Clone characters are playable characters whose entire movesets (both normal and special) are identical to another's with only minor variation and/or effects. Creating a larger roster is usually the reason for the creation of clone characters but unique movesets are more desirable. While often thought as one by many due to the similarity of his special moves with those of Mario's, Luigi is not considered a clone (since Melee) due to his unique normal moveset (and side special move in Melee). Clone characters' portraits appear next to and slightly lower to those of their counterparts on the Melee character select screen. Only unlockable characters in the Smash Bros. series are considered clones, with the exclusion of Marth/Ike and Ness/Lucas in Brawl.
Super Smash Bros.
List of Clone Characters in SSB
Super Smash Bros. Melee
List of Clone Characters in Melee
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Masahiro Sakurai previously suggested that any returning clones in Brawl might be "decloned" with new movesets. Upon the release of the game, (with the exception of Toon Link) this has been confirmed to technically be the case for the most part, in that no characters share complete movesets as in Melee . However, to the dismay of some fans, several characters remain "semi-clones" -- characters whose design is based off of others and share variations of special movesets and fighting styles while still retaining other unique individual moves. This is also commonly known as "Luigification". Prior to Brawl, Luigi was the only character of this kind, hence the name.
List of Clone Characters in Brawl
List of Semi-Clone Characters in Brawl
- Luigi: a semi-clone of Mario
- Falco: a semi-clone of Fox
- Wolf: an alternate semi-clone of Fox
- Ganondorf: a semi-clone of Captain Falcon
- Ike: a semi-clone of Marth*
- Lucas: a semi-clone of Ness*
* (Or vise versa depending on how you look at it. Many argue that Ike and Lucas replaced Marth and Ness as the primary characters and Marth so Ness are considered the "semi-clones" in Brawl.)