From hidden fighters to secret companions, these characters will make you work for it! Join us as we count down the most challenging secret characters to unlock in gaming history. These hidden gems require everything from obscure puzzle-solving to marathon grinding sessions that will test your patience and skill!
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 20 Hardest Characters
00:11to Unlock, from bosses to companions to playable characters.
00:23Number 20.
00:24Wolverine – Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5
00:34Most secret characters in the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series don't require much effort
00:38to unlock.
00:39Heck, you can easily get away with just typing in the codes that unlock everything in the
00:42game.
00:43But if you want to do things legitimately for whatever reason, Pro Skater 5 might give
00:47you the most trouble.
00:48Unlike the other characters, Wolverine comes with a lengthy, time-consuming requirement
00:52to unlock him.
00:53You'll just have to complete the entire game with two separate characters.
00:56That's right.
00:57Every stunt, every trick, every skate letter, every combo will have to be done twice between
01:02two different skaters.
01:03Have fun!
01:12Number 19.
01:13Mewtwo – Super Smash Bros. Melee
01:25Much like Wolverine, the grind to unlock Mewtwo in Smash Bros. Melee is incredibly time-consuming.
01:30What's more shocking is that there are two ways to get him, both involving an incredible
01:34amount of grinding.
01:35Method one requires you to clock in at least 20 hours of game time, which you can spend
01:39in any number of ways between Adventure Mode, Classic Mode, Events, Training, Target Modes
01:43or just regular matches.
01:45Method two is simply playing regular matches.
01:47Well, 700 matches in total.
01:50Either way, better make sure you get good before the ultimate life form shows up.
01:53He ain't going down easy.
02:01Number 18.
02:02Devil – Tekken 2
02:11In most fighting games, unlocking the boss as a playable character only requires you
02:14to beat the game with every character, totally doable in just a few hours.
02:18Tekken 2 is a special case, however, as it kind of pulls the wool over your eyes from
02:22the get-go.
02:23See, the 10 characters you see on the fighter select screen aren't the only characters
02:27you need to beat the game with.
02:28You're going to need to beat the game with every single unlockable character as well.
02:32In other words, you're going to need to understand every character's toolkit while
02:35adjusting to the game's arcade controls.
02:43Number 17.
02:44Squall – Chocobo Racing
02:46Didn't expect a kart racer to show up on this list, did you?
02:55Overall, Chocobo Racing is one of the easiest racing games you could play.
02:58Although there is a tiny asterisk over that statement.
03:01See, if you just sprint through the story and play for fun, yeah, easy game.
03:06But if you want to complete the game and unlock every character, you're going to need to
03:08race Squall on his own course.
03:10Now, what makes this frustrating is that Squall is the most broken character in the entire
03:14game.
03:15The hero of Final Fantasy VIII is the only character with a power-up equivalent to Mario
03:19Kart's blue shell.
03:21The power-up hits everyone and is completely unavoidable.
03:23Yeah, Squall is a filthy cheat.
03:34Number 16.
03:35Morrigan & Nakoruru – Capcom vs. SNK Millennium Fight 2000 Pro
03:39We promise the entire list isn't loaded with fighting games requiring you to just beat
03:53the game with every character.
03:55But we'd be remiss not to include Capcom vs. SNK Millennium Fight 2000 Pro because
04:00of the sheer size of the roster.
04:02Would you believe that Morrigan and Nakoruru are hiding among this huge cast?
04:05In order to access these legendary fighters, you will need to beat the entire game with
04:09every Capcom character to unlock Morrigan and every SNK character to unlock Nakoruru.
04:15Think you have the time to tackle the latter with more than 30 characters?
04:27Number 15.
04:29Gate 3.
04:38Baldur's Gate 3 hides a wealth of powerful summons to aid you in battle, but there is
04:41one summon very few players managed to find during their initial playthrough.
04:45Remember how annoying Divas were to fight?
04:47Well, you can turn that around by summoning a Diva of your own.
04:50In Act 3, there is a fake wall in the Vault of Sorceress Sundries that can only be reached
04:54by crossing an invisible bridge.
04:56Baldur's Gate 3 does not hint at this possibility in any way, shape or form, meaning the only
05:00way you would ever acquire the summon is if you were testing every corner of every area
05:05you entered.
05:06Best to look up a guide for this one.
05:18Number 14.
05:19Stormtalon – Ghostmaster In case you've never heard of it, Ghostmaster
05:30was a hidden gem of a PC game where you utilized a small troupe of ghosts and ghouls to scare
05:34the denizens of Gravenville.
05:36You can even find special spooks hidden behind puzzles or, in Stormtalon's case, special
05:41events and powers happening at very specific points.
05:44To unlock Stormtalon, you'll have to play a scenario that takes place at Spooky Hollow.
05:48Then summon a storm before you go using your wind and water powers to create the distant
05:52thunder condition.
05:53As soon as you do, Stormtalon will appear to help you haunt residents.
06:04Number 13.
06:05Junkyard Dog – Fallout 4 We all know the usual suspects when it comes
06:17to Fallout 4's roster of companions.
06:18Piper, Dogmeat, Nick Valentine, but did you know there is one companion very few know
06:23about?
06:24It's a second dog, too.
06:25See, every time you enter and re-enter the Commonwealth, there is one specific merchant
06:29who will spawn in a random spot somewhere in the world.
06:32So it's already hard enough to figure out where this guy is.
06:35Not only do you have to find this merchant, you will also need a high enough charisma
06:38stat to pass the skill check and convince him to let you purchase his dog from him.
06:42If you can, try to just max out your charisma before attempting to track him down and get
06:46the dog.
06:47It will be worth the time and effort.
06:56Number 12.
06:57Floyd – Mortal Kombat 1 Initially, the requirements to unlock Floyd
07:07may seem like a daunting task.
07:09The secret boss is locked behind a whopping 37 secret challenges.
07:12Here's the thing, though.
07:13You don't need to fulfill all 37 challenges.
07:17Most challenges are merely a pool for Mortal Kombat 1 to pull from and assign 10 of them
07:20at random to each player.
07:22You won't know which 10 you were assigned until you attempt them, and once you do, you'll
07:26be challenged by one of the most formidable ninjas in Mortal Kombat history, the Pink
07:30Menace, Floyd.
07:31Beware the rainbow walls.
07:43Number 11.
07:44Vincent Valentine – Final Fantasy VII
07:57Much like Baldur's Gate III and the Diva Summon, Final Fantasy VII does not give any
08:01sign that Vincent is anywhere in the game.
08:04This was one of those unlockables you either had to figure out on your own back in the
08:07day or take the word of mouth with a grain of salt.
08:10In order to recruit Vincent for yourself, you'll need to track down the code to unlock
08:13Shinra Manor safe and defeat the secret boss, Lost Number.
08:16Afterwards, you'll be able to talk to Vincent, but here's where it gets tricky.
08:20You will need to make very specific dialogue choices or else Vincent will end the conversation.
08:25And no, you will not be able to try again unless you turn the game off without saving.
08:38Number 10.
08:39Iron Checkpoint Crate – Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
08:52When Crash Bandicoot's first racer was remastered for the modern era, it brought together characters
08:56from across the entire franchise, including some no one expected to see.
08:59Within the main platformers, the Iron Checkpoint Crate is exactly what it sounds like, a checkpoint.
09:04But in a post-launch update for Nitro-Fueled, the developer included it as a silly unlockable
09:09In order to earn it, you'll have to find all 39 hidden Beenox crates, one for each
09:13level save for the PS4-exclusive Retro Stadium.
09:16That's already a tall order, but some of these crates are hard to find and even harder
09:19to break while barreling through courses at high speeds.
09:25Number 9.
09:26Stefan – Fire Emblem – Path of Radiance
09:39There are some characters whose method of unlocking is not something the average player
09:41would ever think to do.
09:43In Fire Emblem – Path of Radiance, Stefan is one of the strongest fighters you can add
09:46to your party.
09:47Unfortunately, it's highly likely that you'll miss the chance to unlock him.
09:50You can only join in Chapter 15, and you have to unlock him on the battlefield.
09:54But that's not the tough part.
09:56The player must have either Lethe or Mordecai step on a specific square away from the fight
10:00in order to speak with him.
10:02If it's any other character, they'll get his sword, but Stefan will forever be lost.
10:09Number 8.
10:12The Forgotten – The Binding of Isaac – Rebirth
10:20Although the story follows the unfortunate Isaac, there are still plenty of other characters
10:24to find.
10:25Added through an expansion, the Forgotten is a skeleton that fights with the Bone Club
10:28and has a laundry list of tasks in order to unlock.
10:31After defeating the first boss in under a minute, you'll get a broken shovel.
10:35You'll then need to survive as Mom stomps at you from above, though using your shabby
10:38prize will at least stop her from attacking in the current room.
10:41Eventually making it through a boss rush, you'll repair the shovel.
10:44Then just keep surviving waves of enemies until you reach the dark room where you can
10:48dig up the Forgotten's remains.
10:50Hope it was worth it.
10:59Number 7.
11:00Skelly – Chrono Cross
11:11As you'll see, some of the hardest characters to unlock can be found in RPGs.
11:14Chrono Cross features a surprising 45 possible party members and Skelly is, without a doubt,
11:19the hardest to unlock.
11:20You'll come across his lone skull in Fossil Valley, where he'll ask you to track down
11:24his remaining parts.
11:25You'll then have to track down those parts across six different locations of its fairly
11:29large world.
11:30While it's possible to find some before coming across Skelly, others are pretty challenging
11:34to find and hidden in obscure areas.
11:36But after bringing them all together and watching him reunite with his grandma back in Termina,
11:41Skelly will head out on your adventure.
11:51Number 6.
11:52Reiji Kido – Revelations Persona
12:01These days, players can simply look up guides on how to unlock characters, but in 1996,
12:06you had to follow a set of specific, obscure decisions in order to earn Reiji in the first
12:10Persona.
12:11You'd have to know to start the process right at the beginning, heading from the infirmary
12:14to the teacher's lounge.
12:16Talking to a certain teacher would lead you to a classroom on the second floor where you'd
12:19meet Reiji.
12:20From there, it took following a set path, including finding and talking to his mother
12:24only once and declining specific characters when they wanted to join.
12:27If you did any number of things incorrectly, one of the best possible party members would
12:32be lost for good.
12:38Number 5.
12:39William Borden – Urban Rain
12:49Going through the process of unlocking a character isn't always worth it.
12:52This beat-em-up story mode follows Brad Hawk, a hired muscle caught in the middle of a gang
12:56war.
12:57The villain is corrupt politician William Borden, who is behind the city-state and craves
13:01even more power.
13:02Players can unlock him, though it takes a lot of dedication.
13:05You have to get an S-rank on every stage, which can be ridiculously tough.
13:08There's a number of characters and difficulty levels to consider to find the right balance
13:12so you can earn your trophy.
13:14But Borden sucks anyway, from his stats to his attacks, so you may as well not even bother.
13:29Number 4.
13:30Zero – Bayonetta
13:38In the original Bayonetta, you could unlock an additional hard mode in the form of a character
13:42named Zero.
13:43Essentially controlling the same as the main character, Zero can only handle a couple of
13:46hits before he goes down.
13:48As you might expect, unlocking him is no small feat either.
13:51After finishing every Alfheim mission, you can try your hand at a special survival chapter
13:55consisting of 51 fights.
13:57The first 10 are on normal mode, the next 20 on hard, and the next 20 on non-stop climax.
14:03It culminates in a clash with Bayonetta herself, who has 5 health bars and naturally puts up
14:07a mighty fight.
14:17Number 3.
14:18The Crystal Men – FTL – Faster Than Light
14:29With a procedurally generated solar system's worth of encounters, FTL provides a ton of
14:33possible allies.
14:34But the Crystal Men are both the hardest to recruit, and the ones most worth doing
14:37so.
14:38First, you'll need to be lucky enough to encounter a randomized event where a distress
14:41call leads you to an asteroid field.
14:43There, you'll find a damaged stasis pod you must get repaired at a specific facility
14:47which holds your first Crystal Crew member.
14:50Then you must wait for another random event to happen, which gets you a device that teleports
14:53you to a hidden sector.
14:55Only then will you be able to recruit more Crystal Men, who have great weapons and one
14:58of the best ships in the game.
15:08Number 2.
15:09Cloud Strife – Final Fantasy Tactics
15:19Although he's arguably the most famous Final Fantasy protagonist, Cloud takes a ton of
15:22work to unlock in this spin-off.
15:24Like several others, it requires following a very specific path within the story.
15:28You must have kept Lustadio in your party and completed Chapter 4, after which you must
15:33know to return to his hometown.
15:34There, you can aid his father in completing his portal device through a lengthy side-quest
15:39that includes recruiting other party members in a secret boss fight.
15:42You'll also have to have bought a flower from a girl in Salgidos.
15:45Afterwards, Cloud will be summoned to this world, and he'll join your party the next
15:49time you return.
15:50How anyone could have known to do all this is beyond us.
16:15Number 1.
16:16Nordam – Planescape, Torment
16:25Not only does unlocking Nordam take some major outside-the-box thinking, but it takes completing
16:29an infamously tough dungeon.
16:32First you have to buy what seems like an ordinary cube from the Curiosity Shop.
16:35Turns out this is a figurine of a Modron, one of Nordam's mechanical race.
16:39But you can only find this out by speaking to some real Modrons or Ivana, the Galeria
16:43owner.
16:44Only then can you get a chance to solve the cube's puzzle, which will then teleport
16:47you to a maze.
16:48This labyrinth is one of the most difficult levels the game has to offer, with plenty
16:52of strong enemies and shifting parts.
16:54Nordam stands as your prize for making it through it all.