Mario (SSB4)/Up smash

Hitbox visualization of Mario's up smash.

Overview[edit]

Mario's up smash is a simple headbutt from back to front, that hits opponents upwards at a 83 degree angle. With very fast startup at 9 frames, notoriously low ending lag for a smash attack making it difficult to punish (though still high enough to be punished with fast enough reactions, at 27 frames), sufficiently high knockback, no sourspots, intangibility on Mario's head and great coverage, it is considered his best KO move and one of the best up smashes in the game. With the aforementioned head intangibility, it can often trade with other attacks (especially aerials) without Mario getting hit, and with its coverage and speed, can be used to easily punish opponents in various situations, such as rolls and landings. Since its starts from the back and reaches farther there, Mario players will often turn around before using the move, utilising jump-cancelled up smashes to do a reverse up smash out of a dash.

Before rage and uncharged, it will usually KO in the 110%-130% range. It can additionally be combo'd into with down throw and up tilt at low damages, though these combos will stop working well before KO percentages.