Unlock requirements are rarely stated plainly in-game, which is why how to unlock all characters in smash gets searched so often. Below is the actual condition, plus the fastest way to satisfy it.

Doing the condition for how to unlock all characters in smash twice never helps, though several guides imply it does. Anything marked optional really is optional, so skip it without guilt. Some unlocks check on load rather than continuously, so restarting is a real diagnostic step. Where two conditions exist, the game often only tells you about the easier one.

The summary

If it has not appeared, the requirement is almost certainly incomplete rather than broken.

Whether it can be missed permanently

Rushing the setup is the single most reliable way to spend longer overall. Doing the condition twice never helps, though plenty of guides imply otherwise. Community spreadsheets are more reliable than forum threads for this specific kind of question.

The reward is often less transformative than the effort implies, and that is worth knowing beforehand. Where a counter is visible, trust it over any guide including this one.

  • Set aside enough time to finish, since stopping halfway causes most of the confusion.
  • Return to a safe or hub area to force the check to evaluate.
  • Write down what you changed, so you can undo it if the result gets worse.
  • Note the exact count if the game shows one.
  • Map out any prerequisite unlock before starting.
  • Check the deadline first if it is seasonal.

Is it worth the effort

Doing the condition in co-op usually credits everyone, but not always the host differently. The condition behind how to unlock all characters in smash is specific, which is why playing more does not help. Give the first attempt an honest try before deciding the method does not work. Achievements and in-game unlocks sometimes track separately and disagree with each other.

People searching how to unlock all characters in smash have often already met the requirement without the game saying so. Some conditions only evaluate when you return to a hub area, which makes them look broken.

Doing it on a fresh save

Advice on how to unlock all characters in smash is unusually unreliable because the requirement changed at some point. Whether the unlock behind how to unlock all characters in smash can be missed permanently is worth settling before you go any further. Community wikis are excellent for data and unreliable for timing, which is a useful distinction.

Most reports of how to unlock all characters in smash not working turn out to be the check not having run yet. Doing the condition faster does not make it count more, which sounds obvious and stops a lot of wasted effort.

What the requirement actually is

Unlocks that depend on a hidden counter are the ones that generate the most bad advice. Doing the requirement on a lower difficulty usually still counts, despite what forum posts claim. If several people report different requirements, they are usually describing different versions. The steps are boring on purpose; the interesting version is the one that fails half the time.

How to tell it worked

Unlocks tied to story progress cannot be rushed, and trying is the most common wasted effort here. Progress made before starting the relevant quest sometimes does not count, which catches people out. Half the confusion online comes from people answering a slightly different question than the one asked. Where difficulty is part of the requirement, it is stated explicitly rather than implied.

The confirmation is easy to miss if it appears during a loading screen. Cloud saves occasionally lag behind local ones, which can hide an unlock that already happened.

What goes wrong most often

  • Repeating the requirement several times when once was enough.
  • Checking the inventory instead of the collection screen and concluding it failed.
  • Doing the condition after a point of no return that locked it off.
  • Blaming the game before checking the one setting that was changed last week.

Questions people also ask

How long should this take?

Most people get through it in one sitting. The first attempt runs long because of reading; the second is much quicker.

Does the platform I play on change the answer?

The method is the same everywhere. Menu names and button prompts differ, and occasionally one platform gets a change a few days later than the rest.

Can it be missed permanently?

A few unlocks are tied to a point of no return. If yours is, the guide above flags the last safe moment to do it.

Do I need any add-ons or third-party tools?

No. Everything described here works with the game as installed, which also means nothing breaks when the next patch lands.

Does difficulty affect this unlock?

In most cases no. Difficulty changes rewards more often than it changes unlock conditions.

How to Unlock All Characters in Smash is not complicated once the order of operations is clear, and now it is.