Super Smash Bros. (universe)

Super Smash Bros. (universe)
Developer(s)	HAL Laboratory Intelligent Systems Sora Ltd. Game Arts Monolith Soft Paon Namco Bandai Games
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Masahiro Sakurai
Genre(s)	Fighting
Console/platform of origin	Nintendo 64
First installment	Super Smash Bros. (1999)
Latest installment	Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (2014)

The Super Smash Bros. universe (大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ, Great Fray Smash Brothers) refers to the collection of characters, stages, and properties that are original to the Super Smash Bros. series. It is featured alongside other non-original licensed game characters and properties within Smash games. It is the universe of the Smash Bros. series in-and-of itself. The easily recognizable Super Smash Bros. logo represents both the series and universe.

Franchise description

During 1998, Kirby series creator Masahiro Sakurai, working at Nintendo second-party developer HAL Laboratory, pursued an incidental interest in making a fighting game for four players. From the outset, he did not have any ideas and used exceedingly basic character designs. When he presented the concept to his superior, Satoru Iwata - then the president of HAL Laboratory - Iwata helped Sakurai find ways to make the game original since many fighting games did not sell well, and Sakurai's first idea was to insert a wide variety of popular characters from different Nintendo franchises and have them fight in a crossover. Sakurai knew he would not receive permission to do this by asking, and therefore secretly created a prototype of the Nintendo 64 fighter in advance and only informed his superiors of it after carefully balancing his first four character inclusions: Mario, Donkey Kong, Samus Aran, and Fox McCloud. Fortunately, the idea was later approved, and Sakurai developed the game, Super Smash Bros., as a low-budget crossover fighter that was intended to be released exclusively in Japan. The finished product's nearly-unique spin on free-roaming, multi-directional fighting on two-dimensional platform-filled planes is said to have been inspired by an obscure 1994 arcade fighting game by Namco titled The Outfoxies.

Super Smash Bros. was released in Japan on January 21, 1999, and despite little promotion, the game was a surprise and breakout hit, ultimately selling nearly 2 million copies domestically and selling nearly 3 million copies in the United States after the logical decision was made to localize the game for international release. The game received mostly positive reviews and was praised both for being the most original fighting game on the market and for its simple-to-learn, accessible, and responsive multiplayer, with the primary focus of criticism being its lack of single-player content. It can easily be guessed that the game owed much of its popularity and success to its mix of fan-favorite aesthetics, characters, and music, with the most notable franchise represented being Pokémon, which had recently reached the height of its initial explosion of worldwide popularity.

Following the success of Super Smash Bros., Sakurai became the head of production for a sequel that was intended as a borderline launch title for the next Nintendo system, the GameCube. The game was in intensive development for 13 months and was considered by Sakurai to be the biggest project he had ever led up to that point, and Sakurai described his lifestyle during this period as "destructive", with no holidays and short weekends. Unlike the first game, which was an experimental venture, Sakurai felt great pressure to deliver a quality sequel that would undoubtedly be regarded as the system's undisputed killer app. Another priority for the development was that the game would exhibit an enormous graphical advancement beyond the Nintendo 64, and to this end, the game's opening FMV was developed by HAL in conjunction with three separate graphic houses in Tokyo. The game was released shortly after the GameCube's launch in both Japan and the United States near the end of 2001, as Super Smash Bros. Melee, and received critical acclaim as both a strong fundamental improvement and a massive expansion of content over its predecessor. The game became the best-selling GameCube game, with more than seven million copies sold worldwide. By this point, the series' relevance as a potent advertisement vehicle for all of Nintendo's IPs represented within it, past and present, was apparent; the representation of two characters from the then-Japan-exclusive Fire Emblem series, who were nearly cut out from international versions of Melee, prompted Nintendo's future decision to release almost all of the subsequent installments of the series worldwide.

During what became a seven-year hiatus for the Smash Bros. series, Sakurai left HAL Laboratory in 2003 to start his own company, Sora Ltd., so that he could create games separately from the sequel-heavy schedules of HAL. Meanwhile, Satoru Iwata succeeded Hiroshi Yamauchi as Nintendo's fourth president in 2002. At a pre-E3 2005 press conference, Iwata announced that the next installment of Super Smash Bros. was soon to be in development for its next console and would be a launch title that utilized the console's Wi-Fi-based online capabilities. The announcement was a surprise to Sakurai because he was not informed of Nintendo's intent to release another Smash Bros. game, and was only asked after the conference by Iwata to again serve as director; Sakurai agreed, and development of the third game began in October 2005. What followed was a development project handled by roughly 100 individuals working full-time. The game was officially showcased at the E3 2006 conference as Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but its actual dates of release early in 2008 were well over a year after the Wii console's launch. Prior to release, among the most noteworthy and publicized inclusions in the game were a vastly redesigned Pit, representing a revival of the long-dormant Kid Icarus series, and the first-ever inclusions of third-party characters in the series: Snake from Metal Gear, which rumor claims series director Hideo Kojima had asked to be included in the previous game, and Sonic from his respective series, satisfying a long-awaited crossover with historical rival mascot Mario. Brawl had also encouraged an enormous amount of pre-release hype and speculation by regularly posting five-days-a-week blog updates detailing new features, characters, and other elements of the game on the official website, the "Smash Bros. DOJO!!", for over eight months straight.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl was critically and commercially successful upon release, garnering praise for its new focus on improved single-player content, a further-expanded and better-varied cast, and one of the largest video game soundtracks in history, and became the fastest-selling game in Nintendo of America's history and a seller of over 10 million units total. However, the game also drew reviewer criticism for long loading times and a laggy online experience. Multiplayer aspects were controversial among the established player-base (such as the competitive circles of which had long been accustomed to the gameplay styles of Melee) for a comparatively slower pace and scale of gravity, the removal of some advanced movement and attack mechanics, and a much heavier slant towards defensive gameplay. Most universally disliked was the game's inclusion of tripping, a non-negotiable element of randomized chance that could easily dictate the outcome of a competitive match in a manner that rewarded luck over skill. In an interview two-and-a-half years after the release of Brawl, Sakurai revealed that he himself retrospectively considered Melee to be "the sharpest game in the series."

Immediately after Sakurai employed his redesign of the Kid Icarus series' aesthetic in the 3DS title Kid Icarus: Uprising, released in March 2012, he announced the beginning of development of the fourth installment in the Smash Bros. series, which would be a joint venture between Sora and Namco Bandai Games and would be co-directed with Yoshito Higuchi (who had previously directed and produced several games in Namco's Tales series). The first showcase of the project took place at the Nintendo Direct presentation preceding E3 2013, where it was shown that the series would, for the first time, develop and release a pair of titles simultaneously for separate platforms: Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Prior to the showcase, Sakurai indicated that the games would receive a different development approach for measuring competitive character balance, and after the showcase, Sakurai confirmed the removal of randomized tripping while dashing.

The Super Smash Bros. series is a large departure from the traditional fighting game formula, where two characters trade and block each other's blows until one's health meter is reduced to zero; knock-outs in these games are strictly achieved by sending opponents hurtling away far enough off the stage with powerful attacks that they cannot avoid coming into contact with one of the four "out of bounds" screen borders surrounding the stage. Instead of a life bar that decreases, each character has a percentage-based damage meter that raises each time they are hit by an attack, which translates into all subsequent attacks incurred by that character sending them away farther than previously. Every character is designed and intended to feel and play uniquely from the rest in terms of the different moves and movements they are capable of, among many other things about them, and when a character is sent flying away from the stage horizontally, they have the opportunity to return to the stage without falling off into the abyss below the stage with both a mid-air double jump and a special move that constitutes a third jump. Many options are available to diversify casual play, such as items that may be picked up and used, selectable stages that may feature their own dynamic hazards in their designs and layouts and a large variety of different modes and settings for customizing matches.

Many players and groups in the competitive player-base and community for the series choose to play each game with very specific settings and disallow much of the available content in order to minimize luck as a factor. This leads to developed metagames for each installment where top-tier players, often playing for prizes and prestige under accepted professional rulesets defined by players that organize Smash Bros.-centered tournaments around the world, and regularly use precise skill and exploit game physics in order to compete. Like many games that allow for competitive play, such as Pokémon, each character in each game's cast of playable characters is graded by the community on how much inherently "better" or "worse" it is in comparison to other characters in competitive environments, and these "tier lists" spawn much community debate of their own. A further point of contention is the practice of creating and distributing unofficial modifications that fix perceived flaws and degenerate aspects with the core game design and character balance. However, the most publicized mod for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Project M, has since been featured alongside the official games themselves at national video gaming tournaments and events.

Every game adds new franchises, either published by Nintendo or involved with a third-party company closely associated with the history of Nintendo as a company, that may be represented with at least one playable fighter, and may additionally be represented with stages, items, and collectibles themed after that franchise. Meanwhile, existing franchises and modes receive new and expanded content:

• Super Smash Bros. (1999), for the Nintendo 64, introduces the Mario franchise and designates two of its recurring characters, Yoshi and Donkey Kong, as representative of their own respective "subfranchises". It also represents The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Kirby, Star Fox, and Pokémon as primary franchises from the outset, and unlockable characters additionally represent the F-Zero series and EarthBound. The game features 12 playable characters total, and for each character, single-player content includes both a target-smashing stage and a platforming stage that may be completed for setting time records.

• Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001), for the GameCube, introduces representation for the 1984 NES game Ice Climber as an example of a defunct "retro" franchise, and unlockable characters introduce representatives of the formerly-Japan-exclusive Fire Emblem series and the historically-significant Game & Watch handheld line. A total of 25 character choices on the select screen allows a total of effectively 26 playable characters in the game. A vast amount of new content is debuted, such as special modes and scenarios and an overarching collection aspect in the form of hundreds of trophies that may be earned and viewed at any time.

• Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008), for the Wii, adds Wario and identifies him as from another subset of the Mario universe, while debuting a massive redesign of Pit and the Kid Icarus series and featuring the recent Pikmin series as well. Unlockable characters introduce the first representatives of third-party franchises in the series, Solid Snake from Konami's Metal Gear franchise and Sonic the Hedgehog from SEGA's mascot series of the same name, and also recognize the historically-significant R.O.B. peripheral and give it a playable role. A total of 35 character choices on the select screen allows a total of effectively 39 playable characters in the game, and every character has an all-new "super-attack" called a Final Smash that may be made unavailable in competitive play. In addition to more of everything, such as another collection aspect in the form of Stickers, the game introduces a lengthy single player adventure mode titled The Subspace Emissary, which is the first instance of a Smash Bros. game telling a complete crossover narrative with its extensive cast.

• Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U (2014) is the first instance of the series releasing two separate versions of the game for different platforms on the 3DS and Wii U, and there are content differences between versions such as stages. New franchises that have been confirmed to have primary representation are Animal Crossing, the Wii Fit line of fitness hardware and software, Punch-Out!!, Monolift Soft's Xenoblade series, the well-known NES classic, Duck Hunt, the third-party Mega Man franchise by Capcom, and the third-party Pac-Man franchise by Namco. Furthermore, the Mii avatars that became available for use in Nintendo hardware and software since 2006 are playable as characters. After the game's release, additional downloadable content became available and brought back Mewtwo and Roy from Melee as well as re-adding Lucas after he initially failed to make the roster. In addition, three more third-party franchises joined the series including Capcom's Street Fighter, SEGA & Platinum Games' Bayonetta and in a move that shocked the gaming industry, Square Enix's mascot series, Final Fantasy. The 3DS version was released on September 13, 2014 (Japan), October 2, 2014 (Germany (stores only)), October 3, 2014 (Americas and Europe), and October 4, 2014 (Australia), while the Wii U version released on November 21, 2014 in the Americas, November 28, 2014 in Europe, November 29, 2014 in Australia, and December 6, 2014 in Japan.

• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) is an upcoming title for the Nintendo Switch. This game will feature all previous veterans and also added the Splatoon and Konami's Castlevania universes to the list of universes with playable characters including for the first time ever in any Nintendo game, Ridley from the Metroid series; for the first time after a decade-long absence, King K. Rool from the Donkey Kong Country series and Isabelle- who previously appeared in the last game as an Assist Trophy- from Animal Crossing: New Leaf as playable fighters. In addition, fighters who were previously known as clones were now given the new official name of echo fighters with Mario's Princess Daisy announced to be a new echo of Peach. Later additions include Chrom from Fire Emblem Awakening and fellow Metroid villain, Dark Samus. The game launches worldwide on December 7, 2018.

On a side note, it has never been revealed who exactly the titular Smash Brothers are.

In Super Smash Bros.

The first game in the series, Super Smash Bros., can be said to feature much more than a standard universe's worth of content based on the universe introduced in the game itself, compared even to the Mario universe.

Boss

• 
  Master Hand: A giant floating right-hand glove, this entity is described as the imaginary link between the real world and the Smash Bros. tournaments and can be considered the end-all, be-all host of the series. He features a voice that is heard calling out the names of combatants on the character select screen, as well as calling the status of matches before, during, and after matches, so he can be considered the narrator of the series as well. He functions as the "final boss" of the game in that the final match of the single-player mode pits the player's character against Master Hand in a 1-on-1 duel. He fights with a variety of unique movements and motions, and instead of a percentage meter, he carries a "traditional" health meter that lowers when taking damage from opponents and reducing it to zero will defeat him and end the game in success for the player.

Team Characters

Ness facing the Fighting polygon team.

• Fighting Polygon Team: The "generic fighter grunts" of the game, these are purple, untextured, blocky entities whose shapes and motions are modeled vaguely after the proper fighters in the game. They appear only in the game's single-player mode in two stages: The Race to the Finish stage, in which three of them are obstacles in the player's path to the finish, and in the subsequent Fighting Polygon Team stage, where the player must battle a total of 30 of them as easy-to-KO opponents in a match similar to the Multi-Man Melee/Brawl/Smash of later games. There are twelve varieties of Fighting Polygons just as there are twelve distinctive fighters in the game.

Stages

The game features a lot of environments thematically original to the game itself, and none of these are selectable in the game's multi-player mode (hacking aside); they are only available as single-player content. The following stages would work as multiplayer stages if they were available in the multiplayer mode:

• Final Destination: Known as "Master Hand's Residence" in-game, this prototypical Final Destination otherwise serves the same purpose as its successors in later games. It is a flat, featureless platform laid against a space background and is where the player fights Master Hand in the final battle of the game's single-player.
• Battlefield: As with Final Destination above, Battlefield is not referred to as such yet, but rather either "Duel Zone" or "Fighting Polygon Stage" in-game. Likewise, it has the same four-platform layout as later Battlefield stages and serves the same purpose, as the home to the Fighting Polygon Team in the penultimate single-player battle.
• Meta Crystal: A small and simple stage consisting of a big platform with a small platform above it, this is the single-player stage where the battle against Metal Mario takes place. It is based on the part of Hazy Maze Cave from Super Mario 64 wherein which Mario would find the Green ! Switch.

The following stages are more "mini-game"-centric stages featured as single-player content:

• Break the Targets!: Twelve separate maze-like stages are accessible as single-player Target Test challenges in the Target Test mode. There is one stage for each character, and it is specifically constructed to test the character's ability to attack all ten targets in the stage as fast as possible in the time limit. The character will be required to go through his respective Target Test stage early in the game's main single-player mode.
• Board the Platforms!: Likewise, twelve separate maze-like stages are accessible as single-player Board the Platform challenges in the Board the Platform mode. There is one stage for each character, and it is specifically constructed to test the character's ability to jump onto all ten yellow platforms in the stage as fast as possible in the time limit. The character will be required to go through his respective Board the Platform stage later in the game's main single-player mode.
• Race to the Finish!: This five-story stage is a single-player mini-game where the character must race from the upper left to the lower right of the stage and reach the end as fast as possible within the time limit, while avoiding obstacles such as floating bumpers, rolling bombs, and three computer-controlled Fighting Polygon opponents.

Items

A large proportion of the game's items is original to the game itself.

• Beam Sword: A powerful energy sword, this bludgeoning weapon carries sound effects similar to a Lightsaber in the Star Wars movie franchise in the Japanese version of the game, but it was changed for the U.S. release, possibly to avoid copyright trouble.
• Home-Run Bat: This bludgeoning item is the most potentially deadly offensive measure in the game; while normally featuring unremarkable power with standard attacks, a Smash attack with the Bat carries so much knockback that it often causes a One-Hit KO to the target, regardless of how healthy the opponent is. Some consider it a property native to the EarthBound franchise, but Melee's Trophy Gallery identifies the bat as having made its first game appearance in the original Smash and not EarthBound.
• Fan: The polar opposite to the Home-Run Bat and the Hammer, the Fan is weak enough that picking it up may be considered a handicap. While it can attack extremely quickly, it does tiny damage and offers no knockback, so it is not considered a helpful item.
• Bumper: A unique item not seen in the sequel (but spiritually replaced by the Flipper), the thrown Bumper creates an obstacle on the ground that knocks back any opponent that touches it. The bumper in response slides in the opposite direction. If another opponent gets in its way, the process repeats. The Bumper returned in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
• Ray Gun: This item is the standard projectile weapon, firing laser beams that do good knockback. Melee describes it as having originated in this game, contrary to the popular belief that it originates from the Star Fox universe.
• Crate: One of the game's four Item-containment units, the crate is by far the biggest. It is a giant wooden box with the Smash symbol on it, and it can be picked up, carried, and hurled at opponents as a projectile. When it crashes into the ground, it splinters and up to three items contained inside can appear.
• Barrel: Another item that can contain items within, the Barrel is somewhat less large and may contain fewer items than the Crate, but as a hurled weapon it can roll on its side before breaking. Some consider it a property native to the Donkey Kong franchise, but Melee's Trophy Gallery identifies the barrel as having made its first game appearance in the original Smash and not Donkey Kong. Not to be confused with Melee's Barrel Cannon item.
• Capsule: This pill-shaped item contains a single item inside. It can be thrown as a fast projectile.
• Egg: This is a white egg that acts just like a Capsule. Some consider it a property native to the Pokémon franchise, especially considering that Eggs are scattered about by the appearance of the Pokémon Chansey, but Melee's Trophy Gallery identifies the Egg as having made its first game appearance in the original Smash and not Pokémon. All four of the game's item-containment units have a chance that they contain an explosive rather than an item, so these units can sometimes be used as Bob-ombs.

Music

These are the main musical tracks unique to the game found within the Sound Test:

• 1: The music heard during the game's opening cinema movie, this is fast-paced music interspersed with parts of track 45.
• 2: Low-key music heard during the How to play segment.
• 3: Very discreet music heard in the Characters and VS Records sub-menus.
• 4: Extremely discreet "music" heard on the game's main menu screen.
• 25: This music plays on the match complete screen after one of the 10 character victory fanfare tracks plays for the winning character.
• 28: Low-key music heard while playing the Training mode.
• 32: Climactic battle music heard in the final battle against Master Hand.
• 33: Music heard on any of the Break the Targets and the Board the Platforms stages.
• 35: Discrete, low key music played at the score display screen following the Master Hand battle.
• 38: Synthesized battle music heard on the battle against the Fighting Polygon Team.
• 39: Heavy techno music that plays when battling Metal Mario in Single-player mode.
• 45: An original composition that is one of the main themes of both the game and the overall Smash Bros. series. It is heard throughout the ending credits.

There are also many short pieces counted as "music" heard in response to in-game occurrences. These tracks original to the game itself include 29, 30, 31, 34, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, and 44.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

The sequel to Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Melee, is noted for being an immensely larger game than its predecessor. The number of original properties featured in the game is seemingly increased proportionally.

Bosses

Like in the previous game, none of the game's characters aren't considered true "characters" in that they aren't selectable for play (without hacking, anyway). These all make specific appearances as single-player opponents.

• Master Hand: The "master of ceremonies" and "narrator" of the series returns in Melee as a "final boss" enemy like before, but it certainly is no longer the only one. With a slightly redesigned look and some new moves, Master Hand is otherwise not much different as a final boss of the game's "Classic" (Single-Player) Mode, though he can perform some two-on-one moves with his newly introduced "twin", Crazy Hand.

• Crazy Hand: The "twin brother" of Master Hand, Crazy Hand is a left hand and is a "hidden boss" in the game. It is described as the embodiment of a child who derives pleasure from destroying his creations, as opposed to Master Hand's will to play around. In the final bout of Classic mode on Normal, Hard, or Very Hard difficulty, when Master Hand has had over half of his hit points depleted, Crazy Hand will erratically enter the battle and join the fight against the player, making it a tougher two-on-one battle. Crazy Hand features at least three of his own unique attacks, and the two Hands will occasionally perform a special two-hand super attack together. If the player can beat both enemies in the match, the Crazy Hand KO bonus will be awarded. Both Hands can also be fought at Event 50: Final Destination Match.

• Giga Bowser: One of the most sensational entities in the Smash Bros. series, this colossus of a fighter is a gargantuan, powered up, and mutated version of the Mario character Bowser, himself the heftiest fighter in the standard Melee roster. Giga Bowser, whose body is proportionally different to Bowser, has larger horns, and has a manic expression on his face, is a hidden final boss in the game's Adventure Mode. At Normal difficulty or above, if the player gets to the final battle against Giant Bowser and defeats him in under 18 minutes, he will "revive" as Giga Bowser to rematch the player; defeating him will yield the Giga Bowser KO bonus and the Giga Bowser trophy. Giga Bowser receives an enormous handicap in his Adventure Mode appearance; he also appears in Event 51: The Showdown, with less of a handicap.

Team Characters

• Fighting Wire Frames: The spiritual successors to the Fighting Polygon Team, these easily KO'd opponents are just what their name suggests: pink wire-frame models of fighters without special talents. Their insides feature a vague skeletal and organ system, however, and a red Smash-universe symbol resides where each Wire Frame's face should be. Unlike the Fighting Polygons, however, the Wire Frames come only in two varieties: Male and Female. Male Wire Frames feature the body structure and movement/attack style of Captain Falcon/Ganondorf while the females are the same with Zelda. They appear in Adventure Mode, Multi-Man Melee, and some Event matches.

Other NPCs

The Sandbag from the Home-Run Contest mode might be considered a character because it registers damage as an opponent, and can even be played as when the game is hacked, though it has no moveset past movement and a single jump.

There is also a character named NONE which can be selected when the games debug mode is selected. It is most likely a removed testing character, as the game crashes upon its selection.

Stages

The game contains more environments thematically original to the game itself than the previous game. The two Multiplayer-friendly stages that follow, however, are indeed unlockable for selection.

• 
  Battlefield: The Fighting Polygon Stage from SSB returns with its popularized name of Battlefield. It is the site of many stages and events such as the Multi-Man Melee competitions and is where Fighting Wire Frames are always fought. Due to its basic and standard layout, the stage is very popular.
• 
  Final Destination: The Master Hand's Residence arena returns as the "final battle arena" of the game. The flat, featureless platform is where many single-player boss encounters take place, and it is also among the most popular stages for use in tournaments. It floats through outer space, then seems to travel through a wormhole where it will then appear in an earth-like world where landscapes are visible in the background.

Interesting to note: The emblem for this stage is not the normal Smash Bros. Emblem.

The following stages are more "mini-game"-centric stages featured as single-player content:

• Break the targets!/Target Test: Like in the previous game, each character has his or her own separate maze-like stage that is accessible as a single-player Target Test challenge in the Target Test mode. There is one stage for each character, and it is specifically constructed to test the character's ability to attack all ten targets in the stage as fast as possible in the time limit. The character will be required to go through his respective Target Test stage early in the game's Classic mode. A total of 25 target test stages reside in the game for normal play; a 26th is locked away, however, available only through hacking. This stage belongs to Sheik but it was cut, likely to encourage strategic Transforming.
• Race to the finish!: The successor to the previous game's Race to the Finish, this stage is laid out very differently; it is now a left-to-right path dotted with potential exits, and the aim is to get as close to the end as possible in the time limit.
• Snag trophies!: This bonus stage in Classic mode is a mini-game in which a platform has a container of sorts in the middle, and three trophies will fall down from the sky. The character is to try and attack the falling trophies so they will fall into the container, in order to earn them, and collecting all three will yield the Collector bonus.
• All-Star Rest Area: This grassland environment is the hub between matches in the All-Star Mode. It contains three Heart Containers, a portal in the center that transports the player to the next bout, and in the background the progress of the All-Star Mode is displayed; trophies of the opponents defeated thus far stand on the ground, while portraits of the next opponents are displayed in the air above. This features music from the Kirby series.
• Home-Run Stadium: This baseball stadium is the site of the Home-Run Contest mini-game. On an elevated platform, the Sandbag resides, and in ten seconds the character must damage it without knocking it off the platform, then use the nearby Home-Run Bat to send Sandbag flying east, where the distance traveled is recorded. The stage seems to stretch on endlessly to the east.

Like the previous game, there are some environments that can be seen only through hacking. Test is intriguing; it is a very wide white-ground stage with several aerial platforms shaped differently. Like the previous Kirby Beta Stage 2, this is clearly the "testing ground" the developers used during development. The background actually features a photograph of a pub. Hidden in the game's debug menu are the titles of two other stages that crash the game when selected: 10-2 and DUMMY. DUMMY can be opened up with a special hack, however, and the stage reveals itself to be completely empty, black space without any death-line borders. For fun, some players like to hack in death lines and activate an infinite double-jumping hack to allow for a completely aerial bout.

Items

Compared to the characters and stages, Melee's collection of original items is not much different at all from its predecessor.

• Beam Sword: Returns from Smash as a bludgeoning weapon, but the length of its blade now changes based on the power of the attack swinging it. Its power and knockback have been degraded to a large degree.
• Home-Run Bat: Returns from Smash essentially unaltered.
• Fan: Returns from Smash essentially unaltered.
• Ray Gun: Returns from Smash essentially unaltered.
• Food: A new item that randomly spawns as tiny health-replenishers. There are 27 varieties of food in the game, and they restore usually 3% or so health per item.
• Party Ball: A new containment unit, this is a big yellow ball that can be carried and hurled like the other containment units, but after it is thrown it will float up, make a noise, and open up to drop a bunch of stuff. Sometimes it drops random items, sometimes it drops a load of Food, and sometimes it drops Bob-ombs.
• Crate: Returns from Smash essentially unaltered.
• Barrel: Returns from Smash essentially unaltered.
• Capsule: Returns from Smash essentially unaltered.
• Egg: Returns from Smash essentially unaltered.

Music

• 0: Opening: The music heard during Melee's opening FMV, this is the official theme song of the game, orchestrated with slight bits of a chorus.
• 51: Metal Battle: Fast and heavy music that plays whenever the player confronts a metal opponent in single-player modes.
• 52: Battlefield: A techno remix of the Menu 1 music, this is heard as the primary track on the Battlefield stage outside the Multi-Man Melee mode, and in the Race to the Finish mode.
• 53: Final Destination: This is a climactic orchestration of the ending credits music of the original SSB, used as primary "final match" music only on the Final Destination stage.
• 54: Menu 1: The epically orchestrated music heard as the primary track in Melee's menu screens. This has been remixed as stage music for Battlefield in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
• 55: Menu 2: A more laid back track heard as the secondary track in the menu screens of Melee. It is a medley of the official Super Smash Bros. Melee opening theme and Menu 1.
• 56: How to Play: Music heard during the How to Play video within Melee's Archives section.
• 57: Targets!: The techno music heard in almost all characters Target Test stages, as well as the Home-Run Contest.
• 58: Multi-Man Melee 1: Synthesized rock variant of the opening theme, heard half the time in the Multi-Man Melee mode, and also as the secondary track of Battlefield in Vs. mode.
• 59: Multi-Man Melee 2: A more fast-paced rock variant of the opening theme, heard half the time in the Multi-Man Melee mode, and also as the secondary track of Final Destination in Vs. mode.
• 61: Tournament 1: Heavy music heard half the time outside of battle during a Tournament Melee.
• 62: Tournament 2: Heavy music heard half the time outside of battle during a Tournament Melee.
• 63: Trophy: Soft synthesized menu music heard at the Trophy Lottery and the Trophy Collector.
• 78: Warning Siren: Troubling music heard during the part of the Adventure mode that occurs in the Brinstar Escape Shaft.

In addition, a lot of tracks original to the Smash Bros. series are listed as "music", but do not loop and are merely short pieces meant to signify occurrences. These include 64: Classic Intro, 65: Adventure Intro, 66: Stage Clear 1, 67: Stage Clear 2, 68: Continue, 69: Game Over, 70: New Trophy!, 71: Rare Trophy, 72: Challenger!, 73: New Feature 1, 74: New Feature 2, 75: New Feature 3, and 79: Ending. There is also a remix of Track 53 that plays only when battling Giga Bowser on Final Destination.

Full Trophy List

• Master Hand
• Crazy Hand
• Giga Bowser
• Fighting Wire Frames
• Male Wire Frame
• Female Wire Frame
• Food
• Ray Gun
• Beam Sword
• Home-Run Bat
• Fan
• Party Ball
• Crate
• Barrel
• Capsule
• Egg
• Smash Coins
• Target
• Sandbag
• Battlefield
• Final Destination

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Master Hand's appearance in Brawl.

Crazy Hand's appearance in Brawl.

There were plenty of things introduced in the Smash Bros. series not introduced elsewhere appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Most prominent among them is a major single-player mode of the game called The Subspace Emissary, a side-scrolling Adventure Mode game where characters contend with the machinations of an interdimensional force called the Subspace Army. Plus between Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl there are three differences. None of the unlockable characters (if the Subspace Emissary method is not used) are unlocked on the stages Battlefield or Final Destination (as they're not considered home stages) except Ganondorf. Super Smash Bros. universe stages on Classic Mode only occur on the final two stages, and Battlefield and Final Destination are never fought in All-Star Mode.

Characters

The following distinctive entities who are original to the series make big appearances:

• Sandbag: Sandbag reprises its role in the Home-Run Contest, as well as appearing in the Online Practice Stage, sometimes unofficially dubbed the "Wi-Fi Waiting Room". In both modes, it acts as it did in Melee: immobile and living up to its name as a punching bag. In addition, it appears in the main modes of play as an item, which releases other items when hit - a property exploited in "CD Factories". Like all returnees, it has a more detailed model than it did in Melee.

• Master Hand: Reprises his role as the boss of the Classic Mode, as well as making an appearance in Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary.

• Crazy Hand: Reprises his role as Master Hand's partner in classic mode, though he does not appear in the Subspace Emissary.

• Tabuu: The final boss of the Subspace Emissary.

Common enemies

In The Subspace Emissary, characters are to contend with all sorts of common enemies, with many classes and distinctive builds of generic enemies and obstacles new to the Smash Bros. universe seen in screenshots and trailers. The most notable example is a type of dark robot that was shown on Super Smash Bros. DOJO!! in a mini-trailer and was later identified as the Primid. R.O.B.s are also seen as henchmen whose purpose is to detonate weapons of the Army called Subspace Bombs. However, the R.O.B. is a part of the R.O.B..

Bosses

Of the ten bosses in Brawl (all fought in the Boss Battles Mode), five are original characters while the other five hail from other game franchises:

• Duon
• Galleom
• Master Hand
• Crazy Hand
• Tabuu

Team characters

• Fighting Alloy Team: The spiritual successors to the first game's Fighting Polygon Team and Melee's Fighting Wire Frames. This time around, they come in four distinct types: Red Alloy, Blue Alloy, Yellow Alloy, and Green Alloy, having the movesets of Captain Falcon, Zelda, Mario, and Kirby, respectively. They only appear in the Multi-Man Brawl mode.

Stages

• 
  Battlefield: The earliest stage revealed for this game is a newly visually designed version of the Battlefield stage from Melee, with natural and architectural elements and floating above an expansive canyon below. It goes through a day and night cycle.
• 
  Final Destination: Like Battlefield before it, Final Destination has been visually redesigned for Brawl. It still serves as the location of the battle against Master Hand. Unlike the previous game, this and Battlefield are considered starter stages.

Items

• Smash Ball: Likely the most important item of all, the Smash Ball can be picked up by a character, and that character will be able to perform a spectacular move unique to that character called a Final Smash.
• Assist Trophy: A special trophy that, when grabbed, brings a random helper into the battle for a short period of time. While technically a Smash Bros. item, its main purpose is to summon characters from various other Nintendo franchises.
• Gooey Bomb: A spherical explosive encased in a gooey bubble. It is a variant on the old Motion-sensor Bomb in that it is an explosive that can be thrown at something, it will stick to it, and explode after a certain period of time. The Gooey Bomb, however, can now stick to characters the bomb is thrown at, and it has a chance to transfer between characters when characters pass by each other.
• Cracker Launcher: A large cylindrical cannon that launches firework projectiles. Unlike most projectile items, it can be aimed vertically.
• Bumper: The classic bumping item from the original Super Smash Bros. finally makes a return appearance with the same functionality and the added function of being able to be placed in midair like Melee's Flipper.
• Smoke Ball: A non-damaging device that emits thick smoke to distract and disorient combatants. It can be picked up and thrown again while it's emitting its contents. It can also be stuck to players.
• Crate: Returns from Melee, although it comes in several varieties now, any of which may be on wheels.
• Barrel: Returns from Melee seemingly unaltered.
• Home-Run Bat: Returns from Melee, although the windup time for the smash attack is much longer.
• Beam Sword: Returns from Melee seemingly unaltered.
• Party Ball: Returns from Melee seemingly unaltered.

Music

• Super Smash Bros. Main Theme: The game's main theme, composed by Nobuo Uematsu. Is used on the menu.
• Menu 1: A rearranged version of Melee's Menu 1 music is used on the stage Battlefield.
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Menu 1:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Menu 1 Remixed:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Menu 1 Remixed 2:
• Super Smash Bros. Melee - Menu 1: Plays on the Main Menu.
• Super Smash Bros. Melee - Menu 2: Plays on the Main Menu.
• Battlefield: Plays on the stage Battlefield.
• Battlefield Ver. 2: Plays on the stage Battlefield.
• Super Smash Bros. Melee - Battlefield: Plays on the stage Battlefield.
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Final Destination: Plays on the stage Final Destination.
• Super Smash Bros. Melee - Final Destination: Plays on the stage Final Destination.
• Super Smash Bros. Melee - Giga Bowser Theme: Plays on the stage Final Destination. This song also plays during Bowser's Classic Mode credits.
• Super Smash Bros. 64 - Credits Theme: Plays on the stage Final Destination.
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Adventure Map:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Step: Plains:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Step: Caves:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Danger Ahead:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Boss Theme:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Final Boss Theme:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Target Smash!!:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Tournament:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Tournament Setup:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Trophy Mode:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Coin Launcher:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Trophy Collection:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Stage Builder:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Sticker Center / Album / Chronicle:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Wi-Fi Waiting Room:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Brawl Results Screen: Plays after announcing the winner of a Brawl.
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Classic Results Screen:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - All-Star Results Screen:
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Credits: Plays during the credits for Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary.

Trophies

See main article, List of SSBB trophies

• Primid
• Sword Primid
• Scope Primid
• Fire Primid
• Boom Primid
• Metal Primid
• Big Primid
• Glunder
• Greap
• Roader
• Spaak
• R.O.B.
• Master Hand
• Crazy Hand
• Subspace Bomb
• Ancient Minister
• Trophy Stand
• Assist Trophy
• Rolling Crate
• Cracker Launcher
• Gooey Bomb
• Bumper
• Smoke Ball
• Smash Ball
• Box
• Barrel
• Crate
• Food
• Banana Peel
• Sandbag
• Stopwatch
• Beam Sword
• Ray Gun
• Fan
• Motion-Sensor Bomb
• Party Ball

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Aside from Classic Mode's final stage unchanged, in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS the unlockable character Duck Hunt is the only unlockable character that takes place on a Super Smash Bros. universe stage in that game, being Battlefield.

Characters

• Mii Fighter: The Mii Fighters are Miis which are revealed during the Nintendo Digital Event during E3 2014. There are three versions of the Mii Fighter: the Mii Brawler, the Mii Swordfighter, and the Mii Gunner. While not created for the Smash Universe, Mii Fighters use the Smash Bros. symbol and a new victory theme based on a remix of the Smash 4 theme, making them the first playable representatives of the Super Smash Bros. universe.

• 
  Mii Brawler: The close combat specialist, Mii Brawlers fight with not only their fists but use their feet, knees, elbows and even heads to inflict damage on their foes. They have one projectile attack in the form of Shot Put.
• 
  Mii Gunner: The ranged specialist, Mii Gunners use their arm cannon to utilize all sorts of ranged attacks to the point where even some of their Smash attacks are ranged.
• 
  Mii Swordfighter: The weapon specialist, Mii Swordfighters not only use their swords but a variety of classical weaponry like shurikens and chakrams to skillfully deal with enemies.

Bosses

• Master Hand: The "grand master" of Smash Bros. returns mostly unchanged but with some new moves added to his arsenal including summoning card "floors" to lift the player up and out of the arena.
• Crazy Hand: returns mostly unchanged from his Brawl counterpart.
• Master Core: A brand new secret true final boss to Classic Mode made for this game. It takes on many forms, including a group of swords, a scorpion monster, and finally a shadow clone of the player's own character.

Fighting Team Characters

Fighting Mii Team: A team of Mii characters that appear in Classic Mode as well as Multi-Man mode. The Mii's appear as Mii characters that are registered in the game and in the player's personal Mii Maker. They appear in Stage 5 of the 3DS version, and in Stage 6 of the Wii U version. The Mii's can appear as any type of Mii Fighter. All Mii's appear wearing a black version of the default Mii Fighter outfit, however with some changes, such as a large white "M" in the center of the shirt. Like every other Multi-Man character, the Mii's can not grab ledges or use special moves, except with the added ability to use smash attacks.

Stages

• 
  Battlefield: Battlefield is returning in both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS versions of the game. It has slightly different aesthetics and a completely different background from the Brawl version, while it maintains the day to night transitioning. Compared to the Wii U version, the 3DS version has simpler, less detailed textures and a different background.
• 
  Final Destination: Final Destination is also returning in both versions, complete with the usual psychedelic background imagery and single futuristic platform. A new feature is that Final Destination can take on the form of other stages in the game, adopting their overall aesthetics and music while retaining its basic single-platform layout.
• 
  Big Battlefield: a largely expanded version of this game's rendition of the series ever-famous Battlefield stage is precisely designed for the all-new 8-Player Smash mode used for the Wii U edition of Smash 4. It can still be used for standard matches.

Items

• Sandbag: Sandbag returns as an item, working identically to Brawl. He also returns to his role as Home-Run Contest Target and waiting room training dummy.
• Capsule: The Capsule is back with a new design, being shorter in height with a greater width.
• Smash Ball: The Smash Ball returns and functions the same as in Brawl.
• Home-Run Bat: The Home-Run Bat returns and has been redesigned, now being a black aluminum bat.
• Ray Gun: Like other returning Smash items, the Ray Gun has been redesigned as well, sporting a noticeably less realistic look.
• Assist Trophy: The Assist Trophy returns. The roster for Assist Trophies has changed somewhat from Brawl; some have returned, while new ones were introduced and some old ones were removed from the roster. One former Assist Trophy became a playable fighter in Smash 4. Furthermore, the capsule that holds the Assist Trophies has been redesigned and is now multicolored.
• Bumper: The bumper returns with a red redesign.
• Smoke Ball: The Smoke Ball returns and functions the same as in Brawl.

Mii Fighter Costumes

• SSB T-Shirt: A Smash Bros styled T-Shirt and Jeans. Available to all classes and genders.
• Cat Costume: Mii Fighter costume. Includes hat and suit.
• Monkey Costume: Mii Swordfighter costume. Includes hat and suit.

Music

Original Tracks

Tracks and remixes unique to SSB4.

• Menu: The default menu music, it is the main theme of the game.
• Battlefield: The main theme of the Battlefield stage, based on the main theme of the game.
• Final Destination: Another remix of the main theme. Plays on Final Destination.
• Final Destination Ver. 2: An electric guitar remix of the main theme. Available only in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, this theme plays on Final Destination.
• Menu (Melee) Ver. 2: An orchestral and choral remix of the Menu 1 theme from Super Smash Bros. Melee, which also contains some specific parts and sequences of both the Melee Battlefield theme and the Brawl Boss Battle theme. Plays on Final Destination.
• Multi-Man Smash: An electronic remix of the game's main theme song. It plays during Multi-Man Smash matches.
• Cruel Smash: A remix of the main theme from Brawl. It plays during Cruel Brawl in that game, and plays during Cruel Smash in Smash 4.
• Credits (Smash Bros.): Ver. 2: A remix of the credits theme from the original SSB.
• Master Hand: The track that plays while fighting Master Handand Crazy Hand.
• Master Core: The track that plays while fighting the Master Core, excluding the Master Fortress and the Core itself.
• Master Fortress: First Wave: The track that plays during the first half of the Master Fortress fight.
• Master Fortress: Second Wave: The track that plays during the second half of the Master Fortress fight
• Online Practice Stage
• Classic: Map (3DS)
• Classic: Map (Wii U)
• Classic: Results Screen
• Classic: Final Results
• Classic: Fail
• Master Orders: Ticket Selection
• Master Orders: Reward
• Crazy Orders: Ticket Selection
• Crazy Orders: Final Battle Victory
• Crazy Orders: Final Battle Defeat
• Events
• All-Star Rest Area
• Target Blast: A 10-second tune used for the Stadium game Target Blast.
• Gallery/Hoard
• Trophy Shop
• Trophy Rush
• Replay/Album/Records
• StreetSmash
• Smash Tour: Map
• Results Display Screen: A remix of the character selection theme from the original SSB. It plays after a winner is announced at the end of a match.
• Tourney
• Tourney: Tourney List (Spectator)
• Tourney: Final Results
• Credits: The credits theme of the game plays after the player finished Classic or All-Star mode.
• Victory! Mii: The victory theme for the Mii characters, it is based on the first few notes from the main theme of the game.

Returning Tracks

Tracks and remixes from previous Smash titles.

• Credits (Super Smash Bros.): The track that played during the staff credits of Super Smash Bros..
• How to Play: Taken from Melee, this tune is played during the How to Play movie.
• Menu (Melee) (Original): Ported directly from Melee, this song plays in the menu of Smash for Wii U.
• Menu 2 (Melee): Ported from Melee, this music will play on the menu after unlocking all playable characters.
• Final Destination (Melee): The Final Destination theme taken from Melee.
• Multi Man Melee 2 (Melee): An alternative track used for Final Destination and Multi-Man Melee, taken from Melee.
• Metal Battle (Melee): This track played when fighting Metal characters in Classic Mode and Adventure Mode, taken from Melee.
• Giga Bowser (Melee): The track when fighting Giga Bowser in Adventure Mode, taken from Melee.
• Trophies (Melee): Taken from Melee, this tune played while using the Trophy Lottery, and in the Trophy Tussle event maches.
• Menu (Melee) (Remix): A remix of the main menu theme from Melee, taken from Brawl. Plays on Battlefield.
• Boss Battle (Melee): A remix of the Menu theme from Melee, played during Boss Battles Mode in Brawl.
• Menu (Brawl): The menu theme taken directly from Brawl.
• Battlefield (Brawl): The Battlefield theme taken from Brawl.
• Battlefield Ver. 2 (Brawl): The second version of the Battlefeild theme from Brawl.
• Online Practice Stage (Brawl): The song that plays while waiting for an online match to begin in Brawl.
• Final Destination (Brawl): The Final Destination theme taken from Brawl.
• Cruel Smash (Brawl): The theme that plays during a Cruel Brawl, taken from Brawl.
• Boss Battle Song 1 (Brawl): The song played while fighting Galleom and Duon in Brawl.
• Boss Battle Song 2 (Brawl): The song that plays while fighting Tabuu in Brawl.
• Trophy Gallery (Brawl): The song that plays while viewing your trophies in Brawl.
• Home-Run Contest: A tune taken directly from Brawl during the Home-Run Contest.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Characters

• Mii Fighter: The Mii Fighters return, and are planned for inclusion in online matches. Previously, their online usage was restricted to playing with friends in Smash 4.

• 
  Mii Brawler: Confirmed to return with different proportions and 12 voice options.
• 
  Mii Gunner: Confirmed to return with different proportions and 12 voice options.
• 
  Mii Swordfighter: Confirmed to return with different proportions and 12 voice options.

Stages

• 
  Battlefield: Confirmed to return.
• 
  Final Destination: Confirmed to return.
• 
  Big Battlefield: Confirmed to return.