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 the 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 Captain Falcon 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).

As in Smash 4, the warning siren from Brawl is used in Ultimate. This time there is a dark pink background with a white/pink light shining behind the silhouette of the unlockable character. The text about unlocking characters remains the same from prior games.

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

• 

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

• 

  The Challenger Approaching! screen which Marth challenges the player in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

  The Challenger Approaching! screen which Ridley 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 without using any 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

• 

  Captain Falcon challenging the player in Smash 64

• 

  Jigglypuff challenging the player in Smash 64

• 

  Luigi challenging the player in Smash 64

• 

  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

• 

  Jigglypuff challenging the player in Melee

• 

  Dr. Mario challenging the player in Melee

• 

  Pichu challenging the player in Melee

• 

  Falco challenging the player in Melee

• 

  Marth challenging the player in Melee

• 

  Young Link challenging the player in Melee

• 

  Ganondorf challenging the player in Melee

• 

  Mewtwo challenging the player in Melee

• 

  Luigi challenging the player in Melee

• 

  Roy challenging the player in Melee

• 

  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

• 

  Ness challenging the player in Brawl

• 

  Marth challenging the player in Brawl

• 

  Luigi challenging the player in Brawl

• 

  Falco challenging the player in Brawl

• 

  Captain Falcon challenging the player in Brawl

• 

  Lucario challenging the player in Brawl

• 

  Snake challenging the player in Brawl

• 

  R.O.B. challenging the player in Brawl

• 

  Ganondorf challenging the player in Brawl

• 

  Mr. Game & Watch challenging the player in Brawl

• 

  Sonic challenging the player in Brawl

• 

  Jigglypuff challenging the player in Brawl

• 

  Toon Link challenging the player in Brawl

• 

  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 using 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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

  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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

The starting roster in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate comprises the eight starter characters from the original Super Smash Bros. game, with all other fighters being unlockable. There are two ways to unlock characters: by defeating them in a Challenger Approaching fight, or by awakening them in the World of Light.

In the World of Light, only characters that have been awakened in that mode can be used, with only Kirby initially being available. However, awakening a fighter in the World of Light also unlocks them for the regular roster as well.

Challenger Approaching

In a Challenger Approaching fight, the character must be fought in a one-on-one fight, with the stage and music being specific to that fighter. The difficulty of Challenger Approaching fights start out at being very low, but progressively increases with each character unlocked. If the player loses the fight, they can redo the Challenger Approaching fight via Challenger's Approach on the Games and More menu after a few minutes pass.

All characters except Mii Fighters can be unlocked in a Challenger Approaching fight. Instead, each Mii Fighter can be unlocked by creating a custom Mii Fighter of that type. However, Mii Fighters may also be unlocked by awakening them in the World of Light.

Timed encounters

When the player finishes a VS. match, a Mob Smash, a Spirit Board fight or exits the World of Light, a new character can challenge the player to a Challenger Approaching duel. However, the player must then wait 10 minutes before a new Challenger Approaching challenge will be issued. This 10 minute cooldown can be bypassed by closing the game and reopening it.

Time-based Challenger Approaching challenges are issued in a specific order, skipping any characters unlocked in the World of Light or whose Challenger Approaching fight has already been triggered due to Classic Mode.

Below is a table listing the order characters unlocked, the amount of time needed to unlock them, and the stage and music accompanying their unlock battle. The values listed under "Cumulative Wait Time" are idealized values that assume that no characters are unlocked in the World of Light or have their Challenger Approaching fights triggered by Classic Mode, that the player never closes the game after first opening it until they trigger Palutena's Challenger Approaching fight, and the player never spends longer than the minimum amount of time (10 minutes) between triggering Challenger Approaching fights.

Order	Character	Cumulative Wait Time	Unlock location	Music
1st		0 minutes	Onett (hazards off)	Bein' Friend
2nd		10 minutes	Temple	Ocarina of Time Medley
3rd		20 minutes	Mushroom Kingdom U	King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3
4th		30 minutes	Skyworld	Underworld
5th		40 minutes	Moray Towers	Splattack!
6th		50 minutes	Smashville	Title (Animal Crossing)
7th		1 hour	Castle Siege	Story 5 Meeting (Fire Emblem) (Melee)
8th		1 hour & 10 minutes	Great Bay	Saria’s Theme
9th		1 hour & 20 minutes	Wii Fit Studio	Main Menu - Wii Fit
10th		1 hour & 30 minutes	Summit	Ice Climber (Brawl)
11th		1 hour & 40 minutes	Port Town Aero Dive	F-ZERO Medley
12th		1 hour & 50 minutes	Princess Peach's Castle	Rolling Hills A
13th		2 hours	Battlefield	Ryu Stage
14th		2 hours & 10 minutes	Coliseum	Eternal Bond (Ike’s Theme)
15th		2 hours & 20 minutes	Saffron City	Pokémon Main Theme (64)
16th		2 hours & 30 minutes	Jungle Japes	Gangplank Galleon
17th		2 hours & 40 minutes	Green Hill Zone	Green Hill Zone
18th		2 hours & 50 minutes	Dracula's Castle	Vampire Killer (New Remix)
19th		3 hours	Brinstar	Theme of Samus Aran, Space Warrior
20th		3 hours & 10 minutes	Boxing Ring	Jogging/Countdown
21st		3 hours & 20 minutes	Town and City	Plaza / Title (Animal Crossing: City Folk / Animal Crossing: Wild World)
22nd		3 hours & 30 minutes	Gaur Plain	Xenoblade Chronicles Medley
23rd		3 hours & 40 minutes	Arena Ferox	Id - Purpose (Original)
24th		3 hours & 50 minutes	WarioWare, Inc. (Battlefield form)	WarioWare, Inc.
25th		4 hours	Norfair	Vs. Ridley (New Remix)
26th		4 hours & 10 minutes	Pokémon Stadium	Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Brawl)
27th		4 hours & 20 minutes	Spear Pillar	Battle (Team Galactic)
28th		4 hours & 30 minutes	Figure-8 Circuit	Mario Tennis/Mario Golf
29th		4 hours & 40 minutes	Castle Siege	Beyond Distant Skies - Roy's Departure
30th		4 hours & 50 minutes	Fountain of Dreams	King Dedede's Theme (Brawl)
31st		5 hours	Wrecking Crew	Stack-Up/Gyromite
32nd		5 hours & 10 minutes	Corneria	Star Fox Medley
33rd		5 hours & 20 minutes	Luigi's Mansion	Main Theme - Luigi's Mansion (New Remix)
34th		5 hours & 30 minutes	Pokémon Stadium 2	Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley
35th		5 hours & 40 minutes	Dracula's Castle	Divine Bloodlines
36th		5 hours & 50 minutes	New Pork City	Unfounded Revenge/Smashing Song of Praise
37th		6 hours	Kongo Falls	Bramble Blast/Stickerbrush Symphony
38th		6 hours & 10 minutes	Halberd	Meta Knight's Revenge
39th		6 hours & 20 minutes	Shadow Moses Island	Encounter
40th		6 hours & 30 minutes	Bridge of Eldin	Death Mountain
41st		6 hours & 40 minutes	Coliseum	Lost in Thoughts All Alone (New Remix)
42nd		6 hours & 50 minutes	Wily Castle	Mega Man 2 Medley
43rd		7 hours	Umbra Clock Tower	Let's Hit the Climax
44th		7 hours & 10 minutes	Pirate Ship	Dragon Roost Island
45th		7 hours & 20 minutes	Mario Galaxy	Egg Planet (Remix
46th		7 hours & 30 minutes	Boxing Ring	The Battle at the Summit
47th		7 hours & 40 minutes	Gerudo Valley	Gerudo Valley (Remix)
48th		7 hours & 50 minutes	Distant Planet	Main Theme - Pikmin (New Remix)
49th		8 hours	Pac-Land (Battlefield form)	Pac-Man
50th		8 hours & 10 minutes	Frigate Orpheon	Multiplayer - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
51st		8 hours & 20 minutes	Lylat Cruise	Star Wolf (Brawl)
52nd		8 hours & 30 minutes	Flat Zone X	Flat Zone 2
53rd		8 hours & 40 minutes	Castle Siege	Prelude (Ablaze)
54th		8 hours & 50 minutes	Reset Bomb Forest	Dark Pit's Theme
55th		9 hours	Midgar	Fight On!
56th		9 hours & 10 minutes	Duck Hunt	Duck Hunt Medley (New Remix)
57th		9 hours & 20 minutes	Boxing Ring	Ken Stage
58th		9 hours & 30 minutes	Kalos Pokémon League	Battle! (Trainer Battle) (Pokémon X / Pokémon Y)
59th		9 hours & 40 minutes	Arena Ferox	Id - Purpose (New Remix)
60th		9 hours & 50 minutes	Spear Pillar	Battle! (Dialga/Palkia) / Spear Pillar
61st		10 hours	Delfino Plaza	Delfino Plaza (New Remix)
62nd		10 hours & 10 minutes	New Donk City Hall	Fever (Dr. Mario) (Melee)
63rd		10 hours & 20 minutes	Palutena's Temple	Destroyed Skyworld

Classic Mode

When the player completes Classic Mode, a new character will challenge the player to a Challenger Approaching duel. This character will be the next character in the table below who has not already been unlocked; for characters that appear in the table multiple times, only the first time counts for determining what group they belong to. After all of the characters in a column are unlocked, the unlock sequence loops around to Mario's column, then Donkey Kong's column, and so on.

The Challenger Approaching duels are the same as those issued on a timed basis, this is simply another way to trigger them.

Notably, all clones and semi-clones except for Ganondorf, Roy, and Chrom are in the same column as the character they are based on.

Row Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

World of Light

Character	Type	Enemy Power	Location on Map	Unlock location	Music
Mario	Neutral	2,500	The Light Realm, first character met	Final Destination	Final Destination
Donkey Kong	Grab	3,300	The Light Realm, Marth route (Jungle area)	Kongo Jungle (Ω form)	Jungle Level (64)
Link	Shield	3,600	The Light Realm, Villager route (Woodland ruins area)	Great Plateau Tower (Ω form)	Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Samus	Shield	7,500	The Light Realm (Across light canyon bridge)	Brinstar (Ω form)	Title Theme - Metroid
Dark Samus	Grab	12,500	The Final Battle (Dark side)	Frigate Orpheon (Ω form)	Multiplayer - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Yoshi	Grab	3,600	The Light Realm, Sheik route (Ribbon Road area)	Super Happy Tree (Ω form)	Obstacle Course - Yoshi's Island
Kirby	Sole Starting character
Fox	Shield	3,700	The Light Realm (Heart-shaped lake area)	Corneria (Ω form)	Star Fox Medley
Pikachu	Attack	3,300	The Light Realm, Sheik route (Gorge area)	Pokémon Stadium 2 (Ω form)	Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Melee)
Luigi	Grab	10,600	The Dark Realm (Mysterious Dimension sub-area) (Defeat Link's (The Legend of Zelda) spirit first)	Luigi's Mansion (Ω form)	Main Theme - Luigi's Mansion
Ness	Attack	7,500	The Light Realm (Magicant-like area)	Magicant (Ω form)	Magicant (for 3DS / Wii U)
Captain Falcon	Attack	3,300	The Light Realm, Villager route (Race track area)	Port Town Aero Dive (Ω form)	F-ZERO Medley
Jigglypuff	Shield	3,300	The Light Realm, Sheik route (Woods area)	Mushroom Kingdom U (Ω form)	Road to Viridian City - Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue
Peach	Grab	7,500	The Light Realm (Molten Fortress sub-area)	Mushroom Kingdom U (Slide Lift Tower section)	Fortress Boss - Super Mario World
Daisy	Attack	10,600	The Dark Realm (Dracula's Castle sub-area) (Defeat Dry Bowser's spirit first)		Underground Theme - Super Mario Land
Bowser	Neutral	N/A	The Light Realm (Molten Fortress sub-area) (Defeat Giga Bowser)	Final Destination	Giga Bowser
Ice Climbers	Grab	7,500	The Light Realm (Lower icy mountain area)	Summit (Ω form)	Ice Climber (Brawl)
Sheik	Shield	2,500	The Light Realm, one of the three starting routes (North)	Final Destination	Final Destination
Zelda	Shield	10,100	The Dark Realm (Sacred Land sub-area) (Defeat Impa's spirit first)	Temple (Ω form)	Ocarina of Time Medley
Dr. Mario	Shield	3,400	The Light Realm, Marth Route (Near Lumiose City area)	Mario Bros. (Ω form)	Fever
Pichu	Attack	7,500	The Light Realm (Power Plant sub-area)	Prism Tower (Ω form)	Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley
Falco	Attack	7,500	The Light Realm (Space area)	Lylat Cruise (Ω form)	Space Armada
Marth	Attack	2,500	The Light Realm, one of the three starting routes (West)	Final Destination	Final Destination
Lucina	Attack	10,000	The Dark Realm (Southeast route)	Arena Ferox (Ω form)	Id (Purpose)
Young Link	Grab	10,300	The Dark Realm (Sacred Land sub-area) (Defeat Saria's spirit first)	Temple (Ω form)	Saria's Song
Ganondorf	Attack	10,700	The Dark Realm (Sacred Land sub-area) (Activate the Master Sword and Defeat Elena's and Vaati's spirit first)	Bridge of Eldin (Ω form)	Death Mountain
Mewtwo	Grab	12,000	The Dark Realm (Mysterious Dimension sub-area) (Defeat Whispy Woods' spirit first)	Spear Pillar (Ω form)	Battle! (Dialga/Palkia) / Spear Pillar
Roy	Attack	12,500	The Final Battle (Light side)	Castle Siege (Ω form)	Beyond Distant Skies - Roy's Departure
Chrom	Attack	10,600	The Dark Realm (Sacred Land sub-area)		Id (Purpose)
Mr. Game & Watch	Shield	7,500	The Light Realm (Pac-Maze area)	Flat Zone X (Ω form)	Flat Zone 2
Meta Knight	Attack	11,800	The Dark Realm (Mysterious Dimension sub-area)	Halberd (Ω form)	Meta Knight's Revenge
Pit	Shield	3,300	The Light Realm (Temple of Light sub-area)	Skyworld (Ω form)	Underworld
Dark Pit	Shield	11,200	The Dark Realm (Dracula's Castle sub-area) (Defeat Boo's spirit first)	Reset Bomb Forest (Ω form)	Dark Pit's Theme
Zero Suit Samus	Grab	7,500	The Light Realm (Volcano area)	Brinstar Depths (Ω form)	Theme of Samus Aran, Space Warrior
Wario	Attack	10,100	The Dark Realm (Dracula's Castle sub-area) (Defeat Mummy's spirit first)	WarioWare, Inc. (Ω form)	WarioWare, Inc.
Snake	Grab	9,000	The Light Realm, Marth route (Base sub-area)	Final Destination	Encounter
Ike	Attack	11,200	The Dark Realm (Mysterious Dimension sub-area)	Coliseum (Ω form)	Eternal Bond
Pokémon Trainer	Attack	7,500	The Light Realm (Southeast town area)	Battlefield (Ω form)	Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Brawl)
Diddy Kong	Grab	9,000	The Light Realm (DK Island sub-area)	Kongo Jungle (Ω form)	Stickerbrush Symphony
Lucas	Shield	6,600	The Light Realm (Northwest town area)	New Pork City (Ω form)	Unfounded Revenge / Smashing Song of Praise
Sonic	Attack	9,800	The Dark Realm (Sacred Land sub-area)	Green Hill Zone (Ω form)	Green Hill Zone
King Dedede	Attack	9,000	The Light Realm (Gourmet Race sub-area)	Fountain of Dreams (Ω form)	King Dedede's Theme (Brawl)
Olimar	Grab	3,300	The Light Realm, Marth route (Mushroom chasm area)	Distant Planet (Ω form)	Main Theme - Pikmin
Lucario	Attack	3,300	The Light Realm, Sheik and Villager routes (Eastern end of giant wall)	Spear Pillar (Ω form)	Battle! (Team Galactic)
R.O.B.	Shield	10,500	The Dark Realm (Mysterious Dimension sub-area)	Wrecking Crew (Ω form)	Stack-Up/Gyromite
Toon Link	Attack	7,500	The Light Realm (Forest Hill sub-area) (Activate a switch and defeat Zelda's (Breath of the Wild) spirit first)	Wuhu Island (Volcano section)	Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
Wolf	Attack	11,800	The Dark Realm (Mysterious Dimension sub-area) (Defeat Andross' (Star Fox 64 3D) spirit first)	Lylat Cruise (Ω form)	Star Wolf (Brawl)
Villager	Grab	2,500	The Light Realm, one of the three starting routes (East)	Final Destination	Final Destination
Mega Man	Shield	7,500	The Light Realm, Marth route (Outside of the Base sub-area)	Wily Castle (Ω form)	Mega Man 2 Medley
Wii Fit Trainer	Shield	3,300	The Light Realm, Marth route (Lumiose City area)	Wii Fit Studio (Ω form)	Yoga
Rosalina & Luma	Shield	10,000	The Dark Realm (North route, middle-left pathway)	Mario Galaxy (Ω form)	Egg Planet
Little Mac	Attack	3,300	The Light Realm (Lumiose City area, available after clearing Power Plant sub-area)	Boxing Ring (Ω form)	Jogging / Countdown
Greninja	Shield	10,600	The Dark Realm (Mysterious Dimension sub-area)	Kalos Pokémon League (Ω form)	Battle! (Trainer Battle) - Pokémon X / Pokémon Y
Mii Brawler	Attack	10,000	The Dark Realm (Sacred Land sub-area) (Complete a puzzle involving red and blue torches by 4:40)	Final Destination	Final Destination - Super Smash Bros. for 3DS / Wii U
Mii Swordfighter	Shield	3,300	The Light Realm, Sheik and Villager routes (Eastern town area)
Mii Gunner	Grab	7,500	The Light Realm (Archipelago area)	Tortimer Island (Hazardless)
Palutena	Attack	12,500	The Final Battle (Defeat the first Crazy Hand in the dark side)	Palutena's Temple (Ω form)	Destroyed Skyworld
Pac-Man	Grab	3,300	The Light Realm, Marth route (West of mushroom chasm area)	Pac-Land (Ω form)	PAC-MAN
Robin	Grab	10,700	The Dark Realm (Dracula's Castle sub-area) (Defeat Werewolf's spirit first)	Castle Siege (Ω form)	Prelude (Ablaze)
Shulk	Attack	8,200	The Light Realm (Top of waterfall mountain area)	Gaur Plain (Ω form)	Xenoblade Chronicles Medley
Bowser Jr.	Grab	12,500	The Dark Realm (Sacred Land sub-area)	Mushroomy Kingdom (Ω form)	Fortress Boss - Super Mario Bros. 3
Duck Hunt	Grab	3,300	The Light Realm, Marth route (Hidden Forest area)	Duck Hunt (Ω form)	Duck Hunt Medley
Ryu	Attack	9,000	The Light Realm (World Tour sub-area)	Suzaku Castle (Ω form)	Ryu Stage
Ken	Neutral	10,600	The Dark Realm (Dracula's Castle sub-area) (Defeat Akuma's spirit first)	Boxing Ring (Ω form)	Ken Stage
Cloud	Attack	11,200	The Dark Realm (Sacred Land sub-area) (Zelda and Young Link must be unlocked first)	Midgar (Ω form)	Fight On!
Corrin	Shield	10,700	The Dark Realm (Mysterious Dimension sub-area) (Defeat Azura's spirit first)	Castle Siege (Ω form)	Lost in Thoughts All Alone
Bayonetta	Shield	12,500	The Final Battle (Defeat the first Master Hand in the light side)	Umbra Clock Tower (Ω form)	Tomorrow Is Mine (Bayonetta 2 Theme) (Instrumental)
Inkling	Attack	3,300	The Light Realm (Nintendo-themed city area)	Moray Towers (Ω form)	Splattack!
Ridley	Attack	10,600	The Dark Realm (Dracula's Castle sub-area) (Defeat The Creature & Flea Man's spirit first)	Brinstar Depths (Ω form)	Vs. Ridley (Brawl)
Simon	Grab	7,500	The Light Realm (Temple of Light sub-area)	Dracula's Castle (Ω form)	Vampire Killer
Richter	Grab	11,800	The Dark Realm (Dracula's Castle sub-area) (Defeat all ghosts to encounter)		Divine Bloodlines
King K. Rool	Attack	10,600	The Dark Realm (Mysterious Dimension sub-area) (Defeat Risky Boots' spirit first)	Pirate Ship (Hazardless)	Gang-Plank Galleon
Isabelle	Grab	3,900	The Light Realm (Take Kapp'n's bus from the northwest town area)	Town and City (Ω form)	Plaza / Title Theme - Animal Crossing: City Folk / Animal Crossing: Wild World
Incineroar	Attack	12,500	The Dark Realm (Southwest route)	Spear Pillar (Ω form)	The Battle at the Summit!

Gallery

• 

  Ness challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Zelda challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Bowser challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Pit challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Inkling challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Villager challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Marth challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Young Link challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

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

• 

  Ice Climbers challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Captain Falcon challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Peach challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Ryu challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Ike challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Jigglypuff challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

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

• 

  Sonic challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Simon challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

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

• 

  Little Mac challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Isabelle challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Shulk challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Lucina challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Wario challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Ridley challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Pokémon Trainer challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Lucario challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Daisy challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Roy challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  King Dedede challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

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

• 

  Falco challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Luigi challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Pichu challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Richter challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Lucas challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Diddy Kong challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Meta Knight challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Snake challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Ganondorf challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Corrin challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Mega Man challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Bayonetta challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Toon Link challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

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

• 

  Incineroar challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Sheik challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Olimar challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  PAC-MAN challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Dark Samus challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Wolf challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

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

• 

  Robin challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Dark Pit challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Cloud challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Duck Hunt challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Ken challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Greninja challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Chrom challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

  Mewtwo challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

• 

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

• 

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

• 

  Palutena challenging the player in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Trivia

• In Smash 64, Brawl, for 3DS and Ultimate, the AI level of unlockable character fights start out at being very low, but increases with each consecutive character unlocked.
  • 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]}
• 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.
• If Mii Fighters are considered unlockable, the Yoshi universe is the only universe to have never had any unlockable characters.
• 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 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.
• Prior to Ultimate, the only unlockable characters whose playable status was not kept a secret prior to release were Snake and Sonic in Brawl, and Lucina in Smash 4.

See also

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