Alternate costume (SSBB)

NOTE: Every claimed source needs a cross-reference link; claimed sources need to be plausible, not horrendously obscure; default costumes usually don't need descriptions since they are not alternate costumes; returning costumes original to Smash do not need references to their appearances in previous Smash games.

A battle between four Marios, each one in different colors. Masahiro Sakurai referred to the implementation of costumes as "one of the joys of Smash".

Four of Peach's alternate costumes. Note that one resembles Daisy.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, players can pick different alternate costumes for their character by cycling through a list of up to six choices. The buttons used to cycle are 1/2 for the Wii Remote and Nunchuk combination, A and B for the Wii remote alone configuration, and pressing X/Y for the Classic Controller and GameCube controller.

Most characters have six alternate costumes, though Jigglypuff, Lucario, Pokémon Trainer, and Sonic only have five, and Pikachu has only four. Wario has two costumes with six choices each, doubling his options and giving him two different outfits for each team in Team Battles.

Some characters, namely Lucario, Pokémon Trainer, and Sonic, have sets of alternate costumes that can be difficult to distinguish from each other in a match. As such, tournaments have the "colorblind rule" in doubles matches, where a player can choose which colours their team and their opponents' team are, if either team has one of the aforementioned characters on their team. While texture hacks are usually discouraged from being used in tournaments, if not flat-out disallowed, it is usually acceptable to use simple texture hacks on these characters to make the color difference between their team palettes more obvious.

When selecting characters in tournament mode, instead of displaying the character's colored image of the chosen costume, a colored bar is displayed in the player list. This color is usually an intuitive indicator of which costume has been chosen, but there are several cases where costumes are given strange colors, such as giving cyan to Ike's default blue-brown getup, or using orange or yellow when the opposite is clearly more correct.

In Wi-Fi, Tournament and Team Brawls, if two identical characters share the same alternate costume, the second character will have a lighter tint in their appearance. A third character on the same team uses a darker tint. The fourth character's tint is even darker than the third character's. It is generally quite difficult to distinguish from the third character's color scheme.

The order of the palette swaps for each character are sorted in the order in which they appear on the character selection screen.

Bowser

Green	G
Black
Red	R	Resembles his "right" color from Mario Golf.
Blue	B	Resembles his original design from Super Mario Bros.
White
Brown

Captain Falcon

Indigo
Black		Based on his appearance in the Japanese commercial for F-Zero X.
Red	R	Based on Blood Falcon, Captain Falcon's evil clone and rival. It is his only costume with a unique logo on the back: a skull with "Blood Hawk" (the name of Blood Falcon's vehicle) written underneath.
Green	G
Blue	B	Resembles his appearance from the original F-Zero.
White		Resembles Jody Summer's appearance from F-Zero X.

Diddy Kong

Red	R
Yellow		The vest is reminiscent of Diddy Kong's alternate outfit in Donkey Kong Country's Two-Player Contest mode.
Pink		Based on Dixie Kong, Diddy Kong's girlfriend. Perhaps in recognition of the fact that Diddy Kong has no hair, his fur is yellow instead of reddish brown.
Purple		Resembles his appearance in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest's Two-Player Contest mode.
Green	G
Blue	B	Resembles Kiddy Kong, Dixie's partner in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble.

Donkey Kong

Brown
Black		Fur color resembles a real-life gorilla. The tie is reminiscent of Donkey Kong's appearance in Donkey Kong Country's Two-Player Contest Mode.
Red	R	Fur color resembles the in-game sprite of Donkey Kong from the original Donkey Kong.
Blue	B	Resembles one of his alternate colors from Donkey Kong 64's Multiplayer Mode, as well as his "right" color from Mario Golf.
Green	G
White		Referred to as "Yeti DK" on the Brawl DOJO!!

Falco

White
Orange		Resembles Katt Monroe, Falco's love interest, as she appears in Star Fox Command.
Blue	B	His clothing is reminiscent of an Arwing.
Red	R	Resembles his appearance in Star Fox: Assault.
Green	G
Black		Resembles a red-throated caracara, black pheasant or raven.

Fox

Grey
Black		Referred to as the "Dark Fox" on the Brawl DOJO!!
Red	R
Green	G
Blue	B
White

Ganondorf

Purple		Based on his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
Black		Complementary to Link's "Dark Link" costume.
Blue	B
Green	G
Red	R
Brown		Based on his appearance from the SpaceWorld 2000 GameCube Tech Demo and Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Ice Climbers

Popo and Nana switch positions for their red, black, and white costumes, and their head icons change to match, but they do not switch positions on the selection screen like they did in Melee.

Purple
Red	R	Nana resembles her appearance on the American boxart for Ice Climber.
Blue	B
Black
Green	G
White		The colors of their mittens match those of their default colors. The parka color resembles their sprite after touching an enemy.

Ike

Indigo
Yellow
Red	R
Blue	B	Resembles Sigurd, one of the protagonists in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.
Green	G	Resembles Geoffrey, one of Ike's comrades, as he appears in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
Brown		Referred to as an "ordinary soldier" on the Brawl DOJO!!

Jigglypuff

Pink		Based on its original appearance, despite its design has been changed in Generation III.
Red	R
White		Wearing the female protagonist (a.k.a. Leaf)'s hat from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Versions. It is complementary to Pikachu's "Red" costume.
Blue	B	Reminiscent of the Bug Catcher Trainer class. Its skin color is based on one of the possible colors for a nicknamed Jigglypuff in Pokémon Stadium.
Green	G	Wearing Sleep Kirby's cap from Kirby's Return to Dream Land. Its skin color is based on one of the possible colors for a nicknamed Jigglypuff in Pokémon Stadium.

King Dedede

Red	R
Pink		Resembles his "Player 2" color in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards' Multiplayer mode, although his skin is blue.
Green	G
Purple		Resembles his purple color in Kirby Air Ride. The obi is reminiscent of formal Japanese kimonos.
Blue	B	The obi features the same icons as one of the menu schemes from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.
Brown		Based on his monochromatic in-game sprite in Kirby's Dream Land, although it has a sepia-toned color scheme.

Kirby

Pink
Yellow		Yellow Kirby from various Kirby titles. The original Super Smash Bros. website referred to this costume as "Keeby".
Blue	B	Based on Ice Kirby in Kirby Super Star.
Red	R	Red Kirby from Nightmare in Dream Land, The Amazing Mirror, and Squeak Squad. Compared to "Fire Kirby" costume in previous Smash titles, his feet are wine red instead of maroon.
Green	G	Green Kirby from Nightmare in Dream Land, The Amazing Mirror, and Squeak Squad. Compared to "Kusa-mochi Kirby" costume in previous Smash titles, his feet are orange instead of dark green.
White		Based on his monochromatic in-game sprite from Kirby's Dream Land.

Link

Green	G	Based on his appearance from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
Red	R	Based on the Goron Tunic from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Blue	B	Based on the Zora Tunic from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Lavender		Based on his tunic with the Blue Ring equipped in The Legend of Zelda.
Yellow		Resembles his appearance after utilizing the Great Fairy's Tears in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
Black		Based on Dark Link. Although his hair and legs are grey instead of black, this design would become the basis for Dark Link's appearance in later The Legend of Zelda title.

Lucario

Blue	B
Red	R
Cyan
White
Green	G

Lucas

Yellow
Orange		Based on Claus, Lucas's twin brother.
Red	R
Blue	B	Resembles Ness's pajamas in EarthBound.
Green	G
Purple

Luigi

Green	G
Orange
Pink	R	The original Super Smash Bros. website referred to this costume as "Strawberry Luigi".
Blue	B
White		Based on Fire Luigi.
Purple		Based on Waluigi, the self-proclaimed "Luigi's rival".

Mario

Red	R
White		Based on Fire Mario.
Blue	B	Based on his appearance in promotional artwork for Mario Bros., with the colors of the overalls and shirt swapped.
Yellow		Based on Wario's classic design.
Black		Originally based on Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew, though the palette has become more monochromatic compared to the original Super Smash Bros. and Melee.
Green	G	Resembles Luigi's appearance from promotional artwork for the arcade version of Mario Bros., with the colors of the overalls and shirt swapped. It also resembles Jinbe from Mole Mania, another game developed by Shigeru Miyamoto.

Marth

Navy
Red	R
Green	G
Black
White		Based on Leif, the protagonist of Fire Emblem: Thracia 776.
Blue	B	Based on his appearance in the Fire Emblem Trading Card Game.

Meta Knight

Purple
White		Somewhat resembles his white color in Kirby Air Ride.
Red	R	Based on his red color in Kirby Air Ride.
Green	G	Based on his "yellow" color in Kirby Air Ride.
Blue	B	Resembles his original appearance in Kirby's Adventure, but with red eyes.
Pink		Based on his "green" color in Kirby Air Ride, as well as Kirby.

Mr. Game & Watch

Black		Resembles the characters from the Game & Watch games Fire and Parachute. He has the general color of the LCD frames in most of the Game & Watch handhelds.
Red	R	Reminiscent of characters and objects as depicted on the Virtual Boy.
Yellow		Reminiscent of characters and objects as depicted on the original Game Boy.
Blue	B
Green	G
Cyan		Reminiscent of the backlit display of the Game Boy Light.

Ness

Red	R
White		Resembles Fuel from Mother 3, although the pants are olive instead of black.
Yellow		Based on the uniforms of the Hanshin Tigers, a Japanese baseball team. The shirt's pattern is reminiscent of the Gigantic Ant enemy from EarthBound.
Green	G	His clothes resemble the color scheme of Everdred’s outfit in EarthBound.
Blue	B	Resembles his younger self that he encounters briefly in Magicant.
Purple		The shirt features a sprite of Mr. Saturn on the front.

Olimar

Tan
White		Resembles modern space suits.
Red	R
Black
Green	G
Blue	B	Based on Louie, Olimar's partner in Pikmin 2.

Peach

Pink
Yellow		Based on Daisy's current appearance since Mario Party 4. This costume is less complex than it was in Melee, as it simply changes the colors of her clothing and hair.
Red	R	Resembles the Lady's original appearance in artwork for Donkey Kong.
Blue	B
Green	G
White		Based on a wedding gown.

Pikachu

At four costume choices, Pikachu has the least amount of alternate costumes in Brawl.

Yellow		Based on its original appearance, despite its design has been changed in Generation III.
Red	R	Wearing Red's cap from Generation I and Generation II titles. Its skin color is based on one of the possible colors for a nicknamed Pikachu in Pokémon Stadium and its Shiny coloration.
Green	G	Wearing the male protagonist (a.k.a. Brendan)'s headband from Pokémon Emerald Version. Its skin color is based on one of the possible colors for a nicknamed Pikachu in Pokémon Stadium.
Blue	B	Its goggles are reminiscent of the Swimmer Trainer class and Pichu's Blue Team costume from Melee.

Pit

White
Yellow
Red	R	Resembles his chiton after obtaining the Gold Arrow and reaching Level 4 strength in the original Kid Icarus.
Green	G	Resembles his chiton after obtaining the Bronze Arrow and reaching Level 2 strength in Kid Icarus.
Blue	B	Resembles his chiton after obtaining the Sacred Arrow and reaching Level 5 strength in Kid Icarus.
Black		Referred to as a "fallen angel" on the Brawl DOJO!!. It became the basis for Dark Pit.

Pokémon Trainer

Default
Red	R	The Pokémon Trainer's cap is reminiscent of Leaf, the female protagonist of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. Squirtle resembles the Pokémon Wartortle, its evolved form. Charizard resembles the Pokémon Charmeleon, its pre-evolved form.
Green	G	The Pokémon Trainer resembles Brendan as he appears in Pokémon Emerald. Squirtle and Ivysaur resemble their respective Shiny colorations.
Blue	B	Squirtle resembles its in-battle sprite from Pokémon Yellow.
White		Charizard resembles the Shiny colorations of Charmander and Charmeleon.

R.O.B.

Red	R	Based on the Japanese version of R.O.B. released for the Famicom - the "Family Computer Robot".
Grey		Based on the western version of R.O.B. released for the NES. The text on his base reads "R.O.B. - Robotic Operating Buddy" instead of "Family Computer Robot".
Yellow		Possibly based on Spike, a glitch enemy from Stack-Up.
Pink		Possibly based on Flipper, a glitch enemy from Stack-Up.
Blue	B
Green	G	Very similar to the R.O.B. Launcher enemy from the Subspace Emissary, although the cord has a different color.

Samus

Orange		Based on the Varia Suit as it appears in Super Metroid. It no longer corresponds with Samus's red team color, most likely because it is now paired with her cyan Zero Suit.
Blue	B	Based on the Fusion Suit from Metroid Fusion.
Pink	R	Based on the Gravity Suit's in-game sprite from Super Metroid.
Brown		Based on the Dark Suit from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.
Purple		Based on the Gravity Suit's appearance in Metroid Prime.
Green	G	The original Super Smash Bros. website referred to this alternate costume as "mass-produced Samus", a reference to the MS-06 Zaku II from the Gundam franchise.

Snake

Most of Snake's costumes seem to be based on different camouflage uniforms worn by Naked Snake in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

Grey		Based on the sneaking suit worn by Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
Red	R	Resembles the Fire camouflage.
Blue	B	Resembles the Splitter camouflage.
White		Resembles the AUSCAM Desert camouflage.
Green	G	Resembles the Tiger Stripe camouflage.
Brown		Resembles the Animals camouflage.

Sonic

Sonic is the only non-Pokémon character to have fewer than six alternate costumes.

Blue	B
Black		Resembles the colouration of Sonic the Werehog from Sonic Unleashed.
Yellow		The cuffs somewhat resemble Silver the Hedgehog's gloves.
Green	G	His cuffs are reminiscent of the thumbs-up that appears in Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2's Special Stage.
Red	R	His cuffs are reminiscent of the thumbs-up that appears in Sonic the Hedgehog 2's Special Stage.

Toon Link

Green	G	Based on his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
Red	R	Red Link from The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords and The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures.
Blue	B	Blue Link from The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords and The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures.
Purple		Purple Link from The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords and The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures.
Brown		Based on Link's appearance in The Legend of Zelda.
Black		Complementary to Link's "Dark Link" costume.

Wario

Unlike all other characters, Wario has two outfits each with multiple color choices: his biker costume from the WarioWare games, which is his default costume, and his classic overalls. This doubles his alternate costume choices. There are a total of 12 costume choices for Wario in Brawl.

Cyan		Based on his appearance in the WarioWare series.
Red	R	The red jacket, white pants, and goggles match the color scheme of Jimmy T., one of Wario's friends.
Yellow
Green	G
Black
Blue	B

Wario's overalls closely resemble the cartoonish look in both the Mario and Wario games, in contrast to Mario, Luigi, and Waluigi, who were given more realistic-looking overalls.

Yellow		Based on his appearance in the Mario and Wario Land series. Referred to as "Overalls Wario" on the Brawl DOJO!!.
Red	R	Based on Mario's appearance from Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., and various titles.
Blue	B	Resembles Mario's appearance on the Japanese (resale version) and European covers of the NES version of Mario Bros.
Green	G	Almost the same as Mario's green costume.
Brown		The color scheme is the opposite of Mario's Foreman Spike-inspired costume in the original Super Smash Bros.
White		Resembles his in-game sprite from the early Wario Land titles on the Game Boy.

Wolf

Grey
Red	R
Black		Resembles a black wolf. While the portrait depicts the suit with black sleeves, they are white in-game.
Green	G
Blue	B
White		Similarly to his black costume, the portrait depicts the suit with black sleeves, but they're white in-game.

Yoshi

All of Yoshi's costumes appear as different variations of the Yoshi species in Yoshi's Story.

Green	G	Green Yoshi's color scheme.
Red	R	Red Yoshi's color scheme.
Blue	B	Blue Yoshi's color scheme.
Yellow		Yellow Yoshi's color scheme.
Pink		Pink Yoshi's color scheme.
Cyan		Light Blue Yoshi's color scheme.

Zelda / Sheik

Purple/Light Blue		Zelda is based on her appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Sheik is based on unused concept art of her from Twilight Princess.
Red	R	Zelda resembles her in-game sprite when Link rescues her with the Red Ring equipped in The Legend of Zelda.
Blue	B	Zelda resembles her in-game sprite when Link rescues her with the Blue Ring equipped in The Legend of Zelda.
Pink		Zelda is based on her appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but more closely resembles the color scheme of her appearance in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Sheik does not resemble her appearance from Ocarina of Time and instead matches Zelda's color scheme.
Green	G	Zelda resembles her in-game sprite when Link rescues her with no ring equipped in The Legend of Zelda.
Black		Complementary to Link's "Dark Link" costume.

Zero Suit Samus

Zero Suit Samus's costumes are complementary to Samus's respective costumes.

Cyan
Blue	B	Resembles the Zero Suit at the end of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.
Pink	R	Resembles her leotard at the end of the original Metroid.
Black		Resembles her outfit at the end of Super Metroid.
Purple
Green	G

Glitch

There is a glitch in Brawl that allows multiple players to be the same character with the same color scheme, without the shading seen in Team Battles.

This glitch can also occur when every player selects random, and multiple players end up playing as the same character.

Trivia

• Captain Falcon's red outfit actually has one file for each available PAL language in the game (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian). While presumably done so localizers could edit the "Blood Hawk" on the back to match the current language, this appears to have been skipped or glossed over, as there is no difference between the files.
• Mr. Game and Watch only has one file for his model and textures. This indicates that the color variations come from tinting or blending the textures, instead of pre-rendered bitmaps.
• Luigi has an unused blue costume in the game's data; this costume is slightly lighter in color than the used one, and the reason for its removal is unknown.