I put in a ton of work into this one so I really hope you all enjoy it!

Well, Lucina’s route is really clever. She fights the FE fighters in reverse chronological release order, referencing her time travel shenanigans in Awakening.

I like to think the hands being jokers boss is a nod to all of them having the same VA

42:31 Insane trivia that makes Marx makes more sense as Inkling's final boss: In Kirby Superstar/Ultra, Marx's attacks do give a copy ability, and what ability is it? *Paint.*

I think the final boss for Sonic should've been Galleom. He's a robot. Sonic usually kills robots. It fits perfectly.

52:06 I'm sorry man but it was just too hard not to laugh at your pain. Those were the squeals of a man who lost everything. Anyway, no arguments from me. Seph's the clear winner and the closest we'll ever get to a boss rush mode.

14:12 So glad Roy and Roy became friends after Roy hit Roy in Roy’s reveal trailer for Smash 4. Peak character development 😂

I do think Pyra’s route deserve a few points for using Zelda and Shiek (the original swapping fighter) in her route.

Corrin's Classic Mode route is an abstract reference to Fire Emblem Fates as a whole. Corrin is the child of Queen Mikoto of Hoshido, a nation associated with light, the sun, and the color white. However, he/she was captured by King Garon of Nohr, a nation associated with darkness, the moon, and the color black, and was raised as a member of the Nohrian royal family. Eventually, war breaks out between the nations, and you have the option to play through the story of Birthright (in which Corrin sides with Hoshido), Conquest (in which Corrin sides with Nohr), or if you value content consumption over actual good use for money, you can buy the Revelation storyline (in which Corrin tries to make peace by *fighting both Hoshido and Nohr at once)* as DLC. So basically Corrin fighting black and white characters is a reference to Revelation and the overall conflict of Fates. What's the opposing Corrin about? The other timelines, I guess.

I can explain Ness’s classic mode a little bit as I’ve played Earthbound. He’s basically going backwards from location to location to get back where he started in Onett. One of the last places you go in Earthbound is magicant and you likely fight Ness here to represent how he had to confront and defeat the evil inside of him. Next is New Pork City with Lucas, I literally have no idea. I don’t think this is really based on anything from Earthbound. I have an idea for a replacement though. Delfino Plaza with a giant green Ridley fight to represent Summers and the Kraken boss fight. Next is Fourside with three robs. This on is fairly self-explanatory as Fourside is a location in Earthbound and then the robs represent the robot enemies you would fight inside the buildings. Next is Luigi’s mansion with some dark toon links. This represents Threed as it’s a dark and gloomy place, there are also zombies as enemies which are represented by the tinks. Finally there is Onett with you fighting Isabelle and Villager. These just represent enemies that you fight in onett those being the runaway dog then the different human enemies. Then master and crazy hand don’t have anything to do with anything :/ If I were able to change things I would change the onett one to smashville to represent the happy happy village and then for you to fight 3 default blue inklings to represent the happy happyism cult as they are obsessed with the color blue and painting things blue. Then with the inklings there would also be a Lucas in his duster alt using pretty much only pk thunder to attack to represent Mr. Carpainter, the leader of this cult. Franklin badges will also spawn for you to equip to represent how Ness was able to beat Mr. Carpainter by reflecting the lighting with his franklin badge. Then the final boss would still be the hands on the omega form of onett as there wasn’t really a big boss at onett. The main bosses were the 5 police officers and Frank and his robot thingy but rob is already represented then idk if who to put for the 5 officers lol. But the 5 officers is a better idea than the hands but it would probably be better as a stage along the way but onett is the final place so I decided not to use it. Anyways sorry for the essay but hopefully I explained it alright enough for you to understand a little better. I would replace New Pork City with Lucas with Delfino Plaza and a giant green Ridley then I would replace Onett with Isabelle and Villager with Smashville with 3 blue inklings and a blue Lucas using pk thunder. (lots of withs) Finally like you said, I would replace the Fd with omega Onett for the hands.

Inkling's penultimate fight was a very VERY early sneak peak at Splatoon 3, hunting at Tri color turf wars. It was impossible to predict at the time, but I'm glad they were able to discreetly spoil that in a way that nobody predicted it.

20:32 Mark Zuckerberg caught me off guard, I started laughing very loud (I'm normally a very quiet laugher)

Using Mewtwo in Ness's run wouldn't make sense, but I can see why there was confusion. Ness never saw that iteration of Giygas. That form of Giygas was defeated a beforehand by Ninten, who happens to look nearly identical to Ness. That took place in EarthBound Beginnings, or Mother 1. Mother 2 is what Ness is from..

"they're basically clones" me: yes, mewtwo IS a clone, that is his lore.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who liked Steve and Mega Man's classic mode. As someone who has play Minecraft a couple of times and as someone who is a Mega Man fan, I gotta say that it's a cool detail that they both get to have a final battle that has a song that matches the source material it's based on.

0:14 Poor miis, they should have been given a classic route where they fight characters who are also customizable avatars in their series. Their theme would be called Avatars Assemble and the boss would be The Fighting Mii Team.

27:30 I think Dracula could also work for Dedede's Classic Mode Route, as iirc he's the vampire king. So many chances not to use the hands and yheg still did that lmao

Im going to say this, For Sonic's classic mode, the 3 kirby opponents actually do make a Sonic reference in their colours. They are blue, yellow, and red. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Its a nice nod to Sonic Heroes.

One thing to mention about Steve’s classic route is that it isn’t just stamina mode to represent how Minecraft has HP, practically every game in existence has HP, the HP values are also almost always the same as the ones they have in Minecraft, so the Zombies have 20 health in both Smash and Minecraft.

Pit being in Snake's classic run is a reference to the arsenal of different weapons he can use in Kid Icarus: Uprising. Seriously, he has so many weapons to choose from in that game.

35:08 what if Dark Samus could’ve gotten the Byleth treatment and brought ALL her teammates in to wreck the Hands?

In bayo's route, Palutena being the final fight is also a reference to the final boss of the game being actual God. Also, it's technically 2 different stages, Skyworld and Palutena's Temple Also I think Robin's penultimate round could also reference SPOILERS: Grima as the final boss of awakening taking hold of Robin's body as they are the vessels for Grima

The closest I can figure for why Falco fights dark characters is that Falco is the closest thing Team Star Fox has to an anti-hero and thus is the morally darkest of the 4/5 members

A criticism I have with this video is that there are things taken in account which have nothing to do with how the route is set out such as how the character plays and when it’s added (and maybe when it’s played) and the themes of other characters

For thoes unfamiliar with Earthbound Ness' route is really awesome with the references. For the Lucas in New Pork city, I assumed Ness was knocked out (Thus the Magicant fight at the beginning as this is in his sub conscious) and taken to Lucas' time (Porkey does kidnap various people and bring them to this time to serve in his amy) where he finds the time machine Porkey used in EB to return to his time. The ROBs in Fourside represent the robots he faces inside the tower you are fighting on. Gerudo Valley is Dusty Dunes Desert between Fourside and Threed Though a koopaling hord would better to reference the traffic jam you see when first getting there. Luigi's Mansion and the Dark Toon Links represent Threed as its overrun with zombies when you first get there, and the only assist trophy here is Jeff since this is where he joins Ness' party. The Villager could be member of the Sharks gang and Isabelle a runaway dog, with the assist trophy being Starman, all enemies fought in Onett. I just wish Porkey had returned as a boss from Brawl as this would be perfect for Ness to finish on

Personally, they should've given Sephiroth his own unique route and given EVERYONE a boss rush mode upon completing their classic route at 9.0 or higher.

I hate Pythra’s classic mode route because it feels way too difficult to get 9.9. The only way I got past each round is by spamming Mythra’s Neutral B.

52:02 I’m in pain from that glitch and it probably cost you the PB as well

A huge smile appeared on my face when he said Rosalina was the best space themed classic mode

41:08 good thing that ad break saved me from the jumpscare

Honestly, it seems like Mega Man was just treated really well in Smash. Not only is his moveset a culmination of his most famous abilities, but the franchise has the most remixes of any 3rd party (other than SNK I think), his classic mode route is unique from most others while still staying faithful to the source material, the series got two brand new assist trophies (after cutting Elec Man from Smash 4), the series has four mii costume sets (more than any other 3rd party), and he was present in several of the trailers for Smash 4 and Ultimate. Not to mention, his FS is just a big celebration of the massive Mega Man universe. Since Mega Man is my favorite video game franchise, it warms my heart to see the series get the respect it deserves.

Having 9.9d every. Single. Route. (not worth it for the record, 9.9ing Sheik and Kazuya SUUUUUCKS) I heartily approve of this list's general existence. And yes, Sephiroth is the easiest #1 ever. I do think Sora's was a HUGE missed opportunity to use all the DLC characters though.

32:34 Since Palutena's route was based around fighting opponents from game series that have a heavy focus on religion then I think fighting the Hands at the end not only makes sense but perhaps more so than using Dracula or Ganon. The Hands are gods of the Smash series (lesser gods perhaps since they keep getting captured and controlled but gods nonetheless) with Master Hand being the creator entity and Crazy Hand being the destroyer entity. Who better to fight at the end of such a route than gods of the series it takes place in?

This video took so much effort. I really appreciate that!

The pit fight makes sense for dark pit due to dark pit thinking Pit was the clone and not him

Sephiroth's route is great, it just makes me wish that Ultimate had a Boss Rush mode

I often think of Pyra and Mythra's classic route as similar to Meta Knight's in that it's usually against two characters but some of the characters on both Pythra's and Meta Knight's routes aren't just two sides of the same coin but also have shared destinies.

Ah yes, my favorite Fire Emblem character, Alolan Raichu

The best part of this is when you mentioned Link being the most common character and snake being the rarest, I was literally doing snake’s classic mode and went up against link at the exact same time

17:50 I love the reference to sans is ness I laughed so hard when i saw that

So glad Sephiroth won Why we didn’t get a Boss Rush but we got Home Run Contest is so baffling to me

Wow... 53 minutes and 37 seconds. Gotta respect the effort you put into this video Odyssey!

Odyssey "This is Peach's Classic Mode." Sakurai "Yup." Odyssey "It's about her being a Damsel in Distress." Sakurai "Yup." Odyssey "So she should fight the person that kidnaps her every other day." Sakurai "Makes sense to me." Odyssey "Then make her fight the person who kidnaps her every other day." Sakurai "MASTER HAND!"

38:59 Fun fact, this round is a reference to something that happens in FE Awakening. Without giving many spoilers, Robin has somewhat of a doppelgänger in that game.

Little bit of context: the "Giygas" you used for Ness's route is actually from its predecessor game. Meaning, no, Mewtwo wouldn't necessarily have fitted, at least not any more than Lucas. Also for Ivysaur in Greninja's route... I mean, not only were Olimar and Dark Samus there, they could've also went for Daisy since she uses flower effects, which are prominent in Grass type moves.

Poor Odyssey. Rosalina always escapes his wrath when it’s justifiable 😥

A little correction on Sonic His theme isn't a mix between the fastest characters and his own references the actual theme is his games His 1st match is based on Sonic 2 since Fox represents Tails(the best character) His 2nd match is based on the Sonic racing games but mainly Sonic R with Falcon representing a racer His 3rd match is based on Sonic CD with the giant metal Sonic representing Metal Sonic obviously His 4th match is based on Sonic Heroes with the 3 Kirbys representing Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails or the Hero team His 5th match is based on both Sonic and the Black Knight and Sonic and the Secret Rings with Sheik representing the theme of the 2 games His 6th match is based on Sonic Lost World with Incineroar representing the main enemy in the game Zavok His boss isnt any reference which sucks because they could've put the metal boss or make a giant Bowser Jr. with a metal Sonic fight since its like Eggman So still not great but i do think this makes him a little higher then #69(nice) Without being too baised id say maybe 62 or 64 would be better

Wow this is an amazingly comprehensive (yet enjoyable) video! Well done!!

Falco's Route should've been called "I'm da biggest bird!"

I feel like Joker had the most missed boss potential. They could have brought in Dracula and have Batman vs Joker. Pit in Snake's arms based route actually makes perfect sense. This dude's packing heat to the point where another character in-game calls him a walking munitions depot.

For Corrin, it is a reference to the two countries you can join, as each army has a prominent color, white or Black

I can really appreciate the pure effort! Your one of the only creators who put Easter eggs in all of your videos, and it’s truly amazing! Huge fan and keep up the work!

that jumpscare for luigi was unexpected...

I really enjoy ultimates classic mode so i look forward to this

This is a great video! I was thinking maybe for the next level by level you can analyze the huge stages in Smash Ultimate (Palutena's Temple, The Great Cave Offensive, etc.)

I love these ranking videos!

39:00 obviously it's a fight against Grima

2:28 was a glorious moment

52:40 lmfao the hand labbed into 3d

31:46 while fighting incineroar he could be just sitting there watching and sipping his class of blood which fits his fight intro

Yo, more smash ranking videos! Great job on this video Odyssey

2:06 holy shit he called cringe by her real name

Oh my god I would have never noticed how phenomenal Bowser’s route is-best heavy. Excellent video

Great video, my favorite one is Mega Man but Sephiroth's one is also understandable, great pacing, I was never bored

bit late to the party but a fun part about robins route is that in the game robin is from, the end boss of the game is robin themselves but from an alternate timeline, so i think it's quirky that robin fights themself at the end.

16:16 POINT OF THE MASK LETS GO

Odyssey Central after jumpscare: Come on, I've used that same joke before. Me, who has never seen another video from him: ...Yea sure buddy

For the koopalings route, I would change Chrom for male Robin. He is one of the possible love interest for Lucina (I’m pretty sure but haven’t played Awakening since like 2019 so correct me if I am wrong)

52:07 At that moment he learnt the true meaning of despair

Kirby is my favorite fighter, and his classic mode is my favorite too, so seeing as you put his in at 10 really made my day (also his is the only one where I got 9.9 5 times)

In the transition to the Ness route, Sans appears instead of the route character as in almost every other transition. Is this a reference to the infamous "Sans is Ness" GameTheory?

this is really cool concept! i haven’t watched video yet but this is good idea

You think not being a Fire Emblem fan is based? Cringe. (Though I do support the Corrin slander lol) Anyways haha, good video! Great editing, and good to see Classic Mode get some love, such a fun offline mode. Edit: Also, man that Majora's Mask theme would have been so cool for Young Link! What we got wasn't bad but... If only

Corrins route "Black and white" is a reference to Nohr and hoshido (I believe its these 2) since they follow the color of Black and white in Fates. But yeah I really don't care about the route

I love your videos keep the great work up

41:09 dang it odyssey I have seen the puppet jumps are many times but I wasn’t ready for it

One thing I think bumps Fox’s route up slightly for me (though only ahead of Ridley) is the fact that you could argue that the hands are meant to represent Andross in his case which makes sense.

I think Bowser Jr. would have been good for Sonic’s mode because of having a similar machine as Dr. Eggman.

I absolutely LOVE Sephiroth's classic mode and it was very fun to play, so I agree with you for the #1 spot on this list.

6:15 anyone else saw waluigi there, what a great lad

16:16 I have lost so much respect for you in such a short amount of time.

On the Smash Wiki, it says Corrin has the black and white route, because he can't choose between Nohr and Hoshido in the game.

18:10 Itoi creator of the mother franchise said he included enough context clues in Mother 3 that if anyone wanted to make the case Ness is Flint (Lucas Dad) they could. Made more sense in the beta/ Mother 64 where flint had a bigger role and the ability to use PSI similar to ness. Also Hinawa (his wife) in Mother 64 had the same hair colour as Paula (which would explain Lucas being a blonde as well) 18:22 Mewtwo resembles Gigas in Earthbound Beginnings. Ness never encountered him in that form. As an EB/ MOTHER fan I'd say Ness has a really solid classic mode. Lucas however has one that feels very weak imo

Here's what I think would be an interesting topic for a video: Where would all the DLC characters be located in the World of Light had they had been added to the map? (e.g. I believe Pyra/Mythra and Kazuya would be located in The Final Battle) I haven't seen any videos on that topic, but I think would make for an interesting video.

36:51 she's looking at the next unhealthy opponent she's going to murder.

Great video, just like to say you made a few mistakes with Ness’s classic mode. The final boss in Mother 1 is Gigue which is the one who looks like Mewtwo. In Earthbound, the villain is Giygas who looks like a red blob of evil incarnate. Also, the Lucas Ness could be because in Mother 3, which occurs centuries after Earthbound, Ness and his friends are shown in the Movie theater in New Pork City, the stage of where this battle is fought. The references in this mode are actually really good such as the Robs representing robot enemies you fight in Fourside, or the Gerudo Valley fight with shirk representing the desert in between Fourside and Threed. Good video though!

While it's pretty funny to have Yoshi fight Rathalos, a big missed opportunity is not fighting Giga Bowser and it wouldn't even mess with the theme. The Giant Bowser fight in Yoshi's Island is likely the reason Giga Bowser even exists in the first place

Man you made my night with the Second jump scare (i'm no joking, really). I laughed so much I wasn't expecting at all

Thanks for showing Rosalina a little respect

Something to add to byleths route, in the fight against the 3 byleths, each one will only use one of their weapons. For example one of them will only use moves like side B and forward smash

OMG Glad I'm not the only one who hated Toon Link's path!! Also fantastic transitions with the characters walking!

I think that Ken's theme wasn't only rivals, but more "famous clones/characters with similar moveset", as Ken is THE character that represents best this idea in fighting games. That's why it's Dark Samus and not Ridley, and it's Crazy hand that appears. That's also why Luigi appears, as Luigi is basically to Mario what Ken is to Ryu.

Man Olimar really deserves that bottom spot. Its not just yet ANOTHER Space Classic mode, but its also a huge wasted opportunity. I mean the classic modes consist of 6 regular fights and 1 boss and Olimar is using exactly 6 different kinds of Pikmins in this game, so it would have been really easy to just make the first 6 fights against small characters that represent the different Pikmin types (for example tiny Mario for Red Pikmin, Pichu for Yellow, Squirtle for Blue, Tiny Warios for Purple, Tiny Dark Samus in white outfit for White, Kirby for Pink Pikmin and then at the end with the hands you are get the first 5 enemies as allies).

I love long videos likes these.😁 But freak you for putting that jump scare lol.

The clips you got from this are amazing lmao

16:16 god damn it

For Falco's route, I believe the main theme is more geared towards rivalries? Of course, Dark Samus, Dark Pit, the Dark Links, they just s e e m like they're dark, but they're also rivals to the characters in their series. The other two would be the Masked Man, Lucas' rival, and Blood Falcon, Captain Falcon's rival. Not sure what the Game & Watch is, but it's on Find Mii specifically, so it probably means something-

Changes I would make for some classic modes Link: Changed name: The Hero of the Wild. Taking place in botw. Fight #1: 4 small Red/Burgundy King K Rool referencing the Bokoblins Fight #2: 1 Big Rob referencing the guardian in loz... Nothin else Fight #3: 1 Magenta/Pink Inkling referencing Mipha, the only items that spawn are healing items Fight #4: 1 Orange Donkey Kong referencing Daruk Fight #5: 1 Green/Yellow ZSS referencing Urbosa Fight #6: 1 Falco referencing Revali.. that's all Final boss: Ganondorf, eventually turning into Ganon

19:19 I think I get why Luigi is the one chosen as Mario's rival in this route The stage where this fight happens is the Mario Bros. one, where Luigi first debuted, in this game he was actually Mario's rival since the idea here was to see who gets more points I agree that he could have been a much more appropriate and meaningful character, but with the reference it kinda works well

9:14 I know they wouldn’t do this But it would’ve been clever if the final boss for Corrins classic route was Galeem and Dharkon I mean they’re literally light and darkness