Clone

A clone character is a common inclusion in both the Super Smash Bros. series and other fighting games as well. It describes two or more characters that have nearly identical movesets with slight variations in the attacks. From the developer's perspective, a given character's model can be used as a base template from which to build another, and it is usually evident which one is the "original" and which is the clone.

Semi-clones

Semi-cloning (sometimes known as Luigification) is when a character shares some moves of another, while still having some variation in terms of moveset or special attacks. The term originated from Luigi, who was a clone of Mario in the original Super Smash Bros., but was given a different Side B and many separate standard moves in Melee. Many clones from Melee were then given semi-clone qualities before they returned in Brawl. The exact meaning can vary for different people. Some people believe that any character with clone-like traits that has any variation in attacks are semi-clones, while others think that certain characters need more unique attacks to be a semi-clone.

Clones in SSB

• Mario & Luigi
  • The only move that's not cloned is the dash attack.

Non-playable

• The Fighting Polygon Team is composed of clones of all the playable fighters.

Clones in SSBM

In each pair, the former is the "original", while the latter is the clone.

• Mario & Dr. Mario
• Fox & Falco
• Pikachu & Pichu (They both had a few unique animations.)
• Captain Falcon & Ganondorf (One unique attack, also only pair of "original and clone" to originate from different game series.)
• Marth & Roy
• Link & Young Link

Non-playable

• Bowser & Giga Bowser
• Captain Falcon/Princess Zelda & Male/Female Fighting Wire Frames

Semi-clones

• Mario & Luigi
  • The former clones have been differentiated with separate normal movesets and side-specials.

Notable changes to Luigi between SSB and Melee:

• Luigi has a different Side Special than Mario.
• Different forward and, to a lesser extent, down aerial attacks.
• Different forward Smash Attack.
• Different Up tilt.
• Different neutral combo.

Clones in SSBB

• Link & Toon Link
  • Only a few somewhat different attacks. Most notably, Toon Link doesn't kick in his aerials, and Link has some attacks that peform more slashes than the same attack of Toon Link's. Toon Link's dair is also a Stall-Then-Fall aerial.

Non-playable

• Captain Falcon & Red Alloy
• Princess Zelda & Blue Alloy
• Mario & Yellow Alloy
• Kirby & Green Alloy

Semi-clones

• Fox & Falco
  • Reflector works differently, but several other moves are cloned. Non-cloned moves include neutral air, forward air, and forward smash among others. Falco's Back aerial is a sex kick.
• Captain Falcon & Ganondorf
  • A totally different Final Smash, but some normal moves are still similar.
• Mario & Luigi
  • Some of their ground attacks and most aerials are the same. However, two of their specials are different, as well as Final Smashes. Now that they barely share any moves, many smashers don't even consider them to be semi-clones at this point.
• Fox & Wolf
  • The only moves that seem almost the same are back aerial, Final Smash, and Standard/Down Special moves. Wolf Flash and Fire Wolf may seem to move similarly to Fox's moves, but they actually move and hit quite differently. These two are on the very edge of "semi-clone" status.

Notes

These categorizations are not official, and are subject to interpretation. Notable controversies are that some people consider Link and Toon Link to have enough separate attacks to make them semi-clones, and some people believe that Marth and Ike have enough similarities to put them in the semi-clone category.