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While their increased speed when bouncing compensates for the grounded version, this noticeably hinders the aerial version of the move, making them less likely to hit opponents from afar. Firstly, the fireballs themselves are smaller and they do not last as long (lasting nearly half the amount of time they did in the previous game). However, the fireballs have seen numerous downgrades which make them less effective overall. The fireballs also travel noticeably faster when they hit the ground, making them harder to avoid from long distances. The fireballs themselves have seen a visual update where they look slightly more realistic. This new animation is two frames faster which naturally allows Mario to throw out fireballs faster. Melee, Mario's Fireball has a new animation where Mario opens up his hand when he releases the fireball.
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In the Japanese version, Mario's fireballs dealt more knockback, although they dealt less damage (6% as opposed to 7%) and hitlag. Overall, Fireball is a useful tool Mario has, being useful as a camping and recovery tool, as it forces his opponent to play differently to avoid his fireballs. He can also use the move in a recovery situation, to force his opponent to play around his fireballs, making him harder to edgeguard. This makes them a rather effective camping tool when used in the air, as Mario can use them on stage to approach and stuff out his opponent's approaches. In Super Smash Bros., Mario's fireballs come out on frame 16 with the animation lasting 45 frames, they are fairly large, last a long period of time (139 frames just under 2 1/3rds of a second) and deal 7%. When firing at a wall or upward slope, the balls will bounce backward, which can be used as a more defensive maneuver for brief protection from oncoming foes, perhaps in the air or from behind (although this is naturally hardly ever practical in competitive play). They are especially useful when used in the air, as Mario can control his aerial trajectory while using Fireballs. This makes them more effective when fired from higher locations and toward downward slopes, traveling further. They will bounce a few times before disappearing completely. The fireballs fall down until they hit the ground, which will cause them to bounce off of the ground.
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Mario shoots a red fireball out of the palm of his hand.
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