Mario inSuper Smash Bros. Melee
Universe	Mario
Other playable appearances	inSSB inBrawl inSSB4 inUltimate
Availability	Starter
Tier	C+ (15) (North America) E (15) (Europe)

Mario (マリオ,Mario) returns as astarter character inSuper Smash Bros. Melee. He was announced atE3 2001. He also has aclone,Dr. Mario, with whom he shares a lot of attributes and special moves.

As inSuper Smash Bros., Charles Martinet's portrayal of Mario fromSuper Mario 64 was re-purposed forMelee, with the ones used in the previousSmash title returning alongside new ones.

Mario is ranked 15th out of 26 on the current tier list, placing him in the C+ tier. This is very similar to his previous ranking inSmash 64, where he is ranked 7th out of 12. It also puts him three places lower than his younger brother,Luigi, and two places lower than his clone,Dr. Mario. Like inSmash 64, Mario acts as a well-rounded character, with average attributes for the most part. He has impressivecombo abilities due to a variety of weak but fast attacks. He also packs a very versatilegrab game: his powerfulback throw canKO most opponents with ease, while hisup anddown throws can start or extend combos andchain-grabs. Mario also has a solidedgeguarding game, with fast, active aerials, and a side special that can easily and efficientlygimp almost anyrecovery.

Unfortunately, Mario's negatives largely offset his positives. He has few reliable finishers, with most moves being low-power combo tools that rely on edgeguarding to take stocks, His recovery is also predictable and short, (although he can extend it with tech, this is too difficult to be practical) which leaves him vulnerable to being gimped. His mediocrerange leaves him with little counterplay to characters withdisjointed hitboxes, and Mario'sFireballs aren't a sufficient compromise when landing aerials and grabs offers such high payoff.

Overall, Mario's weaknesses are generally on par with his positives, but having disadvantageous matchups against higher tiered characters, especially against those who can outrange and/or edgeguard him, greatly limits his potential in competitive play. Initially, Mario was considered to be among the best characters in the game, but as the metagame developed, Mario's reception would drop to only being merely average, especially in contrast to his clones. Despite being overshadowed by them, and even said clones being considered non-viable in top-level play, Mario has been able to place highly in major tournaments thanks to the efforts ofпooп,Mango, and prior to his ban,A Rookie.

Attributes[edit]

Mario using his various recovery options to recover onto the stage. This is aTAS clip fromPerfect Control.

Mario falls under the archetype of being of an all-rounder character, with no particularly strong or weak traits; indeed, in terms ofweight,falling speed,air speed, size, anddash speed, Mario tends to fall in the middle of these attributes.

One of Mario's strengths is his rather good combo ability. While not having an extremely high air or falling speed, Mario can easily and efficiently combo most other characters in the air; Mario has plenty of low lag and low knockback aerials, and the addition of a longwavedash and fast ground attacks give Mario plenty of combo potential. Mario also has a goodSHFFL.

Mario also has an above average approach. Despite an only average air speed and dashing speed, Mario still has good options for getting closer to opponents. His Fireballs have good range and can disrupt opponents at a distance; differing terrains such as slopes and platforms can also give the Fireball many options. Mario, due to his average attributes in traction and falling speed, has a rather long and floaty wavedash; coupled with decently ranged smash attacks, Mario has good wavesmashing abilities.

Mario is also a surprisingly good edgeguarder. He has ameteor smash in his forward aerial, albeit it having highstartup andending lag and not being too powerful, and his back aerial sends opponents on a decent angle for edgeguarding. Mario's Fireballs can alsogimp recoveries; its low knockback makes it effective in the regard. Most notably, however, Mario has what is likely the absolute best edgeguarding weapon in all the game: hisCape. When used, it can effectively and quickly gimp almost every recovery in the game; it's especially useful against linear recoveries, such as Fox'sFire Fox or Luigi'sGreen Missile.

Mario also has a surprisingly good grab game. Despite a rather poor grab range, Mario's throws are notable for their versatility; his forward and back throws can easily set up gimp KOs, especially the latter, while his up and down throws can act as combo starters, as well as very effective chain grabs: Mario's up throw can chain grab fast fallers such asFox,Falco, andCaptain Falcon, while his down throw can chain grab heavy characters, as well as being able to chain grabPikachu andPichu up to high percents, if not to a KO.

However, Mario suffers from some KOing problems. He lacks particularly powerful or reliable finishers; while his forward smash has good range, coupled with a very visible and easy to land sweetspot, his other smashes are rather short ranged. Additionally, while Mario's back throw is strong, it requires grabbing the opponent first; this can be a challenge, due to Mario's poor grab range. Mario's single meteor smash is also rather unwieldy and risky to use.

Mario also suffers from a below average recovery. Super Jump Punch only grants average to slightly below average horizontal and vertical distance, whileMario Tornado can only grant vertical distance if the B button is tapped quickly. Mario, however, does have some options to improve his recovery; Mario's Cape can allow him to recover from the sides, and he has the ability towall-jump, which can act as a help on stages such as Final Destination.

Overall, Mario could be considered a poor-man's Marth. While both characters have great combo ability and a similar recovery, Marth has a much easier time finishing off opponents as well as having longer range in his attacks and his grab range making it much easier for Marth to chain-grab fast-fallers compared to Mario.

Changes fromSuper Smash Bros.[edit]

When making the transition fromSmash 64 toMelee, Mario got a mix ofbuffs andnerfs, but was neither strongly buffed ornerfed. Mario is faster on the ground and he greatly benefits from the introduction ofair dodging giving him a solidwavedash which makes his grounded movement much more solid overall. The speed of Mario's attacks has been considerably improved as most of his attacks have decreased ending lag and a decent amount of them have decreased startup lag as well, and his new forward smash, a palm thrust that emits a fiery blast, has more range and is more reliable due to the addition of a sweetspot located on the explosion. His edgeguarding has also considerably improved as his back aerial is considerably faster and his up aerial has been retooled to give it more edgeguarding potential. His new side specialCape also gives him a new powerful edgeguarding tool as well as an extra tool for recovering.

As for his nerfs, Mario's damage output has been decreased and his KO power has been considerably decreased as many of his previous KO moves have been greatly weakened making it far more difficult for Mario to KO his opponents. In particular, his new forward aerial, while now capable of meteor smashing and losing its sourspot, is much slower and weaker and has less range. His strongest KO moves (his forward and down smashes) while faster now have sourspots making them more difficult to use effectively. While Mario has a few new options to recover such as his cape andwall jump, his recovery is overall worse (especially when relative to the cast) as his air speed is slower, he falls faster, his fireballs are smaller making them a worse option to wall out opponents while recovering and hisSuper Jump Punch travels less distance making him easier to edgeguard.

Overall, Mario is largely a much weaker character as his damage output is lower, his combo game is weaker in some aspects and many of his previous KO moves can no longer KO under 90-120%. In exchange, his attacks are much faster and his grounded movement has been improved especially due to the introduction of wavedashing. Mario remains in a similar spot on Melee's tier list and he overall struggles against higher tiered characters limiting his success in competitive play.

Aesthetics[edit]

• The graphical upgrades of theNintendo GameCube allow for a more detailed appearance of Mario. His appearance more closely resembles official N64-era renders of him from games such asSuper Mario 64 andMario Party. His physique looks much more similar to its official art, while his red cap and shirt are slightly darker and the seams on his overalls are more accentuated. He also has a slightly darker skin tone, and his hair and shoes are a much darker brown color.
• Mario's green alternate costume fromSmash 64 is now accessible through normal battles instead of just Team Battles.
• Mario gains a newvictory pose: he makes a fire and when the fire disappears, Mario strikes a pose. It replaces his hopping victory pose inSmash 64.

Attributes[edit]

• Mariowalks much faster (0.8 (24) → 1.1).
• Mariodashes slightly faster (1.467 (44) → 1.5).
  • However, Mario's initial dash is much slower (1.8 (54) → 1.5) and covers less distance.
• Mario'straction is slightly higher (0.0533 (1.6) → 0.06), making it easier for him to punishout of shield.
• Mario'sjumpsquat is longer (3 frames → 4).
• Mario'sair speed is slower (1 (30) → 0.86 (NTSC) / 0.83 (PAL)).
• Mario'sair acceleration is lower (0.0667 (2) → 0.045), though it's no longer the slowest in the game.
• Mario'sjump height is extremely lower (45.33 (1360) → 29), going from the 6th highest out of 12 characters to the 4th lowest out of 26.
  • Mario'sshort hop is also drastically lower (26.6067 (798.2) → 11.025). This improves his ability to hit opponents low on the ground with short hop aerials, as well as his ability to quickly land and continue aerial pressure, but also hinders his ability toauto-cancel his aerials and performing two aerials in a short hop.
• Mario'sgravity is higher (0.08 (2.4) → 0.095).
• Mariofalls faster (1.467 (44) → 1.7), improving his vertical endurance but making him more susceptible to combos.
  • However, Mario'sfast falling speed is slightly slower (2.333 (70) → 2.3). The difference between his falling speed and fast falling speed is much lower (increase: 59.1% → 39.3%), which makes it more predictable when landing and gives him fewer options in the air.
• Exclusively to the PAL version, Mario'sweight is lower (100 (1) → 98).
• Mario now has the ability towall jump, improving his recovery.
• The introduction ofair dodging benefits Mario overall as he can nowwavedash. His wavedash is overall solid due to his short jumpsquat/average traction; improving his movement options.

Ground attacks[edit]

• Neutral attack:
  • Both the first and third hits deal more damage (2% (hit 1)/4% (hit 3) → 3%/5%).
  • The first two hits now haveset knockback (8 (base), 50 (scaling) → 20 (set)/100), and their angles have been altered (361° (hit 1)/70° (hit 2) → 83°/85° (both)), allowing them to connect more reliably.
  • The first two hits transition into the later hits sooner (frame 10 (hit 1)/8 (hit 2) → 6 (both)).
  • All hits have less ending lag (FAF 18 (hit 1)/20 (hit 2)/26 (hit 3) → 16/19/23).
  • Mario can no longer cancel the first hit intograb.
  • The second hit has a shorter duration (frames 3-5 → 3-4)
  • The third hit has more startup lag (frame 3 → 5).
  • The third hit no longer hasanti-rebounding priority.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has less startup (frame 8 → 5) and ending lag (FAF 43 → 33).
  • It has a much shorter duration (frames 8-17 → 5-7).
  • It deals less damage (14% (up)/13% (side)/12% (down) → 10%/9%/8%) and has decreased base knockback (10 → 6), significantly hindering its KO potential.
    • Additionally, the down angled variant now has very weak set knockback (1), making it extremely punishable on hit at any percentage.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has less startup (frame 5 → 4) and ending lag (FAF 42 → 30).
  • It now launches opponents towards Mario (86° → 96°).
  • It has a shorter duration (frames 5-16 → 4-12).
  • It deals less damage (10% → 8%).
  • It has more base knockback but lower knockback scaling (0 (base), 150 (scaling) → 26/125).
    • This along with its lower ending lag makes it much safer on hit at lower percents.
    • However, this along with its lower damage also hinders its KO potential.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has less ending lag (FAF 40 → 35).
  • It deals less damage (12% → 8%/9%) and knockback (0 (base), 100 (scaling) → 10/80).
  • It has a shorter duration (frames 5-11 → 5-8).
  • Mario no longer moves forward while using it, giving it much less range.
  • It now launches opponents vertically (361° → 80°). This hinders its spacing potential while not granting it combo potential due to its low power and high ending lag.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has less startup (frame 8 → 6) and ending lag (FAF 41 → 38).
  • The late hit has a shorter duration (frames 12-28 → 10-25).
  • It deals less damage (12% (clean), 10% (late) → 9%/7%).
  • It has more base knockback but lower knockback scaling (16 (base), 100 (scaling) → 70/50 (clean), 10/100 → 45/30 (late)), hindering its KO potential.
  • It now launches opponents behind Mario (361° → 110° (clean)/120° (late)).
• Forward smash:
  • Mario has a new forward smash: he leans forward and thrusts his hand in front of him, emitting a small fiery explosion from his palm.
  • It has less startup (frame 16 → 12) and ending lag (FAF 54 → 42); now matchingLuigi's version.
  • The fire hitbox deals more damage (18% (up)/17 (side)%/16% (down) → 19%/18%/17%).
    • However, it deals less knockback (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → 25/95), hindering its KO potential despite its higher damage.
  • The non fire hitboxes deal less damage (18% (up)/17 (side)%/16% (down) → 15%/(11%/10%)/13%) and knockback (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → 25/96).
• Up smash:
  • Up smash's animation has been altered with Mario now taking a massive step forward as he leans for the headbutt.
    • The animation change gives the move more horizontal range than before.
    • It also gives the move significantly less ending lag (FAF 60 → 40) than before.
    • However, Mario no longer performs a small jump, reducing its vertical range.
  • It has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 7-15 → 9-11).
  • It grants lessintangibility to Mario's head (frames 7-10 → 9-11).
  • It deals much less damage (19% → 15%), knockback (26 (base), 120 (scaling) → 32/97), and launches at a slightly lower angle (85° → 83°). This greatly hinders its KO potential; no longer being one of the strongest up smashes.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has less startup lag (frame 8 → 5) and a shorter total duration (FAF 45 → 38).
  • It has a much shorter duration due to now possessing a front hit and a back hit rather than a constantly active hitbox (frames 8-29 → 5-6 (front), 14 (back)).
    • This also gives the move more ending lag as its total duration was not fully compensated (now having 23 frames of cooldown as opposed to 15).
    • However, this also allows the move to hit twice.
  • The front hit deals less damage (17% → 16%) and knockback (20 (base), 100 (scaling) → 40/75), significantly hindering its KO potential.
  • The back hit deals much less damage (17% → 10%/12%) and knockback (20 (base), 100 (scaling) → 35/75), drastically hindering its KO potential.

Aerial attacks[edit]

• Due to his lower short hop, Mario can no longer auto-cancel neutral, forward or down aerials in a short hop, nor can he perform two aerials in a short hop.
  • When combined with the weakening ofL-canceling and the reduction toshieldstun, this hinders the combo potential, shield pressuring potential and safety of Mario's aerials.
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has less ending lag (FAF 50 → 46).
  • It auto-cancels slightly earlier (frame 37 → 36).
    • However, it no longer auto-cancels as soon as its hitboxes are no longer active.
  • It deals less damage (14% (clean)/11% (late) → 12%/8%) without full compensation on its base knockback (15 (clean)/0 (late) → 20/15).
  • It has a shorter duration (frames 3-10 (clean)/11-36 (late) → 3-6/7-32).
  • It has more landing lag (14 frames → 16).
• Forward aerial:
  • Mario has a new forward aerial: an overhanded downward swing with an enlarged fist; officially referred to as "Meteor Knuckle".
  • It is now ameteor smash (361° → 280°).
    • This significantly improves its combo potential against grounded opponents.
    • However when combined with the introduction of meteor cancelling, this significantly hinders its reliability.
  • It has less landing lag (30 frames → 21).
  • It has noticeably increased startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 11-26 → 18-22).
  • It has much more ending lag (FAF 40 → 60).
  • It has a much longer animation (39 frames → 74).
  • It auto-cancels later (frame 27 → 43).
  • It deals less damage (16% → 15%) and knockback (10 (base), 100 (scaling) → 30/70), significantly hindering its KO potential.
  • It has less range.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial has a new animation where Mario kicks more sideways with his right side facing up, instead of kicking backward face-down. Mario also recovers differently without curling up into a flip.
    • This new animation is much shorter (39 frames → 28), decreasing its ending lag (FAF 40 → 29), as well as the amount of time Mario cannot grab the ledge after using the move.
  • It has less startup lag with a longer duration (frames 10-19 → 6-17).
    • When combined with its decreased ending lag, this makes it a more effective tool foredgeguarding andwall of pains.
    • However, the clean hit has a shorter duration (frames 10-13 → 6-8).
  • It auto-cancels slightly earlier (frame 20 → 19).
  • It deals less damage (16% (clean)/10% (late) → 11%/9%), greatly hindering the clean hit's KO potential.
    • The late hit has increased base knockback (0 → 7) although this does not fully compensate for its reduced damage.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has less ending lag (FAF 40 → 30).
  • It has much less landing lag (40 frames → 15).
  • Its angle has been altered (80° (clean)/70° (late) → 55°).
    • This grants the move edgeguarding potential.
    • However, this significantly hinders its combo and juggling potential removing one of Mario's most powerful combo tools.
  • It deals less damage (12% → 11%) and has decreased knockback scaling (120 → 100).
  • It has more startup lag with a shorter duration due to no longer having a late hit (frames 2-4 (clean)/5-11 (late) → 4-9). It is no longer the fastest aerial in the game in terms of startup lag.
  • It auto-cancels later (frame 12 → 16).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has a shorter total duration (FAF 39 → 38).
  • It has less landing lag (36 frames → 23).
  • It now has a landing hitbox.
  • Each hit deals less damage (3% → 2%), greatly reducing the move's maximum damage potential (24% → 12%).
  • Due to hitting seven times instead of eight:
    • It has a shorter duration (frames 10-11, 13-14, 16-17, 19-20, 22-23, 25-26, 28-29, 31-32 → 10-11, 13-14, 16-17, 19-20, 22-23, 25-26, 28-29), increasing its ending lag.
    • It no longer auto-cancels as soon as its hitboxes are no longer active.
  • It is no longer a meteor smash (-70° → 94°), removing its edgeguarding potential and making it connect less reliably.
  • The weakening of L-cancelling combined with the move losing its ability to auto-cancel in a short hop and with it gaining a landing hitbox has significantly hindered down aerial's followup potential.
    • These changes combined with the changes to shieldstun and its lower damage have drastically hindered down aerial's shield pressuring potential; no longer being able to lead intoshield break combos.

Throws/other attacks[edit]

• Grabs:
  • Mario now has apummel,up throw and adown throw, increasing his options out of a grab. He can alsochaingrab characters with said throws.
  • Grabs have more startup lag (frame 6 → 7 (standing), 11 (dash)) and ending lag (FAF 16 → 31 (standing), 41 (dash)).
  • Mario's throws are now weight dependant.
• Forward throw:
  • Mario releases opponents from forward throw earlier (frame 14 → 12) and it has less ending lag (FAF 31 → 28).
  • It deals less damage (12% → 9%) and knockback (80 (base), 70 (scaling) → 60/65).
• Back throw:
  • Back throw's collateral hit has much less startup lag with a longer duration (frames 18-44 → 1-43).
  • Mario releases opponents from back throw slightly earlier (frame 45 → 44).
  • It deals less damage (16% → 12%) and knockback (70 (base), 70 (scaling) → 80/65), making it much weaker.
  • The collateral hit deals less damage (12% → 10%).
  • It has slightly more ending lag (FAF 66 → 67).
  • It has been hindered greatly by the introduction ofDI, as opponents now have ample time to correctly DI the throw and survive it for even longer.

Special moves[edit]

• Fireball:
  • Fireball has less startup (frame 16 → 14) and ending lag (FAF 46 → 44).
  • Fireballs travel faster.
  • Fireballs can only bounce two times instead of three although it still covers the same amount of distance when used on the ground.
  • Fireballs are smaller, reducing their hitbox.
  • Fireballs have a much shorter maximum duration (frames 16-154 → 14-88).
    • These changes combined with Mario's faster falling speed greatly hinders the moves use as an offensive recovery tool.
  • Fireballs deal less damage (7% → 6%) and have decreased base knockback (10 → 5).
• Cape:
  • As with all returning veterans, Mario now has a side special; Cape. It is based on the cape feather power-up inSuper Mario World. It can reflect projectiles as well as reverse an opponent's direction if it hits them. It also gives Mario a slight boost when used in the air. This gives Mario an option to deal with projectiles; as well as an additional edgeguarding and recovery option.
• Super Jump Punch:
  • Super Jump Punch can now be cancelled with a wall jump near the apex of the move, aiding Mario's recovery if he is close to a wall.
  • It deals slightly less damage (16% → 15%).
  • It has more startup lag (frame 2 → 3).
    • Its intangibility also has more startup lag (frame 2 → 3).
  • It has more landing lag (25 frames → 30).
  • It grants Mario noticeably less distance, worsening its recovery potential.
  • The first hit has increased set knockback (110 → 130).
  • Hits 2-5 have increased set knockback (100 → 110/150).
  • Hits 6-9 no longer have consistent set knockback (100 → 90/120).
  • The final hit has altered knockback (0 (base), 170 (scaling) → 40/140).
• Mario Tornado:
  • Mario Tornado has less ending lag (FAF 87 → 80).
  • Mario travels slightly faster when using it on the ground.
  • The first and final hit deal more damage (1% (both) → 2% (hit 1)/5% (hit 8 ground)/3% (hit 3 air)).
  • The last hit no longer has set knockback (120 (base), 1 (set), 0 (scaling) → 60/0/115 (ground), 70/120 (air)), allowing it to KO at high (albeit unrealistic) percentages.
    • However, this hinders its safety at lower percents.
  • The loop hits have longer durations (1 frame → 2).
  • The first hit's angle has been altered (180°/90° → 140°).
  • The loop hits have decreased base knockback (70 → 40).
  • The 7th hit's angle has been altered (180° → 100°).
  • The final hit's angle has been altered (90° → 80°).
  • It has significantly more startup lag (frame 1 → 8), greatly hindering its utility.
    • In addition to this, the first hit has altered knockback (70 (base), 1 (set) → 0/40). As a result, it prevents it from causing hitstun.
  • Due to hitting up to only 8 times instead of 14:
    • Its maximum damage potential is slightly lower (14% → 13% (ground)/11% (air)).
    • It has a much shorter duration (frames 1-4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 37, 40, 43-44 → 8-9, 12-13, 15-16, 18-19, 21-22, 24-25, 27-28, 38-39).
  • The aerial version's final hit can no longer meteor smash opponents, significantly hindering its edgeguarding potential.
  • There is now a small delay before the last hit, allowing foes to escape the attack more easily.
  • Mario's faster falling speed and gravity makes the move less effective as a recovery tool.
    • Due to these changes, the move is now considered to be nearly useless besides for recovering, and as a situational vertical launcher.

Version history[edit]

Mario was nerfed in thePAL version ofMelee. As most higher tier characters were nerfed as well, his viability remains similar.

NTSC 1.01

• Fireball no longer increase speed when used off slopes at certain angles.

PAL

• Mario is slightly lighter (100 → 98).
• Mario's air speed was reduced even further (0.86 → 0.83).

Moveset[edit]

For a gallery of Mario's hitboxes, seehere.

Mario's aerial attacks.

Stats[edit]

NTSC

PAL

Announcer call[edit]

Taunt[edit]

• Grows to a super size, as if taking aSuper Mushroom power-up, before shrinking again. This also increases the size of his hurtbox. The size increase stacks with special matches and actual super mushrooms. It is the second longest taunt inMelee.

Idle pose[edit]

• Adjusts his cap.

Crowd cheer[edit]

Victory poses[edit]

• Winds up for a punch and steps forward while punching in front of the screen, shouting "Here we go!"
• Makes fire explode from his palm and strikes a pose.
• Does a short spin-jump and lands in a strong-man pose, shouting "Here we go!"

Incompetitive play[edit]

Most historically significant players[edit]

See also:Category:Mario players (SSBM)

•  A Rookie - Once widely considered to be the best Mario player in the world. While he almost exclusively played in events located in Florida, he was the first to make multiple top 24s at majors with the character, placing 17th atKings of Cali 4,Press Start, andLow Tier City 6. His 33rd place atShine 2019 is also tied withViva La Smashtaclysm as Mario's best supermajor placement. Following sexual misconduct allegations, his activity dwindled, and he has yet to attend an in-person tournament since 2020.
•  Green Mario - A notable Mario player in the United States, residing in Georgia. His 17th place atPound 2 marked the first time a Mario player reached top 24 at a major and his 33rd atViva La Smashtaclysm became the first time a Mario player reached top 64 at a supermajor. He has gone inactive since 2017.
•  KoopaTroopa895 - One of the best Mario players in the United States before switching toMarth. His 25th place atKings of Cali 4 is one of the best major results seen with Mario in the 2010s outside of A Rookie's results. He also amassed some of Mario's best wins in the modern era ofMelee, beating top players such asSpark andNintendude.
•  Mango - Once mained Mario under the tag "Scorpion Master" and occasionally used him in side events or online tournaments. While his Mario is known as a sort ofsandbagging character, he has shown prominence with the character, placing 2nd atGood Shit German and garnering some of the character's best wins againstHugS,SilentSpectre, andWestballz while under the alias.
•  Matt Deezie - One of the first tournament organizers seen inMelee and the best Mario player in the world in the game's first two years. Placed top 6 at a fewTournament Go events with his best being 3rd atTournament Go 2. He eventually switched to playingFox before retiring from competitiveMelee altogether.
•  SchlimmShady - Formerly the best Mario player in Europe prior to switching toCaptain Falcon, he was previously ranked top 10 through several power rankings in Germany peaking at 7th in April 2016. He placed well at many regionals such as 17th atSyndicate 2017 and 25th atB.E.A.S.T 6 andB.E.A.S.T 7.
•  пooп - Currently the best Mario player in the world after A Rookie's ban. While he usesDr. Mario andLuigi as secondaries, his placements are primarily with Mario. To date, he remains one of the few Mario players to achieve success in the post-Slippi metagame as he has achieved respectable results at majors and regionals such as 17th at DreamHack Rotterdam 2022 andValhalla IV, 25th atSAPF andHFLAN Melee Edition 2020+1 and 49th at Fête 3: By the Sea. He is currently ranked 28th onEURank 2024 and 6th on the Dutch Power Rankings.

Tier placement and history[edit]

Very early in theMeleemetagame, when few players knew the potential of now-top tier characters, Mario was considered one of the best characters in the game, ranking as high as 5th on the first tier list. This could be attributed to Mario's simple but effectivecombo setups, strong attacks, low learning curve, and lack of any outstanding drawbacks due to his well-rounded toolkit, as well as his extendablerecovery.

As the metagame advanced, however, Mario's average statistics were magnified as many other players discovered superior characters's potential, such asPeach,Captain Falcon, and theIce Climbers. This caused Mario to slowly slip down the tier list as time progressed, as well as his metagame to quickly stagnate in return. A primary example comes fromMango, who, under the alias "Scorpion Master", was the only person who placed highly at majors and supermajors. Even so, he rarely placed high enough to earn money from playing Mario, cashing in at 25th place atApex 2010 instead of his usual top 8 placements when using better characters. Other Mario mains likeA Rookie andKoopaTroopa895 have either failed to place consistently high in majors and supermajors, dropped Mario for better characters, or have stopped playing entirely, resulting in his metagame stagnating. Conversely, Mario's semiclones likeLuigi andDr. Mario have had their respective metagames pushed in a deeper scale compared to Mario, withShroomed (and later, Franz) achieving consistently high placements in majors whileLuigi players have achieved consistent top 64 placements in numerous majors.

On the currenttier list, he ranks 15th place in the C+ tier. Since the post-Slippi era, Mario has failed to live up to his early successes in the 2000s to early 2010 era and his metagame has continued to remain rather stagnant, while characters likeDonkey Kong andLink have had their own metagames continued to be pushed. While Mario is widely agreed to not be a terrible character, he is considered to be outclassed overall, with most players considering his semiclones of Luigi and Dr. Mario superior in regards to their advantages and neutral games.

In 1-P Mode[edit]

Classic Mode[edit]

In Classic Mode, Mario can appear as an ally in team and giant fights, a solo, team, giant, multi, and metal opponent. In Mario's appearances, he either appears onPrincess Peach's Castle orRainbow Cruise. On a team with Bowser, he appears onBattlefield and with Peach, he appears onMushroom Kingdom II; during the battle against Mario + Bowser on Battlefield, the stage will play the Princess Peach's Castle track.

Adventure Mode[edit]

Mario is one of only two characters who can appear twice in Adventure Mode, alongside his brother Luigi.

In the game's Adventure Mode, Mario teams up withPeach against the player in the second part of the first stage, taking place on Princess Peach's Castle. If the player finished the previous segment,Mushroom Kingdom, with the remaining time registering 2 in the seconds digit, his younger brotherLuigi will take his place in a cutscene that will trigger right before this battle, which has Luigi stomping on Mario's head to get to the top of the castle.

Later on, in the second half of Stage 11,Metal Mario will fight the player's character on the Battlefield stage, where he functions as simply a Mario permanently under the influence of theMetal Box item. If the player unlocked Luigi, Metal Mario will be joined byMetal Luigi, and they both team up on the player, making for a harder fight.

All-Star Mode[edit]

In All-Star Mode, Mario and his allies are fought on Rainbow Cruise.

Event Matches[edit]

Mario is featured in the following event matches:

• Event 1: Trouble King: The player plays as Mario and fights againstBowser onBattlefield.
• Event 10: All-Star Match 1: Mario is the first opponent to be fought in this series of staged battles. The player battles him onYoshi's Island, which will transition to the next stage if Mario gets defeated. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat him along withDonkey Kong,Yoshi,Peach, and Bowser.
• Event 19: Peach's Peril: Mario must protect Peach from a slightly larger Bowser onFinal Destination. Both Mario and Peach have 1 stock each while Bowser has infinite lives.
• Event 22: Super Mario 128: The player chooses any character and must defeat a total of 128 tiny Marios onMushroom Kingdom II.
• Event 25: Gargantuans: A scenario designed as a homage tokaiju movies and their various tropes. On theFourside stage, with unlimited time, the player plays as a giant-sized Bowser (as "Godzilla") with 1 stock against a giant-sized Donkey Kong (as "King Kong") with 2 stock. A tiny Mario and a tiny Peach are also present in this match, who usually gets KO'd in one hit.
• Event 31: Mario Bros. Madness: The player chooses any character and must fight Mario andLuigi in a two-timed match onMushroom Kingdom. The player must have the most points within the two minutes to clear this event.
• Event 38: Super Mario Bros. 2: The player chooses any character and must defeat Mario, Luigi, and Peach in a two-stock match onMushroom Kingdom II. Both the characters and the stage are a direct throwback to the originalSuper Mario Bros. 2, an NES sequel toSuper Mario Bros.

Congratulations Screens[edit]

Trophies[edit]

In addition to the normal trophy about Mario as a character unlocked by completingClassic Mode as Mario on any difficulty, there are two trophies about him as a fighter, unlocked by completingAdventure Mode andAll-Star Mode respectively as Mario on any difficulty. Each of the trophies can also be unlocked by playing 100, 200, and 300 versus matches respectively as Mario:

Classic Mode trophy

Mario

Known worldwide as Mr. Nintendo, Mario uses his incredible jumping ability to thwart the evil Bowser time after time. While he's best known as a hero, Mario has played many roles, including racer,doctor, golfer, and villain. His tastes have changed over 20 years of gaming; he long ago swapped the colors of his shirt and overalls.

Donkey Kong (Arcade 1981)

Adventure ModeSMASH trophy

MarioSMASH

Mario is a character without any glaring weaknesses and plenty of strong attacks: he's even equipped with a Meteor Smash. He's a straightforward character who'll reflect the actual skills of the player. Mario's Cape will turn other characters in the opposite direction and can also reflect missile weapons.

B: Fireball

Smash B: Cape

All-Star ModeSMASH trophy

MarioSMASH

Mass determines how easily a character can be sent flying, as well as a character's physical strength: Mario's mass is the standard upon which other Smash fighters are measured. His Super Jump Punch sends foes skyward in a shower of coins, while the Mario Tornado pulls in nearby foes, spins them silly, and scatters them every which way.

Up & B: Super Jump Punch

Down & B: Mario Tornado

Alternate costumes[edit]

Gallery[edit]

Trivia[edit]

• Mario's Up Special attack is the only Up Special move inMelee that allows the player to break out of their freefall.
• A taunting Mario with aSuper Mushroom in Giant Melee Mode is the largest possible character size that can be achieved without hacking.
• Mario's taunt is the second longest taunt out of all the characters, the longest one beingYoung Link's.
• If theMaster Hand glitch is used in an event and sets a record, the score is shown on Mario.
• When Star KO'ing Giant Mario or GiantDr. Mario, their voice will immediately fade out. This will not happen with any other character.

External links[edit]

• Mario's page at Smabura-Ken

• Translation

v • d • e Mario universe
Fighters	Mario (SSB ·SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Luigi (SSB ·SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Peach (SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Bowser (SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Dr. Mario (SSBM ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Rosalina &Luma (SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Bowser Jr. (SSB4 ·SSBU) (Koopalings) ·Daisy (SSBU) ·Piranha Plant (SSBU)
Assist Trophies	Hammer Bro ·Waluigi ·Lakitu & Spinies ·Chain Chomp ·Thwomp ·Flies & Hand
Bosses	Metal Mario and Luigi ·Petey Piranha
Stages	Peach's Castle ·Mushroom Kingdom (SSB) ·Princess Peach's Castle ·Rainbow Cruise ·Mushroom Kingdom (SSBM) ·Mushroom Kingdom II ·Delfino Plaza ·Mushroomy Kingdom ·Figure-8 Circuit ·Luigi's Mansion ·Mario Bros. ·3D Land ·Golden Plains ·Rainbow Road ·Paper Mario ·Mushroom Kingdom U ·Mario Galaxy ·Mario Circuit ·Super Mario Maker ·New Donk City Hall Mushroom Kingdom (Adventure Mode)
Items	Bob-omb ·Fire Flower ·Green Shell ·Red Shell ·Super Star ·Super Mushroom ·Poison Mushroom ·Freezie ·Metal Box ·Golden Hammer ·Lightning Bolt ·Hothead ·Banana Peel ·Boomerang ·Fire Bar ·POW Block ·Bullet Bill ·Spiny Shell ·Super Leaf ·Grass ·Super Launch Star
Enemies	Banzai Bill ·Bill Blaster ·Bullet Bill ·Chain Chomp ·Flame Chomp ·Goomba ·Giant Goomba ·Hammer Bro ·Koopa Paratroopa ·Koopa Troopa ·Lakitu & Spinies ·Magikoopa ·Shy Guy ·Spike Top
Other	Birdo ·Boo ·Cappy ·F.L.U.D.D. ·Geno ·Ghosts ·Kamek ·Koopa Clown Car ·Molten Fortress ·Nabbit ·Pauline ·Pidgit ·Shellcreeper ·Shy Guy ·Sidestepper ·Toad ·Warp Pipe
Trophies,Stickers andSpirits	Trophies (SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4) ·Stickers ·Spirits
Music	Brawl (Mario Kart) ·SSB4 ·Ultimate (Mario Kart)
Masterpieces	Super Mario Bros. ·Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels ·Super Mario Bros. 2 ·Dr. Mario ·Super Mario World ·Super Mario Kart
Related universes	Donkey Kong ·Yoshi ·Wario ·Wrecking Crew

• Characters (SSBM)
• Mario universe
• Mario (SSBM)
• Trophies (SSBM)