Final Fight LNS Ultimate: The Complete Guide to Unlocking Every Character

By: Arcade Legends Team

If you are a fan of beat ‘em ups, you have likely heard the whispers in the underground ROM-hacking community. You might have seen the intense combo videos on YouTube or the chaotic 4-player livestreams. The name is Final Fight LNS Ultimate.

For the uninitiated, Final Fight LNS (Legend of the New Soldier) Ultimate is not your average arcade ROM hack. It is a love letter—a massive, sprawling crossover brawler built upon the skeleton of Final Fight but injected with the DNA of Streets of Rage, Double Dragon, Captain Commando, The King of Fighters, and even Street Fighter.

However, the game does not hand you its treasure easily. Out of the box, you start with a modest roster of about 8 characters. The rumors speak of a roster exceeding 80+ playable fighters. So, how do you get them?

In this article, we will break down the ultimate guide to Final Fight LNS Ultimate unlock all characters. We will cover the legitimate in-game methods, the hidden codes, the save file manipulation, and the infamous "Unlocker Patch" that hardcore fans use.

Final Fight LNS Ultimate: The Complete Guide to Unlocking Every Character

Final Fight: LNS Ultimate (often abbreviated as FFLNS or LNS Ultimate) is a celebrated fan-made beat-’em-up that serves as a love letter to Capcom’s golden era. Created by the team at LNS (Luciano’s Nightmare Studios), this OpenBOR engine game assembles a massive roster from Final Fight, Street Fighter, Captain Commando, Rival Schools, and other arcade classics.

Unlike modern commercial games, LNS Ultimate does not rely on microtransactions or DLC. Unlocking its massive roster is achieved entirely through gameplay. Below is the definitive method to unlock all characters—legitimately.

Method 2: The "Partner" System

In Final Fight LNS Ultimate, when you rescue a hostage in Stage 3 (The Subway), you can choose to release them or fight them. If you fight them and win, you unlock them.

• Key unlock: Defeat Shadow Yamato in the hidden dojo stage to unlock Hien.

Two Primary Unlocking Methods

Method 1: Standard Unlocking (In-Game Currency) This is the intended progression path. As you play, you earn "LNS Points" (or credits) by:

• Completing arcade runs.
• Defeating bosses without continuing.
• Achieving high scores and long combo chains.

These points are spent in the in-game Shop (accessible from the main menu). Characters are tiered by cost:

• Common Characters (e.g., Cody, Guy, Haggar, Mike Haggar): 500–1,000 points.
• Rare Characters (e.g., Rolento, Sodom, Poison, Maki): 2,000–4,000 points.
• Secret/Legendary Characters (e.g., Shin Akuma, Violent Ken, Mega Man, Strider Hiryu): 10,000–20,000 points.

Method 2: The "Ultimate Unlock" Cheat Code (Fastest Method) For players who want immediate access to the full 50+ character roster without grinding, FFLNS Ultimate includes a developer-entered cheat code. This is not a hack—it’s a built-in feature.

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Launch the game and reach the main menu (where "Arcade," "Vs. CPU," "Options," etc. are displayed).
2. Do not press Start yet. Instead, input the following sequence on your controller (assuming default mapping):
   • Up, Down, Left, Right, Up, Down, Left, Right
   • Then press: Attack (Punch) + Jump (Kick) simultaneously.
3. You will hear a distinct sound effect (often a Street Fighter II “KO” or a chime). A message reading “All Characters Unlocked” will appear briefly.

If the code fails, ensure you are on the first main menu screen (not inside a sub-menu) and that your controller directional inputs are clean. Some versions require Start + Attack instead of Attack + Jump—experiment if needed.

Why is Unlocking Characters So Daunting?

Before we dive into the how, let’s address the why. In Final Fight LNS Ultimate, currency is called "Fame Points" (FP) . You earn FP by:

• Completing Arcade stages.
• Beating the game on higher difficulties (Hardest/Super Hard).
• Performing long combo chains.
• Finding secret areas.

Characters are divided into tiers. While the basic Final Fight crew (Guy, Cody, Haggar) is cheap, characters like Violent Ken, God Rugal, or Nightmare Geese cost astronomical amounts of FP. To unlock everyone legitimately could take 50+ hours of grinding the same levels.

Hence, the community created shortcuts.

Method 3: High Score Thresholds

The game tracks your score per character.

• 800,000 points: Unlocks Ryu (Street Fighter Alpha style).
• 1,200,000 points: Unlocks Iori Yagami.
• 1,500,000 points: Unlocks Jin Kazama (Tekken).

Note: These scores must be achieved in a single run, not cumulative.

How to activate the Debug Unlock:

1. Navigate to your Final Fight LNS Ultimate save folder (usually /Paks/Saves/).
2. Open the Save.cfg file with Notepad.
3. Find the line: cheats = 0.
4. Change it to: cheats = 1.
5. Save the file and restart the game.

Once cheats are enabled, at the character select screen, press:

• Up, Down, Left, Right, Up, Up, Up, Attack

If done correctly, a chime will sound, and every character portrait—including secret boss characters—will be highlighted in white. This is the classic Final Fight LNS Ultimate unlock all characters shortcut.