We need to talk about Unlocking Characters in Smash Ultimate.

[Str0ngStyle]

I've always liked unlocking characters but with this many in the game it can be a chore. I've always thought a good compromise would be something like this (assuming Smash is he default)

You have 8 characters to start with. 5 are pre selected by Nintendo. Two are random. The last one the player can pick from whomever they like.

If you have to have a few secret characters, I get it but considering that Nintendo has already spoiled the entire roster themselves, that's not much of an excuse.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

Wasn't this sort of a problem in Smash 4 too? Not unlocking the characters, but a whole avenue of the game (custom special moves) being such a pain in the ass to unlock that they just weren't realistically possible to expect T.Os to get a hold of on each tournament setup?

Click to shrink...

That was mitigated by taking the following course of action:

1) Buy Smash for 3DS and an Action Replay Power Save device.
2) Use the cheat device to unlock all the custom moves on the single 3DS copy.
3) Use the 3DS to create custom characters and transfer them to as many Wii Us as you needed.

Unlocking all the custom moves on the Wii U could also be almost completely automated by wrapping a rubber band around a turbo controller and letting it sit on its own in Target Smash for several days on end. I did this for about 4 Wii Us at once and used Gamestop's one-week return policy on the controllers, in addition to saving up our venue fees to buy the 3DS workaround as well.

Leaving an auto-Ganon warlock-punching his way through the custom unlock process on Wii U took forever, but it was almost entirely hands-off. Way less work in practice than this game is.

I was a big proponent of customs, but they fell out of favor after the first year.

 

[Calamari41]

I'm glad to have to go through the hassle if it means there are kids out there who will be going into the game more or less blind, and get to experience the excitement of a challenger approaching and not knowing who it will be or how many there are going to be.

 

[Quebaz]

I like the idea of having a temporary code that has to be reinputted every time you turn on the game. But I'd like it if it just had everyone unlocked in versus/online, but keep them locked for WoL and Classic. I'm going to go trough those modes eventually so the feeling of accomplish is going to be there, but for those first days when I invite my friends over it'd be nice if we could play with everyone.

 

[Gold Arsene]

Sell an unlock code for a few bucks would be my compromise.

I like the idea of working my way through the full roster and it makes my classic mode run through feel more rewarding.

I get it can be frustrating for people who aren't as reliant on single player as me though so they should have some kind of compromise I guess.

 

[KratosEnergyDrink]

Because not everyone wants to unlock stuff?
I played for the first time last night and almost immediately turned it off when I saw Captain Falcon wasn't available from the start. Why would I want to wait to play him?

Click to shrink...

So maybe the game is just not for you? Some love unlocking characters some don't. Ultimate is a game for people who like progression/unlocking characters in a fighting game.

 

[Pirateluigi]

Finished unlocking characters today. I loved the experience but i also don't have anyone to play multiplayer with until next week so I was in no hurry. Just took my time and bounced between Classic and Adventure. Definitely understand the frustration for people that want to play with the huge roster right away or for tournament settings. But, for my part, I enjoyed it.

 

[Spider-Man]

Isn't there a microtransaction to just unlock them all for a cost?

Seems that is likely why they did it this way in this day and age of gaming.

 

[QisTopTier]

Isn't there a microtransaction to just unlock them all for a cost?

Seems that is likely why they did it this way in this day and age of gaming.

Click to shrink...

nope nothing like that

 

[Elfforkusu]

I think the way unlocks work is legitimately great, I don't get the hate. The rematches are slightly weird, but generous enough that I don't really mind.

Challenger approaching when I've been trying out some new character I'm terrible with? Bring it on, time to make the magic happen

 

[Error 52]

So maybe the game is just not for you? Some love unlocking characters some don't. Ultimate is a game for people who like progression/unlocking characters in a fighting game.

Click to shrink...

Oh fuck off with this. It's a game for people who like playing Smash Bros.

 

[Soul Skater]

Sort of wish unlocking characters was harder

Or you had to do more interesting or obscure things to get new challengers to appear. Like finishing the first level of adventure mode with a 2 in the timer to get Luigi in melee. Or beat some sort of weird objective; beat classic on hard in under X amount of minutes etc instead of just playing for a while

 

[molnizzle]

Isn't there a microtransaction to just unlock them all for a cost?

Seems that is likely why they did it this way in this day and age of gaming.

Click to shrink...

I wish that was an option.

 

[SpeedyBlueDude]

I have 3 Switches and need to unlock characters on all 3.

Did my main switch day one, 9 hours straight of playing.

I would legit pay Nintendo $10 to just have all the characters unlocked from the beginning.

 

[Viale]

Sort of wish unlocking characters was harder

Or you had to do more interesting or obscure things to get new challengers to appear. Like finishing the first level of adventure mode with a 2 in the timer to get Luigi in melee. Or beat some sort of weird objective; beat classic on hard in under X amount of minutes etc instead of just playing for a while

Click to shrink...

I agree with this. It was just kind of monotonous doing WoL for a bit and then backing out every ten minutes.

 

[Optional Objectives]

.

 

[Azerare]

I enjoyed the unlocking aspect. It was so exciting to see the challenger approaches screen and to somewhat earn my favorite characters. Felt rewarding compared to the Wii U game. I hate that games don't do that anymore.

The AI can get challenging but if you're only smash/dash attacking it can be troublesome. Gotta have your tilts used too.

 

[Deleted member 37233]

People were disappointed that all characters are unlocked from the start in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and now complain that they have to unlock most of the characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

I know, Mario Kart isn't a fighting game, but come on. I unlocked the entire roster in under 10 hours and I'm a casual Smash player who rarely touches the online modes in the game. Yes, the challengers can be pretty hard, but that's part of the fun! It would be pretty boring if you would win by default. You learn and have to think, perhaps you have to pick another character for the job.

And I hate the idea of a cheat code to unlock everyone. Yeah, it would be optional, but it's like an easy mode in Dark Souls, after so many fails you would use it out of frustration and that would just feel cheap and undeserving in hindsight.

 

[Deleted member 7092]

I loved the unlocking so much that I refused to get any new characters in WoL until I first unlocked them through Classic/Vs. That way I get to unlock everyone twice! I completed the CSS a few hours ago. It was very satisfying.

It's bizarre to me that some people only enjoy playing one or two characters across the entirety of Ultimate's varied and engaging cast. So many fighters have something unique and worthwhile to offer (including the original 8) that I can't even conceptualize someone being angry and miserable by needing to play as someone other than their main for a couple hours... especially in a game like this that is destined to become a go-to staple for years to come. That perspective is just so far out of my wheelhouse that I can't even begin to relate.

And for those who wanted to play as specific characters with friends this weekend, can't you just... ya know... hang out and play Smash again with your crew in the weeks and months (and years) ahead? It's not like the past three days were your only chance to play a Ken v. Duck Hunt match (or whoever you're into).

I don't pay much attention to other fighting games, but with the Smash series specifically, I don't ever recall seeing any sort of backlash or anger over unlockable characters. Every entry has had them, so I find it pretty wild that it's becoming such a big issue with Ultimate.

Anyway, I do hope those of you who aren't enjoying the game because of this are able to make peace with it and start having fun. It's too good of a game for you all to give up on!

 

[Deleted member 896]

So maybe the game is just not for you? Some love unlocking characters some don't. Ultimate is a game for people who like progression/unlocking characters in a fighting game.

Click to shrink...

There's an amazing lack of perspective here. Yes, the people that just want to cut right to the heart of playing the core game with the character(s) they want instead of having to unlock them first are clearly not who this game is aimed at. It's obviously aimed exclusively at content tourists that need a progression system and will never touch it again once they've "beaten" the game by unlocking the stuff they care about because what else is there to even do at that point?

 

[mindatlarge]

I loved the unlocking so much that I refused to get any new characters in WoL until I first unlocked them through Classic/Vs. That way I get to unlock everyone twice! I completed the CSS a few hours ago. It was very satisfying.

It's bizarre to me that some people only enjoy playing one or two characters across the entirety of Ultimate's varied and engaging cast. So many fighters have something unique and worthwhile to offer (including the original 8) that I can't even conceptualize someone being angry and miserable by needing to play as someone other than their main for a couple hours... especially in a game like this that is destined to become a go-to staple for years to come. That perspective is just so far out of my wheelhouse that I can't even begin to relate.

And for those who wanted to play as specific characters with friends this weekend, can't you just... ya know... hang out and play Smash again with your crew in the weeks and months (and years) ahead? It's not like the past three days were your only chance to play a Ken v. Duck Hunt match (or whoever you're into).

I don't pay much attention to other fighting games, but with the Smash series specifically, I don't ever recall seeing any sort of backlash or anger over unlockable characters. Every entry has had them, so I find it pretty wild that it's becoming such a big issue with Ultimate.

Anyway, I do hope those of you who aren't enjoying the game because of this are able to make peace with it and start having fun. It's too good of a game for you all to give up on!

Click to shrink...

A lot of people have considerable less time to devote to one game just to enjoy something that shouldn't be a chore.

 

[Deleted member 7092]

A lot of people have considerable less time to devote to one game just to enjoy something that shouldn't be a chore.

Click to shrink...

Sure, but you can play any mode to unlock characters. That's the beauty of it! Unless you find literally every mode a chore to play, then you should still be able to enjoy doing the things you like in the game as the character unlocks roll in.

I think the stronger argument is that some people legitimately hate playing as every single character except for one or two. Which seems outlandish to me given the size and variety of the roster, but different strokes for different folks. I just don't think it would have been wise for Sakurai to design the game around that subset of Smash fans, as I'd have to imagine they are in the extreme minority.

 

[Deleted member 896]

Sure, but you can play any mode to unlock characters. That's the beauty of it! Unless you find literally every mode a chore to play, then you should still be able to enjoy doing the things you like in the game as the character unlocks roll in.

I think the stronger argument is that some people legitimately hate playing as every single character except for one or two. Which seems outlandish to me given the size and variety of the roster, but different strokes for different folks. I just don't think it would have been wise for Sakurai to design the game around that subset of Smash fans, as I'd have to imagine they are in the extreme minority.

Click to shrink...

A better solution is just get rid of the CSS and the unlocks altogether and just make the only option available be random, am I right?

 

[Deleted member 7092]

A better solution is just get rid of the CSS and the unlocks altogether and just make the only option available be random, am I right?

Click to shrink...

That's not even close to being an apt comparison unless you somehow hate every available character equally (thus making it no different than choosing at random until you unlock who you want), but sure :P

 

[Dreavus]

Normally I'd come out on the side of unlock everyone, but as a thing to do for the first couple sessions or the first couple smash parties, it was very fun. Having the victor of a MP match face down a newcomer was great, and those fights aren't super easy either. It was able to shine a spotlight on each new character, and we all got to cheer on whoever was fighting the unlock. I think it added to the experience as a "one of a kind" thing, and it's not something we're going to get in a few weeks when all my friends and I have everyone unlocked.

I've been playing the game a lot solo today and have mused about slowing down until my next get together (online does not get you characters so I've been doing more of that, haha). I think it's really great having those newcomer challenges come in during a 6-8 player game session.

But yes, of course, some kind of tournament code would be a good idea.

 

[Deleted member 896]

That's not even close to being an apt comparison unless you somehow hate every available character equally (thus making it no different than choosing at random until you unlock who you want), but sure :P

Click to shrink...

I don't really see why you're trying to make a point about the importance of character experimentation in this phase given that for the people you're seemingly criticizing you don't really know how they play anyway and this is a one and done barrier. If you're just playing the game normally it's quite possible you got your preferred character early on and thus you still aren't forced to experiment. Meanwhile, some of my favorites like Shiek, Ganondorf, and Duck Hunt were among the last characters I unlocked. I'll still experiment with the roster now that I've got everyone, but I didn't bother with online because I didn't want to be locked out of the option to use my preferred characters. I didn't really find this process fun. I'm not mad. I haven't sent Sakurai a strongly worded letter expressing my disgust at his game. I'm just saying I regarded this as a mostly unfun chore and vote going forward to provide more diverse options.

 

[King Dodongo]

Unlocking is actually pretty great in this game. If by any chance you lost a match, you can easily rematch the fighter/s.

 

[FreddeGredde]

Unlocking is the absolute best thing about Smash. I need a goal to work towards, and getting all the characters is it! (And World of Light doesn't even have co-op, so I've barely played it yet.)

Playing multiplayer, and then have the winner battle the approaching challenger, it's awesome, especially when someone less experienced is up for it! So much cheering and tenseness!

 

[Deleted member 7092]

I don't really see why you're trying to make a point about the importance of character experimentation in this phase given that for the people you're seemingly criticizing you don't really know how they play anyway and this is a one and done barrier. If you're just playing the game normally it's quite possible you got your preferred character early on and thus you still aren't forced to experiment. Meanwhile, some of my favorites like Shiek, Ganondorf, and Duck Hunt were among the last characters I unlocked. I'll still experiment with the roster now that I've got everyone, but I didn't bother with online because I didn't want to be locked out of the option to use my preferred characters. I didn't really find this process fun. I'm not mad. I haven't sent Sakurai a strongly worded letter expressing my disgust at his game. I'm just saying I regarded this as a mostly unfun chore and vote going forward to provide more diverse options.

Click to shrink...

I'm not doubting that some people genuinely despise playing as anyone outside of their handful of mains, I just personally can't relate to that mindset because I think the creativity and variety within the roster is so strong. And I wish those people weren't having such a miserable time because I want everyone to enjoy Ultimate is much as I am!

Though you yourself aren't mad, lots of people in this thread seem to be. And is it also fair to say that though you didn't find the unlock system itself fun, you still had fun playing the game overall between when you first booted it up and when you unlocked your mains? Because that's a pretty big difference between some of the people who are making Ultimate out to be a joyless husk of an experience until they're able to play as a specific character.The former is something I can wrap my head around; the latter I cannot.

I'm also not sure what the best solution would be here to please both groups. A cheat code would completely suck the joy out of the process and take away some of the satisfaction from those who did it the old-fashioned way. And paying for early unlocks is a road Nintendo hasn't yet gone down, which is something I'm very thankful for in a broad sense (even though I recognize it might have a legitimate application in this specific case). But other than those two options, I don't know what a good middle-ground would be other than drastically speeding up the unlock process in-game compared to what it's like now. Though newcomer challenges already pop up every few minutes as it is.

 

[Deleted member 283]

People were disappointed that all characters are unlocked from the start in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and now complain that they have to unlock most of the characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Click to shrink...

Just a hint: those likely aren't the same people. In fact, all I've seen in this thread as far as that goes is people who didn't like everything being unlocked by default in MK8 Deluxe being happy with how Smash handles it. And then, separately, you have people like me, who didn't like having to unlock characters in stuff in say Mario Kart Wii also not liking it in Smash Ultimate. That makes a lot more sense and clears up that confusion pretty easily, eh?

Seriously though, it's weird that this keeps coming up as a talking point when the solution to this is that those are just completely different people, but way more fund making up complete strawmen and just pretending everyone is being crazy I guess...

 

[entremet]

Isn't there a microtransaction to just unlock them all for a cost?

Seems that is likely why they did it this way in this day and age of gaming.

Click to shrink...

This would actually suck. I'd rather they just add some secret code for everyone.

 

[Kcannon]

Sort of wish unlocking characters was harder

Or you had to do more interesting or obscure things to get new challengers to appear. Like finishing the first level of adventure mode with a 2 in the timer to get Luigi in melee. Or beat some sort of weird objective; beat classic on hard in under X amount of minutes etc instead of just playing for a while

Click to shrink...

Mewtwo's Melee conditions probably burned everybody out from methods like those.

 

[Deleted member 36708]

Thanks for sharing OP. This was very useful information for me. I wasn't aware of this. Makes me decision easier.

 

[Soul Skater]

This would actually suck. I'd rather they just add some secret code for everyone.

Click to shrink...

It is actually sort of funny that paying extra money is the first option people who don't want this went to

Instead of, you know, a cheat code. Remember those?

Normalization works

 

[RestEerie]

i'm okay with it but the only thing i don't understand is...why can't unlocking the character in Spirit mode unlocked it in general as well?

Seems abit redundant to have 2 forms of 'unlocking'..

Also, OT but managing spirits is way too cumbersome for me....i don't mind fighting AI in weird conditions but the need to constantly manage and change spirits to match the condition is not the most fun things in the game and the 'auto assign' feature is not helping things at all, often assigning dumb spirits that doesn't really match the character or opponent well.

 

[Servbot24]

I'm glad to have to unlock them. It makes me appreciate each of the characters more.

 

[Lothars]

So maybe the game is just not for you? Some love unlocking characters some don't. Ultimate is a game for people who like progression/unlocking characters in a fighting game.

Click to shrink...

Lmao, no it isn't. It's a game about celebrating smash brothers. It would still be as great with ways to bypass unlocking characters

 

[gardfish]

i'm okay with it but the only thing i don't understand is...why can't unlocking the character in Spirit mode unlocked it in general as well?

Seems abit redundant to have 2 forms of 'unlocking'..

Click to shrink...

It does do that, though.

 

[RestEerie]

It does do that, though.

Click to shrink...

really? I unlocked Ike in Spirits mode but it's not in normal mode until he 'challenged' me and i defeated him again when i randomly played some smash mode matches.

 

[Pirateluigi]

i'm okay with it but the only thing i don't understand is...why can't unlocking the character in Spirit mode unlocked it in general as well?

Seems abit redundant to have 2 forms of 'unlocking'..

Click to shrink...

It does. It just doesn't work the other way around (ie you have to unlock them in adventure to use them in adventure)

 

[Boiled Goose]

1) How do you copy saves from one account to another?

2) Public internet connections aren't always available.

3) lol paying for cloud saves.

Click to shrink...

I'm sure that for a tournament someone will have all of those 3.

You dont need a public internet connection. Hot spot works.

I do think Sakurai should have included a tournament friendly way to unlock all characters.

But I don't think it's that big of a problem in practice.

 

[MetalBoi]

Yeah I'm starting to get tired of losing to these last thirty characters. There should at the very least be a rematch option instead of having to wait ten minutes. Later on these ai's are ridiculous.

 

[Deleted member 9100]

For me the game is unlocking them. I absolutely prefer this way to Smash 4. One of the biggest disappointments for me in Smash 4 was having almost everyone unlocked from the start.

Also 6 Fire emblem characters is complete overkill. Fire emblem should not make up almost 10% of the cast.

 

[ZaddyMattty]

I personally like how long its going to take to unlock everyone. K

 

[ffdgh]

I get people frustrations with how this work. I'm in no rush to unlock everyone myself so I'm just strolling through WoL to unlock character as they show up. Got about 30 characters left to find lol.

 

[Zyrokai]

I really, really value unlocking them as slowly as possible. I want to savor every moment of this and gradually add characters to play as. I'd be okay if it took a year to get them all. I feel that it's FAR too easy/fast to unlock characters.

 

[QisTopTier]

For me the game is unlocking them. I absolutely prefer this way to Smash 4. One of the biggest disappointments for me in Smash 4 was having almost everyone unlocked from the start.

Also 6 Fire emblem characters is complete overkill. Fire emblem should not make up almost 10% of the cast.

Click to shrink...

How is it overkill? The franchise is ancient with a ton of games. If anything there should be more fire emblem characters of the different classes in the series

There are 6 Zelda characters are 3 of them are link :P

 

[Sixfortyfive]

Mewtwo's Melee conditions probably burned everybody out from methods like those.

Click to shrink...

All you had to do was plug in 4 controllers, leave the system sit for 5 hours overnight, and then resume to unlock him.

Less than that if you had already put some time into the game.

I'm sure that for a tournament someone will have all of those 3.

You dont need a public internet connection. Hot spot works.

I do think Sakurai should have included a tournament friendly way to unlock all characters.

But I don't think it's that big of a problem in practice.

Click to shrink...

You missed the fact that cloud saves literally do nothing to help tournament organizers.

They have to have separate accounts for each console. They have to unlock all the characters on multiple consoles. It's asinine.

 

[RestEerie]

How is it overkill? The franchise is ancient with a ton of games. If anything there should be more fire emblem characters of the different classes in the series

There are 6 Zelda characters are 3 of them are link :P

Click to shrink...

i think character representation should be based on the popularity of the game franchise itself, not how many games that franchise had...As such, i do echo others here and think that there's too much fire emblem characters.

 

[mindatlarge]

really? I unlocked Ike in Spirits mode but it's not in normal mode until he 'challenged' me and i defeated him again when i randomly played some smash mode matches.

Click to shrink...

When you beat aka awaken a character in WoL and you see "has joined the battle", that's when the character is now unlocked for all modes.