Alternate costume (SSBB)

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; returning costumes original to Smash do not need references to their appearances in previous Smash games.

Players can pick different alternate costumes for their character by cycling through a list of up to six choices. The buttons used to cycle are 1/2 for the Wii Remote and Nunchuk combination, A and B for the Wii remote alone configuration, and pressing X/Y for the Classic Controller and GameCube controller.

Most characters have six alternate costumes, though Jigglypuff, Lucario, Pokémon Trainer, and Sonic only have five, and Pikachu has only four. Wario has two costumes with six choices each, doubling his options and giving him two different outfits for each team in Team Battles.

Some characters, namely Lucario, Pokémon Trainer, and Sonic, have sets of alternate costumes that can be difficult to distinguish from each other in a match. As such, tournaments have the "colorblind rule" in doubles matches, where a player can choose which colours their team and their opponents' team are, if either team has one of the aforementioned characters on their team. While texture hacks are usually discouraged from being used in tournaments, if not flat-out disallowed, it is usually acceptable to use simple texture hacks on these characters to make the color difference between their team palettes more obvious.

When selecting characters in tournament mode, instead of displaying the character's colored image of the chosen costume, a colored bar is displayed in the player list. This color is usually an intuitive indicator of which costume has been chosen, but there are several cases where costumes are given strange colors, such as giving cyan to Ike's default blue-brown getup, or using orange or yellow when the opposite is clearly more correct.

In Wi-Fi, Tournament and Team Brawls, if two identical characters share the same alternate costume, the second character will have a lighter tint in their appearance. A third character on the same team uses a darker tint. The fourth character's tint is even darker than the third character's. It is generally quite difficult to distinguish from the third character's color scheme.

The order of the palette swaps for each character are sorted in the order in which they appear on the character selection screen.

Bowser

Green	G
Black
Red	R
Blue	B	Resembles Bowser's appearance on the Japanese and European covers for Super Mario Bros.
White		This costume turns Bowser's hair red and his shell and spiked collars to white, somewhat resembling Dry Bowser from New Super Mario Bros. It also resembles Morton Koopa Jr.'s white and gold shell (Super Mario World only) and darker skin.
Brown

Captain Falcon

Indigo
Black		Based on his appearance in the Japanese commercial for F-Zero X.
Red	R	Based on Blood Falcon, Captain Falcon's clone and rival. It is Captain Falcon's only costume with a unique logo on the back: a skull with "Blood Hawk" (the name of Blood Falcon's vehicle) written underneath.
Green	G
Blue	B	Resembles his appearance in the original F-Zero and in F-Zero: GP Legend.
White		Resembles Jody Summer's original appearance in F-Zero X.

Diddy Kong

Red	R
Yellow		Resembles the alternate outfit in the Two-Player Contest mode in Donkey Kong Country. This color also appeared in Donkey Kong 64.
Pink		Changes his color scheme to resemble that of fellow Donkey Kong character Dixie Kong in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!.
Purple		Resembles his outfit for two-player contest mode for Donkey Kong Country 2.
Green	G	Resembles an alternate costume in Donkey Kong 64.
Blue	B	Resembles the color scheme of Kiddy Kong's fur and clothes colors.

Donkey Kong

Brown
Black		Resembles a gorilla. The tie is reminiscent of Donkey Kong's appearance in Donkey Kong Country's Two-Player Contest Mode.
Red	R	Resembles the original D.K. from Donkey Kong.
Blue	B	Resembles one of his alternate costumes from Donkey Kong 64's Multiplayer Mode. It also resembles one of his alternate colors from Mario Golf.
Green	G	Resembles one of his alternate costumes from DK: King of Swing.
White		Referred to as "Yeti DK" on the Brawl DOJO!!. Resembles the mythical yeti. It also resembles the Fire Mini Donkey Kongs from the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series and Eddie the Yeti from the Donkey Kong Country TV series.

Falco

White		Based on his design from Star Fox Command.
Orange		Resembles Katt Monroe's outfit in Star Fox Command.
Blue	B
Red	R	Resembles his outfit from Star Fox: Assault.
Green	G
Black

Fox

Grey		Based on his appearance in Star Fox Command.
Black		Referred to as the "Dark Fox" on the Brawl DOJO!! It resembles a black fox.
Red	R	Resembles his Player 1 costume from Star Fox: Assault's Versus Mode and Falco's appearance in Assault.
Green	G
Blue	B
White

Ganondorf

Grey		Based off his character design in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
Black
Blue	B
Green	G
Red	R
Brown		Based off the coloration of his SpaceWorld 2000, slightly darkening his red hair, using the same design of cape, and giving his armor the same color scheme seen in the demo.

Ice Climbers

Popo and Nana switch positions for their red, black, and white costumes, and their head icons change to match, but they do not switch positions on the selection screen like they did in Melee.

Purple
Red	R	Makes Nana resemble the red Ice Climber on the boxart for Ice Climber.
Blue	B
Black
Green	G
White		The only alternate costume that gives Popo and Nana different mitt colors. It also resembles the color of any Ice Climber when touched by an enemy in Ice Climber.

Ike

Indigo		Based on his Ranger class outfit from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
Yellow		Resembles the outfit of his father, Greil, from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
Red	R	Based on enemy units from the Fire Emblem games.
Blue	B	Vaguely resembles the color scheme of Sigurd, the first protagonist of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.
Green	G	Based on allied units from the Fire Emblem games.
Brown		Referred to as an "ordinary soldier" by the DOJO!!.

Jigglypuff

Pink
Red	R	Its hibiscus is reminiscent of Phoebe, a member of the Elite Four from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.
White		Its hat is reminiscent of Leaf, the female protagonist of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.
Blue	B	Resembles one of the possible colors for a nicknamed Jigglypuff in Pokémon Stadium and its Shiny coloration. Its hat is reminiscent of the Bug Catcher Trainer class.
Green	G	Resembles one of the possible colors for a nicknamed Jigglypuff in Pokémon Stadium. Its cap is reminiscent of Sleep Kirby.

King Dedede

Red	R
Pink		Similar to an alternate costume in both Kirby 64 and Kirby Air Ride.
Green	G	Similar to an alternate costume in Kirby Air Ride.
Purple		Features a very ornately decorated belt, similar to one on a formal Japanese kimono. This costume is also similar to an alternate costume in Kirby Air Ride.
Blue	B
Brown		Mirrors Kirby's white costume, making him appear like he did in Game Boy Color version of Kirby's Dream Land for the Game Boy.

Kirby

All these colors are also similar to different Kirby colors in games such as Kirby Air Ride and Kirby & the Amazing Mirror. They are all also usable in Kirby: Squeak Squad, where color variations are distinct and each have their own names.

Pink
Yellow		Based on and directly referred to as "Keeby" from Kirby's Dream Course. It also resembles Yellow Kirby from various Kirby titles and Beam Kirby in Kirby Super Star.
Blue	B	Based on Ice Kirby in Kirby Super Star. It also resembles Blue Kirby from various Kirby titles.
Red	R	Based on Fire Kirby in Kirby Super Star. It also resembles Red Kirby from various Kirby titles.
Green	G	Resembles Green Kirby from various Kirby titles and Plasma Kirby in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror.
White		Resembles his monochrome appearance in Kirby's Dream Land. It also resembles his appearance on the North American box cover.

Link

Green	G	Based on his appearance from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
Red	R	Based on the Goron Tunic from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It also resembles Link's tunic with the Red Ring equipped in The Legend of Zelda.
Blue	B	Based on the Zora Tunic from Ocarina of Time.
Lavender		Based on his tunic with the Blue Ring equipped in The Legend of Zelda.
Yellow		Resembles Link's appearance after utilizing the Great Fairy's Tears in Twilight Princess and an unused yellow tunic from Ocarina of Time.
Black		Based on Dark Link. Resembles the Dark Interlopers from Twilight Princess.

Lucario

Blue	B
Red	R
Cyan		Changes Lucario's coloration to resemble its pre-evolved form, Riolu.
White
Green	G

Lucas

Yellow
Orange		Changes his color scheme to that of his twin brother Claus.
Red	R
Blue	B	Loosely resembles Ness' pajamas in EarthBound.
Green	G
Purple

Luigi

Green	G
Orange		Resembles Mario's appearance on the boxart for Pinball, although Luigi's cap is orange instead of blue.
Pink	R	The original Super Smash Bros. website referred to this costume as "Strawberry Luigi". It resembles his appearance in Wrecking Crew.
Blue	B	Resembles Mario's appearance on the American boxart for Mario Bros.
White		Resembles Fire Luigi.
Purple		Resembles Waluigi, Luigi's rival.

Mario

Red	R
White		Based on Fire Mario.
Blue	B	Based on his appearance on the Japanese boxart for Mario Bros.
Yellow		Based on Wario's classic design.
Black		Based on Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew, though the palette is more monochromatic than it was in Melee and Smash 64.
Green	G	Resembles his appearance on the Japanese boxart for Wrecking Crew, but with the overalls being more brown.

Marth

Navy
Red	R	This costume is the only one that changes the color of Marth's circlet. Resembles the "enemy unit" color scheme in the Fire Emblem games.
Green	G	Resembles the standard color for NPC units in the Fire Emblem games.
Black
White		Resembles the color scheme of Leif Faris Claus, the protagonist of Fire Emblem: Thracia 776.
Blue	B	Closely based off his official artwork for Fire Emblem: Monsho no Nazo. It also changes his hair to said appearance.

Meta Knight

Purple
White		Based on a similar swap in Kirby Air Ride.
Red	R	Based on a similar swap in Kirby Air Ride. Also resembles the color scheme of the original design for Meta Knight, with his skin, shoulder pads, and cape being mostly red, and his gloves & boots being a gold or yellow color.
Green	G	Based on a similar swap in Kirby Air Ride.
Blue	B	Contrary to popular belief, this costume is not a reference to Dark Meta Knight from Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. Rather, it resembles his official art from his first appearance in Kirby's Adventure, where his mask and shoes were depicted as a dark purple color, his body was close to black, and his cape was red. However, in this appearance, his eyes were not red and his gloves were white, unlike the alternate costume.
Pink		Based on a similar swap in Kirby Air Ride. Also changes his color scheme to resemble Kirby.

Mr. Game & Watch

Black		Based on the characters from the Game & Watch games Fire and Parachute. Has the general color of the LCD frames in most of the Game & Watch handhelds.
Red	R	Similar to the colors of characters and objects on the Virtual Boy.
Yellow		Similar to the lime green screen on the original Game Boy.
Blue	B
Green	G
Cyan		Similar to the backlit display of the Game Boy Light.

Ness

Red	R
White		Resembles Fuel from Mother 3, but with a cap.
Yellow		Based on the uniforms of the Hanshin Tigers, a Japanese baseball team. The shirt's pattern is reminiscent of the Gigantic Ant enemy from EarthBound.
Green	G
Blue	B	Resembles his younger self that he encounters briefly in Magicant.
Purple		The shirt features a sprite of Mr. Saturn on the front.

Olimar

Tan
White		Resembles a more realistic spacesuit, particularly the Navy Mark IV.
Red	R
Black
Green	G	Changes Olimar's color scheme to resemble his son.
Blue	B	Gives Olimar the color scheme of Louie, his partner in Pikmin 2.

Peach

Pink
Yellow		Gives Peach the color scheme of Daisy. However, unlike Melee, this is only a re-coloring; her earrings, crown, brooch, and skin remain unchanged. This is the only alternate costume that changes Peach's hair color to auburn. The jewels are also green.
Red	R	Gives Peach a similar color scheme to Pauline, Mario's girlfriend from Donkey Kong.
Blue	B	Resembles Peach's title screen outfit from NES Open Tournament Golf.
Green	G	Resembles Peach's title screen outfit from NES Open Tournament Golf. In Melee, the jewels on her crown were green and red, while in this version, the jewels are green and blue.
White		Resembles her wedding dress from Super Paper Mario. Additionally, in Melee, the jewels on her crown were yellow and red, while in this version, the jewels are green and blue.

Pikachu

At four costume choices, Pikachu has the least amount of alternate costumes in Brawl.

Yellow
Red	R	Resembles one of the possible colors for a nicknamed Pikachu in Pokémon Stadium and its Shiny coloration. Its cap is reminiscent of Red's appearance in Pokémon Red and Blue.
Green	G	Resembles one of the possible colors for a nicknamed Pikachu in Pokémon Stadium. Its headband is reminiscent of Brendan's appearance in Pokémon Emerald.
Blue	B	Its goggles are reminiscent of the Swimmer Trainer class and Pichu's Blue Team costume from Melee.

Pit

White
Yellow		Similar to his outfit in the Captain N comic.
Red	R	Similar to an outfit in Kid Icarus.
Green	G	Similar to an outfit in Kid Icarus.
Blue	B	Similar to an outfit in Kid Icarus. An episode of the Captain N TV show had Kid Icarus (Pit) in a similar costume.
Black		Said by the DOJO to be a "fallen angel". This alternate costume later evolved into a separate character as Dark Pit in Kid Icarus: Uprising, who himself would become a playable character in the following game.

Pokémon Trainer

Default
Red	R	The trainer's hat resembles that of Leaf, the female trainer in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. Squirtle's color scheme is changed to resembles its evolution, Wartortle. Charizard's color scheme is changed to resemble its pre-evolution, Charmeleon.
Green	G	The trainer takes on the color scheme of Brendan as he appeared in Pokémon Emerald. Squirtle and Ivysaur resemble their respective shiny colors.
Blue	B
White		Charizard's color scheme is changed to resemble the shiny colors of its pre-evolution, Charmander.

R.O.B.

Red	R	Based on R.O.B.'s Japanese color scheme for the Famicom.
Grey		Based on R.O.B.'s North American color scheme for the NES. The words on his base change from "Family Computer Robot" to "R.O.B. - Robotic Operating Buddy", the same as the American design.
Yellow		Has the color scheme of the glitch, Flipper, from Stack-Up.
Pink		The only color where the cord on the back is a different color. It also has the color scheme of the glitch, Spike, from Stack-Up.
Blue	B
Green	G	Similar to the R.O.B. Launcher from the Subspace Emissary, though lacking the same bright blue cord and missile-launching face.

Samus

Orange		Based on the Varia Suit as it appears in Super Metroid. It no longer corresponds with Samus's red team color, most likely because it now corresponds with her cyan Zero Suit.
Blue	B	Based on the Fusion Suit from Metroid Fusion.
Pink	R	Based on the Gravity Suit's in-game sprite from Super Metroid, though it more closely resembles the in-game sprite of the Varia Suit in the original Metroid when missiles are selected.
Brown		Based on the Dark Suit from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.
Purple		Based on the Gravity Suit's appearance in Metroid Prime.
Green	G	The original Super Smash Bros. website referred to this alternate costume as "mass-produced Samus", a reference to Gundam.

Snake

Most of these are based on different camouflage suits worn by Naked Snake (a.k.a. Big Boss) in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

Grey
Red	R	Based off the Fury's Fire camouflage. Also resembles Snake's outfit from Snake's Revenge.
Blue	B	Based off the Splitter camouflage. Also resembles Snake's outfit from the MSX version of Metal Gear.
White		Based off the Snow camouflage.
Green	G	Based off the Tiger Stripe camouflage. Also resembles Snake's outfit from the NES version of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake.
Brown		Based off Major Ocelot's Animal camouflage.

Sonic

Sonic is the only non-Pokémon character to have fewer than six alternate costumes. The stripe on his sneakers is white in all alternate costumes, and, in all but the default alternate costumes, the rest of his sneakers match his wristbands.

Blue	B
Black		Resembles Dark Sonic from Sonic X.
Yellow		Gives Sonic an indigo color and bracelets that resemble the ones worn by Silver the Hedgehog.
Green	G	His wristbands resemble the ones attached to the gloves that appear in the special stages in Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The blue color also is akin to when Sonic goes underwater in the Labyrinth Zone.
Red	R	His wristbands resemble the ones attached to the gloves that appear in the special stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Toon Link

Green	G
Red	R	Based on the red Link copy from the Four Swords saga.
Blue	B	Based on the blue Link copy from the Four Swords saga.
Purple		Based on the purple Link copy from the Four Swords saga.
Brown		Based on the color scheme of Link in the original The Legend of Zelda. This alternate costume also changes his pants to a beige skin tone like color, referencing the pant-less original brown haired Link.
Black		A toon version of the Dark Interloper Dark Link from Twilight Princess. Does not resemble the various dark and shadow Toon Links as closely.

Wario

Unlike all other characters, Wario has two outfits each with multiple color choices: his biker costume from the WarioWare games, which is his default costume, and his classic overalls. This doubles his alternate costume choices. There are a total of 12 costume choices for Wario in Brawl.

Cyan
Red	R	Resembles the color scheme of Fire Mario with the white helmet and red jacket.
Yellow		Resembles the color scheme of his classic biker outfit, with the yellow helmet and jacket.
Green	G	Has a similar color scheme to Zombie Wario's sprite in Wario Land 3.
Black		Resembles Mario's appearance in Super Mario Bros.3.
Blue	B

Wario's overalls closely resemble the cartoonish look in both the Mario and Wario games, in contrast to Mario, Luigi, and Waluigi, who were given more realistic-looking overalls.

Yellow
Red	R	Resembles how Mario looked in the early Mario games, where he had red overalls and a blue shirt instead of the blue overalls and red shirt he wears today. This somewhat mirrors the way that Wario's "classic" outfit appears as one of Mario's alternate costumes. It also resembles one of his costumes from Mario Golf (N64) and Mario's outfit from the DIC cartoons.
Blue	B	Resembles Mario's appearance in Japanese art for Mario Bros.
Green	G	Similar to Mario's green costume.
Brown		Based off of Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew. Also looks like Mario's brown costume as it appeared in Smash 64.
White		Makes Wario look like his appearance in the Wario Land games until the rerelease of Wario Land 2, since those games were in black and white. Wario also wore an outfit of black and white in Wario Land 3. Also resembles one of his alternate costumes from Mario Golf (N64).

Wolf

Grey
Red	R
Black		The portrait shows him having black sleeves, but are actually white in-game and his fur has a color tone similar to Panther Caroso's from Star Fox Assault.
Green	G	Based off of his green outfit from Star Fox: Assault's multiplayer if Wolf is chosen for player 4.
Blue	B	Looks similar to clothes from Star Fox: Assault's multiplayer if Wolf is chosen for player 2.
White		Resembles the color scheme of the Wolfen, the starfighter of choice for the Star Wolf team, though based on its N64 colors. The portrait shows him having black sleeves, but are actually white in-game.

Yoshi

All of Yoshi's costumes are different variations of the Yoshi species in many of his games, specifically Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Story, and Yoshi's Island DS. The soles of his shoes, the saddle on his back, and his spines stay the same color, no matter what color he is.

Green	G	Based on a Green Yoshi.
Red	R	Based on a Red Yoshi.
Blue	B	Based on a Blue Yoshi.
Yellow		Based on a Yellow Yoshi.
Pink		Based on a Pink Yoshi.
Cyan		Based on a Light Blue Yoshi.

Zelda/Sheik

Purple/Light Blue		Zelda is based on her character model from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Sheik is based on unused concept art for the same game. Because the two characters are two different color tones, they are not used in Team Battles.
Red	R	Based on Zelda's early appearances in The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: Adventure of Link. This is also the only one of her color schemes in which she doesn't wear gloves.
Blue	B	Official art for The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past shows Zelda with a blue dress, while Sheik's color scheme is to changed to match Tetra's, with the blue costume and red scarf.
Pink		Based on Zelda's and Sheik's appearance in Ocarina of Time. The only one of her Brawl costumes to show Zelda with blonde hair.
Green	G	If The Legend of Zelda for NES is completed without collecting any rings, Zelda's dress will be green.
Black		This is Zelda's only costume to change the color of her shoulder pads and crown, from gold to silver.

Zero Suit Samus

Cyan
Blue	B	Based on her outfit she wears upon completion of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.
Pink	R	A reference to clearing the first Metroid by discovering all of the game's secrets, or by entering Justin Bailey into the password screen.
Black		Resembles the color scheme of her ending outfit in Super Metroid.
Purple		Based on the outfit she wore in Metroid Fusion.
Green	G

Glitch

There is a glitch in Brawl that allows multiple players to be the same character with the same color scheme, without the shading seen in Team Battles.

This glitch can also occur when every player selects random, and multiple players end up playing as the same character.

Trivia

• Captain Falcon's red outfit actually has one file for each available PAL language in the game (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian). While presumably done so localizers could edit the "Blood Hawk" on the back to match the current language, this appears to have been skipped or glossed over, as there is no difference between the files.
• Mr. Game and Watch only has one file for his model and textures. This indicates that the color variations come from tinting or blending the textures, instead of pre-rendered bitmaps.
• Luigi has an unused blue costume in the game's data; this costume is slightly lighter in color than the used one, and the reason for its removal is unknown.