Editing Super Smash Bros. (series)

[[File:Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Switch.svg|300px|thumb|The current logo of the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series]]

''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' features twenty-six playable characters; of which 15 are available initially (more than doubling the number of characters in its predecessor). Altogether, 15 characters are [[starter character]]s and 11 are [[unlockable character]]s). There are also twenty-nine playable stages (however, 18 stages are [[starter stage]]s and 11 are [[unlockable stage]]s). It introduced two new single-player modes alongside the {{SSBM|Classic Mode}}; [[Adventure]], and [[All Star]]. ''Adventure'' has platforming segments similar to the original's "Race to the Finish" minigame, and ''All-Star'' is a fight against every playable character in the game, allows the player only one life in which damage is accumulated over each battle, and the character is allowed to use only three recovery items which heal all taken damage in between battles. There are also significantly more multiplayer modes and a tournament mode allowing for 64 different competitors whom can all be controlled by a human player, although only up to four players can participate at the same time. Additionally, the game featured alternative battle modes, called "Special Melee," which involve some sort of alteration to the battle (ex: all characters are giant by default, players may only use their jump and standard attack buttons, etc.), along with alternative ways to judge a victory, such as through collecting coins throughout the match. In addition, the game introduced the [[Home-Run Contest]], where players use a [[Home-Run Bat]] to send Sandbag flying while damaging it for ten seconds.

Piranha Plant was released as the first DLC fighter as a huge surprise, free to those who had registered the game on My Nintendo before the end of January 2019. [[Joker]] was the first Fighters Pass Vol.1 character to be released in April 2019. Subsequent DLC announcements occurred at E3 2019: the [[Hero]] from ''Dragon Quest'', released late July of 2019, and [[Banjo]] & [[Kazooie]], who were released in September 2019. The same month Banjo & Kazooie were released, [[Terry]] from ''Fatal Fury'' was announced as the fourth DLC fighter, and was released in November 2019. That same month, it was announced that more DLC characters were undergoing development to join the roster. In January 2020, [[Byleth]] from ''Fire Emblem: Three Houses'' was announced as the fifth and last Fighters Pass Vol. 1 character, and was released later that same month. It was also revealed that another Fighters Pass would be released, under the title of Fighters Pass Vol. 2, and it would contain six characters: [[Min Min]] from ''[[ARMS]]'', who was announced in March 2020, and was fully revealed/released in June 2020; [[Steve]] from ''[[Minecraft]]'', who was announced and released in October 2020; [[Sephiroth]] from {{uv|Final Fantasy}}, who was announced and released in December 2020; [[Pyra]] and [[Mythra]] as a two-in-one transformation character from ''Xenoblade Chronicles 2'', were announced in February 2021 and released in March 2021; [[Kazuya]] from {{uv|Tekken}}, who was announced and released in June 2021; and [[Sora]] from {{uv|Kingdom Hearts}} as the final downloadable character, who released on October 18, 2021.

The basic gameplay of ''Super Smash Bros.'' series dramatically differs from many fighting games. Instead of depleting an opponent's life bar, ''Smash Bros.'' seeks players to launch characters off the stage. In ''Super Smash Bros.'', characters have a damage total, represented by a percentage value, which rises as they take damage and can exceed 100%. As characters' percentages rise, they can be knocked progressively further by an opponent's attacks. For a character to be KO'd, said character must be sent off the edge of the stage, which is not an enclosed arena but rather an area with open boundaries, usually a set of suspended platforms. If a character travels too far away from the stage in any direction, they lose a stock and potentially lose the entire game. When a character is knocked off the stage, they typically have an opportunity to (attempt to) recover and return; typically by jumping and using attacks that cause the player to travel a significant distance. Some characters have an easier time recovering than others due to a combination of floatier jumps or simply having more jumps available, as well as having attacks with more significant aerial drift. Additionally, some characters are heavier than others, making it harder for an opponent to knock them off the edge but likewise harder to recover.

''Smash Bros.''{{'}}s play controls are greatly simplified in comparison to other fighting games. While traditional fighting games such as {{uv|Street Fighter}} require the player to memorize button-input combinations (sometimes lengthy and complicated, and often specific to a character), ''Smash Bros'' uses the same one-attack-button, one-control-stick-direction combinations to access all moves for all characters. Two buttons are primarily used for attacks: [[normal attack]] button and [[special attack]] button, with the orientation of the [[control stick]] dictating what specific attack is used. Some attacks only activate on the ground, while others only activate while airborne, and some can activate in both scenarios, though functionality may change. Other attacks are activated through non-traditional methods, but these are few and far between. Most characters are not limited to constantly facing their opponent but may move around freely, with some attacks only accessible by tilting the stick opposite where the character is facing. ''Smash Bros.'' also approaches blocking different than other games. Instead of simply holding a direction to block, a dedicated button activates a [[shield]], which depletes with prolonged used and replenishes when not in use, with enemy attacks accelerating the depletion. If a shield fully depletes, the character is [[stun]]ned and at the mercy of their opponent. Using the stick in this shield state can activate various types of [[dodge]]s, which can be used both on the ground and in the air. Grabbing and throwing other characters is also possible, allowing for a large variety of ways to attack.

One additional major element in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series is the inclusion of battle [[items]], of which players can control the frequency of appearance. There are conventional "battering items" with which a player may hit an opponent, such as a [[Home-Run Bat|baseball bat]] or a [[Beam Sword|sword]], as well as throwing items, including [[Bob-omb]]s and [[Koopa Troopa|shells]], and shooting items, either single-shot guns or rapid fire blasters. Recovery items allow the user to lose varying amounts of their damage percent. From the {{uv|Pokémon}} franchise come [[Poké Ball]]s that release a random Pokémon onto the battlefield to assist the user; ''Brawl'' introduces a new "[[Assist Trophy]]" item which serves a similar purpose, albeit being capable of summoning a wider range of characters from a variety of franchises. ''Brawl'' also introduces items called [[Smash Ball]]s, which allows fighters to perform powerful character-specific attacks, known as [[Final Smash]]es.

There are currently 89 (if Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon count as three characters, and Mii fighters count as three characters) playable characters in total. ''Smash 64'' has 12, ''Melee'' has 26 (if Sheik is put separate from Zelda), ''Brawl'' has 39 (if Zero Suit Samus and Sheik are put separate from Samus and Zelda, respectively, and the Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon count as three characters), and ''Smash 4'' has 58 (51 on disc and 7 downloadable), almost five times the amount in ''Smash 64''. ''Ultimate'' uniquely brings back all of the characters from past games, as well as 24 newcomers. However, without counting [[DLC]], ''Ultimate'' has 74 playable characters (counting Pokémon Trainer as one character) and like in Smash 4, Samus, Zero Suit Samus, Zelda, and Sheik are all separate characters (so Samus can no longer transform into Zero Suit Samus; while Zelda can no longer transform into Sheik). Many of the characters are available from the start, but some are unlockable, meaning certain conditions must be met before they can be played as.