SMASH HARDBOILED - Competetive Mario Guide [1.1.6]

Mario is easily the best character for any newcomer to learn. Among many things, Mario has mobility, follow-ups, an amazing grab game, kill confirms and utility. He is an amazing fighter, a top tier character pick and easy to learn. He has all these things and more. In fact, he truly only has two single weaknesses. Mario has very jointed moves with very little range. Most of his moves consist of physical attacks. While this is essential to combos and is a simple attribute to Mario, it severely limits his out-of-shield options and gives him a large weakness to swords, as he has an effective way to deal with projectiles. As a Mario Main, you'll need to learn how to utilize his very expansive moveset to deal with these characters. Aside from this, Mario struggles at approaching. He has no reliable frontal approach. Unlike other top tiers, namely Sheik, Cloud, Diddy Kong, etc., he cannot just simply use perfectly spaced forward aerials to play neutral. Mario's neutral is very complex, it is the single most challenging aspect to Mario and is something you will definitely be working on.
Moving on to pros and cons, we have Mario's amazing aerial mobility. Mario can get where he wants, when he wants. This allows Mario to extend combos and, of course, play neutral. Not just aerial, but grounded aswell. Mario is very versatile, he can be played offensively or defensively. He bends to your will. Mario gets a lot of reward off a grab. Mario's throw combos are simply the best in the game, no questions asked, and he also has a kill throw in the form of his back throw. Mario lives off the grab, and he has tools to get one. His recovery, while being predictable, is very good. His up-b simply can't be punished. He has very good kill options too. His up smash is one of the hardest hitting moves in Smash 4 and has invincibility on the head. It's extremely safe on shield since it has enormous shield push-back. His forward smash kills ridiculously early if sweetspotted, and he has a spike. Overall, Mario has mobility, power, combos and kill options. He is very good.
As for cons, I already stated that his greatest weakness is range. Despite this, however, I believe this does not unbalance Mario. His mobility really makes up for it in this case. Mario is all about the player, he thrives off fundamentals. This is what defines Mario play and is really important for any player to learn.
Moving on to the meat and potato's of this guide, we have Mario's jab. Jab comes out on frame 2, exactly one-thirtieth of a second. It is your fastest grounded move and is extremely safe. Put together it deals 8%. At low percents, it can be used in combination with down throw to deal 13%, you can Jab cancel it to a grab or even use it to tech chase off a platform. Remember, if they are pushed back off a ledge with their back to the ledge, it is impossible to tech. Jab is a very solid move. Down tilt is a surprise combo starter. It is slower than jab or grab, but has more range. At low percents, string this to an up air string and at higher percents, an unguaranteed follow-up by the ledge would be his forward air. His side smash has three hitboxes, Mario's hand, the sweetspot fireball and the sourspot fireball. The sweet spot kills extremely potent killpower, especially at the ledge. It's laggy to start, but it has minimal ending lag. His up smash, as previously stated, is very safe. It deals insane shield push-back and begins killing at 120%, depending on character and stage. Mario's head is invincible for the entirety of the move therefore making it a very reliable anti-air. His down smash is a mix-up, use this as a surprise. It comes out the fastest out of all his smashes, on frame 5, the same as his down and up tilt. The back hit kills, making this good for covering rolls and spot-dodges. The front hit only kills on platforms far near the blastzone. Remember, this is a mix-up. Frame Data is irrelevant for throws, but his grab comes out on frame 6. Froward throw is somewhat unused. It deals 8%, but I seriously do not recommend this. Even at the ledge, down throw is a superior option. His back throw is his kill throw and deals the most damage, at 11%. This only kills off the ledge, so don't use it mid-stage. Down throw would also be a superior option in that position. Speaking of which, Mario's down throw. It is legendary. It is his least powerful throw in damage and knockback, dealing only 5%. This is why it is so great. It's low knockback combined with Mario's mobility equals follow-ups. This is easily the most diverse combo throw in the game. Under 40%, this can be combined with jab or up tilts to rack up damage. From ~40-70% this becomes a combo BEAST. The options from down throw at these percents are extremely expansive and is sort of free form, so I suggest watching professionals and taking notes on individual match-ups, percents and weights. Simply put, Mario is known for his combos. Speaking of which, Mario's up throw. It is only used at low percents to rack up damage, so it's not the most potent, but it deals 2% more than down throw and is home to the Ally Combo. Essentially, you up throw into a full jump down air and, following DI, react accordingly. If in front, a forward air is recommended and if not, back air is the way to go. This only works from about 0-30% depending on the character and works better with platforms (for conditioning and extentions). However, Mario's down air is escapable by any fast move or air dodge. If the opponent air dodges, you can fast-fall and extend the combo with an aerial or regrab. This mixup, however, will not work on floaty or light-weight characters, so this combo is much more situational. Speaking of situational, I have one last combo to talk about. From a down throw, full jump fair works from 80-120% on most characters. This combo, of course, is deadly. It is not guaranteed, however. The opponent could DI away and mostly evade combo. Any fast or armored move would work also. This 'combo' is really just a 50/50 mix-up that puts the opponent in a disadvantageous position.
Alright, enough combo talk. Now let's get into Mario's aerials. Mario's neutral air is a quick to start, longlasting sex kick that deals 8% for the first three frames, then deals 6% on the weak hitbox for 23 frames. Both hits have their uses. Out of shield, Mario can short-hop strong hit Nair at around 60% to jab lock the opponent. This can also be done off a down-throw. Weak hit Nair provides little knockback, which makes each situation more individual. Most of the time, you can follow it up with a grab. Neutral Air's main use is as a combo breaker. It comes out on frame 3, which makes it Mario's second fastest aerial move (first would be up-b at frame 2). This is a large reason why so many characters struggle against Mario. This is a great tool in Mario's kit. His down air is a spin attack that deals multiple hits and autocancels. This is good in neutral and works as a decent approach option. At extremely high percents, this also kills. Mario's forward air is a seriously dangerous spike, for the opponent and you. It is his slowest aerial, coming out on frame 16. It's even slower than any of his smash attacks. It has very bad end lag too, which is why it is so dangerous for you. Do not use this to approach, it is much too laggy. As for its uses, it is very rewarding off-stage, as it kills, and can be used as an up air string follow-up, but its never guaranteed. His back air is a great tool in Mario's arsenal. It is Mario's greatest shield-poking tool with its perfect range and is his most optimal approach. It is comparable to Diddy Kong's forward air. I recommend practicing this out of turn-around short hop. This is good for pressuring shields and combos. Finally, we have his up air, the combo guru itself. It comes out on frame 4, one frame after Nair and deals 7%. You can do this twice out of short-hop. As previously stated, this move is used primarily for extending combos, but it can also be used to guard a platform, as an anti-air, or to even begin a combo. There's not too much to say about this, it's really quite straight-forward.
Alright, only one more section of moves left, and that is special moves. Mario's Neutral B is the fireball, a bouncing projectile affected by gravity. If connected, it will deal 5% and continues bouncing for roughly one second and covers half of Battlefield. This can be B-Reversed for mind games. Out of a full-jump, Mario can run after the fireball to condition the opponent to shield. As previously stated, Mario lives off grabs, so this is very beneficial. The fireballs can also be used for defensive measures, as camping. Again, this is used to condition your opponent to approach.
Mario's side special is the Cape, one of the most effective utility options in the game, period. It deals 7% and deflects projectiles. At close proximity, this will flip the opponent 180 degrees. This is among Mario's greatest tools. It gives him an effective answer to projectiles and is amazing in utility. From edgeguarding Fox Illusion to gimping Cloud, this move is very versatile.
His up special is Super Jump Punch and is his recovery. Although his recovery is predictable, it is particularly effective. Super Jump Punch is intangible, meaning that trading is very unlikely and beating it is almost unheard of. Also, I should mention that this is Mario's quickest move, coming out on frame 2. Lastly, Mario's F.L.U.D.D.
The F.L.U.D.D is a chargable stream of water that pushes opponents backwards. This is, of course, an effective utility that rounds off Mario's game in general. Against characters such as Fox, Cloud and Diddy Kong, this move can be detrimental, especially far off-stage. So yes, that is all of Mario's moves.
[+2] Bowser Jr., Duck Hunt, Ike, Jigglypuff, Little Mac, Samus, Toon Link, Zelda
[+1] Bayonetta, Bowser, Captain Falcon, Charizard, Dr. Mario, Falco, Ganondorf, Greninja, King Dedede, Kirby, Link,
Lucario, Lucina, Marth, Mega Man, Mr. Game & Watch, Ness, Olimar, Pac-Man, Pikachu, ROB, Robin, Roy, Shulk
Wario, Wii Fit Trainer
[+0] Corrin, Pit/Dark Pit, Diddy Kong, Fox, Lucas, Meta Knight, Mewtwo, Palutena, Peach, Ryu, Sonic, Villager, Yoshi
[-1] Cloud, Donkey Kong, Luigi, Rosalina, Zero Suit Samus
[-2] Sheik
Mario is unique in the fact that he is easy, yet top tier (cough*Bayonetta*cough). He is fast, he combos, and he kills. Mario is probably the most honest character in Smash 4, he has no true outstanding strength. His results are really the result of the player, and while that may be true for every character, it especially applies to Mario. For any Mario Mains out there, if you are looking for a top-level Mario player, I suggest C9 Ally or eM Zenyou. Both are fantastic Mario Mains that are among my favorites to watch. Anti is great too, but he's not a Mario Main. If you are looking for Mario play at our tournaments, look no farther than me, BlueYoshi (aka Hydra). Aetrysel made an amazing losers run with Mario in 2015, but I've stuck with him and have got more consistent results. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but it's true. Finally, I want to thank you for reading. Check out my channel if you'd like on YouTube to see the video version of this guide or my Let's Plays. Thank you again and have a wonderful day!View attachment 122505