Okay, I want to make a good first impression on this forum, so here I go!

ABOUT ME
I have been a fan of ssb ever since the n64 version came out. Needless to say, I'm (for the most part) incredibly good at the games. I also talk with a good friend of mine, who won some melee tournies (peach), about the games

WHAT MAKES A GOOD CHARACTER?
One of the most important subjects in ssb is the characters. However, just because you like a certain character, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good character. There are a couple of aspects that a character MUST have to be considered worthwhile:
+ At least one ranged form of attacking OR a quick, sweeping attack w/ a fast character (i.e. Falcon kick)
+ A good method of recovery
+ At least one relatively fast move

THE BRAWL CHARACTERS
NOTE: Parts of this are incomplete due to the game being relatively new. Incomplete character reviews will be marked with a *** and will be completed later.

Guide--> Name # rate (1=bad, 10=good) # notes

Meta Knight # (6/10) # Many people play MK because his play style is really cool (and fun); however, he has some fundamental flaws. First off, he has no ranged attacks (forward-b isn't fast enough). He also lacks a useful secondary ability, such as a counter/reflecter. He is also not that fast. So you are simply left with a light character that simply can't really do much.

Pit # (8/10) # Pit has all the qualities of a good character. But, his attacks lack any significant knockback and have relatively low priority.

Sonic # (5/10) # No range + Low priority + limited moveset = epic failure. His only saving grace is that he is so fast that some inexperienced players won't react fast enough.

Snake # (5/10) # Range? Check. Power? Check. Recovery? Check. Speed? Could be better, but is manageable. However, he is difficult for a beginner to use.

Ganondorf # (3/10) # Gd's brawl update saddens me immensly because he was my best melee character. Here's what the Brawl update gave him: + His forward-B move now causes ZERO knockback. + All of his attacks' knockback have been severely reduced. +He is HALF as fast.

Olimar # (?/10) # *** still haven't completely figured him out

Fox # (8/10) # He has been nerfed so that now he's not completely over-powered. Yay! But he is still a solid Character...

Mr. Game & Watch # (5/10) # Just avoid using him.

Peach # (9/10) # Her turnips give her range and her reversal is deadly. The only melee-brawl change seems to be that her second jump has been replaced by her float ability.

Captain Falcon # (6/10) # Sadly, CF doesn't excel in anything, due to the fact that there are faster characters.

Bowser # (4/10) # Was made slightly better in Brawl, but is still too slow to land a hit.

King Dedede # (?/10) # ***

more to come...