Super Smash Bros. Brawl guide

Super Smash Bros. Brawl guide
(Image credit: Nintendo)

This Super Smash Bros. Brawl guide will give you the lowdown on all of the unlockables, from character and stages to music and much more.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl guides

Super Smash Bros. Brawl unlockables

Random Stage Selection

Random Stage Selection - To unlock random stage switch under the rules option, unlock all the stages with additional rules enabled.

Additional Sound Tests

Assist Trophies 3 - Unlock all assist trophies.
Fanfare - Unlock all characters.
Kirby's Copy Abilities - Unlock all characters.
Narration - Unlock Boss Battles and All-Star.
Subspace Enemies and Bosses - Clear the subspace emissary.

Unlockable: Target Tests

You can unlock the following Target Tests by completing Classic Mode in the ways listed. There are two methods to unlock each Target Test, and both are listed. "Easy Mode x2 / Medium Mode x1" for instance means that you must complete Classic Mode twice on easy or once on medium to unlock the corresponding Target Test difficulty.

Hard Difficulty - Easy Mode x2 / Medium Mode x1
Intense Difficulty - Very Hard Mode x2 / Intense Mode x1
Medium Difficulty - Easy Mode x2 / Medium Mode x1
Very Hard Difficulty - Hard Mode x2 / Very Hard Mode x1

Unlockable Events

Co-op
Co-op Events 9-13 - Complete the Subspace stage in Adventure Mode
Co-op Events 14-20 - Complete 10 Co-Op Events and unlock all hidden characters
Co-op Event 21 - Complete all 20 Co-op Events

Single-player
Events 11-20 - Complete 7 events
Events 21-28 - Complete the Subspace stage in Adventure Mode
Events 29-40 - Unlock all hidden characters
Event 41 - Complete all 40 events

Unlockable Stickers

Boo (Mario Tennis) - Hit over 900 ft. in the Home-Run Contest
Liquid Snake (Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes) - Defeat 10 Alloys in Cruel Brawl
Phyllis (Animal Crossing: Wild World) - Clear All-Star mode on Normal difficulty with any character
Running Chibi-Robo (Chibi-Robo) - Clear Classic mode on Easy difficulty with any character
Ryuta Ippongi (Duendan 2) - Clear 100-M

Unlockable Characters

If you use either of the first two methods for unlocking a character, you'll still need to face the character in a brawl and win before they will become unlocked.

Ness
Play five matches in Brawl
Reflect 10 projectiles
Get Ness to join your party in The Subspace Emissary

Marth
Play 10 brawls
Finish Classic mode on any difficulty level
Get Marth to join your party in The Subspace Emissary

Luigi
Play 22 brawls
Beat Classic with no continues
Get Luigi to join your party in The Subspace Emissary

Falco
Play 50 brawls
Clear the 100-Man Brawl
Have Falco join your team in The Subspace Emissary

Captain Falcon
Play 70 Brawls
Beat Classic Brawl Mode on the Normal difficulty setting or greater in less than 12 minutes
Get Captain Falcon to join your party in The Subspace Emissary

Lucario
Play 100 brawls
Beat Target Smash!! on all difficulty levels (Playing in either 1 or 2 player mode will satisfy this condition.)
Get Lucario to join your party in The Subspace Emissary

Snake
130 Brawl Matches
Play 15 matches on Shadow Moses Island
Have him join in SSE

R.O.B.
Play 160 brawls
Get 250 different trophies
Get R.O.B. to join your party in The Subspace Emissary

Ganondorf
200 Brawl Matches
Clear Classic on Hard with Link or Zelda
Collect Zelda and Link trophies in SSE to have him join you

Mr. Game & Watch
Fight in 250 brawls
Clear Target Smash with 30 different characters on any single difficulty level
Have Mr. Game & Watch join your party in The Subspace Emissary

Sonic
300 Brawl Matches
Beat Classic Mode with 10 characters
Have him join in SSE

Jigglypuff
350 Brawl Matches
Complete SSE then Events 1-20
Fight her in Swamp stage in SSE after completing it

Toon Link
400 Brawl Matches
After beating SSE, finish the Classic mode as Link
Fight him in Forest stage in SSE after completing it

Wolf
450 Brawl Matches
Complete Boss Mode with Fox or Falco
Fight him in Ruins stage in SSE after completing it

Unlockable Assist Trophies

Advance Wars Assist Trophy - Play 300 brawls.
Barbara Assist Trophy - Unlock 25 or more CDs.
Gray Fox Assist Trophy - Unlock Snake.
Isaac Assist Trophy - Play 200 brawls.
Ray MK III Assist Trophy - Play 100 brawls.
Shadow the Hedgehog Assist Trophy - Unlock Sonic the Hedgehog.

Unlock More Rules

More Rules - Get 200 KOs In Standard Brawl

Zero-Suit Samus

To start as Zero Suit Samus, select Samus, then right before the start of a match do the following:
Hold R on the Gamecube controller
Hold Z on the Wiimote and Nunchuck
Hold - on the Wiimote without a Nunchuk


To switch during a match hit Up Taunt, Down Taunt, and Up Taunt very quickly. Do the same to return to regular Samus.

Unlockable Tunes

02 (Zero Two) Boss Theme (Kirby 64)Have a total of 5000 coins collected in vs. coin matches
100-Man Melee 1Clear 100-Man Brawl under 4 minutes
3D Hot Rally TitleClear Target Level 5 With Anyone
Ai no Uta (French Version)Hit 37,500ft. combnd with all fighters' Home-Run Contest records.
Bob-Omb Battlefield (Super Mario 64)Have a total of 50 hours of vs. gameplay
Clu Clu LandHit 1,200 feet or more in Home-Run Contest with any character
Dream ChaserPlay 10 vs. matches on Port Town
Ending (Metroid)Play 10 vs. matches on Norfair
Excite TruckComplete Target Test Lv.2 under 19 seconds with any character
Fire FieldComplete Event #24
Frozen HillsidePlay on the Halberd stage 10 times in VS mode
GorudaPlay 10 vs. matches on Halberd
Great TempleComplete Event #33 on Difficult
His WorldPlay 10 vs. matches on Green Hill Zone
His World (Instrumental)Play 10 vs. matches on Green Hill Zone
Ice Climbers (Melee)Clear Classic Mode on Easy with any character
Icicle Mountain (Melee)Clear Classic on Normal Difficulty with any character
Ike's ThemeFind Ike in the Subspace Emissary
King Dedede's ThemeComplete Event #15
Kuru Kuru LandGet a distance of 400m in Home-Run Contest with one character
Legendary Air Rider MachineComplete Event #13
Love Song (commercial version)Get a combined distance of 12500m in Home-Run Contest
Mach Rider (melee version)Defeat 50 alloys in Endless Multi-Man Brawl
Menu 2Unlock All 35 Characters
Metroid Prime 2: Multi-PlayPlay 10 vs. matches on Frigate Orpheon
Mountain and ForestComplete Event #18 on Difficult
Peach Castle (Melee)Unlock all Melee stages
Pokémon CenterCollect 200 stickers
Powerhungry FoolPlay 10 vs. matches on Castle Siege
Road to TokiwaComplete Event #8
Snake EaterPlay 15 vs. matches on Shadow Moses Island
Song of StormsComplete Event #37
Staff Credits MusicClear Classic Mode on Difficult
Star Wolf (Star Fox: Assault)Complete Event #38 on Difficult
Taru Taru HighlandsClear All-Star Mode on Easy
Underwater BGM (Super Mario Bros)Play 10 vs. matches on Mushroomy Kingdom

Unlockable Stages

Big Blue (Melee) - Brawl as Captain Falcon 10 times
Electroplankton Stage - Complete Event #28
Flat Zone 2 - Unlock Mr. Game & Watch
Frozen Hillside - Play on the Halberd stage 10 times in VS mode
Great Sea - Unlock Toon Link
Green Hill Zone - Unlock Sonic
Jungle Japes - Play on any Melee stage 10 times in VS Mode
Luigi's Mansion - Complete Classic Mode on Easy
Mario Bros - Beat Challenge #19
Pokemon Stadium - Play on Pokemon Stadium 2 10 times in VS Mode
Port City - Play as Captain Falcon 10 times in VS Mode
Spear Pillar - Clear stage #25 in Event Mode

Unlockable Stage Builder Parts

Edit Parts A - Play 10 vs. matches on Stage Builder Stages
Edit Parts B - Create 5 Stages in Stage Builder
Edit Parts C - Create 15 Stages in Stage Builder

Unlockable Modes

All-Star Mode - Unlock all the hidden characters
Boss Battle Mode - Defeat the Subspace Emissary with any character

Unlockable Target Tests

Level 2 (Medium) - Beat Classic Mode twice on Easy or once on Medium
Level 3 (Hard) - Beat Classic Mode twice on Medium or once on Hard
Level 4 (Very Hard) - Beat Classic Mode twice on Hard or once on Very Hard
Level 5 (Intense) - Beat Classic Mode twice on Very Hard or once on Intense

Original Wario Costume

Character Selection Screen

Choose Wario and go down to where you choose the color of the character. Change it 6 times to play as the original Wario.

Unlockable: Virtual Console Trials

You can unlock Virtual Console trials of old classic Nintendo games by fulfilling the requirements listed.

Donkey Kong - Play SSBB for ten hours
F-Zero - Complete the Subspace Emissary
Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA) - Win with Peach in VS. mode five times
Super Mario World - Play on Yoshi's Island's stage three times
The Legend of Zelda - Play as Toon Link ten times

Super Smash Bros. Brawl tips

Steal A Copy Ability

If you play as Kirby and Inhale (standard special move) another Kirby that has a Copy Ability, the other Kirby looses it's Copy Ability and you get it's Copy Ability.

Change Character Color

Go to the character selection menu. Then select your character. After you do that, click your character again. The outfit should change color. NOTE: There are a different number of alternate outfits for each character.

Co-Op Homerun Contest

Homerun contest

Go to co-op home-run contest and have P1 be Donkey Kong and P2 be Ness. Have Ness go to the right side of the bag and do the down A attack, and once Ness starts doing the down A attack, have DK do the down B on the bag. While Dk's doing the down B use about half second intervals between pressing down B, so you wont make the bag go flying up. When there's about 2 or three seconds left, stop attacking the bag and have Ness get the bat while DK charges up the regular B. Then at the same time (or have DK hit it a little bit before) have Ness swing the bat and DK use the B on the bag.

Suicidal Bowser

Here an easy way to beat classic, All-star, or your friends. If you press forward B or forward 2, Bowser will grab your opponent, flip in the air and slam on the ground. Here's what I always do to my friends. I do that move next to a ledge, hold whatever way I'm facing and bowser will die with whoever your facing. In Classic or All-Star your on the top and your opponent will die first, so you won't lose a life.

Home Run Strategy

First, do 2-player Home Run Contest. Then choose Fox for both players. Right when it says go, the person in back takes the bat and goes right next to the sandbag and presses B as fast as they can. The Fox in Front should just press B as fast as they can and right as it says 1 the fox next to the SandBag hits it Full Power. I guarantee it will go more than 2400 feet. When I did this I got it to go 3000 feet!

Final Boss Attacks

Attacking him is not hard, so you only need to know how to dodge his attacks. His most deadly attack is where he forms wings, then lets out three rapid pulses, strong enough to knock you off the screen. The only way to dodge this attack is to shield the moment before it hits with split-second timing, or to shield and press left or right to let each pulse pass through you.

He also pulls a sword out of somewhere and dives across the platform, hitting anyone at the edge of the platform or on the platform. Simply jump toward the center of the platform to dodge this attack.

He can also form a giant arrowhead, which then shoots straight left to right across the screen. Just don't be in front of it when he launches it.

He can form a dragons head, which then launches a beam of energy across the bottom of the platform. Again, get out of the way by jumping up until it has ended.

He can also teleport across the screen, leaving behind small explosions. Just sit there and watch this happen, if you attack you will be caught in one of the blasts and do little or no damage to him.

He can also make little balls of energy that rotate around him, or pound the air or ground to send out shockwaves in a limited range around them. You can see how far both of these attacks reach, so just stay out of their range until it is over.

Sometimes, he will grow, put his face over on edge of the platform, and shoot lasers out of his eyes. These will crisscross the stage with no variation, so just get to the other end of the platform and jump to avoid the lasers.

He can form a boomerang out of nothing, and throw this across the screen. You can easily jump over it, but make sure you get back in time to jump and dodge it when it comes back.

He will also fire several small explosions across the screen. These will not harm you, but the larger explosions that come directly after will deal great damage. When you see the small flashes, move out of the area you saw flash to avoid being blasted.

The most annoying attack is when he turns into two golden lines, and sweeps across the platform. Anyone caught in this attack will be slammed into the ground with enough force to fly off the screen, but not necessarily enough to be killed.

Subspace Character Trophies

In the Subspace Emissary you can find rare items called trophy bases when thrown at a damaged enemy will turn them into a trophy. It even works on bosses.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Easter eggs

Giga Mario Bigger Than Giga Bowser

Go to Multiplayer on the main menu, then select Special Brawl. Select Giant Brawl. Choose Mario and set second player to CPU (you should set its level to 1, puny) or human player. Set all items in multiplayer options to only having Super Mushrooms on and set the item rate on high. Choose any stage and wait for a super mushroom and get it. Then press the button for taunt #1 and grow as large as you ever could in the game (that's a total of three times growing, WOW!).

Pointless Character Info

If you want to learn a fact about your opponent, go to a training game and play as Snake on Shadow Moses Island. Then, press the two taunt buttons alternately until snake pulls out his head set. After that, listen to what he has to say.

Fight Crazy Hand In Classic Mode

If you can reach the Master Hand in Classic Mode in less than nine minutes and without using any continues, the Crazy Hand will appear alongside the Master Hand at the start of the match.

K.K. Slider

On the Level Smashville on Saturday nights (between 8 PM and Midnight) K.K. Slider will appear and sing a special song during the fight.

Characters Speaking

Rotate the D-pad clockwise with the following character in the corresponding stages to hear mid-battle conversations:

Fox/Falco - Lylat Cruise, Corneria (Melee stage)
Wolf - Lylat Cruise
Snake - Shadow Moses Island

Battle As Big Jigglypuff

On a brawl, pick Jigglypuff as your character and go to the Bridge of Eldin. Get a final smash and wait until the bridge is broken. Wait until the portal starts to fix it. Jump in the middle of the broken bridge and use your final smash. The portal will fix the whole bridge and you will be giant. Then you can battle big the whole time until you die.

Iain Wilson
Guides Editor

Iain originally joined Future in 2012 to write guides for CVG, PSM3, and Xbox World, before moving on to join GamesRadar in 2013 as Guides Editor. His words have also appeared in OPM, OXM, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, and SFX. He is better known to many as ‘Mr Trophy’, due to his slightly unhealthy obsession with amassing intangible PlayStation silverware, and he now has over 500 Platinum pots weighing down the shelves of his virtual award cabinet. He does not care for Xbox Achievements.