Classic Mode

Classic Mode, originally known as 1P Mode, is a recurring game mode in the Super Smash Bros. series.

Description
In Classic Mode, the player selects a character and has to complete multiple stages, consisting largely of fighting against other Super Smash Bros. characters and culminating in a boss fight during the final stage. Completing Classic Mode awards the player with a unique image for each character, accompanied by the announcer saying "Congratulations!"

Super Smash Bros.
In the original Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64, 1P Mode is largely the same for all characters on every playthrough. The player completes ten stages, plus three Bonus Stages (Break the Targets, Board the Platforms, and Race to the Finish) and one Final Stage where Master Hand is fought. The player may also select difficulty level and stock number. When each stage is cleared, the player's score receives bonuses from the Timer, Damage, and any Special Bonuses.

Stage 7 is a battle against a Kirby Team. The fourth Kirby is wearing Samus' helmet and has access to her Charge Shot.

Stage 8 is a battle against Samus Aran on Planet Zebes. Samus has one stock, and the player only needs to defeat her within a time limit of five minutes. If the player is playing 1P Mode with Samus in her default Varia Suit costume, then the NPC Samus appears with her Super Metroid Gravity Suit alternate costume.

Stage 10 is a battle against the Fighting Polygon Team. NSamus appears as one of the Fighting Polygons.

The first two Bonus Stages (Break the Targets and Board the Platforms) are unique to each character. For Samus, her stages are comprised of gray blocks, resembling the aesthetics of elevator rooms in the Metroid series.

Samus's congratulations screen depicts her helmet against a black background. Samus Unmasked can be seen in the reflection on the visor.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Classic Mode consists of 11 stages. Stages 3, 6, and 9 are Bonus Stages (Target Test, Snag the Trophies, and Race to the Finish), and Stage 11 is a fight against Master Hand that may also be joined by Crazy Hand if the stage is reached in less than 5:50 on Normal (or higher) difficulty.

Unlike 1P Mode, the Melee Classic Mode is no longer standardized for every playthrough. Instead, each fighting stage randomly selects from a pool of applicable opponents for a type of match, which is determined based upon the current stage. If the player has selected Samus as their character, then she will not appear as an NPC during Classic Mode.

In Stages 1, 4, and 7, Samus is one of the possible opponents in a one-on-one match. She appears on Planet Zebes: Brinstar or, if it is already unlocked, Planet Zebes: Brinstar Depths. If played on Very Hard Difficulty, Samus will use her Green Samus alternate costume if she appears in Stage 1.

Stage 2 is a two-on-two team battle. If she appears as an opponent, Samus may be teamed up with Captain Falcon on Big Blue, or with Fox on Brinstar; in both scenarios, she will also use her Green Samus costume if fought on Very Hard Difficulty. Alternatively, Samus can appear as the player's NPC ally, using her Super Metroid Gravity Suit costume.

In Stage 5, the player is joined by two NPC allies in a battle against a giant character. Samus may appear as one of the allies, using either her Super Metroid Gravity Suit costume or her black costume.

In Stage 10, Samus is one of the possible opponents in a one-on-one match. She appears on Battlefield and is permanently under the effects of a Metal Box.

Target Test is once again unique to each character. Samus's stage uses metallic tiles and tubes, once again evocative of the elevator rooms in her home series.

Samus's congratulations screen depicts her firing a Missile on Brinstar. Completing Classic Mode with Samus for the first time will unlock the classic Samus Aran Trophy.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Classic Mode consists of twelve stages. There are two Target Smash!! Bonus Stages (no longer unique to each character, now determined by the mode's difficulty), and Stage 12 is a fight against Master Hand that may be joined by Crazy Hand if the stage is reached in less than nine minutes on Hard (or higher) difficulty.

The Brawl Classic Mode chooses its opponents based upon the current stage, with a randomized match type (normal, giant, metal, or multi).

Stage 6 features either Metroid or Pikmin. Samus or Zero Suit Samus are possible opponents on this stage, and they may be fought on Norfair or Frigate Orpheon. If the player is using Samus (or Zero Suit Samus) in her default costume, the opponent Samus uses her Fusion Suit costume and Zero Suit Samus uses her dark blue costume; any alternate costume may be seen if the Samus Team or Zero Suit Samus Team is battled.

Stage 11 is a Free-for-All battle on Final Destination against three opponents, which are selected from characters who have not yet appeared in a previous stage. Therefore, if Olimar is fought instead of Samus on Stage 6, then she may appear on this stage instead.

Samus's congratulations screen depicts her pointing her Arm Cannon on Shadow Moses Island. Completing Classic Mode with Samus for the first time will unlock the Samus Trophy. If Classic Mode is completed as Zero Suit Samus, then the Zero Suit Samus Trophy will be unlocked instead. Therefore, it is required to play through Classic Mode twice as Samus to unlock all Trophies.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Classic Mode consists of only six stages. There are several major changes to the formula, such as no more Bonus Stages. Stock number can no longer be selected, and is defaulted at two. Similar to Kid Icarus: Uprising, players must spend gold to adjust the intensity higher or lower than 2.0 (with 9.0 as the maximum), and getting a game over drops the difficulty.

The player's character makes their way across a map with diverging paths. Each path is labeled with a color (red, green, or blue) denoting difficulty and a series symbol indicating which character will be fought. Therefore, any path marked with the Screw Attack symbol will lead to a battle against Samus or Zero Suit Samus on Brinstar. Either version of Samus may also appear in Free-for-All battles on other paths.

Stage 6 is the battle against Master Hand. If played on at least 3.0 intensity, an alternative path to Stage 6 provides a battle against both Master Hand and Crazy Hand; at 8.0 intensity or higher, this is the only path available. When the intensity is at least 5.1 after defeating Master Hand and Crazy Hand, the player faces off against Master Core in a multi-phase battle with the penultimate phase being Master Shadow, a large black copy of the player's character; therefore, if playing as Samus or Zero Suit Samus, Master Shadow will imitate her form. Master Shadow will also copy any of the player's equipment and custom moves.

Samus's congratulations screen depicts her posing with her Gunship on Brinstar. Zero Suit Samus's congratulations screen depicts her posing with her Gunship on Prism Tower. Completing Classic Mode with Samus or Zero Suit Samus for the first time will unlock their respective Trophy.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Classic Mode consists of seven rounds. Just like 3DS, there are no Bonus Stages, only two stock, and Kid Icarus: Uprising-style intensity.

In Wii U, the player's character appears as a Trophy on a battlefield, with a random assortment of other Trophies gathered on images displaying stages. Unlike previous Classic Modes, characters and stages of the same series are no longer tied together, meaning any character can appear on a Metroid stage, and Samus or Zero Suit Samus can appear on any stage.

By the end of Round 3, all other Trophies have been eliminated, causing a new set to replace them. These Trophies are based on the Alt. Trophies, and therefore Samus appears with her Light Suit costume and Zero Suit Samus appears with her white costume.

Round 7 is the battle against Master Hand. Crazy Hand is always fought if played on at least 3.0 intensity, and Master Core is always fought if played on at least 5.1 intensity. If the intensity is between 5.1 and 7.9, Master Shadow is once again the penultimate stage. If the intensity is at least 9.0, then a new phase is added to the battle: Master Fortress, a large maze populated by shadowy imitations of certain Smash Run enemies, including Geemers.

Samus's congratulations screen depicts her battling Ridley on Pyrosphere. Zero Suit Samus's congratulations screen depicts her staring down her suited self on Final Destination. Completing Classic Mode with Samus or Zero Suit Samus for the first time will unlock their respective Trophy.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Classic Mode consists of eight rounds. Round 7 is a Bonus Game where the player character collects golden orbs to boost their score while running from a vortex. The Final Round is a boss fight; for the first time in the Super Smash Bros. series, Master Hand is not always the boss fought during Classic Mode. Intensity works like it did in 3DS and Wii U, but now displays a banner of artwork that can only be viewed in its entirety by playing harder intensities; doing well during each round will also automatically raise the intensity.

Each character has a completely unique version of Classic Mode. Each Classic Mode is themed to that character in a certain way, even featuring a unique title. As such, it is no longer randomized like previous games, nor is it the same for every character like in the original 1P Mode.

Samus's Classic Mode is Another Planet, Another Bounty.

Zero Suit Samus's Classic Mode is '''Grapplers! Whips! Chains!'''

Ridley's Classic Mode is '''It Can't Be! Space Pirates!'''

Dark Samus's Classic Mode is The Great Poison Given Form, referencing the Chozo's name for Phazon. Her opponents include characters using alternate costumes referencing their evil versions, such as Ken using his Violent Ken costume. The penultimate battle is a Free-for-All against Samus and Ridley. The boss of this Classic Mode is Master Hand.

Other characters feature Metroid characters in their respective Classic Modes:
 * In Link's Classic Mode, A Quest to Seal the Darkness, the opponents are characters associated with darkness. A giant Ridley is fought on Norfair, and Dark Samus is fought on Frigate Orpheon.
 * In Jigglypuff's Classic Mode, All Original, All 64, the opponents consist of the series's "perfect attendance crew". As such, Samus is one of the characters fought.

Since Trophies are not included in Ultimate, beating Classic Mode will no longer unlock the character's respective Trophy.

Trivia

 * While Samus Aran is usually only referred to by her first name in the Super Smash Bros. series, 1P Mode presents her NPC's full name on the "VS" screen before Stage 8.
 * Brawl is the only game where Samus and Zero Suit Samus share the same congratulations screen.