Dr. Mario was so good in Melee because he was stronger, but not slower like he was supposed to be. He was literally a better Mario.

Roughly speaking, Dr. Mario has the second worst vertical recovery in the game, close enough to be tied with Ganondorf. Dr. Mario has the third worst horizontal recovery in the game, above only Little Mac and Ganondorf.


While the experiments are somewhat flawed, (Link's use of bombs, the manner in which the horizontal recovery experiment is set up) it will not cause much difference for most characters, including Dr. Mario.