Sound Test

The "Sounds" menu in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Sound Test (titled Sounds in Smash 4 and Ultimate) is an option that appears in the Super Smash Bros. games. It allows players to listen to most of the music, sound effects, and character voices from each game. Sound Test is typically accessed through the Data menu, succeeded by Vault in later games. If the player leaves the Sound Test while a song is playing and goes back through the menus, the song will still play until it is overridden by another piece of music, or until the player enters the character select screen.

Super Smash Bros.

The Sound Test is unlocked by completing Break the Targets and Board the Platforms with all 12 characters, at which point it can be accessed through Data Mode. The sounds are split into 3 sections: MUSIC, SOUND, and VOICE. Numbers are the only identifier in each section; there are no categories or extra details. The voice section groups related voices together in the following order: Mario (1-11), Donkey Kong (12-21), Link (22-32), Yoshi (33-46), Kirby (47-66), Fox (67-79), Pikachu (80-92), Luigi (93-104), Captain Falcon (105-122), Ness (123-136), Jigglypuff (137-151), Master Hand (152-153), Announcer (154-205), Poké Ball Pokémon (206-224), Crowd cheers (225-237), Crowd reactions (238-244).

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Sound Test is unlocked once the player has unlocked all playable stages, and can then be accessed through Data Mode. Unlocking the Sound Test also grants players the Marin trophy.

All tracks now have their name displayed, and are now organized by series and fighter, making them much easier to find than SSB. Generic, menu, and stage sounds each have a singular category, as do enemies and Poké Ball Pokémon. Sheik is grouped under Zelda's category, while Kirby's copy ability voice clips are unlocked after unlocking every fighter. Apart from non-looping songs (e.g. Opening and Ending), the most-recently listened to song from the Sound Test will play in the Trophy Gallery.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Sound Test is available from the start in Brawl, though individual songs and character voices are hidden until their respective source character, stage, or CD is unlocked. It can be accessed through either Data or Option Mode. Brawl now lists the source game, arrangement credits, and copyright info of each song, also indicating "original" tracks that were sourced from another game.

Super Smash Bros. 4

Sound Test, now simply titled Sounds, is again unlocked from the start, with some tracks hidden until unlocked. It is located in the Vault, and can also be accessed via the sound settings in Options. Sound effects and victory themes are no longer accessible as of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, only music and voices.

Music tracks are indicated by a blue background, while voice clips are in green. The tracks are listed in a playlist style, similar to an iPod interface. Songs no longer loop indefinitely, and instead fade out after a certain amount of time. The 3DS version has an exclusive feature allowing players to use their 3DS as a music player, even in sleep mode. This option requires headphones to be inserted, and the L and R buttons can be used to skip between tracks.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is mostly similar, but replaces the sleep mode feature with a dedicated "favorite" section. The player can highlight tracks with a star, where they will be added to their favorites and can be easily found without searching.

Unique to the Japanese version is that voice sections credit each character's voice actor on the info screen, to the point of specifying some actors who were excluded from the actual game credits. Alternate costume characters, such as the Koopalings and female Robin, feature separate sections for their voices. Hovering over a music track or voice clip will display a character silhouette, either representing that song's respective universe, or the voice's source character; Dr. Mario tracks, Mt. Dedede, and Tomorrow's Passion are set to exclusively display Dr. Mario, Dedede, and Little Mac.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Sounds returns in Ultimate. Like Brawl and Smash 4 before it, the option is available from the start, with hidden tracks that need to be unlocked. CDs are removed and replaced with the new method of buying tracks directly from the Shop. The Japanese version retains character voice credits as in 4.

Songs are now organized by universe; all major universes except for Duck Hunt and Ice Climber have dedicated categories, with all other universes sharing the "other" category. There is also an "all" category that contains every song from every universe. The ability to play music while the screen is turned off returns from the Nintendo 3DS version, again requiring headphones. The favorite section has been updated into the playlist section; like in the Wii U version, players can star music tracks, with the added option of making and storing multiple unique playlists at the same time.

A peculiarity specific to Ultimate is that, in the Japanese version, region-specific songs from English games use the localized English title rather than the original Japanese one. For example, the source game of the English version of Ashley's Song is listed as WarioWare: Touched!, rather than さわる メイド イン ワリオ. The same principle mostly does not apply in reverse in the English version of the game, with the exception of the source game of Lost in Thoughts All Alone (JP) being listed as Fire Emblem: if instead of Fire Emblem Fates. As a result of this technicality, both remixed versions of that same track are listed as originating in Fire Emblem: if even in English.

The voice section in the Japanese version of Ultimate gives credits to voice actors; in this case, the announcer gives credit to Xander Mobus.

Version 8.0.0 fixed an oversight in the sound test where several characters' character-specific victory quotes were not previously listed. Byleth's sound test tags also now show the respective gender, much like the rest of characters with selectable genders and in the Spirit List.

Unused sounds

There are occasions where the Sound Test has sound clips that were never used in-game, sometimes indicating cut content:

• In Super Smash Bros., voice clips of the announcer saying "Bonus Stage", "Draw Game", "Are you ready?" and "Final Stage" go unused; in the Japanese version, there is also an unused announcer clip for "Jigglypuff" (rather than "Purin", its Japanese name).
• In Melee, there are voice clips of the announcer saying "Master Hand", "Giga Bowser/Giga Koopa", and "Fighting Wire Frames"; these were most likely meant for Classic Mode or a similar purpose. Other unused voice clips include "(Character) wins", as in the previous game, and "How to Play". Finally, a clip of the announcer saying "and" goes unused, but later appeared beginning with Brawl's Classic Mode.
  • Crazy Hand's sounds are located within the Master Hand section, all except the sound heard when the player KOs him.
  • Playable characters have other unused sounds; Pichu and Pikachu, for instance, have unused sounds where they yell "PI-CHU!" and "PI-KA!" respectively, and Ganondorf has a "Hoo-yah!" yell that is also unused.
  • Some clone characters have sounds in their sound test sections that are used only by their base counterparts. For example, Luigi and Dr. Mario's sound test sections include the Mario power-up/power-down sound effects heard when Mario performs his taunt, and Ganondorf's sound test section includes the bird shriek heard when Captain Falcon performs the Falcon Punch. In turn, the sound effect of the Warlock Punch is heard only in the Universal Sounds section.
• In Brawl, most characters also have voice clips in the Sound Test that are unused during normal gameplay. Some of them are also taken from previous Smash Bros. games: Ness, for example, has one of his high-damage yells from Melee, Fox has one of his high-damage yells untranslated for unknown reasons, Kirby has a "Hi!" that resembles more that of the previous games, and Captain Falcon has his voice from when he picks up a heavy item in Smash 64. Most of them (notably the damage yells) would later be recycled in SSB4 and Ultimate.
  • Voice clips of the announcer saying "Stage Clear" and "Fighting Alloy Team" also go unused, as well as additional final countdown timer clips starting from "ten".
• Likewise, in SSB4, Corrin also has unused damage yells. They would later be recycled in Ultimate.
• In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, some unused announcer voice clips correspond to features from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, such as "Special Smash".

Not in Sound Test

• Super Smash Bros.:
  • The Fighter Select music theme.
  • The announcer voice clips "Defeated", "Race to the Finish/Hurry to the Battle Stage", "Wins/Win", "Congratulations", and "Incredible" are not in the Sound Test; they are only accessible through the debug menu.
• Super Smash Bros. Melee:
  • Giga Bowser's music theme.
  • Sound Test file 50 under "Announcer" has the announcer saying "Giga Koopa" or "Giga Bowser" depending on the game's language. Interestingly, this causes a language error, as the announcer says "Giga Koopa" in the English version of Melee, while the announcer says "Giga Bowser" in the Japanese version. The PAL release only includes the latter sound clip, where the announcer correctly says "Giga Bowser", due to the release not having a Japanese language option. Furthermore, if Giga Bowser is loaded in the debug menu's result screen test, the correct voice clip is used.
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl:
  • The Cruel Brawl theme and the fall/winter version of Obstacle Course are both missing from the Sound Test.
  • Crazy Hand's laugh voice clip.
• Super Smash Bros. 4 (both versions)
  • Duck Hunt does not have a section.
  • Dr. Mario lacks his own section. While he shares a majority of his voice clips with Mario in all of his appearances, he still has a section in his other appearances.
  • Dark Pit's "It's time!" voice clip when he performs Dark Pit Staff.
  • All characters' swimming voice clips. Possibly due to characters not being able to swim in the 3DS version.
• Super Smash Bros. for Wii U:
  • The announcer's "Multi-Man Smash" voice clip.
  • The announcer's "The champion is..." voice clip.
  • The Japanese version of for Wii U is missing Master Hand and Crazy Hand's voice clips, while Ridley's voice clips appear exclusively in this version.
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate:
  • Samus and Mr. Game & Watch do not have a voice section.
  • Zero Suit Samus' section lacks all of her taunt voice clips.
  • Ken's Star KO scream isn't in the Sound Test, and no updates have added it.
  • Bayonetta's voice clip of her saying "Boom!" doesn't appear under her Bayonetta 2 costumes.
  • Changing the game's language setting to Japanese makes Jigglypuff's voice clips when it performs Sing appear fully in the Sound Test, while in English, only the first half of the voice clips will appear. Its voice clip when falling asleep is also absent in the Sound Test.
  • The announcer saying "Win!" isn't present in the English version of Ultimate, despite the fact that he does say it if a plural character (such as the Ice Climbers) wins. In the Japanese version, he says "Win!" for every character (besides Joker and Kazuya, who don't use the normal announcer for their victory screens), and so the clip is present in the Japanese Sound Test.
  • Likewise, the announcer saying "Step into the ring!" or "Enter a ring!" (Japanese) is also not present in the Sound Test.

Gallery

• 

  The Sound Test as it appears in Super Smash Bros.
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  The Sound Test as it appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
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  The Sound Test as it appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
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  The Sound Test as it appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
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  The Sound Test as it appears in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
• 

  A glitch in Wii U showing the source of Menu as Mario Kart 8.
• 

  The Japanese Sound Test in Wii U gives credit to voice actors; in this case, Satomi Satō for Corrin.
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  The music section in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
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  The voice section in Ultimate.
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  The voice section in Ultimate with multiple characters in one section; in this case, the Ice Climbers, counting Popo and Nana separately.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	サウンドテスト	Sound test
English	Sounds	—
French	Banque sonore	Sound bank
German	Audiothek	Audio library
Spanish	Fonoteca	Sound library
Italian	Audio	—
Chinese (Simplified)	音频	Audio
Chinese (Traditional)	音頻	Audio
Korean	사운드 테스트	Sound test
Dutch	Jukebox	—
Russian	Фонотека	Sound library

Trivia

Ultimate's sound test showing the source of Lost in Thoughts All Alone (JP) as Fire Emblem: if, its Japanese name...

...and the Japanese version showing the source of Lost in Thoughts All Alone as Fire Emblem Fates, its English name.

• In Brawl, a glitch exists where if Training Mode was last exited with the speed set to 1/2 or 1/4, upon playing any Final Smash sound clips which contain music that is slowed down under these conditions in-game, such as Luigi and Donkey Kong's Final Smashes, the Sound Test will play back the slowed version of these clips.
• In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, a glitch can occasionally cause the sound test credits to become misaligned with the song currently playing.
• In the 3DS version, if a Golden Hammer is used to skip a challenge that rewards a stage for unlocking its corresponding character, a question mark will appear for its music instead of a silhouette (unless other characters from the same series are already unlocked).
• The downloadable content characters' voice sections in Ultimate appear identically to how every playable character's voice clips are listed in Smash 4. Normally, voice clips used for taunts and result screen are listed first (along with those for on-screen appearance), special move and Final Smash voice clips come after generic attack voice clips, and the Star KO voice clip comes after light knockback voice clips; for the DLC characters, Star KO voice clip comes after blast KO voice clips, and those for special move, Final Smash, taunt and result screen are grouped together at the last of their section in that order.
• The Mii Fighter voice clips in Ultimate are separated into male and female sections, with Mii Swordfighter being the icon for the male voice clips and Mii Gunner being the icon for the female voice clips.
• In Ultimate, characters with two selectable genders (Pokémon Trainer, Villager, Inkling, Wii Fit Trainer and the Mii Fighters) have two identical announcer calls in the Sound Test. This is likely a placeholder for languages with gendered nouns, which use separate voice clips (for example, Villager in Spanish is "Aldeano" for male and "Aldeana" for female).
• The sorting of series in Ultimate's Sound Test is different from the Spirits list and the official website. Normally, EarthBound is listed first and F-Zero is listed afterward, and the third-party series are listed in order of their Smash debut; in the Sound Test, EarthBound comes after F-Zero, and the third-party universes, as well as ARMS, are grouped together with each other between the Splatoon and Other categories.
• In Ultimate, while voice clips that play on specific base game stages such as Reset Bomb Forest and Gaur Plain are sorted in the Enemy category of the Voices menu, voice clips that play on DLC stages such as Mementos, Cloud Sea of Alrest, and Mishima Dojo are instead sorted in with the voice clips of the fighters belonging to the same challenger pack as the given stage.
• Masahiro Sakurai has claimed that the most difficult sounds to perfect in the entire Smash series is the unique hit sound effects for Ryu and Ken. While importing the audio file was simple enough, the team spent a long time going through a trial and error process to make the effects sound like they were coming from a real arcade cabinet.

See also

• Music (SSB)
• Music (SSBM)
• Music (SSBB)
• Music (SSB4)
• Music (SSBU)