Frigate Orpheon

Frigate Orpheon (, Frigate Orpheon) is a starter stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It is one of three stages that has its roots in the universe in Brawl, but the first based on a location in its Metroid Prime sub-series. In Ultimate, is fought here for her unlock battle.

Stage overview
Frigate Orpheon's portrayal in Brawl borrows several aspects of the original locale and implements it into the stage. The general design is very reminiscent of the frigate as it appeared in Metroid Prime. As well as that, it sometimes experiences power outages, knocking out the lights and therefore making it more difficult to see the position of the platforms. The Parasite Queen is featured inside the reactor core whilst utilizing the same rotating forcefield she used against Samus in the boss fight with her. However, the Queen is merely there for aesthetic reasons; she has no effect on the proceedings of the brawl.

The main element that has been integrated into Frigate Orpheon is the 180 degree flip. The stage actually has two different arena layouts arranged in a vertical column opposite each other, but players are only fighting on one at a time. Every so often, a loud siren blares out and a bright yellow warning light flashes in the background. This indicates that the stage is about to turn upside down. When this happens, the camera quickly shifts around and the characters fall onto the other layout. The sudden movement can put people in difficult situations depending on their positioning when the flip took place. However, game director Masahiro Sakurai suggested on the that staying in the air when the alarm is going off will reduce the negative effect that the stage's flipping has on one's character.

The stage layouts are as follows:
 * The first layout is a basic -esque design: a large platform with a flat terrain type. The right third of the platform can be jumped up through, and rises and falls occasionally. There is also a drop-through platform on the left above the main platform. The layout has only one edge located on the left side.
 * The second layout is slightly bigger. The primary platform has straight edges and a diagonally slanted center that indents into the arena the downwards direction. A much smaller platform sits above this in the middle. Platforms on the left & right-hand sides alternately appear and disappear, making them useful for long distance recoveries.

Star KO's can not occur on this stage in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Ω form and Battlefield form
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the main platform of the Ω form and Battlefield form is the main hard platform of the normal form resized and reshaped to match and, respectively. The three soft platforms of the Battlefield form resemble the one in the normal form. The stage also does not flip, and power outages do not occur.

Hazards Off
With hazards off in Ultimate, the stage stays in the first layout and never flips, the walk-off platforms are removed, and the power outages do not occur. The soft platform on the right still moves up and down in intervals.

Origin
At the beginning of , Samus Aran received a distress signal from the nearby and soon discovered that the vessel had been utilized by s to research the mutagenic substance known as. While fighting her way through the facility, she also learned that two s escaped confinement, which forced an emergency evacuation six hours prior to landing. She discovered that one was successfully killed, and eventually found the reactor core and battled the remaining Parasite Queen. This stage is based off the room in which the two fought.

In Metroid Prime, Samus would have to try to aim and shoot the Parasite Queen while blue energy shields spun around her. Those blue energy shields can be seen in this stage. After defeating the creature, the reactor reached critical meltdown status, and Samus was given just seven minutes to flee the vessel. She managed to escape to her ship, and, shortly afterwards, Frigate Orpheon crashed into the planet. The blackout that occurs in this stage is likely a reference to the meltdown upon defeating the Parasite Queen.

Tournament legality
In Brawl, this stage is usually a counterpick and is sometimes banned in tournaments. This is largely due to the flipping of the stage, which can cause unintentional self-destructs. The stage's main difference from other starter stages is that the right ledge is ungrabbable at certain times. This creates a large disadvantage for characters that rely on tether recoveries, such as and, as well as other characters who rely on the ledge to recover, such as  or. Frigate's moving platforms can also help characters recover should they be lucky enough to land on it, similar to the Support Ghost on.

In Ultimate, the stage remains a counterpick in some tournaments, but is often banned. Though turning stage hazards off removes the flipping effect, the platform that moves up and down remains on the stage, and can give advantages to certain characters.

Trivia

 * When the is selected, Frigate Orpheon constructs a new platform for him to stand on in the background, to the right of the Parasite Queen. When the stage flips 180 degrees, Pokémon Trainer appears on the new platform by teleporting in a yellow flash, similar to his movement in the Subspace Emissary.
 * The Parasite Queen, unlike everything else on the stage, is very slow to turn over when the 180 degree flip occurs. For a few seconds following the flip, the half of the reactor core in the background is empty.
 * In Brawl, the Queen then somersaults and drops down into view.
 * In Ultimate, the Parasite Queen never flips and instead descends upside-down whenever the second layout is present. The Queen later descends right-side up when the first layout returns.
 * This is the only Metroid stage in the Super Smash Bros. series thus far that doesn't involve a hazardous liquid (like acid or lava).
 * It is also one of two Metroid stages not to take place on Zebes, along with Pyrosphere.
 * It is possible to be KO'd by the stage while it's rotating; a way to avoid this is to be in the air near the side blast lines when it flips, but sometimes even this doesn't help.
 * In Ultimate:
 * The second layout of the stage is always present and hidden offscreen; this can be seen by using End of Day to move the camera upwards.
 * The following Assist Trophies cannot appear on this stage: the Moon, Andross, and Nikki (due to the dark background obscuring her drawings). Additionally, Lugia cannot be summoned on this stage.
 * The following Assist Trophies can only appear on this stage's Battlefield and Ω forms: Color TV-Game 15, Dr. Kawashima, Yuri Kozukata, and the Ghosts. Additionally, Lunala can only be summoned on this stage's Battlefield and Ω forms.