The hero of the Mario series and Nintendo's mascot. Mario is armed with familiar attacks including Fireballs a Spin Attack and a yellow Cape used to deflect items.
The princess of the Mushroom Kingdom is armed with attacks taken mainly from Super Mario Bros. 2, including vegetable throwing and the ability to hover over short distances. She can also attack with a golf club, tennis racket or frying pan, based on her other playable appearances.
The King of the Koopa turtle tribe is a slow but powerful fighter with a range of claw and horn attacks. He can spit fire and uses a Ground Pound attack borrowed from the final battle of Super Mario Bros. 3.
Mario's dinosaur friend can eat opponents, turn opponents into eggs, throw eggs and Pound the Ground. He can also transform himself into a egg and launch himself across the screen.
Luigi's attacks are mostly the same as Mario's, but with a few subtle differences. His fireball is green, he can jump higher, and instead of a cape he has the unpredictable Green Rocket attack.
A clone character of Mario with mostly similar attacks. The Fireball is replaced with the doctor's Megavitamins. He also uses a slightly larger medical sheet in place of the Cape attack.
The king of the jungle attacks with moves mostly borrowed from Donkey Kong Country. He is the only character who loses no speed when carrying a large container such as barrels, which is a throwback to the arcade Donkey Kong.
The Legendary Hero of Hyrule, appearing as he did in Ocarina of Time. He is armed with Link's most commonly used weapons: the Master Sword and Hylian Shield, the Boomerang, Bombs and the Hero's Bow. He can also use the Hookshot to grab other players or the stage edge.
The princess of Hyrule as she appeared in Ocarina of Time. Her magical attacks are named for the three Goddesses of Hyrule, and based on the magic that Link acquired from the Great Fairies. At any time she can transform into Sheik.
Zelda's alter-ego from Ocarina of Time is a fast and nimble fighter with a range of ninja-like attacks, including a pin needle, chain and the ability to vanish in a puff of smoke. Sheik can transform back into Zelda at any time.
The king of the Gerudo and keeper of the Triforce of Power as he appeared in Ocarina of Time. He is extremely powerful and his attacks are charged with black magic. Ganondorf is actually a clone character of Captain Falcon.
The younger version of Link as he appears in Ocarina of Time. Young Link wields the Fairy Sword and Deku Shield which aren't as powerful as his adult version, but he is faster, better at jumping and sports a wall-kick move.
The Power Suit-enhanced bounty hunter from the Metroid series. Samus attacks with missiles, the charge beam, bombs and her jumping Screw Attack. She also sports a flamethrower and can use her Grapple Beam.
The pink puffball hero of the Kirby series. Kirby can fly and use attacks from various games, including Stone, Final Cutter and the Hammer. He can also suck up other players and copy their standing Special attacks (gaining personalised headgear in the process).
The leader of the Star Fox team. Fox uses his blaster from Star Fox 64's multiplayer mode, but as he's often piloting his Arwing, his attacks have mostly been invented for the Smash Bros. games.
Fox's stubborn but talented wingman is a clone of Fox. As he is of the Avian race, he can jump higher but drops much faster, and his blaster stops opponents in their tracks.
The cute electric mouse Pokémon. His attacks are true to the RPGs, using Tail Whip, Headbutt, Thundershock, Thunder, Quick Attack and Agility.
The baby version of Pikachu is a clone of his older self and shares the same attacks. As Pichu is a baby, he shock himself with his own electric attacks causing damage, which is true to its Pokédex entry.
The cute Balloon Pokémon. Jigglypuff's moves are taken from the RPGs, including Pound, Body Slam, Sing and Rest, and the new move Rollout, learned from Pokémon Gold & Silver.
The most powerful Psychic Pokémon from Red & Blue. He uses a range of Psychic and Dark attacks to control those around him, including Confusion, Disable, Teleport and Shadow Ball. Mewtwo floats everywhere and holds items with the power of its mind.
The famous bounty hunter and F-Zero Grand Prix champion. Captain Falcon is an extremely fast character, but with slow, powerful moves that take time to use. His attacks were invented for the Smash Bros. series.
The hero of EarthBound. Ness's attacks are based on attacks from the RPG, including the baseball bat and yo-yo attacks, as well as his PSI powers: PK Flash, PK Fire, PK Thunder and PSI Magnet. Ness didn't learn PK Fire or Thunder in EarthBound, but his friend Paula did.
The ousted prince of Altea from Fire Emblem: Dark Dragon & Sword of Light. Marth's attacks all rely on the Falchion sword, and he speaks in Japanese, a reference to the fact his games have only been released in Japan.
The prince of Lycia makes his debut in Super Smash Bros. Melee before appearing in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade the following year. Roy is a clone of Marth, and his attacks are all based on the Binding Blade (Sword of Seals). While he is more powerful than Marth, he is not as fast.
The heroes of classic NES platformer, Ice Climber. Popo is in blue and Nana in pink. While their attacks in Ice Climber were limited to their mallets, they also attack with ice and team-up abilities. The pair work together as a single unit, but can be separated. The computer controls Nana.
A character based on the Game & Watch LCD series of games. He has a distinctive frame-by-frame movement and all of his attacks are based on various Game & Watch titles.