Are all unlockable characters functionally identical reskins?

There are a variety of unlockable, playable characters in Castle Crashers. So far, it seems as though all the characters do exactly the same thing with different visuals. Is this true? Do any of the characters do anything unique (e.g., different stat bonuses or powers) to affect their battle performance?

No, they are not. There are a few different things that make most of the characters play different (except from the arrow magic/bomb magic ones).

Take the starters for example:

The green knight does a backflip when you do his TT/YY* combo. Also can poison enemies.
The red knight has a magic that you can hold down and it also stuns the enemy. This is good when you fight in arena.

The blue knight can freeze the enemy which kind of stuns them. It also has a great SSST,XXXY* combo that can be used infinitely.

The orange knight can put an enemy on fire. A couple of enemies are resistant to fire which makes lava world a lot more difficult.

The saracen and the bear have a very different magic set.

The both do a whirlwind on their T/Y* magic. The saracen also has a windblow which is totally useless IMO. But the whirlwind becomes more powerful with a hidden move. Press the jump+jump combo before you do the whirlwind and you are resistant to most of the enemies' magic.

The industrialist and fencer have a saw blade that destroys bosses in no-time making this character a favorite for many people.

The king can heal comrades with his T/Y* magic making this a good choice for a 4-player game.

A few other things:

• The damage output of strength and arrows is the same for every character.
• Some enemies are resistant or vulnerable to the elemental attacks (poison, fire, electric, ice, earth, dark).

* PS3: S = Square, T = Triangle XBOX: X = X, Y = Y

Aside from their magical abilities differing in damage/animation, the only notable difference will be found in their starting weapons.

For example, the Skeleton starts the game with a Lv. 20 weapon which grants him the 2nd highest agility bonus any characters can receive before level 20. Whereas the Black Knight starts with a Lv. 15 weapon that gives him a higher chance to critically hit.