GoodGrief741
Smash Legend
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2012
- Messages
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What is Hitman?
Hitman is a series of stealth videogames by Danish developer IO Interactive. Beginning with 2000's Hitman: Codename 47, it has grown to span 8 mainline titles, alongside various spin-offs, comic books, novels, and even two Hollywood movies. The gameplay in Hitman consists of various open-ended, level-based missions where the player is tasked with assassinating one or several targets. While many missions have their twists, such as secondary objectives and forbidden actions, the player has many ways of accomplishing the mission, different routes to take to the objectives, and lots of creative ways to carry out the assassinations; as with any good stealth game, direct action is an option, but it's never the best one. The series has sold over 15 million copies as of 2015 - with the three subsequent games, 2016's HITMAN, 2018's HITMAN 2, and 2021's HITMAN III likely growing that number quite a bit - and has received critical acclaim, often being cited as an example of great level design for the freedom it grants players. Hitman created a subgenre of the stealth game, the social stealth game, where the player isn't tasked with sneaking around unseen by enemies but rather has to rely on disguises and subterfuge to gain access unnoticed. This style of game has spawned a swathe of copycats, and even influenced the mechanics of Assassin's Creed.
Who is Agent 47?
Agent 47, or simply 47, is the iconic protagonist of the Hitman games. A legendary assassin, genetically engineered to be the perfect killer, 47 is equally feared and respected by those who have heard of him, as few of his targets ever elude death by his hand. In most of the games, 47 is an agent of the International Contract Agency (ICA, or just "the Agency") and is assisted by his handler, Diana Burnwood. Agent 47 is a highly skilled marksman, and is rarely far from his trusty Silverballer pistol. He is also a master of disguise, which is where the main gameplay feature comes in; while he usually begins missions in his trademark suit and tie, 47 can find (or, more often than not, steal) the outfits of NPCs, be they hostile or non-hostile. Some of these will help 47 hide if uncovered, while others will grant him access to locations restricted to civilians or even allow him to pass as an important character. 47 is the complete package; whether it's hand-to-hand combat, driving, or sneaking about, he excels at all fields, granting him, and thus the player, extreme versatility in how to carry out assassinations.
Why would Agent 47 be in Smash?
There's no doubt that Agent 47 is an icon of gaming. Ask anyone, and chances are, they'll know the bald guy in the black suit and red tie with the barcode in the back of his head (even if they think his name is Hitman, something Samus and Link can probably relate to). You don't get two live-action blockbusters (err, blockbuster attempts) without being a big deal. Another factor to note is how influential the games have been for the stealth genre; Hitman introduced a whole different way to conceive stealth in gaming. A far cry from Metal Gear's labyrinthian military bases, Hitman locales can be glamorous mansions, sterile hospitals or crowded cities. No longer is any NPC present a guard to avoid, and going in solo the rule; NPCs are oftentimes neutral to 47, and can be manipulated to act in his benefit. 47 can't just stock up on guns and take out every guard from a hiding place, because larger guns and weapons are visible on his person and even the smaller ones can be found out through frisk searches and metal detectors, forcing the player to either find ways to sneak their tools past the guards or to scavenge and improvise with what can be found. As I've mentioned, there are tons of Hitman imitators that you can find on PC (though be warned, most of them are terrible). So far, there's been two Hitman games on Nintendo consoles: Hitman 2: Silent Assassin on the Gamecube (all the way back in 2003), and more recently HITMAN III, making a triumphant appearance on the Switch as a cloud-based game. This is particularly important because, while there were a couple of games that released on the Switch through the cloud in Japan, this is the first big title to release on the Switch in this manner worldwide; if it does well, it could lead to more triple A games that the Switch couldn't run otherwise following suit, something that would please Nintendo very much (not to mention, inevitable ports of at least HITMAN and HITMAN 2). As a highly influential, iconic, and successful franchise, Hitman appeals both to Sakurai's gaming historian interests and to Nintendo's... moneymaking and promotional interests.
Isn't Hitman owned by Square Enix? We just got Sephiroth you know.
Not quite! But I expect this to be such a common point against 47 that I made a section for it. Hitman was created by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive. When Eidos was purchased by Square Enix, Hitman, along with Eidos' entire catalogue, was absorbed by them. However, Square Enix made several questionable decisions managing the franchise, such as making 2012's widely lambasted Hitman: Absolution - which took away the sandbox nature of the levels in favor of more linear design - and bizarrely making 2016's HITMAN an episodic release, leading to an anemic playerbase until the game was released in its entirety. This caused friction with the devs at IO, who felt the franchise was being sabotaged by the higher-ups. Eventually, the team at IO went independent and bought out the Hitman IP, with 2018's HITMAN 2 being published by Warner Bros. and HITMAN III being self-published.
So, long story short, Square Enix used to own Hitman, but sold it off in 2017 to IO Interactive. So unless negotiations for Fighter Pass 2 took place before Ultimate was even revealed, Hitman's safe. It's like Bethesda but backwards!
Alright, so Agent 47 could be in Smash. What can he do? Wouldn't he just be a gun character?
Agent 47 can wield several weapons in his games. Many of these are firearms, from guns to assault rifles to sniper rifles. However, there's an emphasis on using improvised objects and disguised weapons to avoid suspicion; this means 47 has a huge arsenal of wacky and inventive weapons and wouldn't just be a dude shooting Pichu with a machine gun. I'd say the only weapons you need to have are 47's trademark Silverballer pistol (or pistols, as he has been depicted dual-wielding them), which shouldn't be a problem after Joker; and maybe a sniper rifle, which could work like the Staff item or Byleth's Failnaught and reference the recurring Sniper Assassin achievement in the games. Aside from the Silverballer, 47's other iconic weapon is the fiber wire. That could simply be used in his grab animation, or it could be a special command grab that only works from the back like Nosferatu or Back Slash. Those two aside, go nuts! You could give him subtler tools, like the anaesthetic/sedative syringe which puts enemies to sleep, or the poison syringe that inflicts the poison status effect (one cool gimmick that 47 could have if these weapons are part of his kit is being able to inject food and healing items with them, causing enemies to fall asleep or be poisoned when they consume them). You could give him many weird weapons for his normals, like katanas, fire axes, ice picks, meat hooks, and the like. Or you could go all out, having 47 beaning Ike in the face with cans of tomato sauce, throwing explosive rubber duckies and smacking everyone with a giant fish. There's wacky stuff to use. And for the record, 47 can wield Masamune. In your face Sephiroth!
As far as gimmicks are concerned, I've come up with two potential ones. Mind you, I'm no game developer, I'm not even particularly good at Smash, so these won't be heavily-fleshed out or balanced or even necessarily feasible. They're just illustrative, and I'd love if anyone has made an Agent 47 moveset to have it displayed on this post. But here goes. My first idea was to integrate a mechanic integral to Hitman games: costumes. 47 could change into various different costumes that grant him passive changes (like Shulk) or even alter some of his moves to be tools befitting his new identity. However this might require too much modeling, and could be confusing if several 47's are in play (unless the disguises themselves also have palette swaps, or alternatively if confusion is part of the intended purpose). A second and perhaps more feasible gimmick would be a suspicion meter. In Hitman, as in most modern stealth games, doing something suspicious doesn't immediately switch all the guards from "stand somewhere and look around" to "let's all hunt and kill this bald guy"; rather, there are several states of alertness depending on your actions before becoming alert, and several degrees after you've evaded death and detection. In Smash, this could be translated to a suspicion meter. 47's attacks would build this meter; the flashier and more damaging ones would fill it up faster. As in the Hitman games, changing up the strategy, such as by moving to a different location, changing targets, or switching to other attacks would make the meter go down. If the suspicion meter fills up, 47 enters alert status; whereas in Hitman games this means he's being hunted by hostile guards or police, in Smash it would have to be a different sort of penalty, such as taking more damage or knockback from attacks. The meter would slowly go down, with the same actions that made it go down earlier now speeding up the process. It's basically a more extreme version of stale-move negation, that would encourage 47 players to mix up their strategies. This could even exist in conjunction with a costume gimmick; changing costumes would drain the suspicion meter in normal mode, and in alert mode would switch 47 to a third mode, where he isn't penalized with heavy damage but must still avoid using his flashier moves lest he enter alert mode again.
These are just ideas, and I'm sure many Hitman players think 47's moveset should have weapons or gimmicks that I didn't even mention. Which is great because it means 47 has lots of potential, and also that there's no issue with toning him down for a family friendly game.
Below are some moveset concepts:
In Hitman, 47 is always in control, even if from the enemy's perspective it doesn't seem like it. Virtually anything and everything in each level is there for the sole purpose of 47 getting closer to his kill. Of course, Hitman is also very slow-paced, so he also needs to take his time with his approach. Execution is the name of the game, figuratively and literally. So, with this in mind, I feel that 47 should be fairly sluggish, not really one to be chasing down the opponent most of the time. Just- observing. Waiting for a weakness, an opportunity. And taking advantage of it, waiting for their next mistake, exploiting that, and so forth.
Sadly, I haven't included the disguise mechanic in his moveset because I don't think there's a clean way to implement that in the context of a fighting game. However, disguises don't define Hitman, control does. You don't NEED disguises to win, hell, there's an entire challenge requiring you NOT to change disguises. Hitman isn't a great franchise because you can trick a billionaire into thinking you're his personal bodyguard, It's great because you can trick a billionaire at all, and the multitude of ways you can do so. The disguises are part of a much bigger design philosophy in Hitman, and the bigger picture is what I want to focus on for the purpose of this moveset.
With that out of the way, his actual moves. I am personally much more familiar with the World of Assassination trilogy as those are the games that got me into the franchise, so the majority of moves will be derived from those entries. However, I will include actions from other entries, too. Plus obviously not all of these are my ideas; many others on this thread and a couple other places have perfect ideas for him that I can't just not have. Without further ado:
Jab: 3 hit natural combo. Gut punches, knees the opponent, then punches down at them. Mainly inspired by the hand-to-hand combat in WOA.
Side tilt: The silent attack with the ICA Briefcase. Briefcases are very important in Hitman as they allow you to conceal a small item in them, as well as a sniper rifle, because why not. I think it's only right to have it here. Also, it's a bit slower than most other side tilts, but also decently strong, and also has the quirk that a few other moves will have where it deals more damage when it strikes an opponent from behind.
Up tilt: A simple stab from the Concealable Knife. To my knowledge, there really isn't a signature knife as part of 47's arsenal, but with the quality of passing frisks undetected, it seems like a good fit for him. It's pretty quick and does a bit more damage at the tip.
Down tilt: 47 attempts to snap the neck of the opponent. It's one of his fastest moves; doesn't do too much damage or knockback normally, but it has a dangerous quality: If you attack a prone opponent with this move, it will do an immense amount of damage, easily more than any fully-charged smash attack. This plays into the control aspect I mentioned earlier. Of course, players will try to avoid this from happening as much as possible, so they might panic and roll away or attack, which 47 can predict and take advantage of. Essentially, it strikes the opponent with fear more often than it actually connects.
Dash attack: 47 throws a very weak item like an apple or a soda can and chucks it diagonally downward. Since 47 isn't typically hitting people while running at full speed, this move perfectly encapsulates the makeshift distance-closer that you probably would only need to do in an emergency. It could potentially edgeguard, but it has a limited range, and isn't very reliable to begin with. Also, it can be reflected.
Neutral aerial: A 2 part move where 47 swings the ICA Briefcase in front of him, then does a full 360 and swings it horizontally all around him. Since it has 2 parts and it's fairly slow, it can catch players off guard who may be approaching.
Forward aerial: The silent attack with the Concealable Knife, where in the original games 47 would approach a target from behind and stab the front of their neck. Has 2 conditions to boost damage: if the opponent is close enough to 47 where the blade will be, and also if the opponent is facing away from 47.
Back aerial: 47 spins around and kicks, referencing kicking targets off a height with no railing. This move acts similarly to Marth, Roy, Lucina, and Chrom's back aerials, where it actually turns him around afterward. This complements the forward aerial quality of the move having more power if the opponent is facing away from him.
Up aerial: The first move to specifically reference a game outside WOA. 47 positions the fiber wire above him and thrusts it down. This kind of mirrors the action in Blood Money where 47 could garrote a target through an elevator hatch and pull it up to hide the body. Except here, it's the reverse. 47 pulls down the fiber wire instead of up, making this the first up aerial in Smash to spike the opponent, if the sweet spot connects.
Down aerial: A simple sweep of the foot, referencing kicking an unconscious body off a height. Spikes.
Forward smash: 47 pulls out a gasoline can and pours it. Once the move is finished charging, he shoots the gas with the Silverballer and ignites it. The longer the move is charged, the more range it has. It can even pour off a ledge, and the attack will still reach. I don't believe 47 specifically pours a can; this is inspired by puncturing a drum and shooting the oil that spills.
Up smash: 47 shoots an off-screen chandelier and it comes crashing down, spiking any foe it hits. If this move is performed under solid ground, it would just spawn as high as the terrain will allow it in order to strike. If done under a platform like those on Battlefield, the move will act as normal and will just hit above the platform instead of where 47 is standing. This is a good mix-up option for opponents high in the air who won't expect 47 to be able to hit them from that distance.
Down smash: 47 reveals a wire on a plug and then stabs a water cooler to electrocute the area around him. The range increases slightly the longer it's charged, but nowhere near as much as forward smash. Also, it may not deal all that much knockback, but this move easily does the most damage of all the smash attacks and most of his moves in general, at the cost of being pretty slow.
Grab: Of course, 47's grab is the fiber wire. It acts normally when you grab from behind, but if the opponent is facing 47, then they will struggle before being fully grabbed, wasting time that could have been spent pummeling or throwing. If the opponent is at a low enough percent, they may escape being grabbed from the front before even being pummeled! This may seem bad as his grab, as it is only guaranteed to work when the opponent is behind him, but it has another quirk: if you hold the grab button and move the control stick left or right, 47 will push and pull the opponent in those directions, positioning them better for whatever he plans on doing.
Pummel: Simply garroting the opponent, like Snake.
Forward throw: Bashes the opponent with the Silverballer before kicking them forward.
Back throw: Drags the opponent along the ground and throws them behind 47. Has good knockback; can probably kill at somewhat high percentages.
Up throw: Performs the silent pistol elimination with the Silverballer, but upward. Similar to Fox and Falco, but shoots before throwing, so the shots can't be avoided.
Down throw: Pushes the opponent into the ground, like many down throws. However, unlike many down throws, 47 will actually push the opponent off a ledge if he is close enough. This also applies to platforms. This references pushing targets off a height where there is a railing. The pushing and pulling mechanic of the fiber wire will certainly come in handy for this move!
Neutral Special - Silverballer: Fires the Silverballer with one hand. It has a magazine capacity of 7 rounds, and if all of them are fired fast enough, 47 will immediately reload and put the gun away. If you only fire some of the bullets and don't fire again fast enough, 47 will still reload and holster it. The reload animation can only be cancelled by being attacked. Also, since Hitman is all about manipulating your surroundings, this move has the unique ability of immediately interacting with stage hazards, such as destroying the light rig in Boxing Ring, or destroying the Great Fox's cannon with one shot on Corneria, among many others that I can't think of.
Side Special - Poison Syringe: Swiftly stabs a syringe into the opponent from behind, and ONLY from behind. If you attempt this move from the front, a special animation will play where the opponent knocks it away, leaving 47 vulnerable. The move itself is very fast and can even go through shields, but it has a very short range, and you have to pretty much be right next to the opponent for it to connect. It also has a lot of endlag and a slow startup in the air, since most of the cast can't turn around in the air. The move cycles between 3 types of poisons: Emetic, which drastically slows the opponent down and very briefly stuns them momentarily. Sedative, which puts the opponent into a special type of sleep status where they can be hit by multiple moves and not wake up until after a few seconds. Finally, lethal poison, which puts the opponent in a poisoned state that builds up an insane amount of damage quickly, probably more than Ridley's skewer. After 47 injects an opponent with one of these effects, he cannot use that poison again until he loses a stock. However, if he attempts to inject and misses, he doesn't lose it; only when it works. Also, you can inject poison into health recovery items, and the effects are even more drastic, but these use up the poison all the same, and the opponent isn't guaranteed to consume it.
Up Special - Shortcut: 47 readies a crowbar. You can simply release the button to throw it up, or angle it left and right. Wherever you throw the crowbar, a shortcut ladder will be revealed and it will drop, spiking any opponents beneath it. Anyone can then grab onto the ladder, all of their jumps will be replenished, as well as their air dodge. This is inspired by the new shortcut system introduced in Hitman 3, and this move was easily the hardest move to think of but the most satisfying when I did. All of the other special move ideas I've seen seemed to have trouble coming up with a recovery move, so I'm really happy with this concept. Plus, ladder attacks can actually be relevant for once now.
Down Special - Coin: The coin is the glue that holds this entire moveset together, ironically, since we're dealing with a master-class globetrotting assassin. This item is well-known for causing small distractions to lure a victim to a certain area, leaving them open to be attacked or killed. This will be its primary function in Smash. Similarly to Snake's grenade, you can angle it near, far, or at a medium range. It won't collide with any opponents, but if it lands within range of an opponent, a ? will appear over their head, and they will turn around to face it if it landed behind them, and will be stunned for a moment. Now anyone can pick up the coin and throw it like a normal item for miniscule damage, If the 47 who originally threw the coin picks it up, he can use down special to toss it again to cause another distraction. This move will be your ticket to the extra damage bonuses I mentioned before, as well as grabbing and poisoning. This is also the main source of the feeling of control I described before, leaving your opponent open and being able to capitalize on it in a multitude of ways. If the player controlling 47 is skilled enough, they could easily screw around with their opponent with this move and foresee how they will try to avoid it, making them an even easier target.
All in all, I really like how this moveset is structured. It takes bits of many different parts of Hitman and encourages manipulating the opponent and a fundamental understanding of his own kit to play him well and probably frustrate a lot of people. The thing is, though, that because of how Hitman is sprawling with new ways to interact with people and the environment, you could change basically every move from this and still achieve the feeling of control over the match. Basically, Hitman is a great franchise, 47 has so many options for how he could play and still feel like himself, and I would pop off so hard if he ever were to be included, which I sadly don't see happening for a while. But if it does happen, well, the World of Smash will want to run. There's no escaping this predator.
Sadly, I haven't included the disguise mechanic in his moveset because I don't think there's a clean way to implement that in the context of a fighting game. However, disguises don't define Hitman, control does. You don't NEED disguises to win, hell, there's an entire challenge requiring you NOT to change disguises. Hitman isn't a great franchise because you can trick a billionaire into thinking you're his personal bodyguard, It's great because you can trick a billionaire at all, and the multitude of ways you can do so. The disguises are part of a much bigger design philosophy in Hitman, and the bigger picture is what I want to focus on for the purpose of this moveset.
With that out of the way, his actual moves. I am personally much more familiar with the World of Assassination trilogy as those are the games that got me into the franchise, so the majority of moves will be derived from those entries. However, I will include actions from other entries, too. Plus obviously not all of these are my ideas; many others on this thread and a couple other places have perfect ideas for him that I can't just not have. Without further ado:
Jab: 3 hit natural combo. Gut punches, knees the opponent, then punches down at them. Mainly inspired by the hand-to-hand combat in WOA.
Side tilt: The silent attack with the ICA Briefcase. Briefcases are very important in Hitman as they allow you to conceal a small item in them, as well as a sniper rifle, because why not. I think it's only right to have it here. Also, it's a bit slower than most other side tilts, but also decently strong, and also has the quirk that a few other moves will have where it deals more damage when it strikes an opponent from behind.
Up tilt: A simple stab from the Concealable Knife. To my knowledge, there really isn't a signature knife as part of 47's arsenal, but with the quality of passing frisks undetected, it seems like a good fit for him. It's pretty quick and does a bit more damage at the tip.
Down tilt: 47 attempts to snap the neck of the opponent. It's one of his fastest moves; doesn't do too much damage or knockback normally, but it has a dangerous quality: If you attack a prone opponent with this move, it will do an immense amount of damage, easily more than any fully-charged smash attack. This plays into the control aspect I mentioned earlier. Of course, players will try to avoid this from happening as much as possible, so they might panic and roll away or attack, which 47 can predict and take advantage of. Essentially, it strikes the opponent with fear more often than it actually connects.
Dash attack: 47 throws a very weak item like an apple or a soda can and chucks it diagonally downward. Since 47 isn't typically hitting people while running at full speed, this move perfectly encapsulates the makeshift distance-closer that you probably would only need to do in an emergency. It could potentially edgeguard, but it has a limited range, and isn't very reliable to begin with. Also, it can be reflected.
Neutral aerial: A 2 part move where 47 swings the ICA Briefcase in front of him, then does a full 360 and swings it horizontally all around him. Since it has 2 parts and it's fairly slow, it can catch players off guard who may be approaching.
Forward aerial: The silent attack with the Concealable Knife, where in the original games 47 would approach a target from behind and stab the front of their neck. Has 2 conditions to boost damage: if the opponent is close enough to 47 where the blade will be, and also if the opponent is facing away from 47.
Back aerial: 47 spins around and kicks, referencing kicking targets off a height with no railing. This move acts similarly to Marth, Roy, Lucina, and Chrom's back aerials, where it actually turns him around afterward. This complements the forward aerial quality of the move having more power if the opponent is facing away from him.
Up aerial: The first move to specifically reference a game outside WOA. 47 positions the fiber wire above him and thrusts it down. This kind of mirrors the action in Blood Money where 47 could garrote a target through an elevator hatch and pull it up to hide the body. Except here, it's the reverse. 47 pulls down the fiber wire instead of up, making this the first up aerial in Smash to spike the opponent, if the sweet spot connects.
Down aerial: A simple sweep of the foot, referencing kicking an unconscious body off a height. Spikes.
Forward smash: 47 pulls out a gasoline can and pours it. Once the move is finished charging, he shoots the gas with the Silverballer and ignites it. The longer the move is charged, the more range it has. It can even pour off a ledge, and the attack will still reach. I don't believe 47 specifically pours a can; this is inspired by puncturing a drum and shooting the oil that spills.
Up smash: 47 shoots an off-screen chandelier and it comes crashing down, spiking any foe it hits. If this move is performed under solid ground, it would just spawn as high as the terrain will allow it in order to strike. If done under a platform like those on Battlefield, the move will act as normal and will just hit above the platform instead of where 47 is standing. This is a good mix-up option for opponents high in the air who won't expect 47 to be able to hit them from that distance.
Down smash: 47 reveals a wire on a plug and then stabs a water cooler to electrocute the area around him. The range increases slightly the longer it's charged, but nowhere near as much as forward smash. Also, it may not deal all that much knockback, but this move easily does the most damage of all the smash attacks and most of his moves in general, at the cost of being pretty slow.
Grab: Of course, 47's grab is the fiber wire. It acts normally when you grab from behind, but if the opponent is facing 47, then they will struggle before being fully grabbed, wasting time that could have been spent pummeling or throwing. If the opponent is at a low enough percent, they may escape being grabbed from the front before even being pummeled! This may seem bad as his grab, as it is only guaranteed to work when the opponent is behind him, but it has another quirk: if you hold the grab button and move the control stick left or right, 47 will push and pull the opponent in those directions, positioning them better for whatever he plans on doing.
Pummel: Simply garroting the opponent, like Snake.
Forward throw: Bashes the opponent with the Silverballer before kicking them forward.
Back throw: Drags the opponent along the ground and throws them behind 47. Has good knockback; can probably kill at somewhat high percentages.
Up throw: Performs the silent pistol elimination with the Silverballer, but upward. Similar to Fox and Falco, but shoots before throwing, so the shots can't be avoided.
Down throw: Pushes the opponent into the ground, like many down throws. However, unlike many down throws, 47 will actually push the opponent off a ledge if he is close enough. This also applies to platforms. This references pushing targets off a height where there is a railing. The pushing and pulling mechanic of the fiber wire will certainly come in handy for this move!
Neutral Special - Silverballer: Fires the Silverballer with one hand. It has a magazine capacity of 7 rounds, and if all of them are fired fast enough, 47 will immediately reload and put the gun away. If you only fire some of the bullets and don't fire again fast enough, 47 will still reload and holster it. The reload animation can only be cancelled by being attacked. Also, since Hitman is all about manipulating your surroundings, this move has the unique ability of immediately interacting with stage hazards, such as destroying the light rig in Boxing Ring, or destroying the Great Fox's cannon with one shot on Corneria, among many others that I can't think of.
Side Special - Poison Syringe: Swiftly stabs a syringe into the opponent from behind, and ONLY from behind. If you attempt this move from the front, a special animation will play where the opponent knocks it away, leaving 47 vulnerable. The move itself is very fast and can even go through shields, but it has a very short range, and you have to pretty much be right next to the opponent for it to connect. It also has a lot of endlag and a slow startup in the air, since most of the cast can't turn around in the air. The move cycles between 3 types of poisons: Emetic, which drastically slows the opponent down and very briefly stuns them momentarily. Sedative, which puts the opponent into a special type of sleep status where they can be hit by multiple moves and not wake up until after a few seconds. Finally, lethal poison, which puts the opponent in a poisoned state that builds up an insane amount of damage quickly, probably more than Ridley's skewer. After 47 injects an opponent with one of these effects, he cannot use that poison again until he loses a stock. However, if he attempts to inject and misses, he doesn't lose it; only when it works. Also, you can inject poison into health recovery items, and the effects are even more drastic, but these use up the poison all the same, and the opponent isn't guaranteed to consume it.
Up Special - Shortcut: 47 readies a crowbar. You can simply release the button to throw it up, or angle it left and right. Wherever you throw the crowbar, a shortcut ladder will be revealed and it will drop, spiking any opponents beneath it. Anyone can then grab onto the ladder, all of their jumps will be replenished, as well as their air dodge. This is inspired by the new shortcut system introduced in Hitman 3, and this move was easily the hardest move to think of but the most satisfying when I did. All of the other special move ideas I've seen seemed to have trouble coming up with a recovery move, so I'm really happy with this concept. Plus, ladder attacks can actually be relevant for once now.
Down Special - Coin: The coin is the glue that holds this entire moveset together, ironically, since we're dealing with a master-class globetrotting assassin. This item is well-known for causing small distractions to lure a victim to a certain area, leaving them open to be attacked or killed. This will be its primary function in Smash. Similarly to Snake's grenade, you can angle it near, far, or at a medium range. It won't collide with any opponents, but if it lands within range of an opponent, a ? will appear over their head, and they will turn around to face it if it landed behind them, and will be stunned for a moment. Now anyone can pick up the coin and throw it like a normal item for miniscule damage, If the 47 who originally threw the coin picks it up, he can use down special to toss it again to cause another distraction. This move will be your ticket to the extra damage bonuses I mentioned before, as well as grabbing and poisoning. This is also the main source of the feeling of control I described before, leaving your opponent open and being able to capitalize on it in a multitude of ways. If the player controlling 47 is skilled enough, they could easily screw around with their opponent with this move and foresee how they will try to avoid it, making them an even easier target.
All in all, I really like how this moveset is structured. It takes bits of many different parts of Hitman and encourages manipulating the opponent and a fundamental understanding of his own kit to play him well and probably frustrate a lot of people. The thing is, though, that because of how Hitman is sprawling with new ways to interact with people and the environment, you could change basically every move from this and still achieve the feeling of control over the match. Basically, Hitman is a great franchise, 47 has so many options for how he could play and still feel like himself, and I would pop off so hard if he ever were to be included, which I sadly don't see happening for a while. But if it does happen, well, the World of Smash will want to run. There's no escaping this predator.
What other content would he bring?
There are several ways they could go about representing Hitman. They could take stuff from the entire franchise, like with Dragon Quest. Or they could choose to represent only the latest incarnation of the series, HITMAN, HITMAN 2 and HITMAN III, known as the "World of Assassination" trilogy. Below I've come up with several possibilities. Please give your own suggestions and I'll add them in this section!
A series renowned for its exotic and intricate locales, Hitman should wow with a stage. As its levels are known for being sprawling and nonlinear, some liberties will probably have to be taken with layout (unless you want The Great Cave Offensive on steroids), or be a traveling stage, so I picked based on beauty, memorability, and what could be translated into interesting Smash levels.
Hong Kong/Chiu Dai Park
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The site of 47's first mission, and it's a good one. It's a pagoda in the middle of a park, surrounded by walls. Simple, but very Smash-like in structure.
Sicily/Gontranno Church
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The church where 47 goes to live in peace before the events of Silent Assassin, and where that game's tutorial and final missions take place. The layout of this stage could include the garden behind the church, the shed where 47 lived, and the inside of the church instead - or, alternatively, the garden, with the structure of the church being just an oddly shaped platform.
Kamchatka/Bjarkhov's Base
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This Contracts mission involves 47 having to assassinate a terrorist and an arms dealer, and also blow up a submarine where dirty bombs are being built. This one would have to be somewhat abridged, but I think a snowy Russian military base featuring a plane, barracks, and a submarine as stage elements would be fun. Oh, and the submarine has to blow up.
Requiem
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The cemetery where the iconic finale of Blood Money takes place, this would likely be a simple stage. Taking place outside the church in the cemetery grounds, it would simply be a gentle slope down to where the cars and entrance are in the game. This is kind of a subdued locale in comparison with the others, but if you played Blood Money you know this is one memorable mission.
Sapienza/World of Tomorrow
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The setting of the acclaimed mission from HITMAN, if I had to bet on one location to become the Smash stage it would be this one. Liberties would have to be taken, but a more vertical stage that spans the Caruso Villa, its old stone waterfront, and the Ether Biotech Lab hidden underneath would make for quite the map.
Hokkaido/Situs Inversus
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A personal favorite of mine, this is the final location in 2016's HITMAN. A cutting edge hospital at the top a mountain serving an elite clientele, its snowy landscape and glass walls would make for a stunning backdrop to a Smash fight. This one would be no walk-off stage, that I assure you.
Miami/The Finish Line
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The standout stage from HITMAN 2, this colorful racetrack would be like Brawl's Mario Circuit but deadlier. The stage would consist of the racetrack itself, two "safe" areas to the sides (think the Boxing Ring) and a bunch of superfast racecars barreling down towards the players. However, this is Hitman, which means the racecars can be sabotaged, leading them to crash and become a permanent stage hazard.
Dubai
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Admittedly I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but with the recent release of HITMAN III, they might want to pick a stage from that game to show it off. Based on what they've shown so far, I think it could be Dubai. We don't know the layout of the stage yet but as you can see from the picture, it takes place in a skyscraper, inspired by the famous Burj Khalifa. What better locale than that for a Smash fight?
Hong Kong/Chiu Dai Park
The site of 47's first mission, and it's a good one. It's a pagoda in the middle of a park, surrounded by walls. Simple, but very Smash-like in structure.
Sicily/Gontranno Church
The church where 47 goes to live in peace before the events of Silent Assassin, and where that game's tutorial and final missions take place. The layout of this stage could include the garden behind the church, the shed where 47 lived, and the inside of the church instead - or, alternatively, the garden, with the structure of the church being just an oddly shaped platform.
Kamchatka/Bjarkhov's Base
This Contracts mission involves 47 having to assassinate a terrorist and an arms dealer, and also blow up a submarine where dirty bombs are being built. This one would have to be somewhat abridged, but I think a snowy Russian military base featuring a plane, barracks, and a submarine as stage elements would be fun. Oh, and the submarine has to blow up.
Requiem
The cemetery where the iconic finale of Blood Money takes place, this would likely be a simple stage. Taking place outside the church in the cemetery grounds, it would simply be a gentle slope down to where the cars and entrance are in the game. This is kind of a subdued locale in comparison with the others, but if you played Blood Money you know this is one memorable mission.
Sapienza/World of Tomorrow
The setting of the acclaimed mission from HITMAN, if I had to bet on one location to become the Smash stage it would be this one. Liberties would have to be taken, but a more vertical stage that spans the Caruso Villa, its old stone waterfront, and the Ether Biotech Lab hidden underneath would make for quite the map.
Hokkaido/Situs Inversus
A personal favorite of mine, this is the final location in 2016's HITMAN. A cutting edge hospital at the top a mountain serving an elite clientele, its snowy landscape and glass walls would make for a stunning backdrop to a Smash fight. This one would be no walk-off stage, that I assure you.
Miami/The Finish Line
The standout stage from HITMAN 2, this colorful racetrack would be like Brawl's Mario Circuit but deadlier. The stage would consist of the racetrack itself, two "safe" areas to the sides (think the Boxing Ring) and a bunch of superfast racecars barreling down towards the players. However, this is Hitman, which means the racecars can be sabotaged, leading them to crash and become a permanent stage hazard.
Dubai
Admittedly I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but with the recent release of HITMAN III, they might want to pick a stage from that game to show it off. Based on what they've shown so far, I think it could be Dubai. We don't know the layout of the stage yet but as you can see from the picture, it takes place in a skyscraper, inspired by the famous Burj Khalifa. What better locale than that for a Smash fight?
Hitman music usually aims more for ambiance and suspense, rather than fast-paced melodies. So many of these would have to be remixes to fit a fighting game like Smash. But they made songs from much less with Minecraft so it can definitely be done.
Speaking of rearrangements, maybe they could bring in Jesper Kyd to do some like they did with Grant Kirkhope? Kyd is a pretty prolific composer in games, going on to work on the likes of Assassin's Creed and Borderlands after the Hitman games.
Hitman: Codename 47
Main Theme: https://youtu.be/VfmPyoj5s7o
Jungle Exploration/Dark Jungle: https://youtu.be/HQg9FrltmTE / https://youtu.be/1CVytcoh7MI
(These two could be made into a medley)
Harbor Themes: https://youtu.be/_qRRSawa2fc
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
Waiting for Action/Action Begins: https://youtu.be/zrx5e_cHdOg / https://youtu.be/TDENt53H9OQ
(The two tracks segue into each other)
Japanese Snow Castle: https://youtu.be/mRmKGbakyJM
Streets of India: https://youtu.be/mnAvSL22aO0
Arabian Dance: https://youtu.be/Kc_xWlI_1Gw
H2 Action: https://youtu.be/gy0T8nmw5GQ
Hitman: Contracts
White Room & Main Theme: https://youtu.be/-CUUOnE7bBk
SWAT Team: https://youtu.be/g1JBuAkP3H4
Slaughter Club: https://youtu.be/YcA_Gpx-b0Y
Double Ballers: https://youtu.be/Ix6HHT7UvkI
47 Detected: https://youtu.be/jWrx7U47XU8
Sanitarium: https://youtu.be/WuHNKfWtffo
Hitman: Blood Money
Apocalypse: https://youtu.be/cwiX4X61gNE
Secret Invasion: https://youtu.be/q7TXF56jOfU
Hunter: https://youtu.be/arA8Mdd2bx4
Vegas: https://youtu.be/pU_zIsgnb3w
Club Heaven: https://youtu.be/v3l45E2cLbg
Rocky Mountains: https://youtu.be/rtNbH_KLYp0
Trouble in Vegas: https://youtu.be/ih9Q01HcxIA
Main Title: https://youtu.be/zOdVeliKk28
Also, while I couldn't find the specific Hitman rendition of it, Ave Maria is a must-have. It's in the public domain too so it can be re-recorded if need be.
Hitman: Absolution
Many of Absolution's songs are pop and rock songs with singers, and since I don't know how the licensing would work out I chose not to include them.
Death Factory - Combat 1: https://youtu.be/hingSIMgSRk
Main Theme: https://youtu.be/iWP6o9LCKn8
The Dance Floor/Dancing Cops: https://youtu.be/cF3IMx83ifs
HITMAN
A World of Assassination: https://youtu.be/5xGl20dFxQM
Showstopper: https://youtu.be/yzqOy0_VIFk
The Marketplace: https://youtu.be/CILC-G1g880
Codename IAGO: https://youtu.be/YsldWh8NWEQ
Field Duty: https://youtu.be/7GaB3CAjmNg
Situs Inversus: https://youtu.be/S7NuuyVIYO8
This game also gives us Mission Accomplished (https://youtu.be/m1BxHlyJ1qo) which would be 47's victory theme - either a snippet from it, or just let it play out like Cloud's.
HITMAN 2
Extraction: https://youtu.be/d-WgmqrF3bM
The Innovation Race: https://youtu.be/9gio88COT_E
Kronstadt Expo: https://youtu.be/qBLiX3xqdiw
Vanya Shah: https://youtu.be/24xkbwBOmqk
Mumbai Escalation: https://youtu.be/NvNMlbYa3Zs
Tracking the Casket: https://youtu.be/jMwvf6uLR00
The Ark Society: https://youtu.be/C-Xr-eLa3G4
Escalation V2.0: https://youtu.be/l4VlT11lJiw
Speaking of rearrangements, maybe they could bring in Jesper Kyd to do some like they did with Grant Kirkhope? Kyd is a pretty prolific composer in games, going on to work on the likes of Assassin's Creed and Borderlands after the Hitman games.
Hitman: Codename 47
Main Theme: https://youtu.be/VfmPyoj5s7o
Jungle Exploration/Dark Jungle: https://youtu.be/HQg9FrltmTE / https://youtu.be/1CVytcoh7MI
(These two could be made into a medley)
Harbor Themes: https://youtu.be/_qRRSawa2fc
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
Waiting for Action/Action Begins: https://youtu.be/zrx5e_cHdOg / https://youtu.be/TDENt53H9OQ
(The two tracks segue into each other)
Japanese Snow Castle: https://youtu.be/mRmKGbakyJM
Streets of India: https://youtu.be/mnAvSL22aO0
Arabian Dance: https://youtu.be/Kc_xWlI_1Gw
H2 Action: https://youtu.be/gy0T8nmw5GQ
Hitman: Contracts
White Room & Main Theme: https://youtu.be/-CUUOnE7bBk
SWAT Team: https://youtu.be/g1JBuAkP3H4
Slaughter Club: https://youtu.be/YcA_Gpx-b0Y
Double Ballers: https://youtu.be/Ix6HHT7UvkI
47 Detected: https://youtu.be/jWrx7U47XU8
Sanitarium: https://youtu.be/WuHNKfWtffo
Hitman: Blood Money
Apocalypse: https://youtu.be/cwiX4X61gNE
Secret Invasion: https://youtu.be/q7TXF56jOfU
Hunter: https://youtu.be/arA8Mdd2bx4
Vegas: https://youtu.be/pU_zIsgnb3w
Club Heaven: https://youtu.be/v3l45E2cLbg
Rocky Mountains: https://youtu.be/rtNbH_KLYp0
Trouble in Vegas: https://youtu.be/ih9Q01HcxIA
Main Title: https://youtu.be/zOdVeliKk28
Also, while I couldn't find the specific Hitman rendition of it, Ave Maria is a must-have. It's in the public domain too so it can be re-recorded if need be.
Hitman: Absolution
Many of Absolution's songs are pop and rock songs with singers, and since I don't know how the licensing would work out I chose not to include them.
Death Factory - Combat 1: https://youtu.be/hingSIMgSRk
Main Theme: https://youtu.be/iWP6o9LCKn8
The Dance Floor/Dancing Cops: https://youtu.be/cF3IMx83ifs
HITMAN
A World of Assassination: https://youtu.be/5xGl20dFxQM
Showstopper: https://youtu.be/yzqOy0_VIFk
The Marketplace: https://youtu.be/CILC-G1g880
Codename IAGO: https://youtu.be/YsldWh8NWEQ
Field Duty: https://youtu.be/7GaB3CAjmNg
Situs Inversus: https://youtu.be/S7NuuyVIYO8
This game also gives us Mission Accomplished (https://youtu.be/m1BxHlyJ1qo) which would be 47's victory theme - either a snippet from it, or just let it play out like Cloud's.
HITMAN 2
Extraction: https://youtu.be/d-WgmqrF3bM
The Innovation Race: https://youtu.be/9gio88COT_E
Kronstadt Expo: https://youtu.be/qBLiX3xqdiw
Vanya Shah: https://youtu.be/24xkbwBOmqk
Mumbai Escalation: https://youtu.be/NvNMlbYa3Zs
Tracking the Casket: https://youtu.be/jMwvf6uLR00
The Ark Society: https://youtu.be/C-Xr-eLa3G4
Escalation V2.0: https://youtu.be/l4VlT11lJiw
Like I said, there are two ways they could go with Hitman representation. It's possible that they rep only the latest trilogy, in which case they'd likely have a Spirit Board featuring the important characters in the plot, plus some memorable targets (though not Sean Bean, sadly). However what I'm going with is a selection of important characters for every game.
Diana Burnwood
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Agent 47's trusted handler and only friend, you can't not have Diana. She appears in every game of the series, and plays a crucial gameplay role in guiding 47 and providing valuable intel before and during missions.
Dr. Otto Wolfgang Ort-Meyer
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47's creator, he plays a crucial role in the first game and continues to have strong connections to many organizations from the lore.
Sergei Zavorotko
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A Russian crime lord, he's the main antagonist in Hitman 2, luring 47 out of retirement to further his own schemes.
Albert Fournier
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Hitman: Contracts is partially a remake and its plot mostly consists of flashbacks that 47 has after being shot. So who better to represent that game than Inspector Fournier, the man who shot the hitman!
Alexander Leland Cayne
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The former director of the FBI, Cayne is the narrator of Hitman: Blood Money and plays a major role in the game's events.
Benjamin Travis
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For reasons I won't spoil, Travis takes over Diana's role as 47's handler in Hitman: Absolution.
Victoria
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Victoria is a genetically-enhanced teenager who has created, just like Agent 47, to be an excellent assassin. The plot of Hitman: Absolution revolves around several factions trying to get to her so that they can exploit her innate talents. I know it's odd to have 2 Spirits for Absolution as it's the black sheep of the franchise, but these two felt too important to the plot not to include. Plus she gets me to 11 Spirits, which I think is the standard.
Erich Soders
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The director of the Agency, Soders was a famous field agent in his day, with one of his most famous missions being used as a bar to test ICA agents against. He plays a role in 2016's HITMAN, where he trains 47 in a prologue.
The Shadow Client/Lucas Grey/Subject 6
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As his name implies, he is a shadowy figure pulling the strings in the World of Assassination trilogy. He also appears to have a personal connection to 47 himself...
The Constant/Arthur Edwards
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A man linked to the mysterious organization Providence, he plays a major role in HITMAN 2 and looks to return in a similar capacity for HITMAN III.
Olivia Hall
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A hacktivist and a member of the Shadow Client's Private Militia, she appears in all three World of Assassination games.
Diana Burnwood
Agent 47's trusted handler and only friend, you can't not have Diana. She appears in every game of the series, and plays a crucial gameplay role in guiding 47 and providing valuable intel before and during missions.
Dr. Otto Wolfgang Ort-Meyer
47's creator, he plays a crucial role in the first game and continues to have strong connections to many organizations from the lore.
Sergei Zavorotko
A Russian crime lord, he's the main antagonist in Hitman 2, luring 47 out of retirement to further his own schemes.
Albert Fournier
Hitman: Contracts is partially a remake and its plot mostly consists of flashbacks that 47 has after being shot. So who better to represent that game than Inspector Fournier, the man who shot the hitman!
Alexander Leland Cayne
The former director of the FBI, Cayne is the narrator of Hitman: Blood Money and plays a major role in the game's events.
Benjamin Travis
For reasons I won't spoil, Travis takes over Diana's role as 47's handler in Hitman: Absolution.
Victoria
Victoria is a genetically-enhanced teenager who has created, just like Agent 47, to be an excellent assassin. The plot of Hitman: Absolution revolves around several factions trying to get to her so that they can exploit her innate talents. I know it's odd to have 2 Spirits for Absolution as it's the black sheep of the franchise, but these two felt too important to the plot not to include. Plus she gets me to 11 Spirits, which I think is the standard.
Erich Soders
The director of the Agency, Soders was a famous field agent in his day, with one of his most famous missions being used as a bar to test ICA agents against. He plays a role in 2016's HITMAN, where he trains 47 in a prologue.
The Shadow Client/Lucas Grey/Subject 6
As his name implies, he is a shadowy figure pulling the strings in the World of Assassination trilogy. He also appears to have a personal connection to 47 himself...
The Constant/Arthur Edwards
A man linked to the mysterious organization Providence, he plays a major role in HITMAN 2 and looks to return in a similar capacity for HITMAN III.
Olivia Hall
A hacktivist and a member of the Shadow Client's Private Militia, she appears in all three World of Assassination games.
It would probably have to be the Hitman insignia.
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It's featured in the logos of all the games pre-Absolution, was the icon for those games' PC releases, and within the games it's featured numerous appearances in levels and on 47's clothing and weaponry. However, it hasn't been heavily associated with the World of Assassination games. I still think it's the de facto emblem of the entire series, but if they want something else, I guess 47's iconic head barcode isn't a bad second choice.
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It's featured in the logos of all the games pre-Absolution, was the icon for those games' PC releases, and within the games it's featured numerous appearances in levels and on 47's clothing and weaponry. However, it hasn't been heavily associated with the World of Assassination games. I still think it's the de facto emblem of the entire series, but if they want something else, I guess 47's iconic head barcode isn't a bad second choice.
Final words
I'm a fan of the Hitman games and I think they've more than earned a place in Smash. While IO isn't anything close to a titan of the industry, their little creation grew to encompass a massive franchise that's globally recognized. The Hitman games constantly innovate game design and they're as incredibly interesting to analyze as they are fun to play. I was surprised that 47 had no support thread given his stature as a character and despite having never made a thread before I decided to give it a try (I hope I did a good job!). But, uh, I don't have any inspirational final words or anything so instead I'll leave you with this thought:
Hitman Kirby. Kirby with a barcode on the back of his head. Kirby in a snazzy suit and tie. Are you sold now?
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This was a pleasure to read, and exactly what I was looking for when I googled "Agent 47 for smash". Appreciate the work you've put into this. I sincerely hope that this finds its way to Sakurai in the not too distant future!
