Smash Bros. Ultimate has an antiquated unlock system, but fans still want to play the game the way Nintendo intended. This is how they\u2019re having it both ways.<\/b>
\nSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate \u2019s scale is both a blessing a curse, especially since players have to unlock characters and levels before they can be used in battle. That\u2019s not rare for fighting games, but the amount of unlockable content in Ultimate is staggering: only eight of the 74 characters are available when you begin playing.
This issue could have been mitigated by a game mode that allows the use of all the characters and levels as long as you stick to playing with other human beings in local matches \u2014 an option that would also have helped tournament organizers \u2014 but Nintendo didn\u2019t include that option at launch. That we\u2019re aware of, at least.
This indicates that Nintendo has strong feelings about how players are meant to experience the game, and that experience includes a trickle of characters that are unlocked at a particular pace.
But player reaction to the unlock system shows that some fans want to try all the characters right away… while also enjoying Nintendo\u2019s sense of pacing. And they\u2019re coming up with a strategy to have it both ways.
There is already a method for speeding up the rate at which you unlock characters, and you can read our guide right here if you want to hit the ground running. I\u2019m one of those players who wants to get as many characters as quickly as possible so I can spar with my friends.
A comment on the guide took me by surprise, however.
\u201cCould you all just not, well, play the game as intended?\u201d a reader asked. Others on Reddit shared the same thought, and there is an interesting workaround so you can have it both ways.
\u201cFor those who want to take the time and enjoy progressing through the characters, but want to have friends over and stuff like that, you can create another account, and unlock everyone fast on that account, while taking it slow on your main account,\u201d one fan posted . \u201cCredit to u\/cockyjames for the idea.\u201d
This isn\u2019t an isolated thing; many fans are posing about their fond memories of unlocking characters by playing normally.
\u201cI distinctly remember my first time getting the \u2018a new foe has appeared!\u2019 screen when playing Melee with my brother, and both of us freaking out as he had to fight some blue haired dude with a sword,\u201d one player wrote .
\u201cIt was really fun back in Melee time, and it made it actually worth something to win the game,\u201d another explained . \u201cNerve racking playing against this foreign character, knowing you CANT lose and let your friends down.\u201d
The question is whether having the option to play as any character from the start would mean modern Smash fans would miss out on these experiences. But, as we\u2019re seeing, players are willing to go to seemingly silly lengths \u2014 including two different save files on two different accounts \u2014 to be able to access characters as quickly as possible while also enjoying the fun that comes with slowly unlocking characters. Nintendo may not have had to protect that experience, since players seem willing to protect it for themselves.
Both facts are true: A timed unlocking system for this many characters is antiquated, but there\u2019s pleasure to be had in delayed gratification. An option to play with everything unlocked locally would have removed the need for some players to grind through the exploit, and it would also mean that tournament organizers wouldn\u2019t have to worry about spending time unlocking everything on official equipment.
Arms, for instance, includes a \u201chidden\u201d option to unlock all the characters for competitive play. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate needs something similar, and it wouldn\u2019t be surprising if something along those lines was patched into the game (or discovered) in the near future.
Giving people the option of how they want to play is never a bad thing, especially when so many happily ignore it.<\/p>\n