Super Smash Bros. Melee Cameo Guide
Characters

Available from start

Mario

Mario

The hero of the Mario series and Nintendo's mascot. Mario is armed with familiar attacks including Fireballs a Spin Attack and a yellow Cape used to deflect items.

Debut

Donkey Kong (1981, Arcade)


Pikachu

Pikachu

The cute electric mouse Pokémon. His attacks are true to the RPGs, using Tail Whip, Headbutt, Thundershock, Thunder, Quick Attack and Agility.

Debut

Pokémon: Red & Blue Version (1996, Game Boy)


Bowser

Bowser

The King of the Koopa turtle tribe is a slow but powerful fighter with a range of claw and horn attacks. He can spit fire and uses a Ground Pound attack borrowed from the final battle of Super Mario Bros. 3.

Debut

Super Mario Bros. (1985, NES)


Peach

Peach

The princess of the Mushroom Kingdom is armed with attacks taken mainly from Super Mario Bros. 2, including vegetable throwing and the ability to hover over short distances. She can also attack with a golf club, tennis racket or frying pan, based on her other playable appearances.

Debut

Super Mario Bros. (1985, NES)


Yoshi

Yoshi

Mario's dinosaur friend can eat opponents, turn opponents into eggs, throw eggs and Pound the Ground. He can also transform himself into a egg and launch himself across the screen.

Debut

Super Mario World (1990, SNES)


Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong

The king of the jungle attacks with moves mostly borrowed from Donkey Kong Country. He is the only character who loses no speed when carrying a large container such as barrels, which is a throwback to the arcade Donkey Kong.

Debut

Donkey Kong (1981, Arcade)


Captain Falcon

Captain Falcon

The famous bounty hunter and F-Zero Grand Prix champion. Captain Falcon is an extremely fast character, but with slow, powerful moves that take time to use. His attacks were invented for the Smash Bros. series.

Debut

F-Zero (1990, SNES)


Fox McCloud

Fox McCloud

The leader of the Star Fox team. Fox uses his blaster from Star Fox 64's multiplayer mode, but as he's often piloting his Arwing, his attacks have mostly been invented for the Smash Bros. games.

Debut

Star Fox (1993, SNES)


Ness

Ness

The hero of EarthBound. Ness's attacks are based on attacks from the RPG, including the baseball bat and yo-yo attacks, as well as his PSI powers: PK Flash, PK Fire, PK Thunder and PSI Magnet. Ness didn't learn PK Fire or Thunder in EarthBound, but his friend Paula did.

Debut

EarthBound (1994, SNES)


Ice Climbers

Ice Climbers

The heroes of classic NES platformer, Ice Climber. Popo is in blue and Nana in pink. While their attacks in Ice Climber were limited to their mallets, they also attack with ice and team-up abilities. The pair work together as a single unit, but can be separated. The computer controls Nana.

Debut

Ice Climber (1985, NES)


Kirby

Kirby

The pink puffball hero of the Kirby series. Kirby can fly and use attacks from various games, including Stone, Final Cutter and the Hammer. He can also suck up other players and copy their standing Special attacks (gaining personalised headgear in the process).

Debut

Kirby's Dream Land (1992, Game Boy)


Samus Aran

Samus Aran

The Power Suit-enhanced bounty hunter from the Metroid series. Samus attacks with missiles, the charge beam, bombs and her jumping Screw Attack. She also sports a flamethrower and can use her Grapple Beam.

Debut

Metroid (1986, NES)


Zelda
Sheik

Zelda / Sheik

The princess of Hyrule as she appeared in Ocarina of Time. Her magical attacks are named for the three Goddesses of Hyrule, and based on the magic that Link acquired from the Great Fairies.

At any time, Zelda can transform into Sheik, her alter-ego from Ocarina of Time. A fast and nimble fighter with a range of ninja-like attacks, including a pin needle, chain and the ability to vanish in a puff of smoke.

Debut

The Legend of Zelda (1986, NES)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998, Nintendo 64)


Link

Link

The Legendary Hero of Hyrule, appearing as he did in Ocarina of Time. He is armed with Link's most commonly used weapons: the Master Sword and Hylian Shield, the Boomerang, Bombs and the Hero's Bow. He can also use the Hookshot to grab other players or the stage edge.

Debut

The Legend of Zelda (1986, NES)

Unlockable

Jigglypuff

Jigglypuff

The cute Balloon Pokémon. Jigglypuff's moves are taken from the RPGs, including Pound, Body Slam, Sing and Rest, and the new move Rollout, learned from Pokémon Gold & Silver.

Debut

Pokémon: Red & Blue Version (1996, Game Boy)

How to unlock:

  • Clear Classic or Adventure Mode (any difficulty/stock), then defeat Jigglypuff in battle.
  • Play 50 VS. Mode matches, then defeat Jigglypuff in battle.

Dr. Mario

Dr. Mario

A clone character of Mario with mostly similar attacks. The Fireball is replaced with the doctor's Megavitamins. He also uses a slightly larger medical sheet in place of the Cape attack.

Debut

Dr. Mario (1990, NES)

How to unlock:

  • Clear Classic Mode as Mario (any difficulty/stock) without using continues, then defeat Dr. Mario in battle.
  • Play 100 VS. Mode matches, then defeat Dr. Mario in battle.

Pichu

Pichu

The baby version of Pikachu is a clone of his older self and shares the same attacks. As Pichu is a baby, he shock himself with his own electric attacks causing damage, which is true to its Pokédex entry.

Debut

Pokémon: Gold & Silver Version (1999, Game Boy Color)

How to unlock:

  • Clear Event 37, then defeat Pichu in battle.
  • Play 200 VS. Mode matches, then defeat Pichu in battle.

Falco Lombardi

Falco Lombardi

Fox's stubborn but talented wingman is a clone of Fox. As he is of the Avian race, he can jump higher but drops much faster, and his blaster stops opponents in their tracks.

Debut

Star Fox (1993, SNES)

How to unlock:

  • Clear the 100-Man Melee, then defeat Falco in battle.
  • Play 300 VS. Mode matches, then defeat Falco in battle.

Marth

Marth

The ousted prince of Altea from the first Fire Emblem game. Marth's attacks all rely on the Falchion sword, and he speaks in Japanese, a reference to the fact his games have only been released in Japan.

Debut

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (1990, NES)

How to unlock:

  • Play Classic or VS. Mode with all 14 starting characters, then defeat Marth.
  • Play 400 VS. Mode matches, then defeat Marth in battle.

Young Link

Young Link

The younger version of Link as he appears in Ocarina of Time. Young Link wields the Fairy Sword and Deku Shield which aren't as powerful as his adult version, but he is faster, better at jumping and sports a wall-kick move.

Debut

The Legend of Zelda (1986, NES)

How to unlock:

  • Clear Classic mode with 10 characters (any difficulty/stock), then defeat Young Link in battle.
  • Play 500 VS. Mode matches, then defeat Young Link in battle.

Ganondorf

Ganondorf

The king of the Gerudo and keeper of the Triforce of Power as he appeared in Ocarina of Time. He is extremely powerful and his attacks are charged with black magic. Ganondorf is actually a clone character of Captain Falcon.

Debut

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998, Nintendo 64)

How to unlock:

  • Clear Event 29, and then defeat Ganondorf in battle.
  • Play 600 VS. Mode matches, then defeat Ganondorf in battle.

Mewtwo

Mewtwo

The most powerful Psychic Pokémon from Red & Blue. He uses a range of Psychic and Dark attacks to control those around him, including Confusion, Disable, Teleport and Shadow Ball. Mewtwo floats everywhere and holds items with the power of its mind.

Debut

Pokémon: Red & Blue Version (1996, Game Boy)

How to unlock:

  • Play VS. Mode for a combined total of 20 hours (combined VS. Play Time total), then defeat Mewtwo in battle.
  • Play 700 VS. Mode matches, then defeat Mewtwo in battle.

Luigi

Luigi

Luigi's attacks are mostly the same as Mario's, but with a few subtle differences. His fireball is green, he can jump higher, and instead of a cape he has the unpredictable Green Rocket attack.

Debut

Mario Bros. (1983, Arcade)

How to unlock:

  • In Adventure Mode, clear the Mushroom Kingdom stage when the seconds on the timer reads '2' (e.g. 03:12:43). After a cut-scene, Luigi will replace Mario in the next battle. Clear Adventure Mode then defeat Luigi again to unlock him.
  • Play 800 VS. Mode matches, then defeat Luigi in battle.

Roy

Roy

The prince of Lycia makes his debut in Super Smash Bros. Melee before appearing in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade the following year. Roy is a clone of Marth, and his attacks are all based on the Binding Blade (Sword of Seals). While he is more powerful than Marth, he is not as fast.

Debut

Fire Emblem: Fūin no Ken (2002, Game Boy Advance)

How to unlock:

  • Clear Classic using Marth (any difficulty/stock), then defeat Roy in battle.
  • Play 900 VS. Mode matches, then defeat Roy in battle.

Mr. Game & Watch

Mr. Game & Watch

A character based on the Game & Watch LCD series of games. He has a distinctive frame-by-frame movement and all of his attacks are based on various Game & Watch titles.

Debut

Game & Watch (1980, Game & Watch)

Unlock Methods

  • Clear Classic, Adventure or Target Test (any difficulty/stock) with every other character, then defeat Mr. Game & Watch.
  • Play 1,000 VS. Mode matches, then defeat Mr. Game & Watch in battle.