Palette Swap (Super Smash Bros. Melee)

Super Smash Bros. Melee added additional Alternate costume options to characters by using the X and Y buttons to cycle through the available list instead of using four C buttons to pick a specific color, this removes the limit as to how many are selectable, so there are no longer any costumes exclusive to Team Battles or computer opponents. As a result, many characters now have five different color schemes, with some having as many as six, though some still only have four.

In Team Battle, if members of the same team use the same character, the second player would have a lighter tint applied to their character. A third player uses a darker tint. If a fourth player is forcibly added to a team with the Name Entry glitch, then the fourth character will be completely black, the game's data suggests that a fifth player, if possible, would be completely grey. A sixth player and afterword, would crash the game.

N/A: Color that is original to Super Smash Bros. and doesn't have any particular reference.

Characters

Dr. Mario

White	Resembles his original design in prior to Dr. Mario 64.
Red	Resembles Nurse Toadstool's color scheme.
Blue	Resembles the traditional color of scrubs worn in real-life hospitals, while his violet gloves resemble standard nitrile gloves used by most physicians.
Green	Resembles the traditional color of scrubs worn in by real-life surgeons. Also resembles his appearance in Dr. Mario for the original Game Boy.
Black	Referred to as the "Unlicensed Doctor" on the Melee website. Also invokes the coats worn by earlier doctors before the shift to white coats.

Mario

Red	Based on his appearance in Super Mario 64.
Yellow	Based on Wario.
Black	Based on Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew '98, and the Hammer Suit's sprite in Super Mario Bros. 3.
Blue	Based on his appearance in promotional artwork for Mario Bros., with the colors of the overalls and shirt swapped, including the Balloon Fighter and Mario's outfit from the three DIC cartoons.
Green	Unlike in the original Super Smash Bros., his overalls are brown instead of orange, which makes it resembles Luigi's appearance from promotional artwork for the arcade version of Mario Bros., with the colors of the overalls and shirt swapped. It also resembles Jinbe from Mole Mania, another game developed by Shigeru Miyamoto.

Luigi

Green	Based on his appearance in Mario Kart 64.
White	Based on Luigi's appearance in Super Mario Bros. and the NES version of Mario Bros., Also resembles the outfit of Fire Luigi.
Blue	Resembles the artwork for Mario on the cover for the NES version of Mario Bros., though his sprite does not actually feature such coloring, while his overalls appear in black instead of blue in-game.
Pink	Based on Luigi's appearance in Wrecking Crew. Also referred as "Strawberry Luigi" on official website.

Bowser

Green	Based on his appearance from Super Mario 64.
Red	Resembles a Spiny and a red Koopa Troopa. It also resembles Roy Koopa's early in-game sprites without the sunglasses, including Bowser's Second player costume in Mario Golf. Unusually, while the artwork depicts Bowser with red eyes, they are green in-game.
Blue	Resembles his original design in Super Mario Bros., only with his shell being blue and his limbs being dark green.
Black	N/A

Peach

Pink	Based on her appearance in Super Mario 64.
Yellow	Based on artwork of Princess Daisy from Mario Party 3, including her hair color, earrings, dress style, gloves, tiara, and even skin color. However, later games in the Mario series changed Daisy's design, resulting in the costume only matching games before Melee. When the inside of her dress is looking at the camera, her underwear is light blue which matches her jewelry instead of her dress. This swap is also technically the very first alternate costume in the Super Smash Bros. series, meaning a costume that isn't just a simple recolor and drastically changes the characters design.
White	Resembles how she appeared in her first appearance in Super Mario Bros., without the red hair and red trim. Peach uniquely wears pantyhose with this costume, she also wears this costume in the event "Time for a checkup!", even though Nurse Toadstool wears pink.
Blue	Resembles her "right" color from Mario Golf and Daisy's appearance on the title screen of NES Open Tournament Golf.
Green	Resembles her "left" color from Mario Golf and her appearance on the title screen of NES Open Tournament Golf.

Yoshi

All of Yoshi's costumes appear as different variations of the Yoshi species in many of his games, such as Yoshi's Story and Super Mario World.

Green	Resembles his appearance from the Nintendo 64 era and Yoshi's Story, it also resembles the Green Yoshi from Super Mario World.
Red	Based on the Fire-Breathing Yoshi in Super Mario World.
Blue	Based on the Flying Yoshi in Super Mario World.
Yellow	Based on the Stomping Yoshi in Super Mario World.
Pink	Based on the Pink Yoshi from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.
Cyan	Based on the Cyan Yoshi from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.

Donkey Kong

While all Donkey Kong's costumes show the same skin in the portraits, each one is a different color in the game.

Brown	Resembles his artwork from Donkey Kong 64.
Black	Resembles Donkey Kong's coloration when Donkey Kong '94 and Donkey Kong Land were played under the black and white color on the Game Boy Color and Super Game Boy. "Monkey Smash" mode in Donkey Kong 64 also featured Donkey Kong with black fur and a blue tie. Also resembles an actual gorilla.
Red	Resembles his sprite in the original Donkey Kong. It is also similar to his model in Donkey Kong 64, but his tie is dark blue instead of red.
Blue	Resembles Donkey Kong's alternate color in Donkey Kong 64's multiplayer mode.
Green	N/A

Captain Falcon

Indigo	Based on his appearance from F-Zero X, only his suit is a completely different color.
Black	Resembles his appearance in a Japanese commercial for F-Zero X.
Red	Based on Falcon's rival, Blood Falcon's outfit, even altering the logo on his back to say "Blood Hawk". Betas for the game show that it was originally intended to read "Hell Hawk", the Japanese name of Blood Falcon's F-Zero machine. The gloves are purple instead of the original indigo color.
White	Based on the colors of Jody Summer's outfit, only with the gloves being pink instead of her original purple color. Commonly known as "Captain Fabulous" in the community.
Green	Based on the colors of Pico's outfit.
Blue	Resembles his appearance in the original F-Zero, and the suit loosely resembles his look in F-Zero X.

Ganondorf

Brown	Based on his appearance from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Red	N/A
Blue	Based on his original beast-boar form, Ganon.
Green	N/A
Purple	Resembles the purple clothes worn by the Gerudo Guard.

Falco

Tan	Based on his appearance from Star Fox 64.
Red	Resembles Peppy Hare's flight suit from Star Fox 64.
Blue	Resembles Slippy Toad's flight suit from Star Fox 64.
Green	Resembles Fox's flight suit.

Fox

Grey	Based on his appearance from Star Fox 64.
Red	Resembles Falco's flight suit.
Blue	Resembles Slippy Toad's flight suit from Star Fox 64.
Green	Based on his concept art from the original Star Fox.

Ness

Red	Based on his appearance from EarthBound.
Yellow	The yellow and black color scheme resembles that of the Hanshin Tigers, a Japanese baseball team. The shirt's pattern is reminiscent of the Gigantic Ant enemy from EarthBound.
Blue	Based on Ness' younger self that he encounters briefly in EarthBound, who was wearing a blue hat.
Green	This costume resembles the character, Everdred, from EarthBound, who was dress in green and orange. However, Ness wears a green hat instead of black, which is the color of Everdred's hat. The shorts, also with a color change, are green instead of orange.

Ice Climbers

The Ice Climbers switch positions and the player controls Nana when the orange and red costumes are equipped. The stock icons and character selection portraits change to reflect this.

Blue	Based on their original sprites in Ice Climber, but Popo uses a different shade of blue, while Nana's pink color is similar to her 'Hit" sprite from Ice Climber.
Green	Popo's parka color resembles the cucumber and the cabbage. Nana's parka color resembles her hair color from the PAL and Japanese artworks of Ice Climber.
Orange	Nana's parka color resembles the Condor, while Popo's parka color resembles his "Hit" sprite from Ice Climber.
Red	While Nana's parka is purely red on their portrait in the character selection screen, it is actually maroon in-game. Popo's white parka could also resemble a brief color change that happens when Popo and Nana die in Ice Climber.

Kirby

Pink	Based on his appearance from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.
Yellow	This color swap is Keeby, who was Kirby's companion in games that featured co-op mode. It is also the same as when he is Beam Kirby and Needle Kirby in earlier games, but without the hat. It was also an alternative color for Kirby in the multiplayer for Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. Developer Shigeru Miyamoto also reportedly believed Kirby should be yellow in his debut game, while Masahiro Sakurai believed the character should be pink.
Blue	The same as when he is Ice Kirby in earlier games, but without the hat. It is also an alternative color for Kirby in the multiplayer for Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.
Red	The same as when he is Fire Kirby in earlier games, without the hat.
Green	An alternative color for Kirby in the multiplayer for Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. The original Super Smash Bros. website referred to this costume as "Kusa-mochi Kirby".
White	Based on his monochrome appearance from the original Kirby's Dream Land for Game Boy. It is also similar to the colors of Kirby's depiction on the North American box art of Kirby's Dream Land.

Samus

Orange	Based on the Varia Suit as it appears in Super Metroid.
Pink	Based on the Gravity Suit's in-game sprite from Super Metroid, but more closely resembles the color scheme of the Varia Suit of the original Metroid when missiles are selected.
Black	N/A
Green	In Japan, the original Super Smash Bros. website referred to this alternate costume as "Production Model Samus", often referred to as "Mass Produced Samus" in the community.
Purple	Resembles artwork of the Gravity Suit from Super Metroid.

Zelda / Sheik

Pink	Based on Adult Zelda from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but more closely resembles the color scheme of her appearance in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
Red	Resembles Zelda's first appearance in The Legend of Zelda if Link possesses the red ring, but not the blue ring. Also resembles Zelda's appearance in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.
Blue	Resembles Zelda's first appearance in The Legend of Zelda if Link possesses the blue ring but not the red ring. Also resembles Zelda's maiden outfit in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
Green	Resembles Zelda's first appearance in The Legend of Zelda if Link possesses neither the blue ring nor the red ring.
White	Resembles Zelda's field sprite in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

All of these colors go with Zelda's costume and come from the same game as Zelda's.

Indigo	Based on her appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This costume is not used in team battles, because it corresponds with Zelda's pink default costume.
Red	Corresponds with Zelda's red color.
Blue	Corresponds with Zelda's blue color.
Green	Corresponds with Zelda's green color.
White	Corresponds with Zelda's white color.

Link

Green	Based on his appearance from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Red	Based on the Goron Tunic from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It also resembles Link with the Red Ring from The Legend of Zelda.
Blue	Based on the Zora Tunic from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Black	Based on a color tunic hack from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time which resembles Dark Link.
White	Resembles the use of the Blue Ring in The Legend of Zelda.

Young Link

All of Young Link's colors are exactly the same as Link's, except ordered where the black and white costumes are switched.

Green	Based on his appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.
Red	Based on the Goron Tunic from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Blue	Based on the Zora Tunic from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
White	Based on the use of the Blue Ring equipped in The Legend of Zelda.
Black	Based on a color tunic hack from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time which resembles Dark Link.

Pichu

Yellow	Based on its appearance from the Pokémon series.
Red	N/A
Blue	Its goggles are reminiscent of the Swimmer Trainer class.
Green	Its backpack is reminiscent of the Pokémon Trainer class. It may derive from Ness' model.

Pikachu

Yellow	Based on its appearance from the Pokémon series.
Red	Resembles one of the possible colors for a nicknamed Pikachu in Pokémon Stadium and its Shiny coloration. Its cap is reminiscent of Red, the protagonist of Pokémon Red and Blue.
Blue	Has Pikachu wearing a party hat similar to the party hats from the previous game.
Green	N/A

Jigglypuff

Pink	Based on its appearance from the Pokémon games.
Red	Resembles a hibiscus flower which it wears on its back left.
Blue	Its blue costume from the original Super Smash Bros., It resembles one of the possible colors for a nicknamed Jigglypuff in Pokémon Stadium.
Green	Resembles one of the possible colors for a nicknamed Jigglypuff in Pokémon Stadium. Its headband is reminiscent of the Blackbelt Trainer class.
Yellow	Based on the crown that Jigglypuff wears in this costume is identical to that worn by Peach.

Mewtwo

Purple	Based on its appearance from the Pokémon series.
Red	Resembles one of Mewtwo's possible alternate color shades in the Pokémon Stadium games.
Blue	Resembles Mewtwo's in-game sprite colors for Pokémon Red & Blue. Also used as an Easter egg in Pokémon Stadium.
Green	Based on Mewtwo's shiny color in the Pokémon games.

Mr. Game & Watch

Notably, the 3 alternate costumes are the 3 team colors.

Black	Based on the Game & Watch characters from the games Fire and Parachute.
Red	Based on depictions of objects and characters on the Virtual Boy.
Blue	N/A
Green	Reminiscent on the green dot-matrix display of the Game Boy.

Marth

Blue	Resembles his appearance from Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, only with his hair and cape being a darker blue color. Also based on the standard color for player units in the Fire Emblem games.
Red	Based on the standard color for enemy units in Fire Emblem games. This is the only costume in Melee to change the color of his tiara.
Green	Based on the standard color for NPC units in Fire Emblem.
Black	Resembles Camus, one of Marth's allies, as he appears starting with Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem.
White	Based on Leif, the protagonist of Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 and a character from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.

Roy

Purple	Combines elements of his design from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade and the early incarnation from Space World 2001 although with a purple scarf and brown hair.
Red	Based on the standard color for enemy units in Fire Emblem games.
Blue	Based on the standard color for player units in the Fire Emblem games. It is the only alternate costume to change Roy's golden trim color. Also resembles Eliwood.
Green	Based on the standard color for NPC units in Fire Emblem.
Yellow	Resembles Bors' sprite.

Trivia

• There is a total of 123 alternate costumes.
• The average number of costumes per character is 5.
• Captain Falcon, Kirby, and Yoshi share the highest amount of color swaps at 6.
• There are 10 fighters with only 4 color swaps, and 13 fighters with only 5.
• This is the only game in the series were Peach does not have a red version of her costume, instead wearing her default pink one for on the Red Team during Team Battles, though pink is a faded red color.
• There is some costumes that have been changed the color after Super Smash Bros.
  • Mario: Forman Spike color changes from Beige and Brown to Black and White. Green and Orange changed into Green and Brown.
• Betas for the game indicate that the back of Captain Falcon's Blood Falcon-inspired costume was originally going to read "Hell Hawk", the Japanese name of Blood Falcon's F-Zero machine.