Most characters are actually done quite well. Except for the defensive ability of his Cape, most of Mario's abilities stim from either his incredible jumping skills, or from his Plumbfu (in the Mario Bros Anime, we learned that Mario studied Kungfu, and modified a variation of it for himself). Fireballs and the Flood are great aditions to his arsenal.
Much about Mario can also be said of Luigi, with the exception of one thing. Since it's usage, the Poltergeist 3000 has been featured in a small handful of games (I especially liked it being a defensive Powershot in Mario Power Tennis). So why can't Luigi use it to pull people in? It could even replace his grab, or be another "Inhale" attack.
Peach is all about the Hearts. Melee may have made her seem a little weird, but because of her heartsy-ness, she seems well done in Brawl. I feel that Toads could be able to help her out a little more, instead of being a 1 second shield, but otherwise, a nice job on Peach. Floating from SMB2:Subcon is very nastalgic.
Bowser, being the Physical yet overweight brute that he is, seems to feel right as well. My only question is why his Firebreath has such crappy range, when he could torch oneside of a room to the other in his inferno breath. I bet his Morning Breath is terrible.
Donkey Kong feels right as well. Not everyone is going to be given moves based on specific games, but his moveset feels like something an ape of his power and statue would do. I also remember him using his Giant Punch on one of the Kremlins in a Cartoon of him, and carrying people away was nastaligic of Cranky Kong stealing away Pauline.
Diddy was done just right. Fast, good multiple hits, banana peels (although Dk seems like he eats more), and the revival of his signature Peanut Popgun and Barrel Jetpack. He was done perfectly.
Yoshi. Not much needs to be said. Eating? Yup. Awesome Aerials due to a Jump that can even Usurp Marios? Yup. Strong Physicals due to ground-pound strength over the years? Yup. Egg attacks? Yup. Sounds good to me.
Wario. I honestly have no clue. Wario's insane off of the membrane. He's arguably more versatile than even Mario is, although I thought that Wario would have a much higher grab-game than he does now.
Link. Except for the fact that he's overweight with items (which never slowed him down in other games), and that there's no annoying person over his shoulder trying to guide him (thank God Navi's long gone), I think he's okay.
Zelda/Shiek. Many argue against them, but Zelda's all about the Magic, and Shiek's basically a Ninja. Not to mention that it wouldn't be imposible for the Royal Family to have made contact with the Great Fairies, giving Zelda her special attacks, and Shiek seems naturally athletic to me. If they had released him for Twilight Princess, I bet you'd have seen more of Shiek's physical prowess then than you currently know of her (Shiek's 1 or the other, and it doesn't mature to me).
Ganondorf. They cloned him only due to time limits, but they had no excuse to fix him. From the magical attacks he's used in the old games, to his trident and sword used all throughout the Zelda universe, they've had many different ways of giving Gannon his own moves. And yet they still give him the pseudo-clone of Captain Falcon? Pathetic and Lazy....
ToonLink. I honestly would have prefered Wolf-Link, but still, Toon-Link is okay. A mini clone of Link who still works differently from him. Not much else can be said.
Samus is another one of those "just right characters". Except for the underemphasis of her MorphBall, as well as her incredible speed, they did her right. Again, with aerials explained by her history of training and being raised by the Chozo Race, and every single weapon based move coming from her arsenal in past games, she's done pretty well. ZeroSuitSamus was no excuse to not make Ridley playable though.... although she is cute, and has a very hawt suit, I also didn't like her voice being so low.... and yet so seductive.... moving on....
I never played Kid-Icarus, but I've researched it a little.. for a game of it's time, Pit was done okay.
And the same thing can be said for Ice-Climbers... a very ancient game... give them credit...
And the same thing can be said for Rob...... although I think he was in more games than the others... still, nice jet-pack attacks.
Kirby! Underemphasized his Copy Abilities in his attacks, but otherwise, Kirby seems perfect as well.
Metaknight. I have a problem with Metaknight's current abilities. And no, it's not that they are rigged, because they certainly aren't (atleast not for Lucario and I). My issue is that most of his moves aren't cannon, and they've had several games to base his abilities on. Sakurai, you made Metaknight, and you can do with him whatever you want, but still, the Drill-Dash? Shuttle-Loup was a Kirby attack. -.- Dimensional Cape? He's covered himself and hid with it, but still, you could always tell where he was, so it's not like it's a hiding move or anything.... And Mach Tornado wasn't a spammy attack... if anything, the Tornado should have been his Final Smash, since it actually created Tornado's on the field by spinning his Sword around... He's cool, but you could have made him much more accurate than you did, Sakurai.
Dedede. He feels right as well. High/Vunerable Jump, uber hammer hits, command over Waddle-Dee and Doo and Goro. He's pretty good.
Olimar, I had no expectations over. Even making him playable seemed like a feat all in itself. I hope that you can some how put Louie in, although he'd most likely be a color-change or a clone. ;.;
Fox. People, stop harping about him mainly flying. Fox has always been fast and wily, and the high-speed high-flying physical moves suit his character well.
Falco, thank you for uncloning yourself. You still feel cannon to your person without being radically different. JUST GET A FRIGGING ARWING INSTEAD OF A LANDMASTER FOR YOUR FINAL SMASH!
Wolf, I'm not even talking to you. You have no excuse to use a Land-Master, and talks about you will continue later.
Captian Falcon's Falcon Punch was so popular, it was incorperated into his Anime. If that doesn't show how popular his moves is, I don't know what does. Why change it now?
Pikachu. Except for the funky Volt Tackle Sphere, although it is an improvement over the regular self hurting one, you feel pretty cool too.
Pokemon Trainer. Pure, unadulterated awesomesauce. Although Pokemon shouldn't be weak from staying out over time.... They should just have match ups that are impossible for one to win, but easier for the other, and almost impossible for the other to lose. You crippled this character...
Lucario. My main. Good Close Combat Abilities, coupled with factoring in how he gains power as he draws on the Aura around him, and just being purely epic. Lucario is right with me. That's probably why I like him.
Jigglypuff. Lightweight. Sing, Pound, Rollout, Rest. Nice combos. And a Final Smash that syncs with the character oh-so well (the Pokedex says how these Pokemon would Puff-Up to scare away enemys). Jigglypuff has my seal of approval.
Marth. I don't know enough about fire-emblem to give a statement, honestly. With the next game making Marth be playable, we'll soon see though.
Ike. I heard that he was uber fast, that he couldn't learn some of the moves he knows in Brawl, and that his Aether healed him... he feels the exact opposite in Brawl..... weird...
Ness... I would have never seen the moves coming to life like that, but otherwise, rock on, Earthbound Boy.
Lucas, I wish you couldn't be called a clone, or you'd have seal of approval too. Just get new specials, and you'll be fine.
Game&Watch was done flawlessly. They may have copied his images down perfectly too. But Game&Watch is just like the game and watch games. He was done absolutely perfectly.
I'm glad Snake isn't using guns. It would have been hard to explain to kids why Zelda has bullet-holes in her chest.... They improvied another moveset into him, and it seems to work well. Downthrough and Taunts are also very awesome.
Sonic is dangerously underpowered. Given the abilities he has had in his games, and Sonic would be SSS tier instantly. He's capable of running THROUGH THE AIR! He can PUNCH THROUGH STEEL! As long as he holds 1 ring, he is COMPLETELY INVINCIBLE! There shouldn't be anyone who approaches Sonic's Speed, in any aspect. Infact, I think Sonic should be naturally given Ganondorf's Speed. Anything that punches you while moving at the speed of Sound is going to litterally knock you into next week. Honestly, the Sonic-Boom (nice word-play Irony) from Sonic punching you that fast might literally warp you a couple of days ahead into the future. Sonic is much weaker in Brawl than he's ever been, and it's not really funny how underpowered he is. He's still awesome, but honestly, I bet in a 1v1 fight, Sonic alone could instantly kill Gannon by running into him at his max speed... Atleast Super Sonic was done right, although again, the faster he moves, the more powerful he is. Physics people! Study it! If you do, you'll be able to tell that Sonic is underpowered!
That's my interpreation of the cast. But to recap...
Mario, Peach, Diddy Kong, Yoshi, Link, Zelda/Shiek, ToonLink, Samus, Kirby, KingDedede, Fox, Pikachu, Lucario, Jigglypuff, Ness, Game&Watch. All of these were done as close to right as you can do. They are pretty well done.e
Luigi, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Metaknight, Falco, Pokemon Trainer, Lucas, Snake. These were done closely, but could still use some improvement.
Wario, Pit, Iceclimbers, Rob, Olimar, Captain Falcon, Marth. I had no idea how these would be, but I guess they are okay.
Ganondorf, Wolf, Ike, Sonic. These guys weren't done anything the way they should have. Go play their games, Sakurai, and then make these people the right way! -.-