On-screen appearance are a feature in the Super Smash Bros. games. An on-screen appearance is a short animation that each character has which plays out during the beginning of a match. In Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, each character has their own unique animation for entering the match, but in Super Smash Bros. Melee, every character appears exactly the same way - the Trophy of the character loses its pedestal and becomes the mobile version after passing by a ring of lightning.
Super Smash Bros.[]
| Character | Entrance |
|---|---|
| Captain Falcon | Jumps out of his vehicle, the Blue Falcon. |
| Donkey Kong | Breaks out of a DK Barrel. |
| Fox | Ejects out of an Arwing. |
| Jigglypuff | Emerges from a Poké Ball just like Pikachu. |
| Kirby | Crash-lands a Warp Star into the ground. |
| Link | Descends from a beam of light. |
| Luigi | Jumpe out of a Warp Pipe just like Mario. |
| Mario | Jumps out of a Warp Pipe. |
| Ness | Uses Teleport and crashes onto the stage. |
| Pikachu | Emerges from a Poké Ball. |
| Samus | Exits a Super Metroid-style save point. |
| Yoshi | Breaks out of a Yoshi Egg. |
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]
Following their absence in Melee, on-screen appearances return in Brawl, with the original 12 being updated aesthetically, and Melee newcomers receiving an original one. However, they only appear in Group modes such as VS. matches, with Single-Player modes using Melee's quicker entrance with the characters already being present.
| Character | Entrance |
|---|---|
| Bowser | Emerges from a wall of flames. |
| Captain Falcon | Arrives in the Blue Falcon and jumps out. |
| Diddy Kong | Bursts out a barrel, clapping both his hands and feet. |
| Donkey Kong | Bursts out a barrel and makes a pose. |
| Falco | Ejects from an upside-down Arwing. |
| Fox | Ejects from an Arwing. |
| Ganondorf | Steps out of a dark portal. |
| Ice Climbers | Flies in hanging onto the feet of the Condor before jumping off. |
| Ike | Warps onto the stage and performs an inward slash with Ragnell. |
| Jigglypuff | Gets released from a Pokéball while doing a short, puffy dance. |
| King Dedede | Gets carried in by Waddle Dees with a podium. |
| Kirby | Strikes onto the ground with a Warp Star. |
| Link | Appears in a whirlwind and unsheathes the Master Sword |
| Lucario | Teleports onto the stage, radiating aura from its hands and slowly lands. |
| Lucas | Rides in on a Mr. Saturn coffee table then hops off. |
| Luigi | Enters through a Warp Pipe and says "Let's-a-go!" in an uneasy voice. |
| Mario | Enters through a Warp Pipe and says "Let's-a-go!". |
| Marth | Warps onto the stage and draws Falchion. |
| Meta Knight | Teleports via Dimensional Cape. |
| Mr. Game & Watch | Moves through a sequence of LCD shapes from the background to the foreground. |
| Ness | Uses PSI Teleport to appear on the stage, then shakes the gathered ash off his face. |
| Olimar | Jumps out of the Hococate Ship and plucks out three Pikmin. |
| Peach | Appears in a flurry of hearts, winks, and says "Hi!". |
| Pikachu | Appears from a Pokéball and emits sparks from its cheeks. |
| Pit | Descends slowly from the sky in a beam of light. |
| Pokémon Trainer | Throws a Pokéball and sends out Charizard, Ivysaur, or Squirtle. |
| R.O.B. | Falls from the sky bit by bit until he is finally assembled on the ground. |
| Samus | Enters through a Save Station from Super Metroid. |
| Sheik | Appears in a cloud of smoke. |
| Snake | Deactivates his camo-suit, stands up, sometimes saying "Kept ya waiting, huh?". |
| Sonic | Spin jumps onto the stage in his ball form and then gives a thumbs-up. |
| Toon Link | Appears from a cloud of cartoony smoke, then unsheathes the Master Sword. |
| Wario | Arrives with his Wario Bike and then falls off. The bike then explodes and Wario dusts himself off. |
| Wolf | Ejects from a Wolfen. |
| Yoshi | Bursts out of egg, then poses. |
| Zelda | Teleports in with magic in her hands. |
| Zero Suit Samus | Breaks out of her Power Suit. |
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U[]
On-screen appearances are used exactly like in Brawl, appearing only in Group modes and utilizing Melee's quicker entrance in single-player. In addition, Dr. Mario and Roy received new on-screen appearances due to their absence in Brawl, and Zero Suit Samus and Sheik received a new animation due to being separate characters.
| Character | Entrance |
|---|---|
| Bayonetta | Appears through Bayonetta-styled magic, then pulls out Love is Blue/Scarborough Fair from behind her back. |
| Bowser | Walks out of a wall of flames. |
| Bowser Jr. | The Junior Clown Car appears in the stage then Bowser Jr. pops up and makes a scary face. |
| Captain Falcon | Arrives in the Blue Falcon and jumps out. |
| Charizard | Gets released from a Pokéball and stomps. |
| Cloud | Jumps down onto the stage from above, then catches the Buster Sword from the air. |
| Corrin | Appears in dragon form with a splash of water, then transforms into human form and draws the Omega Yato. |
| Dark Pit | Descends from the sky in a beam of darkness. |
| Diddy Kong | Bursts out a barrel, clapping both his hands and feet. |
| Donkey Kong | Bursts out a barrel and makes a pose. |
| Dr. Mario | Appears from a wall made of Megavitamins, formed into a shape of a pill bottle, that disappear to show Dr. Mario, in a thinking pose |
| Duck Hunt | Jumps in tall grass and laughs. |
| Falco | Ejects from an upside-down Arwing. |
| Fox | Ejects from an Arwing. |
| Ganondorf | Steps out of a dark portal. |
| Greninja | Gets released from a Pokéball and does a ninja pose. |
| Ike | Warps onto the stage and performs an inward slash with Ragnell |
| Jigglypuff | Appears from a Pokéball while doing a short, puffy dance. |
| King Dedede | Gets carried in by Waddle Dees with a podium. |
| Kirby | Strikes into the ground with a Warp Star. |
| Link | Appears in a whirlwind and unsheathes the Master Sword |
| Little Mac | Runs on stage with his pink sweat suit then throws it off. |
| Lucario | Teleports onto the stage, radiating aura from its hands and slowly lands. |
| Lucas | Rides in on a Mr. Saturn coffee table, then hops off. |
| Lucina | Warps onto the stage and removes her mask while drawing the Parallel Falchion. |
| Luigi | Enters through a Warp Pipe and says "Let's-a-go!" in an uneasy voice. |
| Mario | Enters through a Warp Pipe and says "Let's-a-go!". |
| Marth | Warps onto the stage and draws Falchion. |
| Mega Man | Teleports just like from his original games. |
| Meta Knight | Teleports via Dimensional Cape. |
| Mewtwo | Teleports via shadow energy. |
| Mii Brawler | Falls down with an explosion, then performs punches and kicks. |
| Mii Gunner | Emerges from an orb of energy. |
| Mii Swordfighter | Appears from a whirlwind, then unsheathes their sword. |
| Mr. Game & Watch | Moves through a sequence of LCD shapes from the background to the foreground. |
| Ness | Uses PSI Teleport to appear on the stage, then shakes the gathered ash off his face. |
| Olimar | Jumps out of the Hococate Ship and plucks out three Pikmin. |
| Pac-Man | Appears on in his 2D form as a ball, opens his mouth, jumps and turns into 3D Pac-Man. |
| Palutena | Walks out of a golden door. |
| Peach | Appears in a flurry of hearts and says "Hi!". |
| Pikachu | Appears from a Pokéball and emits sparks from its cheeks. |
| Pit | Descends slowly from the sky in a beam of light. |
| R.O.B. | Falls from the sky bit by bit until he is finally assembled on the ground. |
| Robin | Warps onto the stage with Bronze Sword and Thunder tome in hand. |
| Rosalina & Luma | Swoops down from the stars and spins. |
| Roy | Warps onto the stage and pulls the Sword of Seals from the ground. |
| Ryu | Walks from the shadows onto the stage, then gets into a fighting stance. |
| Samus | Enters through a Save Station from Super Metroid. |
| Sheik | Appears in a cloud of smoke. |
| Shulk | Falls and slams the Monado on the ground, then sheathes it on his back. |
| Sonic | Spin jumps onto the stage in his ball form and then gives a thumbs-up. |
| Toon Link | Appears from a cloud of cartoony smoke, then unsheathes the Master Sword. |
| Villager | Steps out of his house, which then disappears. |
| Wario | Arrives with his Wario Bike and then falls off. The bike then explodes and Wario dusts himself off. |
| Wii Fit Trainer | Steps off of the living Wii Balance Board, which disappears. |
| Yoshi | Bursts out of egg, then poses. The color of the Yoshi will determine the color of the spots on the egg. |
| Zelda | Teleports in with magic in her hands. |
| Zero Suit Samus | Jumps from her Gunship and lands with her jet boots. |
Gallery[]
Super Smash Bros.[]
Mario
Donkey Kong
Link
Samus
Yoshi
Kirby
Fox
Pikachu
Luigi
Captain Falcon
Ness
Jigglypuff
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]
Bowser.
Captain Falcon.
Charizard.
Diddy Kong.
Donkey Kong.
Falco.
Fox.
Mr. Game & Watch.
Ganondorf.
Ice Climbers.
Ike.
Ivysaur.
Jigglypuff.
King Dedede.
Kirby.
Link.
Lucario.
Lucas.
Luigi.
Mario.
Marth.
Meta Knight.
Ness.
Olimar.
Peach.
Pikachu.
Pit.
R.O.B.
Samus.
Sheik.
Snake.
Sonic.
Squirtle.
Toon Link.
Wario.
Wolf.
Yoshi.
Zelda.
Zero Suit Samus.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS[]
Trivia[]
- The only characters that don't have an On-Screen Appearance are Young Link and Pichu before they appeared in Ultimate because Melee did not feature On-Screen Appearances.
- If Little Mac has the pink/green sweatshirt as his color, he will play the same animation, but won't take off the suit.
- Link, Zero Suit Samus, and Sheik are the only characters to change on-screen appearances between games.
- Link is the only character to not change on-screen appearances between Brawl and 3DS/Wii U.
- Technically, Sheik's animation remained the same in 3DS/Wii U, but changes its effect to smoke instead of magic.
- When the Blue Falcon is facing right, Captain Falcon, simply jumps out of it, but if it is facing left, he does a front flip as he hops out.