There are 31 characters in the game. Seven are yours from the start; the rest are unlocked by a trophy, and you have to be holding it: keep the trophy in your inventory and the character stays yours to play. The trophies are listed here, with where each comes from.

• Chip

  Playable by everyone.

  One of the stars of the game: a chipmunk with a bright red nose who is always getting into trouble. He is the slimmer of the two, and never far from Dale.

• Dale

  Playable by everyone.

  The other of the two main men. Dale is a goofy chipmunk, a little stockier than Chip, and never far from him.

• Mega Man

  Playable by everyone.

  A robot created by Dr. Light, Mega Man was sent to destroy the robots that had been taken over by Light's archrival, Dr. Wily. With a blaster and the ability to copy attacks from his enemies, he tears evildoers apart with ease.

• Kirby

  Playable by everyone.

  A lovable little ball of pink blubber who looks harmless but is deadly to Dedede and his minions. His countless adventures in Dreamland and his signature copy abilities have made him a popular Nintendo character.

• Tails

  Playable by everyone.

  Sonic's oldest friend and a top-notch mechanic, known for his twin tails. He sometimes gets in Sonic's way but proves his worth further on in the games. With tons of gadgets and a heart full of courage, Tails knows just what to do in times of trouble.

• Luigi

  Playable by everyone.

  The Mario brother in green. Luigi first appeared in the arcade game Mario Bros., fighting koopas, flies and crabs. Mario's younger brother is quite the sceptical plumber: always wary of trouble, he often hides in Mario's shadow, but when he is needed he steps up to the challenge.

• Tiny Knight

  Playable by everyone.

  A knight the size of a mushroom, in armour a size too big, who has never once admitted that either is a problem.

• Mario

  Unlocked by Uber Trophy.

  You all know him: the mushroom-eating plumber and Nintendo's mascot. Mario started out saving his girlfriend from a ferocious gorilla, Donkey Kong, back when he was called Jumpman. After that he battled koopas and other fiends in the sewers with his brother Luigi. Then the koopas came back with King Bowser and his punching bags, the goombas, and Mario and Luigi stopped him and rescued Princess Peach. Today he plays sports, turns into paper, and still rescues Peach from Bowser's vile clutches.

• Master Chief

  Unlocked by Space Trophy.

  Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is the main protagonist of the Halo universe: a playable character in Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 and Halo 3, and a figure in the novels and the graphic novel besides.

• Sonic

  Unlocked by Sonic Shoes.

  A lightning-fast blue hedgehog. Sonic loves to be free, but he will help his friends before he enjoys it. His arch-nemesis is Dr. Robotnik, and he always manages to stop his evil plots. He first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991, and was originally to be named Ned Needlemouse.

• Shadow

  Unlocked by Emerald Trophy.

  A spiky black and red hedgehog. Although similar to Sonic both in looks and in speed, in personality the two are chalk and cheese, and he seems unsure whether to serve good or evil.

• Toad

  Unlocked by Toad's Trophy.

  The small guy with the mushroom head. Toad helped Mario on many adventures, as in Super Mario Bros. 2, and supplies him with power-ups, and says the thing Mario hates most: "the princess is in another castle".

• Donkey Kong

  Unlocked by Dk Trophy.

  The crazy ape who is both good and bad. He began by chucking barrels at Mario; these days he is helpful, handing out stars in Mario Party and making a good teammate in the sports games. He is still chucking barrels in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, though.

• Link

  Unlocked by Ocarina of Time.

  The hero of Hyrule. He set out to gather the pieces of the Triforce and stop Ganondorf, with a sword, a shield and a few other things to help him on the way, and to rescue Princess Zelda. Today Link is still defeating Ganondorf and other villains with his trusty sword and shield.

• Samus

  Unlocked by Ice World Trophy.

  The bounty hunter in the Power Suit, alone on hostile worlds: Metroid’s own, and the reason the ice world has anything left standing.

• Yoshi

  Unlocked by Yoshi Egg.

  A green dinosaur with an extraordinarily long tongue. He is a friend of Mario's, and has been helping him since he was a baby.

• Chocobo

  Unlocked by Chocobo Egg.

  A creature from the Final Fantasy series: a large, normally flightless bird that can be ridden. Chocobos first appeared in Final Fantasy II and have featured in almost every game since, as well as making cameos in plenty of others.

• Chaos

  Unlocked by Chaos Trophy.

  A water-like creature from the Sonic series. He lives for one thing only: to destroy. Collecting the chaos emeralds makes him stronger (and bigger) and helps him towards his purpose.

• Dragon

  Unlocked by Trophy of Giving.

  The dragon of honour. If you have unlocked this character you have done good by your name and must have contributed to the site. If not, report it as a glitch.

• Star Fox

  Unlocked by Trophy of Clouds.

  The leader of team Star Fox, which also includes Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare and Slippy Toad.

• Stormtrooper

  Unlocked by Imperial Crest.

  Stormtroopers are the minions of the evil Sith lord Darth Vader. They are not the deadliest people in the galaxy, but they can be deadly in groups. They used to be clones, until the Sith took over.

• Commander Bly

  Unlocked by Rebel Crest.

  Clone commander 5052, also known as Bly, was the leader of the Star Corps of clone troopers assigned to Jedi General Aayla Secura.

• Anakin

  Unlocked by Ultimate Trophy.

  Anakin was the chosen one who would defeat the Sith, except that he was turned into the evil Darth Vader and started many wars. He turned good again when he saved his son Luke from Darth Sidious.

• Ruff

  Unlocked by Beast Key.

  The robot dog that guards the fortress in Jungle World, and will follow anyone who carries the key to it.

• Terra

  Unlocked by Terra's Rose.

  Terra Branford is the first character introduced in her game. She begins as a tool of the Empire, controlled by a slave crown; when Arvis removes it she is left with amnesia. Locke takes her to the Returners, and she eventually joins them, learning along the way that she is the daughter of an Esper father and a human mother, which explains her magic and her Esper form.

• Terriermon

  Unlocked by Digicard.

  A Digimon, and the partner of Henry Wong. He appears as a main character in the third season of the Digimon anime.

• Digimon

  Unlocked by Digivice.

  Veemon, the Digimon owned by Davis Motomiya, the main character of Digimon season 2. Veemon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon are the three Digimon of ancient times sealed away by the Sovereign Azulongmon, to be woken again in a time of crisis; Veemon was freed in the first episode, when Davis lifted the Digi-Egg of Courage.

• Metabot

  Unlocked by Medabot Medal.

  A Medabot: a robot that is nothing but parts until a medal is slotted into it, and then a fighter with a mind of its own.

• Pikachu

  Unlocked by Pokeball.

  The tiny electric mouse Pokémon everyone loves, but do not make it angry, as its thunderbolt is very powerful. Pikachu first appeared in Pokémon Red and Blue and had a starring role in Pokémon Yellow, and is the main Pokémon of the anime. It evolves from Pichu and into Raichu.

• Creeper

  Unlocked by Ninja mask.

  A creeper in a ninja mask: it says nothing, it comes no closer than it has to, and nobody has ever seen it hurry.

• Mad Gator

  The trophy for this one was never decided, so nobody can play as it yet.

  An alligator in a temper, with more teeth than sense.