He’s our George Washington. He was there in the beginning. He lead us into this war strong. And now his head pops up just about everywhere. He’s in just about every sporting event imaginable, and with he debut into the 2008 Olympics, he collect more world status. He’s more Super than Superman. And the only thing he’s high on is his jump. Let’s all give it up, for the one and only, Mario Mario!
<img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/super_mario_by_jatothemuthafinc.jpg" alt="Mario cannot croon bro" align="middle" height="459" width="334" />
Too bad he’s mid tier. I know the common thing to do with Mario is to make him the balanced character. But in a fighting game, balanced means you kind of suck. Let’s face it. Being “balanced” in a racing game (Mario Kart) means good acceleration, good turning, and a good speed. That’s balanced because most of the categories are good (meaning better than average). According to Sakurai and Melee, balanced means you have a bland projectile, a decent recovery that’s fairly easy to guard against, and (here’s my favorite part) no kill moves. Once again, I’m exaggerating, but still. If this were Mario Kart, it would be like saying “you’re not very fast, and you can’t turn well, so everything is going to be hard for you. But enjoy being balanced.”
For Brawl, everyone needs to be designed to be high tiers. So lets get cracking.<!--more-->
<strong>Fire Ball</strong>: With this move, what you see is what you get. There aren’t any hidden gems. Hit B, a fire ball comes out. It might hit someone for a little damage, but it’s nothing major. As far as <strong>good </strong>projectiles go, there are a few categories they fall under. 1) Meant to rack up damage (Fox’s Blaster) 2) Kill (Stitch-Face Turnip/Samus Max Shot) 3) Stun (Links Bombs, Falco’s Laser, Young Link’s Arrow). All three of these factors are balanced, in theory, to each character’s abilities. So what are Mario’s good for? Not much at this point. This move used to be one of the most powerful and versatile moves in Super Mario Bros. You could even <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtiM40KPn2s">kill bowser with just a handful of fire</a>! What can be done to bring back the fun and glory?
<ul>
<li>Tripple their life span. Just like in Mario Bros, the balls should travel on and on. Fox/Falco lasers travel without end so it seems. So why does Mario’s less versatile projectile just stop? This is a pathetic oversight.</li>
<li>The Fireball should travel faster. Bring the terrifying speed of the Super Mario Bros. fire balls back in action. In Melee, when I see them coming, my brain takes a nap.</li>
<li>Mario should be able to run and throw fire balls without stopping. Just like from all of his other games.</li>
<li>Mario should be able to throw a maximum of 2 balls at any given time (just like from Super Mario Bros.) This would be a wonderul way to balance this move while throwing in a bit of style. If you miss, you’ll have to wait until they run off the stage. This would be very similar to Link missing his boomerang.</li>
<li>Mario should be able to throw the balls faster. This way, he can rapidly spam opponents if he gets close like he could from the old games. Of course, the move will get weaker with continual use.</li>
<li>Also, the knock back from getting hit should send opponents in the direction the ball was moving.It’s only a little knock back, but it would be enough to feel the significance of such a move. Also, I don’t want to aid enemie’s recoveries by hitting them in the face with a fire ball. It should push them away a least a little especially if it resets their up+Bs.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Mario Tornado:</strong> I believe this move was inspired by Mario’s spinning twirling ability that he gained in Super Mario World. Check it out here at the beginning of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmmz7SOToXs">this video</a>. As you can see, that was pretty sweet. Mario can still retain his famous jumping ability even while spinning. And the spinning allows him to jump off of dangerous objects unharmed. The Tornado in Melee is used strictly as a recovery move. On the ground, it really has no use. Opponents can easy DI out of it. It doesn’t have a lot of priority. And it has a lot of lag. Also, it’s not very strong. Wow. You have to wonder what they were thinking? Let’s fix it.
<ul>
<li>If Mario lands on an enemy (or other attackable object [crate]) then he should be able to time a jump and rebound off of it. Sounds like footstood jumping? It should. Remember, I’m trying to balance Melee.</li>
<li>This move needs less lag on the end. Thankfully, in Brawl this problem has already been addressed. Check out the Nintendo World Video 2006.</li>
<li>They needed to do a better job about how this move sucks enemies in. DI (especially crouch canceling) is too good at times. Just by leaning in a direction, you can simply “fall” out of a tornado attack. Somehow, they managed to program Peach’s down smash to suck you in even when you’re standing three miles away. Just give Mario that kind of suction. This would be neat especially considering that this move doesn’t have a lot of knock back or priority (unlike somebody’s down smash).</li>
</ul>
<strong>Coin Punch:</strong> [STAMP] I like this move. The priority it has is well deserved. This <em>is </em>Mario we’re talking about. He’s using the move that made it all possible for the rest of the Melee crew to exist. It has just the right mount of lag and knock back. I have no complaints. But one thing they could add is….
<ul>
<li>More range. Oh wait, it appears this problem has been addressed for Brawl also. hmmm. Mario is really shaping up.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Cape: </strong>[STAMP] What can be said about the cape. It does a good amount of damage. It turns enemies around. It has crazy physics involved. It hovers Mario in the air for better recoveries. It can reflect projectiles. And it’s one of the few moves that can effect opponents while they’re shielding. This move has it all. The only thing I can do now is… add more.
<ul>
<li> Mario’s pretty quick in Melee. But it would be cooler if Mario moved faster in the air than he did on the ground, forcing people to utilize his platforming prowess. This would only be cool if, Mario could gather speed while running. Does everyone remember the “P” meter? If not, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J31klTM6q78">check it out here</a>. On the first level you can see it fill up.</li>
<li>Cape + Glide. The only way I see this move being balanced is forcing Mario to gather up some speed first. This is why I suggested the “P” meter type effect for his running ability. I know the cape was pretty “broken” in Super Mario world, but I don’t care. It’s too cool not to put it in smash.</li>
</ul>
You see? That wasn’t so hard. With these changes to his B moves and some tweaking to his A moves, and we have ourselves a nice balanced high tier character worry of leading us into the next generation of Smash. *hums the Mushroom Kingdom anthem*
Edit: I forgot to give you guys a Mario sample. How about <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiSoNcI3YA4">some Eggz .</a>
<img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/super_mario_by_jatothemuthafinc.jpg" alt="Mario cannot croon bro" align="middle" height="459" width="334" />
Too bad he’s mid tier. I know the common thing to do with Mario is to make him the balanced character. But in a fighting game, balanced means you kind of suck. Let’s face it. Being “balanced” in a racing game (Mario Kart) means good acceleration, good turning, and a good speed. That’s balanced because most of the categories are good (meaning better than average). According to Sakurai and Melee, balanced means you have a bland projectile, a decent recovery that’s fairly easy to guard against, and (here’s my favorite part) no kill moves. Once again, I’m exaggerating, but still. If this were Mario Kart, it would be like saying “you’re not very fast, and you can’t turn well, so everything is going to be hard for you. But enjoy being balanced.”
For Brawl, everyone needs to be designed to be high tiers. So lets get cracking.<!--more-->
<strong>Fire Ball</strong>: With this move, what you see is what you get. There aren’t any hidden gems. Hit B, a fire ball comes out. It might hit someone for a little damage, but it’s nothing major. As far as <strong>good </strong>projectiles go, there are a few categories they fall under. 1) Meant to rack up damage (Fox’s Blaster) 2) Kill (Stitch-Face Turnip/Samus Max Shot) 3) Stun (Links Bombs, Falco’s Laser, Young Link’s Arrow). All three of these factors are balanced, in theory, to each character’s abilities. So what are Mario’s good for? Not much at this point. This move used to be one of the most powerful and versatile moves in Super Mario Bros. You could even <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtiM40KPn2s">kill bowser with just a handful of fire</a>! What can be done to bring back the fun and glory?
<ul>
<li>Tripple their life span. Just like in Mario Bros, the balls should travel on and on. Fox/Falco lasers travel without end so it seems. So why does Mario’s less versatile projectile just stop? This is a pathetic oversight.</li>
<li>The Fireball should travel faster. Bring the terrifying speed of the Super Mario Bros. fire balls back in action. In Melee, when I see them coming, my brain takes a nap.</li>
<li>Mario should be able to run and throw fire balls without stopping. Just like from all of his other games.</li>
<li>Mario should be able to throw a maximum of 2 balls at any given time (just like from Super Mario Bros.) This would be a wonderul way to balance this move while throwing in a bit of style. If you miss, you’ll have to wait until they run off the stage. This would be very similar to Link missing his boomerang.</li>
<li>Mario should be able to throw the balls faster. This way, he can rapidly spam opponents if he gets close like he could from the old games. Of course, the move will get weaker with continual use.</li>
<li>Also, the knock back from getting hit should send opponents in the direction the ball was moving.It’s only a little knock back, but it would be enough to feel the significance of such a move. Also, I don’t want to aid enemie’s recoveries by hitting them in the face with a fire ball. It should push them away a least a little especially if it resets their up+Bs.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Mario Tornado:</strong> I believe this move was inspired by Mario’s spinning twirling ability that he gained in Super Mario World. Check it out here at the beginning of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmmz7SOToXs">this video</a>. As you can see, that was pretty sweet. Mario can still retain his famous jumping ability even while spinning. And the spinning allows him to jump off of dangerous objects unharmed. The Tornado in Melee is used strictly as a recovery move. On the ground, it really has no use. Opponents can easy DI out of it. It doesn’t have a lot of priority. And it has a lot of lag. Also, it’s not very strong. Wow. You have to wonder what they were thinking? Let’s fix it.
<ul>
<li>If Mario lands on an enemy (or other attackable object [crate]) then he should be able to time a jump and rebound off of it. Sounds like footstood jumping? It should. Remember, I’m trying to balance Melee.</li>
<li>This move needs less lag on the end. Thankfully, in Brawl this problem has already been addressed. Check out the Nintendo World Video 2006.</li>
<li>They needed to do a better job about how this move sucks enemies in. DI (especially crouch canceling) is too good at times. Just by leaning in a direction, you can simply “fall” out of a tornado attack. Somehow, they managed to program Peach’s down smash to suck you in even when you’re standing three miles away. Just give Mario that kind of suction. This would be neat especially considering that this move doesn’t have a lot of knock back or priority (unlike somebody’s down smash).</li>
</ul>
<strong>Coin Punch:</strong> [STAMP] I like this move. The priority it has is well deserved. This <em>is </em>Mario we’re talking about. He’s using the move that made it all possible for the rest of the Melee crew to exist. It has just the right mount of lag and knock back. I have no complaints. But one thing they could add is….
<ul>
<li>More range. Oh wait, it appears this problem has been addressed for Brawl also. hmmm. Mario is really shaping up.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Cape: </strong>[STAMP] What can be said about the cape. It does a good amount of damage. It turns enemies around. It has crazy physics involved. It hovers Mario in the air for better recoveries. It can reflect projectiles. And it’s one of the few moves that can effect opponents while they’re shielding. This move has it all. The only thing I can do now is… add more.
<ul>
<li> Mario’s pretty quick in Melee. But it would be cooler if Mario moved faster in the air than he did on the ground, forcing people to utilize his platforming prowess. This would only be cool if, Mario could gather speed while running. Does everyone remember the “P” meter? If not, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J31klTM6q78">check it out here</a>. On the first level you can see it fill up.</li>
<li>Cape + Glide. The only way I see this move being balanced is forcing Mario to gather up some speed first. This is why I suggested the “P” meter type effect for his running ability. I know the cape was pretty “broken” in Super Mario world, but I don’t care. It’s too cool not to put it in smash.</li>
</ul>
You see? That wasn’t so hard. With these changes to his B moves and some tweaking to his A moves, and we have ourselves a nice balanced high tier character worry of leading us into the next generation of Smash. *hums the Mushroom Kingdom anthem*
Edit: I forgot to give you guys a Mario sample. How about <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiSoNcI3YA4">some Eggz .</a>
)
