List of regional version differences (SSB)

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There are many differences between all releases of Super Smash Bros., which are listed on this page. The North American version in particular received a large number of changes compared to the initial Japanese version, both in terms of aesthetics and gameplay. The regional differences are much more significant than in Super Smash Bros. Melee or Super Smash Bros. Brawl, often resulting in considerable differences in matchups between characters.

NTSC-J to NTSC-U changes[edit]

Names[edit]

"Dummy Corps" changed from "Fighting Polygon Team".
Vs. Match changed from "Battle Royal" to "Free-for-all".
The "New Comers" option in the Backup Clear section of the Option menu was changed to "Newcomers".
Some terms in the VS Mode player settings, Item Switch menu, and Training Mode are different:

Japan	International
MAN	HMN
COM	CPU
NOT	N/A
Slow	Speed
Nothing	None
Escape	Evade
HomerunBat	HomeRunBat
Harisen	Fan
LayGun	RayGun
BombTrooper	Bob-omb
MonsterBall	PokéBall
Near	Close-up

English translations of the original names of the stages can be seen on the stage select screen in the Japanese version, though some stages gain additional subtitles or have a different translation than those used in international versions:

Japanese Translation	Stage
IN THE SKY OF CASTLE PEACH	Peach's Castle
SECTOR Z ABORD A GREAT FOX	Sector Z
CLASSIC MUSHROOM KINGDOM	Mushroom Kingdom
CASTLE OF HYRULE	Hyrule Castle

As a programming oversight, the first line in Peach's Castle Japanese translation is not centered.

Menus[edit]

The "Characters" section of the Data menu mentioned the year and month a game was released in the "Works" section, like in future games, but this was removed; also, the last bracket after the name of a game was thinner in some biographies than it was in others, though they are always thin internationally.
- Additionally, Luigi's biography mentioned Super Mario USA in that section, but this was changed to Mario Kart 64.
- Mario's biography mentioned Super Mario 64, but this was also changed to Mario Kart 64.
The Nintendo 64 controller shown in the screen which appears when the game starts without any controller connected is slightly darker in the Japanese version. It also uses a pink tone in shaded areas, such as the circle around the D-Pad, that was changed to gray. A small pink circle on top of the A button was removed.
The Training Mode menu does not have spacing between the letters in the meaning of the options, and the options themselves are closer to their meanings; the red arrows between the option have much less spacing. Translations of both the highlighted meaning and selected option are shown below the EXIT option.

How to Play[edit]

In the Japanese version, the on-screen movements for the "How to Play" tutorial video are less refined than in international versions and are often performed slightly out of sync with the controls shown directly below. International versions made the gameplay sync up more smoothly with the instructions as a result.

Some of the differences in the "How to Play" tutorial video include:

Luigi does not fast-fall after jumping in the Japanese version.
Luigi fights back more in the Japanese version.
Luigi does not taunt after Mario grabs the ledge in the Japanese version.
The Fire Flower does not fall off in the Japanese version.
Luigi hits Mario by throwing the Fire Flower when they are showing off how to use items in the Japanese version.
Mario and Luigi do not face each other when they are showing off how to jump in the Japanese version.
Mario and Luigi dash sooner when they are showing off how to move in the Japanese version.
Luigi techs while Mario is showing off the power moves in the Japanese version.
Luigi does not duck before jumping in the Japanese version.

Break the Targets![edit]

At the very top of Link's Break the Targets stage, the platform that Link can stand on with the 3 targets above was placed to be lower in the NTSC release, possibly due to Link's jump height and his up-special height being changed.

Character sizes[edit]

Mario and Luigi were made a little bigger in the international versions, though Metal Mario remained the same height.
Kirby is a little smaller in the international versions.

1P Game[edit]

In the Japanese version for Stage 1, on any difficulty settings except for Hard, Link would stand and not attack for a few seconds (excluding floor attacks) if his damage was below 21%. This was changed so that he moves and attacks immediately after the match has started.
The Japanese version only shows the opening movie after completing the mode while all other versions have congratulations screens.

Point yield[edit]

The point yield for most of the bonuses were altered between the Japanese and international versions.

Bonus	Japanese	International
Normal bonuses
(Time remaining bonus [excludes bonus stages])	(100 per second)	(50 per second)
Booby Trap	8,000	12,000
Bumper Clear	3,000	11,000
Comet Mystic	7,000	10,000
Hawk	10,000	18,000
Heartthrob	8,000	17,000
Heavy Damage	10,000	28,000
Item Strike	10,000	20,000
Item Throw	10,000	16,000
Jackpot	5,000	3,330
Judo Warrior	4,000	5,000
Last Second	10,000	8,000
Lucky 3	8,000	9,990
Mew Catch	8,000	15,000
Mystic	6,000	7,000
No Damage	10,000	15,000
No Item	5,000	1,000
No Miss	1,500	5,000
Pacifist	30,000	60,000
Pokémon Finish	8,000	11,000
Shield Breaker	5,000	8,000
Shooter	5,000	12,000
Smash Mania	3,000	3,500
Smash-less	3,000	5,000
Speedster	8,000	10,000
Star Clear	8,000	12,000
Star Finish	2,000	10,000
Trickster	8,000	11,000
Vegetarian	5,000	9,000
Stage-specific bonuses
Yoshi Rainbow	15,000	50,000
ARWING Clear	3,000	4,000
Bros. Calamity	12,000	25,000
Good Friend	5,000	8,000
True Friend	30,000	25,000
DK Defender	7,000	10,000
Kirby Ranks	12,000	25,000
Acid Clear	1,000	1,500
No Damage	10,000	15,000
Perfect	10,000	30,000
Completion bonuses
No Damage Clear	300,000	400,000
No Miss Clear	40,000	70,000
Speed Demon	60,000	80,000
Speed King	20,000	40,000
Very Easy Clear	40,000	70,000
Easy Clear	80,000	140,000
Normal Clear	120,000	210,000
Hard Clear	160,000	280,000
Very Hard Clear	200,000	350,000

Gameplay[edit]

Universal mechanics[edit]

The distance traveled by Smash DI is 40% longer, allowing the defender to get out of combos much easier and making it so multi-hitting attacks are less reliable.
All attacks have 1 extra frame of hitlag. The exact formula was changed from ⌊⌊⌊d/3 + 4⌋ * e⌋ * c⌋ to ⌊⌊⌊d/3 + 5⌋ * e⌋ * c⌋
The shieldstun formula has changed from d * 1.75 + 3 (rounded up) to d * 1.62 + 4 (rounded down). This essentially means that most attacks have slightly reduced shieldstun unless they deal 1%, 2%, 4% or 5%.
The momentum slide has been removed for all characters.

Aesthetics[edit]

Beam Sword given an altered sound to sound less like a lightsaber, presumably to prevent copyright infringement.
Title screen changed from 'Dairantou Smash Brothers' to "Super Smash Bros." and has a brighter logo.
The punch and kick sound effects are completely different. The Japanese version has more violent hitting sounds, while the US/PAL versions have Bowling ball-like hitting sounds. Other hit sounds effects such as the "Slash" and Ping sound effects remain unchanged, although some moves had their hit sound effects changed.
The narrator has a few re-recorded lines in the Western version; samples such as "Fox", "Board The Platforms", and "Break the Targets" are spoken bolder and clearer. The re-recorded samples have a slightly different echo effect than the Japanese originals.
All of the crowd cheers were re-recorded to sound American and reflect the characters' American names.
Stage Select screen has a rough English translation for stage names placed over the series icon in the Japanese version, this was removed in the US version.
The sign on the side of the Silph Co. headquarters building in Saffron City reads "Silph" in the US version as opposed to the Japanese version's "Silf"; in addition, the banner on the background building to the left, which contained the typo "Got a Catch 'em All!", was corrected to "Gotta Catch 'em All!". In the iQue version, the banner on the background building was changed to "抓，抓，抓！！！" (lit. Catch, Catch, Catch!!!)

Captain Falcon[edit]

Captain Falcon runs faster (70 → 75).
Captain Falcon keeps less horizontal momentum from a grounded jump (0.35 → 0.31).
Captain Falcon has reduced jump power (grounded: 25 → 24; midair: 0.95 → 0.9).
Captain Falcon's falling speed was increased (60 → 66), improving his endurance but making him more susceptible to combos.
Falcon Dive covers less distance.

Donkey Kong[edit]

Donkey Kong is slightly heavier (0.84 → 0.83). In later Smash games' terms, this would be 138 → 141
Clean back aerial has increased base knockback (0 → 10).
Down aerial deals more knockback (10 (base), 80 (scaling) → 15/90).
Opponents require six less button inputs to escape from forward throw.
Spinning Kong has more vertical lift (676.32 → 809.72).

Fox[edit]

Down tilt deals 2% more damage (10% → 12%) and has increased base knockback (0 → 25).
Down smash has a horizontal knockback angle instead of a vertical knockback angle (70° → 25°), making it worse for combos but better at edge guarding.
Down smash deals less knockback (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → 35/80).
Blaster deals more damage (5% → 6%).
Blaster's angle has been altered (361° → 10°).
Blaster has decreased set knockback (5 → 1).
Fire Fox deals 3% more damage (13% → 16%) and has increased knockback (65 (base), 50 (scaling) → 60/60).
Fire Fox now launches opponents vertically (361° → 80°).
Fire Fox no longer has invincibility frames.
Reflector has an increased reflection multiplier (1.5x → 1.8x).

Jigglypuff[edit]

Jigglypuff has all new voice clips due to its name change from "Purin" to "Jigglypuff".
Jigglypuff has a different blinking pattern while taunting.
Taunt has less ending lag (FAF 67 → 61).
Down smash has more range on both sides as its foot hitboxes have been repositioned to cover the space past Jigglypuff's feet rather than its legs (x offset: 100 → 200).
Rest deals more damage (14% → 20%) and knockback (20 (base), 140 (scaling) → 60/120), significantly improving its KO potential.
Rest now makes the ping sound effect when it connects rather than a heavy kick sound.

Kirby[edit]

Kirby is about 3% smaller (0.94 → 0.91) This gives his attacks less range but also makes him harder to hit (granted he has not performed the bigger Kirby glitch).
Rolls are shorter (without the bigger Kirby glitch) due to Kirby's smaller size.
Neutral attack's second hit now uses a weak punch sound instead of a medium punch sound.
Neutral attack's loop hits launch opponents at a slightly lower angle (70° → 65°).
Neutral attack's loop hits have smaller hitboxes (90u → 50u) and the far hitbox has been moved closer to Kirby (x offset: 200 → 165).
Up and down smash both deal 2% less damage (18% (up)/20% (down) → 16%/18%) and have decreased base knockback (24 (up)/40 (down) → 20/30).
Up aerial deals less damage on the clean and mid hits (12% (clean)/9% (mid) → 10%/8%).
Up aerial has a smaller hitbox (150u → 105u).
Forward throw sends at a higher, more diagonal angle (45° → 70°), granting it vertical KO ability but hindering its horizontal KO potential and hindering its ability to set up edgeguards.
Forward throw has increased base knockback (80 → 100).
Forward throw has gained a collateral hit when Kirby lands.
Kirby releases opponents from forward throw later (frame 56 → 58), decreasing its ending lag.
Final Cutter covers less distance when used on the ground (without the bigger Kirby glitch) due to Kirby's smaller size.
Stone deals 2% less damage (22% → 20%) and has decreased knockback scaling (78 → 70).

Link[edit]

Link walks slightly slower (0.4 → 0.37).
Link's gravity is higher (3.2 → 3.4). While this does improve his vertical endurance and his ability to land, it also makes him more susceptible to combos and more notably, it reduces the height of his jumps and his Spin Attack, hindering his recovery.
Link's shield size is slightly larger (260 → 280).
Up tilt deals 5% less damage (15% → 10%), hindering its KO potential and significantly reducing its shieldstun, making it much less safe when shielded. It also sends opponents at a more horizontal angle (90° → 79°), removing its ability to combo into itself at low percents for easy combos.
- However, this improves its combo potential at higher percents.
Up tilt has smaller hitboxes (120u/90u → 100u/80u) and the far hitbox has been moved closer to Link (z offset: 260 → 240).
Up smash's first two hits deal 1% damage (8% (hit 1)/4% (hit 2) → 7%/3%) making it deal 2% less damage overall (24% → 22%).
Down aerial deals 2% less damage (18% → 16%), and has lower base knockback (30 → 25), hindering its KO potential and reducing its shieldstun.
Down aerial's tip has a smaller hitbox (180u → 150u).
Spin Attack grants less height due to Link's higher gravity.
Bombs deal less damage when they explode (8% → 5%).
Bombs deal more damage when thrown (4% → 5%).
Bombs deal more knockback when they explode, improving their combo potential.

Luigi[edit]

Luigi is bigger (1.0x → 1.12x). This improves his range but makes him easier to hit.
Luigi's head hurtbox dimensions are marginally smaller ({155,200,150} → {155,160,150}).
Air Speed is reduced (26.0 → 22.5).
Rolls travel farther due to Luigi's larger size.
Forward Throw does more damage (12% → 16%), making it much stronger despite its reduced base knockback (80 → 70).
Back Throw does less damage (16% → 12%), hindering its KO potential despite its increased base knockback (70 → 80).
Fireballs deal less knockback (22 (base), 50 (scaling) → 10/25) and have a shorter duration (frames 16-104 → 16-94).
Fire Jump Punch's grounded sweetspot deals less knockback (100 (base), 78 (scaling) → 90/80), hindering its KO potential despite its altered angle (80° → 90°).
Aerial Fire Jump Punch's sweetspot deals more damage (24% → 25%) and has more knockback scaling (78 → 80).
Aerial Fire Jump Punch's sourspot deals less damage (2% → 1%).
Super Jump Punch covers more distance due to Luigi's larger size.

Mario[edit]

Mario is bigger (1.0x → 1.12x). This improves his range but makes him easier to hit.
Mario's head hurtbox dimensions are marginally smaller ({148,160,138} → {148,140,138}).
Rolls travel farther.
Fireballs deal more damage (6% → 7%).
Fireballs travel a longer distance.
Fireballs deal less knockback (22 (base), 50 (scaling) → 10/25).
Super Jump Punch covers more distance.

Ness[edit]

Up tilt deals less damage (8% → 7%) and has increased base knockback (70 → 80), hindering its combo potential when stale.
Up tilt's angle has been altered (96° → 100°) improving its combo potential.
Forward smash deals less damage (20% → 18%) and has decreased knockback scaling (67 → 65).
Forward smash has an increased reflection multiplier (1.5x → 1.8x).
Up smash's clean hit deals less damage (19% → 17%) and sends opponents at a less favorable angle (105° → 110°) hindering its KO potential despite its increased base knockback (0 → 20).
- However, these changes improve its combo potential.
Mid and late up smash deal less damage (17% (mid)/14% (late) → 15%/13%) with the mid hit also sending opponents at a less favorable angle (90° → 78°).
Down smash deals less damage (21% → 19%).
Up aerial deals 2% less damage (17% → 15%) and has decreased knockback scaling (120 → 110), hindering its KO and shield pressuring potential.
- However, these changes improve its combo potential.
Up aerial has a smaller hitbox (190u → 175u).
PK Fire deals more damage (2% (fire & pillar) → 7% (fire), 3% (pillar), 16% → 25% (total)).
PK Fire travels a shorter distance.
PK Thunder 2 deals less damage (35% → 30%) and knockback (50 (base), 100 (scaling) → 40/84).
PK Thunder 2 has a smaller hitbox (200u → 150u).
PK Thunder 2 has a shorter duration (frames 1-28 → 1-18), less invincibility (frames 1-17 → 1-9), and more landing lag (30 frames → 42).

Pikachu[edit]

Neutral attack has decreased base knockback (8 → 4).
Up angled forward tilt deals more damage (9% → 11%).
Down angled forward tilt deals less damage (10% → 9%).
Dash attack has higher base knockback (20 → 40).
Forward smash's late hit's hitboxes have been repositioned and it has gained a third hitbox which reaches further out, increasing its range.
Clean Thunder Jolt deals more damage (8% → 10%).
Thunder Jolt has a longer duration (98/99 frames → 118/119).
Thunder Jolt deals less knockback (30 (base), 50 (scaling) → 50/30 (clean), 20/50 → 10/20 (late)).

Samus[edit]

The second hit of neutral attack now has a medium punch sound instead of a heavy punch.
Up smash has increased base knockback (10 → 22).
Up smash's near hitbox is larger (185u → 200u), allowing it to hit grounded opponents more reliably.
Up smash's hitboxes have a longer duration, except for the last hitbox (2 frames → 3).
- Altogether, these changes make up smash connect more reliably, especially at lower percents.
Grounded Screw Attack has fewer invincibility frames on startup (frames 1-11 → 1-5 frames).
Screw Attack's loop hits now have a weak kick sound instead of a medium kick.

Yoshi[edit]

Yoshi's double-jump has increased armor (110 → 140).
Yoshi's double-jump has increased horizontal velocity (0.35 → 0.4).
Yoshi has increased air speed (40 → 44).
Yoshi has increased falling speed (55 → 58).
Yoshi has increased gravity (2.7 → 2.8).
Up tilt and down tilt now have a medium kick sound rather than a heavy kick.
Down smash deals 1% more damage (13% → 14%) and launches opponents at a lower angle (35° → 30°), improving its KO and edgeguarding potential.

NTSC-U to PAL (AUS) changes[edit]