Unlockables refers to any element of the Super Smash Bros. games that is not available from the start, but must be earned by completing some task. A task often requires the player to complete a game mode with a particular character or difficulty level.
Unlockables may refer to:
Unlockable characters
A unique criteria must be met in order to unlock a certain character. Typically, the player must accomplish a particular in-game feat. Once complete, a message will display: "Warning! Challenger Approaching!", "Challenger Approaching! A new foe has appeared!" or "A Challenger Approaches!" with a silhouette of the character the player is about to face. The unlockable character will then be fought by the last character Player 1 had used. By winning the challenge and defeating the opponent, the character becomes playable and the notice will appear informing them it's been unlocked and logged into the notices. If the player fails the challenge and loses to the opponent, the player can simply perform any kind of versus match, and, upon the match's conclusion, the player will be challenged again by that opponent.
Super Smash Bros.
Character | How to Unlock |
Captain Falcon | Beat the Single Player mode with any character on any difficulty in less than 20 minutes on any stock. |
Jigglypuff | Beat the Single Player mode with any character on any difficulty or stock. |
Luigi | Complete Bonus 1 (Break the Targets!) with all 8 starting characters. |
Ness | Complete the single player game on Normal difficulty with three stocks and without continuing. |
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Super Smash Bros. Melee
Character | How to Unlock | VS Matches Required |
Jigglypuff | Complete Classic or Adventure Mode on any stock or difficulty. | 50 |
Dr. Mario | As Mario, complete Classic or Adventure Mode on any difficulty without continuing. | 100 |
Pichu | Complete Event Match #37: Legendary Pokémon or complete Adventure Mode with Mewtwo. | 200 |
Falco Lombardi | Complete 100-Man Melee. | 300 |
Marth | Play Classic Mode with all 14 starter characters, or use them all in VS. mode. | 400 |
Young Link | Complete Classic Mode with 10 characters including Link or Zelda. | 500 |
Ganondorf | Complete Event Match #29 Triforce Gathering. | 600 |
Mewtwo* | Play VS. mode for a combined total of 20 hours.* | 700 |
Luigi | Complete Stage #1 of Adventure with time ending in a "2" in the seconds meter. After that, beat Luigi and Peach in less than a minute, and then complete the Adventure mode. | 800 |
Roy | As Marth, complete Classic or Adventure Mode without continuing. | 900 |
Mr. Game & Watch | Clear Classic, Adventure, or Target Test with all other 24 characters. | 1000 |
*The time required to unlock Mewtwo is calculated in "player-hours" (e.g. 2 human players gives 2 hours for every hour of game-time, 3 human players give 3, and four players give 4).
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Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Masahiro Sakurai once stated that he feels that it would be appropriate that third-party, or "guest" characters, like Solid Snake or Sonic the Hedgehog, would be unlockable. This became true when Super Smash Bros. Brawl came out on March 9, 2008.
Also, all unlockable characters can be unlocked by playing through The Subspace Emissary, some just by playing through, while others involve completing the mode, and returning to specific zones and going through previously absent doors to a playable stage where, after a short cutscene, the player will be able to fight and unlock the character. 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 to before they will join the party.
Character | How to Unlock | Subspace Emissary | VS Matches Required |
Ness | Reflect 10 Projectiles. | Complete Subspace (Part I). | 5 |
Marth | Complete Classic Mode. | Complete Battlefield Fortress. | 10 |
Luigi | Complete Classic Mode using no continues. | Complete Subspace (Part I). | 22 |
Falco | Complete 100-Man Brawl. | Complete The Swamp. | 50 |
Captain Falcon | Play through Classic Mode on Normal or higher and beat it in 12 minutes or less. | Complete Outside the Ancient Ruins. | 70 |
Lucario | Clear Target Smash!! on levels 1-5 with any single character. | Complete Glacial Peak. | 100 |
Snake | Play 15 Vs. Matches on Shadow Moses Island. | Complete Battleship Halberd Interior. | 130 |
R.O.B. | Collect 250 different trophies (If done in Coin Launcher, play a vs. match with any character). | Complete Subspace Bomb Factory (Part II). | 160 |
Ganondorf | Clear Classic on Hard with Link or Zelda/Sheik. | Collect both Link and Zelda's trophies in Subspace (Part II). | 200 |
Mr. Game & Watch | Clear Target Smash with 30 different characters on any single difficulty level. | Complete Battleship Halberd Bridge. | 250 |
Sonic*** | Complete Classic Mode with 10 characters or Brawl for 10 combined total hours. | Complete The Great Maze. | 300 |
Jigglypuff** | Beat 20 or more events after beating the Subspace Emissary. (video) | After completing The Great Maze defeat it in a secret room in The Swamp. | 350 |
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 |
Wolf ** | Complete Boss Battles mode with Fox or Falco. | After completing The Great Maze defeat him in a secret room in The Ruins. | 450 |
** Because 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.
***Sonic is the only character who can be unlocked 4 different ways.
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Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
In previous games, when someone unlocks a character, a unique text appears saying that the player has unlocked a character. However, when the player unlocks a character in this game, it will only say the name of the character unlocked followed by "Joins the Battle!".
Character | How to Unlock (3DS) | How to Unlock (Wii U) | Matches Required |
Ness | Beat Classic Mode for the first time. | Starter in this version. | 10 |
Falco | Beat Classic Mode 1 time without using any continues. | Beat Classic Mode once, it doesn't matter if continues are used. | 20 (10 on Wii U) |
Wario | Beat 100-Man Smash. | Same as 3DS. | 30 (20 on Wii U) |
Lucina | Beat Classic Mode with Marth. | Beat Classic Mode on Intensity 5.5 or higher. | 40 (30 on Wii U) |
Dark Pit | Beat Classic Mode 3 times. | Beat All-Star Mode in Normal or higher. | 50 (40 on Wii U) |
Dr. Mario | Beat Classic Mode as Mario on 4.0 difficulty or higher. | Complete a challenge in Master Orders on Harder difficulties. | 60 (50 on Wii U) |
R.O.B. | Beat Classic Mode after obtaining 200 figures. | Beat Crazy Orders in a 10-round strike. | 70 (60 on Wii U) |
Ganondorf | Beat Classic Mode with Link or Zelda on 5.0 difficulty or higher. | Starter in this version. | 80 |
Mr. Game & Watch | Beat Classic Mode with 10 characters. | Clear Classic Mode with 5 different characters on 2.0 difficulty or higher. | 90 (80 on Wii U) |
Bowser Jr. | Beat Classic Mode with Bowser on 6.0 difficulty or higher. | Starter in this version. | 100 |
Duck Hunt | Beat Classic Mode 8 times. | Defeat at least one Mii Fighter in Solo Cruel Smash. | 110 (100 on Wii U) |
Jigglypuff | Collect 30 different Equipment items. | Starter in this version. | 120 |
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Unlockable stages
Super Smash Bros.
Stage | How to Unlock |
---|---|
Mushroom Kingdom | Beat 1P Game with all 8 starter characters and play each starter stage in VS Mode at least once. |
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Stage | How to Unlock |
---|---|
Planet Zebes: Brinstar Depths | Play 50 VS. matches. |
Eagleland: Fourside | Play 100 VS. matches. |
F-Zero Grand Prix: Big Blue | Play 150 VS. matches. |
Kanto Skies: Poké Floats | Play 200 VS. matches. |
Mushroom: Kingdom II | Obtain either the Birdo or Pidgit trophies. |
Past Stages: Dream Land | Complete Target Test successfully with all 25 characters. |
Past Stages: Kongo Jungle 64 | Complete 15-Minute Melee. |
Past Stages: Yoshi's Island | Hit more than 1350 ft/400m in Home Run Contest with any character. |
Special Stages: Battlefield | Clear All-Star Mode once. |
Special Stages: Final Destination | Clear all 51 Event Matches. |
Superflat World: Flat Zone | Complete Classic Mode with Mr. Game & Watch. |
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Stage | How to Unlock |
---|---|
75m | Play as Donkey Kong 20 times on Vs Mode. |
Big Blue (Melee) | Play as Captain Falcon 10 times on Vs Mode. |
Hanenbow | Complete Event 28: Flower Blooms in the Echoes. |
Flat Zone 2 | Unlock Mr. Game & Watch. |
Pirate Ship | Unlock Toon Link. |
Green Greens (Melee) | Play 20 Vs. Matches using Kirby. |
Green Hill Zone | Unlock Sonic. |
Jungle Japes (Melee) | Play 10 Vs. matches on Melee stages. |
Luigi's Mansion | Play with Luigi in 3 Vs. matches. |
Mario Bros. | Complete Event 19: Wario Bros. |
Pokémon Stadium (Melee) | Play on Pokémon Stadium 2 in 10 Vs. matches. |
Spear Pillar | Complete Event 25: The Aura Is With Me. |
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
Stage | How to Unlock |
---|---|
Balloon Fight | Play with Villager 3 or more times. |
Dream Land | Use Kirby's Final Smash. |
Flat Zone 2 | Unlock Mr. Game & Watch and unlock the second challenge page. |
Magicant | Unlock Ness. |
Mute City | Play with Captain Falcon in 3 Vs. Matches. |
Pac-Maze | Use Pac-Man's Final Smash. |
WarioWare, Inc. | Unlock Wario. |
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Stage | How to Unlock |
---|---|
Duck Hunt | Defeat 1 enemy or more in Solo Cruel Smash. |
Flat Zone X | Break 100 blocks in Trophy Rush with Mr. Game & Watch. |
Kongo Jungle 64 | Complete the Event: Event: The Original Heavyweights. |
Pac-Land | Play all three maps in Smash Tour. |
Pokémon Stadium 2 | Complete the Event: Event: When Lightning Strikes. |
Smashville | Complete the Event: Playing Tricks. |
Unlockable Masterpieces
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Donkey Kong (NES) (75m level)- 0:30 - have 10 hours of play time.
- Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES) (World 1-1 with Peach) - 1:30 - Win five Brawls with Peach.
- Super Mario World (SNES) - 2:00 - Play on the Yoshi's Island stage three times.
- F-Zero (SNES) (Mute City course with Blue Falcon) - 0:40 - Have Captain Falcon join the party in The Subspace Emissary.
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) (Save files for beginning of Young Link and Adult Link sections)- 5:00 - Use Toon Link in 10 Brawls.
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
- Yoshi (NES) - 3:00 - Clear Solo Classic while playing as Yoshi.
- EarthBound (SNES) - 5:00 - Hit Sandbag 1968 ft. or more in Home Run-Contest.
- Kirby's Adventure (NES) - 3:00 - Clear Solo Classic at intensity 5.5 or higher while playing as Kirby.
Other unlockables
Some modes of gameplay must be unlocked. These include All-Star Mode and Boss Battles Mode in their totality, and Event Matches 11-51.
Trivia
- Super Smash Bros. is the only game not to use silhouettes of the characters before fighting them, it shows them as they full color models instead.
- In Brawl, whenever the player fights a hidden character, his/her character always uses their default palette swap, even if another costume was selected.
- Luigi, Jigglypuff, Ganondorf, Captain Falcon, Ness, Marth, Sonic, Toon Link, Wario, Mewtwo, Roy, and Lucario are the only characters to have their unlockability status change between games, specifically in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.
- Wario is the only character debuting as a starter, before becoming unlockable.
- In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, some unlockable characters in the 3DS version are starter characters in the Wii U version. This was a personal choice of Masahiro Sakurai, who opted with his team to make said characters starters as they were unlockable in the 3DS to save players who already had this version to take extra time to unlock all, but still have fun unlocking hidden content.
- Additionally, because of this, Sakurai's original plan was to make all characters avaliable from the start in both versions; meaning there would be no hidden fighters. This idea was abandoned given the fact he acknowledged players enjoy the idea of the expectation of finding hidden content, as well fighting a secret fighter in order to unlock him/her. To balance this with his original idea of making all characters avaliable, he toned down the unlocking difficutly, meaning characters in the Wii U / 3DS are easier to unlock than previous titles.
- There is a glitch in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U where if a player played Multi-Man smash and selected cruel smash (or possibly any other mode in Multi-Man Smash) and, regardless of the players actions, as long as they exit after the match, they will encounter a random unlockable. This way, a player can unlock every character in the game except R.O.B.
- Pichu, Young Link, Snake, Wolf, Falco, Dark Pit, Lucina, Duck Hunt, R.O.B., and Mr Game & Watch are the only characters to be unlockable in all games they appear in.