SUPER SMASH BROS. MELEE / COLLECTIBLES

Unlockables: all fighters, stages & modes

All 11 secret fighters, their alternative challenges and VS milestones, plus all 11 hidden stages, Event requirements and retry rules.

Edition covered

Original Super Smash Bros. Melee for Nintendo GameCube. Regional balance differences and later Smash games are outside this introductory guide.

Secret fighters: meet one condition, then win the challenger duel
Fighter	Completed VS matches	Alternative on a fresh save	Challenger stage
Jigglypuff	50	Clear Classic or Adventure with any fighter.	Pokémon Stadium
Dr. Mario	100	Clear Classic or Adventure as Mario without a continue.	Princess Peach’s Castle
Pichu	200	Clear Event 37: Legendary Pokémon.	Pokémon Stadium
Falco	300	Clear 100-Man Melee.	Battlefield
Marth	400	Use all 14 starter fighters in VS, Classic or Adventure.	Fountain of Dreams
Young Link	500	Clear Classic or Adventure with 10 different fighters.	Great Bay
Ganondorf	600	Clear Event 29: Triforce Gathering.	Final Destination
Mewtwo	700	Accumulate 20 combined human player-hours in VS.	Final Destination
Luigi	800	Finish Adventure stage 1 with seconds ending in 2; beat Luigi and Peach within one minute, then finish Adventure.	Mushroom Kingdom II
Roy	900	Clear Classic or Adventure as Marth without a continue.	Temple
Mr. Game & Watch	1000	Clear Classic, Adventure or Target Test with all 24 other fighters.	Flat Zone

How a challenger becomes playable

Melee has 14 starter selection slots and 11 secret fighters. Each secret has a cumulative VS match quota and a separate challenge route; meeting either summons a challenger, but you must also win the one-stock unlock battle. You fight using the character you just played. In multiplayer VS, the human winner fights the challenger; a CPU win does not present one. Complete the results and unlock notices, then check the character-select screen. A stage used in a challenger fight can still be locked in ordinary VS.

The 14 starters: Marth’s checklist

Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox, Pikachu, Captain Falcon, Ness, Peach, Bowser, Ice Climbers and Zelda are available on a fresh save. Sheik is Zelda’s transformation, sharing one selection slot. Use down + B to transform; Sheik has no separate unlock battle. For the use-all-starters route, tick Zelda’s slot rather than treating Zelda and Sheik as two different secret-character requirements.

Jigglypuff

Complete Classic or Adventure Mode with any fighter, or finish 50 VS matches. Then win the one-stock duel on Pokémon Stadium. Our suggested first step is a low-difficulty Classic run with a fighter whose recovery you already know. Jigglypuff can remain airborne for a long time, so stay on the stage and make it approach instead of chasing an uncertain jump. If you lose a solo-triggered challenge before reaching 50 matches, finish another solo run to try again. Once the match quota is reached, another completed VS match provides a retry.

Dr. Mario

Clear Classic or Adventure as Mario without selecting Continue, or reach 100 completed VS matches. Losing an individual stock does not equal using a continue: the continue condition concerns restarting after a game over. Choose a comfortable difficulty and enough starting lives for the solo route. Dr. Mario challenges Mario on Princess Peach’s Castle after a qualifying run. Play patiently and avoid being pushed toward a hazardous edge. A failed solo-triggered duel requires another qualifying Mario clear unless your 100-match quota is already met.

Pichu

Clear Event 37: Legendary Pokémon, or finish 200 VS matches; Pichu’s separate challenger fight takes place on Pokémon Stadium. The Event route has prerequisites: events 31–39 require at least 27 cleared events and Jigglypuff, Luigi, Dr. Mario, Falco and Young Link unlocked. In Event 37 you have one stock against Jigglypuff and four giant Wire Frames with two stocks each. Poké Balls are central to the scenario. Our recommendation is to contest nearby balls while leaving room to recover, then let helpful summons reduce the crowd. If the challenger fight is lost, clear Event 37 again or use another completed VS match after reaching the quota.

Falco

Finish 100-Man Melee under 1-P Mode → Stadium → Multi-Man Melee, or reach 300 VS matches. Defeating only part of the 100-Man crowd does not qualify: finish the complete challenge and then defeat Falco on Battlefield. Donkey Kong’s grounded down-special is a useful starting experiment for clearing nearby Wire Frames, but stop repeating it whenever enemies surround you or your position becomes unsafe. The last enemy can require a more deliberate approach. Keep a recovery option available and avoid trading a completed run for a risky offstage attack during the challenger duel. Before 300 VS matches, a failed duel requires another 100-Man clear.

Marth

Use all 14 starter fighters in VS, Classic or Adventure, or finish 400 VS matches. You do not need to finish fourteen solo campaigns. For an easy-to-audit route, complete a short VS match with each starter and tick their name off the starter list above. Marth then challenges you on Fountain of Dreams. Because the use-every-starter condition is cumulative, a failed challenge can be retried by playing again in a qualifying mode with any fighter. This is an early unlock worth pursuing: Marth gives you access to Roy’s no-continue solo route.

Young Link

Complete Classic or Adventure with ten different fighters, or finish 500 VS matches, then defeat Young Link on Great Bay. Repeating the same fighter’s campaign ten times does not satisfy the different-fighters requirement. Our suggested tracking method is to choose Classic for all ten clears and note each fighter only when the entire run finishes. Including Mario and Marth lets those clears serve the Dr. Mario and Roy routes too. If you lose Young Link’s solo-triggered duel, complete another qualifying solo run; you do not need ten new fighters. When this requirement is active, Young Link can take priority over Jigglypuff or Luigi after a solo clear.

Ganondorf

Clear Event 29: Triforce Gathering, or finish 600 VS matches. The Event uses Link with one stock and Zelda as an ally against a two-stock Ganondorf on Temple. Zelda must survive: protecting your teammate matters alongside dealing damage. Our recommendation is to fight near Zelda instead of leaving her alone with Ganondorf, and use Link’s reach to interrupt dangerous approaches. Completing the Event leads to a separate duel with Ganondorf on Final Destination. Win that duel to add him to the roster. If it is lost before the match quota is met, clear Event 29 again.

010

Mewtwo

Finish 700 VS matches or accumulate 20 combined human player-hours in VS, then defeat Mewtwo on Final Destination. The time route counts each human-controlled player: one human needs 20 hours of match time, two need 10 hours, three need 6 hours 40 minutes, and four need 5 hours. CPU opponents do not increase the human-player multiplier. Check Data → Melee Records → Misc. Records → Combined VS. Play Time. Menus and time spent in solo modes are different from VS match time. Finish a match after meeting the threshold so the game can present the challenger. Both the time condition and match quota are cumulative, so losing the duel can be followed by another completed VS match.

011

Luigi

Finish 800 VS matches, or use the Adventure route. At the end of the opening Mushroom Kingdom platforming stage, cross the finish line while the units digit of the seconds is 2: 03:42.xx and 02:12.xx are valid examples; 03:25.xx is not. Hundredths do not have to show 2. Wait near the goal if necessary, then cross when the display reaches a suitable second. Luigi replaces Mario in the next battle. Defeat Luigi and Peach within one minute, then finish the rest of Adventure Mode. Encountering Luigi during Adventure alone does not unlock him: win the final challenger duel on Mushroom Kingdom II. If that duel is lost before the quota is met, repeat the qualifying Adventure route.

012

Roy

Clear Classic or Adventure as Marth without selecting Continue, or finish 900 VS matches. The solo route therefore depends on unlocking Marth first. Our recommendation is Classic on a manageable difficulty, with enough stocks that an unfamiliar fight does not force a continue. After the ending, defeat Roy on Temple. Use the open fighting area to keep track of him, and resist following him deep below the stage where a recovery mistake can end the one-stock duel. Losing the solo-triggered challenge means repeating the qualifying no-continue Marth run unless the 900-match quota has already been reached.

013

Mr. Game & Watch

Unlock all 24 other selectable fighters, then clear Target Test with each of them; completing Classic or Adventure with the full set is another route. Target Test is our suggested option when you want the clear requirement to double as progress toward Dream Land. Keep the same mode for the entire checklist so missing clears are easy to spot. The alternative is 1,000 completed VS matches, with the other ten secret fighters already unlocked. Defeat Mr. Game & Watch on Flat Zone. If a completion-route duel is lost, another clear of a qualifying mode with any fighter provides a retry. After unlocking him, clear his Target Test too for Dream Land, and clear Classic with him for Flat Zone.

014

Zelda and Sheik

Zelda is a starter fighter, and Sheik is available through Zelda’s down + B transformation. Neither needs an unlock battle. They share one character-select slot, so the complete Melee roster has 25 selectable slots while offering 26 fighter forms. Practise transforming in Training and learn each form’s recovery before trying it during a one-stock challenger fight. For Marth’s starter-use checklist and the full-roster completion route, track the Zelda selection slot once rather than searching for an additional Sheik slot. The shared Target Test layout can be completed in either form; a separate Sheik clear is not an extra requirement for Mr. Game & Watch or Past Stages: Dream Land.

015

VS matches: what the milestones actually mean

The fighter quotas are 50, 100, then 200 through 1,000 in increments of 100. These are total completed VS matches on the save, not that many extra matches for each fighter. Reaching a later number does not bypass a lower-quota challenger: defeat the earlier secret fighters as they appear. Finish matches naturally; quitting through the pause menu is not a completed match. For a predictable counting route, use ordinary Melee with Stock set to 1, a human winner and a stage you know. A single match counts once even with several human players, while Mewtwo’s time route uses a separate player-hour multiplier.

016

Four stages unlocked by VS milestones

Poké Floats in Melee. Open the picture for a closer look. © Nintendo / HAL Laboratory; image hosted by SmashWiki.50 matches: Brinstar Depths.
100 matches: Fourside.
150 matches: Big Blue.
200 matches: Poké Floats.
These stage unlocks use the same completed-match progress you accumulate for fighters. No extra challenger duel is needed for the stage itself. Use the results notices and stage-select screen to confirm each one. Poké Floats is a useful example of why the picture matters: the moving Pokémon are your footholds, so a familiar character does not make a stationary recovery route safe.

017

The seven challenge and collection stages

Mushroom Kingdom II: obtain the Birdo trophy.
Flat Zone: clear Classic as Mr. Game & Watch.
Past Stages: Dream Land: clear Target Test with all 25 selectable fighters.
Past Stages: Kongo Jungle: survive 15-Minute Melee.
Past Stages: Yoshi’s Island: send Sandbag farther than 400 m in Home-Run Contest.
Battlefield: clear All-Star with any fighter.
Final Destination: clear Event 51.
See all 11 stage pictures, conditions and practical notes. The Past Stages versions of Kongo Jungle and Yoshi’s Island are separate from similarly named starter stages.

018

All-Star Mode and the first clear

Unlock the full 25-slot roster to open All-Star under 1-P Mode → Regular Match. A fresh save cannot use All-Star as an early character-unlock shortcut because the roster is its prerequisite. All-Star can satisfy the solo-clear alternatives for Jigglypuff, Dr. Mario, Marth, Young Link, Roy and Mr. Game & Watch only in the unusual case of a save that previously unlocked the mode and then erased its Hidden Characters data. A clear with any fighter opens Battlefield. Damage carries between rounds and the rest area contains three Heart Containers for the entire run. Our recommendation is to wait until healing finishes before entering the next portal, and save some healing for later multi-opponent rounds. The final fight is the Mr. Game & Watch team.

019

Unlocking the Event Match groups

Start with events 1–10. Clear at least 6 to open 11–15; at least 10 of 1–15 to open 16–20; at least 16 of 1–20 to open 21–25; and at least 22 of 1–25 to open 26–29. Clear at least 27 of 1–29 for Event 30. Events 31–39 require at least 27 clears plus Jigglypuff, Luigi, Dr. Mario, Falco and Young Link. Events 40–50 require at least 27 clears and every secret fighter. Event 51 additionally requires all other 50 events cleared and one full clear each of Classic and Adventure. These are distinct cleared events; repeating an easy event does not increase the number.

020

Sound Test, Random Stage and Score Display

Sound Test: unlock all 29 selectable stages, then open Data → Sound Test to browse music and voices.
Random Stage switch: unlock the ordinary hidden stages to open the exclusion list in VS → Custom Rules → Additional Rules; the three Past Stages, Battlefield and Final Destination are not needed for this earlier setting.
Score Display: accumulate 5,000 VS KOs. This is a KO counter, not a 5,000-match requirement; the option shows the running net score in supported VS rules. Continue ordinary play toward this long-term reward after the roster and stages are complete.

021

A challenger did not appear: check the trigger

First check whether you actually finished the mode or match. For Dr. Mario and Roy, a continue invalidates the solo route. For Luigi, inspect both the units-of-seconds finish and the one-minute team battle requirement. For Pichu, Event 37 must be available and cleared. For a high VS milestone, defeat lower-quota challengers first. If Young Link’s ten-fighter solo requirement is active, his challenge can precede Jigglypuff or Luigi. Finish another qualifying run after unlocking him. Consult the unlock route and retry checklist when you need a practical next action.

022

What this checklist covers

Use the fighter and stage conditions to finish the playable roster, arena selection and main menu unlocks. Trophy collection is a separate, much larger task: owning one trophy does not generally unlock a fighter, but the Birdo trophy specifically opens Mushroom Kingdom II. The pictures here show original Melee fighter artwork and GameCube stages. include the local source record.

FIELD NOTE

Let the results and unlock notices finish, then confirm the new fighter or stage is selectable before moving on.

The 11 challengers

When an unlock condition is met, the game shows this warning and the newcomer’s silhouette before the challenger fight.

Jigglypuff
50 matches · Pokémon Stadium

Dr. Mario
100 matches · Princess Peach’s Castle

Pichu
200 matches · Pokémon Stadium

Falco
300 matches · Battlefield

Marth
400 matches · Fountain of Dreams

Young Link
500 matches · Great Bay

Ganondorf
600 matches · Final Destination

Mewtwo
700 matches · Final Destination

Luigi
800 matches · Mushroom Kingdom II

Roy
900 matches · Temple

Mr. Game & Watch
1000 matches · Flat Zone

Pictures taken from the Super Smash Bros. Melee (USA, revision 2) disc: textures decoded from the game’s own archives (character-select portraits, stock icons, stage-select pictures, emblems and menu art), the clear pictures stored on the disc, and frames from the opening movie.

References