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Make-a Mario Great Again! (Canonical Moveset Changes)

Ben Holt

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Being a Smash veteran since 64, Mario suffers from a bit of a simplistic moveset. But I think he should get the Link treatment and have his moveset updated to match the times. Competitive play will be somewhat taken into consideration.

Change 1: Replace Mario's Bair with a Tanooki Tail. This would only be cosmetic, as Mario's Bair is already a great move, but this would have much more visual flair.

Change 2: Make Mario's down air a ground pound. It boggles my mind how Mario does not have his iconic ground pound as a move yet. I know that his current Dair is extremely good for combos, so that brings me to...

Change 3: Give Mario his Down B tornado back, but keep it fast like his current Dair and give it a visual effect to reference Mario Galaxy. I like F.L.U.D.D. as a move, but it's honestly just too situational. A universally good move is better.

Change 4: Make Mario's Neutral B able to fire two fireballs simultaneously. This would match the actual move from 2D Mario games as well as make his projectile slightly better in Smash Bros.

Change 5: Fix Mario's recovery; let him glide with his cape. Mario currently has almost no recovery, and a glide would allow him to have a decent one. Not jank like Brawl, but a simple horizontal glide that can be cancelled into Up-B to give Mario an actual recovery.

Change 6: Give Mario his Smash 4 Down throw and Up tilt back. HEAR ME OUT!!! I know people complained that it was a braindead combo in Smash 4, but it wasn't broken. Mario is supposed to be the jack of all trades character that anyone can pick up. And a "braindead combo" allows for new players to understand how combos work and start playing on a more advanced level.
Plus, I want Mario to be Top Tier, so an extra guaranteed combo helps.

Change 7: Give Mario disjointed hitboxes. Unfortunately, as us Mario players know, Mario's biggest weakness is his range, or lack thereof. I'm not suggesting anything stupid like sword range, but a slight increase to his range would help Mario become top tier.

EDIT: Change 8: Make Mario's (and Luigi's) footstool jump do damage and a stronger spike. This just makes sense canonically and would give Mario a cool option.

Change 9: Mario's current Final Smash is trash, and worse, it's not even canonical! Mega Mushroom makes 1,000 times more sense.
 
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D

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Sounds good I think Mario is a character in need of a major change in moveset. Not too many but some that are needed for sure.
 

Ben Holt

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Sounds good I think Mario is a character in need of a major change in moveset. Not too many but some that are needed for sure.
If they ever bring back custom moves, Mario could really benefit from options (if they actually put effort into the moves this time).
He could forgo his cape Side B for a command grab with Cappy.
He could trade his godlike out of shield Up B for a raccoon flight.
And speaking of costumes, he could use a Tanooki statue as a Down-B.
Since his tornado would be a Down-B with this new moveset, F.L.U.D.D. could be a custom move.
Hammers from 3, Ice balls from Wii, and Super Balls from Land could all be Neutral B customs.

If nothing else, I hope I made a decent case for bringing back custom moves.
 
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Very interesting ideas.

For what it's worth, some pro players consider Mario to be around high tier. So i guess he's potentially a few significant buffs away from top tier.

But yeah, I'd be down to see some veteran's moveset revamps like this in the future. I doubt that it'll happen during Ultimate's life cycle but i could be wrong.

Change 8: Make Mario's (and Luigi's) footstool jump do damage and a stronger spike. This just makes sense canonically and would give Mario a cool option.
 
D

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Yeah I think adding Cappy, The ground pound as a Down B or him using the Tanooki Suit is a good idea as well as incorporating his hammer in customs. Maybe it could be his new up or Side Smash if they want to as well.

Again very good ideas Blade of Evil's Bane is right doubt we see anything now as far as veteran's are concerned but in a future Smash Bros. definetly hope Masahiro Sakurai consinders some changes to movesets.
 
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D

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Yeah I wouldn't mind the fire suit.

I think the taunts are okay for now.
 

Ryu Myuutsu

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I've come to the conclusion that 80% of this board does not understand Fludd at all, not even the Mario mains themselves, as they keep over-lauding Mario Tornado as a Down B while overlooking Fludd's utility. Reverting his Dair back as his Down B offers very little merits.
 
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Ben Holt

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I've come to the conclusion that 80% of this board does not understand Fludd at all, not even the Mario mains themselves, as they keep over-lauding Mario Tornado as a Down B while overlooking Fludd's utility. Reverting his Dair back as his Down B offers very little merits.
I love F.L.U.D.D. personally. I use it all the time, but I use Doc's Down B more. It combos, kills, and mix ups.
F.L.U.D.D. can gimp and force distance.
Yes, it's a tool, but a limited one except in very specific matchups.
But that's why custom moves should return with actual different moves. Have both!
 

Ryu Myuutsu

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I don't think Fludd is that limited in its utility and I would argue that is a generally better move than Down B Tornado. Fludd's design understandably suggests that it's primary purpose is for edgeguarding, but in reality it's main function is to anti air opponents while on stage. That's hardly situational when jumping in neutral is a big part of the game. You also want to keep that move charged at all times and unleash it whenever the other player goes airborne. Besides gimping and pushing your foes away, it can mess up their aerial approaches and leave them in an unsafe position. It also works very well in conjunction with Cape and Fireball while edgeguarding.

Mario's current Dair is an excellent tool for safe approaches, pressure, mix ups and cross ups. He can even buffer a Nair from Short Hop Dair before landing or double jump as well. Being mapped to his Down Aerial it's what allows it to function very intuitively, which is why I'm adamant against reverting back to his Down Special. People often suggest to replace it with a Ground Pound, but why? I'm sure that'll give him new applications but he will lose others that arguably superior. Most cited reason for the change is because of the canon, but Tornado is sort of canon as well so that's not good enough.

Mario is that character whose every move in his set harmonizes almost perfectly with each other. None of them lack a purpose and work very well in tandem. They knew what they were doing. It was in Smash 4 where Mario's moves started coming together. Despite having the same moveset in Brawl, he was updated to his potential by just making his kit better rather than giving him a drastic redesign. Down B is greatly strengthened by the presence of his neutral and side specials. While edgeguarding, Fireball can stuff low recoveries and force opponents to go higher which make them vulnerable to Fludd and Cape. His normal attacks combo very well from his throws while Up B is a great finisher for dealing good damage or taking a stock with a ladder combo.

This is why I'm so adamant about most changes people suggest to Mario. Most of them aren't well thought out and are only suggested to satisfy a person's own perception of canon, when everything Mario has right now is canon to his games.
 
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D

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While I do think his moveset needs a rework I know a lot of people like as is.

It's fine ether way for me.

But yeah some changes could be made.
 

Ben Holt

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I don't think Fludd is that limited in its utility and I would argue that is a generally better move than Down B Tornado. Fludd's design understandably suggests that it's primary purpose is for edgeguarding, but in reality it's main function is to anti air opponents while on stage. That's hardly situational when jumping in neutral is a big part of the game. You also want to keep that move charged at all times and unleash it whenever the other player goes airborne. Besides gimping and pushing your foes away, it can mess up their aerial approaches and leave them in an unsafe position. It also works very well in conjunction with Cape and Fireball while edgeguarding.

Mario's current Dair is an excellent tool for safe approaches, pressure, mix ups and cross ups. He can even buffer a Nair from Short Hop Dair before landing or double jump as well. Being mapped to his Down Aerial it's what allows it to function very intuitively, which is why I'm adamant against reverting back to his Down Special. People often suggest to replace it with a Ground Pound, but why? I'm sure that'll give him new applications but he will lose others that arguably superior. Most cited reason for the change is because of the canon, but Tornado is sort of canon as well so that's not good enough.

Mario is that character whose every move in his set harmonizes almost perfectly with each other. None of them lack a purpose and work very well in tandem. They knew what they were doing. It was in Smash 4 where Mario's moves started coming together. Despite having the same moveset in Brawl, he was updated to his potential by just making his kit better rather than giving him a drastic redesign. Down B is greatly strengthened by the presence of his neutral and side specials. While edgeguarding, Fireball can stuff low recoveries and force opponents to go higher which make them vulnerable to Fludd and Cape. His normal attacks combo very well from his throws while Up B is a great finisher for dealing good damage or taking a stock with a ladder combo.

This is why I'm so adamant about most changes people suggest to Mario. Most of them aren't well thought out and are only suggested to satisfy a person's own perception of canon, when everything Mario has right now is canon to his games.
Since my idea includes the revival of custom moves, what about keeping his current Dair and having a ground pound as a custom Down B?
 
D

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Actually sounds really good. But I do like your ideas and the changes to his moveset are great to me.

But that's just me.
 

Ryu Myuutsu

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Hard no on that. I prefer his Smash 4 customs instead. Mario doesn't really need a ground pount in my opinion.
 
D

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I wouldn't mind it and I'd like too see it but that's me. Not everyone wants the Ground Pound and that's fine.

It's cool to see everyone's options.
 

Plank08

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Being a Smash veteran since 64, Mario suffers from a bit of a simplistic moveset. But I think he should get the Link treatment and have his moveset updated to match the times. Competitive play will be somewhat taken into consideration.

Change 1: Replace Mario's Bair with a Tanooki Tail. This would only be cosmetic, as Mario's Bair is already a great move, but this would have much more visual flair.

Change 2: Make Mario's down air a ground pound. It boggles my mind how Mario does not have his iconic ground pound as a move yet. I know that his current Dair is extremely good for combos, so that brings me to...

Change 3: Give Mario his Down B tornado back, but keep it fast like his current Dair and give it a visual effect to reference Mario Galaxy. I like F.L.U.D.D. as a move, but it's honestly just too situational. A universally good move is better.

Change 4: Make Mario's Neutral B able to fire two fireballs simultaneously. This would match the actual move from 2D Mario games as well as make his projectile slightly better in Smash Bros.

Change 5: Fix Mario's recovery; let him glide with his cape. Mario currently has almost no recovery, and a glide would allow him to have a decent one. Not jank like Brawl, but a simple horizontal glide that can be cancelled into Up-B to give Mario an actual recovery.

Change 6: Give Mario his Smash 4 Down throw and Up tilt back. HEAR ME OUT!!! I know people complained that it was a braindead combo in Smash 4, but it wasn't broken. Mario is supposed to be the jack of all trades character that anyone can pick up. And a "braindead combo" allows for new players to understand how combos work and start playing on a more advanced level.
Plus, I want Mario to be Top Tier, so an extra guaranteed combo helps.

Change 7: Give Mario disjointed hitboxes. Unfortunately, as us Mario players know, Mario's biggest weakness is his range, or lack thereof. I'm not suggesting anything stupid like sword range, but a slight increase to his range would help Mario become top tier.

EDIT: Change 8: Make Mario's (and Luigi's) footstool jump do damage and a stronger spike. This just makes sense canonically and would give Mario a cool option.

Change 9: Mario's current Final Smash is trash, and worse, it's not even canonical! Mega Mushroom makes 1,000 times more sense.
I have some ideas too:

Up smash could be an overhead Hammer swing, similar to the hammer swing animations from M and L
Forward Smash would be a sideways hammer swing
Down smash would be Mario spamming the hammer directly under him, it would cause a shockwave that could trip opponents
Neutral air becomes the spin, it’s a multi hit still but has some galaxy flair, and also the attack ends on the kick

down air is the dr Mario stomp

down tilt is a tanooki tail spin similar to squirtles
And all of your changes as well
 
D

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I like incorporating the Hammer into his moveset I'd miss his Headbutt or close range fireball smash attacks but the hammer replacing one or all of them would be great too weather they stay or go I'm fine with it.

The Stomp and Tanooki tail are great ideas too!
 

KahunaLagoona DX

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Honestly, only real changes I would give is this:

- Make his Down Throw + Up Tilt akin to Smash 4: on the grounds that Mario is the easy to learn character and it would work out great.

- Give Dair starry Mario Galaxy effects - While the spinning has been around since Super Mario Bros 3 (with the Raccoon Tail) Galaxy isn't really represented at all in any aspect of his moveset.

- Down Smash whips out his Hammer - The attack is practically identical functionally as Robin's Levin Sword Down Smash in which there's a strong hit box in front, while the strike has weaker sideways hitboxes designed to send opponents sideways. In exchange for the strong hit, Forward Smash has a tad bit more range/disjoint and a slightly better sweetspot. Either that or a Hammer Spin move that does the same thing functionally as Dedede's Down Smash. - Point here is that having Mario use the Hammer is both a reference to the Mario RPGs (Mario & Luigi, Paper Mario, etc.) which are a direct reference to the Hammer power-up in Donkey Kong, which I assume Sakurai has a ton of love for given Donkey Kong in Smash mostly references that end of the character's history...

Don't get me wrong, I love how Smash Ultimate Mario's Down Smash is literally a break dance move now, but that could easily be transferred (and weakened) to his Down Tilt.

I do like the idea of giving Mario and Luigi damage and extra spike oomph with their footstools - maybe give Cape in mid-air a more aerial boost and less endlag in mid-air to aid in recovery, that'd be great.

But honestly, Mario's great as is - no need to get rid of FLUDD, just make Down Air have Mario Galaxy effects. Just buff his Down Throw + Up Tilt. I'd like some point of reference to the Hammer, but I can do without. (Mostly because I'm a Mario + Kirby maniac, I'd like to have Mario have a Hammer so it meshes well with Kirby.)
 

Ben Holt

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I posted a new project yesterday to bring back Custom Moves.
https://smashboards.com/threads/the-bring-back-custom-moves-project-read-op-first.494903/

Obviously, I started with my main, Mario.
Neutral B:
1. Fireball
2. Fast Fireball
3. Fire Orb
4. Super Mario Land Super Balls (Clone of Wii Fit Trainer's soccer ball, but bounces once and goes up until it despawns.)
5. Ice Balls (Clone of the Luigi Ice Balls from Smash 4.)
6. SMB3 Hammer Suit (Clone of Simon's Neutral B.)
7. DK Arcade Hammer Bash (Slow like Falcon Punch, but otherwise a clone of Dedede's Side-Smash.)
8. Super Mario World Cape Spin (Clone of Meta Knight's tornado.)
9. F.L.U.D.D. Hover Nozzle (Clone of Peach's Float.)

Side B:
1. Cape
2. Shocking Cape
3. Gust Cape
4. Cappy Toss (Command grab. Throws like Link's boomerang, but when it connects, clone of Captain Falcon's Up-B. Imagine Mario possessing the opponent and immediately unpossessing them and kicking them.)
5. Turbo Nozzle (Clone of Ike's Side-B.)
6. Shell Mario from New SMB DS (Clone of Squirtle's Side B.)
7. Boomerang Flower (Clone of Link's Boomerang.)
8. Mario Kart bash (Clone of Bowser Jr.'s Side-B.)
9. Cat Mario Pounce (Clone of Bayonetta's Side B without the ending kick. When in the air, clone of her downward Side-B.)

Up B:
1. Super Jump Punch
2. Super Jump
3. Explosive Punch
4. Rocket Nozzle (Clone of Diddy Kong's Up-B.)
5. Launch Star (Clone of Rosalina's Up-B.)
6. Raccoon Flight (Clone of Pit's Brawl Up-B.)
7. Spring (Clone of Sonic's Up-B.)
8. Cloud Costume from Super Mario Galaxy (Clone of Pac Man's Up-B.)
9. Propeller Shroom (Clone of Mr. Game & Watch's Up-B.)

Down B:
1. F.L.U.D.D. Squirt Nozzle
2. Scalding F.L.U.D.D.
3. High-Pressure F.L.U.D.D.
4. Mario Tornado (Clone of Dr. Mario's Down-B.)
5. Tanooki Statue (Clone of Kirby's Down-B.)
6. Turnip (Clone of Peach's Down-B.)
7. Bob-Omb (Clone of Link's Smash 4 Down-B.)
8. Double Fire Ball Spin from 2D Mario games (Clone of Mario's Neutral B, but in two directions.)
9. Fart (Clone of Wario's Down-B.).....
.
.
.
.
.
Just kidding!
Real 9. Koopa Shell Spawn (Self-explanatory, but it breaks after it hits or bounces three times.)
 
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chikin

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I think he should use his hammer when it comes to smash attacks or even his aerials.
 

CardiganBoy

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Yeah Mario needs more visual flair and even changes to his moveset, i like your ideas, at the least he should get an animation revamp, more references to his games, compare him to Banjo & Kazooie, Mario behaves extremely generic in Smash, for example his victory animations, have him grab a Power Star or Power Moon and strike that iconic "Star Get!" pose, or rework his old Super Mushroom taunt into another victory animation: imagine Mario hitting a :?: and a Super Mushroom comes out it, he grabs it and does his classic SMB1 idle pose as he grows, when he throws fireballs instead of doing a martial arts palm, he would actually do a cartoony throwing animation, stuff like that.
And please, use Mario's voice clips from any newer game, the Brawl voice clips sound so bad, like Charles Martinet was sick when recording them.
 
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Trevenant

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I don't really know how you could change a sex kick back air to a swipe of a tail while still keeping the same attributes and having it look good. A tanooki tail would obviously have less range and wouldn't be able to have a lingering hitbox unless they were to make him stretch it out or something but it would still look pretty weird. The tweaks are pretty cool though.
 
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D

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Agreed good ideas for a move set change if they put them in.
 

SMAASH! Puppy

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Being a Smash veteran since 64, Mario suffers from a bit of a simplistic moveset. But I think he should get the Link treatment and have his moveset updated to match the times. Competitive play will be somewhat taken into consideration.

Change 1: Replace Mario's Bair with a Tanooki Tail. This would only be cosmetic, as Mario's Bair is already a great move, but this would have much more visual flair.

Change 2: Make Mario's down air a ground pound. It boggles my mind how Mario does not have his iconic ground pound as a move yet. I know that his current Dair is extremely good for combos, so that brings me to...

Change 3: Give Mario his Down B tornado back, but keep it fast like his current Dair and give it a visual effect to reference Mario Galaxy. I like F.L.U.D.D. as a move, but it's honestly just too situational. A universally good move is better.

Change 4: Make Mario's Neutral B able to fire two fireballs simultaneously. This would match the actual move from 2D Mario games as well as make his projectile slightly better in Smash Bros.

Change 5: Fix Mario's recovery; let him glide with his cape. Mario currently has almost no recovery, and a glide would allow him to have a decent one. Not jank like Brawl, but a simple horizontal glide that can be cancelled into Up-B to give Mario an actual recovery.

Change 6: Give Mario his Smash 4 Down throw and Up tilt back. HEAR ME OUT!!! I know people complained that it was a braindead combo in Smash 4, but it wasn't broken. Mario is supposed to be the jack of all trades character that anyone can pick up. And a "braindead combo" allows for new players to understand how combos work and start playing on a more advanced level.
Plus, I want Mario to be Top Tier, so an extra guaranteed combo helps.

Change 7: Give Mario disjointed hitboxes. Unfortunately, as us Mario players know, Mario's biggest weakness is his range, or lack thereof. I'm not suggesting anything stupid like sword range, but a slight increase to his range would help Mario become top tier.

EDIT: Change 8: Make Mario's (and Luigi's) footstool jump do damage and a stronger spike. This just makes sense canonically and would give Mario a cool option.

Change 9: Mario's current Final Smash is trash, and worse, it's not even canonical! Mega Mushroom makes 1,000 times more sense.
Very few of these changes really address the core problems with Mario's moveset as a representation of the character, as many of them are just balancing changes (which don't really matter with this goal), or just move his attacks around rather than giving him new ones. Mario suffers from two main things that hold a revised moveset back. The first is that you can't give him too many abilities that are suit related because it will cause his moveset to seem random with him constantly transforming into tanookis and cats and frogs. The second is his status as a beginner friendly all-rounder character, meaning he can't have any mechanics that are hard to understand or give him a secondary goal (which sadly means we can't give him access to more permanent Power Ups Super Mario Bros. style).

I think the best way to change Mario would be to hone in on the Super Mario series's emphasis on movement. For example, you could change Mario's Dash Attack to his roll from...I think Super Mario Sunshine, but it's more notable in Super Mario Odyssey. Anyway, at the end of this roll attack, you can press the jump button to have Mario preform a Long Jump, giving him a faster, but more committal movement option. You could also change his Down Aerial to a Ground Pound as you suggested (and I agree, this should be done), and when you hit the ground, you can preform a Ground Pound Jump to make the attack a bit trickier to punish. These kinds of changes do add complexity to Mario's gameplan, but I think it does so in a way that decently easy to wrap your head around.

TLDR: I don't think these changes fix the core issues with Mario's moveset (namely the criticism of it feeling dated), these issues are harder to fix on Mario for various reasons, and I think I have a solution, but it may not work. I dunno.
 

kirbsmash

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Dunno why Mario needs powerups, He's fine without them like in SM64 or the other 2 non space adventures. Just give him more personality and make him actually Mario. Powerups isn't needed, I think. as for moves, they should add on to Mario 64. Melee Mario felt more like canon Mario, out of Smash tbh.
 

SMAASH! Puppy

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Dunno why Mario needs powerups, He's fine without them like in SM64 or the other 2 non space adventures. Just give him more personality and make him actually Mario. Powerups isn't needed, I think. as for moves, they should add on to Mario 64. Melee Mario felt more like canon Mario, out of Smash tbh.
Power-Ups appear in the Super Mario series more often than not. They're a pretty big part of its identity. The problem with using them though, is that a lot of them don't make sense without the corresponding suit (and giving him a bunch of suits would cause the moveset to look slapped together), and until Super Mario Maker, they are all one-off (except for the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, Super Star, and 1-Up Mushroom) which causes them to feel dated later on.

My thinking is that his normals should use his core moveset inspired by the 3D Mario titles, and his specials should be his Power-Ups, with the possible exception of his Down Special, which could be based off of a mechanic of his recent game.

Side Note: The only moves that changed between Super Smash Bros. Melee and now are his Down Aerial (which is now Mario Tornado, and better resembles Spin Jumping) and Down Special (which is now F.L.U.D.D.).
 
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Ben Holt

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Power-Ups appear in the Super Mario series more often than not. They're a pretty big part of its identity. The problem with using them though, is that a lot of them don't make sense without the corresponding suit (and giving him a bunch of suits would cause the moveset to look slapped together), and until Super Mario Maker, they are all one-off (except for the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, Super Star, and 1-Up Mushroom) which causes them to feel dated later on.

My thinking is that his normals should use his core moveset inspired by the 3D Mario titles, and his specials should be his Power-Ups, with the possible exception of his Down Special, which could be based off of a mechanic of his recent game.

Side Note: The only moves that changed between Super Smash Bros. Melee and now are his Down Aerial (which is now Mario Tornado, and better resembles Spin Jumping) and Down Special (which is now F.L.U.D.D.).
This only further proves my point that Custom Moves need to return.
 

MarioMeteor

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I agree that Mario does need a fresh coat of paint, although the changes proposed would be too extreme (not to mention broken, Mario’s already a great character).

First, I would change his forward tilt, forward smash, and forward air to moves involving the use of a hammer. It’s pretty dumb that Mario’s most iconic weapon isn’t a part of his moveset at all. They can all serve the same general purpose, but a hammer would make them feel more like things Mario would do. It would also give him a bit more range, although they can be slower to compensate.

Second, switch the Cape out for the Star Spin. It can do all the same things as the Cape (reflect projectiles, turn enemies around, aid recovery), it would just look cooler and give Galaxy some much-needed representation.

I like Super Jump Punch as a move, but there’s so many other, better ideas for an up special. Like the Red Star from the first Galaxy game. It can even have a hitbox on it to keep the same utility of the previous move.

Keeping the Galaxy train going, you know how when you crouch and spun at the same time, Mario would do a one-legged spin attack? They could make that his down smash. Again, don’t even have to change the purpose of the move, just the animation.

To further differentiate him from his brother and more educated counterpart, his double jump animation could be changed to something similar to his triple jump from the 3D games.

And lastly, make his wall jump better. He’s Jumpman, he should be better at those kinds of things.

No wait, actually lastly, give him some new voice clips, for ****’s sake. It’s pretty inexcusable that Mario and Luigi have had the same recycled voice clips since Brawl.
 
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UnFair

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I don't mind his moveset right now. But, there could be some changes and can be more based on SM64.

JUMP: I'd honestly like Mario to have a special jump effect in resemblance to SM64's triple jump. But then again, that's just my opinion.

NEUTRAL B: I don't know what to change in this one. I'll leave it alone for now.

SIDE B: I don't know what to change in this one either, although I'd switch it for the long jump in SM64.

UP B: How about the winged cap? It's [almost] the most iconic hat seen in SM64. I don't have any other better ideas than this besides using the Crazed Crate for a recovery.

DOWN B: I don't mind this one, I can't just put EVERYTHING SM64.

FINAL SMASH: I would replace it with the SM64 cannon, or the Green Shell from SM64. The cannon would act like the Dragoon but weaker, and the Green Shell would be like Sonic's final smash, but if Mario falls off the stage, it ends.

That's just my idea. And im also still improving.
 

Ben Holt

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I don't mind his moveset right now. But, there could be some changes and can be more based on SM64.

JUMP: I'd honestly like Mario to have a special jump effect in resemblance to SM64's triple jump. But then again, that's just my opinion.

NEUTRAL B: I don't know what to change in this one. I'll leave it alone for now.

SIDE B: I don't know what to change in this one either, although I'd switch it for the long jump in SM64.

UP B: How about the winged cap? It's [almost] the most iconic hat seen in SM64. I don't have any other better ideas than this besides using the Crazed Crate for a recovery.

DOWN B: I don't mind this one, I can't just put EVERYTHING SM64.

FINAL SMASH: I would replace it with the SM64 cannon, or the Green Shell from SM64. The cannon would act like the Dragoon but weaker, and the Green Shell would be like Sonic's final smash, but if Mario falls off the stage, it ends.

That's just my idea. And im also still improving.
I like the cannon idea.
 

Ryu Myuutsu

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Mario is a great example of a well designed character. His moveset showcases his history and they clearly have a purpose in his set. They mesh excellently with each other to make a very versatile and mobile combo oriented character. There is not a single bad move in his kit and I could breakdown each one of them. So I resent when people say "make him great again" or "fix him" because that implies that there is something wrong with him.

I wish people were more straight forward when talking about this. It's not about making him canon (he already fulfills that), it's about following a personal agenda.
 

Koopaul

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A future Smash that revises everyone's moves would be great. These characters need a fresh design to put them up to standard with the kinds of fighters we have today. I would focus more on some of Mario's most iconic abilities throughout his series. FLUDD really isn't iconic in my opinion. Sunshine is a nearly 20 year old game that never got a sequel. That old water gun doesn't need to be there alongside the legendary fireball.

So here's what I would do. Any moves I don't list are the same as they are now.

Forward Throw: Mario kicks the opponent forward with a classic shell kick sound effect.
Up Throw: Mario kicks the oppontent upward like in Super Mario World. Sound effect included.

Forward Smash: Mario slams his hammer forward.

Nair: Mario does a star spin from the Galaxy games.
Fair: It's the air kick from Super Mario 64
Dair: Mario does a classic ground pound.
Bair: his famous Fair dunk is still here but is now his Bair.

Neutral Special: Fireball
Yeah it's still the same fireball but Mario throws it like a baseball like he does in his games and not... shoot it from his palm... What's up with that?

Up Special: Super Cape Jump
Mario leaps into the air with his cape. Pressing down during this animation will cause him rocket down and slam into opponents

Side Special: Tanooki Tail
Replaces the cape but functions identical. Mario sprouts a tail and swings it, reflecting projectiles and flipping opponents. The tail feels more appropriate for this move than the cape does to me.

Down Special: Spin Stomp
He does a spinning jump into the air. It functions similar to Zero Suit Samus' down special but with more horizontal distance than vertical. It can meteor or bury opponents when he lands on them.
 

Otoad64

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I have alot of mario moveset ideas so i'm gonna just post 'em here

firstly, mario's footstools are his strongest attack,they do alot of damge, in fact, they spike, this is to emphasise his main ability throughout the mario series, jumping!

Jab: eh, same as is, good reference

f-tilt: handstand
mario doe a handstand, his hitbox is on his legs as they kick upward

down tilt : tanooki spin
attacks with his tanooki tail like smb3

up tilt: same as is, can't think of something better

dash attack: long jump
mario leaps foward with arms in the and legs in the front, legs are the sweet spot

Foward Smash: Hammer
mario slams his hammer on the ground a la mario and luigi


up smash: ? block bash
mario jumps up, hitting an invisible question mark block, damaging any fighters above him

(like this but with a ? block)

down smash: pow block
mario throws a pow block on the ground in front of him, creating a shockwave on both sides of him

Nair: spin
the spin from mario galaxy


fair: hammer slam
kinda like the f smash, but goes lower


bair: tail swipe
he grows a tanooki tail which then wiggle behind him, kinda like this picture

up air: midair kick
he kicks upwards a la super mario 64

dair: stomp
dr. mario's dair make more sense for him because he's the one who stomps on enemies

Neutral B: Fireball
you can now shoot two and they are faster

Side B: Cappy throw
he throws cappy, cappy will stay there spinning for a short period of time and damage foes, if mario walks into him he will bounce upwards

(no, this cannot possess people)

down B; ground pound
mario does a small flip before ground pounding

up B: backflip
mario preforms a backflip

(yes it really does go that high)

idle animation
I gave him his battle idle animation from some of the mario and luigi games because that's how he would act in a battle


Taunts:

up taunt: his up tunt is fine as is


side taunt: he gets his old side taunt back


down taunt: he says "ima tired" and yawns


alts:

default

fire mario - it's one of his most iconic colours

ice mario - not as iconic, but still makes sense to have

red star mario - see ice mario

classic colored mario - it would be based more on the odyssey costume then anything else

wedding mario - the most iconic mario odyssey costume

builder mario - another iconic look

docter mario - makes much more sense as a costume tbh
 

Otoad64

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forgot final smash lol, i'll just use this one from another thread:


Final Smash: Power-Up Frenzy


It starts with Mario jumping up and hittin a ? Block, creating a shockwave and sending out a bunch of Power-Ups

anyone hit by the shockwave is transported to a cinematic Final Smash

Mario graps a Double Cherry, creating a clone of him, the two then hit their opponents with a barrage of fireballs, the clone disappears and Mario then smacks them into the air with his Tanooki Tail, flys above him with his Cape, becomes giant, and ground pounds them creating a large blast
 
Last edited:

Ben Holt

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forgot final smash lol, i'll just use this one from another thread:


Final Smash: Power-Up Frenzy


It starts with Mario jumping up and hittin a ? Block, creating a shockwave and sending out a bunch of Power-Ups

anyone hit by the shockwave is transported to a cinematic Final Smash

Mario hits them with a barrage of fireballs, then smacks them into the air with his Tanooki Tail, flys above him with his Cape, becomes giant, and ground pounds them creating a large blast
Add the Double Cherry, and I'm in!
 

crazybenjamin

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The first is that you can't give him too many abilities that are suit related because it will cause his moveset to seem random with him constantly transforming into tanookis and cats and frogs.
The problem with using them though, is that a lot of them don't make sense without the corresponding suit (and giving him a bunch of suits would cause the moveset to look slapped together)
That's the main problem I have with certain "rework Mario" ideas, I just have trouble picturing how they would be implemented without it coming across as shoehorned.
 

Champion of Hyrule

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This is what I would do to improve Mario. It’s less about replacing moves and more about changing them to suit him better:
  • Back Air: he will now use a tanooki leaf. He turns into his tanooki form, and swings his tail behind himself to knock away opponents
  • Neutral Special: Changed so that he throws heavier fireballs. He can also now throw two at a time
  • Side special: You can now charge up Mario’s cape side special if you hold the button. If charged, he’ll spin around with his cape out (similarly to the cape attack animation from Super Mario World) which can knock away enemies that are close and can deflect smaller projectiles.
  • Down Special: If he fully charges FLUDD, his up special will change. His new up special has FLUDD appear on Mario’s back and start to float upwards. It has very good recovery, but it’ll take Mario around 4 seconds to fully charge FLUDD
 
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