Erase Data

Erase Data, or Backup Clear in Super Smash Bros., is an option appearing in three of the four installments of the Super Smash Bros. games. It allows the player to erase specific data in the game, such as high scores, trophies, and characters. 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.

Once the player erases data, there is no way to recover it. As such, Super Smash Bros. Melee advises players to save a copy of game data onto a separate memory card before erasing data. This is not possible in Smash 64 or Super Smash Bros. Brawl, as the game data is directly saved into the game cartridge for Smash 64 and the game data cannot be copied from one Wii to another or to an SD Card in Brawl.

Neither version of Super Smash Bros. 4 allows players to delete specific data in the game, and both versions only give the ability to delete all save data. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, players can delete all data by holding A, B, X, and Y on startup and selecting "Yes" three times when prompted. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U has no such built-in application, and players instead can delete all data by deleting the game's data file in "Data Management" under their Wii U's "System Settings."

Gallery

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  The Backup Clear option in Super Smash Bros.

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  The Erase Data menu in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

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  The Erase Data menu in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Trivia

• Brawl is the only game where the "Erase Data" menu does not offer an "Erase Hidden Characters" or an "Erase Hidden Stages" option.
• If the player chooses to erase all data in Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, the game asks the player three times if they are sure they want to lose that data. The first input plays a siren, the second plays a sped-up version of the siren, and the third and final input plays an alarm similar to Melee's "challenger approaching" theme.