CHARACTERS
Nobody. Everyone is here!
STAGES
Smash 64
- Sector Z (Star Fox) - only appeared in 64. Functionally identical to Corneria. EDIT: I stand corrected, apparently Sector Z is much bigger than Corneria. Apologies, I've never played the original Smash 64.
- Planet Zebes (Metroid) - Also only appeared in 64. Functionally identical to Brinstar. EDIT: Actually very different from Brinstar. My bad.
- Meta Crystal (Smash Bros.) - Only playable in Classic Mode (where Metal Mario was fought), This stage was not playable in multiplayer without hacking. No surprise it didn't return, but an HD coat of paint would make this stage look AMAZING.
Melee
- Icicle Mountain (Ice Climber) - A vertically scrolling stage exclusive to Melee. Not the most popular stage, and likely cut due to complications with Stage Morph.
- Flat Zone (Game & Watch) - All Flat Zone 1 minigames were compiled with those of Flat Zone 2 in Flat Zone X, introduced in Smash 4.
- Mute City [Melee ver.] (F-Zero) - While mostly identical to Port Town Aero Dive, I've seen some remorse that the original Mute City hasn't returned.
- Mushroom Kingdom [Melee ver.] (Super Mario) - With the amount of Mushroom Kingdoms in this game already, it's not surprising why they favored the 64 version of this stage and cut this one.
- Poké Floats (Pokémon) - A fan favourite, nobody really knows why this stage was cut. Many people (myself included) are hoping for an updated Poké Floats stage as DLC that includes floats of new Pokémon. Until then, this stage is stuck in Melee. sobs uncontrollably
Brawl
- Rumble Falls (Donkey Kong) - Ugh. Another vertical scrolling stage that was likely cut for the same reasons as Icicle Mountain. Good riddance, I say.
- Flat Zone 2 (Game & Watch) - All Flat Zone 2 minigames were compiled with those of Flat Zone 1 in Flat Zone X, introduced in Smash 4.
- PictoChat (DS) - PictoChat 2 effectively replaced this stage, but PC1 still had some exclusive stage hazards.
- Mushroomy Kingdom 1-2 (Super Mario) - This is a weird one. When selecting Mushroomy Kingdom in Brawl, there is a 50% chance for the layout of the stage to resemble World 1-2 from the original Super Mario Bros. This function was cut in Smash 4, and once again in Ultimate. World 1-1 reappeared in Smash 3DS, and again in Ultimate.
Wii U/3DS
- Pac-Maze (PAC-MAN) - Widely accepted to be the superior Pac-Man stage, this got cut for unknown reasons, likely due to the stage having a gimmick where each player needs their own screens.
- Rainbow Road (Super Mario) - A travelling stage based on Mario Kart 7's Rainbow Road. A beautiful stage, which means the transition to HD must have been particularity daunting, hence it being cut.
- Pyrosphere (Metroid) - Due to everyone's favourite big boi joining the battle, this stage's main schtick is gone. It theoretically could have still worked as a stage, but it's not surprising that it's cut. Due to this stage being cut, The most recent Metroid stage is from Brawl, 10 years ago.
- Woolly World (Yoshi) - Probably the most bizarre stage exclusion. There's nothing immediately obvious that would suggest this stage needed to be cut, but a likely theory is that it was cut due to Yoshi's Crafted World releasing next year. Lame excuse for it to be cut, but alas. Like Pyrosphere, the absence of this stage means that the most recent Yoshi stage is from Brawl.
- Jungle Hijinxs (Donkey Kong) - A stage with a unique gimmick-- the ability to fight on different planes of the field; the foreground, and background. This was probably cut due to stage morph. Like the above two stages, the absence of this stage means that the most recent Donkey Kong stage is from Brawl.
- Orbital Gate Assault (Star Fox) - One of the most graphically intense stages in Smash 4, its not much of a surprise this one was cut. Sakurai has gone on record saying that this stage took over a year to complete, and seeing as it wasn't received very positively, it likely wasn't worth updating the graphics for Ultimate. I liked it anyways. Like the above 3 stages, the absence of this stage means that the most recent Star Fox stage is from Brawl.
- Miiverse (Miiverse) - The closure of the Miiverse service renders this stage obsolete. It's a re-skin of Battlefield with art posts from the Smash Bros. Miiverse community occasionally showing up in the background. No surprise why this is gone.
ITEMS
Barrel Cannon, Cloaking Device, Cracker Launcher, Fan (the biggest loss hands-down), Flipper, Parasol, Red Shell, Spring, Team Healer
ASSIST TROPHIES
Barbara the Bat,
Dark Samus, Elec Man, Excitebikes, Helirin, Infantry and Tanks,
Isabelle, Jill, Kat & Ana, Lakitu and Spinies,
Little Mac, Magnus, Mr. Resetti, Ray MK. III, Saki Amamiya, Tingle
*Dark Samus, Isabelle and Little Mac have all become fighters following their roles as Assists; Little Mac in Smash 4, and Isabelle and Dark Samus in Ultimate.
POKEMON
Articuno, Beedrill, Blastoise, Bonsly, Celebi, Chansey,
Charizard, Chikorita, Clefairy, Cyndaquil, Groudon, Gulpin, Hitmonlee,
Ho-Oh, Jirachi, Koffing,
Manaphy, Marill, Munchlax, Onix, Piplup, Porygon2, Raikou, Starmie, Torchic, Unown, Venusaur, Weavile, Weezing, Wobbuffet and Zapdos.
*Charizard has become a fighter following its roles as a Poké Ball Pokémon. Ho-Oh and Manaphy appear as stage hazards in Kalos Pokémon League.
BOSSES
- Petey Piranha - The first boss of Brawl's Subspace Emissary. Petey is now Piranha Plant's Final Smash.
- Duon - A boss unique to the Smash Bros. series introduced in Subspace Emissary. He appears as a spirit, but unlike it's "brother" Galleom, it does not return as a boss.
- Tabuu - The final boss of the Subspace Emissary. A fan favourite, many people were hoping he'd reappear in Ultimate as a secret boss. At least his badass music is back.
- Rayquaza - A legendary Pokémon that served as a boss against Diddy Kong and Fox in The Subspace Emissary. Not surprising why it didn't return due to being outdated by 4 Pokémon generations. It now appears as a stage hazard in Kalos Pokémon League. It's a shame Pokémon didn't get another character to serve as a boss in Rayquaza's place, such as Necrozma.
- Porky - A boss that hails from the EarthBound series. Strangely, in addition to Porky not returning as a boss, he is almost completely absent from the game altogether, is spider-mech does not appear as a spirit (although the Absolutely-Safe Capsule from Mother 3 does). This has made some people believe he could be DLC.
- Ridley - Pretty self-explanitory why this boss got cut.
- Meta Ridley - See above.
- Master Core - The "final boss" of Smash 4's classic mode, Master Core is only fightable on at least Intensity 5.1 or higher. It has 5 different forms, being Master Giant, Master Beast, Master Edges, Master Shadow, and Master Fortress. Fighting it is quite a slog, especially when Master Fortress appears on Intensity 8.0 or higher. It wouldn't fit in very well in Ultimate's streamlined Classic Mode.
MII COSTUMES
Sets
- X Set (Mega Man)
- Proto Man Set (Mega Man)
- MegaMan.EXE Set (Mega Man)
- Zero Set (Mega Man)
- Jacky Set (Virtua Fighter)
- Akira Set (Virtua Fighter)
- Heihachi Set (Tekken)
- Lloyd Irving Set (Tales of Symphonia)
- Rathalos Set (Monster Hunter)
- Hunter Set (Monster Hunter)
- Geno Set (Super Mario RPG)
- Knuckles Set (Sonic)
- Tails Set (Sonic)
- Gil Set (Tower of Druaga)
- Samurai Set
Other Missing Costumes
Headgear: Teddy Bear Hat, Beehive Wig, Cat Ears, Chef Hat, Chicken Hat, Chocobo Hat (Final, Fantasy), Cowboy Hat, Cow Skull Hat, Dog Ears, Fancy Pirate Hat, Football Helmet, Frog Hat, Hibiscus, Lion Hat, Mage Robe, Master Gardener’s Crown, Mii Force Helmet, Mini Top Hat, Panda Hat, Red Ribbon, Red Shell Hat, Santa Hat, Spartan Helmet, Straw Hat, Swimming Cap, Wedding Veil
Outfits: Hoodie, Neon Suit, Plate Armor
Interestingly, every single third-party Mii costume has been cut in Ultimate for unknown reasons. Sorry, Geno fans.
sniff
MUSIC
- Mario - Ground Theme 2 (Brawl)
- DK - Barrel Blast
- Zelda - Midna's Lament
- Zelda - The Great Sea
- Zelda - Molgera
- Metroid - VS. Parasite Queen (Brawl)
- Kirby - Checker Knights
- Kirby - Forest / Nature Area (Original)
- Pokemon - Battle! (Wild Pokémon) (Diamond/Pearl) (Wii U/3DS)
- Kid Icarus - Wrath of the Reset Bomb (Original)
- Kid Icarus - Dark Pit
- Pikmin - Ai No Uta
- Pikmin - Ai No Uta (French)
- Pikmin - Tane no Uta
- Metal Gear - Theme of Solid Snake (Original)
- Sonic - Right There, Ride On
- Other - Famicom Medley (Brawl)
MODES
Single/Multiplayer
- Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary - Brawl's divisive Story Mode. Many people loved it, many people didn't. I personally loved playing through it, but asking for a Subspace 2 for Ultimate was just silly. Remember, people have to sit down and script each and every character's story and create CGI cutscenes.
- All-Star Mode - The classic All-Star mode was ditched in Ultimate in favour of "All-Star Smash," an endless fight against the entire cast in Mob Smash. Due to the absence of trophies, there would be no incentive to complete it with every character, which is a very time consuming task in of itself. Regardless, it will be missed.
- Rotation Mode - Cut in Smash 4, this mode allowed for continuous rotation of 5 or more players. 8-Player Smash renders it somewhat obsolete, but it would still be nice to have in the case that 9 or more people are present.
- Bonus Mode - Only present in Melee, this mode determined the winner by the amount of points players earned by performing certain tasks in a match, such as only KOing opponents with throws.
- Coin Battle - Oh, this was cut? You probably didn't notice, because nobody ever played it anyways.
- Special Orders - A side mode in Smash 4 that served as a great way to get trophies, custom moves, and equipment. It involves completing missions from Master and Crazy Hand to earn rewards.
- Event Match - Essentially replaced by Spirit Battles, Event Matches were battles with special conditions. Some were tons of fun, others... weren't. glares at Kirby's Crazy Appetite
- Stadium - Stadium mode as a whole has been cut from Ultimate, which was a side mode that included some fun minigames.
- Home-Run Contest - For me, this is the most upsetting omission from Ultimate. It's been a staple in the series since Melee, so it being gone feels like something's missing. Fingers crossed it gets added in a future patch.
- Target Test - There used to be a unique Break the Targets stage for every character in Melee before being replaced with only 5 different stages in Brawl. Asking for unique BTT stages for every character is another request I've seen that makes me shake my head. That's over SEVENTY unique stage designs. Sakurai and his team are only humans.
- Target Blast - Angry Birds. That's it.
- Board the Platforms - One of the bonus games in the original Smash 64. Involves landing on 10 platforms spread across a stage as quickly as possible. Hasn't been around since 1999, so it's doubtful this mode will ever return.
- Boss Battles - A Boss Rush mode that challenges you to beat all 10 of Brawl's bosses back-to-back with minimal healing. This mode was remembered for its brutal difficulty, and its odd how it hasn't returned in Ultimate despite bosses returning.
- Multi-man Smash - Everyone's favourite mode/s has been renamed to Mob Smash, but many sub modes have been cut.
- 10-man Smash - Fight 10 painfully idiotic CPUs as fast as possible.
- 3 minute Smash - Defeat as many CPUs as you can in 3 minutes.
- 15 minute Smash - Defeat as many CPUs as you can in 15 minutes. Such engaging gameplay.
- Rival Smash - Defeat more CPUs than your "rival," another CPU fighter who battles you on the same stage.
- Endless Smash - You get the idea.
- Smash Run - Smash 3DS's exclusive mode. Actually very fun. It involves fighing tons of enemies in a massive stage and collecting upgrades to your stats to win in the final battle. While flawed, this mode was tons of fun and it's unlikely future addition to Ultimate would be welcome.
- Bootleg Mario Party Smash Tour - Smash Wii U's exclusive mode. Not only was it massively unpopular, it also needs to be played to unlock the worst stage in the game. It won't be missed.
- StreetSmash - A fun little minigame that involves smashing other tokens off a 2D stage. You get a token whenever you StreetPass tag another person with Smash 3DS.
Vault
- Trophy Gallery - A place to view the trophies you've collected and the corresponding blurb for each. Trophies are easily the biggest feature cut from Ultimate, but it's understandable why. Translating hundreds of flavour texts into almost a dozen languages is a MASSIVE undertaking.
- Trophy Hoard - Allows you to view all your trophies at once and arrange them in specific patterns.
- Trophy Lottery - A mode in Melee that gave you a random trophy in exchange for coins. Replaced by the Coin Launcher in Brawl.
- Coin Launcher - Brawl's Answer to the Trophy Lottery. A minigame that is played on a pinball-esque machine where you can shoot coins to defeat enemies and unlock trophies. Replaced by Trophy Rush in Smash 4.
- Trophy Rush - A minigame that involves collecting as many trophies as possible by. You can spend coins to increase how long you play for. Essentially replaced Coin Launcher in Smash 4.
- Trophy Shop - A shop where you can buy trophies. Duh.
- Trophy Box - A mode in Smash Wii U where you can view certain trophies in the same series/ category in a display case. Very satisfying to look at.
- Diorama Mode - Lets you pose your trophies and take snapshots. It was always a cool feature, but I feel like it was always held back by the fact that you could only use 4 trophies at once.
- Sticker Album - A place where you can view all the stickers you've collected in Brawl.
- Sticker Center - A place where you can apply stickers and their benefits to characters to be used in the Subspace Emissary.
- Stage Builder - Another disappointing omission. Appearing in both Brawl and Smash 4, it was never quite developed in a way that everyone liked. Regardless, it has its fans, and it's a shame its gone.
- Photo Album - An album where you could sort screenshots. The Switch's built-in screenshot function renders this obsolete.
- Masterpieces - A side mode where you could play a short demo of several classics, such as the original Balloon Fighter or Super Mario World. Due to the death of Virtual Console, its not surprised why this was cut.
- Chronicle - A list of just about every single Nintendo-published title up to March 2008. It was sort of just there, but it was always cool to look back at a list of Nintendo's history. It was cut in Smash 4.
Online
- With Friends - Allows you to play with Friends on your Friend's List (can somebody tell me why this hasn't returned? It's much more simple than Battle Arena's)
- With Anyone - Replaced by Quickplay.
For Fun - AKA Weenie Hut General. Don't lie, you never actually used this.
For Glory - AKA Salty Spitoon. Despite its infamous status, I'm sure many people are missing it right now, given Ultimate's current online status.
Conquest - A system where specific characters are placed in teams. Players automatically participate in Conquest when they play as a character that's listed.
Tourney (Online) - The ability to make online tournaments with custom rulesets.
Share - The ability to share screenshots, replays, custom stages and Mii Fighters online. Odd that this hasn't returned.
MINIGAMES
- Race to the Finish!/Run! - A bonus game in Smash 64, Melee and Smash 3DS. Involved running to the end of a long stage as quickly as possible. In Smash 3DS, the minigame is called Run!, and is a race between 4 players to a finish line.
- Snag the Trophies! - A bonus game in Melee's Classic Mode. that involves smacking three trophies into a container.
- Climb! - One of the final matches in Smash Run. Involves jumping as high as possible in an endless vertical stage. Falco's happy place.
POPULAR ALTERNATE COSTUMES
- Black Yoshi
- Fire Mario
- Half of Little Mac's alts
- Half of Buff Ike's alts
- Half of Skinny Ike's alts
- Female Robin's luscious red locks (sorry Etika)
- Blue-haired male Robin
- Black Olimar
- White Lucario
- Peach's Daisy alt
- Samus' Dark Samus alt
- Wario-coloured Mario
- Cupid Pit
- Choice Band Pikachu
- Shiny Mewtwo
- Green Headband Jigglypuff
- Crown Jigglypuff
- Pikachu's goggles. He gave them to Pichu as a welcome-back present.
OTHER NOTEWORTHY OMISSIONS
- 2284 trophies (technically 2287). 290 in Melee, with 3 only being accessible with action replay, 544 in Brawl, 707 in 3DS, 743 in Wii U
- 700 stickers
- Custom Moves
- Collectable CDs
- Equipment
- Classic Mode endings
- Random tripping (good riddance)
- Gliding
- Drawing on snapshots
- Betting in Spectate mode
- An original CGI opening cinematic
- The announcer screaming the title on the title screen
And worst of all...
- The ability to tilt the menus with the C-stick
