Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: How to Unlock Characters You Lost to

One of the more controversial design decisions made for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the huge unlock system. SSBU features over 70 characters, but right out of the box you’ll find just eight. Using these guys you’ll have to fight to win each new character. The process can be long and tedious, especially since you can lose the battles and have to fight them again. But how is this done? Here’s how to unlock characters you lost to in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Before we break that down, you may want to read up on how to unlock all characters in SSBU. This guide shows you the easiest and fastest method to unlocking every character in the game, and will certainly help out if you’re just wanting to get the roster open and available. But that just tells you how to trigger the famous “new challenger approaching” for everybody. You then have to fight and defeat them, which doesn’t always happen. Here’s what to do then.

After failing to defeat an approaching challenger, you will essentially unlock a new mode called “Challenger’s Approach”, which can be found in the Games & More tab off the main menu. It won’t always be there, especially if you just failed to beat the enemy. It shows up on its own schedule, so just relax if you don’t see it right away. Head back in here a few times and you’ll see it though.

Challenger’s Approach lets you rematch against the characters you lost against and will show up as a set of doors in the bottom right of the menu. If it’s there, just choose it to go up against one of the unlockable characters you lost to. You still have to unlock them through one of the methods laid out in the article above, but once you do, they will be available here at some point.