Universe

A universe (also referred to as a franchise, and officially known as a series) is a term used by the Smash Bros. community to collectively refer to all the particular characters, stages, items, music, and other properties appearing in the fighting games that are thematically featured in another game franchise.

Primary universes
These are the video game series and franchises that the Super Smash Bros. games classify as major enough that they assign each franchise its own unique symbol that appears with characters and stages belonging to that franchise. These franchises generally have characters, stages, items, and other properties that all appear in Smash Bros. games as part of their primary content. However, the minimum requirement for a symbol is to contribute one stage or one character to the games (with a single exception). Universes that only contribute a stage, with the sole exception of in Brawl, do not get a separate universe listing in the trophies pages and their items and spirits are not tagged with their symbol (for example, the Golden Hammer is listed as a  item and the Rocket Belt is listed under "Others").

Secondary universes
These are the various franchises that have not been recognized as primary universes by any Smash Bros. game, and this is indicated by the fact these franchises do not carry their own universe symbols. As a general rule, such universes lack any playable characters or stages in the games, but if any of the following franchises contribute an item, Assist Trophy, music, or some other minor element to a given Smash game, the game assigns the property and its respective franchise the default Smash Bros. universe symbol. This was changed in Ultimate, where those universes received a new symbol to represent them in the form of an ellipsis. These universes contribute elements to the gameplay itself, i.e. Assist Trophies, enemies, items or attacks.


 * ': A series of art training games released for the DSiWare, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, retail Wii U (Japan and PAL regions only), and Wii U eShop. The game also had spin-off crossovers with the Pokémon series and The Walt Disney Company for the Nintendo 3DS called Pokémon Art Academy and Disney Art Academy, respectively. The player's art teacher, Vince, appears as an Assist Trophy in Ultimate, as well as a trophy in Smash Wii U. A music track titled ' appears in Smash Wii U'', playing on the stage.
 * : A series of maze games by Konami (formerly Hudson Soft before their merge with Konami) in which the main objective is to blow up the opponents by placing bombs. Bomberman, the main character of the series, appears in Ultimate as an Assist Trophy and the basis for a DLC Mii Costume.
 * ': A series of games, known in Europe as Brain Training, released for the Nintendo DS, 3DS, and Switch where the player is tasked with multiple logic games to test the speed of their brain activity. The host, Dr. Kawashima, appears as an Assist Trophy in Smash 4 and Ultimate. There are two music tracks from the series. ', from the first game, plays on the PictoChat stage in Brawl and Wii Fit Studio in Smash Wii U, while , from the second game, also plays on the Wii Fit Studio stage in Smash Wii U''.
 * ': An NES game where the player must swing from poles around an underwater maze to uncover all of the invisible golden ingots in a level. Unira, the main enemies of the game, appear as an item since Brawl. The main character, Bubbles, appears as a trophy in Melee. A music track, called ', plays on the the Summit stage in Brawl and the stage in Smash Wii U''.
 * : A series of dedicated consoles released by Nintendo from 1977-1980, making it the oldest universe in the Super Smash Bros. series, older than Game & Watch. A representation of Color TV-Game 15, a clone of Atari's Pong, appears as an Assist Trophy in Smash 4 and Ultimate.
 * : A series of action role-playing games, developed by Noise, in which the player battles opponents by using various toy robots with customizable parts. Ray Mk III, the main robot used by the main protagonist of Custom Robo Arena, appears as an Assist Trophy in Brawl. Three robot combatants from Custom Robo V2, Ray Mk II, Bayonette, and Annie, appear as trophies in Melee. Two shared trophies of several Custom Robos and Jameson & A.I.R.S., as well as a ton of stickers, appear in Brawl. Ray Mk III serves as the basis for a Mii Fighter costume in Ultimate, along with Ray Mk II, Bayonette, and Flare appearing as Spirits.
 * ': A -like NES game where the player must go through a maze to defeat a blue devil, who will move the entire maze around to squish the player. The game is notable for being one of the few Miyamoto-designed games to never release in North America (only ever being localized in Europe), due to the game having heavy religious icons (such as crosses and Bibles), which went against Nintendo of America's policies. The Devil from the game appears as an Assist Trophy since Brawl. Tamagon, the game's protagonist, appears as a trophy in Melee, though it is only obtainable in the Japanese version, as it cannot be obtained unless the game is hacked in the North American version, and it is completely absent from the PAL version. Tamagon returns as a sticker in Brawl and as a Spirit in Ultimate. The title screen theme appears as part of the ' music track in Brawl''.
 * ': A classic arcade game series developed by Namco based around blowing up underground monsters with an air pump. The common enemy, Pooka, appears as a Smash Run enemy in Smash 3DS and as a cameo in Pac-Man's Namco Roulette taunt in Smash 4''. The level start theme, main theme, and level complete jingle from the original arcade game all appear as a part of the ' music track.
 * : A western-style action/tower defense series, developed by Vanpool, set in a world of anthropomorphic animals in which the titular character must defend various villages from a group of rock monsters called "Grocks". The first two installments were released exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS eShop. A third game, titled Dillon's Dead-Heat Breakers, has a post-apocalyptic setting instead and was released as a physical Nintendo 3DS game (though it is still a Nintendo eShop exclusive in North America). The main character, Dillon, appears as an Assist Trophy in Smash 4 and Ultimate. A music track titled ', from the second game of the same name, appears in Smash Wii U, playing on the Pilotwings stage. A second music track, ', from Dead-Heat Breakers, appears in Ultimate, with Dillon and Russ, Dillon's partner, being Spirits.
 * : An action-puzzle platformer game released for the Game Boy Advance, developed by Game Freak, that follows Jill, a schoolgirl who replaces her severely injured father in a bandit gang called "The Red Dozers", who must advance through several levels by using her titular machine in order to retrieve the Red Diamond from a rival gang called "The Skullkers". Jill, along with her Drill Dozer, appears as an Assist Trophy in Brawl. Two stickers of Jill (one in her Drill Dozer and the other outside of it), as well as a sticker of Grutch, appear in Brawl.
 * : A series of racing games that had its start as a motorcycle racing game on the NES, before venturing into other vehicles, such as monster trucks in Excite Truck and robotic animals in Excitebots: Trick Racing. A depiction of a motorcyclist racer appears an an Assist Trophy and a sticker in Brawl, as well as a trophy in Melee and Smash 4. A trophy of the Boulder monster truck from Excite Truck, as well as stickers of it and the Wolf, Firefly, and Rad monster trucks, appear in Brawl. The title theme from Excitebike appears as part of the ' in Brawl, in addition to a music track called ', which plays on the stage in both Brawl and Smash Wii U.
 * : A series of horror games involving taking photos of ghosts. Yuri Kozukata, the central protagonist of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, appears as an Assist Trophy in Ultimate. Mio and Mayu Amakura from Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly share a trophy in Smash Wii U, while Maya from the augmented reality-based spin-off Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir has a trophy in Smash 3DS. Mio and Maya Amakura both return as a shared Spirit in Ultimate.
 * : A series of famous fixed shooters developed by Namco that revolves around the player in a spaceship who must shoot all of the enemies of an alien swarm. The Boss Galaga from Galaga appears as an item since Smash 4.
 * : A series of fantasy RPGs developed by Camelot Software Planning and thematically based on the four classical elements. The first game's silent protagonist, the young Earth-based warrior Isaac, appears as an Assist Trophy in Brawl and Ultimate. A music track called ', based on two battle themes from the second game, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, appears in Brawl and Smash Wii U, playing on the Norfair stage. An additional music track, ' from Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, appears in Smash Wii U, playing on the Palutena's Temple stage. Several characters from the series appear as Spirits in Ultimate.
 * : A series of first-person shooter games based on the 17th installment of the James Bond film series. The 1997 game, developed by Rare for the Nintendo 64, helped popularize the FPS genre, and was so popular that many following 007 games would base themselves on the movie despite its increasing age. The design of the Motion-Sensor Bomb in Smash 64 and western releases of Melee is based on the Proximity Mine from the Nintendo 64 title. James Bond is the only franchise from outside of video games to have major representation in Smash.
 * ': A series of music games that features a variety of music, ranging from video game music to singles released from various artists to songs from TV shows or movies. The series also lets the player create their own custom music. The series is released mostly in Japan only, though the second installment was released in Europe. Barbara the Bat, the manager of the store in the series, appears as an Assist Trophy in Brawl, where she plays her guitar that sends out damaging shockwaves. Barbara has not reprised her role since Brawl, but has appeared as a trophy in Smash 3DS and a Spirit in Ultimate. A music track called ' from the second game appears in Smash Wii U'', playing on the Gamer stage.
 * ': A Japan-exclusive fighting game released for the Famicom in 1993 which features limbless robots fighting each other. Sukapon, the main robot from the game, appears in Ultimate as an Assist Trophy, as well as a Sticker in Brawl. A snippet of the menu theme appears in the ' music track in Brawl''.
 *  (Translated as "For the Frog the Bell Tolls"): A Japan-exclusive Game Boy title in which the main character must save the Princess Tiramisu from the evil King Delarin, who has invaded the Mille-Feuille Kingdom. The unnamed main character, the Sablé Prince, appears as an Assist Trophy in Smash 4 and Ultimate. Sablé Prince has previously appeared in the Smash Bros. series as a sticker in Brawl, whom which he shares with the frog versions of Prince Richard and Jam the thief.
 * : A series of puzzle games, developed by Eighting, in which a titular young bird must navigate through tight stages with his helicopter-like vehicle in order to find his lost family members, having to make sure his helicopter blades don't clash with the walls of the stages. The Helirin, the vehicle used by Kururin, appears as an Assist Trophy in Brawl, as well as a trophy in Melee (mistranslated as "Heririn"). Kururin, the main protagonist, appears as a sticker in Brawl, along with a sticker of Helibokaan, in which the later appears as part of a shared trophy of several Helirins called "Action Helirins" in Brawl.
 * : A widely popular series of action role-playing games by Capcom in which the player must hunt several monsters of various sizes and species. The Rathalos appears as an Assist Trophy in Ultimate, as well as a boss character. Two Mii Fighter costumes based on a Monster Hunter (one based on the Hunter's Armor Set and the other based on the Rathalos Armor Set) appear as DLC in Smash 4 and Ultimate, with a Mii hat based on Felyne also in the latter.
 * : An app for the Nintendo 3DS eShop where the player can earn various badges for their Home Menu by playing a claw crane game, which the player usually needs to pay real-life currency in order to play. The Arcade Bunny appears in Ultimate as an Assist Trophy.
 * : A series of light-hearted war strategy games, developed by Intelligent Systems, similar to (another series developed by Intelligent Systems) in which the player takes control of an army and must strategize in order to defeat the opposing army. Various soldiers and tanks from the series appear as an Assist Trophy in Brawl and Smash 4. The three main Commanding Officers (Andy, Max, and Sami) from the first three games, as well as Dual Strike protagonists Jake and Rachel, and Black Hole CO Hawke, appear as stickers in Brawl.
 * ': A long running series of puzzle games, developed by Intelligent Systems, in which the puzzles must be lined up in order to get a score, which getting a high enough score can cause the player to give their opponent unwanted "garbage blocks". The series only saw a western release after rebranding with other Nintendo mascots, such as Yoshi or Pokémon, typically under the name Puzzle League'. The protagonist of the first game, Lip and her series has referenced several times in the Smash series since Melee from her garbage block in one of Kirby's random Stone transformations and her staff (also used by her counterpart in Nintendo Puzzle Collection "Furil"), Lip's Stick. Stickers of Furil, Pure, Sala, and Cecil from Nintendo Puzzle Collection appear in Brawl (all of whom are mistranslated as Lip, Ruby, Seren, and Elias respectively, their counterparts in the original). The titular puzzle pieces of the series, Panel also appears as a sticker, which has been referred to as Blocks within localizations of the series after Tetris Attack. A remix of appears as a music track on the PictoChat stage in Brawl and Wrecking Crew in Smash Wii U. Lip appears in Ultimate as a Spirit and the basis for a Mii Fighter costume.
 * : A series of sci-fi stealth-based FPS games developed by former second-party Nintendo developer, Rare. The Motion-Sensor Bomb (only in Japanese versions) and Cloaking Device, featured as items, were listed as based on this series in Melee, though they are considered generic in localized versions.
 * ': A series of music games, known in Europe as Rhythm Paradise, from the same team behind the WarioWare series where the player must tap along to the rhythm of a song while quirky situations play. A character from one of the games "Sneaky Spirit" appears as a Smash Run enemy in Smash 3DS. A trophy of Karate Joe and a shared trophy of the Chorus Kids appear in Super 3DS, while a shared trophy of Marshal, Miss Ribbon, and Cam, as well as a shared trophy of the Wrestler & Reporter from Fever, appear in Smash Wii U. Two songs, ' from Rhythm Heaven and  from Fever, appear as DLC music tracks, both playing on the Miiverse stage. Several characters throughout the series appear as Spirits in Ultimate''.
 * ': A 1979 arcade game sometimes known as Bandido'. The titular character, Mr. Jack, must defend a kidnapped woman named Betty from a group of bandits. The titular Sheriff appears as an Assist Trophy in his sprite form in Smash 4 and Ultimate. The titular sheriff and three enemy sprites share a trophy in Melee.
 * : An independently-developed platformer series developed by Yacht Club Games that pays homage to classic NES games, where the player controls a variety of themed knight characters in a fantastical medieval world. The titular character, Shovel Knight, appears as an Assist Trophy in Ultimate.
 * : A series of city simulation games by Maxis (now owned by Electronic Arts) in which the player can freely build their own city. Dr. Wright, the assistant from the SNES adaptation, appears as an Assist Trophy since Brawl. He also also appears as a trophy in Melee.
 * : A series of rail-shooters, developed by Treasure, in which a group of gunners must save the planet from various threats. Saki Amamiya, the main character of the first installment, appears as an Assist Trophy in Brawl and Smash 4. In Ultimate, Saki does not return as an Assist Trophy, but appears as a Spirit and the basis for a Mii Fighter costume.
 * : A series of submarine simulation games for the Nintendo 3DS, co-developed by Vitei, in which the player controls a submarine to partake in various missions. An item called Steel Diver, based on one of the playable submarines in the first game, the Blue Shark, appears in Smash 4 and Ultimate.
 * ': An app formerly available on the Nintendo 3DS eShop in which the player could draw pictures to send as messages to friends, known in Europe as Nintendo Letter Box'. The game later got a spiritual successor called "Swapdoodle". Nikki, the host of both games, appears as an Assist Trophy in Ultimate.
 * : A series of platform games, developed by TOSE, in which the titular character must traverse through various levels, many of them taking place underwater. Starfy appears as an Assist Trophy since Brawl. Starly appears as a trophy in Brawl, in addition to several stickers. Starly returns as a Spirit in Ultimate alongside multiple other characters.
 * : A formerly Japan-exclusive game released exclusively for the Famicom Disk System, in which a young samurai must save a castle in Edo Japan from an evil alien creature. Takamaru, the main character, appears as an Assist Trophy in Smash 4 and Ultimate, as well as a sticker in Brawl. A music track titled ' plays on the Mario Bros. stage in Brawl. An additional music track, titled ', appears in Smash 4, playing as a Smash Run track in Smash 3DS and on the in Smash Wii U.
 * : A long-running series of fighting games from Sega, notable for inventing the 3D fighting game. Akira Yuki, the main protagonist of the series, as he appears in the first Virtua Fighter game, appears as an Assist Trophy in Ultimate. Akira, as well as Jacky Bryant as he appears in more recent games, both serve as the basis for two DLC Mii Costumes in Smash 4.
 * : An arcade game produced by Namco in which the player must defeat an alien group from the titular planet. Bacuras appear as indestructible foes in Smash Run. Both the Salvalou and Andor Genesis appear as cameos in Pac-Man's Namco Roulette taunt, though the latter does not appear in the 3DS version.

Minor universes

 * ''Main article: List of minor universes

Many other series are represented in smaller forms, such as moveset elements, background characters, trophies, stickers, spirits, music, Mii Costumes, or "dependent" universes that tie in to major universes but are not represented themselves.

Trivia

 * Platformers are the only genre to receive a new major universe in every Super Smash Bros. game.
 * The original introduced Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Metroid, and Kirby.
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee added Ice Climber.
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl added Kid Icarus and Sonic the Hedgehog.
 * Super Smash Bros. 4 added Mega Man.
 * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate added Castlevania and Banjo-Kazooie.
 * There are currently 40 major universes in total with at least one playable character, 25 of which are first-party and 15 of which are third-party.
 * and are the only universes to only have one single fighter throughout the entire Smash series.
 * In the Sound test menu in Brawl and Ultimate, Mario and Mario Kart are treated as two separate universes. Despite the distinction, both use the same Mushroom series symbol.
 * The oldest universe currently represented in the Smash series is, which debuted in 1977, while the newest in the series is , which debuted in 2020.

Universo