Clone characters
Clone characters are a class of playable characters introduced in Melee 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 in Melee due to his unique normal moveset and side special move. Clone characters' portraits appear next to and slightly lower to those of their counterparts on the Melee character select screen.
Super Smash Bros.
As specified in the above introduction, the "clone class" as the term is used here, was not introduced until Melee. Nevertheless, Luigi is commonly is known as the "unofficial" clone of Mario for this game.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
List of Clone Characters in Melee
- Dr. Mario: a clone of Mario
- Falco: a clone of Fox
- Ganondorf: a clone of Captain Falcon
- Pichu: a clone of Pikachu
- Roy: a clone of Marth
- Young Link: a clone of Link
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, 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 Semi-Clone Characters in Brawl
- Toon Link: a semi-clone of Link
- 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
- Lucas: a semi-clone of Ness*
- Ike: a semi-clone of Marth*
*(Or vice versa depending on how you look at it. Many argue that Ike and Lucas replaced Marth and Ness as the primary characters in Brawl so Marth and Ness appear as their "semi-clones".)
