Mario (SSB4)

Mario in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Mario
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl in Ultimate
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Mario Finale
Tier	A (9)

Mario (マリオ, Mario) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. He was confirmed on June 11th, 2013 during the E3 2013 Nintendo Direct. He was also one of the main subjects of the Developer's Direct for Super Smash Bros. later during E3 2013. 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.

Mario is ranked 9th out of 54 characters on the tier list, in the A tier, which is at the lower end of the top tier, a huge improvement from his 31st out of 38 ranking in Brawl where he stood at the top of the bottom tier, rendering him as the veteran with the most improvement in the transition. Additionally, Smash 4 is the first release in Super Smash Bros. where he is placed higher than a mid-tier, thus resulting in his best tier list placement yet. Mario's greatest asset is his effective frame data; most of his moves have little startup lag and have relatively low end lag. This results in Mario being fairly difficult to punish relative to most of the cast. His combo game is quite flexible, as Mario can rack up damage quickly and reliably, most notoriously with his down throw into multiple up tilts. In addition, he also has a versatile moveset: a disruptive projectile in his Fireball, a reflection-based and reverse-based move in his Cape that can counteract camping, and a decent, if niche edgeguarding option with F.L.U.D.D.

Despite being buffed significantly from Brawl, Mario retains several weaknesses. His moves have short range, giving him trouble against characters with long disjointed range such as Cloud and Marth. Furthermore, he cannot effectively outcamp other characters, due to Fireball being relatively slow and small compared to some other projectiles in the game. Mario also suffers from a lack of consistent KO setups, as none of his options can reliably KO outside of his forward and up smashes, and alongside his short frame and relative floatiness for a middleweight, he is a target to rage setups. Lastly, Mario's average attributes do not allow him to quickly gain an advantage either, as the strengths of other characters can contest his, with the two most notable being his overall range and mobility.

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; 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.

Attributes

Like in the majority of his games and spin-offs, Mario is intended to be 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 jumping force, but low traction. 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, as few other characters like Sheik and Meta Knight are a match for this speed. His fast attack speed allows him to consistently apply pressure to the opponent, and he's 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, such as Palutena. 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 very effective combo starters that can help rack up plenty of damage, and the former easily chains into itself at low percentages, as well as being hard to escape. 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. Down aerial is a great anti-juggling move that can also KO if used near the top blast line. It also benefits from frame cancelling, as its moderate landing lag is reduced, allowing for potential follow-ups. 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 Mega Man. 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 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.

Despite Mario's numerous strengths, he is not flawless. Most characters are able to outperform him in various areas: notable examples include Bayonetta having a more versatile combo ability, Sonic having better mobility, Donkey Kong having higher power right off the bat and Cloud 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 if he fails to secure an early kill, which are all 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, though fortunately, these types of characters tend to have significantly slower startups on their attacks than Mario, meaning that this tends to be the least of his worries.

Lastly, his recovery is rather limited. He has 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 and do so with his double jump saved, as a single opening offstage may be fatal for him. Nevertheless, Mario's recovery provides serviceable distance, but caution must be exercised when offstage, especially when he doesn’t have a double jump on him.

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.

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 offstage as well in spite of his viable edgeguarding game, as a single vent in his defenses can cause him to be unable to recover.

Nevertheless, Mario's favorable attributes give him numerous advantages. Because of this, he has the one of, if not the, lowest technical learning curves in the game, which has secured him high representation in all levels of play, with high-level professionals such as Ally and ANTi achieving a slew of strong tournament results.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

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 hogged. 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.

As a result of this, Mario has received a fair share of buffs and nerfs in Super Smash Bros. 4, but has been significantly buffed overall. Mario's mobility is overall better especially in the air; with his jumps and up special being higher and his air speed being much higher, which along with his faster air dodge and the removal of edge hogging, significantly improves his recovery.

Mario is overall more capable of comboing and KOing both due to universal changes and changes to some of his moves. Mario's forward and up smash which were already his main KO moves have been made stronger. The changes to hitstun canceling and directional influence have significantly improved Mario's combo potential and two of his moves have been altered to further enforce this. Mario's down throw has significantly reduced base knockback which has made it a much better combo tool at low percents while still being a much more reliable combo tool at higher percents due to the changes to hitstun canceling/DI. Mario's grabs are also faster and have more range; making it easier for him to start his powerful grab game.

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 also greatly benefits from the introduction of rage as it not only allows him to KO earlier as well as allowing his combos to work sooner but it also enables him to KO opponents at insanely low percents with his Super Jump Punch; which when combined to the lower ceiling changes of Smash 4, gives him a cheesy KO option which can occasionally allow Mario to score vertical KOes at disproportionately early percents. Mario's solid weight also means that he is capable of building up a decent amount of rage before getting KOed.

Despite the plethora of buffs, Mario has received some nerfs however. Mario's damage output has now been decreased noticeably even relative to the cast, now being average. This makes it harder for Mario to rack up damage although his more consistent combo game somewhat alleviates this. This also means that quite a few of Mario's more situational KO moves (such as the front hit of down smash, neutral aerial and back throw) are weaker than they were before, meaning that Mario still has to rely on landing a forward or an up smash to secure a KO if he does not score an early KO from an edgeguard, Super Jump Punch or Ladder Combo. Mario's frame data, while still solid is also worse with multiple moves having increased ending lag as well as some moves having shorter hitbox durations.

Mario's Fireballs and Cape have also seen some nerfs. Fireballs; while travelling further, are laggier and weaker making them a worse camping tool overall. Cape's reflection period has been reduced and the removal of edge momentum shifting has hindered Cape more than almost any other special, as it significantly hinders its edgeguarding and approach potential. Even before edge momentum shifting was removed in patch 1.0.8, Cape did not gain as much momentum when used off an edge. Cape is also hindered by some of the game’s universal changes such as the removal of edge hogging and the speeding up of air dodges. Although Mario still overall benefits from these changes.

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.

Overall Mario's strengths are much more pronounced and effective and while he still has poor range and inconsistent KO potential outside of his smash attacks, his recovery is significantly better and the universal changes to Smash 4 have greatly benefitted him overall. The universal changes have allowed Mario to have a very consistent and powerful combo game while also greatly aiding his recovery and his KO potential to the point where he can occasionally score extremely early KOs. Mario also benefits from the fact that a majority of characters who gave him a hard time in Brawl have been nerfed which along with numerous characters having reduced range, weaker projectile games and the removal of chain grabbing, has allowed Mario's improved combo game to shine even further relative to the cast while his poor range has become less of an issue. Mario overall did not change much throughout Smash 4's wave of updates, always being a highly solid character throughout the game's lifespan.

As a result of these changes combined with Mario being a rather simple and effective character to use for beginners and high level players alike, Mario has become a much more viable character than he was in Brawl.

Aesthetics

• Due to the aesthetic used in Smash 4, Mario has a sleeker design, and his overall color scheme is more vibrant. His overalls also lose the back pockets used previously in Melee and Brawl. Altogether, these changes make him appear virtually identical to his appearance as of Super Mario 3D Land.
• Mario has a new blue alternate costume. His hat and overalls are now cyan, while his shirt is now pink. These changes make it based on Mario's attire on Mario Bros.' Japanese box art. Additionally, Mario's yellow alternate costume has been slightly updated. The "M" on his cap is now green instead of blue. Lastly, Mario has received two new alternate costumes. The first is based on his appearances in Family Computer Golf: U.S. Course and NES Open Tournament Golf, while the second is based on Waluigi.
• The sounds Mario's up taunt makes are now identical to the sounds heard when powering up and getting hit or using a pipe respectively in Super Mario Bros.
• Mario's chest now faces the foreground regardless of whether he's facing left or right, mirroring his animations.
• Mario's dash attack while holding an item has slightly changed. He now holds the item with one hand instead of two.
• Mario is much more expressive. For example, his irises now shrink whenever he is hit, and he also appears surprised in several instances, such as when grabbed, pummeled, and/or launched. He also opens his mouth when using Fireball this time around.
• Mario's previously unused damage yells from Brawl's Sound Test are now heard when taking high knockback.

Attributes

• Mario dashes faster (1.5 → 1.6). His initial dash speed was also equally increased (1.5 → 1.6).
• Mario‘s air speed is significantly faster (0.94 → 1.15), going from the 19th fastest out of 39 characters to the 9th fastest out of 58.
• Mario's air acceleration is slightly lower (0.09 → 0.08).
• Like most other characters returning from Brawl, Mario falls much faster (1.28 → 1.5). He also falls faster relative to the cast, going from having the 28th fastest falling speed out of 38 characters to having the 31st fastest out of 58. As a result, he is no longer considered to be floaty. This makes him less susceptible to vertical KOs, and it also noticeably improves his ground-to-air transitioning, but in turn, it makes him more susceptible to combos.
  • His fast-falling speed is significantly faster (1.792 → 2.4). This makes him much less susceptible to juggling.
• Mario's gravity is higher (0.075 → 0.08715). This further increases his susceptibility to combos, but improves his aerial mobility and, when combined with his much faster falling speed, allows him to land more safely.
• Mario jumps significantly higher despite his increased gravity (31.755375 → 36.331814), going from the 25th highest out of 39 characters to the 13th highest out of 58.
• Mario's traction has been significantly decreased (0.06 → 0.045), going from being tied for the 11th highest out of 38 characters to being tied for the 6th lowest out of 55 which makes it harder for him to punish out of shield.
• Rolls have less ending lag (FAF 33 → 30).
• Rolls have a shorter duration (frames 4-19 → 4-16).
• Air dodge has less startup lag (frame 4 → 3) and ending lag (FAF 50 → 33).
• Air dodge has a shorter duration (frames 4-29 → 3-27).
• Spot dodge has a shorter duration (frames 2-20 → 2-17) and has more ending lag (FAF 26 → 27).
• The changes to hitstun canceling and directional influence greatly improve Mario's combo potential.
• The removal of chain grabbing significantly improves Mario's endurance against certain characters.
• 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.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The first two hits of neutral deals less damage (3% → 2.5% (hit 1), 2% → 1.5% (hit 2)), resulting in all three hits dealing less damage overall (9% → 8%).
  • All three hits have more ending lag (FAF 16 (hit 1)/19 (hit 2)/30 (hit 3) → 20/22/34).
  • The third hit has a shorter duration (frames 7-10 → 7-8).
  • The third hit deals less knockback (30 (base)/95 (scaling) → 45/80).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt deals less damage (8% → 7%) and the down angled version no longer has higher base knockback (13 → 8).
    • However, this allows it to lock for longer.
  • It has a shorter duration (frames 5-7 → 5-6).
  • It has more ending lag (FAF 25 → 31).
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has a new animation. Mario no longer smiles during the move and he has a more elaborate landing animation after performing the up tilt.
  • It deals less damage (7% → 5.5%) hindering its KO potential.
    • However, this drastically increases its comboing and juggling ability, being able to chain into itself more reliably at lower percents while now having much more combo potential at higher percents due to the changes to hitstun canceling/DI.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has less ending lag (FAF 35 → 28).
  • It has increased base knockback (20 → 35). When combined with the previous change, this makes down tilt much safer on hit (no longer being dangerously punishable right up until higher percents), and it grants the move combo potential.
    • As a result of these changes, down tilt has gone from a completely useless and dangerous move, to a decent combo starter, which can be useful in certain situations.
  • It no longer has a hitbox on Mario's body.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack deals less damage (9% (clean)/7% (late) → 8%/6%).
  • It has more favorable hitbox placements, giving it more range and no longer having a blindspot on Mario's feet.
  • 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)).
  • The changes to hitstun canceling grants the late hit follow-ups when combined with the move's higher base knockback.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash deals more damage when angled down (13% (arm)/16% (fire) → 14.42%/17.51%).
  • It has more knockback scaling, especially on its sweetspot (90 (sweetspot)/100 (sourspot) → 99/103).
  • The sourspot uses a single extended hitbox that covers less horizontal distance, rather than having two sourspots, making the sweetspot easier to land.
    • However, this gives the move less range behind Mario.
  • The sourspot can no longer send opponents behind Mario.
  • It deals less damage when angled up (15% (arm)/18% (fire) → 14.7%/17.85%).
  • Mario no longer lunges farther when performing a pivoted forward smash, decreasing its range. This considerably hinders forward smash's whiff punish potential.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has slightly more knockback scaling (90 → 94) improving its KO potential.
  • It has a shorter duration as well as decreased intangibility (frames 9-14 → 9-12) reducing its range in front of Mario despite its altered animation.
• Down smash:
  • Both hits of down smash deals more knockback (40 (base)/73 (scaling) (front), 35/75 (back) → 30/100), improving the back hit's KO potential.
  • Both hits are now semi-spikes (361° → 32° (front)/30° (back)), significantly improving their edgeguarding ability; especially the back hit.
  • The front hit deals much less damage (15% → 10%), hindering its KO potential despite its increased knockback/altered angle.
  • It has more ending lag (FAF 38 → 44).

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial's clean hit deals less damage (10% → 8%) without compensation on knockback, removing its already lacking KO potential.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial's clean hit deals more damage (13% → 14%) and has increased knockback (20 base/75 scaling → 32/78). When combined with the removal of meteor canceling, this significantly improves its edgeguarding potential.
  • The clean hit has a longer duration with the late hit's duration being compensated (frames 17-19 (clean)/20-21 (late) → 17-20/21), making it easier to land.
  • The changes to hitstun canceling makes it significantly easier to combo into, now being a potential follow-up out of a down throw at certain percents.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial is more effective to use for a wall of pain due to Mario's much faster air speed, higher jumps and the changes to hitstun canceling. The increased shieldstun also improves its utility as a spacing option against shields despite its increased landing lag.
  • Its clean hit deals more knockback (10 (base)/95 (scaling) → 12/106), marginally improving its KO potential despite its reduced damage.
  • Its clean hit deals less damage (12% → 10.5%).
  • It has a shorter duration (frames 6-8 (clean)/9-13 (late) → 6-7/8-10 (late)).
  • It has more landing lag (10 frames → 12).
• Up aerial:
  • 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.
    • However, its new angle does remove the edgeguarding potential it previously had.
  • The hitbox on Mario's foot is positioned higher (Y-offset: 2.2 → 3.8), increasing its range.
  • It deals less damage (11% → 7%) without full compensation on its knockback (9 (base)/100 (scaling) → 10/135).
  • It has a shorter duration (frames 4-9 → 4-8).
  • It has more ending lag (FAF 30 → 32).
  • It auto-cancels later (frame 16 → 18).
  • It has more landing lag (10 frames → 12).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has decreased SDI multipliers (1.5× (hits 1-5)/1× (final hit) → 0.8×), which along with the weakening of SDI makes it significantly harder to escape.
  • The final hit deals less damage (7% → 5%), with its knockback scaling being compensated (80 → 100).
  • The speeding up of air dodges now allows most fighters to air dodge in order to escape the final hit of down aerial, unless Mario has enough rage.

Throws/other attacks

• Grabs:
  • Mario now grabs with one hand as opposed to two. He still uses both hands during his pummel, however.
  • All of Mario's grabs have slightly increased range, particularly dash grab (z offset: 8.4 (standing)/9 (dash)/-14 (pivot) → z stretch: 8.7/10.6/14.7). Dash grab also has a larger grabbox (2.5u → 2.6u).
  • Dash and pivot grabs have less startup lag (frame 12 → 8 (dash), frame 11 → 9 (pivot)).
  • All grabs have less ending lag (FAF 30 (standing)/40 (dash)/36 (pivot) → 29/36/34).
  • Standing and pivot grabs have slightly smaller grabboxes (3.36u (standing)/3.5u (pivot) → 3.3u (both)).
    • Additionally, pivot grab does not extend as far behind Mario, due to now only consisting of one grabbox.
• All throws deal less damage (9% → 8% (forward), 12% → 11% (back), 8% → 7% (up), 6% → 5% (down)). This makes his forward and back throws less effective for KOing, despite the latter having slightly more knockback scaling.
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals more damage (3% → 3.25%).
• Back throw:
  • Back throw's knockback scaling has been slightly increased (63 → 66), although this does not fully compensate for its lower damage.
  • It has less ending lag (FAF 67 → 60).
  • The collateral hit has increased knockback (20 (base), 100 (scaling) → 100/70).
  • The collateral hit has much more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 1-43 → 13-39).
• Up throw:
  • Up throw's lower damage combined with the changes to hitstun canceling improves its combo potential at low to mid percents.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw has much less base knockback (75 → 40), which coupled with its lower damage output makes it much better for starting combos, most notably into a string of up tilts at low percents. The changes to hitstun canceling also significantly improve its combo potential beyond low percents.
  • Down throw has a more horizontal angle (80° → 68°) with more knockback scaling (50 → 90). This makes ground attack followups less reliable at higher percents, but instead allows it to combo more effectively into aerial attacks.
• Floor attack:
  • Floor attacks deal more damage (6% → 7%) and shield damage (1 → 8) per hit, with minimally compensated knockback scaling (50 → 48).
  • Their angles have been altered (361° → 48°) making them weaker despite their increased knockback.
  • They have less startup (frame 19 (front)/20 (back) → 16/19) and ending lag (FAF 50 → 46).
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack no longer has set knockback (110 (set)/100 (scaling) → 90 (base)/20 (scaling)).
  • Edge attack deals consistent damage (8% (legs)/6% (body) → 7%).
  • Edge attack has increased intangibility (frames 1-20 → 1-21).

Special moves

• Fireball:
  • Fireballs have greater velocity when they touch the ground (0.8 → 1.4) and they have a greater a greater bounce velocity multiplier (0.75 → 0.97), allowing them to cover more distance on the ground.
  • When a Fireball hits a foe, the sound effect when an enemy is defeated in Super Mario Bros. plays. Fireballs also look more realistic, with smoke and ashes coming out of the flames. The same applies to the Mario Finale.
  • Fireballs have much more gravity (0.036 → 0.1). This means that when they are used above the ground, they now drop down at a steep vertical rather than gradually falling at a more diagonal angle.
    • This can allow Mario to hit low recovering opponents, or linear recoveries easier. It also makes full hop Fireball a viable approach/fade back option at close range.
    • However, this gives the fireballs much less horizontal range in the air, hindering its ability to be used as a long range camping and edgeguarding tool.
  • Fireballs now bounce at a fixed height regardless of how far they fell prior to bouncing, reducing its blindspot on short opponents but making them worse at hitting airborne opponents off a bounce.
  • Fireballs have altered knockback (30 (base)/25 (scaling) → 35/20 (clean), 22/20 → 28/15 (mid), 11/15 → 22/10 (late)).
  • It has more startup (frame 14 → 17) and ending lag (FAF 44 → 53), hindering its camping potential.
    • As a result, Fireball can no longer effectively auto-cancel in a short hop.
  • Late fireballs deal less damage (5% → 4%).
  • Fireballs have a shorter maximum duration (74 frames → 69).
  • Fireballs have a smaller hitbox (2.4u (clean)/2.2u (mid)/2u (late) → 2u/1.8u/1.6u).
• Cape:
  • Aerial Cape deals more damage (6% → 7%).
  • Its far hitbox has been positioned further out (z offset: 9 → 9.7), giving it more range).
  • It no longer gives certain characters their recovery moves back.
  • The reflector is larger (6.5u → 9u).
  • It has a longer reflection duration multiplier (0.5x → 0.75x).
  • Hitting with the Cape now makes a sound effect akin to Mario spinning his cape in Super Mario World, but with a faster and higher-pitched sound, rather than a medium burning sound.
  • Its hitboxes are positioned slightly higher up (y offset: 6 → 6.7).
  • It has a shorter reflection period (frames 6-30 (ground)/6-33 (aerial) → 6-20 (both)).
  • The grounded version deals less damage (8% → 7%).
  • The aerial version's far hitbox is smaller (8.5u → 7.5u).
  • It momentarily gives the opponent super armor after it hits them, decreasing its ability to KO early.
  • It gives Mario less lift in the air (0.5 → 0.3 (vertical momentum), 0.029 → 0.031 (gravity), 0.9 → 1 (falling speed)), meaning it can no longer be used for recovering aside from stalling his descent.
    • When combined with Mario's increased falling speed/gravity, this effectively removes Edge Cape-cancelling.
  • The removal of edge momentum shifting has significantly hindered Cape's utility; removing its use as an approach option and hindering its edgeguarding potential.
  • The removal of edgehogging further hinders its edgeguarding potential.
• Super Jump Punch:
  • Super Jump Punch gains slightly more vertical distance (Height multiplier: 1.0x (ground)/0.95x (aerial) → 1.1/1.08) and no longer possesses a sharp drop in height just before the move ends, significantly improving its recovery potential.
    • The removal of edgehogging also greatly improves its recovery potential.
  • With the changes to hitstun canceling and the introduction of rage, it is much more useful as a combo finisher near the upper blast line that can potentially score KOs even at extremely early percents.
  • Super Jump Punch makes a slightly higher-pitched "ding" on the last hit.
  • The coins from the Super Jump Punch are now rendered in 3D and designed closer to the Star Coins from the New Super Mario Bros. games.
• F.L.U.D.D.:
  • F.L.U.D.D.'s pushforce (32 → 50 (set knockback), 35 → 55 (pushback strength)) has been significantly increased, greatly improving its zoning and edgeguarding potential and allowing Mario to effectively set up a Cape edgeguard with the move, drastically increasing its utility.
  • It takes less time to fully charge (90 frames → 80).
  • The water's base speed is much higher (1.7 → 4.3).
  • The water's speed and knockback multiplier while charging is much higher (1.9 → 4.3).
    • Because of this, the water covers more distance despite its shorter duration (25 frames → 11), further improving its spacing potential.
  • The water is shot at a slightly higher intial angle (10° → 12°).
  • The water has higher gravity (0.06 → 0.17).
  • After using or fully charging F.L.U.D.D., it does not stay on Mario's back.
  • The water cannot be angled as low (16° → 18°).
  • Mario can no longer glide toss while charging F.L.U.D.D.
• Mario Finale:
  • Mario Finale's startup slows down opponents much more (4x → 10x) and for a longer duration (30 frames → 60), making it much easier to land the attack, especially at close range.
  • 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.
  • It has a higher hitlag multiplier (0.2x → 0.3x) but it has a lower SDI multiplier (0.7x → 0.6x).
  • Its angles have been altered (32° → 28°/26°) with its hits being sharper semi-spikes.
  • It has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 9-243 → 11-210).
  • It deals less knockback (40 (base)/100 (scaling) → (24/28)/103), keeping opponents trapped in the attack more consistently.

Update history

Compared to other top/high tier characters, Mario only received a few minor changes in updates, receiving some subtle improvements to forward smash and F.L.U.D.D. But while Mario remains mostly the same in the final game as his initial incarnation, Mario did receive a rather significant universal buff early on.

Update 1.0.4 removed the ability to LSI moves which launched between 65°-115° and 245°-295° which in Mario's case, benefitted him significantly. Mario has a vast array of vertical launching moves, with most of them being vital to his combo game. In early 3DS versions, the presence of vertical LSI meant that Mario's combo potential was much more limited and inconsistent. The opponent could utilise LSI on Mario's vertical launching moves to escape his combos much sooner which overall gave Mario significantly less damage racking potential. This also meant that it was significantly harder for Mario to score a KO from a combo or even a simple confirm, forcing Mario to rely on his raw KO moves or his edgeguarding more to score KOes, with most of Mario's raw KO moves being rather weak knockback wise.

With LSI on vertical launching moves being removed in 1.0.4, this helped Mario rather significantly. Mario's combos became a lot more consistent, flexible and damaging since there was less counterplay to avoid them. Mario could get significantly longer/damaging combos more reliably, which could even lead into a KO in the right scenarios. This also benefitted Mario's vertical KO moves, mainly up smash and forward aerial, with the latter also becoming a significantly more practical combo ender. All of these factors combined considerably improved Mario's damage racking and KO potential and while Mario did also become easier to combo due to the LSI changes, his greater combo game more than made up for it.

The changes to shield mechanics in 1.1.1 were a mixed bag for Mario. The higher shieldstun increased the safety of Mario's moves, with neutral aerial and back aerial in particular now becoming completely safe on shield against a vast majority of the cast, naturally improving Mario's shield pressuring potential. On the negative side however, the higher shieldstun also make it harder for Mario to punish out of shield, especially with his grab due to his low traction. These changes however inadvertedly made Mario's Super Jump Punch stand out even more as an out shield option as there were numerous moves in the game which were no longer grab punishable but could still be punished by Super Jump Punch, giving Mario a more flexible out of shield game relative to the cast.

Overall, Mario significantly benefitted from the transition from 3DS to Wii U but since then, Mario has stayed relatively the same. Mario's powerful punish game has largely remained the same since the launch of the Wii U version and Mario has overall remained a potent character in the game. Mario's exact stance relative to the cast has overall fluctuated as the game received more patches. Mario's exact placement in the original 3DS version is hard to determine but Mario was around the lower end of top tier in early Wii U versions. Things initially looked positive for Mario in earlier patches as the other top tier characters were nerfed but by later patches, new top tiers started to emerge (through DLC and/or buffs) with many of these new top tiers having strong matchups against Mario. This ultimately resulted in Mario struggling more and more as the meta progressed with Mario ending up as a character teetering between top and high tier by the end of the game's main competitive life.

1.0.4

• Up tilt deals less damage: 6.3% → 5.5%, but the slight knockback decrease the damage reduction brings makes it slightly easier to followup at high percentage.

1.0.6

• Forward smash's sourspot covers more of Mario's arm, reducing its point-blank blind spot.
• Forward smash's sourspot can no longer send opponents behind Mario.

Technical changelist 1.0.6

Change	Old value	New value
Forward smash hitbox 0 position	Position: [-1.0, 0.0, 0.0]	Position: [-1.0, 0.7, 0.0] Stretch: [-3.0, 1.0, 0.0]
Forward smash hitbox 0 angle flipper	Standard (0, default)	Forwards only (3)

1.0.8

• F.L.U.D.D. has higher set knockback (45 → 50), making the water push opponents back further.
• F.L.U.D.D. and all of its custom variations cannot be angled as low (16° → 18°).

Moveset

• Mario can wall jump.

For a gallery of Mario's hitboxes, see here.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Jab (ジャブ) / Straight (ストレート) / Kick Up (けりあげ)	2.5%	The Punch + Punch + Kick combo from 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.
			1.5%
			4%
Forward tilt		Middle Kick (ミドルキック)	7%	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.
Up tilt		Uppercut (アッパーカット)	5.5%	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 Mega Glove's combo from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.
Down tilt		Spinning Low Kick (スピニングローキック)	5% (foot), 7% (body)	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.
Dash attack		Sliding (スライディング)	8% (clean), 6% (late)	The Slide Kick. Its hitbox lingers for a long time, making it useful for 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.
Forward smash	↗	Fire Palm Heel (ファイア掌底)	17.85% (fire), 14.7% (arm)	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.
	→		17% (fire), 14% (arm)
	↘		17.51% (fire), 14.42% (arm)
Up smash		Lead Headbutt (スマッシュヘッドバット, Smash Headbutt)	14%	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.
Down smash		Break Spin (ブレイクスピン)	10% (front), 12% (back)	The 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.
Neutral aerial		Mario Kick (マリオキック)	8% (clean), 5% (late)	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. Autocancels in a short hop.
Forward aerial		Meteor Knuckle (メテオナックル)	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. 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.
Back aerial		Drop Kick (ドロップキック)	10.5% (clean), 7% (late)	A 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.
Up aerial		Air Slash (エアスラッシュ)	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 serve as an emergency KO move near the upper blast line at percentages past 140%.
Down aerial		Mario Tornado (マリオトルネード)	1% (hits 1-5), 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. 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 Bowser, Ganondorf, and King Dedede. It resembles the Spin Jump, a technique that first appeared in Super Mario World.
Grab		Grab (つかみ)	—	Reaches out. Mario's overall grab range is average.
Pummel		Grab Headbutt (つかみヘッドバット)	3.25%	A headbutt. A moderately slow pummel, but tied with Pac-Man's for second-most damaging pummel in the game.
Forward throw		Swing-Around Throw (ふり抜き投げ)	8%	Spins the opponent around once and throws them forward. Can set up tech situations on fastfallers, and mixups on floaties at low percents.
Back throw		Airplane Swing (ジャイアントスイング, Giant Swing)	11% (throw), 8% (collateral)	A 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.
Up throw		Throw Up (スルーアップ)	7%	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.
Down throw		Throw Down (スルーダウン)	5%	A 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.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Performs a modified version of the Sweep Kick before getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Punches behind himself and then in front of himself while getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Performs a side kick behind himself and then in front of himself while getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Performs a dropkick while climbing up.
Neutral special	Default	Fireball	5% (early), 4% (late)	Throws a Fireball. The fireball bounces along the ground several times before disappearing. Has a lot of endlag for a weak projectile, but Mario retains full control over his aerial mobility after using it, allowing him to continue drifting unpredictably while controlling space.
	Custom 1	Fast Fireball	3% (early), 2.3% (mid), 1.5% (late)	A smaller, quicker Fireball is launched directly forward and does not bounce on the ground. Useful for spacing, but cannot hit opponents anywhere other than in front of Mario. The early hitbox is small, and the middle hitbox is even smaller. Noticeably less startup and end lag.
	Custom 2	Fire Orb	1.5% per hit (up to 9 hits)	A large Fireball is launched from Mario's hand in an arc. Unlike the other two variants of Fireball, it hits repeatedly, moves slower, and does not disappear upon impact, allowing it to deal more damage and stop approaches from the front. Thus, it also gains some rather unique use as an edge-guarding tool. However, it has significantly more startup and ending lag, though Mario can still act before it vanishes.
Side special	Default	Cape	7%, 1.5x times the reflected projectile	Waves a Cape in front of himself. It reflects projectiles and reverses enemies, as well as their controls for a moment if they get hit. In the air, it stalls Mario for a short period of time, allowing for timing mixups in juggle and recovery situations.
	Custom 1	Shocking Cape	11.2%	The cape discharges electricity, which launches opponents and destroys projectiles instead of reversing them and reflecting them, respectively. Deals higher damage and, unlike Cape, it deals knockback, which grants it KO potential. This cape has slightly more endlag, and the stalling effect for Mario in the air is virtually nonexistent.
	Custom 2	Gust Cape	5%	The cape emits a small gust of wind that pushes opponents back. It is one of the best edge-guarding options in the game, thanks to the cape possessing an extremely strong windbox. The cape itself deals slightly less damage, but sends projectiles back just as strong. Its stalling effect midair is stronger, slightly pushing Mario upwards into the air and adding to his forward momentum.
Up special	Default	Super Jump Punch	5% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-6), 3% (hit 7)	A jumping uppercut that produces Star Coins on contact. Mario's only recovery move, which can be angled more vertically or horizontally. Its extremely fast startup (frame 3) and intangibility frames on startup make it useful as an out of shield option. With high rage, hits 2-4 can KO near the upper blast line at extremely low percents.
	Custom 1	Super Jump	—	Covers much more distance, including a sharper horizontal angle. However, this is at the cost of not having a hitbox.
	Custom 2	Explosive Punch	8% (hit 1), 13% (hit 2)	A flaming version that is significantly stronger. Its first hit leads reliably into its second hit, but it is not strictly necessary to use, thanks to its second hit's higher damage output and knockback, making it reliable enough to score a KO on its own. However, this is at the cost of having decreased recovery distance, comparable to that of the move's Brawl version, and it can’t be angled more vertically or horizontally.
Down special	Default	F.L.U.D.D.	0%	Wields F.L.U.D.D. and charges up water to launch a stream at the opponent. It charges up quickly, and can be charge canceled and stored for later. The water pushes opponents, but does not damage them. It also pushes Mario back the more it’s charged, and more so in the air. 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 be used as an edgeguarding tool.
	Custom 1	Scalding F.L.U.D.D.	1.2% per hit (up to 8 hits)	The water charges faster and deals rapid fire damage that doesn’t push the enemy or Mario back. Charging it merely improves range, which is significantly decreased, and it can miss at point-blank range.
	Custom 2	High-Pressure F.L.U.D.D.	0%	The water pushes back foes further than the normal F.L.U.D.D. and does so with more recoil, but it takes 60% longer to charge. The recoil is lower in the air than on the ground.
Final Smash		Mario Finale	3% (Front fireball), 2% (Back fireball)	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.

Stats

Stats	Weight	Dash speed	Walk speed	Traction	Air friction	Air speed	Air acceleration	Gravity	Falling speed	Jumpsquat	Jump Height	Double jump Height
Value	98	1.6 – Initial dash 1.6 – Run	1.1	0.045	0.015	1.15	0.01 – Base 0.07 – Additional	0.08715	1.5 – Base 2.4 – Fast-fall	5	36.331814 - Base 17.539339 - Short hop	36.331814

Announcer call

• English/Japanese/Chinese

• French

• German

• Italian

• Spanish

On-screen appearance

• A green Warp Pipe appears. Mario leaps out in an iconic pose and shouts "Let's-a go!"

Taunts

• Up taunt: Transforms into Mega Mario, then shrinks back to normal size afterwards. The pose Mario makes when he performs the taunt is based on his standing pose in Super Mario Bros. This taunt increases Mario's hurtbox.
• Side taunt: Twirls around and takes off his hat, saying "Hoo!" with either a surprised expression or with a stern expression, then puts his hat back on. It resembles his level clear animation from New Super Mario Bros.
• 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.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

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

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Ma-ri-o!	Ma-ri-o!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

A flourished remix of the Course Clear Fanfare used in Super Mario Bros.

• 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.
• Does a short spinning jump and lands in a strongman pose. It originates from his "character chosen" animation in Super Smash Bros.

In competitive play

Tier placement and history

Upon the game's release, players immediately noticed the significant buffs Mario had received to his mobility, combo game, KO power, and reach. Meanwhile, although not a direct consequence, his tougher matchups from Brawl such as Marth, Meta Knight, and King Dedede were nerfed (especially with the former two's range reduced; the lack of range was Mario's critical flaw in Brawl). These buffs and the less hostile environment caused Mario to be viewed as a viable character throughout the game’s lifespan. The result of these buffs was a character with the lowest learning curve of any character in the game, who provided high reward for low risk, with caveats including great all-around mobility, a powerful, yet easy combo game, an improved zoning tool in his Fireballs, outstanding frame data that, in some cases, can leave him near-unpunishable (letting him abuse otherwise unsafe moves like charged smash attacks), and a strong recovery aided by a Cape that also works as a reflector. While some of these strengths were not perceived until much later, these caused him to quickly gain good tournament representation in all levels of play, and was considered a mid to high-tier character. Despite this, opinions of Mario slowly began to rise due to the fact he remained stagnant in game updates, as well as the nerfs to Diddy Kong, who was one of his most troublesome matchups. As a result of this, he started to gain much higher representation and results, especially by top players such as Ally and ANTi, both of whom have placed among the top 8 in large tournaments such as The Big House 5, with ANTi also taking top player ZeRo through very close games in the former tournament. This resulted in Mario ranking 8th on the first 4BR tier list.

On the earlier half of 2016, Mario's already strong results would significantly improve. Game updates would nerf Sheik, Zero Suit Samus and Bayonetta, some of his most difficult matchups, while Mario himself remained unchanged. Although it was unknown how these nerfs to the top tiers would affect him at first, it later became clear many characters (and players themselves) started to have a hard time fighting even inexperienced Marios. Furthermore, Ally would go on to win multiple national-level tournaments such as Smash 'N' Splash 2 and EVO 2016 using Mario, while ANTi won CEO 2016 using Mario for the majority of the tournament. Due to this streak of successes, players would commonly advocate that Mario was among the best characters in the game, which would be reflected in him rising to 5th place on the second tier list. On the third tier list, Mario suffered a very slight drop to 6th place and the A tier, as while he remained a very successful character, his results had dropped compared to 2016, and this drop also paved the way for Bayonetta to establish dominance. Despite this, many players argued that Mario still deserved a top 5 ranking due to his spectacular prior results.

Towards the end of the game’s lifespan, however, Mario's top level results became noticeably worse than some top tier characters such as Fox, Marth, Ryu, Sonic and Zero Suit Samus, all of which have achieved stronger tournament representative and placings. His even or disadvantageous matchups lurking in the lower tiers became more prominent, and characters exploiting Mario's below average range, such as Corrin, Donkey Kong, and Lucina became more successful in tournaments. As a result, Mario's decline in tournament results saw him drop to 9th place on the fourth and current tier list. Regardless, Mario's significant improvements from Brawl ensured he would achieve excellent tournament success and results throughout the competitive metagame.

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Mario	2312	2332	2212	2232	1312
	1313	1332	1212	1213	2213

Most historically significant players

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.

See also: Category:Mario players (SSB4)

•  Ally - The best Mario player of all-time. He is the only solo-Mario player to win multiple majors with victories at EVO 2016 and 2GGC: Greninja Saga, the former being the largest Smash 4 tournament of all-time. He maintained himself as a top 5 player throughout the game's competitive lifespan, placing 5th on the PGR 100.
•  ANTi - Co-mained Mario alongside Zero Suit Samus and considered the second-best Mario player in the history of Smash 4. Primarily used Mario in his major wins at Get On My Level 2017 and CEO 2016 and was runner-up at other significant tournaments such as The Big House 6. He was ranked 14th on the PGR 100.
•  bAhuto - One of the best Mario players in Japan. His best results were mainly from Umebura tournaments, placing 4th at Umebura 30, 5th at Umebura 28 with a notable win over Kirihara, and 7th at Umebura Smash 4 Final using Mario as his central character. At other events, he defeated other top 100 players residing in Japan such as T and Raito.
•  Dark Wizzy - One of the best Mario players in the world during 2018. While present through most of the game's heyday, he successfully made top 8s at two major tournaments of that year with 7th at Shine 2018 defeating CaptainZack and DreamHack Atlanta 2018 defeating Fatality. He was ranked 95th on the PGR 100.
•  Ron -Tri-mained Mario alongside Luigi and Yoshi and considered the best Mario player in Japan. While he had sparse activity compared to other top Mario players, he won Sumabato 18 and placed 2nd at both Sumabato 12 and Sumabato 20, 3rd at Sumabato Tokaigi Qualifier 2. He was ranked 57th on the PGR 100.
•  Supahsemmie - The best Mario player in Europe and a top 15 player from Europe, peaking at 13th on the European Smash 4 Power Rankings. At some of the most notable PGR-ranked European events, he placed 4th at Albion 3 and 5th at Albion 2 and internationally placed 17th at Glitch 5.
•  Zenyou - The best solo Mario player in the United States. As a solo Mario player, he notably placed 5th at 2GGC: GENESIS Saga and 7th at The Big House 5 and defeated Ally in the Mario ditto at CEO 2016. He was ranked 61st on the PGR 100, the highest of any player who exclusively used Mario besides Ally.

In Solo Modes

All-Star Mode

In All-Star Mode, Mario is fought in Stage 1 in the 3DS version or Stage 7 in the Wii U version alongside Donkey Kong, Luigi, Mr. Game & Watch, Little Mac, and Pac-Man.

Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Regulars: Mario is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents are starters from the original Super Smash Bros. game.
• Below the Belt: Mario must protect a damaged Little Mac from a giant Little Mac.
• Family Ties: The player controls Bowser Jr., who is aided by a giant Bowser, and must defeat Mario and Luigi.
• Oh Yeah, Luigi Time!: A giant Mario serves as an ally to Luigi, who must defeat a giant Wario.
• Princess Punch-Up!: Mario and Peach are opponents in a stock battle against Zelda and Link.
• The FINAL Final Battle: The player must defeat Mario, alongside Sonic, Mega Man, and Pac-Man.
• The Original Heavyweights: Mario must defeat Bowser and Donkey Kong.
• Wrecking Mario: Mario must destroy all of the building on Wrecking Crew.

Co-op Events

• 1988: Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong must defeat 3 Marios, each one larger than the last.
• A Lurking Menace: Mario and Luigi must defeat Bowser Jr. After some time, a giant Bowser will appear and the players must defeat him as well.
• Flat Fracas: A shadow Mario and a giant shadow Donkey Kong are opponents fought by Wario and Mr. Game & Watch.
• Solidarity: Olimar and Rosalina & Luma must defeat Mario and Luigi. When they are defeated, Bowser and Bowser Jr. must be defeated as well.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.
• Wrecking Bros.: Mario and Luigi must destroy all of the building on Wrecking Crew. Wario and King Dedede will try to stop the players.

Congratulations screens

3DS

• 

  Classic Mode

• 

  All-Star Mode

Wii U

• 

  Classic Mode

• 

  All-Star Mode

Trophies

Mario's default trophy is obtained by clearing Classic Mode as Mario. His alternate trophy is obtained by clearing All-Star Mode as Mario in the 3DS version or purchasing it in the Trophy Shop for 1000G in the Wii U version. The Mario Finale trophy is obtained only in the Wii U version by clearing All-Star Mode as Mario.

3DS Classic Mode trophy

Wii U Classic Mode trophy

Mario

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!"

: Donkey Kong Classics (09/1988)

: Super Mario Bros. (10/1985)

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.

Arcade: Donkey Kong (1981 (JP))

: Super Mario Bros. (05/1987)

3DS All-Star Mode trophy

Wii U alternate trophy

Mario (Alt.)

Super Jump Punch is an up-special move that lets you leap high into the air, carrying any fighters you strike along with you. You'll be invincible for a moment after you launch this attack. The default side-special move, Cape, will flip a fighter around. Keep a foe from returning with this move!

Super Jump Punch is an up-special move that lets you leap high into the air, carrying any fighters you strike along with you. You'll be invincible for a moment after you launch this attack. The default side-special move, Cape, will flip a fighter around, making it easy to send a foe who's trying to grab the edge of the stage to their doom!

: Donkey Kong Classics (09/1988)

: Super Mario Bros. (10/1985)

Mario's Super Jump Punch takes you high into the air, and if you catch an opponent with it, they'll go up with you. Try to hit them at the very start of the move to do the most damage. His default side special, Cape, can flip fighters around. If you're really crafty, you can even use it to keep someone from getting back on the stage!

Arcade: Donkey Kong (1981 (JP))

: Super Mario Bros. (05/1987)

Mario Finale trophy

Mario Finale

Break the Smash Ball and unleash Mario's Final Smash. Mario will fire a devastating blast of fire in the direction he is facing. The attack covers a wide range and travels far, so it's best to fire this from one side of the stage to the other. The damage is impressive, and this move can actually carry foes right off the screen!

When Mario gets his hands on a Smash Ball, he can activate this Final Smash. Flames spiral outwards in two intertwining streams, catching opponents in the wide blast with ease. It deals plenty of damage, and can also push foes off the screen entirely. Fire it from an elevated position to take full advantage of its vertical range!

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Mario in the Nintendo Direct from April 8th, 2014.

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  Mario's amiibo.

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  Neutral aerial.

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  Up aerial.

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  Mario finishing his forward tilt.

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  Cape.

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  Back aerial.

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  Side taunt, after KOing Luigi.

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  Mario and Luigi jumping.

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  Mario, Sonic, and Mega Man on Battlefield.

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  Mario and Luigi in a section of the Super Mario 3D Land stage.

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  Mario meteor smashes Kirby with his forward aerial.

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  Mario, Pikachu, Bowser and Pit on a red plane in Wuhu Island.

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  Mario's Fireball colliding with Sonic's neutral attack.

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  Mario and Luigi both staring at each other.

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  Mario, Peach, and Rosalina.

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  Facing Kirby, Samus and Toon Link.

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  Mario's F.L.U.D.D. being deflected by Rosalina.

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  Mario in Smash Run.

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  Mario air dodging with Mega Man.

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  Mario with Mega Man's dog, Rush.

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  Mario jumping with the Wii Fit Trainer

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  Fox jumping near Mario.

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  Mario and an Orne in the 3DS version.

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  Mario in an outfit based on NES Open Tournament Golf.

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  F.L.U.D.D. in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Scalding F.L.U.D.D.

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  Mario using the High-Pressure FLUDD in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

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  Fast Fireball.

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  Fire Orb.

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  Super Jump.

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  Explosive Punch.

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  Shocking Cape.

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  Gust Cape.

Trivia

• While Mario's artwork has him holding a fireball in his official artwork on the website, amiibo model, and trophy, his artwork on the character select screen and during a match shows him without it.
  • 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.
• The original project proposal for Smash 4 stated that the fighters would have four custom special moves instead of the three that are in the final game. Mario was used as an example. The unused special move in the proposal would've had Mario release two fireballs for his neutral special instead of one.
• Dr. Mario was originally going to be an alternate costume for Mario, but was instead developed as a separate character in favor of retaining Dr. Mario's unique traits from Melee.
• Mario is present on more newcomer posters than any other fighter. He appears in eleven promotional posters, namely for Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, Rosalina & Luma, Greninja, Robin, Bowser Jr., Duck Hunt, Mega Man, Pac-Man, Cloud, and Corrin.
• Mario is required to be used in 3 solo events, more than all other characters.
  • He and Luigi are also the only pair to be in more than 1 co-op event together.
• Mario's alternate trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U resembles his Adventure Mode trophy in Melee.
• Mario, Toon Link and Duck Hunt are the only characters in the 3DS version whose Star KO screams can be heard when their tokens are KO'd in StreetSmash.
• This marks the final appearance of Mario's Wario-based and Fire-based alternate costume worn since the original Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, respectively, to date.
  • 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.