Dr. Mario (SSB4)
| Dr. Mario in Super Smash Bros. 4 | |
|---|---|
 
| |
| Universe | Mario |
| Other playable appearance | in Melee |
| Availability | Unlockable |
| Final Smash | Doctor Finale |
Dr. Mario (Dr. マリオ, Dr. Mario) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. He was officially confirmed on October 9th, 2014 alongside Dark Pit in a post-release announcement. Dr. Mario is also the first of three Super Smash Bros. Melee characters that were cut from Super Smash Bros. Brawl to return for Super Smash Bros. 4 alongside Mewtwo and Roy, as well as being the only one among them to be accessible without downloadable content.
While Mario continues to use his updated moveset from Brawl, Dr. Mario retains his moveset from Melee, albeit with the inclusion of a Final Smash called Doctor Finale, which is almost identical to Mario's Mario Finale but instead deals more damage and uses two massive Megavitamins rather than streams of fire.
He is once again voiced by Charles Martinet, albeit via Mario's voice clips from Brawl, though while being less vocal than his counterpart.
How To Unlock
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
- Play 60 VS Matches.
- Clear Classic Mode as Mario on difficulty 4.0 or higher.
Dr. Mario must then be defeated on Mushroomy Kingdom.
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
- Play 50 VS Matches.
- Clear Master Orders on Hard difficulty.
Dr. Mario must then be defeated on Delfino Plaza.
Attributes
Dr. Mario is of average weight and somewhat small stature just like his normal counterpart. However, while sharing animations and overall design, he functions a bit differently due to his difference in speed and power and now fights like a stronger yet slower version of Mario like he was originally intended to be in Melee.
Dr. Mario is more efficient at KOing in comparison to Mario, as he has higher base knockback on all his smash attacks, his back air, and his Super Jump Punch. He is also very capable at punishing with his effective grab game. However, his forward smash is also harder to land unlike Mario's, as its sweetspot is closer to his hurtbox by being located on his palm. Dr. Mario's combo game is very different than Mario's, being harder overall to score fewer attacks without correct reads. Although as he has a higher output in damage overall, the increased knockback of his tilt attacks can noticeably hinder his ability to chain hits together in quick succession, especially against lightweight characters such as Jigglypuff. This is further compounded by his slow movement speed, which typically prevents him from immediate follow-ups. Despite Dr. Mario's combo game being sub-par, his down tilt is a viable combo starter against middleweights and especially heavyweights. It can chain into either his neutral attack, Super Jump Punch, Dr. Tornado, his up smash, his forward tilt, or his up tilt; the latter of which in particular can be performed successfully at least once (or twice against fast-fallers) before being finished reliably with his up smash or down smash. It should be noted that due to the aforementioned knockback of his tilt attacks, down tilt-initiated combos are only viable against middleweights at low percentages and should be used wisely against them, although they can be used somewhat more freely against heavyweights and fast-fallers.
Dr. Mario's most noticeable differences are seen in his specials. Megavitamins are once again his neutral special, and although they now deal less damage than before, they are still stronger than Mario's Fireball and have less damage falloff over distance traveled. However, the angle between the two attacks are more clear cut with Megavitamins traveling further in the air though at a slower speed. Super Sheet has also returned and is able to cover more vertical distance than Mario's Cape, but at the cost of its potential as a recovery move, as it no longer stalls him in midair like it did in Melee. As a result, Dr. Tornado is now used as part of his recovery, since it grants Dr. Mario a little extra recovery distance when used properly. Super Jump Punch has been changed as well, as it now acts more like Luigi's in Super Smash Bros., with high power at the base and a sourspot throughout the rest of its duration.
Dr. Mario significantly benefits when custom moves are on. Fast Capsule improves his already decent projectile game due to its spammability and gives him an even better edge-guarding tool against fast-fallers, while Mega Capsule can shut down many approaches from characters that lack projectiles. Breezy Sheet provides him more safety when fighting near the edge, and Shocking Sheet gives him an extra KO move that has decent speed. Ol' One-Two gives him an extremely powerful KOing option that can KO at very low percents at the cost of further hampering Dr. Mario's already poor recovery. Both Super Jump and Soaring Tornado considerably improve his sub-par recovery game. Soaring Tornado also has the benefit of making Dr. Mario an incredible edge-guarder due to both its consistent pushback effect and how soon its hitbox can KO, even from the center of the stage. It additionally is consistently powerful throughout its hitbox duration, unlike most other lingering hitboxes.
Dr. Mario's faults are glaring and include slow speed for a character of his size and power, sub-par range, and a sub-par recovery game despite him now being capable of wall jumping and Dr. Tornado enabling him to recover a slight amount of vertical distance. When not utilizing his custom moves, these faults can ultimately hinder Dr. Mario's potential to a degree, resulting in him having to utilize a much more patient playstyle in comparison to his normal counterpart. As a result, Dr. Mario's essential tactics to succeed include remaining on stage more often than not, capitalizing on predictions by punishing an opponent's openings with his smash attacks and effective grab game and wisely using his down tilt-initiated combo options against any middleweights, heavyweights and fast-fallers.
Changes from Melee
Dr. Mario was significantly nerfed in the transition from Melee to SSB4. Dr. Mario's changes gear him towards making him a slower yet stronger Mario, much like he was intended to be in Melee. However, this resulted in noticeable nerfs to his speed and mobility, decreasing his ability to approach the opponent despite his Megavitamins still being decent projectiles. Thus, Dr. Mario's neutral game is now weaker than it was in Melee. While some of his moves have been buffed, many others were nerfed; for example, his forward aerial and forward smash now require sweetspots for strong hits, and his Megavitamins have decreased damage output. The changes in physics and hitstun from Melee have also removed many of Dr. Mario's setups into those potential sweetspots, making his punish game much weaker as well. Furthermore, Dr. Tornado was also nerfed in height when used in midair and Super Sheet no longer stalls him in the air at all, limiting him to using his new wall jump for recovery mix-ups and thus makes him very easy to edge-guard.
However, Dr. Mario has been slightly buffed in other regards; namely, some of his moves have more range, and his grab is noticeably better than it was in Melee. Nonetheless, due to the prevalence of his nerfs, Dr. Mario has very poor tournament results with few dedicated mains, most of which play him as a secondary character.
Aesthetics
Dr. Mario's design has been updated to include the red tie he has had since Dr. Mario 64, while still retaining his black pants from Melee. However, his pants are now rolled up, revealing their lighter insides. His hair is a lighter shade of brown, and his head mirror's band is now black. Additionally, his stethoscope is now black instead of blue, as it was in Melee.- Megavitamins' colors are much more bright and they appear to be shorter, but more rounded. They also lack the translucent half in the 3DS version.
- Dr. Mario backflips three times as opposed to once when he jumps.
- Dr. Mario has an on-screen appearance.
- He has a different walking animation, which is identical to Mario's in Brawl.
- Dr. Mario has a new idle pose, where he pounds his fist into his open palm.
Attributes
- Dr. Mario's character model is slightly smaller than it was in Melee.
- Dr. Mario is lighter (100 → 98). His weight now matches Mario's in SSB4and while it slightly lowers his survivability, it makes him slightly less vulnerable to combos.
Dr. Mario walks slower (1.1 → 0.9).- Dr. Mario dashes slower (1.5 → 1.3).
- Due to the physics change in SSB4, Dr. Mario's falls slower and his gravity is lower compared to Melee (1.7 → 1.5 (falling speed), 0.095 → 0.08715 (gravity)).
- Dr. Mario's lowered gravity slightly hinders his survivability.
Dr. Mario's air speed has been slightly increased (0.9 → 0.943), though it is still drastically slower in comparison to Mario's highly increased air speed rather than having a higher air speed than Mario like in Melee.- Like Mario, Dr. Mario's traction has been decreased (0.6 → 0.45), making it harder for him to punish out of shield.
- Dr. Mario can wall jump.
Ground attacks
- Neutral attack deals 4.04% less damage (13% → 8.96%).
- Neutral attack has a consecutive jab and is faster overall.
- Forward tilt is faster.
- Up tilt deals 2.944% less damage (10% → 7.056%).
- Up tilt no longer sends the opponent forward if the opponent is hit in front of Dr. Mario. Instead, the move sends the opponent up no matter where it hits, whereas in Melee, the move had different trajectories depending on where it hit the opponent. This reduces its versatility in exchange for allowing greater combo potential.
- Down tilt deals less damage (9% → 7.84%/5.6%).
- Down tilt is faster, making it much more safe at close range for spacing. It can no longer send the opponent behind Dr. Mario, but instead pops them into the air, making it a useful combo starter.
- Due to down tilt's new angle, it completely removes its edge-guarding set-ups.
- Forward smash has slightly more range and does more damage, especially if tilted upwards or downwards.
- Forward smash has slightly less knockback (30 base/97 growth → 25/96), slightly more start-up, and ending lag. It also now has a sourspot located at Dr. Mario's hand.
- While up smash no longer spikes as of update 1.0.6, it now has more horizontal knockback, allowing for easier horizontal KOs as well as sending opponents over Dr. Mario.
- Up smash deals 0.32% less damage (16% → 15.68%).
- Down smash deals 8.36% less damage (33% → 24.64%).
- Down smash has less base knockback (50 → 30) but more knockback growth (75 → 100), which makes it stronger at KOing percents.
- Down smash's sweetspot and sourspot are reversed, with the front hit being weaker and the back hit being stronger.
Aerial attacks
- Neutral, up, and down aerials all deal less damage (10%/14% → 5%/8% (neutral), 11% → 7% (up), 18% → 10% (down)).
- Forward aerial now necessitates landing a sweetspot to be strong at all. Its sourspots and sweetspots do less damage (17/16% → 16/11/10%) and knockback (50 base/100 growth (sweetspot) and 40/100 (sourspot) → 30/102 (sweetspot) and 20/95 (sourspot)).
- Back aerial deals more damage (8% → 13.44% (clean), 7% → 7.84% (late)) and much more knockback (43 base/65 growth → 10 base/95 growth), allowing it to function as a KOing option.
- Back aerial no longer semi-spikes due to its angle being altered to the Sakurai angle, reducing its edge-guarding potential.
- Dr. Mario uses Mario's back aerial animation from Brawl instead of using the back aerial animation from Melee.
- Up aerial has more base knockback (0 → 9).
- Up aerial's angle was altered (45° → 55°.
- Down aerial has more knockback. It is also much harder to DI out of the attack.
Throws/other attacks
- Dr. Mario grabs with one hand as opposed to two.
- Dr. Mario's grab range has been increased.
- Dr. Mario's throws have less ending lag.
- Dr. Mario can no longer chain grab.
- Back throw has less knockback (80 base/72 growth → 70 base/60 growth), much like Mario's back throw in Brawl. Despite this, it is still one of the strongest throws in the game.
Special moves
- Megavitamins deal less damage based on distance (8% → 4-6%).
- Megavitamins are slightly larger and cover more range.
- Megavitamins are no longer absorbable.
- Dr. Mario's Super Sheet does not stall him while he is in midair, while it previously did in Melee on the first use, greatly hindering his recovery. It also deals less damage (10%/12% → 7.84%).
- Super Jump Punch now consists of one strong hit that can KO reliably before 150% from neutral and around 100% at the edge. It is now a viable option for combo ending and tech-chasing, similarly to Dolphin Slash.
- Super Jump Punch cannot be cancelled like in Melee and it has significantly increased landing lag. While Mario's Super Jump Punch's vertical distance increased, Dr. Mario's version retains its vertical distance from Melee, meaning his Super Jump Punch covers less distance overall.
- Super Jump Punch, when sweetspotted, can be moved the opposite direction. This potentially gives him the ability to hit multiple opponents with a single sweetspot. This can also be used to avoid a possible punish after landing the hit.
- Dr. Tornado has a faster start up and a slightly longer duration. The move itself is also harder to escape from, while having increased KO potential, reliably KOing at 100% off-stage.
- Dr. Tornado has less ending lag, allowing for a double jump sooner for recovery.
- Dr. Tornado deals less damage and does not travel as high when rising due to its lengthier animation.
- Dr. Mario has a Final Smash, Doctor Finale, which is a clone of Mario's Mario Finale that deals more damage and uses two massive Megavitamins instead of two massive streams of fire.
Differences from Mario
Aesthetics
- Dr. Mario's victory poses, idle poses, on-screen appearance and taunts are different.
- Dr. Mario's idle stance is similar to Mario's, but noticeably slower.
- Dr. Mario is less vocal than Mario.
Attributes
- Dr. Mario is stronger overall compared to Mario, as he has higher damage outputs on moves such as his up tilt, up smash, back aerial, up aerial, forward tilt and all of his throws.
- Dr. Mario's walking speed is slower and both his dashing and air speeds are drastically slower than Mario's, making him significantly less mobile in comparison.
- Dr. Mario does not jump as high as Mario.
- Dr. Mario's short hop is lower, making it easier for him to perform short hopped aerials.
- Dr. Mario can not perform as many aerials from a short hop.
- Dr. Mario does not crouch as low as Mario.
Ground attacks
- Neutral attack deals 0.04% less damage (8.96% → 9%) than Mario's.
- Neutral attack's knockback is stronger than Mario's. It also slightly launches the opponent with set knockback for the first two hits, making it easier to jab cancel with than Mario's.
- Neutral attack is slower, has slightly more ending lag and cannot jab lock.
- Dash attack sends opponents at a directly vertical angle instead of at an oblique angle, which aids his combo game.
- Forward smash deals more damage (17.85%/14.7% → 19.992%/16.464% (upward angled), 17%/14% → 19.04%/15.68% (forward), 17.51%/14.42% → 19.6112%/16.1504% (downward angled)) and knockback.
- Forward smash has less range.
- The sweetspot of Dr. Mario's forward smash is at his arm, while Mario's is on the flame, which means that the sweetspot attack has to be at closer range.
- Forward smash is an electric attack rather than a flame attack.
- Dr. Mario's up smash launches opponents at a more horizontal angle compared to Mario's without any compensation on the knockback.
Aerial attacks
- Neutral aerial deals more damage (5% → 5.6%, 8% → 8.96%).
- Neutral aerial deals more damage and knockback the longer it sticks out compared to Mario's, which functions oppositely.
- Forward aerial does not meteor smash, while instead dealing more damage and launching the opponent at an oblique angle when sweetspotted.
- Dr. Mario's down aerial is a drill kick while Mario's down aerial has been Mario Tornado since Brawl. As a result, Dr. Mario's down aerial sends the opponent at a different angle compared to Mario's.
- Up aerial hits at a horizontal angle rather than Mario's up air without any compensation on the knockback, making it far weaker. Due to it not hitting vertically, it also does not juggle as well as Mario's.
- Down aerial does slightly more damage than Mario Tornado.
- Down aerial deals much less knockback and has slower start-up than Mario Tornado.
Grabs and throws
- Forward, back and up throws deal 1% more damage (8% → 9% (forward), 11% → 12% (back), 7% → 8% (up)).
- Down throw has more base knockback, giving Dr. Mario different follow-ups compared to Mario. At higher percents, Dr. Mario's down throw has less horizontal knockback growth compared to Mario's, allowing for easier aerial follow-ups.
Special moves
- Megavitamins are now classified as physical projectiles rather than energy projectiles like Mario's Fireballs are, which means that Megavitamins are no longer absorbable.
- Megavitamins bounce twice while Fireballs bounce three times.
- Super Sheet does more damage and has more vertical range than Cape.
- Super Sheet does not stall him in midair like Cape does and covers less horizontal range.
- Dr. Mario's Super Jump Punch only has two hitboxes and does more damage at the start of the attack, just like Luigi's. It deals more damage than Mario's and has more knockback, making it an a viable KOing option.
- Dr. Mario's Super Jump Punch covers less vertical distance than Mario's.
- Super Jump Punch does not make a coin sound when used on an opponent.
- Dr. Mario retains Dr. Tornado, rather than gaining F.L.U.D.D., as his down special.
- Doctor Finale deals more damage than Mario Finale.
Other
- Dr. Mario uses Ties as defensive Equipment rather than Overalls.
Update history
Although his core problems have not been addressed, Dr. Mario has received a handful of buffs nonetheless. Updates 1.0.4 and 1.0.6 improved his forward aerial's knockback and damage output, enabling it to score KOs easier and making it more viable as a short hop-initiated, on-stage attack. Update 1.1.0 slightly improved his up smash by giving it one extra frame, as well as making it capable of scoring KOs easier due to having its knockback growth increased. Like Mario, the changes on shieldstun in 1.1.1 make it slightly harder for him to use his patient playstyle effectively, as the increased shieldstun makes it harder for him to punish out of shield. This change, however, seems more noticeable in comparison to Mario.
1.0.4
- Forward aerial's knockback increased: 85 → 95 (early/late), 95 → 102 (clean).
- Down aerial's looping hits deal 0.336% more damage: 1.568% → 1.904%.
- Down aerial's landing lag decreased.
- Down aerial's hit rate decreased: 7 → 5.
- Down aerial's damage decreased: 10.976% → 9.52%.
1.0.6
- Clean forward aerial deals 1.12% more damage: 15.68% → 16.8%.
- Up smash's horizontal knockback increased.
- Up smash no longer spikes.
1.1.0
- Up smash's knockback growth increased: 108 → 117.
- Up smash's duration increased: 4 frames → 5.
- Up smash's duration matches with how Dr. Mario's head swings.
1.1.1
- Clothesline Tornado's damage increased: 8% → 10%/12% (depending on the hitbox).
- Clothesline Tornado's sweetspot hitbox is larger.
- Clothesline Tornado's sweetspot's base knockback increased: 60 → 100.
- Clothesline Torando's sweetspot's knockback growth decreased: 120 → 70.
Moveset
For unknown reasons, instead of Dr. Mario's damage values being notably different than Mario's, all of the damage values of his moveset have a multiplier of 1.12x.[1] This does not apply to items or reflected attacks.
| Name | Damage | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral attack | 2.8% | Two jabs followed by a forward kick. The first two jabs have set knockback which lightly pop the opponent into the air, allowing for Dr. Mario to potentially perform jab cancel follow-ups such as a grab. Start-up of 3 frames. | ||
| 1.68% | ||||
| 4.48% | ||||
| Forward tilt | 7.84% | A reverse roundhouse kick. Sends the opponent at a Sakurai angle, but this is only apparent at higher percents. Low KOing potential, but can be used to space opponents and serve as a defensive move. Start-up of 5 frames. | ||
| Up tilt | 7.056% | A spinning uppercut. Does more damage than Mario's, allowing for more hitstun for up tilt-initiated juggles. Gains KOing potential around 160%. Start-up of 5 frames. | ||
| Down tilt | 5.6% (foot), 7.84% (body) | A legsweep. Relatively fast, as it starts up in 5 frames. Because it pops opponents slightly up into the air, it can followed up with numerous options at low to medium percents, such as his neutral attack, up tilt, forward tilt, up smash, down smash and Super Jump Punch. Lightweight characters can avoid these follow-ups fairly easily, however. | ||
| Dash attack | 8.96% (clean), 6.72% (late) | A baseball slide, a dropkick variation where Dr. Mario slides forward and kicks with both feet. Sends the opponent at a purely vertical angle and has a fair amount of endlag. | ||
| Forward smash | ↗ | 19.992% (arm), 16.464% (hand) | A palm thrust that produces a small blast of electricity. It has longer range than in Melee, but now has a sweetspot at Dr. Mario's arm with the sourspot being the electric blast at his palm. Gains KOing potential from the center of the stage at 85-90%, but it can KO quite early at around 65% near the edge. | |
| → | 19.04% (arm), 15.68% (hand) | |||
| ↘ | 19.6112% (arm), 16.1504% (hand) | |||
| Up smash | 15.68% | An upward headbutt, it sends opponents horizontally towards Dr. Mario as of update 1.0.6. Dr. Mario's head has intangibility frames. Because it can potentially send the opponent over Dr. Mario, it can be used to attack an opponent with their back towards him. | ||
| Down smash | 11.2% (hit 1), 13.44% (hit 2) | A breakdancing legsweep. While the damage output is rather low for a down smash, it gains rather high KOing potential around 100% near the edge in addition to sending the opponent at a somewhat horizontal angle. Regardless, it is relatively fast due to coming out at 5 frames, which can also enable it to be used as a quick punishing option. | ||
| Neutral aerial | 5.6% (clean), 8.96% (late) | A flying kick. It is a sex kick and like in Melee, it increases in power the longer it is held out, unlike typical sex kicks. The early attack frames allow it to be used to start combos, while the late attack frames can be used as an edge-guarding option. | ||
| Forward aerial | 11.2% (early), 16.8% (clean), 10.08% (late) | Winds up his arm and punches downwards. It knocks the opponent away at an upwards angle, instead of having a meteor smash effect like Mario's. As a result, it can be useful on-stage when used after a short hop, due to Dr. Mario's falling speed and gravity having been lowered since Melee. The sweetspot is when Dr. Mario's fist is in front of him. A slow but viable KOing option that can KO at 80% near the edge and as low as 60% off-stage. | ||
| Back aerial | 13.44% (clean), 7.84% (late) | A dropkick. Can KO near the edge at 100% and above if hit clean. With very fast start-up and endlag with high knockback, it can be used for edge-guarding or a reverse aerial rush. | ||
| Up aerial | 7.84% | A backflip kick. Sends the opponent up at an oblique angle and is decent for juggling opponents at low percents. | ||
| Down aerial | 1.904% (loop hits), 3.36% (last hit), 2.24% (landing) | Performs a drill kick. It has a sweetspot at his feet, though it can be difficult to connect with. | ||
| Grab | — | |||
| Pummel | 3.64% | Headbutts the opponent. A slow pummel. | ||
| Forward throw | 8.96% | Dr. Mario spins his opponent around once and tosses the opponent forward. At certain percents it can be followed with a dash attack or an aerial attack. Can be useful for forcing opponents off-stage, or reading their action after the throw. | ||
| Back throw | 12.32% (throw), 8.96% (collateral) | A powerful throw that has Dr. Mario spinning the opponent by their legs three times while damaging bystanders, and throwing the opponent in the opposite direction grabbed. While it has lost some of the knockback it had in Melee, it still is a very strong throw and has KOing potential near the edge around 140%. Originates from Super Mario 64. | ||
| Up throw | 7.84% | Dr. Mario heaves his opponent high into the air with both hands. Decent against fast-fallers for aerial follow-ups. | ||
| Down throw | 5.6% | Dr. Mario slams his opponent into the ground. Pops the opponent much higher than Mario's down throw and mostly retains the same amount of knockback due to its low knockback growth, allowing for aerial follow-ups more easily. | ||
| Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge |
— | — | ||
| Techs | — | — | ||
| Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front) |
7.84% | Gets up and then kicks behind himself and then in front of himself. | ||
| Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back) |
7.84% | Gets up and then kicks behind himself and then in front of himself. | ||
| Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip) |
5.6% | Gets up and then kicks behind himself and then in front of himself. | ||
| Edge attack Edge getups |
7.84% | Performs a somersault and then kicks upwards from a supine position. | ||
| Neutral special | Default | Megavitamins | 5.6% (early), 4.48% (late) | Dr. Mario fires a weak, bouncing capsule from his hand similarly to Mario's Fireball. They follow a unique bouncing arc that allows it to cover different angles. Unlike Mario's Fireball, they cannot be absorbed. |
| Custom 1 | Fast Capsule | 3.36% (early), 2.576% (mid), 1.68% (late) | Dr. Mario quickly fires a weaker Megavitamin straight ahead that does not bounce on the ground, similarly to Falco's Blaster. It has lower damage and hitstun compared to regular Megavitamins, but it can be easily spammed and the projectile moves faster. | |
| Custom 2 | Mega Capsule | 1.68% per hit | A slow but large Megavitamin is launched from Dr. Mario's hand. It will damage any opponent it hits in its predetermined path until it vanishes, because unlike the other two variants it does not disappear upon impact. It has slow start-up and ending lag. | |
| Side special | Default | Super Sheet | 7.84% | Dr. Mario waves a defensive sheet that reflects projectiles and reverses enemies. It has a taller hitbox than Mario's, but covers less horizontal distance. Unlike in Melee, the Super Sheet no longer stalls his momentum in midair, removing its recovery potential. |
| Custom 1 | Shocking Sheet | 12.544% | An offensive variant that discharges electricity. Instead of reflecting projectiles, it will destroy them. Has more endlag than Super Sheet. | |
| Custom 2 | Breezy Sheet | 5.6% | Dr. Mario shoots a small gust of wind from his sheet, pushing his opponent back in addition to turning them around. The sheet deals slightly less damage while also having more endlag. | |
| Up special | Default | Super Jump Punch | 13.44% (clean), 6.72% (late) | Dr. Mario performs a strong, jumping uppercut. It travels less distance than Mario's and only hits once, but can be sweetspotted for extra damage like Luigi's. Has KO potential starting at 140% on middleweight characters and at around 100% near the edge. |
| Custom 1 | Super Jump | 0% | A recovery-oriented variant that provides more distance than the standard Super Jump Punch, but at the cost of not having a hitbox. | |
| Custom 2 | Ol' One-Two | 8.96% (hit 1), 14.56% (hit 2) | A much stronger uppercut that causes explosive fire damage, but at the cost of recovery distance. This uppercut hits twice, at the start and at its apex. | |
| Down special | Default | Dr. Tornado | 1.344% (loop hits), 3.36% (last hit) | Performs a multi-hit spinning attack with his fists outstretched. It also traps the opponent, hitting them constantly, before knocking them back. Dr. Mario can move around on the ground while spinning, and can hover in the air by repeatedly pressing the B button while using it. While the move has a startup of 10 frames and has some considerable endlag, the attack has quite some range that allows it to beat out attacks. Gains KO potential at around 130% near the edge. Because of its high knockback growth on the last hit, it can be used to edge-guard efficiently. |
| Custom 1 | Soaring Tornado | 0% (loop hits), 6.72% (last hit) | A rapidly spinning move that launches Dr. Mario into the air. It has much greater vertical mobility, but at the cost of horizontal movement. The hitboxes are replaced with a wind hitbox except for the last hit, which has much more knockback than Dr. Tornado. A very useful edge-guarding tool that can KO at 30% if near the edge and around 85% at the center of the stage. | |
| Custom 2 | Clothesline Tornado | 8.96% (loop hits), 8.96% (last hit) | A slower variant that deals higher knockback, but at the cost of having less vertical and horizontal mobility. | |
| Final Smash | Doctor Finale | 3.36% (bigger pill), 2.24% (smaller pill) | Dr. Mario shoots two massive Megavitamins, which move forward and spiral outwards, creating exploding capsule effects as they travel across the stage. Similar to the Mario Finale, with giant Megavitamins replacing the streaming flames. | |
Taunts
- Up Taunt: Grinds his shoe on the ground.
- Side Taunt: Dr. Mario pulls out a randomly colored Megavitamin, rolls it down his arm, uses his shoulder to toss it into the air, then catches it. This taunt returns from Melee.
- Down Taunt: Pounds his shoulder with his fist.
Idle Poses
- Sways his head from right to left.
- Punches his left hand into his open palm.
On-Screen Appearance
A large stack of capsules appear on stage. Another capsule then lands on the top, causing a chain reaction which wipes away the entire stack, revealing Dr. Mario from behind them.
Victory Fanfare
A flourished remix directly from Brawl based on the sound clip that would play when Mario reaches the end of a level in Super Mario Bros. It is shared with Mario, Luigi, and Peach.
Victory Poses
- Dr.MarioPose1WiiU.png
- Dr.MarioPose2WiiU.png
- Dr.MarioPose3WiiU.png
- Throws out two randomly colored Megavitamins, dusts off his gloves and then pulls out two more randomly colored Megavitamins.
- Holds out his stethoscope and points it straight, then to his left and then straight again.
- Rubs his chin while appearing to be thinking about something, then faces the camera while continuing to rub his chin. This replaces his old "Here We Go!" victory animation from Melee.
In Competitive Play
Official Custom Moveset Project
| Character | Custom sets available | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dr. Mario |
2312 | 2332 | 2212 | 2232 | 2211 |
| 1311 | 1332 | 1212 | 1211 | 2322 | |
Notable players
Trophies
- Dr. Mario
In the 1990 puzzle game Dr. Mario, Mario threw on a white coat and decided to take a shot at that whole "medicine" thing. In this game, he's a balanced fighter who can throw Megavitamin capsules and nimbly deflect blows with his Super Sheet. He's not quite as quick as normal Mario, but his attacks deal a bit more damage.
In Dr. Mario, released in Europe in 1991, Mario threw on a white coat and decided to have a bash at the whole medicine thing. In this game, he's an all-rounder who can throw Megavitamin capsules and nimbly deflect blows with his Super Sheet. He's not quite as quick as normal Mario, but his attacks deal a bit more damage.
: Dr. Mario 10/1990
: Dr. Mario Online Rx 05/2008
- Dr. Mario (Alt.)
- Mario and Dr. Mario are only slightly different. Basically, Dr. Mario is stronger, but his MD slows his speed and lowers his jump. He also has a move Mario doesn't: Dr. Tornado, a down special that can trap opponents before launching them. You can move left and right while doing it and press the button repeatedly to rise into the air.
- Mario and Dr. Mario are only slightly different. Basically, Dr. Mario is stronger, but his heavy coat affects his speed and jumping. He also has a move Mario doesn't: Dr. Tornado, a down special that can trap opponents before launching them. You can move left and right while doing it and press the button repeatedly to rise into the air.
- : Dr. Mario 10/1990
- : Dr. Mario Online Rx 05/2008
- Doctor Finale
- In Dr. Mario's Final Smash, he spreads his arms wide and then lets loose a pair of giant vitamin capsules that spiral through the air, taking out any pesky "viruses" in their path. The wide range makes it tough for foes to avoid, and opponents they strike will take multiple hits, possibly even being pushed right off the screen!
Classic (3DS)
- DrMarioAllStarTrophy3DS.png
Alt. (3DS)
Classic (Wii U)
Alt. (Wii U)
In Event Matches
Solo Events
- All-Star Battle: Secret: Dr. Mario is one of the fighters fought in this event.
- Doctor Schmoctor: Dr. Mario appears as Wario's opponent and Wario is constantly taking damage due to a Lip's Stick flower on his head.
Co-op Events
- Viral Visitors: Player 1 controls Dr. Mario and Player 2 controls Peach, and they must defeat 4 "unmasked Meta Knight" Kirby alternatives within the time limit.
- The Ultimate Battle: Dr. Mario is one of the opponents in the event.
Alternate costumes
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Gallery
Dr. Mario's amiibo.
In fighting stance.
Fighting Charizard.
Fighting Mega Man.
Using Super Jump Punch on Bowser.
With King Dedede, Kirby and Wii Fit Trainer.
Attacking Fox.
Taunting with Little Mac and Captain Falcon.
Using Doctor Finale.
- SSB4 - Dr. Mario Screen-9.jpg
His on-screen appearance.
- SSB4 - Dr. Mario Screen-10.jpg
virus]]es from his eponymous game).
Trivia
- Dr. Mario appears to have his shirt and tie done up on the artwork, but in gameplay, his collar is open and tie is loose.
- Dr. Mario was originally planned to be an alternate costume of Mario, but was spun off into being a separate character late in development, as it was felt that reducing him to a model swap would be insensitive to players who enjoyed his moveset in Melee.
- While Dr. Mario's fighting stance is essentially a slower version of Mario's, it will function at the same speed as his when he is holding onto a tiny item like a Capsule or a Beetle. This also happens with Roy under the same circumstance in comparison to Marth's stance.
- Dr. Mario is the only character to have skipped an installment of the Super Smash Bros. series to later return as an unlockable character. The other such characters all made their returns to the series as downloadable content.
- He is also the only returning character that debuted in Melee to lack a reveal trailer.
- Additionally, out of the returning characters that debuted in Melee, Dr. Mario's official artwork pose does not resemble his one from Melee, while Mewtwo's and Roy's do.
- He is also the only returning Melee veteran to have two blast line voice clips, as Mewtwo and Roy only have one, though this is because he shares voice clips with Mario.
- Dr. Mario is the only one of the three clone characters to not share their counterpart's idle animations.
- He's also the only one of the three clones not to be located in the 2007-2013 section of All-Star Mode.
- Dr. Mario is the only Mario character to lack a meteor smash.
- He is also the only clone without a meteor smash.
- Dr. Mario and Lucina are the only characters who are not playable in a solo event unless chosen.
- Dr. Mario is the only character to have two challenges exclusive to him in the Wii U version.
| Fighters in Super Smash Bros. 4 | |
|---|---|
| Veterans | Bowser · Captain Falcon · Charizard · Diddy Kong · Donkey Kong · Dr. Mario · Falco · Fox · Ganondorf · Ike · Jigglypuff · King Dedede · Kirby · Link · Lucario · Lucas · Luigi · Mario · Marth · Meta Knight · Mewtwo · Mr. Game & Watch · Ness · Olimar · Peach · Pikachu · Pit · R.O.B. · Roy · Samus · Sheik · Sonic · Toon Link · Wario · Yoshi · Zelda · Zero Suit Samus |
| Newcomers | Bayonetta · Bowser Jr. · Cloud · Corrin · Dark Pit · Duck Hunt · Greninja · Little Mac · Lucina · Mega Man · Mii Fighter (Mii Brawler · Mii Gunner · Mii Swordfighter) · Pac-Man · Palutena · Robin · Rosalina & Luma · Ryu · Shulk · Villager · Wii Fit Trainer |
