Series symbol
- This article lists the logos of every universe that appears in the Smash series. For information about the Smash series logo specifically, see Super Smash Bros. logo.
A series symbol is a distinctive iconography that represents another game universe, assigned to playable characters and stages (and, in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, some spirits). For characters, it is displayed next to a character's damage meter (the same color as the character), as well as on the Victory Screen. For stages, it's visible on the Stage Selection screen. To an extent, these symbols are also applicable for items (as seen on the Smash Bros. DOJO!! pages), trophies (as seen on Super Smash Bros. 4 trophy collections) and music (as seen in the sound tests from Brawl onward), however, these generally require a character or stage representative in order to have a symbol assigned; otherwise, there is no symbol at all or the Smash Bros. logo or ellipsis symbol is assigned by default. This is a list of all the symbols, along with a short explanation of what they are and where they come from within their game universes, and a picture.
List of series symbols
Universe | Image | Description | Explanation | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Animal Crossing | A leaf with a hole in it | Represents a piece of furniture in the player's inventory. It is also the logo of Tom Nook's shop, and appears as part of the logo throughout the Animal Crossing series. | ||
Banjo-Kazooie | A Jiggy | Jiggies—golden jigsaw pieces—are key items in the Banjo-Kazooie series, granting access to additional levels when collected. | ||
Bayonetta | A moon with a dot in the center | The internal design of an Umbran Watch. Also used as part of the logo of Bayonetta 2. | ||
Castlevania | A castle with a bat in the upper left corner | Represents Dracula's Castle, a central location within Castlevania. Its appearance is based on its design in Symphony of the Night, while the bat is taken from the original box art for Castlevania. | ||
Donkey Kong | The letters "DK" | The initials on Donkey Kong's red tie. Also found on DK Barrels. Used as Donkey Kong's symbol in all Mario spin-offs. | ||
Dragon Quest | Erdrick's symbol | This sigil, which resembles a bird, is usually seen on important equipment owned by Erdrick, which can be found in the first three Dragon Quest games. This symbol most closely resembles the one found on the Mark of Erdrick, a recurring item that was also found in the first three Dragon Quest games. | ||
Duck Hunt | A duck | This symbol resembles one of the ducks' flying sprites in Duck Hunt. It is also very similar to the artwork of one of the ducks on the Japanese and European box arts for Duck Hunt. | ||
EarthBound | Earth | The Mother games' Japanese logos, as well as the logo for the English EarthBound Beginnings, all substitute this symbol for the letter "O". Based on the original, non-rotated version of "The Blue Marble", a famous photo of Earth from space.[1] A hidden "M" can be seen in the symbol, possibly representing the series' Japanese name of "Mother". | ||
Final Fantasy | The letters "FF" | The series' initials, rendered in the font used for the franchise's iconic logo. Taken directly from the Finest Fantasy for Advance logo for the Game Boy Advance exclusive Final Fantasy games. This could also be a reference to how the series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, back when creating the series, initially wanted the then-nameless first game to be abbreviated as "FF" (エフエフ, Efu Efu) before finally choosing Final Fantasy.[2] | ||
Fire Emblem | Falchion | The legendary sword wielded by Marth in the first, third, eleventh and twelfth Fire Emblem games. Uses the weapon's Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem design. | ||
F-Zero | A falcon | The golden crest on Captain Falcon's helmet. | ||
Game & Watch | A Game & Watch character ringing a bell | Represents the alarm feature; this bell was featured on many Game & Watch boxes. The Melee design features two bells to represent the Game & Watch's LCD screen. The overall design of the Mr. Game & Watch-esque character on the symbol is very reminiscent to the alarm cell from the Game & Watch unit Helmet. | ||
Ice Climber | An eggplant | The first of the vegetables the Ice Climbers sought to collect. | ||
Kid Icarus | Palutena's bow | Pit's main weapon. Is also the icon of Bow-type weapons in Kid Icarus: Uprising. | ||
Kirby | A five-pointed star | Stars are the main design motif of the Kirby series, as reflected in its Japanese name, Kirby of the Stars. This emblem could represent Warp Stars, which transport Kirby between areas; Popstar, Kirby's similarly-shaped home planet; or simply the series' use of stars in general. | ||
Mario | A Super Mushroom | A common power-up in the Mushroom Kingdom which usually makes Mario and Luigi grow in size. | ||
Mega Man | A cog | In Japan, cogs are commonly used to represent the Mega Man series.[3] Outside of Japan, cog imagery became prevalent in Mega Man 11. | ||
Metal Gear | Brawl: FOX Unit's insignia Ultimate: Exclamation mark |
Brawl: The insignia of the covert operations group FOX from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater; also the former Kojima Productions logo. Ultimate: Exclamation marks are used in the Metal Gear series to indicate when a character has spotted Snake or noticed something. | ||
Metroid | Pre-Brawl: Screw Attack Post-Brawl: Stylized, Screw Attack-esque "S" symbol |
Pre-Brawl: An item that allows Samus to use the Screw Attack. Usually obtained after defeating Ridley in the 2D Metroid games. Post-Brawl: An S-shaped icon that closely resembles the Screw Attack is used prominently in the Metroid games, as seen in the ending of Super Metroid, the logos of Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime, and as suit upgrades in the Metroid Prime sub-series. | ||
Pac-Man | Pac-Man in his classic "wedge" shape | Based on Pac-Man's original sprite in Pac-Man, his first and most famous appearance. | ||
Persona | Stylized mask and hat | The logo of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts from Persona 5. | ||
Pikmin | A Pikmin's flower (known as Bacopa Cabana) | Fully grown Pikmin have flowers on their stems; the flower also appears on the Onions, acting as their main propeller. | ||
Pokémon | A Poké Ball | An item used to catch and store Pokémon, commonly used as a symbol even in its home universe. The symbol from Brawl onwards also represents the white colouration of the bottom half of the Poké Ball. | ||
Punch-Out!! | A boxing glove | Punch-Out!! is a series of boxing games. This particular design appears on the title screen and victory screens of all versions of the NES Punch-Out!!. | ||
R.O.B. | A gyro | One of the real-world accessories used by R.O.B. for the game Gyromite. Also incorporates the Subspace Army symbol. | ||
Sonic | Sonic's head, in profile | Often used to represent Sonic, and used in Sonic Team's logo, albeit with eyes. A similar symbol appeared inside the "O" of "Heroes" in the Sonic Heroes logo. | ||
Splatoon | An Inkling in squid form | The squid icon appears often throughout the Splatoon games, in places such as gear ability icons and on the loading screens. | ||
Star Fox | A winged fox | This logo adorns each of Team Star Fox's various vehicles, such as the Great Fox, Arwings, and the Landmaster. | ||
Street Fighter | The letters "SF" | The appearance of the letters as they appear in the Street Fighter II logo. | ||
Super Smash Bros. | An asymmetrical cross in a circle | This logo has represented the series since the first Super Smash Bros. game for the Nintendo 64. | ||
The Legend of Zelda | The Triforce | A powerful relic of Hyrule; the driving force of the series. | ||
Wario | A "W" for "Wario" | Wario has this printed on his hat and gloves. Used as Wario's symbol in all Mario spin-offs. | ||
Wii Fit | A silhouette of the Dancer yoga pose | One of the poses featured on the Wii Fit box art, and the software icon for Wii Fit U. It is also Wii Fit Trainer's official artwork pose in Smash 4. | ||
Xenoblade | The Monado | A weapon that Shulk wields in Xenoblade Chronicles. It is cropped exactly like in the loading screen of said game. | ||
Yoshi | Yoshi's Egg | Yoshis can be found in eggs and utilize eggs for several signature techniques. Used as Yoshi's symbol in all Mario spin-offs. | ||
Balloon Fight | A pair of balloons | In Balloon Fight, the player starts off each life with 2 balloons, with the sprite being designed to portray one balloon being behind the other, as in the symbol. | ||
Electroplankton | A Nanocarp | Nanocarp, one of the various Electroplanktons; featured on the game's box art. | ||
StreetPass Mii Plaza | The Regal Crown | The crown worn by the player's Mii, who takes on the role of a King or Queen in both of the Find Mii games. | ||
Miiverse | The Miiverse logo | Shows three people, representing the community of players on Miiverse. Also used to represent the Miiverse Administration. | ||
Nintendo DS | The "dual screen" logo | Represents the upper and lower screens of the Nintendo DS which were used in part of its logo. Prominently featured on the casing for the DS Lite. | ||
Nintendogs | A paw print | Represents a dog's paw print. A dog paw print also features as part of the Nintendogs logo, albeit with a different design. | ||
Pilotwings | An airplane | The Pilotwings series focuses on piloting aircraft; this symbol's design is based on the plane in the logo of Pilotwings Resort. | ||
Tomodachi | A house | Representative of the residential setting of the series, and the homes used for players' Miis. | ||
Wii Sports | A palm tree next to a volcano | A stylized representation of Wuhu Island, the setting of Wii Sports Resort, with the volcano representing Maka Wuhu. | ||
Wrecking Crew | A steel drum | Steel drums can be used in Wrecking Crew to trap enemies. | ||
Mii | The word "Mii" | The logo used for Miis since their introduction on the Wii. This symbol is unique in that it is not used for any stages, modes, or playable characters, instead being reserved only for Spirits from games with Miis as their main playable characters (excluding ones that already have their own symbol through stages). | ||
Other | The ellipsis "…" | This symbol is used in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's music section for without any series symbol and in the party selection screen for spirits without any series symbol (except when accessed via team setup). |
The following symbols do not represent any game series, but are used for certain stages or modes.
Mode | Image | Description | Explanation | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Custom stages | SSB4: A circle, a square and a triangle Ultimate: A stage with a pencil going through it |
These symbols are used in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Ultimate to represent stages created with the Stage Builder when they are about to be chosen for a match. Despite Stage Builder being present in Brawl, there was no symbol associated with it until for Wii U. | ||
Metal Mario | A metallic Super Mushroom | The Mario symbol from Smash 64 and Melee, but edited to look metallic. Used only in Super Smash Bros. | ||
Special Stages | A circle cut into eighths and slightly spead apart | This symbol is used in Melee as the series of Battlefield. One could presume it represents "Special Stages", as this is given as the title of the stage, but Final Destination (which is also titled Special Stages) is given the Super Smash Bros. symbol instead. The meaning and intent of this symbol is therefore unknown. | ||
Subspace | A hollow circle with a bar on the inner left | Featured prominently on many Subspace Army creatures and objects within Brawl’s The Subspace Emissary. Also used to represent the mode as a whole. Resembles a Mite's head. | ||
World of Light | Four curved wings around a circular core | A stylized render of Galeem, the main antagonist of Ultimate’s World of Light. Also used to represent the mode as a whole. |
Trivia
- In Brawl, the Fire Emblem series symbol as used on the results screen has a somewhat different design than in all of its other appearances (in both the rest of Brawl and in all other Smash games). The Brawl results screen variant has a thinner blade, an extended crossguard, an asymmetrical hilt, a longer handle, and a flat-sided pommel.
- In Smash 4, the Wii Fit Trainer herself has a ponytail hairstyle, but the series symbol has her hair in a bun. A similar case occurs with her Final Smash.
- Super Smash Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Kirby, and F-Zero are the only universes to use their exact same symbols in all Smash Bros. games.
- Metal Gear and Stage Builder are the only universes to have their series symbols entirely changed in one game after debut rather than edited.
- The original Metal Gear symbol in Brawl was based on the emblem of Metal Gear's FOX Unit, which is also the former logo for Kojima Productions, used while the studio was a part of Konami. The symbol's change to an exclamation point in Ultimate was likely made due to the dissolution of Kojima Productions from Konami and its reestablishment as an independent studio in 2015, a move itself precipitated by Hideo Kojima's departure from Konami amidst rumors of disagreements with the company's management.
- In Ultimate, the spirits from universes with only stages don't use their stage symbols; the Wrecking Crew spirits are listed as Mario series spirits, while the rest are listed as Mii series spirits (StreetPass Mii Plaza, Pilotwings) or "other" series spirits (Balloon Fight, Electroplankton, Nintendogs).