The masterpieces as seen in Brawl.

Masterpieces (名作トライアル, Masterpiece Trial) are free time-limited trial versions of classic Nintendo titles which the characters of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U have appeared in. When the title's trial ends, a screen pops out and tells the player that the trial's title is ended, and tells them it now is finished and the player gets returned to the game. The full versions can be purchased for the Virtual Console (the Wii U version of Smash 4 explains it in the end of the trial's title). To save the player time, Masterpieces skip the title and opening of a game. Certain Masterpieces start at specific points of the game that are relevant to the Smash game they appear in, such as the Donkey Kong Masterpiece starting at the 75m level, while games that supported saving have some built-in saves set to various points of the game. The time limit varies from game to game.

List of masterpieces

This is a list of the masterpieces in the Super Smash Bros. series. NES games show up as FC and SNES games show up as SFC in Japan, except for the noted cases where a NES game shows up as FDS instead.

Key Starter Unlockable Japan Only
Masterpiece Platform Universe    
Balloon Fight NES  Balloon Fight    
Donkey Kong NES  Donkey Kong    
Dr. Mario GB  Mario    
EarthBound/Mother 2 SNES/SFC  EarthBound    
F-Zero SNES  F-Zero    
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem SFC  Fire Emblem    
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light FC  Fire Emblem    
Ice Climber NES  Ice Climber    
Kid Icarus NES  Kid Icarus    
Kirby Super Star SNES  Kirby    
Kirby's Adventure NES  Kirby    
Kirby's Dream Land GB  Kirby    
Mega Man 2 NES  Mega Man    
Metroid NES  Metroid    
Pac-Man NES  Pac-Man    
Pilotwings SNES  Pilotwings    
Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream NES  Punch-Out!!    
Star Fox 64 N64  Star Fox    
Super Mario Bros. NES  Mario    
Super Mario Bros. 2 NES  Mario    
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels NES  Mario    
Super Mario Kart SNES  Mario    
Super Mario World SNES  Mario    
Super Metroid SNES  Metroid    
The Legend of Zelda NES  The Legend of Zelda    
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time N64  The Legend of Zelda    
Wrecking Crew NES  Wrecking Crew    
Yoshi NES  Yoshi    
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link NES  The Legend of Zelda    
Total 14 24

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

A total of 14 Masterpieces are featured in this game (12 outside of Japan). Masterpieces are sorted in-game by their Japanese release date, even in international versions of Brawl. Unlockable Masterpieces are highlighted in grey and Japanese exclusive Masterpieces are highlighted in red.

NES games show up as FC and SNES games show up as SFC in the Japanese version of Brawl, except for two cases noted below where a NES game shows up as FDS instead.

Icon Name Platform Duration Unlock Criteria Notes
  Donkey Kong NES 0:30 10 hours of play time Starts at 75m
  Ice Climber NES 0:40 Starts on first level, with Popo.
  Super Mario Bros. NES 1:00 Starts in World 1-1
  The Legend of Zelda NES 2:00 Immediately starts from the beginning of the game and skips the title screen.
  Kid Icarus NES 1:30 Starts on first section of Underworld stage.
  F-Zero SNES 0:40 Unlock Captain Falcon in The Subspace Emissary Starts at first Mute City race, with Blue Falcon.
  Super Mario World SNES 2:00 Play on the Yoshi's Island Melee stage three times Starts at Yoshi's Island 2 with Mario
  Super Mario Bros. 2 NES 1:30 Win five brawls with Peach. Starts at World 1-1 with Peach.
  Kirby's Adventure NES 2:00 Starts in Vegetable Valley.
  Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem SFC 3:00 Starts on Chapter 1 of Book 1.
  Super Metroid SNES 3:00 Includes saves for battles against Ridley.
  Mother 2 SFC 5:00 Starts at the opening cutscene.
  Star Fox 64 N64 3:00 Has access to all menu features including the Main Game, Training Mode, and VS. mode.
  The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time N64 5:00 Use Toon Link in ten brawls. Has save files for beginning of Young Link and Adult Link sections.

Scrapped Masterpieces

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Masterpieces return in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. New features include a timer displayed on the right side of the screen, the ability to buy a Masterpiece directly from the game without having to access the Nintendo eShop, the ability to pause the Masterpiece without using the HOME button, and the ability to stop the Masterpiece without the reset button, as the Wii U does not have a reset button. There is also less lag than there was in Brawl. A total of 24 Masterpieces are featured in this game (23 outside of Japan), 15 of which are new. Masterpieces are now sorted in-game by localized release date, so Japanese, North American, and European versions list them in a different order. For example, non-Japanese versions of the game list the release date of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels as 1993 (the year the SNES Super Mario All-Stars made the levels first accessible outside of Japan), and European versions of the game list the release date of EarthBound as 2013 (the year it became available on the eShop). In the list below, they are ordered by North American release date (except for Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light).

As above, NES games show up as FC and SNES games show up as SFC in the Japanese version of the game, except for the noted cases where a NES game shows up as FDS instead. Unlockable Masterpieces are highlighted in grey and Japan exclusive Masterpieces are highlighted in red.

Icon Name Platform Duration Unlock Criteria Notes
  Super Mario Bros. NES 3:00 Starts at title screen.
  Wrecking Crew NES 2:00 Starts at title screen.
  Balloon Fight NES 2:00 Starts at title screen.
  Metroid NES 3:00 Starts in Brinstar.
  Kid Icarus NES 3:00 Starts at the beginning of the first level.
  The Legend of Zelda NES 4:00 Starts on the spawn tile.
  Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream NES 3:00 Clear the "No Mere Sparring Match" event on normal difficulty or higher Starts at title screen.
  Donkey Kong NES 2:00 Begins in the 75m level.
  Zelda II: The Adventure of Link NES 4:00 Starts in Zelda's castle.
  Mega Man 2 NES 3:00 Begins in the first section of Wily Castle.
  Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light FC 4:00 Starts on Chapter 1: Marth Embarks.
  Dr. Mario GB 3:00 Clear 10-Man Smash alone with Dr. Mario without taking any damage Starts on the "1 Player Game" set-up screen.
  Super Mario World SNES 3:00 Starts on the world map of Yoshi's Island.
  F-Zero SNES 3:00 Starts in Mute City I, playing as the Blue Falcon.
  Pilotwings SNES 2:00 Starts in the Light Plane certification training level.
  Yoshi NES 3:00 Clear Solo Classic with Yoshi Starts at title screen.
  Kirby's Dream Land GB 3:00 Starts at title screen.
  Super Mario Kart SNES 3:00 Starts in Mario Circuit 1 in the Grand Prix, playing as Mario.
  Kirby's Adventure NES 3:00 Clear Solo Classic with Kirby on intensity 5.5 or higher Has two save files: one at the beginning of the game and the other at the final Dedede/Nightmare fight.
  Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels NES 3:00 Starts at title screen
  Pac-Man NES 2:00 Starts at title screen.
  Super Metroid SNES 4:00 Has two save files: one at the beginning of the game and one in Norfair
  EarthBound SNES 5:00 Get 1968 ft. or more in Home-Run Contest Starts at the opening cutscene
  Kirby Super Star SNES 3:00 Begins in The Great Cave Offensive

Scrapped Masterpieces

  • Unused text in Smash Bros. for Wii U implies the original Super Smash Bros. was supposed to appear as a Masterpiece. This would have made it the only N64 Masterpiece in Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Trivia

  • Despite Super Smash Bros. Brawl being the first game in the series to introduce third-party elements, third-party masterpieces were not included before Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
  • In non-Japanese versions of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is listed as a NES game (and not as an FDS, SNES, or VC game) even though it was never released on the original NES.
  • Pokémon is the only universe to be represented with a fighter in all Super Smash Bros. games to lack a masterpiece.
  • EarthBound is the only Masterpiece to be Japan exclusive in one game, but available internationally in the other.
    • It is also the only Masterpiece in Brawl to not be on the Wii Virtual Console in any region.

External links

Announcement of Masterpieces on the DOJO!!.

References