I’ve been closely looking at the newest Smash Direct in order to find hidden details. One thing that I’ve been analyzing is the stage list for the Wii U. But before I talk about my findings, I need to discuss the 3DS Stage Selection Screen (SSS) first.

First off, the SSS has changed between the ERSB leak, and the final version:

Up until yesterday I thought the stage order was completely random. With retro stages being sprinkled throughout the SSS. However, I realized that there is a method to the madness.

Rule 1: Essentially, the SSS is comprised of 5 sub-groups, which follows the way the characters were made playable in Smash (the 5th and 6th being Other and Guests).

Rule 2: In each category, the retro stages are placed last (On the 3DS you can only see this within Mario).

1. * (This actually follows the original starter character placement!)

*Please note that the Mario series follows a pattern within it. Platform Mario games, Mario Kart/Other and then retro.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

If you look closely, within each sub section the new unlockable characters are placed last. Earthbound and F-Zero are placed last, along with Game and Watch within their respected sub-series.

For number 5 and number 6, they follow different rules.

For number 5 it seems that they are placed in the order that the series debut, with the returning series (Touch! Generations) placed last.

For number 6, it seems they are placed in the order that the character was announced for Smash. Sonic for Brawl, Megaman at Smash 4 Launch E3 trailer and Pac-Man being the last announced third party. What’s interesting is that in the ERSB leak’s stage selection screen the order was completely swapped (With Megaman, Pacman and Sonic).

So why is this important?

Smash 4 Wii U follows the same pattern with one huge exception (Can you find it?).

Rule 1: When Kongo Jungle (64) is added into the mix, the game adds another row. This might be because it’s a My Music Screen, or it’s how the game accommodates additional stages. More about that later.

8 Rows:

(Battlefield, Big Battlefield, Final Destination, Mushroom Kingdom U

Mario Galaxy, Delfino Plaza, Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart (Brawl), Luigi Mansion, Jungle Hyjinx

Kongo Jungle (64), Skyloft , Bridge of Eldin, Hyrule Temple, Pyrosphere, Norfair

Port Aero Town Drive , Wolly World, Yoshi’s Island, Great Cave Offensive, Halberd, Orbital Gate

Lylat Cruise, Kalos Pokemon League, Onett, Coliseum, Castle Siege, Palutena’s Temple,

Skyworld, Gamer, Garden of Hope, Town and City, Wii Fit Studio

Boxing Ring, Gaur Plains, 75m , Wrecking Crew, Pilot Wings

Wuhu Island, Windy Hills Zone, Dr. Wily’s Castle [Menu Music])

Mario still follows the pattern, but retro stages are coupled together with their sub-section. Delfino Plaza is placed after the other Mario platformers, and in front of the Mario Kart sub-series and other Mario series.

7 Rows:

(Battlefield, Big Battlefield, Final Destination, Mushroom Kingdom U

Mario Galaxy, Delfino Plaza, Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart (Brawl), Luigi Mansion, Jungle Hyjinx, Skyloft , Bridge of Eldin, Hyrule Temple, Pyrosphere, Norfair

Port Aero Town Drive , Wolly World, Yoshi’s Island, Great Cave Offensive, Halberd, Orbital Gate

Lylat Cruise, Kalos Pokemon League, Onett, Coliseum, Castle Siege, Palutena’s Temple,

Skyworld, Gamer, Garden of Hope, Town and City, Wii Fit Studio

Boxing Ring, Gaur Plains, 75m , Wrecking Crew, Pilot Wings

Wuhu Island, Windy Hills Zone, Dr. Wily’s Castle)

Rule 2: Each row has 6 stages, max.

Pro Jared, who has got to play the game for 3 hours has stated that there are a “butt load” of unlockable stages. Unless the icons can get even smaller, it seems that a Next Page button would be the only way the game can accommodate the amount of stages. It would fit perfectly in between the ?Random and Normal icons. Additionally, we know that the Normal icon has changed from the E3 demo (it shrunk). An additional tab would fit perfectly on the bottom of the screen.

And now, to explore the one oddity between the 3DS and the Wii U version…

Did you find it?

…F-Zero is placed in between Yoshi and Metroid!

This could mean two things.

First, the order is not final. The ERSB leak shows that the order can change. However, since this is the only exception to the rule I personally doubt it (AKA this is the final order).

Secondly, and far more likely in my opinion, F-Zero was re-arranged in order to prevent a series from being broken up by a line break in the final SSS. This means that we can speculate what series around F-Zero will potentially have unlockable stages, and then guess those stages as they will most likely follow the rules mentioned above.

We already know some unlockable stages (Besides Kongo Jungle which was shown above).

Pac Land:

Smashville:

Pokemon Stadium 2:

Here’s the updated stage list with just these stages added:

(Battlefield, Big Battlefield, Final Destination, Mushroom Kingdom U

Mario Galaxy, Delfino Plaza, Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart (Brawl), Luigi Mansion, Jungle Hyjinx

Kong Jungle (64), Skyloft , Bridge of Eldin, Hyrule Temple, Pyrosphere, Norfair

Port Aero Town Drive , Wolly World, Yoshi’s Island, Great Cave Offensive, Halberd, Orbital Gate

Lylat Cruise, Kalos Pokemon League, Pokemon Stadium 2, Onett, Coliseum, Castle Siege, Palutena’s Temple,

Skyworld, Gamer, Garden of Hope, Town and City, Wii Fit Studio

Boxing Ring, Gaur Plains, 75m , Wrecking Crew, Smashville, Pilot Wings

Wuhu Island, Windy Hills Zone, Dr. Wily’s Castle, Pac-Land)

If I’m wrong about the second page, then here’s the potential order:

Battlefield, Big Battlefield, Final Destination, Mushroom Kingdom U, Mario Galaxy, Delfino Plaza,

Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart (Brawl), Luigi Mansion, Jungle Hyjinx, Kongo Jungle (64) [An additional DK or “other” Mario stage…possibly Kongo Jungle]

Skyloft , Bridge of Eldin, Hyrule Temple, Pyrosphere, Norfair, Port Aero Town Drive

Wolly World, Yoshi’s Island, Great Cave Offensive, Halberd, Orbital Gate, Lylat Cruise,

Kalos Pokemon League, Pokemon Stadium 2, Onett, New Pork City, Coliseum, Castle Siege,

Palutena’s Temple, Skyworld, Gamer, Garden of Hope, Town and City, Smashville,

Wii Fit Studio, Boxing Ring, Gaur Plains, 75m , Wrecking Crew, Pilot Wings

Wuhu Island, Windy Hills Zone, Dr. Wily’s Castle, Pac-Land, Miiverse, DLC Button

Of course, 6 unlockable stages aren’t a lot. Not even close to a “butt load”. However, with the likelihood of an additional page the number of stages and the possibilities are almost endless. However, the fact that F-Zero was re-arranged in it’s sub-series is huge.