Which Smash game was the first released on a handheld Nintendo system?

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS was the first Smash game released on a handheld Nintendo system. It launched in Japan on September 13, 2014, before arriving in North America and Europe on October 3.

The game was developed alongside Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and the two versions are commonly treated as one generation of Smash, sometimes called Smash 4. They shared fighters, items, and much of their gameplay, but each version also had exclusive stages and modes. The 3DS edition introduced handheld-specific features such as Smash Run and StreetSmash.

Earlier entries were home-console games: the original Super Smash Bros. and Melee appeared on Nintendo 64 and GameCube, while Brawl was released for Wii. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate later appeared on Nintendo Switch, which can function as a handheld system, but it was not the series’ first handheld release.

The wording can cause confusion because the 3DS game shares its generation with a Wii U version. The handheld milestone belongs specifically to the Nintendo 3DS edition.