Mario

Mario (マリオ, Mario) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. All Stars. He was confirmed on August 23rd, 2018 during the E8 2018 Nintendo Direct. He was also one of the main subjects of the Developer's Direct for Super Smash Bros. later during E8 2018. He was among the first wave of amiibo figurines for SSB All Stars. Mario is once again voiced by Charles Martinet, who also reprises his long-time role as Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi, albeit mostly with the same voice clips from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Mario is currently ranked 6th out of 58 characters on the tier list, in the A tier, which is the lower end of the top tier. This is his best tier placement to date, and a striking improvement from his 31st out of 38 ranking Brawl where he stood at the top of the bottom tier, as well as the largest tier rise from Brawl. His primary strength is his polarizing frame data; most of his moves come out extremely fast and have relatively low end lag. This results in Mario having one of the best neutral games in Smash 4, as it is difficult to actually punish him. His combo game, while not as versatile compared to Luigi or Sheik, is nevertheless potent, as Mario can rack up damage quickly and reliably, most notoriously with down throw into multiple up tilts. He also has a versatile moveset: a disruptive projectile in his Fireball, a reflection-based and reverse-based move in his Cape, and a decent but niche edgeguarding option with F.L.U.D.D.

Mario's shortcomings include his below average range, giving him trouble against characters with long disjointed range such as Cloud and Marth, and his lack of consistent KO set ups. That said, due to his lack of severe weaknesses, as well as one of the lowest technical curves in the game, Mario has been among the most successful characters in tournaments, and amazing results at top level play, with a slew of dedicated mains. However, due to Mario's incredible tournament placings during the summer of 2016, many smashers now view Mario as one of the best characters in the game and possibly deserving of an even higher ranking on the tier list. Some players, notably ESAM, believe him to be the single best character in Smash 4.