The On-Screen Appearance, also known as an intro or entrance, is a minor feature in both Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It was not present in Super Smash Bros. Melee. It includes a small animation unique for each character entering the battle field during the three second countdown before battle. It has no effect whatsoever on game play other than visually dramatic and comedic purposes. The one exception to this rule is Zero Suit Samus's entrance, which allows the players to hit their opponents with the fallen pieces of the power suit, and Olimar's entrance, which automatically gives you 3 pikmin. Each entrance usually relates to that character's universe, such as Mario entering in through a warp pipe. The animation will randomly have all characters enter at once, or one at a time with a closeup of each.
Super Smash Bros.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Captain Falcon | Jumps out of Blue Falcon |
| Donkey Kong | Breaks out of a DK barrel |
| Fox McCloud | Ejects out of an Arwing |
| Jigglypuff | Releases from a Poké Ball |
| Kirby | Falls from a Warp Star |
| Link | Descends from a column of light |
| Luigi | Hops out of a Warp Pipe |
| Mario | Hops out of a Warp Pipe |
| Ness | Crashes through PK Teleport |
| Pikachu | Releases from a Poké Ball |
| Samus Aran | Exits a Super Metroid save point |
| Yoshi | Breaks out of a Yoshi egg |
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Unique character based entrances were removed in Melee. Instead, all characters, with the exception of Giga Bowser, your character in rounds 2-13 of All-Star Mode, your allies, and your opponents in Event Matches appear as trophies that "come to life" at the start of the match. The three-second countdown is also quicker and more streamlined.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
The on-screen appearances in Brawl appear in VS matches only. Training Mode, All-Star Mode and Classic Mode use Melee's quicker appearance method, or the characters are simply already present when the match/mode starts.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Bowser | Emerges from a wall of flames. |
| Captain Falcon | The Blue Falcon spins to a stop, Captain Falcon jumps out, and then Blue Falcon speeds off. |
| Diddy Kong | Breaks out of a DK barrel and claps his hands. |
| Donkey Kong | Breaks out of a DK barrel, grunts and makes a strongman pose. |
| Falco | Ejects from an upside-down Arwing. |
| Fox | Ejects from an Arwing. |
| Ganondorf | Emerges from a portal of dark magic. It also appears to be similar to the purple color of Subspace. |
| Ice Climbers | The condor flies in with them hanging from his feet, then they jump off. |
| Ike | Warps onto the stage using warp magic and then slashes his sword. |
| Jigglypuff | Releases from a Poké Ball, then does a short, bouncy dance. |
| King Dedede | Is carried in on a throne resembling a sedan chair by four Waddle Dees, then jumps off, scattering them. |
| Kirby | Crashes in on a Warp Star. |
| Link | Appears in a whirlwind and unsheathes his sword. |
| Lucario | Teleports on stage, floats for a second, gathers aura in his hands then lands. This is unusual, because all other Pokémon come in on Poké Balls. |
| Lucas | Rides in on a Mr. Saturn coffee table. |
| Luigi | Jumps out of a Warp Pipe while shaking in fear, all the while saying "Let's-a Go!" in an uneasy voice. |
| Mario | Jumps out of a Warp Pipe while punching his right fist in the air while shouting "Let's-a go!" happily. His pose is similar to his non-Smash artwork. |
| Marth | Warps onto the stage using warp magic with a twirl and unsheathes his sword |
| Meta Knight | Teleports in wrapped in his cape. This is similar in appearance to his up taunt. |
| Mr. Game & Watch | Moves along a row of Game and Watch LCD frames until he reaches the foreground. |
| Ness | Teleports in using PK Teleport, then shakes off the soot he gathered after crashing. |
| Olimar | Olimar exits the Hocotate Ship and plucks three Pikmin from the ground. |
| Pikachu | Released from a Poké Ball and emits sparks from its cheeks. |
| Pit | Appears onstage from a beam of light from the heavens while looking upwards. |
| Peach | Appears spinning out of a shower of hearts, then winks and poses with her parasol saying "Hi!". |
| Pokémon Trainer | Throws out his first Pokémon, yelling "Go Squirtle!", "Go Ivysaur!" or "Go Charizard!" |
| R.O.B. | Assembles piece by piece as his parts drop from the sky. |
| Samus | Arrives from a Metroid series-style save point. |
| Sheik | Appears in magical sparks. |
| Snake | Appears kneeling like after making a freefall jump as his stealth camouflage breaks up. He sometimes says "Kept you waiting, huh?" as a reference to the freefall jump from MGS2. |
| Sonic | Jumps onto the stage (in ball form) from the foreground and gives the thumbs-up. |
| Toon Link | Appears in a stylized Wind Waker explosion and unsheathes his sword. |
| Wario | Rides in from the foreground, then falls off his bike. The bike then explodes and Wario dusts himself off. |
| Wolf | Ejects from a Wolfen. |
| Yoshi | Breaks out of a Yoshi egg. Even if you select a Yoshi with a colour other than green, he will still break out of a white egg with green spots. |
| Zelda | Teleports in using Farore's Wind with Din's Fire in her hand. |
| Zero Suit Samus | Stands up from a kneeling position as her Power Suit falls off. Power Suit Pieces are scattered around Samus, which the player can then throw at their opponents. |