Well, let's break it down.
New stages I love:
- Mushroom Kingdom U
- Mario Circuit
- Jungle Hijinxs
- Skyloft
- Orbital Gate
- Coliseum
- Town & City
- Pilot Wings
- Wrecking Crew
- Wuhu Island
- Duck Hunt
Eleven. I'm pretty picky and am annoyed easily by walk-offs and obtrusive stage hazards, so that's less than half of the new stages. Plus a handful - Windy Hill, and Kalos for example - that I need some more time to judge but are, at worst, just okay. Still, I'll hold off calling any of them a win for now. I also won't count the 8-player focused ones like Big Battlefield, Skyworld or Great Cave Offensive, which are
very fun but only with bigger groups.
On top of that there are many great returning stages - Luigi's Mansion, Lylat Cruise, Castle Siege, Halberd, Temple, Onett, Bridge of Eldin, Smashville, and Kongo Jungle add up to
nine.
FD + Battlefield =
two. Fountain of Dreams is still missing
. 3DS got the better Yoshi's Island. The superior Pokemon Stadium has been left behind for good. There are some great stages from each of the other Smash games that aren't here. So, ignoring the stage editor and all the stages that are maybe-good or even just 8-player oriented... ultimately, that leaves
twenty-two legitimately great stages here. That's less than half of the full list, and it leaves several series without great representation.
...But I would argue that
twenty-two reliably great stages is a total victory. In the end, despite whatever disappointments or missed opportunities exist, all that really matters is that overall number. The four previous games (counting the 3DS version) failed to even come close to reaching the bar set here. Honestly, it's more than I was expecting, and I'm totally satisfied.
Just my opinion. YMMV. I understand that others may have a different takeaway, and hey, let's still be friends. The only thing that's
objectively bigger and better here than any other Smash game is the music. Good lord, the music...