1. Mushroomy Kingdom

Scrolling levels: does anyone like them? Mushroomy Kingdom debuted in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and recreates World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros., but with a drab, hyper-realistic aesthetic that makes everything brown, tan, and just plain boring. Combine that with the scrolling mechanic that feels like impending doom, and you’ve got a stage that didn’t need to exist.

2. Flat Zone X

Combining Flat Zone and Flat Zone 2 wasn’t the upgrade we needed. The level’s tiny size, fixed camera, and black-and-white aesthetic make it hard to play. Add in transforming hazards from Game & Watch minigames like Fire and Chef, and you’re left with a chaotic, unappealing mess.

3. Summit

The Ice Climbers’ Summit stage is a disaster. The glacier breaks off, sliding downhill, clouds pass through the base of the stage, and a creepy fish from Balloon Fight lurks below, ready to eat you if you fall. With its icy bottom platform and cramped space, this stage is more annoying than fun.

4. Distant Planet

While Pikmin is great, this stage is not. The left slope becomes a wet slip-and-slide when it rains, and the right side features a red Bulborb with its mouth wide open, waiting to swallow you whole. It’s chaotic and frustrating, especially when that mouthy Bulborb eats you for daring to exist near it.

5. Hanenbow

This stage feels like someone let Kermit the Frog design a fever dream. With its green-on-green color palette, awkward tree platforms, and unplayable water that somehow doesn’t let you swim, Hanenbow is an eyesore and a headache. It’s only redeeming quality? It’s fun for green-screen editing, but that’s it.

6. New Pork City

New Pork City is absurdly massive. Getting to your opponent feels like planning a road trip, and the stage is so big that hazards like the Ultimate Chimera are easy to avoid. It’s like Zelda’s Temple stage but even more oversized, making actual gameplay feel disconnected and slow.

7. Yoshi’s Island (Melee)

This stage feels like a half-pipe with random yellow blocks covering a pit. Knocking someone into that pit feels more like winning the lottery than a planned strategy. It’s unimaginative and doesn’t add anything unique to the game.

8. Great Bay

Great Bay from Majora’s Mask is plagued by camping spots under the main platform and an unhelpful turtle who comes and goes as it pleases. While Majora’s Mask is a masterpiece, couldn’t we have had Clock Town or another iconic location? Also, Tingle lurking in the background is just plain creepy.

9. Mario Bros

While the original Mario Bros. game is a classic, the Mario Bros. stage in Smash is boring and frustrating. The blast zones are weird, allowing you to KO opponents into them but also bounce around like a pinball at high percentages. It’s more chaos than fun.

10. Pac-Land

Pac-Land feels like someone made it in MS Paint with their eyes closed. This scrolling level is filled with garish colors, strange water spouts, and random transitions that make gameplay awkward. It’s like Hanenbow but somehow worse, with a design that feels stuck in the past.

Honorable Mention: 75m

As a Donkey Kong main and someone who loves the original arcade game, it pains me to say this, but 75m is awful. Its design is confusing and difficult to navigate, especially with hazards like the springs and ladders interrupting every move.

Final Thoughts

This list isn’t meant to tear down the game—Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is an incredible experience, and Sakurai and his team poured their hearts into it. But not every stage is a winner.