This article is about the widescreen Options menu. For the unofficial name for characters being thrown toward the camera & KOed, see Screen KO.
The game set on widescreen.
The Screen menu is a configuration in Super Smash Bros. Brawl that allows players to change the aspect ratio to match their TV being used. The configuration is accessed via the Options menu. By default, it inherits the setting enabled in the main Wii console options menu.
The two options are:
- 4:3 Standard - Causes the game to render the output with a narrower, "fullscreen", camera view.
- 16:9 Widescreen - Causes the game to render the output with a wider camera view, allowing more of the playing field to be shown.
A circle appears in the background on this menu, to assist the player to see which screen size is more suited to their TV.
Widescreen hack variations
The Dolphin emulator allows for even wider-screened resolutions of Melee and Brawl; such hacks, however, are of varying quality. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the force 4:3 aspect ratio options via Graphics configuration menu while widescreen hack is enabled will fill up the screen even if the aspect ratio option is set on 4:3. The 16:9 aspect ratio will display perfectly while running in 4:3 ratio. Usually, the screen stretches when using 4:3 aspect ratio via wii console or dolphin without widescreen hack enabled.
Trivia
Changing the screen aspect ratio doesn't change the Wii's output resolution, which remains at 640×480 (even on the default PAL setting of 576i, 50Hz), only the way the picture is rendered within that resolution. Thus, snapshots captured on a widescreen-set console will appear to be "squashed" horizontally if decrypted and viewed on a PC unless resized; the pan and scan-set consle will appear perfect, but limited display.