Clone

A clone character is a common inclusion in the Super Smash Bros. series, and many other fighting games as well. It describes two or more characters that have nearly identical movesets with slight variations in the attacks. From the developer's perspective, a given character's model can be used as a base template from which to build another, and it is usually evident which one is the "original" and which is the clone. Most clones are from the same series of games.

Semi-clones
Semi-cloning (sometimes known as Luigification) is when a character shares some moves of another, while still having some variation in terms of moveset or special attacks. The term originated from Luigi, who was originally nearly indistinguishable from Mario, but has slowly been given his own unique characteristics and attacks. (This is similar to the development of Luigi throughout the Mario series' development). Many clones from Melee were then given semi-clone qualities before they returned in Brawl (while some did not return). The exact meaning can vary for different people. Some people believe that any character with clone-like traits that has any variation in attacks are semi-clones, while others think that certain characters need more unique attacks to be a semi-clone.

Clones in SSB

 * Mario & Luigi
 * Luigi has a different dash attack, jumps higher, Down special Launches the foes instead of sucking them in, a different down tilt, and his Super Jump Punch's beginning is a strong move (though visually identical), and his fireballs are not affected by gravity.

Semiclones in SSB

 * Samus & Captain Falcon
 * Both share neutral aerials, down smashes, back aerials, up tilts, and down tilts. They have different special attacks.
 * Mario/Luigi & Ness
 * Interestingly, all three share a polygon form. Ness' neutral aerial is based off of Mario's and Luigi's, his "getting up" attacks (both of them) are the same as Mario's and Luigi's, and he has a similar fighting stance. All three are nearly the same weight as well. Other than that, all of Ness' moves are different.
 * Kirby & Jigglypuff
 * They share many attacks, jump similarly (both can jump five times, are light, and puff up when jumping). Jigglypuff's forward and down smashes are slower, but the same as Kirby's (Jigglypuff does not spin while performing its down smash). Both share a neutral aerial and a down aerial. Both share forward, down, and up tilts.

Non-playable

 * The Fighting Polygon Team is composed of clones of all the playable fighters.
 * Metal Mario is an exact copy of Mario, but with more weight and flinch resistance.
 * Giant DK is a copy of normal DK although being much larger.

Clones in SSBM
In each pair, the former is the "original", while the latter is the clone. Direct clones are usually identified in Melee by having a slightly recessed character selection box next to the original character's.


 * Mario & Dr. Mario
 * All attacks are the same, but have "Doctor" variants. Dr. Mario's forward smash has electrical properties. Interestingly, none of Dr. Mario's moves make the "smacking" sound that some of Mario's moves have.
 * Fox & Falco
 * Almost all attacks are the same, although their special moves have slightly different properties and Falco's dair is a spike. Falco also jumps higher and runs slower than Fox.
 * Pikachu & Pichu
 * They both have a few unique animations in walking/running and one unique attack for their up smash. Pichu hurts itself when using electric attacks and has a down smash with no electrical properties.
 * Captain Falcon & Ganondorf
 * Different fair, Dair, some different effects, Ganon's attacks are stronger, d-smash functions differently (the first hit is necessary for the second hit to land, granted the opponent is in front of Ganondorf), Ganondorf doesn't have an A Combo, instead his regular A move is stronger, and his attacks use darkness instead of fire. Also only pair of "original and clone" to originate from different universes.
 * Link & Young Link
 * All attacks are similar, except for Young Link's standard special move, where he shoots flaming arrows. Also, when Young Link attacks, his sword does not make a "slashing" sound, but it instead makes a "slapping" sound. However, his up-throw involves his sword, and it makes a slashing sound only then.
 * Marth & Roy
 * All attacks are nearly the same, with the exception of Roy's Up Special Move and Roy's sweespotted up-smash, which spikes. Also, while Marth's are most powerful at the tip of his blade, Roy's are stronger the closer the foe is to the center of his blade. The "sourspot" of Roy's sword attacks make a "slapping" sound instead of a "slashing" sound. Also only pair of "original and clone" to both be hidden characters.

Non-playable

 * Bowser & Giga Bowser
 * Captain Falcon/Princess Zelda & Male/Female Wire Frames

Semi-clones

 * Mario & Luigi
 * The former clones have been differentiated with separate normal movesets and side specials.


 * Notable changes to Luigi between SSB and Melee:


 * Luigi has a different side special than Mario.
 * Different forward and, to a lesser extent, down aerial attacks.
 * Different forward Smash Attack.
 * Different Up Tilt.
 * Different neutral combo.


 * Kirby & Jigglypuff
 * Kirby and Jigglypuff are the semi-clones with the most similar moves. Kirby's moves have been altered, while Jigglypuff's have been kept from the previous game. Jigglypuff and Kirby still share a similar down-aerial, and both share a similar down- and forward-smash. Both also share their respective tilts, and both retain their ability to puff up and float five times as their jump.

Clones in SSBB
Clones are mostly absent in Brawl, as most characters have been Luigified.

Semi-clones/Luigified Characters
Most of the semi-clones have some of the same standard animations as the original.
 * Link & Toon Link
 * They mostly share the same moves. The only differing moves are Up Smash (which shares the first strike), Neutral Aerial, Forward Aerial, Back Aerial, Forward Throw, and Back Throw. Also, Toon Link's Down Aerial is a Stall-then-fall-aerial and a Meteor Smash, but still shares the same animation, along both Spin Attacks and Side Smashes. Like Young Link, Toon Link's sword attacks (which are all of his moves excluding down, forward, and backward throws) do not make a "slashing" sound, but a "slapping" sound (exceptions being down- and up-aerial attacks and his up-throw).
 * Fox & Falco
 * Reflector works differently, but all other special moves are cloned. Non-cloned moves include neutral combo (in addition to a different animation, Fox's will repeat the first punch as long as the button is held and Falco will not), up tilt, neutral air, forward air, back air and forward smash. Falco's Back aerial is a sex kick. Also, they share the same Final Smash. While their up aerials are pretty much identical, Falco's is on a slightly different axis.
 * Captain Falcon & Ganondorf
 * A totally different Final Smash and some different standard attacks (neutral, all tilts, up smash and forward air), but some normal moves are still similar. And most notably, they both share 3 special moves. (Only difference is that Capt. Falcon has fire in his specials and Ganondorf's specials feature darkness.). Raptor Boost and Flame Choke are initially similar, but the difference is that Raptor Boost launches the opponents, while Flame Choke grabs them.
 * Mario & Luigi
 * The differing moves are neutral combo, dash attack, up tilt, down tilt, forward smash, forward air and down air. Two of their specials are different (while their Super Jump Punches have unique properties despite being more or less the same animation), as well as Final Smashes. Now that they barely share any moves, many smashers don't even consider them to be semi-clones at this point.
 * Ness & Lucas
 * Share 3 special attacks that have a few minor differences. (Ness has PK Flash & Lucas has PK Freeze). However, PK Freeze & PK Flash still work a little similarly, despite moving and looking differently. They also have the same Final Smash. A few standard attacks are also somewhat similar, such as forward smash, up aerial, and down tilt.
 * Fox & Wolf
 * The only moves that seem almost the same are Final Smash and Down Special moves. Other special moves are based off of Fox's, but are quite different. Almost all of Wolf's standard attacks are different from Fox's. These two are on the very edge of "semi-clone" status. In addition, Claw Blaster is the only Blaster that has direct slashing damage, and the only one that can KO.

Non-playable

 * Captain Falcon & Red Alloy
 * Princess Zelda & Blue Alloy
 * Mario & Yellow Alloy
 * Kirby & Green Alloy