Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/All-Star Mode

All Star Mode is another mode in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U. Like the previous games, you have to defeat every character (including DLC characters if owned) in several rounds. The mode is available at the start with only the characters unlocked. It is available on easy, medium, or hard. If all characters are unlocked (DLC excluded), then the mode is known as the True All Star Mode.

Matches
There are a total of seven matches in All Star Mode. All of the fighters are ordered and grouped based on his or her first appearance. On the 3DS, the fighters are in chronological order. In the Wii U, it is in reverse chronological order. Also, the stages are based on the time period.

The damage you have carries on to the additional rounds. During matches, your attacks receive a boost in power, while your opponent's attacks are made weaker to compensate. Custom moves and equipment are disabled, and items will not spawn other than those manually created by characters. You only have 1 life to clear the entire mode. You cannot continue if you get a Game Over.

Rest Area
After each round, you end up in a Rest Area. It shows the next set of fighters as well as the time period. The fighters defeated also appear in the background.

Health items also appear. If all characters are not unlocked, there are two Maxim Tomatoes, a Fairy Bottle, and a modified Heart Container that heals off damage completely. Otherwise, there are one Maxim Tomato, a Fairy Bottle, and two Heart Containers. While in the rest area, your damage percent is constant; you cannot heal or do self-damage. Additionally, moves that normally grant increased healing from health items such as Chomp will not provide said health boost effect.

Rewards
At the end of each round, you get coins. In the rest area, there are trophies and custom parts available. Getting KO'ed does not make you lose any of these rewards; you leave with just those rewards.

General tips

 * Keep your opponents scattered or try to wall them off to one side. A bunch of foes ganging up on you can rack up damage really fast, so you must do your best to avoid getting surrounded.
 * Based on the advice above, the best attacks to use are ones that are moderately quick and strong, usually most faster smash attacks. Your objective is to keep foes at a distance and busy recovering. Slow but powerful moves are poor choices as enemies other than your current can easily interrupt your move.
 * For some reason, projectiles are NOT affected by the strength modifier on both you and your opponents. This means that while you may only take medium knockback from a charged Side Smash by Ike at 120%, a max-size Charge Shot at that percent is absolutely lethal. Be especially careful of characters with projectile KO moves like Samus and Lucario.
 * Similar to projectiles, stage hazards will also do normal damage and knockback. Take extra care when playing on stages like Port Town Aero Drive.
 * Ration your health items wisely. The main healing item you should plan around is the Fairy Bottle due to its picky healing mechanic. If you've taken slightly above 100%, it is practically an extra Health Container, but is completely useless anywhere below that threshold.

Match-by-match analysis
Note that match order is exactly reversed on the Wii U version. Characters and stages in bold will only appear if they have been unlocked.

Stage 1: 1980-1984
Pac-Man and the Game & Watch handheld series are the earliest franchises represented in Smash, so their characters are obviously the first two in the chain. Donkey Kong would dominate arcades a year later, introducing both its namesake ape and an early Mario, then called Jumpman. Mario's brother, Luigi will later debut in Mario Bros., while Little Mac would appear in Punch-out a while later. This is a manageable roster, being the smallest selection of fighters in True All-Star Mode. Pac-Man is the only character with dangerous projectiles, namely his hydrant, while Little Mac's KO Punch matches the strength of a normal KO move despite its lowered power.
 * Characters: Mr. Game & Watch, Pac-Man, Mario, Donkey Kong, Luigi, Little Mac
 * Stages (3DS): Flat Zone 2, Pac-Maze, Jungle Japes, Boxing Ring
 * Stages (Wii U): Flat Zone X, Pac-Land, Delfino Plaza, Luigi's Mansion

In the 3DS version, Flat Zone 2 is a pretty dangerous stage to start with, as the hazards can both deal high damage and KO. Luckily, its small size makes it easy to get KOs, so you should be able to clear the stage before the Fire transformation ends. Pac-Maze's hazards are not a problem, but its solid floating platforms might get in the way of launched opponents, preventing a KO. Jungle Japes has a lot of horizontal space which helps minimize damage, but the raging river can result in an early loss. Boxing Ring is the best stage for this overall, with plenty of room to run around, no damaging hazards and walkoffs at the edges for quick KOs.

The dangers of Flat Zone X is pretty similar to Flat Zone 2, but in this case, you may be starting the battle with some damage already racked up, so be extra cautious of strong hazards like the pedestrians in Oil Panic or the tamers in Lion. Pac-Land is a moderately slow scrolling stage with mostly non-threatening hazards, but do watch out for the hydrant. Delfino Plaza lacks hazards altogether, but doesn't have any features that helps you either. Luigi's Mansion is an amazing stage for this final battle, since its first floor ceiling creates a cave-of-life effect, letting you survive to extremely high percents. Even if you start the match heavily wounded, you can still make a glorious comeback by holing up at the lower floor, teching off the ceiling to negate otherwise lethal knockback.