The_Bookworm
Smash Master
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2018
- Messages
- 3,202
So we have been given the overall stage-list of Smash Ultimate, with a whooping 103 stages. A lot of the stages are probably not going to be tournament legal, but there are cetaintly going too be way more than in previous games:
Last Updated: 9/8/18
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Battlefield
Pretty obvious, as this is a universal legal stage in every Smash game (except 64, which was single-player exclusive). Tri-platform layout with a medium size.
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Final Destination
Another obvious stage. A completely flat stage with grab-able ledges, this stage is widely considered to be a symbol for legal stages. Something to be noted: this iteration of Final Destination appears to be shorter than in past games, now being the same length as Battlefield.
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Every Battlefield and Omega form
It is completely understandable why only a handful of Omega forms were legal in SSB4: each Omega form in that game had different bottom stage layout (including ones with walls), different sizes, and different blastzone sizes. In Smash Ultimate, however, the terrain and blast lines no longer vary between stages. This means all Ω forms are the same length as Final Destination, in turn being shortened to the same length as Battlefield, the same walls (or at least very similar), and the same blastzone sizes. Masahiro Sakurai stated that all Battlefield forms will be identical, differing only in music and aesthetics.
This is personally one of my favorite and most overlooked changes coming to the new game.
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Dream Land
Pretty obvious why. This stage has been legal ever since it's introduction. The Battlefield-like layout, combined with Whispy Woods' wind stage hazard being very minuscule to the match (and it could be turned off entirely in this game). Will it be as big as in Melee, or as small as it was in SSB4, we don't know yet.
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Yoshi's Story
One of the most popular tournament legal stages in Melee, thanks to it's fair layout and unique mechanics, such as the cloud. Definitely a stage that everyone anticipated a return to.
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Fountain of Dreams
Speaking of anticipated legal stages, Fountain of Dreams is back. It is known of it's pretty visuals, but also in competitive play for it's fair layout, no stage lips existing, unique mechanic of platforms rising below the stage, and the prevention of camping thanks to that.
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Pokemon Stadium
This stage was among the most controversial in both Melee and Brawl, for the transformations can often lead to camping out and infinites. This stage is probably going to be the most discussed stage on whether to turn hazards on and off, as many of the issues plaguing this stage is fixed in Ultimate due to various mechanic changes. However, many would probably want a very neutral stage with no transformations. With Pokemon Stadium 2 having less fair transformations, and a similar looking no hazard version, this puts this into question. Despite this, Pokemon Stadium will be legal is some shape or form.
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Frigate Orpheon
This stage is shown to be not as intrusive as it was in Brawl, due to the existence of less tether dependent recoveries and the nerfs to Meta Knight since then. If the stage flipping is too intrusive, then you could flip it off with the hazard toggle. The hazard toggle being off also makes all ungrab-able ledges grab-able all at once.
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Yoshi's Island
This is a universally legal stage since it's introduction, so there seems to be no reason that it will not be the case here. It lacks overly disruptive features, though it is sometimes a counterpick due to the unique properties of the stage, such as the Fly Guys blocking projectiles (although that could probably be turned off) and the Support Ghost gimping Ness' and Lucas' recoveries.
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Smashville
One of the most popular legal stages of all time, due to it's unique design and fair layout. Thanks to some articles from Sakurai, there is a good chance that this stage will have some good fighting music for once.
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Town and City (SSB4 image btw)
There is relatively little reason why this stage isn't legal. It has a lack of hazards, with the only gimmick of the stage being the platform cycling.
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Brinstar
The main issue of this stage's legality is the damaging acid that rises. With the stage hazard toggle most likely removing that, what we have here is a stage with a strange, but relatively non-obtrusive stage design. Although it won't be a big deal if this isn't the case, but the hazard toggle removing the intractable objects like the strings at the left and right, as well as the destroy-able parts in the middle, will be a nice bonus. However, if the side walls are intractable and is in-destructible, then it will harm this stage's chances.
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WarioWare, Inc.
This stage has a relatively neutral layout without the microgames, with Project M first demonstrating this. However, as shown by that said mod, the blastzone layout can make this stage's legality volatile, so we will have to wait and see.
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Pokemon Stadium 2
This is one of the legal stages that comes in mind when they introduced the stage hazard toggle. With the transformations gone, this stage will be similar to Project M's Pokemon Stadium: a fair layout stage that some may say is even more fair than Battlefield. However, whether Pokemon Stadium 2 or Pokemon Stadium will be the preferred hazard-less stage is unclear. I think I am going to go with 2's version, mostly due to 1's version being legal even with the transformations.
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Lylat Cruise
This stage is one of the most notorious legal stages in Smash Bros history (alongside Pokemon Stadium and Melee Battlefield). This is mainly due to the tilting of the stage gimping some recoveries and, in the case for SSB4, buggy interactions. However, the tilting of Lylat Cruise is removed in Ultimate. While the stage lips still exist, the buggy interactions appear to be fixed. With the tilting gone, this stage may have a chance in a positive spotlight.
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Castle Siege
I think whether this stage will be legal or not, will depend on if the transformations will be removed when the hazard toggle is off. If it does, then this will be a stage with a relatively fair layout. I think it will be a counterpick, mostly due to the stage lips.
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Kalos Pokemon League
With hazards turned off, the background transition is most likely removed. The result is a pretty looking stage, with a fair layout, walls, and a unique platform position.
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Wily Castle
The Yellow Devil is removed when hazards are turned off, which results the stage being a version of Final Destination, but with vertical walls, similar to Omega Wily Castle in SSB4. If this stage is legal, then it is most likely a counterpick. Whether the other stage elements, such as the rails and moving platforms, is removed when hazards are turned off remains unknown.
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Midgar
Turning off hazards will remove the summons from this stage, which makes the stage identical to Battlefield. Something to note is that it makes this stage redundant from Battlefield, while having a different below stage layout. Whether this stage is similar to it's Battlefield form is unknown, so we will have to wait and see.
- Smash 64 has only 1 legal stage: Dream Land
- Melee has 5 starters (Battlefield, Final Destination, Dream Land, Fountain of Dreams, Yoshi's Story) and 1 counterpick (Pokemon Stadium).
- Brawl's stagelist is heavily disputed, but it is normally agreed to have 4 starters (Battlefield, Final Destination, Smashville, Yoshi's Island) and 3 counterpicks (Lylat Cruise, Pokemon Stadium, Castle Siege and sometimes Frigate Orpheon).
- 3DS has 3 starters (Battlefield, Final Destination, Yoshi's Island) and 3 counterpicks (Dream Land, Arena Ferox, Prism Tower).
- Wii U has 5 starters (Battlefield, Final Destination, Smashville, Town and City, Lylat Cruise) and 4 counterpicks (Dream Land, and the Omega forms of Suzaku Castle, Wily Castle, and Midgar).
Last Updated: 9/8/18
Pretty obvious, as this is a universal legal stage in every Smash game (except 64, which was single-player exclusive). Tri-platform layout with a medium size.
Another obvious stage. A completely flat stage with grab-able ledges, this stage is widely considered to be a symbol for legal stages. Something to be noted: this iteration of Final Destination appears to be shorter than in past games, now being the same length as Battlefield.
It is completely understandable why only a handful of Omega forms were legal in SSB4: each Omega form in that game had different bottom stage layout (including ones with walls), different sizes, and different blastzone sizes. In Smash Ultimate, however, the terrain and blast lines no longer vary between stages. This means all Ω forms are the same length as Final Destination, in turn being shortened to the same length as Battlefield, the same walls (or at least very similar), and the same blastzone sizes. Masahiro Sakurai stated that all Battlefield forms will be identical, differing only in music and aesthetics.
This is personally one of my favorite and most overlooked changes coming to the new game.
Pretty obvious why. This stage has been legal ever since it's introduction. The Battlefield-like layout, combined with Whispy Woods' wind stage hazard being very minuscule to the match (and it could be turned off entirely in this game). Will it be as big as in Melee, or as small as it was in SSB4, we don't know yet.
One of the most popular tournament legal stages in Melee, thanks to it's fair layout and unique mechanics, such as the cloud. Definitely a stage that everyone anticipated a return to.
Speaking of anticipated legal stages, Fountain of Dreams is back. It is known of it's pretty visuals, but also in competitive play for it's fair layout, no stage lips existing, unique mechanic of platforms rising below the stage, and the prevention of camping thanks to that.
This stage was among the most controversial in both Melee and Brawl, for the transformations can often lead to camping out and infinites. This stage is probably going to be the most discussed stage on whether to turn hazards on and off, as many of the issues plaguing this stage is fixed in Ultimate due to various mechanic changes. However, many would probably want a very neutral stage with no transformations. With Pokemon Stadium 2 having less fair transformations, and a similar looking no hazard version, this puts this into question. Despite this, Pokemon Stadium will be legal is some shape or form.
This stage is shown to be not as intrusive as it was in Brawl, due to the existence of less tether dependent recoveries and the nerfs to Meta Knight since then. If the stage flipping is too intrusive, then you could flip it off with the hazard toggle. The hazard toggle being off also makes all ungrab-able ledges grab-able all at once.
This is a universally legal stage since it's introduction, so there seems to be no reason that it will not be the case here. It lacks overly disruptive features, though it is sometimes a counterpick due to the unique properties of the stage, such as the Fly Guys blocking projectiles (although that could probably be turned off) and the Support Ghost gimping Ness' and Lucas' recoveries.
One of the most popular legal stages of all time, due to it's unique design and fair layout. Thanks to some articles from Sakurai, there is a good chance that this stage will have some good fighting music for once.
There is relatively little reason why this stage isn't legal. It has a lack of hazards, with the only gimmick of the stage being the platform cycling.
The main issue of this stage's legality is the damaging acid that rises. With the stage hazard toggle most likely removing that, what we have here is a stage with a strange, but relatively non-obtrusive stage design. Although it won't be a big deal if this isn't the case, but the hazard toggle removing the intractable objects like the strings at the left and right, as well as the destroy-able parts in the middle, will be a nice bonus. However, if the side walls are intractable and is in-destructible, then it will harm this stage's chances.
This stage has a relatively neutral layout without the microgames, with Project M first demonstrating this. However, as shown by that said mod, the blastzone layout can make this stage's legality volatile, so we will have to wait and see.
This is one of the legal stages that comes in mind when they introduced the stage hazard toggle. With the transformations gone, this stage will be similar to Project M's Pokemon Stadium: a fair layout stage that some may say is even more fair than Battlefield. However, whether Pokemon Stadium 2 or Pokemon Stadium will be the preferred hazard-less stage is unclear. I think I am going to go with 2's version, mostly due to 1's version being legal even with the transformations.
This stage is one of the most notorious legal stages in Smash Bros history (alongside Pokemon Stadium and Melee Battlefield). This is mainly due to the tilting of the stage gimping some recoveries and, in the case for SSB4, buggy interactions. However, the tilting of Lylat Cruise is removed in Ultimate. While the stage lips still exist, the buggy interactions appear to be fixed. With the tilting gone, this stage may have a chance in a positive spotlight.
I think whether this stage will be legal or not, will depend on if the transformations will be removed when the hazard toggle is off. If it does, then this will be a stage with a relatively fair layout. I think it will be a counterpick, mostly due to the stage lips.
With hazards turned off, the background transition is most likely removed. The result is a pretty looking stage, with a fair layout, walls, and a unique platform position.
The Yellow Devil is removed when hazards are turned off, which results the stage being a version of Final Destination, but with vertical walls, similar to Omega Wily Castle in SSB4. If this stage is legal, then it is most likely a counterpick. Whether the other stage elements, such as the rails and moving platforms, is removed when hazards are turned off remains unknown.
Turning off hazards will remove the summons from this stage, which makes the stage identical to Battlefield. Something to note is that it makes this stage redundant from Battlefield, while having a different below stage layout. Whether this stage is similar to it's Battlefield form is unknown, so we will have to wait and see.
A common thing that I am going to bring up is redundancy with other universally considered legal stages. I overall think that out of all the stages in this list, Wuhu Island, Skyloft, Mario Circuit, and Umbra Clock Tower has the best chance of being legal.
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Kongo Jungle
I think it will all depend on if the hazard toggle will turn off the barrel. There is also the factor if Circle Camping is a thing in Smash Ultimate, especially considering the mobility buffs applied to slower characters. If that happens, then this might potentially be legal, but it is an odd ball. There is also a minor sharking issue.
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Super Happy Tree
The main reason why this stage is banned in 64 and Melee, is due to how powerful the clouds are as camping spots. If the stage hazard toggle removes those clouds, then this stage might be legal, but we mush also factor the low vertical ceiling and the large horizontal blast zones. It could make this stage too powerful of a counterpick. All we have to do is wait and see.
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Green Greens
With the hazard toggle removing the apples, blocks, and Whispy's wind, with at paper may be a legal stage. However, the now infamous MkLeo vs Plup match reminds us all about another crippling flaw of this stage that is also present in previous games: the blastzones of this stage is among the smallest in the game. Although it does seem like it has been slightly increased in size since it's appearance in Brawl, it is still a very small stage, with potentially strong counterpick powers. We will have to wait and see for this one.
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Delfino Plaza
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Port Town Aero Dive
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Skyloft
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Wuhu Island
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Mario Circuit
If hazard toggle removes the taxing off parts of each of these stages, then there could be some talk about each stage being legal. However, each one of them has a flaw that may prevent that from happening.
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Halberd
Although it is probably obvious that the hazard toggle will turn off the Combo Cannon, the stage has other problems that harms it's legality. The takeoff of the stage can instant kill you if not at the platform, and the transition platform small vertical blastzones and the main platform is shark-able. It is probably going to be overshadowed by other legal stages as well.
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Unova Pokemon League
With hazards off, then the stage will be simply a version of hazard-less Pokemon Stadium, but with walls and no stage lips. However, redundancy with Pokemon Stadium may harm it's chances on being legal.
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Prism Tower
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New Donk City Hall
Both of these stages are very similar to eachother. Prism Tower served as a controversial counterpick in SSB4 (3DS), mainly due to the shark-able main platform and the very base of the stage being walk-offs. The fact that a lot more legal stages are put in the game harms both of their chances.
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Arena Ferox
This stage served as a controversial counterpick in SSB4 (3DS), due to the statues blocking projectiles and some transformations including walls. Without the transformations, then this stage serves as a larger version of Final Destination. However, this factor may harm it's chances on being legal due to redundancy.
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Pictochat 2
With hazards off, this stage is simply a flat stage with slightly slanted ledges. However, this stage suffers from being redundant with Final Destination, while suffering from low vertical blastzones downwards while makes spiking opponents dis-proportionally strong.
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Mushroom Kingdom U
Without hazards and transformations, this stage seems to be fairly legal with a unique platform layout. However, the biggest issue of the stage is the size. It is a large stage which promotes camping from faster characters.
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Umbra Clock Tower
It is heavily dependent on what the hazard toggle does to the stage. But even if the hazard toggle turns off the rumble platforms, the stage will be redundant of Final Destination, harming it's chances. With it's legality without hazards still being heavily debated, it does gives some more hope for this stage than others in this list.
I think it will all depend on if the hazard toggle will turn off the barrel. There is also the factor if Circle Camping is a thing in Smash Ultimate, especially considering the mobility buffs applied to slower characters. If that happens, then this might potentially be legal, but it is an odd ball. There is also a minor sharking issue.
The main reason why this stage is banned in 64 and Melee, is due to how powerful the clouds are as camping spots. If the stage hazard toggle removes those clouds, then this stage might be legal, but we mush also factor the low vertical ceiling and the large horizontal blast zones. It could make this stage too powerful of a counterpick. All we have to do is wait and see.
With the hazard toggle removing the apples, blocks, and Whispy's wind, with at paper may be a legal stage. However, the now infamous MkLeo vs Plup match reminds us all about another crippling flaw of this stage that is also present in previous games: the blastzones of this stage is among the smallest in the game. Although it does seem like it has been slightly increased in size since it's appearance in Brawl, it is still a very small stage, with potentially strong counterpick powers. We will have to wait and see for this one.
If hazard toggle removes the taxing off parts of each of these stages, then there could be some talk about each stage being legal. However, each one of them has a flaw that may prevent that from happening.
- All of their main platforms are soft, which encourages sharking.
- Delfino Plaza, in particular, has a small vertical blastzone that gives a large advantage to characters that latters opponents off the top.
- Port Town suffers from being too redundant to Final Destination, while having a sharking problem. Some of the ledges in the stage is also ungrab-able, but we don't know if the hazard toggle will fix this.
- Wuhu Island seems promising, although the layout of the edges might may recoveries harder.
- Mario Circuit and Skyloft might be the most legal of the bunch, but it does have a sharking problem.
Although it is probably obvious that the hazard toggle will turn off the Combo Cannon, the stage has other problems that harms it's legality. The takeoff of the stage can instant kill you if not at the platform, and the transition platform small vertical blastzones and the main platform is shark-able. It is probably going to be overshadowed by other legal stages as well.
With hazards off, then the stage will be simply a version of hazard-less Pokemon Stadium, but with walls and no stage lips. However, redundancy with Pokemon Stadium may harm it's chances on being legal.
Both of these stages are very similar to eachother. Prism Tower served as a controversial counterpick in SSB4 (3DS), mainly due to the shark-able main platform and the very base of the stage being walk-offs. The fact that a lot more legal stages are put in the game harms both of their chances.
This stage served as a controversial counterpick in SSB4 (3DS), due to the statues blocking projectiles and some transformations including walls. Without the transformations, then this stage serves as a larger version of Final Destination. However, this factor may harm it's chances on being legal due to redundancy.
With hazards off, this stage is simply a flat stage with slightly slanted ledges. However, this stage suffers from being redundant with Final Destination, while suffering from low vertical blastzones downwards while makes spiking opponents dis-proportionally strong.
Without hazards and transformations, this stage seems to be fairly legal with a unique platform layout. However, the biggest issue of the stage is the size. It is a large stage which promotes camping from faster characters.
It is heavily dependent on what the hazard toggle does to the stage. But even if the hazard toggle turns off the rumble platforms, the stage will be redundant of Final Destination, harming it's chances. With it's legality without hazards still being heavily debated, it does gives some more hope for this stage than others in this list.
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