For every new game in Nintendo's beloved Super Smash Bros. series of crossover platform fighters, fan speculation seems to mostly be concerned with the "fighters" aspect, neglecting the main gameplay appeal separating the games from their competition:
Whether it's avoiding racers on a Mario Kart track or chasing rival fighters through Zelda's Temple, the Smash Bros. stages add a lot to the dynamics of a match (if you're brave enough to not disable stage hazards, that is) and can showcase further aspects of the represented franchises.
Consequently, we at EarlyGame had our own ideas for unique-looking and/or -feeling Smash Bros. stages which we'd like to see included in potential future games in the series. We've narrowed our choices down to 15 picks, one per franchise.
Players stand on the stormy wreck of the Gangplank Galleon with its tilted deck, masts, and yards offering a unique layout while showing Crocodile Isle in the distance. Crocodile Cauldron glows at sea level, Krem Quay's swampy port teems with brambles, and Krazy Kremland looms above with King Zing buzzing by. Occasional lightning reveals Kreepy Krow near Gloomy Gulch, while Kerozene breathes fire from K. Rool's Keep as The Flying Krock soars past. The stage captures DKC2's haunting charm and gives both Diddy Kong and King K. Rool a true home arena while finally representing DKC's non-jungle settings. | © Nintendo
A slightly labyrinthian, but cartoony laboratory, in which two pillars can be moved either up or down by players attacking switches spread around the battlefield, thus changing how others may access the play area (and potentially squishing opponents with the pillars if the timing is unfortunate enough). Professor Hector and Smicks eating turnips in the background decorate the stage. A switch-changing-the-stage gimmick like this is not yet in the game, potentially providing a innovative stage layouts, mechanics, settings (there is no other laboratory in the game) while finally providing a home stage to the R.O.B. franchise. | © Nintendo
An ancient mechanical Chozo temple bathed in light, Elun shows a side of the Metroid universe not reflected in its existing magma cavern stages. Highlight here are the X parasites, occasionally glimpsed in the background until the door opens, releasing a yellow X. This parasite tries to latch onto any fighter, briefly stunning them before morphing into a black, gooey duplicate that battles all others. The programming for this already exists with the Ditto Pokéball summon. Perfect as Raven Beak's home stage if he were added as a fighter, assuming an E.M.M.I. Zone is unavailable due to them becoming an assist trophy. | © Nintendo
While the uniquely calming atmosphere of standing on the tip of a pier reaching into the lake, looking back to the shore where the bass shop hut, trees and bridge can be seen may seem boring at first, its main feature would be the characters in the background. Smash Bros. rarely features crossovers in the stages themselves, but think of all the fishing minigames that could be represented by implying that there's a franchise-spanning fishing enthusiasts meeting happening here, featuring iconic faces like Shigesato Itoi, the Fisherman from Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Big the Cat, Lakitu, Chip from Animal Crossing, etc... | © Nintendo
Remedying Smash Bros.' lack of food-themed stages, this stage would spawn strawberries from time to time, the consumption of which adds a tiny noticeable multiplier to the respective player's size, reflecting the aim of growing as large as possible from Kirby's Dream Buffet. When there’s only one stock/minute left, like on Hollow Bastion, the stage transforms to mirror one of the minigame arenas from the finale sections of the game, thus providing even more unique layouts and gimmicks by, for example, featuring a tea cup in the centre or patty platforms above a sizzling grill floor. | © Nintendo
Inspired by the level Many Fish in the Sea from Yoshi's Crafted World, this arts-and-crafts stage lets players battle on the floor or on string-hung flatfish, with a round clownfish offering trickier footing. Spiky Blowfish deal damage, while crabs, squids, corals, and a Blockafeller animate the scene. Occasionally, the camera flips 180°, revealing the stage’s papercraft “backside,” true to the original game's Flip Side gimmick. It would give a stage the newer Yoshi games with their distinct artstyle, while also being the only feasible way of representing underwater stages in Smash Bros. without having to incorporate water physics. | © Nintendo
Set on an elevated grassy platform, this vibrant stage features one of the game's signature block structures in the near background, with wind turbines and houses in the far background. Mallo occasionally pulls out sections of the structure, creating new platforms in the foreground for players to stand and fight on, while Colin sometimes jumps in to push them back and reset the layout. The constant reshaping keeps battles dynamic and unpredictable. Its bright, playful aesthetic and shifting terrain would bring both visual charm, mechanical charm and representation of a Nintendo hidden gem to the series. | © Nintendo
Set during the clash of Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza, the stage centers on Groudon's rocky platform, with water levels and thus play area shifting based on the weather. Reflecting Pokémon lore, the stage randomly loads in its version from the Classic timeline, featuring minor water changes and characters like Anabel, Juan, and classic Archie and Maxie in the background; or from the Mega timline, with larger tides caused by the Primal forms and the character's modern designs alongside Zinnia and Wallace on the redesigned island. With Santorini-inspired architecture lining the crater walls, the stage would have a unique visual identity while finally giving Gen III some representation. | © The Pokémon Company
A Nintendo Labo-themed stage where players can enter and exit a cardboard house, manipulating its interior by interacting with objects outside, thus triggering floods, time shifts, or moving parts like hamster wheels. As an homage to Game Builder Garage, it would be interesting to see one of the events spawning floating nodes, which can be launched into each other via attacks and thus become connected mid-battle to make NPCs perform different actions. Both concepts emphasize interactivity and creativity, perfectly reflecting the experimental spirit and hands-on design philosophy of Nintendo Labo. | © Nintendo
Set at the height of the putting green, this stage overlooks the fairway, pond, and woods from the original game. Trees on both sides restrict KOs, so you better try to launch your opponents upwards or aim for the oversized putting hole which is part of the play area, which sits in a lowered green to ease knockouts. Nearby sand bunkers can slow movement, further shaping gameplay. Ossan and the VS. Ladies Golf heroine appear in the background to represent Nintendo's classic Sports series, while the course's unique layout and the aim of trying to catapult opponents into the hole would make it stand out gameplay-wise. | © AI-generated image
Using Wave Race's signature realistic water physics, players battle on a floating beach-bar platform that tilts with the waves. The motion is influenced by passing Wave Racers, dolphins, and the fighters' own actions, such as jumping or tossing items into the water. Despite the movement, the stage remains anchored to the sea floor by a chain, preventing it from completely catapulted away by any physics jank. This design uniquely captures Wave Race’s fluid mechanics, thus representing a series that is extremely unlikely to ever receive its own fighter, while fixing the absence of truly unique beach-themed stages in Smash. | © Nintendo
A dim, flickering underground station viewed from the side, featuring a curved rail and partially open platform. Occasionally, a train arrives on the side of the stage, opening its door of the now-transparent car currently aligned at the same depth of the Z-axis with the playing field, allowing players to both look inside and enter/be catapulted into it. When the departure alarm sounds, the doors to the currently open car close, trapping anyone inside and carrying them off-screen. The setting's gritty tone based on the deep sea and its timing-based hazard create a uniquely tense and atmospheric stage unlike any currently in the game. | © Nintendo
Fighters battle on a shifting plain that Doshin reshapes in real time by raising terrain, lowering ground, and planting trees as he pleases. Villages and monuments dot the background, adding to the serene god-simulation atmosphere of the original. Due to his enormous size, only Doshin's hands actively intervene with the match, though players attacking them repeatedly may enrage him, transforming him into Jashin, who lashes out with damaging swipes. The evolving terrain creates a dynamic, semi-random layout. This stage would uniquely represent Doshin the Giant and the Nintendo 64DD in Smash. | © Nintendo
Set across golden fields divided by an arched bridge over a usually calm river, this stage mirrors Fates' central theme of choice between two families, featuring Corrin's adopted family on one side of the background and the real family on the other. During battle, Azura sometimes raises the river's flow, destroying the bridge and creating a waterspout that splits the field into two separate halves, with players quickly having to decide which side to stay on (though this would quickly fade if all remaining players happened to have picked separate sides as to not drag out the match). Visually striking and symbolic, it would finally give Corrin a true home stage as well as improving Fire Emblem's stage variety. | © Nintendo
Representing Mario Party as the final missing major Mario spin-off, this modest platform adrift at sea, where falling into the water triggers a swift removal by a Blooper, features the titular island from MP1 in the background. Occasionally, Tumble appears to announce classic minigames transforming the battlefield: Color-coded stage segments submerging in "Mushroom Mix-Up", ricocheting spheres being dropped in "Bumper Balls", explosives fired from the background in "Bombs Away", a slowly-spinning fiery jumping rope in "Hot Rope Jump", a Hammer Bro attack in "Hammer Drop", the stage tilting with the players in "Coin Shower Flower", etc... | © Nintendo
Since the stages form a decisive, yet underappreciated part of any match in the Super Smash Bros. series, we at EarlyGame had our own ideas for unique-looking and/or -feeling ones which we'd like to see included in potential future games in the series. We've narrowed our choices down to 15 picks, one per franchise.
