But point of the matter is that these look like weaknesses on paper, but in reality, he has plenty of ways to circumvent them, which kinda make those traits kind of irrelevant in top level play.
His weaknesses definitely exist, and they do get exploited at top level. Ally isn't steamrolling everybody. However, I agree that Mario's strengths make up for them. His confirm game and frame data are that good.
1) 8th best airspeed in the game says hi. Mario can get away with alot by simply being in the air due to his numerous options in that position (buttons, b-reverse fireballs, air camping, etc.), something only very, very few characters can realistically exploit (Fox)
8th best air speed in the game doesn't paint the whole picture though. Mario drifts about as fast as Robin's run, meaning he's still not fast.
As for Mario in the air in general, he has a good air game. However, it's not perfect. As I said, his buttons are fast, but none of them are good at covering below him, nor does he have a low commitment burst movement escape option. Juggling him, or at the least pressuring his landing hard is not out of the question since he drifts as fast as Robin runs and can't seriously threaten you below him.
B reverse fireballs are a decent mixup for getting out of disadvantage, but that's a 53 frame commitment for projectile that doesn't cover directly under him and isn't hard to eat through with a good aerial.
Air camping...ok? I'm not trying to say his air game isn't good, but he's not an insurmountable fortress either. Again, when he takes to air,
-he can't threaten you quickly unless his back is to you
-he probably outspeeds you, but you most likely outrange and outdamage him
-can't cover below him well
Pretty much the entire cast can challenge him without fear if they're below him. Anyone who is remotely fast can abuse Mario's mobility + lack of range. ZSS, Fox, Sonic, M2, and Sheik come to mind immediately. In general, most of the cast outranges him as well.
Again, I'm not trying to say he isn't a monster once he gets in, nor that his strengths don't make up for his weaknesses. He still has them though.
2) His range doesn't matter much because again, thank his numerous aerial options. Most, if not all of the disjointed characters, have a fair bit of ending lag in their moves, which Mario can punish by simply abusing powershield and his broken OoS options. Only DK and Mewtwo have answers to that currently, but Mario outplays them in the air so w/e.
His lack of range matters because he's not as fast mobility wise as you are portraying. If we're talking about Mario getting in on people, I don't think he is quick enough to punish spaced aerials on block if he has to drop shield. His OoS options don't have that much range either, except up B I guess. I don't see Ally, Anti, or Zenyou use up B OoS much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kajNISIqGA - ally v mr e ; abusing PS doesn't work out that well in practice because Mario's approach is so linear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDFc5Hf_344 - ally v nairo ; linking this because it has some good examples of how exploitable mario is when he's trying to get in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-oi8uKzx7o - zenyou v tearbear; lots of examples of counterpoking mario's approach in this one, and pressuring his landing hard
Yes, I know in pretty much all of those examples Mario runs a train on his opponent when he gets in. That's not what we're discussing though. His weaknesses are still there.
3) Umm, RAR bair? Perfectly spaced bairs can't be punished OoS unless you've straight up got broken OoS (Sheik) or long enough grab range (DK)
RAR bair means Mario is facing away from you. To do that from the ground as an approach, that takes him 14 frames to put a (low range) hitbox in front of him. That's not good.
Perfectly spaced Bairs may be good on block, but they can be outspaced because of mario's low range, or you can outmaneuver him because he isn't that fast.
And for the record, only disjoints have consistent answers to Mario's recovery options. The fact it has intangibility or whatever makes it difficult for the majority of the cast to challenge. It's a good recovery, nothing bad like you were saying. lol
The raw distance on Mario's recovery is low. Like I said, you hit him out of his DJ and he's most likely dead. Similar to cloud, he can't cover the position a little bit in front of and below him very well, although he at least has a projectile and a decent stall option in cape.
The beginning of SJP is intangible, but the latter portion is not and can be challenged. Trust me, I've been Luigi nado spiked enough to know.
I'm not trying to call his recovery bad (never did btw), but it could be better. He's definitely in the "gimps aren't out of the question" part of the cast.
