History Characters / SuperSmashBros6401To04

** ''Ultimate'' finally bucked the trend and brought him back in line with his canon personality, being smiley and cheerful, especially in his taunts or when he wins, while still taking the fight seriously. He even appears dynamic in his 3D render (as pictured above), appearing to have what seems to be a open-mouthed smile as he's about to kick some poor sucker in the face with his Goomba-stomping boots. That said, he still shows signs of being domineer and angry-looking still. His walk cycle appears to look more menacing than in the other ''Smash'' games, as seen in the Piranha Plant reveal trailer, but he definitely smiles a lot more than in the previous ''Smash'' games.

'''Individual Characters''': [[Characters/SuperSmashBrosGanondorf Ganondorf]] | [[Characters/SuperSmashBrosBayonetta Bayonetta]] | [[Characters/SuperSmashBrosJoker Joker]] | [[Characters/SuperSmashBrosHero Hero]] | [[Characters/SuperSmashBrosSteve Steve]] | [[Characters/SuperSmashBrosSephiroth Sephiroth]] | [[Characters/SuperSmashBrosPyraMythra Pyra / Mythra]]\\

* SkillGateCharacter: What Mario can essentially be considered in ''Melee'' and especially ''Brawl''. While Mario is an easier character to use, he is surpassed by many other characters in higher levels of play. ''3DS/Wii U'' instead has his MovesetClone and alter-ego Dr. Mario take up this role, while regular Mario gets improved combo abilities, KO power, and mobility that remain effective at higher levels of play.

* SkillGateCharacter: His relatively high mobility and powerful attacks make him easy to use for beginners, but his large size and lack of a projectile attack hold him back at higher levels of play.

* SkillGateCharacter: Most pronounced in ''Melee''. In casual play, he can hit like a train, but put him in competitive play and he just can't keep up.

* ArcherArchetype: As [[TheStoic stoic]], headstrong and focused as he is in his home series, which translates well into his ability to wield his bow from ''Melee'' and on.

* RunningOnAllFours: His default method of movement that's used for his walk cycle and his dash from a majority of the platformers he's been in ever since the [[''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry Donkey Kong Country series'']], however his running animation was based on a galloping horse rather than a gorilla running. Although some cutscenes for the ''Subspace Emissary'' clearly shows DK running on 2 legs, similar that how a human moves.

* LightningBruiser: In ''Ultimate'', albeit with a focus on DPS rather than mobility. Samus' mobility is still below average and her recovery is above average, but with both her melee attacks and projectiles as well as how they can combo into each other, she can rack up damage very quickly and get her opponent within KO range in the process. That's not even getting into the options she has for early KOs, like her signature Charge Shot - one of the most powerful and fearsome projectiles in the game, especially when fully charged and unleashed at unexpected moments.

* MythologyGag: His Waluigi inspired costume harkens back to what happens when he equips the W and L Emblem badges in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor''.

--->Current Donkey Kong debuts in: ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' [[[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]]], 1994

** Cloud is another as the poster boys for critically acclaimed, blond haired fantasy video game heroes of [[TheNineties the late 90s]]: ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' for Nintendo and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' for [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation Sony]]/Creator/SquareEnix. A nod is given to this in the Final Video Presentation for ''3DS/Wii U'', and the centerpiece of Cloud's character illustration has him crossing swords with Link.

-->'''Debut:''' ''[[VideoGame/{{Metroid 1}} Metroid]]'' [[[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]], 1986

* NumerologicalMotif: Three, in ''Ultimate''. He's fighter number 3, and is the third incarnation of regular Link[[note]]With ''Ocarina of Time'' Link from original and ''Melee'' being the first, and ''Twilight Princess'' Link from ''Brawl'' and ''[=3DS=]/Wii U'' as the second[[/note]] to be featured in the ''Smash Bros.'' series, and there are also two alternate versions of Link in the game for a total of 3. This is probably a reference to the Triforce from his home series.

* MythologyGag: His Waluigi inspired costume harkens back to what happnes when he equps the W and L Emblem badges in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor''.

--->Link from ''Ultimate'' debuts in: ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' [Ptatform/WiiU/[[Platform/NintendoSwitch Switch]]], 2017

--->Link in name debuts in: ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI The Legend of Zelda]]'' [[[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]], 1986

--->Link from ''64'' and ''Melee'' debuts in: ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' [[[UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 N64]]], 1998

--->Link from ''Brawl'' and ''3DS/Wii U'' debuts in: ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' [[[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]]/UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}], 2006

--->Link from ''Ultimate'' debuts in: ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' [UsefulNotes/WiiU/[[UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch Switch]]], 2017

** Similarities: Both characters are part of the original eight starting roster fighters from [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros64]]. Both characters have had MovesetClones in the form of Luigi and Falco. Both characters have since been subjected to DivergentCharacterEvolution since their debut games.

* Foil: As of Ultimate, he serves as a foil to Fox.

* TheHero: He essentially fills this role among the cast, as Nintendo's mascot and a RedIsHeroic PrimaryColorChampion who is depicted as front-and-center in most marketing materials. In ''Subspace Emissary'', he shares this role alongside Kirby but it's {{Subverted|trope}} in ''World of Light'', where Kirby is the starting character and the closest thing to a main protagonist (although Mario is rescued very early on).

* OhCrap: Her reaction when her arch enemy Ridley shows up in the reveal trailer.

->''[[CatchPhrase "Let's-a go!"]]''

* CatchPhrase: "Let's-a go!", of course. Said at the beginning of each match.

* FurryReminder: In ''Smash'', DK vocalizes with realistic gorilla noises, rather than the cartoony grunts from his home series.

* ManChild: His infamous sleeping animation involves him lying on back while he's rocking his entire body back and forth as he's sucking on his thumb as if he was a (giant) baby.

* BadassCape: You know your cape is badass when it can disorient enemies and reflect projectiles.

* ButtMonkey: This is more an impermanent/[[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] example. On one occasion during Adventure Mode in ''Melee'', Mario attempts to jump onto the rooftop of Mushroom Castle... only to be jumped on top of, and sent falling down... by ''Luigi'' of all characters. Funny, considering that in terms of humiliating characters in their respective games, Mario seems to be the only character considered off-limits by Nintendo — even more so since Luigi himself is usually depicted as ''the'' ButtMonkey of their franchise. In Sonic's reveal trailer, he gets knocked down by the hedgehog speeding past him and is the main target for his P-P-K combo. He gets kicked around a lot in ''3DS/Wii U'' and ''Ultimate'''s CGI Trailers. He gets his head crushed in Ridley's reveal trailer, gets blown up by a Creeper in Steve's reveal trailer, and nearly gets impaled in Sephiroth's reveal trailer.

* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: In [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Ridley's]] trailer in ''Ultimate'', it's implied that Mario had his skull crushed by Ridley.

* {{Hunk}}: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] in ''Brawl'' and ''3DS/Wii U''. ''Twilight Princess'' Link had some very {{hunk}}y characteristics in his home game, which showed him to have a HeroicBuild via a ShirtlessScene and undertake various [[RatedMForManly manly]] deeds. ''Smash'' doesn't show off these characteristics, though he still comes across as quite aloof and masculine compared to some of the other {{Bishonen}} characters such as Shulk, Marth, and especially Pit.