Editing Character selection screen

[[File:SSBU Character Select DLC.jpeg|thumb|400px|The character selection screen in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' with all of the characters unlocked and all currently-released DLC characters purchased.]]

The '''character selection screen''', also called the '''character selection menu''' and abbreviated as '''CSS''', is the menu where a player chooses their [[character]] to be used in a game [[mode]] and also where the player may sometimes make changes to the [[rules]]. The character selection screen is composed of boxed portraits of the heads or busts of playable fighters, normally arranged together by game series or related characters, with more characters added once they are [[unlockable character|unlocked]] or [[Downloadable content|downloaded]]. It is utilized in each game and appears in both single-player and multiplayer modes where the player is not required to use specific character(s). Character selection screens are almost always uniform across game modes for each game, with the exception of the character selection screen for [[Tournament Mode]] and the [[Subspace Emissary]] single-player mode in ''[[Brawl]]'' which uses a very featureless character selection screen for assembling a party of characters.

[[File:MarioCharacterSelectSSBM.png|thumb|200px|Mario's portrait in ''Melee'''s Character selection screen.]]

Each player controls a small hand cursor which carries an emblem displaying their control [[port]] number and color. Selecting a character involves carrying the emblem over the character portrait and pressing a selection button. A box at the bottom of the screen will usually change to reflect the character choice; in ''Super Smash Bros.'', a full model of the character will appear and strike a pose while in ''[[Melee]]'', ''Brawl'', ''SSB4'', and ''[[Ultimate]]'', only a larger area of the character's portrait is shown.

Player character portraits after character selection are usually interactive. In ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' the color of the character's model will change in real time when cycling through [[palette swap]]s. The player can cycle through the palettes of each character in ''Brawl'' in an alternate way by pressing the selection button while hovering their hand cursor over the player character's portrait. Additionally in ''Brawl'' and ''Ultimate'', the player can select the default form or starter character where applicable by using the cursor to highlight the form or character in the portrait. The only character that has a transformation that cannot be chosen by means of a character portrait is [[Samus]]. In ''Ultimate'', players can change the character selection screen so that [[Echo Fighters]] can be stacked together in the same slot with the fighters they are based on. When such option is enabled, the player may switch between the base fighter and his or her Echo Fighter by selecting the desired character icon on the top right corner of the character's portrait. Stacking echo fighters also causes [[Mii]] Fighters to also be stacked, similarly to how they were in ''SSB4''. This option will only affect the screen in [[Vs. Mode]], [[Tourney]], [[Custom Smash]], [[Super Sudden Death]], and [[Online play|Quickplay]]. A player may also choose a [[name]] from an expandable box in ''Melee'', ''Brawl'', ''SSB4'' and ''Ultimate''.

Multiplayer mode character select screens typically feature a way to change quickly between [[free for all]] or [[Team Battle]]s and [[Coin Battle|coin]], stock, or time battles, as well as a way to quickly change simple parameters like [[stock]] amount and the [[time]] limit. Attempting to change the battle mode in ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'' accesses more advanced options by opening an option menu. Depending on the options and game mode set, additional parameters may be found in the character portrait, such as the sliding [[weight]] scale in ''Melee''. Ways to activate [[computer]] players and adjust their difficulty are also found in the character portrait.

A [[Random]] icon appears for selection in ''Brawl'', ''SSB4'', and ''Ultimate'', which randomly chooses a playable character. In ''Melee'', a random character can be selected by placing the cursor on one of the empty bottom corners once all characters have been unlocked. In ''Melee'''s Tournament Mode, the [[Pokémon (universe)|Pokémon]] [[Ditto]], while not selectable by usual means, replaces this function.

Once character selection and mode option requirements have been met, the game will give some kind of indication, such as a "Ready to fight!" banner and a confirmation sound. The player can proceed by selecting the banner or pressing the [[Start/Pause button|start]] button.

===All characters unlocked (full roster)===

Super Smash Select.png|The character selection screen in ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' with all characters unlocked.

Character selection melee.png|The character selection screen in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]'' with all characters unlocked.

Brawl Character selection screen.png|The character selection screen in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' with all characters unlocked.

SSBU Character Select.png|The character selection screen in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' with all non-DLC characters unlocked.

SSBU Character Select DLC.jpeg|The character selection screen in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' with all of the characters unlocked and all DLC characters purchased.

SSBU Character Select Stacked.jpg|The character selection screen in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' with all non-DLC characters unlocked and [[Echo Fighters]] stacked.

SSBU Character Select Squad Strike.jpg|The character selection screen for [[Squad Strike]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' with all non-DLC characters unlocked.

SSBU Character Select Squad Strike DLC.jpg|The character selection screen for [[Squad Strike]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' with all of the characters unlocked and all DLC characters purchased.

 

===Starter characters only (starting roster)===

Melee Starter Characters.png|The character selection screen used in ''Melee'' without any characters unlocked.

Brawl Starters NTSC.png|The character selection screen used in ''Brawl'' without any characters unlocked.

SSB3DSStarters.png|The character selection screen used in {{for3ds}} without any characters unlocked.

SSBWiiUStarters.jpg|The character selection screen used in {{forwiiu}} without any characters unlocked.

UltimateStarters.png|The character selection screen used in ''Ultimate'' without any characters unlocked.

UltimateStartersSquadStrike.jpg|The character selection screen for [[Squad Strike]] in ''Ultimate'' without any characters unlocked.

 

===Beta/Demonstration screens===

Ss ssb 1.jpg|A [[beta elements (SSB)|beta]] character selection screen in ''Super Smash Bros.''.

BetaCharacterSelect.jpg|A [[beta elements (SSBM)|beta]] character selection screen in ''Melee''.

E for All 2007 Character Select.jpg|The character selection screen used in the [[E for all]] demo of ''Brawl''.

SSB4CharacterSelect.jpg|The character selection screen from the [[E3]] demo of {{forwiiu}}.

SmashUltimateE3CSS.png|The character selection screen from the [[E3]] demo of ''Ultimate''.

 

==="Ready to fight!" banner===

SSB64 Ready To Fight banner.png|The "Ready to fight!" banner in ''Super Smash Bros.''.

Smash 3DS "Ready to fight!" Banner.png|The "Ready to fight!" banner in ''Smash 3DS''.

SSB4 Wii U Ready to Fight Banner.png|The "Ready to fight!" banner in ''Smash Wii U''.

SSBU ReadyToFight banner.jpg|The "Ready to fight!" banner in ''Ultimate''.

*''Super Smash Bros.'' is the only game to feature all portrait boxes for characters that have not been unlocked.

*''Super Smash Bros.'' is the only game to have characters perform a brief animation in their player's display box when they are selected.

*In multiplayer modes in ''Melee'' onwards, [[KO Star|KO Stars]] appear in the player character portrait tallying the number of [[stock]]s taken off of other players.

* In {{for3ds}}, the character selection screen will add another page for DLC fighters as Extra Fighters when all characters have been unlocked and more than four have been purchased.

*Prior to [[List of updates (SSB4-3DS)#1.0.4|version 1.0.4]], lifting the character selection token for a CPU Mii Fighter in [[With Friends]] in ''Super Smash Bros. for 3DS'' would often cause the game to crash if the player is not the original room creator.

*Strangely, {{SSBU|Mario}}, {{SSBU|Pikachu}} and {{SSBU|Villager}}'s portrait used their in-game model as opposed to their official render in the E3 demo of ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. This has since been fixed.

*In ''Melee'', {{SSBM|Sheik}} is the only (starter) playable character that cannot be seen in the character selection screen. On the beta version, however, Zelda is the only playable character that does not appear on the character selection screen, possibly to hide her identity, which is why Sheik is shown first.

**Similarly, {{SSBB|Zero Suit Samus}} is the only character to not appear in ''Brawl'''s.

*Zelda and Sheik are the only two characters to share the same character slot, although only in ''Brawl'', despite Sheik first appearing in ''Melee'' (see above).

*In ''Ultimate'', despite the fact that all of the characters are listed in order of their debut appearance in the ''Smash'' franchise (for example, #1=Mario, #2=Donkey Kong, #3=Link, etc.), only the Echo Fighters and the Mii fighters go against this rule, with the former being listed just right after the fighter they're based on (for example, Dark Samus is listed just right after Samus), even with Dark Pit and Lucina, who were both created before the concept of Echo Fighters was made, while the latter three are all listed last, after the DLC characters.

*Due to his status as Nintendo's official mascot, in all of the ''Smash'' games, Mario, or a [[clone]] of Mario, is always the first character to be listed in every character selection screen.

[[Category:Single Player Modes]]