Dr. Mario uses external modifiers to most of his stats rather than directly modifying them, so he sports subpar mobility compared to Mario. However, Dr. Mario compensates for his slower mobility with another external multiplier that increases the damage of his attacks in comparison, as all of his attacks deal noticeably more damage without any compensation on knockback, which enables him to KO more easily as a result.
Aside from that, Dr. Mario also has other differences in his moveset. These include a few moves not cloned from Mario, such as back throw, down aerial and Dr. Tornado, as well as many moves with altered functionality, such as his dash attack launching upward, his up smash launching opponents behind him, his forward smash possessing an electric effect, his neutral aerial being a "reverse sex kick," his forward aerial not being a meteor smash, his Megavitamins not being absorbable and Super Jump Punch being a powerful singular hit at the cost of less vertical distance. Despite the aesthetic similarities, the different properties of the aforementioned moves, as well as his altered attributes, are enough to noticeably change Dr. Mario's playstyle compared to Mario's, although not quite to the same extent as Luigi.
Aesthetics