When it comes to competitive Super Smash Bros., no game in the series has had as much longevity as Super Smash Bros. Melee. Originally released in 2001, Melee has a dedicated community and tournament scene that is still going strong nearly twenty years after the game's release.
However, anyone familiar with Melee is aware that the game's roster is far from balanced, with certain members of the roster dominating tournaments while other characters are nearly never seen in competitive settings. As much we love characters like Fox and Marth, today we're going to examine the ten least viable characters and Melee, and see what holds these characters back.
10 Donkey Kong
One of the largest characters in Melee, Donkey Kong possesses a common problem with many entries on this list, possessing a very predictable playstyle that lacks flexibility.
Benefitting from a strong grab game, after landing a grab, Donkey Kong can dish out tons of damage. However, as this same strategy must be repeated continuously for good results, most opponents can see it coming and can plan accordingly. This is especially troublesome for D.K. when paired up against characters who can easily keep him at bay, preventing him from approaching.
9 Link
The main protagonist of The Legend of Zelda, Link has access to numerous useful projectiles such as bombs, his bow, and his boomerang in Melee.
Unfortunately, when it comes to fighting up close and personal, Link has a hard time keeping up with faster members of the cast, and struggles against numerous popular characters choices and top tiers such as Fox and Falco.
8 Mr. Game & Watch
While Mr. Game & Watch is very unique from an aesthetic perspective, when it comes to gameplay, he suffers from a lack of flexibility and options.
Possessing a solid grab and some decent aerial capabilities, Game & Watch is a one trick pony in Melee whose strategies can be very predictable for seasoned players. Additionally, while Game & Watch may be able to hold his own against a few members of the roster, he struggles in far more match ups for most players' liking.
7 Roy
While Roy may be quite impressive in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he unfortunately got the short end of the stick in Melee. Marth and Roy possess very similar movesets with their primary differences being found in their attributes. While Marth's longer range, faster attack speed, and "tipper" mechanic result in him being one of the strongest characters in the game, Roy fails in all of these areas.
As cool as Roy's fire-based attacks may appear, the properties of his sword leave much to be desired, with many players equating his weapon to fighting with a pool noodle.
6 Mewtwo
Mewtwo may be incredibly powerful within the context of his home game, but in Melee, he leaves much to desire.
Mewtwo is a very floaty member of the roster who relies on a great deal on grabbing in order to start aerial combos. However, this heavily limits and restricts a great deal of what Mewtwo is capable of, especially when fighting characters with above average speed or range such as Marth, Sheik, and Captain Falcon.
5 Zelda
While Zelda's alter-ego Sheik is one of the most formidable characters on the roster, Zelda has the unfortunate distinction of being within the bottom five characters in Melee.Â
Though Zelda has access to an excellent recovery, that single move is one of her solitary saving graces. While Sheik has excellent combo potential, Zelda struggles to string numerous attacks together, whilst being light enough that more potent members of the roster can put an end to her quickly.
4 Ness
Possessing one of the worst recoveries in Melee, if a skilled player is able to get Ness off stage, it's safe to assume he's losing a stock. Though Ness has access to a handful of strong moves such as his useful forward-air, he is simply outclassed in too many areas to be considered worthwhile, especially when there are other playable characters who possess Ness's strengths tenfold.
3 Pichu
In the Street Fighter series, the character Dan Hibiki is a joke character who functions as a strictly worse version of the series protagonist, Ryu. Melee's iteration of Pichu fills a very similar role.
Having a nearly identical moveset to Pikachu, Pichu is faster than its counterpart, but falls short in every other category. Dealing less damage and capable of getting KO'd at much lower percentages, Pichu makes its respective player work twice as hard for worse results. While Pichu has access to a decent neutral-air attack, whenever Pichu utilizes any of its electricity-based attacks, it deals additional damage to itself.
2 Bowser
While Bowser possesses high powered smash attacks and the useful ability to up-B out of shield, every other aspect of the character is pretty abysmal. Incredibly heavy, Bowser can be comboed into oblivion by the stronger characters in the roster. Additionally, as Bowser is incredibly slow, his access to the strongest moves in his arsenal is effectively negated. As if this weren't enough, Bowser's large hurt-box and horrible recovery don't do him any favors.
1 Kirby
While Kirby may also be the product of Smash creator, Masahiro Sakurai, when it comes to Melee's roster, Kirby is the bottom of the barrel. Incredibly light and easy for the majority of the roster to kill, Kirby has serious difficulties when it comes to both combing and KOing foes.
Aside from a solid back-air, many of Kirby's moves range from pitiful, to barely functional in the case of Kirby's front and back grabs.