@Dr. Tran.
Mario is mainly the "balanced" character in most games. Which I can somewhat relate to in Smash Bros Melee. His cape is very essential yes, but it's not like you just run up to someone and do a Falcon Punch or a Falcon Kick. Try the air knee kick move, or I call it the Atomic Knee. Captain Falcon has crap air (except the knee) and land moves. I prefer Ganondorf.
i can take on mario, its not hard to kill him at all, but the gay thing is falcon's come back(up +B) = cape = instant death. i should say CAPE is captain falcon's worst nightmare. lol, oh and u can cape the knee in case u dunno (i r also a dr player)