Super Smash Bros Ultimate – How to fight characters you lost to
There is a huge roster of characters in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Even excluding the paid DLC characters, there are a whopping 76 playable characters on the list, spanning a multitude of different games and series.
Despite the impressive character total, there are only 8 available when you first boot up Super Smash Bros Ultimate, meaning there is a long, hard road ahead to unlock them all. These 8 starting characters are incidentally the same fighters who kicked off the series in the original Super Smash Bros on N64.
The most common way to unlock a new character is to see the famous Challenger Approach screen after a battle, before beating the character in question. However, some of these fights can get seriously tricky, and it’s not uncommon to require a rematch. The way to instigate a rematch isn’t specifically spelled out, so we’ve got everything you need below.
Here’s our Super Smash Bros Ultimate guide of how to unlock characters you lost to.
How do you make a new challenger approach in Super Smash Bros Ultimate?
Characters are actually unlocked in a slightly strange and unusual way. Many believe it is based on battles fought or time spent playing, and whilst these are a good rule of thumb, it is not strictly correct. A new challenger will actually approach depending on the number of button inputs made during battles.
The specific number of inputs required remains a secret to this day, but generally a single battle lasting a few minutes is enough to satisfy the requirement, provided you are continually pressing different buttons. Make sure you vary your attacks and move around a lot, which will ensure the input criteria will be met and cause a new challenger to approach.
Here are a couple of pointers to bear in mind:
- The input number is added up based on all human characters participating, so a heated VS match between 4 human players is almost guaranteed to make a new challenger approach.
- Your button input number can stack over time to build up a backlog of challengers to fight.
- There is a cool down period after each Challenger Approach. You’ll need to wait 5-10 minutes after fighting a challenger for another one to appear, even if you have already met the button criteria and the character is waiting in the backlog. Another couple of battles usually does the trick.
How to rematch characters you lost to in Super Smash Bros Ultimate
If you lost the all-important unlock battle with a new challenger, they will not appear from a traditional Challenger Approach again.
The next time you can unlock a new challenger, it will be the next character on a predetermined list. For instance, if you lose to Ness (the first challenger to approach), the next challenger will still be Zelda.
To get a rematch with the character you lost to, enter the Games & More menu, which is available on the right-hand side of the main menu.
In the Games & More menu, rematch a character by selecting Challenger’s Approach in the bottom right, denoted by a glowing doorway. This door may not appear immediately, but will appear after satisfying a button input requirement. If it is not there, generally a battle or two will be enough to make it show.
See the image below which shows where you need to look:
Select it and you will enter the character select screen to rematch the character you lost to.
Rematches will be in the order the characters first challenged you, so you would have to beat everyone you lost against before you can rematch your most recent opponent.
Also, if you have multiple characters to rematch, the door will disappear after your first rematch. Again, just play a couple of battles and it should appear for you to rematch the next character on the list. In the meantime, you can still cause new challengers to approach by battling normally.
What if you lose again?
If you lose your rematch, the situation doesn’t really change. The door will disappear and then reappear again once you have input enough buttons during Smash battles or other modes. Fight a couple more battles and you will get another shot against the same character by going back into the Games & More menu.
However, if it seems clear you are going to lose, you can speed up the rematch process. Pause the game just before you lose and press the Home button to open the Switch Home menu.
Close the Super Smash Bros Ultimate software and start it back up, where you should find the Challenger’s Approach door still there for another attempt.
Usually anything can happen in a Super Smash Bros battle but if you fell off the edge and can see you are definitely falling to your doom, this method is worth remembering.
How else can you unlock characters in Super Smash Bros Ultimate?
Other than Challenger Approaches, there are two other ways to unlock specific characters:
Clear Classic Mode
Each of the eight starting characters has a list of certain characters they will unlock upon clearing Classic Mode. There is a set order these characters are unlocked, which has nothing to do with the predetermined Challenge Approach order.
Basically, clearing Classic Mode eight times with each of the eight starting characters will guarantee everyone is unlocked. This is with the exception of Pikachu who only unlocks seven characters.
Classic Mode is far more time-consuming than the ‘Challenger Approach’ method as each Classic Mode campaign is a gauntlet of seven battles. However, you can mix Classic and Smash together for arguably the fastest single-player method of unlocking all Super Smash Bros Ultimate characters.
Play World of Light
This is the story-based single player mode, which can also be utilised to unlock characters in Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
When you free a character in World of Light, you’ll unlock them into your roster in all other game modes. This isn’t the most efficient method either, as it generally takes well over 20 hours to get through the entire map and unlock everyone.
What is the fastest way to unlock all characters in Super Smash Bros Ultimate?
To unlock all Super Smash Bros Ultimate characters as quickly as possible, the best way is to mix up Classic Mode with VS Smash battles.
This is because the button input criteria to make challengers approach is still satisfied in other game modes such as Classic Mode and World of Light.
By clearing Classic Mode, you will guarantee a character unlock whilst also building up an invisible backlog of characters who will approach you every 5-10 minutes when you play normal battles. I would advise you to run through Classic Mode, then play a bunch of standard Smash battles until you have fought about five challengers, before doing the same again.
After a bunch of Classic Mode gauntlets, perhaps one with each of the 8 starting characters, you should then just focus on Smash battles where you will have plenty of characters ready to challenge you when each cool down period is up.
Otherwise, the best way is to play local multiplayer matches with as many players as possible. Every battle with multiple players should be enough to make a challenger approach, so you’ll be taking somebody on once every 10 minutes or so. Just bear in mind that the winner of the VS battle will be the one to fight.
That’s how to unlock characters you lost to in Super Smash Bros Ultimate, as well as some other tips of how to unlock characters. For some of our other Smash Bros content, check the article(s) below:
