Ok, playable or not i give you my top 10 playable Nintendo characters! Note:- I'm actually quite "different" when it comes to having favourite characters. I would expect most "top 10 Nintendo characters"  would have Mario, Link etc. very high up. As i said,my top 10 is "different", lol.

1. Hitmonlee:- My favourite Pokemon from 1 of my favourite franchises. I have loved Hitmonlee since the first time he booted me off the stage in the original Smash bros!

2. Chibi Robo:- I absolutely love this little guy! It helps that the original Chibi Robo was 1 of my favourite games ever! Also helps that he is playable and indeed the main character.

3. Villager:- Again, animal Crossing is 1 of my favourite franchises but what really puts villager so high is that i have mained him/her since day 1 on Smash 4. There's no beating tree ko's!

4. Jimmy T (Wario ware). Just looking at him makes me giggle and it's a bonus that you get to play as him in 1 of the better minigames from Game and Wario.

5. Tom (animal Crossing) Blue grumpy cat with the heart of gold from Animal Crossing . Been my favourite animal in the game since day 1.

6. Mr. Game and Watch. My main in Smash up until 4. Had an underrated and hilarious moveset.

7. Waluigi. The hilarious, clumsy so-called bad guy actually comes across to me as far too vulnerable to be a bad guy. Again, just seeing him makes me grin. He's my go-to guy in almost all Mario sports and party games.

8. Mii. The potential of this character is only limited by the imagination of the creator! Sometimes i play the Tomodachi life level on Smash just to see what my Mii's are up to!

9. Ganondorf. Number 1 kick-ass bad guy that Nintendo possesses imo and it helps that he's pure beast in Smash!

10. Wario. Fatter, less clumsy but equally funny bad-guy accomplice of Waluigi. His farts on smash are hilarious and even his greed is funny!

Honourable mentions. Mario, Luigi, Link, Mewtwo, Samus. Mostly household names, these characters (maybe excluding Mewtwo) epitomise Nintendo.

I would be interested to see others' top tens just to see if they are as "different" and as niche  as mine. Everyones' opinion is worthwhile imo.

Oh this is a fun idea!

10) Koopa Trooper
9) Diddy Kong
8) Shulk
7) Captain Falcon
6) Zelda
5) Rosalina
4) Dr. Mario
3) Bowser Jr.
2) Samus Aran
1) Link

Just off the top of my head.

Hmm...

10. Vivian (Paper Mario TTYD)
9. Mr. Saturn (EarthBound / Mother 3)
8. Ravio (A Link Between Worlds)
7. Popple (Superstar Saga)
6. Fawful (Superstar Saga / Bowser's Inside Story)
5. Riki (Xenoblade Chronicles)
4. Marie (Splatoon)
3. Marth (Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon / Super Smash Bros. Melee)
2. Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles)
1. Seven (Xenoblade Chronicles)

4 replies and No Donkey Kong? No Boo? No Mario? how?

10)  Waluigi - First wrote him off as a very lazy attempt at making a new character. Playing with him in Mario Party, Mario Strikers Charged and Mario Kart made me change my mind. That crotch chop when he scores a goal in Strikers is priceless.
9) Boo - He's the character I usually I pick in Mario Party (because I love his victory dance with his little arms flalling around). I can get really cocky when playing Mario Party and he'd tease my friends by saying "Don't feel bad, Boo's just the best!"
8) Little Mac - 4'8" boxer who battles stereotypes two, three times his size in a league with clearly no regards for weight classes, what's not to love?
7) Luigi - Used to be a color swap for Mario but he evolved into a complete quirky weird character that I love.
6) Mario - Featured in countless quality titles, a bit of a blank slate apart from being perky all the time.
5) Diddy Kong - For me he symbolizes the Donkey Kong Country franchise which is a good reason to like him. He's also quite fun to play in Smash! Bananas!!
4) Falco - I love his arrogant attitude toward Fox McCloud. He's my most trusted wingman (get it?) when playing Star Fox.
3) Link - Stars in some of my favorite games of all-time but his lack of personality keeps him from the top of the list
2) Peach - Not all that interesting in the main games but I love her due to her begin my main in Smash since Melee, her side taunt "la-la-la-la-la-la" is the best in the game.
1) Samus Aran - Awesome badass, dispatches space pirates, dangerous energy sucking medusas, flying dragons, anthropomorphic brains without batting an eye (Other M doesn't exist!!!)

10) Mario
9) Geno (Mario RPG)
8) Fox Mccloud.
7) Captain Falcon
6) Marth
5) Donkey Kong
4) Luigi
3) Yoshi
2) Samus Aran
1) Link

Honorary Mentions:
- Koopalings
- Kirby
- Wario
- Falco Lombardi
- Ridley
- Meta Knight
- Every character from Mario RPG besides Geno

Maybe ill expand later as to why each of them, if im not feeling lazy.

Nice list! Shame you can't think of 1 more. With your edit, it would be a top 10.

In no particular order cause I can't decide for the life of me!

1. Yoshi
2. Kirby
3. Olimar
4. Pachirisu (Pokemon)
5. Toon Link
6. Yuka (Animal Crossing)
7. Shulk
8.Kaze (Fire Emblem)
9. Inkling
10. Spring Man

Nice. Another list with some obscure  characters like mine! You must  be a massive Xenoblade fan.

Another nice list. Loving these lists. So much diversity!