Super Smash Bros. Melee massively expands the stage offering from the predecessor, Super Smash Bros. (for the Nintendo 64) from 9 stages to a whopping 29 stages. The addition of more than triple the amount of stages from Smash 64 to Melee added not only a larger offering of casual stages, but also competitively approved stages. Whereas Smash 64 only had Dreamland as a tournament legal stage, Melee has 6 tournament legal stages for you to play on as you unlock them on your memory card.

The inclusion of, and diversity between, the multiple tournament legal stages gives Melee a much more dynamic competitive offering than its predecessor. Different stages offer different advantages for certain characters and specific playstyles. To learn more about this topic, you can check out a previous article written by me here.

The Starter Stages

Melee ships with eighteen stages unlocked and ready to play, three of which are tournament legal stages: Yoshi’s Story, Fountain of Dreams, and Pokémon Stadium. The rest of the stages are casual stages with differing levels of size, stage hazards, and interact-able environments. These stages can be accessed right away from the “Melee” option under the “Vs. Mode” tab on the main menu. The top half of the stage selection screen include the already unlocked starter stages (with the exception of Flat Zone (Mr. Game & Watch’s stage).

Unlockable Stages

The remaining unlockable eleven stages include six newly created stages specifically for Melee and five returning stages from Super Smash Bros. 64. Three of the returning stages from Smash 64 are tournament legal in Melee, with Dreamland 64, Battlefield, and Final Destination being the competitive stages allowed in tournament play. This is how to gain access to all the unlockable stages in Super Smash Bros. Melee:

Casual Stages

Planet Zebes: Brinstar Depths – Simply play 50 VS. matches.

Eagleland: Fourside – Play 100 VS. matches.

F-Zero Grand Prix: Big Blue – Play 150 VS. matches.

Kanto Skies: Poké Floats – Play 200 VS. Matches.

Mushroom Kingdom II – Acquire the Birdo or Pidgit trophy. These can be found in adventure mode or trophy slots. Completely random chance of receiving them.

Superflat World– Complete Classic or Adventure mode with Mr. Game & Watch.

Past Stages: Kongo Jungle (64) – Survive the 15-Minute Melee mode.

Past Stages: Yoshi’s Island (64) – Hit 1350 ft. in the Home Run Contest with Yoshi.

Competitive Stages

Past Stages: Dream Land (64) – Complete Target Test successfully with all 25 characters.

Special Stages: Battlefield – Complete All-Star Mode with any character.

Special Stages: Final Destination – Complete Event 51: The Showdown.

Make sure you have a memory card to hold these stage unlocks on, as you need it to access the stages you put time into unlocking. Unlocking all the stages in Melee is an accomplishment in itself, so make sure to put the time in to unlock them. Some of Melee’s most fun stages are locked behind these in-game achievements, so make sure to make the most of your Melee experience and acquire every stage there is!