So I just got back from a couple hours worth of smash and got to try a ton of characters, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on the ones that stood out for me:
Little Mac-Holy fuck this character is hype. I was doing pretty decently with Mac straight off the bat, and damn is he fun to use. His power and speed combo is like no other, I love it so much. And getting a KO punch off is just as satisfying as a rest or falcon punch. Me and my friends had some rounds where we all played Little Mac and it was hilarious how often one guy ended up between 2 Little Mac smash attacks. We even got a double KO punch once. I almost want to main him, but I love air-based characters too much.
Shulk-Really fun to use. His range is really what sells him for me, even more than the stances, though I have had a few cool moments where I only survived because I had jump stance or got an early kill with smash stance. I definitely want to get better with him.
Robin-Simpler to use than expected, but Elfire is not as useful as expected. I played a lot of rounds with her but I still don't think I've got the feel for the character yet. I need a lot more time with Robin before I make a final judgement.
Dark Pit-He's strong. And not that slow. And goddamnit, I want to hate him but I actually kind of like him. Not main material, but I think I'll be playing him a decent amount. He's basically a slightly better Pit for me, and I did like Pit in Brawl, so I guess I like him too.
Pac Man-He's exactly as fun as I expected him to be when I saw his trailer. His b+side and b+down are great for messing with people, and his key is hilarious. I didn't want Pac in smash in first, but now he looks like a great character for pissing people off.
Duck Hunt-I was really excited for the dog at first, but he's a bit harder to use than I expected. I didn't get much time with him, so I never found out if he can manually explode his can, but my inability to do so at the time was really annoying. Also, his smash attacks have really weird and strict hitboxes which I didn't like.
Wii Fit Trainer-Wow, this is a
weird character. I feel like every time I attack in one direction she hits in the opposite direction. I had no idea how to use her and couldn't do much with her, but I get the feeling some people will be able to pull off some crazy shit with her.
Lucina-Marth except I can actually use her. As someone who plays a lot of Toon Link, Lucina is a pretty natural transition. I'll probably use her a lot.
On the veterans front...
Luigi-He feels off. Some things are buffed, others are nerfed, and he feels lot more like Brawl Weegee than Melee Weegee. Also, green missile seems to be completely worthless this time around. Don't think I'll use him much.
Captain Falcon-He's definitely better than Brawl Falcon, but harder to control. I feel like I need a gamecube controller to control him, so he's on hold until Wii U version launches.
Game & Watch-He feels exactly the same as in Brawl. I'll still play him, but I wish he got some more noticeable buffs.
Dr. Mario-Doesn't feel like Melee Doc. Maybe it's just the difference in physics, I dunno. I played a lot of Doc in Melee, but don't think I'll use him much here. I still like him better than Mario though.
Jigglypuff-She feels SO much better. And that back air is godlike. She's a definite candidate for main.
I keep the color the same for different movesets to help me remember what's what.