Alternate costume (SSBM)

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.

A battle between four Dr. Marios, each one in different colored lab coats.

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 Battle, 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 would be completely pink. A seventh player and afterward, would crash the game, additionally it is not possible to view the completely pink character unless additional Action Replay codes are used.

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

Bowser

Green	G	Mix between his designs from promotional artwork and his in-game model for Super Mario 64.
Red	R	Somewhat resembles his "right" color in Mario Golf. While the portrait depicts Bowser with red irises, they are green in-game.
Blue	B	Reminiscent of his original design in Super Mario Bros.
Black		This costume is used in Normal and higher difficulties of Adventure Mode to represent Giga Bowser.

Captain Falcon

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

Donkey Kong

While all Donkey Kong's costumes show the same skin in the portraits, each one is a different color in the game.

Brown		More detailed version of the modern design created by Rare for Donkey Kong Country.
Black		Resembles a real-life gorilla.
Red	R	Resembles the original D.K. from Donkey Kong.
Blue	B
Green	G

Dr. Mario

White		Based on his original design in prior to Dr. Mario 64, with black jeans instead of white trousers.
Red	R	Resembles the color of the scrubs worn by Nurse Toadstool.
Blue	B	Resembles the scrubs worn by modern-day general medical practitioners.
Green	G	Resembles the scrubs worn by modern-day surgeons.
Black		Referred to as the "Unlicensed Doctor" on the website. Also invokes the coats worn by earlier doctors before the shift to white coats.

Falco

Tan		More intricate version of his appearance in Star Fox 64.
Red	R
Blue	B
Green	G

Fox

White		More intricate version of his appearance in Star Fox 64.
Red	R
Blue	B
Green	G	Resembles concept art of him for the original Star Fox.

Ganondorf

Brown		Derived from his model used in the SpaceWorld 2000 GameCube Tech Demo, which in turn is based on his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Red	R
Blue	B
Green	G
Purple

Ice Climbers

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	Based on their in-game sprites in Ice Climber.
Green	G
Orange
Red	R	Nana resembles her appearance on the American boxart for Ice Climber.

Jigglypuff

Pink		Based on its appearance in the Pokémon games up to the time of the release of Melee.
Red	R
Blue	B	Based on one of the possible colors for a nicknamed Jigglypuff in Pokémon Stadium. This costume was taken over from its alternate costumes from the original Super Smash Bros.
Green	G	Based on one of the possible colors for a nicknamed Jigglypuff in Pokémon Stadium. Its headband is reminiscent of the Blackbelt Trainer class.
Yellow		The crown is derived from Peach's model.

Kirby

Pink		Based on his appearance in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.
Yellow		Based on and directly referred to as "Keeby" from Kirby's Dream Course. In addition, Beam Kirby in Kirby Super Star has the same color.
Blue	B	Based on Ice Kirby in Kirby Super Star.
Red	R	Officially, it's supposed to be based on the Fire Kirby from Kirby Super Star, but in reality, it's not that similar.
Green	G	The original Super Smash Bros. website referred to this costume as "Kusa-mochi Kirby".
White		Based on his monochromatic in-game sprite from Kirby's Dream Land.

Link

Green	G	Based on Adult Link from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Red	R	Based on the Goron Tunic from Ocarina of Time.
Blue	B	Based on the Zora Tunic from Ocarina of Time.
Black		His tunic resembles Dark Link.
White		Based on his tunic with the Blue Ring equipped in The Legend of Zelda.

Luigi

Green	G	Based on his design first seen in Mario Kart 64.
White		Based on his in-game sprite from the original Super Mario Bros. His skin appears slightly darker in-game, like in the original Super Smash Bros.
Blue	B	His overalls appear in black instead of blue in-game, like in the original Super Smash Bros.
Pink	R	The original Super Smash Bros. website referred to this costume as "Strawberry Luigi". It resembles his appearance in Wrecking Crew.

Mario

Red	R	Based on his design first seen in promotional artwork for Super Mario 64.
Yellow		Based on Wario.
Black		Based on Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew. Unlike in the original Super Smash Bros., his shirt is white instead of tan.
Blue	B	Based on his appearance in promotional artwork for Mario Bros., with the colors of the overalls and shirt swapped.
Green	G	Unlike in the original Super Smash Bros., his overalls are brown instead of orange. It resembles Luigi's appearance from promotional artwork for the arcade version of Mario Bros., with the colors of the overalls and shirt swapped. It also resembles Jinbe from Mole Mania, another game developed by Shigeru Miyamoto.

Marth

Blue	B	Based on his appearance in Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem.
Red	R
Green	G
Black
White		Based on Leif, the protagonist of Fire Emblem: Thracia 776.

Mewtwo

Purple		Based on its appearance in the Pokémon games up to the time of the release of Melee.
Red	R	Resembles one of the possible colors for Mewtwo in the Pokémon Stadium titles.
Blue	B	Resembles one of the possible colors for Mewtwo in the Pokémon Stadium titles.
Green	G

Mr. Game & Watch

Notably, the 3 alternate costumes are the 3 primary colours.

Black		Resembles the characters from the Game & Watch games Fire and Parachute. He has the general color of the LCD frames in most of the Game & Watch handhelds.
Red	R	Reminiscent of characters and objects as depicted on the Virtual Boy.
Blue	B
Green	G

Ness

Red	R	Based on his appearance in Earthbound.
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.
Blue	B	Resembles his younger self that he encounters in Magicant.
Green	G	His clothes resemble the color scheme of Everdred’s outfit in EarthBound.

Peach

Pink	R	More intricate version of her appearance in promotional artwork for Mario Party 3 and Mario Kart: Super Circuit.
Yellow		Based on Daisy's appearance in Mario Party 3. This is more complex than her other costumes as well as its Brawl and SSB4 counterparts, as she wears a completely different dress and gloves. The color of her skin and hair changes, and her crown is pink, featuring emblems of daisies.
White		Based on a wedding gown. The event match "Time for a Checkup" suggests it may also be an allusion to white nurse uniforms. Peach uniquely wears pantyhose with this costume.
Blue	B
Green	G

Pichu

Yellow		Based on its appearance in the Pokémon games up to the time of the release of Melee.
Red	R
Blue	B	Its goggles are reminiscent of the Swimmer Trainer class.
Green	G	Its backpack is reminiscent of the Pokémon Trainer class. It may derive from Ness's model.

Pikachu

Yellow		Based on its appearance in the Pokémon games up to the time of the release of Melee.
Red	R	Based on one of the possible colors for a nicknamed Pikachu in Pokémon Stadium. It also resembles its Shiny coloration. Its cap from the protagonist in the original Pokémon games.
Blue	B	Taken over from its alternate costumes from the original Super Smash Bros.
Green	G	Based on one of the possible colors for a nicknamed Pikachu in Pokémon Stadium.

Roy

Purple		Based on his appearance in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, although with a purple cape.
Red	R
Blue	B
Green	G
Yellow

Samus

Orange	R	Based on the Varia Suit as it appears in Super Metroid.
Pink		Based on the Gravity Suit's in-game sprite from Super Metroid.
Black
Green	G	The original Super Smash Bros. website referred to this alternate costume as "mass-produced Samus", a reference to Mobile Suit Gundam.
Purple	B	The color scheme matches artwork of the Gravity Suit from Super Metroid.

Sheik

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

Navy		Based on her appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Despite being blue, this costume is not used in team battles, likely because it corresponds with Zelda's pink default costume.
Red	R
Blue	B
Green	G
White

Yoshi

All of Yoshi's costumes appear as different variations of the Yoshi species in Yoshi's Story. His appearance based on his original design first seen in Super Mario World.

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.

Young Link

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	Based on his appearance from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and its sequel Majora's Mask.
Red	R	Based on Goron Tunic from Ocarina of Time.
Blue	B	Based on Zora Tunic from Ocarina of Time.
White		Based on Link's tunic with the Blue Ring equipped in The Legend of Zelda.
Black		His tunic resembles Dark Link.

Zelda

Pink		Based on Adult Zelda from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Red	R	Resembles her in-game sprite when Link rescues her with the Red Ring equipped in The Legend of Zelda.
Blue	B
Green	G	Resembles her in-game sprite when Link rescues her with no ring equipped in The Legend of Zelda.
White		Resembles her in-game sprite when Link rescues her with the Blue Ring equipped in The Legend of Zelda.

Stats

• There are 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.

Trivia

• Betas for the game indicate that the back of Captain Falcon's Blood Falcon-inspired costume was originally going to read "Hell Hawk", the Japanese name of Blood Falcon's F-Zero machine.