Mario (SSBU)

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

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

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

Attributes

Mario is a short middleweight with relatively balanced attributes, possessing above average walking speed, air acceleration, dashing speed and weight, whereas his falling speed and gravity are below average relative to the cast. He also has a very fast air speed (tied with Sonic, Donkey Kong, Little Mac and Inkling for the 12th fastest in the game) and excellent jumps, in exchange for poor attack range and moderately low traction. These balanced stats don't 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 him a great neutral game. As a result, despite his attributes implying a jack-of-all-trades type of character, Mario is somewhat more of a rushdown character in practice.

Thanks to his incredibly quick attack speed, Mario shines in close-quarters combat. His fast attack speed allows him to consistently apply pressure to the opponent, and he is capable of quickly racking up damage once he gets the momentum, which is easy to do so on characters that cannot match his attack speed without getting heavily punished for it. Excluding his forward smash, forward aerial, and special moves, all of Mario's moves have fast startup and low ending and landing lag (the latter in the case of his aerial attacks, except for his aforementioned forward aerial). All of his grounded moves are prime examples of his quick frame data: his neutral attack is his fastest move and an overall effective way to rack up damage, along with handy combo capabilities, while his up and down tilts are effective combo starters that can help rack up plenty of damage, and the former chains into itself at low percentages. All of his smash attacks are decent KO options, as they can reliably KO at high percentages and have low ending lag; his forward smash has a powerful sweetspot located on the fiery explosion that he emits from his palm and possesses the highest power of all of his smash attacks, 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 slight disjoint due to the intangibility it grants 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 or set up combos. Mario Tornado, which is Mario's down aerial, is a great anti-juggling move that also has respectable power, especially if used near the upper blast line. Finally, his forward aerial is a meteor smash with high base knockback for one, making it great for gimping all but the farthest-reaching of recoveries and being an extremely effective KO option offstage.

His special moveset is highly varied and has plenty of uses. Fireball is a projectile with a decently long range. It can be useful in the neutral game or in edgeguarding, thanks to its disruptive knockback and downward trajectory, and is very useful for disrupting 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. Cape reverses opponents, with the induced disorientation often being enough to allow a free hit or efficiently gimp a recovery, which aids in edgeguarding opponents. It is also a powerful reflector, making it highly useful in matchups against projectile-heavy characters, such as Simon or Samus. F.L.U.D.D. is a mechanism that shoots water, pushing opponents away, which compliments his Cape. Though situational, it can occasionally be used to give Mario some breathing space. As a result of his Cape, F.L.U.D.D. and his fast aerials, Mario also boasts a versatile edgeguarding game.

Another valuable strength of Mario is his grab game. Even though his grab reach is only average, his grabs are fairly quick, and his pummel is fairly quick. His forward throw sends the opponent at a disadvantageous position, where Mario can capitalize on their mistakes. His up throw is a useful combo starter at lower percentages, comboing into his up, down, and back aerials. His back throw is by far his strongest throw and one of the strongest of its type in the game as well, as it can reliably KO at around 160% near the ledge on any character, and even earlier with rage, being capable of killing as early as 107% with it. Finally, his down throw is a great combo starter that can lead a vast amount of combo opportunities, most notably his up and forward aerials.

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 fantastic, and it is also worth noting that several of Mario's moves can lock, including his neutral attack. This makes it almost always imperative for Mario's opponent to tech all attacks at low to mid 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. His attributes, while well-rounded, are not exactly exceptional, as many characters outclass him in various ways. Notable examples of this include Pikachu having a more versatile edgeguarding game, Luigi having better combo potential, Hero having a superior camping game, Sonic having substantially faster mobility, Bowser having significantly stronger attacks, Snake having a much more effective recovery, and Shulk having drastically larger reach. In particular, the last one is his main weakness: his attacks generally possess unimpressive range.

His lack of reach prevents him from fighting at a safe distance and consistently forces Mario to approach characters on his own. This leads to having some difficulty against characters with large or disjointed range, particularly weapon users like Lucina and Cloud. As such, he will need to rely on close-quarters combat in order to fight decently against characters with disjoints. While back air is Mario's most effective spacing tool, it too suffers from a mediocre range that limits its utility against disjointed attacks.

Mario can also have some difficulty scoring KOs, as he has few strong and reliable finishers and has difficulty landing them, further compounded by his short reach, which limits his options, and a notable lack of KO confirms: outside of forward smash and up smash, none of his other KO moves are very reliable and consistently effective for doing what they're supposed to: his down smash can only KO reliably with its back hit and is unsafe on shield, Super Jump Punch can only KO at very high percentages or close to the blast zones, his back aerial has short range, his down aerial can sometimes have trouble connecting, his back throw is very slow and thus easy to DI, and his forward aerial is slow and must be sweetspotted (mid hit) in order to meteor smash, while the early hit and late hit (first and last active frame, respectively) have too much ending lag to be used as a combo extender while still being unreliable for killing due to their rather low knockback. Because of this, Mario tends to rely too much on his forward and up smashes or reads to score a KO, and his inconsistent KO potential is further worsened by the changes to rage, which hinders him more than other characters, as it doesn't increase knockback as much as in SSB4. Since it also no longer affects set knockback, he can't use his Super Jump Punch as a KO confirm at low percents anymore if he has high rage, similarly to Samus's Screw Attack. Because of this, he must keep his forward and up smashes fresh and be careful to not get predictable especially with the existence of stale-move negation. While his forward and up smashes are considered among the best of their type, they have their flaws too: the former has a sourspot located on Mario's arm, which, while very difficult to hit with, it outprioritizes the sweetspot and has rather mediocre power, while the latter has poor range in front of him, and thus it can have trouble in hitting small or crouching characters.

While his Fireball is useful in the neutral game for stopping approaches and is a decent edgeguarding tool, it's relatively weak for spacing and has noticeable ending lag, making it rather situational in comparison to other projectiles. Lastly, despite being known for his jumping ability (hence his original nickname, Jumpman), Mario's recovery is easy to gimp and is quite predictable. Despite his fast air speed and high double jump, Super Jump Punch, while fast and relatively safe, travels a merely average amount of distance altogether. This means that if Mario is knocked off stage without his double jump, he is extremely vulnerable to edgeguarding, and one hit could be all it takes to kill him. This also leaves Mario very vulnerable to semi-spikes, as they will likely launch him too far to recover at high percentages. Aside from Super Jump Punch, Mario has no other recovery options aside from utilizing Cape's momentum stalling as a mix-up. Nevertheless, Super Jump Punch still offers a serviceable amount of recovery ability and can get the job done, should it be used properly.

Overall, Mario has many clear strengths and very few glaring weaknesses, resulting in said strengths outweighing said weaknesses. All in all, his above average mobility and largely reliable combo ability allows him to get the edge easily against most characters, as it is hard to escape from his wrath once he gets the advantage, while it is also easy for him to escape from his opponents’ wrath and regain the advantage. However, because of his low range, Mario must almost always fight in close quarters, and he often relies on reads to secure KOs. Mario has to be very careful off-stage as well in spite of his respectable edgeguarding game, as one exploit of his defenses can cause him to be unable to recover. Throughout the course of Ultimate's metagame, Mario has seen amazing results from players like Dark Wizzy, Prodigy, ANTi, MastaMario, Lui$, Teb and others, and as a result, he’s widely agreed to be among the best characters in the game.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Mario has undergone a mixture of buffs and nerfs in his transition to Ultimate, but despite being overall directly nerfed, the indirect changes to the game's engine drastically benefit his playstyle, plus the helpful buffs to his underwhelming moves causes him to be in a similar position overall.

Mario has received a few direct noteworthy buffs. Fireball has reduced endlag, a slightly larger hitbox, and inflicts more hitlag on opponents, greatly improving its safety and follow-up potential. F.L.U.D.D. has reduced ending lag and a stronger pushback effect as a result of its increased set knockback, allowing Mario to disrupt and edgeguard opponents with it more effectively. As a result of his buffed specials, Mario's approach and already oppressive edgeguarding ability have been improved. A few of his standard attacks have received buffs as well; forward tilt is much more effective as a spacing option due to its higher base knockback, lower ending lag, and the increased shieldstun for tilt attacks. Additionally, his down aerial connects more reliably than before and deals increased damage and knockback, improving its damage-racking capabilities and KO potential. Forward smash also deals consistent damage across all angles, and when angled up or down, has increased knockback scaling, slightly improving its already-impressive KO potential even further.

Mario also benefits heavily from the changes to Ultimate's mechanics. His already strong set of aerials has been improved even further as a result of the universal reduction to landing lag; this not only makes them safer on shield despite the reduced shieldstun on aerial attacks, but it allows for more reliable combos and even devastating KO setups, such as up aerial into forward aerial. This is complemented by the universal 3-frame jumpsquat, with his up throw in particular becoming a much more effective combo starter as well. The universal increase to mobility further improves Mario's approach and allows him to string attacks together more effectively and close in on opponents more effectively. Lastly, the changes to air dodging further improve his excellent edgeguarding ability, and give him a situational recovery alternative to his predictable Super Jump Punch.

However, Mario has also received noteworthy nerfs. A notable detriment to his toolkit is the universal nerfing of grabs; while his throws' excellent utility and his potentially devastating throw combos from SSB4 remain, the increased startup on his dash and pivot grabs, the increased ending lag of all of his grabs and the reduced range on his dash grab make it harder for Mario to make use of his bountiful grab game. Furthermore, his neutral game, while still solid, has been toned down due to changes to some of his best moves in neutral. For example, his up tilt, one of his most pivotal moves, has had altered hitbox placements with much shorter horizontal range, which significantly hinders its use as a reliable follow-up from his down throw at any percent against most characters, worsening both their combo potential and Mario's punish ability, as this was considered his most effective damage racking option, although this is partially compensated by up throw's improved combo potential at low percents. His dash attack can also no longer serve as a powerful 2 frame punish that leads into a stage spike, due to its late hit's angle being altered to send opponents away from Mario rather than towards him, the new animation gives him less protection overall and his forward tilt has lost its locking potential. On top of this, Super Jump Punch takes longer to grab edges, to the point of causing Mario to land on the stage and become much more vulnerable if he doesn't use it at a far enough distance, and due of the changes to rage, it is much less effective for taking out stocks off the upper blast line below high percents. In combination with the changes to air dodging, this acts as a double-edged sword for Mario, becoming more vulnerable to edgeguarding himself just as he can edgeguard opponents more effectively.

Overall, Mario retains all of his strengths from SSB4: his extreme combo ability, impressive frame data, serviceable recovery with a high jump height and air speed, and excellent edgeguarding ability. However, his playstyle is fundamentally different due to Ultimate's reworked mechanics, requiring different strategies to achieve the same level of effectiveness that his previous incarnation was capable of, which results in a slightly higher learning curve. So far, Mario has earned a competitive presence that is just as strong as in SSB4, with increasingly strong results by notable players such as Dark Wizzy, Prodigy, Zenyou, MastaMario, ANTi, Teb, and Lui$. The perception of Mario has additionally gone up exponentially since launch, with the majority of top players agreeing that Mario is a solid top-tier character. As a result, Mario is one of the few SSB4 top-tier characters alongside Fox, Zero Suit Samus, and Sonic who continues to earn great representation and has been placing consistently well at tournaments overall.

Aesthetics

• Due to the aesthetic used in Ultimate, Mario's model features a more subdued color scheme. His eyes and clothing feature greater detailing; the seams on his overalls are more accentuated, and his buttons have a more polished finish. He also has a slightly darker skin tone. Altogether, these changes make him appear virtually identical to his appearance as of Super Mario Odyssey.
  • Mario's standard cap has been replaced by Cappy from Super Mario Odyssey. Cappy's eyes appear during his side taunt and, on occasion, Super Jump Punch, but he otherwise has no effect on gameplay.
• Mario's Builder outfit from Super Mario Maker and his Wedding tuxedo and top hat from Super Mario Odyssey are present as alternate costumes. They replace his Wario-inspired costume and his Fire Mario costume.
• Mario's idle animation is altered slightly; his head is turned more towards the screen, but he still looks toward his front. This has translated into his moveset, with many of his moves having tweaked animations.
• 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 or when applauding the winner of a match, in line with his canon depiction, although he still looks serious and with angry brows most of the time. In contrast, Mario will also make much angrier expressions than before, particularly when he is preparing to throw someone or when grabbing onto a ledge.
• Walking, air dodge, shielding, helpless, skidding, and ledge-hanging animations have changed. Additionally, Mario now faces the screen instead of away while sleeping.
• Mario's mustache now moves during certain animations, such as while falling.
• Mario's on-screen appearance emits the Warp Pipe sound effect rather than the jump sound, similar to Smash 64.
• Mario has two new taunts: one where he turns his back to the camera and gives a thumbs-up while smiling, and another where he happily throws Cappy around in a circle. They replace his previous up and side taunts.
  • Mario performs his down taunt much faster.
• Mario's right-inputted victory pose has been slightly altered; he jumps much higher, spins around only once, and has a more joyful expression after landing on the ground.

Attributes

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

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Consecutive uses of the first hit of neutral attack are faster (9 → 6 frames).
  • The first two hits transition into the subsequent hits faster (frame 8 → 5 (hit 1), frame 7 → 6 (hit 2)).
  • 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 remains unchanged, 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.
  • The first two hits have altered damage values (2.5% → 2.2% (hit 1), 1.5% → 1.7% (hit 2)), resulting in the move dealing slightly less damage in total (8% → 7.9%).
  • The first and third hits have smaller hitboxes (3u/1.5u/4u → 1.2u/1.5u/1.8u (hit 1), 5u/2.5u/2.5u → 4.3u/2.5u/2.6u (hit 3)).
  • The first two hits no longer use set knockback (15/10/15 set/100 scaling → 20/15 base/50/33/20 scaling (hit 1), 18/15/25 set/100 scaling → 20/15 base/30/15 scaling (hit 2)) and have altered angles (361°/80° → 361°/180° (hit 1), 361° (hit 2)). This improves its locking ability, and causes it to connect more reliably with the farthest hitboxes, but less reliably with the closest hitboxes at high percents.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has a longer hitbox duration (frames 5-6 → 5-7).
  • It 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 → 70). This makes it significantly safer on hit at low percents, and grants it slightly improved KO potential near the ledge but removes its ability to lock.
• 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 Mario, to the point it can no longer hit most characters on the ground unless they are very close.
  • Its animation has been flipped, with Mario spinning towards the screen instead of away from it.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt's sweetspot takes priority over the sourspot.
  • The sweetspot is slightly smaller (3.5u → 3.2u).
  • Its animation has been flipped, with Mario spinning towards the screen instead of away from it.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack's hitboxes are placed farther from Mario (Z offset: 4.4u/4u → 5.4u/4.9u), improving its horizontal range.
  • It has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 1.875×, which combined with the increased shieldstun for ground attacks makes it safer on shield.
  • The clean hit launches at a lower angle (60° → 50°), allowing it to KO more effectively near edges.
  • The late hit has a slightly bigger hitbox (2.6u → 2.7u).
  • It has a different animation where 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.
  • The late hit launches opponents away from Mario rather than towards him (110° → 48°), hindering its combo potential despite its lower knockback scaling (43 → 30), and preventing it from stage spiking opponents below edges.
  • It has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.25×).
• 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)), slightly increasing it overall.
  • The sourspot has increased knockback scaling (103 → 105) across all angles, while the sweetspot does when angled up (99 → 101) and angled down (99 → 100). Combined with the increased damage, this slightly improves its KO potential.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash's animation has been flipped, with 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 break dance Mario performs on the cover of Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (10 frames → 6 (neutral), 26 → 17 (forward), 12 → 6 (back, up), 19 → 15 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial auto-cancels later (frame 34 → 39), although it still auto-cancels in a short hop.
  • The late hit has a shorter duration (frames 6-29 → 6-27).
  • The hitbox on the late hit is slightly smaller (3u → 2.8u).
• Forward aerial:
  • The removal of teching for grounded meteor smashes improves forward aerial's combo potential onstage, compounded further by its reduced landing lag.
  • It has a different animation, with Mario punching downward with his opposite hand and twisting around afterwards instead of flipping.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has less ending lag (FAF 32 → 31), marginally improving its combo potential.
  • It auto-cancels earlier (frame 18 → 17).
  • It has a shorter hitbox duration (frames 4-8 → 4-7).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial's last hit comes out faster (frame 25 → 23), allowing it to connect better and preventing opponents from air dodging out of it.
    • However, its total duration remains unchanged, giving it more ending lag.
  • The move deals more damage (1% → 1.4% (hits 1-5), 5% → 5.5% (hit 6); 10% → 12.5% (total)), with knockback not compensated on the last hit, improving its KO potential.
  • The looping hits are weight-independent, and no longer use set knockback, instead having more base knockback with minimal knockback scaling (10 set/100 scaling → 50/25 base/15 scaling). This allows for all hits to connect more reliably, preventing opponents from air dodging the last hit.
  • It can no longer be frame canceled.
  • The looping hits' vertically lowest hitbox is smaller (5u → 4u). The landing hitbox is also very slightly smaller (4.32u → 4.3u).
  • The looping hits' middle hitbox has been removed. However, since it didn't cover any more space than the top and low hitboxes together, this makes no practical difference.
  • The final hit has an altered animation, and the vortex emitted around Mario is larger.

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 (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: Mario holds the opponent with one hand, instead of both like in previous installments, maintaining consistency with his grab animation.
• All of Mario's throws have been altered with more forceful animations.
• The speed of Mario's throws is no longer weight-dependent. This improves their combo potential on heavyweights, but reduces it on lightweights.
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw has gained slight combo potential at low percents due to Mario's faster initial dash speed.
• Its animation has been altered, with 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:
  • It has an altered animation before the throw: Mario no longer briefly lets go of the opponent before swinging them. Instead, to make the opponent fall, he lifts them by the feet and positions their legs closer to his chest, and then he swings the oppponent before throwing them away. This altered animation more closely represents a real-life giant swing.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has increased combo ability due to Mario's faster jumpsquat and jump speed.
  • It has a different animation where 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 the Upward Cap Throw from Super Mario Odyssey.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw can no longer combo into up tilt except against certain large or tall characters due to the latter's altered hitbox placements, hindering its damage racking potential at low to mid percents.
  • 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 damage (7% → 9%).

Special moves

• Fireball:
  • Fireball has less ending lag (FAF 53 → 50), improving its safety.
  • It has larger hitboxes (2u (early)/1.8u (clean)/1.6u (late) → 2.4u/2.2u/2u), regaining its hitbox sizes from Brawl and with the early hit's hitboxes matching his younger brother's Fireballs.
  • It has an increased hitlag multiplier (0.3× → 0.6×), giving Mario more time to follow up.
  • It has received negative shield damage (0 → -2.5 (clean)/-2 (late)), effectively dealing half its usual damage to shields.
  • Mario no longer opens his mouth when using Fireball on the ground.
• Cape:
  • Cape no longer gives the opponent super armor on hit.
  • It now inflicts knockback if it's used while they're grabbing the ledge.
  • The reflective hitbox is smaller (9u → 6.5u), and has been moved forward (Z offset: 2 → 8). As such, it can no longer cover behind Mario, making it less safe to use.
    • Although, it is easier to reflect projectiles that otherwise would have stopped short of Mario.
  • The reflective hitbox has more startup with a shorter duration (frame 6-20 → 9-20), although it has a new function causing it to start two frames earlier (frame 7) if a projectile is very close to 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.
  • The move's animation length is much longer (41 frames → 58). In the air, this means Mario's air mobility is restricted for much longer, forcing the player to have to interrupt the move with an aerial or special to regain mobility within a reasonable time frame.
  • 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 Mario, causing them to turn away from the screen.
  • It has a new animation where Mario wears the Cape around his neck while using it, akin to its appearance in Super Mario World.
• Super Jump Punch:
  • Super Jump Punch's second through fourth hits have two frames in between them as opposed to one, resulting in the move having a slightly longer duration (frame 3/7/8/9/10/12/14 → 3/7/9/11/13/15/17).
  • The looping hits are weight-independent and can no longer be SDIed, allowing them to connect more reliably.
  • It sweetspots edges later (frame 11 → 14).
  • Its trajectory cannot be angled as much (18° → 12°).
  • Due to rage being changed to not affect set knockback, the linking hits can no longer KO off the top blast line as easily, removing Mario's low percent KO setups.
  • The second through sixth hits deal less damage (1% → 0.6%), causing the move to deal less damage overall (13% → 11%).
  • The last hit has slightly less base knockback (52 → 50).
  • It has much smaller hitboxes, especially on the first hit, but has more hitboxes overall (7u/6u → 2.5u/4u (hit 1), 6u/5u → 3u/3.8u (hits 2-4), 5.5u/4.2u → 3u/3.8u (hits 5-6), 10u → 9u (hit 7)). This slightly reduces the move's horizontal range but gives it more vertical range.
  • The window to reverse the move is shorter, no longer being reversible during the first hit. This makes it easier to angle vertically, but harder to recover with when facing away from the stage.
  • Occasionally, the coins produced from Super Jump Punch will appear as regional coins found in the Metro Kingdom from Super Mario Odyssey. Cappy's eyes appear when this occurs. These coins also have a different sound originating from Super Mario Odyssey.
  • Super Jump Punch has an altered landing animation where Mario lands on his feet like in Smash 64 and Melee as opposed to his back.
• F.L.U.D.D.:
  • F.L.U.D.D. has increased set knockback (50 → 70), allowing it to push back opponents farther.
  • It can be charge-canceled by jumping or spot dodging.
  • It fires fewer shots (8 → 7), increasing its ending lag.
  • It has an altered charging animation.
• Mario Finale:
  • At the start of Mario Finale, opponents are slowed down more and for longer.
  • Mario Finale has less knockback than it did before, where it used to drag opponents far to the side at low percents or KO opponents at around 30%. Because of this change, it KOs later than before, requiring the opponent to be at 55% or higher.
  • The fireballs have a shorter duration (260 frames → 220) and travel faster, making them more likely to drop opponents, and worse at timing out recovering opponents.
  • Mario sports an angrier expression than in previous games when unleashing the move.
  • Damage from each hit is dealt solely based on how long the attack has been out, with the fireballs becoming more powerful as the attack continues. This makes the front fireball weaker early during the Final Smash, but the back fireball stronger later during it.

Update history

Aside from a single nerf to Fireball in update 3.0.0, Mario has been buffed slightly overall via game updates. Update 2.0.0 lowered dash attack's angles, which improved its ability to set up edgeguards.

Overall, Mario has improved, albeit negligibly, since the launch of Ultimate and he remains a very viable pick in competitive play.

2.0.0

• Dash attack launches at a lower angle (60° (clean)/58° (late) → 50°/48°), improving its ability to setup edgeguards.
• Mario Finale's Final Smash Meter version has a higher knockback multiplier (0.9× → 0.91×).

3.0.0

• Fireball deals less shield damage (0 → -2.5/-2 (clean/late).
• At the start of Mario Finale, nearby opponents will be slowed down more (10 → 20) for a longer period (60 frames → 75).

4.0.0

• The lag upon waking up from the sleep effect has been adjusted, matching the rest of the cast.

8.0.0

• Mario Finale:
  • Mario Finale deals more damage per hit (2% (early)/2.5% (clean)/3% (late) → 2.5%/3%/3.5%).
  • The fireballs' hitboxes stretch vertically (Y offset: 0u, -3u—3u), increasing their range and making the Final Smash harder to escape.

Moveset

• Mario can wall jump.

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

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2.2%	The Punch + Punch + Kick combo from Super Mario 64: two punches followed by a jumping kick. The first and second hits can lock, and the general speed of the move makes it good as a grounded combo breaker or quick punish tool, as the first hit comes out on frame 2.
			1.7%
			4%
Forward tilt			7%	A wheel kick. It can be angled. Very quick and good for getting opponents off of Mario due to its high base knockback, and angling it down enables it to hit ledge hangs, but it's weak and situational, as it cannot KO until 200% or even lock.
Up tilt			5.5%	A spinning jumping uppercut. Effective for comboing into itself at low percents, and into aerial attacks from mid to high percents; however, the former combo can be escaped with the proper combination of DI and SDI, and can be punished on hit at very low percents. Unlike in SSB4, the move's altered animation results in the hitbox being positioned fairly high to the ground on the first frame it is active, creating a blindspot and making it fairly difficult or even impossible to hit shorter or crouching characters with the move. It appears to be based on the second hit of the Mega Glove's combo from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.
Down tilt			5% (foot), 7% (leg)	A leg sweep. A reliable combo starter that works at a wider range of percents than up tilt, at the cost of being less consistent due to its different hitboxes, and unable to combo into itself as effectively. It can also hit ledge hangs and combo off from ledge as well.
Dash attack			8% (clean), 6% (late)	A baseball slide. Has a diagonal knockback angle, making its lingering hitbox useful for 2-framing certain opponents and punishing spot dodges. The new animation is more unfavorable in terms of hitbox placements. Very similar to the Slide Kick from Super Mario 64, and also similar to Mario's running turn animation in New Super Mario Bros.
Forward smash			17.8% (fire), 14.7% (arm)	Steps back and does a palm thrust that produces a small explosion. Though it is Mario's slowest ground attack, coming out on frame 15, it is among the quicker forward smashes and considered among the best in the game for several reasons: It is Mario's most powerful KO move when sweet spotted, KOing as low as 65% by the ledge, the fireball itself is disjointed, can be angled downwards or upwards to hit ledge hangs, and the start-up animation has Mario pull back his hurtbox deceptively far, inadvertently allowing him to avoid several attacks. However, the sweet spot is out prioritized by the sour spot.
Up smash		Lead Headbutt	14%	An upward arcing headbutt. One of Mario's most reliable KO options. Its quick startup at frame 9 makes it a useful out of shield option, as well as being difficult to react to if the opponent is within its range. His head is intangible while its hitboxes are active, giving it pseudo-disjointed range. Its hitboxes reach behind Mario a good distance but do not reach as far in front of him, thus having trouble hitting short or crouching opponents in front of him. 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.
Down smash			10% (front), 12% (back)	The Sweep Kick from Super Mario 64. Mario does a breakdance kick that hits both sides. Mario's fastest smash attack, coming out as fast as all his tilts, and both hits semi-spike opponents, though the frontal hit is rather weak in comparison to the back hit. Also capable of hitting ledge hangs. The animation in Ultimate more closely resembles Mario's breakdance from Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix.
Neutral aerial			8% (clean), 5% (late)	A flying kick. As a sex kick, it loses its average power after the first frames. It is useful for breaking out of combos due to its very fast startup (frame 3), and as a versatile horizontal combo extender, as well as for locking opponents. Autocancels in a short hop. Can combo into a tilt attack, up aerial, or grab at low percents if landing on the ground shortly after the hit, as well as boasting numerous KO confirms off the late hit at high percents. Very similar to the Jump Kick from Super Mario 64.
Forward aerial		Meteor Knuckle	12% (early), 14% (clean), 10% (late)	Rears back his fist and then throws an overhand. When hit clean, it is a meteor smash with enough knockback to KO under 45% offstage and has deceptively high combo potential. It has the slowest startup of his standard moveset (frame 16), high ending lag, and is Mario's only aerial that doesn't autocancel in a short hop. Other than lacking combo potential, the early and late hits are too weak to KO reliably.
Back aerial			10.5% (clean), 7% (late)	A dropkick behind Mario. Has fast startup with low ending and landing lag, and more range than most of Mario's other aerials, making it an effective spacing tool and horizontal combo extender at low percents, as well as having the ability to pseudo Wall of Pain off stage. Also capable of killing at higher percents, and can be used twice in a short hop, or with neutral, up and down airs.
Up aerial			7%	A bicycle kick. Has extremely fast startup (frame 4), consistent strength throughout the move and very low ending and landing lag, making it one of Mario's most versatile combo starters and extenders in his moveset. Can combo into itself easily until higher percents, and can kill off the top at high percents.
Down aerial		Mario Tornado	1.4% (hits 1-5), 5.5% (hit 6), 2% (landing)	Rapidly spins around, trapping opponents and damaging them with a series of discus clotheslines and spinning backfists before assuming a spread-eagle position to launch them. Possesses a rather low startup and ending lag, making the move reasonably safe to use barring its short range and lack of disjointed hitboxes. It also has a landing hitbox that combos reliably into tilts or a grab. However, opponents will occasionally break out of the move before the final hit, especially when Mario is moving quickly through the air. Useful as a combo finisher, combo breaker, and general damage-racking option, and can KO opponents deceptively well at high percentages. Resembles the Spin Jump, a technique that first appeared in Super Mario World.
Grab			—	Reaches out. Mario's overall grab range is average, but tied for the fastest in the game.
Pummel			1.3%	Headbutts the opponent.
Forward throw			8%	Spins the opponent around once and throws them forward. Can be followed up with dash attack at lower percents, or be used to set up tech situations and mixups, or edge guards. It can kill at very high percents at the ledge.
Back throw		Airplane Swing	11% (throw), 8% (collateral)	A giant swing, a throw used on floored opponents in wrestling. Mario grabs the opponent by the feet, making them fall to the ground and spins three times while holding them by the legs before throwing them backward. Can KO even the heaviest of characters reliably at around 160% near the edge without the need of rage, but can KO middleweights as early as 120% if they fail to DI. It also has solid use in matches with more than one player, as the collateral hit has a large range and high knockback. Due to its slow speed, it is easy to DI, causing it to KO only above 160%. It is based on the throw that he uses against Bowser in Super Mario 64.
Up throw			7%	Holds the opponent by the chest and then tosses them directly overhead with both hands. An effective combo throw at low to medium percentages, comboing into all aerials except forward air. Very similar animation to the Upward Cap Throw from Super Mario Odyssey.
Down throw			5%	Jumps upwards while holding the opponent and then performs a body slam, slamming them to the ground with one arm. It can be followed up with several options, including but not limited to up tilt on certain characters at varying percents, Super Jump Punch, neutral attack, and up aerial at mid percents on most characters. Effective for starting ladder combos on platform stages.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Punches behind himself and then in front of himself while getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Performs a modified version of the Sweep Kick from Super Mario 64 before getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Performs a sidekick behind himself and then in front of himself while getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			9%	Performs a dropkick while climbing up.
Neutral special		Fireball	5% (early), 4% (late)	Throws a Fireball. The fireball bounces along the ground several times before disappearing. Despite its low damage, it is good for controlling space when performed in the air because Mario retains full aerial mobility throughout the move. Because the fireball is subject to gravity, it can be used to cover Mario while recovering high, and can combo into quick attacks if Mario is close enough. A reference to the fireballs he fires when he obtains the Fire Flower, which first appeared in Super Mario Bros.
Side special		Cape	7%, 1.5x times the reflected projectile	Dons a Cape around his neck and waves it in front of himself. It reflects projectiles and reverses enemies, as well as reversing the opponent's controls for a brief instant. In the air, it causes a Fall Break by stalling Mario in the air, allowing for timing mixups in juggle and recovery situations. Useful for gimping opponents who are trying to recover.
Up special		Super Jump Punch	5% (hit 1), 0.6% (hits 2-6), 3% (hit 7)	A jumping uppercut that produces Star Coins or Metro Kingdom regional coins on contact. Mario's only recovery move, but it leaves him helpless. Its extremely fast startup (frame 3) and intangibility frames on startup make it useful as an out of shield option. Can KO near the upper blast line, making it a good combo finisher out of a ladder. Can be angled to change the direction it travels in.
Down special		F.L.U.D.D.	0%	Wields F.L.U.D.D. and charges up water to launch a stream at the opponent. The charge time is rather fast, and it can be charge canceled and stored for later. The water pushes opponents but does not damage them. Mario can change the angle of the stream upwards or downwards. Useful for disrupting an approach and creating space, which can help alleviate pressure and potentially put his opponent in a vulnerable position. It also slightly pushes Mario backward if charged enough. It can also be used as an edgeguarding tool.
Final Smash		Mario Finale	2% (early), 2.5% (clean), 3% (late)	Rears his arms back before thrusting them forward to generate and launch two gigantic Fireballs, which trap and repeatedly damage any opponents in their path. Deals almost no knockback, but has decent damage and can carry opponents off the side of the stage when near the ledge.

On-screen appearance

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

• 

  Mario's on-screen appearance

Taunts

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

• 

  Mario's up taunt.

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  Mario's side taunt.

• 

  Mario's down taunt.

Idle poses

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

• 

  Mario's first idle pose

• 

  Mario's second idle pose

Crowd cheer

	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian)	Cheer (Dutch)	Cheer (French)
Cheer	File:Mario Cheer English SSBU.ogg
Description	Ma - ri - o!	Ma - ri - o!	Ma - ri - o!	Ma - ri - o!	Maaari - o!

	Cheer (German)	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian)	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer
Description	Ma - ri - o!	Maaaari - o!	Ma - ri - o! *claps 3 times*	Ma - ri - o!

Victory poses

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

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

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In competitive play

Upon the release of Ultimate, Mario was regarded as an average mid-tiered character. This was seen through his poor range, which was impacted more in the game due to swordfighters and character with disjoints being reworked; swordfighters especially were among the best characters in the early metagame. Furthermore, many players noted the nerfs to Mario's combo game, his best tool in Smash 4. As a result, Mario's reception was initially mediocre.

Despite this, Mario always had solid representation thanks to players such as Dark Wizzy, Prodigy, MastaMario, and Lui$. Dark Wizzy, in particular, has consistently placed in Top 8 at many national tournaments including Shine 2019, Glitch 8, and GENESIS 7. In addition, Prodigy defeated MkLeo at Frostbite 2020 in a 3-0 fashion. These results have significantly improved Mario's reception among professionals to the point where most players consider him to be top-tier.

Due to his better reception, Mario’s nerfs from Smash 4 did not affect him in the long run as players noted that all his strengths from the previous game, despite being nerfed, were mostly retained. His matchup spread is also great: Mario has positive matchups against meta-relevant characters like Pikachu, R.O.B., Mega Man, Olimar, Pac-Man, Inkling, Fox, Wolf, and Wario, while only having a few troublesome matchups, such as Lucina, Palutena, Mr. Game & Watch, Shulk and Cloud.

Notable players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Fall 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from July 13th, 2019 to December 15th, 2019.

See also: Category:Mario professionals (SSBU)

Active

•  Aluf - The best Mario player in New Zealand, dominating the scene and competing in Australia. Placed 2nd at Biggie II, 9th at Uprising 2019, 25th at Phantom 2020, and 33rd at Battle Arena Melbourne 11. Has wins on players like SebPro101, Ghost, Shadrew, and Tanark. Ranked 1st on the New Zealand Power Rankings.
•  Blacktwins - Considered the best Mario player in Canada after Ally's retirement. Placed 2nd at Rising Stars at EGLX 2019, Mango's Birthday Bash, and The Amuka Smash Cup as well as 3rd at HABBY Birthday 2019 with both Pichu and Mario. Ranked 2nd on the Southern Ontario Ultimate Power Rankings and 5th on the Smash Canada Rankings Ultimate.
•  ChillyChilli - Placed 9th at Little Big House 5, 33rd at both Super Smash Con 2019 and DreamHack Atlanta 2019, and 49th at The Big House 9. Ranked 1st on the Alabama Power Rankings.
•  Dark Wizzy (#22) - The best Mario player in the world. Placed 1st at Mexican Gaming Championship and Phantom 2020, 2nd at Glitch 8, 4th at DreamHack Atlanta 2019, 5th at both Shine 2019 and GENESIS 7, and 7th at both Glitch 7 - Minus World and Let's Make Big Moves. Has wins over Tweek, Light, MVD, Dabuz, Cosmos, ESAM, Sinji, LeoN, Mr.R, Goblin, Nietono, and ZD.
•  Duwang - The best Mario player in Washington. Placed 7th at Ascension VI, 9th at The Pinnacle 2019, 13th at Battle of BC 3, 17th at both Don't Park On The Grass 2018 and Play With Heart. Ranked 3rd on the Washington Power Rankings.
•  Gomakenpi - Co-mains Olimar with Mario and is considered the best Mario player in Michigan. Placed 5th at Guardian I, 9th at 2GG: Run it Back, 17th at Get On My Level 2019, and 25th at Smash 'N' Splash 5 with both Olimar and Mario.
•  Lui$ (#39) - Co-mains Mario with Fox and is considered one of the best Mario players in the United States. Placed 7th at Super Smash Con 2019, 17th at Glitch 7 - Minus World, 25th at Shine 2019, and 33rd at Mainstage. Has wins over WaDi and ESAM.
•  MastaMario - One of the best Mario players in the United States. Placed 7th at SIEGE 2019, 9th at both Ascension V and Ultimate Nimbus, 17th at Heart of Battle, and 25th at SoCal Chronicles. Has wins over NAKAT, Armando, Zenyou, Charlie, Rich Brown, and Slither2Hunter. Ranked 7th on the SoCal Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Perkinips - Placed 2nd at both Steel City Showdown and Replay FX Gaming Arena 2019. Ranked 1st on the Pittsburgh Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Prodigy - One of the best Mario players in the world. Won Super Ascension, placed 2nd at Crown, 7th at Port Priority 5, 9th at Mainstage, 13th at both GENESIS 6 and CEO 2019, 17th at Frostbite 2020, and 25th at The Big House 9, with wins over MkLeo, FOW, Elegant, Abadango, Nicko, Myran, Cosmos, Stroder, Pandarian, and Dark Wizzy. Ranked 2nd on the NorCal Power Rankings.
•  Ron (#50) - Co-mains Yoshi with Mario and is considered one of the best Mario players in Japan. Placed 3rd at both Sumabato SP 3 and Sumabato SP 6.
•  Shido - The top Mario player in France. Placed 7th at Regen 2019 and 33rd at Albion 4, has wins over Scr7 and Aperture.
•  SilentRain - Placed 2nd at Ascension III, 7th at Ascension IV, 9th at Ascension II, and 13th at Ascension VI. Ranked 4th on the Arizona Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Stroder - Tri-mains Greninja, Roy, and Mario, and is considered one of the best Mario players in North America. Placed 1st at both Smashpoint and Ascension V, 5th at Goodwill of Orange County's Charity Invitational, and 13th at 2GG: Prime Saga. Ranked 1st on the Arizona Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Super Dan - Placed 4th at Retro Arena 64 and 13th at Midwest Arena. Ranked 4th on the Chicago Power Rankings.
•  Tatsutsuyo - One of the best Mario players in Japan. Placed 9th at both Sumabato SP 7 and Sumabato SP 8, 13th at both Sumabato SP and Sumabato SP 11, and 17th at KVOxTSB 2019, Maesuma TOP 1, and Sumabato SP 12. Has wins over Kuro, Ron, and kept.
•  Zackray (#7) - One of the best Mario players in the world. Placed 1st at EGS Cup 3, 9th at Sumabato SP 11, and 17th at 2GG: Kongo Saga as one of his characters.
•  Zenyou - One of the best Mario players in SoCal. Placed 2nd at 2GG: SoCal Chronicles 2020, 5th at SoCal Chronicles, 17th at Ultimate Nimbus, and 33rd at GENESIS 6. Has wins over Larry Lurr, Razo, Rich Brown, Slither2Hunter, and Nicko. Ranked 5th on the SoCal Ultimate Power Rankings.

Inactive

•  Ally - Used Mario as a secondary. Placed 1st at Pound 2019, 2nd at Battle of BC 3, and 3rd at CEO 2019 with wins over MVD, ESAM, Pelca, and Nurse. Formerly ranked 1st on the Montreal Ultimate Power Rankings while using Mario in tandem with Snake. Initially retired from competitive play in July 2019, but has recently returned to compete in locals. However, he has since been banned from competitive play.
•  ANTi - One of the best Mario players in the United States. Placed 2nd at DreamHack Dallas 2019, 5th at GENESIS: BLACK, 25th at both Pound 2019 and Get On My Level 2019, and 49th at CEO 2019. He has since left the community amidst allegations of sexual assault.
•  huto - Formerly one of the best Mario players in Japan. Placed 3rd at EGS Cup 2 as one of his characters, and 17th at Karisuma SP 3 and 65th at EVO 2019 with solo Mario. Now solely plays Banjo & Kazooie in bracket.

Classic Mode: Let's-a Go!

Mario's congratulations screen.

In a similar fashion to the Classic Modes of past games, Mario's opponents are groups of fighters from various universes fought on a home stage from that universe. The overall concept is also similar to Super Mario Odyssey, where Mario would travel to different kingdoms; this is reflected by the Japanese title (世界をまたにかけて), which roughly translates to "Go Around the World". In this case, Mario's route emulates the idea of him traveling to different lands and meeting their local denizens, as in Odyssey.

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

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

Character unlock tree

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

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

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

Role in World of Light

False Mario along with the other Puppet Fighters.

Finding Mario in World of Light

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

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

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

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

Fighter Battle

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

Spirits

Mario's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 coins. Unlocking Mario in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His Builder and Wedding outfits have fighter spirit of their own, available through the shop, and in the Wedding outfit's case, can be obtained by scanning the Wedding Mario amiibo or by completing a challenge (Games & More: As Luigi, play solo All-Star Smash and deal damage with a taunt 3 times). Each fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, Mario makes an appearance in various primary and support spirits.

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  1. Mario

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  2. Builder Mario

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  3. Mario (Wedding)

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  21. Metal Mario

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  22. Boo Mario

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  23. Rock Mario

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  24. Gold Mario

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  75. Starship Mario

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  77. Plessie

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  80. Goo-Goo Buggy

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  93. Paper Mario

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  110. Papercraft Mario

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  126. Mini Mario

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  127. Mini Mario & Hammers

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  132. Mario (Mario Tennis Aces)

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  299. Baby Mario

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  300. Baby Mario (Superstar Mario)

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  302. Stork

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  319. Mega Eggdozer

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  1133. MONSTER

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  1472. Giga Cat Mario

In Spirit battles

Conditions in italic aren't listed on the Spirit Battle preview screen.

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
21		Metal Mario	Super Mario Series	•Metal Mario		9,600	The Great Cave Offensive (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy is slow but has increased defense and attack •The enemy is metal	Metal Battle
22		Boo Mario	Super Mario Series	•Mario		1,900	Dracula's Castle (hazards off)	•Hazard: High Gravity •Hazard: Low Gravity •Invisibility	•The enemy is invisible •Your jumping power decreases when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy is less affected by gravity	Castle / Boss Fortress - Super Mario World / SMB 3
34		Toadsworth	Super Mario Series	•Mario		1,900	Princess Peach's Castle	•Item: Mushrooms	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Ricco Harbor
75		Starship Mario	Super Mario Series	•Giant Mario		4,100	Mario Galaxy (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Low Gravity	•Gravity is reduced •The enemy is giant	The Starship Sails
78		Cappy	Super Mario Series	•Mario		3,600	Rainbow Cruise (hazards off)	•Invisibility •Item: Boomerang	•The enemy is invisible •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Jump Up, Super Star!	Mario
81		Goo-Goo Buggy	Mario Kart Series	•Mario •Luigi		3,400	Figure-8 Circuit	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Chain Chomp)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy has increased move speed	Mushroom Gorge - Mario Kart Wii	Baby Mario
85		B Dasher	Mario Kart Series	•Mario ×3		9,400	Figure-8 Circuit	•Uncontrollable Speed	•All fighters move faster and can't stop quickly •The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you	Circuit - Mario Kart 7
119		Kid	Mario Golf Series	•Mario Team ×4		2,500	Golden Plains (Battlefield form)	•Item: Beastball •Hazard: Heavy Wind	•Dangerously high winds are in effect •The enemy is easily distracted by items	World Tour
128		MC Ballyhoo & Big Top	Mario Party Series	•Mario •Yoshi •Peach •Luigi		1,600	Mario Circuit	•Item Tidal Wave	•Certain items will appear in large numbers after a little while	Pandemonium	Mario
130		Rabbid Mario	Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle	•Bunny Mario		3,400	3D Land	•Item: Shooting Types	•The enemy starts the battle with a Ray Gun	Arcade Bunny's Theme
132		Mario (Mario Tennis Aces)	Mario Tennis Aces	•Mario •Peach		8,800	Wuhu Island (Swordplay Colosseum)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Color TV-Game 15)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy favors smash attacks	Title Theme - Mario Tennis Aces
299		Baby Mario	Yoshi Series	•Tiny Mario •Yoshi Team		8,800	Yoshi's Island	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy shields often	Yoshi's Island (Brawl)
816		Smoky Progg	Pikmin Series	•Mario		1,600	Distant Planet (Battlefield form)	•Metal Shift	•The enemy will occasionally turn metal	Stage Select - Pikmin 2
941		Von Kaiser	Punch-Out!! Series	•Mario (120 HP)		1,800	Boxing Ring	N/A	•The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power •Stamina battle •The enemy favors side smash attacks	Minor Circuit (Original)
1,147		Maruhige Shop Owner	Trade & Battle: Card Hero Series	•Mario (140 HP)		3,700	Pac-Land (Battlefield form)	•Item: Assist Trophy	•Stamina battle •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Welcome Center
1,300		Dice Block	Super Mario Series	•Mario •Peach		1,900	Princess Peach's Castle	•Item Tidal Wave	•Items will be pulled toward the enemy •Certain items will appear in large numbers	Pandemonium	Mario

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
27		Baby Peach	Super Mario Series	•Tiny Isabelle •Mario		3,600	Princess Peach's Castle	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy favors dash attacks •The enemy has increased move speed	Ground Theme - Super Mario Bros. (Melee)	Baby Mario
29		Peach (Wedding)	Super Mario Series	•Peach •Mario		9,900	New Donk City Hall	•Flowery	•Defeat the main fighter to win •You constantly take minor damage •The enemy tends to avoid conflict	Break Free (Lead The Way)	Mario
79		Pauline	Super Mario Series	•Peach •Mario •Giant Donkey Kong		13,700	75m (hazards off)	•Jump Power ↓	•Defeat the main fighter to win •You have reduced jump power •Reinforcements will appear during the battle •The enemy tends to avoid conflict	Jump Up, Super Star!	Jumpman (Mario)
104		Geno	Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars	•Sheik •Peach •Kirby •Bowser •Mario		13,700	Mario Galaxy (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Timed battle (2:30) •The enemy's FS Meter charges quickly	Rainbow Road Medley	Mario
108		Starlow	Mario & Luigi Series	•Pac-Man •Luigi •Mario		3,300	Brinstar (Battlefield form)	•Tiny •Giant	•The enemy is giant •The enemy is tiny after a little while	Tough Guy Alert!	Mario
118		Wanda	Super Mario Series	•Tiny Palutena •Yoshi •Peach •Mario		1,500	Green Greens (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Mario Paint Medley	Mario
1,107		Fighting Alloy Team	Super Smash Bros. Series	•Captain Falcon Team ×4 •Zelda Team ×4 •Mario Team ×4 •Kirby Team ×4		3,300	Final Destination (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Cruel Smash	Yellow Alloy
1,321		Peachette	Super Mario Series	•Peach •Mii Brawler (Moveset 2121, Super Mushroom Hat, Yellow Toad Outfit, High Voice Type 7) •Luigi •Mario		10,000	Mushroom Kingdom U (hazards off)	•Easy to Launch •Hazard: Low Gravity	•All fighters are easy to launch •Timed battle (1:00) •Gravity is reduced	Ground Theme - New Super Mario Bros. U	Mario
1,426		Olivia	Paper Mario Series	•Pikachu •Mario •Tiny Bowser		3,700	Paper Mario	•Defense ↑ •Attack Power ↑ •Item: Bob-omb	•The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy has increased defense when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy favors air attacks •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Battle! - Paper Mario: Color Splash	Mario

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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

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

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  Mario's fighter card.

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  Mario's unlock screen when obtaining him in World of Light.

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  Mario's grab animation on Onett.

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  Up Taunting on 3D Land.

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  Side Taunting in his Builder outfit on Wrecking Crew.

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

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

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  Jumping in his Wedding costume with Peach on Skyworld.

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

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  Mario crouching near Isabelle on Tomodachi Life.

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  Mario using his Fireball on Isabelle on Skyworld.

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

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  With a giant Pikachu on Tortimer Island.

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

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

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

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  With Young Link on Tomodachi Life.

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

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

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  With Peach and Bowser on Princess Peach's Castle.

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  Taunting with Terry on Princess Peach's Castle.

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  Mario getting bitten twice by Piranha Plant in its victory pose.

Trivia

Mario "dies" in the dark ending of World of Light.

• The segment during the E3 2018 Nintendo Direct focusing on his new Builder suit features Mario knocking Squirtle off of a Pipe on Mushroomy Kingdom. This is likely a reference to the series' common Koopa Troopa enemies, which are also turtles.
• Ultimate marks the first time since Melee where Mario is depicted smiling in his official render.
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the 100th game where Charles Martinet voiced Mario, and as a result, he won the Guinness World Record for the highest number of performances as the same character.
• In the E3 demo of the game, Mario's portrait used his in-game model as opposed to his official render. This was also the case with Link, Pikachu, and Villager.
  • Coincidentally, all four of these characters were playable in the Super Smash Bros. for 3DS demo.
• Mario's trailer is the only one that uses a background song with English lyrics; in this case, "Jump Up, Super Star!", the main theme of Super Mario Odyssey.
  • Mario is also the only character to vocalize at all in the character trailers, whereas every other character's trailer has their voices muted.
  • Additionally, Mario and Yoshi are the only characters to vocalize in the "Everyone Is Here!" trailer.
• This is the first game where Mario no longer has his Wario-based alternate costume since the first game, and the first since Brawl where Mario no longer has a Fire Flower-based alternate costume, possibly to make room for his Builder and Wedding Tuxedo-based outfits.
• Coincidentally, five of his alternate costumes (his default, Golf, Waluigi, Builder and Wedding outfits) also appeared in Super Mario Odyssey. Dr. Mario (portrayed here as his own character) also appeared in Odyssey as an outfit. Only his cyan/pink, white/black, and green/brown costumes do not appear in Odyssey.
• Conspicuously, some of Mario's alternate costumes can be slightly changed depending on the facial expressions with the eyebrows and the eye color when comparing the Default, Builder, and Wedding as an example.
  • The eyebrows of Mario appears to be a little inwards as for the Default or the other alts. With the Builder and the Wedding, the eyebrows noticeably goes more outwards when zooming in.
  • The eye can obtrusively have different vibes depending on the eye colors. The Wedding Mario has a bit darker eye color than the Builder and the Default. The change in the colors is mostly due to the more slight irregularities in the render on Mario.
• Mario is the only character in World of Light that appears in every cutscene featuring the presence of a fighter and is also the only character to appear in the dark ending where Dharkon emerges victorious.
  • Due to his presence in every cutscene, as well as his status as the first character unlocked in World of Light, Mario loosely fills the role of co-protagonist or deuteragonist in the mode. This reflects The Subspace Emissary, where Mario and Kirby were the first characters to be playable, with Mario being attacked and removed and Kirby being more prominent during the early portions of the mode.
• Mario, Ken and Bowser are the only characters that are Neutral type when fighting them in World of Light.
• Mario and Chrom are the only characters to appear in another character's victory pose (in this case, Piranha Plant).
• When KO'd by reaching 0 HP during his final stock in Stamina Mode, Mario uses his heavy knockback scream rather than his standard KO scream. He shares this trait with Dr. Mario, the Hero, Terry, and Byleth.
• Mario's Wedding costume is the only alt to change his glove pallet both in the render and in-game.
• Looking underneath Mario's Wedding costume reveals a gap between his shirt and pants.
• Whenever Mario grabs onto an edge, his hat briefly shifts upward, revealing that his hair is missing and exposing a gap.
• If Mario gets hit hard in the head, there's a chance his face will flatten. This is the same expression used whenever he gets Screen KO'd. This also happens with Dr. Mario.
• Mario's official artwork is based on the sex kick in his neutral aerial.
• When fighting off the fifty puppet fighter army as Master Hand in World of Light, Mario is one of the eight fighters fought there, being affiliated with Galeem.
• A running meme in the Smash community is how Mario always seems to "die" (or have a situation similar to death) in a lot of character reveal trailers, including when Ridley snatched him and crushed his neck with his claws in Ridley’s reveal trailer, when he was punched by Sonic into the Minecraft universe which resulted in him being blown up by a Creeper in Steve's trailer, and when he was seemingly impaled by Sephiroth's sword in Sephiroth's trailer. This also includes minor deaths like being blown up by a Bob-omb in the Vault Boy Mii Costume trailer.
  • Furthermore, Mario is also seen "dying" in the dark ending of World of Light.