Stage

The Final Destination stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl is an example of a typical stage in the Super Smash Bros. series.

A stage (ステージ, Stage), also called a level, map, arena, stadium, or board, is a location in which characters fight or complete objectives. The word "stage" refers to the entire loaded location, but can also refer to the ground or large central platform within the level. Though versus mode stages are the most commonly recognized and utilized, single-player mode stages such as Race to the Finish or Trophy Collector exist as well for purposes other than fighting others.

Versus mode stages

Most versus mode stages in each of the Super Smash Bros. series games are available from the start, though a small number must first be unlocked by completing certain objectives. Since Super Smash Bros. 4 some stages are (or were in SSB4's case) made available through updates and are (were) downloadable. Most stages, like Princess Peach's Castle, are derived from places in playable characters' universes. Super Smash Bros. Melee introduced two stages unique to the Super Smash Bros. universe — Battlefield and Final Destination. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, stages derived from universes without associated playable characters were introduced, namely Smashville, Hanenbow, and PictoChat. Additionally, not every playable character has a stage from their own universe; the Fire Emblem universe lacked one in Melee (though one was planned), and the R.O.B. universe has, for unknown reasons, never had a stage. Since Melee, each Smash game has included several Past Stages that debuted in previous games. These stages have either no or minor alterations (an example being Dream Land in Smash 4, where the top blast line is much closer to the stage than it was in 64 or Melee). Super Smash Bros. Ultimate changes this, giving older stages a more refined and detailed design, with the exception of stages from 64.

Stages range in size from the large The Great Cave Offensive and Rumble Falls to the small Yoshi's Story and Peach's Castle. Typically, stages involve a large central platform with ledges, multiple smaller platforms, and blast lines above, below, and to the left and right of the visible area. Some stages, such as Mushroom Kingdom and Coliseum, have floors that continue past the edge of the visible area and pass through a side blast line. These edges are known as "walk-off edges" or "walk-offs" because characters can walk offscreen without the need to become airborne. Stages with walk-off edges on both the left and right, like Bridge of Eldin, are referred to as "walk-off stages", and only a select few, like Yoshi's Island, have only one walk-off. Some walk-off stages, such as Onett, have lower blast lines that are inaccessible normally, while others, such as Green Hill Zone, only infrequently have the lower blast lines introduced; still others, such as Mushroom Kingdom, have permanently-accessible gaps where players can fall past the lower blast line while still having solid ground covering most of the lower blast line, including its intersections with the left and/or right blast lines.

In Melee, moving and transforming stages were introduced. Big Blue and Rainbow Cruise consist entirely of platforms that move or appear on and offscreen, while stages like Icicle Mountain and PAC-LAND scroll continuously up, to the side, or down. Other stages, such as Pokémon Stadium, undergo partial transformations at certain intervals, while others, such as Castle Siege and Paper Mario, cycle through complete transformations. Similarly, stages like Delfino Plaza and Skyloft will take players to various areas via moving platforms. Mushroomy Kingdom may be one of two stages either randomly or based on a player's input prior to the match. Tortimer Island's, Gamer's, Balloon Fight's, Garden of Hope's, and Minecraft World's layouts are randomized to varying degrees for each battle as well.

Other stage elements include breakable barriers and platforms, such as the pillars of Luigi's Mansion and the stone floors of Skyworld; stage hazards and enemies, such as lasers, cars, and Klaptraps; local items such as apples; and interactive objects such as Barrel Cannons and switches. While water has no effect on movement in Melee outside of the flowing river in Jungle Japes, Brawl introduced swimming; a few stages, such as Delfino Plaza, feature bodies of water that characters can swim in.

From Brawl onwards, the appearance of some items, namely crates and barrels, differs depending on the aesthetic style of the stage they appear on.

In competitive play for every game, many tournament organizers prohibit the majority of stages (and in 64's case, all but one) from being selected due to being considered disruptive, unfair, or unbalanced by many high-level players^{[citation needed]} (see stage legality). Ultimate tournaments often also require stage hazards to be disabled.

List of versus mode stages

This is a list of multiplayer stages in the Super Smash Bros. series.

The following does not include some single-player stages which can be playable with more than one player.

If there is an icon of a certain game in the chart (, , , , , ), that means a new version of the stage appears in that game.

The Smash 4 icon means the new version appears in both the 3DS and the Wii U version.

Some stages have different names in different games. The stage's name will be marked with the game's symbol to indicate which game had which name.

Legend

Starter

Unlockable

Paid DLC

Free DLC

Single-player only

Stage	Universe
3D Land	Mario
75m	Donkey Kong
Arena Ferox	Fire Emblem
Balloon Fight	Balloon Fight
Battlefield Duel Zone	Super Smash Bros.
Big Battlefield	Super Smash Bros.
Big Blue	F-Zero
Boxing Ring	Punch-Out!!
Bridge of Eldin	The Legend of Zelda
Brinstar	Metroid
Brinstar Depths	Metroid
Castle Siege	Fire Emblem
Cloud Sea of Alrest	Xenoblade Chronicles
Coliseum	Fire Emblem
Corneria	Star Fox
Delfino Plaza	Mario
Distant Planet	Pikmin
Dracula's Castle	Castlevania
Dream Land Dream Land (64)	Kirby
Dream Land GB Dream Land	Kirby
Duck Hunt	Duck Hunt
Figure-8 Circuit Mario Circuit (Brawl) Mario Circuit	Mario
Final Destination	Super Smash Bros.
Find Mii StreetPass™ Quest	StreetPass Mii Plaza