So some major points from the Direct:
- Up to 8 players can play at once, though this is limited to certain stages: Battlefield, Big Battlefield, Mario Galaxy, Bridge of Eldin, Temple, Yoshi's Island, Great Cave Offensive, Onett, Castle Siege, Palutena's Temple, Gaur Plains, 75m, Windy Hill are among the stages that can support up to 8 players.
- Ridley is Pyrosphere's mysterious stage hazard- though if you damage him enough, he'll fight by your side. He can even be KO'd like a regular player- the player who KO'd him will earn a point.
- Metal Face is Gaur Plains' stage boss in the Wii U version. He'll appear during the nighttime.
- Great Cave Offensive confirmed as a stage, based on the minigame of the same name in Kirby Super Star. This stage really is a rule-breaker- there are danger zones laden around the stage. If you smack a player who has 100% damage or more, they will be KO'd.
- Jungle Hijinkxs from DKCR is confirmed as a new stage. Players can fight in the foreground AND background of the stage. Continued use of the barrel cannons will cause players to explode.
- Big Battlefield confirmed as a stage- a bigger Battlefield made to accomodate larger numbers of players.
- New stages: a new Mario Circuit, Wuhu Island, Wrecking Crew, Gamer.
- A new Miiverse stage is confirmed. The layout is pretty much the same as Battlefield's, but you'll see various messages from Miiverse in the background.
- Returning Stages: Bridge of Eldin, Norfair, Delfino Plaza, Mario Circuit, Luigi's Mansion, Lylat Cruise, Yoshi's Island (Melee), Port Town Aero Dive, Skyworld, Kongo Jungle N64.
- Ness, Ganondorf, Jigglypuff, and Bowser Jr. are confirmed as starters in the Wii U version.
- Pit has codecs akin to Snake's from Brawl. They seem to be activated only on Palutena's temple.
- Coin Battles and Special Smash return, as well as the ability to adjust the frequency of items.
- Mewtwo will be making his long-awaited return to Smash as a DLC character. He will be available in Spring 2015 and will be free to those who purchase both the 3DS and Wii U versions of Smash and register them with Club Nintendo.
- Classic Mode operates differently in the Wii U version- where you'll be going next depends on how dominant you were in the previous rounds. It can now also be played with a second character.
- Clear movies similar to those of Melee's and Brawl's return.
- All-Star Mode also operates differently. You'll be facing each group of characters in REVERSE chronological order- the newest characters in Nintendo's long history will appear first.
- Event Matches return.
- Smash Tour is exclusive to the Wii U version. It's a boardgame-style mode where you'll collect fighters to fight with, as well as powerups to power them up with. When the game is over, you'll fight a stock battle with the fighters you've collected.
- Target Blast has another, bigger bomb.
- Stadium Mode now supports up to 4 players. Target Blast will have players taking turns, Multi-Man Smash will have players playing simultaneously, and Home-Run contest will either have 2 players play at once or up to 4 players taking turns.
- Special Orders is a new mode where you take on challenges from the Hands themselves. Master Orders has you facing battles in a certain order- depending on what order you fight them in, your rewards will vary. Crazy Orders has you spending coins or passes in order to compete in timed battles that get harder as you progress- fight enough battles and you'll face Crazy Hand himself.
- Master Core has a new form- Master Fortress.
- Trophy Boxes are new to Wii U. You can collect trophies of the same theme and group them together.
- Masterpieces make their return. Confirmed games include: Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Kirby's Dream Land, The Legend of Zelda, Pac-Man, Super Mario Kart, Mega Man 2, Donkey Kong, Dr. Mario, PilotWings, Wrecking Crew, F-Zero, Metroid, Kirby Super Star, Punch-Out!!, Kid Icarus, EarthBound, Balloon Fight, Kirby's Adventure, Super Metroid, Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, Super Mario Bros..
- You can play with another player on the same console in With Anyone, but only in Team Battles.
- Online and offline tourneys are confirmed.
- Using the Gamepad, you can make drawings on some of the screenshots you've taken. You'll be able to send them to friends after a future update.
- Voice chat is available through the Gamepad, but will be shut off during matches.
- Stage Builder returns in a much snazzier fashion- you can draw terrain and implement hazards with the Gamepad.
- Following a future update, you'll be able to share Mii Fighters, custom stages, replays, and screenshots with friends.
- Most everything in the 3DS version, sans Smash Run, can be enjoyed on the Wii U version as well.
- Newcomer trailers will be viewable on the Wii U version only.