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Super Smash Bros. Melee

Alternate costume (SSBM)

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Super Smash Bros. Melee added additional alternate costume options to characters by using the X and Y buttons to cycle through the available list instead of using four C buttons to pick a specific color; this removes the limit as to how many are selectable, so there are no longer any costumes exclusive to Team Battles or computer opponents. As a result, many characters now have five different color schemes, with some having as many as six, though some still only have four.

When selecting characters in tournament mode, instead of displaying the character's colored image of the chosen costume, the character's name is given a tint and a colored bar is displayed in the player list. This color is usually an intuitive indicator of which costume has been chosen (with no color denoting default), but there are some that are slightly unusual (such as Luigi and Peach's white costumes that are denoted by a grey).

In Team Melee, if members of the same team use the same character, the second player would have a lighter tint applied to their character. A third player uses a darker tint. If a fourth player is forcibly added to a team with the Name Entry glitch, then the fourth character will be completely black; the game's data suggests that a fifth player, if possible, would be completely grey. A sixth player and afterword, would crash the game.

Strangely enough, alternate costumes can affect gameplay, such as Captain Falcon's model changing sizes depending on the costume.

Bowser

Bowser Palette (SSBM).png
BowserHeadSSBM.png BowserHeadRedSSBM.png BowserHeadBlueSSBM.png BowserHeadBlackSSBM.png
Green G
Red R Resembles a Spiny or red Koopa Troopa. It also resembles Roy Koopa's early in-game sprites without the sunglasses, as well as Bowser's second player costume in Mario Golf. Unusually, while the artwork depicts Bowser with red eyes, they are green in-game.
Blue B Came from Bowser's international artwork for Super Mario Bros. Also resembles Iggy Koopa's early in-game sprites.
Black

Captain Falcon

Captain Falcon Palette (SSBM).png
CaptainFalconHeadSSBM.png CaptainFalconHeadBlackSSBM.png CaptainFalconHeadRedSSBM.png CaptainFalconHeadWhiteSSBM.png CaptainFalconHeadGreenSSBM.png CaptainFalconHeadBlueSSBM.png
Indigo
Black
Red R Based on Falcon's rival, Blood Falcon's outfit, even altering the logo on his back to say "Blood Hawk". Betas for the game show that it was originally intended to read "Hell Hawk", the Japanese name of Blood Falcon's F-Zero machine.
White Based on the colors of Jody Summer's outfit. Commonly known as "Captain Fabulous" in the community.
Green G Based on the colors of Pico's outfit.
Blue B Based on the original, lighter colors of Captain Falcon in F-Zero.

Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong Palette (SSBM).png
DonkeyKongHeadSSBM.png DonkeyKongHeadBlackSSBM.png DonkeyKongHeadRedSSBM.png DonkeyKongHeadBlueSSBM.png DonkeyKongHeadGreenSSBM.png
Brown
Black Resembles Donkey Kong's coloration when Donkey Kong '94 and Donkey Kong Land were played under the black-and-white palette on the Game Boy Color and Super Game Boy. "Monkey Smash" mode in Donkey Kong 64 also featured Donkey Kong with blue-black fur and a blue tie.
Red R DK's sprite in Donkey Kong had red fur.
Blue B Similar to the second player coloration in Mario Golf.
Green G

Dr. Mario

Dr. Mario Palette (SSBM).png
DrMarioHeadSSBM.png DrMarioHeadRedSSBM.png DrMarioHeadBlueSSBM.png DrMarioHeadGreenSSBM.png DrMarioHeadBlackSSBM.png
White Despite wearing white pants in his own game, Dr. Mario wears indigo jeans in Melee.
Red R Resembles Nurse Toadstool's color scheme.
Blue B Resembles the traditional color of scrubs worn in real-life hospitals, while his violet gloves resemble standard nitrile gloves used by most physicians.
Green G Resembles the traditional color of scrubs worn in by real-life surgeons.
Black Referred to as Unlicensed Dr. Mario by the official Melee website.

Falco

Falco Palette (SSBM).png
FalcoHeadSSBM.png FalcoHeadRedSSBM.png FalcoHeadBlueSSBM.png FalcoHeadGreenSSBM.png
Tan Based on his appearance in Star Fox 64.
Red R Resembles Peppy Hare's flight suit from Star Fox 64
Blue B Resembles Slippy Toad's flight suit from Star Fox 64.
Green G Resembles Fox's flight suit.

Fox

Fox Palette (SSBM).png
FoxHeadSSBM.png FoxHeadRedSSBM.png FoxHeadBlueSSBM.png FoxHeadGreenSSBM.png
White Based on his appearance from Star Fox 64.
Red R Resembles Falco's flight suit
Blue B Resembles Slippy Toad's flight suit from Star Fox 64
Green G Possibly based on concept art for the original Star Fox.

Ganondorf

Ganondorf Palette (SSBM).png
GanondorfHeadSSBM.png GanondorfHeadRedSSBM.png GanondorfHeadBlueSSBM.png GanondorfHeadGreenSSBM.png GanondorfHeadPurpleSSBM.png
Brown           
Red R
Blue B
Green G
Purple

Ice Climbers

Ice Climbers Palette (SSBM).png
IceClimbersHeadSSBM.png IceClimbersHeadGreenSSBM.png IceClimbersHeadOrangeSSBM.png IceClimbersHeadRedSSBM.png

As can be seen in the image, the Ice Climbers' orange and red costumes will place Nana in the lead, making Popo follow.

Blue B           
Green G
Orange
Red R

Jigglypuff

Jigglypuff Palette (SSBM).png
JigglypuffHeadSSBM.png JigglypuffHeadRedSSBM.png JigglypuffHeadBlueSSBM.png JigglypuffHeadGreenSSBM.png JigglypuffHeadYellowSSBM.png
Pink
Red R
Blue B Similar to the bows from the original Super Smash Bros.
Green G
Yellow The crown that Jigglypuff wears in this costume is identical to that worn by Peach.

Kirby

Kirby Palette (SSBM).png
KirbyHeadSSBM.png KirbyHeadYellowSSBM.png KirbyHeadBlueSSBM.png KirbyHeadRedSSBM.png KirbyHeadGreenSSBM.png KirbyHeadWhiteSSBM.png
Pink
Yellow This color swap is Keeby, who was Kirby's companion in games that featured co-op mode. It is also the same as when he is Beam Kirby or Needle Kirby, without the hat. It was also an alternative palette for Kirby in the multiplayer for Kirby 64 and Kirby's Return to Dream Land. Developer Shigeru Miyamoto also reportedly believed Kirby should be yellow in his debut game, while Masahiro Sakurai believed the character should be pink.
Blue B The same as when he is Ice Kirby, without the hat. It was also an alternative palette for Kirby in the multiplayer for Kirby 64 and Return to Dream Land.
Red R The same as when he is Fire Kirby, without the hat.
Green G An alternative palette for Kirby in the multiplayer for Kirby 64 and Return to Dream Land, as well as the skin tone for Plasma Kirby.
White A reference to his monochrome appearance from the original Kirby's Dream Land for Game Boy. It is also similar to the colors of Kirby's depiction on the North American box cover of Kirby's Dream Land.

Link

Link Palette (SSBM).png
LinkHeadSSBM.png LinkHeadRedSSBM.png LinkHeadBlueSSBM.png LinkHeadBlackSSBM.png LinkHeadWhiteSSBM.png
Green G Based on his appearance from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Red R Based on the Goron Tunic from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It also resembles Link with the Red Ring from the original The Legend of Zelda.
Blue B Based on the Zora Tunic from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Black
White Resembles the use of the Blue Ring in The Legend of Zelda.

Luigi

Luigi Palette (SSBM).png
LuigiHeadSSBM.png LuigiHeadWhiteSSBM.png LuigiHeadBlueSSBM.png LuigiHeadPinkSSBM.png
Green G
White A reference to Luigi's appearance in Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. It is the only one to change the color of his gloves and skin tone.
Blue B Resembles the artwork for Mario on the cover for the NES version of Mario Bros., though his sprite does not actually feature such coloring.
Pink R Comes from the game Wrecking Crew, where Luigi wears pink.

Mario

Mario Palette (SSBM).png
MarioHeadSSBM.png MarioHeadYellowSSBM.png MarioHeadBlackSSBM.png MarioHeadBlueSSBM.png MarioHeadGreenSSBM.png
Red R
Yellow Based on Wario, the same as his yellow costume in the previous game. Unlike the original (and every other iteration in the series), the colored "M" is blue instead of yellow and the buttons are white instead of yellow, as to make him more closely resemble Wario. Additionally, Mario's hat gains a white accent on its edge.
Black A reference to Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew '98. Updated from the original version of this swap to be closer to black and white than brown and yellow. It is the only costume where the hat and overalls are changed to be the same color.
Blue B A reversal of his traditional colors, and he wore these colors in his first appearance in Donkey Kong. This is seen as a partial reference to Mario's varying appearances in games prior to Nintendo's official establishment of Mario's outfit consisting of a red shirt, blue overalls, and red hat. In various earlier games, Mario occasionally also appeared with a blue hat, red shirt with blue overalls, or a red hat with a blue shirt with red overalls. Interestingly, though, Mario never appeared in any game with the particular combination of a blue hat, blue shirt, with red overalls as it appears here, but this color scheme does resemble the Balloon Fighter and it also resembles Mario's outfit from the DIC cartoons.
Green G Complimentary 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. Updated from the original version of this swap to be more brown than orange.

Marth

Marth Palette (SSBM).png
MarthHeadSSBM.png MarthHeadRedSSBM.png MarthHeadGreenSSBM.png MarthHeadBlackSSBM.png MarthHeadWhiteSSBM.png
Blue B
Red R Based on the standard color for enemy units in Fire Emblem games. This is the only costume in Melee to change the color of his tiara.
Green G Based on the standard color for NPC units in Fire Emblem.
Black
White Based on Leif, the protagonist of Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 and a character from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. It's worth noting that Leif was supposed to appear in Melee as a clone of Marth, but would eventually get replaced with Roy.

Mewtwo

Mewtwo Palette (SSBM).png
MewtwoHeadSSBM.png MewtwoHeadRedSSBM.png MewtwoHeadBlueSSBM.png MewtwoHeadGreenSSBM.png
Purple
Red R Resembles one of Mewtwo's possible alternate color shades in the Pokémon Stadium games.
Blue B Resembles Mewtwo's in-game sprite colors for Pokémon Red & Blue. Also used as an Easter egg in Pokémon Stadium.
Green G Based on Mewtwo's shiny color in the Pokémon games.

Mr. Game & Watch

Mr. Game & Watch Palette (SSBM).png
MrGame&WatchHeadSSBM.png MrGame&WatchHeadRedSSBM.png MrGame&WatchHeadBlueSSBM.png MrGame&WatchHeadGreenSSBM.png
Black           
Red R
Blue B
Green G

Ness

Ness Palette (SSBM).png
NessHeadSSBM.png NessHeadYellowSSBM.png NessHeadBlueSSBM.png NessHeadGreenSSBM.png
Red R
Yellow The yellow/black color scheme resembles that of the Hanshin Tigers, a Japanese baseball team.
Blue B Is based off of Ness's younger self that he encounters briefly in EarthBound, who was wearing a blue hat.
Green G

Peach

Peach Palette (SSBM).png
PeachHeadSSBM.png PeachHeadYellowSSBM.png PeachHeadWhiteSSBM.png PeachHeadBlueSSBM.png PeachHeadGreenSSBM.png
Pink R
Yellow This costume changes Peach's entire appearance to that of Daisy, including her hair color, earrings, dress style, gloves, tiara, and even skin color. However, later games in the Mario series changed Daisy's design, resulting in the costume only matching games before Melee.
White Represents how she appeared in her first appearance in Super Mario Bros, without the red hair. Peach uniquely wears pantyhose with this costume.
Blue B Based on a swap from Mario Golf, and NES Open.
Green G Based on a swap from Mario Golf, and NES Open.

Pichu

Pichu Palette (SSBM).png
PichuHeadSSBM.png PichuHeadRedSSBM.png PichuHeadBlueSSBM.png PichuHeadGreenSSBM.png
Yellow
Red R
Blue B Gives Pichu goggles similar to the "Swimmer" class of the Pokémon series.
Green G Gives Pichu a backpack that resembles Ness's. Pokémon Trainers throughout the Pokémon series also wear backpacks.

Pikachu

Pikachu Palette (SSBM).png
PikachuHeadSSBM.png PikachuHeadRedSSBM.png PikachuHeadBlueSSBM.png PikachuHeadGreenSSBM.png
Yellow
Red R Has Pikachu wearing the hat of Red, the protagonist of the Generation I Pokémon games. The fur color also resembles that of Pikachu's shiny coloration in the Pokémon games.
Blue B Similar to the party hats from the previous game.
Green G

Roy

Roy Palette (SSBM).png
RoyHeadSSBM.png RoyHeadRedSSBM.png RoyHeadBlueSSBM.png RoyHeadGreenSSBM.png RoyHeadYellowSSBM.png
Purple
Red R Based on the "enemy" unit color in the Fire Emblem series.
Blue B Based on the "player" unit color in the Fire Emblem series. Is the only alternate costume to change Roy's golden trim color.
Green G Based on the "other" unit color in the Fire Emblem series.
Yellow

Samus

Samus Palette (SSBM).png
SamusHeadSSBM.png SamusHeadPinkSSBM.png SamusHeadBlackSSBM.png SamusHeadGreenSSBM.png SamusHeadPurpleSSBM.png
Orange R
Pink Based off the appearance of the Varia Suit when missiles are selected in the original NES Metroid game.
Black
Green G In Japan, the original Smash 64 website referred to this alternate costume as "mass produced Samus".
Purple B Based on the Gravity Suit.

Sheik

Sheik Palette (SSBM).png
SheikHeadSSBM.png SheikHeadRedSSBM.png SheikHeadBlueSSBM.png SheikHeadGreenSSBM.png SheikHeadWhiteSSBM.png

All of these colors go with Zelda's costume and come from the same game as Zelda's.

Navy Corresponds with Zelda's pink colour, hence why it isn't used for team battles.
Red R
Blue B
Green G
White This costume is the only one which changes Sheik's skin tone.

Yoshi

Yoshi Palette (SSBM).png
YoshiHeadSSBM.png YoshiHeadRedSSBM.png YoshiHeadBlueSSBM.png YoshiHeadYellowSSBM.png YoshiHeadPinkSSBM.png YoshiHeadCyanSSBM.png

All of Yoshi's costumes appear as different variations of the Yoshi species in many of his games, such as Yoshi's Story and Super Mario World.

Green G
Red R Based on the fire-breathing Yoshi in Super Mario World.
Blue B Based on the flying Yoshi in Super Mario World.
Yellow Based on the stomping Yoshi in Super Mario World.
Pink Based on the Pink Yoshi from Yoshi's Story.
Cyan Based on the Light-Blue Yoshi from Yoshi's Story.

Young Link

Young Link Palette (SSBM).png
YoungLinkHeadSSBM.png YoungLinkHeadRedSSBM.png YoungLinkHeadBlueSSBM.png YoungLinkHeadWhiteSSBM.png YoungLinkHeadBlackSSBM.png

All of Young Link's colors are exactly the same as Link's, except ordered where the black and white costumes are switched.

Green G           
Red R
Blue B
White
Black

Zelda

Zelda Palette (SSBM).png
ZeldaHeadSSBM.png ZeldaHeadRedSSBM.png ZeldaHeadBlueSSBM.png ZeldaHeadGreenSSBM.png ZeldaHeadWhiteSSBM.png
Pink Based on her appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Red R Resembles Zelda's first appearance in The Legend of Zelda if Link possesses the red ring, but not the blue ring. Also resembles Zelda's appearance in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
Blue B Resembles Zelda's first appearance in The Legend of Zelda if Link possesses the blue ring but not the red ring. Also resembles Zelda's maiden outfit in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
Green G Resembles Zelda's first appearance in The Legend of Zelda if Link possesses neither the blue ring nor the red ring.
White Resembles Zelda's field sprite in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

Stats

  • There is a total of 123 alternate costumes.
  • The average number of costumes per character is 5.
  • Captain Falcon, Kirby and Yoshi share the highest amount of color swaps: 6.
  • There are 10 fighters with 4 color swaps, and 13 with 5.