Grading The Super Smash Bros Ultimate Stages: Brawl
Before we begin, I should explain why it took me so long to get to this. Truth be told I was planning to do this shortly after the last part but decided to hold off on doing so until the last stage was released. And since, at the time of this writing, it’s due to be revealed in a few days I felt like now was as good a time as any to get back into this.
So yes, we’re continuing our look at all the stages in Super Smash Bros Ultimate by looking at the stages from the awkward middle child of the series, Super Smash Bros Brawl. Now, I like Brawl a lot, it has the best single player content in the series to date and I have a lot of nostalgic memories of playing it with my friends.
Hell I have fond memories of the sheer hype surrounding the game. Visiting the Brawl website for updates was a daily routine for me and I remember bursting out with sheer euphoric glee when they announced Sonic the Hedgehog would be a playable character. However, it is the weakest game in the series as far as raw gameplay is concerned.
Brawl was an attempt to try to appeal to a more casual audience, as a result it moved away from being a more competitive fighting game into more of a party fighter. Nothing wrong with that but they went a bit too far. The slower gameplay and stupid tripping mechanics make it a difficult game to go back to.
And because it was more of a party game this time, the stages got a lot wackier with the gimmicks. Brawl is really where they started to experiment with the stage designs. Some were successful and led to some great results, while others were complete disasters. This one is going to be a bit of a mixed bag, because while some of these are quite decent, others are among the worst in the entire series. There’s also way more to cover so let’s stop wasting time and get right into this.
Delfino Plaza
Delfino Plaza is what I like to call a transport stage. Unlike a scrolling stage which constantly keeps moving, transport stages will have you battle it out on a platform before dropping you in one of several locations. I find these far more engaging than a scrolling stage mainly because all you need to do is pay attention to when the platform shows up again which isn’t too difficult so long as you stay in the middle. Makes them much easier to play.
Delfino Plaza is a good example of this kind of stage. I always liked Delfino Plaza as a hub world and this stage is a good adaptation of it. You'll see a lot of the Delfino Plaza icons here, the Shine Gate, the island platforms, the statue in the main area, it’s all here and it’s all very nice to look at. Brawls colour palette was a little washed out, so the brighter colours of Ultimate really help this place pop out.
This isn’t the best transport stage, the locations aren’t quite as varied as later stages get, but it’s a solid stage. A great representation of an underrated hub world.
Overall Grade: B
Mushroomy Kingdom
I may have tempted fate when I mentioned scrolling stages. Mushroomy Kingdom, is the first level of Super Mario Bros. No really, it’s a recreation of the first level of Super Mario Bros, probably one of the most iconic levels of all time. And I'll give them credit that it is a faithful recreation right down to the secret block. But all the credit it gets, because this stage sucks.
It's an auto scroller so it already gets on my bad side, but this one is particularly awful. Level 1-1 maybe iconic but it was not designed for a fighting game, and it shows. This stage is one of the most awkward to play on in the entire series. It's too easy to get stuck and the blocks get in the way of scoring kills, it just does not work.
It doesn’t even look all that good. It tries to go for an apocalyptic wasteland look, like the levels fallen into disrepair after years of neglect, but it just ends up looking boring. It's funny because Kirby is doing a post-apocalyptic setting and it looks like it fits right in with the series aesthetics, which only makes this stage worse.
I’ll give the Ultimate version this, at least it got rid of the world 1-2 variation. The fact it would randomly swap to that version when picked made this stage even worse. So the Ultimate version is 1000 X better by removing it, unfortunately it’s 1000 X 0. One of the worst stages in the entire series.
Overall Grade: F
Figure-8 Circuit
For how big a success it is I'm surprised Mario Kart has only had 3 stages representing it. Ultimate has 2 of these with Figure-8 circuit being the weaker of them. Don't get the wrong idea, it’s a solid stage it’s just that the other one is a little more interesting. Figure-8 Circuit is still a fun one to play. The layout is decent enough, but what makes it interesting is avoiding the racers.
A Mario Kart stage that takes place on a racetrack where you need to avoid racers? That's a perfect idea for Smash Bros. It could get annoying, but they give you enough indicators and time to get out of the way. Plus, if you’re daring enough, you can smack the racers to hit your opponents. That will never not be fun.
Overall Grade: B
WarioWare, Inc
Wario Ware is such a unique series, and this stage is a perfect representation of it. The main layout is simple but different enough from other stages to help it stand out. But where this stage really shines is the micro games.
Every few seconds you’ll be given a micro game to play in the middle of a fight, sometimes several in a row. You’re given a few seconds to complete the objective and, if successful, you’ll be rewarded with a random power up.
The micro games add a nice element of chaos to a battle, but never too much as to get in the way. And the best part is that all the micro games are taken directly from the Wario Ware series, right down to the varying art styles.
This is one of my favourite stages in Brawl. It perfectly represents the series it’s from and is super fun to play. It's all I could want in a Smash stage, and it’s not even the best Wario Ware stage in the game. There’s one that’s somehow even better, but that’s for later.
Overall Grade: A
Bridge of Eldin
Bridge of Eldin is, ok. The biggest issue I have with it is just how flat it is. I know it’s a bridge so there wasn’t much they could do with it, but that doesn’t stop it from being a little dull. It's also odd they picked this location to represent Twilight Princess when there were far more interesting locales to pick from. The Twilight Realm for example.
What saves this stage is King Bulbin. He'll show up periodically and drop a bomb that destroys a portion of the bridge for a few seconds. The stage becomes more interesting to play on when this happens. The gaps are large enough that it makes jumping across them a bit of a risk, especially if your opponents are good at edge guarding. It can create some intense moments where you try to get back into the fight, or you can just cower on one side like a little bitch.
Without that, this would be a bland and boring stage. With it, it’s still not great but it is decent at the very least. I will say the Ultimate version looks great. It's amazing how much better Twilight Princess looks when you tone down the bloom effect. God that game had so much bloom in it.
Overall Grade: C
Norfair
I want to like Norfair, I really do. Having a stage set in an active volcano is such a cool idea and the different ways they throw the lava at you keeps things interesting. It's like an evolution of the acid from Brinstar.
But it’s ruined by one simple problem, you have barely enough room to fight. The platforms are just way too small to have any kind of decent brawl on them, pun only slightly intended. And a lot of the time most of them will be covered in lava, that gives you even less room to play on.
I thought Brinstar was a little too closed in, but this is outright claustrophobic. It takes what could have been a fun stage and completely kneecaps it. What a waste of potential.
Overall Grade: D
Frigate Orpheon
This was always one of those stages that never got my attention. I didn’t hate it, it just never really stood out to me. But after replaying it, I have to say I enjoy it a lot more than I thought I would. Frigate Orpheon is an alright stage.
The big gimmick in this stage is the shifting gravity. The stage will flip over between one of 2 different layouts. Both layouts are different enough to shake the fight up slightly. The only awkward bit is the initial shift, but it’s not hard to adjust to it.
The actual layouts themselves are, fine. Nothing special though the moving platforms do add a bit more spice to the proceedings. I just wish it was a little bit brighter, it’s a little too darks which makes things hard to make out at times.
Overall Grade: B
Yoshi’s Island
I’m noticing a pattern with the Yoshi stages; they have great visuals but very basic and boring layouts. And nowhere is that more obvious than with this stage. I love how the stage look, it captures the crayon art style of the original Yoshi’s Island perfectly and the details and changing seasons make it a visually pleasing stage to play.
But the layout is so basic it makes the whole thing boring to play. The Shy Guys brining fruit adds some interesting elements to the stage, but we’ve seen it done in Yoshi’s Story, so it isn’t all that unique. Even the 2 jelly platforms that pop up change little because you’ll barely ever use them.
Yoshi’s Island isn’t bad, it’s just far too basic for its own good. I wish these Yoshi stages were a bit more interesting. It’s a shame because the Wooly world stage from Smash Wii U was great and that isn’t in Ultimate. What a shame.
Overall Grade: C
Halberd
One thing I like about this stage is that there’s a bit of a story with it. It starts in the hanger bay as you watch the Halberd take of, then you fight on a floating platform watching it fly around in the distance before finally landing on it and battling it out on the deck, while also avoiding its weaponry.
It’s a cool concept for a stage and visually stands out from the other Kirby stages. Most Kirby stages are bright and colourful, this one is darker and more imposing. It captures the look and feel of Revenge of Meta Knight really well.
I do wish you spent more time on the Halberd itself though. It feels like you spend more time watching it in the background than it actually doing anything in the fight. Still the Halberd is cool enough that I don’t mind just watching it fly around. Pretty good stage.
Overall Grade: B
Lylat Cruise
Lylat Cruise is such a cool stage. The layout is simple, but it’s one of the most visually stunning stages in the game. As the name implies it’s a tour of the Star Fox universe, visiting various planets and settings from the Star Fox games like giant space battles and asteroid fields.
This is a stage that’s all about spectacle. It isn’t heavy on gimmicks as its goal is to wow you with impressive visuals, and it absolutely succeeds in that. It's like being on a motion ride at a theme park, it may not be as intense as a roller coaster, but you don’t ride those for the sheer thrill, you ride them for the experience. In fact, this stage kind of reminds me of the Disney ride Star Tours, so my comparison is kind of apt.
Normally I like my stages to have some kind of an interesting gimmick, but I don’t think that would work here. It has a different goal in mind, and it nails it with flying colours. Plus, the layout of the stage is unique enough that it still makes it fun to play.
Overall Grade: A
Pokémon Stadium 2
A stage so nice they did it twice. Pokémon Stadium 2 is the same basic premise as the first one, a basic stadium style stage that changes into one of 4 different forms as you fight on it. The default layout is the same as the original, but the forms are completely different.
The different forms are a little bit more interesting. Each are based on a different type and some even have some added gimmicks thrown in like the air currents in the air form and the conveyer belts in the electric. Plus, they have actual Pokémon in them this time. I mean, it is Pokémon Stadium after all.
But at its core it’s just Pokémon Stadum redux and that isn’t a bad thing. The original Pokémon Stadium was already a great stage so why fix what wasn’t broken. At the very least the new forms help Stadium 2 stand out from its predecessor. It also looks a lot nicer too, this feels more like a stadium to me, and they even use the monitor in the background to show which form it’ll change into which is a nice touch.
Is this better than the original Pokémon Stadium? I'd say it’s about the same level of quality, maybe slightly better but only by a slim margin. You can’t go wrong with either of them, it’s a matter of preference in which one you like more.
Overall Grade: A
Port Town Aero Dive
This stage is just fun. It's another transport stage only this takes place on an F-Zero racetrack. This idea was done in Melee in the Mute City stage, but it’s much better here. Not only are the locations more varied and interesting but you can knock opponents into the tracks walls while moving on the transport platform.
Add in dodging the F-Zero racers and you have a fast, frantic, but very fun stage. And I do mean fast. This one moves at blazing speed, and it can be hard to keep up with it at times. But that’s kind of fitting isn’t it, I mean it is a F-Zero themed stage. Have you seen the F-Zero games? They’re pretty goddamn fast.
I'm not a big fan of how this looks though, mainly due to the colour palette. I love the look of a futuristic space port I just wish the colours weren’t so dull. It's especially bad when put side by side with other F-Zero stages which are much brighter and colourful. Mind you the stage moves by so quickly you probably won’t have time to soak up the visuals anyway.
Quick aside, I noticed something a little odd. On the stage selection screen every stage has the logo of the game these stages are from in the top corner. Well for some reason, Port Town Aero Dive has it on twice. I don’t know if that’s a glitch or something, it’s just something weird I noticed while writing this.
Overall Grade: B
Castle Siege
We’ve had castle stages, now here’s a castle stage while it’s under attack. This is the first Fire Emblem stage, and unlike future stages which were based on actual locations from the games, this one is more based on the idea of Fire Emblem. Massive medieval military battles, that kind of thing.
It's a fitting premise for a fighting game stage, and it even has a cool gimmick. As the fight progresses, the stage will shift between 3 different forms. You'll start on top of the castle, descend into the interior, and then finally descend even further into the depths of hell. Ok it’s just a lava cavern, but still, what the hell?
The last section really brings the stage down in my opinion. Not only is it out of place it also just feels boring to play. The other 2 parts are fine though. The opening section on top of the castle is fun, and the interior has some destructible elements thrown in and it’s great fun. So overall, it’s an alright stage. 2/3 ain’t bad, I guess.
Overall Grade: B
Distant Planet
I’ve complained about stages that don’t have much in the way of gimmicks, but here’s an example of the exact opposite. Distant Planet has too much going on. You've got the rain that pours down the slope one occasion, the Bulbord that appears to one side that tries to eat you, the Onions that can produce items if you throw pellets at them, the leaf platforms that drop when you stand on them. I'll give them credit for incorporating a lot of elements from the Pikmin games, but they went a bit overboard here.
This wouldn’t be so bad if the actual layout was decent, but that has its own problems. The big issue is just how cramped it all feels. The stage feels like it crams everything to one side of the screen. It doesn’t help that two thirds of the screen real-estate is dedicated to the Bulbord, who isn’t there half the time which only makes things even more claustrophobic.
It doesn’t even look all that good. I like the natural setting, but the background is just boring to look at. Distant Planet is kind of a mess. I never liked it in Brawl and I'm not too fond of it in Ultimate either. It’s not among the series worst, it doesn’t piss me off like some others do, but it’s on the low end when it comes to Smash Bros stages.
Overall Grade: D
Smashville
Smashville is a perfectly basic stage. It isn’t flashy, it doesn’t have much in the way of interesting gimmicks, it’s just a nice simple stage.it isn’t great but it isn’t too bad. I mean it’s not like there was much to work with, Animal Crossing isn’t exactly a series that translates well to fighting games.
I will give it this though, it definitely captures the charm of Animal Crossing. The characters mucking around in the back, the town bustling in the backdrop, even the platform being made of wood adds to the overall charms. The stage even changes depending on the time of day you play it on. Play it on a Saturday evening and K.K slider will do a concert for you.
So yeah, it’s a perfectly simple, charming stage. Not much more to say on it really.
Overall Grade: C
New Pork City
Ever since Melee Sakurai had this thing where he tried to give every Smash the “biggest stage ever”. Every giant stage since Temple has progressively gotten bigger and bigger to the point of absurdity. New Pork City isn’t the worst example of this, but it still suffers from the problem all giant stages do, it’s too frigging big.
You're either too closed in and thus rendering most of the stage unused or too spread out which makes it difficult to keep track of anything. It never strikes a good balance. And because it’s so big, the Chimera that shows up barely has a presence. It can kill you in one hit so it should be an intimidating threat, but it’s so easy to avoid you’ll hardly notice it.
On top of that, the layout isn’t even that great. It feels like something made in the stage builder, random platforms everywhere with no real cohesion to its design. And while I love the theme park city idea for the aesthetic and the amount of detail in the background is impressive, there’s honestly too much detail to the point where it becomes hard to looks at.
This stage isn’t very good. And the worst part is that it isn’t the worst giant stage in Brawl. There's worse to come. Much, much worse.
Overall grade: D
Summit
When the Ice Climbers appeared in Melee they got their own stage with Icicle Mountain. It was a godawful mess and one of the worst stages in Smash history. So in Brawl they got a brand-new stage in the form of Summit, and it is much better.
First up, the stage is gorgeous. It really captures the natural beauty of the arctic with some impressive details in the background. I especially like the little cavern on the lower level. I also like that they threw in some elements from the game like the polar bear enemies and the fruit to make it feel more like an Ice Climbers stage and not a generic mountaintop.
But it isn’t just the top of the mountain you’ll be fighting on. As the fight goes on the mountain top will break off, slide down and you’ll end up fighting the ocean. It adds a dynamic element to the stage and helps keep you on your toes. Even the fish from Balloon Fight appears to drag players down if they stay in the water too long. Nice little cameo there.
Summit is a blast to play. It even had some of the best music in Brawl so I would often pick it for that reason alone. Plus, it has an Aurora Borealis.
Couldn’t resist.
Overall Grade: B
Skyworld
Skyworld is a weird stage to go back to. Keep in mind that this stage debuted well before Kid Icarus Uprising, which brought a new sense of character and personality to the series it didn’t really have before. When Pit was brought into Brawl he was still being based on the old NES and Game Boy games as that was all they had at the time.
So Skyworld feels like a bit of an awkward middle step between the NES game and Uprising. The stage just feels like a generic Greek Mythology stage with little in the way of references to the Kid Icarus games. That said, I do love me some Greek mythology, and the aesthetics of the stage are still appealing even if they lack any real character of their own.
The main gimmick of this stage is the breakable platforms. I like destructible elements in stages, but I'm not a fan of it here. Mainly because you can’t go through the platforms, it’s only when you break them that you can move through the cloud beneath them. This makes the stage a bit awkward to play, though it is fun seeing people ricochet off the platforms when you land a big hit.
Skyworld is pretty meh. I can’t be too harsh on it because it was made at a very different time. It's an awkward stage to go back to in a post Uprising world. Luckily that will change as we move forward, for better and for worse.
Overall Grade: C
Shadow Moses Island
I like Shadow Moses Island, but part of me feels like they could have done more with it. I love the use of the searchlights and Metal Gear in the stage, but they’re purely visual and don’t have any impact on the fight.
They could have done more with them like having the Metal Gear attack players in its line of sight or have the spotlights snipe people when they catch them, it would have added some stealthy elements to the stage fitting its source. The breakable walls do add a dynamic element to the stage though, and overall it’s still a very fun stage to play, I just wish they did more with it.
Not a fan of it visually either. When the Metal Gear shows up it does become more visually interesting, but most of the time it just looks like a generic military base. The music is awesome though and really helps elevate it. “Calling to the Night” alone makes it worth picking.
Overall Grade: B
Luigi’s Mansion
Luigi’s Mansion is such a cool stage and one of my personal favourites. Aside from perfectly capturing the look and feel of its inspiration it’s also just a damn fun stage to play, mainly because you can destroy the whole thing.
And unlike other stages where the destructible elements will reform after a short while, this one only reforms after you bring the house down completely. Almost as if the house dies before resurrecting itself, a perfect fit for the setting. Plus, having the mansion be destroyed during the fight just adds to the chaotic nature of it.
And I can’t stress enough how good this stage looks. They captured the look of the mansion down perfectly, right down to the rooms being based on rooms you would visit in the game. I love the little details in this.
I also loved the music in this stage, sadly because of how Ultimate works with its music you can’t play that awesomely creepy Tetris remix on it anymore. But that’s my only real complaint with this, which says a lot for how good this stage is.
Overall Grade: A
Pirate Ship
This was another favourite stage of mine in Brawl. I think I just liked the idea of it more than anything, I mean you’re battling on a pirate ship for god’s sake, how could you not love that.
It also helps that I loved the Wind Waker art style. That cel-shaded look it went with has really stood the test of time and Smash did a really good job of capturing it while keeping within its own style. The canons that appear are a fun addition and help keep you on your toes. Sometimes you’ll even crash into the rocks and be forced to battle on them for a bit.
There’s a number of different things that can happen, which can make things a little chaotic. Unlike other stages with this issue however, Pirate Ship is a fairly decent size giving you much more room to maneuver around. So, things never get to the point where you lose track of what’s going on, most of the time anyway.
Pirate Ship is still a stage I really like. The only thing about it I hate is that stupid catapult. I don’t know what it is, but I always get hit by it and it pisses me off. It's not even hard to avoid, I just have the worst luck with it.
Overall Grade: B
Spear Pillar
I feel like Spear Pillar would be a really good stage if it was in half. If you cut out the tunnel part of the stage and just focused on the top platform it would be a whole lot better. As is, it’s just a little bit too big for its own good.
I like that this stage puts more of an emphasis on the Legendary Pokémon. The big gimmick of this stage is that the legendries of Diamond and Pearl will show up to mess with the fight. I will admit that some of the things they do are more annoying that fun, looking at you Dialga, but those effects don’t show up that often.
This stage feels like they took the Pokéball item and made a stage around it, and since that’s one of my favourite items this stage does have some appeal to me. The size is ultimately what kills the stage for me. Again, if it was just cut in half, it would be so much better. As is, it’s only just ok.
Overall Grade: C
75m
Oh no. I was not looking forward to this. I’m not going to beat around the bush with this one, 75m is fucking awful. It's one of the worst, most poorly conceived stages in all of Smash history. Nobody likes it, nobody picks it, and yet they keep bringing it back. Why? What do you see in this that we don’t Sakurai?
I honestly don’t know where to begin, this stage feels like a microcosm of everything that could go wrong with a stage. It ticks off all the boxes. Being too large? Check. Platforms that are too small? Check. Hazards that are more annoying than fun? Oh you better believe that’s a check. It gets everything wrong. I’m almost impressed, it’s almost masterful in how much they fucked up here.
But the big issue here is that it’s bad on a conceptual level. So, you’re making a stage that’s a direct recreation of a level in the original Donkey Kong. Now that seems like a bad idea already, especially given stages like Mushroomy Kingdom, but let’s roll with it. Why use 75m? Why not use 25m? Not only would that be a better fit for Smash Bros, but it’s also far more iconic.
I just don’t get it. You decide to make a stage that recreates a level from Donkey Kong, and you don’t use the one everyone knows. How do you fuck that up?! Even Ultimate’s improvements don’t save it. I'm glad the camera is zoomed out at all times now so I can see everything, but that just means the bottom is harder to play on since the health percentages get in the way. That's right, an improvement also makes the stage worse. You cannot save this stage.
Oh, and let’s not forget the Pauline spirit battle. I know there’s an easy way to do it, but we didn’t know that when we first played this. I'm pretty sure those of us that played this game early have PTSD from that shit. If you didn’t hate this stage before, you most definitely hated it afterwards.
This is just the pits. And you know what the worst part is, this isn’t even the worst stage in the game. There's one more that’s even worse. Heaven help me when I eventually get to that one.
Overall Grade: F
Mario Bros
When I was a kid, this was the stage in Brawl I hated the most. Worse than 75m, worse than Mushroomy Kingdom, I despised this stage. I even got rid of it in random select, that’s how much I hated it. You know what though, fuck it I still hate it, but it isn’t as bad as it once was.
Having the camera always be zoomed out is a god send for. While it’s still hard to keep track of everything at times, it’s been made so much more manageable just by being able to see the full stage at all times. At least now you won’t be blindsided by an enemy you couldn’t see coming.
But the underlying problems this stage had are still here. Hitting opponents with the Mario Bros enemies is a fun concept, but it does not work all that well in practice. Because of how much knock back they have, it means that fights here don’t last for very long. Even if you’re a good ways off from the edge, a hit from a crab or turtle can end you just like that.
Combine that with cramped, claustrophobic level design and you have a stage that just doesn’t work. I'll give Ultimate credit for improving it, but you can only do so much for something so inherently flawed.
Overall Grade: F
Hanenbow
I’ll give Hanenbow this, it’s unique. Being able to change the music by manipulating the platforms certainly helps it stand out, and with Ultimate allowing you to play more music on it you have a lot more to play around with. It's just a shame it just does not work.
The main issue with this idea is that by moving the platforms the stage becomes trickier to play on as the fight progresses. And you can’t really avoid it either, it will happen just as a natural result of the fight. And the platforms themselves were already a bit on the small side, it already starts out a little awkward and just gets worse from there.
The one saving grace it has is its visuals. The simple shapes and bright colours give it a very trippy look, it’s very relaxing. I can’t bring myself to hate Hanenbow, but it’s not a good stage.
Overall Grade: D
Green Hill Zone
I know this setting has become incredibly overused in recent years, but credit where it’s due this was one of the earliest examples of it being brought back. This is a pretty good rendition of Green Hill Zone with a lot of its familiar elements. You've got the flowers, the bridge, rings, checkpoint signs and even the iconic loop de loop. Tails Knuckles and Silver get in on the action by running through the loop, which is bullshit since Silver cannot run fast enough to go through it but whatever.
They also kept the original background from the first Sonic game intact for the background. Everything about this just gives me a warm nostalgic feeling, which isn’t something you can say for its most recent appearances. I mean even the water is done like it’s in 16-bits.
The stage layout is only just ok though. Not a huge fan of the sloped design. I know why they did it, it better represents the source material, but it makes fighting on it a little weird. I do like how the floor will crumble as you fight though, adds a little extra chaos to a stage that’s a little flat, figuratively speaking that is. Not sure why checkpoints are a hazard though, that’s the opposite of what they’re supposed to do.
Overall Grade: B
And that’s it for all the Brawl stages. Next time we’ll be looking at the stages for Super Smash Bros on Nintendo 3DS. And this one is going to have a theme since Smash 3DS had an emphasis on Nintendo’s handheld history. See you next time.