I say "accurate" not because I have a tier list of characters in game that is correct, implying that the other is not. Obviously, a tier list does not take a character’s background story into consideration. So while a character may be extremely powerful in the canon of the game’s story, they may end up pretty low on a tier list because of their gameplay design.
For example, it's hard to imagine, say, the Ice Climbers being able to defeat Ganondorf judging by their abilities from their video game series, but it happens in SSBB all the time. So here's a list of what would happen if these characters were to fight IRL.
S Rank:
Samus Aran: This was pretty easily. Not only does Samus have a Power Suit which most of the characters would have trouble even scratching, but her plasma beam would most likely incinerate all but a handful of the characters on the list instantaneously. Add in power bombs, morph ball attacks, and missiles, and this really wouldn't be a fair fight to anyone.
A Rank:
Pokemon Trainer: Ok, so the trainer himself wouldn't stand much of a chance, but as long as he sticks Charizard out in front of him, there wouldn't be many who would last very long. Sadly, Squirtle and Ivysaur would be fairly obsolete considering how powerful Charizard is in the Pokemon series.
Pikachu: Considering that half of the SSBB characters wear little to no protective clothing, it's safe to say that one lightning bolt would put them out of commission. That and his annoying "PIIIKKKAAAAA" would annoy anyone else to death.
Basically any Star Fox Character: Laser guns, laser guns...and more laser guns. I think that's about all that would be necessary to take out about half of the cast, given the "no one wears any armor" thing. Obviously they'd be higher too if they had their ships, but that rearranges everything.
B Tier:
Lucario: I can't say I know a ton about Lucario, but the aura doesn't look very promising, especially given the "no one wears any armor" fact again.
Snake: He's got RPGs, he's got grenades, he's got...well...a cardboard box. I think it's fairly safe to say that Snake wouldn't make it past any of the higher up characters and he'd take out any lower characters.
Sonic: For being a hedgehog, he sure knows how to take a beating and keep on coming. He's been burned, hit with some of the biggest maces you've ever seen, and landed on spikes and survived. Though I imagine he'll have to do a bit more than jump on someone's head to win here.
C Tier:
Kirby: Looks decently powerful, especially with his ability to mimic other characters...but then when you consider that his most powerful attack is a wooden hammer...well...there goes any shot of beating an upper tier character.
Donkey Kong: Ok, so he's a monkey. Ok, a giant monkey. Still, he packs a decent punch...as long as no one with a gun gets within twenty feet of him.
Link: Assuming that he doesn't get to inhabit the body of any deities(Majora's Mask) I think it's fairly safe to put Link here. Yeah, he's an excellent swordsman...but as history shows, there's only so far you can go with a sword when others are fighting with guns.
Ganondorf: He's insanely powerful, he has incredibly influence politically, etc. etc. But he always manages to get beaten. Again. And again. And again and again and...you get the picture. You can't really expect to be taken seriously if you lose THAT many times when you were so close to power.
D Tier:
Pit: Managed to defeat Medusa, yes. Stronger than a normal person, yes. Surviving blast from a laser? No.
Meta Knight: Assuming he doesn't have the Halberd with him. He may be the strongest character in game, but he always manages to get beat by Kirby even with his vasty superior technology. If only he actually knew how to use it.
King Dedede: Perhaps he could zerg Waddle Dees infinitely, but...he's kinda a penguin. Penguins aren't the strongest species around. That and the fact that he only has a hammer to attack with...and he's not moving up very far.
Bowser: Does he get insanely huge? Sure. Takes over the universe? Check. Invades a castle and usurps the power? Indeed. Has his very own fleet of airships? You know it. Defeats an Italian plumber to keep his power? .....uh....well....no. You can't expect to get past D Tier if a plumber is a serious dilemma for you.
Captain Falcon: Perhaps this is heresy, but....outside of Falcon Punching people, does he really ever do anything? "Falcon Kick" Ok, yeah, but...I mean...what if they've got armor that, y'know, actually has the ability to stop a punch? He's kinda screwed after that.
E Tier:
Ike: So he's strong. So he's got a sword. He also has no armor. What happens if someone pulls out a gun? Swords don't win against guns.
Marth: See Ike.
Zelda/Sheik: Magic is cool...but she must not be too bright or too strong if she keeps managing to get her kingdom taken over every time.
Diddy Kong: Monkeys are cool and all....but his most powerful attack is a peanut gun. Guns are for bullets and lasers, not peanuts.
ROB: I guess the lasers could do something, assuming the person decides to stand there and let himself get killed.
Ness: He's got some cool abilities, but...the lack of armor again kills. I have trouble seeing him lasting long against any of the futuristic characters.
Lucas: See Ness.
F Tier:
Mario: Assuming he can find a power up, he should have no trouble beating....um....well....uh....hmmm. Perhaps fire balls aren't really so cool anymore. Seriously, I know he's the Nintendo mascot and all, but unless he finds an invincibility star, how is he going to survive anything?
Yoshi: Wouldn't survive any sort of laser blast. Kinda uninformed about him, but you really don't make yourself look like a good fighter if your main method of attack is to grab people with your tongue and...well...egg them.
Wario: I was kinda unaware before now that he even was aware of how to fight. I suppose he could try running someone over with his motorcycle.
Luigi: Never come across as a good fighter. Despite the good showing in Luigi's mansion, he's still got no weaponry that can kill anything besides a Boo.
Ice Climbers: They....they're basically expeditionists. That kinda doesn't cut it in this game.
G Tier:
Peach: Wasn't aware that she knew how to fight before this game, and afterwards, I'm still not aware that she does. Besides, she always manages to get her kingdom taken over every single time, so how tough can she be?
Unknown:
Olimar, Pit and Game and Watch: I confess I haven't played a game with either of them, so I don't know how powerful they are.
-MT
For example, it's hard to imagine, say, the Ice Climbers being able to defeat Ganondorf judging by their abilities from their video game series, but it happens in SSBB all the time. So here's a list of what would happen if these characters were to fight IRL.
S Rank:
Samus Aran: This was pretty easily. Not only does Samus have a Power Suit which most of the characters would have trouble even scratching, but her plasma beam would most likely incinerate all but a handful of the characters on the list instantaneously. Add in power bombs, morph ball attacks, and missiles, and this really wouldn't be a fair fight to anyone.
A Rank:
Pokemon Trainer: Ok, so the trainer himself wouldn't stand much of a chance, but as long as he sticks Charizard out in front of him, there wouldn't be many who would last very long. Sadly, Squirtle and Ivysaur would be fairly obsolete considering how powerful Charizard is in the Pokemon series.
Pikachu: Considering that half of the SSBB characters wear little to no protective clothing, it's safe to say that one lightning bolt would put them out of commission. That and his annoying "PIIIKKKAAAAA" would annoy anyone else to death.
Basically any Star Fox Character: Laser guns, laser guns...and more laser guns. I think that's about all that would be necessary to take out about half of the cast, given the "no one wears any armor" thing. Obviously they'd be higher too if they had their ships, but that rearranges everything.
B Tier:
Lucario: I can't say I know a ton about Lucario, but the aura doesn't look very promising, especially given the "no one wears any armor" fact again.
Snake: He's got RPGs, he's got grenades, he's got...well...a cardboard box. I think it's fairly safe to say that Snake wouldn't make it past any of the higher up characters and he'd take out any lower characters.
Sonic: For being a hedgehog, he sure knows how to take a beating and keep on coming. He's been burned, hit with some of the biggest maces you've ever seen, and landed on spikes and survived. Though I imagine he'll have to do a bit more than jump on someone's head to win here.
C Tier:
Kirby: Looks decently powerful, especially with his ability to mimic other characters...but then when you consider that his most powerful attack is a wooden hammer...well...there goes any shot of beating an upper tier character.
Donkey Kong: Ok, so he's a monkey. Ok, a giant monkey. Still, he packs a decent punch...as long as no one with a gun gets within twenty feet of him.
Link: Assuming that he doesn't get to inhabit the body of any deities(Majora's Mask) I think it's fairly safe to put Link here. Yeah, he's an excellent swordsman...but as history shows, there's only so far you can go with a sword when others are fighting with guns.
Ganondorf: He's insanely powerful, he has incredibly influence politically, etc. etc. But he always manages to get beaten. Again. And again. And again and again and...you get the picture. You can't really expect to be taken seriously if you lose THAT many times when you were so close to power.
D Tier:
Pit: Managed to defeat Medusa, yes. Stronger than a normal person, yes. Surviving blast from a laser? No.
Meta Knight: Assuming he doesn't have the Halberd with him. He may be the strongest character in game, but he always manages to get beat by Kirby even with his vasty superior technology. If only he actually knew how to use it.
King Dedede: Perhaps he could zerg Waddle Dees infinitely, but...he's kinda a penguin. Penguins aren't the strongest species around. That and the fact that he only has a hammer to attack with...and he's not moving up very far.
Bowser: Does he get insanely huge? Sure. Takes over the universe? Check. Invades a castle and usurps the power? Indeed. Has his very own fleet of airships? You know it. Defeats an Italian plumber to keep his power? .....uh....well....no. You can't expect to get past D Tier if a plumber is a serious dilemma for you.
Captain Falcon: Perhaps this is heresy, but....outside of Falcon Punching people, does he really ever do anything? "Falcon Kick" Ok, yeah, but...I mean...what if they've got armor that, y'know, actually has the ability to stop a punch? He's kinda screwed after that.
E Tier:
Ike: So he's strong. So he's got a sword. He also has no armor. What happens if someone pulls out a gun? Swords don't win against guns.
Marth: See Ike.
Zelda/Sheik: Magic is cool...but she must not be too bright or too strong if she keeps managing to get her kingdom taken over every time.
Diddy Kong: Monkeys are cool and all....but his most powerful attack is a peanut gun. Guns are for bullets and lasers, not peanuts.
ROB: I guess the lasers could do something, assuming the person decides to stand there and let himself get killed.
Ness: He's got some cool abilities, but...the lack of armor again kills. I have trouble seeing him lasting long against any of the futuristic characters.
Lucas: See Ness.
F Tier:
Mario: Assuming he can find a power up, he should have no trouble beating....um....well....uh....hmmm. Perhaps fire balls aren't really so cool anymore. Seriously, I know he's the Nintendo mascot and all, but unless he finds an invincibility star, how is he going to survive anything?
Yoshi: Wouldn't survive any sort of laser blast. Kinda uninformed about him, but you really don't make yourself look like a good fighter if your main method of attack is to grab people with your tongue and...well...egg them.
Wario: I was kinda unaware before now that he even was aware of how to fight. I suppose he could try running someone over with his motorcycle.
Luigi: Never come across as a good fighter. Despite the good showing in Luigi's mansion, he's still got no weaponry that can kill anything besides a Boo.
Ice Climbers: They....they're basically expeditionists. That kinda doesn't cut it in this game.
G Tier:
Peach: Wasn't aware that she knew how to fight before this game, and afterwards, I'm still not aware that she does. Besides, she always manages to get her kingdom taken over every single time, so how tough can she be?
Unknown:
Olimar, Pit and Game and Watch: I confess I haven't played a game with either of them, so I don't know how powerful they are.
-MT
