop Owner	Trade & Battle: Card Hero series	•Mario		3,700	Pac-Land (Battlefield form)	•Item: Assist Trophy	•Stamina battle •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Welcome Center
1,300	File:Dice Block Spirit.png	Dice Block	Super Mario series	•Mario •Peach		1,900	Princess Peach's Castle	•Item Tidal Wave	•Items will be pulled toward the enemy •Certain items will appear in large numbers	Pandemonium

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
27	File:Baby Peach Spirit.png	Baby Peach	Super Mario series	•Tiny Isabelle •Mario		3,600	Peach's Castle	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy favors dash attacks •The enemy has increased move speed	Ground Theme - Super Mario Bros (Melee)	Either Mario or Baby Mario
29		Peach (Wedding)	Super Mario series	•Peach •Mario		9,900	New Donk City Hall	•Flowery	•Defeat the main fighter to win •You constantly take minor damage •The enemy tends to avoid conflict	Break Free (Lead The Way)	Mario
79		Pauline	Super Mario series	•Peach •Mario •Donkey Kong		13,700	75m	•Jump Power ↓	•Defeat the main fighter to win •You have reduced jump power •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Jump Up, Super Star!	Jumpman (Mario)
104	File:Genosmrpg.png	Geno	Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars	•Sheik •Peach •Kirby •Bowser •Mario		13,700	Mario Galaxy (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Timed battle •The enemy's FS Meter charges quickly	Rainbow Road Medley	Mario
108		Starlow	Mario & Luigi series	•Pac-Man •Luigi •Mario		3,300	Brinstar (Battlefield form)	•Tiny •Giant	•The enemy is giant •The enemy is tiny after a little while	Tough Guy Alert!	Mario
118		Wanda	Super Mario series	•Tiny Palutena •Yoshi •Peach •Mario		1,500	Green Greens (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Mario Paint Medley	Mario
1,107		Fighting Alloy Team	Super Smash Bros. series	•Captain Falcon Team (×4) •Zelda Team (×4) •Mario Team (×4) •Kirby Team (×4)		3,300	Final Destination (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Cruel Smash	Yellow Alloy

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Mario and Rathalos artwork, as posted on the official Japanese Monster Hunter Twitter account.

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  Link, Kirby, Mario, and Cloud artwork, as posted by Tetsuya Nomura's official Twitter account.

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  Mario's fighter card.

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  Mario's grab animation on Onett.

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  Up Taunting on 3D Land.

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  Side Taunting in his Builder outfit on Wrecking Crew.

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  Using F.L.U.D.D. on Arena Ferox.

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  Mario's new Wedding and Builder costumes on Princess Peach's Castle.

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  Jumping in his Wedding costume with Peach on Skyworld.

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  Buried by Inkling's Splat Roller on Figure-8 Circuit.

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  Mario crouching near Isabelle on Tomodachi Life.

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  Mario using his Fireball on Isabelle on Skyworld.

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  With Olimar, Pac-Man, and Sonic on Gaur Plain.

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  With a giant Pikachu on Tortimer Island.

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  Taunting in his Waluigi-inspired costume with Wario on Big Blue.

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  Trapped in the Black Hole item by Palutena on Gaur Plain.

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  Getting buried by Donkey Kong's Headbutt on Gaur Plain.

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  With Young Link on Tomodachi Life.

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  With Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Ice Climbers, Pit, Villager and Inkling on Battlefield.

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  With Kirby, Link, Inkling, Marth, Pit, Ridley and Villager on Battlefield.

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  With Peach and Bowser on Princess Peach's Castle.

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  Mario in Piranha Plant's victory pose.

Trivia

Mario "dies" in the bad ending.

• The segment during the E3 2018 Nintendo Direct focusing on his new Builder suit features Mario knocking Squirtle off of a Pipe on Mushroomy Kingdom. This is likely a reference to the series' common Koopa Troopa enemies, which are also turtles.
• In the E3 demo of the game, Mario's portrait, strangely, used his in-game model as opposed to the render made for him in the game. This was also the case with Link, Pikachu and Villager. This has since been fixed.
  • Coincidentally, all four of these characters were playable in the Super Smash Bros. for 3DS demo.
• Mario's trailer is the only one that uses a background song with English lyrics; in this case, "Jump Up, Super Star!", the main theme of Super Mario Odyssey.
  • Additionally, Mario is the only character to vocalize at all in their character trailers (shouting “oh yeah!”), whereas every other character's trailer has their voices muted.
• This is the first game where Mario no longer has his Wario-based alternate costume since the first game, and the first since Melee where Mario no longer has a Fire Flower-based alternate costume, possibly to make room for his Builder and Wedding Tuxedo-based outfits.
• Coincidentally enough, five of his alternate costumes (besides his Builder and Wedding outfits, also his default, Golf, and Waluigi-based outfits) also appeared in Super Mario Odyssey. Dr. Mario (portrayed here as his own character) also appeared in Odyssey as well. Only his cyan/pink, white/black, and green/brown costumes do not appear in Odyssey.
• Mario is the only character in World of Light that appears in every cutscene featuring the presence of a fighter, and is also the only character to appear in the bad ending where Dharkon emerges victorious.
  • Due to his presence in every cutscene, as well as his status as the first character unlocked in World of Light, Mario loosely fills the role of co-protagonist or deuteragonist in the mode. This reflects The Subspace Emissary, where Mario and Kirby were the first characters to be playable, with Mario being attacked and removed and Kirby being more prominent during the early portions of the mode.
• Mario, Ken, and Bowser are the only characters that possess the Neutral typing when unlocking them in World of Light.
• Mario and Chrom are the only characters to appear in another character's victory pose (in this case, Piranha Plant).
• When KO'd by reaching 0 HP in Stamina Mode, Mario uses his heavy knockback scream rather than the standard KO scream. This also applies to Dr. Mario.
• Looking underneath Mario's Wedding costume reveals a gap between his shirt and pants.
• Whenever Mario grabs onto an edge, his hat briefly shifts upward, revealing that his hair is missing and exposing a gap.
• Mario is the only Mario character (sub-universes included) to face Giga Bowser as his final boss in his Classic Mode route.
  • In addtion, both he and Captain Falcon are the only characters to face Giga Bowser as their final boss in Classic Mode.
  • Coincidentally, both are Smash 64 veterans and have fire-based abilities.
• If Mario gets hit hard in the head, there's a chance his face will flatten. This is the same expression used whenever he gets Screen KO'd. This also happens with Dr. Mario.
• Mario's official artwork is based on the sex kick in his neutral aerial.