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Should characters have to be unlocked? Or should they already be available?

JPW

Smash Ace
Joined
May 21, 2006
Messages
903
Location
Sydney, Australia
I think Ness was an unlockable because that's how he always was.

As for Marth being unlockable. Once again in Melee you had to unlock him so it kind of made sense in Brawl. And to be honest i felt it would be more his style. He was the 1st FE lord so he's more of a secret. Rather than Ike who was only a recent FE lord at the time.

I think characters that are recent and part of the timeline in the world of nintendo should be there and ready to go. They're the ones most can familiarise themselves with. Whereas guest characters or characters we haven't seen in a while should stay secret as it builds up sort of a surprise when you unlock them. I guess this theory is proven wrong though Because PIT, MK, KD were there from the get go. Whilst Luigi had to be unlocked.

I don't know how he chooses.

I do like the idea the 4 secret characters in the original are still secret characters to this day.
 

Norm

Smash Lord
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Newfoundland, Canada
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I think unlockable characters are a great idea when said characters are kept under wraps. The problem with Brawl was we knew all the characters before the game even came out so there was no surprise when we unlocked a new character. It was just oh hey cool I finally unlocked such and such. And this was even prior to the release in Japan we knew all the characters with exception to R.O.B and Lucario and I think like young link and wolf I can't remember so there was no real excitement to unlock characters.

I would hope that they do it right in this one and not reveal all the new characters. Hell I personally would love it if they never revealed any new characters. Kept us all in the dark show us returning characters, some new stages, new modes, etc.... But don't reveal any new characters. Maybe give us hints it would be like putting blood in a shark tank lol. I would even like it if they announced that they're planning on having alternate costumes but didn't show us any of them we just had to unlock them and find out for ourselves what they were.

And of course for all of this to work out I would like a simultaneous release. Think how great that would be! No finding out months before we get the game on this end what the characters are because Japan has had it way ahead of us. Just all of us, frenzied playing, trying to unlock everything for ourselves it would be awesome.
 

bombers14

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
89
Your right except they should reveal the likely characters like k. rool but yes leave surprises and don't show on the back of the cover like sonic and snake are in surprises are the best like in melee.
 

Johnknight1

Upward and Forward, Positive and Persistent
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I don't really care either way, so long as no more than half the roster is "hidden."

Also, I think some of the "durp they're gonna be in the game" hidden characters like Luigi, Ness, Captain Falcon, Marth, Falco, Jigglypuff, etc. should be confirmed in the "secret" part of the Smash Dojo before the game's release. After all, that would give those of us who don't give two craps about spoiling stuff we know is gonna happen time to hype up how they look in these forthcoming smash games! :grin:
 

aba1

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Feb 2, 2012
Messages
102
Location
Canada ON
Not everyone knows what characters they are getting when they buy the game like us who research so to those people it is exciting mystery to see who you can get. I would love it if Nintendo left one or 2 characters you can unlock a big secret for players to find out themselves rather than spoiling online. It leaves a mystery and would certainly excite me to play the game inside and out.

I think unlockable characters are a great idea when said characters are kept under wraps. The problem with Brawl was we knew all the characters before the game even came out so there was no surprise when we unlocked a new character. It was just oh hey cool I finally unlocked such and such. And this was even prior to the release in Japan we knew all the characters with exception to R.O.B and Lucario and I think like young link and wolf I can't remember so there was no real excitement to unlock characters.

I would hope that they do it right in this one and not reveal all the new characters. Hell I personally would love it if they never revealed any new characters. Kept us all in the dark show us returning characters, some new stages, new modes, etc.... But don't reveal any new characters. Maybe give us hints it would be like putting blood in a shark tank lol. I would even like it if they announced that they're planning on having alternate costumes but didn't show us any of them we just had to unlock them and find out for ourselves what they were.

And of course for all of this to work out I would like a simultaneous release. Think how great that would be! No finding out months before we get the game on this end what the characters are because Japan has had it way ahead of us. Just all of us, frenzied playing, trying to unlock everything for ourselves it would be awesome.
I whole heartedly agree I remember in smash bros 1 how excited I was to try and figure out what those missing slots were and how ecstatic I was when I unlocked them.
 

Johnknight1

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The roster is probably gonna get leaked again. :troll:

Still, if you don't want spoilers, SmashBoards will definitely make a "spoiler-free" forum for you guys again. ;)

That or you could avoid the internet altogether! :laugh:
 

aba1

Smash Apprentice
Joined
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Messages
102
Location
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The roster is probably gonna get leaked again. :troll:

Still, if you don't want spoilers, SmashBoards will definitely make a "spoiler-free" forum for you guys again. ;)

That or you could avoid the internet altogether! :laugh:
I'm to weak sadly the temptation is to much hell I am here just because the speculation alone is enough to draw me out.
 

DakotaBonez

The Depraved Optimist
Joined
Jun 23, 2012
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San Marcos, Texas
Ya know what? I don't think Nintendo has ever really embraced cheat codes. At least for anything really useful.
They need to get on board the cheat train and let us have some fun.

I'd prefer if you only start off with Mario and have to work your way up. If you can't handle it, go to the cheat menu.
 

ItsSilverLPs

Banned via Warnings
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52
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Brazil
I always enjoyed the SSB games as single-player games more than anything, so, I totally disagree.
 

t!MmY

Smash Hero
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Smash Bros should make use of a 'tournament' versus option which allows use of all characters, stages, etc. regardless of whether or not you have them unlocked. This type of option will be introduced in the upcoming Skullgirls update and has the competitive community's full support behind it.
 

lordvaati

Smash Master
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wasn't Skullgirls like that already? because IIRC, you had everyone in vs. but Double and Valentine were hidden in Single Player.
 

DakotaBonez

The Depraved Optimist
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You would think that if a tournament mode was included it would have even less characters.
STOCK! FOX ONLY! FINAL DESTINATION!
 

finalark

SNORLAX
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Lets be totally honest, if everything was already unlocked most of us wouldn't even touch any modes outside of versus and maybe practice. Unlockable content certainly motivates you to actually play the single player modes and if you're a new player hunting for new characters and stages actually helps you get better at the game.

Although I do believe there should be passwords in case you somehow loose your data and you just want all of your unlocked content back.
 

DarkSouls

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Jul 7, 2012
Messages
150
I personally think all the characters should be available at the beginning, or at least all of the veterans. Unlocking some of the characters in past titles (Like Mr. Game and Watch in Melee) was a chore because they took so long.

Most fighting game franchises are giving you all or most of the characters at the very start of the game for multiplayer, and that works fine with me.

If you need the reward of unlockable characters to play the single player, that means that there is something wrong with the single player; playing a game should be its own reward, not a requirement to get your favorite character. There are other kinds of unlockables, like unlockable final smashes, costumes, colors (Skullgirls had this), items, stages, or soundtracks.
 

Mishudo

Smash Journeyman
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Pending...
Screw that. That's one of the accomplishments of the game. I always loved seeing that new challenger had arrived. I hate when fighting games have all of the characters unlocked. There's no sense of achievement, just....here you go.
Kinda like if you started an RPG with all the characters and have all their moves already. That'd be boring as **** lol
 

SmashShadow

Smash Champion
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Screw that. That's one of the accomplishments of the game. I always loved seeing that new challenger had arrived. I hate when fighting games have all of the characters unlocked. There's no sense of achievement, just....here you go.
Kinda like if you started an RPG with all the characters and have all their moves already. That'd be boring as **** lol
Exactly! It's no fun if you have nothing to look forward to. There needs to be some goal in any game. If you have everything unlocked then you're not playing with as much purpose so it starts to get boring.
 

Blue Warrior

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Jun 28, 2011
Messages
174
Unlockable content is a way for the game designer to introduce new playstyles and challenges to the player without throwing everything at him/her at once. I don't have any problem with it; I just hope that the methods for unlocking them aren't tedious, and usually Super Smash Bros. has been pretty good about this.
 

soraxkairi7

Smash Rookie
Joined
Jan 7, 2012
Messages
17
I see where you're coming from but unlocking characters just makes the game more exciting. I love it when I get to fight a 'new' character. It makes people keep playing and once you unlock all of the characters, even though there's still tons to do you have a sense of satisfaction, as if you've accomplished something.
 

Carlo_H.Luz

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
114
I think i would be a good idea to have all playable characters at the beginning. But the stages, items, costumes unlockable. I mean we will have achievements too.
 

Dat_IS_Falco

Smash Rookie
Joined
Jul 22, 2012
Messages
3
Location
USA, California
You could say it is easier to unlock characters in Brawl becuse you can play Subspace (Just play on easy and blow right through it) and unlock a majority of Characters. Then play Multiplayer for a LONG time and bam all characters, and it only takes you my vaguely estimated amount of time.
 

Hypercat-Z

Smash Lord
Joined
Dec 28, 2007
Messages
1,718
I think unlockable characters are a good idea because too much stuff at the beginning is disorienting: You want to try everything you have but the joy of the new toy is consumed soon, before you even learned how to use all the characters the best way.
Instead, obtaining the characters step by step gives you time and motivation to master the ones you already have, and gives you new stuff to play with even months after you bought the game.
 
D

Deleted member

Guest
I say give three options:

1. All unlocked: Everyone is available from the start.

2. Normal: Most characters available from the start, but a decent amount to be unlocked.

3. Hard: All except the original eight unlocked.

Then for normal and hard, have a section for cheat codes for those who feel certain characters are too hard to get. Then everyone is satisfied.
 

JPW

Smash Ace
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You could say it is easier to unlock characters in Brawl becuse you can play Subspace (Just play on easy and blow right through it) and unlock a majority of Characters. Then play Multiplayer for a LONG time and bam all characters, and it only takes you my vaguely estimated amount of time.
That's kind of what bugged me actually. You could get them all by just playing Subspace.
And for Wolf Toon Link and Jigglypuff all you had was finish SSE once then go through and find like the 3 mystery doors and boom.
 

Hypercat-Z

Smash Lord
Joined
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Messages
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That's kind of what bugged me actually. You could get them all by just playing Subspace.
And for Wolf Toon Link and Jigglypuff all you had was finish SSE once then go through and find like the 3 mystery doors and boom.


I think I would opt for something between the second and the third option.
A third of the total amount of chars avaiable from the start and the other unlockable in an increasing level of difficulty.
 

jigglover

Smash Lord
Joined
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Riding a Wailord
I think when you first turn the game on, it gives you a selection of the original 64 characters and the starting cast for Melee and Brawl and let you pick 3 of them to be in your roster. The rest are unlockable. It should give you the choice of the retro stages (64, melee and brawl stages) final destination and battlefield and let you pick 5 of them to start with meaning you have to unlock all of the others.
 

kisamefishfries

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Messages
285
this is odd, I never wanted to NOT have unlockable characters. Also you're confusing the SSE with unlocking characters. It sucked brawl because, you know. You had to play through crap to get it. Also it seems every single person on the planet except a few have come to the conclusion that Nintendo cares about tournaments or competitive gameplay. They don't so the argument of its easier for tournaments is good, yet invalid. I just have to attempt to not let myself know what characters are in the game. Its also less fun when you are like ok, if I beat classic with mario I get luigi. It should be a surprise. Try getting as little character info as you can.
 

jigglover

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Really? People think Nintendo cares about tournaments? I read somewhere not too long ago that they put prat-falling in the game so that you don't get too excited when playing it and make the character trip. It makes casual gaming a more positive option. -_-
 

Rif-Raf

Smash Rookie
Joined
Jul 31, 2012
Messages
16
This is easy, yes to unlockable characters. The fun of a video game is getting everything. If all characters and stages wer just a given, less time would be put into playing. Plus there would be no satisfaction wen u finally get the character you wanted. Besides, I like the "A Challanger has Appeared" thing, it's a happy surprise.
 

Mario & Sonic Guy

Old rivalries live on!
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In terms of the Challenger matches, maybe the skill level of the CPU player can be determined by how hard it is to unlock him/her.

For one example, if clearing Classic Mode on any level as Mario gets you Luigi, Luigi will be set on an easy skill level. However, if clearing Classic Mode as Samus on the Normal skill level or harder gets you Ridley, Ridley will be set at a harder skill level, as the objective for getting him is a harder one.
 

Ove

Smash Journeyman
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In terms of the Challenger matches, maybe the skill level of the CPU player can be determined by how hard it is to unlock him/her.

For one example, if clearing Classic Mode on any level as Mario gets you Luigi, Luigi will be set on an easy skill level. However, if clearing Classic Mode as Samus on the Normal skill level or harder gets you Ridley, Ridley will be set at a harder skill level, as the objective for getting him is a harder one.
The thing is, level 9 computers aren't hard.
 

Reika Kitami

Smash Cadet
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Aug 3, 2012
Messages
52
But level nines are impossible.

Jokes aside, I would agree to having cpus having difficulty dependant on how hard they are to unlock.
 

Mario & Sonic Guy

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The thing is, level 9 computers aren't hard.
It mostly depends on the CPU opponent that you're facing. The easy unlockable characters should be easy to beat, while the harder unlockable characters would offer a bigger challenge.
 

Ove

Smash Journeyman
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It mostly depends on the CPU opponent that you're facing. The easy unlockable characters should be easy to beat, while the harder unlockable characters would offer a bigger challenge.
They might as well set all unlockable characters to level 9 when you face them then.
 

Mario & Sonic Guy

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They might as well set all unlockable characters to level 9 when you face them then.
You expect players who are too new to the game to have to face the hardest skill levels very early? The unlockables should start out easy, and as you're getting closer to unlocking the final characters, they'll start putting up a better fight.
 

Robert of Normandy

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I'd like to see a hint system implemented where I can find out what I need to do to unlock characters without spoiling who those characters are.
 

kisamefishfries

Smash Journeyman
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Jun 20, 2010
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285
I'd like to see a hint system implemented where I can find out what I need to do to unlock characters without spoiling who those characters are.
What they could do is much like the stickers (but at a CD rarity level) have notes appear and you pick them up in battle. After wards you see a little notepad that tells you game secrets. It could be unlockable character hints, challenge hints, stage unlocking hints, or Easter eggs.
 
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