Thread:Moon Snail/@comment-2189621-20200122063810/@comment-26888167-20200206140621

So, I was thinking that there could be some characters that you unlock through the main quest of the game, and thus are certain to be unlocked. Those could be like Blast, Starcade, Kernely, Captain Red Shell, etc.

A few could be unlocked through side quests, meaning there could be some optional missions that aren't obligatory to complete in order to finish the game, but if you do complete them, you can earn special characters. For example, Ace could be in his dojo, and he'd be an optional boss. When you see him, he can give you some helpful advice, and he also offers if you want to train your skills a bit. He could even be accessible since early in the game, but have way too high stats to beat him early on, so you'd probably have to go through most of the game before you can return to the dojo and finally beat him. Once you do beat him though, he says that he's impressed by how much you've improved, and that he's decided he'll join you on your quest.

What about an idea for Red Spoon? Red Spoon's restaurant could be a location on the map. He could sell you stuff like food items that can be given to a character during a battle to affect his stats, heal, etc. For example, a hot soup that allows a character to be unfrozen, or a herbal medicinal tea that heals the character that consumes it. There can be a hidden achievement where if you buy every item in Red Spoon's restaurant at least once, he'll join your party, maybe as a support character.

Boom and his gang are another possibility. Their hideout is an abandoned building in Echo Creek. Each four of them can have a sidequest that you have to complete in order for them to join. Blade could just ask you to find some pearls that are scattered around the map and bring them to him so he can make a necklace for Electra. Once you do that, both Blade and Electra join your team. Boom could be an optional boss who will only join your team if you defeat him. Scorch can just ask you to bring him some tacos from Red Spoon's restaurant. (The tacos can have another purpose, or serve only to get Scorch on your team)

There's many more ideas of sidequests I've got, and I'm sure many other users can give ideas for sidequests that will unlock their own characters. The idea is that main characters are unlocked through the main story, while a few other characters can be unlocked with sidequests.