Brawl features 35 characters, 16 of which need to be unlocked.  Players can unlock all of the secret characters by playing 450 versus matches, or completing the Subspace Emissary. During the Subspace Emissary, have a new character join the team, and the character will become available. In versus play, a certain amount of matches need to be completed before a character becomes available. The last character, Wolf,  is unlocked after the 450th match. Whenever a character needs to be unlocked in versus play, a player must defeat the new character in order to receive the new character. If the new character isn’t defeated, then a player must take part in one more versus match before receiving a new chance.

• A player has to do only one of the tasks for each character in order for it to be unlocked.

1. Ness:
   1. Meet in Classic mode and reflect 10 projectiles, then defeat Ness.
   2. Recruit in the Subspace Emissary
   3. Play 5 versus matches and then defeat Ness.

2. Marth:
   1. Defeat in Classic mode
   2. Recruit in the Subspace Emissary.
   3. Play 10 versus matches and then defeat Marth.

3. Luigi:
   1. Win Classic mode without using a continue, and then defeat Luigi.
   2. Recruit in the Subspace Emissary.
   3. Play 22 versus matches and then defeat Luigi.

4. Falco:
   1. Win the 100-man brawl, then defeat Falco.
   2. Recruit in the Subspace Emissary.
   3. Play 50 versus matches, then defeat Falco.

5. Captain Falcon:
   1. Win Classic mode on Normal difficulty or greater in less than 12 minutes and then defeat Captain Falcon.
   2. Play 70 versus matches and then defeat Captain Falcon.

6. Lucario:
   1. Win Target Smash mode on all difficulty levels, then defeat Lucario.
   2. Defeat in the Subspace Emissary with Meta Knight.
   3. Play 100 versus matches, then defeat Lucario.

7. Snake:
   1. Play 15 matches on Shadow Moses Island, then defeat Snake.
   2. Play 130 versus matches, then defeat Snake.

8. R.O.B.:
   1. Collect 250 Trophies
   2. Recruit R.O.B to your team in the Subspace Emissary.
   3. Play 160 versus matches, then defeat R.O.B.

9. Ganondorf:
   1. Win Classic mode on hard difficulty with Link or Zelda, then defeat Ganondorf.
   2. Recruit Ganondorf to the Subspace Emissary by collecting the Link and Zelda Trophies with Kirby.
   3. Play 200 versus matches, then defeat Ganondorf.

10. Mr. Game & Watch:
    1. Win Target Smash mode with 30 different characters, then defeat Mr. Game and Watch.
    2. Recruit in the Subspace Emissary.
    3. Play 250 versus matches, then defeat Mr. Game and Watch.

11. Sonic:
    1. Complete the Subspace Emissary.
    2. Win Classic mode with 10 different characters, then defeat Sonic.
    3. Play 300 versus matches, then defeat Sonic.

12. Jigglypuff:
    1. Win 20 Event Matches after defeating the Subspace Emissary, then defeat Jigglypuff.
    2. Recruit Jigglypuff in the Subspace Emissary on Swamp level (find the hidden door over the river in the cannon area after the Hammer Bros. fight).
    3. Play 350 versus matches, then defeat Jigglypuff.

13. Toon Link:
    1. Win Classic mode with Link after completing the Subspace Emissary, go to the Forest level and a new door will appear after you defeat Diddy Kong.
    2. Play 400 versus matches, then defeat Toon Link.

14. Wolf:
    1. Go to the Ruins stage after completing the Subspace Emissary and enter the second door at the bottom of the moving platform.
    2. Play 450 versus matches, then defeat Wolf.

15. Zero Suit Samus: Select Samus; press and hold the following button combinations prior to the match:
    1. Gamecube: R button and press Start
    2. Classic controller: R button and press Plus
    3. Wii Remote with Nunchuk: Z button and press Plus
    4. Wii Remote: Minus (-) button and press Plus

16. Sheik: Select Samus; press and hold the following button combinations prior to the match:
    1. Wii Remote with Nunchuk: A button
    2. Wii Remote: 2 button
    3. Gamecube: A button
    4. Classic controller: A button.