Final Destination (SSBM)

Final Destination (, Endpoint), often abbreviated as FD, is a stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

and are fought on this stage in, as well as  and Giga Bowser in Adventure Mode,  and any of his teammates in All-Star Mode, and  and  in their unlock battles. Some event matches, including two All-Star Matches, are also played here.

Stage overview
Final Destination is a flat, medium sized stage, very similar to its Smash 64 counterpart but much larger. It features a single, octagonal solid platform, under which a black orb floats. While having no effect on gameplay, the background of the stage changes during matches; a full cycle lasts about 216 seconds (3 minutes and 36 seconds).

Tournament legality
Final Destination is currently a counterpick stage in all singles tournaments. This due to the polarizing nature of matchups on the stage, as it is considered either the strongest or weakest stage for a large amount of the roster. Throughout much Melee's history, Final Destination was a starter stage for tournament play, due to it having no stage hazards and a simplistic design that allowed for straightforward singles matches; however, as the metagame continued to evolve and matchups were further optimized, the stage proved to have a disproportionate influence on the outcome of best of five sets, and it became increasingly unpopular among the playerbase, especially with the introduction of Frozen Pokémon Stadium as a starter, with its similar layout. This has led to its current status as the only tournament legal stage not available as a starter.

Final Destination is considered one of the best stages for projectile users and characters with chain grabs, as there are no platforms for opponents to escape to that can allow for alleviation of such pressures. It is also a solid stage choice for characters who have largely grounded neutral game options. On the other hand, Final Destination is a bad stage for characters who rely on platforms to continue combos, or lose defensive options due to the lack of such platforms. Final Destination is considered ' best stage, one of 's best stages, and a bad stage for and  against other top tiers, particularly  and. Final Destination is particularly bad for, who relies on shield dropping from platforms to make up for the inability to jump out of shield.

Despite the stage's flat layout, the lack of platforms has made Final Destination one of the least balanced stages in competitive play, as it gives certain characters major advantages not seen on other stages. Several characters have their combo game greatly extended on the stage, as the lack of platforms gives opponents less of an opportunity to escape them. In particular, Marth has extensive combos and chain grabs on fastfallers, such as Fox and Falco, which can lead to a KO starting at very low percents. Fox,, and , also have their own chain grabs on fastfallers, and Falco has extensive pillar combos on most characters as well. This means that against these characters, getting grabbed can result in a stock loss at near zero percent. Marth players almost always counterpick Foxes to this stage in a best of five tournament set, and at the highest level of play, this counterpick is often considered a highly probable (though not guaranteed) win for the Marth player. The counterpick advantage, combined with Fox's lack of a similar preferred counterpick amongst the other stages, gives Marth an advantage in the matchup.

Extensive controversy has risen over Final Destination's legal status, and many players had advocated for it to become a counterpick stage, or even banned outright, when it was a starter. Detractors argued that the completely flat geometry gives a disproportionate advantage to the aforementioned projectile and chain grab users, and that the enhanced punish game means that small mistakes become far more consequential (similarly to playing against wobbling). They also argued that the lack of platforms removes many of the game's complex movement options, such as wavelanding and edge cancelling and oversimplifies recoveries. Some players have also argued in favor of a stage ban during best of five sets, in large part due to Final Destination's role in polarizing matchups.

Trophy
The Final Destination trophy is unlocked by completing Event 51: The Showdown.

Trivia

 * It is possible to jump under Final Destination with, , , , , , , , and.
 * The track for Final Destination is a remix of Super Smash Bros. 64's Credits theme. This is most evident during the end verse.
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee is the only game in which Final Destination is an unlockable stage.
 * Final Destination is the only stage of five neutral stages whose stage design is not similar to that of 's.
 * Unlike most stages, the revival platforms in Final Destination are positioned by player port number. The order is as follows from left to right: P3, P4, P1, and P2. A similar situation also occurs in.

Destino final (Melee)