The Nintendo Direct this week announced a bunch of new stages for the New Super Smash Bros game. The most intriguing thing, however, was discovering which stages both versions of the game would be getting. Masahiro Sakurai stated that even when the same stages appear on both versions - such as Battlefield - their designs will differ. Additionally, in the 3DS version, each stage will have two songs tied to it, whereas on the Wii U players will be able to fully customise music form past games in the 'My Music' menu - a feature first seen in Brawl. Sakurai decided not to mention the similarities between both versions; instead, he took us through a number of the stages we'll be seeing for Wii U and 3DS. This article will now discuss what was seen, starting with stages from the Wii U version of the game.

Wii U Stages

Mario Galaxy - Mario Galaxy series - This 360 degree world takes full advantage of the console's graphical capabilities and boasts a beautiful landscape taken directly from Mario Galaxy.

Pyrosphere - Metroid franchise - Keeping with the typical Metroid lighting, this stage makes players feel like they're fighting on another world.

Town and City - Animal Crossing franchise - Fighting on a large platform in the sky, players get a grand view of the town below.

Boxing Ring - Punch Out! - Set in a boxing ring, players will be able to battle it out in front of a paying audience.

Pilot Wings - Pilot Wings - This stage appears to features players fighting on top of many different air planes in the sky.

Skyloft - Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - This stage is set in Link's hometown in the sky, featuring a moving platform that will journey across the floating island.

Windy Hill - Sonic the Hedgehog series - This stage features the green grassy environment that the Sonic series is renowned for.

Garden of Hope - Pikmin 3 - Featuring a location taken directly from the latest Pikmin game, this stage will features an environment showing-off the attractive graphical style of the games.

Wii Fit Studio - Wii Fit - This very basic stage takes place in the gym from Wii Fit.

Palutena's Temple - Kid Icarus series - inspired by the Temple stage from previous Smash Bros games, this stage boasts a grandness unmatched by all the others.

Halberd - Kirby games - Returning for another round, this stage takes place on a floating platform in the sky.

3DS Stages

Reset Bomb Forest - Kid Icarus series - This level looks like a decimated wasteland, with a number of 'Reset Bomb' explosions going off in the background.

3D Land - Super Mario 3D Land - This stage appears to boast a number of moving platforms and relevant, quirky textures from the Mario universe.

Spirit Train - Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - players will need to be careful not to fall off this fast-moving train!

Gerudo Valley - Legend of Zelda series - This features a wasteland setting with a collapsing bridge in the middle of it.

Arena Ferox - Fire Emblem series - This stage features an octagonal arena with changing environments; similar to Pokemon Stadium from previous Smash Bros titles.

Tortimer Island - Animal Crossing franchise - Set on a small island with a hut in the background, this stage seems to be taking from the unique art style of the games.

Living Room - Nintendogs - This stage seems to use common household items as obstacles, with a dog running around in the background.

Prism Tower - Pokemon X & Y - This stage follows the familiar format whereby players are initially fighting on a level surface, which is quickly turned into a flying platform (similar to the F-Zero stage from Melee).

Rainbow Road - Mario Kart franchise - Involving another flying-through-the-air platform, this stage takes players through the Rainbow Road course. Just watch out for those other racers when you find yourself grounded!

Find Mii - Find Mii - From the game that comes pre-installed on every 3DS system, this stage takes place on top of a castle, above a volcanic environment, with a dragon flying around in the foreground; possibly a boss AI.

Balloon Fight - Balloon Fight - taken from the classic game from the 1980's, this level reverts to the retro graphics of old and features a number of spinning balloons designed to get in players' ways.

Jungle Japes - Donkey Kong series - this mainstay for the Smash Bros games returns with a virtually identical style to before.

Each of the stages was only shown very briefly, but this offered an indication as to how they each functioned. Clearly, we have seen a massively diverse range of stages available for each version of the game and in the future even more will be unveiled. So for more on the New Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS, stay tuned to Wii's World!