Masterpieces

The masterpieces as seen in Brawl.

Masterpieces (名作トライアル, Masterpiece Trial) are free time-limited trial versions of classic Nintendo titles which the characters of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U have appeared in. When the title's trial ends, a screen pops out and tells the player that the trial's title is ended, and tells them it now is finished and the player gets returned to the game. The full versions can be purchased and played through the Virtual Console (the Wii U version of Smash 4 explains it in the end of the trial's title). To save the player time, Masterpieces skip the title and opening of a game. Certain Masterpieces start at specific points of the game that are relevant to the Smash game they appear in, such as the Donkey Kong Masterpiece starting at the 75m level, while games that supported saving have some built-in saves set to various points of the game. The time limit varies from game to game.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

A total of 14 Masterpieces are featured in this game (12 outside of Japan).

List of Masterpieces

Masterpieces are sorted in-game by their Japanese release date, even in international versions of Brawl. Unlockable Masterpieces are highlighted yellow.

NES games show up as FC and SNES games show up as SFC in the Japanese version of Brawl, except for two cases noted below where a NES game shows up as FDS instead.

Icon	Name	Platform	Duration	Unlock Criteria	Notes
	Donkey Kong	NES	0:30	10 hours of play time	Starts at 75m
	Ice Climber	NES	0:40		Starts on first level, with Popo.
	Super Mario Bros.	NES	1:00		Starts in World 1-1
	The Legend of Zelda	NES*	2:00		Immediately starts from the beginning of the game and skips the title screen.
	Kid Icarus	NES*	1:30		Starts on first section of Underworld stage.
	F-Zero	SNES	0:40	Unlock Captain Falcon in The Subspace Emissary	Starts at first Mute City race, with Blue Falcon.
	Super Mario World	SNES	2:00	Play on the Yoshi's Island Melee stage three times	Starts at Yoshi's Island 2 with Mario
	Super Mario Bros. 2	NES	1:30	Win five brawls with Peach.	Starts at World 1-1 with Peach.
	Kirby's Adventure	NES	2:00		Starts in Vegetable Valley.
	Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem	SFC	3:00		Japan only.
	Super Metroid	SNES	3:00		Includes saves for battles against Ridley.
	Mother 2	SFC	5:00		Japan only.
	Star Fox 64	N64	3:00		Has access to all menu features including the Main Game, Training Mode, and VS. mode.
	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time	N64	5:00	Use Toon Link in ten brawls.	Has save files for beginning of Young Link and Adult Link sections.

Scrapped Masterpieces

• A Donkey Kong Country masterpiece was planned, but it was scrapped.

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Masterpieces return in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. New features include a timer displayed on the right side of the screen, the ability to buy a Masterpiece directly from the game without having to access the Nintendo eShop, the ability to pause the Masterpiece without using the HOME button, and the ability to stop the Masterpiece without the reset button, as the Wii U does not have a reset button. There is also less lag than there was in Brawl. A total of 24 Masterpieces are featured in this game (23 outside of Japan), 15 of which are new.

List of Masterpieces

Masterpieces are now sorted in-game by localized release date, so Japanese, North American, and European versions list them in a different order. For example, non-Japanese versions of the game list the release date of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels as 1993 (the year the SNES Super Mario All-Stars made the levels first accessible outside of Japan), and European versions of the game list the release date of EarthBound as 2013 (the year it became available on the eShop). In the list below, they are ordered by North American release date (except for Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light).

As above, NES games show up as FC and SNES games show up as SFC in the Japanese version of the game, except for the noted cases where a NES game shows up as FDS instead. Unlockable Masterpieces are highlighted yellow.

Icon	Name	Platform	Duration	Unlock Criteria	Notes
	Super Mario Bros.	NES	3:00		Starts at title screen.
	Wrecking Crew	NES	2:00		Starts at title screen.
	Balloon Fight	NES	2:00		Starts at title screen.
	Metroid	NES*	3:00		Starts in Brinstar.
	Kid Icarus	NES*	3:00		Starts at the beginning of the first level.
	The Legend of Zelda	NES*	4:00		Starts on the spawn tile.
	Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream	NES	3:00	Clear the "No Mere Sparring Match" event on normal difficulty or higher	Starts at title screen.
	Donkey Kong	NES	2:00		Begins in the 75m level.
	Zelda II: The Adventure of Link	NES*	4:00		Starts in Zelda's castle.
	Mega Man 2	NES	3:00		Begins in the first section of Wily Castle.
	Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light	FC	4:00		Japan only.
	Dr. Mario	GB	3:00	Clear 10-Man Smash alone with Dr. Mario without taking any damage	Starts on the "1 Player Game" set-up screen.
	Super Mario World	SNES	3:00		Starts on the world map of Yoshi's Island.
	F-Zero	SNES	3:00		Starts in Mute City I, playing as the Blue Falcon.
	Pilotwings	SNES	2:00		Starts in the Light Plane certification training level.
	Yoshi	NES	3:00	Clear Solo Classic with Yoshi	Starts at title screen.
	Kirby's Dream Land	GB	3:00		Starts at title screen.
	Super Mario Kart	SNES	3:00		Starts in Mario Circuit 1 in the Grand Prix, playing as Mario.
	Kirby's Adventure	NES	3:00	Clear Solo Classic with Kirby on intensity 5.5 or higher	Has two save files: one at the beginning of the game and the other at the final Dedede/Nightmare fight.
	Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels	NES*	3:00		Starts at title screen
	Pac-Man	NES	2:00		Starts at title screen.
	Super Metroid	SNES	4:00		Has two save files: one at the beginning of the game and one in Norfair
	EarthBound	SNES	5:00	Get 1968 ft. or more in Home-Run Contest	Starts at the opening cutscene
	Kirby Super Star	SNES	3:00		Begins in The Great Cave Offensive

Scrapped Masterpieces

• Unused text in Smash Wii U implies the original Super Smash Bros. was supposed to appear as a Masterpiece. This would have made it the only N64 Masterpiece in Smash Wii U; however, at the time of Smash Wii U's release, N64 emulation wasn't possible on the Wii U, likely resulting in the Masterpiece being scrapped.

Trivia

• Despite Super Smash Bros. Brawl being the first game in the series to introduce third-party elements, third-party masterpieces were not included before Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
• In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the NES masterpieces are actually in much higher quality than the Virtual Console versions of the same games, likely due to the fact that NES emulation was done early in the Wii U's lifetime, as opposed to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U's 2014 release.
• In non-Japanese versions of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is listed as a NES game (and not as an FDS, SNES, or VC game) even though it was never released on the original NES.

External links

Announcement of Masterpieces on the DOJO!!.