• Welcome to Smashboards, the world's largest Super Smash Brothers community! Over 250,000 Smash Bros. fans from around the world have come to discuss these great games in over 19 million posts!

    You are currently viewing our boards as a visitor. Click here to sign up right now and start on your path in the Smash community!

Q&A Ambitions as a Plumber; A Mario FAQ

j3ly

Smash Champion
Joined
Mar 19, 2009
Messages
2,001
Location
London
you have to be holding towards the edge as you make contact with it, then as soon as you grab the edge flick the control stick the other way within 1 frame. you retain ur jump.

the only real setup is to WD off the edge, hold down so you dont grab it, DJ and hold towards the edge, grab the edge then flick the control stick the other way. hope that helps
 

j3ly

Smash Champion
Joined
Mar 19, 2009
Messages
2,001
Location
London
same difficulty same timing, the only difference is the time it takes from the drop down to the regrab
 

Melaf

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Feb 16, 2006
Messages
248
Location
Quebec city,Canada
Ive try pretty much all night when I had the opportunity in my matches and it doesnt seem to work lolll I can do it with fox but mario I dont know
 

A2ZOMG

Smash Legend
Joined
Oct 13, 2007
Messages
12,542
Location
RPV, California
NNID
A2ZOMG
Switch FC
SW 8400 1713 9427
You mean that you can wallup directly after pressing away from the ledge Ive did it a couple time by error trying to ledgehdrop something but If you can tell me if theres a method to do it it would be a practical thing for edgeguard as you are not wasting a jump
It's not THAT good for edgeguarding, though edgeguarding with N-air/F-air this way looks pretty cool. The best use for this AT is ledgehop B-air. You can do two of them before landing on stage, or you can waveland after the first B-air. It's super sick on FoD especially where the platforms make your wavelands more smooth.
 

Melaf

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Feb 16, 2006
Messages
248
Location
Quebec city,Canada
well I still not get the timing right xD tought with fox I seem to get it everytime lollll..this could be very interessting technique if you menage to hit somone with a bair at low percent since sometime you cant reallty pull of enough Bair in time to really push the other char far enough the ledge
 

Melaf

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Feb 16, 2006
Messages
248
Location
Quebec city,Canada
you wish we had a megaawsome combo vid feat: *theawsomnemarioplayer* like the one we had at start with the vid of Bombsolider s falco back in the day lol
 

Blanky

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Messages
283
Location
Lowell, MA
my friend just got a dazzle, and i organize a smashfest here every week. so you'll see me vs fox,falco, c.falcon, y.link, and sheik soon :)
 

Dimitris

Smash Ace
Joined
Apr 13, 2010
Messages
571
The title of this thread is off, right? Shouldn't "FAQ" be changed into "Q&A"...?
(especially since the mario guide on here has more accurately 'FAQ' in its title)
 

Parralax

Smash Rookie
Joined
Feb 22, 2012
Messages
21
Location
Ottawa
Hey, some noob here:

Just started playing competitvely, going to my first tourney in about 2 weeks. Mario is my best character, but I need to improve... so what is fundamentally the most important aspect of playing mario? Or give me something I can work on.
 

Frisbie

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Oct 26, 2010
Messages
405
Location
Houston
Hey, some noob here:

Just started playing competitvely, going to my first tourney in about 2 weeks. Mario is my best character, but I need to improve... so what is fundamentally the most important aspect of playing mario? Or give me something I can work on.
do you have l-canceling and wavedashing down? if not those definitely have to be at the top of your list.

once you have that stuff down i would mess around on your own with mario's moves. definitely get advice from people at the tourney, also play as many friendlies as you can
 

Parralax

Smash Rookie
Joined
Feb 22, 2012
Messages
21
Location
Ottawa
Yes my l canceling and wavedashing is pretty solid but i still have room for improvement. Sometimes when im wdoos I will screw up and take a hit or something, but for the most part I do those consitently well.
But i do have a question about marios grabs? I always try and JC his grab but when im running if I hammer R trigger and A at the same time (more or less) is it the same as a dash attack-grab?? The animation makes the waa-hoo sound and seems to have a larger range
 

Krynxe

I can't pronounce it either
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
Messages
4,903
Location
Lakewood, WA
3DS FC
4511-0472-1729
Z is like literally an L/R+A macro. Running and pressing R+A at the same time will result in a normal dash-grab. To JC grab, you need to jump and grab at pretty much the same time, resulting in a standing grab out of a run. Jump-cancelling Mario's grab makes it come out 4 frames quicker, which can be very useful.

You can scroll down to Mario's grabs in this thread to see the differences

I hope this answers your question, not sure if it does.

Edit:
Though I'm not a Mario player, I can give you some advice on what you might want to work on.

1. Be confident in your mobility. You should have not only wavedashing down, but wavelanding down as well. Mario uses wavelanding a lot in his game. Also make sure you have down your dashdancing, dash canceling, and all the types of wavelanding down. Wavelanding from the edge, wavelanding onto all the paltforms on all the (legal) stages, wavelanding after certain aeriels, etc. If you're not secure with your character's mobility, you can't do what you want to do without extra effort.

2. Understand the hitstun and knockback of your moves. By this, I mean know what your moves will do to your opponent, and whether or not you can/should follow up. For instance, your up/down throws are great to set up combos even if they might only be two or three hits. Getting the most out of your opportunities in a match is key to playing any character. You have to test this stuff versus many different characters, because most of them have different properties from being hit. Fox and Falco are essentially in this regard, and they're probably the two most played characters, so being secure with your moves/combos versus them is essential. This just usually comes naturally from playing the game a lot, but you can get a fair enough amount of knowledge by testing stuff on computers.

3. To add onto the previous point, know your match-ups. Know what works versus specific characters (focus on high tiers, which are obviously the most played characters). Not just combos, but everything. Edgeguarding for instance, needs to be done in almost a unique way versus every character. For Mario is particular, it's important to utilize your cape for edgeguards and know what you can and cannot cape. Other things in matchups include knowing how to be offensive and defensive. Approaching a marth players is, of course, much different than approaching a fox player. Know what moves they can utilize, know the range on your moves and your opponents' moves and be cautious.

4. Mix-ups. Have a wide arsenal of tools to use against your opponent. If you play the same way for the entire match, your opponent will catch on to what you're doing and adapt. If something works, then hell, keep doing it. If something doesn't work though, and you notice yourself losing, don't panic and just try new things. If you approach your opponent the same way every time, they'll start to punish you for it. But, if you're unpredictable, you'll notice things working out a lot more. One example for mario that I like to do is this: Mixing up between a shorthop with a bair right before you land (and L-cancel it) OR shorthop and double jump right before you land and then do something like a rising bair OR shorthopping and then wavelanding right before you land. You can waveland back and gain space, or waveland in and do something like ftilt or dsmash as you're moving towards your opponent. (but dsmash is generally better when you're facing your opponent) You can also start to use mindgames with this. Shorthop towards your opponent and make them think you're going to bair on front of them. Less experienced are most likely to react by shielding to get a shieldgrab, otherwise they might jump to avoid it or wavedash back and do something. If you predict the shield, you can do something like waveland behind their shield and grab them. If you predict the jump, you can double jump before landing and them smack them. If they wavedash back, you can just do nothing and land safely, and then maybe get an opportunity to do something from there. PLUS if there's a platform above you and your opponent, you can shorthop approach, double jumps onto the platform, waveland directly above them and then do something like dsmash to catch them jumping or drop from the platform and nair behind them. I'm rambling now, but this is just an example of how many options there are in this game. Having knowledge of your options is very important, but what's even more important is having knowledge of your opponents' options AND knowing how to react to them.

I really hope this helps. If you have questions or something, let me know.
 

Nova2X

Smash Cadet
Joined
May 30, 2012
Messages
41
Location
Tampa, Florida
As mario i like to use the dair->utilt combo as a starter for almost everything i try to do. Or an uthrow, after u get them in the air though you shouldn't let them touch the ground if you can help it
 

ZeroUnderOne

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Feb 19, 2007
Messages
131
Location
Orlando, FL
I've wondered about this often...

What do you guys think is the safest/smartest thing to do when you do a successful shffl vs a shielding opponent. Is jab to grab the best bet (especially vs oos shine happy spaceys)? Does anything else work better?

:phone:
 

Parralax

Smash Rookie
Joined
Feb 22, 2012
Messages
21
Location
Ottawa
I'm no expert but depending on the size of their sheild I like to jab twice and follow up with either a grab or down smash, maybe shffled Uairs and Bairs followed by a wavesmash. But you are probably best going for the grab. If they are angling their sheild up a situational d-tilt is always funny

Although if you are feeling ballzy, your spacing is good and you have forced them into sheild (kinda caught your opponent off guard), i really like 2 slow jabs wait just a sec, then 3 fast jabs with a sffled f air to f smash. If it works their sheild is barely there or they are somewhere offstage.

Also try sheilding yourself and then U smash oos.

I don't know if these are technically correct but they are what I go for when I need to get away from grabbing too much.
 

a rookie

Smash Ace
Joined
Jan 10, 2009
Messages
613
Location
Long Beach, Ca
Just like Parralax said, the one-two punch is pretty good. The mixup after the jabs is grab/dsmash. Or you can jab, wait, and see how they react so you can condition/make a good read on what kind of player they are and if they like hitting the panic button.
 

bilf

Smash Rookie
Joined
Feb 3, 2014
Messages
9
Location
UUUURrrrvine
after connecting with a shffled f-air when the opponent is at low percents is there a guaranteed grab afterwards? maybe on some characters but not others? whats the frame window if its not a "combo"?
 

a rookie

Smash Ace
Joined
Jan 10, 2009
Messages
613
Location
Long Beach, Ca
I have no idea about the frame window. But you can visually make that judgement. When you hit them w/ the fair, the opponent goes into this stance where it usually(on most chars) looks like you punched them in the gut and they lower their head. The whole time they're in that animation, is the whole time you have to react w/ a dsmash/grab/etc. But yes, it's guaranteed at low percents(a fair into a grab). CC does not work effectively, BUT you have to be a little faster since their recovery window is a little faster as well(NOT COMPLETELY SURE) w/ your follow up.
 

GeZ

Smash Lord
Joined
Mar 3, 2013
Messages
1,763
Location
The Speed Force
I got into competitive smash with P:M but Melee just feels better (cleaner?), so I'm probably going to transition to it.

From the vids I've seen and the matches I've played Mario doesn't really throw Fireballs that much, does he? Seems like they're just not that utility, and it's a better idea to use movement.
 

Twhy

Smash Rookie
Joined
Aug 21, 2014
Messages
24
Location
SOUTH CAROLINA!
Melee fireballs are not nearly as good as PM fireballs. PM based of Doc's pills i think (more damage, similar bounce height).
 

GeZ

Smash Lord
Joined
Mar 3, 2013
Messages
1,763
Location
The Speed Force
I get that, and I'm honestly happier with it. The interactivity of movement is really the draw of Mario for me so I'm fine with not having large swathes of my meta game consist of plipping fireballs.

From what I've seen from watching footage of Mario players (mostly A Rookie who is an underdog hype machine) Mario mostly uses fireballs when he's recovering to harass his opponents edgeguard attempts. Is there any other consistent use for it? Some niche situation where it's really utility? I see some players use it rarely but if it's for a certain situation I haven't been able to figure it out yet.
 

Twhy

Smash Rookie
Joined
Aug 21, 2014
Messages
24
Location
SOUTH CAROLINA!
I'm the wrong person to ask about that, I've only been to one tournament. Hopefully one of the nice people here have more knowledge to shed.
 

TTrain

Official Terminator Train
Joined
Dec 31, 2010
Messages
48
Location
Spokanto, WA
NNID
ThomasTerminator
3DS FC
4613-7026-8628
I get that, and I'm honestly happier with it. The interactivity of movement is really the draw of Mario for me so I'm fine with not having large swathes of my meta game consist of plipping fireballs.

From what I've seen from watching footage of Mario players (mostly A Rookie who is an underdog hype machine) Mario mostly uses fireballs when he's recovering to harass his opponents edgeguard attempts. Is there any other consistent use for it? Some niche situation where it's really utility? I see some players use it rarely but if it's for a certain situation I haven't been able to figure it out yet.
From my experiences, Mario's fireballs can also be used for harassment, but they aren't that reliable like Doc's pills since they don't deal that much damage or have much of a trajectory bounce. I tend to get away with throwing a fireball or two since it can interrupt a combo in progress, or prevent someone from recovering.
 

GeZ

Smash Lord
Joined
Mar 3, 2013
Messages
1,763
Location
The Speed Force
I definitely use them for that when the situation presents itself. Can Mario wave land Bair or Uair on short hop? Or is his WL game only with his full hop aerials?
 

a rookie

Smash Ace
Joined
Jan 10, 2009
Messages
613
Location
Long Beach, Ca
Interesting thing you can do is SH upair and double jump into nair before you hit the floor. It has practical uses, even though it's probably specific. But it's something to be used more imo.
 

Zalak

Smash Lord
Joined
Nov 15, 2013
Messages
1,632
Location
Washington
NNID
Zalak123
I think if you're creative enough, you can find a use for just about any use. Mario's fireballs aren't quite as good as Doc's pills, but they do have uses. Personally, when I'm a tight spot, I start playing more campy and try to use the fireballs to manipulate my opponent into going where I want them to go. Basically, when an opponent seems particularly difficult to approach, I use my fireballs to apply a bit of pressure from afar, aiding my approach. It has other uses as well, like gimping in certain situations. Sometimes you can even use the tiny stun to catch your opponent off guard and start a combo.

EDIT: ANOTHER THING: Just because a fireball doesn't hit, that doesn't mean it wasn't a successful fireball. Sometimes, you can use fireballs to limit your opponent's evasion options, forcing them into an unfavorable position.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom