Dr. Mario (SSBU)

Dr. Mario in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Mario
Other playable appearances	in Melee in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Doctor Finale

“	He has more attack and launch power than Mario, but his jump and recovery is not as good. Pro tip: You can repeatedly press the B button when using his down special, Dr. Tornado, to float a bit!	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Dr. Mario (ドクターマリオ, Doctor Mario) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was revealed for the game along with the rest of the veterans on June 12th, 2018. Dr. Mario is classified as fighter #18.

As in SSB4, Charles Martinet's portrayal of Mario from Brawl was repurposed for Dr. Mario in Ultimate.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Dr. Mario being the 62nd character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Mario or any character in his unlock tree, being the seventh character in his unlock tree after Roy.
• Have Dr. Mario join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Dr. Mario must then be defeated on New Donk City Hall.

Attributes

As a clone of Mario, Dr. Mario is a middleweight that can wall jump. Like his normal self, Dr. Mario also has excellent frame data: when not counting special moves, the overall start-up lag of his normal moveset is very fast. As a result, Dr. Mario is both difficult to punish and very effective at punishing. Although they share an overwhelming number of identical animations and even the exact same values for certain attributes (falling speed; fast falling speed; traction; and gravity), Dr. Mario nevertheless has a number of traits that differ from his normal self. Like Mario, Dr. Mario's height is below-average; oddly, however, he is marginally shorter in comparison, and does not crouch as low as his normal self.

Dr. Mario functions like a stronger, yet slower Mario, owing to the implementation of multipliers to the majority of his moveset and some of his attributes. Aside from six moves, the remainder of Dr. Mario's moveset deals more damage compared to Mario's moveset. Conversely, his walking and dashing speeds are noticeably slower; his air speed and air acceleration are slower; and his jump and double jump's initial speeds are slower, which is equivalent to their heights being slightly lower. These multipliers result in Dr. Mario being distinctly affected by passive equipment physics, in which he specifically possesses a higher Attack value and a slower Speed value. Although Dr. Mario's lower jump height makes his short hop more effective than Mario's, these modified attributes collectively render his overall mobility as sub-par. Conversely, Dr. Mario's higher overall damage output results in him being noticeably more efficient at KOing in comparison to Mario.

He shares two useful combo starters with Mario. Down tilt is the most effective of the two: although it is short-ranged, it is very reliable at low to high percentages, with useful follow-ups including itself, neutral attack, up tilt, his smash attacks, back aerial, up aerial, and Super Jump Punch. Like Super Jump Punch, forward aerial can function as a KO mix-up at high percentages, but requires a hard read. Up tilt can combo into itself reliably, albeit not as consistently as Mario's version because of its higher damage output. However, its higher damage output makes it better at juggling, and even enables it to function as a situational KOing option at very high percentages.

Outside of these moves, up smash functions similarly to Luigi's version instead of Mario's version: it launches the opponent diagonally instead of vertically, and will launch them in the opposite direction of where Dr. Mario is facing so long as they are in front of him. Compared to Luigi's, however, it launches at a lower angle. As a result, Dr. Mario's version has much greater combo potential when uncharged: it can combo into itself, up tilt and Super Jump Punch at 0%-10%, and into forward and down tilt at 10%-15%. On an unrelated note, its launching angle also makes it much better at edge-guarding or setting up edge-guards compared to Mario and Luigi's versions.

Dr. Mario possesses a decent grab game. His overall grab is range is average, but each of his grabs have minimal start-up and ending lag. Forward throw is useful for initiating edge-guards and can even combo into dash attack at 0%-20%, whereas back throw is one of the strongest back throws in the game.

Up throw is able to initiate aerial pressure, especially on fast-fallers, but is effectively his least useful throw. Lastly, down throw is able to combo into Dr. Tornado at low percentages, and into up aerial at low to medium percentages. It can also combo into up smash; reverse aerial rushed back aerial; down aerial; and even forward aerial and Super Jump Punch as KO mix-ups at high percentages. However, up smash is only effective against the majority of the cast at 0%-10%, whereas the latter four follow-ups require hard reads.

Like his normal self, Dr. Mario's air game is above-average. Neutral aerial is a "reverse sex kick": its clean hitbox deals minimal damage, whereas its late hitbox deals more damage. Thanks to it hitting on frame 3 and having low landing lag, its clean hitbox is ideal for set-ups. Conversely, its late hitbox is decent at edgeguarding, due to its long hitbox duration. Back aerial is also fast; auto-cancels in a short hop; and possesses a powerful clean hitbox, which collectively make it viable for KOing, edge-guarding and approaching. Forward aerial has considerable start-up lag, but its clean hitbox makes it the third strongest aerial of its kind; as such, it is lethal when SHFF'd against unwary opponents that are near the edge. Up aerial's horizontal launching angle grants its beginning and ending frames decent combo potential into Super Jump Punch and back aerial, respectively, at low to medium percentages. Down aerial is a meteor smash that hits on frame 16, making it a good edgeguarding option while also having 27 frames of ending lag and 13 frames of landing lag. However, the hitbox only lasts for 5 frames, and the meteor smash sweetspot is located at Dr. Mario's feet.

In regard to special moves, Megavitamins travel farther in the air without landing compared to Mario's Fireball, and they bounce twice instead of three times. Super Sheet's reflection hitbox has a longer duration compared to Cape's. Due to its hitbox being positioned higher, it also has more vertical range, yet less horizontal range in comparison. Like in SSB4, Super Sheet no longer stalls Dr. Mario in midair like it did in Melee. To alleviate the removal of Super Sheet's recovery potential, Dr. Tornado is now a much more integral part of Dr. Mario's recovery, thanks to it granting him a decent amount of horizontal distance when it is button mashed sufficiently.

Unlike F.L.U.D.D., Dr. Tornado deals damage. When coupled with its very high knockback scaling, auto-link angle and transcendent priority, it is useful for edge-guarding, warding off edge-guarders, and even out-prioritizing attacks. However, Dr. Tornado's much shorter range makes it much riskier to use for edge-guarding compared to F.L.U.D.D. Due to Super Jump Punch consisting of a powerful clean hitbox and a weak late hitbox instead of multiple hitboxes like Mario's, it actually functions like a less polarized version of Luigi's Super Jump Punch. As a result, its clean hitbox makes it a viable KOing option unlike Mario's. Although it can not be canceled, Super Jump Punch can be B-reversed upon landing its clean hitbox like Mario's can upon start-up This makes it useful for edgeguarding, and can enable Dr. Mario to avoid punishment and/or hit an opponent behind himself upon hitting his primary target.

However, Dr. Mario's flaws are significantly more noticeable in comparison to Mario's. Although he boasts excellent KO potential, it is inconsistent. This is most obvious with up smash: its launching angle makes it reliable at KOing only while near the edge, whereas Mario and, to a lesser degree, Luigi's up smashes KO reliably from anywhere on-stage because of their higher launching angles. By extension, he has minimal KO set-ups like Mario. Additionally, Dr. Mario shares Mario's notable weakness of having short range in his attacks, which hinders his ability to approach and fight characters with long or disjointed range like Link. Dr. Mario's sluggish mobility compounds another notable weakness: his recovery. Despite being able to wall jump, the combination of his slow air speed; slow air acceleration; and Super Jump Punch's mediocre travel distance results in his recovery being predictable like Mario's.

Due to his overall recovery granting noticeably less vertical distance compared to Mario's, Dr. Mario is very vulnerable to most meteor smashes. As a result, it is optimal for him to read the opponent when trying to return to the stage, as well as knowing when and how to make use of Dr. Tornado, which has a huge amount of ending lag (33 frames, aerial version) and cannot sweetspot edges. Even though Dr. Mario may not need to use his double jump to recover, any sufficiently strong attacks, particularly semi-spikes, may launch him too far away to recover properly. Lastly, Dr. Mario is an all-rounder like his normal self, and is thus outclassed in certain aspects by other characters: Donkey Kong and Captain Falcon have more power and much better overall mobility; Mario and Luigi have much more versatile combo games; Lucina and Cloud have much more range; and Link and Samus are much better at zoning.

Overall, Dr. Mario's fast frame data enables him to pressure and/or punish the opponent effectively at close range, while his above-average damage output makes him capable of KOing easily. Unlike Mario, however, his slow mobility hinders his neutral game to the point that he is largely reliant on baiting and punishing. By extension, his sub-par recovery makes him a less capable edgeguarder compared to his normal self, and he retains his normal self's lack of range as well.

Differences from Mario

Despite not being an Echo Fighter of Mario, Dr. Mario is still very much a full clone of Mario. Both characters are middleweights with the ability to wall jump. Because Dr. Mario uses external modifiers to his stats (rather than directly modifying them), Dr. Mario sports subpar mobility compared to Mario. He has the 16th-slowest walking speed, 7th-slowest dashing speed, 8th-slowest air speed, poor air acceleration, 29th-slowest falling speed, 31st-slowest fast falling speed, average gravity and traction, and below-average jump force. As a result of these traits, Dr. Mario's approach and recovery are greatly inferior to Mario's, giving him sluggish movement in addition to negatively impacting both his neutral game and his edgeguarding skills. However, Dr. Mario compensates for his slower mobility with another external multiplier that increases the damage of his attacks in comparison, as all of his attacks deal noticably more damage without any compensation on knockback, which enables him to KO more easily as a result.

Like Mario, Dr. Mario has excellent frame data, with most of his standard attacks having low startup and ending lag (excluding forward smash, forward aerial, down aerial and special moves). As a result, Dr. Mario is effective at punishing his opponents, while he himself is difficult to punish. Like Mario, Dr. Mario has excellent combo starters in his up tilt and down tilt, since both attacks come out rather quickly, and deal low knockback to the opponent. All of Dr. Mario's aerials have decreased landing lag compared to his previous appearance in SSB4 (but still higher than Mario's), contributing to his combo game, and making setups easier to create.

However, much like Mario, Dr. Mario's range is fairly short, forcing him to fight close to his opponents and limiting his ability to fight opponents with long or disjointed range. Due to Dr. Mario's slower mobility, this is considerably riskier for him.

Aesthetics

• Dr. Mario is slightly less vocal than Mario. Some of his attacks also emit different sound effects.
• Dr. Mario's on-screen appearance, taunts, idle poses, and victory poses are different from Mario's.
• Dr. Mario's defeated/No Contest animation is different from Mario's. He also looks in front of him with a neutral expression, whereas Mario looks slightly to the left with a smiling expression.
• Dr. Mario is less expressive than Mario. He keeps most of the same expressions as him, such as when he grits his teeth in some of his attacks, is angry when he is attacking and appears shocked when hit or grabbed but his expressions are overall more limited, and he only smiles in one of his victory poses. Combined with the different animation and expression on the result screen, this makes him more serious than Mario.

Attributes

• Dr. Mario's idle animation is much less exaggerated than Mario's. This gives him a consistently lower stance as a result.
• The damage outputs of Dr. Mario's attacks use a 1.175x multiplier. As a result, he is significantly stronger than Mario. However, this multiplier does not apply to items, and the base damage of his moves can also differ from Mario's.
  • However, this limits his combo game.
• Dr. Mario's walking speed, dashing speed, initial dash speed, air speed and air acceleration use a negative multiplier. As a result, Dr. Mario is significantly less mobile than Mario.
• Dr. Mario jumps lower.
  • Dr. Mario's wall jump covers significantly less height, hindering his recovery.
• Dr. Mario's traction is slightly higher than Mario's (0.102 → 0.106), making it slightly easier for him to punish out of shield.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Jab 1 has higher base damage (2.2 → 2.5), further improving its damage output.
  • All of Jab 1's hitboxes are further out (Z offset: 6/8.7/12 → 6.7/9.3/12.5), improving its range.
  • Jab 2's base damage is slightly lower (1.7 → 1.5).
• Dash attack:
  • Clean dash attack has higher base damage (8 → 9.8), further improving its damage output. Its hitlag was also compensated (1.25x → 1x).
  • Dr. Mario's dash attack launches the opponent vertically, whereas Mario's launches them horizontally. It also deals less knockback (100 (base)/43 (scaling) → 90/38). These differences make it effective for combos at low percentages, but less useful for edgeguarding.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has higher base damage (7% → 9%) with knockback scaling not fully compensated (70 → 65). When combined with Dr. Mario's damage multiplier, this gives the move KO potential near the ledge.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has higher base damage (5.5 → 6.3), further improving its damage racking and KO potential when combined with Dr. Mario's damage multiplier.
    • However, its combo potential is weaker as a result.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt's sweetspot is larger (3.2u → 3.5u), making it easier to land.
    • However this makes the sourspot (which is better for comboing) harder to connect with.
  • Down tilt has less knockback scaling (80 → 55), and inflicts 3 additional frames of hitstun. When combined with Dr. Mario's damage multiplier increasing the move's damage output, this makes it a more damaging and effective combo starter that loses its combo potential later, and gives him access to multiple KO confirms.
  • Down tilt's foot sweep visual starts earlier and has a different routine, more closely tracking his foot's current position.
• Forward smash:
  • Dr. Mario's forward smash's sweetspot and sourspot are on his arm and electricity respectively, whereas Mario's are on the flame and his arm respectively. This means Dr. Mario's forward smash does more damage at closer range than it would at farther range.
  • Dr. Mario's forward smash has lower knockback scaling (105 (sourspot)/99 (sweetspot) → 100/94), partially compensating for the increased damage.
  • Dr. Mario's forward smash has noticeably less range (outer hitbox size: 5u → 3.7u).
  • Dr. Mario's forward smash has an electric effect, whereas Mario's has a flame effect. This makes it capable of hurting Olimar's Red Pikmin and makes it safer on shield, but makes it incapable of hurting Yellow Pikmin or instantly detonating explosives, and makes it easier to DI.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash launches at a lower angle (83 → 120), allowing it to KO opponents horizontally if they DI away, but weakening its vertical KO and anti-air potential.
  • Up smash has altered knockback (32 (base)/94 (scaling) → 0/117), making it much more effective for combos at lower damages while still making it stronger at higher damages. However, this also makes it unsafe on hit at low percents.
  • Dr. Mario's up smash lasts one frame longer compared to Mario's (frames 9-12 → 9-13), increasing its range in front of him.
• Down smash:
  • The sweeping visual on down smash is purple and white, rather than yellow, blue and white.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial:
  • Dr. Mario's neutral aerial (known as "Dr. Kick" in the tips) deals more damage and has higher knockback the longer it is active, whereas Mario's functions oppositely. This makes the move capable of instantly starting combos and makes it more effective at punishing, but removes its KO confirm into down smash and makes it less useful as an instant combo finisher.
  • Neutral aerial's late hit is larger (2.8u/2.8u → 3.6u/3.6u) and has higher knockback scaling (90 → 102).
  • It autocancels earlier (frame 39 → 34).
  • It has more landing lag (6 frames → 7 frames).
• Forward aerial:
  • Dr. Mario's forward aerial (known as "Dr. Punch" in the tips) launches the opponent diagonally, whereas Mario's meteor smashes them. This makes it very effective at KOing on-stage, but much worse at edgeguarding and renders it incapable of starting combos on landing.
  • The sweeping visual commences one frame earlier, and the last frame of the visual is absent.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial's clean hit has higher base damage (10.5 → 12) with knockback partly compensated (12 (base)/106 (scaling) → 10/95).
  • Back aerial's clean hit and late hit have a longer duration (2 frames (clean) → 3, 3 (late) → 5).
  • Back aerial's clean hit has smaller hitboxes (4.5u/5.9u → 4.2u/5.4u).
  • It has more landing lag (6 frames → 10 frames).
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial launches at a lower angle (75 → 45), severely weakening its combo potential but improving its edgeguarding potential.
  • Up aerial has higher base damage (7 → 8.7) with knockback scaling compensated (135 → 114), further improving its damage output.
  • It has more landing lag (6 frames → 8 frames).
• Down aerial:
  • Dr. Mario's down aerial (known as "CLEAR!" in the tips) is a powerful downward stomp, whereas Mario's has been Mario Tornado since Brawl. Unlike Mario's, it consists of one strong hitbox instead of six weaker hitboxes.
  • Down aerial can meteor smash and send opponents horizontally instead of vertically. This makes it very good at edgeguarding and tech-chasing, but less effective at KOing and combos.
  • Down aerial has reduced landing lag (15 → 13).
  • Down aerial has significantly increased startup lag (5 → 16).
  • Down aerial lacks a landing hit.
  • Down aerial has significantly smaller hitboxes.

Grabs and throws

• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw has less knockback scaling (65 → 60), preventing it from reliably KOing away from ledge and making it as strong as Mario's despite the damage multiplier.
• Back throw:
  • Back throw has a different animation: Dr. Mario heaves the opponent off the ground and above his head, then tosses them away behind him, as opposed to swinging them around multiple times.
    • Compared to Mario's back throw, Dr. Mario releases the opponent earlier (frame 44 → 30), making it harder to DI and increasing its consistency.
    • However, its FAF remains unchanged, increasing its ending lag.
    • Back throw has higher knockback scaling (66 → 68). Combined with the damage multiplier, this makes it considerably stronger than Mario's.
    • Back throw lacks a collateral hitbox.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has reduced knockback scaling (72 → 65), making it as strong as Mario's despite the damage multiplier, while possessing inferior combo potential due to Dr. Mario's lower jumps.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw (known as "Hospital Bed" in the tips) launches at a higher angle (68 → 80) and has altered knockback (40 (base)/90 (scaling) → 75/45). While this makes its combo potential into up and back aerials more consistent, it makes other followups like down tilt and neutral attack impossible.

Special moves

• Neutral special:
  • Unlike Fireball, Megavitamins cannot be absorbed by moves like Ness's PSI Magnet.
  • Megavitamins launch at a higher angle (361 → 65), and deals more knockback (base knockback: 35 (clean)/28 (mid)/22 (late) → 60/55/50, knockback scaling: 20 (clean)/15 (mid)/10 (late) → 40/40/40), improving its setup potential but hindering its jab reset and edgeguarding potential.
  • Megavitamins' hitbox is longer and thinner (size: 2.4u/2.2u/2u → 1.7/1.7/1.7, Y offset: 0 → -1.7—1.7), better matching the shape of a capsule.
  • Megavitamins deal more hitlag (0.6x → 1x) improving their safety but making them easier to DI/SDI.
  • Megavitamins do not have a flame effect unlike Fireball. This makes them capable of hurting Olimar's Red Pikmin, but renders them incapable of instantly detonating explosives.
  • Megavitamins bounce twice and at a higher angle, whereas Fireball bounces three times and at a lower angle.
• Side special:
  • Compared to Mario's Cape, Super Sheet's hitbox is positioned slightly upward. This results in it having slightly more vertical range, but slightly less horizontal range.
  • Super Sheet has a different animation where Dr. Mario swings the sheet upward, highlighting its increased vertical reach.
  • Unlike aerial Cape, aerial Super Sheet does not stall Dr. Mario. This makes it more effective at B-reversing, but unusable for recovery.
  • Super Sheet reflects for slightly longer (9-20 → 9-22).
  • Projectiles reflected by Super Sheet do more damage (1.5x → 1.6x), making it as strong as Joker's Makarakarn.
• Up special:
  • Dr. Mario's Super Jump Punch consists of a clean hitbox and a late hitbox, whereas Mario's consists of seven hitboxes. However, the angle of the attack remains the same as Mario's on all hitboxes, which makes it launch diagonally upon startup.
    • Due to this, Dr. Mario's variant is much less safe on hit at lower percents and is not as deadly of a stage spike until higher ones.
  • Due to its higher damage output, Dr. Mario's clean Super Jump Punch is significantly more effective for KOing when not near the upper blast line.
  • Dr. Mario's Super Jump Punch travels a much shorter distance, making it less effective for recovery.
  • Unlike Mario's Super Jump Punch, Dr. Mario's Super Jump Punch lacks intangibility on start-up.
  • Dr. Mario's Super Jump Punch does not produce Coins upon contact, whereas Mario's does.
• Down special:
  • Dr. Mario retains Dr. Tornado as his down special, whereas Mario's has been F.L.U.D.D. since Brawl.
  • Unlike F.L.U.D.D., Dr. Tornado deals damage, making it a very viable KO move at mid percents.
  • Compared to F.L.U.D.D., Dr. Tornado is significantly more effective for recovery.
  • Compared to F.L.U.D.D., Dr. Tornado has significantly less range and is less important to his neutral game as a result.
  • Due to lacking a powerful windbox that pushes opponents away, Dr. Tornado is less effective at gimping.
• Final Smash
  • Doctor Finale produces 2D and 3D Megavitamin-based effects and emits Megavitamins' contact sound effect, whereas Mario Finale produces 3D fiery effects and emits a burning sound effect.
    • Doctor Finale does not have a flame effect as a result.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Dr. Mario has been buffed in the transition from SSB4 to Ultimate. One of his biggest buffs were to his already above-average damage output; all of his moves deal much more damage (excluding his pummel and get-up attacks), which further supplements his damage-racking game and previously inconsistent KO ability. His recovery, while still poor, has nevertheless improved slightly; his Dr. Tornado has increased distance, and the readdition of directional air dodges gives him another option to possibly extend and mix up his recovery. His Megavitamins and Dr. Tornado have also been given notable improvements; the Megavitamins deal enough damage and knockback to cause opponents to tumble, and launch at a higher angle, making them viable as a combo starter and even giving them the ability to set up KOs. Dr. Tornado, outside of its improved recovery potential, has been significantly buffed; it has gained notoriety for being able to KO offstage effectively at very low percentages, and when combined with its increased distance, make it a deadly edgeguarding option. It also has gained heavy armor on startup if used on the ground, which further improves its safety and viability. Additionally, Dr. Mario has a new down aerial which can meteor smash opponents much like Mario's forward aerial, which when combined with the changes to Dr. Tornado give him an improved edgeguarding game.

However, Dr. Mario has received a few nerfs. Dr. Mario's up tilt has had its hitbox placement adjusted, giving it inferior range in front of and underneath him. Additionally, his grabs have increased ending lag, hindering their utility and combos. Furthermore, his already sub-par mobility is slower, especially in comparison to the rest of the cast, given the nerfs to his air speed and jump height. His overall mobility remains largely unaltered from his previous appearance, resulting in him now being much slower relative to the roster, considering as most other fighters have received buffs to their mobility.

Compared to Mario, Dr. Mario is still a slower and stronger clone of him. However, he is not classified as an Echo Fighter. There is currently no confirmed reason for this oddity, though it is likely due to Dr. Mario debuting in Melee rather than SSB4 or Ultimate as with the other Echo Fighters. Aside from having an updated idle animation, slightly higher traction compared to Mario, an altered animation for his side special, as well as receiving a new back throw and down aerial, he has not been further decloned. He has also received many of the same changes as Mario.

Compared to his appearance in SSB4, his damage-racking potential has increased and his recovery is safer and better overall (though it is still considered among the worst in the game, along with Little Mac and Ganondorf). Because of these changes, he is better in Ultimate, but nowhere as close to his Melee incarnation, where he was a high or mid tier. He has seen results in the competitive scene, achieving some representation from players like Locus and Lui$. However, Dr. Mario's overall tournament representation is poor in spite his buffs, as he is regarded as a mid, low or even bottom-tier character, with most players drawing comparisons to Mario being a much better character, contrasting Dr. Mario’s slow speed, and abysmal recovery. However, patch 7.0.0 awarded Doc with a myriad of buffs to his damage racking and edgeguarding potential, which has caught the eyes of some players, such as Goblin, who notably sees Dr. Mario as a high tier and that he is underrated and slept on. Overall, his buffs may not be as significant as other changes that most characters got. His tier placement is questionable due to the young meta of Ultimate.

Aesthetics

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

Attributes

• Like all characters, Dr. Mario's jumpsquat animation takes 3 frames to complete (down from 5).
• Dr. Mario's damage modifier has been increased (+15 → +22), meaning that the damage output of all attacks has been increased from 1.12x to 1.176x and slightly higher KO power as a result.
• Dr. Mario's mobility modifier has been decreased (-50 → -65). Due to Dr. Mario's movement speed being relatively unchanged from his previous appearance, he hardly benefits from the universal mobility buffs, and is slower relative to the roster as a result of most other characters receiving such buffs, in a manner similar to Ryu and the Mii Gunner.
  • Dr. Mario runs slightly faster (1.3312 → 1.397792).
    • His initial dash is also faster (1.3312 → 1.5375712), although it is the 2nd slowest in the game.
  • Dr. Mario walks slightly faster (0.9152 → 0.917301).
  • Dr. Mario's air speed is slower (0.9292 → 0.9238784).
  • Dr. Mario's short hop (14.171785912 → 13.414592) and midair jump (29.356105712 → 27.785184) cover less distance.
• Dr. Mario's full hop no longer uses an external multiplier and covers greater distance (29.356105712 → 30.8805).
• Dr. Mario's traction is much higher (0.045 → 0.106), allowing him to punish out of shield more easily. It is slightly higher than Mario's.
• Dr. Mario's gravity is slightly lower (0.08715 → 0.087).
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-16 → 4-15).
• Back roll has more startup with less intangibility (frames 4-16 → 5-16), and more ending lag (FAF 30 → 35).
• Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 27 → 26).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 3-27 → 3-29).
• Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 33 → 53).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Consecutive uses of the first hit of neutral attack are faster (11 → 6 frames).
  • The first two hits transition into the subsequent hits noticeably faster (frame 10 → 5 (hit 1), 6 (hit 2)) and have less ending lag (FAF 23 → 20 (hit 1), 25 → 22 (hit 2)), no longer being slower than Mario's.
  • The third hit comes out faster (frame 7 → 3) and goes higher, allowing it to connect better from the first two hits.
    • However, its total duration was not fully compensated (FAF 36 → 34), giving it more ending lag.
  • The third hit has increased base knockback (45 → 60).
  • All hits have a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.8× (hit 1), 1.2× (hit 2), 2× (hit 3)), giving opponents more time to SDI each hit and DI the last hit.
  • All hits have smaller hitboxes (3u/2.8u/4u → 1.2u/1.5u/1.8u (hit 1), 3u/2.8u/4u → 1.8u/3u/4u (hit 2), 5u/2.5u/2.5u → 4.3u/2.5u/2.6u (hit 3)).
  • The first two hits no longer use set knockback (30 set/100 scaling → 25/20/10 base/30/20 scaling (hit 1), 30/20/15 base/35/25/15 scaling (hit 2)), and have altered angles (60°/70°/80° → 361°/180° (hit 1), 70°/78°/88° → 361° (hit 2)). This allows them to lock, and gives them jab cancel setups at high percents, but causes them to connect less reliably.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt deals slightly more damage (7% → 9%).
  • Forward tilt has less ending lag (FAF 31 → 26). Combined with the increased shieldstun for ground attacks, this makes it much safer on shield.
  • It has much more base knockback (8 → 55), but less knockback scaling (100 → 65). This makes it significantly safer on hit at low percents, but removes its ability to lock, and reduces its KO potential from across the stage.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has an altered animation with the spinning uppercut starting from a higher and closer position, noticeably reducing its range in front of Dr. Mario, to the point where it can no longer hit most characters on the ground unless they are very close.
  • Its animation has been flipped, with Dr. Mario spinning toward the screen rather than away from it.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt's sweetspot takes priority over the sourspot.
  • It has less knockback scaling (80 → 55) and has gained a hitstun modifier of 3, significantly improving its combo ability, to the point of possessing KO setups at high percents.
  • Its animation has been flipped, with Dr. Mario spinning toward the screen rather than away from it.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack's clean hit deals more damage (8% → 9.8%) with knockback scaling not fully compensated (42 → 38), improving its KO potential.
  • The hitboxes are placed farther from Dr. Mario (Z offset: 4.4u/4u → 5.4u/4.9u), improving its horizontal range.
  • It has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 1.875×, which when combined with the increased shieldstun for grounded attacks makes it safer on shield.
  • The late hit has a slightly bigger hitbox (2.6u → 2.7u).
  • It has a different animation where Dr. Mario's head is positioned higher, his legs extend farther from him, and he gets up during the ending lag instead of staying sit. This prevents him from sliding under certain attacks, and makes him easier to hit overall.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash deals consistent damage across all angles (14%/17% (forward), 14.7%/17.85% (up), 14.42%/17.51% (down) → 14.7%/17.8% (all)), increasing it overall, with knockback scaling minimally compensated on the unangled (96 → 94) and downward angled (96 → 95) versions.
  • The electricity produced from Dr. Mario's forward smash is magenta/lavender instead of light blue.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash launches at a more vertical angle (130° → 120°), which allows it to KO earlier onstage and function better as an anti-air punishment tool, but makes it more vulnerable to LSI and worsens its KO ability near the ledge.
  • Its animation has been flipped, with Dr. Mario facing toward the screen rather than away from it.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash's animation has been altered, resembling both the Sweep Kick move from Super Mario 64, and the breakdance Mario performs on the cover of Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (12 frames → 7 (neutral), 28 → 17 (forward), 16 → 10 (back), 14 → 8 (up), 21 → 13 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial's late hit deals more damage (8% → 10%) and has more knockback scaling (90 → 94), improving its KO potential.
  • The late hit has larger hitboxes (3u → 3.6u).
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has a different animation, with Dr. Mario punching downward with his opposite hand and twisting around afterwards instead of flipping.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has less ending lag (FAF 32 → 31).
  • It deals more damage (7% → 8.7%) and knockback (9 base/100 scaling → 10/114), giving it much more KO ability, without drastically reducing its combo ability due to its reduced lag.
  • It auto-cancels earlier (frame 18 → 17).
  • Its hitboxes have a shorter duration (frames 4-8 → 4-7).
• Down aerial:
  • Dr. Mario has a new down aerial: a downward stomp similar to that of Captain Falcon. It consists of only one hit instead of five.
  • It has a shorter total duration (FAF 52 → 43), making it safer to use offstage.
  • It deals more damage (1.7% (hits 1-4), 3% (hit 5); 9.8% total → 12%), with knockback not fully compensated (50 base/120 scaling → 10/100), and has a sweetspot that meteor smashes opponents, while the sourspot launches them at a lower angle (45° → 270°/361°). Combined with its previous changes, this allows it to start combos onstage at various percents, while also improving its edgeguarding ability, being as strong as Mario's forward aerial.
  • It auto-cancels much earlier (frame 45 → 35), allowing it to auto-cancel in a short hop.
  • It has larger hitboxes overall (4.5u/3.2u (hits 1-4), 5.5u/3.7u (hit 5) → 5.2u/4.5u).
  • Down aerial has more startup with a shorter hitbox duration (frames 11-27 → 14-17), which also increases its ending lag despite its total duration being reduced.
  • It no longer possesses a landing hit.

Throws and other attacks

• Grabs:
  • All grabs have increased ending lag (FAF 29 → 35 (standing), 36 → 43 (dash), 34 → 37 (pivot)).
  • Dash and pivot grab have slightly more startup lag (frame 8 → 9 (dash), 9 → 10 (pivot)).
  • Dash grab has slightly less range (Z2 offset: 10.6u → 10.4u).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals more hitlag (5 frames → 14), but has significantly less startup (frame 16 → 1) and ending lag (FAF 24 → 7), shortening its duration.
  • It deals much less damage (3.25% → 1.3%).
  • It has a slightly different animation: Dr. Mario uses one hand during it instead of both of his hands like in previous installments, to maintain consistency with his grab animation.
• All of Dr. Mario's throws have been altered with more exaggerated animations.
• The speed of Dr. Mario's throws is no longer weight-dependent. This improves their combo potential on heavyweights, but reduces it on lightweights.
• Forward throw:
  • Its animation has been altered, with Dr. Mario turning on the opposite direction faster, but the second half of the spin is slower and he tosses the opponent more exaggeratedly.
• Back throw:
  • Dr. Mario has a new back throw: he heaves the opponent overhead behind him.
  • It releases opponents faster (frame 44 → 30), making it harder to DI.
    • However, its total duration remains unchanged, increasing its ending lag.
  • It has more knockback scaling (60 → 68). In combination with Dr. Mario's higher damage multiplier, this turns it into one of the strongest back throws in the game.
  • It no longer possesses a collateral hit.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has increased combo ability due to Dr. Mario's faster jumpsquat and jump speed.
  • It has a different animation where Dr. Mario faces horizontally rather than towards the screen, and holds the opponent by their chest instead of lifting them on their back before throwing, more closely resembling Mario's Upward Cap Throw from Super Mario Odyssey.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw has increased combo ability due to Dr. Mario's faster jumpsquat and jump speed.
  • Dr. Mario no longer performs a front flip after throwing the opponent. He also slams the opponent more forcefully and with a single arm instead of two.
• Floor attack:
  • Floor attacks deal less base damage (front and back floor attacks: 7 → 6 (both hits), trip floor attack: 5 → 4.3 (both hits)), meaning that they deal roughly the same damage as Mario's.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more base damage (7% → 8.51%).

Special moves

• Megavitamins:
  • Megavitamins has less ending lag (FAF 53 → 50), improving its safety.
  • It launches at a higher angle (361° → 65°), deals much more knockback (35 base/20 scaling → 60/40 (clean), 28/15 → 55/40 (mid), 22/10 → 50/40 (late)), and has a higher hitlag multiplier (0.3× → 1×). Alongside the previous change, this greatly improves the move's camping and followup abilities.
    • Due to these changes, however, it can no longer lock opponents.
  • Megavitamins are slightly larger, and have been given an extended hitbox to match their size, increasing their range despite the hitbox itself being smaller overall (2u (clean)/1.8u (mid)/1.6u (late) → 1.7u).
  • The pills are generally less bouncy (bounce speed: 1.8 (min)/2.2 (max) → 1.65/2).
  • It has received negative shield damage (0 → -2.5 (clean)/-2 (late)), effectively dealing half its usual damage to shields.
  • Dr. Mario no longer opens his mouth when using Megavitamins on the ground.
• Super Sheet:
  • Projectiles reflected by Super Sheet have a higher damage multiplier (1.5× → 1.6×).
  • It no longer gives the opponent super armor on hit.
  • The Super Sheet now deals knockback and hitstun to opponents grabbing the ledge.
  • The reflective hitbox is smaller (9u → 7.7u), and has been moved forward (2 → 6.5). As such, it can no longer cover behind Dr. Mario, making it less safe to use.
    • Although, it is easier to reflect projectiles that otherwise would have stopped short of Dr. Mario.
  • The reflective hitbox has more startup with a shorter duration (frame 6-22 → 9-22), although it has a new function causing it to start two frames earlier (frame 7) if a projectile is very close to Dr. Mario at the time. This slightly reduces its safety.
    • In the same circumstances, the entire move loses two frames of startup, allowing the offensive hitbox to come out earlier (on frame 10) and reducing the move's total duration.
  • The animation is considerably longer (41 frames → 58). In the air, this increases the amount of time Dr. Mario's air mobility is restricted if the move is not interrupted.
  • It always forces opponents to show their backside while they are using their moves; this even works to characters with mirrored stances, such as another Dr. Mario, causing them to turn away from the screen.
  • Super Sheet has an updated animation to differentiate it from Cape. It starts flat on the floor, and Dr. Mario lifts it up above his head. This better indicates the move's higher vertical reach compared to Mario's Cape.
• Super Jump Punch:
  • Super Jump Punch's clean hit has slightly more knockback scaling (100 → 105).
  • The clean hit's hitbox is no longer extended towards Dr. Mario. Thanks to the new jostle mechanics, it does not induce a blindspot despite the reduced range.
  • The window to reverse Super Jump Punch is shorter, no longer being reversible during the clean hit. This makes it easier to angle vertically, but harder to recover with when facing away from the stage.
  • The clean hit has a lower hitlag multiplier (1.5× → 1×).
  • Super Jump Punch has an altered landing animation where Dr. Mario lands on his feet, like in Melee, as opposed to his back.
• Dr. Tornado:
  • Dr. Tornado hits seven times, up from five, and deals much more damage (1.2% (hits 1-4); 7.8% total → 1.6% (hits 1-6); 12.6% total).
  • It has gained percent-based heavy armor during frames 2-9 when used on the ground, with a threshold of 10%.
  • It has larger hitboxes (3.5u/4.2u → 4u/4.5u (looping hits), 6u/6u → 6.5u/6u (last hit)).
  • It gains more height via button mashing, improving Dr. Mario's recovery.
  • The looping hits have shorter gaps between them (6 frames → 4), different angles (90°/180° (grounded), 90°/366° (aerial) → 90°/105°/367°), a lower hitlag multiplier (1× → 0.5×), and use set knockback for all their hitboxes, allowing them to connect much more reliably despite their increased SDI multiplier (1× → 1.2×).
  • The last hit has more knockback scaling (130 → 154), which combined with its increased damage greatly improves its KO potential.
  • The looping hits are only active for one frame each, instead of being fully active throughout and using a rehit rate (frames 10-33 → 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, 30).
  • Dr. Mario opens his hands when using the move, and rises slightly upwards on the ground.
  • It has a vortex form around Dr. Mario when used, much like Luigi Cyclone.
• Doctor Finale:
  • At the start of Doctor Finale, nearby opponents will be slowed down more, and for longer.
  • The Megavitamins have a shorter duration with a faster travel speed (260 frames → 210). This makes them more likely to drop opponents, and makes them worse at timing out offstage opponents.
  • Damage from each hit is dealt solely based on how long the attack has been out, with the Megavitamins becoming more powerful as the attack continues. This makes the front Megavitamin worse early during the Final Smash, but the back Megavitamin stronger later during it.
  • Dr. Mario sports an angrier expression than in the previous game when unleashing Doctor Finale.

Update history

Initially, Dr. Mario had received a mixture of minor buffs and nerfs. In 1.1.0, Super Sheet was buffed, as reflected projectiles are now somewhat stronger. 3.0.0 nerfed the shield damage of Megavitamins like with most other projectiles, but it also slightly improved Dr. Mario's Final Smash as well. Overall, these changes had little to no effect whatsoever on Dr. Mario's competitive viability.

However, 7.0.0 gave Dr. Mario more noticeable buffs. His down tilt has received reduced knockback scaling and increased hitstun which improves its utility as a combo starter and grants it combo potential even at percents where Mario's stops working, down aerial has a longer hitbox duration, and strong moves such as Super Jump Punch have been made better for KOing and out of shield option. Despite the notable buffs, the overall opinion on him remains the same and that his base fighter, Mario, outshines him in nearly every category. His buffs unarguably benefit the character, but he is still considered one of the worst characters in the game by many players.

1.1.0

• The reflection damage multiplier for Super Sheet has been increased (1.5x → 1.6x).
• Super Sheet's reflector has more range (6.5u → 7.7u).

3.0.0

• Megavitamin has received negative shield damage (0 → -2.5 (clean)/-2 (late)), effectively dealing half its usual damage to shields.
• Super Sheet no longer puts opponents into hitstun during ledge return vulnerability, increasing his combo potential.
• At the start of Doctor Finale, nearby opponents will be slowed more (10 → 20), and for longer (60 frames → 85).

7.0.0

• Forward tilt deals more base damage (7% → 9%), with knockback scaling not fully compensated (70 → 65).
• Down tilt has less knockback scaling (80 → 55), and inflicts 3 additional frames of hitstun. This significantly improves its combo potential, granting it KO setups into Super Jump Punch at high percents.
• Neutral aerial's late hit deals more base damage (8% → 10%), with knockback scaling not fully compensated (102 → 94).
• Down aerial has a longer hitbox duration (frames 16-17 → 16-19).
• Super Jump Punch's clean hit has more knockback scaling (100 → 105).

8.0.0

• Doctor Finale deals more damage (2.7%, 2%, 2.9%/2.2%, 3.1%/2.3%, 3.3%/2.5% → 3%, 2.3%, 3.2%/2.5%, 3.4%/2.6%, 3.6%/2.8%).

Moveset

• Dr. Mario can wall jump.

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

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2.9375%	Two punches, followed up by a kick. Useful for spacing and comes out quickly. The first and second hits can jab lock.
			1.7625%
			4.7%
Forward tilt			10.5%	A wheel kick. It deals average knockback, but it is enough to KO at around 150% at the ledge.
Up tilt			7.4025%	A spinning uppercut. Can combo into itself at low percentages, and into aerials at higher percentages. At high percentages (around 140-150%), it can serve as a KO option, although it fails to hit most short opponents due to its high hitbox placement.
Down tilt			5.875% (foot), 8.225% (leg)	A legsweep. A great combo starter, as it can combo into up aerial, Super Jump Punch, and Dr. Tornado, all of which serve as KO confirms.
Dash attack			11.515% (clean), 7.05% (late)	A baseball slide. Launches opponents vertically unlike Mario's version, which can potentially make it a combo starter if hit late.
Forward smash			17.2725% (electricity), 20.915% (arm)	Steps back, then does a palm thrust that produces electricity. Deals immense damage and knockback, giving it great KO potential. Its sweetspot is located on Dr. Mario's arm. One of the stronger forward smashes in the game, and one of Dr. Mario's most viable KOing options. Its electric properties also make it safer on shield compared to Mario's, especially if spaced.
Up smash		Ear, Nose, and Throat	16.45%	An upward arcing headbutt. Unlike most up smashes, this one launches opponents horizontally in the opposite direction he is facing. Renders Dr. Mario's head intangible for a short time. The horizontal angle allows the move to combo into itself at low percentages and KO earlier at the ledge, although it weakens its potential as an anti-air and punishment tool.
Down smash			11.75% (front), 14.1% (back)	A 360º breakdance sweep kick. Dr. Mario's fastest smash attack, making it a rather useful defensive option. Its back hit is stronger, and can punish ledge stalls effectively. It can also semi-spike with above-average knockback, making it a great edgeguarding tool.
Neutral aerial		Dr. Kick	5.875% (clean), 9.4% (late)	A sex kick that has the unique property of having its late hit being stronger than its clean hit. Its clean hit can jab lock and start combos, while its late hit has surprisingly high knockback for a sex kick, KOing at the edge at around 130%.
Forward aerial		Dr. Punch	11.75% (early), 17.625% (clean), 10.575% (late)	Throws an overhand punch. Unlike Mario's version, it does not have a meteor smash hitbox. It has slow startup (tied with his down aerial for the slowest of his other aerials), high ending and landing lag, and is the only aerial that cannot autocancel in a short hop, but it has extremely high diagonal knockback when hit clean, making it one of the strongest forward aerials in the game. Can KO middleweights as early as 70% near the edge.
Back aerial			14.1% (clean), 8.225% (late)	A dropkick. Comes out quickly and has above-average knockback, which makes it a viable edgeguarding and KO move and a reverse aerial rush option. Can also chain into itself at low percents, or set up tech-chase situations.
Up aerial			10.2225%	A bicycle kick. The move launches diagonally unlike Mario's up aerial, which can be ideal for edgeguarding mixups. However, this renders it unusable for juggling and lengthy combos past low percentages. It can be used twice in a single short hop, or the second up aerial can be replaced with a neutral aerial instead. Despite its very quick startup, it works well as a KO option at high percentages, especially offstage.
Down aerial		CLEAR!	14.1%	Performs a double foot stomp similar to those of Captain Falcon and Ganondorf. While it has noticeable startup, it can powerfully meteor smash opponents when hitting with the sweetspot in the legs. It has a sourspot on his hips, which launches away instead. On grounded opponents, the meteor hitbox can open up many KO confirms, notably with forward aerial, back aerial, Super Jump Punch and Dr. Tornado; however it can be difficult to hit as it only has four active frames.
Grab			—	Reaches out. Has average range and above average speed.
Pummel			1.5275%	Headbutts the opponent. Moderately fast.
Forward throw			9.4%	Spins and throws the opponent away. Can be used to set up an edgeguard, or combo into dash attack against certain characters at 0%. Decently quick. It is also slightly stronger than Mario's forward throw as it can KO middleweights at around 178% at the edge of Final Destination, which is about 10% earlier.
Back throw			12.925%	Dr. Mario heaves the opponent over him and then throws them diagonally. Combined with its high damage and knockback, it is one of the strongest back throws in the game, having potential to even surpass Ness's back throw by a small margin when at the ledge. Can KO middleweights at around 109% near the edge of Final Destination with good DI.
Up throw			8.225%	Heaves the opponent upward. Can put the opponent into a juggling situation. Can combo into up aerial and Dr. Tornado at low percentages. It can KO middleweights at around 224% on Final Destination, which is about 5% earlier than Mario's up throw.
Down throw		Hospital Bed	5.875%	Throws the opponent down to the ground. As it launches opponents directly upward unlike Mario's version, it is one of Dr. Mario's best combo starters, being useful for setting up aerial combos and can even has KO setups into forward aerial and Super Jump Punch, although both require a read. It can KO at percentages as low as 60% if followed up with Dr. Tornado at the sides of the stage, though this is also reliant on reads. It also has KO setups into up aerial and back aerial.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Sweepkicks, then gets up. Identical to Mario's.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Punches on both sides, then gets up. Identical to Mario's.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Sweepkicks, then gets up. Identical to Mario's.
Edge attack Edge getups			10%	Performs a dropkick while climbing up. Identical to Mario's, though it deals more damage.
Neutral special		Megavitamins	5.875% (early), 4.7% (late)	Throws a Megavitamin. Useful approach and pressure option. Unlike Fireball, it cannot be absorbed, bounces on a different trajectory, and does not have a flame effect. At higher percentages, it launches opponents slightly upward, which potentially can make it a combo starter, and even opens up into KO setups if timed correctly.
Side special		Super Sheet	8.225%, 1.6x times the reflected projectile	Flips his white sheet upward. Can turn opponents around (which also temporarily reverses their controls and aerial momentum) and can function as a reflector, which deals more damage than Mario's variant due to Dr. Mario's attack multipliers. However, it does not stall Dr. Mario's descent in midair, making it useless for recovery unlike Cape.
Up special		Super Jump Punch	14.1% (clean), 7.05% (late)	A jumping uppercut. It functions better as an attack than a recovery option, as it has great KO potential and fast startup, which can make it a deadly out of shield option. However, it travels a short distance compared to Mario's version.
Down special		Dr. Tornado	1.88% (hits 1-6), 3.525% (final hit)	A series of clothesline spins. Can hit up to seven times, with the final hit sending opponents diagonally. This move can be used to aid in recovery, as mashing the B button will make Dr. Mario rise up. The maximum height that can be gained from this move is greater than that of Super Jump Punch, although this requires extremely fast button mashing. It gains good vertical and horizontal distance if mashed fast enough. As an attack, it is notorious for being able to KO very early at the sides of the stage (around 45% at earliest) due to its extremely high knockback growth on its last hit. As such, it is a deadly edgeguarding tool, although it is a bit risky due to Dr. Mario's poor recovery.
Final Smash		Doctor Finale	3.1% (front Megavitamin), 2.3% (back Megavitamin)	Similar to Mario Finale, but the fireballs are replaced with huge Megavitamins with their respective sounds, and their trails consist of red, yellow, and blue pixelated streaks and circles. Slightly stronger than Mario Finale.

On-screen appearance

• Starts behind a wall of Megavitamins, which then start to disappear starting from the top to reveal him. Has his eyes closed until all of the Megavitamins are gone, in which he opens them and assumes fighting stance.

• 

  Dr. Mario's on-screen appearance

Taunts

• Up taunt: Looks to the ground and rubs the sole of one of his shoes to the floor.
• Side taunt: Pulls out a randomly-colored Megavitamin, tosses it up in the air with his shoulder, and then catches it and swipes it away.
• Down taunt: Balls one of his fists and lightly pounds his shoulder.

• 

  Dr. Mario's up taunt.

• 

  Dr. Mario's side taunt.

• 

  Dr. Mario's down taunt.

Idle poses

• Pounds his fist into his palm.
• Rolls his neck as if stretching it.

• 

  Dr. Mario's first idle pose

• 

  Dr. Mario's second idle pose

Victory poses

• Left: Throws two randomly-colored Megavitamins in different directions, dusts his gloves, pulls out two more Megavitamins of the same color, and smiles.
• Up: Waves his stethoscope in front of him, off to his side, then to the other, and then back in front of him.
• Right: Taps his shoe on the ground, puts his right hand on his chin in a thinking manner, and then glares at the screen while rubbing his chin.

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

• 
• 
• 

In competitive play

Although his power, out-of-shield options, and damage-racking capabilities were improved in the transition to Ultimate, Dr. Mario has been consistently perceived as an inferior version of Mario. While Lui$, Stroder, and Locus achieved decent success very early on, his recurring flaws from Smash 4 would still remain prominent, as his sluggish speed, atrocious recovery, and mediocre range would only highlight his still poor approach options. However, he does have a few strengths over Mario, such as his out of shield game and KO power with back throw and Dr. Tornado. Even with these specific strengths, both of Doc's best players would eventually drop him or relegate him as a secondary in favor of Terry and Fox.

Dr. Mario would arguably only get worse throughout subsequent patches, as characters such as Palutena, Samus, and Lucina would continue to hinder him in competitive play. Even with players such as Oryon, Fons, and Tsumusuto achieving notable success with the character, top players such as Mr.R, Samsora, and Dark Wizzy continue to see him as a low tier character, with some like ESAM and Maister viewing him as one of the worst characters in the game. Some people asserted their argument for Doc to connect to Mario as a better version. However, his viability continues to remain questionable. For example, ZeRo, Nairo, Armada, and Leffen now believe Dr. Mario is a mid tier due to his scary attributes and improved punish game after 7.0.0. ESAM and MkLeo also believed Dr. Mario's buffs helped him in certain character matchups he struggled with prior, such as their mains Pikachu and Joker, respectively. In addition, Goblin views him as a high tier and says that Doc is underrated after 7.0.0 because of his improved combo game and out of shield options. Lui$ is thinking of picking him back up as a co-main with Fox due to these buffs.

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.

Active

•  Aion - Placed 13th at Karisuma SP 8, 17th at both Karisuma SP 5 and Karisuma SP 6. Has a win over Gaia.
•  Fons - One of the two best Dr. Mario players in the United States after Lui$’s inactivity with the character. Placed 7th at Overextend, 17th at Combo Breaker 2019, and 25th at Midwest Mayhem Ultimate, while also having wins over Raito and big_mak.
•  Lui$ (#39) - Considered the best Dr. Mario player in the world prior to relegating him as a secondary in favor of Fox. Placed 5th at Esports Arena Smash Ultimate Tournament - Oakland, 9th at Super Splat Bros, 33rd at both GENESIS 6 and Frostbite 2019. Ranked 2nd on the NorCal Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Oryon - Uses Dr. Mario as a secondary to his Wolf, and is considered the best Dr. Mario player in Europe. Placed 5th at both Pop-Off Arena and Syndicate 2019, and 9th at Albion 4 in conjunction with Wolf.
•  Shissho - Placed 7th at Sumabato SP 12 with solo Dr. Mario.
•  Tday4444 - One of the two best Dr. Mario players in the United States. Placed 17th at Get in the Game! 2020, 25th at 2GG: SoCal Chronicles 2020 and 33rd at 2GG: Nightmare on Smashville.
•  Tsumusuto - The best active Dr. Mario player in the world. Placed 1st at Miebato, 7th at Sumabato SP 9, 9th at both Sumabato SP 5 and Sumabato SP 6, 13th at Sumabato SP 12, 17th at Sumabato SP 4, 33rd at Sumabato SP 2, 49th at both Sumabato SP and Sumabato SP 3 with solo Dr. Mario, and 9th at Karisuma SP 7, 17th at Maesuma TOP 1 and 25th at Maesuma TOP 2 in conjunction with Mii Gunner.

Inactive

•  Locus - Considered the best Dr. Mario player in Canada. Placed 9th at Battle of BC 3. Has dropped him in favor of Terry.
•  Stroder - Placed 5th at Port Priority 5 and 33rd at Smash 'N' Splash 5 as one of his characters.

Classic Mode: Colorful Treatment Plan

Dr. Mario's congratulations screen.

Dr. Mario's opponents are all trios of the same character in red, blue, and yellow costumes, referencing the three viruses: Fever, Chill, and Weird.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Mr. Game & Watch Team	Flat Zone X	Chill (for 3DS / Wii U)
2	Kirby Team	Green Greens	Fever
3	Yoshi Team	Yoshi's Island	Chill (Brawl)
4	Wii Fit Trainer Team	Wii Fit Studio	Fever
5	R.O.B. Team	Battlefield	Chill (for 3DS / Wii U)
6	Wario Team	Luigi's Mansion	Tetris: Type A
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher)	On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Note: Every stage plays a track from the Mario or Tetris universe, no matter what universe the stage originates from.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Dr. Mario has Fever accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Dr. Mario in World of Light

Although Dr. Mario does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. Dr. Mario has his own awakening battle separate from that of Mario, who appears in the opening cutscene.

Dr. Mario can be awakened in a cloud that is found on a pathway connected by a ribbon that also leads to a city-like area.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
18		Dr. Mario	Shield	3,400	Mario Bros. (Ω form)	Fever

Spirit

Dr. Mario's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Dr. Mario in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with the fighter's artwork in Ultimate.

• Dr. Mario Fighter Spirit.png

  8. Dr. Mario

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
592	File:Dr. Stewart Spirit.png	Dr. Stewart	F-Zero Series	•Dr. Mario		9,500	Mute City SNES (Battlefield form)	•Item: Food	•Timed battle •The enemy heals over time •Items will be pulled toward the enemy	Mute City (Original)
736	File:Dr Crygor.png	Dr. Crygor	WarioWare Series	•Dr. Mario •R.O.B. •Wario		3,400	WarioWare, Inc. (hazards off)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win	Mike's Song
752	File:Halemmerich.png	Hal Emmerich	Metal Gear Solid Series	•Dr. Mario •Giant Metal R.O.B.		4,500	Prism Tower	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy tends to avoid conflict •The enemy is metal	Yell "Dead Cell"
867	File:Dr light.png	Dr. Light	Mega Man Series	•Dr. Mario •Mega Man		10,000	Wily Castle (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Stamina battle •The enemy tends to avoid conflict	Mega Man 2 Medley
873	File:Drwily.png	Dr. Wily	Mega Man Series	•Dr. Mario •Metal Mega Man (×8)		12,600	Wily Castle (hazards off)	N/A	•Stamina battle •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •The enemy is metal	Mega Man 2 Medley
1,132	File:Hockey Players Spirit.png	Hockey Players	Ice Hockey	•Dr. Mario •Donkey Kong •Luigi		1,500	Pokémon Stadium (Ω form)	•Slippery Stage	•The stage's platforms are very slippery	Core Luge	Short hockey player
1,135	File:AndySpirit.PNG	Andy	Advance Wars Series	•Dr. Mario •Tiny Snake (×8)		3,400	Halberd (Ship deck)	•Health Recovery •Item: Exploding Types	•The enemy is healed when the enemy's at high damage •Defeat an army of fighters	Filled with Hope
1,195		Sick Beats Doctor	Rhythm Heaven Series	•Dr. Mario		2,200	Wrecking Crew	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Ghosts) •Hazard: Poison Cloud	•The stage is covered in a poisonous cloud •Hostile assist trophies will appear	Chill (Brawl)
1,214	File:Dr Kawashima Spirit.png	Dr. Kawashima	Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! Series	•Dr. Mario		3,800	PictoChat 2 (hazards off)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Dr. Kawashima)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear	Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!
1,216	File:Drlube.png	Dr. Lobe	Big Brain Academy Series	•Dr. Mario •Kirby (×2) ()		3,400	PictoChat 2	•Hazard: Low Gravity •Hazard: High Gravity	•All fighters have reduced jump ability •Gravity is reduced after a little while	Title Theme - Big Brain Academy
1,266		Plague Knight	Shovel Knight Series	•Dr. Mario		1,900	Unova Pokémon League	•Item: Bob-omb	•The enemy's explosion and fire attacks have increased power •Items will be pulled toward the enemy •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Flash in the Dark (Dr. Wily Stage 1)
1,319		Professor Riggs & Plaise & Lerna	Nintendo Labo Series	•Dr. Mario •Bayonetta •Tiny Young Link		2,500	Paper Mario	•Attack Power ↑ •Defense ↑	•The enemy has increased defense after a little while •The enemy has increased attack power after a little while	Title Theme - Super Mario Maker	Professor Riggs
1,390		Seteth	Fire Emblem Series	•Dr. Mario •Villager		4,200	Garreg Mach Monastery (Cathedral)	N/A	•Timed battle •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •The enemy has increased power for the first part of the battle	Chasing Daybreak

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
1,344	File:Gruntilda Spirit.png	Gruntilda	Banjo-Kazooie Series	•King Dedede •Giant Dr. Mario (×3)		13,900	Find Mii (Ω form)	•Hazard: Poison Floor	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The floor is poisonous •Stamina battle	Vs. Klungo	Klungo

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Dr. Mario's fighter card.

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  Dr. Mario's unlock notice

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  Dr. Mario idling on Wuhu Island.

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  Taunting on Mario Galaxy.

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  Attacking Link with his forward smash on New Pork City.

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  Jumping in Mushroomy Kingdom.

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  Tossing a Megavitamin on Moray Towers.

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  Holding a Fairy Bottle while running towards Link on Great Bay.

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  Taunting next to Little Mac on Tomodachi Life.

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  Snared by Mimikyu on Pictochat 2.

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  Using his down aerial on Wario on Skyworld.

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  Performing Doctor Finale on Wii Fit Studio.

Trivia

• Excluding Cloud, whose universe only has his fighter spirits, Dr. Mario is the only character in the initial release of Ultimate to not appear in any spirit battles from their home series. He shares this distinction with downloadable characters Piranha Plant and Terry.
• With Link and Young Link now representing different incarnations of Link, Zelda and Sheik now representing different incarnations of Princess Zelda, and Zero Suit Samus now briefly transforming into her Varia Suited form for her Final Smash, Dr. Mario is the only playable character to represent an alternate identity for another character, namely Mario, with no gameplay connection between the two (not counting Dr. Mario being a costume in Super Mario Odyssey).
• During Luigi's character showcase trailer, Dr. Mario's Super Sheet uses Mario's Cape animation, rather than the new animation specific to Dr. Mario. Additionally, the sheet is unanimated, and is attached to Dr. Mario's left arm.
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the first Smash Bros. game where Dr. Mario is not holding his Megavitamins in his official art.
• Dr. Mario's official art resembles one of his victory poses.
• One of the images on the Smash Bros. website shows Dr. Mario and Link, with the former holding a Fairy Bottle and the latter laying face-down. This is a reference to the fact that Fairies are a healing item in the The Legend of Zelda series, alluding to Dr. Mario's status as a doctor.
  • This is further joked with in Dr. Mario's highlight video, in which he fights King Dedede on top of Onett's Drug Store.
    • Once again, this is referenced once more in Ultimate's Opening Movie, in which he throws a Fairy Bottle at Little Mac to heal him.
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the first Smash game to feature Dr. Mario and have his inclusion be planned from the start.
• Like in Melee and Smash for 3DS, Dr. Mario can be unlocked by playing Classic Mode as Mario (though Dr. Mario is one of the last characters in his unlock column).
• When looking under Dr. Mario's coat, there appears to be a gap around his waist area.
• When KOed by reaching 0 HP during his final stock in Stamina Mode, Dr. Mario uses his heavy knockback scream rather than his standard KO scream. This trait is shared with Mario, Hero, Terry and Byleth.
• Using Megavitamins and pausing the game the moment the projectile appears in Dr. Mario's arm reveals that it will always appear completely red before changing to a randomized color one frame later.
• Prior to version 2.0.0, Dr. Mario’s down aerial was named Bone Drill, a name arguably more fitting for his old down aerial in Smash 4. The current name, CLEAR!, references the message appearing when a level is completed in the original Dr. Mario, as well as the shout paramedics give when using defibrillators.
• Dr. Mario technically has the most victory screens of any fighter. Although it may seem he has only three like most fighters, the colors of the pills in the animation where he throws them are random, totaling up to 6,561 combinations. When the other two are added, Dr. Mario has 6,563 victory screens.
• Despite the sound effects having been removed from the Sound Test, as well as Dr. Mario having no Sound Test section in Smash 4, he now has his own Sound Test section, similar to Melee, though it is now functionally identical to that of Mario's, with some voice clips not used by Dr. Mario (such as "Let's-a go!" from Mario's on-screen appearance) being removed.