How would you change Mario's moveset?

[Quillion]

So apparently there's this minor contingent of people who think that Mario's too much of a shoto and/or doesn't bring in enough from his home series.

Even vanilla Mario, the closest the series has to a main character, gets some of this. Nobody hates him outright, but he is generally viewed as being Overshadowed by Awesome, with many criticizing his very basic, generic moveset that doesn't represent some of his cooler and/or more impressive feats from his home series — especially his Final Smash, which many people find unimpressive and underwhelming compared to other characters' Final Smashes. Since Brawl, the only move he got originating from a specific game was FLUDD; some fans feel that Mario's moveset should be updated to represent some of the newer entries, such as the beloved Super Mario Galaxy (most of the possible Galaxy-based moves ended up going to Rosalina & Luma).

The one change I'd make would be to make his Side-B the Star Spin from the Galaxy duology. It would reflect projectiles (which it already did in Galaxy to a very limited extent) and get more distance the more the B button is held down. To go more into detail, tapping B essentially makes it act identical to the Cape he already has, while holding down B will make him spin up to three times (but won't put him into helpless).

And maybe because Mario would already have a good spin move, he could discard his Fakenado down aerial and replace it with the Ground Pound.

 

[BoomToast]

I don't know if I would want Mario to have a ground pound, would it be like Sheik's or Zamus' dair where it sends you straight down?

 

[Sari]

I'd make his n-air the tornado spin (though it would still sort of act like his current n-air) and make his down air a stomp-like attack to help make his attacks more based off of the Mario series.

 

[Swordust]

I'd probably just make Gust Cape a default. My creativity's dead at the moment.

 

[TruthAlone]

I'd most likely replace FLUDD with something more useful.

Maybe I'm just not using FLUDD correctly, who knows.

 

[smasher1001]

I love fludd, especially in smash 4. its a limited move in its use, but strong for that limited use.

 

[Kwam$tack$]

I'd make his upb the triple jump from mario 64. I mean it IS his 3rd jump. Plus i'd give it a hitbox at his head and feet for when he does his double flip

 

[Luggy]

I would replace the Fludd with the Hammer. The Hammer represents a lot of series, mainly "Mario & Luigi", "Paper Mario" and the very first Donkey Kong.

 

[ItsRainingGravy]

The FLUDD is amazing in Smash 4.

If anything though, I'd make the default fludd High Pressure FLUDD, and give him the Hover Nozzel as his 3rd custom. And he can keep Scalding FLUDD because it is actually good.

 

[Quillion]

I still wish FLUDD were just an item. The Gust Bellows item fulfills the purpose I wanted FLUDD to fill.

Anyway, I think Mario's d-air should be the Goomba Stomp. Sounds silly?

Well, Falcon, Ness, Ganondorf, Greninja, and Zelda all have downward stomp-type attacks. Even Donkey Kong used to have it as a d-air until it was switched out for a downward punch in Smash U.

There's the footstool jump, but it's not the same thing. You could make the argument that the Goomba Stomp is quite literally Mario's most iconic move (how does appearing in every single Mario platformer ever (minus Super Mario Bros 2 USA) sound?)

Mario not having it could actually be as bad as Wario losing his Shoulder Bash.

 

[MacSmitty]

Super Jump Punch should go as high as Super Jump. Mario IS known for his jumping after all.
FLUDD can work like Greninja's Hydro Pump, doing damage at the end of the water blasts.
Also I would change Mario Finale into something more amazing, like the Rainbow Star from SMG, or something else.
And also, MOAR KILL POWER!

 

[Quillion]

Super Jump Punch should go as high as Super Jump. Mario IS known for his jumping after all.
FLUDD can work like Greninja's Hydro Pump, doing damage at the end of the water blasts.
Also I would change Mario Finale into something more amazing, like the Rainbow Star from SMG, or something else.
And also, MOAR KILL POWER!

The problem with all of Mario's potential Final Smashes from his home series are that they're all pretty much items already. Mega Mario is an item, Invinicibility (Rainbow) Star is an item, Metal Mario is an item... There's really no option here.

Link is a similar case (though maybe he can use an elemental rod...)

 

[OGPiP]

I'd make his d-air un-escapable. That's all I want.

 

[MeteorSpike]

Mario's fine enough as is, but by god, the 2 moves that bother me to no end are his USmash and DAir
USmash should be given the same duration as Doc's and Luigi's: I am so sick of this move blatantly whiffing in the front against anyone remotely "too short" or just blatantly whiffing in general
DAir should by no means be escapable at all. This is the same brand of dysfunctional lousy-ness that plagues moves like Samus' jab. Doing DAir against someone with a fast-enough aerial is just a liability, which is not how successfully hitting someone with a move should work.

 

[Deleted member]

I think he's fine as is. But I'd give him Ground Pound as a Dair to replace Mario Tornado. And down b could be Hammer Swing. Where he grabs his iconic hammer and bashes an opponent KO'ing them at high percent. Fire Mario could be his final smash where he takes out a fire flower and turns into Fire Mario turning all his attacks into fire attacks and powering up the fiery explosion Fire Glove. And his fireballs.

 

[AfroGamerNinja]

Give his fireballs the angling gimmick Snake had with his grenades?

 

[MarioMeteor]

Replace Fire Orb with the Superballs from Super Mario Land. They bounce of walls and floors and gets stronger as they bounce, as well as do more knockback, damage, and move faster.
Then do something about that recovery. It is inexcusable for ****ing Jumpman to have the recovery that he has. Then replace the F.L.U.D.D. customs with the Rocket Nozzle, which would be like a chargeable Rocket Jump, and the Turbo Nozzle, which would be kind of like Super Speed.
After that, give him the Star Spin instead of Shocking Cape, to give Doc something of his own. It would be nice if his down smash was the spinning breakdance kick he does in Galaxy if you spin while crouching.