For special attacks, see special move. For the Smash installment known as SPECIAL in Japan, see Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

The many different options of a Custom Smash.

Special Smash is a term that refers to several types of versus modes available in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. These modes see players manually adjusting the conditions of a match beyond the standard rules to unconventional, potentially broken and often humorous results. The point of these modes are to allow players to be more creative with how the game is played in a fun, non-competitive environment.

Although it has no appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, many of the Final Battles in Smash Run enable one of the options seen in Special Smash; additionally, voice clip 86 of the announcer in the Sound Test is of him saying "Special Smash", which may indicate cut or planned content. In all iterations through Ultimate, battles played in Special Smash do not count for statistics or the completion of some challenges.

Modes

Special Melee

In Melee, Special mode is only played with one special condition at a time.

• Camera Mode
• Stamina Mode
• Super Sudden Death
• Giant Melee
• Tiny Melee
• Invisible Melee
• Fixed Camera
• Single-Button Mode, where the Control Stick and A button are the only accepted inputs
• Lightning Melee
• Slo-Mo Melee

Special Brawl/Special Smash/Custom Smash

Unlike Melee's Special mode, where only one special condition could be played at any time, Special Brawl , Special Smash , and Custom Smash allow several options to be applied at the same time. It is also possible to play without any options enabled, creating a normal match where statistics are not recorded.

• Stamina: 300%/Stamina
• Size: Mega/Mini
• Head: Flower/Bunny
• Body: Metal/Clear/Tail/Rocket Belt/Screw Attack/Back Shield
• Status: Curry/Reflect
• Gravity: Light/Heavy
• Speed: Slow/Fast
• Camera: Fixed/Angled

In Ultimate, the term "Special Smash" is not used for the mode itself, but for a sub-menu containing Custom Smash and the new mode Smashdown. Stamina is now a standard rule option, and Super Sudden Death has moved to an expanded standalone mode, also located in the Special Smash menu. Unlike the other modes in Special Smash, it's impossible to play Custom Smash on custom stages or with more than 4 players at a time, though both it and Super Sudden Death can be played on local wireless. Additionally, most effects from Custom Smash can be emulated, though limited, by using spirits.

Gallery

• 

  The menu for Special Melee.
• 

  The menu for Special Brawl.
• 

  The menu for Special Smash.
• 

  The broader Special Smash menu, including Custom Smash.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	スペシャル乱闘	Special Brawl
English	Special Melee Special Brawl Special Smash Custom Smash	—
French	Mélee special Combat spécial Smash spécial
German	Spezial-Nahkampf Spezial-Brawl Spezial-Smash
Spanish	Cuerpo especial Brawl especial Smash especial
Italian	Mischia speciale Brawl speciale
Chinese (Simplified)	特殊乱斗
Chinese (Traditional)	特殊亂鬥
Portuguese	Smash Especial
Korean	스페셜 매치 스페셜 난투	Special Match Special Brawl
Dutch	Speciale smash
Russian	Особая битва

Trivia

• While Special Smash is not available in online play, prior to version 1.0.8 a glitch in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U allowed playing online matches with friends under Special Smash settings.^[1]
• In Giant/Tiny Melee, though the effects upon collecting a Super/Poison Mushroom respectively will further intensify, the character's pitch will remain the same. In Brawl onward, pitch further lowers/raises.
• The largest a character can be under normal circumstances is in Mega Smash, after a Lightning backfire. In this state, all size-altering effects are at their strongest, including character voices and sound effects being even deeper than collecting a Super Mushroom in Mega Smash, or after a Lightning backfire in a normal match.
  • This could be visually amplified even further with Mario’s size-altering taunt prior to Ultimate.
  • The same applies to collecting a Poison Mushroom or Lightning Bolt (both shrinking to the same size) in Mini Smash.
• Similar to Training Mode, in Fast/Slow Smash, the pitch of some Final Smashes (such as Puff Up, Mega Legends, NES Zapper Posse, and Shulk's grunt during the final hit of Chain Attack) will be altered. The sound effects of some attacks striking stage hazards may also be affected (i.e. hitting Yellow Devil with Rest).
  • Stage sounds will also be higher pitched in Fast Smash, but will quiet down on slower speeds.
• If the game speed is changed in Ultimate, Duck Hunt's smash attacks will be glitched and have double the amount of hitboxes.
  • If any of these hitboxes are interrupted at the right time, a hitbox will be spawned at that location. This hitbox has the damage output and knockback angle of the hitbox that was interrupted, and will activate with any attack regardless of Duck Hunt's location except for neutral attack, which instead will despawn it.

References

• Multiplayer modes
• Options
• Modes (SSBM)
• Modes (SSBB)
• Modes (SSB4-Wii U)
• Modes (SSBU)