Why is unlocking characters in a fighting game still a thing

KillstealWolf said:

I'm curious if people are going to say this with the large number of previously starter characters in Smash Bros.

Like, hmm, that Silhouette looks like Princess Zelda, I wonder who this character could possibly be. This next one looks like King DeDeDe wonder who that is. This one looks like Rosalina with a Luma beside her...

It's going to be interesting to see the responses come launch I feel.

I'm going to start writing up stuff for my own topic on this. Feel like there's a fair bit to write on such as Carrots on a Stick, Analysis Paralysis, Competitive Scene, Launch Day Parties, Less Experienced Gamers and more.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I think so, I usually read up on the entire roster before hand but not the unlock criteria and it's still fun to see it happen.

Busaiku said:

But theyre different genres and have different focus.
Completing a level in a platformer is the core of the game.

Unlocking characters is a means to get to the main content if o fighting game.
It's more like needing to jump on a Goomba X amount of times to complete the level, rather than get to the end point. That is a necessary component of the game, but not the purpose.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Driving is the core experience of racing games but that doesn't mean I don't want to unlock new cars. I don't see why that restriction needs to exist when the starting rosters usually provide characters that have diverse playstyles.

There should be more of this in fighting and kart racers

No dlc or anything just start with a basic roster and unlock the rest through story

crimzonflame said:

I remember the excitement of unlocking characters in Tekken 3. You never knew who would be unlocked next. The opposite case was MvC2 for Dreamcast. I already knew who was in because of the arcade and I wanted Storm so bad but she would never show up in the shop until the end.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Yeah I remember how hard I had to work for that damn old man that sucked. True ogre was awesome though

It's fun. Some games often have unique and interesting methods to unlock fighters.

Though when you start getting to Shin Akuma/Omega Rugal levels of difficulty it can be frustrating.

I do think a nice compromise is to have a tournament mode where everything is unlocked but you only can only access local multiplayer. ARMS does this.

I sure love having to grind for a couple of days so I have a completed Smash roster to play with my friends /s

EdgeXL said:

Not sure if you know but I was being facetious.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

My bad

its very fun and satisfying unlocking characters.

it's fun, especially back in the day when you'd play a game and not know the entire roster beforehand. :p

It's tradition

I like it.

I have requested the day off so I can unlock all of the characters. I am very much looking forward to doing that. It will take me back to the good ole days!

Busaiku said:

So isn't that intentional padding?

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

No. It is designed to ensure new players are able to be eased into the more complicated stuff.

Smash Bros had managed to become so big because Nintendo had NEVER neglected new players. That in the end, newbies are what a game needs to stay relevant. It doesn't matter how irrelevant the mechanic is to veterans, Nintendo isn't going to make it easier for Veterans just to spite the new players.

This might have been mentioned already but I think offline versus should always have all characters unlocked. In fact, I'd really like to see publishers allow dlc characters to be available in offline versus aswell. It would make life alot easier for TOs and people playing with each other offline in general. I really dont think such a thing would have any negative impact on the publisher; infact I think more people would buy the dlc and not feel as ripped off as many people apparently do now (for some reason)..

With that said, I really wouldn't mind unlocking characters for single player purposes. It was great when most fighting games had this back in the day. Last fighter that did this that I can remember might be soul calibur 5? Blazblue? Mortal Kombat doesnt do this anymore right?

Actually got me thinking, maybe this really is a thing of the past

I hope it will be much harder to unlock character this time, so that it feels more rewarding. Also, too many characters at once is just too daunting. Let me first get used to the initial characters, and as I play more and more (preferably in the epic adventure mode) I slowly unlock one character after another, so there's time to try them out and get used to them before a new one is unlocked.

But sure, they could always hide an "unlock everything" option somewhere, to make everyone happy.

I'm not a fan. I borrowed Brawl as a kid expecting to have fun playing the 6 characters I liked, and then found out that all but one was locked. By the time I unlocked them all, I wasn't even that interested in playing the game anymore, and I definitely didn't enjoy it as much as I would had I had more options from the beginning.

At the very least they should give you the option to unlock everyone or pick certain characters to be unlocked by default. Imagine if you picked up SFV and found out your mains were locked behind survival mode with no way to buy them.

It would be really great if you had to unlock the characters through lootbox drops.
#SmashBox

I understand that unlocking characters is fun but when I have already played previous Smash games and already know exactly who I want to use and who I don't want to use, it's annoying that I'm forced to use the characters that I already know from experience I won't like. I get the most out of fighting games playing my favourite characters. I don't need a reward to keep me playing a game that I like.

I think Smash would really benefit from an oldschool cheatcode to unlock every character and make everybody happy.

Think about it. Casual players who don't look everything up online won't even know that option exists and can just unlock everything at their own pace. Multiplayer/FG enthusiasts who want to try every character from the beginning and immediately jump into multiplayer can just unlock the characters via a cheatcode. It would also greatly benefit tournament organization.

KZXcellent said:

ITT: People are less excited to play the video game because they'll have to play the video game

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Um, no... There are people who enjoy fighting games for their multiplayer and dislike single player content where you have to fight the CPU.
People who are in mainly for mp would probably like to test every single character from the getgo to find their favorite and train with that and have fun online or against friends.

How is that not "playing" the game?

Devil said:

People who are in mainly for mp would probably like to test every single character from the getgo to find their favorite and train with that and have fun online or against friends.

How is that not "playing" the game?

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

The unlocking process IS how you test every single character. And you are acting like it takes very long, when basically if someone is a veteran he should breeze through it in a few hours.

For many fighting games (i.e not MK9+, Injustice, or ironically, brawl), unlocking characters is essentially the single player campaign for me. If i'm not playing friends (and to be honest, most of my friends today suck at fighting games, it's not like the old days) then single player is all I have. Typically, if I want to chew through a fighting game solo, I'll play enough to unlock all the hidden characters and/or hidden bosses. Once I run through everything in the game, then I've "finished" it. Usually can be done in just a few hours. Fighters Megamix, for example, has an absolutely perfect single player campaign set up this way, IMO.

If Smash is gonna ship with everyone unlocked, then they should also provide a good meaty single player campaign as an alternative (like SSE). Actually, I'd much prefer that, truthfully.

VallenValiant said:

The unlocking process IS how you test every single character.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

No it isn't. Training mode is.

VallenValiant said:

The unlocking process IS how you test every single character.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

What if I want to test characters in a specific order? I always want to try my favourite characters first and if I get bored, I'll start trying different characters.

Because it's fun, Jan

I agree with the majority here: it's fun.

There's a sense of accomplishment when you unlock new characters. I like when games reward the way I play. And in fighting games unlocking new content is part of the experience.
It also makes you try out more characters, since you can't access all of time right from the start.

I have always enjoyed unlocking characters since Tekken 3 on PS1, just adds more longevity and surprises to a fighting game.

There is a time that you had to buy Tips & Tricks/Gamepro so you would be able to learn how to unlock all characters without grinding.

In a sense I am always thankful for threads like these. I know the gap between what the FGC wants and what casual players want is quite large on most issues when talking about fighting games. But seeing the contrast contained in one thread is always a fun ride.

Alark said:

What if I want to test characters in a specific order? I always want to try my favourite characters first and if I get bored, I'll start trying different characters.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

You are, once again, speaking like being a veteran grants you special privileges. Nintendo priorities the needs of new players, and you just had to spend a small amount of time unlocking characters, probably with your eyes closed with one hand tied behind your back, if you are as hardcore as you claim to be. It is hardly an inconvenience to anyone experienced.

Son Goku said:

There should be more of this in fighting and kart racers

No dlc or anything just start with a basic roster and unlock the rest through story

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

So you don't want the developers to work on any characters post-launch?

I'm not hardcore or experienced. I haven't played a Smash game since 64. But I already know who I am going to play and want to play them as soon as I get the game. So, again, this isn't necessarily a hardcore/experience thing.

I also think there's probably a middle ground between having some unlockables and only having 12 characters from the start. Like it's kind of strange that the default roster will have one woman, Samus.

Maybe it's like unlocking story in a rpg by playing.

Kelanflyter said:

Maybe it's like unlocking story in a rpg by playing.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

That's not exactly the best analogy. RPGs like Final Fantasy, Pokémon, & Xenoblade generally follow a pretty linear narrative. Fighting game characters are basically your means of competing in offline & online fights. I don't see how they're similar.

Jobbs said:

it's fun, especially back in the day when you'd play a game and not know the entire roster beforehand. :p

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Yeah. Part of the reason Tekken 5 and SoulCalibur III hooked me on fighting games. Such a thrill seeing that roster fill up with new and curious faces. I remember scouring Tekken 5 in particular trying to figure out how to get Eddy, as he was in the opening video and Christie's story mode (turns out he was an alternate costume you had to buy for Christie.)

Alas, they were the last torch bearers of that sort of unlock system for their respective franchises. Also probably the pinnacles of fighting game content in general, at least where single player stuff is concerned.

For Smash Ultimate it's actually a great decision because can you imagine hopping into this as your first game, getting to the character select screen, and just seeing 70+ characters

might be a little intimidating, especially if you don't know Nintendo that well

It's fun as long as they don't go on ridiculous level like the old fighting games.

It just gives you an incentive to play, the old carrot on a stick trick.

Not a fighting game, but i was disappointed when all characters were unlocked from the get go in Mario Kart 8 DX.

When they announced you have to unlock everyone at E3 that was literally the most exciting thing for me lol

Sense of progress.

I hate unlocking characters, it's a waste of time. Thankfully it's something we see less and less in fighting games, last time I had to do it was in Street Fighter 4. I can't think of any other recent game that had a high number of unlockable characters. Smash is the exception, but I don't play Smash.

Some people enjoy the single player aspect of fighting games, it's a hard for people who only see them as multiplayers games to understand.

I am with the OP here - fuck unlockables in multiplayer games.

Singleplayer, sure, but multiplayer is the absolute worst.

"Oh yeah, sorry I don't have Snake unlocked but I haven't yet finished the godawful singleplayer campaign"

If you just wanna play it with friends right away, it straight up ruins the game. Sure, there's a side method of unlocking for that stuff but no group of friends dedicated enough to play Melee 1000 times.

Plus, Smash has so many unlockables as is, why do you need characters?

To unlock characters, stages, modes in a fighting game is basically the progression for your single player experience.
This hailed still from an era without internet and many still don't have a proper connection, even in 2018.
It is also motivating to be able to unlock things, but it should always be possible to unlock all stages, characters and modes
without ramping up the difficulty level.
For some archievements or in Smash Bros. case, trophies, getting through higher difficulty with several characters is fine in my eyes,
even if I'm too bad to accomplish these tasks.
It also provides you the chance to test out a different characters or at least learn a bit of their moveset. And this is fine, if you have
enough choices from the get go.

I'm of 2 minds with this... On 1 hand, I'd love to unlock characters and be suprised about who's in the game, but on the other hand I know someone will leak everything on the internet day 1.

And with marketing being all "here's everything" these days, there's even less reason to have unlockable characters.

Thankfully smash is still good regardless, but it does make the singleplayer experience a lot less interesting.

Unlocking stuff is basically all I do in these games. Once everything is unlocked I tend to lose interest.

Because it's fun unblocking stuff.

zoukka said:

Some people enjoy the single player aspect of fighting games, it's a hard for people who only see them as multiplayers games to understand.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

No I get it

Unlocking characters has nothing to do with that

You can have all the characters and still do everything else in the game

I remember being around 9 or 10 years old when Melee came out and having no idea of the full roster, so every new character would always come as an awesome surprise, like Ganondorf.

I thought I'd unlocked everyone as I didn't get any more new characters for around 12 months, until randomly Mewtwo popped up as a challenger as well. My little mind was blown.