Revival platform

The revival platform, also called the respawn platform, is a special platform in all  games that appears after a player has been KO'd. Provided the player is not out of stocks, they will respawn on a platform floating above the center of the stage. The platform disappears as soon as the player moves or attacks. If the player does not act, the platform will disappear by itself after 5 seconds; in Super Smash Bros. 4, this time limit is represented by a section of the platform that gradually changes color from yellow to red. The platform cannot be boarded by any other character. If multiple players are KO'd at or nearly at the same time, then more than one platform can be on the screen at once, one for each KO'd player, appearing next to each other. If 5 or more characters are KO'd around the same time, some revival platforms will be above others.

The revived character is intangible the entire time they are on the platform. This may be used to avoid temporary dangers such as an opponent using a Final Smash. In addition, many players utilize the intangibility to plan out their strategy and gather their thoughts. After dropping down from the platform, the character has a further period of invincibility (2 seconds, or 120 frames) to aid their descent. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the period of invincibility after leaving the platform is decreased proportionally to the amount of time the player spent waiting on the platform (the minimum being 1 second, or 60 frames).

CPUs generally exit the revival platform immediately; however, high-level CPUs tend to wait on the platform for as long as possible during a transformation Final Smash, or when a player on screen is using a powerful item, such as a Golden Hammer.

The animation for characters being revived has not changed much over the games. After a KO, the character will simply descend from the sky on the revival platform. The original game has a slightly different animation; upon appearing on the platform, characters will be lying down, and will then get up as the platform descends.

In the original Super Smash Bros., a character gets the Mystic bonus for being on a revival platform when their opponent is KO'd. In Melee, the player gets the Angelic bonus when the match ends this way.

Origin
The revival platform originates from the game Mario Bros. When Mario or Luigi loses a life, he respawns on a small platform, accompanied by a short melody. While on the platform, he is invincible. The melody that plays when Mario or Luigi respawns is not included in the Smash Bros. games.

Trivia

 * There is a graphical glitch where if a player is KO'd while another is descending on their revival platform, both characters' platforms will be in the same location, instead of next to each other.
 * The Ice Climbers have the largest revival platform for playable characters.
 * Giga Bowser has the largest revival platform for non-playable characters.
 * Revival platforms do not appear in The Subspace Emissary. Instead, revived characters simply reappear out of nowhere.
 * Players that are Screen KO'd will be sent to the revival platform faster than if they were Star or Blast KO'd.
 * In Smash 64, it is possible to taunt cancel off the revival platform to fall with no movement.