Whew. That was a long exhausting ride. But fun. I love these kinds of plotpower battle discussions. Anyway, after two months of trying to catch up, I've read all 151 pages and want to join the discussion. Lots of really interesting arguments being brought up, as well as some impressive math extrapolations. (Dryn, your blog is awesome, please write more!)
For my part, I've been slowly aggregating the lists of skillsets that people have been posting throughout the topic because it's easier than wiki-diving sometimes for the salient points of a particular character's abilities. I'm a huge nintendo fan, so I'm actually pretty well-versed in all of the Smash Roster, though notably Sonic, Pac-Man, Megaman, and Ryu are blindspots for me at the moment. I've played their early games, but the new stuff... *Shrug*
I've also noticed there's most of the arguments are less over characters' strengths as compared to each other than it is over the canonicity or legality of certain abilities/tools/summons/landscape features.
I think this is distracting from the actual interesting question, so I personally think it'd be better to discuss strengths rather than constantly trying to vote for one interpretation or another. So for me, I'll be taking all assumptions of a character under consideration and simply ranking each interpretation separately.
After all, you can take a vote, but that's not really unanimous agreement. You'll never have that, people have different ideas about what's legal/canon/fair/etc. But really, the discussion's not about what's legal, it's about what's strong. So just discuss everything!
Even with that said, I know that despite trying to be objective, I have my own biases. I personally tend to break down skillsets into Magical, Technological, and Biological. Magical being abilities that break all natural physical laws for no reason other than 'it's magic', which tends to have its own Rules, but can do basically anything. Technological skillsets are the opposites, through science anything can be accomplished, but can be held back by natural physics (or at least the natural physics of that video game world). Biological is somewhere in between, like Psychic powers or mutant/alien powers. The assumption is that these powers follow natural physics, but how exactly is usually somewhat unclear. This means that natural physical laws can be applied to these powers in all cases except where the fiction directly says it doesn't. This tends to make me want to tier said skillsets roughly in the order of Magical - Biological - Technological. It's unfortunate that my natural tendency is to downplay the skillsets we usually have the most information about, so it punishes series that are more forthcoming with the mechanics of their worlds.(Though I'm not the only one clearly as if we knew -less- about how Alvis could manifest himself in a puppet human form, then I suspect the current Shulk argument wouldn't be happening right now.)
I'm generally thinking about tiering the characters less as "Can beat X% of other characters in a fight" and more along the lines of a nebulous "Power Level" potential, or I guess more accurately the amount of energy they can potentially produce/control. This helps balance my perception of characters that seem very powerful, though don't have a lot of offensive techniques/feats. It also avoid messy questions about having to kill other characters like Ganondorf/Pokemon.
But enough of my intro rambling, here's my rough tier list! Characters within tiers are roughly equal.
Tier Meta (Characters that win by being outside gaming reality, all very weak assumptions to me, but worth mentioning that some people might find these views valid...)
(Meta canon) By canonically existing outside of video games, he can conceivably destroy the various game characters' 'universes' by destroying their game cartridges...
(Meta canon) By canonically existing outside of video games, he can conceivably destroy the various game characters' 'universes' by destroying their game cartridges...
(2D canon) By existing as a 2-dimensional being, he is outside the reach of any of the other canon characters...
Tier SSS (Wish granting/Reality Warping)
(With a full TriForce) Said to be able to grant any desire, though not necessarily as the user intends it.
(Paper and/or Composite Bowser w/ Star Rod) Though we now know that the Paper versions of the Mario cast are not the same as the regular ones canonically, composite versions of characters are a reasonable interpretation, so why not? To its fullest extrapolated potential, Star Rod Bowser should be up here.
(w/ full AlvisMonado powers) Probably the most overpowered interpretation, might actually be SSSS if you take it to its logical extrapolation. Godlike in the realest sense of the word.
(w/ assumed divinity as implied by title) So I don't really place the Goddesses this high personally, but it's obviously a commonly-held assumption that "Goddess" means something, and that something is powerful on the level of reality warping.
(full national pokedex, assumed pokemon divinity) Basically Arceus is god argument.
Tier SS (Planet-level destruction/creation)
(w/ all Lumas in existence) Simply the size of her army is enough to hold her power level this high if you take this assumption. But also allowing them to transform and assuming that Mario galactic bodies are anything like actual galactic entities puts her here.
(composite game/anime abilities) Can mass-create an army with his copy powers and literally is a dimensional being that contains a universe inside of himself. Extrapolated combinations of his powers like Crash/Mirror/Star Rod are capable of destroying a planet.
(extrapolated Kirby powers) Worth mentioning that if you hold Kirby at the above level that Meta Knight is the same species and potentially capable of the same feats. Neither are views I would personally hold to, but it's not unreasonable.
(composite, assuming full unlimited use of all Emeralds/Wisps) Hyper Sonic is pretty nuts and his abilities should be able to destroy a planet.
(full national pokedex) Even without divinity assumptions, the major Pokemon legendaries are definitely capable of planet-level destruction.
(stats extrapolation) Worth mentioning that if Arceus/Dialga/Palkia/etc are this level, then Mega Mewtwo's stats should put him here, though it's not an interp I personally hold.
(anime Falcon Punch) This is actually blatantly wrong, but clearly some people hold the interp that the anime Falcon Punch is capable of destroying a galaxy. And indeed something LIKE that happens in the anime, but... yeah, probably not a common interp for the well-informed.
(assuming Magicant transformed him into something as powerful as Giygas) Ness fought against Giygas and survived by transferring his consciousness into a time-travelling robot body. But he didn't actually defeat the Cosmic Horror, though he did withstand its onslaught long enough for the prayers of the world to. There's also a theory that Giygas himself was once a mortal being that was granted great power from something like Magicant, so Ness' journey is meant to parallel that same power gain. Though it's not an interp I'd prescribe.
(w/ Gunship) Can lay waste to a planet
(Smash canon) Some kind of weird 2-dimensional being of dark? energy. Also, the absurd 2D infinite sharpness argument can go here.
Sandbag (Invincibility interp) And the super-hilarious Sandbag argument can go here.
Tier SS- (characters with armies - having a sheer numbers advantage is probably enough to conquer a planet for most of the characters, but I don't think most people are allowing that, so I'm breaking them off into their own Tier)
(and a very limited number of Luma)
(and infinite Centurions)
(and near-infinite minions)
(and very large amount of medium-skilled Hyrulean knights)
(and near-infinite minions)
(Smash canon w/ Subspace army)
Tier S (Powerful, Godslaying characters)
(composite w/ limits) In general, Sonic's natural abilities are hard to interpret as anything less that top tier. Not super-familiar with the Sonic series, but light-speed movement, Time manipulation, and Super Sonic's durability are very notable.
(no Gunship) The epitome of where I'd place a technology-based character, though her mild precognition skills help.
(Triforce of Power only, Beast transformation) Even without needing to kill him, he's shown some planet-altering magical feats.
(w/ full powers) Shows a host of very powerful divine magic attacks.
(w/ Great Sacred Treasure OR 3 Sacred Treasures) Upper-end of this tier with the GST, lower end with only the 3ST.
Roughly same level as non-GST Pit, though he did absorb the power of the goddess Pandora so he has a bit of an edge over a non-treasure/Palutena-supported Pit.
(anime composite) The movie Mewtwo and Mega Mewtwo are nigh-unkillable badasses that can control the minds of others and telekinetically manipulate city-level destruction at least.
(full Gen 3 National Dex) By extension, Pokemon Trainer should be able to do at least what Mewtwo can.
(game composite) Defeats cosmic horrors, Hypernova is pretty awesome.
(No Alvis) Precognition is an extremely useless skill in battle, though it's not really related much to power level, it -does- effectively increase his speed/reaction/accuracy by a lot though. His Monado powers also 'hit weakness' on just about any character.
(classic series composite) I would like to do a full series composite complete with MMX but I'm not qualified on his feats. Someone fill me in. It seems like classic-only Megaman with the Time Stopper should slot in here.
(Composite all games) It's been discussed, Magic Cape/Armor + Chateau Romani is a powerful combination
(as Fell Dragon Grima) Well, s/he DOES become this in one canon timeline, so it's a reasonable assumption. Called a God, Grima is at least capable of wiping out a continent.
(w/ Halberd) The Halberd has ridiculous firepower.
(assumed Moon-punching works on real-life physics) I don't subscribe to this, but DK punched the Moon! That's a lot of raw power! Especially if it's anything like our own moon!
Tier S- (characters with lesser armies)
(and his band of 50+ highly skilled mercenaries/mages) That's a LOT of magic and magical weapons to deal with for any single fighter.
(and his band of 50+ highly skilled mercenaries/mages)
(non-Grima, and their band of 50+ highly skilled mercenaries/mages)
(large number of powerups) Eating a bunch of Double Cherries, Mega Mushrooms, and Starmen give all of these guys mini-superarmies.
Tier A
(top power) Ness post-Magicant and Lucas with the awakened dragon are top-tier psychic-based fighters. Lots of healing too.
(Ragnell, no army) Ragnell is a double-blessed holy sword that grants Ike sword-beams and access to some crazy feats like Nihil and Aether. Top-level basic swordsman without it, though. It is somewhat implied he might be of Laguz ancestry, which would explain the immense strength.
(Falchion and Darksphere) Assuming that Marth can use the Darksphere makes him immune to most attacks, but it doesn't increase his actual power output. Still enough for A Tier.
(fiercy deity mask) Assuming that the Fierce Deity is actually some kind of Deity probably puts this higher, but even without, it's clearly capable of taking on giant foes and the like.
(Arwings) Extremely fast and mobile and high firepower. Spoils a lot of the other fighters on this Tier.
(Giant-sized or Giga Bowser) All of Bowser's abilities, but gigantic. Usually through Kamek's magic, though in the Mario RPGs he's capable of this on his own, though doesn't have as much control over it.
Tier A- (characters w/ kinda terrible armies)
(National Gen 1 dex - Mewtwo) Mini-army!
(and near-infinite useless Toads...) Sheer numbers can probably beat a lot? Might need to go lower but Peach herself has some Magic.
(Smash-sized w/ 100 Smash-sized Pikmin)
Tier B+:
(Strongest Galactic Warrior) His wish was granted to fight and defeat the strongest warrior in his Galaxy, and his speed and strength seem to fall right about here. Also has some minor healing abilities.
(assumed one of every powerup OR Mario Galaxy-only OR Mario RPGs-only) Lots of diverse abilities. Starman. The Mario RPGs give him a lot of useful tools. His strongest incarnation is probably just from Mario Galaxy though. Surviving in space is pretty cool.
(assumed one of every powerup) The various powerup combinations probably rank them this high along with Mario with the same powerups throughout the series.
(standard) Big, sturdy, lots of weapons, fire breath. Incompetent fighter but that's not what I'm measuring here.
(Mega stones) Mega pokemon are essentially big sturdy biological weapons.
(w/ vehicle) The Blue Falcon is a pretty advanced piece of technology to be ramming into someone.
(no support/treasures) He's a flightless weapon specialist. Still good, but less godly.
(TP-only or OoT-only) High-class swordsman with a variety of tools and some magic, plus a Wolf Transformation and the innate boost that the Triforce of Courage gives.
(Smash canon, no army) Seen to withstand some serious punishment, plus lasers and such.
(w/ tech) Seen to create some seriously powerful reactors and giant mecha in Mario Galaxy.
Tier B-:
(M+L series) Thunder magic in addition to Mario powerups, though less than Mario's diverse collection.
(Super Princess Peach + magic) Has some control over basic magical abilities. Might need to go higher on pure potential power.
(No Lumas) Has a shield and some levitating magic that could make some waves in this tier. But it seems like most of her magic is based on Luma transformation or utilizing the power of the Observatory.
(TP-only) Has shown some proficiency with magic, bows, and sword. The Triforce of Wisdom grants a lot of potential power respect.
Fully evolved pokemon with a powerful typing-altering ability. Probably about where most Fully evolved Pokemon would go.
(no Mega stones)
(Locked Pokemon GSC team or Smash team) And by extension, his team falls about here, maybe one tier higher?
(no support, full class selection) Very diverse, balanced swordsmen with some healing and cool skills. Not as much divine support as the FE boys.
(best form from the games) Pretty durable, was able to semi-copy Kirby suction technique just by practicing. Survived several cosmic horrors' attacks.
(assumed Moon-punching uses Mario Galaxy physics) He punched the moon out of orbit! That's a lot of raw power! Of course, as we see in the Mario galaxy, gravity and moon size are variable and significantly different from a real-world moon, so this feat isn't that impressive, assuming you even take it as serious and not some kind of visual gag. Still an amazingly strong physical powerhouse.
Similar physical powerhouse status as DK really.
(No magic) Assuming that Magic doesn't work outside its own reality places Ganondorf as 'merely' a towering physical powerhouse.
Tier C (Peak of nonmagical human perfection)
(with or without weapons)
(with or without weapons) Literal supersoldier.
Actually has a magic sword, but it's not anywhere as cool as other FE characters' legendary weapons.
(no vehicles) Quick reflexes and laser blasters.
(no robot master powers)
Has ghost and eating powers.
Has eating powers and can transform into vehicles and such, but none of them are really all that powerful.
(assumed strength of a real world gorilla) An extremely high-end real world gorilla could probably fit in here.
(w/ tech) His weapons give him some potential, despite the crude technology they seem effective at destroying things in-game.
(w/ Smash powers) Solar energy manipulation is rad, though it doesn't seem particularly powerful.
(Smash-sized, 5 pikmin-at-once) Huge Pikmin are scary fiery/poisonous plantbugs.
Tier D: (Peak of real-life human perfection)
Basically Olympic-level human who can take on gorillas, literally.
(no weapons) They're all very strong but kinda dependant on their weapons to do anything.
(no Monado) Can still do a number of his ether-type abilities without a weapon, but he's in less peak condition than some others so it evens out.
(no powerups) Without powerups, they have still shown some impressive jumping and falling physical durability plus proficiency with hammers and martial arts in the RPGs.
(Find Mii canon) Seem to be above average physical or magical fighters. They can fight tiny ghosts if they band together!
Mid-level pokemon.
(no equipment) An above-average strength Chimp. Strong, but not DK-strong.
(no tech) A fire breathing baby dragon. Shadow Mario form doesn't really change this ranking, though it's probably more powerful than base-level Jr.
Tier E: (Regular humans)
In great shape, but not quite peak human Olympic condition.
(No Grima, no weapons) Kind of out of shape compared to the other FE cast.
Can climb mountains and swing big hammers!
Basic level pokemon.
(medical professional canon) Just a human without special powers it seems.
(Solo, no Magic) Assuming Magic doesn't work outside its own universe, they are just ordinary women who can't levitate or transform into ninjas. Assumed no magical Mario powerups either.
Tier F: Failure tier~
(G&W canon) In his home games, he's basically just a guy who had a bunch of different jobs like fireman and chef. I guess the octopus might bump him higher if that's considered 'him' in his home canon?
Just a kid.
(no Pokemon) Just a kid.
Just a pair of normal animals in canon.
Baby level pokemon (like Basic but implied weaker!)
(100 pikmin, actual size) Just... too small to do anything.
Tier X: Not really qualified...
(toy canon) It's a nonsentient toy~
Adorable plushie.
Sandbag~
Whew. That took forever and I might've missed a few of the popular interps, but please comment and I'll edit them in. (Also no Ryu yet.)
For reference, I don't agree with basically -any- of the interps above S Tier, but I can certainly see how they could be valid, and they ARE somewhat interesting to discuss.
My own personal tier rating that sort of splits the difference between the various interps is something like this:
SS:
S:
A:
B:
C:
D:
F:
X:
