Well, I'm going to go with who I think are the best. Not who are my favorites

1. Fox (his quickness, fast firing gun, great special jump, and full reflective shield give him an incredibly unfair advantage)

2. Pit (Perhaps the most BS character in the game. All of his A attacks infict tons of damage, his arrows can be controlled, he can freaking fly, and his left/right B--the old "higgidy-YA!!" spinny move--is the most unfair move in the game. Pit just flat out owns. No questions asked.)

3. Toon Link (He's very fast, has a great special jump that does mega damage, and has an expansive selection weapons. And don't you dare get underneath him when he's in the air--that down A move is just deadly.)

4. Snake (Way under-rated. He's not very fast, and can't jump worth a nickel, but his incredibly powerful array of deadly weapons make him a top contender. Being able to plant multiple motion-sense and remote-activated bombs on the ground, and shoot fully conrollable missiles can be a huge advantage with practice. His charge-up attacks are also among the most powerful in the game)

5. Ness (His special jump turns some people off, but when mastered it becomes a very powerful tool. (Pit's a powerful tool ;)) His baseball bat is absolutely devestating, as is his T.K. Pulse--both will knock you off the stage in seconds if you have 60+ damage. His T.K Fire is also a huge annoyance, as it temporarilly incapacitates the opponent. Combine all that with an awsome yo-yo and his overall speed and you have one of the deadliest fighters in the game)

I'm supposed to be studying for a big world history exam so I'll add to this later