Super Smash Bros. Brawl/Stages

Super Smash Bros. Brawl has one of the largest collection of stages in fighting game, and unlike most fighting games, these stages aren't just pretty backgrounds. Each stage has its own unique layout and features that spices up gameplay. From the stable static platform that is Final Destination to an all out war on Mario Bros., it each stage requires a certain strategy in order to take advantage of its dynamics and avoid its hazards.

Along with specific stage strategies, these stage descriptions will also provide you with infomration about the stage's legality in competitive tournaments, which can be useful if you're ever interested in joining one. Starter stages are stages that give minimal advantages to any character, and are the only stages that can be picked in the first match of a set. Counterpick stages are stages that gives a noticeable advantage to certain types of characters. These stages are only available after the first match of a set, where the loser of a previous match gets to choose from a larger selection of stages so as to gain an advantage. Banned stages are usually completely banned in most tourneys, either because it gives an overwhelming advantage to a certain character or degenerates gameplay. Some tournaments might have a rule that allows a banned stage to be played if all players agree to play on the stage, but this is rare. Stage legality is a hotly-debated and controversial topic among competitive players and tournament hosts, so expect these ratings to change with time. A final note is that these ratings do not affect you at all if you do not wish to go to tourneys, so you can simply ignore them if you're not the competitive type.

New Stages
Many new stages will appear in SSBB, these are all the stages appearing in the game.

75m
From: Donkey Kong (1981) This stage is based on the game Donkey Kong. It has some kind of items that may be picked up as well as a "trouble bug" (a little fire that floats over the stairs). At certain points during the brawl, a different song will start playing and Donkey kong's picture lights up. Springs also fly across the top platform, hurting any player who comes into contact with it. Knock or throw an opponent into Donkey Kong or the springs to score an easy KO.


 * How to unlock
 * Play 20 Vs. matches as DK.

Battlefield
The Battlefield stage is one of the most basic stages in the game and a staple of the Super Smash Bros. series. This time around, rather than floating in a dark void, the level has an ancient ruins theme and floats above a large valley. The time of day changes during gameplay, with the sun rising and setting at regular intervals. The theme is not borrowed from any specific game, although its design resembles the architecture of the Ancient Ruins in the Subspace Emissary.

The stage consists of a large solid platform as a base and three platforms aligned in a pyramid above the base. The platforms can be used to chase and help in combos. It also gives more recovery options, letting certain characters recover straight onto a platform safely instead of the ledge. The awkward edges of the SSBM Battlefield was also replaced with a thicker, slanted ledge, a change characters like Fox will appreciate. The sides can be wall-jumped from. Having a good knowledge of how your character synergizes with platforms is very helpful on this stage. Almost trivial tidbits of information, like how Bowser's Up Smash can hit through platforms, can be very helpful to you.

Battlefield is always considered a Starter stage and is a prime example of what a starter stage is. It gives no obvious advantages to any character, and has no hazards at all.

Halberd
From: Kirby Super Star The stage begins in the hangar of Meta Knight's ship, the Halberd, which is just one flat stage with walkoff blastlines. After 12 seconds, a hatch opens up and lets a platform take off at the same time as the Halberd. This stage layout includes a main platform that can be passed through from below but not above, with a lower middle section. A smaller platform hovers above the low ground. The platform arrngement eventually lands on the bridge of the Halberd, which is a flat arena with a floating platform at the middle. Players will be routinely attacked by the ship's Combo Cannon. The cannon has several attacks. It can launch a flashing cannonball that slowly falls to the stage, which deals tons of damage and knockback. It can also fire a strong beam that requires some time to target a player, then hits multiple times, with the final pulse dealing all the knockback. It's final attack is lunging at a player.

The hazards on this stage are generally easy enough to predict and avoid. The cannonball is very easy to dodge due to its poor speed. The laser can easily be anticipated, but is you're ever caught in it, use SDI as if you're caught in a Smart Bomb and you can escape before the strongest laser pulse. It can also serve as a barrier against physical attacks, as enemies are more hestitant to attack you when you're seperated by a huge beam. The hardest attack to avoid is probably the mechanical arm. It gives plenty of warning that its about to attack by flailing around, but the actual attack is incredibly fast, and does enough knockback to kill. Shield it or dodge it as soon as it lunges to prevent yourself from getting hit.

When the platform is flying, some characters like Metaknight can "shark" their opponents, which is the act of attacking from beneath the main platform. It can be very annoying for less-mobile characters to deal with, but it's also risky for the sharking player. It should be noted that the top blastline for the flying platform arrangement is slightly lower than average, so upward attacks are more effective if you aren't going for an edgeguard.

This stage is universally considered a Counterpick, but it can be seen as a Starter stage for tourneys with large starter stage lists. The hazards don't affect the fight too much, but the stage does give a slight advantage to aerial characters.

Bridge of Eldin
From: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

This stage is large and flat, making it good for projectile users like Link and Fox. When you hear a horn, get away from the sides because King Bulblin charges onto the screen and might throw a bomb on to the bridge to destroy part of it, but a portal will bring it back to its place. Knock enemies down in the middle of this process, this traps them underneath the bridge. You can also make use of the bomb King Bulbin drops as it scores a KO to all players caught in the blast, so throw/knock enemies towards it to score an easy KO. When there is no bridge, attack using projectiles from the other side, slowing down any opponents you might have and racking up their damage percentage in the process.

Castle Siege
From: Fire Emblem Castle Siege is the first stage of Fire Emblem and it has three known scenes of battle:
 * Midst of Battle — The midst of battle is the first scene and it takes place in the outside castle. Here you can see the castle receiving really heavy damage.
 * Throne Room — After time passes the floor shatters and you enter to the throne room. In this place you can destroy the stone statues.
 * Underground — The underground is a place similar to hell. It is full of volcanoes and fire. Here you stand on a balanced pilar, so it moves right to left depending on the side that has more weight over it. After the Underground, you return to the Midst of Battle.

Delfino Plaza
From: Super Mario Sunshine

Delfino Plaza takes place at the largest city of the tropical paradise that is Isle Delfino. Players start out on top of a flying arrangement of platforms which gives them an aerial tour of the whole area, landing for a short while in certain landmarks which serve as different stage layouts. The hovering platforms alone have a variety of arrangements that change every time they return. The stage will always have a main base that can be passed through from below. The starting arrangement will be one flat platform above the main one and a larger, arcing platform above it. Another has two platforms slanting downward toward the middle of the main platform, with a straight center platform above those two. There is also an arrangement with two small platforms around the ledge and one small platform in the middle above the others. Finally, there is an arrangement with one small platform above the left side of the main stage and another slightly higher above the right.

The hovering platforms also land in several spots around the plaza. The simplest one is on the boardwalk at the main courtyard, which is just one flat platform with water below the ledges. The platform will also land in an area around the western side of the plaze, which has a lowered spot with shallow water and a veranda that can be stood on, as well as a spot of deep water to the far right. It can also land along a line umbrellas near the Shine Gate. Another landing spot is a line of buildings in front of the Shine Gate, and even the Shine Gate itself is a landing location, but with two small platforms attached near its tip. There's also the area in front of a dolphin statue where Mario could teleport to Noki Bay in Super Mario Sunshine, which has a low central area with stairs leading to walkoffs at both sides. Players can also be dropped on top of several rock columns with water underneath. Finally, the platforms can land on two seperate islands. Both have almost similar terrain, but one is larger than the other.

These different stage variations are all static, so memorizing their layouts is not too important for victory. Characters can shark below the main hovering platform, which can be difficult to deal with. Most landing spots have water that can be swam in, which can save players from meteor smashes, but can also make them more susceptible to meteor smashes. Some landing spots have walls and walkoffs which can be taken advantage by certain characters to camp or perform wall infinites, so be careful if you're fighting against one. Overall, the strategies for all layouts are almost the same.

This stage is universally considered as a Counterpick, as it has manageable hazards and most layouts are neutral enough. It is sometimes chosen as a Starter stage for tourneys with larger starter stagelists.

Distant Planet
From: Pikmin This stage is conformed by a very bouncy base made of vines and a rock platform, but be careful in this rock platform because sometimes it rains and you may slip and lose a life. Pellet Posies will appear and drop a Pellet. Pick it up and throw it to an Onion to get some items. During your brawl, a red bulborb (Spotty Bulborb) will appear on the right hand side of the screen. Throw enemies into it's mouth to score an immeadiate KO.

Final Destination
This is the simplest stage in the game. It is just one large platform with a background that changes from an oddysey through space to a sunset above a vast ocean. This is also the stage where you must fight Master Hand and/or Crazy Hand in Classic Mode and Boss Battles. Compared to the same stage in Melee, it is slightly smaller, and the base is thinner.

Thanks to its lack of platforms, gameplay is fairly linear and can even feel a bit restricted. Without platforms, characters have more limited recovery options, as they must aim for the ledge or close to it to be safe from attacks. It gives a significant advantage for characters with strong projectile-camping abilities or good chaingrabs, such as Falco, Diddy and Ice Climbers, because there is no alternative way to approach due to the lack of platforms and a long stretch of ground for characters to chaingrab across the stage for high damage. Diddy Kong is listed as an example because he can control the areas of the stage with his bananas, and since there are nowhere to land other than the platform with bananas, it lets him restricts the movements of his foes with ease. The ledges have a slight extension with a tendency to snag players from properly grabbing the edge, so be careful when recovering.

Final Destination have been considered a Starter stage for a few years, but some regions have begun to list it as a Counterpick because of the advantages it gives to projectile and chaingrab characters.

Flat Zone 2
From: Game And Watch (1980-1991) In this stage you fight in a Game & Watch. The stage will change every now and then among the different Game & Watch games, and each one has its own hazards.


 * How to unlock
 * Appears after Mr. G & W is unlocked.

Frigate Orpheon
This is a stage based on the battle against the Parasite Queen in Metroid Prime, but the boss is just a background element in this game, and doesn't interact with players. Every so often, a siren will sound for a few moments before the stage flips 180 degrees, making you fight in a different layout of the stage, before eventually flipping back. The starting layout consists of a main, flat platform with a smaller platform above its left side, with a moving platform that shifts up and down on its right. Only the left edge is grabbable in this version of the stage. The layout after the flip is a large platform which is straight near the ledges but is concave at the middle. One platform floats above the indentation, while smaller platforms will move left and right near both ledges.

Stage control is vital in this stage. The left portion of the first stage with the platforms is a useful position to hold as it gives you a platfom to escape projectiles and chaingrabs. The right section of the stage is disadvantageous to be in, since you can't grab its ledge, though you can dodge projectiles when the moving platform move downwards. It also creates a temporary wall while it is at its lowest position, which can let you do some combos and chaingrabs against the wall.

The flipped stage emphasizes control over the edges to give you a height advantage, but the indentation can let you dodge projectiles. A character camping in the middle can be difficult to approach if played well. The moving platforms off to the side can aid in recovering. Note that you might find yourself in an awkward position after a flip, so it is generally advisable to stay in the air as the flip is going on.

The stage is universally considered a Counterpick as certain characters can control certain portions of the stage very well.

Green Hill Zone
From: Sonic The Hedgehog (1991) This stage is taken from the first level of Sonic the Hedgehog. It is conformed by two platforms attached to one big, sloping dip in the ground, but be careful in this spot because with too many hits it will fall. Sometimes, three characters from the Sonic series will appear in the loop in the background: Tails, Knuckles, and Silver. During your brawl, "checkpoints" from the sonic series will pop up. Attack these checkpoints to make them spin round rapidly and throw enemies into the spinning checkpoints to deal damage to them and knock them back. Even if you didn't start the checkpoint spinning, any character who didn't make the checkpoint spin will be hurt by the checkpoint.


 * How to unlock
 * Appears after Sonic is unlocked.

Hanenbow
A plant themed stage, taken from the game Electroplankton. As you attack the leaves, the angle their positioned changes. Sometimes fish-like creatures jump from the water and change the angle by themselves, these fish deal no damage to you, however.


 * How to unlock
 * Beat Event #28.

Luigi's Mansion
You are fighting in the inside of the house. One of its features is that you can destroy it by stricking the four pillars it has. It will eventually restore its appearance.


 * How to unlock
 * Play three Vs. matches as Luigi.

Lylat Cruise
The Lylat Cruiser stage has players fight on top of a spacecraft called Pleiades, which doesn't appear in the Star Fox series. It has one main platform and three platforms attached to the ship, with the sides of the stage slightly slanted. The stage itself will warp to four different areas: a heated battle between giant spacecraft, a precarious journey through an asteroid field, a dogfight between Star Fox and Star Wolf and the peaceful outer atmosphere of Corneria. The stage will tilt based on a set path depending on the current background, but it will always be level during the warping sequences. When using Fox, Falco or Wolf, using a smash taunt will trigger a conversation between Star Fox characters by the next background change. The event is different depending on which character you used and what background event you warped to.

The slanted and tilting feature of the stage can interrupt chaingrabs and projectile camping. As the platforms are quite close to the main platform, most moves can hit through them. Platform canceling is possible during all background events except when it is above Corneria, which can extend some combos. The ledges are quite thin, and has a tendency to mess up recoveries, especially when the stage is tilting.

The tilting and ledges of the stage is manageable enough that it is usually considered a Starter, though it becomes a Counterpick in more conservative stagelists.

Mario Bros.
In this stage is quite difficult to make a KO because of the many floors it has, but if you hit a Shellcreeper or a Sidestepper you will be able to pick them up and throw them against an opponent, so that you can be able to knock the opponent sideways.


 * How to unlock
 * Complete Event 19: Wario Bros.

Mario Circuit
From: Super Mario Kart The Mario Circuit level is a lot like the Mute City level from Super Smash Bros. Melee. It involves characters fighting at the intersection of the course and doging Shy-Guys driving their karts. It´s a figure-8 track, so they will come from the back and from the sides.

Mushroomy Kingdom
From: Super Mario Bros. (1985) This stage recreates the first two levels,but with a different background. Usually World 1-1 will appear, but ocasionally World 1-2 will load. The stage slowly scrolls sideways, like in the original game.

You can force the game to load World 1-1 by holding as you select the stage. Or you can force World 1-2 to load by holding.

New Pork City
From: Mother 3 (GBA) This is a really large stage, bigger than the Hyrule Temple stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee. With all the freedom to run this stage offers, you may pass some time chasing your opponent. Also a creature known as Ultimate Chimera will appear, if it bites you, you will surely lose a life.

Norfair
From: Metroid (1986–1988) This stage is the Metroid stage. There are 5 platforms floating over lava that eventually rises to burn anyone who touches it, the only difference is that the lava will now come from the sides and even from behind like a lava wave. When the lava wave comes, a single safe area will appear (with destructible doors from Metroid). If a character fails to enter a safe zone before the lava strikes they will be KO'd. Try knocking opponents out of the safe zone so that they will be KO'd by the wave. Some people attempt to shield themselves if they fail to reach the safe zone, giving them a slight chance of survival.

Pictochat
This stage is from the Nintendo DS software, Pictochat. Drawings will appear on the screen and affect the characters, such as pictures of flames burning the participants and a picture of a cart that you can ride around on.

Pirate Ship
From: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker You start fighting on Tetra's pirate ship, but eventually more and more boats come. They may appear in the background or as extra platforms. There is a small catapult that apears out of the front, so you can lure your foes to launch them if the time is right. Stay out of the water! If you hit the boat or the boat is sucked up by the storm, you will die!


 * How to unlock
 * Appears after Toon Link is unlocked.

Pokémon Stadium 2
From: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl The new Pokémon stadium is very similar to the Super Smash Bros. Melee level. While the background has been changed a bit, it still has two small floating platforms over the giant Poké Ball.

The terrain can now transform into "Electric", "Ground", "Flying", and "Ice". The electric stage turns the main platform into a conveyer belt, the flying stage makes the area very floaty, and the ice stage makes the floor slippery, making it hard to run.

Port Town Aero Dive
From: F-Zero GX This stage is almost the same of the Mute City stage in SSBM. The only difference is the background and the stops. Note that if you knock opponents down off the stage then they may bounce back up but with more damage, to show them bouncing on the track.

Rumble Falls
From: Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat This stage is very similar to Icicle Mountain from Super Smash Bros. Melee based on the fact that the screen will slowly scroll upwards, but this is with a Donkey Kong theme. Like Icicle Mountain, there are rock layers that impede progress, but there are also several spikes that send fighters flying far. On occasion, the words "SPEED UP" will appear, making the stage scroll faster than usual for a time.

Shadow Moses Island
The Metal Gear level is based on the helipad area of Shadow Moses Island from Metal Gear Solid. The level has high walls on the left and right that must be destroyed before characters can be smashed off the screen in those directions. A spotlight will search around the area, and, when a character is spotted, the character will pause and an exclamation mark will appear above its head. Occasionally, a Metal Gear will appear from the background. Snake will also receive communications about his opponents on this level.

Skyworld
From: Kid Icarus This is the Kid Icarus stage. In Skyworld, the floor's crumbling construction makes it easy to shatter, giving it a more dangerous touch. The floor regenerates quickly.

Smashville
From: Animal Crossing: Wild World Normally a nice, peaceful, and quiet place, this town is now a Smash Bros. Stage. The changing scenery from day to night (and vice versa) is determined by your Wii's internal clock. The audience in the background will react to events during the match, such as applauding for a player they like when he/she gets a KO. Another feature is that when you play this stage on a Saturday from 8PM to midnight, K. K. Slider will make a special performance will take place behind the stage. It is the smallest stage in the game, making it crowded during free for alls.

The stage consists of one main platform and one platform hovering above it that will move left to right. Red balloons will sometimes float by overhead, usually carrying food if they're turned on in options, and can be popped with a single hit to drop their load. Due to the thin main platform, it is quite easy to glide across the bottom of the stage. It is widely considered as the most neutral stage in the game. The moving platform gives just enough to avoid chaingrabbing and projectile camping with good positioning, but still make those tactics viable. It also gives more recovery options and helps players pursuit others during combos. A good advanced technique is platform canceling, which can be performed on the moving platform for some interesting tricks.

This stage is universally considered as a Starter stage and is the favourite of a lot of competitive players due to its neutral nature and interesting features with its moving platform.

Spear Pillar
This is the place where you encountered Palkia and Dialga in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. It is composed of two parts: some kind of holy ground and a tunnel below it. When the "holy ground" is bluish, Dialga will appear. If it is purplish Palkia will appear. Cresselia may occasionally appear as well.

Dialga's Effects:
 * A laser beam may fall from the skies like a column of blue light.
 * The stage may tilt sideways, however you will not slide downhill.
 * The characters may get slower.
 * Dialga may jump into the stage and attack.

Palkia's Effects:
 * The "holy ground" may crumble.
 * A purple laser beam may project horizontally across the stage; it fires through the rocky, lower half.
 * The stage may turn completely upside down, but since it is an illusion you won't be fighting on the ceiling.
 * The stage may also be reversed as an illusion, making your left and right controls switched.
 * Palkia may jump into the stage and attack as well.

There are three pokémon that may guest appear during a battle. These are Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. Sometimes neither Palkia nor Dialga will appear. Instead of them, Cresselia will appear. Cresselia has two similar attacks;

Cresselia:
 * Charging and firing a number of curved projectiles around the stage.
 * Firing a single curved projectile which boomerangs around the stage.


 * How to unlock
 * Beat Event #25.

Summit
From: Ice Climber (1985) This stage is the peak of the Icicle Mountain. In this stage you will fight over the mountain until it cracks and breaks, sliding down until it reaches the sea, where a polar bear will try to sink the stage.

Wario Ware Inc.
From: WarioWare This wacky stage, inspired by the game which shares its name, has the players not only fighting each other, but also having to contend with the stage, which changes into different WarioWare microgames that appear. Players are rewarded if they successfully complete a microgame.

Yoshi's Island
From: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island The Yoshi's Island stage is based on the pastel-colored crayon-drawn art style used in games like Super Mario World 2 and Yoshi's Island DS. The stage goes through several seasons as the fight drags on, but it has no affect on gameplay. The stage itself consists of one large platform with uneven terrain, which goes right down to the bottom blastline so players can't travel under it. There is one more platform above that tilts, and the Support Ghost will pop up randomly at the left or right edge. Shy Guys will occasionally fly in carrying food items, though they won't carry anything if food is turned off in the options menu. Hitting them will make them drop the items and fly away, though ignoring them for a long time will also make them go away.

The uneven geometry of the stage can allow for some interesting strategies. It can sometimes interrupt chaingrabs, while the slants can affect some moves like Kirby's Stone. The tilting platfrom has an interesting feature in that it lets projectiles through if they cross it from the bottom but not from the top side, so players can tilt it one way or another to either shield them from projectiles or help them camp with them. The Shy Guys are a helpful source of healing items and can be used to refresh moves affected by Stale Move Negation. The Support Ghost's appearance can help players recover, but can also do the opposite. Lastly, the walls of the base can be wall jumped from, which can be exploited especially well with characters like Lucario, who can cling to the wall and plan his next move.

The stage is universally considered a Starter stage as it doesn't give too much of an advantage to any character.

Melee Stages
A select number of stages are returning from Super Smash Bros. Melee. Most of the stages are already available at the start of the game, but some of them must be unlocked.

Big Blue
You will fight atop of F-Zero cars, in which the area moves to the left as the racers move to the right.

Avoid standing on the road, as that you might get KO'd, but use this to your advantage. Do a meteor smash to an opponent to make him go down to the floor and get swept away.
 * How to unlock
 * Play 10 Vs. matches as Captain Falcon.

Brinstar
Like Norfair's lava, this stage's lava will rise at regular intervals. Sometimes, it will rise up to the point where you'll fight at the one platform in the middle, at which you'll have to smash your opponents to the left or right.

Use meteor smashes when the lava is fully off the screen to get KOs, since the lava prevents players to get KO'd and take damage instead, or you can let them be burned and then smash them out for a KO.

Corneria
This nostalgic stage from Melee is extremely similar to one of the levels from the original Super Smash Bros. The laser on the front of the ship fires occasionally, knock opponents into the lasers that it fires to get an instant KO.

Green Greens
A stage from Melee. There are blocks here that you can destroy. Sometimes, they may be bomb blocks,so don't hit them. Also, Whispy Woods may blow you across the stage. He can also throw apples from his branches and hit you with them.


 * How to unlock
 * Play 20 Vs. matches as Kirby.

Hyrule Temple
From: The Legend of Zelda

This stage is very large, making it hard to KO heavy opponents. To add to the difficulty, the lower half of the stage is sometimes referred to as the "Thunder dome" or the "Fight club" because of the extreme difficulty of KOing characters down there. This is thanks to the rock formations. If you have high damage percentage, run down here to reduce the chance of being KO'd.



Jungle Japes

 * How to unlock
 * Play 10 Vs. matches on any SSBM stage.

Jungle Japes is a fairly basic stage. It's quite flat, making it a good stage for projectile users like Link and Fox, and has a floating, pass-through platform in the middle. If a player falls into the river below, they are rushed to the left hand boundary. Use this to you advantage and knock enemies straight into the river to score an easy KO. Occasionally, a crocodile-like creature jumps out of the water, this creature will send a player flying on contact but it is impossible to know when the crocodile jumps out.
 * From Donkey Kong Country

Onett
From: Earthbound (1994)

This stage is complex, with lots of different height platforms. This makes it hard to hit with projectiles. Occasionally, a car will travel across the stage, knocking any player back that comes into contact with it. A warning appears to show that this is about to happen. When you see this warning, knock or throw opponents down to the entrance of the drug store.



Pokémon Stadium
From: Pokémon Gold and Silver The original Pokémon Stadium is quite like Pokémon Stadium 2 but instead of Electric, Ice, Ground and Air type stadium changes, you have Fire, Water, Grass and Rock type stadium changes. These only serve as different platforms and do not affect anything.
 * How to unlock
 * Play 10 Vs. matches on the Pokémon Stadium 2 stage.

Rainbow Cruise
From: Super Mario 64 Based off of SM64's 15th course "Rainbow Ride", this stage goes in all four cardinal directions as a forced screen stage. You'll need to constantly move around, as either the elements of the stage, your opponents, or the screen itself may eventually KO you.

Yoshi's Island
From: Super Mario World