Super Smash Bros. Brawl/The Lake Shore

As Kirby and the princess are walking along a lane, Kirby spots something and runs off. The confused princess turns around only to find herself at the business end of Bowser's Dark Cannon. Shadow Bugs swarm the trophy, as Bowser plans another nefarious plot. Two pairs of brave heroes are about to have their paths converge, but this meeting wouldn't be a peaceful one. As one pair of them races across the path, the fake princess formed from Shadow Bugs lines up her Dark Cannon. However, a swing of the blade knocks it out of her hand. Two other fighters have spotted her, and won't let her commit this evil deed.

Fake princess battle

This entire stage will play out differently depending on which princess you chose to save at the start of the game, but it basically involves a chain of battles similar to a normal versus mode match. For the first fight, you must defeat Zelda as Mario and Pit if you saved Zelda during the fight with Petey, whereas you will fight against Peach as Link and Yoshi if you saved her instead. You should have a slight advantage over the fake princess, as you have two lives while she only has one.

Having defeated the fake princess, both brawlers watch as her trophy diffuses into Shadow Bugs. At that very moment, the other two fighters witnesses the exact moment of the trophy vanishing. Soon, both pairs of heroes find themselves fighting against each other. For the first two fighters, the very people they tried to save are now actively trying to fight them.

A conflict between heroes

Now you will have to fight Link and Yoshi if you saved Zelda, or Mario and Pit if you saved Peach. The battle is a bit harder, since you only have one stock each and it's a 2-on-2 fight, but you get a computer-controlled partner if you don't have a second player playing with you. Again, the battle is similar to a standard match, so just fight as you normally would and you should win.

As the two victors look at the trophies of their attackers, King Dedede suddenly drives by in Wario's hovercar, swooping the two trophies up. However, Kirby quickly comes out of hiding and slices the hovercar's grappling arm with one swift slash of the cutter. He quickly revives both downed fighters as King Dedede drives away in a panic. Having seen the trophy of another princess on the hovercar, all of the fighters decide to pursue King Dedede.

Lakeside pursuit

Run to the right and you'll encounter a new enemy: the Bombed. These explosive enemies toss their bomb heads at you and run away to regenerate more bomb heads. You will also have to fight some Mites and some Tickens along the way. Keep moving to the right until you reach a platform that will start to rise as soon as you land on it. You must now fight off several swarms of enemies that mostly consist of Bombeds, though there will also be a Greap thrown into the mix. After the fights, the platform will start to descend and shrink as tons of Bullet Bills home in on you. Once you safely reach the ground, run to the right to reach the door to the next area.

The stage will start scrolling to the right, and you'll have to keep up with the scrolling speed. There aren't any enemies outside of some Bucculus and Jyks, so don't worry about falling behind. After some stationary walls, you will soon encounter moving walls, pits, launchers and falling blocks. There will also be a gold item box right in your path, but you must be quick to pick it up before it scrolls offscreen. After one final floating stone platform, the screen will stop at a cave. Go through it in the same way you would use a door.

The five fighters gather at the entrance of the cave. An abandoned hovercar means that Dedede escape through these caverns, but what dangers lie within?

The abandoned mine

Run right and drop down, which will put you right into a fight with two Shaydas. These enemies are clumps of Shadow Bugs that attack with their two blades. Their weakness is the glowing pink core at the center, and attacking anywhere else will do minimal damage to them. After you defeat the Shaydas, a pit will open up. Jump down it to fall down another vertical shaft to land in a minecart.

Your minecart ride will only last a short while before you're forced to jump out as it tumbles into a pool. You must now jump across the platforms above the pool to reach the other side. Watch out for the falling platforms as you make it across and climb the short shaft above the pool. When it seems like you can't climb any higher, jump as high as you can while hugging the left wall and you should find a hidden alcove. Defeat the Shaydas that appears as you jump on to the alcove, then destroy the blocks to reveal a secret door. Go through it.

You will appear in a flooded room. Jump across the little islands in the pool to reach your prize at the end, a blue and gold item box. Hop back and return to the main level through the door. Back in the mine, go right along the narrow hallway. You will come across some red-hot moving walls. Touching their burning ends will harm you, but be especially careful not to get crushed by them.

After the hallway is a large room with a single key and three gates. You can use the key in any gates, but be sure to choose the right one to open. There will always be an extra key behind the wrong gate you unlocked, so don't be too hesitant to try it on each gate. Ultimately, you must unlock the top gate to proceed. Go down the hallway until an area where it widens up. A Shaydas will appear, so defeat it quickly. Doing so will make a door appear in midair. Enter it.

This large cavern consists of some falling blocks above a pool. Make your way to the left side of the room. Break the blocks at the top-left corner for the gold item box, then either fall through the blocks or swim into the corner containing the blue item box. Go back to the door you came in from and return to the main stage. Watch out for the Shaydas that has just respawn as you exit.

Keep going right along the hallway. Your path will soon be blocked by some bombable blocks. Attack the bomb blocks the clear the way, and repeat the process two more times as you weave your way down to a lower level of the mine. You will enter a moderately large room, where you'll fight a forced battle with some Feyeshes, Tickens and Shaydas. After the battle, the gate to your right will open. Enter the door and get the contents of the blue and gold item box inside. Once you're done, go through the golden door to complete the level.

Emerging from the mine, the group sees Dedede's hiding spot. An ominous castle looms at the end of a winding path, as the Halberd slowly emerges from the clouds...

Elsewhere, a person in a surveillance center commands Bowser to proceed to another location. It turns out to be Link's greatest enemy, Ganondorf. With so many villains working for the Subspace Army, this deadly threat will be hard to take down.