Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (Nintendo)

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, collectively referred to as Super Smash Bros. 4, are the fourth and fifth versions in the Super Smash Bros. series developed by Sora Ltd. and Bandai Namco Games for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

Characters
Some characters are now separate instead of being conjoined, along with some veterans returning as DLC as well as some character being unlockable.

amiibo
amiibo made its first debut in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (later in the 3DS version via update) that uses near field communication (NFC) with figurines based on their respective characters. In the game, players bring the characters to the games as FPs (Figure Players), which can level up and be customized, learning more as they improve and interact with any player.

amiibo level up and learn faster by;
 * Having it play on someonelse's Nintendo 3DS and/or Wii U system.
 * Losing in Stock Battles.
 * Playing against different fighters
 * Making it fight against other amiibo
 * Use the same fighter as the amiibo you're playing against.

Stages
The Nintendo 3DS version has 43 stages while the Wii U version has 58 stages. Some stages from previous games return as DLC.

Game Modes
This iteration of Super Smash Bros. has several new and returning game modes.

Classic Mode
Classic mode returns once again in both versions. players can now select the intensity of their game by betting smash coins with the intensity going from 0.0 to 9.0. Before a battle, a roulette spins indicating the battle's reward. There are 6 rounds in the 3DS version and 7 rounds in the Wii U version, respectfully.

In the 3DS version, players will choose between up to difficulty routes; blue, green and red, with each route having the series symbol of whoever is being fought. When they meet the junction, they are locked into whichever choice they made and pick up trophies and coins along the path before facing their selected opponent.

In the Wii U version, players move their character on a board with several fighters for various battles. As the players fight, the other fights go on and other characters are eliminated. This can be done in Co-op as well.

At the end of both versions, they first face off with the Fighting Mii Team. They then face Master Hand, with Crazy Hand on higher difficulty and a secret boss in highest difficulties, Master Core. In the Wii U version, if the difficulty is 8.0 or higher, they will face Master Fortress to destroy four cores.

All-Star Mode

 * Main Article: All-Star Mode

All-Star Mode returns as well, now unlocked from the start, and adds the new characters as the player unlocks them.

Online Play
Unlike Brawl, there are now two modes for playing with anyone: For Fun and For Glory. For Fun is items on, all stages except final destination, for 2 minutes. Only wins are counted in this mode. For Glory is a more competitive mode with no items, only Final Destination stages, 1-on-1 battles possible, and both wins and loses counted. No longer are players completely anonymous with the player's Nintendo Network ID appearing as the player's name. This enables reporting with Miiverse-style policies. In addition, matchmaking is based on skill rather than completely random, though there will not be rankings competitively.

In addition, there is a conquest mode when players playing as certain characters add to a pie chart and the winning side gets a small bonus.

Smash Run
Smash Run is a new mode exclusive to the 3DS version. The mode starts with a five minute adventure course involving exploration and battling enemies from both Brawl's The Subspace Emissary and other game series. Through defeating these enemies, as well as opening chests, breaking targets similar to those found in Break the Targets, and other methods, power-up markers can be found and picked up and are used for increasing various stats for the player's character.

Players will also have to be careful while adventuring, as there are enemies that can steal their power-ups, as well as the risk of getting power-ups knocked out of them by other players that they might meet up with, (though Sakurai himself recommends to refrain from going at each other during the five minutes). Prior to starting, players can equip themselves with special items that they can use during the match. Upon the expiration of the five minutes, any power-ups collected are added to the characters stats, and the players fight each other in a normal winner-takes-all battle.

Smash Tour
Smash Tour is a new party mode exclusive to the Wii U version. It is up to 4 players on one of 3 boards when players travel along the board picking up items, stats and fighters for a final fight when each fighter counts as a stock and the winner is the one. Fights also start when 2 players collide resulting the 1st place to take 2nd place's fighter and the rest

Special Orders
This is a special single player mode where the player completes special matches for various prizes. Master Orders has the player buy a relatively cheap ticket for each fight and a prize for winning it. Crazy Orders has the player pay a large entry fee of 5000G or a Crazy Order Pass and fight a series of matches that get increasingly difficult and to redeem the rewards, the player must fight Crazy Hand.

Event Mode

 * List of Events in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Events return as an a Wii U version exclusive. There are 55 events for single player and 25 for Co-op. The Events are unlocked in a grid instead of a simple list now too.

Home Run Contest
Home Run Contest returns in this game. Like in the previous games, the player beats up Sandbag, and when the Sandbag is damaged enough, the player will finish off by hitting it with a Home Run bat to send it flying off to see how far does it go in a distance. Sometimes

Target Blast
A new single player mode that combines Home Run Contest and Break the Targets. The player beats up a bomb counting down from ten and then knocks it into the target field breaking some targets. The targets and other stuff in the field break into shrapnel and can break other targets.

Multi Man Smash
Like Brawl and Melee before, Multi Man Smash returns, but now it is renamed as "Multi Man Smash". However, instead of Fighting Wire Frames and Fighting Alloys, the Fighting Mii Team act as your enemies. There are 6 modes in Multi Man Smash

Trophy Rush
Trophy Rush is a new mode for gaining trophies fast. The player has to destroy boxes to build up fever to send down the trophies and customizations. It can be played in co-op on the Wii U.

Customizations
The players can customize both the fighters and create Mii Fighters. The fighters can be altered to a set of presets with variable equipment influences their overall stats and custom moves. The Mii Fighters take influence from the Mii's size but can customized into 3 different characters with highly variable special custom special moves.

Trophies

 * List of Trophies in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U 

Trophies return in this game though each version has trophies exclusive to each game. They are now purchaseable through a shop directly instead of just using your coins in the hope that it appears. On the Nintendo 3DS, they can also be bought for Play Coins.

Photo Studio
This is a feature returning from Brawl and exclusive to the Wii U version of the game. The player arranges the trophies he has in certain ways to make pictures. This time, you can also used the different fighter poses

Stage Builder
The stage builder has vastly improved from Brawl. The biggest change is that it is freeform, using the gamepad's touchscreen to draw platforms and place special platforms. The paths can be drawn in any direction too. A stage can be made in any shape desired. However, platforms with properties have mostly been removed from Brawl, limiting the properties of a platform to danger zones, being thin enough to be past through and grabbable ledges. Cannons are really the only other notable part as well, though they come in 3 varieties. The mode is only avaliable in the Nintendo Wii U version.

Challenges
There are in total 105 challenges in the Nintendo 3DS version that involve a wide variety of tasks from playing as certain characters to collecting all the smash run powers.

In the Wii U version, there are 140 challenges, all on a single screen. These are more challenging than the 3DS ones and more character specific

Music
The game allows players to play the entire game's soundtrack in both versions. The 3DS version has in total 115 songs and the Wii U version has in total 461. This total rises to over 500 with DLC.

DLC
There are three kinds of DLC for Super Smash Bros., Character and Mii Costumes. Players can buy them individually

Characters
Characters cost $3.99 for one version and $4.99 across both versions of the game with the exception of Ryu.

Mewtwo - April 15 for those who registered him on Club Nintendo, April 28 for new buyers

Lucas - June 14

Roy - June 14

Ryu - June 14, comes with Suzaku Castle, costs $5.99 for one version or $6.99 across both versions

Cloud - December 15, comes with Midgar, costs $5.99 for one version or $6.99 across both versions.

Corrin - February 3.

Bayonetta - February 3, comes with Umbra Clock Tower, costs $5.99 for one version or $6.99 across both versions.

Stages
There are 5/6 stages available as DLC. In addition, Miiverse stage on the Wii U version and Duck Hunt on the Nintendo 3DS came as free updates to the game and are not included. Each past stage costs $1.99 for one version or $2.99 for both versions.
 * N64 Dream Land
 * Suzaku Castle - Comes in bundle with Ryu
 * N64 Hyrule Castle
 * N64 Peach's Castle
 * Super Mario Maker - September 30, costs $2.49 for one version or $3.49 for both versions.
 * Brawl Pirate Ship (Wii U Only) - September 30
 * Midgar - Comes in bundle with Cloud Strife
 * Umbra Clock Tower - Comes in bundle with Bayonetta

Mii Costumes
Each Mii costme costs $.75 for one version or $1.15 for both versions. There are bundles for each wave for $6.00 for one version or $9.20 for both versions.

Wave 1

 * Smash Bros. T-Shirt
 * Dunban Outfit
 * Cat Suit
 * Monkey Suit
 * Link Outfit
 * Majora's Mask
 * X's Armor
 * Proto Man Armor

Wave 2

 * Akira Outfit
 * Jacky Outfit
 * Heihachi Outfit
 * Isabelle Outfit
 * Mega Man.EXE Armor
 * Zero Armor
 * Inkling Boy Outfit
 * Inkling Girl Outfit
 * Squid Hat
 * K.K. Slider Outfit (free)

Wave 3

 * Hoodie
 * Bear Suit
 * King K. Rool Outfit
 * Flying Man Outfit
 * Chrom Outfit
 * Black Knight Armor
 * Lloyd Outfit
 * Samus Armor

Wave 4
When bundled, this set costs $5.25 for one version or $8.05 for both.
 * Business Suit
 * Fox Outfit
 * Captain Falcon Outfit
 * Toad Set
 * Viridi Outfit
 * Monster Hunter Set
 * Rathalos Set

Wave 5
Released on December 15 alongside Cloud. When bundled, this set costs $1.50 for one version or $2.30 for both and the bundle with Cloud costs $7.49 for one version or $9.29 for both.
 * Chocobo Hat
 * Geno Outfit

Wave 6
Released on February 3 with the last of the game's DLC. When bundled. this set costs $4.50 for one version or $6.90 for both and the bundle with Corrin and Bayonetta costs $15.98 for one version or $19.88 for both.
 * Bionic Armor
 * Takamaru Outfit
 * Ashley Outfit
 * Gil (Tower of Druaga) Outfit
 * Tails Outfit
 * Knuckles Outfit

Development
An Iwata Asks interview released in June 2011 revealed a few early details about the game. Discussions between Iwata and Sakurai about creating a Super Smash Bros. title for the Nintendo 3DS with the then newly formed Project Sora began shortly after the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl in 2008. It was decided however that Sakurai and his team would first tackle Kid Icarus: Uprising. As development of the Wii U began, it became clear to Sakurai that creating a game for both systems would be necessary. He began to think about the differences between the two platforms, and realized the personal nature of the handheld experience.

This led him to consider the idea of customizing and leveling up characters with things like experience points, however he and Iwata expressed how this may limit the "pick-up-and-play" quality the series is known for. Ultimately, ''“What Sakurai hopes to do is have the Nintendo 3DS version of Smash Bros. allow players to build up their character through battle and rewards, then take their custom character to the Wii U version to face off against everyone. He feels it could be nice if they can make the “personal” portable space and the stadium-like “public” console space mash together.” Sakurai has acknowledged that the Wii U version could offer 60 frames per second visuals, high quality graphics, dynamic effects, and smooth character movements, while the Nintendo 3DS version will likely offer players a slightly different Smash Bros.'' experience. Many members of the Kid Icarus: Uprising staff are likely to work on the project. Sakurai hopes to let his team handle the character balancing this time around, as opposed to him personally doing it as he did in the previous titles.

When asked about whether or not a Capcom character could make an appearance, Sakurai said “I can’t say that it’s entirely out of the realm of possibility that some Capcom character could appear in the next Smash Bros. The big problem, though, comes from the idea of trying to get characters from a completely different universe to fit with the style that has been dictated by Nintendo's characters in a fighting game.”

Early development on the game finally began in February 2012 after Project Sora had finished it’s work on Kid Icarus: Uprising. On April 25, 2012, Sakurai revealed some of his early thoughts on the games in an interview with IGN, explaining that the series needs to evolve. ''“There is a certain dead end we come to if we just expand the volume of the game. I intend to change direction a little as we go. The key to that’s going to be its dual support for 3DS/Wii U. I’m really just getting started on this so it’s going to take time, but I'll come up with something that uses that link as the game’s central axis, so I hope you're looking forward to it.”''

Sakurai has stated that he plans on reviving more old Nintendo characters in the game, much like he did with Ice Climbers and Pit in previous titles.

In an interview with Nintendo Power, Sakurai expressed that the wait for the game's release may be longer than many fans are expecting saying, ''“We've just taken what you could call the first step of the process. This is the first time I've ever had my next project announced before it’s even entered development, and because of that, I fear that players will be forced to wait even longer than they expect to. Please be patient.”''

On June 21, 2012 during a Nintendo Direct video stream, Nintendo announced that Namco Bandai would be developing the two games with Sakurai's Project Sora. A top tier group of developers from Namco have been assembled including Masaya Kobayashi (Ridge Racer series), Yoshito Higuchi (producer and director of the Tales series), Tetsuya Akatsuka (producer and director of Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs.), the art director/sound director of the Soul Calibur series, as well as the main development team staff from the Tekken series.

In an interview with Nintendo Power, Sakurai discussed the amount of playable characters saying, ''“It isn’t a matter of ‘if the next game has 50 characters, that’ll be enough.’ There is a certain charm to games that have huge casts of playable characters, but they tend to have issues with game balance and it becomes very difficult to fine-tune each character and have them all feel distinctive…. In terms of quantity, we’ve probably already reached the limit of what’s feasible. I think a change of direction may be what’s needed.”''

When asked about the possibility of any Namco Bandai characters making an appearance in the game, Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada said ''“We’re not really sure at this moment but when thinking of the playerbase who is playing Smash Bros, maybe Tekken characters is something they wouldn’t want, so I’ve been pulling back on that a bit. But I don’t know.”''

At the E3 2013, Villager, Mega Man, and Wii Fit Trainer were revealed to be playable characters in the game.

On July 12, 2013, Pikmin &amp; Olimar were announced on the official website.

During the Nintendo Direct on August 7, 2013, Luigi was announced for the game.

On September 12, 2013, Princess Peach was announced for the game.

On September 26, 2013, Toon Link was announced for the game.

During the Nintendo Direct on October 1, 2013, Sonic the Hedgehog was announced for the game as a returning third-party character.

On November 7, 2013, Marth was announced on the official website.

On December 18, 2013, Rosalina & Luma were announced as a newcomer to the Smash Bros series. This is the first newcomer announced since E3 2013.

On December 26, 2013, Princess Zelda was announced of the official website.

On January 10, 2014, King Dedede was confirmed to return via the official website.

On January 31, 2014, Lucario was confirmed to return via the official website.

On February 13, Little Mac was announced as the fifth newcomer in this iteration of the Smash Bros during a Nintendo Direct.

On February 20, Diddy Kong was confirmed to return via the official website.

On April 8, 2014, a Nintendo Direct showcasing the game occurred. Revealed the mechanics of online play, release windows, Zero Suit Samus, Sheik, Yoshi, Charizard and Greninja.

On May, 2014, Ike was confirmed to return via the official website. He takes on his Radiant Dawn appearance now.

On June 10, 2014, during the Nintendo Digital Event, there was 3 variants of the Mii Fighter introduced; The Mii Brawler, the Mii Swordfighter and the Mii Gunner. It also revealed NFC functionality. The Nintendo 3DS version's release date was also revealed. In addition, Palutena was revealed with a trailer animated by Shaft at the end of the event.

Later that day, at the Smash roundtable, Sakurai revealed Pac-Man with a new trailer that also hinted Mr. Game and Watch could return.

On July 14, Sakurai revealed not one, but two newcomers: Lucina and Robin, with a trailer in a style of a cutscene from Fire Emblem: Awakening. Also, during a trailer, Captain Falcon was confirmed to return.

On August 13, Meta Knight was revealed to return. In addition, the site updated to explain the single player modes and revealed a limited edition Nintendo 3DS XL that was due to release on October 3 in Europe.

On August 29, Shulk was revealed in a Japanese Nintendo Direct. In addition, amiibo support for confirmed for the 3DS version.

On October 3, three of the secret characters, Ness, Falco, and Wario, were revealed to return.

On October 23, There was a Livestream revealing multiple things about the Wii U version like 8-Player Smash, Stage Builder, Master Orders and Crazy Orders, and Mewtwo added as DLC for those who buy and register both versions.

In an article for Famitsu, Sakurai mentioned Bowser Jr. was almost cut due to the high variety in his alternate costumes but the modeling team pushed through and finished them.

In an interview on Nico Nico, Sakurai mention Takamaru was considered to be a part of the roster but was dropped by the roster was finished due to his game being very unknown.

On April 1, 2015, Mewtwo, Lucas and the first wave of Mii costumes were revealed for Smash Bros. with more to come. To help choose who will get in with later DLC, they opened a polled on the official site where people can submit who they want.

On June 14, 2015, Roy, Ryu, Suzaku Castle, Dream Land 64, Hyrule Castle, Peach's Castle and Wave 2 of the Mii Costumes were revealed in addition to Youtube Replays and Tourney Mode coming in August.

On July 31, 2015, Wave 3 of the Mii Costumes were revealed.

On September 30, 2015, the stages of Super Mario Maker, Pirate Ship (Wii U DLC), and Duck Hunt (Nintendo 3DS Update), along with Wave 4 of the Mii Costumes, were revealed.

On November 12, 2015, Cloud Strife and the stage Midgar were announced for the game alongside an announcement for an event in December for the game.

On December 15, 2015, Corrin, Bayonetta, and the stage Umbra Clock Tower, along with Waves 5 and 6 of the Mii Costumes, were announced for the game in the final direct presentation.

White Board
On July 2, 2012, Masahiro Sakurai shared an image on his Twitter feed of a drawing the development staff had made on a white board that displayed many characters from previous Smash Bros. titles. While it doesn't confirm that they will in fact be featured in the game, it may be an indication that certain characters are returning. The characters in the drawing are:


 * Kirby
 * Marth
 * Pit
 * Fox
 * Donkey Kong
 * Mario
 * Zero Suit Samus
 * Mr. Game & Watch
 * Wario
 * Link
 * Pikachu
 * Luigi
 * Meta Knight

In addition to the fighters, the drawing also features: All features are in the final game
 * A Pikmin
 * Sandbag
 * Mr. Saturn
 * Either a Heart Container or a Heart from the Kid Icarus series
 * Master Hand
 * Possibly Crazy Hand

Reception
The Nintendo 3DS version was received pretty well, receiving a very solid score of 37(10/9/9/9) out of 40. It has a 85.44% on GameRankings and a 85 on Metacritic.

It sold over a million in its first weekend in Japan alone, with 944,644 at retail. Worldwide, by October 6, the game had sold over 2.8 million copies. As of the end of October, the game sold 3.22 million with about 1.5 million overseas. By the end of 2015, the Nintendo 3DS version had sold 7.92 million copies worldwide, while the Wii U version sold 4.61 million copies worldwide.

Competitive Community
The community has also received the game pretty well, finding it fairly suitable for competitive play, particularly with custom moves. The game was at EVO 2015 and 2016 though after EVO 2015, custom moves was mostly banned from tournaments.

Trivia

 * Due the games being officially stylized as, "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / for Wii U", fans chose a much shorter and easily recognizable name which was Super Smash Bros. 4, which has since then become a common name for both versions.
 * The emulated NES demos featured in the "Masterpeice" collection seem to run NES games at a higher quality than the actual Virtual Console versions they're promoting. This is most evident in how smooth and clear these demos look against the comparatively blurry VC ports. This is likely due to Nintendo's improved emulation abilities rather than them intentionally trying to mislead fans, as the NES Virtual console was released very early in the Wii U's lifespan and likely used a system similar to that of the Wii.
 * Smash Run mode was originally going to have cooperative gameplay but the idea was dropped due to the 3DS's limitations.
 * Like the actual Pikmin series, blue Pikmin are the only variety of Olimar's Pikmin that can swim in water. If any other of Olimar's Pikmin go in water, they will die instantly.
 * In the Japanese version, Wonder Pink's trophy had a different pose, and her legs and underwear were shaded to make it appropriate for the CERO rating.
 * The game contains unused sounds of Kirby saying "Heavenly Light" and "Explosive Flame", both of which are Palutena's custom Standard Specials.
 * On page 292 of the Prima Guide for Smash 4, it shows a beta image of the roster containing the Mii Brawler icon. Although the individual Mii fighters do not have their own icons in the final game, the unused icons for the Brawler as well as the Mii Swordfighter and Mii Gunner can still be found in the game's data.
 * The game contains an unused costume selection for Roy, which uses his default color palette without his cape and comes with a number of minor texture differences.
 * In the June 14th, 2015 Direct, Sakurai stated that the Suzaku Castle stage was the first in the series to have music that changes as the timer gets close to zero. This is false, as the Mushroom Kingdom stage of Super Smash Bros., and the Mushroom Kingdom and Mushroom Kingdom II stages of Super Smash Bros. Melee all have music that changes as the timer gets close to zero.
 * The reveal trailer for Roy shows him taunting in front of the Spicy Curry item. This is a reference to a Japan-only Super Smash Bros. Melee photo contest. The winner was a photo called "The Ultimate Curry", which depicted Roy taunting in front of the Curry food item.
 * The image of Mario and Luigi carrying gifts for Bayonetta is a possible reference to Bayonetta 2, in which Enzo carries Bayonetta's gift boxes in the game's opening cutscene.
 * If Little Mac accrues 100% of damage during a match, bruises and tape will appear on his face.
 * Despite R.O.B. having his grey and white palette in the American version instead of his red and white palette, his Final Smash trophy shows him with his Famicom color palette no matter what version of the game is being played.
 * When performing Bayonetta's forward throw Tetsuzanko, she'll occasionally say "Juu'nen Hayain Dayo!" (十年早いんだよ!) meaning "You're Ten Years Too Early!". This is a reference to one of the the win quotes of Akira Yuki from the Virtua Fighter series in which the Tetsuzanko is also one of Akira's signature moves. This move was also possible in Bayonetta.
 * There is an unused Game Over jingle leftover in the game's files. The song is not used anywhere in the game.
 * In the Wii U version, there is unused text that says:

''Unlocked the Gamer stage! Beware the mother's gaze! Unlocked the Temple stage! Time to fight way above the clouds!'' This most likely meant the Temple and Gamer stages were going to be unlockable stages at one point.
 * The match end tune from Street Fighter II can be found in the game's files. However, a remix of this tune was used instead for Ryu's win theme. The unused tune was most likely a placeholder during development.
 * Corrin from Fire Emblem Fates nearly didn't make it into the game because Super Smash Bros. creator, Masahiro Sakurai thought that they had already included too many Fire Emblem characters. However, Sakurai's team thought that Corrin would be a unique fighter and convinced him to include the character in the game.
 * According to Masahiro Sakurai, in an interview with Famitsu, the reason for the addition of the fighter Duck Hunt was for two reasons. The first reason was that he had an interest on adding them for a long time, but was also because of the uniqueness of the character. The second reason was because of the high sales of the game, and he deemed that the game was the high-selling shooting game in the USA.
 * The Epona trophy is taken from the 3DS release of Ocarina of Time, rather than the original Nintendo 64 release.
 * Bowser Jr. takes less damage from any attacks that hit his clown car and not his body.
 * Masahiro Sakurai wanted Geno to appear as a playable fighter, as he also wanted to include him previously in Brawl, and thought the character felt suited for the series since he has a gun for a hand. However, in the end he wasn't included, but instead appearing as a Mii Costume.
 * In the game's files for Mario Circuit is textures for Toads Kart and Toad himself, this suggests that Toads would of raced instead.
 * In the Taiwan and Hong Kong websites of the Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS websites, one of the photos is actually taken from the Wii U version. The Wii U version was not released in Taiwan or Hong Kong yet, and was likely just an oversight of the developers.
 * The promotional artwork for Ryu is a reference to the Street Fighter 2 World Warriors arcade artwork.
 * Ryu is the first playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series to have two different final smashes.
 * An alternate version of Kirby saying "Hi!" for his down taunt can be found in the game's files. This version sounds closer to the ones heard in previous games than the one used in the final game.
 * Because the 3DS needed third party support when it was first released, Nintendo appreciated Namco's efforts on Tekken 3D: Prime Edition, and the two companies became closer. This eventually led to Namco Bandai assisting Nintendo in developing Super Smash Bros. 4.
 * Super Smash Bros. 4 is the first game in the Super Smash Bros. series where Falco is not unlocked by completing 100-Man mode. This condition was instead given to Wario.
 * It was considered to make Alph a clone of Olimar with the ability to use Rock Pikmin. However, this idea was scrapped and Alph became a costume swap instead.
 * According to Masahiro Sakurai in an interview, Pac-Man would have been removed from the roster if Bandai Namco had rejected his redesign of the character with a more classic Pac-Man appearance, as he considered it superior to the designs used in Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures.
 * Tekken's Heihachi was briefly considered for the roster, but was ultimately replaced with Ryu. The team thought that implementing Heihachi's moveset into the game would have been difficult. He was given a Mii costume, however.
 * Lucario's All-Star Mode picture references the 8th Pokemon movie, Lucario and The Mystery of Mew. The picture has the Villager (in their 8th alternate outfit) offering Lucario some chocolate, in reference to a scene in the movie where Max offers Lucario some chocolate.
 * Tingle's trophy chronology only mentions his appearance in Majora's Mask. Which is odd considering Tingle's Wind Waker design is used for the trophy, and his role in Wind Waker is mentioned in the trophy's description.
 * Mewtwo's character art uses the same pose as the one in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
 * Takamaru was once considered as a possible playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. According to Masahiro Sakurai, due to his low popularity, he was included as an Assist Trophy instead.
 * The texture for the Skull Kid assist trophy contains an unused portion which seems to be the flute he used in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. It is unknown what it could have been used for, though it's likley he was supposed to use it in some way when the player summons him.
 * When using Pac-Man's Up Taunt, the Namco Roulette taunt, various characters from other Namco games will appear:

• Clovis from Dragon Buster • Don from Taiko no Tatsujin • Fighter from Bosconian • Fighter from Galaga • Galaxip from Galaxian • Ghost from Pac-Man • Gilgamesh from The Tower of Druaga • King from King & Balloon • Mappy from Mappy • My Car from Rally-X • Paccet from Baraduke • Pooka from Dig Dug • Red Baron from Sky Kid • Secret Fighter from Gaplus • Solvalou from Xevious • Topcup from Libble Rabble • Andor Genesis from Xevious • Valkyrie from Valkyrie no Densetsu • Runner from Metro-Cross
 * If the player reflects the Starman enemy's projectile, the "SMAAAASH!!" text from EarthBound will flash and the starman will be instantly defated.
 * The Super Smash Bros. for Wii U game disc contains an unused character file simply titled "Rhythm". This could mean that a character from Rhythm Heaven was intended to exist in game, but was cut during development.
 * The game originally had a 4th set of custom moves for all characters. By hacking the game it is possible to activate them, although most of the moves are unfinished, and do not deliver damage.
 * The dollar bills that are collected in the Wii U's Coin Battle mode have an image of Nintendo's Japanese Headquarters printed on them, as well as a photo and signature of series creator/director; Masahiro Sakurai.
 * The only virtual console game that doesn't appear within the masterpieces menu in the International release of the game is Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, as this title was never translated or released anywhere but in Japan.
 * In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the trophy titled "Hocotate Bomb" states that it appears in Pikmin and Pikmin 2, even though it appears in Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3.
 * In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, the trophy titled "Luigi (With Poltergust 3000)" is actually wrong. The Poltergust that Luigi is wearing is actually the Poltergust 5000 from Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, which can be noted by the green light on the back of it.
 * This is the first time both Master Hand and Crazy Hand have in-game announcer calls that are used.
 * Kongo Jungle is the only past stage from the original game to return, with the exception of DLC.
 * Some of the Boxing Ring Stage titles contain references and easter eggs.

Luigi's, "The Eternal Understudy", is a reference to his unlock screen in the original Super Smash Bros..

Fox's title in the European version "Never Gives Up! Trusts His Instincts!" is a reference to a line in Star Fox 64 said by Peppy in the Asteroid Belt level (and later on said by Fox's father).

Kirby's European title "Gritty in Pink" is a reference to the movie "Pretty in Pink".

Sonic's European title "Speed is his Game" is a reference to one his popular quotes "Sonic's the Name, Speed's My Game!".

Pikachu and Jigglypuff's European titles are actually just their Pokedex names. • Mario: "Mr. Video Game Himself" became "Smashes Bricks with his Fist." • Luigi: "The Eternal Understudy" became "Lean, Green Fighting Machine." • Peach: "Princess of Toadstools" became "Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom." • Bowser Jr.: "The Prince of Koopas" became "Like Father, Like Son." • Larry Koopa: "The Youngest" became "Leader of the Seven Minions." • Roy Koopa: "The Cool One" became "Fear the Shades." • Wendy Koopa: "The Bold Beauty" became "Bold, Bossy, and Big-Headed." • Morton Koopa: "The Enforcer" became "He'll Make You See Stars." • Lemmy Koopa: "Wacky War Machine" became "Let's Get Wacky." • Yoshi: "Omnivore of the Year" became "He's Not Yolking Around." • Diddy Kong: "The Acrobat" became "Trigger Happy with His Peanut Popgun." • Little Mac: "Bruiser from the Bronx" became "The Only Numbers He Knows Are 'One-Two'." • Sheik: "The Illusive Sheikah" became "A Sheikah Shrouded In Mystery." • Ganondorf: "The King of Darkness" became "The King of Evil." • Toon Link: "Wind-Waking Warrior" became "Wave-Riding, Wind-Waking Warrior". • Zero Suit Samus: "The Warrior Within" became "Low Armour, High Agility". • Pit: "Captain of Lady Palutena's Guard" became "Lady Palutena's Captain of the Guard". • Marth: "The Hero-King" became "The Legendary Hero-King." • Ike: "The Radiant Hero of Legend" became "The Radiant Hero". • Robin: "The Tactician Magician" became "The Tome-Toting Strategist". • Kirby: "The Pink Puffball" became "Gritty in Pink". • Duck Hunt (Duo): "Bark, Quack, Boom!" became "The Most Unlikely of Partnerships". • King Dedede: "The King of Dream Land" became "Says He's King, and That's That". • Fox: "Leader of Star Fox: became "Never Gives Up! Trusts His Instincts!". • Pikachu: "Pika Pika!" became "The Electric Mouse Pokemon". • Lucario: "Master of Aura" became "Exudes Power". • Jigglypuff: "The Sleepy Singer" became "The Delightful Balloon Pokemon". • Greninja: "Master of Stealth" became "The Unpredictable Ninja Pokemon". • R.O.B.: "The Last of His Kind" became "Robotic Obliterating Buddy". • Captain Falcon: "The Supersonic Slugger" became "The Supersonic F-Zero Pilot". • Wii Fit Trainer (F): "The Yoga Warrior" became "She'll Make You Feel The Burn!". • Shulk: "The Visionary" became "Has Visions of Victory". • Dr. Mario: "The Prescriber" became "Fists Full of Medicine". • Lucina: "Warrior from a Doomed Future" became "Defiant of Destiny". • Pac-Man: "The Yellow Bane of Ghosts" became "Ghost-Gobbler". • Sonic: "The Blue Blur" became "Speed is His Game". • Mega Man: "Blue Metal Hero" became "The Blue Bomber". • Wii Fit Trainer (M): "The BMI Bandit" became "He'll Blast Your Core!". • Alph: "Astronaut in Training" became "Novice Explorer, Engineering Pro".
 * The Hyrule Temple stage has Hylian text written along many platforms that when translated to English reads "Smash Brothers". This was illegible in previous versions of the game.
 * Many of the Boxing ring titles were changed when the game was brought to the PAL Region:
 * This is the only game in which Kirby doesn't have a new dash attack, but instead reuses the one from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * The Porky Minch trophy's game chronology only mentions his appearance in EarthBound and not Mother 3, even though the trophy description mentions both games and the trophy's design is taken from Mother 3.
 * Metal characters reflect daytime Town and City, even at night.
 * Bowser is the only veteran in the game to not have his victory theme ripped straight from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * When the track Wrath of The Reset Bomb is played while on the Reset Bomb Forest, it will actually sync with what is happening on the stage, and as a result, pausing the game will stop the track.
 * Chrom was originally intended to be a playable character in the game, but was replaced with Robin as Sakurai thought he'd play too similar to Marth and Ike, and that Robin would be a more unique character. Chrom still however appeared as a part of Robin's Final Smash.
 * During the song "Master Core" (which plays when fighting the identically-named boss in Classic Mode), the instruments will silence after 1 minute and 53 seconds and a series of beeps will play for six seconds before the instruments start playing again. These beeps are Morse Code for "MASTER CORE".
 * If Shulk is on the Gaur Plains stage when Metal Face appears, Metal Face will occasionally say unique taunts.

The taunts are: • "If it isn't the puny boy himself.You miss me?" • "Hey, Monado boy, I don't think you can hurt me with that thing" • "OH! It looks like Monado boy's been practicing" • "If the brat's here, I bet Dunban can't be far behind." • Samus having 2 cannons instead of 1. • Marth having 2 swords instead of 1. • Peach having no legs. • Luigi missing his left hand. • Palutena's left arm covered completely in gold. • Bowser's head not being glued to his body. • Red and White - Rush Coil from Mega Man 3 • Green and White - Leaf Shield from Mega Man 2 • Gold and Brown - Metal Blade from Mega Man 2 • Blue and White - Air Shooter from Mega Man 2 • Green and Yellow - Slash Claw from Mega Man 7 • Red and Black - Flame Blast from Mega Man 6 • Yellow and Black - Top Spin from Mega Man 3 • His Pink palette is designed to resemble Kirby. • His Purple palette resembles Galacta Knight's appearance in Super Super Star Ultra's "Meta Knightmare Ultra" mode. • His Grey palette resembles Dark Meta Knight.
 * The amiibo figures sold alongside the game are well known for having a number of defect units. These include, but are likely not limited to:
 * When Pit gets KO'd he'll sometimes say, "I'm Finished". This is a reference to the original Kid Icarus Game Over screen.
 * The trophy for the Lurchthorn enemy from Kid Icarus: Uprising references Superman. The first sentence reads, "Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's... some kind of giant fossilized fish.
 * In the Boxing Ring stage of the Wii U version of the game, character aliases appear on the screen in the background which reference other games or early concepts, such as Mario's being "Mr. Video Game Himself" referencing his early name "Mr. Video", and R.O.B.'s being "The Last of His Kind", referencing the events of Subspace Emissary from Super Smash Bros. Brawl in which the other R.O.B.s were destroyed.
 * While Xander Mobus, the game's announcer, recorded a shout of the game's name (much like Super Smash Bros. Melee), it went entirely unused in the final game's release.
 * Unlike all previous entries in the Smash Bros. series, Jigglypuff uses the standard Pokémon palette as apposed to her shiny palette. This is most noticeable in her eye color.
 * According to Masahiro Sakurai, the Orbital Gate Assault stage took one year to create.
 * The description for the "Souflee" trophy from Kid Icarus reads, "We could tell you it's a cake, but that would be a lie". This is a reference to running gag through the first Portal game, stating that "the cake is a lie".
 * Mega Man's alternate color swaps are all taken from possible weapon colors used in previous Mega Man games:
 * When initiating Palutena's guidance as Pit when fighting against a Mii gunner, the Nintendo Wii's code name "Revolution" is referenced when Viridi refers to the Mii gunner's motion controlled arm cannon as "revolutionary".
 * When initiating Palutena's guidance as Pit when fighting against Shulk, Pit will make several quotes to popular phrases used in Xenoblade Chronicles, such as "What a bunch'a jokers" and "Let's not lose our 'eads, though."
 * Lucina is the only unlockable character who was officially revealed prior to the game's 3DS release and is the first female unlockable character in the Super Smash Bros. series.
 * Some of Meta Knight's palette swaps resemble other characters from the Kirby series.
 * Originally, Flying Man had both a 2D and 3D model for when he appears on the Magicant stage. The 3D model was scrapped however, to lessen strain on the 3DS hardware.
 * Jigglypuff's character model in the 3DS version is recycled from the model used for Jigglypuff in Pokémon X and Y.
 * During Palutena's Temple, Palutena, Viridi and other characters from Kid Icarus will converse with Pit about the character you're fighting against. This is similar to how Snake in Super Smash Bros. Brawl could use his codec to converse with either Colonel Campbell, Mei Ling, or Otacon when in Shadow Moses Island.
 * As the Villager does their Final Smash, Tom Nook actually throws furniture into the house being built. There's even a chance he will throw in a Triforce from The Legend of Zelda, as it can be collected in some of the Animal Crossing games as a house decoration.
 * There is a glitch in the 3DS release that allows Yoshi to grow infinitely larger. If a Yoshi eats and re-lays a big Yoshi, the larger Yoshi will hatch larger than before.
 * Charizard's purple alternate color is possibly a reference to his shiny sprite in Pokémon Gold and Silver. Including purple skin, a grey-white belly and dull green wings.
 * After obtaining every Mii outfit, the game will give you a notification reading, "Collected every type of custom outfit! Your body is ready!" A reference to ##Nintendo## of America CEO Reggie Fils-Aime's popular quote from E3 2007, "My body is ready!", which has since become a popular meme.
 * When pausing the 3DS version during a match, the player models are switched to a higher resolution version of the fighter's model. Within the game's data are 2 models for each figher, both paused and unpaused.
 * When Mega Man gets KO'd, his KO explosion has blue spheres coming out from where he was KO'd. Mega Man is the only character in the game to have a unique KO explosion, and is a reference to his death animation from the Mega Man series of games.
 * In the Magicant stage, a stage hazard called the Flying Man can be recruited by players to fight alongside with them until it gets knocked off stage by another player. Each time the Flying Man is defeated, a tombstone appears near where they would normally spawn. Once five tombstones have taken place, the Flying Man will no longer spawn during the round, much alike their roles in EarthBound Beginnings and EarthBound, in which five of them are recruitable and will not come back once they are defeated, signified by the addition of tombstones near their house as each one dies.
 * According to the game's director, Masahiro Sakurai, the reason for Sheik and Zero Suit Samus appearing as separate characters is due to the limitations of the 3DS not being able to have them transform from their respective characters. This option was made because Sakurai wanted both versions of the game to have same roster.
 * Megaman's up-tilt, the Mega Upper, is from his Marvel Vs. Capcom moveset. However, it originated from Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters.
 * Donkey Kong's audience cheer is a reference to the DK Rap from Donkey Kong 64 in chant form.
 * Frequently using Little Mac's taunts, there's a slight chance that Doc Louis can be heard giving some advice. Each taunt has a unique sound clip.
 * In the North American version, the Mario Kart Shy Guy trophy states that he made his racing debut in Mario Kart 7. This technically is false, as Shy Guy could be played in Mario Kart DS, but only in download play for players who didn't own the game. This was fixed in the UK version by stating he was first selectable in Mario Kart 7.
 * The Street Smash minigame is very similar to the Smash Ride minigame from Kirby: Squeak Squad, another game developed by HAL Laboratory.
 * There are actually two different versions of the Balloon Fight stage. The layout is selected randomly, but the alternate form can be chosen by holding down the L button when selecting the stage.
 * Holding down the L button when selecting the Boxing Ring stage will change the design of the ring from Punch Out oriented to "Super Smash Bros." oriented.
 * Having specific character pairs fight each other in a normal 1v1 Smash fight results in personalized victory screens:

• Fox beats Falco:"Better luck next time, Falco." • Falco beats Fox: "You're off your game, Fox." • Male Robin beats Lucina: "Lucina, I hope I didn't hurt you." • Female Robin beats Lucina: "How can you protect Chrom if you can't protect yourself?" • Lucina beats Marth: "This is the Hero-King?" • Lucina beats Ike: "And they call you the Radiant Hero?" • Palutena beats Pit:"Oh, so sorry about that, Pit." • Palutena beats Dark Pit: "Poor little Pittoo." • Dark Pit beats Pit: "Where's your goddess now?"
 * Mario's blue and pink alternate outfit is based on his appearance in the original Mario Bros. arcade game.
 * One of Zeldas alternate outfits is the same as the design used in Super Smash Bros. Melee, based on her appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
 * Leaked screenshots show that there was originally a trophy for Tharja from Fire Emblem: Awakening, but it was removed from the final game. Some speculate this was because of her suggestive clothing that would have likely given the game a more mature rating from the ESRB. There has been no confirmation that this trophy was ever set to appear.
 * Two of Zero Suit Samus's alternate costumes are based off of the perfect ending in Metroid: Zero Mission.
 * One of Little Mac's alternate costumes is a reference to the Punch-Out!! arcade game, where he was represented by a translucent array of green lines.
 * Holding down L before selecting the Dream Land stage in the 3DS version will cause the stage colors to change to black and white, instead of the usual black and green.
 * The Pokémon Trainer trophy makes reference to the first opening theme music from the English dub of the PokÃ©mon anime. "Pop quiz! What do Misty, Brock, Cynthia, Iris, and Ash all have in common? That's right"”they're all PokÃ©mon Trainers! This PokÃ©mon Master in the making is the same. Back in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he fought to be the very best"”like no one ever was. To smash them was his real test"”to launch them was his cause!"
 * In the Japanese version, R.O.B's colors are red and white to represent the colors on the Famicom. The colors were changed to gray in the International version to represent the colors on the NES.
 * The song that plays on the results screen after a fight is the character select theme from the first Super Smash Bros.
 * Sometimes when Luigi uses the green missile and he hits a wall, he will stick to the wall.
 * One of Little Mac's palette swaps is based on his appearance in Super Punch-Out!!.
 * Kirby's dark blue alternate color with yellow eyes is designed after Meta Knight's appearance without a mask. This is based on Meta Knight's appearance after being defeated in Kirby's Adventure.
 * Within the game's data are a number of unused images that would have been displayed in the game's tutorial section.
 * According to Masahiro Sakurai, the reason the Ice Climbers were cut from the roster is because of 3DS hardware limitations. He also states that he didn't want to add them exclusively to the Wii Uroster to avoid there being considerable differences between the two versions.
 * One of Mario's costumes in the game is the patriotic Mario skin from NES Open Tournament Golf released in 1991.
 * One of Luigi's alternate costumes is based on his appearance in the Japan-only movie, Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen!.
 * According to the director of the Super Smash Bros. series, Masahiro Sakurai, Lucina was originally considered to be an alternate costume for Marth, but was eventually changed to be her own separate character with slight differences from Marth.
 * According to the director of the Super Smash Bros. series, Lucina was originally considered to be an alternate costume for Marth, but was eventually changed to be her own separate character with slight differences from Marth.
 * All of the characters in the game were chosen at the start of development. This means Greninja was chosen before Pokémon X and Y was released, and that its inclusion was not because of its popularity. There was an open slot for a new PokÃ©mon character, and the team began discussing who to put in it, eventually settling on Greninja. All the reference material they had for Greninja were simply drawings at that point. Sakurai went home the same day he received the Greninja reference material and stayed up until midnight to do the motion capture for the character.
 * The Smash Run mode was influenced by the City Trial mode in Kirby Air Ride.
 * The Japanese trailer introducing Mega Man in Super Smash Bros. 4 has "Clash Man" (the original Japanese name) instead of "Crash Man" (the English name) in the Japanese commercial, despite being changed to Crash Man in Japan.