A character is one of the fighters in the Super Smash Bros. series. Characters can be sorted into playable and non-playable, which distinguishes whether characters can be used without the use of a cheat device (like Action Replay) or not. Playable characters can further be divided into starter, unlockable, and downloadable, which distinguishes whether characters can be played right away, whether they need to be unlocked, or whether they need to be downloaded.
Playable characters
This is a list of the playable characters in the Super Smash Bros. series, commonly known in official sources as fighters.
| Key | Starter | Unlockable |  Unlockable
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 Unlockable
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Downloadable |
|---|
Notes
- ^ a b c Sakurai mentions these characters as having been planned for Super Smash Bros. on this page.
- ^ a b c d e f As part of the Pokémon Trainer.
- ^ a b c While there hasn't been any official confirmation that Mewtwo, Roy, and Dr. Mario were intended to be in Brawl, unused data on Brawl's disc labelled for each of them strongly implies that the characters were developed to some degree for Brawl.
- ^ Sakurai stated that, while the Ice Climbers could run smoothly on the Wii U version, the 3DS could not handle the "two-in-one" coding of the duo, and, in order to keep the roster the same between the two versions, they had to be cut from the roster.
- ^ Sakurai stated that he originally intended to replace Ness with the new protagonist of Mother 3 (Lucas) in Melee, though Mother 3's delay caused him to go back on the idea and keep Ness.
- ^ Sakurai mentions Marth as having been planned for Super Smash Bros. on this page.
- ^ Former head of Sonic Team, Yuji Naka, stated in an interview that Sonic was very close to being included in the game, but because of time constraints, was not.
Alternate Costume Characters
This is a list of playable characters in the Super Smash Bros. series that appear as alternate costumes for other pre-existing characters. Although these characters are considered to be an extension of these pre-existing characters, they feature several distinguishing qualities, such as unique character models and character selection screen announcement clips.
| Key | Starter | Unlockable | Unlockable
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Unlockable
|
Downloadable |
|---|
| Base Character | Fighter | 
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Universe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olimar | Alph | 
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 Pikmin
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| Bowser Jr. | Iggy | 
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 Mario
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| Bowser Jr. | Larry | 
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Mario
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| Bowser Jr. | Lemmy | 
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Mario
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| Bowser Jr. | Ludwig | 
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Mario
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| Bowser Jr. | Morton | 
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Mario
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| Bowser Jr. | Roy | 
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Mario
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| Bowser Jr. | Wendy | 
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Mario
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Non-playable characters
The following characters can fully interact with playable characters in-game, but are normally non-playable. These include boss characters and enemy teams, among others. Hacking, however, may allow these characters to be played to varying degrees of functionality.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Appears as a stage hazard.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Appears as a boss during the Subspace Emissary.
- ^ a Mii Fighter costume based on the Flying Man is available as downloadable content in SSB4
- ^ a b c Playable by controlling DK and getting a Super Mushroom.
- ^ a b Playable as part of Bowser's Final Smash.
- ^ While the player can still technically control Giga Bowser during Bowser's Final Smash, he no longer behaves like a regular playable character.
- ^ Appears as a costume for Ridley.
- ^ a b c Playable by controlling Mario and getting a Metal Box.
- ^ Appears as both a boss and an Assist Trophy.
- ^ Ridley is a playable character in Ultimate (see table above).
- ^ a b c Mechanically considered an item rather than a character.
Newcomers and veterans
A newcomer is a character who appears as playable for the first time in the series in a given game. A veteran is the opposite: a character who has been playable in a previous game. For example, Olimar is a newcomer in Brawl, as he did not appear as playable in any previous games, but is a veteran in all subsequent and future games. Note that the definition of newcomers is distinct from that of "unlockable" or "secret" characters, which are playable characters who must be unlocked by completing certain tasks; Melee, Brawl, and Smash 4 all had starter veterans, starter newcomers, unlockable veterans, and unlockable newcomers. Ultimate is the first game in which all newcomers are unlockable; however, several veterans are also unlockable.
The term newcomer was originally used to describe the unlockable characters in the original Super Smash Bros. by the data deletion menu. It was later used in the first trailer for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, in which new characters were introduced with the title "Newcomer" atop their name. The word newcomer was later used on the Smash Bros. DOJO!! site to classify new characters whether unlockable or not. This use of the term has become the community-preferred usage for other games in the series.
"Perfect-attendance crew"
Less commonly, the term "veteran" can also denote the "eight regulars" or "perfect-attendance fighters", terms which refer to the eight starter characters in the original Super Smash Bros. which have been in all subsequent games of the series. The terms originated in the description for the 10th Brawl event match All-Star Battle Regulars, reading: "The Smash Bros. perfect-attendance crew! Fight the eight regulars in order!" A popular, unofficial term referring to this group is "The Original 8" (Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox, and Pikachu), which may also be called "The Original 12" if including the four unlockable characters (Luigi, Captain Falcon, Ness, and Jigglypuff). Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is one of two installments where all the "Original 12" are starter characters, the other being Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where they have been implied to be the only characters available at the start.
Trivia
- Roy is the only "non-native" character to debut in a Super Smash Bros. game before appearing in any other game in their respective series. His inclusion in Melee was intended to promote Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, which was released shortly after Melee.
- Captain Falcon (in SSB), the Mii Fighters (in SSB4) and Pac-Man (in Ultimate) are the only characters to use head icons that don't portray their faces.
- Smash 4 is the first game to feature playable female swordfighters: Lucina, female Robin, female Corrin, and female Mii Swordfighter.
- Wendy O. Koopa, who appears as an alternate costume for Bowser Jr., is the first female villain to be a playable character in the series.
- Wario is the only character prior to Ultimate to debut as a starter before becoming unlockable in another game, as well as the only one prior to Smash 4 to have never had fewer than 8 palette swaps.
- Yoshi and Captain Falcon are the only characters who appear in all five Super Smash Bros. games that are the sole representatives of their series.
- Metal Gear and Ice Climber are the only universes to have the entirety of their characters cut from one game to the next, and then both being reintroduced in the next game after that.
- Samus is the only female character to appear in all five Super Smash Bros. games, as Pokémon were not considered gendered at the time of the first game's release.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the first game in the series since Melee to not have any veterans cut from the roster. In honor of the franchise's upcoming 20th anniversary, all the previously cut veterans that haven't appeared since Melee and/or Brawl return with various changes to their appearances and/or movesets including new Final Smashes.
- Lucas is the only character to have been a starter character, unlockable character and downloadable character at one point, as Mewtwo and Roy were unlockable in their debut game as well as Ultimate.
- Currently, Charizard, Little Mac, Ridley, and Dark Samus are the only characters to have been made fully playable after major non-playable appearances, excluding characters that are playable via items (Metal Mario, Giant Donkey Kong, and Giga Bowser).
- Meta Knight, Pit, Wario, Squirtle, King Dedede, Olimar, Villager, Palutena, Bowser Jr., the duck of Duck Hunt, Inkling, Daisy, Chrom, and King K. Rool have also made appearances in previous Super Smash Bros. games prior to their playable debuts in the form of minor representation. These include Trophies, Stickers, Mii Fighter costumes, and cameos in stages and Final Smashes.
- Charizard is the only character who used to be part of a transformation character, became a standalone fighter, and then returned to being part of a transformation character.
| Fighters in Super Smash Bros. | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | Captain Falcon · Donkey Kong · Fox · Jigglypuff · Kirby · Link · Luigi · Mario · Ness · Pikachu · Samus · Yoshi |
| Fighters in Super Smash Bros. Melee | |
|---|---|
| Veterans | Captain Falcon · Donkey Kong · Fox · Jigglypuff · Kirby · Link · Luigi · Mario · Ness · Pikachu · Samus · Yoshi |
| Newcomers | Bowser · Dr. Mario · Falco · Ganondorf · Ice Climbers · Marth · Mewtwo · Mr. Game & Watch · Peach · Pichu · Roy · Young Link · Zelda (Sheik) |
| Fighters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl | |
|---|---|
| Veterans | Bowser · Captain Falcon · Donkey Kong · Falco · Fox · Ganondorf · Ice Climbers · Jigglypuff · Kirby · Link · Luigi · Mario · Marth · Mr. Game & Watch · Ness · Peach · Pikachu · Samus · Yoshi · Zelda / Sheik |
| Newcomers | Diddy Kong · Ike · King Dedede · Lucario · Lucas · Meta Knight · Olimar · Pit · Pokémon Trainer (Charizard · Ivysaur · Squirtle) · R.O.B. · Snake · Sonic · Toon Link · Wario · Wolf · (Zero Suit Samus) |
| Fighters in Super Smash Bros. 4 | |
|---|---|
| Veterans | Bowser · Captain Falcon · Charizard · Diddy Kong · Donkey Kong · Dr. Mario · Falco · Fox · Ganondorf · Ike · Jigglypuff · King Dedede · Kirby · Link · Lucario · Lucas · Luigi · Mario · Marth · Meta Knight · Mewtwo · Mr. Game & Watch · Ness · Olimar · Peach · Pikachu · Pit · R.O.B. · Roy · Samus · Sheik · Sonic · Toon Link · Wario · Yoshi · Zelda · Zero Suit Samus |
| Newcomers | Bayonetta · Bowser Jr. · Cloud · Corrin · Dark Pit · Duck Hunt · Greninja · Little Mac · Lucina · Mega Man · Mii Fighter (Mii Brawler · Mii Gunner · Mii Swordfighter) · Pac-Man · Palutena · Robin · Rosalina & Luma · Ryu · Shulk · Villager · Wii Fit Trainer |