The 10 HARDEST Fighting Game Characters To Unlock

Mewtwo
“Super Smash Bros. Melee” (2001)

Some might say Mr. Game & Watch is more of a time sink to unlock with his requirement to complete one of the four main game modes with every character. But we find Mewtwo to be the more egregious one as you have to rack up twenty hours of total playtime in Versus Mode. Now, one could easily just enter a two-player match and leave their GameCube idle for an entire day. But that level of exploitation would honestly be better spent actually playing the game. Besides, it isn’t like Mewtwo is an S-tier fighter. “Melee’s” tier list history has often placed him at the bottom due to his floaty physics, weak neutrals, and low launch threshold. So, why even rush to unlock him?

Mokap & Blaze
“Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance” (2002)

Indeed, grinds can be a real pain when certain unlockable characters turn out to be weak or just plain stupid all around. Case in point, Mokap and Blaze. To unlock the motion capture actor and the fire ninja, you will have to complete “Deadly Alliance’s” Konquest mode with every single character in the game. So if there is a character or two you aren’t particularly good with, well, that’s too bad! You’re going to have to get good if you really want to play as Blaze…or Mokap, for whatever reason.

Morrigan & Nakoruru
“Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millenium 2001” (2001)

Continuing on the grindfest train, “Capcom vs. SNK 2” is perhaps going to take you just as long as “Smash Melee” or “MK: Deadly Alliance”. The reason for this is because of just how massive the character roster is. Would it be hard to believe that Morrigan and Nakoruru are hiding among this colossal cast? To unlock them, you’ll have to beat the game with every Capcom character for Morrigan and every SNK character for Nakoruru. Better get comfortable fighting Rugal - you’re going to be seeing him A LOT.

Andre the Giant
“WWF No Mercy” (2000)

Ideally, a legendary wrestler like Andre the Giant would be included in the base roster of a wrestling game just as other WWE legends like The Rock might be. However, the not-so-gentle giant is gated behind one of the toughest challenges of “WWF No Mercy”. Enter Survival Mode and fight until he shows up as your final opponent. There is a second method where you’ll have to fight Andre as the final boss in the second half of the Championship, but no matter which method you choose, you’re more than likely to kiss the canvas more times than you’d like.

Devil
“Tekken 2” (1995)

Once again, we have an unlockable character locked behind completing a ladder with every single character. It already sounds like a slog, but it’s even more tumultuous when you have a final boss like Kazuya Mishima. See, sidestepping was not a key mechanic for “Tekken” just yet. However, Kazuya had access to this mechanic before players could, allowing him to completely avoid an attack if he felt like it. You, on the other hand, could only employ dashes and blocks. In other words, Kazuya gets one more tool at his disposal than you do, and it’s the best tool any fighter could have. Better make sure you have a firm grasp on how each character works!

Floyd
“Mortal Kombat 1” (2023)

Should you want to challenge this rainbow ninja yourself, you’ll have to fulfill the conditions of ten unknown challenges out of a pool of thirty-seven. Here’s the catch, and it’s an annoying one: you won’t know which ten need to be completed until you’ve done them. These challenges range from something as simple as taunting or uppercutting a certain number of times to something excruciatingly difficult like getting Double Flawless Victories against certain characters. It’s tedious, it’s boring, and it is absolutely annoying as hell. Of course, fans of the original “Mortal Kombat” games from the 90’s might appreciate it more than others.

Tengu
“Dead Or Alive 2: Hardcore” (2000)

A lot of unlockables in the “Dead Or Alive” games are tied to Survival Mode and collecting a ton of different items. To unlock Tengu, you will have to obtain a total of ten stars from Survival Mode. How does one acquire such an item? Well, when you defeat an opponent in Survival Mode, they will drop a random item such as a vegetable or a bag of money. The thing is that different items have different drop rates or can only be obtained under certain conditions. To get a Star, you will need to defeat fifty opponents. Even on the easiest difficulty, this can be grueling unless you have a solid grasp on Tina and her different throw combos.

Heihachi Mishima
“Tekken” (1995)

Thought it’d be hard playing “Tekken” without the ability to sidestep? Try playing the very first “Tekken”. This game is clunky as hell and does not feel good to play at all! But if you want Heihachi, you’re just going to have to suffer and figure out how to be a fast and ferocious fighter. On top of needing to play the entire ladder without losing a fight, you will have to finish your run in under five and a half minutes. Even with King’s stunlock cheese method and Kazuya’s secret stun punch, the time limit alone will make this a lot harder than it sounds.

The Secret Bosses
“Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter” (1997)

“Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter” is already a tough-as-nails tag fighter if you don’t know all of your match-ups. But even experienced players might foam at the mouth trying to meet the requirements to fight Mecha Zangief, Shadow, or Dark Sakura. The reason this will frustrate some more than others is because encountering any of these three requires Hyper Combo Finishes and/or Cross-Over Combination Finishes. Hyper Combo Finishes can be tough because of how overtly defensive the AI can get. As for Cross-Over Combination Finishes, the game can often mistake your inputs as tag-ins instead. Fail to pull off either before your sixth fight, and you may as well start over from the very beginning.

Spartan-458
“Dead Or Alive 4” (2005)

It is perhaps the grindfest to end all grindfests, and it doesn’t even have a roster the size of “Smash Bros” or any of Capcom’s sea of fighters. If you truly want to play as Nicole, Koei Tecmo’s original “Halo” character, you will have to beat Story Mode with every single character on the roster. Now, here’s the kicker - unlockables are only obtained when fulfilled on Normal difficulty MINIMUM. Sounds like it shouldn’t be that bad, but when you realize just how difficult “Dead Or Alive 4” is compared to every other game in the franchise, your blood will boil. This writer is speaking from personal experience, by the way. The process to unlock Spartan-458 is way more grueling than any other secret character, and it’s all thanks to the utter nonsense employed by the final boss, Alpha-152.

What’s the hardest secret character you’ve unlocked? How much torment did you have to go through? Let us know down in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!