Classic Mode is a 1-player mode in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Following a structure similar to that of the 1P Game mode from the original game, the player chooses a single character, stock, and difficulty level, then battles through 11 different stages, culminating in a final battle with Master Hand. In addition to standard battles, three bonus rounds are also included, allowing for players to further increase their score and potentially gain other rewards from the mode. If the player loses all of their stock, they can potentially continue, assuming their supply of gold allows for it.
While Classic Mode does have a fixed order concerning the themes of battles and the presence of bonus rounds, the characters the player may fight against or fight alongside of are randomized from a pool of characters; furthermore, the player's selected character will be excluded from inclusion as an opponent or ally, thus making mirror matches impossible.
Completing Classic Mode can yield a variety of rewards for the player, alongside all gold awarded for completing the various stages. The player's score is also recorded, assuming it has surpassed the previous high score for the character.
Classic Mode Stages
Stage 1
This stage is a 1 vs. 1 Regular Battle. There is a 5 minute time limit.
| Foe | Level | Knockback given | Knockback taken |
|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0.60x | 1.75x |
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2 | 0.85x | 1.20x |
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4 | 1.00x | 1.00x |
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7 | 1.00x | 1.00x |
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9 | 1.20x | 0.90x |
Stage 2
This stage is a 2 vs. 2 Team Battle, similar to the Mario Bros. battle from the original game. There is a 5 minute time limit.
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Stage 3
The first bonus stage is Target Test, where the player is tasked with breaking all ten targets in their character's target test within two minutes. Failing to break all ten targets will not cost the player any stock, though they will lose out on potential end-of-game bonuses.
Stage 4
This stage is a 1 vs. 1 Regular Battle. There is a 5 minute time limit.
| Foe | Level | Knockback given | Knockback taken |
|---|---|---|---|
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2 | 0.75x | 1.40x |
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5 | 0.90x | 1.10x |
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8 | 1.00x | 1.00x |
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9 | 1.15x | 0.85x |
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9 | 1.34x | 0.70x |
Stage 5
This stage is a 3 vs. 1 Giant Battle, similar to the Giant Donkey Kong battle from the original game. There is a 5 minute time limit.
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The announcer says "Vs. Giant (characters name)" during 3 vs. 1 Giant Battle.
Stage 6
The second bonus stage is Snag the Trophies, where players are tasked with preventing three trophies from falling off the stage. The player is awarded any trophy they rescue, and getting all three yields an end-of-game bonus. The stage ends in failure if none of the trophies are saved, if players fall of the stage, or if the two minute time limit expires.
Stage 7
This stage is a 1 vs. 1 Regular Battle. There is a 5 minute time limit.
| Foe | Level | Knockback given | Knockback taken |
|---|---|---|---|
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3 | 0.85x | 1.30x |
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6 | 1.00x | 1.10x |
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5 | 0.90x | 1.30x |
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6 | 1.00x | 1.10x |
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8 | 1.10x | 0.90x |
Stage 8
This stage is a 1 vs. 10 Multi-Character Battle, similar to the Yoshi Team, Kirby Team and Fighting Polygon Team battles from the original game. There is a 5 minute time limit.
| Foes | Level | Knockback given | Knockback taken |
|---|---|---|---|
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1 | 0.60x | 4.00x |
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3 | 0.70x | 2.60x |
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4 | 0.80x | 2.00x |
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5 | 0.90x | 1.55x |
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7 | 1.10x | 1.20x |
Stage 9
The final bonus stage is Race to the Finish, where players have to race through an obstacle course within a varied time limit. The farther the player makes it through Race to the Finish, the more points and coins they receive; getting KO'd at any point or running out of time, however, prevents them from gaining either.
Stage 10
This stage is a 1 vs. 1 Metal Battle, similar to the Metal Mario battle from the original game. There is a 5 minute time limit.
| Metal Foe | Level | Knockback given | Knockback taken |
|---|---|---|---|
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1 | 0.80x | 1.80x |
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3 | 0.90x | 1.30x |
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5 | 1.00x | 1.00x |
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8 | 1.10x | 0.85x |
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9 | 1.25x | 0.68x |
The battle always takes place on Battlefield, and no items appear in this stage. The announcer says "Vs. Metal (character’s name)" during 1 vs. 1 Metal Battle. The player will receive a Special Bonus "Item-less".
Stage 11
Classic Mode's final battle takes place on Final Destination, against Master Hand.
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Unlike all other foes previously fought, the player has to defeat Master Hand by lowering his HP to 0, instead of knocking him off the ledge of the stage.
Master Hand's HP varies on the difficulty selected by the player, with higher difficulties causing him to have higher HP values.
| Difficulty level | Master Hand's HP |
| Very Easy | 150 HP |
| Easy | 250 HP |
| Normal | 300 HP |
| Hard | 330 HP |
| Very Hard | 360 HP |
If the player is playing on Normal difficulty or higher and has made it to the final stage within 5 minutes and 50 seconds, then Crazy Hand will spawn when half of Master Hand's HP has been depleted. Crazy Hand's starting HP also depends with the difficulty (Normal, Hard, or Very Hard), matching to the HP that Master Hand started with from the beginning.
Beating Master Hand and, if applicable, Crazy Hand, finishes the mode. After the screen fades to white and the final results screen is shown to the player, a small cinematic plays, showing their selected character dropping into the Collection room turning into a trophy and displaying all other character trophies they have attained in the mode. The credits then play, followed by a small cinematic and Congratulations image for the player's selected character.
Types of battles
Regular battle
All characters except Ganondorf, Roy, and Mr. Game & Watch are eligible to fight the player throughout the mode's three 1-on-1 battles, with their home stages listed below. In this mode, neither Poké Floats nor any Past Stages are used. In Stage 1 on Very Hard Difficulty, the opponent will wear its third alternative costume. In Stage 7 on Hard or Very hard, the computer will usually try to avoid the player at all costs, sometimes by walking off the screen. During the fight with Mewtwo, the theme for Poké Floats will play. During the fight with Marth, the Fire Emblem theme will play. During a fight with Dr. Mario, the music from Dr. Mario will play. During a fight with Young Link, Saria's Song will play. As for the fight with Yoshi, the Yoshi's Story stage has the theme for the Yoshi's Island 64 stage as its alternate music. Ganondorf and Mr. Game & Watch must stay away from regular battles in Classic Mode until Brawl. Roy must stay away from regular battles in Classic Mode until Smash 4 on the 3DS version & on the Wii U version.
| Character | Stage(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| Bowser | Princess Peach's Castle | Battlefield (if unlocked) |
| Captain Falcon | Mute City | Big Blue (if unlocked) |
| Donkey Kong | Kongo Jungle | Jungle Japes |
| Dr. Mario | Mushroom Kingdom | |
| Falco | Corneria | Venom |
| Fox | ||
| Ice Climbers | Icicle Mountain | |
| Jigglypuff | Pokémon Stadium | |
| Kirby | Fountain of Dreams | Green Greens |
| Link | Great Bay | Temple |
| Luigi | Mushroom Kingdom | Mushroom Kingdom II (if unlocked) |
| Mario | Princess Peach's Castle | Rainbow Cruise |
| Marth | Great Bay | |
| Mewtwo | Pokémon Stadium | Final Destination (if unlocked) |
| Ness | Onett | Fourside (if unlocked) |
| Peach | Princess Peach's Castle | Mushroom Kingdom II (if unlocked) |
| Pichu | Pokémon Stadium | |
| Pikachu | Pokémon Stadium | |
| Samus | Brinstar | Brinstar Depths (if unlocked) |
| Yoshi | Yoshi's Story | Yoshi's Island |
| Young Link | Great Bay | Temple |
| Zelda/Sheik | Temple | |
2 vs. 2 teams
Below is the list of all the teams the player can fight in Classic Mode. Both the characters for each team and the stage fought on is listed. There are a total of 29 teams. All playable characters aside from Zelda/Sheik and Roy can fight alongside the player. Allies all use their first alternate costume. On Very Hard Difficulty, the first opponent wears its third alternative costume. When fighting a team of Mario and Bowser on Battlefield, the theme for Princess Peach's Castle plays.
| Stage | Teams | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battlefield | Bowser + Mewtwo | Bowser + Peach | Bowser + Zelda | Mario + Bowser | ||||||||
| Big Blue | Captain Falcon + Falco | Samus + Captain Falcon | ||||||||||
| Brinstar | Samus + Fox | |||||||||||
| Corneria | Fox + Falco | |||||||||||
| Fountain of Dreams | Kirby + Pichu | |||||||||||
| Fourside | Ness + Mewtwo | |||||||||||
| Great Bay | Link + Young Link | Marth + Link | Zelda + Young Link | |||||||||
| Green Greens | Kirby + Jigglypuff | Kirby + Pikachu | ||||||||||
| Icicle Mountain | Kirby + Ice Climbers | |||||||||||
| Kongo Jungle | Donkey Kong + Fox | |||||||||||
| Mushroom Kingdom | Link + Luigi | Luigi + Dr. Mario | ||||||||||
| Mushroom Kingdom II | Mario + Peach | |||||||||||
| Mute City | Fox + Captain Falcon | |||||||||||
| Onett | Ness + Peach | |||||||||||
| Pokémon Stadium | Pikachu + Jigglypuff | Pikachu + Pichu | ||||||||||
| Temple | Link + Zelda | Peach + Zelda | Zelda + Marth | |||||||||
| Yoshi's Island | Yoshi + Ness | |||||||||||
| Yoshi's Story | Yoshi + Luigi | |||||||||||
Giant battle
Just like the teams, the giant characters the player fights are picked randomly from a group that has already been predetermined by the game. All playable characters aside from Zelda/Sheik and Roy can fight alongside the player. The first ally uses the second alternate costume, while the second uses the first alternate costume. During the battle against Giant Young Link, Saria's Song plays and during battle against Giant Dr. Mario, the track Dr. Mario plays.
Multi-character battle
Just like the teams, and the giant characters the player fights, the multiple-character fight is picked randomly from a group that has already been predetermined by the game. This level consists of 10 multiples of 1 of 9 different characters. During the battle against 10 Donkey Kongs at Jungle Japes, the DK Rap plays.
Metal battle
All characters except Ganondorf, Roy, and Mr. Game and Watch are eligible to appear as a metal character in this 1-on-1 battle against the player. The stage will always be Battlefield, with the track Metal Battle playing. Ganondorf and Roy will never appear as metal characters in this 1-on-1 battle in Classic Mode until Smash 4 on the 3DS version and on the Wii U version. Mr. Game & Watch will never appear as a metal character in this 1-on-1 battle in Classic Mode until Brawl.
Rewards
- Clearing as Mario without using any continues will challenge the player to defeat Dr. Mario, where victory results in unlocking him.
- Clearing with any character on any difficulty will challenge the player to defeat Jigglypuff, and beating it results in unlocking it.
- Clearing with 10 characters will challenge the player to defeat Young Link, and beating him will unlock him.
- Clearing with all starter characters will challenge the player to defeat Marth, and beating him will unlock him.
- Clearing with Marth will challenge the player to defeat Roy, and beating him will unlock him.
- Clearing with all 24 other characters will challenge the player to defeat Mr. Game & Watch, and beating him will unlock him.
- Clearing with Mr. Game & Watch will unlock the Flat Zone stage.
- Clearing with all characters gives the player the Donkey Kong Junior Trophy.
- Clearing on Hard or Very Hard without using any continues gives the player a trophy of Master Hand.
- Clearing on any difficulty with any character will give the player a trophy of the character used based on their appearance in one of their games. Both Zelda and Sheik's trophies are obtained simultaneously.
Trivia
- Unusually, some characters do not appear in Classic Mode, despite having the required poses in the game's data.
- Ganondorf can never appear as an enemy fighter, though he can potentially be an ally.
- Mr. Game & Watch can only appear as an enemy in the multi-character fight for stage 8, though he can potentially be an ally.
- Sheik never initially appears, and can only appear if Zelda transforms into her.
- Zelda herself cannot appear as an ally.
- Roy is completely absent and never spawns as an enemy or an ally.
- In 2 vs. 2 Team Battle & 1 vs. 10 Multi-Character Battle, the announcer says "Vs. Team (characters name)".
See also
| Super Smash Bros. Melee menu items | |
|---|---|
| Vs. Mode | Melee (Time · Stock · Coin Battle · Bonus · Team Battle) · Custom Rules · Special Melee · Tournament Mode · Names |
| 1-P Mode | Regular Match (Classic Mode · All-Star Mode · Adventure Mode) · Event Match · Stadium (Target Test · Home-Run Contest · Multi-Man Melee) · Training |
| Trophies | Gallery · Collection · Lottery |
| Options | Rumble · Sound · Screen Display · Language · Erase Data |
| Data | Snapshots · Melee Records · Sound Test · Archives (NTSC only) · How to Play (PAL only) |
| Unused | Debug menu · Debug sound test menu |