SSBM/Dr. Mario/Introduction

Introduction

Dr. Mario (or Doc) is a clone character of Mario. Outside of SSBM, Dr. Mario originates from the Dr. Mario series of puzzle video games made by Nintendo, beginning with "Dr. Mario" that first appeared on the NES. He ranks 9th on Melee’s tier list, higher than the original character of Mario. His tier placement is for his great combos and overall uniqueness as a fighter, such as an unusual sex kick. His approach options are also very good, with a long wavedash and a good air game, as well as a very good SHFFL. Dr. Mario also has a good projectile, which itself can be used to aid his approach. However, Dr. Mario's primary weakness is his abysmal recovery, which is one of the worst in the game, due to its predictability and few methods of increasing its distance.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Edgeguarding - Doc's edgeguarding is very strong with tools such as his cape which can reverse the direction of characters, and his bAir which sends opponents at a very shallow angle. Fast moves - While Doc may not be the fastest in terms of movement, his frame data is very good. With pokes such as fTilt coming out very quickly allowing him to interrupt his opponent or stuff approaches. Punish game & kill power - Doc is a character who can get huge milage off a grab or sometimes even a stray hit in neutral, leading to huge punishes. Furthermore, Doc has kill confirms on almost every member of the cast. One too many meatballs - Doc's combination of weight and fall speed means that he can get out of a lot of combos that other characters wouldn't be able to avoid. His weight also means he can survive hits much longer than other characters. Defense - Doc has a lot of tools to hold his ground and keep opponents out. He can use pill to control space, or full hop dAir/upTilt to cover approaches, and his crouch cancel is very strong.

Range - Doc is a very stubby character, which means he has trouble contesting large, lingering hitboxes and can get his approaches stuffed out if the player isn't careful. Recovery - Doc's recovery is very slow and doesn't take him very far. While he does have some mixups with tornado and cape, the landing lag on his up special means he can be a punished very easily for landing on stage. Juggling - While Doc's floatiness helps him when he's being combo'd, it also means that he's going to have a very hard time coming back down to the stage if he is above the opponent. Marthritis - While Doc's kill confirms and kill power are very strong, his lack of fast kill options in the air mean that if you don't take your opponents stock from an edgeguard or confirm, it's not uncommon for them to stay alive until above 150%. Approaching - Doc doesn't have any 'real' approaching options. While an overshoot fAir/nAir might work every once in a while, you'll be punished for it a lot more than you'll be rewarded.