After looking at the low-tier characters of the game, here’s a look at characters casual and competitive players alike can get some mileage out of.

Low tiers can be found here, high tiers can be found here.

Part two of my casual/competitive tier list of Super Smash Bros. Melee is here, as I get into the mid-tier characters that see both some level of a dedicated player base and success in tournaments.

As I discussed in the first part of this tier list, the disconnect between casual and competitive can be quite large, especially for players who are used to playing with items on and on stages that aren’t used in tournament play.

While I individually realized this by discovering that Marth was in fact echelons better than Roy, the changes to Melee’s metagame over the years has led to plenty of fluctuation in terms of where characters fall on the tier list.

Although they’re often treated as gospel by some members of the Smash community, tier lists are at least partially subjective – with perceptions of characters constantly shaped by the top players using them and the level of success they’re achieving at the highest level.

With even the best of the best Melee players in the world sharing different opinions on where characters belong on a tier list, it makes it quite clear that there’s never going to be a total consensus – as these of course differ from the most recent official Melee tier list, seen below.

As stated in the first part, I hope that my tier list serves as an ideal bridge for casual players and those looking to enter the competitive scene, aiming to give context and reasoning behind my placement for both audiences.

Here are the characters I have placed in the middle tiers:

C Tier

18. Young Link

A noticeable improvement over Roy in the 19th spot on this tier list, Young Link has seen a good amount of tournament success in the past as a counterpick character, though his weaknesses have kept his player base as a solo main quite small.

Young Link has plenty of advantages – excellent mobility, a choice of two effective projectiles and a great aerial game that lends potential to very effective edgeguarding.

Conversely, his biggest weakness is a deal-breaker for many – getting kills is just too damn hard with him. With attacks that cause inconsistent amounts of damage alongside his strongest attacks having very poor range, Young Link has a harder time closing out stocks than most of the rest of the cast.

Additionally, his poor recovery makes him one of the easier characters to kill in the game, giving him two very notable disadvantages.

With that said, top players Armada and Axe have both seen success in tournaments with Young Link, particularly against floaty characters like Jigglypuff and Peach, where his mobility and projectile access play well in a counterpick matchup.

17. Link

Young Link’s full clone, I have the adult iteration one spot higher, which differs from most tier lists that rank Young Link above Link.

While Link doesn’t possess the same quick mobility, he has much better range than his younger counterpart while maintaining all of the strengths his projectile game brings with access to arrows and bombs.

Though Link is slow on the ground, his aerial attacks are quite potent, most notably his down aerial which serves as an emphatic stock finisher when he’s in the air. His biggest weaknesses do relate to his lack of speed, making Link a fairly poor defensive character owing to his fast falling speed and inability to crouch quickly, giving him limited options to evade when locked in close-range combat.

Although viewed as one of the game’s weakest characters throughout its lifespan, Link’s player base has seen a renaissance in recent years – one undoubtedly spearheaded by Aklo, a Fox main who has achieved excellent success with Link as a counterpick in the Marth matchup, defeating top player Zain on multiple occasions.

16. Mario

One of the more overlooked and forgotten characters in the game, Mario was actually viewed as one of the best characters in Melee in the early metagame, though his weaknesses have become quite apparent in the decades since.

Similar to Mario sports games, Mario is positioned as an “all-around” fighter, with solid offensive and defensive skills while not being particularly overbearing in any single regard. Though most of his attacks are rather weak and short-ranged, the fast-paced nature of the moves allows for Mario to have a versatile combo game, in addition to a solid grab range.

Mario also has a slew of solid edgeguarding options, including a side-special cape sweep that acts as a pseudo-spike, a solid back aerial and a down aerial that also has some spike potential.

However, Mario’s poor range does act as his kryptonite against higher-ranked characters who share the speed of Mario’s attacks with much more potency. Despite having a decent amount of dedicated players in the early scene, Mario remains mostly an afterthought today. His most significant player of all time, A Rookie, was largely banned from the scene amid the wave of sexual misconduct allegations against Smash players in July 2020.

15. Ganondorf

Often cited as the character representing the “line of viability,” I’d say that’s also how I regard Ganondorf on this tier list. In other words, all characters below him on this are largely unviable in competitive play and also can be largely difficult for casual players to pick up, while those above him have at least the potential to win a major tournament with a skilled player.

A semi-clone of Captain Falcon, Ganondorf is among the slowest and most powerful characters in the game. In addition to his largely unmatched power, Ganondorf also has an excellent grab range, good range and recovery and an excellent aerial game that makes him an effective and frustrating edgeguarder.

His biggest hinderances are clear to casual and competitive players alike – Ganondorf is just too damn slow. His poor dashing speed and fast falling speed live him vulnerable to combos while leaving him heavily disadvantaged against quicker, high-tier characters, most notably Fox and Falco. This often leads to casual and competitive players alike adopting a read-heavy playstyle with Ganondorf, looking to utilize his power to make opponents pay for their mistakes.

Despite his drawbacks, Ganondorf has achieved plenty of tournament representation of the years, though his dedicated player base has dwindled in the 2020’s. Canadian smasher Kage has achieved the best results with the character as a solo main, while Captain Falcon main and fellow Canadian n0ne has had success with him as a secondary.

14. Donkey Kong

The character with the biggest metagame development over the last five years, Donkey Kong was universally considered to be low-tier for the vast majority of the game’s lifespan before a 2020’s renaissance completely reshaped how he’s viewed.

Spearheaded by former Sheik main Junebug, Donkey Kong is now viewed by many, myself included, as a middle-of-the-pack character with some excellent tools and favorable matchups that can make noise at major tournaments.

Donkey Kong features excellent range and incredible power, though has much better mobility than other heavy, fastfallers in the game such as Bowser and Ganondorf. DK’s range is most apparent with his charged neutral special, though his grab range can also be quite perilous for opponents and serve as a potent combo starter.

Though DK has a great recovery that also serves as a solid option on the ground, his large size and heavy weight make him quite susceptible to combos himself, making him one of the easiest characters to hit in the game while giving immense difficulty against fast, high-tier characters.

On top of being an increasingly viable choice in competitive play, DK also remains a fun, relatively easy character to pickup for new and casual players while now including the promise of competitive viability.

B Tier

13. Dr. Mario

One of the characters that’s experienced quite a shift in their perception over the course of the game’s lifespan, Dr. Mario is among the more newcomer-friendly options in the game while having plenty of promise on a competitive level as well.

Despite being a full clone of Mario, Dr. Mario features some notable advantages over his counterpart – the most obvious being the improved range of his projectile with his pills. He also possesses excellent ground mobility and a decent grab range, while his aerial attacks are both quick and potent in nature, lending them to be great tools for both starting combos and finishing stocks while edgeguarding.

On the other hand, Dr. Mario is among the easiest characters in the game to edgeguard, with his poor, predictable recovery being easily exploited by most tournament-viable characters. While a solid grabber, most of his attacks are also short-range, which can make him overly reliant on his projectile and make approaches quite difficult.

Dr. Mario was previously viewed as a stronger character largely due to the success of Shroomed, who achieved very high placements in major tournaments that have not been replicated since Shroomed became a Sheik main midway through last decade. Though Dr. Mario undoubtedly still has potential to be a factor in any large tournament, his player base is among the smallest of the remaining characters.

12. Yoshi

Perhaps the most difficult character for me to rank on this list, Yoshi exemplifies the argument behind the validity and existence of tier lists to begin with.

To be clear, I still think Yoshi is not a great character, and is a particularly tough one to pick up for a new player – but Yoshi has done what many characters both below him and even a few above him haven’t – which is win a supermajor.

Granted, I think the discourse surrounding Yoshi doesn’t give aMSa, his all-time best player and often sole Yoshi placing at major tournaments, enough credit for just how much work and diligence he has put into making Yoshi not only a viable character, but a winning one.

With that said, Yoshi was viewed as a low-tier character in Melee‘s early metagame for a good reason – his recovery is exceptionally poor despite his very high double jump, while his high falling speed and large size make him among the easiest characters to combo.

Although Yoshi features some incredible tools that include a very potent down smash and excellent aerial game, many of his biggest strengths, such as double jump canceling and parrying, are quite technical and would likely not ever be discovered or encountered by a casual player.

While it feels impossible to place Yoshi much lower given his win of a supermajor, placing him higher is ignoring the massive technical barriers that prevent casual and low-level competitive players from picking him up as a main with ease.

11. Luigi

One of the most unique characters in the game, newcomers shouldn’t be fooled by the aesthetics that Luigi shares with Mario and Dr. Mario, as Luigi is an entirely different beast to contend with.

Largely known for his slippery and relatively floaty mechanics, Luigi reads to many as the knuckleball pitcher of Melee, with his abnormally large wavedash making his movement particularly difficult to track and react to.

This quick ground movement opens up opportunities for a flexible combo game, thanks to quick, powerful aerials and a very potent forward smash that acts as one of the game’s finest combo finishers. Luigi also possesses two special moves that can serve as instant KOs depending on the scenario, with his side-special having a 12.5% chance of misfiring and dealing extreme damage and knockback, while his up-special in Super Jump Punch can land significant damage when landed in the right location.

However, Luigi also has extremely slow aerial movement and limited ground movement when not wavedashing, while his predictable recovery offers competent edgeguarders plenty of opportunities to finish stocks. Additionally, Luigi’s awkward mechanics make him a tricky character to pick up for new players, differing from Mario and Dr. Mario.

Luigi has received revived attention in the Melee world recently due to RapMonster’s successes against top player Zain with the character, while players such as Abate and Eddy Mexico have achieved high placings with him in the past.

10. Pikachu

A case somewhat similar to Yoshi, Pikachu’s placement on tier lists and general reputation in the Melee world primarily revolves around incredible success with one player, as Axe has won a supermajor with the character and long been a top player in the world.

Unlike Yoshi however, Pikachu has plenty of tools that are a bit easier for a casual player to pick up on, while simultaneously featuring a very high technical learning curve to play at a high level.

Pikachu’s biggest strengths are rather obvious and plentiful – its fast speed, great recovery and solid aerial game fit well in a game that prioritizes movement as much as Melee does. Additionally, its up-smash and down-special moves are both powerful and easy for a new player to adapt to, making Pikachu a popular and adequate choice in casual play.

Pikachu is also an excellent edgeguarder, highlighted by its ridiculous up aerial that acts as a semi-spike and can kill at insanely low percentages.

Its drawbacks largely revolve around its very short range and wavedash, which give Pikachu relatively poor ground mobility that lends to difficult matchups against most high-tier characters. Regardless, Pikachu is a great option for casual players while also having the proven potential to be a viable option at the highest levels of competitive play.

9. Samus

Another one of the most unique characters in Melee, Samus is arguably the most projectile-reliant character in the game, creating both many of her biggest strengths and weaknesses.

In addition to missiles and her Charge Shot, Samus also includes bombs as her down special, which serve as effective tools on stage while aiding in a difficult but incredibly effective horizontal recovery in the bomb jump, making her an incredibly hard character to finish edgeguards and horizontal KOs.

Samus’ weaknesses revolve around her stature, with her high weight and low falling speed making her one of the more combo-susceptible characters in the game while not possessing many combo options herself on the offensive side.

Though Samus bodes well for advanced techniques, including a couple specific to her that can aid in her approach, she also has a relatively high technical entry level to play competitively.

Samus still has plenty of skills that make her a decent choice in casual play, while she’s seen a varying amount of success over the course of Melee‘s lifespan in tournaments. Although the character has never won a major tournament, players such as Duck, HugS, Morsecode762 and Plup have achieved notable results in large tournaments with Samus.