Half the advice on how to unlock smash bros characters describes a condition that was true two updates ago. The current one is simpler than the folklore around it.
Check the collection screen rather than your inventory to confirm it registered. If you are following this with someone else, agree on the plan before starting rather than mid-run. Advice on how to unlock smash bros characters is unusually unreliable because the requirement changed at some point. A requirement that depends on another unlock is worth mapping before starting either.
Before the details
It is not time-gated and it is not random; it is a checklist item, and the checklist is shorter than the forums suggest.
The quickest way to meet it
Achievements and in-game unlocks sometimes track separately and disagree with each other. People often blame the game when the actual cause is a setting they changed weeks ago. If a guide describes a grind, it is probably describing a different unlock with a similar name.
The confirmation for how to unlock smash bros characters appears somewhere most people never open. Unlocks that depend on a hidden counter are the ones that generate the most bad advice.
- Do it on a focused run rather than mid-story.
- Do the condition in a single uninterrupted run if the counter is hidden.
- Return to a safe or hub area to force the check to evaluate.
- Back up your save if the game gives you the option.
- Note the exact point where things stop matching the guide.
- Note the exact count if the game shows one.
Whether it can be missed permanently
The steps are boring on purpose; the interesting version is the one that fails half the time. Doing the condition in co-op usually credits everyone, but not always the host differently. Doing the condition for how to unlock smash bros characters twice never helps, though several guides imply it does. If several people report different requirements, they are usually describing different versions.
What the requirement actually is
The reward being cosmetic does not make the requirement any less specific. Anything gated behind a seasonal event genuinely can expire, unlike most unlocks. The community figured most of this out through repetition, and the pattern has held up well.
The order that saves the most time
Community spreadsheets are more reliable than forum threads for this specific kind of question. Small details matter more than they should here, so read the order of steps carefully. Most reports of how to unlock smash bros characters not working turn out to be the check not having run yet.
A requirement described as cumulative usually is, which means partial progress is not lost between sessions. The fastest route is usually a fresh, focused run rather than continuing an existing one.
Is it worth the effort
Doing this in the wrong order still works, it just costs more time than it needs to. The confirmation is easy to miss if it appears during a loading screen. Doing the requirement on a lower difficulty usually still counts, despite what forum posts claim.
Where a counter exists but is hidden, doing the condition in one session removes all ambiguity. Bookmarking the exact step you stopped at saves more time than remembering the whole guide. If the item is account-wide, you only need to do this once ever.
- Keep the first attempt simple and save the refinements for later.
- Restart the game once before assuming it failed.
- Check whether an achievement tracks the same thing.
- Verify you have actually started the quest that tracks it.
- Check the version you are running before following any step-by-step advice.
Things that waste the most time
- Doing the condition after a point of no return that locked it off.
- Skipping the preparation step because it looks boring, then repeating the hard part four times.
- Grinding general progress when the unlock needs one specific action.
- Checking the inventory instead of the collection screen and concluding it failed.
Other things people ask
Does it count if I did it in co-op?
Normally yes for everyone involved, though a few games credit only the host. Repeating it solo is the reliable fallback.
What if it does not work for me?
Go back to the first step and confirm each assumption instead of retrying the last one. The failure is almost always earlier than it appears.
Does difficulty affect this unlock?
In most cases no. Difficulty changes rewards more often than it changes unlock conditions.
Can I do this on a new save?
Yes, and often faster, because the requirement usually sits early in progression rather than late.
The method above is deliberately unexciting, which is exactly why it keeps working.