Erase Data

Erase Data, previously known as Backup Clear in Super Smash Bros., is an option in the first three installments of the  series. It allows the player to erase any specific data in the game, such as high scores, trophies, unlockable characters, and unlockable stages. In all three appearances, the option to erase singular categories of data is available, alongside an "Erase All" ("ALL Data Clear" in Smash 64) option.

If the player chooses to erase all data, there is no way to recover it when erased. As such, Super Smash Bros. Melee advises players to create a copy of the data onto a separate memory card. However, this is only possible in Melee alongside the Virtual Console version of Smash 64 (which can have data copied to an SD card instead). The game data in Smash 64 saves automatically to the Nintendo 64 cartridge while the game data in Brawl cannot be copied from one Wii to another (nor to an SD Card).

The main reason for this feature is for the player to deal with corrupted data. A broken save file that may have a major glitch or somehow loads incorrectly can be cleanly taken care of at the expense of re-completing whatever was deleted. This feature also helps speedrunners in an unintended way, as they have a quick option to delete all progress to prepare for a new run.

Neither Super Smash Bros. 4 nor Super Smash Bros. Ultimate have an "Erase Data" option, making it impossible to selectively erase any specific data. In both versions of Smash 4, players can erase all data by holding A, B, X, and Y (though in the Wii U version, it only works with the Wii U GamePad) on the startup and selecting "Yes" three times when prompted (just like in Brawl for "Erase All"). In Ultimate, the player can manually erase all data under the "Manage Save Data/Screenshots and Videos" option of the Data Management section in the Nintendo Switch's System Settings; due to this, a built-in application is not included.

Trivia

 * Brawl is the first installment in the series which does not have the "Erase Hidden Characters" and "Erase Hidden Stages" options.
 * This is due to a special stipulation. Due to the way unlockable characters appear in The Subspace Emissary, it is not possible to restart the unlockable characters and unlockable stages.
 * If the player chooses to erase all data in Brawl, the game asks the player three times if they are sure they want to lose that data. The first prompt plays a siren, the second one plays a sped-up version of the siren, and the third and final plays an alarm similar to Melee's "challenger approaching" theme. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U similarly present three prompts (like in Brawl for "Erase All"), but only have the siren and sped-up siren on the second and third prompts. While Ultimate doesn't contain the in-game option, the similar three prompts are present when deleting Adventure Mode: World of Light's save files.
 * This is based on the messages when deleting save files in games starting from ', likely due to both games being developed by Masahiro Sakurai; this became the same way as in Smash starting from ', even though the game was made after Sakurai's departure from HAL Laboratory.
 * In Smash 64, the sound effect that plays when erasing data is the same as 's PSI Magnet.