Character Sheet: Mario (Arcade Series)

MARIO

Now that we have all of the Arcade Donkey Kong/Mario titles under our belt, I think it's time we go through and evaluate every character we have picked so far as being playable.

This time we have six:

1. Mario

1e. Luigi

2. Donkey Kong

3. Donkey Kong Jr.

4. Stanley

5. Pauline

First up, we have Mario. Now, Mario will go on to have a very successful video game franchise of his own, which will yield up far more iconic moves for the character, but for now, let us simply build a character from what we have.

Like his counterpart in Smash, Mario will likely still be a jack of all trades with middling stats and an above-average jump (he is the Jumpman after all). Throughout the arcade games, Mario makes use of a hammer as his main weapon, a whip that he doesn't seem to use himself, but instead uses it to send dangerous animals after his enemies, a POW block, and possibly a Shellcreeper shell. He was also shown to have a helicopter at his disposal, which he used to escape Donkey Kong Jr.

Here is the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Hammer

Mario swings around his hammer from Donkey Kong. It is a basic attack that does heavy damage.

Side B: Whip and Animals

Mario uses his whip from Donkey Kong Jr. to send an alligator forward to snap at opponents. Its a mid-to-long range attack that does damage but little knockback. Opponents can also be hit by the whip.

Up B: Helicopter

Mario clings to the rope ladder hanging from his helicopter. The helicopter has solid recovery distance, but does little damage.

Down B: POW Block

Mario throws down a POW Block from Mario Bros. on the ground, causing an earthquake and knocking all in the vicinity off of their feet.

Final Smash: Giant Hammer OR Power Plant

The first would come from Donkey Kong and function similar to the Hammer item in Smash but with greater KO potential, while the second would hearken to Donkey Kong Jr.'s third level as Mario pulls a switch and sends live balls of electricity all over the stage.

Entrance: Flies in on his helicopter.

Taunts: Uncertain. Very little personality demonstrated in these early arcade games.

Next up, we'll tackle Luigi, who (for now) is merely an echo fighter.