Super Mario Party on the Nintendo Switch brings back classic board game action with a large roster of iconic characters. While sixteen fan favorites are available right from the start, four additional playable characters require specific achievements to unlock. Finding and unlocking these extra characters adds fun objectives to your single-player and multiplayer sessions.
Unlocking Donkey Kong in River Survival
Donkey Kong is one of the most powerful allies you can add to your roster in Super Mario Party. To unlock him, players need to venture into the cooperative River Survival mode. You must successfully navigate and finish three distinct courses in this mode.
After completing your third unique river route, keep a close eye on the crowd standing near the finish area. Donkey Kong will appear in the background waving to your team. Once you finish the mode, return to the main Party Plaza and speak directly to Donkey Kong to permanently add him to your character select menu.
How to Get Diddy Kong and Pom Pom in Challenge Road
Diddy Kong and Pom Pom are tied to progress within Challenge Road, the single-player minigame mode. Challenge Road becomes accessible after you have played through and unlocked all eighty minigames across the other main game modes. Once unlocked, you can tackle the sequential minigame challenges to earn these two characters.
To recruit Diddy Kong, you must complete World 2, known as Chestnut Forest, within Challenge Road. For Pom Pom, you need to push further into the mode and clear World 5, named Salty Sea. After finishing each respective world, both characters will appear in the Party Plaza waiting to join your party.
Finding Dry Bones in the Party Plaza
Unlike the other unlockable characters who require specific gameplay achievements, Dry Bones relies mostly on chance. Dry Bones appears randomly wandering through the central Party Plaza area as you play the game.
If you do not see Dry Bones immediately, simply play a few matches in Mario Party or Partner Party mode. Entering and exiting different game modes refreshes the plaza area and causes characters to spawn. Once Dry Bones shows up near the plaza hub, talk to him to unlock him for future games.
Claiming Characters in the Party Plaza
Meeting the in-game requirements is only the first step toward expanding your playable roster. Even after finishing the required challenges, characters will not immediately show up on the select screen.
You must always head to the main Party Plaza hub and interact with the character standing in the area. Speaking to them triggers their joining dialogue and officially saves them to your unlocked character roster.
