Who's the best character?

[Captain Phobos]

I'd say Bayonetta, but Sheik, Cloud, and Diddy are not far off.

 

[Nah]

For the longest time, Sheik was generally considered to be the definitive best character in the game.

Nowadays, opinion typically varies between one of the four you mentioned for most people. It's not so clear anymore who's THE best. I'm not so sure who I'd personally call the number 1 either.

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

That type of question really isn't an easy one to answer, as even the top ranked fighters have notable flaws. For one example, Cloud's recovery is quite poor without Limit Break.

 

[FamilyTeam]

I don't think "Who's the best character" discussion ever works.
The best character is the one you like and fits you the best. This sounds pretentious and artsy but it's true. This is with things in life in general.
Cloud is a character with awesome power. ZeRo is the best player in the circuit no doubt.
Yet Cloud+ZeRo=disappointment.
The best tools are worthless if you give them to the wrong people, yet others can make art out of what was previously thought to be rubbish.
Not even Melee works like this. Who's the best character in Melee? Fox? You're going to have to skip quite a couple of nights over the span of an year every day for your Fox to even start to look like it might be anything resembling a "best character".

 

[Lola Luftnagle]

Sugar, unless y'all are aiming for tournament success, who is best isn't really relevant information to y'all's experience with the game. Now, take a gander at my signature. Okay, I did not choose my mains because of their current standings in the tier list; I enjoy playing as them in general.

 

[Zerp]

The best character is Jigglypuff.

Spoiler

You never said who's the most viable or strongest, just who I think is the best.

 

[JagerCry]

My two cents: Sheik is the best character. She is also extremely technical compared to the average character and her lack of KO power makes her very difficult to play at a consistently high level. But she has a fantastic recovery and the best frame data combined with needles giving her the best neutral game. But that's if you make very few mistakes. She also has the best matchup spread in current meta as she doesn't have any straight up "losing match-ups" but the top competitive Sheik players are picking up secondaries which shows how difficult it is to win with her.
Mario is probably "the best all-around character." Sheik struggles to KO, Cloud has a terrible recovery, etc, but Mario has great frame data and no really bad weaknesses and he's good at everything. ZeRo has been pulling out Lucina a lot lately and he's a Diddy main. Ally seems to be able to use Mario as a solo-main. At least with more success than Bayo, Diddy, Cloud, Rosa and Sheik mains.
There's an argument for a lot of characters as "the best" but it depends on what are the parameters of 'the best' title. For glory win percentage? Tournament wins? Match-up spread? Frame data? Eventscrubs? Trying to consider everything I'd say Sheik, Diddy, Bayo, Rosa, Mario and Cloud have some argument.

 

[Donnydaysss]

Bayo or Diddy.

 

[Creeeamy]

Ganondaddy.