What's your top 10 most underrated characters?

[The Legendary DJXYZ]

In an age of ever-fluctuating tier lists and infinite amounts of metagame development, some characters are just lost in the fray, assumed to be bad because barely anyone plays them. As much as they may receive buffs, it's just not enough to compensate for the fact that people have begun to settle in to a specific metagame. I think everyone has a list of characters that are underrated, and I think that it would be beneficial to the metagame if people shared their opinions on this.

Here's my list for starters. No specific order.

Spoiler: My Top 10 Most Underrated Characters

I've played him since his release and always believed that he was near-equal to Ness. Then he got buffed. He'd be much more respected if people just took the time to pick him up.
Easily the most buffed character in the entire game. Fast, heavy, strong, and now has combos and a brutal grab game. Why does nobody capitalize on this? "He's big?" Well so is Donkey Kong, and look what he's become!
Go look at the Glitch standings. Why do people still think this duo is low tier? Clearly they have some serious potential, and it's building. So what, their Smash Attacks have high endlag?
Super fighting robot. Arguably the most technical fighter in the game, Mega Man has a whole lot of range and power, with very strange and difficult combos. I used to put him in my top tier, but then... there were no players to back it up.
ZeRo would have been fine maining Shulk. Ok, maybe his sword is slow, but before the recent DLC he had easily the most ridiculous counter in the game, insane optimization with Monado Arts, and even some heavy bulk with Shield Mode.
So much potential. So many options. Yet, nobody plays him. Probably because Pikmin isn't the hottest game on the market right now. Maybe it's just my local scene where he's destructive, I don't know.
At launch, EventHubs debuted him in the #2 spot on the tier list. He was deemed OP, the best swordfighter in the game, everything Cloud was before he happened. And then Cloud happened.
Seals off stocks SO fast. Has natural super armor to break combos. Has a 0% SDKO option against the majority of the cast. Does nobody want to be the villain here?
Hitbox fixes were all she needed. Now she has them and more. One who can optimize Zelda, who can learn every one of her several sweetspots to perfection, could compete with even the best of top tiers. Yet it's never happened.
Ok, so I do think his alter ego is the best character in the game right now. No lies. But, some people can't deal with all the wild reversal gimmicks and prefer straight up combo chains. If they don't mind bad recovery, then why not Doc?

You don't need to provide reasons if you don't have the time.

 

[mobilisq]

i could (and, i suppose, will) list all of the characters i play as, but after the results of pound 6 MEWTWO would be at the very top of that list. good lord i hope we see more pros rep him

Spoiler

for reference, i play a handful of the same characters you do:
(alright, my list goes up to 11)

 

[TheGoodGuava]

Mewtwo, Greninja, Toon Link, idk who else

 

[Nah]

I disagree with the OP on a few things but if I was to list a few characters I think are a bit underrated it'd be like idk:
(really don't mean to be biased but it seems to me like a lot of people still think the character's low tier)

 

[zblaqk]

Samus is definitely underrated. She has been getting results for quite a while

 

[TheJolteon]

,,,,, are pretty underrated characters.


EDIT: is also underrated

 

[FamilyTeam]

Before I do my list: Not, at this point, Roy's not underrated. He was overrated for a while, then after the hype died down (long before Cloud was even announced) people saw him for who he really was. He's not great by any stretch of the imagination.

Also, I'm not gonna do a Top 10. That's too much.
: Lucina's finally been getting some recognition, most people finally recognize her as being as good as Marth, and we finally have some reps (even some that... I'm not fond of in the slightest), but I don't think the word has been completely spread yet. Lucina mains are still few and far between, a lot of people still sleep on her, and of course there are still those who only think of her as inferior Marth, which is not at all the case from my experience.
: Where have the Luigi mains been after the nerfs? I realise Luigi isn't nearly as powerful nowadays, but he's still solid despite having problems KOing. I don't see many Luigi mains in tournaments and even less actually making noise.
: Now, now. I'm not saying she's High or Top Tier or anything. But I don't think she's Bottom 10 at all, like some people do. She still has a lot of tools and some decent matchups against popular characters aiding her. She might be Low tier, but I don't think she's bottom.

 

[ShadowKing]

Amazing kill power,great mobility both air and ground and strongest projectile but smashers are worried about his weight

"please nerf greninja" srsly these charater hasnt even won a national like m2,rosa,zss and shiek but they want too nerf him

i agree with FamilyTeam she is getting more recognition but people call her a clone of marth, Yes the moves are the exact but lucys blade is a combination of roys and marth. Meaning its a balanced sword.

 

[Jenknee]

Most Underrated characters have to be

Peach
Shows a lot of promise, the infinite (granted it was nerfed last patch) proves that with optimisation this character could prove to be incredibly strong, yet I think it'll still be quite some time before Peach takes a major with somebody like ZeRo in attendence

Kirby
I don't think kirby is a top tier, but I certainly believe he can be taken further. Great combos and dair is super punishing to anybody with a predictable recovery.

Falco
Falco is probably being pushed close to his limits, with pretty average frame data, however, hes placed in F tier on the 4BR smash tier list and I don't see an awful lot of people debating this. Super strong punishes, excellent recovery and bonus points for a stylish spike.

Greninja
He gets criticised a lot for the "Training mode combos," however, I think iStudyings performance speaks for itself and the strength of this character (not to suggest that iStudying isn't amazing)

Lucas
I actually don't understand why this character is seen as a low tier. He lacks a lot of the punch that his counterpart Ness has, but I think its unfair to compare him to such a strong character rather than the rest of the cast. Definitely lacks a bit of range on his non-projectile abilities but I think with a bit of work he can be tournament viable.

Doctor Mario
Not as good as normal mario, but I really want to see where this character gets taken.

I can't think of an awful lot of others, maybe megaman, but I can't see him progressing much further than mid tier. Optimised Little Mac and Lucina are overrated IMO

 

[FamilyTeam]

Optimised Little Mac and Lucina are overrated IMO

How so? Although it's not like Little Mac will be High tier anytime soon, a L. Mac player that uses all of the movement techs appropriately, makes extremely smart use of positioning and punishes and avoids at all costs situations that might get him offstage can be extremely scary.
Same deal with Lucina. Although it's not like she's gonna be High Tier, she can be an extremely dangerous character with proper usage of movement techs, spacing, shield pressure, counters and edgeguards.

 

[Jenknee]

How so? Although it's not like Little Mac will be High tier anytime soon, a L. Mac player that uses all of the movement techs appropriately, makes extremely smart use of positioning and punishes and avoids at all costs situations that might get him offstage can be extremely scary.
Same deal with Lucina. Although it's not like she's gonna be High Tier, she can be an extremely dangerous character with proper usage of movement techs, spacing, shield pressure, counters and edgeguards.

I feel as though Little Mac's flaws still hinder him too much, even at an extremely high level of play. Every player makes mistakes, even some of the best, and I feel as though every move Mac makes is punishable by death if its read. He lacks projectiles, amazing range or any effective aerials, making his approach options extremely limited to baits and aggressive play, which are both very punishable and the moment he leaves the ledge he can expect to die. Ontop of this, I feel as though KO punch leaves him feeling like a worse variation of with his limit break.

As for Lucina, I feel as though despite having a 'balanced' tipper, this disadvantages her. Marth's tipper is efficient because it rewards you for optimum spacing - something you should always aim to achieve. So at a high level of play, Marth's tipper should always be seen as more efficient than her lack of a tipper, as if you consistently land it, it rewards you with more killing power and percent. Marth punishes harder, hits harder, and in the right hands is just a more frightening version of Lucina, with both clones not being particularly incredible compared to the forerunners of the cast.

 

[FamilyTeam]

As for Lucina, I feel as though despite having a 'balanced' tipper, this disadvantages her. Marth's tipper is efficient because it rewards you for optimum spacing - something you should always aim to achieve. So at a high level of play, Marth's tipper should always be seen as more efficient than her lack of a tipper, as if you consistently land it, it rewards you with more killing power and percent. Marth punishes harder, hits harder, and in the right hands is just a more frightening version of Lucina, with both clones not being particularly incredible compared to the forerunners of the cast.

Not even Pugwest hits all tippers when he needs to, though. Although Marth's sourspots do have their uses, they can also hinder him in case you hit them in the wrong time, and you just said when you were talking about Mac that even the best players make mistakes.
I think the problem here is coming from the fact that you're simply seeing Lucina as "Marth without a tipper" rather than a character of her own. If you apply Marth logic to Lucina, of course she's gonna fail. It's not any different than trying to play Doctor Mario as if he were Mario. She rewards a different playstyle, even if both still are defensive characters.
Lucina also has a couple of advantages over Marth in regards to killing power as well. Her Side Smash can greatly benefit from not having a tipper in some occasions, her Up Smash is just a straight (but slight) upgrade when compared to Marth's most of the time, her Shield Breaker is better as a kill move, her Up Tilt and Up Air are all very strong, and the lack of tipper means you can put their great range to better use, stuff like that.

 

[Jenknee]

Not even Pugwest hits all tippers when he needs to, though. Although Marth's sourspots do have their uses, they can also hinder him in case you hit them in the wrong time, and you just said when you were talking about Mac that even the best players make mistakes.
I think the problem here is coming from the fact that you're simply seeing Lucina as "Marth without a tipper" rather than a character of her own. If you apply Marth logic to Lucina, of course she's gonna fail. It's not any different than trying to play Doctor Mario as if he were Mario. She rewards a different playstyle, even if both still are defensive characters.
Lucina also has a couple of advantages over Marth in regards to killing power as well. Her Side Smash can greatly benefit from not having a tipper in some occasions, her Up Smash is just a straight (but slight) upgrade when compared to Marth's most of the time, her Shield Breaker is better as a kill move, her Up Tilt and Up Air are all very strong, and the lack of tipper means you can put their great range to better use, stuff like that.

I 100% agree about the fact not even Pugwest or any notable Marth may hit every tipper, however, I'd argue that the difference between a mid-level and an exceptionally good Marth player is in their ability to consistently hit tippers and non tippers where necessary, mostly because this is his core mechanic that differentiates him from other swordfighters. So yes, mistakes are made, however I believe that if both characters were optimised and perfected, Marth would definitely have the advantage.

In reference to the side smash greatly benefiting from not having a tipper, I'd disagree. A Marth player should be confident in landing the tipper in the event that they are investing so heavily in a laggy move like a side smash. On top of this, yes Lucinas kills earlier than Marth's non-tipper, but i'd imagine it would be a move you'd only throw out in confidence that you can space it correctly so that you don't get punished.

Aiming for upair kills seems almost like a counterfeit Corrin, but I don't know the exact kill range/damage of this ability so I will admit that I say this without great knowledge or experience to back it up

Finally I just don't see any Lucina unique devastating combos that come out of not having the tipper. Marth seems much more rewarding with high danages and early kills for the lack of frame data amongst these two characters when compared to the rest of the cast.

 

[FamilyTeam]

I 100% agree about the fact not even Pugwest or any notable Marth may hit every tipper, however, I'd argue that the difference between a mid-level and an exceptionally good Marth player is in their ability to consistently hit tippers and non tippers where necessary, mostly because this is his core mechanic that differentiates him from other swordfighters. So yes, mistakes are made, however I believe that if both characters were optimised and perfected, Marth would definitely have the advantage.

In reference to the side smash greatly benefiting from not having a tipper, I'd disagree. A Marth player should be confident in landing the tipper in the event that they are investing so heavily in a laggy move like a side smash. On top of this, yes Lucinas kills earlier than Marth's non-tipper, but i'd imagine it would be a move you'd only throw out in confidence that you can space it correctly so that you don't get punished.

Aiming for upair kills seems almost like a counterfeit Corrin, but I don't know the exact kill range/damage of this ability so I will admit that I say this without great knowledge or experience to back it up

Finally I just don't see any Lucina unique devastating combos that come out of not having the tipper. Marth seems much more rewarding with high danages and early kills for the lack of frame data amongst these two characters when compared to the rest of the cast.

Lucina needs to adapt to play without a tipper. In a perfect situation, I must admit, Marth would be better than Lucina, but I'm afraid we'll never hit "TAS levels of perfection". Lucina atleast allows for a safer playstyle, and her lack of tipper makes her play differently than Marth.
In regards to her Side Smash, it allows you to throw it out more safely knowing it can kill regardless of your current spacing, which is why I said it "greatly" benefitted her. Marth's Side Smash is devastating when spaced correctly, but Lucina's is still damn strong without it, and it actually comes out really fast for such a strong move (the problem is the endlag).
And in regards to combos, again, I think it equates more to Lucina playing differently and demanding a different playstyle when compred to Marth. She can do her own thing. That's why most people think they're equal, nowadays: They end up having plenty of similar or alternative options.

 

[TTTTTsd]

The real vast difference between Marth and Lucina right now is the ridiculous Ftilt that Marth has that Lucina does not IMO

 

[Jenknee]

Lucina needs to adapt to play without a tipper. In a perfect situation, I must admit, Marth would be better than Lucina, but I'm afraid we'll never hit "TAS levels of perfection". Lucina atleast allows for a safer playstyle, and her lack of tipper makes her play differently than Marth.
In regards to her Side Smash, it allows you to throw it out more safely knowing it can kill regardless of your current spacing, which is why I said it "greatly" benefitted her. Marth's Side Smash is devastating when spaced correctly, but Lucina's is still damn strong without it, and it actually comes out really fast for such a strong move (the problem is the endlag).
And in regards to combos, again, I think it equates more to Lucina playing differently and demanding a different playstyle when compred to Marth. She can do her own thing. That's why most people think they're equal, nowadays: They end up having plenty of similar or alternative options.

I can definitely see where you're coming from with that actually, good points. I've been converted - I'd like to see how both characters place amongst the rest of the cast rather than just Marth. Hopefully they develop to have a few unique setups and playstyles.

 

[SCOAKS5]

Top 10? In no particular order, I would put it like this