Was going to post the whole thing on TA, but that would've been a horrendous page-stretching post.
I've unlocked all characters. You simply need to beat the game 6 times on any difficulty, each time you unlock one of the bosses and their minions. The last character you unlock is the super version of Willy (you can't play as normal machine gun Willy). I'd post a gamesave but it really isn't hard at all to unlock all characters.
A bit of advice, when playing as anyone other than Billy and Jimmy, I advise you to turn the controls to manual. The other characters generally have a much less complex move list that still mostly consists of punch/kick/crouch+direction, and it is also the only way you can use Lavis and Willy's super powerful attacks.
Go into My Data and look at each characters movelist, but also their bio. You kinda feel bad after realizing that almost every henchmen has their own life and in some cases, wife and kids. You almost feel like a total asshole for beating them up :(
MINI FAQ TIME
General tips:
- As the Lee brothers, use automatic control. The default combo will be extended and other moves will be simplified. Playing as anyone else, it is better to use manual.
- The basic strategy for (almost) all characters is to rely on their default punch combo (spam it on a fallen enemy so they get up into it), as it is the most direct way of dealing damage while other moves are about range.
- In the command list, a "clenched" state is when you hit an opponent twice and they get stunned. Some characters have moves that put enemies in this state. Many finishing moves can only be used on clenched enemies (on automatic control), and others are too slow to be used on unclenched enemies. Keep that in mind.
- Be careful on the last level. The hitbox on the stone pillars is ridiculous and the spears are an almost instant kill, take it slowly.
- In general be careful of pressing diagonal forward-down or moving down accidentally, as you may fall into a spike pit obscured by the HIDEOUS GRAY HUD.
- Only Billy and Jimmy have bonus stages
- The EXP you get from beating a stage only seems to effect Billy and Jimmy, unlocking new moves and upgrading existing ones. I have yet to see EXP do anything for any of the other characters.
- Some characters have alternate costumes, mainly for minion characters to represent variants you face in story mode.
- Unfortunately, only one minion type can throw dynamite.
Character tips:
Abobo: Good combo reach and damage, but I question the usefulness of his guard. Why does the mighty Abobo need a guard anyway?
EDIT: I'm revising my opinion on Abobo. You'll probably use his guard accidentally when approaching an enemy, but a lot of the time this will result in you blocking the enemies initial attack. His Screw Upper attack can hit enemies while they're down if you're close enough and on the same plane, so you can use it to juggle enemies (it does little damage though, so it may take a while). Because of the command input, this is one of the few extra characters I recommend using automatic control if you rely on his upper attack, however you lose out on his stand-alone overhead smash which is useful for downing enemies trying to attack from behind while you're combo-ing someone in front. The choice is yours, depending on your playstyle. Otherwise, use his three hit combo (damaging and fast) to deal damage, followed by a screw upper juggle.
Also, his alternate color gives him green skin. That's awesome.
Burnov: One of the best extra characters in my opinion. Has good normal punches, his headbutt (though slow) has good reach and can knock enemies into each other and he has an attack that lifts up enemies to either side of him. His best move is his butt stomp (crouch, jump, crouch) which causes a large multi-hit shockwave on impact and can be spammed. Spam it on everyone. If you time it right so that the opponent is standing and under you as you come down, it does heavy damage. He's probably the best extra character at dealing with being surrounded.
Lavis: Not very useful. She may have a dash and ranged attacks, but all of her attacks have a long start up (even the "instant" slash). You have to rely on long range moves. In manual control you can use her lightning blade move, where she'll dash forward and unleash a powerful lightning strike when you press kick. However, it too has a long startup, you have to time it so the enemy is in front of you and if you miss you're open to attack. Tricky to use.
Chin: His dash attack is fast and has good range and his stomp attack is has an area-of-effect and if you're right on top of a downed opponent, you can juggle them. However, both of those attacks are fairly weak, so unless you're juggling using his stomp move you'll have to rely on his combo, or his middle kick to stun opponents. On manual he has a super kick, but the startup is so long it outlasts the stun of a stomach clenched (after two punches of any character) enemy.
Deena/Dina/whatever: I can't seem to find her useful at all. Her regular attacks have short range and her breakdance-spin-kick has too long a startup. She can deal good damage on auto control with a combo but otherwise seems pretty poor, especially when surrounded. She has a cute run though.
EDIT: On manual control you have better use of her moves, including the ability to use her spinkick on-command. She still has bad reach, and her combo feels too long. Also hard to use. I think one of the loading screens mentioned this but they misspelled her name, hers or Lavis'.
Willy: The most powerful character but surprisingly, far from the best. His standard moves are very powerful, capable of instantly killing most henchmen, but all of his attacks have a startup as long as Lavis. As such, you have to time it so that your opponents walk into your attack, or rely on his kick (which still isn't instant). However, he has the best dash attack of any character, dealing heavy damage, has insane range and can hit grounded enemies, so you may want to spam it in crowded situations.
In manual control he has an instant kill move formally called "Annihilator". Pressing down+crouch has him unleashing a sphere of energy that puts any enemy hit into a clenched state, and then he slowly walks forward. You can only kick while walking forward but if it connects, he unloads a combo (during which you seem to be invincible) that instantly kills anyone in front of him. Trying to do this on an unclenched enemy however, and they'll just jump away from your kick. All in all, supremely powerful, but slow startup moves and not very good with being surrounded. If you play to compensate for his slow moves he is a beast however, and bosses are no longer a challenge with his annihilator.
The suited henchmen (three characters): They have a long combo assigned to one command unput that does heavy damage and greatly increases the combo counter. Just abuse that move, punch an enemy twice to get them in a clenched state if you have to. Easiest character to reach limit break and increase the chain counter.
Scott: The only other henchmen I'll mention, as he looks the coolest (he's totally The Guy, y'know, the Disturbed mascot) and his dropkick move is kinda useful. He can use it to get out of being surrounded but it is weak, so you should use it evasively and to get into position and use the default combo.
