History Main / PromotedToUnlockable

This is when a character who was computer-controlled (as an {{NPC}} or as a {{boss}}) in one installment of a series becomes a potential [[PlayerCharacter player-controlled character]] through the course of the game, or in sequels. They may be hidden unlockable characters, you might get the chance to recruit them, or they might be presented outright at the character select screen.

Typically they are more powerful than your average "normal" character, though of course they may end up a lot weaker than when they were boss characters (expect their HP to be divided by a factor of 10). This may be due to a RedemptionDemotion or for [[PVPBalanced PVP balancing]]. It's also possible that the game has played up a bad guy as such, only for him to become playable near the end of the game. There is no HeelFaceTurn involved; just the bad guy doing stuff on his own or just [[CanonShadow passively riding the plot along.]]

Beating the game with/as one of these characters usually reveals a special type of end-game victory screen. A fighting game series of sufficient length will almost always resort to this.
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!!Examples:

[[AC:Action Adventure]]
* [[SonicTheHedgehog Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik]] is playable in ''SonicAdventure2''.
** Earlier than that, Amy in ''SonicAdventure'', and Knuckles in ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic & Knuckles]]''
*** Tails in the Genesis version of Sonic 2. In the MasterSystem version, he is the DistressedDude. Tikal and Chaos were playable in the multiplayer of SonicAdventure2, and belive it or not, Maria can be played as in 2 levels of ShadowTheHedgehog.
* Metal Mario appears as a boss in ''SuperSmashBros.'', while anyone can be made metal with the green box item in ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' and ''Brawl''. Similarly, the original game had Giant DonkeyKong and ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'' can make anyone Giant with the Super Mushroom.
** Also, [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever Giga Bowser]] from ''Melee'' becomes playable through [[SuperMarioBros Bowser's]] [[LimitBreak Final Smash]] in ''Brawl''.
** Wario, Meta Knight, Pit, Olimar, Squirtle (who doubles as the starting platform in Poké Floats) and King Dedede (who also appeared in the N64 installment as a background character in Kirby's stage) all appeared as trophies in ''Melee'' before becoming playable characters, and Charizard was one of the Pokémon summoned in the first two games before it became a playable character itself.
** Special note goes to Captain Falcon and Ness, who demonstrate a variant of this trope: They were unlockable characters in the first game, then ascended into default characters in ''Melee'' before being demoted back to unlockables in ''Brawl''.
* Shiva was TheDragon to the final boss in ''StreetsOfRage 2'', notable for having a moveset remarkably close to that of the playable characters. In the sequel to that game, he became selectable from a Continue after being defeated in an earlier level - however, he lacked one of his special moves when playable, which was available to a later boss version of him.
* Vergil in ''DevilMayCry 3: Special Edition''.
* Any and all [=NPCs=], minor characters, major characters, main characters, villains and supporting characters in the {{LEGO}} movie games can and will be unlocked some way or another. Even the ones who have no weapons and can't do anything. You can play as ''anybody''. Newer games let you create your own character using parts from unlocked characters.
* Most {{Castlevania}} games after Symphony of the Night let you play as a boss/rival character after you finish the main game. Examples are Richter in Symphony of the Night (and Maria in the Sega Saturn version), Julius in Aria of Sorrow, Julius again with Yoko and [[spoiler:Alucard]] in Dawn of Sorrow, [[spoiler:Stella and Loretta]] in Portrait of Ruin(Though Richter and Maria are also unlockable), and Albus in Order of Ecclesia.

[[AC: Driving Game]]
* Many a character from the ''MarioKart'' series games.
* Minion was the final boss in ''TwistedMetal'', in subsequent games he's usually featured as a midgame boss and tends to be unlockable, [[LightningBruiser and generally is as strong when playable as he is when he's a boss]].

[[AC: Fighting]]
* ''SamuraiShodown'' added Amakusa to the playable roster in the third game.
* ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' made Pyron and Huitzel playable in the second game.
* Many ''GuiltyGear'' sequels include a playable Justice. Other bosses in the series were playable in their own games from their introduction.
** Baiken initially started as a secret boss in the original ''Guilty Gear''. Since ''[=GGX=]'', however, she appears as a playable character from the very beginning.
* In the ''{{Tekken}}'' series, the first game had Kazuya as a main character and Heihachi as an unlockable boss. The second game had Kazuya as an unlockable boss and Heihachi as a main character. Then Heihachi recovered his unlockable boss status in the third and Kazuya became a main character again in the fourth, and that's without getting into Jin... yeah, the whole Mishima family is like this.
** Lee becomes a main character in Tekken 5. After being an unlockable Law clone he was greatly improved in Tekken Tag and is a notable part of the story in Tekken 4.
* Ditto Shang Tsung from ''MortalKombat'' to ''Mortal Kombat II'', where Shao Kahn replaced him as the FinalBoss.
** Also ''Trilogy'' had most of the different boss and bonus characters playable (though who exactly depended on the version of the game), ''4'' had Goro in the home version and ''Deception'' had both him and Shao Kahn, and ''Armageddon'' had Onaga.
*** ''Armageddon'' had everyone. Literally every fighter over the course of the entire series was playable in that one (although Khameleon continued to be Nintendo exclusive).
*** Except Human Smoke.
* The four Shadaloo Grand Masters (Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison) from ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' were exclusively computer-controlled in the original game, but were promoted to playable characters in ''Champion Edition'' and onward.
** Akuma (aka Gouki) was originally the TrueFinalBoss in ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'', playable only via a cheat code. He became a regular playable character in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha 2'', with an alternate "Shin Akuma" version as a secret boss (who was only playable in the [=PS1=] and Saturn ports).
* In ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha A's Portable: The Battle of Aces'' allows you to use the [[FinalBoss Materials]] once you beat the storylines of the three characters each of them is based upon (e.g. Nanoha, Vita, and Zafira for Material-S). Needless to say, they are the most powerful characters in the game, [[spoiler:except [[GameBreaker Unison Reinforce]]]].
* ''FinalFantasyDissidia'' made many villains of the series, including the incredibly popular [[FinalFantasyVII Sephiroth]], (though he had already been playable in ''{{Ehrgeiz}}'') into playable characters.
** ''Dissidia 012'' does it again, adding [[RunningGag Gilgamesh]] into the mix. Also notably--in the first ''Dissidia'' game, many fans wished that the [[FinalBoss Final]] SNKBoss Chaos was playable (he wasn't, not without hacks). But his new and altered form, Feral Chaos, is.
* ''CastlevaniaJudgment'' has Dracula and Death as unlockable characters.

[[AC:RPG]]
* Joaquim in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence''.
* Magus in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger''.
* Sarevok in ''BaldursGate: Throne of Bhaal''.
* [[spoiler:Teyrn Loghain]] a.k.a. the Secret Companion in ''DragonAge: Origins''.
* Dialga and Palkia in ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' and Reshiram and Zekrom in the ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' would count too--they have been played up as destructive rival forces, but naturally, you can [[GottaCatchEmAll put both into your possession]].
* ''KingdomHearts'' has the entire Organization XIII [bosses] as playable characters for the first time in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 358/2 Days]]'', along with Goofy, Donald and Riku ([=AI=]-controlled support party members) and Mickey (he would be playable but only briefly if you died in certain boss fights).
** Riku had an entire campaign to himself in ''ChainOfMemories''.
* Some ''FireEmblem'' games let you unlock the BigBad and several of his cronies (And some unrelated villains) as playable characters fror Trial Maps. That is, those who [[HeelFaceTurn don't join you during the main game anyway]].
** Of particlar note is the BlackKnight from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius''. ThatOneBoss in Path of Radiance, one of the coolest characters in the game, now is playable in a few chapters in Radiant Dawn. And he, in fact, kicks even more ass than before, so players can use him to singlehandedly inflict beatdowns of epic proportions on their enemies. Only problem is that he is a CrutchCharacter to the max who already has the max level, so using him will cost your other characters much-needed EXP, causing many players not to use Blackie at all.
** Also from the Tellius games, Oliver (the main antagonist for the portion of ''Path of Radiance'' that took place in Begnion) turned out to be NotQuiteDead in ''Radiant Dawn'' and can be recruited near the end of the game. [[JokeCharacter Statwise he's not very impressive, but his conversations with some of the other characters are among the funniest things in the game]].
* ''ValkyrieProfile'' lets you fight Freya, Brahms, and Lezard Valeth in the BonusDungeon, and they join you if you defeat them. You can't use them in the regular game, however, since the bonus dungeon is chosen from the main menu instead of being part of the regular game.
* Bowser, after being an antagonist in the two preceding games, becomes a playable character (and is in fact the driving force behind the plot rather than being a [[VillainDecay mere joke]]) in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]''.
** Bowser also starts becoming playable in the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series from the second game and onwards.
** Way before either of those, Bowser actually [[strike:joined Mario's party]] let Mario join his party in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG''.
[[AC: Simulation Game]]
* In ''TheSims 2'', NPCs can be made playable if you have a high enough relationship score and ask them to move in, or marry them. There are also various GameMods to do so.

[[AC:Shooter]]
* ''TouhouProject'' does this all the time. Every one of the Windows games has had at least one boss villain reappear as playable in a later game.
** It started after the ''second-game'' of the PC-98 series.
*** With 2 characters even getting their own games! (to be specific, Aya Shamemaru with what can be most easily described as photography games cmkbined with the bullet hell of the usual series and Cirno, whose game was a bulelt hell with bullet freezing mechanics.)
* ''{{Halo}} 2'' makes the predecessor's main enemy, the Elites, a playable race in multiplayer. While they aren't technically more powerful, the altered hit-boxes has led to arguments on which model is superior and standardization in the MLG circuit.
** Played completely straight in "HaloReach" where the Elites have more shield strength and faster movement speed than their Spartan counterparts.
* [[TrueFinalBoss Hibachi]] is an unlockable fighter in [[DonPachi Dodonpachi Ressurection]] after beating the game [[BulletHell (Good luck with that by the way)]].

[[AC:Side Scroller]]
* Zero becoming playable as the ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' series went on was pretty much inevitable; first he was an underpowered extra character in ''X3'', but he later became a fully fleshed out alternative to X.
** The PSP remake ''Maverick Hunter X'' allows you to unlock and play as Vile.
** The other PSP remake, ''MegaManPoweredUp'', does this with all eight Robot Masters. Of course, only six of them were in the original ''VideoGame/MegaMan''.
*** Also in the same game, Roll and Proto Man were also unlockable each with their own stories. Roll was a background character in the first game while Proto Man made his debut as Breakman in ''VideoGame/MegaMan3''.
** Inverted in ''X7'' -- X himself is ''De''moted To Unlockable.
** After being X, Zero and Axl's navigator from X5 to X7, Alia is promoted to unlockable in ''Mega Man X8'' with moves similar to X. Unlike X however, she cannot use any of X's armor. Layer and Pallette are also unlockable with moves similar to Zero and Axl, though you have to rebuy the weapons for Layer and Pallete cannot metamorph like Axl.
* The "Meta Knightmare" sub-games in ''{{Kirby}}: Nightmare in Dream Land'' and ''Kirby Super Star Ultra'' (both of which are {{Enhanced Remake}}s of earlier games) make Meta Knight an unlockable player character.
* The Red Arremer that just spent the past few lives terrorizing you in the ''GhostsNGoblins'' series? He's not nearly as nimble when under your control in the ''GargoylesQuest'' subseries, though his fighting game appearances in ''SVCChaos'' and ''Ultimate MarvelVsCapcom3'' show greater shades of his abilities.

[[AC:Sports]]
* You can play as Barry [=DeJay=], the announcer from ''[[BackyardSports Backyard Basketball]]'', in ''Backyard Baseball'' as an unlockable. [[spoiler: He is actually in Basketball, too, through a secret code.]]

[[AC:Strategy]]
* Hachi the shop owner in the ''AdvanceWars'' series becomes unlockable in ''Black Hole Rising'' and ''Dual Strike''. [[IzchaksWrath Appropriately]], he is one of the game's most powerful [=COs=].
** Hawke and Lash in ''Black Hole Rising'' become playable in the campaign of ''Dual Strike''.
* ''{{Disgaea 2}}'' does this quite a bit in the PSP VideoGameRemake ''Dark Hero Days'', making almost all of the formerly unusable optional boss characters playable, perhaps the most notable of them being [[MakaiKingdom Zetta]], who's a GameBreaker due to some retained ContractualBossImmunity, and the absurdly large hit radius on his attacks.

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* Zero becoming playable as the ''MegaManX'' series went on was pretty much inevitable; first he was an underpowered extra character in ''X3'', but he later became a fully fleshed out alternative to ''Mega Man X''.

** The other PSP remake, ''MegaManPoweredUp'', does this with all eight Robot Masters. Of course, only six of them were in the original ''Game/MegaMan''.
*** Also in the same game, Roll and Protoman were also unlockable each with their own stories. Roll was a background character in the first Megaman game while Protoman made his debut as Breakman in Mega Man 3.

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* FinalFantasyDissidia made many villains of the series, including the incredibly popular [[FinalFantasyVII Sephiroth]], (though he had already been playable in ''{{Ehrgeiz}}'') into playable characters.
** Dissidia 012 does it again, adding [[RunningGag Gilgamesh]] into the mix. Also notably--in the first ''Dissidia'' game, many fans wished that the [[FinalBoss Final]] SNKBoss Chaos was playable (he wasn't, not without hacks). But his new and altered form, Feral Chaos, is.

** Of particlar note is the BlackKnight from FireEmblemTellius. ThatOneBoss in Path of Radiance, one of the coolest characters in the game, now is playable in a few chapters in Radiant Dawn. And he, in fact, kicks even more ass than before, so players can use him to singlehandedly inflict beatdowns of epic proportions on their enemies. Only problem is that he is a CrutchCharacter to the max who already has the max level, so using him will cost your other characters much-needed EXP, causing many players not to use Blackie at all.

* In ''TheSims 2'', NPC's can be made playable if you have a high enough relationship score and ask them to move in, or marry them. There are also various GameMods to do so.

** The other PSP remake, ''MegaManPoweredUp'', does this with all eight Robot Masters. Of course, only six of them were in the original ''Game/MegaMan''.

* Most {{Castlevania}} games after Symphony of the Night let you play as a boss/rival character after you finish the main game. Examples are Richter in Symphony of the Night (and Maria in the Sega Saturn version), Julius in Aria of Sorrow, Julius again with Yoko and [[spoiler:Alucard]] in Dawn of Sorrow, [[spoiler:Stella and Loretta]] in Portrait of Ruin, and Albus in Order of Ecclesia.

** Earlier than that, Amy in ''SonicAdventure'', and Knuckles in ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic And Knuckles]]''

* Joaquim in ''CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence''.
* Magus in ''ChronoTrigger''.

* Dialga and Palkia in ''PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' and Reshiram and Zekrom in the ''PokemonBlackAndWhite'' would count too--they have been played up as destructive rival forces, but naturally, you can [[GottaCatchEmAll put both into your possession]].