Job 82: Nei's moveset
Basic Playstyle:
Nei, much like Sonic, is a character that very much embodies speed and agility, focusing on combos and self healing. However she is both very weak starting off as the weakest character at spawn and very light. As a peace loving girl, she has trouble killing her opponents as a result, therefore it's best to play her with hit and run tactics.
However, Nei also has a gimmick:
she levels up rapidly during the battle.
To do this players must attack the opponent, striking enemies multiple times, something Nei excels at. As she hits opponents more and more, she gains more experience, getting slight strength and speed buffs for each level up. To achieve a level up, players must land ten hits on the opponent.
This is inspired by Nei being the character with the fastest level up in Phantasy Star II, levelling up twice faster than her companion Rolf. As a numan, her lifecycle also is considerably faster. Nei is only one year old believe it or not.
She also has a “TP” or Technique point stat below her name, which indicates how many times she can use her neutral special, Res. Nei, like in the game starts with only 10 TP.
Nei's Basic moves:
Nei's basic moves consist of speedy slashes with her weapon, a pair of claws once belonging to the legendary musk cat hero, Myau. Her basic attack does a slash with the claws, however this can be pressed rapidly to land multiple hits in one go.
Nei's shield is Sashu, a technique in which Nei creates a barrier introduced in Phantasy Star Generation 2.
Nei's dodge consists of her leaping to the side. The words 'Miss' will appear in a little blue box above Nei's head as she does so.
Special attacks:
Neutral Special: Res (costs 3 TP per use, heals 20 HP)
Nei's abilities in Phantasy Star II consisted of support techniques, and for a while she is your parties healer, starting off with this ability. When using Res, Nei will stand still momentarily, raising her arm into the air, and heal 20 HP of her damage, just like in the game.
Nei can only use Res three times per life(showcased by the TP stat, infuriatingly you'll be left with 1 TP stat point after using it all three times), so choosing when to heal damage is important. She's also a sitting duck whilst using it, so opponents may want to attack during this period as it takes a hot second for Res to be cast.
Down Special: Rolf
Rolf, as Nei's only family member is of course here to defend her! When used, Nei's ears will droop a little and she'll raise her hands up over her face to defend herself. If an opponent attacks the adorable Numan during this time, Rolf will appear from seemingly nowhere, swinging his blade and countering the attack, sending those who wish to hurt Nei flying.
Inspired by Phantasy Star II: Text Adventures: Nei's Adventure, in which Rolf comes to Nei's rescue last minute, saving her life.
Side Special: Claw Dash
For a brief second, Nei becomes a whirlwind of destruction, launching herself forward and slashing wildly at the opponent whilst spinning. This launches her a great horizontal distance and is also useful for stage recovery.
This move is largely made up if I'm honest, but she's got the claws, might as well use them!
Up Special: Numan Pounce
Nei leaps up in a diagonal motion with her arms crossed, unleashing two powerful slashes from her claws as she opens her arms.
Inspired by this concept art image if I'm honest.
All Star Move: Nasak
Nei will raise her hand as Rolf dashes forward attempting to strike the opponent.
If it hits: Nei will cast Nasak, temporarily falling to her knees exhausted having used her life force energy to bring her allies onto the battlefield. Rolf will start with a simple sword slash, before casting Nanzan, which will deal huge huge damage to the opponents and throwing them into the air. Rudo then takes over, firing his guns upon the hapless airborne opponents. As this happens, Amy heals Nei.
Lastly, after Rudo fires his last shot, Nei appears above the enemy.
She strikes both her claws down hard into her opponents, an image of a ghostly version of Myau appearing in the background as she does so, forcing the opponents to slam painfully into the ground(and perhaps ricochet off it) before landing. Rolf, Rudo and Amy then take their leave.
If it misses: Nei will lose a large chunk of health, leaving players to need to use Res, as Amy will not be summoned to undo the lifespan sacrifice. If players are out of Res...well...Nei's life may be in trouble.
Misc:
Entrance animation: Nei appears wearing her cloak from Nei's Adventures, before ripping it off and throwing it to the wind.
Idle animation: Nei poses with her claws, before looking at her hand which sparkles slightly.
Taunts:
Taunt 1: Nei places her hands together happily, clapping.
Taunt 2: Nei stands in place as a dark version of her is projected above her head. It flickers out, as she looks around confused.
Taunt 3: Nei looks nervously around, her ears slightly drooping.
Victory Animations:
Victory animation 1: Rolf appears next to Nei as they strike a pose together, back to back.
Victory animation 2: Nei appears being cradled in Rolf's arms before she opens her eyes up, and springs to her feet. Rolf wipes his brow in relief.
Victory animation 3: Nei plays with some kittens as Rolf watches over her smiling.
Palettes:
Palette 1: Nei and Rolf (Phantasy Star II)
Palette 2: Neifirst and...err...Rolf...first (Phantasy Star II) - Nei's other half. Rolfirst is made up of course. Just looks neat.
Palette 3: Rika and Wren (Phantasy Star IV: The end of the Millennium)
Palette 4: NM-2011 and Chaz (Phantasy Star IV Memorial Drama CD - Sealed Memories) - NM-2011 is an antagonistic clone of Nei in the drama obsessed with Chaz.
Palette 5: Karen and Ethan Wabers (Phantasy Star Universe)
Palette 6: Alis and Myau (Phantasy Star) - Nei uses Myau's weapon and Rolf is Alis' descendant.
Palette 7: Mieu and Rhys (Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom) - Whilst Mieu isn't a Numan, we want the full set of original Phantasy Star games, and Rhys is basically Rolf anyway.
Palette 8: Ana and Kai (Phantasy Star Zero)