Alternate costume (SSB)

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.

In Super Smash Bros., each character has at least four alternate costumes, one for each of the C Buttons used to select them. Some characters have an extra costume (or two) to accommodate Team Battles if their four selectable costumes lack a red, blue, or green variation; these particular colors cannot be selected outside of Team Battle.

The original Smash 64 website in Japan listed what each specific color was inspired by from previous Nintendo games and media prior to the release of the original game, along with some additional names for specific colors. These have been translated below and are considered to be official names for each alternate color, although there do exist some inconsistencies between the source material of the costume and the official explanation.

In Team Battles, if two identical characters share the same color scheme, the second player will have a lighter tint in their appearance. A third player uses a darker tint, which technically means that each character has 4 more costumes for Team Battles. A fourth player would appear the exact same way as the first player, though it is not possible to have four players on the same team through regular gameplay.

Due to the dark lighting of the tournament-legal Congo Jungle, the Smash 64 Backroom recommends avoiding the use of certain grey or black costumes when the stage is in use. If such a costume is used on the stage, any players in the match can reset the match so that the offending player can select a different costume. In the lists below, these costumes are marked with a black "!" in the team column.

Captain Falcon

Purple			1P
Grey	!		2P (Commercial Costume: F-Zero X CM)	Resembles Captain Falcon's appearance in the Japanese commercial for F-Zero X.
Red	R		3P & Red Team (Blood Falcon Colors: F-Zero X 64)	Based on the appearance of his clone and rival Blood Falcon from F-Zero X on the Nintendo 64.
White			4P	No official title given, but seems to be based on Jody Summers's outfit in F-Zero X. Has gained the moniker "Captain Fabulous."
Green	G	—	Green Team	Resembles the colors of Pico's machine, the Wild Goose, in F-Zero.
Blue	B	—	Blue Team	An alternate, brighter version of his standard colors that resembles his appearance in original F-Zero SNES boxart.

Donkey Kong

Brown			1P
Black	!		2P	No official description for this color, but his fur seems to be based on the fur colors of real-life gorillas. It may also reference Donkey Kong on the Game Boy, which depicted Donkey Kong with black fur, even when played on the Super Game Boy.
Red	R		3P & Red Team	Again, no official description, but this was possibly based on his sprite in the original arcade Donkey Kong in 1981.
Blue	B		4P & Blue Team	Resembles an alternate palette availible in Mario Golf [N64].
Green	G	—	Green Team	Resembles the green palette for Donkey Kong GB and Donkey Kong Land, due to the Game Boy's native colour palette.

Fox

Grey			1P	Comes from the model of Fox used in the original North American version of Star Fox and his appearance from Star Fox 64.
Red	R		2P & Red Team	Resembles Fox's appearance in the original Japanese version of Star Fox. Also resembles the color of Falco Lombardi's pants from Star Fox 64.
Blue	B		3P & Blue Team	Resembles the color of Slippy Toad's pants from Star Fox 64.
Green	G		4P & Green Team	Said to be based on concept art for the original Star Fox.

Jigglypuff

Pink			1P
Red	R		2P & Red Team
Blue	B		3P & Blue Team	Nicknamed Jigglypuff in Pokémon Stadium could appear violet.
Green	G		4P & Green Team	Nicknamed Jigglypuff in Pokémon Stadium could appear cream-colored.

Kirby

Pink			1P
Yellow			2P (aka: Keeby: Kirby Bowl)	Based on Keeby, the yellow Kirby that the second player controls from Kirby's Dream Course, known as Kirby Bowl in Japan. Resembles Needle and Beam Kirby from Kirby Super Star and Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, without the hat. Shigeru Miyamoto also reportedly wanted Kirby to be colored yellow in his debut, but Masahiro Sakurai wanted him to be pink.
Blue	B		3P & Blue Team (Ice Ability: Hoshi no Kirby Super Deluxe SFC)	Based on Kirby's appearance as Ice and Freeze Kirby from Kirby's Adventure and Kirby Super Star.
Red	R		4P & Red Team (Fire Ability: Hoshi no Kirby Super Deluxe SFC)	Based on Kirby's appearance as Fire Kirby from Kirby Super Star, without the hat.
Green	G	—	Green Team (aka: Kusa Mochi Kirby)	Kusa mochi, or grass mochi, is a type of Japanese rice dumpling made from yomoji, Japanese mugwort. This costume also resembles the green palette used by the original Game Boy, on which Kirby debuted.

Link

Green	G		1P & Green Team
Red	R		2P & Red Team (Goron Tunic: The Legend of Zelda 64)	Based on the Goron Tunic from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Also bears similarity to Link's appearance while using the Shield spell in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, or having obtained the Red Ring in the original The Legend of Zelda.
Blue	B		3P & Blue Team (Zora Tunic: The Legend of Zelda 64)	Similar to the Zora Tunic from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Lavender			4P (Blue Ring Equipped: The Legend of Zelda FC)	Based on Link's appearance having obtained the Blue Ring in the original The Legend of Zelda.

Luigi

Green	G		1P & Green Team
White			2P (Old Luigi Colors: Mario Bros. Famicom)	Based off Luigi's appearance in Mario Bros.. The colors were also the same in Super Mario Bros. and Mario Bros. (NES), but with the tan body, dungarees and shirt colors reversed. Also resembles Fire Luigi. It is the only color change to change his skin color and gloves entirely to tan.
Blue	B		3P & Blue Team	No official mention made, but Luigi does look similar to Mario's appearance on the box art of Mario Bros.. A similar arrangement of colors also appears as part of the flashing animation from a Starman in Super Mario Bros if the player is invincible in an underground level.
Pink	R		4P & Red Team (aka: Strawberry Luigi)	Comes from the game Wrecking Crew, in which Luigi wears pink.

Mario

Red	R		1P & Red Team	Based on his appearance from Super Mario 64.
Yellow			2P (Wario Colors)	Based on the traditional outfit of Mario's rival, Wario. The M on Mario's hat is colored yellow and the buttons are also colored yellow, compared to the W on Wario's hat which is colored blue and the buttons which are colored white.
Brown			3P (Blackie Colors: Wrecking Crew FC)	A reference to Foreman Spike, known as Blackie in Japan, a rival to Mario in Wrecking Crew.
Blue	B		4P & Blue Team (Old Mario Colors: Mario Bros. FC)	A red/blue reversal of his traditional colors. The specific color tones are taken from Mario Bros., although he actually wore a red hat, blue dungarees and red shirt in this game, much like his traditional appearance. In the original arcade game and official art, he wore a blue hat. In the original Donkey Kong and its sequel, however, he wore a red hat, blue shirt and red dungarees. Therefore this is seen as an amalgamation of his old appearances, with only the color tones specifically taken from Mario Bros., and he did not wear a blue hat, blue shirt and red dungarees in this game. This resembles Balloon Fighter in the arcade in 1984 game, Balloon Fight. This was similar to 2P mode of Wario's colors in Mario Golf. The blue shirt and red dungarees are also similar to what Mario wore in the Super Mario Bros. Super Show cartoon.
Green	G	—	Green Team	Complementary colors of his normal outfit. Resembles Mario's appearance on Japanese and European box arts for Wrecking Crew. A similar arrangement of colors also appears as part of the flashing animation from a Starman in Super Mario Bros.

Ness

Red	R		1P & Red Team
Yellow			2P (aka: Hanshin Tigers Fan)	The black and yellow stripes resemble the uniform of the Hanshin Tigers, a Japanese baseball team with a large following. The shirt also bears a very similar color scheme to the Gigantic Ant enemy from EarthBound.
Blue	B		3P & Blue Team	No official reference is made, although Ness's younger self who appeared in Magicant in Earthbound wore a blue cap.
Green	G		4P & Green Team	Resembles Everdred from Earthbound, with the green shoes, green hat, and brown shirt.

Pikachu

Yellow			1P
Red	R		2P & Red Team	A Pikachu with a red hue is possible in Japanese Pokémon Stadium 1 and 2 and International Pokémon Stadium (N64) as the game did change the colors of Pokémon if they were given nicknames. Shiny Pokémon did not exist in Generation I.
Blue	B		3P & Blue Team	As mentioned, Pokémon Stadium allowed for alternate colored Pokémon if they were given nicknames.
Green	G		4P & Green Team	As mentioned, Pokémon Stadium allowed for alternate colored Pokémon if they were given nicknames. One of the Rental Pokémon, a Pikachu called Pikachikun, has a green hue.

Samus

Orange	R		1P & Red Team
Pink			2P (Gravity Suit: Metroid SFC)	Erroneously stated to be based on the Gravity Suit from Super Metroid, when a more likely source is the Varia Suit's color when missiles are selected in the original Metroid.
Black	!		3P
Green	G		4P & Green Team (aka: Production Model Samus)	A reference to the mass-produced mechas from the Gundam series, which are almost always green. This is particularly the Zaku models from the original series, which already bear some similarities to Samus' Power Suit in Super Metroid.
Blue	B	—	Blue Team	Not officially noted, but bears similarities to Samus wearing her Gravity Suit in official art for Super Metroid, aside from the additional yellow on her shoulders.

Yoshi

While all the colors (including the colors of the boots they wear) are specifically taken from Yoshi's Story, alternate-colored Yoshis have appeared in many games since first appearing in Super Mario World, and all six colors originated from Yoshi's Island, albeit with differently-colored boots for some Yoshis.

Green	G		1P & Green Team
Red	R		2P & Red Team
Cyan	B		3P & Blue Team
Yellow			4P
Pink		—	For COM	Only appears as part of the Yoshi Team.
Blue		—	For COM	Only appears as part of the Yoshi Team.

Stats

• There are a total of 56 alternate costumes.
• The average number of costumes per character is four and two thirds (~4.67).
  • There are 6 fighters with 4 color swaps, 4 with 5, and only 2 with 6.
  • Only one (Captain Falcon) of the two characters with six alternate costumes (the other being Yoshi) can use each one in a Vs. match.
• The only way a Blue Yoshi or Pink Yoshi can be controlled by a human player is by hacking.