Classic Mode (SSB4-Wii U)

The version of Classic Mode is set up as a tournament with elimination style gameplay which lasts seven rounds. For the first time in the series, Classic Mode can be challenged by two players.

Like in the Classic Mode of, the player begins with two stocks for each battle regardless of difficulty. The intensity meter is used to set the difficulty, with higher difficulties costing more Gold and offering better rewards. Losing and choosing to continue when the difficulty is above 2.0 costs some of the accumulated prizes and drops the difficulty by .5, also taking away some of the invested Gold to reflect the new difficulty. The prize roulette wheel is also shared with the 3DS version, with the addition of passes for Crazy Orders as potential prizes.

The mode is set on a large playing field, whose background depends on the intensity chosen, becoming darker and fiercer with higher intensities:
 * Intensity 0.0 - 1.9: Water/Ocean Background
 * Intensity 2.0 - 3.9: Grass/Plain Background
 * Intensity 4.0 - 5.9: Sand/Desert Background
 * Intensity 6.0 - 7.9: Lava/Volcanic Background
 * Intensity 8.0 - 9.0: Dark/Shadow Background

On the field, the player character and the opponents appear as trophies: the player, identified by a glowing red trophy base, can choose which group of opponents to fight by moving their character towards it. The stage where the battle will be fought is visible on the field under the opponent(s), though it may not be related to their series even if there is only one opponent. Overly large stages such as The Great Cave Offensive and 75m are never used. After each round, the losers are ejected from the field until only the last few remain. Team battles can occur, in which the player must choose their teammates among the characters they have previously defeated (or by their teammates in a previous team battle). During all rounds, opponents may hold trophies, equipment, coins, or Crazy Orders Passes, identified by the respective icons on the enemy's trophy, which are obtained only if the carrier is defeated by the player or, in a team battle, by one of the player's teammates. Enemies holding such rewards are set to a higher CPU skill level than other opponents.

The first three rounds are fought against regular characters. At the beginning of each playthrough, a random opponent is designated as a "rival": marked by a glowing blue trophy base, the rival gets stronger and drops greater prizes the longer the player holds off on confronting them. In most cases, the rival will remain on the board until the player finally defeats it, but in very rare cases, they can lose before the player can face them.

After three rounds are cleared, the empty board will be repopulated with new groups of enemies. The fourth and fifth rounds are fought against characters equipped with custom special moves, marked by an alternate trophy with a black base and appearing in an alternate costume.

When the player chooses a battle in the first five rounds, one or more opponents might suddenly be replaced by an "intruder", marked by a glowing yellow trophy base, even in a team battle. Intruders are always in a permanent Giant or Metal state, but are guaranteed to be carrying a prize of some kind for victory.

The sixth round is against a Fighting Mii Team composed of 20 members, which appear surrounding the player on the game board in a group of nine.

In the seventh and final round, the player faces, and at higher intensities Master Hand with and possibly Master Core. Unlike the Classic mode of the 3DS version, the final battle is predetermined based on difficulty, and the player cannot choose to fight Master Hand alone when Crazy Hand and Master Core are available.

In for Wii U, Classic Mode is a co-op mode that can play with 2 players.

Rewards

 * Clearing Classic Mode on any difficulty with any character will give the player a trophy of the character used.
 * By clearing Classic Mode with a character, their Alternate Colored Trophy can become available in the Trophy Shop.
 * Similarly, clearing it as can add trophies of the Koopalings and clearing it as  can add a trophy of Alph.
 * Clearing with any character on any difficulty will challenge the player to defeat . Beating him will unlock him.
 * Clearing with five characters will challenge the player to defeat . Beating him will unlock him.
 * Clearing on intensity 5.5 or higher will challenge the player to fight . Beating her will unlock her.

Challenges

 * Clearing on intensity 2.0 or more with five characters will unlock the trophy.
 * Clearing as will unlock the  masterpiece.
 * Clearing without losing a stock will unlock the Dr. Kawashima trophy.
 * Clearing without losing a stock as will unlock the  music.
 * Clearing in 20 minutes or lower as will unlock the  music.
 * Clearing on intensity 5.5 or higher will unlock the  music.
 * This challenge is immune to the Golden Hammer.
 * Clearing on intensity 5.5 or higher as will unlock the Kirby's Adventure masterpiece.
 * Clearing on intensity 5.5 or higher without customizations as will unlock the  music.
 * This challenge is immune to the Golden Hammer.
 * Clearing on intensity 7.0 or higher with all characters will unlock the Regal Crown headgear.
 * Clearing on intensity 8.0 with two characters will unlock the  music.
 * This challenge is immune to the Golden Hammer.
 * Clearing on intensity 8.0 with three characters will unlock the  music.
 * This challenge is immune to the Golden Hammer.
 * Clearing on intensity 9.0 without customizations will unlock the Knuckle Joe trophy.
 * Clearing on intensity 9.0 without losing a stock will unlock the Double Final Smasher Protection Badge equipment.
 * This challenge is immune to the Golden Hammer.
 * Clearing on intensity 9.0 in 12 minutes or less as will unlock the Critical Hitter Sword equipment.

Trivia

 * This is the first Classic Mode where it is possible for any battle to be fought on a stage which is neither the home stage of any of the participants, nor a stage belonging to the Super Smash Bros. universe.
 * During a team battle, if the player KOs a teammate (such as by setting off an explosive near them), they may receive a second trophy of that character after the battle. Both this and the first trophy can then be chosen as teammates, allowing duplicate characters in six- and eight-player team battles.
 * Despite not being available in the mode normally, Jungle Hijinxs is shown in Classic Mode's help menu.
 * Boxing Ring and Gaur Plain are the only stages shared between both versions of the game that don't appear in Classic Mode in for Wii U.
 * The game has a tendency to lag in the cutscene before the final battle screen for Master Hand and Crazy Hand appears when playing on difficulties of 8.0 and higher. This issue is caused by the graphical strain of the background combined with the effects used in the cutscene.
 * In both versions of Classic Mode in Smash 4, the announcer now identifies Master Hand & Crazy Hand for the first time.
 * The Bonus stage mini-game "Target Smash!!" has been removed from both versions of Smash 4's Classic Mode.
 * In both versions of Classic Mode in Smash 4, there are no voice clips for the announcer saying "Game!" / "Game Set!" & there is no voice clip for the announcer saying "Game Over!" either.