Editing Final Destination (SSBM)

|location     = [[Special Stage]]

|image        = [[File:Finaldestination.jpg|250px|Final Destination]]

|caption      = [[File:SmashBrosSymbol.png|50px]]

|unlockcriteria = Clear all 51 event matches.

|music = ''{{MeleeMusic|Final Destination}}''<br>''{{MeleeMusic|Multi-Man Melee 2}}'' ([[Alternate music|Alternate]])<br>''{{MeleeMusic|Giga Bowser}}'' (When facing Giga Bowser in [[Adventure Mode]])

|meleesingles = Neutral

|meleedoubles = Neutral

'''Final Destination''' ({{ja|終点|Shūten}}, ''Endpoint''), sometimes abbreviated as '''FD''' or '''Final D''', is a neutral stage in [[Super Smash Bros. Melee]] that players often use in [[tournament]] battles. It is unlocked by clearing every [[event match]].

In [[Classic Mode]], the player fights [[Master Hand]] and [[Crazy Hand]] on this stage; in [[Adventure Mode]], {{SSBM|Bowser}} and [[Giga Bowser]]; in [[All-Star Mode]], {{SSBM|Roy}} and any of his teammates, and two [[All-Star Match]]es, {{SSBM|Mewtwo}} and {{SSBB|Ganondorf}}. Some [[event match]]es are also played here.

This stage is very similar to its [[Final Destination (SSB)|''Smash 64'' counterpart]], but much larger.

==Description==

Final Destination is a flat, medium sized stage. It is octagonal in shape, with a purple outline. There is a floating orb under the platform. While having no effect on gameplay, the background of the stage changes as the platform "flies" through space. The stage starts out in space, but as match progresses, it reaches other areas that have different styles of background. The entire cycle lasts about 216 seconds.

==Controversy in competitive play==

Some players believe that Final Destination is one of the most fair levels; others do not consider this true. Certain elements of gameplay are dominant on this stage. For instance, [[projectile]] users have an advantage on Final Destination, as there are no platforms for enemies to escape to or to interrupt projectiles.  Since many [[character]]s have [[projectile]]s, the game balance tends to lead towards the ones who have the abilities to counter them. It also favors [[chain grab|chain throwing]] because it is the widest available perfectly flat space, an environment suited to chain throws that move the enemy across stage (often due to [[directional influence|DI]]).  Additionally, the excess free space make [[camping]] a viable option for fast characters like {{SSBM|Fox}}, {{SSBM|Falco}}, {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}}, {{SSBM|Marth}}, and {{SSBM|Sheik}}.

While a fair number of players who call it [[cheap]] or accuse it of being balance-skewed, there is no matchup or strategy that has been proven completely unwinnable on this stage. The primary effect that Final Destination tends to have on competitive play is that it heightens the advantage that high-[[tier]]ed characters have in their best matchups. For instance, {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}} against Fox runs fairly the same on Final Destination as it does on the {{SSB|Dream Land}} stage, in terms of wins and losses. However, Bowser tends to fare more poorly than normal on Final Destination, particularly against projectile-using characters, because his lack of non-interruptible moves, his large [[hitbox]], and his short overall [[jump]] height make him an excellent target of projectile abuse, which can be mitigated in stages with platforms.

Some say that by adding additional options for characters, platforms expand gameplay and allow [[smasher]]s to play more creatively. The inverse of this argument is that Final Destination removes options and therefore makes gameplay more rigid and pre-defined. However, neither of these positions are a comprehensive argument for banning the stage.  As mentioned before, ranged, chain throwing and juggling characters gain most from this stage, and the game mechanics still allow for a large degree of varied play and styles, some of which are not possible with platforms.  For instance, under-platform camping (a technique where a character with good vertical melee range hides under a platform to prevent his opponents from attacking with [[Air Attacks]]) is invalidated here, forcing characters that rely on camping (such as [[Peach]] and Marth) to take the offense occasionally or lose to a stronger projectile or approach. Additionally, the distant side and bottom blastlines enhance the importance of [[edge-guarding]] and [[recovery]], so while a projectile such as Falco's [[Blaster]] or {{SSBM|Dr. Mario}}'s [[Megavitamins]] can control the stage and rack up easy damage, their poor recoveries are amplified.

Classically, the notion of a high level of balance on Final Destination comes from traditional 2-D fighters; almost all fighting games prior to ''Smash 64'' take place on fixed stages with fixed edges, and are balanced to play as such. All in all, the stage is considered balanced for [[tournament]] because it allows all characters to move effectively and evade and attack properly in melee combat, and because the imbalances it creates are not dissimilar to the imbalances created by [[Pokémon Stadium]] and [[Fountain of Dreams]] - largely character and matchup based, and situational. Additionally, competitive play at the high levels of fighting games, and the tournament scene for any game involves creating and researching situations where the used character selections gain slight, but not overwhelming advantages; therefore, the player with the most stage knowledge is most likely to pick the correct stage and gain an advantage.  Advanced stage selection can counter an advanced player's particular skillset, however, not in such a way that the same player cannot use their other basic and advanced skillsets to overcome the issue, and this is the scale that balance rests upon. Advanced Slob Picks are used in tournament stage selection to prevent exploitation by game winners or negative variance and a minimized level selection that a full Random, neutral stage select would give. If feeling that a character or matchup will do poorly on Final Destination, an option to ban it may be exercised, or simply another stage picked.

 

==Trophy Info==

[[File:Final Destination Melee Trophy.png|thumb]]

''As time passes on this stage, the level appears to travel through a wormhole from the imaginary Super Smash Bros. Melee world into reality. You move through a cloud-filled sky over a vast mountain range, then into a deep-space vista of dark blues and purples. The scenery is as real as you get in this fantastical world.''

File:SSBM-FINALDESTINATION1.png|First background.

File:SSBM-FINALDESTINATION2.png|First background transforming into the second.

File:SSBM-FINALDESTINATION3.png|Second background.

File:SSBM-FINALDESTINATION4.png|Third background.

File:SSBM-FINALDESTINATION5.png|Fourth background.

File:SSBM-FINALDESTINATION6.png|Fifth background.

File:SSBM-FINALDESTINATION7.png|Fifth background transforming into the sixth.

File:SSBM-FINALDESTINATION8.png|Sixth background.

File:SSBM-FINALDESTINATION9.png|Final background.

*It is possible to jump under Final Destination with {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}} and {{SSBM|Mewtwo}}. This can also be done by {{SSBM|Kirby}} if he copies Mewtwo's [[Shadow Ball]], and by {{SSBM|Peach}} if she wears a [[Bunny Hood]].

*The track for Final Destination is very similar to Super Smash Bros. 64's Credits theme. This is very evident during the end verse.

* This is the only time where [[Final Destination]] is an [[unlockable stage]].