Hello, and welcome to my Super Smash Bros. Melee FAQ that I'll (hope to) complete! Well, I finally got the internet on my sister's computer, and after some deeds for her, she let me use it as much as I wish. This may end up to be one of the largest FAQs for a Nintendo game ever to be on the Web, so it'll take time. This is only the most recent version. When I'm finished, future versions will include input from people who e-mail me. So, what that really means is that this will never get truly complete. Only everything you need to finish SSBM. So, why keep you waiting? If you're impatient or aren't going to read every letter in this FAQ, you wouldn't even be reading this, so why don't we head on straight to the real deal? Dr. Omicron's 2nd FAQ and Bowser194's 1st Co-Author Job "Super Smash Bros. Melee" Version 3.7 #<-my mines for dividing sections, again Table of Contents 0. A Solution to My Problem 1. Table of Contents 2. Version History 3. Introduction 3a. My Introduction 3b. The Game's Introduction 3c. The Story of SSBM 4. Characters (in alphabetical order) 4a. General Info 4b. Weight Classes 4c. Bowser 4d. Capt. Falcon 4e. Donkey Kong 4f. Dr. Mario 4g. Falco Lombardi 4h. Fox McCloud 4i. Ganondorf 4j. Ice Climbers 4k. Jigglypuff 4l. Kirby 4m. Link 4n. Luigi 4o. Mario 4p. Marth 4q. Mewtwo 4r. Mr. Game&Watch 4s. Ness 4t. Peach 4u. Pichu 4v. Pikachu 4w. Roy 4x. Samus Aran 4y. Sheik 4z. Yoshi 4A. Young Link 4B. Zelda 5. Arenas 5a. Icicle Mountain 5b. Princess Peach's Castle 5c. Rainbow Cruise 5d. Kongo Jungle 5e. Jungle Japes 5f. The Great Bay 5g. (Hyrule) Temple 5h. Yoshi's Island 5i. Yoshi's Story 5j. Fountain of Dreams 5k. Green Greens 5l. Corneria 5m. Venom 5n. Flat Zone 5o. Brinstar 5p. Brinstar Depths 5q. Onett 5r. Fourside 5s. Mute City 5t. Big Blue 5u. Pokémon Stadium 5v. Poké Floats 5w. (Mushroom) Kingdom 5x. Mushroom Kingdom II 5y. Battlefield 5z. Final Destination 5A. Dream Land 5B. (Past) Yoshi's Island 5C. (Past) Kongo Jungle 6. Items 6a. Item Controls 6b. Items 6c. Special Items 7. Classic Mode 8. Adventure Mode 9. All-Star Mode 10. Event Matches 11. Target Testing 12. Other 1-Player Modes* 12a. Multi-Man Melees 13. VS. Mode** 13a. Time Mode* 13b. Stock Mode* 13c. Coin Mode* 13d. Bonus Mode* 13e. Special Melee* 13f. Additional Info* 13g. Custom Modes* 14. Trophies 14a. The Trophy System 14b. Special Trophies 14c. A Complete Trophy List 15. Options* 16. Bonus Points* 17. Secrets 17a. How to Get Secret Characters 17b. How to Get Secret Arenas 17c. How to Get Other Secret Stuff 18. The Hall fo Shame** 18a. BracamonteAndy@msn.com 18b. GoKart456@aol.com 19. Stuff You Might Not Know But Want To 19a. Translations for Marth and Roy 19b. CPU Weaknesses** 19c. The DK Rap 19d. The Players' Guide** 19e. The Beta Version** 19f. Attacks of the Clones 20. Legal Stuff/Contacting Me *indicates that I'm not done with that section yet. **indicates that this section will probably be frequently revised. # >>>Version History<<< version 1.0 Jan. 29, 2002 What a lot of stuff! I did everything up to the All-Star Mode as well as the last three sections. version 1.5 Feb. 18, 2002 I added in dates to the version history! Also, this FAQ now has a sites list! Wow! You probably want to see the Events section I put up though. And now I have a DK Rap recording on the computer, I no longer have to recite it from memory! Speaking of which, some more CPU weaknesses have floated to the top of my head. version 1.6 Feb. 27, 2002 Dude, I don't seem to know squat about updating. Since this FAQ is so large, I've corrected any errors I've made over updating this to ver. 1.5. version 1.8 Mar. 20, 2002 If anyone's still stuck on SSBM, I now have Target Strategies for 21 of the characters for all you late buyers and renters. And I corrected some typos along the way. version 2.0 Mar. 24, 2002 Hey hey! 2.0 is finally here! All of the Target Tests are up! Whoa! Most of the description for Onett got deleted! It's probably best simply to leave out everything altogether. It's a pretty simply-structured place. More typos corrected, and only one more major section to go! version 2.3 May 22, 2002 60 of the Bonuses are finished! Whoohoo! That's almost 1/4 of all the bonuses! 189 more to go... Speaking of which, on a personal matter, it seems that my Gamecube has been fixed and is now waiting at the post office wiaitng for me once more. version 2.6 Jun. 20, 2002 I decided to take a break on the Bonuses section and do the whole trophy section all at once. It turned out to be much longer than I thought, but it should lighten the load on my e-mailbox. I also started the section dealing with the official Nintendo Power SSBM Guide, the last section of Other Stuff. Say goodbye to the chart comparing the characters to the stages, as that's merely dependant on your playing style. version 2.7 Jul. 7, 2002 Not much to say except there's a message for someone with an "invalid address" and that I finally redid the Onett section, which got mysteriously deleted for some reason. version 2.8 Jul. 16, 2002 After a whole lot of e-mails, this FAQ is more complete than ever! Want some advice in Events 46 and 48? Need some reinforcement on the authenticity of Sonic and Tails in this game? Want to contribute to the Hall of Shame? Look below for all of the answers! version 2.9 Jul. 17, 2002 Two updates in two days? Wake me up! I have ten more bonuses done, so now they're up to 70! Wow! version 3.1 Jul. 29, 2002 A trophy rumor...check out what it is below the list of unlockable trophoes. Also, no update this far into this FAQ would ever be complete without more..bonuses! I'm up to 100! Hooray! Sorry it took so long for so little, but Project Howville really slowed me down on this. version 3.2 Aug. 17, 2002 Power to the people! Dozens upon dozens of requests, corrections, and suggestions have made it worth another update! I'm still working on the Bonuses section, though I'm trying to finish the Project Howville by August 22nd. Progress may speed up then, but for now, be patient. version 3.4 Aug. 24th, 2002 With Project Howville behind me and Super Mario Sunshine just around the corner, there's no better time than to put up 27 (that's right, three cubed) more Bonuses onto the list! I now have everything up to Quintuple KO registered on what is currently the largest SSBM FAQ I know! Only 122 to go... version 3.6 Sep. 5th, 2002 Those lazy hooligans at the post office should have the Super Mario Sunshine Bundle Pak at my doors by now! It's been ten days and not even a letter from the mailman saying to pick it up! They're just horrible. About the FAQ itself: The Hall of Shame has now been erected, courtesy of an ignorant gamer named BracamonteAndy@msn.com! I also have all of the bonuses up to 160, making me officially less than a hundred to go! version 3.61 Sep. 6th, 2002 A very special update for a very special person! That's right, GoKart456. If you are reading this, your name is now officially in this FAQ! If you can't find it, copy and paste the FAQ and use the Search or Find option to look for it. It's in there somewhere... By the way, I still have no Sunshine. version 3.62 Sep. 27th, 2002 Time really flies...I've gotten those 120 Shine Sprites, and Super Mario Advance 3 is already out! Then there's Mario Party 4. With three games with "Mario" in their titles coming out in three months, Nintendo is really trying to dump out everyone's wallets. Anyway, there's a whole bunch of contributions, including another Hall of Shamer whom I've lost the message for :(, plus the usual additions from fans of this game. It's still going strong, and it's already been out for ten months. version 3.7 Nov. 1st, 2002 More power to the people! Due to an overwhelmingly huge onslaught of letters into my e-mailbox, I'll be doing a full update, complete with over thirty new bonuses from Bowser194, my co-author! I cannot thank you enough, Bowser194. This FAQ may actually become complete before the game's anniversary! # >>>Introduction<<< Me, Myself, and I I guess I can compare myself to Leonardo da Vinci...and maybe Vincent van Gogh too: I'm not able to finish FAQs once I start them. However, like translating Doraemon into English (very indirectly if you know me), I feel that it needs to be done. As for information about me, I'm not giving away my real identity or any other private crud. I'll just tell you that I have no clue as to how a computer works, so I can't fix one, and that I'm acclaimed by my peers that I'm an excellent artist. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at anything else, but I hope you like this FAQ. I guess I'll also say that I've always sucked at history. What is the Smash Bros. Concept? The system of Smash is Nintendo's first attempt at fighting games. The Big N, as some of you like to call it, has developed a series of games for every gaming genre I can think of, as well as create some new ones themselves. On April 26, 1999, the Nintendo64 got Super Smash Bros., which turned out to be a big success and made the Players' Choice charts. The game itself was pretty low-tech compared to other games around that period and HAL Laboratories's mascot is a dog who just bore a litter. That sounds like the best game on earth, huh? Anyway, what you do in Super Smash Bros. was not to deplete your enemy's/enemies' HP to zero, but to knock him/her/it/them clear out of the arena, so far they explode. Depending on what mode you play, you can either have lives for each person or have a point system based on KOs. As for the characters, they were stars of Nintendo games (as well as a couple of sidekicks) brought together. Lots of fun, begging for a sequel, sequel arrives, and the rest is history. Super Smash Bros. Melee In SSM, all 12 of the characetrs were fighters themselves--everyone from Samus, a bounty hunter who goes across galaxies and fights major monsters, to Mario, an overweight Italian plumber, to Jigglypuff, a living plush toy. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, many of the newbies who arrive star in games with little to no fighting at all. You've got some princesses of two kingdoms. You've got the Ice Climbers, a couple of Eskimos who carry ice-breaking hammers. You've even got Dr. Mario, who prefers to find a cure for AIDS than anything else but is in here anyway. SSBM actually has no story at all, so I'll improvise: One day, there was a spoiled brat. He was so spoiled, he had 25 special figurines of Nintendo characters, plus 265 more. His Nintendo collection was complete, and he was shocked. Nintendo replied to him in a phone call that they aren't making any more figurines for a long while, so he took the one for Capt. Falcon and threw it at the Ice Climbers. To his surprise, the Ice Climbers figurine sailed across his room and made a huge thud at the other side. So he thought, Maybe they can fight each other! Yeah! Some action-packed battles of Nintendo characters will pass the time! And so, SSBM was born. # >>>Characters<<< So, the brat thought up a rather large set of different moves and assigned them to each character. The 4 unique atatcks, which are called "special attacks", are designated with the B button. Along the way of giving the 25 characters a set of special moves (and one with two), he came across a block and decided to give the remaining 7 characters without special attacks yet a similar moveset to another character he already assigned mvoes to. He called them "clones". In General Before this kid could start any battles, he had to make up a set of rules: 1. A KO is when you knocks someone else away and they blow up. 2. A Fall is when you blow up from someone else's attack. 3. A Self-Destruct is when you blow up without anyone else causing it. 4. Damage is figured out in %'s, which can go up to 999. 5. The higher the damage, the farther you get thrown from an attack. The moves he gave to each and every character are listed below. They may look different from character to character, but the use is the same. Key: A=A button B=B button Z=Z button L=L button R=R button X=X button Y=Y button (C)+direction=C-stick in that direction >, ^, <, \/=move control stick gently >>, ^^, <<, \/\/=move control stick hard >>A=move the control stick right really hard and press the A button at the same time. >>,A=move the control stick right really hard, then press the A button. D=Up on D-pad (that's all you'll be using) On the Ground: >=Walk >>=Run \/=Crouch ^, X, Y=Jump (I personally recommend the X or Y button.) (D)ĺ^ĺ: Taunt (D)>, (D)<, (D)\/: Nothing A: Standard Weak Attack You can press A over and over to keep the barrage going, and as long as the enemy is still in the range, he or she will continue taking damage. >A: Standard Strong Attack This should do a higher amount of damage and send the enemy flying somewhat. It's the attack used when you're in a group of opponents, either to do some damage or get them out of your way because of its speed. >>A, <, (C)<: Standard Smash Attack This is the attack you'll use to KO someone. It either does a ton of damage, make the opponent fly really far, or both. However, there's a charge time, which means you shouldn't use it all the time. If you can take your time, however, you can hold down A to charge some more, then unleash the force! >,A, <,A: Moving Weak Attack It stops your walk, but it's stronger than the Standard Weak Attack and weaker than the Standard Strong Attack. >>,A, <<,A: Moving Strong Attack Again, it stops your movement. It's stronger than the Standard Strong Attack but weaker than the Standard Smash Attack. \/A: Standard Ground Attack This attacks enemies on the ground. It's moderate strength. Enough said. \/,A: Trip You trip someone over next to you on the ground. They fall over, you come to pummel them. \/\/A, (C)\/: Downward Smash Attack Basically, this attack sends anyone around you to the ground so quickly they bounce right up. It's generally the vertical Smash Attack that focuses in power and not strength. You still need time to pull it off, though. ^^A, (C)^: Upward Smash Attack It throws your enemies wayyy up, but the damage doesn't quite rack up as much. L, R: Shield Each character has a shield that looks sort of like a colored contact lens. It gets smaller both over time and as people attack you, and you become paralyzed when it gets so small youer shield breaks, so don't overuse it! At least it neutralizes all attacks done to you when you have it on, but you can't move while you bring it out. ~ You can also reflect projectiles or items thrown at you by shielding at the last nanosecond, near impossible to do.~ Yet, the computer players have no problem. >L, R, : Sidestep Do like Neo and dodge incoming attacks by moving your character's middle out of the way! Z, LA, RA: Grab Grab an opponent. While grabbing, press A to attack them or choose a direction on the control stick to throw them. ~The Links and Samus use grappling hooks instead of actual grabbing, making it long-distance, as well as a device for hanging onto a ledge. However, it takes much longer to grab someone. Also, along with the A button, the Z button can be used with L to catch items thrown at you.~ In the Air: < and >: ~Slam back and forth to stop your tumbling.~ ^, X, Y: Double-Jump (B-Up for a triple jump unless otherwise indicated) A, >A, >A, <, ^, \/ while grabbing someone: Throw Up and Forward go distance, and Backward and especially Down focus on damage. Choose the situation right for you. Weight Classes The characters are put into 5 weight classes: Super-Lightweights, Lightweights, Middleweights, Heavyweights, and Super-Heavyweights. The lighter characters are more agile and are smaller targets, and heavier characters pack more punch per attack and can carry stuff more easily. Heavier characters also usually don't get thrown as far, but not necessarily. These are the characters in their respective weight classes: Note: The weight classes may be uneven, since their divisions are based on groups of five rather than actual weight. Also, since all weight testing was done by rspitzer@sprynet.com, don't ask me questions. These are simply a bunch of estimates based on speed, jumping ability, and knock-outability. For example, although Ness seems to be lighter than Mr. G&W, Ness doesn't fly nearly as far when hit compared to Mr. G&W. I may need to do some weight-testing myself to find out. SUPER-LIGHTWEIGHTS: Pichu Jigglypuff Kirby Pikachu Young Link LIGHTWEIGHTS: Ness Mr. Game&Watch Ice Climbers Peach Zelda/Sheik MIDDLEWEIGHTS: Falco Fox Marth Luigi Mario HEAVYWEIGHTS: Dr. Mario Yoshi Capt. Falcon Samus Mewtwo SUPER-HEAVYWEIGHTS Roy Link Ganondorf DK Bowser š Marth and Roy positions corrected by TheOlympicHero. š King Bowser J. M. Koopa Master of the Koopa Troopas Premiere: Super Mario Bros. (NES) Bowser is the slowest character in the game, but he hits exceptionally hard. Surprisingly, his biggest threats are the super-lightweights, since they not can jump much higher than him and are much quicker, but some characters are so short Bowser will have a hard time attacking them! He's all-in-all a horrible jumper, but like any character, he can be mastered. Bowser's got a thing or 37 to settle with Mario, and SSBM is the chance he gets to beat the daylights out of that plumber. B: Fire Breath Bowser's famous for his fire-breathing abilities, and this atatck shows that. While it counts as a projectile and has fairly short range, it traps people in there and damage %'s goes up and up. Don't overdo it; its range decreases from inferno to a toaster in the mouth. >B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B, >>Arenas<<< There are 29 total arenas in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Eleven are hidden. Below is simply advice if you are on a certain stage preceded by a description of the place. If you want to know how to get them, go to the Secrets section. The arenas will be listed from left to right, top to bottom, according to the Stage Select screen, introduced by a map. Terms to Know Blast Line: The point where someone gets KOed. It's usually offscreen, and the character either explodes or gets sent far into the horizon, depending which blast line is crossed. Scrolling Course: An arena that scrolls by itself. If you don't keep up with its pace, you get KOed, due to an also-scrolling blast line. Course Hazard: Common term for anything in a video game level or area that come by and cause some kind of damage to one or more players. Course Map Key: ...= droppable platform ___= solid platform ___ letters= interactive arena pieces <...>= moving platform or <___> ///= falling platforms Infinite Glacier Icicle Mountain (for example) xx...... xx ...... ......________ ...... ______....... ______ ............ ........ ........ x=breakable ice blocks Size: Scrolling Difficulty: Hard This glacier really is infinite. No matter how long I set the game to, the thing keeps going up and up... What it is is a random arrangement of plank bridges, pieces of cliff from the mountains on either side, and slippery ice cubes. It's mostly the plank bridges, and they're platforms that you can go through and drop down from. At an exact time, the arena is always really small, and it never goes to the left or right because it's that small. ADVICE: The arena scrolls in three different speeds, not including stopped. When it's at its fastest speed, concentrate only on surviving, evading anyone who comes by. (The computer players have a tough time when this happens and always get KOed). Don't stray too far from the middle either, unless it's unsafe. Also, it's best to KO someone to either side, since horizontal Smash attacks are almost always the strongest and it's a very short distance to the blast line. And, like in every other scrolling course, keep up with the movement. Mushroom Kingdom Princess Peach's Castle ____ / \ | | | | / \ | | | | ____________/ \____________ / \ Size: Medium-Large Difficulty: Easy Unless you're too ignorant to play Super Mario 64, you've probably already got a fairly good view of what this place looks like. If not, go play it and find out. It's exactly the same, except for incoming Bansai Bills (they're humongous) and little buttons that make platforms and Item Boxes (they obviously hold items) show up. ADVICE: If you have any computer players, then watch for them to simply retreat to another side of the arena and stand there. That means a Bansai Bill (AKA Bullet Bill, only lots bigger) is heading for your half of the arena. Try as hard as you can to get to the other side, and if you want to go on the offensive, throw someone into the resulting explosion. It traps people in like a Legendary Pokémon, and damage can easily accumulate to over 200%. Just don't be a victim to it yourself. When Item Boxes show up from the push of a button, try to be the first to get that item. Far more often than not, it's a very useful one. One last note is the pillar in the middle--the middle of the course is usually the place farthest from the blast line, but this pillar keeps you close, so playing on this arena should become fairly short if you aren't on your toes. Mushroom Kingdom Rainbow Cruise .... ....... ///// ......__________/--\________.... ____ ____ ....... < .... > ____ ____.... ............. xxxx ... xxxx ..... ... ..... < .. < ... < .... < ............. < ___ ____ < \...... < \_______| < x=magic carpets (they go on a 180° arc) <= <= path of flying ship <= <= Size: Scrolling Difficulty: Medium Straight from Mario 64, the game's course #15 comes back as one big arena. It should be called Rainbow Ride, since that's its real name, but what's done is done. You start out on the Cruiser Crossing the Rainbow, and then you go onto several platforms, some magic carpets, a swinging platform, and finally more platforms. ADVICE: Since it's a scrolling course, lighter characters get the advantage because their speed lets them get an easier time keeping up with the scrolling. Unlike Icicle Mountain, this isn't basic scrolling. The place scrolls in a SQUARE. Starting on the bottom-right and going around clockwise, you have to remember where the scrolling changes direction. It changes direction roughly after the ship drops, when the magic carpets appear, when the platform with the arrow comes into the middle of the screen, and when you end up back on the ship. Otherwise, it's smooth sailing, no pun intended. Just concentrate on surviving during the last leg of the journey, when the scrolling is fastest. DK Island Kongo Jungle .... .... .... .... _____________ .... ____ Size: Medium Difficulty: Easy Welcome to DK's territory. Mostly known for DK Island's jungles, much of the island is made of an incredibly wide array of environments and climates. The Kongo Jungle is the most famous jungles, where DK himself resides. This arena, the second one in Kongo Jungle, is made of one big platform near the bottom, with two smaller platforms above each end. It's hard to spot, but there are two additional platforms, one to the bottom-left corner, one on the bottom-right. There are no course hazards; unless you count an occasional Klap Trap that comes by to occupy the Barrel Cannon on the bottom of the screen. ADVICE: Here's another one where you want to stay in the middle. Go to a higher platform if you want to score a KO and you don't have very much damage. The lowest platforms and the Barrel Cannon are to only to be used as a comeback should you get thrown. It's far too likely that you'll accidentally fall off and get a Self-Destruct, which is bad. Also, keep in mind that the Barrel Cannon turns as it moves, so if it happens to be facing up when it catches you, don't count on it blasting you up. The weight of the people on the bottom platform, since it's made of logs, will affect the two upper platforms and get them swaying around, again making the big bottom platform the safest by far. DK Island Jungle Japes ....... ...... ...... ________________ Size: Medium-Large Difficulty: Easy Jungle Japes is one of the basic places in the jungles of Kongo Island, and the old Kranky Kong lives here. In fact, his very house is the arena this time! Kranky doesn't seem to mind the commotion around his front deck; he seems to enjoy the noise. There's the front balcony being the center and largest piece of ground, and off to the sides are smaller floors. The left one leads to Kranky's outhouse and the right one is absolutely pointless to Kranky. Don't forget about a piece of roof sticking out of his house... ADVICE: The platforms you should stay on are the middle ones. Also, the stairs to either side are misleading--they're behind the fight scene. Go to the other platforms if you want to score a KO, but again, don't go there if your damage is high. The rapids directly below the arena hide a ridiculously high blast line, so the instant you fall into the water, there's no hope but to await a ka-boom. Speaking of which, you may end up on the left blast line by the speed of the rapids, since they carry characters along with them. Termina The Great Bay ttt ... ... ____________________ xxxxx x x ______ ______x x x=Turtle (... are palm trees on the Turtle) t=Tingle's balloon (may pop and disappear Size: Small to Medium Difficulty: Medium This is a very unusual place. Like Jungle Japes, it features the residency of an odd fellow who doesn't mind the fighting going on out- side. This time, it's the eccentric scientist's pad. The main platform is his deck, and there are two rafts underneath that rise and sink with the weights of characters. The size of the arena itself is doubled when the Turtle is present--this giant beast is a majorly long crooked platform! In the distance, you can see the moon falling down onto Termina, and, without an Oath to Order, the four Guardians come and push the Moon away whenever it gets too close. ADVICE: Tingle's balloon overhead can work as a comeback platform if you ever get thrown up a long distance, and it can also be used as a sanctuary if you know everyone else playing with you has forgotten about it. Computer players will always gang up on you if you ever try this with them around, though. It's also slippery and easily pops, so it's either a hit or a miss. Also, don't stay on the Turtle for too long. It dives back into the depths moments after it surfaces (esp. if you're Player 2, who starts on the thing). If you're ever on the rafts, play defensively. There's no smackdown worse than a smash attack toward the main platform, since you'll hit your head on it overhead and go nosediving down with little hyou can do about it. Or, if you want to be cruel, go for it. BTW, the blast line, even with the Turtle, is closer to the left. Hyrule Temple .... .... ........... _ ____________ ___ .... .... ______|_|______/____________| |___\_______ _________ _______________| |___________\____________ ________... ______________/ /___________________ _______ _____________/ /____________________ ______ ____________/ /_____________________ _____ ___________/ /___________________ ___/__________________ __________________ _____________________ ________________ _____ _______________ ___ _____________ _ ________ Size: Too Freakin' Humongous Difficulty: Easy Many complaints were made in SSB about the arenas being too small. This should suit their needs. A temple in ruins stays suspended in the air in the skies of Hyrule, and these folks plan to duke it out there. The arena itself has no real hazards, but due to its huge size, that may just be a hazard itself, since you're likely to find a renegade Bob-omb on your way to the action on the other side, or maybe a Motion Sensor Detector someone laid on the ground ten mintues ago. There's a small gazebo on the far upper left, and the path continues to a hallway with a ceiling overhead. A tunnel underground interrupts this, with some rugged terrain all the way to the right. The underground tunnel leads to a lower balcony, with a small floating part of the ruins further below in the middle, barely big enough for a two-player brawl. ADVICE: If things start looking grim for you and your damage gets high, get away from the upper area! Instead, head for the lower areas, where it's hard to KO anyone in any direction, mainly from a solid ceiling above and a hard floor below. Also, whenever possible, do those Smash Attacks TOWARDS the edge. Someone can have over 300% damage, and a mere wrong direction will let them survive some more, due to this arena's tremendous size. This is probably just a big arena meant for all-out fighting, with Stamina Mode in mind. Yoshi's Island Yoshi's Island _ ___ _____ _____ /_ _____ ___/___ xxxxx xxxxx _____ ___ ___ _____ _____ __________ ____________________ __________________xxx____________________ __________________ ____________________ __________________ ____________________ x=blocks Size: Medium Difficulty: Hard The arena's actually smaller than it looks, since this place refuses to scroll all the way across the arena. It's from the classic Super Mario World, complete with diagonal pipes and those weird blocks that flip when attacked. To the left is a vertical pipe with another pipe leading to the ground leaning against it. The main area has two sets of those blocks overhead, as well as three of them bridging a gap underneath. The right side of the arena has a very long 45° slope that reaches all the way to the blast line. ADVICE: If you're going to stay in the middle, do your best to keep those blocks from flipping. When they're flipping, it counts as if they aren't there, so you'll fall into the pit! Unless your character has decent comeback skills, you'll be doomed. Also, if you want to stir up trouble, just keep pushing anyone dumb enough to be on the right side of the screen to the right. Once at the edge of the screen, a Smash Attack is usually enough to send them to the blast line. Speaking of blast lines, the blast line ceiling for this stage is really low. Kirby with a bunny hood could be easily sent flying into the background simply by jumping. Actually, any character with the bunny hood can. Finally, items are, for some reason, usually bunched up over the vertical pipe. Yoshi's Island Yoshi's Story .... .... .... __________________ <<<>>> V V V V x=clouds <, >, V=path of clouds (goes back and forth) Size: Medium-Small Difficulty: Medium As the name suggests, this takes place in the Yoshi Storybook, where entire landscapes are seemingly crafted from a variety of fabrics and corrugated cardboard. You've got one big piece of land, and you also have two smaller droppable platforms above. One last platform is higher above the center. It's also pretty hard to notice, but there's also cloudies that follow dotted lines somewhat close to the bottom that can be used as comeback platforms. ADVICE: Since this is a pretty straightforward course, there isn't any real strategies that'll help you win in this place. The platforms can be used to get away from the action. Also, don't use the cloudies unless you just got knocked an incredible distance and it's your only hope. They're usually hard to see because they're so low, and more often than not you'll miss. Add that to the fact that their path also goes BELOW the blast line and you know you're in trouble. Dream Land Fountain of Dreams ..... .... .... ^ v ^ v ___________________ _____________ _________ ____ __ __ __ __ ^ v: these platforms rise and fall Size: Small Difficulty: Medium Kirby resides in Pop Star, a planet in an imaginary solar system where dreams are made. The Star Rod powers the Fountain of Dreams, suspended above the atmosphere of some planet I don't know. Instead of producing water, like other fountains, the subconscious flows like mercury (and reflects like it too) off the platform into a fine mist below. Add the strange flora that grows behind the fountain, and you've got a scene straight from Lisa Frank. But all respect to legendary areas are completely disregarded as the Foutnain of Dreams is designated as one of the battlefields of SSBM! The Fountain of Dreams itself is the major platform, with two platforms that go above and below the dream material by means of springs that gush out and bring the platforms up. There's one last platform at the center top permanently suspended in the air... space...whatever. ADVICE: Since the dreams you're battling on on the main platform reflects everything perfectly, save some ripples, Motion Sensor Detectors are particularly hard to see in this place. You may also see some rings below the main platform of the Fountain of Dreams. It's not, I repeat NOT, a comeback platform. You go through it, as well as the mist below, which is why I left it out of the map. The moving platforms can also compeltely sink into the main platform, leaving you with the Fountain and the upper land at times. Also, don't feel bad if the Star Rod appears and someone picks it up to abuse other people with--it's just an item. Dream Land Green Greens xx .... .... x x _____xxxxx xxxxx _____xxxxx____________xxxxx_____ ___xxxxx____________xxxxx_____ xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx x=blocks (abouot 1/25 are explosive) Size: Medium Difficulty: Medium The Green Greens is a section on Pop Star where Whispy Woods took root only to get beaten by Kirby several times. It's also the second arena in the Super Smash Bros. series to feature the tree you love to hate! As you can see from the map above, the blocks form two columns that fill gaps between the three platforms. They don't go all the way to the blast line though. Here's how the blocks work: They work like a regular piece of solid stuff until someone attacks it. Any atatck done to it will get rid of any blocks within the atack's range. As for Bomb Blocks: They behave like ordinary blocks, except the moment they're provoked, they cause an explosion about that of a Bob-omb's. Whispy Woods is back in the background blowing wind at the fighters, but this time, he occasionally throws apples at everyone. ADVICE: The apples he throws can also be used as an item. You pick them up and throw it at people to cause some damage. As usual, the center is the safest spot, but the two platforms overhead may make the whole thing a lot longer. Also, Kirby himself may have a home-field disad- vantage, should he turn on the Stone ability over the blocks, which will break awya as he falls and plunge into his abyss. If people are hanging out by the blocks and there's a Bomb Block somewhere in there, you cay throw an item at the Bomb Block to blow them away. Lylat System Corneria / _ ___ ________ _____________________________ ___________________________________________/ _________________________________________ ____________________________ ......____________________________\ Size: Large Difficulty: Easy This is exactly like the Sector Z arena in SSB, right down to the Arwings that swoop down and blast people to smithereens. This time, though, the guns on the Great Fox (......) can be used as a platform that can break away, as well as a course hazard. =It can also be broken off by attacking the bulky part, though there's not much point to it except getting yourself killed.= There's actually a small incline towards the nose of the Great Fox, but it's not on the map. I almost forgot to say that this takes place over the oceans of Corneria, not in space. ADVICE: This is a long course without any significant droppable spots, so it's all-out fighting. When the Arwings come, they may be useable as droppable platforms, but they move too randomly to be of good use, and chances are they'll fly right through the blast line in a few seconds. If you want to stay away from the action, human players tend to stay on the long left part, and computer players love the small right section, so go to the other part. Also, chances are an item will appear at some part or another, so you can always throw a Motion Sensor Detector where you think they'll step on, or chuck a Capsule to get their attention. Lylat System Venom ... ... ... ... ... | ... ...__/\__... ________ ________ ...______... ... ... ... ... ... ... Size: Small Difficulty: Medium (Hard on occasion) This arena takes place again on the Great Fox, but this time it happens across the wings of the ship. It's also sailing along a circuit on Venom, Andross's planet-for-a-base. It sails through a canyon, then a cave, then over some lava pits, a clearing, and finally through another canyon. Along the way, there's going to be some flying debris that work as course hazards. Also, another place is the cave, where it can get completely dark, or a stalactite may just barely graze the upper wings. ADVICE: The safest place to hang out are the upper wings and the ship in between, since it's slanted down and the blast line is pretty high up. In contrast, if you were to be at the bottom, there's again a high blast line, but this time in a negative context. It's slanted toward the outside, which gives you a greater chance of falling off from sliding. There's also very little room here to do aerial attacks. Also, dropping down from the bottom platforms is extremely unsafe anywhere. Like in Corneria, there's Arwings, but they're even more unsafe because they'll immediately swoop up, with little time to get out. This is certainly not an easy arena, so stay out until you feel you've got the hang of SSBM. Superflat Land Flat Zone ---===---===---=== .. .. .. ---===---===---=== .. _________________________________________ -, =: Disappearing Platforms Size: Small Difficulty: Hard Welcome to Mr. Game & Watch's LCD world. If you don't know, LCD stands for liquid-crystal display, which is the same stuff that that digital alarm clock with the black numbers in your room uses. The Game & Watch series is basically a handheld-game series which works like that, except with pictures. And after almost 22 years without anything Nintendo made relating to the G&Wes, they dedicate a special arena to look like one. The platforms up ahead appear and disappear, and they only work as droppables when they're visible. The roof of the house to the right also acts as a droppable. There is a strangely large amount of hazards here, very unusual for such a low-tech place. The monkey just hangin' around is...just hangin' around and provides no impact to the game (unless you get distracted or you're playing as Mr. G&W and you think it's him), but another G&W citizen comes out of both doors from time to time to pour out some oil. It's near impossible to go anywhere on this oil, due to an almost-complete absense of friction. Add the problem of wrenches, screwdrivers, and buckets falling after a while and you got yourself one of the hardest arenas in the game. If you pause, you can see that your characters are flat as well. I had recently found out that the monkey actually restocks your disappearing platforms. A vry hectic place indeed! ADVICE: Do not play this on Giant Melee. The blast line is extremely close at all times, except on the bottom, where it's nonexistent. (You can't fall in this arena.) One false move and you can go ka-blam on the sides. Also, an unusual amount of capsules, barrels, and crates are explosive. It suggests that Flat Zone is meant for very quick battles or very high KOs, depending on which mode you play. The safest spot, since you've relied on me to tell you in every arena, is the bottom ground. You never know when the upper ones will disappear, and you can be sent flying at 60% with one good Smash Attack regardless of who you are playing as up there anyway. The roof on the right, however, seems to be another safe spot, as strange as it may seem, when playing with computer players. They like to stay away, but when they come, they come without attacking. This also goes without saying, but see the parts flying above you before they hit you. As for the oil, the Ice Climbers have awesome traction on their shoes. you'll go through with barely any change in speed. Planet Zebes Brinstar ......... .... .... ... ... x x _____________,,______ _____________,,______ ___ __ x=Snap-Above-Platform-Up Membrane ,=Gooey Stuff That Binds Bottom Platforms Together Size: Medium Difficulty: Hard Brinstar is a dangerous place where criminals like Ridley and Kraid come to hide. The second SSBM arena to be on that planet, it's been changed for the much better. It's actually a pretty fun arena now. The weird things marked "x" one the map are actually membraneous strings that go from the bottom platform up to the one above it. If they snap, the stuff above pivots back and the platform is almsot vertical. The stuff marked as "," can also be attacked to split the ground apart temporarily. Playing with everything apart becomes a hectic brawl while the acid rises up from below. ADVICE: First and foremost, stay away from the acid! This makes the safest place the uppermost region. It's generally not safe if someone's already up there, but it's better than being scorched, since the acid sometimes goes up until only that platform remains. It's also best to keep the arena stable (as pictured above on the map) until you want to crank up the heat. The stage's difficulty, IMO, doubles when dis- mantled. This generally isn't a good place for throw items, though, since jumping is an essential part of this place, and any throw you make will hit the adjacent platform instead of the opponent unless your timing is excellent. Planet Zebes Brinstar Depths ____ ____ _ _________ __________________ ___________________ ____________________ __________________ __________ ____ ____ Size: Medium Difficulty: Hard In my opinion, this course is THE hardest course in the game. The whole place, despite its simple look, is actualy quite cluttered up. It's an asteroid-like thing with what appears to be Mother Brain in the middle with two mini-asteroids, as shown above. What makes this arena hard is occasionally, Kraid will come up and slash at the arena, making it rotate. It won't usually stop back at its normal spot, so it's basically a whole new style once the top is now at the bottom and what not. ADVICE: This may take some practice to get used to, but be prepared to move either to the left or right when Kraid shows up from the lava to rotate the place. And while the comptuer sometimes chooses not to do it, you must keep up with the scrolling, or you'll be left behind on one of those little rocks, of which shouldn't really be a battle zone anyway. And if it makes you feel better, there's no other things to look out for other than Kraid's slashes. Eagleland Onett ... ......... ... (........) ... ^ ... /___\ __^__ /_____\ (........) _________ |_____|____ _________ |_____| _________ _____________________________________________________________________ (........)=Awnings Size: Large Difficulty: Medium This may be an arena made with light colors, but don't let its childish look fool you. It's an arena where you need to stay alert, and it's also one of the more complex stages. To the left are clusters of leaves that can be used as droppables. There's also a house nearby the clusters with a patio thing you can use as a droppable. The middle part of the stage is probably where most of the action will take place. It's a relatively wide-open area, interrupted only by the ground and two awnings on the drug store that'll drop you and anything on it if you dawdle there for too long. Finally, to the right, there's a telephone wire that leads to another rooftop of a house if you drop from there. ADVICE: The clusters of leaves can be used as a form of shelter from the other people and the onslaught of traffic, but it's far too easy to get sneak-attacked by an Up+B attack while you're on it. Also, like the clouds in the Past Yoshi's Island, use the awnings when you're running away, because they'll drop too early for any real fight to occur. Items also frequently end up on the telephone wire for some reason, so 90% of the time, there's some kind of useful item you can use to your advantage if you visit there. The bottom of the stage is no longer the safest spot in the arena, but rather the roof of the house to the right. That's because about every 15 seconds, a car will zoom down the road, hitting anyone who touches it really hard. You can tell whether a car will be an obstacle or merely passing by, thanks to a caution sign that appears on the right side of the screen a second before it actually appears. You can either shield or jump out of the way to keep from getting a hefty 30% damage piled up and maybe even KOed if you stay on the far left or right of the arena. Stay between the buildings. At least when cars hit you, you'll simply bounce off the walls of the houses instead of being KOed. It's a large stage. Hang in there. Eagleland Fourside xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ____ ____ ______ ______ < .......... > ________ _______________ __________ _______________ ___________ __________ _______________ ___________ __________ _______________ ___________ __________ _______________ ___________ __________ _______________ ___________ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx= possible UFO spots xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Size: Large Difficulty: Medium Ness gets two large stages for himself! Fourside is basically the big city, with this arena starring the Montoli building in the middle. (The other featured building is the one in the back with the green lights, the Department Store.) Two other regular buildings accompany the Montoli building, and there's a crane which, for some unknown reason, moves a droppable platform left and right. The real highlight is less of the Montoli building but of a flying saucer that appears over the other buildings! ADVICE: Once the UFO arrives, you can go up to the top of the UFO by going through it, but you can't get back down. When you're on it, it'll be like ice. Unless you're the Ice Climbers, you'll slip and slide around. The UFO eventually goes away. Also, once you get KOed, you'll start on the top of the Montoli building. That's the highest spot on the field when the flying saucer isn't present, so you can start off with a good aerial attack on your descent and maybe get an Avenger KO if anyone with high damage is hanging around at the bottom. (BTW, only one UFO at a time--both spots will never be occupied.) You have the danger of falling off the buildings, which will give Ness a home-field disadvantage, because there's too little room to hit yourself with a PK Thunder. This makes the safe spot the giant plank that the crane is holding up. It's sufficiently large for four players to beat each other up, and you don't have as much of a danger of falling in between the buildings, unless your character can cover amazing vertical distances. The falling-off-in-between-the-buildings KO is very much like a certain arena in SSB, also involving a big city... F-Zero Grand Prix Mute City .... .... ... . . ... : : ..... OR : :OR ..... _______ ..................... ._________________. _______ _______ Size: Scrolling Difficulty: Hard There's no real map for this. you're on a moving platform that takes you across the Mute City track, and there are several stops along the way. The moving platform is basic, as shown on the left. First, it'll sink into the ground at the starting line of the track. Then, it'll drop after that right before the cars come by. After some more floating, it'll stop at the end of a tunnel. There are some open spots and some droppable platforms as pieces of the end of the tunnel. It's pictured crudely in the middle. Finally, there will be a slanted part of Mute City's track with some land overhead. Major flying over a loop, anmd back to the way it began. ADVICE: You get a warning when the thing begins to rise, just like the warning in Onett's traffic. Also, the cars won't stop for anything other than crates and barrels--including you. You'll get hit unless you can dodge the incoming cars on time. Once the platform leaves, you'd better get back in, or else you'll get left behind and take some damage bouncing on the track floor. The blast line is pretty far out at all times, so you can get major damage and still come back safely. F-Zero Grand Prix Big Blue (for example) _____ _____ ....... ....... ___ rrrrrr rrrr rrrr rrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrr _______________________________________________________________________ r=Race Cars Size: Scrolling Difficulty: Hard In Mute City, you're going along with the track on a moving platform, with the camera looking at the cars come by. In Big Blue, however, you are put onto a very fast-moving arena through the racetrack, following somje of the cars around. You start out on the Blue Falcon, which is also moving really fast. Then, the Blue Falcon picks up speed and you have to drop down to the race cars below. Trailing behind the Blue Falcon are rocket-powered platforms, as well as a strange, round robot that stays near the platforms. After a while, the Blue Falcon comes back And the process starts over. ADVICE: Try not to go onto the road itself. You'll be pushed really hard to the left, which gives you a 60% chance of blowing up on the also-moving-rapidly blast line. For some strange reason though, when you're in the air, you aren't affected by the scrolling. Thus, the best place to knock someone is left, because should they end up on the road, they're done for. The safe spot, strange as it may seem for a scrolling stagem, would be on the platforms above. They're somewhere in the middle of the screen, meaning that if you get thrown, there's a greater chance you'll survive by going onto the race cars, which I think are merely comeback platforms, than returning to your original height, which you have to do if you get knocked off on a race car. his arena will test your defensive and jumping abilities to the max, and you won't last long if you aren't good at either of them. Kanto Pokémon Stadium Normal Mode .... .... _________________________________ _________________________________ Fire Mode __ ..._______. __ ________ __ ....... _________ _________________________________ _________________________________ Rock Mode ______ ________ __________ ____________..... _____________ ....... ______________..... ______________ ....... ______________... . . ______________ : .. ____________________:____··____ _______________________________ Water Mode : .. : .. : Note: The .. : windmill turns. ..: :.. ...... : .. : .. ..... : .. : ________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ Grass Mode ...... ...... ... ... ________________________________ ________________________________ Size: Medium-Large Difficulty: Varies (Easy to Medium) Pokémon Stadium was meant to fit a variety of Pokémon types, of which there are currently 17. I'm not sure if there's any other modes other than the ones shown here, but the Fire, Rock, Grass and Water modes alone turns this arena into a test of adaptation. It starts out as the as-basic-as-you-can-get Normal Mode, but after half a minute, it trans- forms into one of the four other modes shown above. After that, it turns back into the Normal Mode, and then into another mode. This will keep up until the match ends. See the Advice below for more information on the types themselves. ADVICE: The safe spot for all five modes would have to be the stadium floor. When it turns into the Fire Mode, the arena turns into a burning forest and log cabin. The flames are in the background; they won't affect the battle at all. Items also tend to show up on the cabin's awning. If you can hide in between the burning tree stumps on the left, you can do an upward Smash Atack on anyone who dares to come in with you. The Rock Mode is a lot of nothing. It's supposed to look like some kind of quarry, and the platforms all over the place limits your hiding spots, so you'll have to play offensively. The mountain on the left will leave you vulnerable due to its height. The Water Mode features a turning windmill on the left. You can seek refuge, but keep in mind of the vanes' clockwise movement. The Grass Mode is simply a larger, slightly altered version of Battlefield. Your strategies there should be very standard. Kanto Skies Poké Floats (for example) ..... ..... ..... ..... _______ ___ ____________ ______ ____________ ________ __________ _________ ............_____________ _________ ___________ _________ Size: Scrolling Difficulty: Hard Looking at the map, you probably have no idea what this arena may look like. Well, whoever designed this arena was obviously on something, because what it is is what the arena's name suggests--they're giant floating Pokémon statues! You'll start on a Squirtle, and then an Onix passes by, so you can drop off on a Psyduck. A Chikorita brings you onto a Weezing, and then the Weezing rises up and a Slowpoke appears after passing a Sudowoodo along the way. Slowpoke's tail stretches out and a Venusaur takes its place on the bottom of the screen as it flies off to the left. After seeing a Chansey head on the bottom-right corner and a group of Porygon fly by, a Goldeen flops up and quickly falls again. At that point, a bunch of Unown zoom by pretty swiftly horizontally. Then, a Lickitung comes by from the bottom to stick out his tongue. It retreats back, and the Squirtle comes up again. This may all seem pretty complicated, and it is...If you don't know what any of these Pokémon are because you were never into it, then be prepared for one whopper of a stage. ADVICE: This arena may just be harder to keep up with than any other scrolling stage, due to its strange factor. Always try to stay somewhat close to the bottom, near the middle, only going out to pick up a useful item. Speaking of which, as you progress through the cycle, it'll get progressively harder, especially when you're jumping from Unown to Unown without any other Pokémon to catch you in case you fall. Also, the droppables in this course are Chikorita's leaf, Venusaur's petals, and the Unown. Everything else is solid. Because the scrolling is constantly going and the Pokémon constantly in motion, you'll want to devote half of your efforts to surviving and the other half to combat. This is a place where you'll need some practice. I can't say this enough, but skill is your most important asset by far in SSBM. If you still have trouble keeping up, practice until you do. Also, the computer palyers can't seem to pick this up, but you can go through the Onix to get on him. You just can't drop back down. Mushroom Kingdom xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _______________ -- ___________________ -- _____________ x=blocks ==lift platform Size: Medium-Large Difficulty: Medium This place is a lot more cluttered up than the oroginal Mushroom Kingdom in SSB. The style is still exactly the same, minus the pipes, Piranha Plants, and POW! Blocks, and add in Item Blocks. The blocks are breakable if attacked, although they aren't quite as flimsy as the ones in Green Greens. These actually stop you momentarily if you do, say, Kirby's Stone attack. Occasionally, a few turn into Item Blocks. If attacked or hit from below, they crumble away and give you a free item. This makes them very common in this stage, but even with the extra assistance, along with a pulley elevator with platforms marked as "==", KOs are still hard to make. It's too filled up with blocks and they regenerate too quickly. ADVICE: Your best bet (and only good one) to KO someone is to do it near where the magnifying glass thing begins. This puts them only a short distance from the blast line, without anything in your way. Kirby has a HUGE field advantage here, since you can swallow someone near the edge and spit them out into the blast line. As for the usual info on the safe spots...there is none. You'll have to tough it out and use items to get yourself up the ranks to #1. Mushroom Kingdom II * * ________ ________ ________ ______ ________ ________ ______ ________ ________ ______ ________ ________ ______ ________ *=possible Birdo spots Size: Small Difficulty: Easy Wow! The first easy secret stage! And small too! You'll find many KOs here too. It's basically a scene from Super Mario Bros. 2, with a main flat hilltop in front of a waterfall with platforms falling down as logs. To the left and right of the hilltop are two other hilltops, each a bit higher up. From time to time, on one of those hilltops, Birdo will show up and spit eggs. They do damage, but by stomping on the eggs you can let them drop to the ground. And, as you may remember in Super Mario Bros. 2, three hits is all it takes to get rid of Birdo. ADVICE: Like in two other stages in SSB history, AKA Saffron City from SSB and Fourside in SSBM, you've got the falling-off-in-between-the- buildings KO possible here, thanks to the narrow gap, except they're hilltops, and not buildings. Again, this gives Ness a huge disadvantage in taking away his triple jump. Like in the Mushroom Kingdom I, Kirby has an advantAge with his ability to suck. This place is quite simple, with Final Destination being the only simpler location. The safe spot is in the middle. It's way too unsafe to get out to other places because the blast line is pretty close on all four sides. Birdo's eggs should go over everyone's heads while on the middle platform, so that's another reason to stay in the middle. As mentioned earlier, the KO counts should be many. Special Stages Battlefield ... ... ... _________ _ Size: Small Difficulty: Easy The Special Stages take place in some surreal world, just like the Special Stages in the Sonic games. Although the game refers to this stage as the "basic" one, Final Destination is, IMO, the real basic arena. Anyway, take a look at the map... After that, you need no more information about this place, maybe except for the cyberspace-like backgrounds, but absolutely nothing else would happen that can concern you. This is also the stage that features the Fighting Wire Frames (for info on the Fighting Wire Frames look a bit farther in this FAQ). All battles that involve them take place here. ADVICE: There is no advice for this arena. Nothing special happens. However, some general advice, like in almost every other arena, is the safe zone being in the middle of the bottom platform. The droppables are also to work to your advantage, either defensively, by running away, or offensively, to force everyone into a tiny piece of ground. Special Stages Final Destination _________________ _________________ _____________ Size: Medium Difficulty: Easy Yes, if you couldn't see it from the map, Final Destination is just one big chunk of solid ground. No droppables, no slopes, no nothing. I guess the main highlight of this arena is in its background, which has no relation to the battles at all; they're just a really cool sequence from outer space into "reality" and back through some cyberthing like in Battlefield into space. ADVICE: Do I really need to give you advice on a single-straight- platform course? Of course not. The field itself is as simple as you can get...it's just that the Master Hands hang out here. Past Stages Dream Land ... ... ... _________ Size: Small Difficulty: Medium Do you realize I keep copying and pasting that map you see above you? The Dream Land stage is straight from SSB, complete with Whispy Woods, low polygon counts, and the 2-D background. Whispy Woods makes some big wind behind you, and every once in a while, a sprite of a Kirby character flies by behind the action. Other than that, you can plan everything out with this map above you. ADVICE: The safe spot is the middle of the bottom platform. But you didn't need to know that, sicne it's firmly rooted into your head by now, right? Well, this is pure logic, but take an occasional glance at Whispy Woods to see if he's blowing wind again. And, if you're stupid or too smart, the wind will go out in a straight line after leaving its mouth. Anything involving the background is of no concern to you, like all other SSB arenas. Past Stages Yoshi's Story ..· ooo ··. ..· ooo ___ ___ ooo \_____/ ooo=Cloudies Size: Large Difficulty: Medium Only this and another arena left! As you can see from the map, it's a modified version of the Dream land/Battlefield stage layout, like other stages such as Yoshi's Story, Fountain of Dreams, and Jungle Japes. I don't know of keyboard symbols that can do it without getting too steep but the bottom main platform is actually a very wide obtuse angle pointing downward and the droppables are all slightly-diagonal straight lines. The clouds can be used to make incredible comebacks, since they work as droppables, but they vanish after a few seconds once landed on. Don't worry; they'll come back. ADVICE: Let's skip what you don't need to know already... As for the cloudies, you can use them as a "coward" platform in addition to a comeback thing. Just jump every now and then to keep it from disapp- earing right from under your feet. Chances are that nobody will bother to come for you, because you get control as to make them fall or not, and it's harder to get out there and come back than to simply return after standing on a cloudie. Other than that, play like you normally would on this kind of stage. Just remember that it's much easier to KO someone to the left than to the right, because of the extra cloudie there. Past Stages Kongo Jungle x···x ..... ..... x···x ...... ...... ····················· x···x=moving platforms (special) Size: Medium Difficulty: Medium Ahh, the last stage. The standards to get this course is pretty tough, but you do get to obtain a rather strange place from SSB. Like its return trip to SSBM, this stage has a Barrel Cannon on the bottom. Otherwise, it's exactly as the map shows you, except the upper two unmoving droppables are slanted down toward the outside. The moving platforms are droppables that move in a counterclockwise circle, meaning that they'll get really close to the bottom platform, and then they go up in an arc until they're really high up. Not much to see here but the leaves one the tree, since they'll be facing you at all times. ADVICE: Well, here we go... You want to stay in the little indented part (well, actually, not so little) as the safe place. Also, for some reason, the moving pieces of ground are always stacked with items. If you're going for a KO, the top unmoving platforms are the best. However KOs will be pretty few and far between in this place, probably due to the Barrel Cannon down there. I guess people are actually lucky enough to fall into them. # >>>Items<<< What would SSB and SSBM be without random props from their games? A big load of nothing, that's what. Different kinds of items fall from the sky, and if you ever need to know what any of them do, or you just want to know new ways to clobber your opponents with their specialty items, look no further! Also, you can play with any item as much as you want in Training Mode. Item Controls (special controls will be covered in the item's description.) General: A: Pick up Z: Weak Throw Walk, Z: Throw Run, Z: Dash Throw >Z, A,