Q&A maelstrom218's Mario FAQ: Guide to Italian Plumbing (Vn 1.0)

[maelstrom218]

maelstrom218’s Mario FAQ: Guide to Italian Plumbing (Vn. 1.0)

NOTE: I'll be making multiple posts for this FAQ, DO NOT MAKE ANY POSTS UNTIL I FINISH!!! Thank you

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction [INTN]
2. Why Should I Be Choosing Mario? [CHZ]
3. Wait. . .Who's the Better of the Two?--A Doc and Mario Comparison [DCMRO]
4. Current Tier List [TEIR]
5. List of Mario's Pros/Cons [PRCN]
6. Frequently Asked Questions [FAQZ]
7. List of Advanced Tactics/Terms [NDX]
8. Attacks Analysis [ATKS]
· Neutral A Ground Attacks [NTRL]
· Tilts [TLT]
· Smashes [SMSH]
· Aerials [ARLS]
· Grab/Throws [GRBS]
· B-moves [BMOOV]
9. Strategies [STRTS]
· Recovery [RCVR]
· Edgehogging [EHG]
· Mario's Ledgegame [MLDG]
· Edgeguarding [EDGD]
· Mario’s Out-of-Shield Game [OOS]
· Combat Style [COMS]
10. Character Match-Ups [MTCH]
11. Personal Rants [PRNT]
12. Thanks [THX]

Legal Disclaimer
This FAQ is the property of maelstrom218, and you MAY NOT cut/paste/copy, re-use or otherwise reproduce this body of work in any way and claim it as your own. If I catch you plagiarizing my work, I will hunt you down, and break you like a stale pretzel. However, if you simply want to use/post excerpts or the entirety of this FAQ, feel free to do so, but you MUST give credit to me, the original author. Thank you.

Introduction [INTN]

Salutations to Smashers, newbies and pros alike! My name is maelstrom218, and this is my first FAQ ever! So, if you think the FAQ is crappy, it’s b/c it’s the first one I’ve ever written. . .I do realize that I tend to be excessively wordy, so I hope you’ll bear w/me throughout the entirety of this FAQ.

My purpose in writing this FAQ was twofold: I wanted to make this Mario FAQ as accessible as possible so that both newbies and pros will feel comfortable perusing the pages and find something new to think about. Secondly, I wanted an FAQ that was devoid of the rampant fanboyism and author editorializing that you usually find in such FAQs in order to provide you w/pure info on Mario, straight up. . .and I think I’ve managed to pull it off. Feedback is always welcome, so if you feel that you have (constructive) criticism or praise, you can always email me at tec219@nyu.edu. . .just try to keep the hate to a minimum. XD

I feel privileged to be able to contribute something like this to the Smash Community, and I hope the information contained herein will serve you well. Happy Smashing!

Mario, the Italian Plumber whose resume includes kart racing, dancing, tennis, golf, and baseball, has returned to the fight scene once more in Super Smash Brothers Melee. Contrary to his superstar status in the videogame genre however, Mario is often underrated in the Smash community. He is often seen as boring, technically shallow and easily beaten. After all, as in every other game w/Mario as part of the playable cast of characters, he serves as the perfectly “average” character. Fortunately enough for all the Mario players out there, he is none of the aforementioned things: Mario has a surprising amount of technical depth and a versatility that is nearly unmatched. To that end, this FAQ is meant to expose and explore the depth required to bring Mario’s full potential to fruition--and make no mistake, a well played Mario can be very formidable indeed.

Mario, the Consummate Italian Plumber Extraordinaire in SSBM, is at your disposal.

Why Should I Be Choosing Mario? [CHZ]

“I really believe that Mario’s strengths depend entirely on the person playing with him. Some character have moves the results of which are immediately obvious and can be abused against even skilled opponents. Mario, however, has little that can be abused, but also none of his moves lack purpose (well... okay, d-tilt) and he has the capability to aptly handle every opponent. Some characters are like missile launchers with radar tracking and laser guidance and all you have to do is pull the trigger; some characters are like whiffle balls that blow about in the wind and depend on circumstance to be effective, and require insane expertise and just as often luck (note, these whiffle balls exploke on contact). But Mario’s a pistol who shoots where you tell him to. He’s just cool like that.”
-HonorBound, writing the best post ever describing Mario

Mario doesn't require incredible technical skill because he doesn’t have technical strategies like Fox’s infinite. Mario doesn't have huge range like Marth, or incredible projectiles like Falco, or an unstoppable aerial game like Jiggs. But what makes Mario such an excellent character is that he's relatively decent in all areas--projectiles, high-priority shffl'd aerials, solid smashes, good juggling. Unfortunately, Mario is extremely difficult to play as due to his lack of KO power; as a result, he relies on his combos and ledge-hopped ABAs to score his kills. But in return for being “average,” Mario has an immense amount of versatility. . .he’s basically pure, distilled potential for you to tap into. Spend enough time w/Mario, and he can become more formidable than you could possibly imagine.

Mario is for you if:

1. You like having all-around great aerials

2. You like having The Cape--a B move nearly as versatile as Fox's shine, and used for turning around opponents, deflecting projectiles, increasing aerial mobility, mind games, recovery, and anti-recovery

3. You want to master the majority of advanced techniques quickly (Mario needs these integrated into his style of play, so you practice them constantly when using Mario, plus its easy to learn them w/Mario)

4. You want an average, balanced character who has excellent capabilities all around

5. You happen to be mindgame-oriented

6. You happen to be obsessed w/Mario and Nintendo

Wait. . .Who's the Better of the Two?--A Doc and Mario Comparison [DCMRO]

This paragraph is devoted to the sole purpose of (briefly) explaining the differences between Mario and his clone counterpart, Doc. People call them “clones,” and a proficient Mario player (for example) familiar w/his style can certainly alternate between both characters. However, Mario and Doc are different enough to cause (unenthusiastic) debate in the Smash Community about who is actually better.

It’s really impossible to say who’s better. Certainly Mario is more well-rounded than Doc is, but the lack of KO moves and general overall power is extremely troublesome. Doc has plenty of KO moves and power to boot, but his lack of range and lesser speed (compared to Mario) is equally troubling. Below is a list of the major differences between the two characters.

Smash Attacks:
Winner: Doc
Why: Doc’s f-smash and d-smash have more damage and knockback.
Analysis: This is what makes Doc so great. Mario basically has no kill moves, because none of his smashes have enough knockback. His f-smash is a decent kill move, but it has to be sweetspotted, which is often difficult and is easily avoidable.
BUT: Doc’s f-smash has zero range. Not good. Mario’s f-smash has to be sweetspotted to kill. Also not good.

Tilt Attacks:
Winner: Tie
Why: Both’s f-tilts are basically the same. Mario has a bad d-tilt but good u-tilt; Doc has a mediocre (but still comboable) u-tilt and situational, but effective d-tilt.
Analysis: Mario’s u-tilt has a ridiculous amount of combo potential, but has a nearly useless d-tilt. Doc’s d-tilt is an incredible set-up for ABAs at the ledge, and although Doc’s u-tilt is more difficult to use as a combo starter/continuer, it’s still fairly useful as long as you remain under the opponent.
BUT: Mario’s tilt’s are much easier to use and combo with; however, both characters have decent and effective tilts.

Projectiles:
Winner: Doc
Why: Pills have better trajectory, damage, and setups than fireballs
Analysis: Doc’s projectile spamming is good. No one wants to eat 8% damage from a pill, so you have the ability to restrict enemy movement, approach easily, and follow up behind pills w/ immediate attacks (a la Samus’ missile cancel).
BUT: No buts. Pills pwn fireballs, and most other projectiles.

Cape:
Winner: Tie
Why: The respective strengths and focus of Mario and Doc’s Capes are different, but are equally useful.
Analysis: The strength of Mario’s Cape isn’t so much it’s ability to edgeguard, reflect, and turn opponents around--though it can certainly do these things--but in its inherent aerial mobility. Mario’s Cape completely stops all horizontal/vertical movement (a la Fox’s shine) and gives needed horizontal/vertical boost, as opposed to Doc’s, which only slows down his movement. However, despite Doc’s Cape lacking aerial mobility, it has huge range, which makes edgeguarding, reflecting, and hitting opponents much easier.
BUT: It’s really a matter of personal preference: aerial mobility vs. greater Cape range.

Aerial Game:
Winner: Tie
Why: Despite Mario’s aerials giving more damage and having slightly less lag, Doc’s aerials usually have more range, comboability, and uses. Despite this though, both aerials even out in terms of efficacy.
Analysis: For the most part, Mario’s aerials have more damage, and end 1-2 frames sooner compared to Doc’s. His aerials are are also very formidable; his u-air is a dangerous combo attack, his sex kick works as a KO assist move, and his AFA is a moderate combo-starter. However, Doc’s aerials have more range (as seen in his ABA and AFA), and have less knockback for more comboability (as seen w/his AUA and ANA). Furthermore, Doc’s ABA is better than Mario’s as an edgeguarding tool due to the below horizontal knockback (like Sheik’s AFA). Also, Doc’s AFA essentially serves as a shffl’d smash attack, which is much more practical than Mario’s meteor-smashing, semi-combo starting AFA.
BUT: Again, it’s a matter of personal preference. . .Doc’s aerials may appear to be better at first glance, but Mario’s are equally formidable, just in different ways.

Recovery:
Winner: Mario
Why: Mario's Cape stops all aerial movement, which gives better recovery compared to Doc's Cape, which only slows aerial movement; plus, Mario has his walljump.
Analysis: Doc has, by far, the worst recovery of the game, even compared to Falco. His cape is almost useless, and his down-B is extremely difficult to use for vertical and horizontal recovery. Once you're off the stage, you're basically screwed.
BUT: Mario's recovery may seem to be only marginally better than Doc's--however, he can do some interesting things by firing fireballs, jumping+AUA to discourage spiking, and caping to vary recovery. Additionally, Mario’s walljump ability gives him a few extra options in evading edgeguarding. Basically, Mario has a lot more versatility in recovery than Doc does.

WINNER: Doc (at a low level); Mario (at an expert level)

Doc has a variety of advantages over Mario, ranging from minor--such as a slightly better Cape (when attacking) and longer-ranged aerials, to huge advantages, such as a better projectile, and most importantly, a series of high-knockback moves. Add up all of the redeeming qualities, and you have a high-performance character who can do everything Mario can--maybe even a little bit better.

However, that’s not to say that Mario is in any way inferior to Doc. Despite his lack of KO power, which remains as Mario’s most pressing problem, he still has a wide variety of moves in his arsenal, most of which are capable of systematically taking apart an opponent given the correct approach and capable mindgames. Mario has things that Doc doesn’t--a Cape w/aerial mobility, a comboing u-tilt, a long-range f-smash that practically qualifies as a disjointed hitbox, and most importantly, sheer versatility.

All this being said, Doc is much, much easier to play than Mario as he has his Pills and KO moves to back him up. Mario is much more difficult to play, as he has to work hard and sweat blood to get a single KO. However, the sheer potential that Mario has due to his versatility, especially regarding his various techniques and combos, gives him the edge over Doc if you’re willing to put in extensive time and effort.

 

[maelstrom218]

CURRENT TIER LIST (as of 2005) [TEIR]

Top Tier
· Sheik
· Fox
· Marth
Upper Tier
· Peach
· Falco
· Captain Falcon
· Samus
High Tier
· Jigglypuff
· Doc
· Ganondorf
· Mario
· Ice Climbers
Middle Tier
· Luigi
· Link
· Roy
· Donkey Kong
· Pikachu
· Zelda
Low Tier
· Ness
· Young Link
· Yoshi
· Kirby
· Mr. Game and Watch
· Bowser
Bottom Tier
· Mewtwo
· Pichu

Make no mistake, Mario isn't the best character. . .but he is often underrated, and if used to his fullest potential, is a force to be reckoned with.

Of course, there’s a reason why Mario is somewhat low on the Tier List. He lacks Captain Falcon's speed, Samus' unlimited recovery, and Jiggs' superb aerial game. Even worse, if you pit him against Marth's superior range or Fox's shine *shudders* there will be problems.

However, he has many redeeming factors. Again, in the proper hands, Mario becomes much more lethal than you might think.

LIST OF MARIO'S PROS/CONS [PRCN]

Mario
PROS:
· strong aerial game--AFA for meteor smashing and combo-starting, ABA for speed and edge guarding, ANA for defense/offense and KO assists, AUA for juggling, and ADA for combo-starting
· excellent wavedash
· the fireball is an OK projectile
· the incredible and versatile Cape
· his b-throw one of the stronger throws in the game
· great tilts--u-tilt for setting up mid-air combos, f-tilt for long range poking, and d-tilt for nice CCC
· relatively fast w/low lag attacks

CONS:
· mediocre recovery b/c of predictability and little range, not helped that much by tornado
· short-range fighter
· virtually no reliable KO moves--quite possibly his biggest, debilitating weakness

Because of Mario's disadvantages, advanced techniques are ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!!! Techniques such as wavedashing, DI’ing and L-canceling will give him the edge he needs to stay alive by reducing his disadvantages. Mario’s potential as a truly formidable foe rests within the proper application of these techniques--without them, he becomes a lumbering oaf. With them, he becomes a serious threat.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS [FAQZ]

This is a list of questions that get asked all the time by newbies/n00bs, and to be honest, answering the same questions repeatedly becomes tiring. A lot of these questions are answered in the “List of Advanced Tactics,” so be sure to skim through that as it’s much more comprehensive than this section. The “Frequently Asked Questions” section is more of a general overview than a complete answer.

1. What is wavedashing?
Wavedashing is jumping, and airdodging diagonally downwards immediately after you leave the ground. Wavedash length is determined by how many degrees below the horizontal you push the control stick. It’s used for mindgames, smashing, movement, edgehogging, and all-around pwnage.

2. Who’s better, Doc or Mario?
ARRRGGGHHH!!! Read the “Wait. . .Who’s the Better of the Two?” section!!! Mario is a well-rounded character that’s pretty decent against anyone due to u-tilt/shffl’d AUA combos, Doc tends to be more specialized w/more KO moves and Pills. IMO, both are equal in general, but varying circumstances may make one better than the other (i.e. stage selection, opponent’s character, etc). Currently, popular belief states that Doc is better than Mario.

3. VIDS. NOW. Who are the better Mario players?
Good Mario players include Brown Mario, Scav, Muffin, and TheCape. (Sorry if I forgot anyone )

4. What are some combos for Mario?
Mario is incredibly combo-oriented, and can combo from his d-throw/u-throw and u-tilt. His standard juggling involves shffl’d AUAs (w/occasional u-tilts to reset the opponent’s position), ending in either a sex kick, or an up-angled f-smash.

5. What are some ways to get kills w/Mario?
Mario gets KOs by sweetspotting the f-smash at mid/high %s, ledgeguarding by using ledge-hopped ABAs, caping recoveries, and trapping the enemy in his trademark shffl’d AUA combos.
The best way to sweetspot the f-smash is to wavedash backwards+f-smash, angle it downwards (to reach beneath shielding opponents), or angle it upwards (as a finisher on aerial opponents). As an aside, the up-angled f-smash has 1% more damage, and also has more knockback than a standard f-smash.

6. What is something that most Mario players overlook?
Unfortunately, most Mario players tend to overlook the f-tilt. The f-tilt is an essential tool for both Mario, as he has horrible range. Luckily for him, the f-tilt has a surprising amount of range and knockback, and is an invaluable tool for long-distance poking.

 

[maelstrom218]

LIST OF ADVANCED TACTICS/TERMS [NDX]

Aerial Wavedash (aka “landdash”): similar to a ground based wavedash, but from the air. By pressing L and pushing the control stick diagonally downwards immediately before the character hits the ground after a fall/jump, you will wavedash from the air. Used to increase air to ground mobility. In most cases, an aerial WD is slightly longer than a normal, ground-based WD.

Air Control: When in the air, holding the control stick left or right will make the character gradually move in that direction.

A(x)A: acronym standing for “aerial (neutral/forward/back/up/down) A.” Replace x with any of the previous directions for ANA, AFA, ABA, AUA, ADA. Pressing the control stick in any of these five directions and pressing A while your character is in the air will result in 5 different aerial attacks.

Crouch-Cancel: by crouching (tilting the control stick downwards), you will reduce knockback when hit. When crouch-canceling, you can attack with your d-tilt (or d-smash w/C-stick), aka crouch-cancel counter (CCC).

Dash-Cancel: while dashing, jamming and holding down on the control stick will make the character enter a crouching position and stop moving, allowing you to immediately use your d-tilt or C-stick d/f/u-smash.

Dash-Dancing: alternately jamming the control stick left and right will result in the character displaying the opening dash animation as he/she dashes a brief distance back and forth. Used for mindgames, baiting, or openings into aerial attacks.

DI: aka "directional influence/directional input." Jamming the control stick against the direction of knockback from an attack before, or during the attack’s hitlag will reduce the distance you travel. For horizontal hits, DI diagonally upwards left/right, and for vertical hits, DI diagonally downwards left/right. Using this, you’ll be able to escape juggling combo hits, and survive to higher percentages.

Disjointed Hitbox: a term describing a part of the character's body which, when attacking, causes damage to his/her opponent, but will not receive damage if the portion of the body is itself attacked. For example, Marth, Roy, and Link have attacks w/ disjointed hitboxes since they cause damage w/ their sword, but won't receive damage if their swords are attacked.

Dodge: a critical maneuver to avoid attacks. While holding L, press down on the control stick to evade attacks or grabs. Allows characters to enter and remain in opponent's attack range while avoiding attacks. Dodge-Dancing, an alternate form of dodging, can only be done in Vs. Mode. Hold L, down on the control stick, and down on the C-stick at the same time, which will result in continuous dodging. However, the character is still vulnerable for a few frames in between each dodge.

Fast Fall: by tapping down on the control stick in mid-air, after the apex of a jump, the character will fall faster than normal. This works even if the character is tumbling, air dodged, or used their 3rd jump.

Foxtrot: (aka “dash-dashing) Repeatedly tapping the control stick in the same direction at consistent intervals, so the character constantly dashes only w/his or her opening dash animation. For Fox and Marth, dash-dashing is faster than normal dashing.

Jump-Cancel: certain moves and attacks can be altered (usually in terms of shortening lag) if the jump button is pressed before or after the attack. For example, Fox/Falco’s Shine can be jump-cancelled to eliminate all lag. From dashing, a character can go directly into an u-smash if they jump right before smashing. Any character can jump/wavedash/up-b directly out of their shield if they press the jump button to cancel the shield animation. Jump-canceling is an important aspect that’s often overlooked.

Jump-Cancelled Dash Grab: instead of dash-grabbing (pressing Z to grab while dashing), perform a jump during a dash immediately followed by pressing Z. If done correctly, the character will do a standing grab. Standing grabs have less lag than dashing grabs.

L-Canceling: Pressing L immediately before you hit the ground after performing an aerial attack will result in reduced lag time. Best seen w/ Link's ADA. When L-cancelled, he will pull his sword out of the ground fasr.

Powershielding: aka “hypershielding.” When a projectile or attack is within the radius of your shield’s “bubble” but hasn’t hit you yet, pressing L or R at that exact moment will cause a brief flash of light and the projectile to be reflected, or the attack to be cancelled out.

Rising (Name of attack here): an attack which is performed immediately after jumping and executed while the character is still rising; has character specific advantages. i.e. Samus’ rising sex kick deals maximum damage (since it comes out immediately) with room for missile canceling before landing; Doc’s rising pill eliminates all lag upon landing. The SHABAWD can only be performed w/a rising short-hopped ABA.

Sex Kick: for some characters, their ANA is animated as a leg extended outwards as a kick. A sex kick is a character's ANA still causing damage even after the initial attack is executed b/c the leg remains extended. However, all characters' sex kicks decrease in the amount of damage given the longer the leg is extended. The only exception is Doc, whose sex kick actually gets stronger the longer his leg is extended. Some characters with sex kicks are Samus, Sheik, Luigi, Young Link, Fox, Falco, Link, Mario, and Doc.

SHABAWD: acronym for “Short Hop Aerial Back Aerial WaveDash.” By performing a short hop and a rising ABA, Mario can go directly into a landing wavedash before touching the ground. This technique helps in creating a pseudo Wall-of-Pain strat, can link hits more easily, creates more mobility, and looks incredibly impressive.

Shffl: an acronym for "short hopped, (aerial attack), fast falled, L-cancelled." This process allows characters to perform aerial attacks with more speed because of significantly reduced air time, and reduced lag. A critical factor in high-level play, as speed is the best advantage.

Shine: Fox’s down B, and the bane of all smash players, aka “reflector” or “hex.” Has the lowest starting lag of any attack in the entire game, and also has no ending lag if the user presses the jump button (aka “jump cancel”). Used for reflecting projectiles, infinite combos, stopping all aerial movement, and spikes. Smashers beware. You’ve been warned.

Short Hop: pressing the X or Y button quickly and lightly will cause the character to hop usually half of their normal height. Some characters have extremely high short hops (i.e. Samus or Sheik); others characters' short hops are extremely difficult to execute (i.e. Fox or Pikachu). Recommended to practice with Bowser.

Sweetspot: the specific placement of an attack that causes more damage than normal. For example, the tip of Marth’s sword is more damaging than the hilt, or the edge of the fireball for Mario’s f-smash will result in more damage than at the hand. Not applicable to Doc.

Sweetspotting (alternate definition): using your recovery move to precisely grab the ledge without going above the height of the stage. Sweetspotting the ledge reduces your opponent's edgeguarding ability (i.e. they usually can't use f-/d-smashes to finish you off). A critical technique to master.

Teching: when tumbling, pressing L right before hitting the ground will result in the character instantly recovering to their feet. Pushing left or right on the control stick while teching will result in an evasive roll into a stand. Called a "tech roll."

Tumble-Recover: when tumbling in the air, repeatedly jamming the control stick left and right will stop tumbling and facilitate recovery, allowing you to save your second jump.

Wall-Jumping: done with certain characters including (but not limited to) Mario, Samus, and Captain Falcon, but not Doc. By hitting a wall while jumping, push the control stick in the opposite direction and press jump. Best seen with Young Link in his Target Test.

Wall of Pain: a Jigglypuff strategy involving his formidable aerial game, and mostly consists of continuous ABA's, and sometimes includes AFA's, Pounds (over B), and random drifting in and out of the opponent's attack range (as a mind game). Extremely lethal.

Wavedance: consecutively wavedashing left and right; similar to dash-dancing. Visually impressive, but nearly tactically obsolete, as dash-dancing is faster and more difficult to anticipate.

Wavedash: a ground-based aerial dodge directed diagonally downwards. Jump, but immediately after doing so, airdodge (L Trigger) diagonally down-right or down-left. If done correctly, the character should slide along the ground with a puff of smoke. Altering the angle you push the control stick diagonally downwards will change the length of the WD. For example, pushing the control stick 15 degrees below the horizontal will yield a longer WD, 45 degrees below the horizontal will yield the standard wavedash, and 75 degrees below the horizontal will yield the shortest wavedash. It’s recommended to practice with Luigi.

Wavesmash: wavedash combined with a smash, usually C-sticked for better speed.

 

[maelstrom218]

ATTACKS ANALYSIS [ATKS]

This section is for analyzing Mario’s attacks. If you find the length of the analysis rather daunting, lengthy, or otherwise boring, just skip down to Mario’s main attacks, which are his ABA, AUA, f-smash and the Cape.
In addition, all the numerical information you see is referring to frames. 1 frame is 1/60th of a second long.

Note: Credit for all frame data goes to SuperDoodleMan, who deserves extreme kudos for methodically researching the individual frames and assorted info for each attack. Thank you SuperDoodleMan, as you are the savior to all stats freaks in the SSBM community. Thank you!!!

Neutral A Ground Attacks [NTRL]

1. Left Jab
Description: Mario punches forward w/his left fist (he’s left handed?)
Damage: 1%-3%
Knockback: negligible
Range: very short
Duration: 15
Hit: 2-3
Additional Info: window of right jab: 3-25

The Left Jab is the 1st part of Mario’s 3-hit Punch-Punch-Kick (PPK) Combo. In itself, it’s a miserable attack in terms of power and range, but fair in terms of speed. Its main purpose is to rack up damage in short duration by essentially putting the opponent off guard with a flurry of weak attacks. One of its most notable uses, though, is to jab->d-smash, since the jab creates enough stun to slip in a d-smash on a briefly stunned opponent. Single jabs also allow you to interrupt possible shield grabs/attacks after a shffl’d aerial. Mario’s jab game is actually quite decent, as it can lead into any number of fast moves such as his grab, d-smash, u-tilt, and another jab. Furthermore, you can use jabs to cancel out projectiles if you have good timing (such as Link’s boomerang), as it’s one of the fastest ground attacks that Mario has. The jab is usually underestimated, but highly useful.

2. Right Jab
Description: Mario punches forward w/ his right fist
Damage: 1%-2%
Knockback: negligible
Range: very short
Duration: 18
Hit: 3-4
Additional Info: window of the kick: 3-25

The Right Jab is the 2nd part of Mario’s 3-hit PPK Combo. Again, its completely identical to the Left Jab except for different animation. This 2-punch combo should be used whenever you need to deal quick damage.

3. Kick
Description: Mario gives a full-bodied kick
Damage: 4%-5%
Knockback: average
Range: average
Duration: 22
Hit: 5-9

The Kick is the 3rd part of Mario’s PPK Combo. It has a surprising amount of knockback, considering that its just a neutral A attack. There is, however, a noticeable amount of lag afterwards, so it should only be used in moderation at medium damage percentages (where the knockback gives you enough breathing room), and sparingly against such speed demons as Sheik and Fox. Avoid this PPK Combo at low percentages, since there won’t be sufficient knockback create enough distance between you and your opponent to make up for the lag that ensues. Also, be careful that you’re open to a shield grab after this PPK Combo if it’s shielded. It’s best used as an opening sequence to another offensive maneuver, preferably a wavedash forward plus a shff’ld sex kick.

4. Dash Attack
Description: Mario dashes, then does a baseball slide a considerable distance along the ground, and sends people directly behind him
Damage: 3%-9%
Knockback: average
Range: long
Duration: 48
Hit: 6-25
IASA: 38

Mario’s dash attack is one of his more useless attacks along w/his d-tilt. Although it’s fast and has decent duration--which is especially useful when you need to slip in a quick hit or attack rollers--it has extremely high ending lag. Another problem is that the dash attack knocks opponents behind Mario, making decent follow-up nearly impossible (especially when you add in the ending lag). At medium-high %’s however, the dash attack becomes slightly useful when used in moderation, as its speed can throw off opponents. Use this cautiously as the ending lag makes Mario extremely vulnerable.

Tilts [TLT]

5. Forward Tilt
Description: Mario raises his left leg outwards in a fully extended kick
Damage: 4%-9%
Knockback: average
Range: long
Duration: 32
Hit: 5-7

Mario's f-tilt is an invaluable tool. Again, Mario's main disadvantage is that he's a short-range fighter; his f-tilt remedies this problem. Even though there's noticeable lag as he brings his leg down, his f-tilt is critical for long range poking--though admittedly useless against opponents w/disjointed hitboxes. However, it's extremely useful for interrupting shffl'd attacks by poking opponents before they can reach you. It's also best used as a defensive maneuver (i.e. WD back+f-tilt) to stop incredibly aggressive opponents. Just be sure not to use his diagonal-down f-tilt, as it’s almost useless for Mario b/c it has no knockback. In addition, the f-tilt’s ending lag makes it impossible to combo the f-tilt into anything else, although the f-tilt can actually be combo’d into (i.e. jab->f-tilt).

6. Up Tilt
Description: Mario fully extends his fist upwards while spinning in a 360° circle
Damage: 4%-8%
Knockback: high (vertical KB)
Range: average, terrible horizontal range, excellent vertical range
Duration: 29
Hit: 4-12

Mario's tilts are one of his strong points, and his u-tilt is a perfect example of this. The attack comes out incredibly quickly w/ little ending lag, and knocks the opponent directly upwards into a prime position for an aerial attack, esp. his ABA, sex kick, or his AUA. The best use of the u-tilt is usually after a d-throw, L-canceled ADA or shffl’d AUA at low %s for comboing. The u-tilt is a great attack when the opponent is extremely close, or when you've WD'd (and possibly spot-dodged) into your opponent's attack range (especially when going against Marth). Even better, it's sometimes possible to use consecutive u-tilts for juggling on fast-fallers like Fox, Falco, CF (though it's possible to DI out of it)--i.e. Fox can be u-tilted several times at around 50%. However, the u-tilt’s main use is as a combo-opener or continuer, and can set-up and continue Mario’s trademark shffl’d AUA combos.

7. Down Tilt
Description: Mario enters a crouching position; attacks by sweeping one leg around his body by turning 360°s, and knocks his opponent up
Damage: 4%-8%
Knockback: low
Range: average
Duration: 34
Hit: 5-8

Mario's d-tilt is far from exceptional (like Game and Watch’s or Fox/Falco's), but it certainly has it’s merits, though few and far between. Using a CCC strategy allows you to remain in your opponent's attack range while countering w/your d-smash or d-tilt. CCC'ing is crucial in matches, especially w/Mario, b/c he has very few means to match blows w/higher tiered characters like Marth and Falco. As a side note, CCC'ing is crucial against Sheik to prevent her f-tilt juggling. Also realize that using the d-tilt at mid-high percentages will allow more time for follow up, usually w/u-tilt, or u-smash. In general though, Mario’s d-tilt is almost useless, since a crouch-cancelled d-smash is usually more effective than a d-tilt, and is basically just as fast. CC’ing w/a d-tilt, however, does have the advantage of reaching under a shielding opponent better than a d-smash since the hitbox for his d-tilt is actually lower.

Smashes [SMSH]

(Note: Unless you specifically want to charge your smash attack, always use the C-stick for smashing)
(Note 2: All damage calculations for smashes are for uncharged smashes; the damage for charged smashes will vary depending on the time charged)

8. Forward Smash
Description: Mario extends his open palm towards his opponent, and after a brief pause, his palm bursts w/ a destructive ball of fire; sweetspot at the fireball
Damage: 9%-18% (sweetspotted); 6%-11% (unsweetspotted)
Knockback: excellent (sweetspotted); low (not sweetspotted)
Range: high (counts as a disjointed hitbox at the fireball)
Duration: 41
Hit: 12-16

One of Mario's most glaring problems is his inability to KO opponents due to his general lack of kill moves. His f-smash has incredibly high range (after Marth and Samus) and has the most knockback of his 3 smashes, but it's completely unreliable b/c it has to be sweetspotted.

So what’s the big problem w/sweetspotting if Roy and Marth do it all the time? Well, Marth is forced to stay at tipper range for every one of his attacks, so it’s not a problem. However, it’s a serious problem for Mario, since sweetspotting his f-smash goes outside his normal attack range. This means that just to pull off a f-smash, Mario has to go through the trouble of deliberately stepping out of his normal attack zone, just to space himself for a decent sweetspot.

Unless you've played a few matches against decent opponents who have great recovery and DI properly, you won't be able to appreciate what a huge problem it is to KO your opponent w/a sweetspotted f-smash. Mario's f-smash is unreliable, and heavily situational. It's annoying when you constantly miss the sweetspot, only to have Samus return to the stage at 160% damage.

However, there are ways to rectify this problem. The most practical is to avoid using his f-smash unless you have the perfect opportunity. If your opponent is left wide open after a laggy attack, don't hesitate to use the f-smash. If your opponent is in your face (and therefore out of sweetspotted range) then use your d-smash instead.

Another means to solve this problem is to wavedash back into a C-sticked f-smash. This is a great way to put Mario's f-smash into play, b/c a short wavedash usually puts close opponents directly into his sweetspotted range. It also serves as a great defensive maneuver (Reverse Bowser Train, anyone?)

Another way to easily utilize Mario’s f-smash is to dash-cancel it, which enables you to f-smash directly out of a dash. The advantage to this is that Mario can pull off a f-smash faster than any other means, even when considering wavesmashing. Dash-cancelled f-smashes also open some interesting opportunities, such as running away from a pursuing opponent and pulling off a dash-cancelled f-smash into the pursuing opponent’s face. Or alternatively, it’s possible to run through a shielding opponent into a dash-cancelled f-smash directed at his backside.

The last means of pulling off a sweetspotted f-smash is to angle the f-smash diagonally downwards, just as you would normally angle your f-tilt downwards (it's much easier to pull off w/ the C-stick). This method reduces the horizontal length of the non-sweetspotted area, so that you can hit opponents closer than normal.

Angling Mario’s f-smash either downwards or upwards carries other advantages as well. For example, angling the smash diagonally downwards also works as an edgeguarding tool to prevent sweetspotters from grabbing the ledge, as the hitbox will go below the stage. Angling the f-smash diagonally upwards works as a finisher on aerial opponents, and generally works better at KO’ing characters given that the up-angled f-smash has more knockback, and 1% more damage than the standard f-smash.

Mario's f-smash must be used w/ precision, since a non-sweetspotted f-smash can be problematic. Learning to use the move is crucial, as Mario almost completely relies on this move for KOs.

9. Up Smash
Description: Mario quickly brings his head back, and bashes it against his opponent
Damage: 8%-15%
Knockback: great
Range: minimal horizontal, great vertical
Duration: 39
Hit: 9-11
Additional Info: head is invulnerable from frames 9-11

Mario's u-smash is the weakest of all his smashes, but unfortunately, it tends to be underrated b/c of it’s noticeable beginning lag and lack of knockback. However, its low knockback makes the u-smash useful for comboing, especially in conjunction w/Mario’s u-tilt or shffl’d AUA, and works more as a combo continuer/finisher as opposed to a combo starter.

Don’t forget the possibility of vertically KO’ing your opponent; it’s very easy to overlook, and that’s a big mistake. Obviously, on stages w/ high ceilings (i.e. Final Destination, Dreamland 64) you don’t want to try for a vertical KO, but it’s a good idea for stages w/ low ceilings. Also realize that a character’s falling speed determines their vertical weight, so it’s incredibly easy to vertically KO floaty characters, since they’re slow-fallers.

Finally, there’s a small duration of the u-smash in which the entirety of Mario’s head is completely invulnerable, from frames 9-11. Therefore, precise timing of the u-smash may allow you to out-prioritize certain aerials.

10. Down Smash
Description: Doc/Mario quickly sweeps both legs around their body in a groovy, yet damaging attack
Damage: 8%-16% (front), 5%-10% (behind)
Knockback: excellent
Range: average
Duration: 37
Hit: 5-6, 14

Mario’s d-smash is simply incredible. Although it's not as ungodly as Peach's d-smash or Fox's u-smash, it has the advantage of having virtually no start-up lag at all. Combine this with a smash's normal damage and knockback, and you have an extremely attractive, and abuseable attack. The only problem is the duration of the attack--because Mario bring their legs behind their body as well as in front, there's a significant opening for counterattacks. However, due to its incredibly fast start-up time, it’s possible to use the d-smash much more often and aggressively than any other of Mario’s smash attacks. Mario's d-smash is definitely one of his most versatile; it can be used for attacking beneath an opponent's shield, wavesmashing, d-throw+d-smash on fastfallers, jab->d-smash, shffl’d AUAs->d-smash at lower %s, and shffl'd ADA+d-smash. One of Mario's best moves. . .abuse it well.

Aerials [ARLS]

11. Aerial Forward A (AFA)
Description: Mario pulls his arm back, and launches his fist in a devastating attack, downwards vertical knockback (meteor smash)
Damage: 8%-15%
Knockback: excellent
Range: average
Duration: 74
Hit: 18-22
Landing Lag: 21
L-cancelled Lag: 10
IASA: 60

Mario’s AFA is rather pitiful compared to his MD counterpart. It has neither the huge damage nor KO potential of Doc’s AFA. It is, however, a meteor smash, which means that if you happen to hit an aerial opponent, they’ll be knocked vertically downwards.

The problem w/Mario’s AFA is that the beginning lag is so huge, anyone trying to recover back to the stage could see it coming, and counter it accordingly. Even worse, the ending lag on Mario’s AFA is so long that pulling off a meteor smash on an aerial opponent and successfully recovering back to the stage is incredibly difficult. B/c of this, spiking to get a KO is not necessarily recommended. The best way to use the meteor smash for spiking is to shffl the AFA so that Mario’s fist hits the edge--and therefore the opponent--just before they grab the ledge, sending them plummeting to their doom. This way, you can make use of the meteor smash while staying on the stage. However, this method tends to be risky, and you’re safer off edgeguarding w/ABAs.

In terms of using the AFA in battle, the beginning lag is still a problem. However, the shffl’d AFA works moderately well as a combo starter given the stun time it inflicts on the opponent, especially at mid %s. Assuming that the shffl’d AFA lands, it can lead to such things as u-tilt, jabs, d-smash, grabs, and f-tilt.

12. Aerial Up A (AUA)
Description: Mario performs a midair back-flip which covers almost 180º from left to right (and vice versa)
Damage: 6%-11%
Knockback: average
Range: long
Duration: 33
Hit: 4-9
Landing Lag: 15
L-cancelled Lag: 7
IASA: 30

Mario’s AUA is highly underrated. Consider its relatively high damage, shffl’ability, great range, and good comboability, and you have an attack that is one of his best.

Surprisingly, Mario’s AUA is his main juggling maneuver (outside of his u-tilt). W/its relatively long range, you can use the AUA as a shffl’d attack, which puts opponents in the perfect range for a dash+shffl’d AUA, and you can repeat this as necessary (although the most AUAs you’ll probably get are 2 or 3, and this works better on characters w/certain falling speeds such as Sheik/Roy/Link, and on most characters from 55%-75% to start off the combo with). On stages w/walls, such as Corneria, or Peach’s Castle, shffl’d AUAs can repeatedly knock an aerial opponent against the wall for massive juggling effect. When juggling, be sure to follow your opponent’s DI. For shffl’d AUAs, you might want to consider using the C-stick, as it becomes much, much faster than tilting up--though its still possible to pull off w/the control stick.

Juggling w/the AUA is quite possibly the best thing for Mario to do, considering that his AUA has what basically seems to be uber range. As long as your timing is right, Mario’s AUA should be able to beat most attacks. The AUA is also a key move for Mario not only b/c of it’s apparent uber-range, but b/c a large number of charaters are especially vulnerable from below, like Samus and Marth.

To maximize Mario’s combo potential with his AUA, you may want to alternate between shffl’d AUAs and u-tilts to keep the opponent in the air and in prime juggling position (ideally, the opponent should be in front of you and above you at a 45 degree angle). End the combo w/either an ANA or up-angled C-stick f-smash; be aware that ending the combo should be a higher priority than hopelessly trying to extend it.

Furthermore, the AUA serves as the ultimate edgeguarding counter. When recovering, you’re usually vulnerable to spikes and midair hits, such as Fox’s shinespike. However, if you use your second jump plus a rising AUA, Mario can successfully deter most intercepting spikes w/o losing height which would jeopardize his recovery.

An interesting tidbit about the AUA: similar to the SHABAWD, it’s possible to double-jump (but not wavedash) after a rising short-hopped AUA, but the timing is difficult. This allows you to use the second jump to go directly into another AUA (excellent on floaty characters like Samus/Peach at 55%-75%), or an AFA, or a delayed attack by fast-falling into an L-cancelled AUA. . .the possibilities for this maneuver are nearly as varied as the SHABAWD. Of course, if you wanted to add in an aerial wavedash after a short-hopped rising AUA, you could use your double-jump then airdodge diagonally downwards for the aerial wavedash. . .but it’s incredibly difficult to make the wavedash “clean.”

13. Aerial Down A (ADA)
Description: Mario twists his body in continuous circles, "drilling" downwards feet first
Damage: 1%-3% per hit, 6 hit max, 12% max
Knockback: negligible
Range: minimal horizontal range, excellent vertical range
Duration: 38
Hit: 10-11, 13-14, 16-17, 19-20, 22-23, 25-26
Landing Lag: 23
L-cancelled Lag: 11
IASA: 38
Additional Info: if you land while executing an ADA, there will be 2 hitboxes that appear on each side of Mario, which lasts for 2 frames

Mario’s ADA isn’t as spectacular an aerial as his AUA, but then again, looks can be deceiving. His ADA may lack horizontal range, but its vertical range is simply amazing. It’s for this reason that the ADA is invaluable as a combo-breaker of sorts: if you’re about to be juggled from beneath (i.e. Fox’s AUA) a fast-falled ADA has enough vertical range to stop most impending attacks. It’s high priority can also be a means of stopping shffl’ing opponents if you shffl the ADA itself to interrupt incoming aerials.

Mario’s ADA can also work as a mediocre combo starter. A shffl’d ADA can lead to such things as jabs, shield-grabs, d-smashes, and u-tilts. The problem w/using the ADA as a combo starter, however, is that the ADA on the ground has a special hit where it generates enough horizontal knockback to push opponents beyond grab range, making comboing difficult. Luckily, there’s a solution to this: by using a shffl’d ADA only at 50% or above, the ADA will push opponents slightly upwards and above the ground hit w/horizontal knockback, thus making the ADA much more reliable as a combo starter.

As an additional note, using the ADA on an aerial opponent (while you’re both in mid-air) tends to have the unique property of dragging them into the attack, so the opponent gets pegged by ALL of the ADA’s hits. Once the attack ends, you can also immediately add on an AUA for more damage.

14. Aerial Back A (ABA)
Description: Mario kicks backwards with both feet out
Damage: 6%-11%
Knockback: good
Range: great horizontal range, seen in edgeguarding
Duration: 28
Hit: 6-17
Landing Lag: 15
L-cancelled Lag: 7

Mario's ABA is single-handedly one of his most versatile moves. The ABA might be mediocre in terms of damage dealt, but it's excellent in nearly every other category--it has solid knockback, incredible range, short duration, and practically non-existent beginning and ending lag. It's uses range from a Jigglypuff-like Wall-of-Pain strategy, to edgeguarding, to generally pissing off your opponent because the ABA is just so good. Since the ABA is such a fast attack, it should be incorporated throughout your attack routine as it's Mario's most versatile attack.

1) Semi Wall-of-Pain: One of Jigglypuff's greatest strengths is weaving in and out of opponent's attack range while executing her deadly ABA's, which is facilitated by her 6 jumps. Although Mario can't really pull off a Wall of Pain because of only having 2 jumps, but Mario can still fit 2 ABA's in 1 jump if executed quickly enough. This tactic is especially useful in keeping the opponent grounded, as 1 jump 2x ABA covers both air and ground. Another version of Mario's Semi Wall-of-Pain is to have your back facing the enemy, and constantly attacking with shffl'd ABA's, while weaving in and out with wavedashes and occasional dash-dancing and d-smashes.

2) Mid-Air Attacking: Hitting mid-air opponents can be problematic for Mario, because his aerial attacks lack the speed and range of most other characters like Samus’ or Marth’s ABA. However, his ABA has the best mid-air potential because of its relatively excellent knockback and speed, compared to his other aerials. The best way to use the ABA on aerial opponents is to use your first jump to go up at an angle away from your falling opponent, then use your second jump to angle towards him, and use the ABA. Approaching your opponent this way gives you a better angle to use the ABA while decreasing the chance of your opponent counter-attacking.

3) Edgeguarding: Mario happens to have one of the more effective edgeguarding strategies in the game, which involves continuous ledge-hopped ABAs. From the edgehogging state, Mario can drop down by lightly tapping down on the control stick. Immediately use his 2nd jump and an ABA to edgeguard the opponent, and then recover by DI’ing back to the ledge (if you were high enough) or using his up-b to sweetspot the ledge. Using ledge-hopped ABAs can effectively deter any recovering opponent.

4) SHABAWD: Luigi has a particularly interesting shffl’d aerial tactic, which involves the ability to perform a short hop rising aerial, and use an aerial wavedash from that attack. Because of Luigi’s floatiness and fast aerial execution time, the aerial attack’s animation frames finish before he hits the ground, giving him time for another aerial, or in this case, a wavedash. This technique allows Luigi to follow up almost any aerial attack due to the mobility from his AWD. Luckily, Mario has a similar technique called the SHABAWD--Short Hop Aerial Back Aerial WaveDash. Like Luigi, Mario can short hop w/a rising ABA into an aerial wavedash.

So why is this useful? Performing an aerial wavedash means that you can quickly follow up your attack, and continuously pressure your opponent. This opens up a wealth of options for Mario--from the aerial wavedash, you can turn around (just lightly press the control stick in the direction you want to face in conjunction with the attack you’re using) and perform a d-smash, more SHABAWDs, or u-tilt (one or more)->shffl’d AUAs->ANA/up-angled f-smash.

The SHABAWD is NOT gamebreaking; it’s just one more trick up your sleeve to make your Mario less predictable. . .to that end, be sure to mix up standard shffl’d ABAs with SHABAWDs. Certainly not revolutionary, but novel nonetheless.

15. Aerial Neutral A (ANA)--Sex Kick
Description: Mario sticks his leg out for an extended duration of time
Damage: 5%-14%
Knockback: decreases w/ time extended, beginning knockback is large
Range: limited horizontal range
Duration: 45
Hit: 3-32
Landing Lag: 16
L-cancelled Lag: 8

Mario’s sex kick is basically your standard sex kick--no surprises here. Like almost every sex kick in the game, it serves a huge variety of purposes: breaking out of juggles due to its high priority, shffl’ing it through projectiles to cancel them out, and then to attack the opponent behind them, or just as a very effective shffl’d aerial for offensive/defensive purposes.

However, Mario’s sex kick is invaluable as a setup for a KO, or a KO move in itself. By now you should realize that Mario’s greatest weakness is his inability to KO (barring his f-smash or edgeguarding w/ledge-hopped ABAs). Bearing this in mind, any high-knockback move should be considered valuable to the Italian plumber, and that is definitely case here. As soon as your opponent’s % is relatively high, start focusing on hitting your opponent w/a well-timed sex kick to get them off the stage, and edgeguard accordingly. In most cases, you should be shffl’ing the ANA, but don’t forget that you can also use it as a midair attack as well, especially if the opponent’s near the edge. As unconventional as it seems to use the sex kick high in midair, its an acceptable risk if you have a chance to knock the opponent off the stage w/it. Keep in mind as well that you usually want to time the sex kick so that you’ll hit the A button directly on top of the opponent (after short-hopping/jumping) to maximize damage. Alternatively, its also possible to deliberately press A too early before hitting the opponent in order to reduce knockback and combo out of a weak sex kick.

Grab/Throws [GRBS]

16. Standing Grab
Description: Mario lunges forward and locks his opponent in a bitter, desperate death grip
Damage: dependent on impending head butts/throws
Knockback: dependent on throw
Range: very limited
Duration: 30 (40 if it’s a dash grab)
Grab Executed: 7-8 (11-12 if it’s a dash grab)

Grabs are something of a mixed bag for Mario--his bthrow has incredibly high knockback, yet his grab range is abysmal. On top of that, he lacks any of the reliable chain-grabbing skills that make CF, Sheik, and Marth so evil. However, since he is a close range fighter, Mario actually has a decent opportunity to implement grabs into his game--at some points, it’s almost necessary in order to pull off combos.

As a rule, you always want to jump-cancel your dash-grabs, as it has reduced lag. Even though grabbing is risky in general, remember that Smash is primarily mindgames than anything else, and there is nothing more psychologically frustrating than being held immobile while being head-bashed to a bloody pulp and soon thereafter tossed aside.

Shield-grabbing is critical as well. For those who tend to rely on shffl’d aerials, it’s a relatively simple matter to shield their attack and counter w/a grab, since your opponent will be fairly close anyways.

Remember that Mario’s grabs are laggy in general, so use them with caution. However, also remember that Mario’s grab--and specifically his d-throw (and occasionally his u-throw on fast-fallers) can start a variety of deadly and highly effective combos.

17. Headbutt
Description: Mario repeated bash their head against their opponent
Damage: 1%-3%
Knockback: N/A

The headbutt’s use is only to add on bits of damage before you execute a throw. Be aware that opponents can break out of your grab eventually, and can speed up the process by rapidly rotating the control stick. A good way to measure how many times you can pull off an attack before the opponent breaks loose is one headbutt per every 40%. However, be sure to throw your opponent before he breaks loose.

18. Forward Throw
Description: Mario launches the opponent forward
Damage: 4%-9%
Knockback: average

Mario’s f-throw is somewhat obsolete, considering that the b-throw has much more damage and knockback. At low %s, you might want to use it, and follow it up w/ a shffl’d aerial. Another situation w/ the f-throw might be useful is if you can throw your opponent him off the stage, and subsequently edgeguard w/Cape/ABAs for an easy KO. Otherwise, Mario’s b-throw is much better in terms of damage and knockback.

19. Back Throw
Description: Mario launches the opponent backwards after swinging them around several times
Damage: 6%-12%
Knockback: high

Mario’s b-throw is one of the better throws in the whole game in terms of sheer knockback, but unfortunately not in comboability. However, it has absolutely incredible knockback on par with, if not more so than his d-smash. If performed near the edge, at mid-high %s, you have an extremely high chance of a KO if you edgeguard properly (excluding Samus/Jigglypuff/Peach). Even at low to mid %s, or when b-throws are executed from the middle of the stage, it has enough knockback to ‘reset’ the playing field, so you have a chance to rush in an attack, or simply take a brief breather and start thinking of a new approach strategy. If you can b-throw an opponent off the stage when you’re near the edge, don’t hesitate to use it. Unless you feel like trying to combo w/up or down throw, this is the throw to use.

20. Up Throw
Description: Mario launches the opponent upwards
Damage: 4%-8%
Knockback: average (vertical)

Mario's u-throw is one of his few combo starters on fastfallers or on characters w/low %, and b/c of this, it’s a worthwhile throw to use. So long as the % of a given character is low or you’re trying to combo a fastfaller, you can, after an u-throw, go into such things as multiple u-tilts, another grab, a sex kick, or shffl’d AUAs. Comboing out of u-throw at very low %s works especially well against fast-fallers or heavy characters like Fox, CF, and Link.

However, it’s possible to combo out of the u-throw at very low %s, and especially on fastfallers such as Falco, Fox, and CF, through possible chain-throwing w/continuous u-throws, or an u-throw to u-tilt or a shffl’d AUA. In general though, Mario’s d-throw tends to be the better combo option.

21. Down-Throw
Description: Mario launches the opponent downwards
Damage: 3%-6%
Knockback: medium-low

Doc and Mario's d-throw is more combo-oriented than his other throws, and is applicable to more characters and less dependent on damage %: it works especially well when an opponent’s damage is from medium-high, since u-throw has too much knockback at this point to make it a reliable combo-starter. B/c d-throw keeps the opponent closer to the ground w/less air time, it can lead to a variety of moves, such as d-smash, u-tilt, u-smash, and shffl’d AUAs.

B-moves [BMOOV]

22. Fireball
Description: Mario tosses a fireball forward on a relatively straight trajectory
Damage: 3%-6%
Knockback: minimal (but noticeable stun time)
Range: very long
Duration: 43
Fireball Comes Out: 14
Fireball Lasts: 75

Mario’s fireball sadly fails to live up to its illustrious heritage. Compared to other projectiles, it can barely be considered average. What makes it so mediocre is its lack of follow-up options. Falco’s SHB, Samus’ Missiles, and Doc’s Pills are all great b/c the player can immediately follow behind the projectile to safely advance on the opponent. The fireball’s ending lag, straight trajectory, and high speed prevent the player from actually using the fireball as an approach strategy.

However, the fireball is far from useless. B/c of its straight path, high speed, and long trajectory, it’s great for long-distance spamming. Doing rising fireballs (immediately press B as you jump), or double-jumped fireballs (jump, rising fireball, double jump, another fireball) tend to be great for irritating the opponent. Unfortunately, since you can’t rely on the fireball for approaches/defensive screen, you actually have to aim for the opponent, and immediately stop spamming if the opponent begins to advance.

Finally, there’s an interesting tactic w/the fireball called the Fireball Spike. When an opponent is recovering, launching a fireball to interrupt the opponent’s second jump will force him to use their third jump earlier, and may cause them to panic, giving you an easier time to cape and edgeguard. It’s definitely difficult to time and anticipate, but if you can pull it off, you’ll have a greater chance of snagging a KO through edgeguarding, which is always a good thing.

Even though the fireball is pretty fast, you should do rising short hop/full jump fireballs to reduce lag. Remember that the fireball is only good for spamming, and should only be used at long distances.

23. Mario Tornado
Description: Mario, after a brief pause, engulf opponents as they spin in circles
Damage: 8 hits, 10% max
Knockback: knocks opponents up
Range: low
Duration: 79
Hit: 8-9, 12-13, 15-16, 18-19, 21-22, 24-25, 27-28, 38-39
Additional Info: when using the down-b as a recovery maneuver, pressing B at a rate of once every 8 frames will make you break even in terms of height

Mario's down-B is probably the worst move in his arsenal--you never want to use it as an attack. It extremely long duration and high ending lag means high vulnerability--if you whiff this, your opponent could probably pull off a fully charged smash. As an attack, this is almost worthless. Even worse, the first hit of the tornado has zero knockback and stun, meaning that an opponent can simply jab out of the attack.

However, Doc/Mario's down-B is moderately useful for recovery. When recovering, use down-B, but immediately button mash B, and then jam the control stick diagonally upwards towards the stage. This will allow Doc/Mario to rise in the air slightly, giving him an extra horizontal boost. If you're up against excellent edgeguarding opponent who's trying to intercept you (read: shinespiking Fox, Jigglypuff), you can use the down-B to throw them slightly off.

Mario’s down-B also works as a CCC--it’s not as effective, as say, a d-tilt or d-smash, but there’s certainly an element of surprise, since most people know that Mario’s down-B is essentially useless.

Finally, the best use of Mario’s down-B is as a substitute taunt, since his normal taunt takes far too long. After KOing an opponent, doing a rising down-B (by repeatedly pressing B) works well as a taunt, especially since Mario gives (what sounds like) a victory yelp as he finishes his tornado.

Basically though, Mario’s down-b should never be used for attack, only recovery--or for taunting.

24. The Cape
Description: Mario swings a yellow Cape that covers both sides of his body
Damage: 5%-10%
Knockback: none, but the opponent is turned around 180°
Range: low
Duration: 35
Hit: 12-14
Reflects: 6-33

People may fear the Shine. . .but you gotta give respect to the Cape. The Cape, hands-down, is one of the most versatile moves in SSBM, w/ the exception of Fox’s Shine, Samus’ bombs, and Zelda’s down-b.

Simply put, the Cape is used for anything and everything. . .from recovery, to reflecting projectiles, to increased aerial mobility, to edge-guarding. . .the list goes on and on. Although Cape spamming is not recommended, it can be one of Mario’s most effective means of gaining an advantage over the opponent. Note that Cape spamming is NOT recommended, as the lag is extremely punishable, especially if used on the ground. Furthermore, as an attack it’s not all that incredible, as the hitbox is relatively small compared to Doc’s sheet. However, Mario’s Cape is still a remarkably deadly and versatile move.

1) Reflecting Projectiles
This is the Cape’s most obvious and standard use. Any projectile thrown at you can be deflected by the Cape; the projectile’s exit angle depends on the angle which it hit the Cape. Note that there’s a brief window of opportunity in which the Cape can still reflect projectiles even after the initial Caping animation is done. In addition, you the Cape covers both front and back, so you can actually reflect projectiles while facing away from the enemy.
In general though, caping projectiles usually isn’t your best option. On the ground, the Cape has too much lag, and lag means that projectile spamming/projectile rushing (think of SHB, Missile Canceling) will overcome any reflecting you might be able to pull off w/ the Cape.

2) Recovery
The standard recovery procedure for Mario is down-B tornado, Cape, Jump, Up-b. Mario’s Cape is fairly decent for recovery use as it severely slows down aerial movement and gives a slight horizontal boost.

3) Anti-Recovery
The Cape has the ability to reflect, and this works incredibly well when you want to counter an opponent’s recovery. By caping an opponent’s recovery, you turn the opponent away from the ledge, which makes the Cape the perfect edgeguarding tool.

Since The Cape reaches slightly below the edge, you can also deter opponents who hang on the edge too long, or as an attempt to stop sweetspotters--but realize that in most cases, edgehogging is a much better option vs. sweetspotting.

The Cape is most effective against Fox/Falco’s up-b and side-b recovery maneuvers, against CF/Ganondorf’s up-b, and Luigi’s side-b. The Cape can be used against everyone else’s recovery moves, but with different effects: for example, the Cape is hard to pull off against character’s recoveries who have disjointed hitboxes, like Marth, Roy, and Link, or characters with purely horizontal recovery, such as Bowser or DK.

4) Aerial Evasive Maneuver
One of the better uses of the Cape is its ability to almost completely stop all aerial movement. This means that Mario has incredibly underrated aerial mobility. Obviously, the Cape doesn’t give him the kind of aerial mobility as Samus’ morphball bomb-jumps do since the Cape can only be used a few times before it loses its effectiveness.

Like Samus’ bomb-jumps though, the Cape can come in handy if you’re trying to avoid being juggled or hit in midair. For example, if you’re about to be hit by Fox’s, Sheik’s, or Pikachu’s AUA, then using the Cape will give you the aerial momentum you need to avoid it.

5) Mindgames
The most unproven, yet potentially useful application of the Cape. The Cape’s ability to grant Mario such a huge amount of aerial mobility means that you can essentially run rings around your opponent. For example, if you’re about to fall into an impending u-smash from Fox, you could use the Cape to delay your fall, then take advantage of the smash’s lag. Or you could stagger your full jumps/short hops with the Cape, and attack w/ an aerial later than your opponent would expect. The Cape is underrated and underestimated; the amount of aerial mobility you get from it is much larger than you might think.

22. Super Jump Punch
Description: Mario jump vertically in the air w/fist raised, a recovery move
Damage: 9 hits, 14% max

Knockback: medium
Range: short
Duration: 37
Hit: 3-24
Additional Info: Mario is completely invincible from frames 3-6

Mario’s Super Jump Punch is mainly a recovery maneuver, and nothing else. In most cases, you never, ever want to use it the middle of a battle because of its ridiculously high amount of lag time. As an attack, Mario’s up-b is almost as useless as its down-b counterpart. The huge amount of ending lag makes you incredibly vulnerable even if you do hit the opponent. In short, you should never, ever use this as an attack. Even though it does have relatively high priority and above average knockback, using it is an open invitation for your opponents to slip in a free hit.

Note, however, that the up-b is one of the few attacks you can perform straight out of a shield (besides wavedashing, jumping, and u-smashes), so if you’re in dire straights desperately shielding as you’re being pummeled relentlessly, remember that this is an option, albeit an incredibly risky one.

Finally, the up-b does have one arcane, stage-dependent use. On Corneria, jumping and then immediately using the up-b below and to the right of the fin’s ledge allows you to immediately sweetspot the fin’s edge. Recall that you get about 32 frames of invincibility once you’ve grabbed the ledge; this allows for some interesting tactics, where you can up-b an opponent, sweetspot the ledge, fastfall into an L-cancelled ANA to punish the opponent, and repeat. This particular strategy basically neutralizes the up-b’s lag, and gives you an extra number of invincibility frames to boot. . .a nifty trick indeed.

 

[maelstrom218]

STRATEGIES [STRTS]

Knowing what each attack does and how it works is only one half of mastering Mario. The other half is the application of various advanced techniques, tips, and tricks that, when woven together, create distinct styles of play that allow you use Mario in whatever way seems most effective to you. This section is devoted to the hidden subtleties of Mario.

1. RECOVERY [RCVR]

Just in case you weren't aware by now, Mario does have one of the worst recoveries in the game. The obvious course of action, then, is to avoid getting knocked off the stage in the first place.

First off, practice dodging. This skill is imperative to learn. Avoiding your opponent's attacks while remaining in his attack range allows you to easily counter at your own whim.

Second, DI and Tumble Recover. As Mario’s recovery is terrible, you want to reduce horizontal distance by DI'ing in the opposite direction you're flying, and you want to tumble recover so that you can get back to the stage as quickly as possible.

If all else fails and you are knocked away a significant distance, this is usually Mario’s repertoire for recovery:
· DI/Tumble Recover
· Cape (over b)
· Tornado (down b)
· Jump
· Super Jump Punch (up b)

For the tornado, it's important that you button mash B as the tornado occurs. This will make Mario rise--but if you push the control stick diagonally upwards towards the stage, you will move slightly in that direction. It's actually for gaining horizontal distance rather than vertical; just be sure to press B quickly enough.

I can’t possibly stress this enough: Mario’s recovery is one of the worst in the game. Make sure that not getting knocked off the stage is your first priority, and to save your second jump as the last part of your recovery. . .if you use the jump too soon, then your recovery becomes infinitely less effective as well as more predictable.

2. EDGEHOGGING [EHG]

There's nothing more annoying than smashing Fox away from the stage, taunting him by flipping the pill since you know he's going to plummet to his doom, only to realize that Fox DI'd, shined to stop all his horizontal movement, and used his Fire Fox to pull off some incredible recovery, just barely grabs the ledge, and climbs up to finish you off.

Edgehogging is meant to stop that from happening.

The game mechanics are built in such a way that only one character can be hanging from the ledge at any given time--this means that if your opponent is recovering, and you quickly grab the ledge, your opponent will be unable to grab the ledge. Edgehogging is defined as grabbing the ledge in order to prevent your foe's recovery. This particular skill is invaluable, as you can easily KO an opponent at low percentages simply by edgehogging if the opponent is far from the edge.

There are two ways to edgehog: by short-hopping backwards, or by wavedashing backwards.
Short-hopping has its own problem, as it’s rather slow, and an opponent can see that you mean to edgehog. Projectile-happy characters like Link or Samus could easily snipe you with their respective projectiles if you choose to short hop.

Wavedashing backwards is the preferred method of edgehogging, as its much faster. This is especially true with Doc, since his standing stance, he can either wavedash back to edgehog, or go into ABAs to prevent recovery (see section on edgeguarding).

It’s important to note that there is a brief period of invincibility after you grab the ledge. Therefore, timing the edgehog is critical, since characters w/ extremely high priority Up B moves, such as Link or Bowser, could knock you away from the ledge. By timing the edgehog so that you remain invincible just as your opponent uses their Up B, you'll remain unharmed by their attacks, and your opponent will plummet to their doom.

As an additional note, you get some 32 frames of invincibility once you try to get back up from the ledge (i.e. stand or roll). In order to avoid multi-hitting up-b attacks, you can time your recovery from edgehogging stance so that you’ll be invincible during the opponent’s up-b and still pull off a successful edgehog.

3. MARIO’S LEDGEGAME [MLDG]

This is probably one of the more critical decisions to make in SSBM, especially if you’re dealing w/higher level players. Your opponent hasn’t edgehogged you for whatever reason, and you’ve sweetspotted the ledge, trying to decide how to get back. This is an obviously precarious situation, especially when you’re up against Marth’s d-tilt, Samus’ u-tilt, or Fox’s Shine, for example. For this reason, you should know all your possible options to better facilitate your recovery.

Note: If your % is greater than or equal to 100%, then it will take longer for you to stand up, attack, roll, or jump from the ledge. In these cases, it may be better to ledgehop or waveglide to reduce the time it takes to get back on the stage.

Standing Up:
How to do it: Press the control stick towards the stage
Description: Mario scrambles up to stand near the edge of the stage
Analysis: This is one of the less effective ways to bet back on. Not only are you standing extremely close to the edge where you can be knocked off again, there’s a brief amount of lag time which renders you immobile. If your opponent is far away (for whatever reason), this is fine, but if he’s persistently edgeguarding you w/d-tilts or smashes, this recovery option is definitely not the way to go.

Rolling:
How to do it: Press R or L
Description: Mario rolls a decent distance away from the edge
Analysis: A less than average way to recover. Rolling takes you a way from the edge while giving you a few frames of invincibility. However, the only problem is the huge amount of ending lag. Even if you roll behind past edge-guarders (which is one of the few situations where it’s actually useful), they’ll have ample time to take advantage of that lag, especially by d-smashing you. Use this as a last resort if wavegliding, shorthopping, and jumping don’t work.

Jumping:
How to do it: Press the jump button (X, Y, or up on the control stick)
Description: Mario vaults over the ledge into a full-height jump
Analysis: Considering Mario’s formidable aerial game, this is one of the better options available to them. Jumping at full height takes you directly above your edgeguarding opponent, and leaves you in an excellent position to use your ABA to turn the tables on your foe and knock him off the stage. However, this option leaves Mario slightly vulnerable on the way up b/c the jump itself is slightly slow. However, this is probably one of the better ways to get past an edgeguarding opponent.

Attacking:
How to do it: Press the A or B button
Description: Mario gives a vigorous, two-footed kick at anyone stupid enough to come close to the ledge, giving around 8% damage
Analysis: Attacking directly from the ledge may seem advantageous with this attack, but while it offers a few invincibility frames during the attack and admirable range, it also provides a healthy dose of unwanted lag. If the opponent happens to spot dodge the attack, Mario basically gets screwed. If you want offensive options, shorthopping up is a much better choice.

Stalling:
How to do it: Press down on the control stick to drop down slightly, then jump to sweetspot the ledge; repeat as necessary
Description: Mario drops down, the jumps back up to grab the ledge
Analysis: If someone’s standing right near the ledge trying to time an edgeguarding move (such as Link’s standing up-b), then stalling may bait them into attacking. The advantage of this is that you’ll be able to take advantage of the attack’s lag by using the time to get back on the stage as quickly as possible. Also note that every time you grab the ledge, you get another 32 frames of invincibility, so timing your stall and grabbing of the ledge might help you to avoid edgeguarding attacks.

Ledgehopping:
How to do it: Tilt the control stick downwards (be careful not to fastfall) or backwards away from the stage, and press the jump button, then DI to land on the stage
Description: Mario lets go of the edge and uses his double jump to land precisely at the edge of the stage
Analysis: This maneuver is one of the best means to get past an edgeguarder. First off, it’s incredibly fast with virtually zero lag, and almost eliminates all vulnerability. It also offers Mario a wealth of offensive options, since they can perform any aerial attack (preferably ANA/AFA) right before they land, and L-cancel, to gain the offensive against the opponent. Even better, shorthopping up eliminates the lag involved with damage %>100%. Normally, recovery moves such as rolling, attacking, or jumping from the ledge takes infinitely longer once damage reaches 100%; using the shorthopping up method basically eliminates that extra lag. Additionally, you can tag on an attack during the ledgehop; Mario’s AUA and sex kick is usually the best choice.

Wavegliding:
How to do it: Tilt the control stick down to let go of the ledge, short hop, and air dodge (aka aerial wavedash) diagonally downwards
Description: If done correctly, Mario will seem to wavedash directly from an edgehogging state
Analysis: The advantages of wavedashing are clearly obvious--faster ground movement, invulnerability except for the very beginning of the WD, the ability to perform any standing attacking while moving. . .using this advanced strat as a recovery method is a huge advantage. This doesn’t work quite as well if the opponent is directly above you since you’re vulnerable at the beginning of the wavedash (if you happen to pass the 32 frames of invincibility that you have at the beginning of the ledge-grab). However, if you’re out of your opponent’s direct attacking range, this is the best way to recover as it has little vulnerability or lag, and gets you far away from the edge and back into the fight as quickly as possible.

4. EDGEGUARDING [EDGD]

Edgeguarding is probably one of the most important facets in the game, as effective edgeguarding can often give you an early KO w/o the hassle of gradually inflicting damage (as is usually the case w/Mario). Effective edgeguarding varies w/the recovery of your opponent and your edgeguarding tactic, but regardless, Mario has a wide range of attacks that can counter a large number of the recoveries out there.

Off-the-Stage ABAs

Mario’s edgeguarding game w/off-the-stage ABAs is just like the plumber himself--incredibly versatile. Depending on how you execute the ABAs, you can effectively hit hopponents above, to the side, and below the edge, making recovery for your opponent virtually ipossible. Jumping from near the edge of the stage w/ABAs can hit opponents above and near the ledge, ledge-hopped ABAs (from the edgehogging state) can hit opponents near the ledge w/the added bonus of 32 frames of invincibility, and wavedashing off the stage to an ABA (which cancels the edgehog) can hit opponents below the ledge.

However, Mario’s edgeguarding game w/ABAs isn’t as limited as described above. Depending on the % of the opponent and how they DI, you can at times hit them w/2 ABAs instead of just one. For example, if you’re edgeguarding w/stage-hopped ABAs and hit the opponent once, they’ll often immediately use their second jump to make up for the distance they just lost in their recovery. You can then counter this w/your double jump+ABA, then up-b to recover.

Or alternatively, you can even do 3 off-the-stage ABAs, where you jump off near the edge of the stage, ABA, use another ABA as you fall, then double jump+ABA, then use up-b to recover--although this only tends to work at lower %s.

Mario has a lot of versatility when edgeguarding w/off-the-stage ABAs; just be aware of the opponent’s position relative to the stage and %, so you can fit in as many ABAs as possible.

The Cape

Mario’s Cape once again shows off its marvelous versatility--you can now add edgeguarding to its list of uses. Although its range isn’t as ridiculously huge as Doc’s (and is therefore slightly more difficult to use) it can be just as deadly.

A few characters’ recoveries are easily caped, such as Fox/Flaco/Captain Falcon/Ganondorf/Mario/Doc/Luigi’s up-b. In most cases, timing the Cape to hit the opponent just as they sweetspot is the most effective means of edgeguarding w/the Cape, although it is possible to jump out towards the opponent and Cape their recovery ASAP. This works especially well vs. Fox/Flaco’s up-b, since if you Cape closer to them, they’ll have less room to maneuver around the Cape’s reflecting hitbox.

Be aware that in the above situations that the Cape tends to give opponents a slight vertical boost; at times, the vertical boost might be sufficient enough for the opponent to DI and land on the stage; be sure to anticipate this and d-smash/f-smash if necessary.

Also note that the Cape’s hitbox reaches below the stage whereas Mario’s d-smash does not; this makes it useful against opponents who are in an edgehogging state whose invincibility frames have just ended, so keep that in mind.

Meteor Smashing

Mario’s meteor smash is quite possibly one of the worst meteor smashes in the game. The beginning lag is horrendous, so it’s extremely easy to see coming and therefore meteor cancel. Even worse, the hitbox is small so it’s difficult to aim and easy to interrupt, and worst of all, the ending lag is so huge that trying to meteor smash recovering opponents usually results in you falling to your doom b/c you can’t recover in time.

If the opportunity to meteor smash your opponent does arise (say, after a shffl’d AUA combo that knocks your opponent off the stage and upwards) be sure that the opponent is high enough, and that you pull off a rising AFA so the lag ends as early as possible. This way, w/your second jump saved up and the lag ending ASAP, you’ll have a better shot at recovering. If the opponent is at stage level and below, forget trying to jump out after them and meteor smashing b/c you simply won’t be able to recover.

However, there’s a safer way to implement Mario’s AFA w/o risk of falling into an abyss, and that’s by shffl’ing the AFA at the edge of the stage. If the opponent passes by the ledge, is near it, or is about to sweetspot it, shffl’ing the AFA will meteor smash them downwards, since the hitbox goes slightly below the edge. This maneuver, of course, requires exquisite timing which makes it difficult. In most cases, this probably isn’t your best option since the Cape and ABAs are so much more reliable, but shffl’ing an AFA at the ledge is not only flashy, but buys you an early % KO, which is especially useful for Mario.

Ledge Spiking

Ledge spiking simply involves hitting an opponent at medium-high % w/an attack that smashes them into the side of the stage, which then forces them into a downwards rebound, making recovery impossible--unless they happen to be experts at wall-teching. Make no mistake about it: this is a risky means of edgeguarding b/c both of you are engaged in an all-out battle in midair where a single error means a loss of a stock. Battles to grab the ledge are a mutual risk for both you and your opponent, but getting a successful ledge-spike can be immensely satisfying.

In most cases, your main means of pulling off a ledge spike will be w/the up-b, although an ABA or well-placed AUA can also be just as effective. Your main intent here is to simply hit the opponent against the side of the stage, so obviously the up-b will be a better choice since regardless of which direction you face, you’ll knock the opponent into the ledge as long as you’re trying to grab it. If you’re going to use the ABA/AUA, you’ll have to specifically position yourself to make sure you bit them into the stage.

Again, deliberately trying to ledge spike is a risky business, but if you’re aggressive in edgeguarding, this does happen to be a viable option. Of course though, ledgespiking usually only happens when both of you are fighting to grab the ledge during recovery, and it doesn’t happen often. However, remember that there are more reliable--and safer--edgeguarding options.

Fireball Spike

Mario’s fireball is woefully inadequate when compared to Doc’s Pill, but the fireballs’ straighter trajectory gives you an edgeguarding option that the Pill has a hard time imitating. By carefully timing the fireball’s trajectory so that it intersects the opponent just as he starts his 2nd jump, you can force them to use their up-b earlier, and therefore destroy their recovery, or facilitate your edgeguarding if they’re still w/in recovery range.

Mario’s fireball can also be used for a variety of other edgeguarding options; i.e. hitting a Fox/Flaco while they’re charging their up-b or in the middle of their side-b, which forces them to drop in height and aim straight for the ledge--and right into your cape. The fireball is also useful in destroying Samus’ recovery if you happen to be precise enough to destroy her bombs.

5. MARIO’S OUT-OF-SHIELD GAME [OOS]

Most characters (w/the exception of Yoshi) have the ability to jump out of their shield. Unfortunately, this is a fact that’s overlooked by most players, as smashers tend to focus on offense rather than defense--after all, fighting games are about fighting, right?

However, consider Mario, a character who is forced into a defensive-based attrition style of combat b/c of his lack of KO moves. For a character w/a focus on extensive, (yet difficult to execute) damage-wracking combos as opposed to legitimate KO maneuvers, a defensive style is important. Therefore, the shield and its associated abilities is incredibly valuable.

Out-of-Shield Wavedashing

This is probably one of the most versatile options available to you froma shielding state. Wavedashing is already an incredibly evasive maneuver, as you can move a precise distance in any 2 directions, w/o any associated lag. However, wavedashing out of a shield allows you to reduce the vulnerability of a wavedash, since you start (and end if you so choose) in a shield, therefore protecting yourself during an approach/retreat.

This works especially well as a defensive positioning maneuver that allows you to approach--and evade--more safely than normal. For example, when trying to get inside/around Marth’s sword and tipper range, out-of-shield wavedashing can help you to block devastating attacks like his f-smash, then quickly slip in to start a devastating combo off of Mario’s grab+d-throw. Likewise, out-of-shield wavedashing can help you to avoid projectile walls, such as Link’s bomb+rang combos.

Out-of-shield wavedashing essentially creates a more favorable condition for Mario to fight in, considering his reliance on damange accumulation. By approaching/evading w/your shield, Mario can more easily engage in a game of attrition, and exploit the lag of your opponent’s hits.

Shield-Grabbing

Shield-grabbing is an incredibly technique that allows you to counter a shielded aerial w/a grab, giving you the opportunity to take advantage of the aerial’s ending lag. Although this isn’t always an incredibly effective technique (i.e. shield stun that lasts longer than aerial lag, or getting shined after an L-cancelled ADA), it is an important defensive technique to master.

What makes this technique so potent, especially for Mario, is that Mario can create incredible combos from his grabs, usually w/u-tilts, d-smashes, or shffl’d AUAs. Since most of Mario’s best combos begin w/grabs, shield-grabbing is an easy way to increase your grabbing potential, especially against slipper opponents like Fox, whose speed and Shine make him practically ungrabable.

Aerials-out-of-Shield

Using aerials out of your shield is an important technique for Mario to consider. Being a defensive character as he is, he’ll be shielding quite a bit, and during the situations where a grab may not be the best idea, using an aerial of your shield is a pretty decent way to retaliate.

For example, sex-kicking out of your shield is useful when you’ve just shielded an opponent’s aerial and they’re about to grab you. Alternatively, if someone has deliberately executed an aerial and landed behind you to avoid shield-grabbing, you can ABA out of the shield to hit them.

Basically, using aerials out of your shield allows you to retaliate any time your opponent fails to successfully hit you. It’s an essential technique to incorporate for a defensive Mario.

Up-Smashing-out-of-Shield

It’s possible to u-smash out of your shield by jump-cancelling your shield directly into an u-smash. Although this at times can be useful, it’s not that practical since there’s quite a bit of lag before the hit frames actually occur, and therefore easy to avoid. However, it is another option that you have from the shield.

Up-b’ing-out-of-Shield

Another option available to you out of your shield is your up-b. . .but it’s hardly a viable option considering the fact that the up-b’s lag is absolutely horrendous. If you do manage to hit the opponent w/it, it can be useful, as it has decent knockback. However, the only situations where you would actually want to use this would be if you were directly beneath a platform, so you could up-b onto a platform to reduce lag time. Or, you could up-b from your shield to grab a ledge, like the fin on Corneria. Otherwise, up-b’ing from your shield generally isn’t recommended, though it can throw off the opponent.

6. COMBAT STYLE [COMS]
“What’s your style?” – guy who gets humiliated by Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon

Style, or the way in which you choose to do battle w/your opponet, is critical in determining your success. You can choose to adopt a specific style, but if you’re unable to adapt your style to different circumstances and opponts, then style means nothing.

Listed below are just a few styles of play that Mario can use. Remember though that the most important facet of applying a style is its adaptability--different opponents require different offensive/defensive approaches.

Defensive

Your standard defensive strategy usually consists of shielding, evasive wavedashing, dodging, caping, fireball spam, and best of all, running away (which, as always, works the best of all).

Most importantly, playing a defensive game means avoiding attacks as much as possible. You should be dodging constantly, since it allows you to remain w/I your opponent’s attack range w/o fear of retaliation, giving you the chance to pull off your own attacks.

Shielding is also an incredibly important defensive tool that shouldn’t be overlooked. In most situations, you’re going to have to shield to avoid certain attacks (i.e. multi-hitting attacks, or successions of quick individual attacks). In these cases, Mario has an incredible number of options available to him, ranging from shield-grabbing, out-of-shield wavedashing, and out-of-shield aerials. Shield-grabbing is absolutely critical to incorporate into defensive gameplay, as it allows you to retaliate against your opponent’s attack, especially considering that the majority of Mario’s combos can begin from grabs.

Caping should be used to deflect projectiles, especially against Samus, Peach, and Link, which will (minutely) throw off their game, forcing them to either reduce the nmber of projectiles they fire or slow down their projectile game as they have to deal w/reflected projectiles while setting up their own. Caping should also be used as an aerial evasive maneuver to avoid being hit by impending juggles.

Evasive camping w/fireballs can also be pretty effective on larger stages as a defensive maneuver. Launching off a barrage of fireballs can discourage pursuit, and slow down offensive approaches while keeping your option of attacking open. Although the fireball doesn’t create a foolproof defensive screen, it does help to hinder then and facilitate your own approach or retreat.

Essentially, you want to use every tool at your disposal to keep your distance between you and the opponent. If the opponent continues to aggressively attack you, countering their aerials w/shield-grabbing and out-of-shield aerials will allow you to increase their % as you get out of the immediate vicinity. Hey, who says that being cowardly doesn’t work?

Offensive

Your standard offensive strategy usually consists of lots of shffl’d aerials, implementing lots of high-knockback moves, and involves a very in-your-face mentality to overwhelm your opponent.

To this end, you should always be aggressively pressuring your opponent. Whether that involves a barrage of shffl’d aerials, or full-jumped fireballs to facilitate your approach, you should focus on getting as many quick hits on your opponent as possible. Obviously, you shouldn’t be blindly running into an opponent’s attack, but you should force the opponent to react to what you’re doing, and force him on the defensive, where he’ll have less options.

You should also weave your smashes into your offensive game a lot more than usual, especially your f-smash (for its sheer power) and the d-smash (for its speed). Mario’s lack of high-knockback moves makes it more difficult to KO, but by fitting in well-placed smashes, you’ll be able to accumulate damage more quickly, and get the opponent off stage more frequently and edgeguard.

Combo Master

Having a combo-oriented Mario takes a huge amount of work. . .Mario’s main means of comboing revolves around his shffl’d AUAs, and this particular sequence works only at a specific % (usually 50-70% when you start off). However, having a combo-oriented style means that the moves you should be using the most are grabs w/u/d-throw, u-tilt, and shffl’d AUAs. At all times, you should be paying attention to the opponent’s %, and thinking out how to connect multiple hits together. Chain-grabbing w/the u-throw on fastfallers, consecutive delayed sex kicks, continuous u-tilts, following the jab up w/f-tilt/grab/d-smash. . .linking hits together will be your primary focus here, since you’ll want to inflict as much damage as possible to make KO’ing w/your d-smash/sex kick/f-smash much more likely.

It’s also important to keep in mind that every single combo that you execute MUST end in a finisher move--basically, an attack that has significant knockback. For example, multiple u-tilts should finish in an u-smash, shffl’d AUAs should end in a d-smash or up-angled f-smash. . .you get the idea. Completing a combo w/a high-knockback finishing move should be more important than hopelessly trying to extend the combo, since getting the opponent off the stage leads to and edgeguarding opportunity as opposed to multiple low-knockback moves.

During the times in which multiple combo moves are inapplicable due to opponent % or other factors, then you’ll have to adopt a hit-and-run strategy. Try to keep yourself as damage free as possible, while inflicting gradual increments of damage on the opponent until they reach adequate comboing %--then break out the shffl’d AUAs and take your opponent down.

 

[maelstrom218]

CHARACTER MATCH-UPS [MTCH]

Vs. Sheik
Difficuly: ****
Best Weapon: Shffl'd AUAs
What to Watch Out For: F-tilt Juggling, AFA, AUA

Sheik comes very close to being broken. Add up her invisible-and-ultra-high-priority needles (which destroy Mario's recovery), her AFA and AUA KO moves, her f-tilt juggles, her chain-grabbing (which is broken btw, which is why the Japanese don't chain-grab), her ridiculous speed, and her ease of use, you have a character that is frustrating on so many levels (though Peach can be equally frustrating). If you don't do well in anticipating the Sheik and avoid her juggles/grabs, then Sheik can very, very quickly take control of the game.

But before you play, insist that the Sheik player enter his (or her. . .? >_>) name before starting the match. Sheik's teleport recovery is mostly pretty simple to anticipate; however, if a name is entered, then the nametag that always hovers over the characters will reveal Sheik's position during her teleport. It's a small advantage, but one nonetheless.

First off, DI is your friend. If you do happen to get hit w/an AFA while in midair, you'll very likely die, even if you're at mid %s if you happen to be near the edge of the stage. DI up-left/up-right as the situation requires, b/c her AFA has completely horizontal knockback, meaning that you don't get the luxury of being sloppy w/your DI. If you don't, then you're essentially done for. For Sheik's AUA, DI down-left or down-right. It's a pretty powerful vertical KO move (though not as strong as Fox's) so try to avoid it if you can by double-jumping or Caping.

Secondly, crouch-cancelling will be invaluable in this match-up. Sheik's high-speed dash attack (which leads to her AUA) and her continuous f-tilts (which leads to her AFA) can both be very easily crouch-cancelled, and countered w/his d-smash, or d-tilt (at medium-high %s, and can lead to u-tilt, or shffl'd ANA). Failure to crouch cancel leads directly into Sheik's two powerhouse KO moves, so don't be afraid to soak up some damage in this situation, as it'll prevent Sheik's combos to a certain extent. Also, at high enough %s, Mario's Tornado also works moderately as a CCC, though d-smash is obviously the better choice. It's more of a surprise maneuver that the opponent will never expect (after all, the Tornado is essentially useless), so keep that in mind.

Luckily for Mario, Sheik easily falls prey to his shffl'd AUA combos as she's the perfect weight/falling speed. Once you get close enough to grab--which can occur through shield-grabbing her dash attack, or using a jump-cancelled dash grab or wavegrab--u-throw at low %s or d-throw at high %s can lead to Mario's trademark shffl'd AUAs (which work ideally at about 65%). For the most part, you want to end the combo w/an up-angled f-smash, but as it's difficult to pull off, a sex kick can work just as well. Once you get close enough to grab--which can be facilitated by jabs or wavedash+u-tilt--Mario should be able to inflict a decent amount of damage.

Basically, you should focus on more defensive maneuvering to avoid Sheik's major juggles and ensuing KO finishers. Once you get close to Sheik though, Mario should gain the upper hand, and be able to start his shffl'd AUA combos in order to lead into an up-angled f-smash, and a KO.

Vs. Fox
Difficulty: ****
Best Weapon: Sex Kick
What to Watch Out For: Shine Spiking

Fox is formidable. . .very formidable indeed. W/his high number of vertical KO moves (u-smash, AUA), his godly speed, his ridiculous combos w/the Shine, and his ever-dreaded Shine-Spike, this is a hard match-up--but certainly not impossible.

Projectiles will usually be of little use here, as Fox's speed allows him to avoid/evade/outrun the fireballs in most respects. Unless you have huge amounts of room (read: FD) then you want to avoid reckless fireball usage. Use full-jumped fireballs at FD-like distances, and short-hopped fireballs ONLY if Fox isn't aggressively approaching you on a kamikaze-like run. . .if he is, his speed will take him past the fireball and punish your lag.

One of Fox's major problems is his range (something that Mario can certainly relate to). Therefore, judicious use of the f-tilt will be able to moderately keep Fox at bay; again, like the Fireballs, you want to be careful w/the f-tilt as it is punishable. Long-range poking is very useful, however.

The best counter to Fox's speed is Mario's shffl'd sex kick. It has the priority, and more importantly, the duration required to offset the speed advantage that Fox possesses--if the Fox is even slightly sloppy in his spacing/timing, he'll eat the sex kick. It's certainly the fastest aerial in Mario's arsenal (w/his AUA just 1 frame longer in start-up time), but again, the duration helps Mario's offensive strategy and makes him less vulnerable.

Mario's grab game is also useful here, although a bit difficult to implement, as the Shine has the fastest start-up time in the entire game--a misplaced/mistimed grab will get you Shined and made vulnerable to its associated combos. However, if you do manage to pull of a grab, Fox can be chain-grabbed w/u-throw. D-throw can lead to d-smash/f-smash, and u-throw can lead into a variety of u-tilts, u-smashes, and shffl'd AUAs.

Fox's vertical KO moves--his u-smash and AUA--are problematic. Fox's u-smash and AUA kills Mario at 80%, which is almost as frustrating as being shine-spiked. Avoiding the u-smash is just a matter of learning how to spot-dodge at the right time. Luckily, avoiding the AUA is much easier. If you're expecting an AUA while you're in the air/tumbling, a fast-falled ADA can interrupt the impending attack, but requires fairly good timing. The Cape also works as an effective aerial stall maneuver as well.

Finally, shine-spiking can be a serious problem for Mario, as his recovery is already too predictable. Fortunately enough, Mario has quite possibly the greatest anti-shine-spiking maneuver ever: his AUA. If you managed to save your double jump while trying to get back to the stage and see Fox heading towards you for a shine-spike, double jumping+AUA has enough range to adequately shut down any potential shine-spike. Of course, this requires exquisite timing and anticipation on your part, but if you can accurately time the double jump+AUA, then Fox's shine-spiking game is practically shut down.

In general, Fox's speed is your biggest problem here, so Mario needs to focus on his fastest attacks like his ANA, u-tilt, d-smash, and AUA.

Vs. Marth
Difficulty: *****
Best Weapon: Spot-dodge/Grab->d-throw
What to Watch Out For: The Sword's Range

Marth is a pain. Considering that Mario's most debilitating weakness (besides his lack of KO moves anyways) is his horrible range, it's not easy to go against a character whose every attack is completely disjointed.. Marth also has horrendous combos and juggling which are almost utterly inescapable due to his range--juffling w/his AFA chains or his u-tilt, for example. Range is the main reason why this match-up almost qualifies as a flat-out counter--it's b/c Mario spends the majority of his time trying to get around the sword yet making himself vulnerable in the process, while Marth is practically never vulnerable at all during this battle of spacing.

The only goal that Mario has in this match-up is to get inside Marth's sword range. In the majority of cases, Marth players will focus on scoring tippers as it has more knockback and damage, so they'll space themselves accordingly. Mario can use that to his advantage--the only times he'll be (moderately) safe are far, far away from the Marth himself, or completely inside Marth's tipper range. Once Mario can get inside Marth's tipper range, the match becomes miles easier as Mario can actually trade hits w/Marth and slip in actual hits--of course, the whole problem is actually getting inside tipper range in the first place.

To get inside tipper range, you'll need to use every single evasive maneuver that exists in the game. Spot-dodging will help you against f-smashes and tilts, rolling will help you to get around shffl'd AFA approaches (be careful of its predictability though), dash-dancing will help draw out potential attacks and let you take advantage of its ensuing lag, wavedashing will give you the ground mobility you need to slip inside tipper range for a quick strike, Caping is useful for throwing off the timing of your aerial approaches, and Fireballs might be of some help in slowing Marth down or distracting him (despite the fact he can swipe Fireballs away--be careful w/your projectile usage). Using these tactics will increase the chance of slipping inside tipper range; if you can do that, then you're already 3/4 of the way there.

Once you're inside tipper range, Mario relies heavily on his tilts, grabs, and d-smash to inflict as much damage on Marth as possible before he bats you away or escapes your juggles. U-tilt will be especially useful here, as it will lead to Mario's trademark shffl'd AUA combos or a well-timed sex kick. Grabbing Marth into a d-throw (at most %s) or u-throw (at low %s) can also lead into d-smashes, u-tilts, or shffl'd AUAs. Again, you're going for maximum damage w/as many fast attacks as you can before Marth is able to reset the spacing situation.

In general, Mario should stay on the ground unless you're trying to run away on platforms (which Marth's sword can unfortunately reach through). When outside tipper range, Mario has to play defensively through running away and fireball spamming, and trying to find openings. After getting inside Marth's tipper range w/spot-dodging, wavedashing, rolling, etc. Mario should dish out damage w/his grab combos or d-smash.

Vs. Peach
Difficulty: *****
Best Weapon: F-smash
What to Watch Out For: D-smash, Float-Cancel Combos

Peach is many things. . .a damsel in distress, a Princess w/a woefully inadequate security force, but in SSBM, she falls under the category of a female dog, or a sexually promiscuous women in the flesh trade business. Her d-smash is infamous (over 60% if crouch cancelled), her turnips and random item spawns are irritating (a 35% damage from a granny turnip?!), and her recovery is almost unparalleled. Besides the above, the sad truth is that anything Mario can do, Peach can do better--Mario has shffl'd AUA combos, but Peach has better w/her float-cancelled combos that have zero lag. Mario has his Fireballs, but Peach has her devastating turnips. Mario has a decent f-smash and b-throw, but Peach has her f-throw, d-smash, and AFA. Mario has his decent aerials, but Peach has her huge priority/huge hitbox AFA, ABA, ANA. It's frustrating, to say the least.

First rule of fighting against Peach: never crouch-cancel the d-smash. Having anywhere from 15%-70% dealt in 1 second is enough to make you cry. Also, try to stay away from Peach on the ground--use f-tilt, quick shffl'd aerials, and especially SHABAWDs and SHAUADJs to avoid getting caught in the d-smash. Avoid u-tilts on a grounded Peach, and grabs too,as it brings you too close to her, and her potential d-smash.

Second rule of fighting against Peach: always DI up for everything. DI'ing up will help you to avoid multiple hits of the d-smash, the KO potential of her f-throw/AFA, and the knockback of the stronger turnips. DI is your friend, especially against Peach's high horizontal knockback moves.

Third rule of fighting against Peach: treat every turnip as a Granny turnip. That way, when you actually have a Granny turnip appear, you won't be surprised. The Cape works very well against Peach's turnip game, as does catching them.

Fourth rule of fighting against Peach: hit and run. This is especially true for Mario, as she (like Samus) has the uncanny ability to trade hits w/the Italian Plumber (crouch-cancelled d-smash!!!!). Stay out of her range as much as possible, and don't try to pointlessly extend combos if you've already gotten in multiple hits.

The above rules work well, but there are other things to be aware of. For example, Peach's float-cancelled combos (ADA->ANA while floating, or ADA->d-smash) tend you add up and rack up lots of damage. If you see Peach floating, Fireballs at long range work moderately well in disrupting her, though her aerial mobility will usually allow her avoid them for the most part. Nevertheless, Fireballs will slow her down and force her to alter her floating status in order for her to safely approach.

Once Peach gets w/in hitting range w/her float cancels, spot-dodging will be of little use in close-range combat. Her zero-lag aerials won't let you take advantage of what should have been her lag, and her ADA and d-smash are multi-hitting. Lightshielding is critically important against Peach, as it'll push you away so that you'll be out of range after a float-cancelled AFA. While Peach is float-cancelling, she'll also be vulnerable to shffl'd AUAs and their godly range--if she's facing you, her AFA has too much start-up time, if her back is to you, just be careful of her ABA.

F-smash works really well against Peach (although it doesn't very often kill her) simply b/c of its sheer disjointed hitbox range. F-smash outranges most of her ground moves (especially her d-smash), and works well as a floating counter if up-angled, although Peach's AFA can, if timed correctly, definitely outrange it.

In general, fighting a Peach is about hit and run. Cape her turnips, fireball from afar, focus on SHABAWDs and SHAUADJs to avoid trading hits on the ground, and rely on your shffl'd AUA to rack up damage.

Vs. Falco
Difficulty: ****
Best Weapon: B-throw/Edgeguarding
What to Watch Out For: SHB

Flaco can be a difficult opponent, mostly b/c of his SHB (Short Hop Blaster). On flat stages, Flaco gains an immediate advantage, as his SHB will create a virtually unstoppable barrage of laser spam that will shut down any potential approach, and facilitate his own. Not only that, Flaco has a frightening number of combo options available due to his ADA and Shine. This is definitely not an easy match.

First off, if you have the ability to do so, pick a stage that is small and has platforms. A large stage like Final Destination will give Flaco an absolutely sick advantage as he can SHB to his heart's content while you have nowhere to run. DreamLand 64, Fountain of Dreams, and Pokemon Stadium are ideal.

Secondly, you have to neutralize Flaco's SHB. This involves Caping in order to force Flaco to pause his SHB game, or hopping immediately onto a nearby platform, or countering w/your own projectile. A combination of the above suggestions should (somewhat) reduce the barrage of lasers.

Once you get close to Flaco, things become much easier. . .as long as you remain in control and avoid being completely shut down by SHB and his frightening shine combos. Flaco is extremely susceptible to Mario's grab game--he can be chain-grabbed at early %s w/u-throw and at mid %s w/d-throw. Furthermore, d/u-throws can lead to u-tilt, u-smash, shffl'd AUAs, and jabs+d-smash. Once you actually manage to get a hold of Flaco--which unfortunately, is no easy task--you should be able to get in a nice chunk of damage.

Luckily for everyone, Flaco has a horrible, horrible weakness--his recovery is quite possibly the worst in the game. That being said, any of the high horizontal knockback moves in Mario's arsenal will be worthwhile--f-smash, d-smash, sex kick, and his b-throw come to mind. If you can pull off any of those moves near the ledge, Flaco will be hard put to recover, especially given Mario's superb edgeguarding game. W/the Cape, f-smash, and ledge-hopped ABAs at his disposal, Flaco should essentially be finished once you knock him even slightly off the stage. That being said, Mario's immediate focus in the matchup is to force Flaco to the edge, and get him off ASAP. If you can do that, then you should be set. Be wary though that you avoid staying near the ledge too much, as it makes you vulnerable to Flaco's spiking ADA.

Vs. Captain Falcon
Difficulty: ***1/2
Best Weapon: Cape/Edgeguarding
What to Watch Out For: The Knee, Falcon's Speed

Captain Falcon can be a beast--his speed and power are alarming, and it doesn't help that that his combo game rivals that of Mario's (chain-grabbing w/d-throw, multiple AUAs/ABAs). Falcon's Knee is also just plain sick; the amount of damage/knockback involved can easily destroy Mario, especially when considering Mario's slight floatiness, which makes him an easier target for the Knee.

Falcon is a fast-faller, so Mario can again resort to his grab combos for damage accumulation. D-throw to d-smash works well, and u-throw at low/medium %s into u-tilt and/or shffl'd AUAs work reasonably well. Don't be afraid to use a dash shffl'd AUA, as the range on that move is surprisingly large.

One of Falcon's greatest assets is his speed, but all too often, Falcon players rely solely on speed in order to advance his combos--Falcon will be overly aggressive and speed all over the place. B/c of the nature of how Falcon is played, he'll unwittingly run straight into your attacks. That's why lots of long-duration attacks are useful against him, such as Samus' bombs or Doc's Pills, as they completely limit Falcon's speed--and Falcon players don't like that. To that end, Mario's sex kick and ADA work pretty well in this match-up, as using them will force Falcon to reduce his speed and use a slower approach.

Thankfully, Falcon has a terrible recovery--it's extremely short, very predictable, and easily Caped. In situations where Falcon uses his up-b above the stage, or uses it to sweetspot, chasing him w/the Cape will finish him pretty easily. In most other situations, ABAs (whether ledgehopped or near the ledge) can shut down every approach option that he has, as long as you react fast and have decent anticipation skills. B/c of Falcon's mediocre recovery, Mario should be concentrating on well-placed, high-knockback moves like his f-smash, d-smash, b-throw, and sex kick to get him off the ledge, although he shouldn't competely rely on the aforementioned moves like he should against Flaco.

For the most part, your kills against Falcon will be through edgeguarding instead of straight out KOs. Otherwise, well-placed and well-timed sex kicks and ADAs will be able to slow down a relentlessly aggressive Falcon.

Vs. Samus
Difficulty: ****1/2
Best Weapon: Shffl'd AUAs
What to Watch Out For: Missiles, Bombs, Charge Shots, Disjointed Attacks, Change in Tactics

Samus is a difficult opponent to play against--not only b/c she outranges Mario on the ground and in the air, not only b/c she has incredible recovery and is impossible to kill, but b/c she has so many options at her disposal that she's impossible to predict. Her missile game is staggering (w/missile cancels), her bombs are multipurpose (over 12 uses!!!!), she can use mindgames w/her recovery, has 7 KO moves. . .trying to fight a Samus is like fighting a tactical shapeshifter.

Marth is difficult b/c he outranges Mario. Samus is even worse b/c she not only outranges Mario, but also capitilizes on his biggest weakness--his inability to KO. Even ledge-hopped ABAs are useless, as bomb DI makes her pretty unpredictable. And b/c of Samus' weight, she can simply crouch-cancel anything Mario throws at her, and throw it back. Regardless of your style, you'll be forced to play a defensive game against Samus--due to her longevity and ability to soak damage, recklessly inflicting damage (and thereby making yourself vulnerable) won't work out. . .you need to think out your strategy.

First off, you have to neutralize Samus' missile game, and spot-dodging, jumping, shielding, and f-tilting/sex kicking the missile should work out. Be aware of missile-cancelled approaches--they'll exploit your actions as you deal w/the missile (i.e. sex kick if you jump over it, dash-grab you if you shield it, etc).

If you're Caping, be very cautious and judicious w/the use of the Cape--it does have punishable ending lag. For example, you might reflect a missile only to eat a missile-cancelled fully maxed charge beam during the Cape's lag. Be careful of the Cape, and use it only when the missile will work against Samus.

Fireballs will work fairly well here, as Samus needs a decent amount of distance to start her missile game; you might as well return the favor and try to disrupt it. If you happen to be a marksman w/the Fireball, taking out Samus' dropped bombs as she's recovering will force her to lose height--it's very difficult to pull off however. Anyways, once Samus closes in, drop the fireballs and get ready for some close-range melee action.

Samus, like Marth, severely outranges Mario in the air and on the ground, so you'll have to be careful in attacking Samus b/c of this. On the ground, Samus is very vulnerable from above, so implementing fast-falled L-cancelled ADAs, AFAs, and AUAs at somewhere around full-jump height should work out well (perhaps after substituting a double jump instead of a wavedash from the SHABAWD?). Be wary, however, that Samus does have a way to deal w/attacks from above, namely w/her sex kick, and her AUA. In the air, Samus is especially vulnerable from below, so shffl'd AUAs should work nicely. She only has her ADA and bombs to protect her underside, and the ADA is far too slow to begin with. Getting her in the air for shffl'd AUAs is another matter entirely--u-tilts, d-throws, and shffl'd sex kicks work, though it requires you going against Samus on a horizontal approach which Mario is in a disadvantage at.

In general, you want to use the Cape cautiously to shut down Samus' projectile game, and pop her in the air to hit her from below w/shffl'd AUAs, as that's where she's most vulnerable.

 

[maelstrom218]

PERSONAL RANTS [PRNT]

Why The F-smash is a Problematic Move for Mario

its not hard to win with him specially since his [f-smash] is longer than alot of you think and it does not have to be sweet spotted like everyone keeps suggesting.
-posted by a misinformed n00b

Mario has no high knockback moves (outside of his f-smash and his sex kick that has decaying knockback). Fight a match vs. Samus w/only using his down or up-smash as your KO moves, and she'll go up to 180% w/proper DI. . .practically every other character in the game has multiple powerful KO moves, w/the exception of Mario (and maybe Y. Link). It is a FACT that Mario has no powerful KO moves--outside of his f-smash.

So since we've now established that Mario has only his f-smash as a KO move, lets examine it, shall we? (Following frame data provided by SuperDoodleMan)

-------------------------------------
F Smash
Damage: 9%-18% (sweetspotted); 6%-11% (unsweetspotted)
Note: up-angled f-smash has +1% damage; down-angled f-smash has -1% damage

Total: 41
Hit: 12-16
Charge frame: 5
-------------------------------------
U Smash
Damage: 8%-15%

Total: 39
Hit: 9-11
Head invulnerable: 9-11
Charge frame: 7
-------------------------------------
D Smash
8%-16% (front), 5%-10% (behind)

Total: 37
Hit: 5-6, 14
Charge frame: 3
-------------------------------------

Looking at the above, we see that f-smash is the longest in terms of duration, has the most damage, and has the longest starting lag. However, it lasts the longest, but also counts as a disjointed hitbox. A non-charged sweetspotted f-smash has 9%-18% damage, but if it's not sweetspotted, it has 6%-11% damage. So a non-sweetspotted f-smash has only 61% of a sweetspotted f-smash's damage.

Furthermore, a sweetspotted f-smash has more knockback than a non-sweetspotted f-smash (obviously). Set a computer Mario at 60% on FD, and alternate between a sweetspotted/non-sweetspotted f-smash to compare. A sweetspotted f-smash will send the Mario all the way across FD, and a non-sweetspotted f-smash will send him slightly less than half-way. In comparison, his d-smash has more knockback at the same % than a non-sweetspotted f-smash.

Therefore, we can conclude that Mario's f-smash (in regard to his other smashes) is the slowest to start, has the longest ending lag, and has the longest hit duration. Therefore it's the most punishable of his smashes.

In regard to sweetspotted vs. not sweetspotted, Mario's unsweetspotted f-smash has 61% of the damage and less than half of the knockback of the sweetspotted f-smash. Therefore, we can safely assert that an unsweetspotted f-smash is much, much weaker than if it was sweetspotted.

Combine the above info w/the fact that Mario's only reliable KO move is the f-smash, and you should come to the conclusion that sweetspotting the f-smash is absolutely critical for Mario in order to get his KO. The statement that "[Mario's f-smash] does not have to be sweet spotted like everyone keeps suggesting" is WRONG.

Furthermore, Mario’s f-smash is UNRELIABLE. As already stated from the frame data, it has the longest start-up time and the longest duration--therefore, it’s easy to see coming and can be easily punished. And if you happen to miss the sweetspot, you end up w/a weak attack that is practically incapable of dealing a KO.

My beef w/the sweetspot is this: the non-sweetspotted range on Mario’s f-smash is within his normal grab/jab range; it’s where he usually is when dealing w/an opponent on the ground. However, the sweetspotted range on the f-smash is outside of Mario’s grab/jab range and therefore outside of the normal area where he operates. Therefore, in order for Mario to sweetspot the f-smash, he has to completely change his usual spacing from the opponent just to fit in a kill move.

Well, if Marth sweetspots all the time, then why is it such a problem for Mario? It’s b/c Marth has to be at a sweetspot range all the time for every one of his attacks--Mario doesn’t. Changing your sense of spacing just to fit in a single move is just plain difficult to do, and severely alters the character’s flow. That’s the reason why the f-smash is unreliable.

Of course, there are ways to make sweetspotting the f-smash a lot easier. Wavedashing back+f-smash, and angling the f-smash up or downwards work well. However, the fact remains that Mario has to alter his entire sense of spacing just to fit in one move--a move that is absolutely critical for him, as it’s the only powerful KO move that he has.

THANKS [THX]

There are a few people that I really need to extend my gratitude towards, b/c they’ve influenced my Mario and/or way of thinking to help me become a better smasher.

I’d like to thank SuperDoodleMan simply b/c of the sheer data that he’s assembled on the statistical aspects of Smash. I can’t even imagine the kind of (obsessive. . .?) dedication it took to gather all the info required, but b/c of the information that he’s provided for the Smash Community, everyone is much more informed. Thank you.

I’d also like to thank HonorBound, who has my respect as one of the most incredible posters on Smashboards. His posts have always been succinct, fluent, and incredibly eloquent, and the posts he’s made on the Mario/Doc forums have been greatly influential on how I developed my own Mario. HonorBound, I wish I could express myself w/the same kind of verbal acuity that you can.

I also want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to WarriorKnight, who gets my vote as one of the best Marios on the EC. He took the time out to specifically train me and give me advice, and for that, I can’t thank him enough.

I need to give kudos to Brown Mario as well, who is the best Mario player out there. . .his vids inspired me to choose Mario over Doc, and it’s a choice that I’ve never regretted making. Thanks Brown Mario for showing me the destructive combos that Mario’s capable of.

I’d also like to thank Shoot the Works and Tobias XelKythe for the informative posts that they make on Samus and Luigi respectively. Their intimate knowledge of their respective characters made me see Smash in a completely different light as opposed to being a simple button-mashing fighter. . .thanks for showing me the truth about Smash.

And to save the best for last, I want to thank The Cape. The Cape is an absolutely phenomenal Mario player for the sheer technical prowess that he has, and the insane amount of arbitrary Mario strategies that he can invent on the fly. It was The Cape who taught me--and continues to teach me--about just how incredible and versatile Mario really is. Thanks for the advice and inspiration that you’ve given me.

And obviously, this FAQ would have never been written if HAL and Nintendo hadn’t made SSBM, which I am convinced is one of the greatest fighters ever conceived. . .and SSBM wouldn’t be half the game it was if it wasn’t for the dedicated contribution of countless smashers who make up the Smash Community. Thanks to all of you!

Copyright 2005
Property of Thomas Chang (maelstrom218)

 

[Mic_128]

Excelent work. I'd have thought that Mario would be one of the first guides made...ah well. Good job.

*Stick*

 

[stuntcuum3571]

niceness Mael, best Mario guide yet.

One lil thing, I was hoping for a lil more about SHABAWD, no guide has yet to cover those, and it seems like you could go a lil more in depth.

 

[cablepuff]

mario can down throw chain sheik to high percentage. I use that over up-air juggle or get some chain into up -air juggle.

 

[meepxzero]

Nice guide overall =) yah add a chain throwing section for mario its another thing that gives him an edge over shiek, fox, falco. and possible tech ledging since his is the easiest in the game and makes his recovery that much better but cape was probably gonna add that later lol.

 

[VilNess]

Allright! good job for making this! I´m sure itwill help some people especially stressing the importance of comboing and such

 

[nitro-blazer]

Great Job, wonderful. I was wondering when a Mario guide would come along.

 

[pill_dat]

good guide, i'm a doc player but still some useful stuff. Deff more on the SHABAWD and you should add meep's name to the best marios.

 

[ender]

maelstrom218 are you related to mic128?

 

[Mic_128]

No, just the 128 curse appearing ina diferent form.....

 

[bornfidelity.com]

Hm, maybe you could add the ledgedrop -> upB recovery, say, you've sweetspotted, Marth has missed, you press away from the edge and upB asap, you'll connect with all hits and Marth'll be like 'OMFG I thought no one ever used that as an attack'. lol
Yeah, that gives you enough time to return to the ground, and shield/sidestep/jab/w /ever.

 

[Cyphus]

you're mario guide is awesome. I'd say its among the top 5 character guides ever. You VS character strageties were beautifully specific. How you went into detail on character specific combos and play style is really impressive.
The only thing i was hoping to see that wasn't there was a longer list of character matchup strats(at least as far as Mario, himself) and perhaps a little more encouragement on chain grabbing. On flat terrain mario can easily follow the DI of fox and falco and chain throw them from 30-60% or stop early for some chasing UpSmashes..Either way, i find Mario's F.Smash pretty easy to sweetspot finish their DI from the combo.
I dunno if i'm actually disagreeing w/ you or not...but i really dont' find his F.Smash hard to combo into. For me...if they're too close..i just keep comboing them. I don't F.Smash until i'm unable to continue comboing. It seems to me its harder to Not get the "sweetspot" than to get it. I think it should just be called on having a "weakspot", instead. But i'm just prolly saying that because i don't really play Mario that often.

anywho..i'm blown away by your guide. makes me want to play mario a little more.(though i could never drop t3h d0< for him.

 

[8000]

Simply amazing, i didn't have time to read through it all but from what i read from scanning, this is going in as a bookmark for later reading.

Nice work

 

[bornfidelity.com]

Oh, since Falco's my actual main, I just had to try some of his SHL stuff with Mario ^_<
I know there's no lagcancel, but shorthop+b -> DI backwards is a nice retreating strategy if the opponent is somewhat far away from you, it gives you some breathing space. And yeah, like someone said earlier, a bit more on the bair-wavelanding would be nice.

Awesome guide though!

 

[FireKP1]

Nice guide Malestrom. Even though I play Marth and Jigglypuff it's still cool.

 

[Afrotaki]

Wrong

You said that the Doc's cape has more range; this is false.

Doc has more vertical range with his cape, while Mario has more horizontal range. In reality, Mario's cape is superior. While it's always useful to be able to cape someone from farther away, what use are you really gonna have for caping things above you? Mario's afterwind covers any sort of projectiles coming down, and if you're ******** enough to sit there and cape someone who's falling in a sex kick, you deserve to be hit in the first place. Mario has terrific recovery, especially with his down B (if you're good enough with it), and when you throw the cape into that mix, it's over.

Doc's cape is useless, and Mario's is terrific.

Now, you also said that his F-smash is terrible, and is his only kill move. This is untrue, as well. The F-smash is a great move however you look at it. The lag is not nearly as severe as you've made it out to be, and even if you miss with the sweet spot (which is difficult, considering the coal is as big as his head), it still distances them enough that you can just jump with an Uair, knocking them away from you. You can angle his F-smash, too, so it's a great edgeguarding move if you use it right. The one thing you should never do, though, is charge it, unless you know 100% that you're going to hit spot-on with it. This applies to every smash in the game, though, so why should it count against it?

And what about the sex kick? Even around 90% damage, Mario's sex is unbelievable with its knockback. Have you ever just come down on someone with it? The result is catastrophic for the other person; even if they crouch cancel, you can sh from the l-cancel and sex again or an Uair right away. If they're still l-cancelling after that, you can always fall away from them in the sh. So many possibilities for the sex kick, and it's so often overlooked. The same applies for his Uair. Have you ever just completely swept someone across the floor with repeated Shuffl'd flip kicks? It's the most annoying/amazing feeling ever. The flip kick is also excellent for interrupting even the most complex of aerial combos because it's so quick to execute, and the range is terrific for the sort of move it is, and it leads into combos so incredibly well that it's not even funny. Mario's meteor smash is perfect for comboing, but Doc's is great for killing.

Mario's sex kick does more damage when you first release it, and does less the longer it's held out; Doc's is stronger at the very end of the time it's held out. The exact inverse is true for the Bair - Doc's is stronger right out, while Mario's is stronger at the end (you can even see him "pulse" his legs before he draws them back in.

The Doc's Dair drill kick is good for hit-and-run scenarios, as it essentially leaves the person right where they were, but Mario's is so much better for comboing it's ridiculous. While the Doc's pretty much leaves the person where they were standing, Mario's actually carries them upwards - this is incredibly useful for combos. If you were to run and jump and someone and do your Dair, you would carry them up far enough that when your momentum carries you past them, you can simply double-jump backwards and kick the hell out of them with your Bair, or even pull off a back tilt (the more likely of the two).

Mario's dash attack throws the person behind you, setting you up for a perfect Bair; the Doc's sends them almost straight up, giving you opportunity to jump into a sex, depending on how floaty the person is.

Mario's fireballs have SO MUCH more potential to wreck someone's combo, and cause general annoyance. Doc's pills bounce at a straight angle, for the most part. The also bounce high enough that your opponent can run right under them if they wanted. They also don't bounce nearly far enough, so I suppose they're mainly good for close-range situations; not really useful at all for preventing any sort of rush, or the like. The fireballs, though, bounce quickly and far enough that they can seriously mess up whatever your opponent is trying to do. The best thing about them is the arc - to anyone that doesn't really pay attention to what they do, they are the most unpredictable and annoying thing in the world. And most of the time, even if they do know what's coming, there's not a damn thing they can do about it. With either character, though, it's almost vital that you wavedash out of each jump-fire you do, be it backwards or forwards. It cancels your landing lag, giving you the opportunity to fire more in a shorter time.

You said that the Doc's uptilt has great combo potential? What are you smoking? It sends the person skidding to the floor some 5 feet in front of you, essentially giving them the distance from you they need to render you ineffective. Mario's pops them straight up, most of the time within reach to follow with another 4 or 5 in close succession. Although I will admit Mario's downtilt is semi-useless, at least it pops you up right in front of him so that you can get a quick 1-2 combo in or something - the Doc's just sends your opponent straight behind you, once again distancing them from you, giving them the advantage.

 

[The Cape]

Bob Money informed me that the longer you charge Mario's F smash the more range it gets, but if you get hit while charging there is more knockback.

I can double check test in AR tommorow.

 

[The Cape]

Mario's fireballs have SO MUCH more potential to wreck someone's combo, and cause general annoyance. Doc's pills bounce at a straight angle, for the most part. The also bounce high enough that your opponent can run right under them if they wanted. They also don't bounce nearly far enough, so I suppose they're mainly good for close-range situations; not really useful at all for preventing any sort of rush, or the like. The fireballs, though, bounce quickly and far enough that they can seriously mess up whatever your opponent is trying to do. The best thing about them is the arc - to anyone that doesn't really pay attention to what they do, they are the most unpredictable and annoying thing in the world. And most of the time, even if they do know what's coming, there's not a damn thing they can do about it. With either character, though, it's almost vital that you wavedash out of each jump-fire you do, be it backwards or forwards. It cancels your landing lag, giving you the opportunity to fire more in a shorter time.

I will be going into hundreds of fireball techniques in my guide which will be my psychotic Mario techs that I will be adding onto this guide of his.

Some of these include the infamous turnip recovery, conshohocken, fire shield, and edgehog fireball.

 

[Afrotaki]

Bob Money informed me that the longer you charge Mario's F smash the more range it gets, but if you get hit while charging there is more knockback.

I can double check test in AR tommorow.

From what I can tell, the difference in range is marginal if not entirely nonexistent.

 

[Afrotaki]

I will be going into hundreds of fireball techniques in my guide which will be my psychotic Mario techs that I will be adding onto this guide of his.

Some of these include the infamous turnip recovery, conshohocken, fire shield, and edgehog fireball.

You talk as if these are patented things you invented. What area of the US are you?

EDIT: Sorry about the double-post.

EDIT 2: Sorry, just read your Location blurb. We should play sometime... I venture up to PA sometimes, anyways.

 

[cheeseguy]

I will be going into hundreds of fireball techniques in my guide which will be my psychotic Mario techs that I will be adding onto this guide of his.

Some of these include the infamous turnip recovery, conshohocken, fire shield, and edgehog fireball.

They're not exactly your techniques... I used to play this guy "doggydog" a while ago and he'd do those things to me all the time, if I'm interpreting those stupid names right (consoshocken? wtf).

 

[Afrotaki]

They're not exactly your techniques... I used to play this guy "doggydog" a while ago and he'd do those things to me all the time, if I'm interpreting those stupid names right (consoshocken? wtf).

... That's me, dude, and it was doggydog32. I got my name on here changed to Afrotaki. Either way, haven't heard from you in forever. PM me sometime.

And yeah, what is "conshohocken?"

 

[The Cape]

They're not exactly your techniques... I used to play this guy "doggydog" a while ago and he'd do those things to me all the time, if I'm interpreting those stupid names right (consoshocken? wtf).

I invented them all on my own (if someone else did them thats fine) so I wanted to make a name for them and I did.

Never said I patented them, they are just advanced techniques that I have mastered that I created on the fly.

 

[maelstrom218]

Meh, sorry about not responding in this thread for a bit; school's been a hassle. Thanks everyone for your positive comments, though. I'm taking all your suggestions into consideration, especially about the SHABAWD and chain-grabbing.

As for you, Afrotaki, a think you need to take a chill pill.

Originally posted by Afrotaki
You said that the Doc's cape has more range; this is false

You're correct in saying that Mario's Cape has greater horizontal range (by about 24%), but when I said that Doc's cape "had more range" I meant (and specified later in the B-Move Section) that Doc's cape has a larger hitbox. Look at the hitbox between Mario and Doc's cape, and you'll see the difference--Mario has slightly more horizontal range in front of him, but Doc's cape goes under, in front, and above him, then for a few frames surrounds his entire body, then goes behind him. The hitbox for Doc's cape is about 2 times as large as Mario's. The vertical range on Doc's cape that you deem so "useless" is invaluable in edgeguarding, as it reaches farther below the ledge than Mario's, making sweetspotting nearly impossible. Better edgeguarding w/Doc's cape is hardly what I'd call useless.

Originally posted by Afrotaki
Now, you also said that his F-smash is terrible, and is his only kill move. This is untrue, as well. . .The one thing you should never do, though, is charge it, unless you know 100% that you're going to hit spot-on with it. This applies to every smash in the game, though, so why should it count against it?

I've already stated that the f-smash is unreliable b/c it has to be sweetspotted, and I've also already stated that the reason why this is a problem is b/c Mario has to completely alter his standard spacing just to fit in a KO move. That takes away from the effifacy of the KO move since you can't use it as easily as say, Doc's d-smash. However, I never said that it was terrible; I stated that it's range made it quite valuable, but the sweetspotting factor takes away from its overall greatness.

I say the f-smash is Mario's only kill move b/c it's the only move w/sufficient knockback to KO consistently. Other characters have secondary KO moves besides their f-smash, such as CF's AFA, Ness' b-air, Doc's AFA, Fox's AUA. . .Mario doesn't have a move that even comes close to the knockback of the aforementioned moves. I'll get to sex kick later.

And I never held charging against Mario's f-smash.

Originally posted by Afrotaki
And what about the sex kick? Even around 90% damage, Mario's sex is unbelievable with its knockback.

The sex kick has variable knockback; you have to time it perfectly (start the attack when you're basically in the opponent's face) in order to get maximum knockback/damage. . .if opponents avoid it somehow, or alter their movement so that the sex kick's hit becomes delayed, you're not going to get maximum knockback. Therefore, as a KO move, the sex kick is unreliable. Furthermore, the sex kick doesn't straight-out KO unless you're on a small stage w/narrow walls or the opponent is way above 90%. As I said in the Sex Kick analysis, it's supposed to be used as a KO assist move to get the opponent off the stage, where you can go into edgeguarding w/cape or ABAs.

The sex kick almost never KOs. If people know how to DI (and most do) it makes the sex kick practically worthless as a KO move. Try using ONLY the sex kick to KO Peach or Samus, and you'll see how "great" the knockback for this move is. Have fun.

Originally posted by Afrotaki
So many possibilities for the sex kick, and it's so often overlooked. The same applies for his Uair. Have you ever just completely swept someone across the floor with repeated Shuffl'd flip kicks? It's the most annoying/amazing feeling ever. The flip kick is also excellent for interrupting even the most complex of aerial combos because it's so quick to execute, and the range is terrific for the sort of move it is, and it leads into combos so incredibly well that it's not even funny.

. . .I believed I mentioned the effifacy of shffl'd AUA combos about one billion times. So yes, I sort of realized how good the AUA is.

Originally posted by Afrotaki
. . .but Mario's [d-air] is so much better for comboing it's ridiculous

I already stated that Mario's d-air has the property of dragging the opponent into the attack if executed on an aerial opponent. I also stated that the d-air is not as effective below 50% b/c Mario's "special hit" will occasionally randomly push opponents horizontally away, making continued comboing difficult.

Originally posted by Afrotaki
Mario's dash attack throws the person behind you, setting you up for a perfect Bair

It'll set up for a b-air, but will you be able to hit the opponent w/it? The ending lag of the dash-attack makes follow-up practically impossible. Not a great combo starter, simply b/c the ending lag is so long. Mario has much better combo options; why choose one that has so much ending lag and makes you so vulnerable?

Doc's pills bounce at a straight angle, for the most part. The also bounce high enough that your opponent can run right under them if they wanted. They also don't bounce nearly far enough, so I suppose they're mainly good for close-range situations; not really useful at all for preventing any sort of rush, or the like. The fireballs, though, bounce quickly and far enough that they can seriously mess up whatever your opponent is trying to do. The best thing about them is the arc - to anyone that doesn't really pay attention to what they do, they are the most unpredictable and annoying thing in the world. And most of the time, even if they do know what's coming, there's not a **** thing they can do about it. With either character, though, it's almost vital that you wavedash out of each jump-fire you do, be it backwards or forwards. It cancels your landing lag, giving you the opportunity to fire more in a shorter time.

. . .Doc's Pills bounce is a zig-zag path, not straight.

They only bounce so high if you're using full-jumped Pills. Standard Pill-Rushing involves short-hopped Pills. If you're Pill Rushing, you're supposed to alternate between full-jumped and short-hopped Pills to vary your approach and keep the opponent guessing.

Your criticism that opponents can simply jump over Doc's Pills is ironic, since Mario's Fireballs travels in a straighter trajectory than the Pills, making them much easier to jump over than Doc's Pills.

Wavedashing out of a jump-fireball is only possible if it's a full-jump, and it's a rising fireball. It doesn't cancel your lag, it just allows you faster mobility upon landing. If you're so concerned about time wasted in the air, then fastfall. You can wavedash out of a fastfalled full-jumped fireball too.

Originally posted by Afrotaki
You said that the Doc's uptilt has great combo potential? What are you smoking? It sends the person skidding to the floor some 5 feet in front of you, essentially giving them the distance from you they need to render you ineffective.

What are you smoking that you hallucinate me saying things I haven't said? I never said that Doc's u-tilt has great combo potential. And apparently, you haven't realized that Doc can combo w/his u-tilt. As long as Doc is directly underneath the opponent, his u-tilt acts exactly like Mario's.

Get your facts straight before you start criticizing me and my work.

 

[Afrotaki]

As for you, Afrotaki, a think you need to take a chill pill.

It appears the same can be said for you.

You're correct in saying that Mario's Cape has greater horizontal range (by about 24%), but when I said that Doc's cape "had more range" I meant (and specified later in the B-Move Section) that Doc's cape has a larger hitbox. Look at the hitbox between Mario and Doc's cape, and you'll see the difference--Mario has slightly more horizontal range in front of him, but Doc's cape goes under, in front, and above him, then for a few frames surrounds his entire body, then goes behind him. The hitbox for Doc's cape is about 2 times as large as Mario's. The vertical range on Doc's cape that you deem so "useless" is invaluable in edgeguarding, as it reaches farther below the ledge than Mario's, making sweetspotting nearly impossible. Better edgeguarding w/Doc's cape is hardly what I'd call useless.

I see your point now that you've cleared it up. Thank you.

I've already stated that the f-smash is unreliable b/c it has to be sweetspotted, and I've also already stated that the reason why this is a problem is b/c Mario has to completely alter his standard spacing just to fit in a KO move. That takes away from the effifacy of the KO move since you can't use it as easily as say, Doc's d-smash. However, I never said that it was terrible; I stated that it's range made it quite valuable, but the sweetspotting factor takes away from its overall greatness.

I digressed from my point. I agree that it's not always reliable as a kill move, but it's a good move any way you take it. It's a good distancer, and a great kill once you get it off. My definition of the term "kill move" is different from others' so that's my fault. What I take to mean "kill move" is that it sets you up for a kill. The sex is great for sweeping across the stage and then off the ledge, and then you can edge-guard to your heart's content.

The sex kick has variable knockback; you have to time it perfectly (start the attack when you're basically in the opponent's face) in order to get maximum knockback/damage. . .if opponents avoid it somehow, or alter their movement so that the sex kick's hit becomes delayed, you're not going to get maximum knockback. Therefore, as a KO move, the sex kick is unreliable. Furthermore, the sex kick doesn't straight-out KO unless you're on a small stage w/narrow walls or the opponent is way above 90%. As I said in the Sex Kick analysis, it's supposed to be used as a KO assist move to get the opponent off the stage, where you can go into edgeguarding w/cape or ABAs.

Once again, my fault. When I talk about a move, I tend to automatically assume that everyone who reads is going to execute it like it's supposed to. I agree that it needs to be timed right, but most of the time, it's more than possible, especially if your opponent is exhausted from a combo or something.

. . .I believed I mentioned the effifacy of shffl'd AUA combos about one billion times. So yes, I sort of realized how good the AUA is.

I apologize, that part wasn't meant to criticize you. I tend to rant about unrelated things, sometimes. I was, at that point, more on the point of "Mario is a badass character" than "let's try to help maelstrom out."

I already stated that Mario's d-air has the property of dragging the opponent into the attack if executed on an aerial opponent. I also stated that the d-air is not as effective below 50% b/c Mario's "special hit" will occasionally randomly push opponents horizontally away, making continued comboing difficult.

See above statement. Although, the "special hit" is something I've only known to happen when it hits the ground.

It'll set up for a b-air, but will you be able to hit the opponent w/it? The ending lag of the dash-attack makes follow-up practically impossible. Not a great combo starter, simply b/c the ending lag is so long. Mario has much better combo options; why choose one that has so much ending lag and makes you so vulnerable?

Not necessarily, but like I said before, I was trying to explain how awesome Mario is. I apologize once again.

. . .Doc's Pills bounce is a zig-zag path, not straight.

You completely misinterpreted what I said. What I meant was, when you jump and shoot a fireball, the path of Mario's fireball becomes parabolic. When you jump and shoot a pill, its path remains the same.

They only bounce so high if you're using full-jumped Pills. Standard Pill-Rushing involves short-hopped Pills. If you're Pill Rushing, you're supposed to alternate between full-jumped and short-hopped Pills to vary your approach and keep the opponent guessing.

I understand how to pill rush. Do you not agree, though, that it is a glaring fault of the pills that they bounce like they do? Mario's fireballs are the better alternative, which is what I was saying.

Your criticism that opponents can simply jump over Doc's Pills is ironic, since Mario's Fireballs travels in a straighter trajectory than the Pills, making them much easier to jump over than Doc's Pills.

I was talking about running under, not jumping over. And yes, they can jump over, but if you're a good Mario player, you will catch them on the fall of their second jump with a flurry of fireballs, stunning them so you can rush in.

Wavedashing out of a jump-fireball is only possible if it's a full-jump, and it's a rising fireball. It doesn't cancel your lag, it just allows you faster mobility upon landing. If you're so concerned about time wasted in the air, then fastfall. You can wavedash out of a fastfalled full-jumped fireball too.

If I'm not mistaken, there is a minute amount of lag when you land without doing anything. Try it in slo-mo melee or training mode... You'll see what I mean. Or maybe I'm ********. Either way, I was not implying that you shouldn't fast-fall or anything.

What are you smoking that you hallucinate me saying things I haven't said? I never said that Doc's u-tilt has great combo potential. And apparently, you haven't realized that Doc can combo w/his u-tilt. As long as Doc is directly underneath the opponent, his u-tilt acts exactly like Mario's.

Good drugs. I don't know what I was thinking, but I'd thought for some reason that you said Doc had good combo ability with that move.

Get your facts straight before you start criticizing me and my work.

Learn to take constructive criticism, even if you don't agree with it. I was not saying that you had done a poor job, as your guide is very thorough. If I didn't know anything about Mario, I would probably turn to you and the Cape for assistance. I was trying to help, though, so there's no reason to call me out like I'm the bad guy.

 

[maelstrom218]

Originally posted by Afrotaki
Learn to take constructive criticism, even if you don't agree with it.

My apologies there. . .I do realize that I got into a hissy fit, and it was uncalled for. It was misinterpretation on my part; and once I read the part about "smoking" and "Doc's u-tilt" I thought it stopped being constructive. . .but yeah, sorry about jumping on you like that. I have the occasional anger management problem

Originally posted by Afrotaki
My definition of the term "kill move" is different from others' so that's my fault. What I take to mean "kill move" is that it sets you up for a kill. The sex is great for sweeping across the stage and then off the ledge, and then you can edge-guard to your heart's content.

Yeah, I think that we agree on the same thing, it's just that both our definitions of "KO Moves" differ from each other. We both agree that the sex kick is an excellent set up for KOs through edgeguarding w/Cape/b-airs, so it's all good.

So, the only thing we disagree on is Pills vs. Fireballs. . .me and the Cape have the same disagreement, actually. My stance is that Pills tend to be superior to Fireballs in terms of facilitating your approach, while the Cape thinks that Fireballs work equally well at approaches while also having other varied uses (i.e. fireball spike, fire-shield, etc.).

Originally posted by Afrotaki
You completely misinterpreted what I said. What I meant was, when you jump and shoot a fireball, the path of Mario's fireball becomes parabolic. When you jump and shoot a pill, its path remains the same. . .I understand how to pill rush. Do you not agree, though, that it is a glaring fault of the pills that they bounce like they do? Mario's fireballs are the better alternative, which is what I was saying.

Since you know how to Pill Rush, you probably already know this, but I still want to make this point: fulljump+fireball makes the path parabolic, but if you dash+fulljump/shorthop+Pill w/Doc, the exit angle of the Pill becomes steeper; essentially, it follows a path almost perpendicular to the ground, then resumes its normal zig-zag/multiple parabolic path.

The reason why I think the Pill's exit angle (and ensuing zig-zag path) is better than the Fireball's parabolic path is twofold:

1) The parabolic path (whose altitude depends on whether the Pill is full-jumped/short-hopped) forces the opponent to decide whether to stay under or jump over the Pill. If it was just a fireball (who has parabolic, then flat trajectory) the opponent knows to jump over the Fireball when far away, and run underneath the Fireball when it first comes out.

2) The steep exit angle of the Pill makes follow-up much easier, as you can now engage the opponent at close range, where Doc (and Mario) operates at their best. The steep angle means that the opponent simply run underneath the Pill as he can w/the Fireball; he has to immediately deal w/both the Pill and Doc at essentially the same time. And if the opponent doesn't happen to be next to the Pill's exit point, then Doc can follow directly behind the Pill at close range b/c of the Pill's slow movement due to it's zig-zag path; Mario can't follow closely behind the Fireball as Doc can behind the Pill. There've been times when I full-jumped+fireball'd a Fox, only to have the Fox run underneath the Fireball's parabolic path, then u-smash me while I was airborne and still suffering from the Fireball's lag.

That being said, I think that the bouncy trajectory of Doc's Pills are actually a lot more beneficial than the flat trajectory of Mario's Fireballs. I just don't see the Fireball's straight trajectory (even w/full-jumped+fireball) being as useful as the Pill's trajectory--in terms of faciliating approaches, anyways.

Of course the Fireball has tons of other crazy uses, but I know that in random, arcane situations, the Fireball>the Pill. It's just that when you consider the variability of the Pill's trajectory, they're a lot more of a hassle to wade through/avoid than the Fireball's straight path. But that's the Cape's department; I don't really have the kind of knack for crazy tactics that he does

But yeah, my apologies for getting into a hissy fit. It's just that when anyone claims that I've said things I haven't said, I have a terrible habit of turning green, tearing off my clothes, and arbitrarily donning tight, purple shorts. But otherwise, keep the constructive criticism coming; I'm open to debates and discussions.

 

[Afrotaki]

My apologies there. . .I do realize that I got into a hissy fit, and it was uncalled for. It was misinterpretation on my part; and once I read the part about "smoking" and "Doc's u-tilt" I thought it stopped being constructive. . .but yeah, sorry about jumping on you like that. I have the occasional anger management problem.

I understand. I undergo the same thing when I deal with people that disagree with me, as well.

I wish I could help you understand how I use fireballs... If it's anything like I think, the Cape and I are about on the same level, because people don't like to play me anymore because of my fireballs. I'll play you guys next time I'm in PA.

Anyways, one of the most effective things I can think of with the fireballs is when you're rushing. They might shield at first, or air dodge, but eventually they'll start trying to jump them. Most of the time, they won't land in time (since a sh will not cover it) after jumping the first one, and they'll air dodge over the second one. This is stupid of them. What you do here is aim a fireball so that it bounces off the ground and up into them right after their dodge is done. This will stun them for a second, giving you perfect opportunity for a fsmash or sex. It's the same sort of principle as when you aim a fireball behind someone so that you smash them into it, cancelling their flight path but stunning them, leaving them open for another smash or sex.

So many things you can do with it, and I can't possibly imagine how the uses of the pill could number more than those of the the fireball.

 

[Meteor Mario]

Great guide! It has some tactics I never thought of and some I've been using, I like it good job maelstrom218!

 

[meepxzero]

Afrotaki if u think everything malestrom is sayin wrong u create a guide urself? Hes the only one wit enough guts to post one even if most of it is debatable. I doubt ur at Capes level because hes just to crazy wit mario still finding new **** for him . lol cape im curious of ur fireball tactics the only use for the fireball is to get edge guarders off ledge that i can think of.

 

[Afrotaki]

Afrotaki if u think everything malestrom is sayin wrong u create a guide urself? Hes the only one wit enough guts to post one even if most of it is debatable. I doubt ur at Capes level because hes just to crazy wit mario still finding new **** for him .

You obviously didn't read anything I posted in here, and based on your apparent level of literacy, I'm not sure you'd be able to. I never said everything he said was wrong. If you'd actually read my posts, I agreed with just about everone in saying that he'd written a great guide. I just felt the need to voice my opinion on a few aspects, which is the way the Smash Community got to where it is, in the first place. I never said for sure that I was on the Cape's level, either; I said it sounds like I use fireballs like he does.

If you're not going to read what's here, don't talk about it.

lol cape im curious of ur fireball tactics the only use for the fireball is to get edge guarders off ledge that i can think of.

Point proven. I've already mentioned a few off-handedly, and if you'd actually read what we've been saying, you'd be able to "think of" a few more.

 

[maelstrom218]

Originally posted by Meteor Mario
Great guide! It has some tactics I never thought of and some I've been using, I like it good job maelstrom218!

Thanks, Meteor Mario. . .took me a while to write it though. . .I think about 1.5 years maybe? And btw, that's a kick-arse Mario sig you've got there.

Originally posted by Afrotaki
Anyways, one of the most effective things I can think of with the fireballs is when you're rushing. They might shield at first, or air dodge, but eventually they'll start trying to jump them. Most of the time, they won't land in time (since a sh will not cover it) after jumping the first one, and they'll air dodge over the second one. This is stupid of them. What you do here is aim a fireball so that it bounces off the ground and up into them right after their dodge is done. This will stun them for a second, giving you perfect opportunity for a fsmash or sex. It's the same sort of principle as when you aim a fireball behind someone so that you smash them into it, cancelling their flight path but stunning them, leaving them open for another smash or sex.

Due to my severe lack of imagination, I just can't visualize what you're describing. . .and hopefully, no one you play is actually air-dodging fireballs. That's a really, really bad idea since air-dodging tends to leave you vulnerable. Anyways, make a vid of yourself (if you have the equipment) using the fireball the way you described above; I just can't see it working for some reason

As to comboing off the fireball (knocking the opponent into a fireball behind them, which stops their knockback, and then continuing to hit them) I will literally kiss your feet if you can pull it off consistently. In my experience, that hardly ever works on high-tourney level opponents simply b/c there are a variety of factors that need to be perfect for this to work (namely, opponent's DI, %, which attack you're using, the fireball's trajectory and distance from the opponent, and the opponent has to either stand still/move backwards close to the fireball). I've done it on occasion, but it seems to work better w/Doc's Pills, as the fact that they don't cover as much distance makes it easier for you knock the opponent into the Pill if you Pill Rush right on top of them. But in any case, it's darn sweet when you pull it off, but difficult to anticipate (and combo off of) since it's nearly impossible to set up since it relies more on what the opponent does than on what you do.

Come to New York City sometime, I want to see your Mario trix in action.

 

[The Cape]

I never said for sure that I was on the Cape's level, either; I said it sounds like I use fireballs like he does.

If you're not going to read what's here, don't talk about it.

I wish I could help you understand how I use fireballs... If it's anything like I think, the Cape and I are about on the same level, because people don't like to play me anymore because of my fireballs. I'll play you guys next time I'm in PA.

Just saying it CAN be mistinerpretted.

Anyway, come on over to PA and I will be glad to show off some Mario craziness.

 

[Afrotaki]

I wish I could help you understand how I use fireballs... If it's anything like I think, the Cape and I are about on the same level, because people don't like to play me anymore because of my fireballs. I'll play you guys next time I'm in PA.

Just saying it CAN be mistinerpretted.

Anyway, come on over to PA and I will be glad to show off some Mario craziness.

Ah, I see it now. And yeah, I'll definitely come to PA at some point. I think this weekend or so I'll make a vid of some sort for you guys.

 

[MetaKnight0]

Good guide. I was somewhat disappointed to not see much about Mario's extremely close-range game (which I think is argubly the best in the game, except for maybe Roy), and more specifically, fighting against a shielding opponent and Mario's jab (again, his jab is what I think one of the best in the game)

Though, it may just be all play style, and of course you can improve your guide. Overall, good job. Nice to see Mario finally gets a good guide.