Most Zelda fans will usually auto-pick Hyrule Temple when playing Super Smash Bros., as it’s the go-to stage when you need a bit of extra space for your chaotic clashes. However, The Wind Waker’s Pirate Ship also deserves a shout-out for being a fun, dynamic stage in Smash Bros. with its hazards, storms, and great song choices from throughout the Zelda series.
Let’s first look at the design of this stage. Although Tetra’s Ship from The Wind Waker has been altered to make it more suitable for a battleground, that iconic blue sea, those scattered islands in the distance, and the King of Red Lions make it unmistakable. You frequently see the wind whipping by you and occasionally sail past an enemy tower that fires bombs at you, just like in The Wind Waker.
All this attention to detail really makes you feel like your smash battle has been thrown into the middle of the Great Sea, although your seabound enemies are more aggressive than ever before.
Speaking of aggressiveness, it’s not just the other players on the battlefield who are out to smash you. The environment itself can pack a real punch with its own set of stage hazards, including the enemy tower I mentioned earlier and a cyclone that occasionally pulls the boat up into the air.
Additionally, the boat has a catapult in the deck that can launch unwitting players into the ocean, while the back of the boat can instantly KO you if you get hit into it hard enough. The front can also kill you if you get trapped underneath it. Even the ocean won’t let you stay in it for too long before you face an untimely death. Everything is out to KO you.
While I’m normally not a fan of stage hazards (and usually disable them), I enjoy the ones on this stage because they fit its style perfectly and are often relatively easy to avoid if you know what you’re doing. Plus, they force you to become attuned to your environment and play more creatively, such as by pushing others into the catapult and incoming bombs, or by taking the opportunity to knock them off the boat while it’s sky-high.
When it comes to Smash Bros., the best KOs are the most unexpected and comical ones in my opinion, and these stage hazards can all help your KOs fit that bill. Not unsurprisingly though, this stage is usually banned in Smash Bros. tournaments due to its stalling potential in the water and on the King of Red Lions, as well as its powerful stage hazards.
Now, we can’t talk about this stage without also talking about its music. I remember when it was first introduced in Super Smash Bros. Brawl: it was always a top pick for me not only because, well, it’s Zelda, but also because I knew it had some of the best Zelda tracks available. For example, it has “Dragon Roost Island,” “Song of Storms,” “Gerudo Valley,” and “Termina Field.” We’re pretty spoiled when it comes to music choice in the most recent Super Smash Bros. installments — back in the day, we felt lucky to have these tracks on stages at all, let alone have the ability to control their frequency. I definitely set “Gerudo Valley” to max and lowered everything else a number of times.
The stage hasn’t changed much between Brawl and Ultimate, save for some graphical upgrades, including clearer-looking islands and barrels and bottles that bob along in the background. For a while, we thought we’d lost this awesome stage, as it didn’t reappear in Smash Bros. Wii U until it was released as DLC. Since then, though, it’s returned along with other classics and even received Omega and Battlefield forms — perfect for those who need to put some distance between them and the Great Sea.
The Omega form in Super Smash Bros. Wii U places you on top of an enemy outpost, not unlike the one that attacks you on the standard Pirate Ship version of the stage. Funnily enough, you can occasionally see Tetra’s Ship sailing in the background! Maybe one of the Smash fighters accidentally set off a cannon at it — who knows.
The Omega and Battlefield versions in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate similarly place you on top of what appears to be an outpost, but the iconic skull roof and cannons are absent on them. This is a real shame — they’re much less reminiscent of anything from The Wind Waker as a result.
For some reason, they also removed the central pole that holds the platform up. In the Wii U version, the outpost actually looked rooted into the ocean, whereas in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate it just looks like a weird floating platform. Not sure why they made that design choice!
Despite all that though, it’s still awesome to battle it out above the Great Sea or on the Pirate Ship, whether you’re on the standard, Omega, or Battlefield version. It’s an absolute staple for Zelda fans and anyone looking for a dangerous environment to use to their advantage.
