Mario (SSB4): Difference between revisions

{{Infobox Character

|name = Mario

|game = SSB4

|ssbgame1 = SSB

'''Mario''' ({{ja|マリオ|Mario}}, ''Mario'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''. He was confirmed on June 11th, 2013 during the E3 2013 Nintendo Direct.<ref name="trailer1">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvudMu-5kIU Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U 1st Trailer]</ref> He was also one of the main subjects of the Developer's Direct for ''Super Smash Bros.'' later during E3 2013.<ref name="devdirect">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQD1yJinzeQ Wii U & Nintendo 3DS Developer Direct - Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U @E3 2013]</ref> He was among the first wave of [[amiibo]] figurines for ''Smash 4''. Charles Martinet's portrayal of Mario from ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' was repurposed for ''Smash 4''.<ref name="treehouseday2">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edCQDRuL8Dk Nintendo Treehouse: Live @ E3 2014 -- Day 2: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]</ref>

Due to his lack of severe weaknesses, as well as one of the lowest technical curves in the game, Mario has had among the highest representation in tournaments, and has achieved excellent results at top level play. Owing to Mario's incredible tournament placings, especially during the summer of 2016, many smashers have viewed Mario as one of the best characters in the game and possibly deserving of an even higher ranking on the tier list; {{Sm|ESAM}}, for instance, has notably argued that Mario is the best character in ''Smash 4'', while others claim that Mario should be lower due to his not as dominant results and his glaring range issues.

Another valuable strength of Mario is his grab game. Even though his grab reach is only average, his grabs are among the fastest in the game, and his [[pummel]], while moderately slow, can rack up some damage before throwing the opponent. His forward and up throws have the same overall use: they send the opponent at a disadvantageous position, where Mario can capitalize on their mistake. His back throw is by far his strongest throw and can reliably KO below 150% near the ledge on any character, and even earlier with [[rage]]. Finally, his down throw is a notorious combo starter. It can repeatedly lead into up tilt at low percentages, or down tilts to regrab on fast fallers or heavyweights and rack up at least 20% in the process. Alternatively, it can lead into neutral attack, forward tilt, down tilt, up smash and down smash at low percentages, as well as neutral aerial, up aerial, down aerial and Super Jump Punch at medium percentages. 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 among the most reliable in the game, and it is also worth noting that seven of Mario's moves can [[lock]] (forward tilt, neutral attack's first two hits, [[Fireball]], down aerials landing hit, and neutral, forward and back aerials (the former and latter being usually effective when sourspotted, though a majority of them are only usable at low percents). 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.

Mario's [[custom moves]] define the fundamentals of customization, with all of them following an "X over Y" pattern. Fast Fireball deals less damage and barely causes flinching, but covers more range at a much faster pace and can further improve his already above average [[camping]] abilities as well as disrupt most attacks. Fire Orb has less range and is much slower, but deals repeated damage and lingers after being shot, allowing for potential follow-ups. Shocking Cape is [[electric]] and has actual KO power, but cannot stall in the air as much as its other variants or reflect projectiles. Gust Cape pushes opponents away, especially at point-blank range, but it deals less damage and possesses more ending lag. Super Jump grants almost twice as much distance, but is unable to hit opponents. Explosive Punch deals high [[flame]] damage, but travels a short distance at a fixed direction. Scalding F.L.U.D.D. hits multiple times and can disrupt an opponent's [[approach]] better, but is not as useful in edgeguarding and has less reach. High-Pressure F.L.U.D.D. takes much longer to charge, but its push effect is greatly amplified.

In ''Super Smash Bros Brawl'', Mario was regarded as an unviable low tier, as while he had very solid frame data, decent edgeguarding, an effective projectile and a powerful and versatile tool in the form of his [[Cape]], he also suffered from having poor range, limited/difficult to land KO moves and a poor recovery, which was very linear, did not cover much distance, and could be easily [[edge hog]]ged. As a result, Mario struggled against a majority of the cast and despite the developer's intention to design him as a beginner friendly all arounder, he still ended being an unpopular choice due to his poor relative strength to the cast.

Mario's up aerial now launches opponents vertically like its ''Smash 64'' counterpart which has made Mario's already decent juggling potential much more potent especially with the afforementioned changes to hitstun canceling/DI. The move can very easily chain into itself and lead into a [[Super Jump Punch]] making it a very powerful juggling tool. Mario's forward aerial is also noticeably more effective. The move is not only stronger and naturally benefits from the removal of [[meteor canceling]], but it can also be comboed into due to the afforementioned changes to hitstun canceling/DI as well as his altered down throw/up aerial.

Mario's traction is also lower which hinders his ability to punish out of shield despite still possessing excellent out of shield options. Mario can also no longer use a pivoted forward smash to make it cover a lot more distance which considerably hinders Mario's ability to whiff punish moves while being on the ground.

*{{nerf|[[Spot dodge]] has a shorter duration (frames 2-20 → 2-17) and has more ending lag (FAF 26 → 27).}}

*{{buff|The changes to [[hitstun canceling]] and [[directional influence]] greatly improve Mario's combo potential.}}

*{{buff|The removal of [[edge hogging]], combined with Mario’s faster air speed and air dodge, drastically improve his recovery, remedying one of his main weaknesses from the previous game.}}

*[[Dash attack]]:

**{{nerf|Dash attack deals less damage (9% (clean)/7% (late) → 8%/6%).}}

**{{buff|It deals more knockback (70 (base)/50 (scaling) (clean), 45/30 (late) → 100/43 (both)) and both its clean and late hits have consistent angles (110°/80° → 60° (clean), 120°/70° → 110° (late)). }}

**{{buff|The changes to hitstun canceling grants the late hit follow-ups when combined with the move's higher base knockback.}}

*[[Up aerial]]:

**{{buff|Up aerial now launches opponents vertically (45° → 75°), similar to its ''Smash 64'' counterpart. When combined with the changes to hitstun canceling/DI, this makes it a much better combo move and allowing it to KO more reliably near the upper [[blast line]] especially if it leads into Super Jump Punch.}}

**{{buff|The hitbox on Mario's foot is positioned higher (Y-offset: 2.2 → 3.8), increasing its range.}}

**{{nerf|It deals less damage (11% → 7%) without full compensation on its knockback (9 (base)/100 (scaling) → 10/135).}}

**{{change|Mario Finale no longer has the small damage burst during the very beginning of the attack before the actual hitbox comes out which stops the opponent from being pushed far enough to possibly avoid the blast. However, this also means Mario is forced to rely on the looping hits in order to get reliable KOs with the move.}}

**{{change|It has a higher hitlag multiplier (0.2x → 0.3x) but it has a lower SDI multiplier (0.7x → 0.6x).}}

**{{buff|Its angles have been altered (32° → 28°/26°) with its hits being sharper semi-spikes.}}

**{{nerf|It has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 9-243 → 11-210).}}

==Update history==

'''{{GameIcon|ssb4-3ds}} [[1.0.4]]'''

|game=SSB4

|neutralcount=3

|neutral1dmg=2.5%

|neutral2dmg=1.5%

|neutral3dmg=4%

|neutraldesc=The {{s|mariowiki|Punch}} + Punch + {{s|mariowiki|Kick}} combo from ''{{s|mariowiki|Super Mario 64}}''. The hitboxes closest to his body in the first and second hits can [[lock]]; the second hit has less practical use for this purpose, as its damage output is lower, and the close hitbox is more difficult to connect after the first hit.

|ftiltdmg=7%

|ftiltdesc=A wheel kick. It can be angled. Can lock at very low percents, but due to its higher knockback and endlag, cannot be used repeatedly for this purpose.

|utiltdmg=5.5%

|utiltdesc=A spinning uppercut. Infamous for effectively comboing into itself at low percents; however, this can be escaped with the proper combination of DI and SDI, and can be punished on hit at very low percents. It appears to be based on the second hit of the [[mariowiki:List of weapons in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars|Mega Glove]]'s combo from ''Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars''.

|dtiltdmg=5% (foot), 7% (body)

|dtiltdesc=A legsweep. Unsafe on hit until around 60% on most of the cast, but combos into aerials at later percents than down-throw or up-tilt.

|dashdmg=8% (clean), 6% (late)

|dashdesc=The {{s|mariowiki|Slide Kick}}. Its hitbox lingers for a long time, making it useful for [[2 frame punish|2-framing]] certain opponents and punishing spot dodges. If the opponent does not DI correctly, it can combo into the last hits of [[Super Jump Punch]] or a back air at low percents.

|fsmashangles=3

|fsmashupdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|17.85}} (fire), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|14.7}} (arm)

|fsmashdowndmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|17.51}} (fire), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|14.42}} (arm)

|fsmashdesc=Steps back and does a palm thrust that produces a small explosion. Mario's strongest smash attack: it KOs at 99% sweetspotted and 118% sourspotted when angled up, at 105% sweetspotted and 124% sourspotted when unangled, and at 101% sweetspotted and 120% sourspotted when angled down. Despite being his smash attack with the highest amount of ending lag, it has relatively fast interruptibility (frame 48) compared to other smash attacks of its power, making it difficult to punish [[out of shield]] if sweetspotted.

|usmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|14}}

|usmashdesc=An upward arcing headbutt. This is Mario's most infamous and reliable KO option due to several factors: 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, and its hitboxes reach behind Mario pretty well, though they don't reach forward as well. Lastly, it 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. Altogether, this makes it a very useful KO move. It KOs at 117% from the middle of [[Final Destination]].

|dsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|10}} (front), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|12}} (back)

|dsmashdesc=The {{s|mariowiki|Sweep Kick}}. Mario's fastest smash attack, coming out as fast as all his tilts, and both hits [[semi-spike]] opponents, though the front hit is rather weak. Front hit KOs at 162% and up, whereas the back hit KOs at 133% and up, both from the middle of Final Destination.

|nairdmg=8% (clean), 5% (late)

|nairdesc=A flying kick. A standard [[sex kick]], it loses much of its already below-average power after the first few frames. It is useful for breaking out of combos due to its very fast startup (frame 3), has use as a versatile horizontal combo extender, can set up techchases and locks on fastfallers, and the late hit can lock opponents. [[Autocancel]]s in a [[short hop]].

|fairdmg=12% (early), 14% (clean), 10% (late)

|fairdesc=Rears back his fist and then throws an [[wikipedia:Overhand (boxing)|overhand]]. When hit clean, it is a [[meteor smash]] with enough knockback to KO under 45% offstage. When hit early, while not possessing this feature, it can still KO at around 130% near the edge. However, it has the slowest startup of his standard moveset (frame 16), high ending lag, high landing lag (26 frames) and is Mario's only aerial that doesn't autocancel in a short hop.

|bairdmg=10.5% (clean), 7% (late)

|bairdesc=A {{s|wikipedia|dropkick}}. Has fast startup with low ending and landing lag, making it an effective [[spacing]] tool and horizontal combo extender at low percents. KOs starting from 124% near the edge, but will KO much later if the opponent uses proper DI.

|uairdmg=7%

|uairdesc=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 serve as an emergency KO move near the upper blast line at percentages past 140%.

|dairdmg=1% (hits 1-5), 5% (hit 6), 2% (landing)

|dairdesc=Rapidly spins around, trapping opponents and damaging them with a series of [[Wikipedia:Professional wrestling attacks#Clothesline|discus clotheslines]] and [[Wikipedia:Professional wrestling attacks#Spinning back fist|spinning backfists]] before assuming a [[wikipedia:Spreadeagle (position)|spread-eagle position]] to launch them. A useful combo, approach and anti-juggling move that can also KO near the upper blast line above 120%. However, the last hit can be avoided by any action with hitboxes or invincibility active on or sooner than frame 3, if Mario has little or no rage. As a result, combos off down air when Mario has no rage are 50/50s on most of the cast, unsafe on others, and guaranteed on {{SSB4|Bowser}}, {{SSB4|Ganondorf}}, and {{SSB4|King Dedede}}. It resembles the {{s|mariowiki|Spin Jump}}, a technique that first appeared in ''{{s|mariowiki|Super Mario World}}''.

|grabdesc=Reaches out. Mario's overall grab range is average.

|pummeldmg=3.25%

|pummeldesc=A headbutt. A moderately slow pummel, but tied with {{SSB4|Pac-Man}}'s for second-most damaging pummel in the game.

|fthrowdmg=8%

|fthrowdesc=Spins the opponent around once and throws them forward. Can set up tech situations on fastfallers, and mixups on floaties at low percents.

|bthrowdmg=11% (throw), 8% (collateral)

|bthrowdesc=A [[wikipedia:Professional wrestling throws#Giant swing|giant swing]]. Mario grabs the opponent's feet and swings them before throwing backwards. 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 his throw that he uses against [[Bowser]] in ''Super Mario 64''.

|uthrowdmg=7%

|uthrowdesc=Heaves the opponent directly overhead with both hands. An effective combo throw on fastfallers at low percentages. It can also KO floaty characters above 180% without rage.

|dthrowdmg=5%

|dthrowdesc=A [[wikipedia:Professional wrestling throws#Body slam|body slam]]. Mario's primary combo starter, it can be followed up with several options, including Super Jump Punch, neutral attack, up smash, and most notably his up tilt. At higher percentages, it can be followed up with an up aerial or forward aerial, the latter which is a deadly KO setup at the edge if failed to DI properly.

|fsdmg=3% (Front fireball), 2% (Back fireball)

|fsdesc=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.

}}

Mario German Announcer SSBU.wav|German

Mario Italian Announcer SSBU.wav|Italian

Mario Spanish Announcer SSBU.wav|Spanish

</gallery>

==In [[competitive play]]==

===[[Official Custom Moveset Project]]===

{{OfficialCustomMoves

''Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the [[PGR 100]], which recognizes the official top 100 players in [[Super Smash Bros. 4]] of all time.''

==[[Trophies]]==

{{Trophy/Fighter

|name=Mario

|image-3ds=MarioTrophy3DS.png

|image-wiiu=MarioTrophyWiiU.png

|desc-ntsc=As iconic as iconic gets, this gaming celebrity is known for saving the world from Bowser. He's got amazing jumping skills and makes use of a wide range of transformations. In his free time, he plays too many sports to count. In Smash Bros., he's a well-rounded fighter you can rely on. Say it with me: "It's-a me, Mario!"

|desc-pal=It's-a him! Maaario! Whether he's wearing one of his special outfits or just his normal blue dungarees, this running, jumping, Bowser-bashing, princess-saving hero is an all-round superstar. And in this game, he's got enough tricks up his sleeve to deal with anything. If you don't know which fighter to pick, Mario's a solid choice.

}}

{{clrl}}

==[[Alternate costume (SSB4)#Mario|Alternate costumes]]==

SSB4 - 3DS Gust Cape.png|Gust Cape.

</gallery>

==Trivia==

**Because of this, there is no official artwork of any of Mario’s alternate costumes with said fireball.

*A glitch from 1.0.7 shows when Mario performs his side taunt on Ω [[Gerudo Valley]], his hair is missing when taking off his cap, revealing the inside of his head.

**Because of this, combined with Peach and Rosalina both obtaining their own Fire-based alternate costume, as well as how Luigi has a Fire-based costume in every game, ''SSB4'' is the only game where the playable cast of ''Super Mario 3D World'' (except for Toad, due to him simply being portrayed here as one of Peach's moves) has an alternate costume based on their Fire forms from that game.

*This also marks the final appearance of Mario's up taunt used since the original ''Super Smash Bros.'' to date.

==References==