Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (SSBU), a video game that pits 70+ different playable characters licensed by Nintendo or many other entertainment companies in intense brawls, has no better character to specialize in than Mario from the Super Mario franchise. Mario is a household name in the Smash franchise given his appearance in the 1999 debut Smash game, Smash 64, which only had 12 playable characters. Since then, with his fast close-quarters attack moves, versatile fireballs, trusty F.L.U.D.D. system, and comical voice acting by Charles Martinet, Mario has remained an iconic asset in the series.

In the current game SSBU, we should examine why Mario is a force to be reckoned with. The main rules of the game is to knock an opponent off of the camera’s view of the fighting stage and into the “blast-zone.” The more damage a player endures, the more physical recoil hurls them off the stage when hit. Mario fits the role of racking up damage on his opponents to get the best opportunity of projecting them into the blast-zone with his close-quarters moves.

His most commonly used attack combination is the grab-throw to air-attack move set. Towards the beginning of the battle, grabbing and throwing the opponent downwards or upwards so your enemy is paralyzed in the air for a split second would allow you to start another move set of down air or up air, moves that are fast have a decent area of reach for hitting your enemy. This move set after repeating a few times is good for preparing to launch your opponent into the blast zone in just a short amount of time. Mario’s fireballs also give great opportunities at bumping your opponents damage rate higher at a far away range.

This combination of moves is shown on Youtube: “Beginners Mario Combo Guide – Smash Ultimate” Youtube, uploaded by Pro9.Brisk, March 31, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcqzXUqmCEo 

The best finishers to fully eliminate the enemy rely on Mario’s forward A air move and yellow cape. Once your opponent is mid-air off the stage, you have the choice of being even more aggressive with Mario’s forward down air, a nasty sucker punch. This would look like running off the stage to get air-time, spike the enemy directly into the blast zone below, and then recover back to the stage ledge with Mario’s upward B move. While this attack is known for being overkill and very risky at times, it’s still helpful in making sure your opponent cannot use their own upward B recovery move to make it back to the stage.

A visual process that shows this move would be on Youtube: “開始9秒でこんなことされたら誰も勝てん。” Youtube, uploaded by エスケー配信者, May 23, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS1lakl7rBg 

 Another move that works as a finisher, though not as aggressive and more strategic, is Mario’s reverse yellow cape used by pressing forward B. The cape can turn any enemy in a 180 degree rotation regardless of position or progress in an attack animation and also being able to deflect projectiles. Mario’s cape is best used when deflecting your enemy’s recovery move. Without going off the stage as much as required by forward air A, you just need to time your cape attack with the moment right before your enemy can latch on to the ledge. Doing this perfectly would end up in your enemy going the reverse direction and falling into the blast-zone without taking much risk on Mario’s part.

A video that represents this move is shown here on Youtube: “Dr. Mario’s Cape is Broken!?” Youtube, uploaded by AlexStacks, June 30, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFiQXyZ fRag. Keep in mind that this is Dr. Mario, a different character from regular Mario, but still has the same principle when it comes to his cape move.

In the same game, Mario lacks range in many of his attacks. As hinted before, his lack of range requires a lot of risk taking of counter attacks from more long-range fighters on the character roster. Countless times have professional Mario players fell victim to the long range reach of sword users such as Link, Cloud, Sephiroth, Shulk, Marth, and Corrin who know how to anticipate a close range attack from Mario and respond accordingly.

Otherwise, Mario is still a very fun and solid character to choose from the roster.