Editing List of SSBM tier lists (NTSC)

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The [[Smash Back Room]] '''[[tier list]]''' has changed many times since its inception. Previous versions of the list are as follows. In later tier lists, characters are broadly ranked by their tier, and further ranked by the order in which characters are listed within the tier list. For instance, {{SSBM|Yoshi}} is ranked above {{SSBM|Samus}} and {{SSBM|Luigi}} in the [[#Thirteenth tier list (March 29th, 2021)|newest ''Melee'' tier list]]. Earlier tier lists use numerical rankings, and characters with the same numerical value are listed alphabetically.

Though this was the first tier list, [[SmashBoards]] was rife with discussion about tiers long before the Melee Back Room released its "MBR Tier Averages".  The term "F/F/S" (short for "{{SSBM|Falco}}, {{SSBM|Fox}} and {{SSBM|Sheik}}") was popular as a quick reference to Melee's top tier, and likely because coincidentally, [https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ffs it was also used as a term to display anger]. Members on Smashboards, perhaps in backlash against novice sentiment towards {{SSBM|Roy}} and {{SSBM|Link}}, generally disdained those characters, and generally favored the game's fastest characters.

Members on Smashboards largely contested this tier list's placement of {{SSBM|Mewtwo}}, which they felt to be too low.  Many Smashboarders considered Mewtwo a low- or even middle-tier character and were bothered that it, despite its great [[recovery]] and powerful [[throw]]s, was placed at the bottom of the tier list, where most people believed Bowser or Pichu belonged.

This tier list was released soon after {{Sm|Ken Hoang}} won {{Trn|Tournament Go 4}}.  Before Ken, {{SSBM|Marth}} strategy largely encompassed [[rolling]] and [[C-stick]] [[smash attack|smashing]] symptomatic of low-level play today, but Ken introduced to the community the uses of [[dash-dancing]], [[chain grab|chain throwing]] and [[aerial attack]]s, all techniques that largely improved Marth's [[metagame]] and moved him to top tier for years to come. Ken's focus on aerial combat also caused significant movement for some characters; {{SSBM|Zelda}}, for instance, fell from 6 to 20.

This tier list has an interesting property: had the number of tiers and number of characters in each tier remained the same as the previous list, no characters would have moved from one tier to another. The fourth tier list was released only 8 days after the third one.

In this list, {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}} jumped up four places. This remains the only official tier list where {{SSBM|Fox}} is not in the top 2 of the list. {{SSBM|Ice Climbers}} and {{SSBM|Donkey Kong}} dropped to 18th and 22nd respectively, the lowest they have ever been.

This tier list doubled as an April Fools' joke and a lesson to the community to not blindly swallow the Melee Back Room tier list as the truth. Though most people suspected this tier list was a hoax, it  

set a precedent to criticizing the tier list that had not existed before.

To defend this hoax during the two tumultuous days it was the official tier list, Melee Back Room members provided rebuttals to most criticisms of the list: {{SSBM|Marth}} and {{SSBM|Peach}} were too slow to remain in the top tiers; {{SSBM|Link}}, {{SSBM|Roy}}, and {{SSBM|Luigi}} had untapped aerial prowess; and that Mewtwo's throwing game was too effective to keep it in the bottom tiers. Most notably, the Back Room claimed that {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}}, through its aerial speed and the [[Wall of Pain]], ruled the air to the point of domination. Years later, this then-outrageous claim would become true in the post-''Brawl'' metagame.  

==Real Sixth tier list (April 2, 2004)==

Five significant changes: the Ice Climbers rose from 15th to 12th, Pikachu fell from 14th to 17th, Donkey Kong rose five places from 21st to 16th and Dr. Mario rose to 9th, ranking higher than the character he is a clone of, Mario, and Mewtwo replaced Bowser as the second-to-lowest ranked character.

For the first time since December 2002, the Smash Back Room published each character's numerical scores. This tier list was originally intended to be the final tier list for ''Melee'', with the expectation being that players would move over to ''Brawl'' and result in the ''Melee'' metagame becoming static, similar to the tier lists for the original ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' (which ironically eventually ended up happening for ''Brawl'' instead). However, ''Melee''{{'}}s tournament scene remained strong even as ''Brawl''{{'}}s tournament scene grew and ''Melee''{{'}}s metagame experienced drastic changes (such as Jigglypuff dominating as well as or more than the top-tier characters); as a result, the tier list ultimately did change several times even after this supposed "final" revision.

This list was originally publicized as the tenth tier list despite having qualities that made it seem incomplete or rushed in some way. It was heavily criticized for its very large number of ties - it has not only the most ties of any tier list, but the biggest tie, involving the entire Negligible tier. In addition, this list was claimed to have been mostly the work of the single user {{sm|KirbyKaze}}, which was then slightly modified by the Back Room. Likely spurred by the topical [[Master Hand glitch]] (which was discovered between the creation of the ninth tier list and this one), the Back Room also included a "Gengar" tier in the list below the Negligible tier as a joke, where "Master Hand and other glitches" were placed.

In this list, Mewtwo and Jigglypuff have risen significantly from the previous tier lists, with Jigglypuff now in the top tier alongside both [[Star Fox]] characters (marking the first appearance of a [[floaty]] character in the top tier of Melee's metagame since Peach in the fourth tier list) and Mewtwo being a whopping 5 places above its previous best. This is the only tier list to include a tier below the Bottom tier.

 

This is the thirteenth ''[[Melee]]'' tier list, which is the first not to be produced by [[Smashboards]], instead being produced by [[Team:Panda|PG Stats]]. The tier list was based on the tier lists of 63 [[2019 MPGR]]-ranked players, as well as {{Sm|Armada}}. {{Sm|Ryobeat}} initiated the project by asking top players for their personal tier lists, from which he got 64 responses. The subsequent math was done by {{Sm|PracticalTAS}}.

 

This is the first tier list to use sub-tiers (B+/B-, C+/C-). The clustering algorithm that split up the tiers produced good results with both six tiers or eight tiers. The extra two splits would have been where B and C tier are split. The only other difference with eight tiers would have been that the split for F tier would have moved to above Ness and Zelda. The creators believed the six tier version to be a better representation, but decided to split the B and C tiers in order to show that they encompassed a greater range of viability than the other tiers. The voters were additionally told to assume the Ice Climbers could wobble, although wobbling is frequently banned at tournaments.

 

Jigglypuff rose into the top 3 for the first time since the tenth tier list. Similarly, Captain Falcon and Yoshi both rose 2 spots due to advancements in their metagames as well as efforts from players such as {{Sm|Wizzrobe}} and {{Sm|aMSa}}. Conversely, both Falco and Dr. Mario fell two spots, the former due to the rise of Jigglypuff and Marth, and the latter due to a stagnant metagame. In the lower tiers, Pichu rose 2 spots and is no longer a bottom 3 character, while Zelda dropped 2 spots into the bottom 3. For the first time since the fifth tier list (not counting the April Fools sixth tier list), Bowser fell back to the bottom of the list.

 

PG Stats also released a [https://www.pgstats.com/articles/over-1-000-melee-community-members-rank-the-characters 2021 Melee Community Tier List], compiled from 1,077 survey responses from members of the Super Smash Bros. Melee competitive community. On this community list, Jigglypuff and Falco switch spots, Young Link and Donkey Kong switch spots, and Ness and Pichu switch spots. Otherwise, the ordering is the same.

This table shows the ranks of each character through all of the tier lists, as well as a numbered description of their change in rank each time. "Change" lists how much a character's position changed between the two tier lists it is in between. "Highest" represents a character's highest position, "Lowest" represents their lowest position, and "Difference" lists the difference between the highest and lowest position. "Overall change" represents a character's change between the first tier list and the current tier list. The mode version of the 2nd tier list, the April Fools tier list, and the original 10th tier list are not included in this chart.

!data-sort-type="number"|1st tier list

!data-sort-type="number"|Change

!data-sort-type="number"|2nd tier list

!data-sort-type="number"|Ch.

!data-sort-type="number"|3rd tier list

!data-sort-type="number"|Ch.

!data-sort-type="number"|4th tier list

!data-sort-type="number"|Ch.

!data-sort-type="number"|5th tier list

!data-sort-type="number"|Ch.

!data-sort-type="number"|6th tier list

!data-sort-type="number"|Ch.

!data-sort-type="number"|7th tier list

!data-sort-type="number"|Ch.

!data-sort-type="number"|8th tier list

!data-sort-type="number"|Ch.

!data-sort-type="number"|9th tier list

!data-sort-type="number"|Ch.

!data-sort-type="number"|10th tier list

!data-sort-type="number"|Ch.

!data-sort-type="number"|Highest

!data-sort-type="number"|Lowest

!data-sort-type="number"|Range

!data-sort-type="number"|Overall change

|{{SSBM|Fox}}||2 (,3*)||±0 (,+1*)||2||±0||2||±0||2||-1||3||+1||2||±0||2||+1||1||±0||1||±0||1||±0||1||±0||1||±0||'''1'''||1||3||2||'''+1 (,2*)'''

|{{SSBM|Marth}}||4||-1||5||+1||4||+1||3||+1||2||-1||3||±0||3||-1||4||+2||2||-3||5||+1||4||+1||3||+1||'''2'''||2||5||3||'''+2'''

|{{SSBM|Jigglypuff}}||17 (,18*)||'''+6 (,— 8*)'''||10 (,11*)||±0 (,+1*)||10||+1||9||-2||11||+3||8||±0||8||-2||10||+3 (,4*)||6 (,7*)||+3 (,4*)||3||-2||5||±0||5||+2||'''3'''||3||17 (,18*)||14 (,15*)||'''+14 (,15*)'''

|{{SSBM|Falco}}||2 (,3*)||±0 (,-1*)||3||±0||3||-2||5||±0||5||+1||4||-1||5||+3||2||-2||4||+2||2||±0||2||±0||2||-2||'''4'''||2||5||3||'''-1 (,-2*)'''

|{{SSBM|Sheik}}||1||±0||1||±0||1||±0||1||±0||1||±0||1||±0||1||-2||3||±0||3||-1||4||+1||3||-1||4||-1||'''5'''||1||5||4||'''-4'''

|{{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}||15 (,16*)||+2 (,— 4*)||12 (,13*)||+1 (,2*)||11||±0||11||'''+4'''||7||+1||6||±0||6||±0||6||±0 (,-1*)||6 (,7*)||±0 (,-1*)||7||±0||7||-1||8||+2||'''6'''||6||15 (,16*)||9 (,10*)||'''+9 (,10*)'''

|{{SSBM|Peach}}||9||'''+5'''||4||-1||5||+1||4||±0||4||-1||5||+1||4||-1||5||±0||5||-1||6||±0||6||±0||6||-1||'''7'''||4||9||5||'''+2'''

|{{SSBM|Ice Climbers}}||11 (,12*)||±0 (,— -2*)||12 (,13*)||±0 (,-1*)||13||-2||15||-3||18||+3||15||+3||12||'''+5'''||7||-1||8||±0||8||±0||8||+1||7||-1||'''8'''||7||18||11||'''+3 (,4*)'''

|{{SSBM|Pikachu}}||13 (,14*)||-3 (,4*)||17||+1||16||+3||13||-3||16||+2||14||-3||17||-1||18||+2||16||'''+4'''||12||+2||10||+1||9||±0||'''9'''||9||18||9||'''+4 (,5*)'''

|{{SSBM|Yoshi}}||19 (,20*)||±0 (,+1*)||18 (,19*)||'''+4 (,5*)'''||14||±0||14||+1||13||'''-6'''||19||-2||21||+2||19||-3||22||+1||21||+3||18||'''+6'''||12||+2||'''10'''||10||22||12||'''+9 (,10*)'''

|{{SSBM|Samus}}||6 (,— 8*)||±0 (,— -2*)||8||-1||9||+3||6||±0||6||-1||7||±0||7||-1||8||-1||9||-2||11||±0||11||+1||10||-1||'''11'''||6||11||5||'''-3 (,— 5*)'''

|{{SSBM|Luigi}}||6 (,— 8*)||-1 (,— 3*)||9||+1||8||'''-4'''||12||±0||12||±0||12||-1||13||-1||14||+2||12||-2||14||+1||13||±0||13||+1||'''12'''||6 (,— 8*)||14||6 (,— 8*)||'''-4 (,— 6*)'''

|{{SSBM|Dr. Mario}}||10||+3||7||±0||7||-1||8||-2||10||-1||11||+2||9||±0||9||-1||10||+1||9||±0||9||-2||11||-2||'''13'''||7||13||6||'''-3'''

|{{SSBM|Ganondorf}}||11 (,12*)||±0 (,— +2*)||10 (,11*)||-1 (,2*)||12||+2||10||+2||8||-1||9||-1||10||-2||12||+1||11||+1||10||-2||12||-2||14||±0||'''14'''||8||14||6||'''-2 (,3*)'''

|{{SSBM|Mario}}||5||-1||6||±0||6||-1||7||-2||9||-1||10||-1||11||±0||11||-3||14||+1||13||-1||14||-1||15||±0||'''15'''||5||15||10||'''-10'''

|{{SSBM|Donkey Kong}}||19 (,20*)||±0 (,— -2*)||20 (,21*)||±0 (,-1*)||21||±0||21||-1||22||+1||21||'''+5'''||16||+1||15||+2||13||-2||15||-2||17||±0||17||+1||'''16'''||13||22||9||'''+3 (,4*)'''

|{{SSBM|Young Link}}||15 (,16*)||-2 (,— 4*)||18 (,19*)||±0 (,-1*)||19||±0||19||+2||17||-1||18||-2||20||+3||17||±0||17||±0||17||+2||15||-1||16||-1||'''17'''||15||20||5||'''-1 (,-2*)'''

|{{SSBM|Link}}||13 (,14*)||±0 (,— -3*)||14 (,— 16*)||-2 (,— 4*)||18||±0||18||'''+4'''||14||+1||13||-1||14||+1||13||-2||15||-1||16||±0||16||-2||18||±0||'''18'''||13||18||5||'''-4 (,5*)'''

|{{SSBM|Mr. Game & Watch}}||23||+1 (,— -1*)||22 (,— 24*)||±0 (,— +2*)||22||±0||22||-2||24||+1||23||±0||23||+2||21||+1||20||-2||22||±0||22||+3||19||±0||'''19'''||19||24||5||'''+4'''

|{{SSBM|Mewtwo}}||26||+1||25||+1||24||±0||24||+1||23||-1||24||-1||25||-1||26||+2||24||'''+4'''||20||-1||21||±0||21||+1||'''20'''||20||26||6||'''+6'''

|{{SSBM|Roy}}||21||±0 (,+1*)||20 (,21*)||+3 (,4*)||17||-3||20||'''+5'''||15||-1||16||+1||15||-1||16||-2||18||-1||19||-1||20||±0||20||-1||'''21'''||15||21||6||'''±0'''

|{{SSBM|Pichu}}||24 (,25*)||-1 (,2*)||26||+1||25||±0||25||±0||25||-1||26||±0||26||+1||25||-1||26||±0 (,+1*)||25 (,26*)||±0 (,+1*)||25||+1||24||+2||'''22'''||22||26||4||'''+2 (,3*)'''

|{{SSBM|Ness}}||17 (,18*)||+1 (,— 4*)||14 (,—  16*)||-1 (,— +1*)||15||-2||17||-3||20||±0||20||+1||19||-3||22||+1||21||-2||23||±0||23||±0||23||±0||'''23'''||14 (,—  16*)||23||7 (,— 9*)||'''-5 (,6*)'''

|{{SSBM|Zelda}}||6 (,— 8*)||'''-6 (,— 10*)'''||14 (,—  16*)||'''-4 (,— 6*)'''||20||'''+4'''||16||-3||19||+2||17||-1||18||-2||20||+1||19||+1||18||-1||19||-3||22||-2||'''24'''||6 (,— 8*)||24||16 (,— 18*)||'''-16 (,— 18*)'''

|{{SSBM|Kirby}}||22||±0 (,— -2*)||22 (,— 24*)||-1 (,— +1*)||23||±0||23||+2||21||-1||22||±0||22||-2||24||-1||25||±0 (,-1*)||25 (,26*)||±0 (,-1*)||26||±0||26||+1||'''25'''||21||26||5||'''-3'''

|{{SSBM|Bowser}}||24 (,25*)||±0 (,— +3*)||22 (,— 24*)||-2 (,— 4*)||26||±0||26||±0||26||+1||25||+1||24||+1||23||±0||23||-1||24||±0||24||-1||25||-1||'''26'''||22 (,— 24*)||26||2 (,— 4*)||'''-1 (,2*)'''

 

[[Category:Super Smash Bros. Melee]]