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Fridge / Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

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To see Fridge moments for the rest of the Smash Bros series, go here.

Fridge Brilliance

  • It might seem like an odd choice to base Pac-Man's Wii U stage on Pac-Land. But that game was the inspiration for Super Mario Bros., so it holds special relevance for Nintendo's history.
  • How is the Villager able to catch deadly projectiles like Samus's missiles and charge beam? In his series, he's able to pull off a similar feat by using his bug net to stop an angry swarm of bees before they can sting him.
  • A lot of people were surprised by how ruthless the Villager is even though he's always smiling, but this is actually a perfectly valid interpretation of the character. In the Animal Crossing games, you could be a complete Jerkass to everyone: hitting them with bug nets, dropping them in Pitfall traps, yanking medicine from them, feeding them rotten fruit, writing illegible letters. All while having a smile on your face.
  • You might be wondering "Why such a bland title for the new Smash Bros.? Why not Smash Bros. Kerfuffle or something or other?" Well, there's actually a reason the game is called Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS. The reason it's called that is that it's a clever pun Sakurai inserted. Let's replace the word "for" with the number four. Now it makes sense, doesn't it?
    • Yes, but does that make sense in any language other than English?
    • At least for one of them, anyway. By the time of Ultimate, the duology would be considered the fourth and fifth games.
  • Why did Pit replace the Mirror Shield with the Guardian Orbitars? Hades destroyed it along with the other Sacred Treasures.
    • He gets the Three Sacred Treasures as his Final Smash instead of using them in battle. Pit seems to have full control over them, implying that the Three Sacred Treasures were rebuilt (probably by Dyntos).
    • Going back to the child's toys theory, it could be that Hades wrecking the Three Sacred Treasures rubs the child the wrong way, so he/she put it in his/her Fanon Discontinuity.
    • Also about Pit: In Kid Icarus: Uprising, Dark Pit says the original is a knockoff of him, when it's actually the other way round. For this game, Pit may have changed his fighting style to prove that Dark Pit is the clone.
  • During the development of Wii U/3DS, the reveal made in October 31st of 2013 seemed like nothing special, just a screen of alternate costumes. Then you realize... costumes. Halloween. Of course.
    • It's more likely that the picture (the reveal of the male Wii Fit Trainer) was uploaded that day to commemorate the Japanese release of Wii Fit U.
  • Why is Little Mac so fast? Well, in the original Punch-Out!!, he always jogged after Doc and his bike across New York City.
    • Not to mention his speed is canon to his games. Watch the timer when you start counter-punching; it slows down considerably, demonstrating that despite the seemingly average speed gameplay-wise, he's racking up some very quick punches, and that's before you use the trick to make them come out even faster.
  • In the reveal trailer of Charizard and Greninja, Olimar throws a Red Pikmin at Charizard. Makes sense, as Red Pikmin are immune to fire, and Charizard has plenty of fire attacks.
  • The 3 fully evolved Pokémon in Wii U/3DS (Lucario, Charizard, Greninja), share a Rock-Paper-Scissors dynamic. Greninja is super effective against Charizard (Water beats Fire), Charizard is super effective against Lucario (Fire beats Steel), and Lucario is super effective against Greninja (Fighting beats Dark).
    • Even better, Lucario is Fighting/Steel, while Charizard is Fire/Flying. This means Lucario has a weakness to BOTH of Charizard's types. This may seem unfair, until you remember Lucario gains strength when he takes damage, and Lucario's Steel Type takes half damage from Charizard's Flying Type anyway. They are also the only Pokémon who have their Mega Evolution as their Final Smash.
  • Luigi's Final Smash changed from Negative Zone to the Poltergust. It's because the Negative Zone was inspired by all the time Luigi spent in his brother's shadow — but thanks to the Year of Luigi back in 2013, that's no longer the case.
  • Little Mac's trailer is done in a comic book-style, similar to that of Bob's endings in Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Namco-Bandai, creator of that game, is part of the development team of Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS! It also makes sense as Little Mac plays the closest to a regular fighting game character.
  • When watching the Charizard/Greninja reveal, Mario is the only one to use a close up attack on Charizard. Said attack is his fist covered in flames. One could say Mario used Fire Punch.
  • The trailer that introduced the Mii Fighters features Reggie Fils-Aimé and Satoru Iwata fighting each other. Remember when Reggie said his body was ready? He was not bullshitting you.
  • The only character who doesn't get hit in the Mii Fighters' debut trailer is the Wii Fit Trainer, who dodges all of their attacks. In the Wii Fit series, the Trainers were, well, your trainers, and Miis are often used as avatars for the player. Basically, it's the student against the master, and the master is winning.
  • Interestingly, Mii Fighters lack an actual franchise symbol of their own, instead using the Smash Bros. symbol, which is usually reserved for either Smash Bros. original content or series that lack either a stage or playable character. Even more strangely, stages from games that star Miis are already in the game and have their own unique symbols, so the decision not to use them must have been quite deliberate. Furthermore, all three of their available movesets are totally original, deriving mere concepts at best from the games that focus around them. Altogether, this seems like a rather unusual way to choose to represent Miis in Smash Bros., but if you look at it in terms of the original concept of Miis as all-purpose Digital Avatars and not as actual characters, it actually all comes together perfectly. Instead of drawing from their past appearances, they're adapting to the game that they're in at the moment, which is exactly what they've done in every other game they've appeared in since their conception. It's actually the best possible way to represent them and what they are in Smash Bros.
    • This came back for a second helping of fridge brilliance after the enemies in the Multi-Mook Melee modes were revealed. Remember Polygons? Wireframes? Alloys? This time, the Mii Fighters are your antagonists, which makes a lot of sense given all the variety in faces and fighting styles available for them.
  • In Palutena's reveal trailer, she's shown to be capable of outrunning Sonic after using the Lightweight power. Many people called BS, but then you realize: Sonic can move somewhat faster than the speed of sound, while Palutena is the Goddess of Light. Light is way faster than sound. Or at least, her trailer might be making that joke. In-game, she's pretty close, but still not quite faster than him.
    • Sonic's taunt changes from "You're too slow!" to "Sonic speed!" ...because Palutena outran him, meaning she was not too slow.note 
    • Another reason for Sonic's line changing is the infamous Dub Personality Change that Sonic had in the West. He's often portrayed as a Mascot with Attitude when localized, something Sega in Japan has tried to avoid. The "Sonic Speed" line is more in line with how Sonic usually acts in the original games.
  • Little Mac's said to be a terror on the ground but pathetic in the air. Remember his Assist Trophy in Brawl? He basically could only attack people on the ground, which meant the best way to survive was to stay in the air as much and as long as possible so he couldn't hit you. They translated his traits from his Assist Trophy showing into his playable form.
    • In real life boxing, jumping attacks are illegal, so Mac would have no reason to practice them. And because he's meant to be more realistic compared to other video game characters, how he moves and acts in the air is a truer depiction of how a real human would probably act in Smash's setting, flailing about and trying to steady himself.
    • As the Smash Wiki notes, the best usage of Little Mac requires players to control the center of the stage, use both his fantastic grounded attack speed and mobility, and react quickly and effectively to the smallest openings - all similar to how an actual boxer would fight.
  • People assume that the Mii Fighters aren't allowed when playing With Anyone online because of the potential for offensive and tasteless Miis. However, their exclusion has a deeper significance when you think about it. With Anyone is supposed to be anonymous, and thus in addition to things such as a lack of names and custom moves, your opponent isn't even supposed have an idea of what you actually look like, as Miis are, fundamentally, your Digital Avatar.
    • But, if your Miis usually represent someone else, shouldn't that mean the regular Mii Fighters are allowed since they use Guest Mii faces?
  • Greninja, the tree frog ninja Pokemon, has a downward aerial where it zooms downward and bounces off its opponent to get another jump. What other game relies on you using other players to jump? Leapfrog.
  • Greninja's voice in the game may often sound a tad bit Narm since he sounds a little ridiculous, almost as if someone is "trying" to sound threatening by altering their voices but is failing at it. However, the only logical explanation is... his tongue is always out and it's wrapped around his face. Ever tried to speak coherently at all while your tongue is sticking out of your mouth?
  • Why is Robin the only Fire Emblem character that uses Breakable Weapons, a trademark feature of the series? Because Robin is the only one who actually uses Breakable Weapons, as the other Fire Emblem charactersnote  use weapons that are unbreakable in their games (Marth and Lucina's Falchion, Ike's Ragnell, Corrin's Yato by virtue of durability not existing in Fates).
    • As for the case of the Bronze Sword, the weapon Robin defaults to when he is not using his Levin Sword, it's the only weapon in his arsenal that does not break. Not because it is legendary, but because Bronze Swords are usually one of the most durable weapons in Fire Emblem, it would probably last as long as the match and then some.
      • To add on to that, while it's a lousy weapon for damage, it somehow can contest with the other sword users. How so? Weapon Forging. Robin most likely got the sword reforged for more power. It can't be as strong as the Falchion or Ragnell (compare Lucina's Falchion with 12 Might, to a Bronze Sword's 8 Might maximum), but it's better than a stock weapon.
  • Why do Pit and Palutena talk so casually about the Chaos Kin during the latter's reveal trailer even though it's part of a big Wham Episode for Kid Icarus: Uprising? In their respective game, just about everyone breaks the fourth wall at some point and makes several quips about video games in general, so talking about a boss that's normally spoiler heavy is actually not that big a deal for an angel and a goddess who also state they love playing Super Smash Bros Brawl.
  • In Palutena's reveal trailer, Pit and Link are portrayed as rivals. Why? Because both of them are the chosen heroes of goddesses of light — The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword reveals that Link is the (reincarnation of the) chosen hero of Hylia, and Pit is the chosen hero of Palutena, who takes a special interest in Link because of this. There's also the fact that Link is one of Nintendo's most famous Heroic Mimes, while Pit is one of Nintendo's chattiest protagonists ever.
    • Also in the trailer, why did Pit seem to be losing so easily beside the obvious to make Palutena look good in her trailer? Well, recall in Uprising how Dark Pit kicks Pit in the stomach when he least expected it, and Pit is shown to not take a kick to the stomach well. Link is known in his games for exploiting an enemy's weak point, and he figured out what Pit's was.
    • Also, Link and Pit being rivals serves as an interesting Call-Back to the Subspace Emissary. Recall that when they fought there, they each had someone on their side (for Pit, Mario and for Link, Yoshi).
  • How is it that Robin and Lucina are familiar with Ike, despite the Tellius games having no impact on the overall conflict in Ylisse? They and their comrades have fought both alongside and against Marth, Ike, and the other Fire Emblem heroes and villains from across various Outrealm worlds. Additionally, in Awakening, Robin can have Support conversations with a man named Priam, who bears a striking resemblance to Ike and is heavily implied to be his descendant.
  • Why are there trophies of Rayman characters despite no Ubisoft involvement in the game? Well, the trophy is a Wii U trophy, and Rayman Legends was supposed to be a Wii U exclusive.
    • Actually, in the Wii U version of Rayman Legends, there were Mario and Luigi costumes for Rayman and Globox, so it would only make sense for them to cameo in a Nintendo game.
    • The reason Rayman has representation despite not having a playable character could also be due to the fact that Nintendo was the publisher of the Wii U version of Rayman Legends in Japan, and Smash Bros. has a tendency to include as many Nintendo-published games as possible, whether they're of a Nintendo-owned franchise or not.
  • Chrom was heavily speculated to be on the roster for Wii U/3DS, but his first appearance in the trailer immediately deconfirmed that notion by placing Robin and Lucina in his stead. In a way, Chrom defied his destiny, as his home game clearly showed he was capable of doing so. "Anything can change," after all.
  • There have been complaints about how Captain Falcon made Lucina appear weak in the trailer. But let's remember that in the Fire Emblem universe, not a single character uses punches or kicks on the opponents. Therefore, the fact that Falcon goes straight for her face and later makes an attempt to disarm her (one of the special abilities in the Fire Emblem games, specifically the Tellius saga) catches her by surprise.
    • There's also the fact that, in his home series, Captain Falcon's main rival is Samurai Goroh, who is, of course, a (self-styled) Samurai. So he would probably know how to fight against someone with a sword from experience if things ever got physical between the two, or from training himself to, just in case.
    • Additionally, Captain Falcon was able to take on Lucina so easily because she shares a moveset with Marth, who Falcon has been squaring off against since Melee. When it comes to dealing with this moveset, Falcon has 13 years of experience under his belt.
  • Lucina being a clone of Marth makes sense for many reasons.
    • Firstly, Lucina is his descendant.
    • Secondly, Lucina based herself off of Marth because she enjoyed the stories about him. That and to hide her identity.
    • Thirdly, Lucina in gameplay has consistently good speed and strength. In fact, with Sumia as a mother, she's a Lightning Bruiser not unlike Marth.
    • Notice how the fourth game marks the first time Marth isn't unlockable. Then look at Lucina, who just so happens to be unlockable in her first appearence in the Smash series.
  • During Robin's Final Smash: when Chrom gets called, he attacks Robin's opponent from behind. Robin is already handing a battle strategy for his partner to catch the opponent off-guard.
    • Chrom teaming up with Robin in his FS can be summed with his Dual Support quote: "My strength is yours".
    • Speaking of which, Robin's final smash is called "Pair Up", meaning he does a powerful dual attack with Chrom. This also explains why Robin is able to obtain more tomes and Levin Swords after they break — he's making use of the Fire Emblem: Awakening pair-up mechanic. Chrom is essentially 'equipped' to Robin in a pair up, giving him access to the item convoy. After a set amount of time, Robin accesses the convoy and adds the new items to his inventory. Chrom appearing in one of Robin's victory poses gives plenty of proof to this being the case, making Chrom be the Item Caddy for Robin in Smash.
  • During the reveal of Robin and Lucina, they casually talk about their foes, Robin's abilities, and the heroes of legend from their own series. The theme from Melee plays, which is called "Fire Emblem". But in reality, it's a remix of the popular Fire Emblem theme "Together we Ride" with the main theme. This makes it a whole reference to the series, where characters literally talk about their foes and have normal chats on the battlefield, while they fight together (a popular gameplay element within the franchise). Lucina even references it at one point.
    Lucina: This is no time for me to rest. I'll fight at your side!
    • "Together we Ride" is also a recruitment theme in all of the games it appears in. The trailer is effectively Robin and Lucina's "recruitment" into the Smash Bros roster.
  • While it's here, there's also some brilliance regarding Lucina's Final Smash line: "Time to change fate!" Why is it that instead of her actual, in-game critical quote? Because she already HAS changed fate before! In Awakening, Grima is defeated and either dead for good or sealed away, when it was destined that he would win. Also, in the Future Past, Lucina straight up defies fate once more by directly defeating Grima herself! Of course it's different!
  • Mega Man's stone-faced portrayal. It makes sense if you look at it as Nintendo playing up his robotic characteristics, but it also makes sense from another angle as well. This Mega Man, at least, has never been portrayed as enjoying fighting. He only does so when he has to. Him being all smiley and enjoying the carnage wouldn't be very in-character, would it?
  • Rosalina looks rather star-struck in her hit-the-screen KO animation.
  • Shulk is a character who was predicted in many rumored leaks for a good portion of Wii U/3DS's development time, and that includes a major one from a few days before his reveal. Nobody was really surprised when he was added to the roster, because you could say... that everyone saw it coming.
    • Also, note how his trailer's English title is "Looks like we don't have a choice!". This takes on more meanings than you'd think...
      • One is the reference to the leaks at the beginning of the week (showing him using Monado arts).
      • The second is a reference to one of his many battle quotes. In particular, the one he uses when facing a significantly more powerful (6+ levels higher than the leader) monster.
      • Even the music heard throughout most of the trailer (You Will Know Our Names) references something, namely how there's three legendary heroes of Bionis with him — Dunban, the original wielder of the Monado and hero of the Battle of Sword Valley. Riki, the "Heropon" among his species, the Nopon (for the year). And Shulk, who gains popularity as the new wielder of the Monado as the game and story progresses.
  • Asides from the obvious "Gamer is a Warioware stage", there's another reason Ashley's theme is in Gamer: it's a horror-themed stage since the stage has you avoiding 9-Volt's Mom, with terrifying music to boot. Guess which WarioWare character is horror-themed.
  • Why is Charizard's Final Smash Mega Charizard X? In its home series, Mega Charizard X is a physical attacker, with stats designed to favor such a playstyle. It also has the ability Tough Claws, which increases the damage of all direct hit moves. Charizard in Smash is a completely physical attacker, barring one move (his neutral special, Flamethrower).
  • Shulk brings to the battlefield two Monado abilities that do not have a counterpart in his home game: "Jump" and "Smash". At first glance, it's a case of Canon Foreigner attacks, but those familiar with Xenoblade Chronicles 1 might remember a big detail about the Monado given by Alvis: "The Monado bends to your will", referring to its latent potential to do what its user desires. Not only does this explain why Shulk can have two new abilities in his arsenal, but also why the ones he already had have different properties in Smash.
    • Also, what Smash calls Monado Buster is actually much more similar to Monado Enchant, right down to the purple coloration the Monado takes on when it's in use.
    • Though they're not called by name like Back Slash and Air Slash, Shulk has two other arts from his home game integrated into his moveset. His forward smash is Slit Edge, and his down smash is a modified Stream Edge (the original only hit forward, so in a 2D environment it wouldn't be as useful as a full-circle attack), or it could resemble Reyn's War Swing that also has him spinning.
  • Bowser Jr. and the seven Koopalings all share the same character slot. After all, they all share the same clown car too, so all it would take is knowledge of how to operate it. All eight of them have appeared in their home series either in their own clown car or a clown car operated together. In addition, the consistent sizes of the Koopalings is very similar to their sizes in Super Mario Bros. 3, where they were all the same size.
    • Sharing the same character slot, they share the same Final Smash, which is Shadow Mario. However, each Koopa Clown Car the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. pilot have the same amount of equipment and such — it probably comes with a bandana that's convenient enough for the transformation! Besides, Bowser Jr. isn't seen with the bandana, but it's seen with Kirby.
      • Look again, Bowser Jr. is wearing a bandanna, but it's the white one with teeth sketched in crayon that he normally wears. This means the Shadow Mario bandanna he wore in Super Mario Sunshine is strangely absent... It naturally is stuffed in the Junior Clown Car like everything else that Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings use to fight with it!
  • The true form of Master Core being a living Smash Ball makes perfect sense. Master Hand used his Final Smash on you, and he's the source of the fighters' powers. Of course his true form is a Smash Ball.
  • Shulk's placement in the character select screen of Smash Bros. for 3DS is kind of odd: He's in the same row as the third parties, right next to Pac-Man. At first glance, it looks out of place; but in fact, there is a connection. Xenoblade Chronicles 1, despite being a Nintendo-affiliated IP, is a Spiritual Successor to the Xenosaga series, which was handled by Namco. Being placed right next to Namco's mascot works as a small nod to Monolith Soft's previous work.
    • Time will tell if Cloud's slot is next to Shulk's and Pac-Man's, as well, since even before Namco, Monolith Soft was originally part of Squaresoft, as the developers of Xenosaga's own predecessor game, Xenogears (which, amusingly enough, was originally a concept for Final Fantasy VII before Executive Meddling turned it into its own series). This nicely groups Cloud and Pac-Man together (with Shulk to a lesser extent, being a first-party Nintendo character), considering that they are the sole representatives of Square Enix and Namco whereas both Sega (Sonic and Bayonetta) and Capcom (Mega Man and Ryu) have two each.
  • Duck Hunt's Final Smash summons a flock of ducks to grab the enemy right in front of them and send them off into the distance, much like how Captain Falcon summons the Blue Falcon to ram any opponents in front of him. Both characters have avian themes, and both Final Smashes deal damage in noticeably realistic ways (Duck Hunt's has the Wild Gunmen shoot the enemy, Captain Falcon's has the Blue Falcon ram them a second time).
  • Duck Hunt's very appearance as a playable character is itself Fridge Brilliance. Sakurai had tried to work Villager, Mii, and Nintendog as playable characters in Brawl, but could not get around certain issues. Both Villager and Mii had their issues worked out to become playable characters for the 3DS & Wii U game, but not Nintendog... Until it is noted that the issue Sakurai had with Nintendog was that no one wanted to beat up a cute little puppy... However, millions of gamers from the NES era had always wanted to shoot the laughing dog from Duck Hunt! Instead of using a dog no one would want to hurt, Sakurai chose Nintendo's own equivalent to Scrappy-Doo.
  • Skull Kid flipping the screen may seem to be a huge letdown, but let's not forget that in reality he's just a huge prankster. Dropping the moon as an attack would mean HELPING his summoner, something he doesn't feel like doing.
    • It also works as a reference to the part in Majora's Mask where the Stone Tower Temple had to be flipped upside down.
  • The Final Destination version of a stage is officially known as its Omega form. Omega is the final character in the Greek alphabet.
  • Shulk's Counter-Attack, Vision, is unique in that it slows down the offending opponent, leaving them wide open for the counter attack. This mirrors how his visions work during gameplay in Xenoblade Chronicles 1: They force the enemy into charging their attack for a few seconds, giving the party time to strategize a countermeasure. Of course, this is far quicker in Smash, but the core remains the same.
    • Part of Shulk's Vision counter is that it is more powerful than other counters, and has a wide activation frame that diminishes if it's spammed. This is a reference to the Party Gauge, as a section of it is needed for the leader to warn the party. If a section is not filled, the party cannot counter-attack, and the player's options are reduced.
  • Zelda and Sheik's separation makes sense from an in-universe perspective too, aside from the elimination of transformations in Wii U/3DS. Sheik's supposed to be a disguise for Zelda; turning into her in front of everyone else would ruin that (don't ask why she did it in Melee and Brawl), so it would make sense that if she's going into battle, she'd choose one identity or the other.
    • It also works in the sense that it separates two Zeldas from different points of the The Legend of Zelda timeline. Sheik is Ocarina of Time's Zelda, while Zelda herself is from Twilight Princess, and thus the descendant of Ocarina's Zelda (at least in one of the timeline's branching paths anyway).
  • Most "Screen KOs" have the characters crash into the screen face-first; that is, all of them save for Shulk, who crashes Monado-first. He probably saw his painful future, and did what he could to keep his face safe. Granted, a BFS like the Monado being crushed against his back must still hurt like hell, but still.
    • This also extends to Palutena as well, as she holds her scepter in front of her as she hits the screen, nor does she seem surprised when she hits the screen. Given Uprising is about breaking the 4th wall, knowing of its existence helps her soften the blow so she doesn't get hit in the face at all.
  • Robin and Lucina can be seen warping to the battlefield in the same fashion as Marth and Ike when starting their battles. However, Warp Staves don't exist in Awakening: only Rescue Staves, which are used to bring back a unit near to you from afar. It has been speculated that Lissa is hiding in the background of the stages in order to do the proper summoning.
    • Can also extend to explain Chrom being summoned to the battlefield during Robin's Final Smash. Lissa helping out her brother to aid his closest comrade can go far showing the meaning of teamwork in a family. (Depending on player's preferences, of course.)
  • The customization options for Mii Fighters are as follows: Equipment, Specials, Headgear, Outfit, and Powers. eShop.
  • Each of the classic stages returning to the 3DS version (except for Distant Planet) can be traced back to a game that was released on Nintendo's handheld consoles.
  • At first, it might seem cheap that all of Pac-Man's alternate costumes are of him wearing different colored wrist cuffs and leg warmers, and you might think it's because they didn't want to sacrifice his famous yellow color for different costumes until you realize: Pac-Man the game was released in The '80s. The 80's were when wrist cuffs and leg warmers were the most popular.
    • Even more than that is that in various depictions of Pac-Man's universe, either all Pac-People are yellow or there is something special about a yellow Pac-Person versus Pac-People of other colors. In essence, Pac-Man's yellow color is an important part of his character in his canon and that is reflected in his strict adherence to keeping his yellow color.
  • In Melee and Brawl, Marth only spoke in Japanese, to reflect how his games had never been released outside of Japan. But in Smash 4, he still speaks in Japanese despite Shadow Dragon having been released in the West. That seems inconsistent, until you realize that his Smash 4 appearance is based specifically on his appearance in New Mystery of the Emblem, which wasn't released outside of Japan. Also, none of his games had any voice acting in it anyway, whereas Ike's games (Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn) as well as Robin and Lucina's game did, and thus, have actual voice actors. Thus, it makes sense to actually stay consistent and keep Marth with the voice we all know him to have.
  • Female Robin's line to Lucina, "How can you protect Chrom if you can't protect yourself?" may seem rather out of character for her to say, whether she is Lucina's mother or not, but it becomes less out of character if one considers the fact that Lucina may have asked her to not pull any punches, literal or verbal. After all, Lucina loves her father very much, so it wouldn't be unusual for her to use female Robin's harsh words and her other experiences in the world of Super Smash Bros. to improve for Chrom.
  • Lucina's own arrogant behavior in the English dub seems Out of Character as well, until you realize that she's taking on her harsher, more intimidating "Marth" persona once again, only without the mask (unless her behavior ends up simply being dismissed as the translation error that it likely was).
  • Thought that Young Link was gone since Melee? Nope, one of the new Palette Swaps for Link is Fierce Deity/Oni Link, meaning that the Young Link from Majora's Mask technically appears in this game, albeit wearing the mask.
  • During Greninja's reveal trailer, everyone seemed to think that Mario, Samus, Olimar, Link, and Kirby going up against Charizard was just a stylistic choice. Including Greninja and Pikachu, that brings the total fighters in the video to eight. And in the October Smash Direct, it was revealed that the Wii U version would support 8-Player Smash. -Paper Pilgrim
    • Similarily, Mega Man's reveal trailer does the same. The Blue Bomber interrupts a normal 4 player brawl between Mario, Link, DK, and Kirby, making it five players at once.
  • In the source game Punch-Out, when Little Mac dodges and counters, the opponent remains stunned for some amount of time and Mac is free to spam punches. During this time, the countdown slows down while you're punching the opponent. In Super Smash Bros 4, Little Mac's neutral ground attack has him punching very rapidly, something you never saw in the source game. But this is only because he's doing it in normal time!
  • Anyone familiar with the Pokémon games is probably wondering why Zoroark can be summoned from a Master Ball even though it isn't a Legendary Pokémon. Zoroark was initially only available through an event, something that is normally reserved for rare Legendary Pokémon like Mew.
  • Parts of Duck Hunt's moveset utilize various explosives and firearms, such as the TNT Can from Hogan's Alley and the NES Zapper. What day was Duck Hunt officially revealed? November 5th.
  • The fact that the Logo Joke only occurs during Duck Hunt's trailer. Sure, the Zapper operator doesn't have any ill will towards the dog, but the fourth wall still acknowledges players' discontent with it by actually hitting it.
  • Snake's Codec calls were replaced with Palutena's Guidance for the Wii U version. In other words, they got a literal Greek Chorus this time.
  • In Robin's Codec for Palutena's Advice, Palutena and Viridi make fun of the Prince for not getting into Smash. Well, you'd be a little pissed and regularly defending the little dignity you have too if you were constantly mocked for whatever you didn't get to do. The Codec was just probably the straw that broke the camel's back.
    • During the same codec, Viridi and Palutena remarked that if Chrom was a playable character, he'd be little more than an Ike clone. If one looks closely at Robin's "Pair-Up" Final Smash, his charge upon being summoned looks similar to Ike's. One of Ike's alt. costumes is in the same colors as Chrom, almost as a nod to this.
  • One of Metal Face's taunts towards Shulk is about how the Monado shouldn't be able to hurt him. Of course, since Shulk can hurt the other human/humanoid fighters normally while wielding the Monado, it stands to reason that he'd be able to damage a Face Mechon.
    • Another possible interpretation is that the Monado can hurt Metal Face because everyone else can do it. In Xenoblade, Face Mechon are Nigh-Invulnerable against anything that isn't a weapon made out of Mechonis material, at least at first. It stands to reason that if anything can hurt Metal Face in Smash, the Monado can too.
  • When Kirby copies Shulk, he gains a Monado. However, he never uses it to attack. If you consider that the Monado initially cannot harm any Homs or other humanoid beings native to Bionis, it would make sense that if Shulk was the only opponent Kirby was facing, there would be no reason for Kirby to slash Shulk with the Monado. Kirby would not be able to harm Shulk with it. Kirby would only be able to attack him with his body or with his own weapons.
  • Lucina's Critical Hit can One-Hit KO Ridley in the Pyrosphere stage. Of course, her blade, the Falchion, has the power to slay dragons.note 
  • Sonic's palette swaps all match up with the colors of the Chaos Emeralds, with the exception of the black one. However, that could also fit in here if you remember that the Chaos Emeralds turn a dark gray if they lose their power.
  • The remixes of the songs from Mega Man's games resemble Rock music. The songs are making a pun out of Mega Man's Japanese name of "Rock Man".
  • Shulk's amiibo was a GameStop exclusive in America before it was made available at other retailers. Xenoblade Chronicles 1 was also a GameStop exclusive in America.
  • Why are there so many of Kid Icarus' Forces of Nature in Smash Run? Because the Underworld Army was demolished twice over, and so they're short on troops. Why are there still Skuttlers? Because they're cheap and easy to produce note .
    • That, and the main point behind Smash Bros is to have a fun competition without killing everyone. That's also why most of the villainous characters (with the exception of Ganondorf) are of the Go-Karting with Bowser variety, but for this scenario, Viridi is more willing to supply Smash Run with friendly soldiers than the Underworld. Friendly competition or no, Hades would give his soldiers explicit orders to kill Pit. Basic enemies aside, the Underworld sends the Reaper, the Orne, and the Clubberskull: three enemies you really do not want to meet. Viridi does not send anything more dangerous than a Megonta (the giant woodlouse enemy).
  • Beating Crazy Orders after 12 rounds nets you the Soda Popinski trophy. This seems like a filler challenge...unless you know the source. Soda Popinski is left handed. Now, who runs Crazy Orders again...
  • You might look at the order of the final Co-Op Event in Smash Bros Wii U and see how there's a particular order with the characters: Clones, 3DS Unlockables, 3rd Parties, Starter Cast from SSB4 to SSB. However, there's a particular order with the characters in those lists as well. (Brawl's version of the event was a bit out of order in the Brawl roster.)
    • Dark Pit is first in line, as he was confirmed later than Lucina, despite the fact that he made a cameo appearance in Palutena's trailer a month prior. Dr. Mario is the last of these clones because he debuted in Melee.
    • Oddly enough, Bowser Jr is first in line for SSB4 3DS Unlockables, despite the fact that Duck Hunt was revealed later than him. However, this might have been done on purpose to pair up Duck Hunt with ROB (Brawl unlockable), both characters exclusive to the NES era. Wario is the last of the Brawl unlockables because he was one of the first characters revealed in Brawl.
    • Mr. Game and Watch is the first in line for Melee unlockables as he's the last character unlocked in the game. Ganondorf is next in line because he's usually unlocked later, and Falco is the last in line for Melee unlockables because his requirement for being unlocked is usually not difficult, and he's one of the earliest characters you can unlock in SSB4.
    • Ness and Jigglypuff, two of the SSB64 Unlockables (3DS) are listed like they are because Earthbound came out before Pokémon, so Jigglypuff comes before Ness.
    • Pac-Man, Mega Man, and Sonic are next in line. Pac-Man was revealed in E3 2014, Mega Man was revealed in E3 2013, and Sonic was revealed in October 2007 (plus he was in Brawl), so it makes sense those characters go in that order.
    • SSB4's lineup of starters is this: Shulk, Robin, Palutena, Greninja, Little Mac, Rosalina & Luma, Wii Fit Trainer, and Villager. Shulk was announced in August 2014, Robin (and Lucina) was announced in July 2014, Palutena was announced in June 2014, Greninja was announced in a Nintendo Direct in April 2014, Little Mac was announced in a direct in February 2014, Rosalina & Luma were announced in December 2013, and Wii Fit Trainer and Villager were both announced in the E3 2013 Trailer, but the Villager was shown first, so he's last in the SSB4 line.
    • Brawl's lineup of starters is similar to SSB4's lineup. Toon Link was announced in March of 2008 and Lucario was announced in February of 2008. Toon Link is also encountered later than everyone else in the Subspace, being postgame exclusive (along with Jigglypuff and Wolf). Olimar was revealed in January 2008, Dedede was revealed in October 2007, Diddy Kong was revealed in late of August 2007, Pokemon Trainer was revealed a week before Diddy Kong (his Charizard), and Ike was revealed on the first of that same August. Zero Suit Samus, Pit, and Meta Knight are the last of that line. They were revealed in Brawl's trailer, with Meta Knight appearing first, then Pit, then Zero Suit Samus.
    • Melee's lineup of starters is relatively short. Marth is first of that line because he was a secret character in Melee, while Sheik, Zelda, Bowser, and Peach are next. Sheik was revealed in Melee's E3 trailer, but since Zelda and Sheik were the same character for the past two games, Zelda would go later than Sheik. Bowser and Peach were revealed before Sheik in E3 Trailer of Melee, and Peach was the first one to be shown, so she's the last of that line.
    • Finally, the ten remaining characters are from the original Smash Brothers. Captain Falcon and Luigi are first because they were unlockables the N64 version. Mario Bros debuted before F-Zero, so Captain Falcon is the first one of that line. After Luigi, it's the original eight. These eight characters don't have a reveal order - they appear in reverse order which when they debuted: Pikachu (Pokemon Red/Green, 1996), Fox (Star Fox, 1993), Kirby (Kirby's Dreamland, 1992), Yoshi (Super Mario World, 1990), Samus (Metroid, August 1986), Link (The Legend of Zelda, February 1986), Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong, 1981), and Mario (Donkey Kong, 1981).
  • The event Wrecking Mario is made more complicated by the two Warios chasing you. However, the description implies that they asked you for help destroying the building. So why are they attacking you? Simple. Wario doesn't want to pay you. But then, you wonder if it would be easier to just destroy the building. The answer is yes.
  • The main difference between Marth and Lucina is that Marth's strongest part of his blade is the tip and Lucina's is evenly distributed despite being the same sword. But consider that the Falchion has been reforged many times between Marth's and Lucina's time (which is why Lucina and Chrom's blade looks different from Marth's), the power of the blade might have redistributed itself through the entire blade instead of just the tip.
    • Also consider its users, Marth has a fencer's style which includes finesse if he wants to hit with the sharpest part of the blade, the tip. Lucina, while she adapted Marth's fighting style, doesn't have the finesse that Marth has since she probably doesn't have the proper training Marth does since Chrom and his army had died in her time. In addition, Lucina probably adapted Chrom's style a little bit as well, especially since Chrom's style more resembles Ike's whose power is evenly distributed throughout the blade.
  • So why doesn't Lucina have the Pair Up Final Smash that the Avatar does when she's in the same game as him/her? Robin is the one who invented the strategy and can adapt it into any situation like Smash Bros.
  • Gaur Plain is a pretty good decision for a Xenoblade stage. First off, it's a pretty good example of the game's Scenery Porn. Second, it's huge. Much like the Wide-Open Sandbox that is Xenoblade. Thirdly, it has a pretty wonky layout, which makes sense for a stage that's based on a game that sometimes showcases how scenery can have an effect on a battle in a video game.
  • Diddy Kong's Smash Bros. 4 reveal was geared closer to the international release of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze rather than the Japanese release, a departure from any other character revealed in conjunction with a game's release date. If you'll recall, however, Diddy is the sole playable character in all of Smash Bros. who was originally designed by a non-Japanese company (that company being Rare, for the original DK Country game), so it could be seen as a nod to Diddy's overseas roots and a small tip of the hat to Rare.
  • Charizard gets a double dose of this. In Brawl, Charizard was a Physical attacker, despite its species having better Special stats. This was a Charizard under the ownership of the Pokémon Trainer Red. Come pre-Gen VI, and Red is training a Charizard that specializes in physical attacks — which makes a lot more sense when Charizard's X-Type Mega Evolution shows up. Then, next bout in Smash, Red sends his Charizard back to Smash again — with the Charizardite X that Mr. Fuji gave him!
  • As some fans have pointed out, Master Core bears a striking resemblance to that thing underneath the Battlefield stage in Melee and Brawl. Maybe it is, and Master Hand's inner self, and so his true self, is always watching them. Also, in the Wii U version, the bottom of the stage looks like it's been ripped open from the inside, and now is hanging in stone chunks.
  • The name of the Dream Land stage in the 3DS version doesn't just refer to the general location of the stage. The game the stage is based on is Kirby's Dream Land, so the name also refers to the Gameboy game the characters are in.
  • The Character Development Lucas has in Subspace Emissary matches the one he has in his original game.
  • Why does a basic gear represent the Mega Man series, but not something more recognizable like his helmet or an Energy Tank? It's a throwback to the title screen◊ of his first fighting game appearance.
  • The Mother 3 theme playing while Ness is getting wailed on in Lucas's trailer is more than simple foresahdowing. The lyrics of the song are calling out to the listener to help "the small child who walks his path alone". In the original game, Lucas was the small child; this time, he's the one answering the call.
  • Sakurai explains that even the most minor of differences between characters will make that character unique, hence why Lucina became a clone instead of a costume for Marth. But what about Pit and Dark Pit? They're literally clones of each other, but they were separated as different characters. Why? Well, since Dark Pit is considered the opposite of Pit, it would be kind of odd to see a rogue wield the Three Sacred Treasures given to Palutena's guard captain, now, wouldn't it?
  • The trailer for Lucas says: "Lucas Comes out of Nowhere!" Well, of course he does; his home game takes place in the Nowhere Islands.
  • Viridi's "intruder from another dimension" hypothesis might not be too far from the truth, considering how Ryu left the last crossover he was in: kicked into outer space by Akuma and caught into some kind of wormhole. Yes, Akuma sent Ryu to Super Smash Bros. just so he could fight Asura in a one-on-one.
  • Why didn't Link and Zelda get their Skyward Sword designs as their main ones? Check the official timeline. Assuming the Hero of Time survives his excursion with Ganondorf, the Adult Era is directly followed by the Era of the Great Sea, and the Child Era is directly followed by the Era of Twilight.
    • By keeping Twilight Princess' Link to match Wind Waker's Toon Linknote , this gives you the two Links that directly succeeded Ocarina of Time's Link.
    • Meanwhile, both Links are accompanied by a Zelda who uses Light Arrows in the fight with Ganondorf. Wind Waker's Zelda uses Link's bow and arrows, but since the bow is part of Link's moveset, that doesn't fly. Twilight Princess' Zelda, on the other hand, uses the Light Spirits of Hyrule transformed into a bow and arrows, which means she and Link aren't sharing a string and quiver.
  • In a Call-Back/Fridge Heartwarming, Ness is introduced in Subspace Emissary by rescuing Lucas from getting attacked by the King Porky Statue with a PK Thunder. Several years later, Lucas is reintroduced into WiiU/3DS by saving Ness from being attacked by Bowser with a PK Fire.
  • Link's new dash attack is his classic jump attack. This makes more sense after Skyward Sword, where that Link would perform a jump attack if he drew his sword while running.
    • His backwards rolling animation was also changed to be him backflipping, which is something he does while using z-targeting in the 3D Zelda games hopping backwards.
  • When Lucas returned as DLC, Dream Land 64 was the stage released on the same day rather than, say, New Pork City like some expected. Why? Because, in Smash 64, Ness was fought and unlocked on Dream Land since he didn't have a home stage back then.
  • Back on Roy being clearly inferior to Marth and many high-tier character in Melee: it's clear how very powerful he has become in his return as DLC for Smash 4. One could say that that he trained up hard enough to employ his own swordfighting style, but it's also very tied in how just broken and destructive he becomes as an unit when finally receiving Sword of Seals around the near-end parts of his game.
    • It also could explain Roy's new look which, while having mix of design elements from Melee to his Awakening DLC-costume, can be alluded to his Master Lord-class, sealing further that he is in fact, "promoted" to a more powerful being than he used to be in Melee.
  • Unlike Marth and Lucina, Roy's Critical Hit can only hit people around him, whereas their Critical Hits defeat foes in front of them. Why? Well, take a look at their Standard Special attacks. Roy swings his sword in an arc, similar to what he does for his Final Smash. Marth and Lucina thrust their swords forward, much like their Final Smash. They're translating the movement of their standard moves to their most powerful moves.
    • On the subject of Critical Hits, Marth's Final Smash, along with being an instant KO, deals 60% damage. It may seem strange for it to deal damage if it's an instant KO anyways, until you realize: Units in Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon, all the way up to Radiant Dawn, could only have a maximum of 60 HP, and dealing 60 damage with a critical hit is an instant kill. It would make sense then for a 60% damage critical swing of Marth's Falchion to instantly deal enough damage to instantly KO anyone.
  • As mentioned on this very wiki, it's rather ironic that Ryu is one of the most difficult characters in Smash despite being the simplest character in Street Fighter. Then again, Smash in general is meant to be a relatively simple fighting game.
  • Lucina's alternate hair colors for her alternate costumes. Fire Emblem: Awakening has her try out some hair dye from an Anna in the "Hot-Spring Scramble" DLC chapter, so it's likely that her varying hair colors come from the same kind of dye.
  • Suzaku Castle has Ryu's main theme as one of the selectable tracks. Not only is this the same stage-theme combination as in Street Fighter 2, it's the first time in a while that Ryu's theme was tied to his home stage rather than the character himself, which is what SF2 did with all of its stages.
  • While discussing about how Luigi's attacks are no joke, Viridi mentions the Green Missile and Super Jump Punch. While both of these are his most powerful specials, the Green Missile involves Luigi crouching down like he's about to fart and the Super Jump Punch can do a pathetic amount of damage if done like Mario's. In other words, Viridi sounds like she's complementing Luigi, but she's also insulting him.
  • The Smash Ballot serves two purposes. Not only does it allow fans to vote in DLC characters for Smash, but it also is an effective way for the developers to gauge popular characters across the world and, from there, make calls on who will get in to the next game. So, even if people like Waluigi, Isaac, and WonderRed don't get voted in, the developers realize that fans are interested, and we could quite easily see the characters in later Smash games! So, even the losers of the ballot have the potential of winning in the long run!
  • Ryu and Roy being announced as DLC at the same time is a (probably unintentional) Mythology Gag. The name “Ryu” means dragon, while “Roy” means king. Put the names together and you end up with...
    • Not to mention that it actually is possible, and most likely canon, for Roy to be a Manakete, albeit only one-quarter.
    • And now we have Corrin thrown into the mix, who's literally half dragon and is royalty of one of two kingdoms...
  • In the Wii U version, one of the challenges is to collect 300,000 G. The reward for beating this challenge is a trophy of The Prince of Sable. For those who haven't played his game, For the Frog the Bell Tolls (the game of the prince's origin), a running gag in the game is that the prince loses and regains a huge amount of money continuously. You never have it around when you're able to shop for items.
  • One of the stat boosts in Smash Run is in the shape of a star, and raises every one of the player's stats. One could call this particular stat boost an "all-star."
  • Cloud's inclusion into the Smash roster might seem off putting to some seeing as how he was never in a Nintendo game. However, not many know this, but Final Fantasy VII was meant to be a N64 exclusive, but the idea was scrapped.
  • Why does Pac-Man do the Galaga tractor beam for his grab? Because that's what the Galaxian flagship power-up in Pac & Pal lets him do!
  • Mega Man going into the Mega Man 2-style Robot Master boss screen in his reveal trailer is a lot more fitting in a way when you remember Mega Man is himself one of Dr. Light's original Robot Masters.
  • Bayonetta winning the Smash Ballot may have disappointed a few people, but she does fulfill several requirements that many people wanted in the Smash Ballot Fighter winner when you consider her pedigree and her game's history:
    • She's a representative of Sega (Publisher) and PlatinumGames (Developer). Which is great considering that Sega had only been represented by Sonic for the longest time and she's the most iconic character by Platinum Games Inc.
    • She's a female character, which is a plus when you consider that male characters and characters without a confirmed sex outnumber the female ones by a big margin and is the only DLC one (not counting Corrin who has female alternate costumes).
    • She's an Expy of Dante from Devil May Cry, who is a popular video game character in his own right, but isn't likely to appear in Smash himself (a version of him already appeared in Playstation All Stars Battle Royale and a third Capcom character would have been too much). In a sense that makes her simultaneously a bit like both a classic game character (that people wanted but due to reasons aren't likely to be included) and an indie game character (who tend to emulate those old classics, but are still fairly new themselves) that many people wished for.
      • To compound on that, the Jeanne palette swap gives Bayonetta Dante's color pattern.
    • PlatinumGames tend to follow a trend where the games themselves are incredibly polished, but tend not to sell well due to the controls being too difficult or receive barely any advertising. Bayonetta hits the sweet spot where it's well known enough by many gamers, but not many people actually played. Appearing in Smash Bros is the Colbert Bump that the series, and Platinum Games needed.
    • And really, she would be the perfect character to antagonize the characters of Kid Icarus, who many people claim to get favorable treatment from Masahiro Sakurai himself. This last point can either be a Troll option, or an amazing one depending on how you look at it.
    • Even her splash text has some fridge brilliance. Bayonetta's splash screen and text is golden yellow, which is not a color she is normally associated with. Usually the angels are. Strange, until you consider that she got first place in the ballot. The gold text represents her getting first place.
  • Also referring to Bayonetta: one of her defining attacks from her home game is absent from her moveset: torture attacks. Those attacks would seem out of place in a Smash environment, wouldn't it? It's the same with Snake in Brawl: there are non-explosive weapons he is able to use from his home game, but he did not bring them into Smash. After all, the object of Smash is to defeat, not kill, your opponent.
    • This might explain why her Wicked Weaves only reveal her legs and not leave her naked. It's a sign she's holding back. Bayonetta's not here to kill anyone, just knock them off the stage. So she intentionally holds back the power of her Wicked Weaves so they do just enough damage to knock the opponent away and not explode them.
      • Didn't stopped her from bringing... something from Hell to instantly KO (read: eat and ingest, since the ones on the recieving end are just gone) anything that is 100% or above in damage, so in a way, she DOES kill.
      • The affected opponents still clap for the winner after the match, though.
      • You could look at it this way: if we still go by the assumption Bayonetta fights non-lethally in Smash, then the KOs from Gomorrah come from him still keeping the opponents inside his mouth when returning to Inferno. Since that necessitates leaving the arena, it counts as a KO.
      • Characters with 99% damage or less can escape Gomorrah though. That said, it's been seen that characters with higher damage have a harder time doing things like climbing ledges, breaking out of Yoshi's eggs, or waking up from sleep, and characters at 100% or above are instantly KO'd by things like the Great Cave Offensive's magma. It may just be that characters at 99% or below have enough strength to escape Gomorrah, but at over 100% they just can't manage it, and get KO'd when Gomorrah goes past the blast lines.
  • During Bayonetta's trailer, the first character she is shown using her Witch Time on is Cloud, a reference to the Time spell from Final Fantasy VII which increases a character's wait time by a whole minute.
  • The new DLC (Ryu, Corrin, Cloud, and Bayonetta) characters appear a bit overpowered due to their mechanics giving them a crazy number of options for damaging opponents (especially when compared to vanilla-version fighters). This makes sense as being DLC characters, they don't have access to custom moves.
  • By sheer coincidence, the three 3rd party DLC characters (Ryu, Cloud, and Bayonetta) have the same fighting styles as the three varieties of Mii Fighters (Brawler, Swordfighter and Gunner). They even have the same gender ratio as the official artwork (male brawler, male swordfighter, female gunner).
  • Bayonetta's arrival was foreshadowed by Zero Suit Samus' Mode portrait ending. The pose Samus takes is more than similar to the cover art of the first Bayonetta game.
  • The release order in which the three DLC franchises came actually has something interesting about them that relates to them being in a "Nintendo" crossover. No Street Fighter games were published by Nintendo worldwide, the first Final Fantasy game (as well the GBA remakes of the main installments) was published by Nintendo when it released in the Westnote , and the publishing rights for any further installment of Bayonetta series is currently owned by Nintendo. Basically, each proceeding third-party franchise is more closer to being "first-party" than the last.
  • Cloud's use of Limit Break also serves as a Shout-Out to his home series' own Massive Multiplayer Crossover Dissidia Final Fantasy. His gauge fills up through fighting like building up Bravery through connecting Brave Attacks. When the gauge fills up, Cloud's use of a powered up special and KOing enemies resembles HP attacks draining health and ending matches.
    • On that note, Cloud's dash animation resembles the animation for the Air/Ground Dash mechanic from Dissidia, which was the fastest way for him and the other fighters to move around as opposed to simply running. This naturally translates over to Smash, where dashing is the fastest way for a character to move on the ground. The similarities to the Ground Dash are more prevalent considering how quick Cloud can act out of his dash compared to the rest of the cast.
  • Possibly a coincidence, but at the beginning of Bayonetta's trailer, Pit remarks "Two down!". While it's likely Pit was referring to Samus and Bowser, at that point, two of the last wave of DLC characters have already been revealed, and there was one more to go...
  • One of Dr. Mario's most infamous traits in Smash 4 is his poor recovery. Perhaps the reason is that since Dr. Mario is not a platformer, he doesn't have the jumping practice that Super Mario Bros. Mario has.Note 
  • In this game, Pit no longer can glide freely like he could in Brawl. But if you recall, Pit was only carrying his bow, the Wings of Pegasus, and a shield. But in this game, Pit has all of that, the Upperdash Arm, the Guardian Orbiters, the Arrows of Light, and the armor given to him in Uprising. It'd be a bit harder to glide with all that weighing him down, no?
  • Corrin deciding to join Smash 4 when presented with the route selection is comically baffling, as Ryoma and Xander rightfully call him out on. However, consider this: in Revelation, he states that he doesn't want to fight either of his siblings or commit to a side. Seeing as how he'll have to wage war against one of his homes and how generally unpleasant the experience will be, he opts to stay out of the way and find a way to unify his families. Not only does he do this in Revelation, but in Smash 4 as well. His trailer has his Hoshido and Nohr siblings provide positive commentary and cheering him on against the competition, coming together in the process (Sakura and Elise are pleasantly surprised when their big brother becomes a cute girl). In a way, he becomes successful at bringing both sides together.
    • This also explains why he has the Omega Yato, which only comes into play in Revelation when the divine weapons of his brothers from both sides (Xander's Siegfried, Leo's Brynhildr, Ryoma's Raijinto, and Takumi's Fujin Yumi) react to the Yato. Corrin is already fighting with the full support of both of his families.
  • Mega Man's final smash, "Mega Legends", has every Mega Man incarnation from every series in the franchise's history, except for Copy X from Mega Man Zeronote  and Vent and Aile from Mega Man ZX. While it makes sense immediately that Copy X isn't present, being a bad guy and all, Vent and Aile have another good reason for not showing up; only one of them can use Biometal Model X at a time, and he's already standing there as Mega Man X himself! In a sense, X represents not only the X series, but Zero and ZX as well.
  • Many competitive and casual players considered Corrin to be the best of the Fire Emblem characters at the time of his initial release, mostly due to his Dragon Fang ability giving him disjointed hitboxes that the other characters could only dream of. That already gives Corrin a tactical edge against his fellow swordsmen (and Robin), but the real reason he's better than the rest? It's because of Corrin's weapon, the Omega Yato blade or, as Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation revealed, the Fire Emblem, which is canonically THE most powerful weapon in the franchise, so in addition to his dragon powers, he's already a better-equipped unit than the rest of them.
    • Though as of late, Corrin's title of strongest Fire Emblem character is being challenged by Marth, as advances in the latter's metagame have slowly given him a more notable presence than Corrin. Coincidentally, from a Fire Emblem perspective, Marth is one of two characters who could possibly compete with Corrin and his Omega Yato (the other being Lucina) on even grounds, the reason being Marth's Falchion is imbued with the power to slay dragons, and Corrin is part dragon himself.
  • Cloud possesses four Meteor Smashesnote , which is a lot compared to the rest of the roster; only characters like Donkey Kong, Wii Fit Trainer, and Ganondorf match a similar amount. Note the Irony considering what exactly he tried to stop in his home game. It could also be a reference to the only Limit Break in Cloud's arsenal to not appear in any way (if one considers Braver to either be his Forward Aerial or the Climhazzard follow-up), Meteorain.
    • This also serves as yet another Shout-Out to Cloud's Dissidia moveset, where his specialty was the Wall Rush mechanic; inflicting extra damage by knocking the opponent into a wall. In Smash Bros knocking an opponent into a wall doesn't hurt them more than the attack itself, but knocking them off the stage (especially in a downward direction) does. And on a less serious note, knocking enemies down has been a Final Fantasy inside joke ever since the first game.
  • Fox and Falco's respective specializations in fast-paced ground and aerial combat make sense considering what kind of animals they are. Foxes don't fly and stick to the ground, whereas birds prefer the air.
  • A rather sweet twist to their Lord Roy's and Roy Koopa's popular rivalry which was played for comedy during each of their reveal by many fans long before, and after such: it is shown that both Roy Koopa and Lord Roy had possibly "made up" since Lord Roy had given his own mind to the Koopaling and hanged out driving on 3DS Rainbow Road on the 3DS-version. Come then Mario Kart 8, where Roy Koopa is now a playable racer in the game. Guess what is one of the tricks he can do? Why Lord Roy's iconic taunt from Melee, of course!
  • One of Ryu's reactions to getting KOed is a simple Flat "What", whereas the majority of the cast scream out in pain when the same happens to them. He's actually expressing surprise at how he's defeated, and not in an Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy kind of way. In every single fighting game appearance he's made, fights are settled by knocking the opponent unconscious while Smash has fighters trying to score KOs via Ring Out. Ryu is shocked because Smash doesn't adhere to a rule his home series, and the other crossovers he's been in, follow.
  • In Corrin's trailer, when they switch out male Corrin for female Corrin, Sakura is shocked and Elise is happy, stating that she's "even better". In official Fates artworks male Corrin is most often aligned with Hoshido while female Corrin picks Nohr instead.
  • In spite of being considered one of the best characters in the game, Cloud in tournament singles matches tends to have fluctuated results. While his speed and power ensures that he can get the job done, he can still die very early due to his poor recovery without his Limit Break. In contrast, Cloud fares much better in doubles where he has a partner to help him in both recovering to the stage and reliably landing his Limit Breaks, resulting in him being one of the best doubles partners in the game. This isn't a coincidence; Cloud's an RPG character, meaning he's used to fighting alongside other people who can support him and cover up whatever weaknesses he may have. He's more or less used to fighting in a team.
    • This can also serve as another reference to Dissidia, specifically the second game Dissidia 012 which introduced an "Assist" system where a character can call upon an ally for help. In that game, Cloud benefits greatly from having an Assist to set up into his HP attacks and his own attacks when called upon as an Assist can do the same for other characters. By himself he's an effective combatant but still has issues; when working together with the right partner on the other hand, he's much more of a threat.
  • The Fire Emblem reps as of the fourth game make a Five-Man Band. It's a bit serendipitous that they fit the archetypes as each was included to be the most recent representative from the franchise at each major Smash release. Roy's Binding Blade was released months after Melee. Ike's Radiant Dawn was released months before Brawl. Robin and Lucina's Awakening was released a year before Wii U/3DS, and Corrin's Fates a few months after/before the end of the DLC cycle.
    • Marth is The Hero, as the most iconic Lord from the first entry in the series, and most recurring in spinoffs. He sets the style and tone for the series.
    • Roy is The Lancer, the second to be included, used to show off a more energetic youthful style than Marth and has inverted game mechanics.
    • Ike is The Big Guy, the first main character to not be a noble, has the most raw power, wields a two handed sword with one hand.
    • Robin is The Smart Guy, a master strategist used to show off the magic elements of the franchise.
    • Lucina is The Heart as the Token Girl, Distaff Counterpart to The Hero, with a playstyle that is a medium between The Hero and The Lancer.
    • Corrin is The Sixth Ranger, a conflicted individual who joins late and ultimately fights for the right reasons. Meant to show off the transforming characters in the overall Fire Emblem franchise.
  • Considering that his home series was not only the Trope Codifier for Super Combos in fighting games, it seems fitting that Ryu is not just the first character able to have two Final Smashes available at once, but the only character (along with Ken in Ultimate) who can perform his neutral special while still having the Smash Ball active.
    • Ryu's arrival was actually foreshadowed by Mario and Dr. Mario's custom up specials, Explosive Punch and Ol' One-Two. When done up close they closely resemble Ryu's Shin Shoryuken.
  • Why is Greninja classified as a "Bad Guy" in this Conquest poll◊? It's simple: Greninja is a "Dark-type", which in Japanese is called "Evil-type".
    • Additionally, as Mewtwo (the only Pokémon fighter to have ever played an antagonist role) had yet to be available when the Conquest was heldnote , Greninja was more-or-less the closest thing to a Pokémon "villain" in the game, so it could've been taking Mewtwo's place as Pokémon's "bad guy".
  • Villager was the only fighter to join Smash by receiving a letter he found in his mailbox. Receiving things in your mailbox is a very natural thing in the Animal Crossing series.
    • While it's an iconography to the series, fans later interpreted as iconography to Smash, where in Ultimate, several characters would get an invite under different circumstances.
  • Pokémon Trainer may not physically appear in Smash but if you look at Charizard's intro animation, you can see that it emerges from a Poké Ball. Turns out Pokémon Trainer is technically still battling in Smash. Just not on-screen and without Squirtle and Ivysaur.
    • Another way it makes sense is that Red's (Whom the Trainer is based on) Signature Mon tends to be Charizard in most of his appearances.
  • Most of the Newcomers can be considered foils to characters who are cut from this game:
    • Villager can be this to the Pokémon Trainer. Both are Player characters that wear red as their default look that catches creatures.
    • Rosalina & Luma are foils to the Ice Climbers, who are a two-in-one fighter with a Puppet Fighter gimmick. However both pairs are a greater foil to each other. Rosalina is a character with a humanoid model with Luma being roughly around the same size as Kirby and Jigglypuff whereas the Ice Climbers both have similar model designs to each other.
    • Greninja is a foil to Squirtle. Both are Starter Water-Type Pokémon. While Squirtle is only a first-stage evolution, Greninja is a final evolution form.
    • Dark Pit is a foil to Wolf, both fighters are an dark rival to another fighter that were initially clones to said fighters.
    • Lucina is a foil to Young Link. Both are Swordfighters and clones to fighters that are centuries older than them.
    • Bowser Jr. is a foil to Pichu, both are basically smaller versions of fighters from a different weight class (Bowser Jr to Bowser, and Pichu to Pikachu). Both fighters have a unique gimmicks that revolve around getting damage. (Bowser Jr. takes more damage than his clown car while Pichu takes damage from any electric type moves).
    • Duck Hunt could be a foil to Ivysaur as both of these fighters walk on all fours.
    • Cloud and Bayonetta are foils to Snake. For Cloud, he and Snake had a reputation on PlayStation and was considered the most left-field character to join Smash. Bayonetta on the other hand, foils Snake for being M-Rated fighters and their type of weaponry. Snake uses realistic weapons like a rocket launcher while Bayonetta's guns are said to be magic ammo.

Fridge Horror

  • A meta-example of horror: in the Super Smash Bros. Direct of April 2014, as Sakurai explains the Poké;mon in the game, he's replaced with the trademark plush toy from using Substitute. It may be a cute joke, until you realize two things. First, Substitute requires that you sacrifice some of your HP, and Sakurai's had issues with his health a while back from all the working stress...
  • In previous games, Crazy Hand was estabilished as the embodiment of destruction in SSB universe. What does it do when Master Hand decides to transform into Master Core? Gets the hell out of the battlefield. Just how exactly powerful is Master Core if its own twin is afraid of it?
  • In Charizard's ending movie in the Wii U version, one of the shots shown is the Villager trying to water Charizard's tail while it's asleep. It has been pointed out in the anime and the Pokedex entries in the game that if the flames of Charizard's tail were to be put out, it would spell death ... yeah, take that into consideration, and knowing that the Villager has been memetically viewed as a psychopathic character.
    • A little water probably won't do much. Besides, Charizard has been able to swim and not die immediately.
  • It is commonly accepted by fans that Master Hand and Crazy Hand belong to an actual person, a child no less. Take that into consideration when Master Core comes out. Yeah.
    • So when you're fighting Master Fortress, are you leaping inside the child and tearing them apart from the inside?
  • If Master Hand is even sentient as Master Core, it can be easily be interpretated that his final attack is a Taking You with Me. Since he's merely a sphere of energy now, his original form destroyed, he's simply Driven to Suicide, unable to take it any longer.
  • So what is Crazy Core like, if Crazy Hand has a "core" as with Master Hand?
  • Bayonetta has a taunt where she suggests 'asking your mum'. The funny page already points that Bowser Jr. and Corrin, the two characters in the accompanying clip, either don't have a mother or have lost their mother. Scary enough... except that most of the cast fit into one of these two groups. Fox, Lucas, Ike, Captain Olimar, Cloud, Rosalina and Shulk are all characters who have been confirmed as having deceased mothers (or in Olimar's case, otherwise missed), and of the cast, Ness and Lucina are two of few characters whose mothers are alive and well throughout their games (and Lucina only counts because of Time Travel; in the Bad Future original timeline, her mom either died along with the rest of the first generation, or in female!Robin's case, fell victim to Demonic Possession). And as of Ultimate, we have Young Link (whose mother died after protecting him from the Hylian War) and Kazuya (whose own mother was murdered by his father) Nice passive-aggressive taunt there, lady.
    • If you've played the Bayonetta games, you find out that Bayonetta herself is an example of a character with a deceased mother.

  • Master Core's "swarm" looks a lot like the dark bugs from Subspace Emissary, and his final attack if you take too long looks a lot like the Tabuu's One-Hit KO attack. When Master Hand was freed of Tabuu's control, did he decide to keep a little of that power for himself, and is he in control of it?

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