History Main / SecretCharacter

* ''VideoGame/DreamWorksSuperStarKartz'' has six unlockable characters: [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon Toothless]], [[{{Franchise/Shrek}} Princess Fiona]] and [[{{Franchise/Madagascar}} Marty]] are unlocked by beating each cup in 50cc, while Knight {{Franchise/Shrek}}, [[{{Franchise/Madagascar}} Sailor Skipper and Tribal Alex]] are unlocked by beating the final cup in 100cc, 150cc and Mirror respectively.

** Jeanne makes a return as an unlockable character in ''{{VideoGame/Bayonetta 2}}'', unlocked by just beating the game on any difficulty. [[spoiler:Bayonetta's mother, [[GlassCannon Rosa]]]], can also be unlocked by beating the game on 3rd Climax, the second hardest difficulty in the game. Two more characters can be unlocked in the online co-op mode, Tag Climax, through randomly being challenged by them during play, [[spoiler:[[LightEmUp Lumen Sage, Balder]]]], and [[FallenAngel Rodin]], although these two can only be used on the co-op mode and not during normal gameplay.
* An OpenSecret, but in ''VideoGame/FateExtellaTheUmbralStar'' [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Artoria Pendragon]] is the final unlockable character possible. And her unlock requirements are a ''doozy'' to say the least. Check the MoonLogicPuzzle entry on the main page for Fate/EXTELLA to see why.

* ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'': In the first five games, the series features the standard "beat Arcade/Story Mode [insert number here] times to unlock [insert name here]". However, there are also other characters whose unlock method is a bit nebulous:

** In ''XX'', to unlock Robo-Ky, Kliff, and Justice, you must do one of the following: complete forty of the game's fifty (insanely hard) missions; complete all the story paths (some of which are GuideDangIt, some of which are outright painful, and some of which are ''both'') for all characters; or complete over 200 levels of Survival Mode (which amounts to seventy or so battles - including twenty much harder "Daredevils"). Or just leave the game running for several days. Then, there are the alternate movesets for most of the characters, which are practically characters unto themselves...
** Then there's the first game, consisting of three secret characters. Unlocking two of them (Testament and Justice) simply requires beating story mode with anyone, but getting the third character (Baiken) requires clearing the game with either Sol or Ky '''''WITHOUT CONTINUING'''''. What makes this especially bad is the downright broken Instant Kill mechanic (one hit will end the ''entire match'', as opposed to just the current round in later games, and the [[PressXToNotDie Quick Time Mechanics]] involved with them don't help matters), which, combined with Justice being an SNKBoss, makes for quite a hard task to fulfill.
** Both ''Xrd SIGN'' and ''REVELATOR'' each have a secret character to unlock from clearing story mode: Sin Kiske for the former and Raven for the latter.
* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' doesn't usually dabble in unlockable characters, outside of DLC, but ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueContinuumShift Continuum Shift]]'', ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueChronophantasma Chronophantasma]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueCentralFiction Central Fiction]]'' do have an example for each game; [[spoiler:Mu-12 (Noel Vermillion's true form), Kagura Mutsuki and Susano'o (the true form of Yuuki Terumi)]], each of which can be unlocked by completing each game's story mode.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'': The spin-off fighting games have a few of them:
** ''Immaterial And Missing Power'' has [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire Remilia Scarlet]] and [[CuteGhostGirl Yuyuko Saigyouji]], who can be unlocked when you find them and defeat them in story mode; and, provided you haven't used any continues, you can also unlock SubBoss [[RealityWarper Yukari Yakumo]] and FinalBoss [[DrunkenMaster Suika Ibuki]]. It is also possible to unlock [[AnimeChineseGirl Hong Meiling]] after installing a special patch, and completing the story mode at least once with any character.
** In ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody'', you can unlock the bosses [[ShockAndAwe Iku Nagae]] and Tenshi Hinanawi if you find them and defeat them in the story mode.

** The first and most simple is [[spoiler:[[MyNameIsQuestionMarks ???]] / Blue Baby]], unlocked by beating the FinalBoss ten times.
** ''[[VideoGameRemake Rebirth]]'' adds [[spoiler:The Lost]], who has a... [[GuideDangIt rather convoluted unlock method]] involving dying in specific ways. The game's later expansion packs would simplify this so that [[spoiler:you only need to die in a sacrifice room while holding a specific trinket]].
** ''Afterbirth'' adds [[spoiler:The Keeper]], unlocked by filling the Greed Mode donation machine all the way to 1000 coins.
** ''Afterbirth†'' has [[spoiler:[[DemBones The Forgotten]]]], who has the player take a special item down to [[spoiler:the Dark Room]] and use it on a dirt patch... while having the feet of Isaac's mother stomping down at you nearly the entire time, [[NintendoHard which is easier said than done]].
** The final DLC, ''Repentance'', takes this [[ExaggeratedTrope to an absurd degree]] by [[spoiler:having '''''17''''' secret characters; those being an alternate "tainted" version of each character. All of them are unlocked in the same way; using the Red Key on a specific doorway in the Home floor, unlocking the tainted counterpart to whoever you're playing as (I.E Isaac can only unlock tainted Isaac).]]

** The vanilla game has "???" [[MyNameIsQuestionMarks (his in-game name)]], unlocked after beating a major boss enough times, who cannot get any red hearts and must rely on soul hearts instead.
** ''Rebirth'' has an unlockable character that is very hard to play: The Lost can fly and shoot through projectiles, but is a literal OneHitPointWonder. Unlocking him requires you to do something you will never accidentally do.
** ''Afterbirth'' adds another difficult hidden character. Keeper uses money for health, dies in two hits[[note]](Got buffed to 3 in ''Repentance'' after you beat Hush)[[/note]], and fires tears much more slowly, and unlocking him requires grinding Greed Mode for a very long time.
** The final update of the ''Afterbirth+'' expansion gives us the Forgotten, a melee-centric character that can switch into the Soul (a ghost-like character that is chained to the Forgotten's now immobile body) and back at will. Unlocking them requires a combination of {{Speedrun}}, GuideDangIt, and challenge run.
** ''Repentance'' adds Tainted versions of ''every'' character. Each of them are unlocked by using a Red Key or Cracked Key at Home to open a secret room with the respective character. Many of them have very unique quirks that go beyond starting items and attributes. For example, Tainted Isaac rolls extra items but can only hold 8 passive items, Tainted Cain can only gain items by crafting them with pickups, Tainted Samson goes into a melee-only [[UnstoppableRage berserk]] mode during combat, Tainted Lazarus switches between two characters every room, etc.

* In ''[[VideoGame/{{Touhou}} Phantasmagoria of Flower View]]'' you can unlock Merlin and Lunasa Prismriver if you complete the NintendoHard Extra Mode with Komachi and Eiki Shiki. Given that this game is from BulletHell genre, many casual players won't even try this (it's like the story mode, but with number of bullets on [[HarderThanHard Lunatic]] standards, both you and opponent having [[OneHitPointWonder one hit point]] while she has the invincibility time for the beginning of the fight, and without any spare lives or continues).

* In ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage3'', [[BoxingKangaroo Roo]] becomes a playable character if you ''don't'' beat him during his boss fight and instead focus on fighting Bruce, allowing Roo to run off. Continuing after doing so makes Roo a playable character.

** ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate Ultimate]]'' brings the trope to a new level by making ''most of its roster'' unlockable; the starting roster is the same as in [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros64 the first game]], with the addition of Mii Fighters if you decide to create them. The characters have been made easier and quicker to unlock to compensate: a more traditional way of a preset unlock tree by playing Classic Mode, simply play enough versus matches, or find and defeat them in the game's ''Adventure Mode: World of Light''.

-->--''Franchise/StreetFighter''

* ''VisualNovel/DramaticalMurder'' lets you play [[spoiler:Ren]]'s route only after you've completed all other characters' routes. The UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita port adds one more, accessible after every ending in the original has been acheived.route.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDarkWitch'' series often has a second playable character in each game, usually unlocked by beating the game once as Zizou. They are Riva for the first game, Sola for ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfDarkWitch2 The Price of Desire]]'' and Day for ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfDarkWitch3 Wisdom and Lunacy]]''. Interestingly, Riva also appears as a secret character in the UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} version of ''The Price of Desire'', unlocked by clearing the game as Sola.

** ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'': Getting a certain amount of points either offline or online will unlock Taskmaster, [[Franchise/StreetFighter Akuma]], [[VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}} Hsien-Ko]], and [[Franchise/XMen Sentinel.]]

* In ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburIII'', unlocking Olcadan requires you to beat him in Tales of Soul, which sounds fair enough, until you realize that he is the penultimate opponent of [[GuideDangIt the notoriously tricky-to-figure-out Night Terror route]]. And to unlock Abyss, you will have to beat him in Tales of Soul ''after'' unlocking the other proper characters, a category that includes Olcadan (if you haven't, beating Abyss will just unlock the Lost Cathedral Ruin stage and his illustration in the Shop). However, they can also be unlocked by playing a specific amount of battles like the game's other content.