Competitive viability vs. couch chaos
Smash Ultimate tier lists inherit twenty years of arguments. Competitive lists track top-8 results — Steve, Sonic, Joker and Kazuya sit high because tournament brackets say so, not because anyone enjoys fighting them. Couch lists rank by feel: Kirby and Yoshi over-perform among friends who mash, while technical monsters like Bayonetta and Pyra/Mythra need lab hours to matter. Character loyalty distorts everything — every Ganondorf main knows he is low tier and will still slot him in A out of respect.