The 'Mario' movie is a smash hit, so let's rank the 'Mario Super Smash Bros.' fighters

The Super Mario Bros. Movie has been unlocked and is playing in theaters everywhere. With such massive box office success, hopefully a sequel announcement is coming soon. If hypothetically, creators continued to expand the universe enough, could The Super Smash Bros. Movie be the eventual progression? We’re only here to speculate, but in the meantime we thought it would be a smash hit of fun to rank the Mario characters through all The Super Smash Bros. games.

We’ll consider a variety of factors including statistics, tournament results, longevity (how long they’ve been in the games), and of course, how much fun they are to play. Because even when your older sibling just 3-stocked you for the 10th time, it’s all about having fun right?

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So pickup your items, choose your mains, and let’s smash attack this tiered list of the Super Smash Bros. Mario characters.

14. Piranha Plant

As much as we’d like to start off by welcoming the new kid in town, the Nintendo community knows Piranha Plant swiped Waluigi’s invitation to the party. With everyone hoping Super Smash Bros. Ultimate would give us Wario’s best friend Waluigi, we get a potted plant that hardly ever moves throughout the Mario games. We rank it last out of residual spite.

13. Daisy

Aside from minor differences only an extremely skilled player would know, Daisy is practically an exact copy of Peach in Ultimate. We love Daisy’s character and gameplay, but this blatant lack of originality has us asking Nintendo to do better.

12. King K. Rool

King K. Rool is an Ultimate drool. He hasn’t gotten time to build a rapport across generations of players, and with so much of the games being about nostalgia, he simply hasn’t earned his spot. He’s also a statistically bad fighter for experts and a ledgetrap machine for beginners. We decree his crown as nothing more than decorative.

11. Dr. Mario

Dr. Mario isn’t for someone without patients. After appearing in Melee, he was surprisingly left out of Brawl, only to make a comeback in Super Smash Bros. 4 (it’s hard to get over how lackluster that name is in comparison to the others). Since then, his technical ability, combining tournament performance and overall gameplay, have been low. The stronger, but considerably slower version of Mario may appeal somewhat to beginners, but it seems experts will be much too limited, making him a lackluster operation.

10. Rosalina and Luma

Introduced in the beloved game Super Mario Galaxy, a skilled player can use the unique dual characters Rosalina and Luma to overwhelm opponents with galaxy-brained game plans. Special moves like the “Luma Shot” and “Grand Star” can send players off the platform at the speed of light. However, beginners will struggle to find much value in Luma, viewing playing two characters at once as a distraction, leaving us no choice but to send them down our rankings.

9. Bowser Jr.

Surprisingly, the Clown Car licensed Boswer Jr. doesn’t make his first appearance until Super Smash Bros. 4. The Clown Car has a separate hurtbox, giving him heavyweight advantages along with a bowling ball attack perfect to land a strike. His “Abandon Ship!” move, where he jumps out of his car only to explode on his opponents below it, is somewhat effective, but more importantly, super fun. Unfortunately his overall performance as a character, and bizarre lack of longevity land him lower than his pops.

8. Wario

Wario has strong stat lines across most of his games, and while some of his KO moves can be hard to land, everyone wants to take a ride with Wario and his “Wario Bike.” The special moves aren’t super beginner friendly, but the fun you’ll have along the way makes learning this character the bomb.

7. Luigi

Luigi’s personality is about as awkward as his gameplay, with low mobility, air speed and range on his attacks. Ness and Lucas “PK Fire” spammers: get ready to feast. Luigi does offer a quirky twist on the classic gameplay that Mario is known for, and has been a staple since the first Super Smash Bros. While not as well rounded as his more...well rounded older brother, he does have a few devastating tricks up his sleeve like the "Luigi Cyclone" to break up combos and shift momentum in his favor.

6. Bowser

Bowser is the single heaviest character from Melee to Ultimate, and while that makes him difficult to knock past the edge, it comes with some clear drawbacks. He is easily punished when his attacks whiff or are blocked, as quicker characters can take advantage of his large hurtbox. This makes him easy to combo with characters like, you guessed it, his arch nemesis Mario. Don’t count him Dry Bowser yet though, because his “Fire Breath,” “Meteor Smash” and “Flying Slam”, when landed, are sure to force opponents out of their shell. We might be giving into Jack Black Bowser recency bias hype, so we’re sorry, but Bowser is too much fun not to give at least B-tier.

5. Donkey Kong

Statistically ranking in the mid tier most of the games, Donkey Kong is a big bruiser superheavyweight, but is surprisingly one of the fastest characters. He can “headbutt” opponents into the ground, allowing him to punish them with KO moves like the “Giant Punch.” We’d say opponents will rip their hair out from his insane durability, but Donkey Kong’s “grapple,” carrying opponents on his back only to self-destruct off the side, should beat it to the punch. We love this fan favorite, but only because we’re playing as him.

4. Diddy Kong

Diddy Kong became one of the statistically best characters in Super Smash Bros. 4, and remained solid in Ultimate even after decreasing his weight. “Donkey’s little nephew wannabe” has a great recovery in “Rocketbarrel boost,” in both its effectiveness and creativity. You simply can’t deny the hilarity of his "Banana Peel" move, which causes opponents to trip, leading to lethal smash attacks. He has excellent combo ability, and while his longevity isn’t fantastic, as he’s only been around as of recently, he beats Donkey Kong for king of the jungle.

3. Yoshi

Yoshi is a dinosaur of the series, appearing since the first iteration. As a very mobile heavyweight with an effective double jump, he is able to press a consistently balanced attack and recovery. One of his most fun moves is the “Egg Lay,” trapping opponents inside to rack up damage. His user-friendly play with upside, longevity and healthy tournament performance make him one of the best characters in the game.

2. Peach

Did someone say damsel in distress? I don’t think so, because Peach certainly doesn't need saving. There’s one word to describe Peach across all the Smash games: technique. You will need to learn how to avoid getting overwhelmed by faster characters, but her unnerfed forward aerial practically wipes her weaknesses when properly used. Consistently performing well in tournaments with strong longevity and difficulty to punish, those who take her high heels lightly should be prepared to catch them to the face.

1. Mario

Hey, we know what you’re thinking, but we tried very hard not to put Mario first. The mental gymnastics to put atop someone else were getting more complex than a boss level of Super Mario Galaxy 2. We knew we had our champion. He’s a well balanced generalist in every game making him a great pick for a beginner looking to learn the fundamentals. While some may find this character generic and boring, those who devote time to learning the exact situation to pull out any of Mario’s diverse tools can find themselves wielding an unstoppable force who is ready for any challenge.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is in theaters now.  You can purchase tickets here!