Background character
Background characters are cameo characters that appear in a stage that correspond to their home universe (e.g. King Dedede appears in the Super Smash Bros. stage Dream Land). Note that background characters should not be confused with stage hazards, since background characters do not directly affect gameplay.
From Super Smash Bros.
Peach's Castle
A Lakitu Bro. can sometimes be seen flying in the background.
Kongo Jungle
Necky appears flying in the background.
Dream Land
King Dedede and Bronto Burt appear flying in the background; in rare instances, two King Dedede sprites may be visible at once. In SSB4 and Ultimate, when King Dedede is participating, he will not appear in the background.
King Dedede as a background character in Dream Land.
Bronto Burt in Super Smash Bros.
Mushroom Kingdom
Many classic enemies from Super Mario Bros. are seen in the background, including Koopa Troopas and Buzzy Beetles.
Koopa Troopa in Super Smash Bros.
A red Koopa Troopa in Ultimate.
Planet Zebes
Ridley and Waver sprites ripped directly from Super Metroid can be seen flying around.
Ridley in Super Smash Bros.
Saffron City
Several flying-type Pokémon, including but not limited to Pidgey, Fearow, Moltres (rarely), and Butterfree, fly across the skyline.
Yoshi's Island
Propeller Shy Guys appear in the background. A Goonie, in its Yoshi's Story design, occasionally flies in the background.
Propeller Shy Guy in Super Smash Bros.
From Super Smash Bros. Melee
Brinstar
A Chozo Statue on the main platform comes to life and briefly walks before settling down into its original position, much like the Torizo in Super Metroid; it does not move in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. There is a large brain-like organism in the far background that shakes constantly, though it is not based upon any specific creature from the Metroid series.
Fourside
Porky Minch indirectly appears in his helicopter.
Porky Minch's helicopter in Melee
Great Bay
After three minutes have passed, the Four Giants appear on the hillside to push the falling Moon back into the sky.
Jungle Japes
Cranky Kong is seen walking back and forth in his cottage, sometimes also rocking in his chair at some points. Flocks of Neckies can also be seen in the far background.
Yoshi's Island
A Fishin' Lakitu and a Banzai Bill fly around in the background.
Yoshi's Story
Pak E. Derm can be seen walking behind the scenery.
From Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Regardless of stage and game mode, using Pokémon Trainer will have the Trainer himself stand on a platform in the background. As with the previous games, there are stage-specific background characters as well.
Distant Planet
A Red Bulborb appears in the background; it is always sleeping in Brawl and for 3DS, and occasionally walks across the grassy terrain in Ultimate. A Cloaking Burrow-nit can also be seen in Brawl, and four more can be seen with it in Ultimate.
Frigate Orpheon
The Parasite Queen, the first boss of Metroid Prime, appears in the background in Frigate Orpheon.
Green Hill Zone
Tails, Knuckles, and Silver can be seen running up and down the shuttle loop.
Luigi's Mansion
Boos briefly appear from the rubble of the mansion when it collapses.
Boo in Wii U
New Pork City
The Porky Statue appears as an inanimate statue on the far right side of the city.
Pokémon Stadium 2
Electivire, Magnezone, Snorunt, Snover, Drifloon, Hoppip, Skarmory, Cubone, and Dugtrio all appear in the background of the various elemental transformations of the stage.
Shadow Moses Island
Occasionally, Metal Gear REX, Metal Gear RAY, or two Gekko appear in the background of the stage.
Smashville
Villagers from Animal Crossing appear in the background, depending on actual time of day and date, including K.K. Slider, Tom Nook, Blanca, Blathers, Booker, Brewster, (behind a counter, serving coffee) Celeste, Copper, Cornimer, Crazy Redd, Dr. Shrunk, Gracie (with her car), Gulliver (flying in his UFO), Harriet, Human boy (one of which bears a resemblance to Villager), Human girl Kapp'n (in the crowd and driving his taxi to the town hall) Kaitlin, Katie, Katrina, Lyle, K.K. Slider (on Saturdays at 8 PM, the same as Animal Crossing), Mabel, Pascal, Pete (flying in the background), Phyllis, Rover, Sable, Saharah, Joan, Timmy and Tommy, Tom Nook, Tortimer and Wendell.
Spear Pillar
Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit may occasionally appear on the stage at random.
- Uxie (U).jpg
Close up of Uxie in Ultimate
WarioWare, Inc.
Jimmy T. and various Fronks appear in the background during several microgames.
Yoshi's Island
For a third time, Shy Guys appear in the background, with Support Ghosts, Chain Chomps and Goonies also occasionally appearing.
From Super Smash Bros. 4
Super Mario Maker
Various Mario objects and enemies sometimes fly by in the background, including Bullet Bills; a Hammer Bro, a Koopa Troopa, a Lakitu flying by in clouds, and a Goomba riding a Koopa Clown Car (replaced with a Galoomba when in the Super Mario World style).
Umbra Clock Tower
The angels Affinity and Inspired only appear and fly around in the background of Purgatorio, and occasionally the enormous Fortitudo comes close to the playing field and lets out a powerful roar, shaking the screen.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS exclusive
Spirit Train
Toon Link, in his Spirit Tracks incarnation, appears as a background character in the Spirit Train stage, where he drives the train. If Link, Toon Link or Young Link are selected as fighters on this stage, then Alfonzo will drive the train instead.
Toon Link in 3DS. Note that this is a pre-release image, as Link cannot appear alongside Spirit Tracks Toon Link in the final game.
Find Mii
A Mii appears in the cage in the background, like the player's Mii in the original game Find Mii. In 3DS, this Mii is the Mii assigned to the player's console. In Ultimate, one of the Miis from the player's system is randomly selected instead.
Tomodachi Life
Miis appear in the background hanging out in the apartments.
Living Room
A few Nintendogs or a calico cat can appear as background characters in this stage.
- SSBU-Living Room 3.PNG
The calico cat in Ultimate
Tortimer Island
Kapp'n appears occasionally in his boat. Leila, Leilani, or Tortimer can also appear beside the shop depending on the variant.
Kapp'n in 3DS
Reset Bomb Forest
Prior to the Reset Bomb's landfall, Viridi appears for a moment. In 3DS, she is a still frame, but in Ultimate she has an animated model. She is one of few background characters with voice clips.
Viridi in 3DS
Prism Tower
Multiple Magnemite appear behind the tower. Zapdos, Emolga and Yveltal occasionally appear flying around the tower. Helioptile sometimes appears in the bushes on the ground.
Zapdos in 3DS
Unova Pokémon League
Occasionally, a Milotic, a Shaymin, or a Whimsicott will appear in place of Reshiram or Zekrom.
Mute City (Ω form)
Captain Falcon can be seen riding the Blue Falcon in the background.
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U exclusive
Garden of Hope
A Red Bulborb wanders around in the background; while it will not interrupt the battle proper, its presence stops Pikmin from reconstructing anything until it leaves.
Pilotwings
Miis appear on this stage, flying through the sky riding jetpacks. Unlike most Mii appearances, these Miis are pre-modeled and do not use the faces of Miis from the player's system.
Wii Fit Studio
The living Wii Balance Board that is seen upon starting up Wii Fit is seen in the gym. In Ultimate, silhouettes of various people exercising appear as well.
Wii Balance Board in Wii U
Mario Galaxy
Lubba, along with several other Lumas, appears on Starship Mario in the background.
Town and City
Gracie, Dr. Shrunk, Lloid, and Redd can be seen in the City variation, while Wendell, Pelly, and Sahara can be seen in the village variation.
Kalos Pokémon League
In the Dragonmark Chamber various Dragon-type Pokémon can appear, including Garchomp, Hydreigon, Axew, and Dragonite appear. In the Flood Chamber, Water types Piplup, Wailord, Blastoise, and Clawitzer appear. In the Ironworks Chamber, Steel types Klinklang, Steelix, Scizor, and Honedge appear. Finally, in the Blazing Chamber, Fire types Infernape, Tepig, Blaziken, and Pyroar appear.
The aforementioned Pokémon may not appear if Rayquaza, Manaphy, Registeel, or Ho-Oh appear in their respective chambers as stage hazards.
Klinklang, Steelix, Scizor, and Honedge in Wii U
Skyloft
Loftwings can be seen flying around.
Windy Hill Zone
Seven Animal friends (Flicky, Pecky, Picky, Pocky, Cucky, Ricky, and Rocky) from Sonic the Hedgehog can be seen in the background.
Pac-Land
Mother Fairy appears during the Fairy Land section, where she rewards the fighters with Flying Boots. When a round is completed, Ms. Pac-Man can be seen waving to the fighters as they return to Pac-Man's house. Buttercup appears at the start of every round and at Fairy Land with her family.
From Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
New Donk City Hall
The members of the New Donk City Band, including Pauline, appear on floating platforms, and on the ground in front of City Hall. Interacting with the band members causes them to begin performing "Jump Up, Super Star!". Captain Toad and the Odyssey can be seen in the background as well.
The musicians and Pauline in Ultimate
Great Plateau Tower
The Old Man from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild periodically floats onto the stage on his Paraglider.
Moray Towers
Judd and Li'l Judd appear on the stage, indicating who is in the lead by holding up a flag that corresponds to the player's color.
Dracula's Castle
Shadows of Dracula and Kid Dracula appear occasionally, illuminated by flashes of lightning. Other enemies make an appearance, each with an entrance based on how they appeared during their original boss battle in the Castlevania series: the Creature with Flea Man, Mummy, Medusa Head, Werewolf, Carmilla, and Death. With the exceptions of Dracula and Kid Dracula, all Dracula's Castle background characters received new original artwork for Spirits mode in Ultimate.
- Fleature.png
The Creature and Flea Man artwork from Ultimate
- Death Castlevania.png
Death artwork from Ultimate
- Carmilla2.png
Carmilla artwork from Ultimate
Mementos
Morgana, as the Morganamobile, will occasionally drive in the background of the stage, dropping off members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. These include Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki, Yusuke Kitagawa, Makoto Niijima, and Haru Okumura. They'll react to the battle whenever a fighter is KOed. At times, a platform will lower down onto stage as well, which has a cracked screen on it. This screen has a chance of showing either Morgana running or Teddie, referencing the loading screens of Persona 5 and Persona 4 respectively.
- Takamaki Onstage.png
Panther in Ultimate
Yggdrasil's Altar
As the stage begins to rise from the ground to the skies, Cetacea can be seen flying with it shortly. Once airborne, the stage will occasionally feature Slimes or Tockles appearing to watch the battle for a while before exiting via leaping off or vanishing respectively. Very rarely, a Liquid Metal Slime will appear in the background of the stage for a very short amount of time, before quickly fleeing and jumping off similarly to Slimes.
Spiral Mountain
Randomly-selected flocks of 1-5 Jinjos fly around the mountain in circular patterns. Bottles pops out of various molehills around the mountain or on its summit, scratching himself often as he did in Banjo-Kazooie, as well as waving at the fighters. Mumbo Jumbo magically appears in various locations (including the mountain's summit, the entrance to Gruntilda's Lair, or the cliffs in the background), and juggles his eyeballs much like he did in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. When the stage stops rotating and Gruntilda's Lair is visible, Gruntilda rides her living broomstick around the mountain while cackling. Tooty constantly runs along the path going through the Mountain's various landmarks (occasionally stopping to wave at the fighters above). Numerous Buzzbombs fly around as well. Unlike other characters, Tooty and Buzzbombs can be seen even while the camera is rotating. With the exception of Mumbo Jumbo, all Spiral Mountain background characters received new original artwork for their Ultimate Spirits.
- Bottles Spirit.png
Bottles artwork from Ultimate
Jinjos artwork from Ultimate
- Gruntilda Spirit.png
Gruntilda artwork from Ultimate
- Buzzbomb Spirit.png
Buzzbomb artwork from Ultimate
King of Fighters Stadium
A number of characters from various SNK franchises appear in the background watching the fight, akin to how selected fighters would "wait for their turn" in The King of Fighters '94-'98. It is random which characters will appear, but selecting specific music to play will sometimes guarantee the appearance of a character. For example, selecting the "Pasta - FATAL FURY 2" song will guarantee that Andy Bogard appears on the stage. A total of 20 different characters may appear in the stage, from several series such as Fatal Fury, The King of Fighters, Art of Fighting, Psycho Soldier and Ikari Warriors.
Garreg Mach Monastery
A number of characters from Fire Emblem: Three Houses appear in the background watching the fight.
- SSBU Rhea.jpg
Rhea in Ultimate
- SSBU Seteth.jpg
Seteth in Ultimate
- SSBU Flayn.jpg
Flayn in Ultimate
- Gatekeeperjpg.jpeg
Gatekeeper in Ultimate
Trivia
- So far, every non-Smash original new stage in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate features at least one background character.
- However, in Spring Stadium, the other ARMS fighters do not physically appear, but instead are portrayed on a jumbotron.
See also