Several of the characters are found in interesting areas in World of Light:

• Marth is one of the first characters you can pick, being unlocked just after Mario if you desire to. As the "Lord" character of his home game, Marth is someone required to win, plus he's the first and easiest Fire Emblem character to unlock, fitting his status as the first protagonist in the series.
• Sheik is one of the first three characters you can pick. In Ocarina of Time, Sheik appeared to Link right after emerging from the Sacred Realm and became a major ally, a manner not too disimilar from Kirby's situation.
• Villager is one of the first three characters you can pick. In many of the Animal Crossing games, there are at least two villagers already settled in the town the player moves to, much like how both Kirby and Mario are already unlocked before you have a chance to unlock Villager.
• Link is found at one of the Sheikah Towers.
• Donkey Kong is resting in a small treehouse in the western jungle area.
• Captain Falcon is found on a racetrack, and is surrounded by various racing spirits, including some from his own series.
• Snake is locked away in a military base that'd fit in his series. He's also guarded by a Metal Gear REX, and the Cardboard Box can be found in a chest next to the both of them.
  • Mega Man is located just outside this facility, because storming enemy bases is something he does in practically every game (supported by Dr. Wily's Spirit being found inside the base). He's also being guarded by Sigma's Spirit.
• The characters found in the central city are Inkling, who takes part in urban paintball warfare in what's clearly Moray Towers on the map, Wii Fit Trainer, who is exercising at the city's park, and Little Mac, who grew up in the Bronx and is in front of a stadium (he's also guarded by Mr. Sandman, the Final Boss of Punch-Out!! for Wii).
• Ness is found on a giant pink cloud representing Magicant. To reach Ness, you have to defeat the Flying Men, who accompany Ness during his journey within Magicant.
• Lucas is located in a small mountain village next to a foggy forest, just like how Tazmily Village, his hometown, is located near Sunshine Forest. In the direct opposite of his position was Ashnard, a stand-in for the Mechadrago when it attacked the forest.
• Isabelle is located in a small town near a secluded road. In order to reach Isabelle, Kapp'n's spirit depicting him in Animal Crossing: Wild World is needed. This is both a reference to the fact that it is Kapp'n's job to drive the player to the town they are moving to in both Wild World and City Folk, and how Isabelle welcomes the player when they first arrive to the town in New Leaf.
• The Ice Climbers, true to their name and profession, are found on the top of an icy mountain.
• Zero Suit Samus is somewhere in the volcanic area, because Lethal Lava Lands are such a staple of the Metroid series that the vast majority of its stages feature acid/magma hazards. In addition, you have to fight the Metroid spirit to get to her, possibly being a reference to the Metroid Hatchling from Metroid II: Return of Samus.
• Pichu is the only Fighter you can find in the Power Plant, where most enemy Spirits are electric-themed. Pokémon Stadium 2 had a minigame where players controlled Pichu to power up a generator.
• Bowser and Ganondorf are the final opponents of the Molten Fortress and the Sacred Land respectively, referencing their statuses as the usual Big Bads and Final Bosses of their respective series. In addition, Bowser must be defeated in his One-Winged Angel form of Giga Bowser to be unlocked, whereas Ganondorf must be defeated and unlocked before Ganon can be challenged.
• Peach is stuck on a small platform in the Molten Fortress, a Bowser Castle-inspired area where the King of Koopas himself is recruited. She's a Damsel in Distress to the end... though a skilled player or dedicated Peach main can bust her out first and sic her on Giga Bowser.
• Ryu is unlocked at the end of the World Tour, which consists of fights against the Street Fighter cast in their home countries.
• King Dedede is found by doing well in the Gourmet Race minigame.
• Shulk is found at the top of a waterfall-like area, where the player can jump down the waterfall if they desire to, which appears to be a homage to Shulk's home in Xenoblade, Colony 9, which is a town set over a lake that the player can freely jump into from any height in the zone.
• Diddy Kong is at the end of the DK Island sub-map, which is a recreation of the Kongo Jungle overworld of the first Donkey Kong Country, the game Diddy debuted in.
• Pit, being an angel, is found in the Temple of Light, a holy area heavily inspired by his series. Interestingly, Simon is located in this same area before Pit. This is either a nod to the Belmonts being devout Christian warriors or Simon and Pit being colleagues in Captain N: The Game Master.
• Olimar is found in an area full of huge mushrooms that tower over a dark pit, which likely references how he would delve underground to obtain treasure for Hocotate Freight in the second Pikmin game.
• Lucina is found in the Dark Realm right before the entrance of Dracula's Castle next to some clockwork wreckage, which is a nod to her being a Time Traveller.
• Ike is found within the Dark Realm, ruled by Dharkon, who is said to be "the embodiment of chaos and darkness" and opposes Galeem in an Order Versus Chaos battle. In Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, Ike just so happened to be in the center of a similar conflict, in which he sided with the "dark" goddess of chaos Yune and opposed the "light" goddess of order Ashera. It should also be noted that Ike's appearance during his battle, cloaked in a demonic red aura and being brainwashed to be evil, is not unlike a What If? scenario depicted in the Cipher card game, in which he goes berserk from the chaotic power of Lehran's Medalion (which would also serve as the basis of inspiration for his Zeal Unleashed incarnation in Heroes years later).
• Young Link is in an area of Sacred Land that resembles The Lost Woods, and to access him, the player is required to have the spirit of Saria, who is his Childhood Friend during his time living in the neighboring Kokiri Forest.
• Finding Zelda requires the player to complete a puzzle in an area that resembles Kakariko Village. Doing so will allow the player to face Impa, who is Zelda's guardian, as well as a known resident of Kakariko in some incarnations. Defeating Impa reveals Zelda's whereabouts.
• Young Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf, the actual Triforce Wielders of the game (as Link from Breath of the Wild is not confirmed to have it, at least), all demand the player to employ their respective virtues in order to unlock them: Young Link requires Courage to brave through the The Lost Woods, Zelda requires Wisdom to solve the Kakariko puzzle, and Ganondorf requires Power to defeat the 4 or 5 Spirits guarding him in a place heavily reminiscent of the Pyramid of Power from A Link to the Past.
• Sonic is found in the Sacred Land in front of the path to Cloud guarding the Master Sword. This might be a nod to how Sonic once wielded a sacred sword himself or how Sonic Lost World has a Zelda-themed DLC stage.
• In the area of the Sacred Land unlocked after rescuing Young Link and Zelda, the player finds Cloud guarding the Master Sword. This could be a subtle reference to the decades-long rivalry between Final Fantasy VII and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
• Wario being at Dracula's Castle might be a reference to his debut role in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, where he takes over Mario's Castle for himself. This is supported by the Fighter that can be unlocked right before him (Daisy). Wario also had a Vampire form in Wario Land 3.
• Speaking of Daisy, she is found on the roof of Dracula's Castle, which may be a reference to how Mario rescues her in Super Mario Land after an airbone fight with Tatanga above his palace. For bonus points, she is guarded by a ghost, and the Dry Bowser spirit must be defeated in order to access the canonball needed to destroy said ghost, just like how Mario had to defeat Biokinton before taking on Tatanga in Super Mario Land.
• Richter can be found in Dracula's Castle by eliminating all evil monsters that block paths, and he appears right in Dracula's chamber, in-between the spaces for the Count himself and Alucard — seemingly a reference to his portrayal in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and how Alucard had to solve all the mysteries of the castle in order to free him from Shaft's control.
• Not too far from Richter is Robin. Robin is sometimes associated with darkness in some manner, whether it's the dark magic of their homeland of Plegia, or the blood of the fell dragon Grima that flows through their veins, either way, they fittingly show up in a dark place like Dracula's Castle. As a possible Casting Gag, male Robin and Richter share the same English voice actor.
• King K. Rool can be found on a large wind and sail style ship in the Mysterious Dimension. The spirit guarding him is Risky Boots, referencing his time as a pirate.
• R.O.B. is found next to a pile of electronic junk in the Mysterious Dimension. This could very well be a reference to the infamous New Mexico E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial cartridge landfill Urban Legend that derived from The Great Video Game Crash of 1983, with R.O.B. being often credited as the piece of hardware that managed to override the resulting anti-video-game stigma in America at the time.
• Wolf is found on an abandoned airplane in the Mysterious Dimension which aligns with his dogfighting profession. The Spirit of Krystal is also nearby in the same plane, which might be a reference to her joining Star Wolf in Star Fox Command.
• Corrin can be found in an area of clouds and floating land masses that looks a bit similar to Valla, the invisible kingdom, and the spirit that must be beaten to reach them is Azura.
• Roy and Dark Samus are found in The Final Battle before the Hands can be fought. Roy's Binding Blade shines like the sun while Dark Samus' Phazon is very weak to light.
• Palutena and Bayonetta are the last fighters to be obtained in the entire mode. They're found in The Final Battle, but only after defeating the Hands for the first time, called by Galeem and Dharkon respectively. Of course, Palutena would be the last fighter imprisoned by Galeem, since after all, she is the Goddess of Light, while Bayonetta uses various dark-related powers derived from demons and from the god of the human world. Ironically, Sakurai has stated that Palutena and Bayonetta could survive Galeem's initial onslaught due to them having easy access to other dimensions, but Kirby was picked to be the sole survivor because he's more beginner-friendly.
• The Mii Fighters might seem to be scattered in random locations, but their placements make sense when you consider the other Mii-related stages found in Ultimate, turning them into Fridge Brilliance.
  • Mii Brawler, who is at the Sacred Realm (based on The Legend of Zelda), represents Find Mii/Streetpass Quest, a Fantasy Role-Playing Game from StreetPass Mii Plaza.
  • Mii Swordfighter is in a village loosely inspired by Animal Crossing. He represents Tomodachi Life, another social simulation game, and its stage of same name.
  • Mii Gunner is in the tropical island to the south of the map. She references Wuhu Island, from Wii Sports Resort.

While most World of Light locations are nondescript yet inspired by the classic games, there are a handful that can be identified as specific locations from major universes.

• On the overworld, some of the more clearly identifiable areas include Lumiose City, Magicant, and the Land of Morytha.
• One of the dungeons forgoes all subtlety and is literally just Kongo Jungle from Donkey Kong Country. As in, the exact layout, just in hi-def.
• In the same vein, the Dracula's Castle dungeon is an almost exact recreation of the level map from the original Castlevania, albeit more detailed. The areas even match up with where the levels are in the original game as well, with the Spirit battles corresponding to the enemies and bosses you would fight in each. Interestingly, it's also floating in the sky away from any landmass, which was the case in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow.
• One World of Light dungeon^note the one with the entrance at the airport that requires Kapp'n's spirit to reach is a real world map where you fly from location to location via plane, similar to the between-round cutscenes in Street Fighter II that play after every victory, fighting Street Fighter spirits in their respective countries. Rounding out the entire dungeon is a fight against Sagat and then M. Bison, the Big Bads of the first two games.
• The Sacred Land is named after the similar location from the Zelda games (known as the "Sacred Realm", where the Triforce resides). It is located in the Dark Realm (similar to the "Dark World" in A Link to the Past (which this area uses the theme of), the corrupted form of the Sacred Realm, what this area is meant to represent), and resembles a warped version of Hyrule that looks like a giant Triforce, with Ganon's Castle in the middle, with the battle with Ganon taking place in the ruins of his castle, much like in Ocarina of Time.
• A more general one: select the Pokémon Trainer and you control the Trainer on the map, moving him/her on the overworld, and when a battle occurs, you control his/her Pokémon directly in the fight. This sounds very familiar to how a Pokémon main game is played.

Classic Mode is now custom-tailored to each character, playing differently for each one. Some even reference their own games!

• Mega Man's Classic Mode in the Japanese version is named The Mystery of Dr. Mario, the subtitle for the Japanese name of Mega Man 2^* Rockman 2: The Mystery of Dr. Wily. The final battle is against Dr. Mario (as a stand-in for Dr. Wily) and Mewtwo, representing Wily's alien hologram as the final boss of Mega Man 2. Many of the individual battles also call back to the game, with items evoking their weakness weapon and/or the weapon of the boss weak to their own weapon in the area.
  • Mega Man's route also includes fighting copies of himself alongside the Yellow Devil on the Wily Fortress stage, referencing the Wily Fortress bosses of Mega Man 1 and 3 (the Devil and Copy Robot). And after that, Galleom is fought with Guts Man's theme replacing his own battle music, possibly referencing the Guts Tank from Mega Man 2. Galleom, being purple, may be a reference to the X’s series’s Vile and/or Iris, also users of giant purple robots in desolate areas.
• On the topic of Dr. Mario, his own route pits him against various teams of three of the same character using their red, yellow, and blue color schemes, the same colors as the viruses he usually deals with. All the fights have remixes of Fever and Chill as their BGM, except for the second-to-last fight that instead features the theme of Dr. Mario's biggest rival in the genre: Tetris Type A. The penultimate fight also features a trio of Warios, referencing how Wario was the Big Bad of Dr. Mario 64.
• Ryu's Classic Mode is a series of one-on-one Stamina battles with no items in Omega stages themed around Street Fighter characters^note Similar to their Spirits Mode battles. In particular, the second round features Zero Suit Samus as a stand-in for Chun-Li, primarily because she's a girl in blue who kicks a lot, and in her casual wear too to reference Chun-Li's Street Fighter Alpha outfit. The battle against Incineroar references Zangief, due to both being wrestlers who share a spinning lariat move^note Sakurai even makes a nod towards this in Incineroar's reveal by referring to him as a "red cyclone", Zangief's usual Red Baron. The battle against Donkey Kong is a reference to Blanka, not so much with the electricity but more so the jungle aesthetic. The fight after the bonus stage (referencing the car bonus stage taking place after a couple fights) is against a giant Little Mac, referencing Balrog, the boxing character. And the penultimate fight is Meta Knight, referencing Vega, whose fighting style resembles flying through the air.
  • Not only that, his final fight against Master Hand and Crazy Hand references Bison's hands in this artwork, thus the choice in music for the fight. It also references the final fight in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie where Ryu and Ken fight Bison.
• Ken's Classic Mode, in a nod to him being The Rival to Ryu, has him fight his other "rival" counterparts from other games, such as Dark Pit, Dark Samus, and Wolf — all of whom share elements of the movesets possessed by their own rivals. His penultimate fight is against Ryu himself, who served as his Final Boss in the first two Street Fighter Alpha games, while his final battle on less intense difficulties is against Crazy Hand by himself.
• Sonic's Classic Mode is themed around Sonic games, going in chronological order from Fox on Green Hill Zone representing Tails to Incineroar on Windy Hill representing Zavok. The Captain Falcon fight is meant to invoke Sonic R, a giant metal Sonic on Fourside represents Perfect Chaos, the blue, yellow, and red Kirbies reference the Speed, Flight, and Power teams from Sonic Heroes (with the Halberd representing Final Fortress), and the Sheik fight invokes Sonic and the Secret Rings.
• Samus's Classic Mode starts out with her hunting a couple bounties before moving onto K. Rool on Brinstar, referencing Fake Kraid. From there, she shows up in Brinstar Depths to fight several R.O.B.s that are defending the real Kraid, before proceeding to fight a Giant Ridley, and then Dark Samus as a penultimate opponent.
• One of Pikachu's battles is against two Pichu, with one of them being the Spiky-Ear skin. Melee had a similar reference to the Pichu Brothers in one of the Events. All of Pikachu's opponents prior to the final boss are in the order of their respective Pokedex entries as well.
• Mario's storyline (as well as Captain Falcon's) ends with a faceoff with Bowser, who turns into Giga Bowser for round 2 when you defeat him. Melee's Adventure Mode did the same thing given the right conditions.
• As if to respond in kind, Bowser's final opponent is Mario. Metal Mario also appears after the regular Mario is defeated.
• Jigglypuff's battles are all Smash 64 characters and references to the very first Classic Mode. The first fight is against Link, most of the stages were on the N64 game, Master Hand's original battle theme plays when you battle the four unlockable characters of that game, and your final opponent is a Giant Donkey Kong, a noted opponent from the original game.
• Simon's fourth battle is a fight against a blue Charizard and a green Dedede, referencing the monsters Gaibon and Slogra, who appeared as a Dual Boss in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
  • In Simon's penultimate battle, you have to fight Richter, referencing his fight in Symphony of the Night where you fight a possessed Richter as Alucard. It's also a nod to Richter being the Disc-One Final Boss; killing him ended the game prematurely, and only by breaking Shaft's control over him by exploring more of the castle and finding the proper equipment would Alucard be able to continue. It could also be a reference to the battle against the Whip's Memory in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, which took Richter's form.
• The final battle against Dracula has different music depending on who faces him. Simon and Luigi's battles use "Nothing to Lose" when facing his human form and "Black Night" when he transforms, just like the first Castlevania. Richter's uses "Dance of Illusions", the theme which played when he fights Dracula as the final boss of Rondo of Blood and as the opening stage of Symphony of the Night. As a nod to their shared retro heritage^* Pac-Man and Dracula are the oldest playable character and boss in the game, respectively, Pac-Man's version uses the original mix of "Dwelling of Doom" from Simon's Quest.
• Both Luigi and Pac-Man also have Dracula as their Final Boss in Classic Mode because, much like the Belmont Clan, both Luigi and Pac-Man are known for fighting undead, specifically ghosts. Additionally for Pac-Man, Dracula closest resembles a villain like Mesmaron or the Ghost Witch of Netor as the four Ghosts Pac-Man is known to regularly contend with tend to serve as a Quirky Miniboss Squad in anything that isn't a Maze Game. Dracula may be the archnemesis of the Belmont Clan, but he is just another of a myriad of one-off ghost-commanding main villains for Pac-Man. In Luigi's case, he may also be a reference to Antasma, an anti-Luigi villain who possesses many vampire aspects.
• The fights in Pac-Man's Classic Mode all use the oldest non-remixed music tracks from the opponent's home series. Since Duck Hunt had no music during actual gameplay, the fight against Duck Hunt doesn't have any BGM at all.
• Roy's Classic Mode has him fighting every character that uses swords... but not just any type of sword — legendary swords. It's why Roy doesn't fight Robin, Young Link, or the Mii Swordfighter, as they all use generic swords, and while Toon Link isn't included either, Link represents all Links that have held the Master Sword. It's also a reference to his own game as Roy must have all of the Divine Weapons in order to advance to the true ending.
• Corrin's Classic Mode is an obvious reference to the struggle between Nohr and Hoshido. In particular, there are three fights to note, two of them have your Corrin fight with each side while another Corrin fights on the other, directly referencing the cover of Fates. But one fight has you fight against six Mr. Game and Watches, half of them black and the others white. This refers to Revelations Chapter 6 in which Corrin, in an attempt to stop the fighting between both sides, decides to take out generic units on each side to get their attention.
• Pit's Classic Mode has several references to Kid Icarus: Uprising, such as fighting against Palutena in Skyworld with Dark Pit on your team, in reference to how the two teamed up when Palutena was possessed by the Chaos Kin. Pit also has to fight Bayonetta, referencing how most of the enemies in her games are angels, although it could also be putting Bayonetta as either Medusa or Hades.
• Snake's Classic Mode is named "Weapons and Equipment OSP", a reference to a famous line from the opening of Metal Gear Solid. The only items that can spawn throughout the run (aside from the Smash Ball) are varying types of explosives and firearms, also a nod to Snake's profession. The penultimate fight is a Mirror Match against another Snake as a reference to Liquid Snake and Big Boss, and the final match has Galleom as a stand-in for a Metal Gear.
• Peach's Classic Mode is named "No Damsel in Distress", and it is the complete opposite of her usual role as the Damsel in Distress in the main Mario games. All of her opponents have kidnapped someone at least once each, and Peach is taking matters into her own hands. The first, fourth and sixth battles even have Peach face-off against her usual kidnappers (Bowser Jr., the Koopalings, and Bowser respectively).
• Having Marth (but not the other Fire Emblem characters) have Rathalos as his boss fight isn't just a reference to the final battle of the original Fire Emblem. In Monster Hunter Generations, you were able to get armor to let you appear as Marth if you fought a Hyper Silver Rathalos.
• Mewtwo's Classic Mode, "Psychic Control", has him fight characters and then adopt (one of) them as his thrall of sorts for the following match, and all of them were shown to be under similar control in their own media. Lucas acts as a stand-in for Claus, Cloud spent a good amount of time of Final Fantasy VII under Sephiroth's influence, Ken was brainwashed in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Richter was controlled by Shaft in Symphony of the Night, Pit had his body controlled by the Chaos Kin in Palutena's own body during Kid Icarus: Uprising, and finally he brings capped Pikachu to the final boss, harkening to the first Pokémon movie.
• Toon Link's Classic mode is all team fights (with the exception of the final boss), and you always have a red and blue pair of Toon Links on your team, referencing Tri-Force Heroes.
• The Pokémon Trainer's Classic Mode is a recreation of the Pokémon series. You start by fighting through Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Lucario, and Pichu, referencing the wild Pokémon throughout the series. The penultimate fight is a Mirror Match against another Pokémon Trainer, simulating a Trainer battle. The final opponent is Mewtwo, who in Pokémon Red and Blue was only able to be battled after clearing the rest of the game.
• Bayonetta's Classic Mode campaign is named "A Requiem of Fallen Wings", named after the endgame Chapter "Requiem" of the first Bayonetta, and has her fight various foes who have wings as a nod to the Angels that she regularly fights. As a reference to Jubileus, the Final Boss of the first Bayonetta, Bayonetta's final opponent is fellow goddess of light Palutena in Giant form.
• Shulk's Classic Mode has him fight opponents based on each of his Monado Arts; Falco for Jump, Sonic for Speed, King K. Rool for Shield, Cloud for Buster, and Little Mac for Smash. The final opponent is Mega Man as a stand-in for Metal Face, or as a reference to the “Machine” symbol used for the Enchant Art mentioned in the Japanese name of the route.
• Duck Hunt's Classic Mode is themed around hunting, with all of the opponents being animals, as well as a bunch of Mii Fighters in animal costumes. The final boss is the ultimate prey from another game themed around hunting; Rathalos from Monster Hunter.
• Diddy Kong's Classic Mode is titled "Hey, Little Buddy!", which Donkey Kong often called him in the Donkey Kong Country TV show. In his path, Diddy acts as the sidekick to various other characters and helps them beat their rivals.
• Cloud is notable for his motion sickness, thus all of his stages are stages with a moving vehicle. The first stage is Spirit Train, which references the opening of Final Fantasy VII, where Cloud jumps off a train when he appears for the very first time, and later jumps back onto one to escape Shinra infantrymen after bombing the Mako Reactor. The third stage being the Halberd stage could also be a reference to the Highwind, as both are airships, and Big Blue could also count as a nod towards the much beloved motorcycle minigame.
• While Ike's Classic Mode is simply attempting to defeat black-clad opponents in reference to his rivalry with the Black Knight, the battle against a team including Sonic is set to "Knight of the Wind", the main theme from Sonic and the Black Knight.
• As Palutena is a goddess herself, her Classic Mode is about facing protagonists from series where religion or mythology play a key role. Link and Zelda due to the divine nature of the Triforce and various deities existing in their series, as well as Zelda being the reincarnation of a goddess. Cloud as Final Fantasy as a whole has many divinities and could be a reference to once being chosen to be the warrior of a goddess and the music playing is Magnus Theme, suggesting that Cloud is also meant to be Magnus from Kid Icarus: Uprising. Simon and Richter due to the Belmont clan being made of devoted Christians that use holy equipment against the undead. Shulk since the final antagonist of his game is a god and he became one himself briefly. Bayonetta hunts angels to feed their souls to Underworld demons. Lastly, her series is represented by fighting a horde of Pits and Dark Pits in her own temple.
• Robin’s route has them mainly fight teams of two, each containing a character associated with fire and a character associated with thunder, a reference to two of Robin’s tomes. However, their sixth round sees them face an opposite gender Robin, which references Awakening’s Big Bad, Grima, using a copy of Robin as their avatar. This also likely references Fire Emblem Warriors, where in its recreation of Awakening’s finale, female Robin acts as Grima’s avatar, in contrast to male Robin being the default.
  • It seems rather strange that Robin has to tackle these fights as a 1v2 setup, but because Smash Balls are active, Chrom is technically backing Robin up at any given point in time via Final Smash.
• Chrom's route focuses almost entirely on two-on-two battles, with him teaming up with either Lucina or Robin for each match, referencing Awakening's theme of The Power of Friendship and the Pair Up system. The exception is the first match, a solo battle against Lucina herself, which references their duel during Chapter 4 of Awakening.
  • The route's name, "Fight As One", comes from something Chrom can say if he is the supporting unit in a Pair Up in Awakening. However, the Japanese name of the route, "Is it fate, or a bond?", comes from the Japanese name of the Premonition and Chapter 23 of Awakening, known in English as "Invisible Ties".
• Wolf's route is a big rematch against every character that was missing from Smash for 3DS/Wii U returning back in Ultimate (and in the case of two certain fighters, both 3DS/Wii U and Brawl): Young Link, Pichu, Squirtle and Ivysaur, Snake, and Ice Climbers. The boss is Galleom, an original boss to Smash Bros. who also has returned in kind.
• Inkling's route, "An Inkredible Journey" pits the Inkling against a variety of color-coded enemies to simulate a Turf War from the the Splatoon games. In each battle, the stage has a floor that fits the color of the opponents, resembling a Splatoon stage that has been inked up by the opposing team. Additionally, each stage plays Splatoon music. First is a team of Lucario and Sheik in green, on Yoshi's Island, with a floor covered in green grass. Second is Greninja in pink, on Magicant, with pink clouds for floors. Third is Wario and Duck Hunt in red and brown colors, on Norfair, with brown stone platforms and red-hot lava. Third is a light blue Yoshi on Summit, with floors made of blue ice. Fourth is a team of Shulk, Mewtwo, and Ness, in purple, on Fountain of Dreams, with its waters being vaguely purple. The fifth battle takes place on Moray Towers, against two other Inklings. The battle is a free-for-all, however, and the stage is set at night; mirroring a Splatfest battle. The final boss is against Marx, who could represent a few things. Marx is certainly the most vibrantly colorful boss in the game's roster, which could represent Turf War combat in general. Marx also has a move where he can melt into the floor and turn into a moving shadow, which is somewhat reminiscent of how Inklings move through ink in swim form.
• Piranha Plant's route has it fight all the characters that were added in the main Ultimate game (barring the DLC characters): First a team of Inklings, then Ridley and Dark Samus, King K. Rool and Chrom, Simon and Richter, Isabelle and Daisy, and Ken and Incineroar. The final boss is Rathalos, who was also introduced first in Ultimate and represents a debuting universe (Monster Hunter). The congratulations screen shows Toon Link conducting a Piranha Plant choir, likely a reference to the singing Piranha Plants in the Japanese commercial for Super Mario RPG.
• Incineroar's entire path takes place on Boxing Ring to better emulate his pro wrestling themes. In addition, every character fought is a heavy character with a special grapple move. Morton and Ludwig are the exception though they and the Master Hand and Crazy Hand battles are meant to be a reference to both Tag-Team Wrestling and Double Battles from Pokémon Generation 3 onward (Gen 3 noteworthy of having no playable Smash representative). Incineroar's partner for both fights is Greninja, a fellow dark type Pokémon and the only other Mon to have made its debut on the 3DS.
• All of Lucas's female opponents are mothers or motherly figures, in reference to Lucas's Missing Mom. Giant Palutena may also reference Queen Mary of EarthBound Beginnings. His final opponent before Master Hand & Crazy Hand is Mewtwo, who's a stand in for Giygas/Giegue, another feline/fetus-looking monster with unmatched Psychic Powers. Lucas was also revealed for Smash 3DS/Wii U right after Mewtwo, giving the two another connection.
• Ness' Classic Mode, "Home to Onett!" is basically the events of EarthBound in reverse. It starts off in Magicant with a battle against another Ness, similar to how Ness fought his Nightmare in his Magicant. His next battle is against Lucas in New Pork City, which might actually be a reverse reference, in that Lucas can find a movie of Ness and his friends in New Pork City in Mother 3. He then moves to Fourside to fight 3 R.O.B.s, a nod to how he had to fight security robots in the Monotoli Building who bear a striking resemblance. He moves on to fight Sheik in Gerudo Valley, a stand-in for the Dusty Dunes Desert area between Fourside and Threed. The next battle is against two Dark Toon Links in Luigi's Mansion, referencing the zombies of the dark (at first) Threed. In addition, Jeff is the only Assist Trophy that can be summoned here, since Jeff was recruited into the party here. He finally arrives at his hometown Onett in the sixth battle against Villager and Isabelle. This might be a reference to how dogs were among the first enemies Ness fought and the mayor is a questionable individual. Starmen are the only Assist Trophies that will appear here, a nod to how late in the game, they took over Onett. In Japanese, the name of this route references Ness' homesickness, a condition he would get in his game if he did not speak to his mother for a long period of time.
• All of Joker's opponents are in their dark color palate, hence the name of his route, "Shadows". In addition, his Classic route is shown to be the antithesis of Mewtwo's route, where while Mewtwo mind-controls one of his opponents to fight for him, Joker instead purifies and recruits the opponent, the next round will have the opponent in their lightest color, similar to how Joker recruits Shadows in Persona 5. The penultimate opponent is a dark Incineroar seemingly meant to represent Samael, the Shadow of Masayoshi Shido most known for being a Bare-Fisted Monk. In addition, the final fight between Master Hand and Crazy Hand is fought on Omega Mementos, similar to how Mementos served as the final dungeon in Persona 5. As the music chosen is "Our Beginning", this could also serve as a reference to Yaldabaoth's fight in particular, as one of the standout features of his design are his two golden-gloved hands. Not to mention the hands and Joker share the same voice actor in English versions.
  • The only stage in the path that isn't set on Mementos is the second round where a Giant Kirby is fought on Kalos Pokémon League, a clear analogy for the blue colored Velvet Room. Kirby's Meta Knight color's bear a resemblance to the persona Black Frost and his blue coloring in the next stage is likely a reference to Jack Frost, the mascot of Atlus.
  • Stage 3 is set on the Persona 3 variation of Mementos, and features a fight against Samus and Dark Samus. This seems like a shout-out to anti-shadow weapon Aigis, the mascot of Persona 3, and her "sister" Metis, who is featured in "The Answer" epilogue. This is lent more credence when one considers the fact that Metis is Aigis' shadow, in a similar way that Dark Samus is a Phazon clone of Samus.
  • Stage 4 features a fight against the masked Meta Knight while Beneath the Mask plays. His dark blue coloration with red eyes could possibly allude to Black Mask, AKA Goro Akechi.
  • Stage 5 is set on the Persona 4 variation of Mementos. The opponents are three Dark Links, reflecting Persona 4's theme of "facing oneself". In addition, Dark Link becoming Fierce Deity in the next round is most likely a reference to Yu's ultimate Persona, Izanagi-no-Okami.
• The Hero's Classic Path consists almost entirely of Dragon Quest shoutouts:
  • All of the fights, save the final battle, are Stamina battles, referencing the HP mechanics of the original genre.
  • The first battle is against three blue Kirbies and a red one, representing the iconic Slimes of the franchise.
  • The fourth battle is a surprisingly early battle against Rathalos — it wouldn't be Dragon Quest if you weren't slaying at least one dragon.
  • The Dragon Quest VIII hero is accompanied by a small Pikachu, representing his pet mouse Munchie.
  • The final battle is against Robin in a normal smash battle, which would normally seem to be an unusual choice. However, once he is defeated, he is replaced by a giant purple Charizard, and it becomes clear that they are intended to be both forms of the Dragonlord from Dragon Quest, including the powerful yet cartoony nature of his dragon form.
• Banjo & Kazooie's Classic Path isn't interesting in terms of characters, since they're simply duos that work together, but the stages are direct references to various areas from Banjo-Kazooie to match the soundtrack. Spiral Mountain represents itself, Tortimer Island represents Treasure Trove Cove, Summit represents Freezeezy Peak, Mushroomy Kingdom represents Gobi's Valley, and Luigi's Mansion represents Mad Monster Mansion. The first fight with Duck Hunt may be a reference to Banjo and Kazooie themselves, as they use their brown-and-red color.
  • The fourth battle has them fight against Link and Zelda while the fifth battle has them against Falco and Fox, a reference to the fact that both The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Star Fox 64 are games on the Nintendo 64, just like Banjo-Kazooie.
  • The last fight before the boss isn’t a Banjo-Kazooie reference at all. Instead, the fight is against Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong at Kongo Jungle, as the main theme from Donkey Kong Country Returns plays. This instead plays into the fact that Donkey Kong Country is another franchise started by Rare. Perhaps the Kongs are celebrating Banjo and Kazooie returning to the spotlight, like they did in Returns.
  • Possibly unintentional, but a fun coincidence nonetheless. The duo of Fox and Falco are fought on Luigi's Mansion with Mad Monster Mansion music. The last console game by Rare released on a Nintendo system (not counting handheld) was Star Fox Adventures. The first Rare game released on the Xbox after the acquirement by Microsoft: Grabbed by the Ghoulies, which is set in a haunted house.
• Terry's Classic Path is just like The King of Fighters where Terry faces off against three characters in a team one fighter at a time in Stamina Mode. Like the teams in the game, each team he faces is a theme for each character (Mario, Peach, and Rosalina and Luma form a Super Mario Bros. team, Sonic, Mega Man, and Pac-Man form a guest fighter team, Ridley, Ganondorf, and Bayonetta form what Sakurai like to call Darkness Team, etc.). Each of the stages is either a flat stage or the Battlefield/Omega version of a stage.
  • The fight against the Kid Icarus cast plays music from the SNK arcade game Athena. Palutena is loosely based on the Greek goddess Athena (her name being derived from "Pallas Athena"), same as the titular character of the arcade game.
  • The battle against Sonic, Mega Man, and Pac-Man not only references The King of Fighters, but these three characters all had games on the Neo Geo Pocket.
  • The battle against Ridley, Ganondorf and Bayonetta is set on Geese Tower with "Soy Sauce for Geese" playing, referencing Geese Howard himself in a similar manner to his Spirit battle.
  • The final battle is a team of all three fighting game characters (Ryu, Ken, and Terry) also referencing their own crossover games, the SNK vs. Capcom series.
• Byleth's Classic Path highlights the Fire Emblem characters that have joined Smash across the franchise, which doubles to underscore the games they starred in, starting with individual fights against Marth and Roy; then a two-on-one match against both of Ike's variants representing his two games; moving on to Robin, Chrom and Lucina fighting together; then a male and female Corrin in white and black respectively representing their two games; and finally three other Byleths in their house leader colors. Once you get to the final battle with the Hands, Marth, Roy, Ike, Robin and Corrin all join you to combat them together as a team.
  • The first battle in Byleth's classic mode features Marth on Temple with "Story 5 Meeting" playing, a reference to Melee, which had no Fire Emblem stage, using Temple as a home stage for the series. With "Story 5 Meeting" being the only song Fire Emblem had at the time, it was used on this stage as an alternate track.
  • The fight against the three Byleths take special note as they take on the house leaders in more than just color. The A.I.s will favor the weapon of said house leader, in other words, Edelgard (red) will favor Aymr, Dimitri (blue) will favor Areadbhar, and Claude (yellow) will favor Failnaught.
  • Also note that Byleth's path is the inverse of Lucina's path who also fights her fellow Fire Emblem heroes. Where in she starts from Fates ending in Shadow Dragon (since Corrin was the latest Fire Emblem character at the time) referencing her going back in time in her own game, Byleth starts from Shadow Dragon ending at Three Houses referencing Byleth role as a teacher learning about Fire Emblem History. In addition, when she fights the hands at the end, it can be seen as Lucina proving that she is worthy of being called a Hero herself, hence the name A Path of Heroes, Byleth is actively recruting heroes by proving themselves in combat and thus most of the heroes show up in the last battle to lend support to Byleth.
• Min Min fights representations of her various rivals in ARMS: Mii Fighters of Spring Man and Ribbon Girl, Little Mac as Springtron, a green Samus and Mega Man as Dr. Coyle and Helix respectively, a white Donkey Kong as Master Mummy, various R.O.B.s representing the game's 1 vs 100 mode (the last one representing a Hedlok version), Min Min herself, and finally a Galleom representing Hedlok.
• Steve's Classic Path, "Journey to the Far Lands", naturally pits him against fighters representing the various mobs in his game:
  • The first battle is against a horde of Steves wearing the Zombie skin. It takes place on Minecraft World at night, since zombies only spawn at night.
  • The second battle is against four Warios in the Minecraft World plains biome, representing the Pillagers that occasionally ransack villages. The player has two CPU allies: a passive Villager (representing...well, the passive Villagers) and a giant R.O.B. (representing the Iron Golems that occasionally spawn in villages and protect Villagers).
  • The third battle is against three Links in white-colored outfits that primarily use their bows, representing the bow-wielding Skeletons. Like the Zombie fight, it takes place on Minecraft World at night.
  • The fourth battle is against a Robin and three shrunken Pits, representing an Evoker and the Vexes they summon. It takes place on Luigi's Mansion, referencing how Evokers can be found in Woodland Mansions.
  • The fifth battle takes place on Norfair against two giant grey Kirbys and two pink K. Rools; Norfair is meant to stand in for the Nether, with Kirby and K. Rool representing the Ghasts and either Piglins or Hoglins, respectively.
  • Sixth is a battle against four Steves in Endermen skins; they're all giant, matching the mob's actual height in the base game.
  • The final fight is a battle against a giant Ridley and two Enderman Steves, representing the battle with the Ender Dragon.
• Fitting of his status as the Final Boss of Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth's Classic route, "The Chosen Ones", has him facing off against every boss in Ultimate one by one, ending with Master Hand and Crazy Hand in Northern Cave (the setting of the last battle in FF VII).
• Pyra & Mythra's Classic Mode, "Shared Destinies", has the Aegises facing off against duos of characters who share a bond together in some capacity, similar to how Pyra and Mythra are bonded to Rex through their Core Crystal.
  • The first battle is against Zelda and Sheik. Back in Melee and Brawl, Zelda and Sheik were in one character slot and able to switch between each other mid-match much like Pyra and Mythra can now. In addition, Sheik (who is Ocarina of Time Zelda in disguise) is the ancestor of the Zelda of Ultimate (who is from A Link to the Past), connecting the two by bloodline.
  • The second battle is against Samus and Dark Samus. Dark Samus literally spawned from Samus' own DNA, making them bonded genetically.
  • The third battle is against Pit and Dark Pit. Dark Pit is a flawed clone who embodies the Dark Side of Pit. Also, Dark Pit's life is tied to Pit's, which he learned the hard way when Pit was sealed in a ring. In that way, Dark Pit shares Pit's destiny in a direct way.
  • The fourth battle is against Ken and Ryu, who have shared a strong bond of friendship and rivalry since childhood. In a more meta sense, they are the original two shotoclones, and can be said to be connected to characters from across the fighting game genre as whole.
  • The fifth battle is against Kirby and Meta Knight. From rivals to (star) allies, they have saved Popstar together countless times. Underneath Meta Knight's mask, he is seemingly the same species as Kirby as well.
  • The sixth and final normal battle is against Link and Dark Link. Similar to Dark Pit and Dark Samus, Dark Link is a recurring rival of Link who embodies his darker side. As a whole, Link shares a bond with all other Links in Zelda history, destined to take on the role of Hyrule's Hero whenever Ganon's evil reemerges. In a more meta sense, Pyra/Mythra and BotW Link share a connection, as Monolith Soft had a big hand in bringing Breath of the Wild to life. In addition to this, the fight takes place on Omega Form Fountain of Dreams, referencing the mirror room where you fight Dark Link in Ocarina of Time.
  • The Final Boss of the classic mode is Master Hand and Crazy Hand, and with good reason to boot. They are two hands connected by some mysterious force, destined to take on the Smash fighters in each entry.
• Kazuya's Classic Mode faces off against characters who primarily use their fists in stamina matches and each battle has a bunch of references to the Tekken series.
  • The first battle has you face off against Ryu, which they potentially already did in Street Fighter X Tekken.
  • The second battle has you face off against Captain Falcon, where his outfit was an unlockable costume in the Wii U version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
  • His third battle is against Little Mac as a stand in for fellow Tekken character Steve Fox.
  • The fourth battle has you face off against both Donkey Kong and King K. Rool. One of the most infamous things about Tekken is that you can play as animals such as a bear, a panda, a kangaroo, and a velociraptor.
  • The fifth battle against Lucario is not so much a reference to Tekken but more of how Lucario is a playable character in Pokkén Tournament, a game also created by Bandai Namco.
  • The sixth battle is instead a normal battle against a bunch of Mii Brawlers in Cyber outfits as a stand in for the Tekken Force.
  • The final battle is against Kazuya himself in a normal battle set in the volcanic part of Castle Seige which holds a lot of signifigance;
    • Much like other villians, they serve as the final bosses in their respective games as Kazuya has in Tekken 2, initially fighting Kazuya as himself and then as Devil. The two lives that Kazuya has signifies this, as he comes back in Metal form during his second stock. Also in arcade modes of fighting games, it's not uncommon for a playable boss to fight against himself at the end of the arcade mode as Kazuya is demonstrating in his own Classic Mode path.
    • Next the location of the active volcano serves as Kazuya's initial demise as Heihachi had thrown him into the volcano to kill him for good, only to come back 20 years later to seek revenge.
    • The fact that he uses Jin's outfit also garners attention as Jin was the main antagonist of Tekken 6.
    • Finally, the fight itself is an homage to Tekken 7's story mode, namely the final battle between Heihachi and Kazuya, with the former being the playable character and the later, once again, standing as the final boss of story mode. This may also be why he is in his black gi pants, to mach Heihachi's color. As with the fight itself, the Desperate Struggle remix is played, much like how the song is played during the final phase of the fight. After defeating Kazuya once, Kazuya transforms into his True Devil form in which he gains Super Armor outside of strong launches and knockdowns, thus why Kazuya's second stock has him come back in Metal form which has elements of Super Armor. And thus we come to the reason why this is a ring out style battle than a stamina battle that the previous levels had, after defeating Heihachi and coming out on top, he knows the only way to be sure that he cannot come back alive, is to toss him into a volcano much like Heihachi had done to him. Thus the only way for either of the Kazuyas to secure victory is to toss the other into the volcano below.
• Sora's Classic Mode route mostly consists of opponents in dark alternate costumes or antagonistic darkness users. All of his fights bar the final round, which are against the Hands, are in Stamina mode, in reference to the Kingdom Hearts series also using the JRPG standard HP mechanic. Because each fight is a Stamina match, winning as Sora will cause the screen to fade to white, like when winning a boss fight in Kingdom Hearts.
  • The first match is against Link and Young Link in their Dark Link costumes in Hollow Bastion, representing Ansem, Seeker of Darkness and Dark Riku's boss fight in that world; them being 2 Links with the same costume is a reference to Ansem possessing Riku in order to give him dark powers.
  • The second battle is a horde battle against eight Mr. Game and Watch copies, alluding to the three most iconic Pureblood Heartless: five normal-sized ones, two larger ones, and a giant one. The small ones represent the Shadows (the most common Pureblood type), the larger ones represent the Neoshadows, and the giant one references the Darkside (or an Invisible).
  • The third fight is against Cloud in Coliseum, a nod to their fights at Olympus Coliseum in both the first game and Kingdom Hearts II.
  • The fourth battle is a nod to the events of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, with a female Robin representing Larxene, a normal sized male Robin representing Vexen, and a large male Robin representing Big Bad Marluxia. They are fought in Kalos Pokémon League, which calls back to Castle Oblivion.
  • The fifth battle has a giant Ganondorf, who represents the Arc Villain of the Dark Seeker Saga, Master Xehanort; he and Ganondorf are both swordfighters with a proficiency in dark magic. Ganondorf uses his "dark" costume, which turns his hair silver, much like Xehanort's. The battle takes place at Find Mii, which represents the desolate landscape of the Keyblade Graveyard, where Xehanort stages his attempts to reforge the ancient χ-blade.
  • The sixth battle is a Mirror Match against a metal Sora in his personal Dive to the Heart Station, alluding to Sora's fall into darkness courtesy of Xehanort in Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance], and the resulting battle against the Armored Ventus Nightmare.
  • The final round is against both Master Hand and Crazy Hand, regardless of intensity. Them being aspects of order and chaos represents the duality between light (Master Hand) and darkness (Crazy Hand) in the Kingdom Hearts series, and their teamwork ties closely to Sora's philosophy in The Power of Friendship.
• The Koopalings appearing in Mario, Yoshi, and Peach's Classic Modes are ordered in which they are fought in their specific appearances.
  • Mario's route has the Koopalings in the order of Super Mario Bros. 3.
  • Yoshi's route has them in the order of Super Mario World, which is appropriately his debut game.
  • Peach's route puts them in the order of New Super Mario Bros. U
• Several characters' "Congratulations" images contain some references of their own:
  • Kirby's "Congratulations" image shows Kirby riding a Warp Star with seven other Kirbys trailing behind in a similar vein to the post-World 1 cutscene in Kirby Mass Attack.
  • Ken's image shows him and Ryu beating up on Kapp'n's bus, to Isabelle's shock and dismay. This is a reference to one of the bonus stages from Street Fighter II (and by extension, Final Fight), where the player had to beat up and destroy a car, after which the car's owner would come in and exclaim a Big "OMG!".
  • R.O.B.'s image shows R.O.B. being carried away by Pikmin led by Alph. In Pikmin 2, you could find the head of a R.O.B. as a Treasure entitled "Remembered Old Buddy". It could also be referencing Olimar's disastrous battle with a gigantic R.O.B. in his Subspace Emissary introduction.
  • Mr. Game and Watch's End Credits image shows a pair of G&W's performing the Judgement side special, with the numbers landing on "3" and "9". The Game and Watch system was conceived by Gunpei Yokoi in 1979, thirty-nine years before Smash Ultimate's release.
  • Cloud's image shows him charging towards Bahamut ZERO, a possible reference to the party's fight against Bahamut SIN in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
  • Wolf's image shows him sitting casually yet awkwardly next to Fox; a reference to the Corneria mission in Star Fox: Assault, during which they teamed up and had a similar chat after the mission was over.
  • Byleth's image shows Female Byleth in her Edelgard colors sitting next to a crate with pastries and tea Food items on top of it, arranged in such a way that it resembles the tea parties that Byleth could host in Three Houses. The specific color choice adds another layer, as Edelgard herself was the guest shown in the related blurbs.
  • Sephiroth's image recreates the scene in Final Fantasy VII where Cloud, while under mind control, gives Sephiroth the Black Materia, with a Black Hole item standing in for the Black Materia itself.
  • Pyra and Mythra’s could be a reference to the final title screen of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which has Rex, Pyra and Mythra holding hands looking out at the World Tree in the distance.
  • Sora's image is a recreation of the opening screen from Kingdom Hearts III.
• At the end of the Minigame Credits, the Bandai Namco, Sora Ltd., and Nintendo logos scroll down from the top of the screen. Shooting the Nintendo logo produces the Game Boy startup jingle, in reference to the Game Boy's startup screen where the Nintendo logo scrolls down from the top.
  • Speaking of the Minigame Credits, they play out almost exactly like the ones from Kirby & the Amazing Mirror (minus the final boss's exploding corpse remaining on-screen for you to riddle with bullets), the final Kirby game that Sakurai was credited with working on.
  • Each fighter has their own piece of music that plays during the Minigame Credits. In some cases, the music is taken from or based on the Credits sequences from the fighter's own game. For example, Corrin uses the original vocal mix of "Lost In Thoughts All Alone", Kirby uses the new remix of the Staff Credits sequence from ''Kirby's Dream Land'', and Bayonetta uses "Let's Dance, Boys!".
• The right end of the Classic Mode mural depicts what looks like the shadow monster seen in For Wii U/3DS's difficulty selection, when the latter game is at the highest difficulty. It also shows Mario making a leap at the monster, much like the 3DS image representing the Intensity of 9.0.