History VideoGame / TheSubspaceEmissary

[[quoteright:410:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6ab757dc3577c724303877639987ce2d.jpg]]
->''In this world, trophies fight. They know nothing but fighting. Being turned back into a trophy, being unable to fight, is much like death. Those are the rules of this world. When someone, or something, breaks those rules...the world will pay a terrible price.''
-->-- ''Excerpt of the teaser for the Subspace Emissary on the Smash Bros. Dojo''

''The Subspace Emissary'' is the Adventure Mode for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Brawl''. Unlike its series' [[NoPlotNoProblem usual method of handling story]], this mode is notable in that it functions as an actual full-length story mode for the game, featuring nearly every playable character taking action in the story (and the three that aren't are secret unlockables for the mode anyway).

Unlike ''Melee''[='=]s plotless trek through various Nintendo worlds, ''The Subspace Emissary'' takes place in an entirely neutral setting original to the game, with only vague stylistic references to other Nintendo games. In this world, trophies come to life and fight each other in friendly duels (as implied in ''Melee''[='=]s intro). However, the relative peace of the world is shattered when the Subspace Army, comprised of various Nintendo villains, are trying to take over the world by capturing pieces of the world in weapons called Subspace Bombs. The heroes gradually team up with each other until they are finally united to take down the Subspace Army.

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!!This game provides examples of:

* OneUp: One can occasionally find these hidden away or as a reward for clearing an ambush.
* AllForNothing: The Ancient Minister reluctantly joined the villains to protect his people. [[spoiler:But Ganondorf ultimately forces them all to self-destruct in order to try to kill the heroes -- and said R.O.B.s remain DeaderThanDead even after Tabuu's death, which restores everything else damaged by the Subspace invasion -- thus leaving the Minister the LastOfHisKind anyway.]]
* AllTheWorldsAreAStage: [[spoiler:The Great Maze contains all the levels you've played so far. Some of them you have to traverse backwards. There's even minibosses in some of them. And out of those, you already defeated a copy of some in the real levels previously.]]
* AllThereInTheManual:
** [[http://www.smashbros.com/wii/en_us/gamemode/modea/modea17.html This page]] clears up some of the less obvious parts of the narrative.
** The various Trophies of Subspace Emissary-affiliated characters help in explaining some details.
* AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: All of Subspace. Taken further with Tabuu's boss fight.
* AndIMustScream: Characters are unable to move or do anything while in trophy form, [[DownplayedTrope although they might not be fully conscious.]]
* AscendedFanboy: Pit watches Mario fight Kirby in the arena on a magic television before teaming up with him when Mario lands in the Skyworld.
* AssKickingPose: Besides the taunts, which work here too, many of the cutscenes end with one, as the screen freezes for you to choose the characters you're using.
* BackToBackBadasses: Marth and Meta Knight stop their duel to stand together like this against the Subspace Army.
* BadassCrew: All of the characters start off divided into their own sub-groups and achieve multiple feats of Badassery before joining together into a BadassArmy for the finale.
* BadassPacifist: Peach is rarely seen keen on fighting in the cutscenes and is the one who usually calls for a truce with their enemies (like Fox and Mr. Game & Watch).
* BattleshipRaid: Snake, Lucario, and Meta Knight storm around the Battleship Halberd to oust the Subspace Army and rescue Peach and Zelda. Peach and Zelda later proceed to assist in the raiding as well. Meanwhile, Falco and Fox shoot the Halberd's turrets from afar.
* BattleTrophy: The Trophy Stand is an item that, when thrown, turns weakened enemies and bosses into trophies that you can then pick up and add to your collection.
* BeakAttack: The Auroros fly above the players and try to pin them down with their long and pointy beaks, ending stuck in the ground. The players can then [[LodgedBladeRecycling pick them up]] and [[JavelinThrower throw them like javelins]] at other enemies.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: The only reason Mr. Game & Watch switches sides is because Peach gave him her umbrella.
* BerserkButton: The scene where (depending on who you saved from Petey Piranha) either Link thinks Mario has killed Zelda, or Mario thinks Link has killed Peach. There's no other way to describe the rage that follows.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Ness never stops smiling, even when he is kicking the crap out of The Porky Statue when it threatens Lucas.
* BigDamnHeroes: A fair few, but the most impressive is [[spoiler:Sonic coming out of nowhere to save the day at the end]].
* BigDoor: The door to Tabuu's room.
* BigGood: [[spoiler:King Dedede. If it weren't for his reviving brooches, the bad guy would've totally won when Tabuu "killed" all the heroes.]]
* BigThinShortTrio: Near the end of the game, you're given a party of the bulky penguin King Dedede, Mario's skinny brother Luigi, and the young boy Ness.
* BittersweetEnding: Though it's happy for the most part, but has a sad twist to it. [[spoiler:Tabuu is defeated and all of the Subspaced locations are restored in the World of Trophies, but strangely enough, the Island of Ancients doesn't return to the world due to the sheer volume of damage that the area took. Since Tabuu is responsible for the destruction of the R.O.B.s due to the detonation of the Subspace Bombs, this also makes the playable R.O.B. the LastOfHisKind]].
* BloodKnight: As said on the Dojo by WordOfGod, ''all'' of the cast of characters enjoy fighting -- even down to those you'd think otherwise, like Peach or Mr. Game & Watch. Being defeated and "trophified" is described as being much like death in part ''because'' they are unable to fight.
* BonusBoss: Jigglypuff, Toon Link, and Wolf.
* BossBonanza: The Great Maze is an UnexpectedGameplayChange to {{Metroidvania}}. The goal of this area is to find and fight [[BossRush not only the previous seven bosses]], but also 31 {{Mirror Boss}}es of all the playable characters encountered so far. After you defeated them all, you'll be able to fight [[FinalBoss Tabuu]]. Notably, Meta Ridley is no longer a TimeLimitBoss.
* BossOnlyLevel: "The Ruined Hall" (Galleom again) and "Battleship Halberd Bridge" (Duon).
* BossSubtitles: Master Hand and Tabuu, when they first appear, are the only bosses to receive them. The Ancient Minister, the Subspace Emissary's initial antagonist, gets one as well, despite him never actually being featured in a boss fight. Furthermore, although not bosses, each fighter (excluding Mr. Game and Watch) receives one during the first time he/she/it is seen in a Subspace Emissary cutscene.
%% * BulletTime
* TheCameo: Since Jigglypuff, Toon Link, and Wolf don't appear in the story, they can be unlocked in the PlayableEpilogue.
* CastHerd: The character list is split into several smaller groups that eventually connect together.
* CharacterDevelopment: A few instances as the characters begin working together. A notable example is Lucas, who, through his travels with Pokemon Trainer, eventually gains the courage to stand up to bullies like Wario.
* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:King Dedede's brooches can revive the characters from their trophy forms after a certain time.]]
* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler:King Dedede, Luigi, Ness, and Kirby after obtaining one of Dedede's brooches. Averted with Sonic, who is more of a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere on ''your'' side, but his actions during the cutscene indicate that Tabuu dramatically unfurling his butterfly wings before unleashing his Off Waves was ''not'' merely [[OverlyLongFightingAnimation showing off]]. With his wings damaged, Tabuu's power level drops dramatically and his Off Waves can actually be avoided.]]
* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler:King Dedede, of all people.]] As well as his XanatosGambit (see below), he protected himself as he went about his plan by [[spoiler:appearing to be a bad guy]]. He made a backup plan for everyone so that just in case everything went horrifically wrong, there would still be someone who could save the day. Also, even if it was only part of the process he did a pretty good job of incapacitating Wario. Even if he isn't much of a Chessmaster in his original series, this is still actually pretty representative of him normally: he appears to do wrong but is actually doing good, does things that are bad in the short term but helpful in the long term, and possesses knowledge that the heroes don't, [[spoiler:his badges]] and moves ahead of them.
* CloningBlues: The so-called Shadow Bugs can imitate characters by using their trophy.
* CowardlyMooks: [[http://supersmashbros.wikia.com/wiki/Poppant Poppants]] are enemies that flee from the player while dropping healing items and trophies. They're difficult to kill because they tend to run off cliffs to avoid the player, but defeating them can reward one with a rare trophy or sticker.
* CurbStompBattle: When Luigi goes down in one hit of Dedede's mighty hammer.
* CutsceneIncompetence: At the beginning of the story, Mario and Pit try to catch the Ancient Minister as he flies away with another bomb, but they both fail to jump up and reach him and he gets away.
%% * CutscenePowerToTheMax
* DarkestHour: After [[spoiler:Tabuu turns everyone into trophies]], you can't replay any stages you've already cleared, and when you go to save your game, you'll find that ''everybody'' is gone from your file. Of course, in the only stage available at that point, [[spoiler:Dedede]] saves the day.
* DesolationShot: "The Ruined Zoo" opens with this.
* DrivenToSuicide [[spoiler:The Ancient Minister allows himself to die with the rest of his people. He gets dragged into escaping by Donkey Kong.]]
* DuelBoss: Mario vs. Kirby at the start of the first level, as well as [[spoiler:Meta Knight vs. Lucario in "The Glacial Peak".]] In a twist, you can actually choose to play as either one. For 100% completion and to get every cut scene unlocked, you have to do both. Also [[spoiler:King Dedede vs. Bowser in one of the Subspace levels.]]
* DynamicEntry:
** As the Ancient Minister is about to drop a subspace bomb after being chased by Marth & Meta Knight, Ike comes out and hits The Ancient Minister with the Great Aether.
** Olimar just has to stand back in shock as Captain Falcon rides in in his Blue Falcon, jumps out of it, slams a fist into a R.O.B., knocking it out, and landing in a group of Pikmin.
** Just as Tabuu is charging his attack, [[spoiler:Sonic comes out of nowhere, destroying both wings.]]
* EldritchLocation: The Subspace is a dark dimension that shines in black and purple. The GreaterScopeVillain lives there, and his wish is to steal several locations from the other dimension to create his Great Maze. The Subspace serves as the setting for the final battle.
* EnemyMine: By the nature of this plot, it's to be expected. The most notable case is between Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf. While standing over Ganondorf's statue, Link and Zelda agree that they do need his help. They awaken him and point him toward the Great Maze. As they walk away, Ganondorf starts loading up an attack to go after them, but realizes that, sadly, he needs their help as much as they need his, and follows along.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Ganondorf is clearly angry when the [[spoiler:god he serves turns out to be a puppet for another god.]]
* EvilIsBigger: In addition to every boss dwarfing the playable characters, the Shadow Clones that the player must seek out and defeat in the Great Maze are copies of all the playable characters so far, but shadowy and bigger.
* {{Expy}}: Many of the common {{Mooks}} seem to based on existing enemies from various Nintendo games (mostly Kirby):
** Auroros = Guay.
** Bombed = Poppy Bros.
** Bucculus = Leap.
** Feyesh = [[VideoGame/KidIcarus Monoeye]].
** Glire = Flamer.
** Jyk = Gordo.
** Primid = [[VideoGame/WreckingCrew Eggplant Man]].
** Puppit = Skull Kid's minions from ''Twilight Princess''.
** Roader = Wheelie.
* FacelessEye: [[PunnyName Feyesh]] are enormous floating goldfish with tentacles and a single large eye where their face should be.
%% * FaceNodAction
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The symbol for the Subspace Army is a huge hint at the identity of the Ancient Minister, since [[spoiler:it's a modified version of R.O.B.'s logo.]]
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Many cases:
** After mowing through R.O.B.s by the dozen in previous stages, the characters are completely unable to damage them in a cutscene. The second instance can be justified if you believe that Samus and the others had learned of the R.O.B.'s enslavement at that point, and didn't want to hurt them. But nothing excuses Mario and Pit's [[CutsceneIncompetence wimpiness]] earlier, nor Kirby, Link and Yoshi's [[LazyBackup inability to act]] until the bomb had already gone off.
** Averted near the beginning: Zelda teleports onto the field, and later, gets captured in a cage without even trying to escape. However, this is completely accurate to the actual mechanic of the attack, which does not let you go through things, just turn invisible and quickly move in one direction.
** The Porky Statue contains an example of Segregation AND Integration. In a cutscene Ness destroys the Porky Statue with PK Flash, which was one of the only two attacks it was truly vulnerable to in ''Mother 3''. However, if you beat the game and replay the stage as Ness you'll find it's still invincible to attacks outside of cutscenes.
** [[spoiler:Due to the sheer amount of Subspace Bombs going off in one place, the Isle of the Ancients is unable to be restored at the end of the game. However, it remains on the world map with all its stages reopened in the post-game so you can go back and collect anything you have missed.]]
* GlowingFlora: The grotto Kirby, Mario, Link, Pit and Yoshi visit after busting into King Dedede's castle has several patches of glowing mushrooms to provide some light in several areas.
* HeroicMime: The entire mode contains no dialogue (which is an interesting variation per se) save one NoFourthWall moment from Snake. Several characters [[CallingYourAttacks call their attacks]] and make some interjections, but that's it.
* HeroicSacrifice: Donkey Kong and Ness each perform one. Donkey Kong saves Diddy Kong from a trophy beam from Bowser by punching him away just in time to take the bullet himself. Ness similarly shoves Lucas out of the way of Wario's trophy beam which leads him to take the bullet. Meta Knight sacrifices his ship to provide everyone else's ship's cover to get in close to the Subspace Gunship.
* HijackedByGanon: Subverted. It initially appears the the villains of the story are Bowser, The Ancient Minister, and Wario. Then it seems the Ganondorf is controlling Bowser and the minister. [[spoiler:And then it seems that the Classic Mode boss, Master Hand, is behind Ganondorf, only for it to turn out that a new OriginalGeneration villain is behind Master Hand.]]
* HumongousMecha: Galleom and Duon.
* ItsPersonalWithTheDragon: Since Donkey Kong is one of the earliest casualties of the story, Diddy Kong gets a significant beef with Bowser. Lucas meanwhile has a personal dealing with Wario, who trophyfied Ness. Strangely averted in between Mario and Bowser, since although Bowser kidnaps Peach and Zelda, Mario and his crew remain more concerned with stopping more Subspace Bombs from going off and pursuing the Ancient Minister.
* JumpPhysics: Jumps and general recovery effectiveness was turned down in this mode to make platforming harder.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: R.O.B.'s RedBaron in ''Smash 4'' spoils the fact that [[spoiler:he's the LastOfHisKind]].
* LetsYouAndHimFight:
** Link and Yoshi attack Mario and Pit, mistaking a vanishing Shadow Bug princess trophy as the opposing duo having killed their friend.
** King Dedede causes trouble for the other characters [[spoiler:even though he has his own secret agenda against the Subspace Emissary]].
** Sheik attacks Fox because his Arwing shots on the Great Halberd almost hit her and Peach "by complete accident".
* LoneWolfBoss: Rayquaza has zero connection to the main plot, and only attack Fox and Diddy Kong because they disturbed him.
* MarathonLevel:
** The Great Maze, which is straight {{Metroidvania}} style, in contrast to the linear levels used in the rest of the game. It also counts for roughly ''one third'' of your completion percentage. Thankfully, there's no need to do it all in one sitting.
** As far as linear levels go, Subspace Factory (Lower) is a long trip. It also has multiple cutscenes, a big turning point in the plot, two potential [[LastLousyPoint Last Lousy Points]], and Meta Ridley.
** The Cave and the first stage of Subspace are relatively short, but the fact that they only consist of one long section rather than multiple short ones makes them [[CheckPointStarvation strenuous]] for players who keep getting {{Game Over}}s.
* MechaMooks: The R.O.B squads. Later revealed to be [[spoiler:enslaved]].
* MercyMode: The first time you start a stage, it defaults to the difficulty level you picked at the beginning of the game; on later attempts you can choose from any difficulty level. This allows you to follow this trope by choosing an easier difficulty for a stage you're having trouble with, or invert it by turning up the challenge (which provides you a greater chance of collecting stickers and trophies).
* {{Mooks}}: Primids, Goomba, basic R.O.B. models, etc.
* MookMaker: The swirling vortexes that spawn enemies until they are sufficiently damaged.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Played for laughs with Captain Falcon's entry. He comes to Olimar's rescue, gives a ''FALCON PUNCH!'' to a giant ROB… and in landing kills all but one of Olimar's Pikmin.
* OneHitKill: The villain's Dark Cannon's trophyfy instantly.
* OnlyMostlyDead: Characters become trophies instead of dying. All one has to do is touch their trophy stand in order to revive them.
* OptionalPartyMember: Since [[spoiler:Every character you've met so far gets Trophyfied after entering Subspace, nearly every character ends up as this for the last third of the game.]] The only characters you are guaranteed to have at the end are Dedede, Kirby, Luigi, Ness, and [[spoiler:Bowser and Sonic]].
* OriginalGeneration: Master Hand, Tabuu, the Fighting Polygon/Wireframe/Alloy teams, and the Subspace Army {{Mooks}}.
* OurMonstersAreWeird: Creator/MasahiroSakurai's works tend to involve hordes of strange monsters to fight, and the Subspace Emissary is no different. A lot of them invoke a feeling that they don't belong to any universe that the playable characters come from.
* OutOfGenreExperience: This mode is generally more of a side-scrolling platformer than a fighting game, with most of the enemies being {{Mook}}s and not {{Player Character}}s. "Generally" meaning that there are still portions that use the rest of the game's fighting elements, as well as a {{Metroidvania}} level late in the mode.
%% * OutOfTheInferno
* PartyScattering: There are multiple times where party members are forced to split up (for example, Mario being shot into Skyworld by Petey Piranha, or DK knocking away Diddy Kong to prevent Bowser from [[TakenForGranite "trophy-fying"]] him). They all reunite late into the game to enter Subspace.
* PlayableEpilogue: As the story progresses, Subspace Bomb explosions prevent you from replaying certain levels (including the ''very first level of the game''), and when you finally enter Subspace, the Halberd gets destroyed in the movie building up to it, so you can't replay the Halberd levels either (though you still walk on it at the beginning of the Sea of Clouds level, somehow). The only way to replay these levels at this state is to beat the game.
* PlotHole: Pit (who has wings) tries (and fails) to attack the airborne Ancient Minister. This creates a PlotHole because it is [[AllThereInTheManual never explained in game that he can't actually fly, at least not for more than a few seconds]]. The fact that [[GameplayAndStorySegregation he can fly for nearly ten full seconds when the player is controlling him]] (more than enough to catch the Ancient Minister) just makes things more confusing.
** Being sent flying into the sky is sufficient damage to trophyfy Mario in the first level, but a few levels later Diddy Kong does the same but remains awake. To be fair, Mario was hit by a cannon ball that launched him into a completely different world, while Diddy Kong was knocked away by Donkey Kong. DK likely managed to somehow pull his punch to send his little buddy flying away without really hurting him.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: If the playable cast at the end is as small as it can possibly be, it will end up looking quite motley.
* RecurringBoss: Galleom in three separate levels; oddly, the second time is immediately after the first.
* SadisticChoice: In the first level, the player has to choose to save Peach or Zelda. (Even if you break both cages at once by attacking Petey Piranha's head only, the game randomly picks a princess and acts as if you chose to save her instead of the other one.) [[spoiler:You eventually are able to play the character not chosen later in the game, though.]]
* SphereOfDestruction: Subspace Bombs basically eat perfectly spherical chunks of the universe, sending them into the subspace.
* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar''. The enemies fight similarly to ''Kirby'' enemies, the [[EasyLevelsHardBosses bosses are harder than the levels]], and the ''Super Smash Bros.'' combat system is already similar to that of ''Kirby Super Star''. This mode itself gets one in the 3DS version of the fourth game in the form of the Smash Run mode, as it plays similarly in terms of defeating enemies, has the red doors from this mode, and even some of the Subspace Army mooks reappear as enemies in Smash Run.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: There's Mario, Yoshi, Pit, Link and Kirby at [[spoiler:the Canyon]]. Would normally be BigDamnHeroes, [[FridgeLogic until you realise]] that the rescuees consisted of six people and three Pokémon who probably could've handled it themselves.
* TheStarscream: Ganondorf. He's secretly planning to usurp power from Master Hand.
* StarterVillain: While Wario is affiliated with the main antagonists, he himself doesn't participate in any of their larger plans and instead seems to wander the countryside attacking people at random.
* StoryBreadcrumbs: Since there's no dialogue, the only concrete information you have to go on within ''Brawl'' itself are the relevant trophies.
* TakenForGranite: Played with, where defeated characters are turned into Trophies.
* TheGlomp: Done by King Dedede to Kirby of all people, when they finally meet just before the Great Maze.
* TimedMission: Oddly averted in part of the second Subspace Bomb Factory stage. In-story, the heroes have to escape from the factory before the Subspace bombs explode, but you aren't timed at all, and even in the [[SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity room before Meta Ridley]], you can practically sit there forever, waiting for the explosion that never comes. However, the plot catches up to the gameplay in Meta Ridley's fight itself, which the player must complete before the explosion hits the Falcon Flyer.
* TimeLimitBoss: Meta Ridley. Oddly enough, the timer only applies to the initial fight in the Subspace Bomb Factory; there's no time limit when fighting him in The Great Maze nor Boss Battles mode.
* UnexpectedGameplayChange: The final level is done in a non-linear, ''Metroid''-esque style.
* UnflinchingWalk: Princess Peach. Of course, she has her [[ParasolOfPain umbrella]] out, so maybe that's what's shielding her.
* TheUnfought: Ganondorf never gets in a direct confrontation with the heroes. [[spoiler:Because he loses against Tabuu before they even get close.]]
* UniqueEnemy: Mizzo, whose trophy description is a LampshadeHanging.
* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: The Great Maze in the Subspace, an imposing mix of several previous levels that's accessed by climbing a really long staircase.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: When you're fighting your way through Subspace as either the team of Luigi/King Dedede/Ness or Kirby and find the Trophified fighters, there is absolutely ''nothing'' to stop you from [[LeftForDead leaving them there to rot]] instead of picking them up like the game intended you to do. Of course, you won't be able to play as the abandoned characters later for obvious reasons, but if you're feeling vindictive, you can still do it.
* VideoGameSetpiece: At certain points during gameplay, the screen suddenly goes purple and you're forced to go through a MultiMookMelee in order to bring things back to normal and continue on.
* WakeUpCallBoss: Rayquaza, after the breeze of a fight against Petey Piranha. In addition to having a full repertoire of attacks with some nasty ones and being really fast on the highest difficulties, he also has significant resistances to every type of move in the game except ice moves (of which there's only three ice moves in the game and are weak regardless), which makes him the most durable boss in the game besides [[FinalBoss Tabuu]].
* WarmUpBoss: Petey Piranha is the first boss in this mode, and he only has two attacks; swipe a cage left or right, and jump up to stomp on the ground. Both attacks are ridiculously easy to avoid, with plenty of blind spots and a ton of startup to them to ensure you can easily react, aren't that powerful if they do somehow hit you, and Petey himself has pretty low durability to go down quickly. Each of the subsequent bosses have a big variety of moves that are a lot harder to evade and hit a lot harder, and will take a lot more punishment before going down.
* WaveMotionGun: The Subspace Gunship has one that tears a hole to subspace.
* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: If you play the Adventure Mode with a friend, the game ends if Player 1 is knocked out and has no extra stock left, regardless if Player 2 is alive.
* WeNeedADistraction: Meta Knight, Fox, Samus, Captian Falcon, and Olimar all provide their ships as distraction when invading Subspace so Kirby can use the Dragoon to slice the Subspace Battleship in two.
* TheWorfEffect: Depending on what choices are made Mario can get the most abuse throughout the game, getting knocked out four times at max, twice in the first level.
* XanatosGambit: Played by [[spoiler:King Dedede. If the heroes beat Tabuu the first time, well and good. But if they don't, no biggie, Dedede has the trophies of Ness and Luigi to be revived by his badges for just that occasion. It's notable after placing Peach/Zelda's trophy there as well, he gives up his own badge for her trophy, basically sacrificing his own failsafe in the hopes that he will be revived by one of the others. Even though Bowser busts in and steals her trophy anyway, it does allow Kirby to revive later on, since he [[ExtremeOmnivore ate]] her badge.]]
* YourSizeMayVary: When Olimar is first introduced, he appears to be an inch tall (like he is in his own series) while his Pikmin helplessly flail at a ROB bot. But when Captain Falcon bursts in, his height reveals that Olimar is actually roughly human-sized now while the ROB is gigantic (the only Giant ROB in the game).
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* BigThinShortTrio: King Dedede, Luigi, and Ness.

* BossOnlyLevel: "The Ruined Hall" and "Battleship Halberd Bridge".

* CurbStompBattle : When Luigi goes down in one hit of Dedede's mighty hammer.

* GlowingFlora: The grotto Kirby, Mario, Link, Pit and Yoshi visit after stioming into King Dedede's castle has several patches of glowing mushrooms to provide some light in several areas.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The symbol for the Subspace Army is a huge hint at the identity of the Ancient Minister, since [[spoiler:it's a modified version of R.O.B.'s logo.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The symbol for the Subspace Army is a huge hint at the identity of the Ancient Minister, since [[spoiler:it's a modified version of R.O.B.'s logo.

** [[spoiler: Due to the sheer amount of Subspace Bombs going off in one place, the Isle of the Ancients is unable to be restored at the end of the game. However, it remains on the world map with all its stages reopened in the post-game so you can go back and collect anything you have missed.]]

** Being sent flying into the sky is sufficient damage to trophyfy Mario in the first level, but a few levels later Diddy Kong does the same but remains awake. To be fair, Mario was hit by a canon ball that launched him into a completely different world, while Diddy Kong was knocked away by Donkey Kong. DK likely managed to somehow pull his punch to send his little buddy flying away without really hurting him.

** Being sent flying into the sky is sufficient damage to trophyfy Mario in the first level, but a few levels later Diddy Kong does the same but remains awake.

* AndIMustScream: Characters are unable to move or do anything while in trophy form, [[NightmareRetardant although they might not be fully conscious.]]

* GlowingFlora: The grotto Kirby, Mario, Link Pit and Yoshi visit after stioming into King Dedede's castle has several patches of glowing mushrooms to provide some light in several areas.

* AscendedFanboy: Pit watches Mario fight Kirby in the arena on a magic television before teaming up withhim when Mario lands in the Skyworld.

* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: The only reason Mr. Game & Watch switch sides is because Peach gave him her umbrella.

* BloodKnight: As said on the Dojo by WordOfGod, ''all'' of the cast of characters enjoy fighting -- even down to those you'd think otherwise, like Peach or Game and Watch. Being defeated and "trophified" is described as being much like death in part ''because'' they are unable to fight.