I was expecting the unlocks for this game to either be just like Smash 4's or none at all. That would have bummed me the **** out. I loved unlocking characters in Melee and Brawl. I love unlocking **** in general if done correctly, because it feels less like "locking content away" (an IMO rather flawed analogy) and more like giving you an actual reward, an actual reason for exploring the game's vast content (like single player). Plus, it gives me something to do when nobody else is over.
So yeah, the last thing I expected was for the unlocks to get harder, let alone taken Up to Eleven by having
everybody but the Original 12 hidden away. ****ing crazy. THAT was what really blew my mind. I was beyond surprised. At first, I thought, even as someone so disappointment with Smash 4's unlocks (seriously, I unlocked everybody in 2 hours except for Duck Hunt, who I unlocked the following day. Might as well have made them starters if they were this easy to get.), that this was a little excessive, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought, "hey, this might be crazy enough to work." It is a pretty interesting choice, as it's basically "here's what we had at the beginning...... and this is what it's like now." In fact, I might have gone a little further and locked everyone except the Original 8 if we're going that route, but cool beans anyways. Plus, what's really sold me on this is that now, I'm going to have to be fighting for 50+ fighters! ****ING AWESOME!!!!!!
So, how SHOULD everyone be unlocked? Hmmmm...... well, yeah, while the joy I had unlocking everyone in Melee will never be topped, this game definitely could come close if the team plays their cards right. Even someone as pro-unlock as me definitely agrees that, with 50+ unlockables, you really DON'T want to make them too challenging.
Weird idea of mine; I would like if you had to mess around for a little bit or go out of your way to make your first unlock. Like, to really sell the whole "starting small" and "reunion" thing, you can only mess around with the Original 12 for a while to make it really feel like they're reuniting and were the first ones to the party. Then, after a while (but not the same time you'd have to wait for Melee Mewtwo, that **** was ridiculous), you reach your first unlock, and then after unlocking that character, you get a message saying "Now the party is entering full swing!" Then everyone else becomes available for unlocking in separate waves, and you can go at your own pace unlocking everybody.
I have a few more proposals:
- Include an option when booting up the game for the first time to unlock everyone instantly: I've seen this requested a few times, and I agree. What's not to love about this? Having the option to either unlock everyone at once for those who want to try out their main lickety-split, or keep the unlocking system intact for those who really value it like me? Seriously, everybody wins. I can't see any downsides whatsoever.
- Focus more on distinction between characters when it comes to unlock conditions: Since we have so many unlocks, this is what should be focused on instead of difficulty of unlocking. Most characters should have unlock conditions that have at least a small reference to something from their series (like, think of Luigi's unlock condition in Melee), while still being easy enough to unlock overall.
- Spread unlocks out over all the content in the game: Like, get ALL the modes involved in this motha-****a. I'm talking Event Matches, Classic Mode, Stadium, Smash Run, Adventure Mode, Break the Targets, heck, maybe even Online. I could go on, but you should get my point by now. This would help make it easy to unlock most characters if ya knew what to do, yet keeps it engaging and gives you incentive to try everything out.
- This was RelaxAlex's idea, not mine: RelaxAlex suggested a separate mode like The Great Maze (the final level in the Subspace Emissary), where you could run around in a large open world, fighting enemies, traveling in different locations, and finding characters behind doors to unlock them. I hadn't thought of that before, and that could really work. Personally, I'd go even farther; you can also find a large variety of bosses in the mode, extra paths you can only find with specific characters, etc. Ideally, I'd prefer a Subspace-esque mode (because I want one for much more reasons than just unlockables (just read my concept that's linked in my signature), and I felt the Subspace Emissary was a great alternative for unlocking characters in Brawl), but if the rumors tht the gig size is close to Smash 4's is true, maybe the dream is dead.
So that's what I have off the top of my head. (Sorry for the book. I really like this topic.)