The Great Maze
| Subspace The Great Maze | |
|---|---|
   A map of The Great Maze, showing where the false characters and bosses are. | |
| Universe | Super Smash Bros. |
| Appears in | Brawl |
| Availability | Subspace Emissary |
| Boss | All previous bosses Tabuu |
| Preceding SSE stage | Subspace (Part II) |
The Great Maze (大迷宮,Great Maze) is the thirty-first and final stage ofAdventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl. After many sections of theWorld of Trophies are sent toSubspace,Tabuu creates a large maze made of sections from most of the previously visited levels in the game. To complete this, the player must win a number of battles againstdoppelgängers of almost all thefighters in the game (excludingZero Suit Samus,Sheik,Sonic,Toon Link,Wolf andJigglypuff) and all of thebosses (except forMaster Hand andCrazy Hand).
There is no specific order in which the player must beat all the enemies, and it is possible to play as any character that has been rescued so far.Save Points and Warp points are dispersed throughout the maze. These two types of checkpoints are indicated by theSmash Bros. emblem mounted on a trophy stand and look like a forest clearing with a tear showing Subspace's atmosphere in the fabric of the sky. Save Points restore the player's stock to four (six in later runs) and damage to 0%, as well as letting the player re-select characters or fiddle with stickers. Warp Points are identical but also allow teleportation between other visited Warp Points, as well as serving as both entry and exit points to and from the maze itself.
Pausing at any time displays a map of all visited rooms, as well as the player's current position inside a room and wheredoors and room-to-room links are. Once enough rooms have been visited to form a loop with the starting point, the map will also display all the locations of unbeaten characters and bosses with icons in the form of a monster head.
Once all battles are completed, a large purple door becomes accessible in the center of the maze, which leads to Tabuu's Residence. Any subspacial clone or boss that has not yet been defeated will be seen obstructing the door and can only vanish once each character or boss is defeated. Upon winning this final battle, in-story the Great Maze is spread apart and all the levels and locations of theWorld of Trophies are returned to their normal state. TheIsle of the Ancients, however, is not restored: the great number of Subspace Bombs going off in one place has caused it to cease existing. In-game, the Great Maze remains on the world map afterwards so that the player can re-enter it whenever they want and the stages on the Isle of the Ancients can be replayed again (having been made inaccessible after the first completion ofthe second portion of Subspace Bomb Factory)
Playable Characters[edit]
Five characters are always available to choose from in The Great Maze.Ness,Luigi andKirby are revived byDedede Brooches,King Dedede is revived by Luigi and Ness andBowser is revived by King Dedede.Sonic appears at the very end of the Great Maze and can join the fight against Tabuu. All other characters with the exception ofToon Link,Wolf andJigglypuff must be revived as trophies in the previous twolevels.
Guaranteed[edit]
Revived in Part I[edit]
- Captain Falcon
- Diddy Kong
- Donkey Kong
- Falco
- Fox
- Ike
- Lucas
- Mario
- Marth
- Mr. Game & Watch
- Olimar
- Pikachu
- Pit
- Pokémon Trainer (Squirtle,Ivysaur andCharizard)
- Samus/Zero Suit Samus
Revived in Part II[edit]
- Ganondorf (only if Link and Zelda are revived)
- Ice Climbers
- Link
- Lucario
- Meta Knight
- Peach
- R.O.B.
- Snake
- Wario
- Yoshi
- Zelda/Sheik
Joins the team to fight Tabuu[edit]
Stage recreations[edit]
Some parts of The Great Maze are combinations of older stages, with many having slight modifications and different music from than the originals. This includesThe Forest with theday-changing doors fromThe Lake andThe Research Facility with the three-switch doors from theSubspace Bomb Factory. Some of these stages sport new areas, such as the elevator rooms in The Halberd and The Research Facility, the mountain entrance to The Battlefield Fortress, the icy floors in The Ruined Zoo, the triple switch doors in the Research Facility, and the day-changing doors section in The Forest. In addition, all three of the Halberd's playable sections appear in the Great Maze despite the Halberd being destroyed and never entering Subspace. Lastly, some of the areas are laid out in such a way that the player will go through a level in the opposite direction, such as the Ruined Zoo, the Wilds, and the Battlefield Fortress. And since theR.O.B. Squad was destroyed in the Isle of the Ancients, they do not appear as enemies in the Great Maze.
| Stage recreated | Portion(s) of stage used | Song(s) played |
|---|---|---|
| Midair Stadium | Petey Piranha battle | Airship Theme (Super Mario Bros. 3) |
| 11. The stadium (Warp Point) | Step: Subspace | |
| Skyworld | 1. Third section cube room | Step: The Plain |
| 3. Vertical half of the second section | ||
| Sea of Clouds | 2. Horizontal pillar section (original) | Step: The Plain |
| The Jungle | 20. Vertical section | Jungle Level |
| The Lake | Rayquaza battle | Victory Road |
| The Ruined Zoo | Porky battle | Porky's Theme |
| 9. Last section | Snowman | |
| 8. Sewer level (icy left half is original) | ||
| 7. First half of thePorky Statue chase section | ||
| The Battlefield Fortress | 13. Alternate outdoor area (original) | Crimean Army Sortie |
| 14. Most of the castle | ||
| 39. Second half of the underground mine cart area | Step: The Cave | |
| The Forest | 4/5.Day-changing doors (original) | The Dark World |
| 6. First part of the last section | ||
| The Research Facility I | 19. Single elevator section (original) | Opening/Menu (Metroid Prime) |
| The Lake Shore | 38. Outdoor Jyk area | Step: The Plain |
| The Path to the Ruins | 10. A vertical pillar balance section (original) | Gritzy Desert |
| 26. Most of the first area | ||
| 35. First part of the underground section | Step: The Cave | |
| The Cave | 32. Combinations of all stage elements (Warp Point) (original) | Step: Subspace |
| The Ruins | 34. Almost all of the first main section | Underground Theme (Super Mario Land) |
| 27. Flame bar part of the second section | ||
| 28. Elevator room with enemies (Warp Point) (original) | Step: Subspace | |
| The Wilds I | Galleom battle | Boss Battle Song 1 |
| 31. First half of the second main area | Step: The Plain | |
| The Wilds II | 29. Pre-elevator portion of the first area | |
| 30. Spiky part of the second section | ||
| The Swamp | 15. First area | Jungle Level |
| 16. Top part of the ladder section (Warp Point) | Step: Subspace | |
| 36. Fraction of the rivertop spring section | Bramble Blast | |
| 33. Rivertop barrel section | ||
| 37. Cube room from above section | ||
| The Research Facility II | Ridley battle | Vs. Ridley |
| 23/24/25. 3-switch door and associated areas (all original) | Opening/Menu (Metroid Prime) | |
| Outside the Ancient Ruins | 18. First half of the main level | Gritzy Desert |
| The Glacial Peak | 12. Latter half of the climb | Frozen Hillside |
| Battleship Halberd Interior | 21. Second area | Meta Knight's Revenge |
| 22. Elevators in the Halberd (original) | ||
| Battleship Halberd Exterior | 17. Right-side exterior (slightly condensed) | |
| Battleship Halberd Bridge | Duon battle | Boss Battle Song 1 |
| The Subspace Bomb Factory II | Meta Ridley battle | Vs. Ridley |
Vs. stages[edit]
The fights against each false character are set on a unique stage. A gallery of these stages can be foundhere.
Tabuu's Residence[edit]
| Subspace Tabuu's Residence | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Universe | Super Smash Bros. |
| Appears in | Brawl |
| Availability | The Subspace Emissary Boss Battles Hacking |
Tabuu's Residence is the common fan name given to the stage on which the player fightsTabuu. It is very similar toFinal Destination, consisting only of one similarly long and purpleplatform, though slightly longer and differently patterned (with a central design similar to that on Tabuu's wings); and with its own background visuals, somewhat reminiscent ofthe version of Final Destination inSuper Smash Bros. Melee. Itsmusic is titledBoss Battle Song 2. The stage can be accessed in other modes viahacking techniques.
Music[edit]
The Great Maze has many different music tracks in it, some of which only appear during the fights with the dark clones or the bosses. Of these, only Pit, Fox, Falco, Captain Falcon, Snake, Olimar, and R.O.B.'s false character battle themes are not from their respective universes.
- Against the Dark Knight - False Marth, False Ike
- Airship Theme (Super Mario Bros. 3) - Petey Piranha, False Mario, False Yoshi, False Bowser, False Wario
- Battle For Storm Hill - False Donkey Kong, False Diddy Kong
- Boss Battle Song 1 - Galleom, Duon
- Boss Battle Song 2 - Tabuu
- Bramble Blast - Most of The Swamp Recreated
- Castle/Boss Fortress (Super Mario World/SMB 3) - False Peach, False Pit
- Crimean Army Sortie - Most of The Battlefield Fortress Recreated
- Flat Zone (Melee) - False Mr. Game & Watch, False R.O.B.
- Frozen Hillside - The Glacial Peak Recreated
- Gerudo Valley - False Link, False Zelda, False Ganondorf
- Gourmet Race - False Kirby, False Meta Knight, False King Dedede, False Olimar
- Gritzy Desert - Outside the Ancient Ruins Recreated, most of The Path to the Ruins Recreated
- Ice Climber - False Ice Climbers
- Jungle Level - The Jungle Recreated, Part of The Swamp Recreated
- Luigi's Mansion Theme - False Luigi
- Meta Knight's Revenge - Battleship Halberd Recreated
- Opening/Menu (Metroid Prime) - The Research Facility Recreated
- Porky's Theme - Porky Minch
- Save Point - Inside Save Points, Door to Tabuu's Residence
- Sector 1 - False Samus, False Fox, False Falco, False Captain Falcon, False Snake
- Snowman - The Ruined Zoo Recreated
- Step: Subspace - In the four main save points, with warp areas
- Step: The Cave - Part of The Path to the Ruins Recreated, Part of The Battlefield Fortress Recreated
- Step: The Plain - Skyworld Recreated, The Sea of Clouds Recreated, The Lake Shore Recreated, all of The Wilds I and most of The Wilds II Recreated
- The Dark World - The Forest Recreated
- Underground Theme (Super Mario Land) - The Ruins Recreated
- Unfounded Revenge/Smashing Song of Praise - False Ness, False Lucas
- Victory Road - Rayquaza, False Pikachu, False Pokémon Trainer, False Lucario
- Vs. Ridley - Ridley, Meta Ridley
Trivia[edit]
- Most of the re-used sections from other levels contain inaccessible areas that were part of the original level. While no enemies, doors, or other special objects can spawn there, and the collision detection is typically inactive, all of the terrain, including most platforms, are still rendered outside of the camera's view. Only a couple of rooms had any inaccessible sections actually removed.
- Since they were designed specifically for the Great Maze, new rooms do not have these areas, with one exception, in a room meant to resembleThe Battlefield Fortress. Since this room never appears outside the Great Maze, this section is completely unused in the Subspace Emissary. It is unknown why this section exists; the most likely explanation is that the room was originally going to be larger, or was originally going to be used elsewhere as well.
- Despite having only four stocks at a time available for the initial playthrough, six are available on all successive playthroughs. This is likely due to two reasons; the possibility that the player did not rescue any of the trophified fighters in the previous two levels, leaving them with only five characters for the entirety of the Great Maze (Bowser, King Dedede, Kirby, Luigi and Ness, with Sonic not appearing until the end) and that subsequent playthroughs do not allow for a refreshed stock post-cutscene before Tabuu.
- To form a loop back to Midair Stadium, at least nine bosses/false characters must be defeated: Petey Piranha, Link, Diddy Kong, Samus, Ridley, Mario, Galleom, Lucas/Wario and Lucario/Rayquaza.
- To unlock certain areas some bosses/Subspacial clones need to be defeated: Pit, Duon, Meta Knight, Porky, Captain Falcon, Donkey Kong, King Dedede, Falco, Meta Ridley, Pokémon Trainer, Zelda, Wario/Lucas, Rayquaza/Lucario, Ice Climbers and Ganondorf.
- The Subspacial clones that have their door vanish are: Kirby, Yoshi, Snake, Mr. Game & Watch, Ness, Olimar, Pikachu, R.O.B., Bowser, Fox, Peach, Luigi, Ike and Marth.
- To unlock certain areas some bosses/Subspacial clones need to be defeated: Pit, Duon, Meta Knight, Porky, Captain Falcon, Donkey Kong, King Dedede, Falco, Meta Ridley, Pokémon Trainer, Zelda, Wario/Lucas, Rayquaza/Lucario, Ice Climbers and Ganondorf.
- If aSacrificial KO is performed on a false character in the Great Maze while the player is on their last stock and holding an item, a glitch will occur where the player will reappear in the area they were previously in, no music will be played, and after a few seconds, the screen fades into theContinue screen.
- Four stages do not appear in The Great Maze:The Plain,The Ruined Hall,The Canyon andThe Subspace Bomb Factory I.
- After the player finished this level, the Stage Clear page will not have the music that it has on any other stage.
- This level is one of the six levels that do not have a cutscene to start it.The Plain,The Ruins,The Swamp,The Research Facility (Part II) andThe Subspace Bomb Factory (Part II) are the other levels to have this distinction.
