Sound Test



Sound Test (titled Sounds in Smash 4 and Ultimate) is an option that appears in the  games.

Overview
The Sound Test allows the player to listen to most of the music and sounds in the game. Players can listen to the voices of characters, stage music, and listen to other variety of sounds. 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.
Sound Test was introduced in this seminal entry, and laid the foundation for all other sound test options in future games. The Sound Test is unlocked by completing Break the Targets and Board the Platforms with all 12 characters. The option can then 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: (1-11),  (12-21),  (22-32),  (33-46),  (47-66),  (67-79),  (80-92),  (93-104),  (105-122),  (123-136),  (137-151),  (152-153), Announcer (154-205), Poké Ball Pokémon (206-224),  cheers (225-236), Crowd reactions (237-244). The Fighter Select music is not in the Sound Test for unknown reasons.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Sound Test returns in Melee, with some small changes. The option is unlocked by unlocking all playable Stages. The option can be accessed through Data Mode. Unlike SSB, the name of the track is now displayed on the screen instead of just a number. This was also the first time tracks were organized by series and fighter, making said tracks much easier to find. This method has been kept for every future installment. Generic, menu, and stage sounds each have a singular category, as do enemies and Poké Ball Pokémon. is grouped under 's category. Kirby's copy ability voice clips are unlocked after unlocking every base game fighter. The Giga Bowser music in Melee is not in the Sound Test for unknown reasons.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Sound test once again returns in Brawl, and once again received changes. The option is now available from the start without unlocking, though songs and sounds remain hidden until their source character, stage, or CD is unlocked. It can be accessed through either Data or Option Mode. Brawl introduces the feature of adding a source game to every song and indicating if it was ripped from another game or remixed specifically for the Smash franchise. The Cruel Brawl theme along with the winter version of is not in the Sound Test for unknown reasons.

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. Sounds is unique among the series in that one version has unique features the other version does not have and vice versa. was the first to drop sound effects and victory themes, leaving only music and voices viewable. This version was also the first to introduce alternate costumes with different models (such as the Koopalings or female Robin) feature separate sections from the default ones. Music tracks are indicated by a blue background, while voice clips are in green. The number system is done away entirely and instead has a list of tracks similar in presentation to an interface. The songs do not loop indefinitely anymore and instead fade out after a certain amount of time. The music selection emphasizes handheld games as a reference to the fact that the 3DS is a handheld console. The copyright owner and/or arrangement supervisor of each music track is now viewable in the info section. The main feature of the 3DS version is that the option exists to keep music playing even when the system is in sleep mode. The L and R buttons can be used to skip between tracks. The sleep mode functionality can only be used if headphones are inserted.

is mostly similar, with a few key differences. Unlocking hidden tracks is the same, with the additional method of CDs returning from Brawl. The option to play music in sleep mode has been removed. In its place is a dedicated "favorite" section. The player has the ability to star tracks that will then go into the favorite section, where they can be easily found without searching. There are more music tracks than the 3DS version, and the selection emphasizes home console games as a reference to the fact that the WiiU is a home console. Unique to the Japanese version is the voice tracks crediting the voice actors on the info screen instead of just in the credits. However, notably, and Masahiro Sakurai—the voice actors for Yoshi and King Dedede respectively—are credited here, but not in the actual credits. This is not present in any other language version of the game, likely due to the use of uncredited union voice actors in the series' English dubs. In both versions, some character voice clips are missing, such as those of.

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. Songs are now organized by universe; all major universes except for and  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. This feature again requires headphones, both inserted into the jack as well as wireless Bluetooth as of Nintendo Switch hardware version 13.0.0. 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. In Ultimate, 's noises are present, but those of and  are still missing for unknown reasons. A peculiarity specific to Ultimate is that, in the Japanese version, 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  is listed as WarioWare: Touched!, rather than. The same principle mostly does not apply in reverse in the English version of the game, with the exception of the source game of  being listed as Fire Emblem: if instead of Fire Emblem Fates. However, for unknown reasons, both remixed versions of that same track are listed as originating in Fire Emblem: if in English as well.



Unused sounds
There are occasions where the Sound Test has sound clips that were never used in-game:
 * 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 "" (rather than "Purin", its Japanese name).
 * In Melee, there are voice clips of the announcer saying "", "Giga Bowser/Giga Koopa", and "Fighting Wire Frames"; these were most likely meant for  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.
 * 's sounds are located within the Master Hand section, all except the sound heard when the player KOs him.
 * Furthermore, playable characters have other unused sounds; and, for instance, have unused sounds where they yell "PI-CHU!" and "PI-KA!" respectively,  has one where he says "let's dance" in English (which is only accessible through the debug sound test), and  has a "Hoo-yah!" yell that is also unused. The latter would eventually be used for Brawl, despite Ganondorf otherwise having a different voice actor.
 * 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:, for example, has one of his high-damage yells from Melee, has one of his high-damage yells untranslated for unknown reasons,  has a "Hi!" that resembles more that of the previous games, and  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, also has unused damage yells. They would later be recycled in Ultimate.
 * In, some unused announcer voice clips correspond to features from , such as "Grab the Coins" and "Special Smash".

Not in Sound Test

 * In Super Smash Bros., 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.
 * Sound Test file 50 under "Announcer" in Super Smash Bros. Melee has the announcer saying "Giga Koopa" or "Giga Bowser" depending on the game's language, an otherwise unused sound clip. Interestingly, this causes a language error, as the announcer says "Giga Koopa" (Bowser's Japanese name) 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 's result screen test, the correct voice clip is used.
 * 's laugh voice clip is not present in Brawl's Sound Test, while his defeat voice clip is.
 * The "Multi-Man Smash" voice clip is not present in the for Wii U Sound Test, despite being present in for 3DS.
 * The announcer's "The champion is..." voice clip is additionally not present in for Wii U. This is not the case in both Brawl and Ultimate.
 * In SSB4, every character is missing their swimming voice clip. This is possibly due to characters not being able to swim in the 3DS version.
 * In SSB4 and Ultimate, some characters additionally have one or more voice clips that are missing in the Sound Test; for example, 's section in Smash 4 lacks the "It's time!" voice clip when he performs Dark Pit Staff, while ' section in Ultimate lacks all of her taunt voice clips. Additionally, in Ultimate, prior to version 8.0.0, many fighters were missing character-specific victory quotes.
 * Interestingly, in Ultimate, changing the game's language setting to Japanese makes '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.
 * For unknown reasons, does not have his own section in the Sound Test in SSB4. 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.
 * In Ultimate, 's Star KO scream isn't in the Sound Test, and no updates have added it.
 * 's voice clip of her saying "Boom!" doesn't appear in the Sound Test under her Bayonetta 2 costumes, despite the fact she can say the line in said costumes.
 * Victory fanfares are not listed in Ultimate.
 * 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 ) wins. In the Japanese version, he says "Win!" for every character (besides and, 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.

Trivia

 * 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 Melee, some clone characters have sounds in their sound test sections that are used only by their base counterparts. For example, and 's sound test sections include the Mario power-up/power-down sound effects heard when  performs his taunt, and 's sound test section includes the bird shriek heard when  performs the Falcon Punch. In turn, the sound effect of the Warlock Punch is heard only in the Universal Sounds section.
 * In Melee, the last song that the player listened to (with the exception of songs that don't loop, such as "Opening" and "Ending") will play in the Trophy Gallery.
 * 's portrait in 's sound test uses his Famicom colors; this makes sense in the Japanese version, as it is his default color scheme, but creates a discrepancy in the international versions of the game, which use R.O.B.'s NES colors as his default.
 * In, a glitch can occasionally cause the sound test credits to become misaligned with the song currently playing.
 * In SSB4, when a music track or fighter voice clip is selected or hovered over, a character silhouette from that song's respective universe, or in voice clips' case, their source character, appears to match the song/voice, with the exception of the Dr. Mario tracks (which only displays a Dr. Mario silhouette), ' (which only shows King Dedede), and ' (which only shows Little Mac).
 * 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).
 * In SSB4 and Ultimate, while most other characters with selectable genders have "(Male)" or "(Female)" attached to their names, uniquely uses "(Girl)" and "(Boy)", reflecting the terminology in the Splatoon series. This distinction is also present in the spirit list. 's name tags initially did not distinguish the gender at all other than portraits; this is likely a translation error from Japanese, where Byleth's name is spelled differently depending on gender. It was patched out in version 8.0.0.
 * Interestingly, the 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 voice clips in Ultimate are separated into male and female sections, with  being the icon for the male voice clips and  being the icon for the female voice clips.
 * In Ultimate, characters with two selectable genders (,, , 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).
 * Strangely, also shares this trait as well, despite having a proper name shared between genders in all versions.  has different names in Japanese depending on gender, but does not follow this trait in the international versions.
 * In the Japanese version of for Wii U and Ultimate's Sound Test, characters that only have English voice actors have the names of their actors romanized in English rather than written in Japanese like the others. This applies to:
 * Xander Mobus (Announcer, Master Hand, Crazy Hand)
 * Josh Keller (Tekken 7 announcer)
 * Charles Martinet (Mario, Luigi, Dr. Mario, Wario, Waluigi)
 * Sam Kelly (Peach)
 * Deanna Mustard (Daisy)
 * Alesia Glidewell (Zero Suit Samus)
 * Lani Minella (Lucas, Larry, Wendy, Lemmy, Morton)
 * Kerri Kane (Rosalina; misspelled as "Kerry Kane" in-game)
 * Caety Sagoian (Bowser Jr.)
 * Mike Vaughn (Iggy, Ludwig)
 * Dan Falcone (Roy)
 * Hellena Taylor (Bayonetta in her original Bayonetta costume)
 * Chris Sutherland (Banjo & Kazooie)
 * Sara Rades (Kat)
 * Leslie Swan (Ana)
 * Dex Manley (Saki Amamiya)
 * Peter von Gomm (Spring Man)
 * Oddly, this also applies to Luma and Callie, despite their voice actors, Yuya Takezawa and Yuki Kudara (credited as keity.pop), respectively, being Japanese.
 * has two nearly identical sections of voice clips in Ultimate's Sound Test, due to her original Bayonetta costume using English voice clips in all regions while her Bayonetta 2 costume uses Japanese voice clips in some regions. The Bayonetta 2 design is missing four voice clips in total when the language is not set to Japanese, three being Japanese (when the language is set to Chinese or Korean), one being English. The missing voice clips do not have a counterpart in the other language.
 * In Smash 4, both Larry and Morton have one less voice clip than Bowser Jr. and the rest of the Koopalings.
 * In Ultimate, this only applies to Larry.
 * Oddly, the sorting of series in Ultimate's Sound Test is different from the Spirits list and the official website. Normally, is listed first and  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, are grouped together with each other between the  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.
 * For unknown reasons, Yuki Tsuji is not credited as the s in the Japanese Sound Test in Ultimate, unlike Kazumi Totaka and Masahiro Sakurai, who are also not credited as voices in the main credits but are in the Sound Test.
 * Additionally, Sachi Matsumoto is not credited as Skull Kid in the Sound Test, despite her being credited as.
 * 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.