Unlockable character

"Challenger" redirects here. For info on fighters, to whom the title "challenger" is often applied, see List of Super Smash Bros. series characters.

Character selection screen in Super Smash Bros. indicating unlockable characters.

An unlockable character (also referred to as a secret character or hidden character, and in-game as challengers, or newcomers in the N64 game's Backup Clear menu) is one that is not available at the start of the game (unlike a starter character), but instead must be received in-game (unlike downloadable characters) through other means.

Unique criteria must be met in order to unlock each character, as outlined below. Once such criteria are met, the challenger will appear the next time the player returns to the menu. If the player wins the subsequent battle, a message will appear congratulating them for unlocking the new fighter.

In Super Smash Bros., the character select screen displayed placeholders for not yet unlocked characters. This was changed in Melee, where the clones didn't have placeholders prior to unlocking, with their portraits simply appearing afterward. The placeholder slots were completely removed from Brawl onwards.

"Challenger Approaching!" screen

The Challenger Approaching! screen which Ness challenges the player in Super Smash Bros. 64.

The Challenger Approaching! screen which Inkling challenges the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

The "Challenger Approaching!" (挑戦者が現れました！, A Challenger has Appeared!) screen is a message that will be displayed after the player has met a criteria required to unlock any of the available characters. Every game has its unique screen.

The original game had a silhouette of the character merely displayed in a blue box in front of a black background, with an exclamation point in a red circle on the top of the screen, and the phrase "Challenger Approaching" next to it. The screen uses similar music to the 1P-Game's intro, with the only difference being the absence of drums for the "challenger approaching" tune. This is the only game where the challengers' silhouettes are animated, showing them in their fighting stances while rotating (like in the character select screen), rather than just shadowed versions of their official illustrations.

Melee added the phrase "A new foe has appeared!," and also had a silhouette of the approaching challenger. The poses for the challengers were silhouettes of their renders when selected on the Character Select screen (some, however, like Luigi and Ganondorf's, were their renders from inside the boxes). The game also added animations to the screens, with an undulating matrix effect in the background, while the exclamation point, text and silhouette would be eased in. Original music was also provided solely for the screen, which took the sound of a slow, ominous siren.

Brawl returned to the plain black background (there would be a silhouette of an unlockable character the player would face); but this would only occur if the Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary method was not used. It still had animations that would ease in, and when the player pressed any button, the images would fade to black, while the "Challenger Approaching!" text would scatter all over the screen; the siren is also considerably faster and more panicky in its sound than how it sounds in Melee.

Smash 4 reused Brawl's warning siren, but there are some differences in both versions. The 3DS version added in considerably more colors, including hues of green, black, and violet; the screen also says "A challenger approaches!" instead of its previous quotations. The Wii U version uses a font style similar to the ones in the newcomer trailers, and the background contains a picture of a supernova; the text is nonetheless reused from past games. The unlockable character in both versions of Super Smash Bros. 4 on the screen is still a silhouette that the player would face (just like in the previous three installments).

After the "Challenger Approaching!" screen, the unlockable character will then be fought in an ordinary one stock match with no time limit, on a predetermined stage with predetermined music. The AI difficulty of the duel depends on the game, usually at low difficulty for the first fighter, then it gradually increases with every fighter unlocked, however, it is reversed in Melee, and always high in the Wii U version of Smash 4. The player uses the last character played as, including the last used costume. In the case of multiplayer battles, in the first three Smash games, the player who won the match will fight the challenger; if a CPU wins the match, the challenger will not appear. Super Smash Bros. 4 changed this formula such that if a CPU wins the match, then the human-controlled player with the highest rank will battle the challenger.

By defeating the opponent, the character becomes playable. If the player fails, however, they will not unlock the character, but in the next battle they win, they are guaranteed to meet with the challenger again.

The "Challenger Approaching!" screen has become somewhat of a meme in the Smash community. Many digitally manipulated versions of these screens have appeared, often featuring characters who do not appear in the games, mostly using artwork of the character from another game instead of original artwork (which gives away its falseness). The screens became so popular that they were featured as part of the DOJO!!; in earlier updates, whenever a new character was introduced, a banner that said "Warning! Challenger Approaching!" would appear above the entry.

Challenger Approaching Screens

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  The Challenger Approaching! screen which Luigi challenges the player in Super Smash Bros. 64.

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  The Challenger Approaching! screen which Mr. Game & Watch challenges the player in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

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  The Challenger Approaching! screen which Sonic challenges the player in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

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  The Challenger Approaching! screen which Lucina challenges the player in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  The Challenger Approaching! screen which Dark Pit challenges the player in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  The Challenger Approaching! screen which Isabelle challenges the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Challenger Approaching Alarms

• Smash 64's challenger alarm.

• Melee's challenger alarm.

• Brawl, Smash 4, and Ultimate's challenger alarm.

Super Smash Bros.

Characters

Character	How to unlock	Unlock location
Captain Falcon	Complete 1P Game in 20 minutes or less with no continues.	Planet Zebes
Jigglypuff	Complete 1P Game with any character.	Saffron City
Luigi	Complete Bonus 1: Break the Targets with all starter characters.	Peach's Castle
Ness	Complete 1P Game on Normal with three lives and without using any continues.	Dream Land

Gallery

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  Captain Falcon challenging the player in Smash 64

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  Jigglypuff challenging the player in Smash 64

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  Luigi challenging the player in Smash 64

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  Ness challenging the player in Smash 64

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Characters

Character	How to unlock	VS matches required	Unlock Location	Music
Jigglypuff	Complete Classic Mode or Adventure Mode with any character.	50	Pokémon Stadium	Pokémon Stadium
Dr. Mario	Complete Classic Mode or Adventure Mode with Mario without using any continues.	100	Princess Peach's Castle	Dr. Mario
Pichu	Complete Event 37: Legendary Pokémon.	200	Pokémon Stadium	Battle Theme
Falco	Complete the 100-Man Melee.	300	Battlefield	Corneria
Marth	Complete Classic Mode or Adventure Mode with all starter characters, or use all starter characters at least once in VS. mode.	400	Fountain of Dreams	Fire Emblem
Young Link	Complete Classic Mode or Adventure Mode with ten different characters.	500	Great Bay	Saria's Theme
Ganondorf	Complete Event 29: Triforce Gathering.	600	Final Destination	Great Bay
Mewtwo	Play VS. mode for 20 hours.	700	Final Destination	Poké Floats
Luigi	Complete Adventure Mode when the second on the time limit in the first stage gets a "2". For example: XX:X2:XX.	800	Mushroom Kingdom II	Mushroom Kingdom II
Roy	Complete Classic Mode or Adventure Mode with Marth without using any continues.	900	Temple	Fire Emblem
Mr. Game & Watch	Complete Classic Mode, Adventure Mode, or Break the Targets with all 24 other characters.	1000	Flat Zone	Flat Zone

Gallery

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  Jigglypuff challenging the player in Melee

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  Dr. Mario challenging the player in Melee

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  Pichu challenging the player in Melee

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  Falco challenging the player in Melee

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  Marth challenging the player in Melee

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  Young Link challenging the player in Melee

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  Ganondorf challenging the player in Melee

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  Mewtwo challenging the player in Melee

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  Luigi challenging the player in Melee

• RoyApproaching.png

  Roy challenging the player in Melee

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  Mr. Game & Watch challenging the player in Melee

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Masahiro Sakurai stated that it would be appropriate that third-party, or "guest" characters, like Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog, would be unlockable characters. This became true when Brawl was released.

In addition to the challenges and versus match method of unlocking, all unlockable characters can be unlocked by playing through Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary. The majority of these characters are unlocked as part of the linear story of SSE. However, Jigglypuff, Wolf, and Toon Link are only unlockable after the main SSE gameplay is completed by finding a secret area while replaying levels. Once a character joins a group of playable characters, the character will be instantly unlocked for normal play (without requiring a "Challenger Approaching" battle). However, some characters, as per the SSE's story, must be battled before they will join the player's party, such as Lucario (depending on the path chosen in The Glacial Peak).

Characters

Character	How to unlock	Subspace Emissary method	VS matches required	Unlock location	Music
Ness	Reflect ten projectiles.	Complete Subspace (Part I).	5	Onett	Mother (Melee)
Marth	Complete Classic Mode.	Complete Battlefield Fortress.	10	Castle Siege	Fire Emblem (Melee)
Luigi	Complete Classic Mode without using any continues.	Complete Subspace (Part I).	22	Luigi's Mansion	Luigi's Mansion Theme
Falco	Complete 100-Man Brawl.	Complete The Swamp.	50	Lylat Cruise	Area 6
Captain Falcon	Play through Classic Mode on Normal or higher and beat it in 12 minutes or less.	Complete Outside the Ancient Ruins.	70	Port Town Aero Dive	Mute City
Lucario	Clear all levels of Target Smash!! with any single character.	Complete Glacial Peak.	100	Spear Pillar	Victory Road
Snake	Play 15 Vs. Matches on Shadow Moses Island.	Complete Battleship Halberd Interior.	130	Shadow Moses Island	Encounter
R.O.B.	Collect 250 different trophies.	Complete Subspace Bomb Factory (Part II).	160	Mario Bros	Mario Bros.
Ganondorf	Clear Classic Mode on Hard with Link or Zelda.	Collect both Link and Zelda's trophies in Subspace (Part II).	200	Final Destination	Hidden Mountain & Forest
Mr. Game & Watch	Clear Target Smash!! with 30 different characters on any single difficulty level.	Complete Battleship Halberd Bridge.	250	Flat Zone 2	Flat Zone 2
Sonic	Complete Classic Mode with ten characters, or Brawl for ten combined total hours.	Complete The Great Maze.	300	Green Hill Zone	Sonic Heroes
Jigglypuff	Have 20 or more events cleared after beating the Subspace Emissary.	After completing The Great Maze, defeat it in a secret room in The Swamp.	350	Pokémon Stadium 2	Pokémon Center
Toon Link	Complete Classic Mode after beating the Subspace Emissary.	After completing The Great Maze, defeat him in a secret room in The Forest.	400	Pirate Ship	Dragon Roost Island
Wolf	Complete Boss Battles mode with Fox or Falco.	After completing The Great Maze, defeat him in a secret room in The Ruins.	450	Lylat Cruise	Star Wolf

Sonic is the only character who can be unlocked four different ways.

Gallery

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  Ness challenging the player in Brawl

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  Marth challenging the player in Brawl

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  Luigi challenging the player in Brawl

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  Falco challenging the player in Brawl

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  Captain Falcon challenging the player in Brawl

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  Lucario challenging the player in Brawl

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  Snake challenging the player in Brawl

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  R.O.B. challenging the player in Brawl

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  Ganondorf challenging the player in Brawl

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  Mr. Game & Watch challenging the player in Brawl

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  Sonic challenging the player in Brawl

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  Jigglypuff challenging the player in Brawl

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  Toon Link challenging the player in Brawl

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  Wolf challenging the player in Brawl

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Characters

The inclusion of Wendy O. Koopa (as one of Bowser Jr.'s alternate costumes) and Lucina as unlockable characters makes them the first female characters to be unlockable. After every tenth VS. match, the player gets to challenge an unlockable character, starting with Ness and finishing with Jigglypuff when 120 matches are played.

In addition to the characters below, Mii Fighters are not shown on the character select screen until the player has created at least one. However, since the ability to create Mii Fighters is granted from the beginning, the characters cannot truly be called unlockable.

Although Duck Hunt has a home stage of the same name added into the game in the 1.1.1 update, they will always be fought on Battlefield in their unlocking battle regardless of which version of the game is being played.

Character	How to unlock	Vs. Matches Required	Unlock location	Music
Ness	Clear Classic Mode on any difficulty	10	Magicant	Magicant / Eight Melodies (Mother)
Falco	Clear Classic Mode without any continues	20	Corneria	Corneria
Wario	Complete 100-Man Smash	30	WarioWare, Inc.	WarioWare, Inc.
Lucina	As Marth, clear Classic Mode without any continues	40	Arena Ferox	Id (Purpose)
Dark Pit	Clear Classic Mode with three or more characters	50	Reset Bomb Forest	Wrath of the Reset Bomb
Dr. Mario	As Mario, clear Classic Mode on intensity 4.0 or higher	60	Mushroomy Kingdom	Ground Theme (Super Mario Bros.)
R.O.B.	Collect at least 200 different trophies	70	PictoChat 2	PictoChat
Ganondorf	As Zelda or Link, clear Classic Mode on intensity 5.0 or higher	80	Gerudo Valley	Gerudo Valley
Mr. Game & Watch	Clear Classic Mode with 10 or more characters	90	Flat Zone 2	Flat Zone 2
Bowser Jr.	As Bowser, clear Classic Mode on intensity 6.0 or higher	100	3D Land	Super Mario 3D Land Theme / Beach Theme
Duck Hunt	Clear Classic Mode with 8 or more characters	110	Battlefield	Battlefield
Jigglypuff	Collect at least 30 different equipment items	120	Unova Pokémon League	N's Castle Medley

Gallery

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  Ness challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Falco challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Wario challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Lucina challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Dark Pit challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Dr. Mario challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  R.O.B. challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Ganondorf challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Mr. Game & Watch challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Bowser Jr. challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Duck Hunt challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

• ChallengerApproachingJigglypuff.jpg

  Jigglypuff challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Characters

Unlike Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Ness, Jigglypuff, Ganondorf and Bowser Jr. are starter characters. Like the 3DS version, a character is unlocked for every ten versus matches played starting with Falco. Two exceptions to this are Mr. Game & Watch and Duck Hunt, which they need 20 more versus matches than R.O.B. and Mr. Game & Watch, respectively. Unlike the previous three installments (Melee, Brawl, and the 3DS version), no Super Smash Bros. universe stages are used for challenger approaching battles. Instead, all unlockable characters use a stage from their respective universe except for R.O.B., in which he uses the Wrecking Crew stage due to him not having a stage from his own universe.

In addition to the characters below, Mii Fighters are not shown on the character select screen until the player has created at least one. However, since the ability to create Mii Fighters is granted from the beginning and there is no Challenger Approaching fight, the character cannot truly be called unlockable.

Character	How to unlock	Vs. Matches Required	Unlock location	Music
Falco	Clear Classic Mode	10	Orbital Gate Assault	Theme from Area 6 / Missile Slipstream
Wario	Clear 100-Man Smash	20	Gamer	Gamer
Lucina	Clear Classic Mode on intensity 5.5 or higher	30	Coliseum	The Devoted
Dark Pit	Clear All-Star Mode on Normal	40	Palutena's Temple	Boss Fight 1 (Kid Icarus: Uprising)
Dr. Mario	Clear Master Orders on Hard	50	Delfino Plaza	Delfino Plaza
R.O.B.	Clear Crazy Orders after ten rounds and defeat Crazy Hand	60	Wrecking Crew	Wrecking Crew Medley
Mr. Game & Watch	Clear Classic Mode on intensity 2.0 or higher with five characters	80	Flat Zone X	Flat Zone 2
Duck Hunt	Get at least one KO in Cruel Smash	100	Duck Hunt	Duck Hunt Medley

Gallery

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  Falco challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Wario challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Lucina challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Dark Pit challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Dr. Mario challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  R.O.B. challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Mr. Game & Watch challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Duck Hunt challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

The starting roster in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is comprised of the eight starter characters from the original Super Smash Bros. game, and all other fighters are unlockable. This does not, however, apply to World of Light, as everyone but Kirby need to be fought before joining the mode's roster. The Mii Fighters are an exception, as in the previous titles they had a unique status among starter and unlockable characters, becoming accessible once a custom Mii Fighter was created rather than through traditional unlocking conditions, which applies true in this game. Like previous games in the series, unlockable characters must be fought in one-on-one Challenger Approaching fights to unlock them, but it is still unknown if the AI difficulty is high or low during the Challenger Approaching battles.

If characters are unlocked via Vs. Matches, then there is a ten-minute timer before another character challenges the player to a Challenger Approaching duel, but this can be bypassed by changing languages, or by exiting out of the game to the Switch's home menu and rebooting up Ultimate. If players lose the duel, then they can challenge that character again via Games and More in the Challenger's Approach.

VS. Mode

Order	Character	Unlock location	Music
1	Ness	Onett	Bein' Friends
2	Zelda	Temple	Ocarina of Time Medley
3	Bowser	Mushroom Kingdom U	King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3
4	Pit	Skyworld	Underworld
5	Inkling	Moray Towers	Splattack (Original)
6	Villager	Smashville	Title (Animal Crossing)
7	Marth	Castle Siege	Story 5 Meeting
8	Young Link	Great Bay	Saria’s Theme
9	Wii Fit Trainer	Wii Fit Studio	Main Menu - Wii Fit
10	Ice Climbers	Summit	Ice Climber (Brawl)
11	Captain Falcon	Port Town Aero Dive	F-Zero Medley
12	Peach	Princess Peach's Castle	Rolling Hills A
13	Ryu	Battlefield	Ryu Stage
14	Ike	Coliseum	Eternal Bond
15	Jigglypuff	Saffron City	Pokémon Main Theme (64)
16	King K. Rool	Jungle Japes	Gangplank Galleon
17	Sonic	Green Hill Zone	Green Hill Zone
18	Simon	Dracula's Castle	Vampire Killer
19	Zero Suit Samus	Brinstar	Theme of Samus Aran, Space Warrior
20	Little Mac	Boxing Ring	Jogging/Countdown
21	Isabelle	Town and City	Plaza / Title (Animal Crossing: City Folk / Animal Crossing: Wild World)
22	Shulk	Gaur Plain	Xenoblade Chronicles Medley
23	Lucina	Arena Ferox	Id - Purpose (Original)
24	Wario	WarioWare, Inc.	WarioWare, Inc.
25	Ridley	Norfair	Vs. Ridley
26	Pokémon Trainer	Pokémon Stadium	Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Brawl)
27	Lucario	Spear Pillar	Battle (Team Galactic)
28	Daisy	Figure-8 Circuit	Mario Tennis/Mario Golf
29	Roy	Castle Siege	Beyond Distant Skies - Roy's Departure
30	King Dedede	Fountain of Dreams	King Dedede's Theme (Brawl)
31	R.O.B.	Wrecking Crew	Stack-Up/Gyromite
32	Falco	Corneria	Starwing Medley
33	Luigi	Luigi's Mansion	Main Theme - Luigi's Mansion
34	Pichu	Pokémon Stadium	Pokémon Red/Pokémon Blue Medley
35	Richter	Dracula's Castle	Divine Bloodlines
36	Lucas	New Pork City	Unfounded Revenge/Smashing Song of Praise
37	Diddy Kong	Kongo Falls	Stickerbrush Symphony
38	Meta Knight	Halberd	Meta Knights Revenge
39	Snake	Shadow Moses Island	Encounter
40	Ganondorf	Bridge of Eldin	Death Mountain
41	Corrin	Coliseum	Lost in Thoughts All Alone
42	Mega Man	Wily Castle	Mega Man 2 Medley
43	Bayonetta	Umbra Clock Tower	Let's Hit the Climax
44	Toon Link	Pirate Ship	Dragon Roost Island
45	Rosalina & Luma	Mario Galaxy	Egg Planet
46	Incineroar	Boxing Ring	The Battle at the Summit
47	Sheik	Gerudo Valley	Gerudo Valley
48	Olimar	Distant Planet	Main Theme - Pikmin
49	Pac-Man	Pac-Land	Pac-Man
50	Dark Samus	Frigate Orpheon	Multiplayer - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
51	Wolf	Lylat Cruise	Star Wolf (Brawl)
52	Mr. Game & Watch	Flat Zone X	Flat Zone 2
53	Robin	Castle Siege	Prelude (Ablaze)
54	Dark Pit	Reset Bomb Forest	Dark Pit's Theme
55	Cloud	Midgar	Fight On!
56	Duck Hunt	Duck Hunt	Duck Hunt Medley
57	Ken	Boxing Ring	Ken Stage
58	Greninja	Kalos Pokémon League	Battle! (Trainer Battle) (Pokémon X / Pokémon Y)
59	Chrom	Arena Ferox	Id - Purpose (New Remix)
60	Mewtwo	Spear Pillar	Battle! (Dialga/Palkia) / Spear Pillar
61	Bowser Jr.	Delfino Plaza	Delfino Plaza (New Remix)
62	Dr. Mario	New Donk City Hall	Fever
63	Palutena	Palutena's Temple	Destroyed Skyworld

Classic Mode

Completing Classic Mode with a character unlocks the next available character in their column. Note that "next" begins from the top, not from the character used - completing Classic Mode with a row 5 character will first try to unlock the character in row 1, not row 6. For characters that appear multiple times, only the first time counts for determining what group they belong to. Unlock stages and music are the same as in Vs. Mode.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

World of Light

Character	Location on Map	Unlock location	Music
Mario	World of Light, 1st character met	Final Destination	Final Destination
Donkey Kong	World of Light, Marth route	Kongo Jungle (Ω form)	Jungle Level (64)
Link	World of Light, Villager route	Great Plateau Tower (Ω form)
Samus	World of Light
Dark Samus	The Final Battle
Yoshi	World of Light, Sheik route (Ribbon Road)	Super Happy Tree (Ω form)	Obstacle Course - Yoshi's Island
Fox	World of Light
Pikachu	World of Light
Luigi	World of Dark (Mysterious Dimension)
Ness	World of Light (Magicant-like area)
Captain Falcon	World of Light, Villager route
Jigglypuff	World of Light, Sheik route	Mushroom Kingdom U (Ω form)	Road to Viridian City - Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue
Peach	World of Light (The Molten Fortress Sub-area)	Mushroom Kingdom U	Fortress Boss - Super Mario World
Daisy	World of Dark (Defeat Dry Bowser's Spirit at Dracula's Castle before encountering)
Bowser	World of Light (The Molten Fortress Sub-area)	Final Destination	Giga Bowser
Ice Climbers	World of Light, Villager route (Icy mountain area)	Summit (Ω form)	Ice Climber (Brawl)
Sheik	One of 3 starting routes (middle)	Final Destination	Final Destination
Zelda	World of Dark (Sacred Land)	Temple (Ω form)	Ocarina of Time Medley
Dr. Mario	World of Light, Marth Route (Near Lumious City)	Mario Bros. (Ω form)	Fever
Pichu	World of Light (Power Plant)	Prism Tower (Ω form)	Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley
Falco	World of Light (Space)	Lylat Cruise (Ω form)	Space Armada
Marth	One of 3 starting routes (left)	Final Destination	Final Destination
Lucina	World of Dark (Right route, The Dark Realm)
Young Link	World of Dark (Sacred Land)
Ganondorf	World of Dark (Sacred Land)
Mewtwo	World of Dark (Mysterious Dimension, defeat Wispy Woods’ spirit)
Roy	The Final Battle
Chrom	World of Dark (Sacred Land. Near a treasure chest.)
Mr. Game & Watch	World of Light
Meta Knight	World of Dark (Mysterious Dimension)
Pit	World of Light
Dark Pit	World of Dark (Defeat Boo's Spirit at Dracula's Castle before encounter)
Zero Suit Samus	World of Light
Wario	World of Dark (Defeat Mummy Spirit's at Dracula's Castle before encounter)
Snake	World of Light, Marth route (Base (Metal Gear-Like area)) (Get Otacan's spirit first)	Final Destination	Encounter
Ike	World of Dark (Mysterious Dimension)
Pokémon Trainer	World of Light
Diddy Kong	World of Light (Near DK Island)
Lucas	World of Light	New Pork City (Ω form)	Unfounded Revenge / Smashing Song of Praise
Sonic	World of Dark (Sacred Land)
King Dedede	World of Light (sub-area)
Olimar	World of Light, Marth route
Lucario	World of Light, Villager route	Spear Pillar	Battle! (Team Galactic)
R.O.B.	World of Dark (Mysterious Dimension)
Toon Link	World of Light
Wolf	World of Dark (Mysterious Dimension)
Villager	One of 3 starting routes (right)	Final Destination	Final Destination
Mega Man	World of Light, Marth route (Near Sigma Spirit)	Wily Castle (Ω form)	Mega Man 2 Medley
Wii Fit Trainer	World of Light, Marth route (Lumious City)	Wii Fit Studio (Ω form)	Yoga
Rosalina & Luma	World of Dark (Top middle route, Dark Realm)
Little Mac	World of Light
Greninja	World of Dark (Mysterious Dimension)
Mii Brawler	World of Dark (Sacred Realm. Complete a puzzle involving red and blue torches)
Mii Swordfighter	World of Light, Sheik and Villager routes (Town)	Final Destination	Final Destination - Super Smash Bros. for 3DS / Wii U
Mii Gunner	World of Light
Palutena	The Final Battle (Defeat all spirits in sub-area; Light side)
Pac-Man	World of Light, Marth route	Pac-Land (Ω form)	PAC-MAN
Robin	World of Dark (Defeat Werewolf’s spirit in Dracula’s Castle before entering)
Shulk	World of Light
Bowser Jr.	World of Dark (Sacred Land)
Duck Hunt	World of Light, Marth route (Hidden Forest)	Duck Hunt (Ω form)	Duck Hunt Medley
Ryu	World of Light (World Tour)	Suzaku Castle (Ω form)
Ken	World of Dark (Dracula's Castle)
Cloud	World of Dark (Sacred Land. Unlock Zelda first, path will open up to lead to him)
Corrin	World of Dark (Mysterious Dimension, near Azura’s spirit)
Bayonetta	The Final Battle (Defeat all spirits in sub-area; Dark side)
Inkling	World of Light (Nintendo Themed City Northwest of Starting Area)
Ridley	World of Dark (Defeat The Creature & Flea Man spirit in Dracula's Castle before encounter)
Simon	World of Light (Near final boss)
Richter	World of Dark (Defeat all dark spirits in Dracula's Castle before encounter. Nearby Clock Tower.)
King K. Rool	World of Dark (Mysterious Dimension, near Risky Boots’ spirit)
Isabelle	World of Light, Villager route
Incineroar	World of Dark (Left Route, The Dark Realm)

Gallery

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  Dark Samus challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Luigi challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Ness challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Captain Falcon challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Jigglypuff challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Peach challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Daisy challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Bowser challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  The Ice Climbers challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Sheik challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Zelda challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Dr. Mario challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Pichu challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Falco challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Marth challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Lucina challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Young Link challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Ganondorf challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Mewtwo challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Roy challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Chrom challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Mr. Game & Watch challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Meta Knight challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Pit challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Dark Pit challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Zero Suit Samus challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Wario challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Snake challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Ike challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  The Pokémon Trainer challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Diddy Kong challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Lucas challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Sonic challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  King Dedede challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Olimar challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Lucario challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  R.O.B. challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Toon Link challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Wolf challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Villager challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Mega Man challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Wii Fit Trainer challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Rosalina & Luma challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Little Mac challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Greninja challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Palutena challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Pac-Man challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Robin challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Shulk challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Bowser Jr. challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Duck Hunt challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Ryu challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Ken challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Cloud challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Corrin challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Bayonetta challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Inkling challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Ridley challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Simon challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Richter challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  King K. Rool challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Isabelle challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Incineroar challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Trivia

This trivia section is excessively long. Relevant facts should be integrated into the body of the article and unnecessary ones should be removed. You can discuss this issue on the talk page or edit this page to improve it.

• The original Super Smash Bros. is the only installment where all unlockable characters cannot be unlocked by playing a specific number of Vs. Mode matches.
• In Smash 64, Brawl, and for 3DS, the AI level of unlockable character fights increases with each consecutive character.
  • In Melee, the opposite is the case.
  • In for Wii U, the AI level for all eight characters is high, no matter what order they are fought in.^{[citation needed]}
  • It is currently unknown about the AI level for unlocking characters' Challenger approaching fights in Ultimate.
• The music in challenger encounters may be music that cannot otherwise play on the stage in question, such as the Fire Emblem theme playing on Fountain of Dreams in Melee when Marth is unlocked.
• Masahiro Sakurai originally intended for all the characters in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U to be available from the start, but eventually decided against it.
• The Yoshi series is the only franchise to have never had any unlockable characters.
• Roy and Mr. Game & Watch in Melee and Wolf in Brawl are the only unlockable characters to have unlock criteria that involve other unlockable characters.
  • Mr. Game and Watch in Melee is the only character that must be unlocked last in any Smash game, since his unlock criteria involves all other playable characters.
    • It is theoretically possible though pointlessly difficult to bypass this, by playing 1000 Vs. Mode matches and SDing in all ten of the first challenger battles.
• Wario was the first character who debuted as a starter to become an unlockable character afterwards, being a starter in Brawl before becoming unlockable in Smash 4.
• In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, DLC characters have a "(character name) Joins the Battle!" screen that appears once they are purchased, much like the unlockable characters. Unlike with unlockable characters, the last letters of their names are not larger.
• When a player fights a secret character to unlock in Brawl, their character always uses their default costume even if the character was originally using an alternative costume.
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate marks the unlockable debut for many characters that debuted as starters, as all characters that debuted from Melee onwards, along with the first game's unlockables have been made unlockable regardless of their status in previous games.
  • Namely, this includes long-running (appeared in at least two games prior to Ultimate) veterans Peach, Bowser, the Ice Climbers, Zelda, Sheik, Pit, Meta Knight, Zero Suit Samus, Ike, Charizard, Diddy Kong, Lucas, King Dedede, and Olimar.
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the first game in the series to feature unlockable characters in its cover artwork.
• In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, each character unlock notification has a different tone depending on the debut game of the character.
  • Strangely, Jigglypuff's unlock notification tone is the same as the Brawl newcomers despite debuting from Smash 64. This is likely because it is unlocked in the post-game Subspace Emissary, as well as its internal ID being right next to Toon Link and Wolf, Brawl newcomers.
  • Smash 64 newcomers (except Jigglypuff) use "Rare Trophy" from Melee, Melee newcomers use Brawl's stage unlock fanfare, and Brawl newcomers (and Jigglypuff) use Brawl's sound effect when collecting songs or completing minor challenges.
• Ultimate marks the first time all newcomers introduced in any Smash game are unlockable, including those introduced as starters, whereas only 4, 9, 6, 4 and 3 are unlockable in Smash 64, Melee, Brawl, Smash 3DS and Smash Wii U, respectively.
• Aside from Super Smash Bros. itself, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate are the only games where the original four unlockable characters from Smash 64 are all unlockable.

See also

• Unlockable stage
• Starter character
• Starter stage
• Downloadable content