Erase Data

Erase Data, previously known as Backup Clear in Super Smash Bros., is an option in the first three installments of the Super Smash Bros. series. It allows the player to erase any specific data in the game, such as high scores, trophies, unlockable characters, and unlockable stages. In all three appearances, the option to erase singular categories of data is available, alongside an "Erase All" ("ALL Data Clear" in Smash 64) option.

If the player chooses to erase all data (by choosing "Erase All"), there is no way to recover it. As such, Super Smash Bros. Melee advises players to create a copy of the data onto a separate memory card. However, this is only possible in Melee but not in Smash 64 nor Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The game data is directly saved to the Nintendo 64 game cartridge for Smash 64, and the game data cannot be copied from one Wii to another (nor to an SD Card) in Brawl.

Neither version of Super Smash Bros. 4 nor Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has an "Erase Data" option, making it impossible to selectively erase any specific data. In both versions of Smash 4, players can erase all data by holding A, B, X, and Y on startup and selecting "Yes" three times when prompted (just like in Brawl for "Erase All"). In Ultimate, the player can manually erase all data under the "Manage Save Data/Screenshots and Videos" option of the Data Management section in the Switch's System Settings; due to this, a built-in application is not included (unlike in Smash 4).

Gallery

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  The Backup Clear option in Smash 64 (for both N64 and Wii VC)

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  The Erase Data menu in Melee

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  The Erase Data menu in Brawl

Trivia

• Brawl is the first installment in the series which does not have the "Erase Hidden Characters" and "Erase Hidden Stages" options.
  • This is due to a special stipulation. Due to the way how unlockable characters appear in The Subspace Emissary, it is not possible to restart the unlockable characters and unlockable stages in Brawl.
• If the player chooses to erase all data in Brawl, the game asks the player three times if they are sure they want to lose that data. The first prompt plays a siren, the second one plays a sped-up version of the siren, and the third and final plays an alarm similar to Melee's "challenger approaching" theme. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U similarly present three prompts (like in Brawl for "Erase All"), but only have the siren and sped-up siren on the second and third prompts.