Super Smash Bros. series

Unlockable character

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


Challenger Approaching Alarms

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 no continues. Dream Land

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Super Smash Bros. Melee

Characters

Character How to unlock VS matches required Unlock Location Music
Jigglypuff[note 1] Complete Classic Mode or Adventure Mode with any character. 50 Pokémon Stadium Pokémon Stadium
Dr. Mario[note 1] Complete Classic Mode or Adventure Mode with Mario without using a continue. 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[note 2] 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[note 1] Complete Classic Mode or Adventure Mode with Marth without using a continue. 900 Temple Fire Emblem
Mr. Game & Watch[note 1] Complete Classic Mode, Adventure Mode, or Break the Targets with all 24 other characters. 1000 Flat Zone Flat Zone
  1. ^ a b c d If the player had previously used the Erase Data > Hidden Characters option in the Options menu, these characters can be unlocked again if All-Star Mode is cleared under the established conditions.
  2. ^ The time required is calculated in "player-hours" (e.g. two human players gives two hours for every hour of game-time, three human players give three and four players give four).

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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[note 1] 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[note 1] 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[note 1] 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
  1. ^ a b c Toon Link, Jigglypuff and Wolf are not part of the main plot of Subspace Emissary; players must beat the main story first then revisit certain stages to find them that way.

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

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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[note 1] Magicant / Eight Melodies (Mother)
Falco Clear Classic Mode without any continues 20 Corneria Corneria
Wario Complete 100-Man Smash 30 WarioWare, Inc.[note 2] 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
  1. ^ Flying Men do not appear.
  2. ^ Microgames do not occur.

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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[note 1] Duck Hunt Medley
  1. ^ Dog and ducks do not appear.

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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

An icon for denoting incomplete things.

It has been confirmed that the eight starter characters from the original Super Smash Bros. will be the starting roster, 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. It is also confirmed that one-on-one Challenger Approaching fights are returning, but it is still unknown if the AI difficulty is high or low during the Challenger Approaching battles. It has been confirmed that Marth, Sheik and Villager would be the first few characters unlocked through World of Light.

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.

VS Mode Unlock Order

  1. Ness
  2. Zelda
  3. Bowser
  4. Pit
  5. Inkling
  6. Villager
  7. Marth
  8. Young Link
  9. Wii Fit Trainer
  10. Ice Climbers
  11. Captain Falcon
  12. Peach
  13. Ryu
  14. Ike
  15. Jigglypuff
  16. King K. Rool
  17. Sonic
  18. Simon
  19. Zero Suit Samus
  20. Little Mac
  21. Isabelle
  22. Shulk
  23. Lucina
  24. Wario
  25. Ridley
  26. Pokémon Trainer
  27. Lucario
  28. Daisy
  29. Roy
  30. King Dedede
  31. R.O.B.
  32. Falco
  33. Luigi
  34. Pichu
  35. Richter
  36. Diddy Kong
  37. Meta Knight
  38. Snake
  39. Ganondorf
  40. Corrin
  41. Mega Man
  42. Bayonetta
  43. Toon Link
  44. Rosalina and Luma
  45. Incineroar
  46. Sheik
  47. Olimar
  48. Pac-Man
  49. Dark Samus
  50. Wolf O'Donnell
  51. Mr. Game & Watch
  52. Robin
  53. Dark Pit
  54. Cloud
  55. Duck Hunt
  56. Ken
  57. Greninja
  58. Chrom
  59. Mewtwo
  60. Bowser Jr.
  61. Dr. Mario
  62. Palutena

Challenger Approaches!

Character Unlock condition(s) Unlock location Music
Dark Samus Complete Classic Mode with Samus Frigate Orpheon Multiplayer - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Luigi Complete Classic Mode with Ike Luigi's Mansion Main Theme - Luigi's Mansion
Ness Complete Classic Mode with Kirby Onett Bein' Friends
Captain Falcon Complete Classic Mode with Fox Port Town Aero Dive F-Zero Medley
Jigglypuff Complete Classic Mode with Ness Saffron City Pokemon Main Theme(64)
Peach Complete Classic Mode with Falco Princess Peach's Castle Rolling Hills A
Daisy Complete Classic Mode with Falco Figure-8 Circuit Mario Tennis/Mario Golf
Bowser Mushroom Kingdom U King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3
Ice Climbers Complete Classic Mode with King K. Rool Summit Ice Climber (Brawl)
Sheik Complete Classic Mode with King Dedede
Zelda Temple Ocarina of Time Medley
Dr. Mario Complete Classic Mode with Bayonetta or Roy New Donk City Hall Fever
Pichu Complete Classic Mode with Bayonetta or Isabelle Pokémon Stadium Pokémon Red/Pokémon Blue Medley
Falco Complete Classic Mode with Captain Falcon Corneria Area 6
Marth Castle Siege Story 5 Meeting
Lucina Complete Classic Mode with Marth or Ryu
Young Link Complete Classic Mode with Simon Great Bay Saria’s Theme
Ganondorf Complete Classic Mode with Ryu Gerudo Valley Gerudo Valley (Remix)
Mewtwo Spear Pillar Battle! (Dialga/Palkia) / Spear Pillar
Roy Complete Classic Mode with Little Mac or Ike Castle Siege Beyond Distant Skies - Roy's Departure
Chrom Complete Classic Mode with Ridley Arena Ferox Id - Purpose (New Remix)
Mr. Game & Watch Complete Classic Mode with R.O.B. Flat Zone X Flat Zone 2
Meta Knight Halberd Meta Knights Revenge
Pit Skyworld Underworld
Dark Pit Complete Classic Mode with Wario Reset Bomb Forest Dark Pit's Theme
Zero Suit Samus Brinstar Theme of Samus Aran, Space Warrior
Wario Complete Classic Mode with Cloud
Snake Complete Classic Mode with Meta Knight Shadow Moses Island Encounter
Ike Complete Classic Mode with Little Mac Coliseum Eternal Bond
Pokémon Trainer Clear Classic Mode with Mario, Bowser, or Donkey Kong Pokémon Stadium 2 Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Brawl)
Diddy Kong Complete Classic Mode with Dark Pit
Lucas Complete Classic Mode with Corrin or Ken
Sonic Clear Classic Mode with Mario Green Hill Zone Green Hill Zone
King Dedede Clear Classic Mode with Pokémon Trainer
Olimar Complete Classic Mode with Little Mac Distant Planet Main Theme - Pikmin
Lucario Complete Classic Mode with Yoshi Spear Pillar Victory Road
R.O.B. Complete Classic Mode with Luigi
Toon Link Complete Classic Mode with Richter Pirate Ship Dragon Roost Island
Wolf Complete Classic Mode with Peach Lylat Cruise Star Wolf (Brawl)
Villager Smashville Title (Animal Crossing)
Mega Man Complete Classic Mode with Wario Wily Castle Mega Man 2 Medley
Wii Fit Trainer Complete Classic Mode with Inkling Wii Fit Studio Main Menu - Wii Fit
Rosalina & Luma Complete Classic Mode with Pichu or Pokémon Trainer Mario Galaxy Egg Planet
Little Mac Complete Classic Mode with Bayonetta Boxing Ring Jogging/Countdown
Greninja Complete Classic Mode with Rosalina & Luma
Palutena Complete Classic Mode with Lucas, Ryu, or Young Link Palutena's Temple Destroyed Skyworld
Pac-Man Complete Classic Mode with Ness Pac-Land Pac-Man
Robin Complete Classic Mode with Zelda Castle Siege Prelude (Ablaze)
Shulk Complete Classic Mode with Pikachu or Villager Gaur Plain Xenoblade Chronicles Medley
Bowser Jr. Complete Classic Mode with Donkey Kong or Falco Delfino Plaza Delfino Plaza (New Remix)
Duck Hunt Complete Classic Mode with Pichu Duck Hunt Duck Hunt Medley
Ryu Complete Classic Mode with Marth Battlefield Ryu Stage
Ken Complete Classic Mode with Duck Hunt Boxing Ring Ken Stage
Cloud Complete Classic Mode with Dark Samus Midgar Fight On!
Corrin Complete Classic Mode with Robin Coliseum Lost in Thoughts All Alone
Bayonetta Complete Classic Mode with Sonic Umbra Clock Tower Let's Hit the Climax
Inkling Complete Classic Mode with Samus Moray Towers Splattack (Original)
Ridley Complete Classic Mode with Lucina Norfair Vs. Ridley
Simon Complete Classic Mode with Ice Climbers or King K. Rool Dracula's Castle Vampire Killer
Richter Complete Classic Mode with Young Link or Snake Dracula's Castle Divine Bloodlines
King K. Rool Complete Classic Mode with Link Jungle Japes Gangplank Galleon
Isabelle Complete Classic Mode with Samus or Shulk Town and City Plaza / Title (Animal Crossing: City Folk / Animal Crossing: Wild World)
Incineroar Complete Classic Mode with Wii Fit Trainer Boxing Ring The Battle at the Summit

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
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
Sheik One of 3 starting routes (middle) Final Destination Final Destination
Zelda World of Dark (Sacred Land)
Dr. Mario World of Light, Marth Route (Near Lumious City) Mario Bros. (Ω form) Fever
Pichu World of Light (Power Plant)
Falco World of Light (Space)
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
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, Villager route (Town) Final Destination Final Destination - Super Smash Bros. for 3DS / Wii U
Mii Gunner World of Light
Palutena The Final Battle (Near Mythra’s Spirit)
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 upon up to lead to him)
Corrin World of Dark (Mysterious Dimension, near Azura’s spirit)
Bayonetta The Final Battle
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)

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Trivia

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  • 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.
  • 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, 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