Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is almost here, and while it does bear the tagline “Everyone is here!”, is that really the case when you launch the game for the first time? As luck would have it, everyone is in fact here, but it might take a bit of work to find them all. When you boot up the game for the first time, the roster will only consist of eight characters: Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Yoshi, Samus, Kirby, Fox, and Pikachu. This is the core group from the very first game way back on the Nintendo 64, and everyone else on the roster needs to be unlocked.

How to unlock characters in Smash Ultimate

With such a large group of characters to unlock, you should get used to seeing “Challenger Approaching” warnings signs as you play the game. Roughly every five Smash battles, or Classic Mode runs, will see the victorious player taking on the computer in a battle to unlock the next fighter.

There are several ways to trigger "Challenger's Approach" battles. Here are a few ways:

• Play any type of Smash battle. A battle will trigger roughly every five matches.
• Play Classic Mode. A battle triggers after a complete Classic run.
• Play on the Spirit Board. A battle will trigger after roughly five attempts.
• Play World of Light. Play roughly five World of Light matches, then back all the way out to the main menu. Upon exiting World of Light, the battle will trigger.

As in the past, unlock battles will see the victorious player taking on the computer in a 1 v 1, 1 stock match, so if you suspect you’ve got a battle coming up soon, maybe pick a character you’re comfortable with. It might seem like it’s random with who you’re facing off against, but the Smash Bros. subreddit have found images that seem to point to specific paths to unlock all the characters.

What if I lose a Challengers Approach battle

Some of the unlockable characters are a real handful at first, especially if you were messing around and aren’t playing someone you’re familiar with. It’s possible to have a rematch against the computer to unlock that character again, but it isn’t going to come straight away. play some more games, and after some time passes, head back to the main menu and jump into the Games & More section. From there, you should see an icon representing “Challengers Approach” in the bottom right corner. Here you’ll be able to have a rematch against the computer, only this time you can pick exactly which character you want to play.

Can I pick who to unlock

Nintendo want you to play with all your favorite characters, but they also don’t want to make it easy. Right now, there isn’t a guaranteed way to be certain of who the next unlockable character will be, aside from what leaks and information might be found on the subreddit. The World of Light adventure is another way to unlock characters, where defeating someone in that game mode will unlock them for the rest of the game. Be warned though, the World of Light adventure isn’t something you can beat in a couple of hours, and the character battles aren’t as frequent as you might think,

What is the fastest way to unlock all the characters

Probably the fastest way to unlock everyone at this stage is by playing the Smash mode. Roughly five battles will take you to the next unlock match, so setting the battles to 1 stock, or 1 minute, should speed up the time dramatically, since it doesn’t seem to matter how long the games go for. If there does end up being a quicker way, we’ll be sure to keep you updated as the information rolls out.

For more quick help, check out our breakdown of the controls, here, to get an edge on your friends in the battles to come.