Mario (PM)

Mario in Project M and Project+
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Universe	Mario
Base game appearance	Brawl
Moveset inspiration	Mario (SSBM), Dr. Mario (SSBM)
Alternate costume	Dr. Mario, Builder Mario (Project+)

Mario is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project M. He is designed to be a mix of the best attributes of both his Melee version and Dr. Mario. He is currently considered a mid tier character, being ranked 20th in the latest official tier list and in the middle of the B tier. This is a great improvement over his Brawl placement of 31st out of 38, and a slight improvement from his Melee placement, where Mario ranked 15th out of 26.

Attributes

Mario is average in most respects and very well rounded. He has a straightforward combo game that can transition well from the ground to the air, many options out of his throws, reliable approach options, and a solid ranged games with his fireballs and cape. While Mario is not the master of any one field, he is capable in all of them. Other characters may outclass him in speed or power, but Mario's overall well rounded set of attributes grants him versatility and the ability to take on most opponents.

Mario is endowed with a practical set of aerial attacks. His neutral aerial and down aerial serve as approaching tools, up and back can combo or gimp respectively, and his forward aerial is a great finisher. He is also capable off stage. His cape, quick aerials, and surprisingly good recovery allow him to head off stage and finish off opponents attempting returns of their own. On stage, Mario can be as much of a threat. His grab allows for chain throws, can lead into his deadly aerial combos, or can put the opponent off stage to set up a gimp. He can zone or approach with his fireballs, and has great finishers in his forward and up smash.

Despite his strengths, Mario still must cope with his lack of range and limited recovery options. However, the latter may vary if one takes into account all of the different ways that Mario can recover with his specials.

Changes from Melee to PM

Mario was overall buffed from Melee to Project M, while still possessing balanced stats and average power attacks. Mario himself is now a slight mix between himself and Dr. Mario, with increased air speed, and moves like forward aerial and up smash acting like Dr. Mario's.

Aesthetics

• New down taunt acts like Dr. Mario's from Melee and also has a damaging hitbox that deals 3%.

Ground attacks

• Dash attack's hitbox has been moved to Mario's leg, improving it's range.
• Down tilt has less ending lag (IASA 35 → 29) and has increased base knockback (10 → 30), improving it combo ability and safety.
• If up smash hits late (via in front of Mario as opposed to behind or above), it becomes more powerful and spikes grounded foes (also akin to Dr. Mario's), comboing better into aerial attacks. It also deals more damage than the doctor's version.
• Down smash's second hit has a longer duration (1 frame → 2).

Aerial attacks

• Beginning of forward aerial acts like Dr. Mario's, dealing higher damage with strong knockback and a more favorable angle for KOs (60°), while the late hit acts like the original meteor smash hitbox, greatly strengthening its use for approaching and making it more reliable as a forward air. It also has much less ending lag (IASA 60 → 45).
• Back aerial still possesses its former power, but it now has a semi-spike angle like Dr. Mario's, being more useful at gimping recoveries.
• Up aerial now has a late hit that starts on frame 6, the hitbox behaves identically to Dr. Mario's Up-Air in Melee.
• Up aerial has less ending lag (IASA 30 → 28) and autocancels sooner (frame 16 → 15).
• Down aerial inflicts higher damage for more consistent use, and now antocancels on short hop. Its landing hitbox has also been shrunk, making less likely for opponents to be launched away by the move out of the range of Mario's attacks, and the first hit has higher base knockback so that it will almost always cause tumbling if the rest of the move whiffs.

Grabs and throws

• Back throw retains its power from Dr. Mario's back throw.
• Down throw has higher knockback growth (30 → 50), this hinders it's chaingrabbing ability, but makes it slightly easier to follow up into other attacks against fast-fallers.

Special Moves

• Fireballs have less ending lag, so they can be acted out of sooner and are quicker for repeated use. They also act more like Megavitamins, being stronger and having a bouncier trajectory.
• Mario uses SFX from Melee for his Fireballs and retained down aerial.
• Cape glide from Brawl has been retained giving Cape more utility.
• Super Jump Punch can be cancelled by a wall jump during the first 6 frames it is touching the wall, instead of just the first frame. It also hits less times while still dealing the same damage, making it easier to rack up damage with the move.
• Super Jump Punch has less base knockback on the last hit, and can only be canceled once in its wall jump technique until landing.
• Mario Tornado creates more vertical distance, aiding Mario's recovery.
  • Before 3.5, Mario Tornado had star graphics, in a reference to the Star Spin from Super Mario Galaxy.

Changes from Brawl to PM

Aesthetics

• Mario now has a new alternate costume, Dr. Mario, who throws Megavitamins instead of fireballs and uses an electric effect for his forward smash instead of fire.
• Mario now says "hoh" when doing his first jump.
• Mario's down taunt has been changed to act like that of Dr. Mario in Melee, however it now has a damaging hitbox on the fireball/Megavitamin that does 3%.

Ground attacks

• Mario's smash attacks are all much stronger, dealing anywhere from 2-5% more damage.
• The damage values of the first two hits of Mario's neutral attack have swapped, with the first hit doing 2% and the second doing 3%.
  • The last hit of the neutral attack does 1% more damage.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial does 2% more damage on the late hitbox.
• Forward aerial has an additional hitbox that sends the opponent flying upwards instead of meteor smashing them.
• Mario's down aerial is now a drill kick like the one from Melee, and uses SFX from Melee as well.
• Back aerial does 1% less damage on the clean hit.
  • However, it does 2% more damage on the late hit.
  • Mario's back aerial also uses its animation from Melee.

Special attacks

• Fireballs do 2% more damage.
  • Mario's fireballs use their Melee sound effects.
• Cape does 2% more damage.
  • Cape does not deal less damage when used in the air.
  • Cape no longer reverses opponents' controls.
    • However, Project M's different ledge mechanics counter this, since Mario can turn opponents around from the ledge and stop them from grabbing it.
• Mario can utilize the Super Jump Punch wall jump technique.
• Mario Tornado replaces F.L.U.D.D as down special, which improves Mario's recovery potential.
• Mario's edgeguarding abilities have been slightly degraded with the removal of F.L.U.D.D.
• Super Jump Punch only hits six times and does 1% less damage overall.

Changes from PM to P+

Ground attacks

• The angle on down tilt's tip hitbox was raised slightly, from 80 to 85 degrees.
• Forward smash's sour spot is a little stronger.
• Dr. Mario's forward smash has electric gfx but has regular on-hit properties
• Up smash deals 1% more damage.

Aerial attacks

• The strong hitbox on neutral aerial is slightly bigger.
• Forward aerial's strong hitbox is slightly weaker.

Special attacks

• The reflect hitbox on Cape is active for three fewer frames.
• Super Jump Punch's intangibility lasts for three fewer frames, now only lasting until frame 6.
• Super Jump Punch can no longer reverse hit.
• Mashing on Mario Tornado made easier but maximum height reduced slightly

Grab and throws

• Back throw deals stronger knockback.

Revisions

v2.1

• Adjusted Mario's tornado mashing to gain more height.
• Replaced down taunt with that of Dr. Mario in Melee, except Mario uses a fireball instead of a pill (from 3.0 onward, he would use a pill for his Dr. Mario costumes as usual).

v2.5b

• Mario's Super Jump Punch wall jump no longer has additional decay.
  • Mario's Super Jump Punch can no longer be wall jumped out of infinitely when touching a wall at the apex of the move, leaving just the single use unconditional method of wall jumping out of it.
• Mario Tornado no longer causes Mario to plummet down when used directly after hitstun.
• Down throw was increased slightly in knockback growth.
• Mario's aerial vertical momentum with Cape was adjusted.
• Mario now uses his "hoh" voice clip (otherwise only used for teching) displayed for his grounded jump.

v2.6b

• Down tilt can be interrupted sooner, and its lower leg portion was given short invincibility during the first attack frames.
• Fireballs no longer degrades in hitstun, size and knockback as they bounce; they now use consistent values of said characteristics for their entire duration. They can also be interrupted sooner.
• Cape doesn't reverse controls/momentum for as long.
• Standing grab's hitbox shifted outward slightly for more range.
• Up smash functions like Melee Mario's up smash at the beginning, but then changes back to Dr. Mario's as he brings his head down -- thus spiking grounded opponents hit by the latter portion of the move, leaving them open for aerial combos.
• Down tilt's base knockback was slightly increased, while its knockback growth was slightly decreased. The toe part of the leg sends at a straight upward angle, while other parts more inwards on the leg send at lower angles.
• Forward aerial has a tweaked flash graphical effect over the fist.
• Down aerial's lowest hitbox placement adjusted more towards the center.
• Fireballs were slightly increased in damage, though their knockback growth was decreased as well for compensation.

v3.0

• Forward smash's hitlag modifier has been reduced slightly to be normalized.

v3.5

• Wall jump window increased to 6 frames from 4.
• Cape damage increased: 8 → 10
  • However, it no longer damages shielding opponents.
• Down Tilt no longer has lower leg invulnerability.
• Now checks on frame 1 for touching wall as required for Super Jump Punch wall jump. Touching wall was not required before.
• Down smash deals less damage (Does 16% front and 12% back).
• Down air's hitbox sizes decreased.
• Fireballs/Megavitamins's damage: 8 → 7
  • Ending lag on Fireballs/Megavitamins has been increased (IASA 35 → 41).
  • Fireballs have a small fiery burst, while Megavitamins have a small smoke puff.
• Down Throw has more knockback growth: 44 → 50.
• Dr. Mario's forward smash now uses Project M's new Light element, which is essentially an electric hitbox, but with the same hitlag for both the attacker and the attacked character. This hurts the Doc variant; previously Doc had less hitlag than the attacked character and could possibly act out of the move before the attacked character could. Mario's variant is unaffected. This element is Effect 13 for moveset editing purposes.

v3.6

• Dr. Mario's cape matches his outfit.
• Down tilt angle standardized to 80, and its knockback growth has been increased at the cost of base knockback.
  • Down tilt IASA: frame 27 → 29
• Dr. Mario's forward smash sound effect modified to be consistent with other attacks.
  • Dr. Mario's forward smash type accidentally reverted to electric effect from light effect, causing the hitlag of the move to be different for this skin
• Forward air meteor hit (Mario) start: frame 20 → 18
  • Forward air outward strike (Dr. Mario) hitbox removal: frame 19 → 17
• Up air angle (late): 65° → 55°
• Down air SDI multiplier: 0.75 → 1

Moveset

Up to date as of version 3.6.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%	Two weak punches followed by a stronger forward kick. Originates from Mario's standard combo in Super Mario 64.
			3%
			5%
Forward tilt	↗		10%	Kicks straight forward in a back-turning roundhouse kick. This move can be angled up or down, dealing more damage angled upwards and less angled downwards.
	→		9%
	↘		8%
Up tilt			8%	Punches straight upward in a spiraling stationary uppercut. A good juggling move.
Down tilt			9% (close), 8% (far)	Sweeps one leg low to the ground. Often a good combo starter and spacing tool.
Dash attack			9% (clean), 8% (late)	Slides low on the ground forward with his left leg extended. Sends foes upwards.
Forward smash	↗		20% (fire), 15% (left arm), 11% (right arm)	Rears back with hands cupped together and then extends palm forward with a blast of fire (electricity in Dr. Mario's case) coming from his left hand. This move can be angled; being stronger if angled upwards.
	→		19% (fire), 14% (left arm), 10% (right arm)
	↘		18% (fire), 13% (left arm), 9% (right arm)
Up smash			15%, 16% (spike)	Headbutts upward. This move can hit enemies behind Mario. An excellent finishing move at around 110%. If the attack connects in front of Mario on a grounded opponent, the opponent will be spiked. Interestingly, Mario's head does not gain intangibility frames when performing the headbutt.
Down smash			16% (front), 12% (back feet), 10% (back legs)	Mario performs a break-dancing sweep kick that can hit on both sides. A decent knockback tool.
Neutral aerial			12% (clean), 9% (late)	Mario extends one foot forward. A standard sex kick.
Forward aerial			17% (early fist), 16% (early arm), 15% (late)	Mario winds up his arm and punches downwards. This move is a hybrid of both Mario's, and Dr. Mario's respective forward aerials in Melee. Contacting the enemy with Mario's fist during the earlier frames will result in Dr. Mario's version, playing the role of a powerful vertical finisher. The latter works as Mario's forward aerial, a basic meteor smash, which can set up aerial follow-ups if used on grounded enemy. A slow, but versatile tool.
Back aerial			11% (clean), 9% (late)	Mario kicks backwards with both feet. One of Mario's main gimping and combo tools. This move uses its Melee animation.
Up aerial			11% (clean), 10% (late)	Does a flipkick upwards. A good midair juggling tool.
Down aerial			3% (hits 1-3), 2% (hit 4-7 & landing)	Spins around via a drill kick aimed downward, hitting the opponent multiple times.
Grab			—
Pummel			3%	Headbutts opponent.
Forward throw			9%	Throws the opponent forward in a single turning fling.
Back throw			12% (throw), 8% (collateral)	Spins around three times and swings the opponent backwards in a giant swing throw. One of his more stronger throws and can hit nearby enemies with the grabbed target.
Up throw			8%	Throws his opponent upward with both hands. Can lead into an aerial combo.
Down throw			6%	Slams his opponent on the ground. Has a lot of hitstun, which makes it easier to combo opponents out of this throw and follow up with a forward aerial at higher percentages.
Floor attack (front)			6%	Gets up and punches behind him, then in front.
Floor attack (back)			6%	Gets up and does a sweep kicks in a similar fashion to his down smash.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Gets up and kicks backward and forward.
Edge attack (fast)			6% (body), 8% (legs)	Does a somersault and kicks with both feet.
Edge attack (slow)			10%	Slowly gets up and kicks with one leg.
Down taunt			3%	Mario pulls out a fireball (pill when using Dr. Mario costume), rolls it down his arm, uses his shoulder to toss it into the air, then catches it. The fireball/pill can damage nearby enemies.
Neutral special		Fireball / Megavitamins	7%	Shoots a fireball (or a pill) from his hand as a projectile. Bounces after hitting a surface, with its speed and duration decreasing per bounce.
Side special		Cape / Super Sheet	10% (close), 9% (tip)	Mario flicks his cape forward. The cape can reflect projectiles and turns the opponent the other way, making it a useful edgeguarding technique, especially against characters with linear recovery moves such as Fox Illusion and Quick Draw.
Up special		Super Jump Punch	5% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-5), 3% (hit 6)	Mario does a jumping uppercut diagonally upward, being a multi-hit attack that causes 2D coins sprites to fly out any opponents who come in his path. Considered Mario's main recovery move. Additionally, if this move is used while Mario is directly next to a wall and the control stick is flicked backward at the apex of the jump, the move will be cancelled into a wall jump that does not cause Mario to become helpless, making him free to use the same move again without landing. The trajectory of the move can be aimed by tilting the control stick forward or backward.
Down special		Mario / Dr. Tornado	2% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-7), 5% (hit 8)	Mario performs a multi-hit spinning attack with his fists outstretched that traps opponents before knocking them away. Mario can rise in the air with this move by mashing the special button, though this can only be used once before touching the ground.
Final Smash		Mario Finale	3% (big fireball), 2% (small fireball)	Mario fires two giant fireballs that intertwine with each other and engulf the stage, hitting consecutively. Oddly enough, when using Dr. Mario, he still shoots out fireballs instead of pills.

In competitive play

Notable players

•  Ellis - Ranked 2nd on the Iowa Project M Power Rankings. Placed 5th at Kings of the North V after defeating Professor Pro to make it into Top 8.
•  Gallo - One of the best Mario players in the world. Placed 3rd at Olympus and was formerly ranked 24th on PMRank 2017.
•  Stoks - Oklahoma Mario player.
•  Nashun - Best Mario solo main in SoCal. Ranked 10th on the SoCal Project M Power Rankings.
•  Boringman - One of the best Mario mains in the world, dual maining him with Meta Knight. Formerly ranked 2nd on the NorCal Project M Power Rankings and currently ranked 2nd on the SoCal Project M Power Rankings, and is also ranked 22nd on the PMRank 2016.
•  The Doctor - The best Mario player in the world. Ranked 2nd on the NorCal Project M Power Rankings and 5th on PMRank 2019. Placed 4th at Super Smashed Bros after defeating players like Dr., Jose V, and Strong Bad.

Inactive players

•  Boss
•  CruzyCakes
•  Mew2King - Previously used Mario as a counterpick before he was nerfed.
•  Seibrik - 9th at The Big House 4.
•  Zinoto - Wins over LOE1, Anther, Ripple, and Carls493

Alternate costumes

Project M

Dr. Mario appears as Mario's alternate costume. Players may switch between Mario and Dr. Mario costumes, similarly to Wario's alternate costume sets for his Wario Land and WarioWare appearances. This costume provides many aesthetic changes; Mario's Fireballs and their related sound effects in his neutral special and down taunt changed to that of the Megavitamins, his forward smash sports an electric effect and Dr. Mario's cape color matches the color used. No differences apply in regular gameplay from these aesthetic changes, but the changed elements will affect The Subspace Emissary and Boss Battles enemies.

Mario's alternate costumes in PM

Project+

In Project+, Builder Mario from Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker 2 also appears as a third alternate costume for his costumes.

Mario's alternate costumes in P+

Z-Secret Costume: Cowboy Mario (Mario Party 2)

R-Secret Costume: Beach Mario (Super Mario Sunshine)

Trivia

• The "RSBE-01" written on the Megavitamins of the Dr. Mario render is a reference to Brawl's NTSC game identification code.
• Mario's Wario-coloured costume was likely removed because of its slight redundancy (due to Wario becoming playable in Brawl and having the same outfit selectable). This gave room for Dr. Mario to have his black color, making him one of only five characters from Brawl to lose a costume (the others being Marth's light blue costume, Ganondorf's brown costume, Snake's blue costume and all of Sonic's costumes sans default).