The Stages We Want Released For Super Smash Bros.

Nintendo continues to support the latest entry of the beloved Super Smash Bros. series through both free updates and paid downloadable content. To this point, we’ve received some new characters, stages, and Mii costumes, as well as some new community-driven modes and features. In the past, we’ve looked at characters we’d like to see as DLC. Now, we turn the focus toward new stages where those characters can battle it out.

With its Super Smash Bros. DLC strategy, Nintendo has released a mix of new and classic stages from Super Smash Bros. history. As such, that’s the way we’re approaching this wishlist. Check out the levels we’d like to see and let us know which levels you want as downloadable content for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS.

Splatoon

Splatoon is one of Nintendo’s biggest surprises in recent memory, and while we already have Inkling costumes for the Mii Fighters, a stage for the fast-paced mess-fest would fit right in. The music of Splatoon is one of the most striking parts of the experience, so to bring a fresh stage complete with four or five tunes from the game would be a great addition. Plus, all of the maps in Splatoon are very creative in their designs, making them ideal for picking elements out to craft a Super Smash Bros. stage. Ink could fly everywhere, with certain colors slowing specific characters down while speeding up others as is the case within Splatoon’s gameplay. The colorful display and adrenaline-pumping music would make for a natural fit within the Smash Bros. stage library.

Super Mario Maker

Players have no shortage of stages devoted to the face of Nintendo in the Smash Bros. series, but with Super Mario Maker hitting stores this September, it would be awesome to get a stage based on the title. Of course, the game is based on four titles from Mario’s past, which could mean interesting things for how the stage could evolve from Super Mario Bros. NES sprites all the way up to the more modern graphics of New Super Mario Bros. U. With an emphasis on creating and editing, the Smash team could make it so that walls, enemies, and other elements present in Super Mario Maker’s creation tools pop up to make battles interesting and unpredictable. If the stage takes a procedural generation approach, it could quickly become a fan favorite as players have no idea what to expect going in.

Chibi-Robo

The Chibi-Robo series hasn’t had strong representation in the Super Smash Bros. series to this point, but a Chibi-Robo stage could bring with it concepts that could work out well if executed properly. The stage could take place under a table with a little frog girl playing in the background who sometimes knocks balls and other toys underneath, knocking fighters if they aren’t avoided. Also, with it happening under a table, smaller objects could fall under and be used as throw-able objects for the fighters.

Mario Tennis

Mario Tennis has been one of the most enduring spin-off franchises in Mario’s long career. Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash hitting the Wii U later this year is a great excuse to finally crossover the crossover franchises. The stage could take place on a tennis court with some of the characters rallying back and forth. Flying tennis balls that damage players, a crowd that cheers along with every moment, and mega mushrooms that cause players to grow in size are just a few of the features a Mario Tennis stage could feature.

Street Fighter Bonus Stage

With Ryu making the leap to Super Smash Bros. – and the Suzaku Castle stage joining him – it only makes sense that we would receive more from Capcom’s legendary fighting franchise. Rather than bringing something relatively balanced and traditional like Suzaku Castle, I’d like to see Capcom embrace the more off-the-wall side of Street Fighter: the bonus stages. Have a stage where beating up a car grants power-ups or Smash Balls, or make players dodge falling barrels that can also be destroyed if hit correctly with the barrels sometimes containing different power-ups. 

On the next page we look at Zelda and more!

Zelda Wii U

We don’t know much about the upcoming Legend of Zelda game for Wii U, but what we do know has to do with the world that Link is exploring. Nintendo has avoided revealing too much about Link’s next adventure, but it would be a really interesting strategy for the company to tease – and maybe even reveal – a bit more about the setting for Zelda Wii U through a downloadable stage on one of the platform’s biggest games. The fun part would come in with all of the analysis of every pixel as the community tries to piece together things that may or may not be clues from Nintendo about Link’s new adventure.

Wii Sports

Wii Sports is one of the most popular pack-in games ever, but it’s thus far been limited to just one stage in Super Smash Bros. While that makes sense due to it not being a character-driven experience like Super Smash Bros., it would be great to have the different sports represented, rather than just the various locales featured in Wii Sports Resort. Going beyond the carousel of golf courses and bowling lanes, the characters could be placed atop jet skis while being forced to jump between watercrafts as they launch off ramps and wakes. So much could be done with a true Wii Sports theme that it’s a shame that we’ve been limited to Wuhu Island (which, if we’re being honest, actually debuted in Wii Fit).

Bowser’s Castle (NES)

We’ve seen levels from retro games like the original Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong recreated in Super Smash Bros. We’ve also received multiple different visions of World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros., so why not expand to other well-known levels within that trademark game? There are several levels in the Mario series that could probably translate well into chaotic and fun Smash Bros. stages, but none would be as iconic as a level modeled after King Koopa’s castle in the original Super Mario Bros. Fireballs flying, Bowser’s minions interfering, and a host of stage hazards could make for an involved experience that harkens back to the nostalgic elements that Smash Bros. has always relied on.

Bayonetta

The titular character from the Bayonetta series may not have made an appearance in the Super Smash Bros. roster, but some of the levels she battles in over the course of the first two games could prove interesting. Since the levels shift around you and the bosses are often powerful and unique, Bayonetta’s stage could put a direct emphasis on those two things, much in the way other stages evolve or feature boss characters who are A.I. controlled. The fight could even take place on top of the fighter jet seen in one of the visually stunning opening moments of Bayonetta 2, but something like more familiar like Vigrid or scenic like Noatun would probably resonate more with the Bayonetta fanbase. Since Bayonetta shares the chaotic trait with Super Smash Bros., it just seems like a natural fit. If we got this, though, we’d probably just want Bayonetta as a playable character as well. 

On the next page, we look at some classic Smash stages we’d love to see return.

Yoshi’s Island (N64) 

The classic Yoshi stage from the Nintendo 64 version of Smash Bros. was a simple, yet fun level. It isn’t the most involved and complex stage, but its simplicity is where its strength lies. With few interruptions and a charming storybook design based on the cheerful Yoshi’s Story (plus some of the best music from the first Smash Bros.), Yoshi’s Island has a special place in the hearts of many players. Though there are definite ways to exploit the stage with Fox, and some slight disadvantages to playing as Link such as not being able to recover as easily from one side, Nintendo could likely put in some small reworks to make it a more balanced arena.

Saffron City (N64)

We’ve received a ton of stages from the Pokémon series where different creatures pop out and deliver different effects, but the original level from Super Smash Bros. 64 remains a favorite for many. Since the original Super Smash Bros. came out before the Pokémon series started introducing more creatures, Saffron City delivers cameos from several of the original 151 Pokémon. Though different flying type Pokémon could be spotted in the background, the N64 version of this stage limited the appearances to five Pokémon who could emerge from the door to interact with players. If Nintendo remade this stage, I’d prefer it retained the original 151, while still expanding the number of creatures that could interact with the combatants. For example Haunter cast Night Shade on the entire field, or Caterpie could blast the nearest fighter with String Shot to slow them down.

F-Zero Grand Prix: Big Blue (Melee)

Captain Falcon and the F-Zero crew has been underrepresented by Nintendo as of late. With him being better known as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. than he is as a pilot in the F-Zero series at this point, it would make sense to celebrate his heritage in this series through the re-release of the classic Big Blue level from Melee. There are other racing stages based on F-Zero in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS, but Big Blue holds a special place for many fans due to the intense race that’s taking place during the battle and the cars that characters must jump across throughout. Maybe after that we could get an F-Zero game on Wii U.

Rumble Falls (Brawl)

The Brawl stage from Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat is one of the least balanced stages on this list thanks to its fast-scrolling nature that gives high-jumping characters a major advantage. Despite this fact, it has the potential to deliver the frantic action Smash Bros. matches thrive on in ways few other stages in series history can. With ladders and small platforms, combat in Rumble Falls resembles the action found in the stagnant 75m level that is based on the original Donkey Kong. The key difference, however, is that while 75m is stagnant, Rumble Falls scrolls and has spikes throughout, injecting more mayhem into the already chaotic battles.  

Wind Waker Pirate Ship (Brawl)

Whenever you think of Toon Link, chances are, your mind goes directly to The Wind Waker. Unfortunately, in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, Toon Link’s signature stage is from Spirit Tracks, while he doesn’t even have his own stage in the Wii U version. In Brawl, Toon Link had his home stage on a pirate ship based on Tetra’s ship from The Wind Waker. Wind Waker’s King of Red Lions also makes an occasional appearance in the stage, furthering the iconic references to one of the most divisive games in the Zelda franchise. 

Though we ran down our picks for potential stage DLC, we want to know what you’d love to see! Would you rather more stages from the past, or fresh stages that we’ve never seen before? Sound off in the comments!