Top 10 Worst Unlockable Characters in Fighting Games

“Dragon Ball Z: Budokai” Series (2002-12)

Whether you know him as Hercule or Mr. Satan, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s one of the weakest characters across multiple “Dragon Ball Z” games. But when you have fighters that are essentially godlike in terms of power, that shouldn’t really be a surprise. The method for unlocking him varies between games, but he’s always been designated as the joke character. He has no powers, therefore having a lower damage output than most everyone else. He had some decent combos and special moves, even if they still highlighted his uselessness. However, with some of the most famous anime characters of all time as options, we fail to see the appeal here.

“The King of Fighters 2006” (2006)

In so far his only playable appearance, Hyena annoys not only other characters with his antics, but also players with his clunky moveset. In the 2006 installment of “King of Fighters,” you can unlock him by beating the story mode 13 times. And the suitability of giving him the unlucky number is not lost on us. Despite having a couple decent special moves, Hyena uses an incredibly awkward technique that will feel clumsy in your hands. One of his super moves is also fairly easy to predict and counter; he trips over himself before landing a high-damage kick. If Hyena’s combatant throws him while he’s performing this special, he’s instantly KO’d.

“Fighters Megamix” (1996)

Although most may not remember this Sega Saturn exclusive fighter, it still has a pretty poor unlockable character in Deku. The Mexican bean in a mariachi outfit is just the type of borderline racism we’d expect from a late 90s game. But even still, he’s just not an interesting fighter. His moveset is lifted entirely from one of the other characters; he isn’t even an amalgamation character like other fighters of the time used to include. He’s also just a bit weaker, which really only makes him a handicap for those that want it. All in all, Deku is just lazy.

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#7: Dan Hibiki

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“Street Fighter” Series (1987-)

When players think of joke characters in fighting games, it’s likely “Street Fighter’s” Dan is the first that comes to mind. And for good reason. Capcom literally created him as a joke in retaliation against “Art of Fighting,” an SNK fighter that ripped off Ken and Ryu. Regardless, Dan has long been a silly but expected inclusion, available to unlock in several games. His moveset is essentially a much less impressive version of Ken and Ryu’s, with short range attacks and measly hadokens. That actually fits perfectly with his overconfident but cowardly persona. However, Dan has still managed to gather quite the following over the years. That doesn’t mean we’ll ever pick him, though.

“Super Smash Bros. Melee” (2001)

Echo fighters have been a thing in “Super Smash Bros.” since the beginning. But only in the second game did Nintendo think it would be a good idea to give one of them the ability to hurt themselves. In “Melee,” players could unlock Pichu either after playing 200 Vs. matches or by completing Event Match 37. Regardless of how you unlocked the Pokemon, most of us had the same exact inclination after trying him out: never again. Every electrical attack emitted from Pichu adds a small percentage of damage, constantly increasing your chances of dying even if no one’s hitting you. Not only that, but Pichu is the teeniest of fighters, making it incredibly easy to launch him out of the arena.

“Urban Reign” (2005)

In this 3D beat ‘em up’s story mode, you brawl your way through tons of enemies to reach the villain, corrupt mayor William Bordin. But in multiplayer, “Urban Reign” is an arena fighter. There are a ton of characters throughout the story you can unlock here, including the Big Bad. But boy…is it not worth it. You can only get him by getting an S Rank on every single stage, of which there are 100. But after all the effort, Bordin isn’t any better than the rest of the characters. In fact, he’s worse. Only his counters have the capability of dealing major damage. We’d be more forgiving if not for the absurd level of challenge in unlocking him.

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#4: Roll

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“Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes” (2000)

With smooth but extremely quick-paced gameplay, “Marvel vs. Capcom 2” is one of those fighters that’s easy to pick up but difficult to master. Most players can pull off awesome combos with many of the characters, but even the greenest of gamers should stay far away from Roll. Although she’s Mega Man’s sis, she’s clearly outmatched in every way. We’re not usually one to judge a book by its cover, but Roll proves to be a slowpoke with poor range, miniscule damage output, and horrible combo potential compared to everyone else. Most players overly familiar with the roster consider her to be one the worst fighters in any game, which is hard to argue against.

“Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance” (2002)

“Mortal Kombat” has had many highs and lows when it comes to unlockable characters. Thankfully, the franchise’s lowest point in those regards happened way back during the sixth generation of consoles. Mokap is a motion capture actor who was clearly designed to get a laugh, a mark he misses. But it isn’t just the lame design. He has no distinct fighting style himself, instead taking moves from several other characters. He also has no fatality, which means the most interesting thing about him is the aforementioned lame design. “Deadly Alliance” also made you work hard to unlock him, requiring you to complete every Konquest mission with every character. It just wasn’t worth it.

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#2: Dr. Bosconovitch

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“Tekken 3” (1997)

With a varied roster of powerful humans, animals, and more, surely someone out there wanted to play as an old man who constantly fell over? No, Namco. No one did. Dr. Bosconovitch has played a role in many “Tekken” plotlines, but rarely has he ever been playable. He was added as a hidden fighter in the third entry, unlocked by beating the home version’s beat ‘em up mode, Tekken Force, four times. Like Mokap, Dr. B uses different moves compiled from other fighters. But worse, certain moves and combos will cause him to fall over on the ground due to his canonical scoliosis. If you pick him, be prepared to take on the ‘sitting duck’ role fairly regularly.

“WWF Smackdown! Just Bring It” (2001)

While it was tempting to place the “Limp Bizkit” frontman’s cameo from “Fight Club” at the top, we thought we’d pick a game that wasn’t also utter garbage. It’s not that we have anything in particular against Durst, it’s just unfortunate that he was made into a terrible unlockable fighter twice. In this wrestling game, he’s unlocked after beating 15 combatants as The Undertaker in the SlobberKnocker mode, which has a 10-minute time limit. Even though this game released during the height of his band’s popularity, we still doubt any player at the time wouldn’t have rather had the spot go to a legacy wrestler. Even worse, he’s one of the weakest fighters on the roster.

Did you go through the process of unlocking these characters? Which did you find to be the most disappointing? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to check out these other great videos!