Erase Data

Erase Data, or Backup Clear in Super Smash Bros., is an option appearing in the first three installments of the Super Smash Bros.. 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 has an "Erase Data" menu, making it impossible to selectively erase specific data. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, players can erase all data at once by holding A, B, X, and Y on startup and selecting "Yes" three times when prompted (just like in Brawl for "Erase All"). In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the only way to erase data is to delete the entirety of the game's data file in "Data Management" under the Wii U system'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.

• SSBB Erase Data.JPG

  The Erase Data menu in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Trivia

• Brawl is the only game where the "Erase Data" menu does not offer the "Erase Hidden Characters" and "Erase Hidden Stages" options. Due to the way unlockable characters appear in Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary, it is not possible to reset the unlockable characters and unlockable stages.
• If the player chooses to erase all data in Brawl, 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. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS similarly presents three prompts (like in Brawl for "Erase All"), but only has the siren and sped-up siren on the second and third prompts.