What's your opinion of the OG 12 OUTSIDE of Smash?

[Zinith]

I wanted to get every character in this thread, but seeing how unruly that would become I decided to limit it to the first 12 characters as it seems to me that they are the most iconic (for the most part).

Simply describe what your feelings are about each character is in general. So things like how do you feel about Pikachu in the Pokemon series rather than in Smash. Don't give me your opinions of how they play in Smash, that's been done to death. I find how certain characters connect to people on an emotional level more interesting over a pure gameplay perspective. You are allowed to use scores if you want, although I won't be doing them. If you really have no opinions and it's only characters like Ike you care about, you can mention that, but try to state what you think of the character as hard as you can ("I've never played the DKC games, but from what I heard about Donkey Kong, I think he's...")

I would suggest you put your opinions under spoiler tags so this thread doesn't get too overbearing.

Anyways, here's my go at it:

Spoiler: Mario - 6.5/10

Well what can I say? It's Mario. I've played his games as a matter of statistical likelihood. However, I find that my love for Mario is a result of the quality of his games and the culture he cultivated, not so much love for MARIO HIMSELF. He's way too much a generic character for me, which I understand was by design but still. Don't get me wrong, I love playing him in his games (sometimes even more so than my absolute favorite character of all time) but I'll never see myself connecting with him. I guess it speaks to Mario's magic touch where I don't have to necessary "love him" to have fun.

His brother is a different story, but I'll get to him soon enough...

Spoiler: Donkey Kong - 8/10

Memes aside, DK is such a fun and likeable big oaf!!! There's a reason DK fans are calling for his voice to change in Smash. He has so much personality in his own games that it's a crime to relegate him to just "gorilla." He's the sort of character you'd like to hang out and have a beer with (assuming you're not intimidated by his strength). He has goofy animations and a sense of humor. What's not to love?

Spoiler: Link - 6/10

Who reading this would be shocked to know that the Legend of Zelda is my favorite franchise of all time? Regardless, it would only seem evident that I would like the lead protagonist of the series right? Well, the funny thing is I can't just combine every Link that ever existed and judge this "Super Link" on his merits. There are currently 12 Links in Zelda canon and each one of them have their own quirks, personalities, backstories and goals. It also doesn't help that Smash already has 2 other Links that I have separate opinions on. So instead I'll be taking on the Link that is being currently represented in Smash Ultimate and see what I think about him in his own game.

Breath of the Wild Link is.... um, okay I guess. Granted, coming from a game that is more gameplay and exploration focused over story and character isn't exactly fair, but that's the way it is. One of my biggest disappointments about BotW was the lack of any incentive for Link to be doing what he was doing, or at least didn't show it. My way of fixing that would've been to take those "memories" and focused it on HIS backstory like how he became a Champion, what was his life like before then, etc. rather than Zelda's constant moaning (okay I'm exaggerating that, but you get my point). But the way we have it now, Link is just a blank slate and I really couldn't get invested in his journey. If only he was Skyward Sword Link...

Spoiler: Samus - 8.5/10

I love Samus!! If I were a space bounty hunter, she's the exact sort of person I would try to be as opposed to someone like Boba Fett. She has the will and means to get the job done while at the same time reserved and calm. I always thought of her as someone who has a deep sense of honor and duty for the human race despite having no obligations to do so. It's one of the reasons I didn't give Other M such a hard time (well there is that infamous Ridley PTSD scene, but that's beside the point).

Spoiler: Yoshi - 9,999,999,999,992/10

"Durr, I only know Yoshi from the tax fraud memes herpy der!!!"

But in all seriousness, words cannot describe how much Yoshi means to me. Yoshi was one of the first characters I remember when watching my sister play the Super Nintendo. As I grew older, I found that I was picking Yoshi in Mario spin-off games all the time without me realizing it. Yoshi clicked with me and he's one of the reasons I have such an affinity for reptiles. His design hits every mark: simple yet not too simple (*cough*Kirby*cough*). His bright green body, his adorable short tail, his snout, perfection!!! He's also a pure soul despite having incredible powers. Whenever I feel down, his warm demeanor and bouncy personality brings me back up. I also love that he's powerful and can take care of himself (Also I find his eating abilities to be.... well, I'll just leave it there). Yoshi is the most perfect being in fiction and I would love to hug a Yoshi in real life.

Whenever I see Yoshi neglected or shown indifference, it physically pains me, no joke. That may come off as weak Tumblr **** to many of you, and believe me I'm usually the first person call stuff like that out, but I can't control it. Yoshi has ingrained himself into my soul way too much. This is why I almost exclusively talk about him. I want people to know that yes, Yoshi's a character that deserves love, don't let him slip from your mind. He's never been popular in Smash, and that's sad. Call me an overzealous fan all you want. As long as I'm trying to be civil and I don't go full "Hewhomustnotbenamed," Yoshi is worth it!!!

Spoiler: Kirby - 5/10

Sorry Kirby, but there's only room for one simple, adorable vore based character in my heart. Fun fact: when I first heard about Kirby (it was the 1st Smash game), I thought he was a Pokemon. I feel like I'm walking on egg shells as Kirby fans can get really intense (especially if Yoshi is involved for some reason). But to me I never saw the appeal of this character. He's way too simple and his personality is almost as bland as Mario's. I appreciate his games for what they are: easy for new players to grasp while having a little more depth for experienced ones. But for Kirby himself, I'm sorry...

Spoiler: Fox - 3/10

Just to let you know, during the N64 era I owned a PlayStation instead. So while I guess Fox was super popular among Nintendo circles at the time, I was drawing a blank. Still, that doesn't mean I hate or disrespect the space furry, right? Well, even to this day I'm not all that experienced with the Star Fox series, so I can't really tell you what Fox is like. From what I gather, he's pretty trope-y and not all that interesting to me. I'm not joking when I say Fox really only has "furry" appeal and that's not me trying to be antagonistic. I'm not judging. That's just what it looks like to me.

Spoiler: Pikachu - 3/10

I have gone on record saying that Pokemon is one of my least favorite Nintendo franchises. I don't despise Pokemon, it just doesn't excite me like the others. And since Pikachu is the de facto mascot of the franchise, I guess my feelings on him mirror that of the series as a whole. Maybe if Pikachu wasn't so in my face all the time (cause holy ****ing **** is this creature everywhere!!!) maybe I'd warm up to him. I certainly like the twist of turning him into a Danny Devito wannabe in Detective Pikachu. That's at least something...

Spoiler: Luigi - 9.5/10

Jesus, talk about upstaging the lead!!! When it comes to charm, personality, likability, etc. it's no contest. Luigi ****ing CURBSTOMPS Mario!!! I'm the middle child of 3 kids, but since me and my little brother shared the same room, I was considered the "older brother." We did not get along very often, but one thing we both agreed on was that Luigi was the better brother bar none. I like his odd mannerisms and shy personality. I always get a laugh when Luigi does a thing in everything ever (post-Luigi's Mansion that is). In an alternate universe where Yoshi was never envisioned (a dystopian nightmare in other words), Luigi would be the character i obsess over and I'd be known as "Zinith the Luigi Sperg." Easily one of my favorite characters ever.

That being said, unlike Yoshi, I can see why Luigi might get overlooked. He is the "sidekick," and no amount of personality upgrades is gonna change that. Yoshi can stand on his own, but Luigi needs Mario to be relevant. It's a shame because I like the Green Thunder (lol Mr. L) but there's nothing I can do about it.

Spoiler: Ness - 6/10

The only "avatar" character on this list other than Link, which doesn't bode well for Ness. He's one of those characters where interesting things happen TO him rather than being an interesting character himself. (Although believe me when I say interesting things happen in EarthBound) He certainly has his moments like the Magicant sequence, but overall the avatar aspect hinders him slightly. It wouldn't be for another 12 years when Mother finally got a protagonist that has a good arc.

Spoiler: Captain Falcon - 6.5/10

Poor Captain Falcon. It's almost impossible to review you as a character outside of Smash because Smash is basically all you have. Literally every meme, quirk and hype moments people remember about Falcon comes from Smash. He was such a non-existent entity in the first F-Zero game that you might as well would've controlled a sentient racing vehicle and not know the difference. One saving grace for CF is F-Zero GX with those hilariously awful cutscenes. You thought Sonic was cringey? ****ing Lord of the Rings in comparison!!! That's all I have for the guy

Spoiler: Jigglypuff - 4/10

I remember her from the anime. I remember hating her. The End

So from best to worst:
.................................................................................

Part 2 (Melee 14): https://smashboards.com/threads/whats-your-opinion-of-the-melee-14-outside-of-smash-part-2.455977/
Part 3 (Brawl 18): https://smashboards.com/threads/whats-your-opinion-of-the-brawl-18-outside-of-smash-part-3.456040/
Part 4 (Sm4sh 21): https://smashboards.com/threads/whats-your-opinion-of-the-sm4sh-21-outside-of-smash-part-4.456127/

 

[EchoAegis]

Yoshi was one of the first characters I remember when watching my sister play the Super Nintendo

I fully understand loving a character from watching someone playing as them. Similar thing for me as well for Mario, watch my brothers play Mario 64 when I was young and that was got me to start loving Mario and the series in general.

 

[TMNTSSB4]

- All I got is the Smash stuff, though he is a great racer and excellent actor
- He is obviously a genius and has one of the greatest video game based shows of all time...but dem games are so hard
- A cool guy with a weird amount of growth spurts/voice changes, but is a great leader
- majestic singer
- the original Sakurai child (as of now its and og > modern )who deserves to stay as popular as he and his series already is (and bring back his anime)
-an absolute gaming legend and has inspired many other game series
- used to not like him...until I was blessed by him (now he’s all that matters)
- it’s Mario...that’s all the praise needed to show how much of a god he is to everything (Nintendo’s Mickey Mouse to Disney’s Mario). Got me into gaming through both Smash Melee and Mario Sunshine...and is the only gaming series I can trust having way more hits than misses for anything)
- know nothing about him
- don’t play the games, but will always know how popular and adorable Pikachu is
- the greatest female video game character of all time (awesome/bad***, sexy/beautiful, ruthless, emotional when needed, tortured past, underdog, managed to trick millions into thinking she was a guy only to flip them off in the end of her first of many games, etc.). Samus Aran may not be my favorite Nintendo character, but this hero is an absolute legend and deserves as much attention as the big theee heroes of Nintendo (bring more games, bring movies/shows/animes/comics/manga/merch, all of it)
- yeah...a good best friend who shouldn’t be killed off and needs all the Dashie love

 

[DarkKry4]

- Star of nintendo
- His games with rare were good but his original nintendo design was better
- Don't know him, his series is too dead atm.
- his games were amazing and adventurous. The character itself is great (i like the silent type). Twilight Princess will always hold a special place in my childhood.
- hate it's voice. i also hate that he spawns a bunch of lookalikes in the pokemon series and that they all get magically popular just because they look like Pikachu. That is nuts.
- Birdo is better
- never played his games
- never played her games
- player number 2
- A nobody
- Another nobody
- Iconic Pokemon, greatest singer of our generation.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I never really had much of a connection with Mario. I knew him, of course, but I was never that associated with him. My first console was a Genesis - I didn't get a Nintendo console until 64, and mine was not bundled with Mario 64, so I've never actually played it outside of a few minutes in the first level at a friend's house. Mario was always nothing to me. The only main-series Mario game I did play was Land on the GameBoy, so I do have a bit of a soft spot for Daisy (but especially when Brawl gave us that undeground theme remix? That was a giant nostalgia attack)

That's not to say I didn't know him - he was Mr. Nintendo after all. I just never was a fan of those characters who have a neon sign above their head screaming "LOVE ME!" Because of that, I resented him quite a bit, and in the spinoffs, I never chose Mario. Still, he's just there to me - undeniably important, but completely forgettable.

Mario is okay, I guess, but I really have no feelings for him at all.


That N64 I got? It was bundled with DK64. But again, DK got hit with a lot of 'designated protagonist' stuff for me, and I favored Diddy the whole game. Of course, once I grew out of my "girls are icky and have cooties" phase, I started to enjoy Tiny, and then Lanky and Chunky...basically everyone but Donkey. Still, the game never made a huge impression on me, as I put it down when that creepy-*** Jack-in-the-box kept killing me and I never looked at it until I got converted by the K.Rool support thread during Sm4sh speculation. Finally finished that game! It's only been 20 years...

My only other association with DK was Mario Party 2, but I already had a go-to character there, so he again didn't do much for me.

At this point, DK is just okay to me.


My life. This is and has always been my favorite video game character since I picked up Ocarina. I love the medieval-ish fantasy-ish aesthetic, and Hyrule draws me in like quicksand. I loved every second of playing every Zelda game. And as a lefty, it was great to have another left-handed hero, at least until Nintendo decided to switch him to righty because the two people who play motion controls will have a hard time. I want to play motion control Zelda! Very salty about that.

At least all of this with the console versions. I don't need that cartoon stuff on handheld. I like my Zelda gritty and realistic. And with BotW...it felt like a western RPG, which just made it that much cooler. Link may be my favorite character, but The Elder Scrolls is my favorite series, and now we've got a Zelda game that feels like Skyrim...if only they just make Link back into a lefty...

Adding Link into a game instantly makes it better. That's really how I got into the Soul Calibur series (still annoyed about the fake SCVI leak that promised a Switch release with Link returning) and Mario Kart 8 (I royally suck at racing games). In fact, every game I had for GameCube had Link in it as a playable character.

Link is hands-down my favorite character from any video game ever.


No real connection here. I had Metroid II for GameBoy, but I could never figure it out and just left it to collect dust. Again, my biggest connection here was getting converted by the Ridley support thread at Sm4sh speculation time. But unlike with the DK series, I never went back to finish that game.

After getting to know her...I guess she's cool, but I don't feel anything special for her.


This was my go-to for the spinoffs. I played the first level or so of Super Mario World once, but I know Yoshi best as my perennial choice from Mario Party 2. Since then, I've cooled off quite a bit on him. I don't play the spinoffs as much, but I take Link for Mario Kart 8, and I've played Mario Party 8, where Hammer Bro was my go to choice (kinda somewhat interested in the new Mario Party since Hammer Bro is back playable again). Otherwise, nothing really connects me to him anymore.

He used to be one of my favorites, but now he's just another one of those characters who's just there.


No connection outside of Smash. Fun to imagine him with different hats, though (he'd look so cute with the Dragonborn's helmet)

After getting to know him, I still don't feel much. The series is a bit too bubblegum for me since I favor gritty artstyles, so I'm disintereted in him by default.


No connection outside of Smash. I had a friend who played Starfox and I watched for a bit - that was when I was a kid and furries were cute before the internet Rule 34'd everything, so I did like him. After all foxes are basically dogs, and kids like dogs.

If I had infinite time, I'd really like to play somce StarFox. He does still seem like an awesome character, but I just have so many things I like better, and I'm terrible at that style of game.


Oh I hated this little ****. Don't get me wrong, I liked Pokémon, but I really hated things that were shoved in my face that I was expected to like, and this was the star of that. Since then, I've mellowed considerably on him. I wouldn't call him one of my favorites, but he's safely in the 'I like this Pokémon' group. I'm actually leaning towards getting the Pikachu edition of Let's Go (but I really hope I can get all three real starters, because since Brawl I need my team to be based around Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard)

I really have only seen the anime recently. As a kid, I refused to watch it because I hated Pikachu. But in the last few years, I revisited it and it's actually not bad (note, I've only seen the Indigo league series, so I don't know anything that happens outside of that).

Now, Pikachu's cool. Definitely not Arcanine/Charizard/Mewtwo/Squirtle level of cool, but I wouldn't kick him off the team.


Eh...Mario but slightly cooler since he wasn't shoved in my face as much. At this point, I'd put Mario above him, but neither are high on my list.

I put him now right next to Mario in the "how much do I like these characters" list. Which of the two leads the others changes daily.


Absolutely no connection outside of Smash. Never even heard of the series before.

And since learning of it, I still feel nothing.


Another with a series I'd never heard of, but I liked him way more in Smash.

Since learning about it, I know I won't ever play it since I can't play racing games (unless it's with Link on a horse-shaped motorcycle), but I know Falcon best from the memes. He's up there on my list of characters I like.


Another Pokémon that was shoved in my face at every opportunity. She was never anything special to me at all.

Now, Pikachu definitely has her beat. She's still languishing somewhere with the forgotten extras.

 

[Dig Dug]

No strong opinion on him. I like his games a lot but I never cared much for Mario as a character.

I'll take him over Mario any day of the week. I remember first getting more interested in him after reading his diary in Paper Mario, and from there I only grew more attached to his goofy personality.

/// No connection. Looking to play one of Samus's games soon, though.

Okay, so... I have a confession. I'm not much of a fan of Zelda, and not for a lack of trying. I've played Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess, Wind Waker, Skyward Sword, and Breath of the Wild and my feelings as I played them ranged from 'I'm bored.' to 'It's not bad.' depending on the game. I played them hoping I could see what other people saw in them and it just never happened for me. (BotW almost did it for me, but I really didn't like the shrines or dungeons.) As a result, I always felt lukewarm towards Link. Expect for Toon Link anyway. Toon Link's cool.

I played Super Mario World early on. It wasn't the cape that made that game for me, it was Yoshi! I was a dinosaur kid way back when, so having a cute dino buddy to ride on? Awesome. I played Yoshi's Island/Story a lot, too, which only endeared him to me more. In all the spin offs he was usually the only character I played, aside from Bowser. Randomly, he's also the one I have the most merchandise of, though I'm really not sure how that happened...

I just always loved his design. Tbh though, most of my love for him comes from smash. When it comes to his own games, I have a lot of Pokemon I prefer over him.

Same as above, more or less. I was sad when they took her out of the anime, though.

I loved the DKC trilogy, but you know? DK himself was absent for most of it, and in the first one I preferred Diddy over him anyway. I guess he never made a huge impression on me.

This is it. This is my boy. Super Star was my first game and the one that really hooked me into video games. I must have been only 3 or 4 when I got it. We were at a rental store picking out a game for my brother's new system(it was either the N64 or the PS1, don't remember) and next thing I knew I see this cute, round, pink thing. I had to have it! Luckily my brother was done with his snes and the store must have been selling its old games, so my mom bought it for me. I fell in love with that game and with Kirby. He was just so friendly and adorable! (And don't get me started on his cute hats, either.) Soon I started looking for other games with Kirby, and eventually I started branching out and playing others like DKC and Mario. Kirby was always my number one though. (Well, I did get a little tired of the games for awhile, but then Star Allies came and hit me like a truck.)

 

[nirvanafan]

- The 3d platformers and Mario Kart are really good, the older Mario Parties were fun too, prefer Luigi since I like to route for the underdog.

- One of my favorite franchises, I am more of a fan of the botw in particular but also the oot style gameplay.

- Started Heart Gold years ago and stopped for no reason in particular, can see the appeal but personally I do not find the series particularly good or bad, do appreciate how Jigglypuff was added as a joke fighter though.

- Not a big fan of 2d platformers but some Kirby games have been enjoyable to me.

- Did not really like her older games but I would like to give prime a shot someday.

- I really do not like pilot games so I just really do not like star fox.

- DK Country games are ok, as I said I really do not like 2d platformers that much, would like to give DK 64 a shot soon though.

- Could not really get into any Yoshi games although Wooly World looks like it could be one of the more fun 2d platformers out there.

- Never played Earthbound and not particularly interested in doing so any time soon, would rather get into other rpg franchises 1st.

- Played a couple F-Zero games and they were pretty fun, shame the franchise is inactive.

 

[PF9]

I really only have anything to say about Pikachu. It's my favorite Pokemon, and a very cute one at that. I really like the one that Ash owns, he's probably the most iconic Pokemon specimen ever. Plus Pikachu is a mouse, my favorite animal since I was a young child, there are other fictional mouse characters I really like too like Jerry and Pinky and the Brain.

 

[Impa4Smash]

Mario - A classic. Had 64 as a kid, have Odyssey now
Luigi - Prefer him to his brother, and Luigi's Mansion is still one of the coolest games ever (scared me so much as a kid)
Link - The best.
Kirby - Games are a bit hit and miss tbh
Pikachu - Not a huge fan of him. Like other Pokemon better, like...
Jigglypuff - Adorable. As long as she doesn't evolve. Wigglytuff is trash
Fox - I just recently played Star Fox 64. It was fun, but no real emotional attachment to him
Yoshi - I love him. Never sacrificed him to make a jump and never will <3
DK - Another classic. DK 64 is my jam
Samus - Not the biggest fan, though I did love Metroid Prime 1 & 2 as a kid (never played anything else in the series)
Ness - Earthbound was a huge surprise when I played it on the Wii U. Lived up to the hype, hit right in the feels. I look at Ness differently now lol
Captain Falcon - He is just smash to me

 

[Nebunera]

- Everything. The first character I have played, was my main in 64 and Melee (But then Squirtle and Meta Knight became a thing in Smash). All the way from playing the Mario sports games, playing Galaxy and now Odyssey.

- Similar to Mario. He would basically be my other character I played in games except for Smash.

- Breath of the Wild is amazing, like most would say. However, I do kind of like the games more, the cartoon is just more appealing.

- Loved playing as, with, and against him in Mario games. I have memories playing Donkey Kong country on my Gameboy Advanced SP, and definitely Country Returns on the Wii.

- Yoshi's God Damn Island, plus he was always the CPU in Mario Party if Wario or Waluigi weren't in.

- The runner up to everything. The movies, the games, the anime, the Pokemon cards, and I still love it. Even if this franchise is marketed towards kids, I will never grow out of it. First game was Fire Red, and I was so excited when I encountered a Pikachu in the Viridian Forest.

- The definition of simplicity and colors in video games. Played the NES, the Kirby games on my SNES classic, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, and never forget; Kirby's Return to Dreamland. I just loved sucking up an enemy and discovering what power I get. I also cannot forget the anime, I watched all of it, even the movie. If I had the money, I would get Star Allies.

- I haven't played a Metroid game in so long. I played the NES, Super Metroid (some of it), and Metroid Prime Trilogy. I can't wait to play Metroid Prime 4, so I can get back to this franchise.

- Will play Earthbound one day since now I have it on my SNES classic, I heard it is really story driven and pretty creepy.

- Pretty cool, but I think the franchise could be a lot better. I could imagine an open world star fox game.

- Better off considering him a rep for Smash. Never got to play his games other than the original and I hope F-Zero gets something in the future.

 

[SchAlternate]

He's an alright dude. The everyman.
I love this dork so much in the Mario series.
I love the DKC games, but not too fond of him as a character. Dixie is the best Kong, imo.
Favorite Mario character, love the first two Yoshi games, my pick in nearly every spin off game.
As an avatar character, Link is pretty cool, but I love how dorky he is BotW
Favorite Nintendo protagonist, from my favorite Nintendo series. Samus is bae.
His machine is the best of the starting machines, especially for newcomers, but you eventually get better machines.
Earthbound is cool, though Ness is a little bit too generic.
He's cute, I guess.
He's okay, but I prefer Falco personality wise.
Meh.
Meh.

 

[Khao]

Nintendo is a company that makes games that are much more focused on pure gameplay experience rather than character, so unsurprisingly, my love for each character is almost directly proportional to my love to each of their games, haha. There are a few exceptions, sometimes based on design, sometimes based on a random personality quirk, but in most cases, if the game is good I'll probably like the character I play as, and I won't if the game is bad. It's an advantage video games have to other media, I think, they help you connect with characters that otherwise have no personality to speak of by literally putting you in their position, but I guess that also makes it a little bit difficult to talk about them as characters without talking about their respective series.

Okay, so pretentious introduction aside:

Spoiler

From what I said you might probably guess, but I like Mario a lot. When I was a kid he was my absolutely favorite character of all time, though that kind of changed over time. Still, It's the biggest example of characters I like simply due to how they play, Mario games always have an extremely fun and highly polished movement, which makes it pretty easy to end up liking the character you're playing as. On top of that, I find Mario's constantly cheery attitude to be pretty appealing. Most modern games take themselves way too seriously unless they're actually designed to be a comedy. But Mario just stays Mario and as a character, basically embodies what video games are truly meant to be at their core; pure joyful fun.

Spoiler

I like DK and all, but he's not amongst my favorites. I do have a massive amount of respect for the character though, he practically made Nintendo what it is today and is one of the most beloved game characters of all time through the whole world. I wouldn't start collecting Donkey Kong merchandising or anything, but I know he'll always have a place in the gaming industry and he freaking deserves it.

Spoiler

Link though, I'd totally collect merchandising of, and I actually kinda do haha. Link's kind of funny in that I actually got to know him through Smash 64, and he became my main before I even so much as knew the Zelda series. Of course, later on I did get into Zelda games and it became my instant favorite franchise. Something I like about Link is that even though in every single game he's silent and shows almost no personality whatsoever, there's always a hint of what he's actually like as a person. It varies from game to game to the point you could attach specific attributes to every separate Link, but some things always stay true. He's basically a nobody with a humble origin who at the end of the day is destined to become the hero due to the sheer courage he shows. Though I guess it's sometimes not that simple, haha. It varies from game to game, and that's also a reason it's easy to say I like the character, as it's hard to consider him a single character in the first place.

Spoiler

If there's one Nintendo character that should take the title of badass, that's Samus. She's also amongst my favorite characters ever, and also not just because of how much I like the game she's in. She gets missions and does them ****ing flawlessly with no hesitation. And of course, she's known to have somewhat of a softer side thanks to a few subtle moments, such as the ending of Metroid II. Eeeeeeeeeven if it was taken a bit too far in a certain specific game. And hey, since I mentioned merchandising earlier, it might be worth to mention Samus is the only character who made me want to spend 80+ dollars for a high-quality poseable figure, and I don't ****ing regret it in the slightest!

Spoiler

Yoshi's great. I gotta say I find Yoshi more appealing when he shows up in the Mario series than when he's on his own, Yoshi Island is the only Yoshi game I can personally say I truly like. Still, I do always enjoy seeing him in Mario games, and I always miss him when he's not available. I was super excited to learn he was going to be in Super Mario Galaxy 2, and finding out you could play as him in Odyssey was hype as ****, though I wish he had a bigger role in the general gameplay, haha. Ultimately though, I think he's comparable to DK in that I respect him more than I like him as a character. But again, massive respect. Again, worth to mention though, I own exactly two plushies. One of them is Mario. The other one is Yoshi.

Spoiler

If there's two Nintendo characters that should take the title of badass, Kirby's the second one, haha. I've always liked the idea of cute, seemingly innocent things having some sort of ridiculous borderline unmeasurable power. Kirby is one of those games I've always enjoyed despite being easy as ****, as they provide a quick and instant feeling of being a ****ing powerhouse. Besides, I've always liked transformations and power imitation elements on any character, which Kirby provides plenty of. Sadly I have kind of mixed feelings as of late, I think Kirby games reached their peak on Kirby Super Star, and while they haven't really moved from that peak, I feel like Kirby games have a lot of inexplored territory and it's a bit frustrating to always see them produce games that honestly, have no ambition. They found a winning formula in Kirby's Return to Dreamland and haven't really innovated since them other than adding one new gimmick that doesn't really have a big impact on the game as a whole, and of course, spin-offs. Kirby games could be huge man, but they just don't try to be. Have to say though, I enjoyed his anime a lot, hahaha. Can't even say it's good but I loved it. Was a huge guilty pleasure of mine a bit over a decade ago, haha.

Spoiler

I see Star Fox somewhat similarly to Kirby but to a more extreme degree in both directions. Star Fox as a series is ****ing filled with endless potential, but the only time they tried to improve on the Star Fox 64 formula was with Star Fox assault, adding new ways to play and a bigger, slightly more ambitious story-line that didn't need to. Whether or not it was successful is obviously completely arguable, but unlike Kirby, who stayed at that high without doing much to improve, the Star Fox series has been completely downhill since then, which is sad as **** to see as I enjoy this world and its characters so much. Which brings me to the actual topic I guess, haha. Fox is awesome. I love the general style of this series, ****ing animals flying ships with cheesy dialogue that often thinks it has more depth than it truly does but still loves messing around with goofy jokes and commentary that never ****ing ends. Obviously, Fox is no exception. Though I can't say I like Fox that much on his own, but I just love the Star Fox team in general and the whole dynamic they have (favorite character is probably Falco). Nothing beats the Star Fox style of characters making silly comments about everything that happens on-screen and fighting about little things, or worrying about eachother, or throwing snarky remarks, I ****ing love it and they deserve a better modern game, damnit!

Spoiler

Not the biggest fan of Pikachu to be honest. Like, I think he's cute, and I always enjoy good electric powers. But that's the end of it, haha. I like him just fine, but I'm the kind of person that will absolutely evolve his Pikachu into a Raichu, who I like better to be honest. As much as it's been pushed through years (and worked, for most people), I don't like thinking of Pikachu as something more than just one more Pokémon. One of the good ones, but still just one more Pokémon. And even then, probably 80% of my enjoyment for the character comes from my sister, who's a huge Pikachu fan, haha.

Spoiler

Luigi's the best, man. There's something in me that always ends up enjoying the sidekick more than the main character, and Luigi's probably the best example of that. I always enjoy playing as him more than Mario in games where he's available, and there's just something about his attitude that just feels more relatable, I think. I love how Smash turned him into a complete ****ing goofball too even if it's not something he shows to such a degree in his own series. Also Luigi's Mansion is easily the best Mario Spinoff ever created, which just gives Luigi more points. I really wish they made more of those.

Anyway, I always pick Luigi when playing on the multiplayer spinoffs like Party, Tennis or Kart, and a huge part of me is always dissapointed to learn that he's once again not going to be playable in the next main-line Mario game. Should've totally been in Odyssey.

Spoiler

Ness... Well... I enjoy the game more than the character to be honest. Earthbound is a ****ing Masterpiece, but the reasons I love it so much has little to do with Ness. Not to say I dislike him, quite the opposite, I just don't think Ness is even remotely the most important part of what makes Earthbound Earthbound. Not like Lucas does in his own game, at the very least.

Spoiler

Honestly no, haha. The captain Falcon is a Smash character at this point. I ****ing love him, but exactly because of the way Smash represents him. He's basically a generic Superhero-ish type character with a ****-ton of confidence and loves to show-off. That's how I see him at the very least, and this is not exactly present in F-Zero games, haha.

Spoiler

I feel somewhat similarly to Jigglypuff. As a Pokémon? Meh. As a Smash character? It boggles my mind that some people would rather see it removed.

 

[Rhus]

Great thread idea!

- He's alright. I enjoy most of his games but as a blank avatar with 0 background or actual personality I can't bring myself to like him more than simply passingly.
- His games are fantastic. Don't feel much about him personally though.
- Love Zelda. BotW is one of my favourite games of all time and many of the preceding Zelda games were just excellent. I would say I adore what Link stands for more than who Link is. I like Toon Link as a character (because he has more backstory, incentive etc. from WW) moreso, but in a nutshell I like Link.
- Never really played any metroid games, but can really appreciate the love and effort that went into designing Samus' character and backstory.
- I'm one of the very very few people that simply doesn't like Yoshi. Yoshi's island SNES was an incredible game and I loved it as a kid but Yoshi himself is just not a character that I can like.
- Kirby's fun! Had a ton of fun with his games and can appreciate what he stands for and his series.
- Bah, where do I begin. Loved every Star Fox game for what they were, though I would be the first to tell you that I'm pretty resentful over Star Fox's poor growth over the last while. Fox is my favourite Nintendo protagonist - love his backstory, his character, everything about him. He'll always be my main in every game with no questions. He stands for stoicism, leadership, and decisiveness and his character is so concrete and fairly well developed by comparison. Fox is my man, er, dog.
- Pikachu is the icon for Pokemon, which is one of my favourite series of all time (I was a competitive battler for some time, still am on the side). I appreciate Pikachu for being the figurehead of Pokemon more than I do Pikachu himself.
- He's alright. Always seemed weird to me that under every circumstance, Luigi is given more personality and room to grow and change than Mario. Because of that I will always prefer him to Red Luigi.
- Second favourite protagonist! I've second'd Ness in every smash game since 64. Earthbound was actually a childhood game for me and Ness is an incredible character. The story of Earthbound teaches a ton of lessons, has bountiful meaning and deeper connotations and Ness' Magicant Arc is just so beautifully well done that I can't even begin to describe how much Earthbound means to me. Ness4ever.
- He's a meme. That is all.
- Always had fun with her in Smash. Enjoy that she is a Fairy type now, and mostly laugh how that makes her immune to Draco Meteor.

 

[MrRoidley]

- The OG. Love him so much, he's the reason I'm into gaming, plus I love his upbeat personality, more games are needing protagonists like this
- I think DK is the case where I love the character more than his games. Don't get me wrong, his games are good, but not my all time faves. I absolutely love his personality, he's too hilarious
- I love how he has so much room for interpretation that how you see Link is mostly based on how you interpret him/headcanons instead of what the game shows you. Also one of my fave characters ever.
- My connection with Samus is really recent. I love how she's one of the first women to star in a game. It's a really nice thing
- Oh, just my favorite character of all time. He's just cute and funny and he means a lot to me. My love for him only heightened with Yoshi's Woolly World, one of the best sidescrollers I ever played
- He's nice, I like his resolve to complete his missions, lead Star Fox and save Lylat System. But I prefer his comrades, especially Slippy (yes) and Falco.
- Not much to say here. Cute, adorable and strong. I prefer Meta Knight and King Dedede, though.
- While I do think there are many better Pokémon, I do understand its appeal as a mascot. Still, however, not one of my faves.
- I said I love Mario, love Mario's brother even more. He's beaming with personality and he harkens so much to my childhood because of Luigi's Mansion plus being my main in many games that had him, Smash or not
- I think he's the one I have the least connection, but the game he's from is one of my fave SNES games. I think it's because he's a even bigger "blank state" than Link, but I don't think he's as interesting in terms of how you can interpretate him. Plus, in his game, he doesn't use many of the cool moves he uses in Smash so I guess I prefer the other party members.
- Smash made me know him and his series, and by playing his games I love him even more. He's a skilled racer, his games are fun, he's badass, and if you watched the F-Zero anime, you only have more reasons to like him. He's amazing.
- While it IS because of Smash, Jiggles became one of my top 10 fave Pokémon. Whenever it's possible I put one in my team in Pokémon playthroughs. (and I always equip an Everstone!)

 

[Tri Knight]

Gotta reply to the comment.

There was plenty incentive for Champion Link to do what he had done. The game is literally about his failure to save Hyrule as the ultimate Champion, and in that failure they put him to sleep until he can return 100 years to try again, albeit with the odds stacked against him.

There's actually a ton of story in the game and much to note about his personality. You can find diaries or talk to people in villages and discover more about Link, history, and other major characters and plot points. For instance, you can read Zeldas diary about Link's strong stoic personality, which shows in game. He's definitely the most knightly, strong mannered Link that I know of, in terms of personality.

They definitely tell the story in a much more open world manner, where you gotta find it for yourself. If you're just running through the game you're not gonna pick up on much, for sure.

That being said I do love this Link's design as well. The hair is great. As much as I love the classic costume (Twilight being the best in my opinion), his Champion tunic is very refreshing and at the very least has meaning to it. In a way, this Link had made his own hero costume.

 

[MargnetMan23]

- I mean, he's Mario. I don't care much about the character himself, but he's got plenty of great games under his belt and has done more than enough to earn his mascot status.

- Never played a DK game in my life, other than that one time I played that arcade DK game and got rekt but still. DK himself seems likable enough though, I've got no problem with him.

- I just picked up BOTW like a week ago, and rip my free time. Before this I've played a few LOZ games, but I can't say I've ever beaten any of them. BOTW will probably change that though. As a silent protagonist Link doesn't seem to have much in the way of a strong personality, but eh that's fine. He's cool any way.

- I played Super Metroid as a virtual console and I really liked it. Never played any other Metroid game though sadly. From what little I know about Samus and her backstory I think she's a pretty solid character, and her design's nice.

- Never played a Yoshi game in my life, but really, how could you not like the ******?

- I've played all of one Kirby game in my life, but it was a good game. Kirby has also produced some of my absolute favorite Game Grumps playthroughs back when I still watched them, so yeah he's cool with me.

- I've never played a Star Fox game in my life, but I like his design I guess.

- Even as a pretty big Pokemon fan I was never huge on Pikachu in particular. The fact that it's the most heavily marketed Pokemon out there doesn't really help my opinion of it. I definitely like Pikachu way more in Smash than the actual game. I mean, Pikachu's not even good in the core games rip.

- I've always found Luigi a lot more relatable than Mario, so I like him more. Any time there's an option to in a Mario game I choose to play as Luigi tbh. Never played Luigi's Mansion though...

- I loved playing through Earthbound, but honestly basically everything but Ness was interesting in that game. Ness was just experiencing the quirky greatness, not actively contributing to it. So *shrugs*

- I tried playing F-Zero on virtual console and I wasn't huge on it to be honest. I wouldn't care about Captain Falcon at all if it wasn't for Smash tbh, but he is in Smash so...

- I liked her in the anime, couldn't care less about her in the games. I kind of like her design but she's far from my favorite, and her evolution is pretty meh imo. Definitely another case where I like her more in Smash than the base game.

 

[MysticKnives]

- He’s Mr. Nintendo. Love his games. He’s a cool dude.
- Haven’t played too many DK games but I’ve always DK was cool enough (bigger fan of Cranky and Diddy though).
- Played some Zelda games. I’ve enjoyed them. Link is ok but I never gravitated towards him all that much.
- Haven’t played a Metroid game in a long time. Samus is a really cool character.
- Yoshi’s fine. Not real big on his games but I like the character.
- Kirby is cute. Games are fun.
- Only played one Starfox game. Fox is meh to me. Always preferred Falco.
- Cute Pokemon. Not one of my favorites but I do like it.
- Love Luigi. Easily my favorite Mario character.
- Smash is his claim to fame. He’s iconic in this game. I love his flamboyant, confident and boastful nature. F-Zero GX made me appreciate the more calm and cool Falcon from his home series.
- My favorite character. It’s subtle in his game, but he does have a personality. Always great to see this 13 year old go on this massive adventure. EarthBound is my favorite game.
- One of my favorite Pokemon, this cute pink demon looking balloon.

 

[DYED]

Spoiler: Mario

Mario is important for a multitude of reason, but for me he has always been extra important because of "representation". Imagine, for the little 7 years old me, who has always seen only japanese or american characters in the media being loved and cherished, and then come across this historical icon of video games being an italian plumber. My mind was blown, I couldn't believe it. Needless to say I rapidly became a big fan of him. I think it's one of the most unique characters ever created, and I still really like him despite not being a real big fan of platform games.

I'm really attached to it, even now that I find kind of silly the idea of craving representation in the media. He's just so familiar. When I see him, I can't but think of all the thousands of hours spent on Super Mario Brothers and Super Mario Bros. 3 when I was younger, and also at the hundreds of hours spent on his most recent games.

Spoiler: Donkey Kong

Like I just said, I've never been a big fan of platforms. I've played his games, but never really loved them that much. When I see him I always think about his grandpa in the first Mario game. I'm pretty neutral about him. Still going to buy his latest game. Eventually.

Spoiler: Link

Even though I'd eventually get to own a Nintendo 64 and a GameCube, my first Nintendo console ever was a Gameboy Advance, bought in 2004. My first three games were Donald Duck Advanced (great game, by the way), Metroid Fusion and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. I remember I didn't like the latter game at first, preferring way more the first two, to the point where I completely dropped it mid main quest. And yet, it was a game I loved. The aesthetic, the music, the humour and the characters were all so endearing! So I ended up buying the 3D games, like Majora's Mask, Wind Waker and Ocarina of Time, ending up loving them! Then I went back and finished Minish Cap, who turned out to be my favorite Zelda game.

... Up until Twilight Princess, which is still my favorite. Great games, full of great characters and great moments. I think the fact that Link was such a silent character really helped the immersion, I always felt like I was the green-clothed adventurer!

Spoiler: Samus

Like I said, three Gameboy Advance games were Donald Duck Advanced, The Minish Cap and Metroid Fusion. Out of the three, Metroid Fusion was my favorite. When I found out she was a girl, my mind was completely blown.
And that's how I got my first videogame crush.

Spoiler: Yoshi

Never played Yoshi's Island (don't hate on me, Zinith ), but for me Yoshi has always been the dinosaur-shaped Mario's quirky friend. Like the simple design, but I don't hold that many fond memories of him.

Spoiler: Kirby

I came to know Kirby much much later. I think the first game I played there he was featured was Smash, actually. I really, really love him, he's so cute. I eventually ended up playing all his games, except the latest one. One day, one day.

Spoiler: Fox

Never played his games. Pretty neutral about him.

Spoiler: Pikachu

My favorite pokémons are others, but I always digged Pikachu's design, also because of my real life fondness for pet rodents. Never used him in the games, he's kind of bad, heh.

Spoiler: Luigi

I don't know why, but in my earliest memories I see myself thinking of him as Mario's rival. I knew they were brothers in good terms, but in my imagination I always saw him and Mario actually fighting over Peach. Which never happens in the games. I really started liking his canon personality and background when I played Luigi's Mansion. I wouldn't call him my favorite Mario character, tho. That spot is still Mario's.

Spoiler: Ness

I played the Mother series really late, a couple years ago. The games are great, they helped me through though times and are really, really fun, but Ness isn't that much of a character. With Link you have a silent character you can really impersonate and feel like the hero, but with Ness you still feel like a bystander than an actual protagonist. My favorite protagonist is Lucas, I really dig him way more than Ness, even though the latter is way better in Smash games. =p

Spoiler: Captain Falcon

Never played any of his games. Got into the lore with the cheesy anime I randomly found on YouTube, like, a decade ago. He's really cool, he has this bravado that I really found endearing. I like him, but I don't have that many stories or fond memories about him.

Spoiler: Jigglypuff

If I ever went and made a Top 100 Favorite Pokémon according to Dyed, I would put Jigglypuff at least in the top thirty. I don't know why, but her design is so ... I don't know. I just remember I got obsessed over her in the first Kanto reboots. A lot of people hate her for various reasons but ... I don't know, I just really like her. Never watched the Pokémon anime, maybe she's super annoying there but I wouldn't know. =p

 

[ThyCheshireCat]

Spoiler

What can be said about Mario that hasn't been said already, Mario has some of the best games of all time under his belt, does he have the best 2D platformers, IMO for the most part nah, Kirby and Wario Land appeal to me more, but when it comes to 3D platformers Mario is still king. The character himself is likeable but I prefer Luigi and Yoshi by a huge margin.

Spoiler

The better brother by far, who doesn't like Luigi? he's what happens if you give Mario better personality, a better design and a series that may have few games, but still is just as good, maybe a bit better IMO than what he spawned from. Ever since I saw the first Luigi's Mansion I knew there was something about Luigi that makes him one of the best characters in the series, playing the sequel further cements my suspicions.

Spoiler

Yoshi's the kinda guy that hooks you on design alone, sells you on his games and makes you realise he's the best hero in the extended Mario canon in that without him, Mario, Luigi and even Donkey Kong would probably be dead baby corpses in the middle of Yoshi's Island, he's also the best character in the Super Mario World show, like MAYBE aside from Bowser, but that's purely because I just ****ing love Bowser. Oh and I always pick either Yoshi, Wario, Bowser or Waluigi in Mario Spinoffs ( only time i break the quartet is Lemmy in Mario Kart 8, because he's somehow cuter than Yoshi.)

Spoiler

Donkey Kong IMO at least, is the single most important video game character of all time, not only was he the namesake of Mario's first appearance, but he is still both a huge part of the Mario series and has a very big series of his own. He's also one of the most likeable characters of all time, Donkey Kong's games are as grand as he is as well, DK may not be as badass as his crocodile nemesis but we all owe ourselves to the guy.

Spoiler

I don't have much to say about Link, he's kinda cool but he doesn't really appeal to me, I much prefer Ganondorf, Midna, Groose or even Tingle to Link, I like characters with personality and Link does not satisfy my need of heroes with personality. oh well, at least the CDI Link's horrible quality is funny... and that was the only time Link was given personality (apart from Toon Link anyways.)

Spoiler

The name you should know, the star of the show... his series is great but for some reason literally every other Kirby character appeals to me more than he does, Dedede is literally the best thing that's ever happened to me, Meta Knight is awesome and makes Batman look lame, Marx is both adorable and terrifying so immediately appeals to me, Adeleine's too cute for me not to love... I could go on and on, but the long and short of it is as much as I love Kirby, the others just represent what his series is better than he does IMO.

Spoiler

Never played Metroid but I gotta say, Samus has some of the coolest nemesises i've ever seen, Ridley, Kraid, Crocomire, Sylux, Dark Samus ETC, but like Kirby, the main hero doesn't appeal to me as much as the other characters, but unlike Kirby it's mainly due to the large number of large badass archosaurian creatures rather than the personality of the other characters.

Spoiler

Not played any of his games but I still enjoy StarFox, like StarFox is a series I will definitely start playing in the future, StarFox is just something that's always appealed to me and I don't know why... honestly prefer Wolf, Andross and Falco but Fox is awesome.

Spoiler

Oh, the mascot of Pokemon itself, such a gaming icon, who could honestly not be appealed by that adorable little yellow face.... me, that's who. Now don't get me wrong Pikachu is cute but in my opinion Raichu does everything Pikachu can do but does it better, Pikachu's cute, Raichu's adorable. Pikachu's cool, Raichu's badass. I would talk about Pikachu in this section as i should but I feel like Raichu is more worth my time, and deserves an echo.

Spoiler

Why did they do you when Raichu would be easier to implement and Poliwhirl (The Pokemon creator's favourite) would be nearly as easy too? Jigglypuff is kinda cute but the only part of it I like is its evolved form Wigglytuff, who I adore due to Pokemon Mystery Dungeon.

Spoiler

I have literally nothing to say about Ness apart from that even Porky manages to be more likeable IMO... but TBH Earthbound is another game who's side characters are just way better than the MC. (presumably because Ness is a blank slate character.)

Spoiler

There is literally nothing wrong that I've ever seen with Falcon except that Ganondorf should not have been a clone of him, Like I enjoy all the memes of him but he's not much to discuss outside from Smash... so I can't say much.

From fave to least fave
/

 

[Diddy Kong]

Spoiler: Mario

He has some great games, great lore and world, and I especially love the RPG titles but Mario isn't exactly a likeable character. He just has great gameplay and a world and characters around him that make him popular. I like how in certain cameo games he comes across as quite arrogant and the like, THAT Mario I can appriciate. But overall, am just a bit dissapointed that Nintendo chooses to milk the Mario franchise out so much with the neglect of a other certain platforming genre with the same roots. I didn't buy Oddysey either, neither 3D World for 3DS, but I will probably get the remake of Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga eventually.

Spoiler: Donkey Kong

I love Donkey Kong, but especially his franchise. As a kid, I didn't feel much for him as a character, only Diddy. Later I began to truly appriciate the character. In a way, I can relate to him more now than Diddy as I've grown older and grown far more laid back. Can't really go wrong with DK, he's a very lovable character if the developer who handles him does his character right. I say this specifically, because they always seems to portrait him as an asshole in the Mario vs Donkey Kong games. In his own lore, he's a rightful king of the jungle. Laidback, but very protective of his kin and island. Easily my favorite character of the Original 12, and after Diddy, my favorite Smash, Nintendo and fictional character ever. Just a shame that he won't get any more attention from Nintendo... It really limits his potential as a character and as a franchise.

Spoiler: Link

RAH! HYAHHHH! That's all we ever really seem to hear of him. But as far as silent protagonists go, he has a lot of personality. Ever since Ocarina of Time, where he really seemed to be a blank state almost, he got more and more personality in each passing game. Starting with the other two younger Links who are also playable, but as far as Adult Link is concerned; Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword AND Breath of the Wild establish him well as a character. He's serious in his role, probably knows that he's born to be a hero, but also shows a more silly side from time to time. Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild did this almost perfectly. In BotW, his silence is even explained, and they did very well so. If you count the answer options, he even talks a little, thus has a personality on his own. I like him a great deal. Link is easily my second favorite character in the franchise after Impa, and that's only her incarnations in her Skyward Sword and Hyrule Warriors self. He's a cool main hero. Been playing a lot of Zelda as well lately (BotW, Majora's Mask, Hyrule Warriors AND ALBW) so that's also a factor. MOAR ZELDA PLZ!

Spoiler: Samus

Controversial opinion: I liked her a lot in Other M. She had way more personality there than in the Prime games. Sorry, not sorry. I prefer a little emotion over cold rationality. And Samus mixes both well. She's dedicated, effective, has a good backstory, and sees things through. Makes me wish the Metroid franchise had more story elements honestly. Other M did that part great, even where it failed with her character in one certain scene (which I didn't really make that much of an issue out of before I read about it on the internet.. go figure). The Metroid franchise is bascially all about her, and it does so beautifully. Like her less than DK and Link, but only slightly less than Link honestly. This can easily be changed. Looking forward to Prime 4 honestly. Playing through Samus Returns 3DS now too, shame they didn't really make her more expressive there.

Spoiler: Yoshi

Cute little dinosaur who can kick ass whenever needed. Very joyful, cannot help but smile a little when I see him. Just a very lovable character overall. I don't see how one could dislike Yoshi. He's the main character who's cute design gives the most appeal to his franchise, maybe rivalling Kirby only. There are people who love Mario games, but don't like Mario, love Zelda but don't feel for Link, same with DKC and Metroid and their main characters, but not with Yoshi. That seems very hard to do. Like him about as much as Link.

Spoiler: Kirby

I liked the few Kirby games I played, mostly on GBA. Silly, goofy and a cute design, but not one of my favorites. Don't dislike him or anything, not at all.

Spoiler: Fox McCloud

So, Star Fox Adventures was amazing. Portraited the character very well. Was my first, and best experience with the character and franchise. Played some Command to, and the 3DS version of Star Fox 64. Weird how his personality seems to shift between games. Nevertheless, Adventures is my favorite Star Fox, and my favorite way of presenting Fox's character. Kind of a arrogant show off at times, but it suits him (maybe it's cause Adventures came out after Melee so quickly lol). Command and 64 really don't come close to show his character this well. All the more reason to bring Rare back.

Spoiler: Pikachu

Had a level 100 Light Ball Pikachu in just about every Pokemon game I played. Will probably do the same whenever I would play another Pokemon game. He's my first Smash 64 main, because I loved Pokemon that much at the time. Pikachu was just about my favorite character after Diddy Kong in my childhood. Still hold fond memories of him and the early Pokemon games. Shame I can't really seem to get his playstyle ever since Smash 64.

Spoiler: Luigi

Yeah, I like this guy a lot. Especially in the RPG games as Mario & Luigi and Super Paper Mario. Never played Luigi's Mansion however. Like him far more than Mario, in playstyle as well as character. High jumps are underrated! Kind of cool how they incorperated the "Player 2" mentality in his personality. Far more personality than Mario, and it does him well. Any true Mario fans probably loves Luigi more than Mario anyway.

Spoiler: Ness

EarthBound is still one of my favorite games ever. And it got a great story. Yet Ness himself doesn't add much to it, however, his design is also pretty much perfect for the game. EarthBound's characters don't have a lot of debt, but it suits the game. He seems like a sort of typical nerdy kid with an adventurous side. Which books great for a main character in a RPG honestly. Like him a lot in Smash as well.

Spoiler: Captain Falcon

Never really played a game of him. Saw some clips of the F-Zero game on the GameCube however. He seems like a sort of Super Hero in a hightech racing car. I like his personality more in the Smash games. Or at least, his implied, meme personality. Outside of that, he's the only Original 12 character where I don't have fond memories of outside of Smash.

Spoiler: Jigglypuff

Not my favorite Pokemon in the slightest. But I began to appriciate her over time. The anime is really where she shines the most, and even that was a brief role. Not really all that usable in the games either, and neither was Wigglytuff. But since I like the first generation of Pokemon, I still have good memories of her. Just, the character itself is rather forgetable.

 

[MasterOfKnees]

- Played just about every major Mario game there is, and I tend to pick him whenever multiplayer is an option in the platformer games. Very positive to say the least.

- Perfectly fine, he's got some good games under his belt, and is obviously one of Nintendo's biggest icons. Not one of my absolute favorites, and in modern games I prefer to play as Diddy, but he's 'kay.

- I don't think I can say anything about LoZ that hasn't been said already, just an absolutely amazing franchise. One of the best silent protagonists in general.

- Metroid is my favorites video games series, so needless to say Samus is my favorite of the original 12. Fantastic design, good story, and her vast artillery and movement options makes any Metroid game a blast to play.

- A very nostalgic character for me, Yoshi's Island was one of the big games of my childhood, and Yoshi himself was one of my favorite Nintendo characters as a kid. I still like him, maybe not as much as I sued to, but he still tends to be my second choice in games like Mario Kart and Mario Party, only trumped by Wario.

- Absolutely love the Kirby series, I've completed every mainline game and a decent chunk of the spinoff games aswell, so incredibly positive. Love his simple design and ever optimistic nature, I think especially in the early games he had a ton of personality.

- Don't really care much for Star Fox, I've played a handful of the games, but never completed one of them. Fox in general also just comes off as a little bit generic in them, but I don't think I can say anything negative about him either, he's just alright.

- Not one of my favorite Pokémon, but obviously hugely iconic. I guess my opinion on him is sort of neutral.

- I've got a bit of a sour relationship with Luigi as my brother tends to play him, which means he's been the orchestrator of my demise in several games, and my arch nemesis for the crown in 3D World. It's mostly in good fun though, but I do still prefer Mario in every scenario.

- Earthbound is my favorite game period, there's absolutely nothing like it, not even its prequel or sequel, so of course I love Ness. Not as much as Samus because of a lack of clear characteristics, but he's a fantastic fit for Earthbound's unorthodox approach.

- I've played both the original F-Zero and F-Zero X, and the latter in particular is a blast, but I don't think he'd be my racer of choice in those games if it wasn't for Smash.

- As a kid Jigglypuff was one of my favorite Pokémon thanks to the anime, and that is still the case, although that has mainly been kept alive thanks to Smash. I've completed all of Pokémon Yellow with just a lone Jigglypuff (plus HM slaves of course), and if possible I try to make use of her in spinoffs. It's a shame she's not as prominent as she used to be, imo she's still got the appeal.

 

[DarthEnderX]

They're all pretty iconic except for Jigglypuff.

Though obviously F-Zero and Earthbound were a lot more relevant back then than they are now.

 

[Kevandre]

- I've always loved Mario games, man. Ever since I was young all the way up until now. Not saying he's my favorite character in his series but Mario 64 and Odyssey are both in my top five games of all time...

- I adore Donkey Kong Country series. 1 and Tropical Freeze especially, though I enjoyed Returns and 2 as well. Never put a lot of time into 3. In any case, I love this dude's series. He's also got a ton of personality.

- Meh. I've never been attached to the Zelda franchise. Tried almost every game, have only personally beaten Minish Cap and that was because I was playing it for my youtube channel. I don't know that I'd have stuck with it otherwise. I do like Link in Smash 4 though, he's one of my better fighters.

- Samus/Metroid is weird because... I feel like I love the games but I don't really play them myself. I love the feeling of the worlds and the story and all that but... I don't really find myself picking the games up to play.

- Yoshi's Island and Story were my childhood, man. I also just really loved Yoshi as a lad in general- my parents had to deal with me making yoshi noises all the time...

- Never really had any connection to the character or franchise.

- He's someone I'm getting into a little more and more. I played Amazing Mirror back when it was newish, as well as Air Ride. I played Star Allies after it came out this year and I'm starting to see the appeal of Kirby more.

- I love Pokemon, but I never had much connection with Pikachu.

- Luigi's my boy.

- I enjoyed watching other people play the Mother games, and in Smash 4 I really got good with Ness. But otherwise no real opinion

- Never really had any connection to the character or franchise.

- I liked Jigglypuff a lot when I was a kid but meh

 

[MarioMeteor]

-greatest singer of our generation.

You, sir, are truly a cultured individual.

 

[YoshiandToad]

- Like everyone else, I like Mario but he's not my favourite character from his series. Hell, poor Mario is probably my fifth or sixth favourite Mario character, and whenever I get the chance to play as someone other than Mario in the platfomer games, I usually jump at the chance. Despite this, Mario is an incredible character with a huge legacy and a shared love of Mario games scored my several friendships.

- Was never very keen on DK. He was always my least favourite Mario Karter and I thought the original DKC trilogy by Rare was hideously ugly graphically even though I liked Diddy and Dixie's designs. This changed a bit when Retro got their hands on the series and made Donkey Kong Country Returns an absolutely gorgeous game full of charm. DK is now to me a very charming character(albeit less charismatic than Diddy, Dixie, Cranky and Funky still)

- I wasn't the biggest Zelda fan until I played Wind Waker. Ocarina of Time was alright, but I felt it never really lived upto it's hype for me. Link, like most game protagonists was a bit bland for me, until Wind Waker gave him expressiveness which makes the real turning point for Link for me. Hyrule Warriors also surely helped as he was a lot of fun in that.

- To this day I've still not really got into Metroid, but I respect Samus as one of the first capable women in video games and for Metroid defining a whole genre of games.

- Originally hated due to my first exposure to Mario being the Super Show and it seemed like Yoshi replaced Toad(even back then I hated replacement characters) but due to Smash 64 and the fact my friends sucked at unlocking Luigi and one of them mained Mario, and the other Pikachu, Yoshi was the only other character I knew so I played him. He instantly became my go to guy, and I backtracked and played Yoshi's Island, which in turn was the first game I ever bothered to complete.
Whilst Toad has always had a place in my heart, Yoshi knocked him off that number one spot from Smash 64's release until 3D World's Captain Toad levels, during a time when I made a good set of friends through Mario sports games and Smash Bros. Yoshi is responsible for a lot of my friendships IRL and that's kind of crazy to think about.

- Recently I've been getting more and more into Kirby. Kirby freaked me out as a kid, I remember seeing an advert where he was interacting with some real live action people and then got pissed and tried to eat everyone. Scared the absolute **** out of me as a kid. Kirby himself is pretty fun, but I still prefer other characters in his franchise. I really don't tend to like the leads, but Kirby is third only to Bandana Dee and Gooey for me in his series(although Dedede is pretty close too)

- Still not really a big fan of Fox. Sci-Fi space adventures doesn't do much for me, and I just can't get on with Starfox in general.

- The character that convinced me to take up gaming in the first place. Whilst Mario may be the king of my Nintendo favourites now, Pokemon was the thing that got me into gaming properly in the first place, and Pikachu and his anime were a big part of that. I still quite like Ash's Pikachu and I made sure I had a Raichu on my team for the first three generations.

- Was originally my favourite Nintendo character, and still ranks third even now just below my user name. First Nintendo character I ever played as, and Luigi's Mansion was the first console Nintendo game I owned. Due to my sisters love of Toad too, whenever we're playing multiplayer Mario I tend to go for Luigi and he always gets a round played by me whether it's Tennis, Smash, Kart or another spinoff game during a game session.

- Outside of Smash; literally who? Okay, if it wasn't for Smash Bros. this is the one character I'd never of heard of. Earthbound/Mother still feels like such a niche series

- and this is the one character I'd have played as and forgotten about. Goroh is still cooler than Falcon, but Smash Falcon is a lot of fun.

- Sweet jesus, why is this not Meowth? I hated Puff in the anime, and whilst annoyingly she's the best Pokemon I play as in Smash, I'd replace her with the far more important Meowth any day of the week.

TL;DR Favourite to least favourite:

 

[Pippin (Peregrin Took)]

It’s hard to think of them outside of Smash’s context, but a few thoughts...

I like Yoshi’s old voice better, but I don’t hate the new post-Yoshi’s Story one either.

Pikachu’s mah boi. He has been since gen I

Jigglypuff’s an interesting case for me. Its Japanese name is essentially Pudding, and that was enough to convince me to buy the Japanese version of Smash 64 actually. But the more I think about it, the more I actually prefer the made up American names of most Pokémon, especially concerning Gen I. Dare to compare...

Charmeleon = Lizard
Magnemite = Coil
Chansey = Lucky
Zapdos = Thunder
Clefable = Pixy

Those are just a few examples off the top of my head.

 

[MarioMeteor]

- He’s the mascot of my all-time favorite franchise, my main in every Smash game to date, and will be my main in Ultimate as well. That said, I, being a man of culture, think Luigi is the better Bro.

- Eh. Not a fan of him or his games, but he’s a Mario character, so I’m okay with DK.

- I really like Kirby’s games, but I’ve never been really big on Kirby himself. I would take the other three Dream Friends over Kirby.

- The only Star Fox game I can say I really liked was Assault, which Nintendo seems intent on ignoring, so eh. I don’t really have an opinion on Fox himself.

- He’s cute, and that’s literally all the little mouse has going for him. That said, I’m not the Pokemon fan I once was, so I don’t have any particular attachment towards Pikachu.

- As stated before, Luigi is objectively the best Mario Bro., and he’s probably one of my favorite Nintendo characters overall. I mean, he’s Luigi! How could you not like him?

- Who?

- Who?

- I was actually first introduced to Jigglypuff via Smash, and I didn’t see any reason for her inclusion at all. I picked her one day just to see if there was any redeeming qualities about this weird pink thing at all, and I fell in love somehow. After this, I looked into Pokémon a little bit more to see where Jigglypuff came from, and she quickly became my favorite Pokémon and my secondary behind Mario. I want to shake the hand of whoever came up with the idea of a singing balloon.

- I hate him in Smash, but he’s one of my favorite Mario characters, and I wish he would appear more since I don’t really like his own games. The dinosaur/dragon thing hasn’t been playable since Galaxy 2, and that really irks me.

- I had no idea what the hell a Metroid was until Smash. Her games are really good, though, and I’m glad Prime 4 is happening. I even liked Other M. As a character, Samus is fine. She could use a bit more personality, but she’s an acceptable protagonist.

- Mario is probably the only example of a silent protagonist that I actually like. Link is not. He has too little of a personality for me to care about. I don’t even really care about most of his games, except for Twilight Princess and Link Between Worlds, which are amazing and some of my favorites on their respective systems.

 

[Wyoming]

- kind of boring as a character but has charm due to an excellent library of games - main titles and spin offs - so I'll always remember his face as a part of my childhood.

- DK64 was my first game and I have a looot of nostalgia for it. The original DKC trilogy is excellent, and despite his generic design, he is so charming and difficult to hate. Love the DK characters.

- Call me a heretic, but the Legend of Zelda series is my least favorite of the OG12 represented in Smash 64. I love Windwaker and a Link to the Past, but other games struggle to keep my attention for long gaming sessions. I can respect it, but Link is boring as a character. The lore is inconsistent and not really my kind of thing either. Still, love me some Windwaker any day.

- Love Super Metroid and the Prime series. A rare case of a series I got into somewhat late in my life but greatly enjoyed. Love the atmosphere and characters, even if most are kind of forgettable really.

- Remember renting Yoshi's Story as a kid. I liked it. Yoshi's Island was a blast to play through when I got it later. I've moved on from Yoshi games, but he's a charming fellow who keeps Mario company in spin offs, so I'll always remember him too.

- Similar story to Yoshi - I rented Crystal Shards, loved it, and enjoyed Super Star and Air Ride. I've moved on the series, but will remember the pink puffball's adventures.

- Absolutely adored 64 as a kid and enjoyed Assault especially multiplayer with friends. Adventures was OK but awkward. Command was a disgrace. Zero wasn't what I wanted from the series, so I didn't get it. I'm still bitter about it.

/ - I got Pokemon merchandise before knowing what they were. My friend had a Pikachu plush and I had a Jigglypuff plush as kids. Smash gave me their source game and I still casually enjoy Pokemon - getting at least one of their generation games. Obviously not the same feeling as I enjoyed Stadium, Puzzle League, and Gen 1-2, but still.

- Quite like Luigi. I think his design is sharper than Mario's and his character is worth rooting for. Dad always played as him in Mario Party, Golf, Tennis, Kart, etc. so I kind of associate them together haha.

- I had no idea who he was. I held off playing Earthbound for so long, playing it only as recently as 2015. It was a very good game full of love and effort put into it. I love how self-aware it is, and surprisingly heartwarming but equally as heart breaking.

- One of the few weirdos who knew him before Smash. X was fun and GX is my 2nd favorite GC title after Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door. The hardest difficulty was frustrating, but so rewarding after completing it. Loved the unique tracks and varying challenges they offer. Still waiting, Nintendo...

 

[Zinith]

I have a question for all of you. Do you want a continuation of this? Like make a new thread that deals with the Melee 14, then the Brawl 18 and finally the Sm4sh 21?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I have a question for all of you. Do you want a continuation of this? Like make a new thread that deals with the Melee 14, then the Brawl 18 and finally the Sm4sh 21?

Yeah, let's go! It's fun to think about them individually

 

[ThyCheshireCat]

I have a question for all of you. Do you want a continuation of this? Like make a new thread that deals with the Melee 14, then the Brawl 18 and finally the Sm4sh 21?

As a Dedede main who really wants to talk about my love for the king, I approve of this being continued. Like seriously I REALLY want to do more of this.

 

[Zinith]

Yeah, let's go! It's fun to think about them individually

As a Dedede main who really wants to talk about my love for the king, I approve of this being continued. Like seriously I REALLY want to do more of this.

All right, give me time to get my thoughts across. I want to space out the threads so it doesn't come off as spam

Edit: Oh and by the way, this thread's not going anywhere. I still want to see opinions on the OG 12...

 

[MrRoidley]

I have a question for all of you. Do you want a continuation of this? Like make a new thread that deals with the Melee 14, then the Brawl 18 and finally the Sm4sh 21?

Yes!!!!! I love talking about characters beyond movesets and whatnot

 

[Zinith]

Here's the Melee part:
https://smashboards.com/threads/whats-your-opinion-of-the-melee-14-outside-of-smash-part-2.455977/

 

[Hidan]

: I've always found the games fun, but the character of Mario himself just gives me a resounding "eh". I literally have no investment in him, and it seems like you can past a random personality on him whenever you see fit (granted it's Smash, a big example is the Greninja trailer. I was like "Is Mario supposed to be badass/super serious here? Because it doesn't translate too well). idk, just not a fan of his character.
: Definitely one of the characters who has grown on me the most. I actually haven't played any of his games, but from what I've watched he has a great personality.
: Link is an avatar character, and sometimes he overcomes that and sometimes he succumbs to it. I definitely find him more interesting than Mario, but he's not the reason why I care about LoZ lore.
: Samus honestly impressed me as a kid, because when I found out she was a woman I just got this huge amount of inspiration. In all these different games you play as these men saving the women, or saving the day, but here you're a badass, stoic, space bounty-hunter that showcased, that yes, women can be badass and cool too. One of my absolute favorites, and an icon for me growing up (especially in terms of video games).
: I found him really cute, but never really had too strong of an opinion. I loved the Yoshi Island games, so that's definitely a plus.
: Kirby also sends me straight back to childhood. I didn't get into this series until after Smash 64, but Kirby was always super cute to me, and I loved how he could fly. I eventually also watched the entire anime which I found had its own charm. I love how Kirby is cute, innocent, but also really mischievous and messes things up all the time, he's like a child.
: Haven't played a Star Fox game, so can't say much, but he seems cool I guess.
: Pikachu was my second favorite pokemon growing up (behind Mew), so of course, I love it. A trend can probably be seen, but I found Pikachu really cute, and probably because it was the mascot that I grew such a big affinity for it. I think what I love most about Pikachu is, strangely enough, the little whimper it makes when it's tired/sad/defeated.
: Luigi definitely has more personality than Mario, so I like him more than Mario, but I still don't care too much about him.
: I admittedly have absolutely seen nothing of the Mother series outside of Smash, so I feel it'd be wrong of me to make a comment because I don't even know how Ness is outside of Smash. I didn't like his design when I was a kid, I like it more now.
: The only thing I know about Captain Falcon outside of Smash is from the anime, which is partially inspired from Smash. He reminds me very much of All Might, an inspiring powerful figure for a future generation that won't let anyone get him down. He's almost generically "too strong", but it doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing, especially since I'm sure his own series didn't help with that.
: I found her a bit annoying in the anime to be honest, and never had a good impression of Jigglypuff in the video games (I think in Red or Blue you can even catch a Wigglytuff in the same bush you can initially find Jigglypuffs), so I don't know, was never impressed.

 

[Crap-Zapper]

Mario -
It's Nintendo's biggest face, and represent it well. As a Ninty boy growing up I did not escape him. Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Mario Party 1 and 2, and then the GameCube era where these games expanded. While I did not pick Mario for the spin-off titles, I always knew very well who he were and his importance. The last Mario game which was not a spin-off that I owned was New Super Mario Bros for Wii U, as I got it as a gift. I really don't like Mario games after Sunshine. (Main ones at least)

Mario is easy, he is likable, a favourite amongst gamers. I personally don't mind him at all, but as a character, other than his legacy/history, he is not that appealing to me.


Donkey Kong -
It all started with seeing him in Mario Kart and Mario Party on the N64. I had a GameBoy colour with Donkey Kong Country 1, which was a blast, but a hard one. That was my introduction to DKC in general. I used DK in Mario Party/Kart, and remember having the Donkey Kong Jet Race on the Nintendo Wii. Have not played Returns or Tropical Freeze, as they do not really interest me.

I like Donkey Kong as a character, and I hope the series itself gets done a bit better. He is strong, he is though and I used to love using him in Melee too.


Link -
People LOVED Ocarina of Time where I came from, but I did not, just the soundtrack. I LOVED Majora's Mask, that was my ticket into the LoZ games. And it was my last ... I bought the HD Remake, but never any of the other games.

I loved the Green Tunic design, and the gameplay. Think the "Hiyaaa" was boring attribute, but have come to expect it.


Samus Aran -
I have bought some Metroid games on the Wii U for a rainy day, but I never actually had time to play them, so they are just there. My first introduction to Samus was through Smash Melee, I thought it was a weird robot dude, but surprised enough to find out she was a woman.

I think Samus is today, one of the biggest female video game characters, and badass bounty hunters. Still, how she is portraid in her own games are something I don't know.

Yoshi -
I think Yoshi is very likable, first introduced in MKart and MParty games on N64. I also had around that time Yoshi's Story, because I recognized him on the boxart and thought he was cute. The game used to scare me as a child, as I was not good at platformers and they took away my cute Yoshi Friends.

Today it's more the nostalgi factor, and the fact of how cute they are which is what I like about them. I did play Tetris Attack just a couple of days from this post (25th of 06th. 2018.)

Kirby -
My first exposure to Kirby was Melee. I tought he was cute, and the copy abilities where genious. I've never played a real Kirby games, but I had friends who had some on the GBA, which is where I learned more about the cast.

I don't really have much of an opinion other than of him being this adorable Goofball.

Fox McCloud -
While Melee was my first introduction to the character, I did play Star Fox 64 over at my cousins house. I was always stuck playing Slippy Toad, since the others always picked Fox and Falco. I think Fox's design in Melee was good, and that the Brawl one was weird. I have not played the games sicne, but I think Fox is a cool cat.

Pikachu -
I was exposed to the Pokémon Anime when it was fresh, and I fell in love with Ash and Pikachu. Of course I loved Pikachu. I was and perhaps is still a Pokémaniac. I had Pokémon Yellow, and I remember them cute faces Pika made.

Luigi -
Since I were more than often a Player 2, I often got stuck with Luigi, and I never minded that, as I liked Luigi much better than Mario, and still do to this day. The colours, the personality, and the comic relief.

Ness -
I've never knew who Ness was outside of Smash until long-long later. Ness is my boy, and perhaps one of my favourite playable characters. I started to main him, since in Melee, all my friends sucked playing Ness, which meant they don't know how to use him, giving me an advantage for learning him, and they were often defenceless.

Captain Falcon -
While Melee was my first introduction to the mighty Falcon, it evolved in a way of me getting F-Zero GX on the GameCube, and I played the hell out of that game. Loving the game, made me a big fan of the series, and I thought Falcon was pretty badass. I loved it.

Jigglypuff -
Also knew Puff from the Anime, just as Pikachu, and I thought he/she was annoying as hell. Puff did not have a big role in the series, nor in the game, and felt off having it in Smash. Still, after this long, I don't mind Puff being in Smash, she is a legacy character now.

 

[Deleted member]

Fun to play as in the main series games; actually prefer him over other characters. A bit boring in spin offs, though Metal Mario fixes that if he is present.


Love the DK series; and DK himself is great. I wish he was still voiced by Grant though...


Despite lacking dialogue, I feel Link has plenty of character to him. Adult Links are also my preferred variant. And his franchise is one of Nintendo's big 3 to me.


Didn't know about her initially, but thought she was pretty cool. Then I actually played the Metroid games, and was blown away.


I liked Yoshi's Island and Story, but I never really was too invested in his franchise otherwise. Still a cool companion in the Mario series.


I like him, but other than briefly watching the Kirby cartoon, and playing 64 and NiDL, I haven't really invested too much into his series.


SF64 is great, but I haven't bother with any SF games beyond that. Not much else to say about Fox.


Never really cared much about him, but as I got into Pokemon itself, I actually began to dislike him more because there were so much better Pokemon. The anime is also mostly junk too; with it's few good moments not even involving Pikachu.


I prefer Mario, but I always like to have Luigi present in the Mario games; to the point where I frequently alternate between the two.


I loved F-Zero GX. CF himself has a pretty good character design. We really need a new F-Zero game already.


Earthbound was pretty great, and Ness is pretty interesting despite his lack of dialogue.


I used to find her stint in the anime to be amusing, but her relevance has kind of fallen off.

 

[AlphaSSB]

- Hard to not know who he is. One the grandfathers of gaming. Been a fan of his series for a while now, with my favorite game in the series being Super Mario Sunshine for the GameCube. Hell, even his spin-off games are a blast. He's my main in the Mario Party games, and one of my favorites in the Mario Kart series.

- I've never cared too much for Donkey Kong or his series, really. Can't say which game of his is my favorite though. The only Donkey Kong game I've owned and played was Tropical Freeze, which I never finished because the gamepad controls cramped my hands up. Only time I enjoyed the character was in Mario Party, where he had special mini games about collecting bananas.

- I'll admit that Smash taught me Link's name wasn't Zelda, ha. Link has always been a cool character across The Legend of Zelda series, even with his incarnations across the games being different. My favorite game in the series is Breath of the Wild, with my favorite traditional Zelda game being Twilight Princess. The Hero of Twilight is still my favorite incarnation, though. Can't beat lycanthropy.

- Smash also taught me that Samus was a woman on a trophy back in Melee. Always thought she was cool, as power armor or no power armor. I haven't played too many games from the Metroid series, unfortunately, but I'd have to go with Metroid Prime for the GameCube as my favorite. Was really hoping to hear more about Metroid Prime 4 at E3.

- I've always viewed Yoshi as another cool Mario character, and really nothing more. I haven't played any of the games from his series, so I can't say much there. Most of my expierence with him is from the Super Mario series and Smash Bros. Like Mario, he's always been a favorite of mine across the various Mario spin-off titles.

- Smash, once again, taught me Kirby wasn't a girl. Young Alpha had a lot of views corrected thanks to Smash, ha. I've played a few Kirby games, but don't think I've ever owned any. I've never been too interested in the character or series, honestly.

- One of my all-time favorite video-game characters from one of my all-time favorite video-game series. Fox McCloud is a heroic, badass pilot whose not afraid to fight on the ground. He was driven by the death of his father to lead a team of mercenaries and stop a war at only 18-years-old, and succeeded. Across the Star Fox series, Fox has always been one of the most relateable characters Nintendo has, too. He matures over the course of the series, and he has flaws that he acknowledges. I love all the games from the Star Fox series, but Star Fox: Assault is definitely my favorite. It kills me that the Star Fox series has been struggling for so long now, but with Star Fox crossing over in to StarLink, hopefully Nintendo isn't done with Star Fox just yet.

- One of the most iconic characters in gaming from one of the most recognized series in gaming. I've always had a soft-spot for Pikachu, and have been a fan of Pokemon since I was a kid. I've played games from all generations, and I've got to say that the Hoenn games are definitely my favorite. As for Pikachu himself, it's hard not to like the little guy. Cute little electric mouse that could potentially kill you, but wouldn't.

- Can't really say too much about Luigi, honestly. I haven't really played any of his games, though I'd like to. Most I know of him is through Smash and the Mario spin-offs, neither of which I play as him too often. He's a cool character, nonetheless, but he's still overshadowed by Mario in my eyes.

- Small magic boy is the best I can say to summarize Ness. I've never played a Mother/Earthbound game, and I really don't have any plans to do so, either. I think his powers are neat, if that means anything.

- Another cool character from a series I've never touched. I think Captain Falcon has been in more Smash installments than he's been in F-Zero installments, which is both funny and sad. Although the same could be said for a few other characters. He's essentially Mr. Smash Bros. now. Still, I think it's a shame that F-Zero has been dead for some time, and I'd love to see his series make a comeback.

- I knew Jigglypuff as a kid from watching the Pokemon television show. She was always funny to me, putting people to sleep then drawing on their faces. Nowadays I just look at her as a not-fully-evolved Pokemon without really any redeeming qualities.

 

[Vanguard227]

- His reputation and design easily overshadow his actual character, but I think this works in Mario's favor; given that his personality is extremely one note. Despite that, I still like him. 7/10

- I've always been a fan of DK. I love burly characters in general, so I find his design very appealing. I especially like his subtle characterization in the smash series with all of his goofy expressions. 8/10

- The only two Kirby games I've fully played through are Kirby 64 (Which I loved) and Super Star. But other than that, Kirby himself never really stood out for me to care. He's simply alright. 5/10

- For the most part, I really like the Star Fox series, and I really like Fox's character in it. Calm, collected; a natural leader. Good stuff. 7/10

- i'm not exactly the biggest Pokemon fan, but I'd say that I like Pikachu. His design is great, and his voice doesn't bother me at all, since I'm a big One Piece fan. (His voice actress voices a main character in it.) 7/10

- I love Luigi. He's like Nintendo's version of Mr. Bean. I love how bizarre he is in Smash Bros. as well. Perfectly fits his personality. I also love seeing him interact with Mario. 9/10

- Outside of Smash, Captain Falcon doesn't have that much going for him. However his falcon punch scene in the F-Zero anime is legendary. 7/10

- Loved Earthbound, and despite being a silent protagonist, I really connected to Ness during his adventure. 8/10

- Don't really care for Jigglypuff at all. 2/10

- As a kid my SNES broke within a year after I got it, so I didn't get to know about Yoshi well until the N64 era. Probably because of that, I don't have a strong opinion on him. He's simply there. 4/10

- I love Samus. Love her design, love her backstory. Love her character (excluding Other M), Love it. 9/10

- My favourite Character in my favourite video game series of all time. In my eyes, Link is the perfect "silent protagonist". Playing Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask as a kid, I was easily able to put myself in Link's shoes and I truly felt like I myself was personally experiencing his grandiose adventures; I was completely blown away by them and I haven't experienced that sort of magical feeling since then. OoT/MM Link is my favourite incarnation of Link, so I of course mained him in Smash 64, and Melee. Even then, I've stuck with adult Link throughout my entire Smash career. Can't wait to try him out in Ultimate. 10/10

So in order of favourite to least favourite:

 

[RouffWestie]

As a kid, my favorite character. I had an older brother, so I usually picked the sidekick in games we played; so I'd be Luigi in the Mario Kart/Tennis/Party trilogy on N64. Not as crazy about him now, but I like that he was given a solid personality in Luigi's Mansion.
Kirby's design is ingenious. It presents endless possibilities for new abilities with each new installment, it lets him fit into any genre easily, it's readable and charming despite being minimal, and it can appeal to wide audience. Kirby's one of my more liked Nintendo series.
Should have been at least flawed in that he was a little lazy, and had a huge appetite. There's little moments that show a hint of soul (when he's sleeping and dreaming of pasta in Mario 64, when he sees the Delfino Isle commercial,) and it's those moments I like him the most. Aside from that, he's nothing special.
He was Peter Pan to me until I actually played a Zelda game. Just another silent protagonist to me.
Likewise, I always thought he was Mario's son until I played Earthbound.
He has a good singing voice. I was seriously surprised to hear that people didn't know there was a DKC cartoon. I watched it plenty of times when I was a kid.
All I know about Starfox is playing the multiplayer mode in Assault with my friends. I have a lot of nostalgia for the menu theme; it gives off a very distinct vibe that I permanently associate Starfox with.
Never got into the series, but after watching TGC's videos, I'm definitely considering it.
The first thing that comes to mind when I see him is Transformers, not for any reason I know of.
I've played and enjoyed their games, the characters themselves are nothing special in my opinion.