Great thread idea!

10: Captain Falcon - An amazing man, and just all around good character. Know him mostly through memes and smash of course. If I had tried out Fzero GX (I believe he appears in it (?) ) he might have earned himself a higher ranking.

9: Tom Nook - The only realtor to hold a candle to Phil Dunphy. Also the best thief in gaming.

8: Wuhu Island - This might be cheating, but I remember seeing Miyamoto calling it a character, because they tried to make it something that you would get to know and relate to, much like mario. I played a ton of wii sports resort back in the day, and also a bit of wii fit plus. I still remember quite a few of the islands landmarks, so I probably know more about this "character" than any of the others on the list.

7: Marcus (?) - The rival from pokemon diamond, the game that made me a gamer in the first place. He might not be all that hard to beat, but is nevertheless a character I have fond memories from besting.

6: Ike - My main in smash, and nothing more than that really. :P

5: Tharja - Some really fun dialog with her in awakening, just all around great character! Pretty as well!

4: Link - It might be mostly because the games are godly, but I do think Link in many ways are the perfect hero.

3: Luigi - Having enjoyed a few Mario and Luigi RPGs have made me realize that Luigi is the most amazing sissy out there. Simply a lot more fun and interesting than his brother.

2: SA-X - Maybe somewhat untraditional, but fusion was my first metroid game and SA-X certainly made that game for me. No enemy has gotten me actually frightened in the same way this beast has.

1: Melia - What a complex character she was. Fantastic in battle, and by far the most interesting character of the game IMO. Try out Xenoblade if you already haven't, you won't regret it!

I am surprised too at the lack of Mario!

Nice! Also, very up to date list. The last 2 should be a shoe-in for the next Smash.

Yeah,  Captain Falcon was in GX. That was a very good game too. We both have an animal Crossing Tom in our lists! As for Xenoblade, no i actually haven't played it but would love to. Am wondering whether to make the Switch version my 1st foray into the series.

1. Samus Aran
2. Shulk
3. Link
4. Inkling girl/boy
5. DJ Octavio
6. Ganondorf
7. N
8. Zelda
9.Olimar
10. Yoshi

1. Link - My favorite incarnation being SS Link since he shows a lot of emotion in that game.
2. Luigi
3. Mario
4. Mii - Lots of people hate them, but I always found them pretty likeable and after Tomodachi Life I like them even more. They're just so silly =P
5. Rosalina - Because she's cooler than Peach.
6. Bowser.
7. Marie - The best Squid Sister (Callie's okay though).
8. Pikmin. All of them.
9. Duck Hunt Dog - No particular reason, but I really like him in Smash.
10. Ness.

Their last game X on the wii u was rated a bit lower than xenoblade, in the 80s or something. Both are however magnificent games, but at the same time very different. Xenoblade had the best storyline of any game I've played, while at the same time sporting a magnificent battle system that made the game so much fun. The world was so incredible, interesting characters and the most superb soundtrack. Simply one of the best games of all time.

X had a much less interesting story sadly, but the world was even larger. Mechs were amazing as well. It didn't capture me like xenoblade did, but still one of the best games on the wii u. If the new game is as good as any of these two it will be a must buy!

I actually agree with Luigi being ahead of Mario. I like them both but just prefer Luigi's all round soppiness! Agreed about the Mii too. Only limits to mii are the individuals' imagination!

You've sold it to me! I will try and experience all 3, just not sure what order to play them in. Would it be better to start from the beginning or is it not that important to do so?

X and Xenoblade aren't linked in any way really. Xenoblade 2, the new one might be related to one of them (most likely the first), and also looks sort of similar. 

These are long games though, I didn't finish xenoblade before rounding 100 hours, but I did spend a lot of time wandering and solving quests. X is even longer, but the story isn't as important in that game (at least in my experience). So if you don't have all that much time for gaming, or you have other games to play, I would suggest xenoblade first so that you can finish that in time for the new release. If time isn't an issue, then I don't really think it matters which one you start with.