Alongside the mammoth announcement of Mewtwo’s return as a playable character, the Nintendo Direct for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U revealed a ton of new details about the game’s stage selection. In my review of the 3DS game, I noted that the stage selection was perhaps a weak spot, especially the returning stages – luckily that doesn’t seem to be the case here.
The list is pretty massive and likely to continue to grow, so for now I’ll break the new stages down for you here:
Super Mario series:
Mario Galaxy and Mushroom Kingdom U were the only stages we already knew about here, but four more stages were revealed and boy are they are a good looking selection. Mushroomy Kingdom isn’t anywhere to be seen! Mario Circuit appears from Mario Kart 8 and appears to be a fly-around course, much like the 3DS’ Rainbow Road. It is joined by three returning stages, each from Smash Bros Brawl – Mario Circuit, Delfino Plaza and Luigi’s Mansion. Quite honestly, Delfino Plaza and Luigi’s Mansion were two of the best stages on Brawl, so the Mario representation in the Wii U game is looking great.
The Legend of Zelda series:
While the impressive looking fly-around stage Skyloft is so far the only new Zelda stage, it’s joined by fan-favourite series staple Hyrule Temple and also by Bridge of Eldin, from Smash Bros. Brawl. Nothing overly exciting, but it’s always good to see Hyrule Temple make a return.
Pokemon series:
The Kalos Pokemon League stage was finally given its official introduction during the Direct after months of teasing and wow does it look stunning. It looks visually beautiful without being too wacky. Meanwhile, eagle-eyed Smash fans have spotted that one of the Event Match icons shows Pokemon Stadium 2 from Brawl, so it’s a safe bet to say that’s returning.
Star Fox series:
The all-new Orbital Gate Assault stage is looking fantastic – though we could do with seeing it some more – and I was ecstatic to see Lylat Cruise from Brawl get confirmed to return. It’s a shame though that the Wii U isn’t looking likely to have Corneria, but it may end up with Sector Z from Smash 64 if we’re lucky.
Donkey Kong series:
Thank god Rumble Falls isn’t returning. Instead, the Donkey Kong franchise has the honour of having the first ever dual plane Smash stage – Jungle Hijinks. You’ll be able to fight in the foreground and the background, which is pretty awesome actually. Alongside this, it would appear that Congo Jungle from Smash 64 is also returning! Nice! Strangely, 75m is also making a comeback. 75m was, in my opinion, one of the worst stages in Brawl – but there’s always got to be one, am I right?
Kirby series:
Kirby is getting a new, absolutely colossal stage called The Great Cave Offensive. The stage features hazard zones that will immediately KO you if you are over 100% – not sure how I feel about that. In fact, The Great Cave Offensive doesn’t look all that appealling to me but we will see for sure. Halberd is returning from Brawl, which is a cool cinematic stage.
Metroid series:
The all-new Pyrosphere stage features Ridley as a boss character! Well, while that’ll certainly disappoint a lot of people, his inclusion looks about as close to having him playable as possible. You can get him on your side and even KO him for points! As far as returning stages go, Norfair is returning from Brawl. I’d personally like to see Planet Zebes from Smash 64, but I like Norfair too.
Fire Emblem series:
Considering Fire Emblem got its first stage in Brawl, it’s no surprise to see Castle Siege making a return. The new Coliseum stage also looks fantastic, despite it being a walk-off stage. Not much to say here!
Animal Crossing series:
It’s funny – Town and City, the new stage for Wii U, and Smashville, a returning stage from Brawl, are nearly identical stages. Am I complaining? Not one bit. Smashville was one of the best stages in Brawl and Town and City looks to be continuing that trend.
Yoshi’s Island series:
Two Yoshi stages have been revealed to us! Yoshi’s Island from Melee makes a surprise return, which is nice to see, though I’m not an enormous fan of the stage. However, a mysterious looking stage has been spotted on the stage list screen that looks remarkably like a Yoshi’s Woolly World stage. While there currently isn’t any official word, a Yoshi’s Woolly World stage would be phenomenal – even if the game isn’t out yet!
Kid Icarus series:
Palutena’s Temple looks set to carry on Hyrule Temple’s legacy (or it would, if Hyrule Temple hadn’t returned) of being an absolutely massive, detailed stage. Palutena, Viridi and other characters also appear similarly to the codecs on Shadow Moses Island in Brawl. Meanwhile, Skyworld appears from Brawl. Skyworld was a rather unassuming stage, but it’s cool to see it nonetheless.
Of course, there are several stages that are shared between the Wii U and 3DS versions – Boxing Ring, Final Destination, Battlefield (with Big Battlefield on the Wii U being used for 8-Player Smash), Gaur Plains (featuring Metal Face as a boss) and the fairly rubbish Wily Castle stage.
So far, the only Earthbound stage is Onett, returning once again from Melee. I would really like to see Magicant cross over from the 3DS game. Alongside that, Port Town Aero Dive is the only F-Zero stage returning so far as well. I’d love to see Melee’s Mute City make a comeback, wouldn’t you? Meanwhile, Sonic is represented by the all-new Windy Hill Zone, while Pac-Man gets the peculiar looking Pac-Land stage. Even Wii Fit Trainer is getting her own stage, being Wii Fit Studio!
There are a number of additional stages also – Pilotwings and Wuhu Island, both of which look amazing. ‘Gamer’ appears to be a Wario-themed stage, based off of the Game and Wario series. Interestingly, an all-new never seen before Wrecking Crew stage was also revealed. There’s still currently no Game & Watch stage, and no stage for Duck Hunt Duo either but I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to expect them to be unlockable, if they exist.
I believe that’s every single stage covered! The stage list for the Wii U game is shaping up to be absolutely stellar. Here’s hoping they keep coming!
