Virtual Console

The Virtual Console (, Virtual Console), sometimes abbreviated as VC, is a feature of the Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U that allows players to officially emulate games from older video game consoles. Supported by the  on the Wii and the Nintendo eShop on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, the different consoles offered differing coverage as to what games they featured. The Virtual Console has since been retired, with the currently available Nintendo Switch offering classic games with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. The currently supported consoles on this service are NES, SNES and Game Boy/Game Boy Color with the base package, with N64, GBA, and Sega Genesis costing extra as part of the Expansion Pack. After the shutdown of the Wii Virtual Console on January 30, 2019, and the shutdown of the 3DS and Wii U Virtual Console on March 27, 2023, it is no longer legally possible to purchase software provided by any Virtual Console service.

Masterpieces
A majority of the Masterpieces featured in Brawl and work via the Virtual Console engine. In addition, all Masterpieces are timed.

Unusually, Smash 4 features Masterpieces of Game Boy titles, which were not supported by the Wii U's Virtual Console. As a result, players are told about how they could download the two Game Boy titles, Kirby's Dream Land and Dr. Mario, on the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console. When the timer runs out, the player is told about how the full version could be purchased for the Virtual Console, though the prompt to take players directly to the Wii U eShop for NES and SNES titles is no longer functional.

Re-release of Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros. was released onto the Wii Virtual Console for Japan on January 20, 2009, as to celebrate the ten years since the game's first release in Japan on January 21, 1999. It was later released to Europe and Australia on June 12, 2009, and to North America on December 21, 2009. While not officially available for the Wii U's Virtual Console, the Virtual Console re-release of Smash 64 could still be purchased and played when the Wii U was running in Wii Mode. However, the discontinuation of the Wii Shop Channel on January 30, 2019 made the game legitimately unavailable.

Due to lack of N64 controller support and significant performance issues like frame-skipping, the Virtual Console version of Smash 64 is not used for tournament play. Players use the original Nintendo 64 hardware for in person tournaments or Project 64k for online events.