
Mario's alternate costumes in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
A palette swap is a term referring to cosmetic, and sometimes gameplay, differences between characters in the Mario franchise and Super Smash Bros. series, the latter naming it color change by default. To a lesser extent, palette swaps can also apply to objects.
In Mario Bros.[]
This is the first instance of a palette swap in the Mario franchise, because Luigi has the same base appearance as Mario, but is colored green. The arcade version shows color variants for Shellcreepers, Sidesteppers, and Fireballs. Shellcreepers have green, red, and purple shells. Sidesteppers have red, blue, and purple colors. Fireballs have red and green colors. In the NES version, Mario and Luigi along with the fireballs are the only sources to have palette alterations.
In the Game Boy Advance version, Mario has four color variants, in red, green, yellow, and blue.
In Mario Golf (Nintendo 64)[]
All 18 playable characters have four color palettes, one of which is their default appearance.
In Mario Tennis series[]
Mario Tennis[]
Every playable character has two palettes, including their default appearance, and their alternate color can be revealed by selecting the same character in Short Game mode.
Mario Tennis Open[]
Yoshi is the only one out of 17 playable characters to have alternate colors, totaling eight variants, including his default. The alternate colors can be unlocked by scanning a certain QR code, and the class type varies by their color.
Mario Tennis Aces[]

Toadette's alternate appearance in Mario Tennis Aces.
Palette swaps have a broader definition. Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi have not only their tennis outfits but also their original forms in Exhibition mode. The usual definition of palette swaps apply to Yoshi, since he has eight color variants, as well as Koopa, Paratroopa, and Shy Guy; the former two have three variations while the latter has seven variations. Palette swaps apply only to clothing for certain characters, including how Boo wears a visor in one of six colors, Chain Chomp wears a hat in one of three colors, and Spike wears a headband in one of three colors.
In Mario Kart series[]
Mario Kart: Super Circuit[]

The four colored Yoshis in Single-Pak multiplayer mode in Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Palette swaps appear only in Single-Pak multiplayer mode, players can only play as differently colored Yoshis. Player 1 plays as the default Yoshi, while Player 2 controls a Red Yoshi, Player 3 controls a Light Blue Yoshi, and Player 4 controls a Yellow Yoshi.
Mario Kart DS[]
In a similar manner to Mario Kart: Super Circuit, multiplayer mode on a single Game Pak restricts players using only the DS Download Play feature to only one playable character, Shy Guy, with a randomly chosen color of either red, green, blue, yellow, pink, light blue, black, or white. A difference from before is that the player with the Game Pak can choose any character they want.
Mario Kart 7[]
Similarly as in Mario Kart DS, players using only the Download Play feature in multiplayer are similarly assigned a randomly colored Shy Guy, except the red type.
In Mario Baseball series[]
Mario Superstar Baseball[]
Nine of the playable characters have alternate colors, including Toad, Koopa, Paratroopa, Shy Guy, Magikoopa, Dry Bones, Noki, Pianta, and Hammer Bro. From the character select screen, players can press while selecting any of the aforementioned characters to switch their color. Despite having alternate colors as spectators during gameplay and in the opening cinematic, Birdo is playable in only her pink and default form itself.
Mario Super Sluggers[]
Characters with alternate colors include Yoshi (unlike the previous game), Toad, Paratroopa, Shy Guy, Magikoopa, Dry Bones, Noki, Pianta, and the newcomer Kritter. Yoshi is the only team captain to have alternate colors. Alternate Birdo colors are still seen as spectators and the cinematics, but not during gameplay itself.
Crossover appearances[]
Super Smash Bros. series[]
Super Smash Bros.[]
All 12 playable characters have at least four different palettes, one of which is their default appearance. Some characters may have more than four colors, which are normally only playable on the blue, green, and red teams. Even so, Yoshi's dark blue and pink colors are not playable but are seen while the player faces the Yoshi Team in Classic Mode. The player can press a C Button on the controller to change the color of the character it selects.
Super Smash Bros. Melee[]
All 25 playable characters have between four to six palettes, including their default appearance. Some make up for what colors weren't normally playable in the prequel installment, especially outside of a blue, red, and green team. The player can press the X or Y button to change the colors of the character it selects.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]
All 35 playable characters have between four to six color variants, while Wario has 12. Wario has two forms, his WarioWare form and Original form, each having six palettes.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U[]
Every playable character has at least eight color variants, while Little Mac has 16 alone. Little Mac has two forms, his original form and wire frame form, each having eight palettes apiece. The Koopalings uniquely serve as alternate costumes for Bowser Jr.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]
Every playable character has eight color variants, including their default appearance. Unlike her previous playable appearances, Peach no longer has an alternate costume resembling Daisy's, since said character became playable.
External links[]
- Color change on Smashpedia