Congratulations screen

The congratulations screen is a static image that is shown after the credits in the international versions of Super Smash Bros., all versions of Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and after the Character Roll Call in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In Super Smash Bros., the screen depicts a scene relating to the character that was used to to complete the mode, while in Melee, Brawl, and Smash 4, the screen depicts a screenshot of the character in gameplay, which is often humorous. Each character has one Congratulations screen in Super Smash Bros., from the 1P Game; three in Melee (one each for Classic, Adventure, and All-Star modes); two in Brawl (one each for Classic and All-Star modes); and two in each version of SSB4 (one each for Classic and All-Star modes). Additionally, Brawl has five Congratulations screens in Boss Battles, depending on what difficulty is chosen.

In addition to a majority of the images having the phrase "Congratulations!" on them, the announcer also exclaims "Congratulations!" when the image is displayed to the player on most difficulty levels. If the mode is beaten on the highest difficulty or finishing Smash 64's 1P Mode with at least one million points, the announcer will instead say "Wow! Incredible!".

Many congratulations screens are references to other games, and occasionally other media.

Super Smash Bros.

References

Luigi: a reference to the EarthBound series, where the text SMAAAASH!! would appear when performing a critical hit.
Donkey Kong: an obvious reference to Donkey Kong Country.
Fox: references the original North American box art of Star Fox.
Yoshi: Might reference the premise of Yoshi's Story where Baby Bowser cursed Yoshi's Island into becoming a pop-up book.
Ness: references the following three aspects: the Runaway Five were seen complimenting the player, Fourside being attacked by saucers resembled the opening scene for the game, and Ness's pose in the artwork alongside the other three heroes referenced their stock artwork for the game. Additionally, the Frankystein Mark II and an Ultimate Octobot can be seen in the background.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Classic

Adventure

Mario
Luigi
Peach
Bowser
Dr. Mario
Yoshi
Donkey Kong
Link
Zelda/Sheik
Ganondorf
Young Link
Samus
Kirby
Fox
Falco
Pikachu
Jigglypuff
Mewtwo
Pichu
Captain Falcon
Ness
Ice Climbers
Marth
Roy
Mr. Game & Watch

References

Bowser - Adventure: evokes a humorous expression that supposes the world is carried by an infinite stack of turtles.
Donkey Kong - Adventure: a parody of March of Progress, a scientific illustration that showcases human evolution.
Donkey Kong - All-Star: resembles a famous scene in the 1999 movie The Matrix, where the main character, Neo, enters bullet time and dodges the bullets by bending over backwards.
Link - Adventure: references the Swiss folktale of William Tell, an archer who was forced to shoot an apple off his son's head.
Zelda/Sheik - Adventure: references the purported ability of ninjas being able to block swinging swords with their bare hands.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Classic

All-Star

Boss Battles

All of the Boss Battles congratulations screens are sepia-toned stills from certain Subspace Emissary cutscenes.

Easy
Normal
Hard
Very Hard
Intense

References

Diddy Kong - All-Star: may reference an artwork pose from Donkey Kong Country, except mirrored.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, players must attack names in the credits to reveal the congratulations screen.

Classic

References

Mario - All-Star: likely a reference to a scene from the 2002 Spider-Man film, as he and Peach make the poses originally made by Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Mary Jane.
Donkey Kong - Classic: may be a reference to the ending of Donkey Kong Country Returns, where he, while flung off from the volcano, is about to punch the moon with the help of Diddy Kong.
Roy - All-Star: a reference to how he shares his name with Roy Koopa.
Palutena - Classic: a reference to a scene in the short Palutena's Revolting Dinner, where she is relaxing in a hot spring.
Ryu - Classic: a reference to the win screen from Street Fighter II, with Little Mac showing a damaged face. Notably, the feature of Little Mac's damaged face is only present in the Wii U version of the game, making it the only 3DS congratulations screen that uses assets from the Wii U version.
Cloud - All-Star: a reference to a segment in Final Fantasy VII, where he commands the Hardy-Daytona bike to escape from the Shinra Headquarters.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, players must attack names in the credits to reveal the congratulations screen.

Classic

References

Mario - All-Star: makes a reference to the Mario Kart series with Bowser in his blue color scheme standing in for a Spiny Shell item.
Bowser - Classic: a reference to the Super Mario Bros. series of games, in particular the New Super Mario Bros. series, where Bowser would face Mario and Luigi in a final battle.
Bowser Jr. - Classic: a reference to the Mario Kart series in general, as he doesn't appear in Mario Kart 8, released the same year as Smash 4. However, he was re-introduced in the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe port.
Bowser Jr. - All-Star: references New Super Mario Bros., in which Bowser is seemingly killed and turned into Dry Bowser after falling into lava.
Diddy Kong - All-Star: references the minecart levels of the Donkey Kong Country series.
Link - All-Star: references Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, in which Link could use magic to take the form of a fairy.
Zero Suit Samus - All-Star: a parody of Sega's Bayonetta series; Bayonetta herself would later be announced as playable in her own right.
Kirby - Classic: a reference to a cutscene in Super Smash Bros. Brawl's Subspace Emissary.
Meta Knight - All-Star: a parody of the cover art of Kirby & the Amazing Mirror.
King Dedede - Classic: a reference to how the Kirby series appeared monochromatically on the Game Boy before being given color in later titles.
Jigglypuff - Classic: a reference to its first appearance in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
Lucario - All-Star: a reference to a scene in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, where Lucario is offered some chocolate by Max, who is represented as a Villager. Pikachu also appears, likely representing Ash's Pikachu.
Lucas - Classic: a reference to the ending of Mother 3, in which a brainwashed Claus is seen perishing in his arms.
Ike - All-Star: a reference to Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, in which one conversation reveals he has a large appetite and deeply enjoys steak and ribs.
Lucina - Classic: a reference to boxart for Fire Emblem Awakening.
Corrin - Classic: a reference to a piece of promotional art for Fire Emblem Fates, with the two sides of the game's conflict facing off; Robin replaces Leo, Ganondorf replaces Xander, Palutena replaces Azura, Pit replaces Takumi, and red Bowser replaces Ryoma.
Corrin - All-Star: a reference to the fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
Pit - Classic: a reference to both Medusa's Final Battle, the ninth chapter, and Lord of the Underworld, the twenty-third chapter of Kid Icarus: Uprising, in which he equips the Three Sacred Treasures at the start of the chapters.
Pit - All-Star: a reference to Magnus and the Dark Lord, the second chapter of Kid Icarus: Uprising, in which he and Magnus team up to defeat Dark Lord Gaol (the boss of said chapter). It is also worth noting that, while Palutena is present in said image, she is absent in the chapter (save for dialogue).
Little Mac - All-Star: references ring girls featured in real-life boxing, who indicate which round is next. Alternatively, Peach could be referencing the referee, who distinguishes the winner in a match.
Ryu - All-Star: a reference to Akuma from the Street Fighter series as a Yoshi with its black color scheme parodies Akuma's pose. The reference also includes the aftermath of his Raging Demon attack, with the difference that, rather than the "天" (heaven) kanji, the screen backdrop is the Ultra Combo Finish splash shown when Ryu's Shin Shoryuken connects.
Cloud - Classic: a reference to the boxart for Final Fantasy VII.
Cloud - All-Star: a reference to the main antagonist of Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth, and the common theme of him being surrounded by flames in cutscenes.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

For the first time since Smash 64, only one congratulations screen is available, on account of the fact that Classic Mode is the only mode to incorporate it.

References

Peach: References Super Mario Odyssey.
Bowser: An ironic, reversed portrayal of the events of Super Mario Odyssey.
Toon Link: A reference to the final battle in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, where Ganon knocks the Master Sword out of Link's hand, and Link must retrieve it to defeat him.
Kirby: A possible reference to Kirby Mass Attack.
Wolf: References Star Fox Assault, in which Fox and Wolf teamed up during a level, and eventually 'sat' beside each other after the battle.
Lucas: References the mischevieous nature of Claus, Lucas' brother.
Roy: References the fact that there are two characters named Roy. Interestingly enough, Roy Koopa's model appears slightly broken in the screenshot.
Corrin: A possible reference to Fire Emblem Fates, in which Corrin has to decide between two kingdoms: Hoshido (represented by the sunlight), and Nohr (represented by the clouds).
Chrom: A possible joke reference to Chrom 'finally getting his chance', as he was shown to be a rejected fighter for Smash 4 during Robin's reveal trailer.
R.O.B.: References his cameo appearance in Pikmin 2, where his head appeared as one of the treasures, called "Remembered Old Buddy".
Mr. Game & Watch: References the original game of Judge.
Inkling: A possible reference to Splatoon's Splatfest events.
Ken: References a minigame in Street Fighter II where the player must destroy a car.
Cloud: A possible reference to the fight against Bahamut SIN in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

Trivia

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the short video cutscene that plays after Peach's congratulations screen makes various references to Princess Daisy. In one scene, Peach in her Daisy color scheme is shown grabbing Luigi, and in another scene, Peach along with another Peach in Daisy's color scheme are shown floating away from a Chain Chomp together.
In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the end of the short video cutscene that plays after Lucas's congratulations screen is a reference to Mother 3, with various characters standing in for Lucas's family members. Alongside Lucas in his default colors, the ending shot includes:
- Claus (represented by another Lucas sporting his brother's color scheme).
- Flint (his father, represented by one of the Wild Gunmen).
- Hinawa (his mother, represented by Peach wearing a red dress).
- Boney (the family dog, represented by Duck Hunt in an alternate costume).
In Brawl, there is a different font used for "Congratulations!" depending on the game they appeared in.
In SSB4, five different fonts are used for the word "Congratulations!":
- Characters from the Mario universe and its sub-universes (except Yoshi for unknown reasons) use the font used for large text in newer Mario games.
- Ryu uses a unique serif font in all capital letters, used in the characters' names in the Street Fighter II selection screen.
- More realistic characters use a serif font, used for character names on the character selection screen.
- Less realistic characters use the blocky font used for large text in SSB4 (this same font was used for minor purposes in the previous three games).
  - Notably, Pit and Palutena use the "realistic" font while Dark Pit does not. This same distinction between realistic and unrealistic characters is used for the sound made when tripping; Meta Knight uses the "unrealistic" font but makes the "realistic" tripping sound, while the opposite is true for R.O.B.
- Cloud uses a serif font, used in the logos for the Final Fantasy games. The black ink stripe behind the text is colored with a white-to-pale-green gradient, mimicking the meteor in the logo for Final Fantasy VII.
Mega Man's Wii U All-Star congratulations screen and Mewtwo's Wii U Classic congratulations screen are actually impossible to reenact in-game due to the impossibility to assign more than one equal character with the same palette.
Link and Fox's 1P ending images in Smash 64 are the only ones not to feature any text.
Donkey Kong's 1P ending image in Smash 64 reuses artwork originally from Donkey Kong Country.
Bayonetta's Wii U Classic congratulations screen is strikingly similar to an image from the official Smash Bros website, but added the original Bayonetta costume in the background.
Fox appears in the most ending images throughout the series with 27.