Job #55 - Joker Moveset
Overview: Joker is a very agile and speedy character. His attacks usually don’t deal a lot of damage, rather he’s able to quickly accumulate damage and wear down his opponent throughout the match. He has plenty of projectile attacks that allow him to keep his distance as well as normals that can easily be comboed into each other. His major drawback is that he can’t really take damage well. His defenses are on the lower end, making him more susceptible to strong attacks and getting chipped down by zoners or other rushdown characters. As long as players know how to play around that weakness, Joker is a force to be reckoned with in the right hands.
Notable normals: If you’ve played Smash, Joker’s normals are mostly the same. He has a lot of knife slashes and a sliding kick for his down tilt. There are a few major changes I would like to highlight here, though. The first is that Joker’s grappling hook is now his grab. When used, Joker will shoot towards his enemies and grab onto them. He can also use the grappling hook as a tether recovery. His pummels are the same, but his back throw now involves him jumping on his opponent’s back and kicking them backwards, in reference to when he ambushes enemies in Persona 5. All of his Smash attacks now involve Arsene. His forward Smash has Arsene. His F-Smash has Arsene slash forward with his claws and his Up Smash has Arsene punch upwards. Speaking of Arsene, let’s get into the specials.
Down Special: Persona Summon - I’m gonna start with the Down Special because I think it’s necessary in order for Joker’s moveset to make sense. Unlike in Smash where Arsene is automatically summoned once Joker’s meter is full, Arsene can be summoned and called back at will, similar to how stands can be called upon in Heritage for the Future. He gives Joker access to a completely different set of specials that can be considered more powerful than what he has without Arsene. The only drawback is that Arsene now has a limited SP meter that dictates how much he can be used. Arsene starts each match with 50 SP, and all of his specials use up a varying amount of SP. If Arsene doesn’t have enough SP to use an attack, he won’t be able to use it. When Arsene isn’t active, he gradually restores SP throughout the match, so it’s a good idea to call back Arsene when he’s starting to run low. This forces Joker players to have to think carefully about when to best use Arsene and manage his SP wisely.
Neutral Special (No Arsene): Gun - Of course, we can’t just forget about Joker’s iconic neutral special. When used, Joker takes out his gun and starts shooting. This attack can be spammed by mashing the special button. It doesn’t deal much damage or do any knockback, but it comes out quick and is an easy way to rack up damage fast.
Neutral Special (With Arsene): Eiha/Eiga/Eigaon - Arsene will charge up a projectile of cursed energy that gets more powerful the more it’s charged. When uncharged, the attack is Eiha, a small, weak projectile that costs 4 SP. When charged halfway, it becomes Eiga, a larger, decently strong projectile that costs 8 SP. When charged up all the way, the attack becomes Eigaon, the strongest of the projectiles that consumes 12 SP.
Side Special (No Arsene): Throwing Knife - Joker throws a dagger forward that reaches halfway across the screen. This attack comes out fast and causes hitstun.
Side Special (With Arsene): Dream Needle - Arsene throws a needle that reaches halfway across the screen. It functions similarly to the throwing knife, but has more starting lag and has a low chance to put the opponent to sleep, making it less spammable but potentially more rewarding if the sleep lands. This attack costs 10 SP
Up Special (No Arsene): Goho-M - Joker shrouds himself in a cloud of smoke and teleports to wherever the player inputs. Its recovery is quite mediocre, but it does a small bit of damage if it lands on an opponent.
Up Special (With Arsene): Wings of Rebellion - Using Arsene’s wings, Joker soars up to the skies. While this move deals no damage, it goes quite a bit higher up than Joker’s usual recovery and gives Joker invincibility while active. This move costs 6 SP
All-Star Move: All-Out Attack - This one was too good not to bring over! When used, Joker will run forward and slash his opponent. Afterwards, three of his teammates, either Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana or Yusuke, Makoto, and Haru, will join in for an All-Out Attack and beat the opponent down. If the attack doesn’t KO, the battle continues as normal afterwards. However, if the All-Out Attack does KO the opponent, Joker will strike a pose behind his opponent which transitions into a splash screen. This splash screen will also take the place of the usual result screen if it ends a match.
Aesthetics:
Entrance: Joker drops from the sky and adjusts his glove after landing
Taunts:
Taunt 1: Joker adjusts his glove and says “It’s Showtime!”
Taunt 2: Morgana appears and says “Looking cool, Joker!” as Joker twirls his knife.
Taunt 3: Joker points his gun forward and menacingly says “Begone.”
Victory Theme: Victory (Persona 5)
Victory Animations: Styled after the victory screen in Persona 5, Joker will continuously run to the left as the results appear, with the other Phantom Thieves making a comment on Joker’s victory. If Joker ends a match with his All-Star Move, the victory screen will be replaced with the splash screen.
Alts:
- Alt 1: Normal outfit
- Alt 2: Blonde hair with yellow gloves and grey mask (Ryuji)
- Alt 3: Red outfit and mask with blonde hair (Ann)
- Alt 4: Dark blue outfit with blue gloves and hair (Yusuke)
- Alt 5: Black outfit with silver mask and brown hair (Makoto)
- Alt 6: Black outfit with orange hair (Futaba)
- Alt 7: White outfit with black mask, blue gloves and auburn hair (Haru)
- Alt 8: White outfit with red mask and brown hair (Akechi)
