Stage legality

Stage legality refers to the eligibility of stages in tournament play. Stages that are allowed in some way in a tournament ruleset are referred to as legal stages, whereas stages that cannot be chosen at all are referred to as banned stages.

What constitutes a legal stage is dependent on the particular game and the organization behind its tournament ruleset. There are generally two types of legal stages that determine how they are selected during a set: neutral stages (also called starter stages), which are considered the most balanced stages, and counterpick stages, which tend to slightly favor certain characters or playstyles due to their design. A stage may be banned due to having characteristics that are deemed unsuitable for competitive play, such as:
 * Poor matchup balance due to providing an extreme advantage for certain characters, such as allowing excessive camping or infinite chain grabbing.
 * Powerful stage hazards that easily KO players knocked into them or force them to give up the advantage to avoid them.
 * Allowing players to exploit glitches or bugs.
 * Possessing caves of life, certain sections of the stage that allow characters to survive much longer than realistically possible under normal circumstances, which creates an over-centralization around teching.
 * Possessing walk-off blast lines and walls. Both conditions create unreasonably powerful camping positions and potentially allow easy zero-to-deaths that would not occur in a competitive environment; in addition, walk-off blast lines completely eliminate offstage play, due to the main stage taking up the entire width of the fight.
 * Drastically altering gameplay and strategies needed to win.
 * Causing too much lag when played online, if this is used in tournament play.

Currently, both games in the  series possess established tournament rulesets that are agreed upon by their particular communities, and each has their own rules regarding stages.

In Super Smash Flash
The for Super Smash Flash, as of May 23, 2015, has five stages that are considered legal. Neutral stages may be chosen in any game of a set, whereas counterpick stages may be chosen only after the first game of a set. During the first game, a coin toss decides which of the two neutral stages is selected, and counterpicks have two bans to make up for the limited stage choice.

Below is a list of each stage's current legality and reasons for their respective status.

In Super Smash Flash 2
The for Super Smash Flash 2, as of Beta 1.3.1.2, has nine stages that are considered legal with stage hazards turned off. Neutral stages may be chosen in any game of a set, whereas counterpick stages may be chosen only after the first game of a set. The first game has a 1-2-1 striking order, and in later games, the winner bans two stages in a best-of-three set or one stage in a best-of-five set. Certain stages are also available to be selected through the Modified Gentleman's Clause, though these are not considered legal.

Below is a list of each stage's current legality and reasons for their respective status.