Template:SSB4 to SSBU changelist/Dr. Mario

Aesthetics

• Dr. Mario's model features a more subdued color scheme. Like Mario, the fabric of his clothes feature greater detailing, and his head mirror's headband is cordovan brown instead of a dark taupe gray like in Melee. The inside of his pants are also slate grey instead of white. Additionally, Dr. Mario has a slightly darker skin tone.
• Dr. Mario has a new idle animation with less exaggerated bouncing and his head turned more toward the screen, similar to the one he had in Melee. It no longer reverts to Mario's idle when holding an item.
• Most, if not all, of Mario's aesthetic and animation changes also apply to Dr. Mario:
  • Dr. Mario has become drastically more expressive in this game, to an even greater degree than its predecessor, or the rest of the cast. In particular, he will sometimes smile and appear whimsical or happy in battle, although he still looks serious and with angry brows most of the time. In contrast, Dr. Mario will also make much angrier expressions than before, particularly when he is preparing to throw someone or when grabbing onto a ledge.
  • Walking, air dodge, helpless, skidding, and ledge-hanging animations have changed. Additionally, Dr. Mario now faces the screen instead of away while sleeping.
  • Dr. Mario's mustache has independent physics, as it moves during certain animations.
• The idle pose where Dr. Mario pounds his fist into his palm has been slightly altered; he now smiles during it.
• All of Dr. Mario's victory poses have been slightly altered.
  • The victory animation where Dr. Mario rubs his chin has him tap the toe of his shoe on the ground before contemplatively rubbing his chin.
  • The victory animation where Dr. Mario throws Megavitamins has him looking towards the camera with a happy expression when holding the Megavitamins in his hands.
  • The victory animation where Dr. Mario poses with his stethoscope is more exaggerated.
• Dr. Mario once again has his own section in the Sound Test, much like in Melee.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Dr. Mario's jumpsquat animation takes 3 frames to complete (down from 5).
• Dr. Mario's damage modifier has been increased from 1.12× to 1.175×, meaning that all of his attacks have increased damage output and slightly higher KO power as a result.
• Due to Dr. Mario's movement speed being relatively unchanged from his previous appearance, he hardly benefits from the universal mobility buffs, and is slower relative to the roster as a result of most other characters receiving such buffs, in a manner similar to Ryu and the Mii Gunner.
• Dr. Mario runs slightly faster (1.3312 → 1.397792).
  • His initial dash is also faster (1.3312 → 1.5375712), although it is the 2nd slowest in the game.
• Dr. Mario walks slightly faster (0.9152 → 0.917301).
• Dr. Mario's traction is much higher (0.045 → 0.106), allowing him to punish out of shield more easily. It is slightly higher than Mario's.
• Dr. Mario's air speed is slower (0.9292 → 0.9238784).
• Dr. Mario's first jump covers less distance, no longer being on par with Mario's (36.331814 → 30.8805).
• Dr. 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 (11 → 6 frames).
  • The first two hits transition into the subsequent hits noticeably faster (frame 10 → 5 (hit 1), 6 (hit 2)) and have less ending lag (FAF 23 → 20 (hit 1), 25 → 22 (hit 2)), no longer being slower than Mario's.
  • The third hit comes out faster (frame 7 → 3) and goes higher, allowing it to connect better from the first two hits.
    • However, its total duration was not fully compensated (FAF 36 → 34), giving it more ending lag.
  • The third hit has increased base knockback (45 → 60).
  • All hits have a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.8× (hit 1), 1.2× (hit 2), 2× (hit 3)), giving opponents more time to SDI each hit and DI the last hit.
  • All hits have smaller hitboxes (3u/2.8u/4u → 1.2u/1.5u/1.8u (hit 1), 3u/2.8u/4u → 1.8u/3u/4u (hit 2), 5u/2.5u/2.5u → 4.3u/2.5u/2.6u (hit 3)).
  • The first two hits no longer use set knockback (30 set/100 scaling → 25/20/10 base/30/20 scaling (hit 1), 30/20/15 base/35/25/15 scaling (hit 2)), and have altered angles (60°/70°/80° → 361°/180° (hit 1), 70°/78°/88° → 361° (hit 2)). This allows them to lock, and gives them jab cancel setups at high percents, but causes them to connect less reliably.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt deals slightly more damage (7% → 9%).
  • Forward tilt has less ending lag (FAF 31 → 26). Combined with the increased shieldstun for ground attacks, this makes it much safer on shield.
  • It has much more base knockback (8 → 55), but less knockback scaling (100 → 65). This makes it significantly safer on hit at low percents, but removes its ability to lock, and reduces its KO potential from across the stage.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has an altered animation with the spinning uppercut starting from a higher and closer position, noticeably reducing its range in front of Dr. Mario, to the point where it can no longer hit most characters on the ground unless they are very close.
  • Its animation has been reversed, with Dr. Mario spinning toward the screen rather than away from it.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt's sweetspot takes priority over the sourspot.
  • It has less knockback scaling (80 → 55) and has gained a hitstun modifier of 3, significantly improving its combo ability, to the point of possessing KO setups at high percents.
  • Its animation has been reversed, with Dr. Mario spinning toward the screen rather than away from it.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack's clean hit deals more damage (8% → 9.8%) with knockback scaling not fully compensated (42 → 38), improving its KO potential.
  • The hitboxes are placed farther from Dr. Mario (Z offset: 4.4u/4u → 5.4u/4.9u), improving its horizontal range.
  • It has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 1.875×, which when combined with the increased shieldstun for grounded attacks makes it safer on shield.
  • The late hit has a slightly bigger hitbox (2.6u → 2.7u).
  • It has a different animation where Dr. Mario's head is positioned higher, his legs extend farther from him, and he gets up during the ending lag instead of staying sit. This prevents him from sliding under certain attacks, and makes him easier to hit overall.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash deals consistent damage across all angles (14%/17% (forward), 14.7%/17.85% (up), 14.42%/17.51% (down) → 14.7%/17.8% (all)), increasing it overall, with knockback scaling minimally compensated on the unangled (96 → 94) and downward angled (96 → 95) versions.
  • The electricity produced from Dr. Mario's forward smash is magenta/lavender instead of light blue.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash launches at a more vertical angle (130° → 120°), which allows it to KO earlier onstage and function better as an anti-air punishment tool, but makes it more vulnerable to LSI and worsens its KO ability near the ledge.
  • Its animation has been reversed, with Dr. Mario facing toward 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 breakdance Mario performs on the cover of Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (12 frames → 7 (neutral), 28 → 17 (forward), 16 → 10 (back), 14 → 8 (up), 21 → 13 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial's late hit deals more damage (8% → 10%) and has more knockback scaling (90 → 94), improving its KO potential.
  • The late hit has larger hitboxes (3u → 3.6u).
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has a different animation, with Dr. Mario punching downward with his opposite hand and twisting around afterwards instead of flipping.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has less ending lag (FAF 32 → 31).
  • It deals more damage (7% → 8.7%) and knockback (9 base/100 scaling → 10/114), giving it much more KO ability, without drastically reducing its combo ability due to its reduced lag.
  • It auto-cancels earlier (frame 18 → 17).
  • Its hitboxes have a shorter duration (frames 4-8 → 4-7).
• Down aerial:
  • Dr. Mario has a new down aerial: a downward stomp similar to that of Captain Falcon. It consists of only one hit instead of five.
  • It has a shorter total duration (FAF 52 → 45), making it safer to use offstage.
  • It deals more damage (1.7% (hits 1-4), 3% (hit 5); 9.8% total → 12%), with knockback not fully compensated (50 base/120 scaling → 10/100), and has a sweetspot that meteor smashes opponents, while the sourspot launches them at a lower angle (45° → 270°/361°). Combined with its previous changes, this allows it to start combos onstage at various percents, while also improving its edgeguarding ability, being as strong as Mario's forward aerial.
  • It auto-cancels much earlier (frame 45 → 35), allowing it to auto-cancel in a short hop.
  • It has larger hitboxes overall (4.5u/3.2u (hits 1-4), 5.5u/3.7u (hit 5) → 5.2u/4.5u).
  • Down aerial has more startup with a shorter hitbox duration (frames 11-27 → 16-19), which also increases its ending lag despite its total duration being reduced.
  • It no longer possesses a landing hit.

Throws and other attacks

• Grabs:
  • 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)).
  • Dash grab has slightly less range (Z2 offset: 10.6u → 10.4u).
• 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: Dr. Mario uses one hand during it instead of both of his hands like in previous installments, to maintain consistency with his grab animation.
• All of Dr. Mario's throws have been altered with more exaggerated animations.
• The speed of Dr. Mario's throws is no longer weight-dependent. This improves their combo potential on heavyweights, but reduces it on lightweights.
• Forward throw:
  • Its animation has been altered, with Dr. Mario turning on the opposite direction faster, but the second half of the spin is slower and he tosses the opponent more exaggeratedly.
• Back throw:
  • Dr. Mario has a new back throw: he heaves the opponent overhead behind him.
  • It releases opponents faster (frame 44 → 30), making it harder to DI.
    • However, its total duration remains unchanged, increasing its ending lag.
  • It has more knockback scaling (60 → 68). In combination with Dr. Mario's higher damage multiplier, this turns it into one of the strongest back throws in the game.
  • It no longer possesses a collateral hit.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has increased combo ability due to Dr. Mario's faster jumpsquat and jump speed.
  • It has a different animation where Dr. Mario faces horizontally rather than towards the screen, and holds the opponent by their chest instead of lifting them on their back before throwing, more closely resembling Mario's Upward Cap Throw from Super Mario Odyssey.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw has increased combo ability due to Dr. Mario's faster jumpsquat and jump speed.
  • Dr. Mario no longer performs a front flip after throwing the opponent. He also slams the opponent more forcefully and with a single arm instead of two.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more base damage (7% → 8.51%).

Special moves

• Megavitamin:
  • Megavitamin has less ending lag (FAF 53 → 50), improving its safety.
  • It launches at a higher angle (361° → 65°), deals much more knockback (35 base/20 scaling → 60/40 (clean), 28/15 → 55/40 (mid), 22/10 → 50/40 (late)), and has a higher hitlag multiplier (0.3× → 1×). Alongside the previous change, this greatly improves the move's camping and followup abilities.
    • Due to these changes, however, it can no longer lock opponents.
  • Megavitamins are slightly larger, and have been given an extended hitbox to match their size, increasing their range despite the hitbox itself being smaller overall (2u (clean)/1.8u (mid)/1.6u (late) → 1.7u).
  • It has received negative shield damage (0 → -2.5 (clean)/-2 (late)), effectively dealing half its usual damage to shields.
  • Dr. Mario no longer opens his mouth when using Megavitamin on the ground.
• Super Sheet:
  • Projectiles reflected by Super Sheet have a higher damage multiplier (1.5× → 1.6×).
  • It no longer gives the opponent super armor on hit.
  • The Super Sheet makes now flinch when used on opponents grabbing the ledge.
  • The reflective hitbox is smaller, and has been moved forward. As such, it can no longer cover behind Dr. Mario, making it less safe to use.
    • Although, it is easier to reflect projectiles that otherwise would have stopped short of Dr. Mario.
  • The reflective hitbox has more startup with a shorter duration (frame 6-22 → 9-22), although it has a new function causing it to start two frames earlier (frame 7) if a projectile is very close to Dr. Mario at the time. This slightly reduces its safety.
    • In the same circumstances, the entire move loses two frames of startup, allowing the offensive hitbox to come out earlier (on frame 10) and reducing the move's total duration.
  • It always forces opponents to show their backside while they are using their moves; this even works to characters with mirrored stances, such as another Dr. Mario, causing them to turn away from the screen.
  • Super Sheet has an updated animation to differentiate it from Cape. It starts flat on the floor, and Dr. Mario lifts it up above his head. This better indicates the move's higher vertical reach compared to Mario's Cape.
• Super Jump Punch:
  • Super Jump Punch's clean hit has slightly more knockback scaling (100 → 105).
  • The clean hit's hitbox is no longer extended towards Dr. Mario. Thanks to the new jostle mechanics, it does not induce a blindspot despite the reduced range.
  • The window to reverse Super Jump Punch is shorter, no longer being reversible during the clean hit. This makes it easier to angle vertically, but harder to recover with when facing away from the stage.
  • The clean hit has a lower hitlag multiplier (1.5× → 1×).
  • Super Jump Punch has an altered landing animation where Dr. Mario lands on his feet, like in Melee, as opposed to his back.
• Dr. Tornado:
  • Dr. Tornado hits seven times, up from five, and deals much more damage (1.2% (hits 1-4); 7.8% total → 1.6% (hits 1-6); 12.6% total).
  • It has gained percent-based heavy armor during frames 5-9 when used on the ground, with a threshold of 10%.
  • It has larger hitboxes (3.5u/4.2u → 4u/4.5u (looping hits), 6u/6u → 6.5u/6u (last hit)).
  • It gains more height via button mashing, improving Dr. Mario's recovery.
  • The looping hits have shorter gaps between them (6 frames → 4), different angles (90°/180° (grounded), 90°/366° (aerial) → 90°/105°/367°), a lower hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.5×), and use set knockback for all their hitboxes, allowing them to connect much more reliably despite their increased SDI multiplier (1× → 1.2×).
  • The last hit has more knockback scaling (130 → 154), which combined with its increased damage greatly improves its KO potential.
  • The looping hits are only active for one frame each, instead of being fully active throughout and using a rehit rate (frames 10-33 → 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, 30).
  • Dr. Mario opens his hands when using the move, and rises slightly upwards on the ground.
  • It has a vortex form around Dr. Mario when used, much like Luigi Cyclone.
• Doctor Finale:
  • At the start of Doctor Finale, nearby opponents will be slowed down more, and for longer.
  • Damage from each hit is dealt solely based on how long the attack has been out, with the Megavitamins becoming more powerful as the attack continues. This makes the front Megavitamin worse early during the Final Smash, but the back Megavitamin stronger later during it.
  • Dr. Mario sports an angrier expression than in the previous game when unleashing Doctor Finale.