This story begins on a dark night... where a dark man waits... with a dark purpose.
"Now where were we? Ah, yes - abject humiliation!"
***
~~~ A DARK MAN...
Jafar - a classic Disney villain if ever there was one. In "
Aladdin (1992)", he is the grand vizier of the city of Agrabah. However, his lust for power, combined with his keen intellect, drive him to try to become more, through use of a certain lamp. And more he does become, using a wish to become a great sorcerer, and... even more sinister things.
~~~ A DARK BEARING...
Idle Stance
Jafar scowls constantly, and picks at his moustache occasionally, chuckling to himself.
Walk
A confident stride forward, his cape sweeping the ground behind him.
Run
No speedster, Jafar doesn't gladly hurry. His run is not a run per se; rather, he walks smoothly forth, leaning over slightly in his haste.
Crouch
Jafar simply bends his knees slightly, as though he were going into a sarcastic bow.
Dizzy
Looking disoriented, Jafar grips his temple and frowns insistently.
Sleep
His eyes closed, Jafar crosses his arms and takes a brief rest. A fairly dignified sleep.
~~~ A DARK FORM...
RANGE ~ 9
HEIGHT ~ 8
TRACTION ~ 7
WEIGHT ~ 6
ATTACK SPEED ~ 6
FALL SPEED ~ 6
POWER ~ 5
JUMP ~ 4
RUN ~ 2
Jafar takes up a lot of space, mostly due to his cape. He's slightly heavier than the average character, and so suffers from the heavyweight's afflictions: slowness and weak jumps. However, he doesn't have the typical heavyweight's huge power and slow attacks. Rather, he's largely based around chaining relatively quick attacks with good range together.
He also, of course, has a large number of attacks that envenom the foe. These deal cumulative damage exactly as Lip's Stick does, but, unlike it, can't be cancelled by tapping. Poison damage doesn't stack; if you use multiple poison attacks, one of their damages has to finish before the other one begins. This means that Jafar must land his hits, then stand back and let them deal their full damage before trying to finish.
***
~~~ A DARK MAGIC...
Special ~ Into Red Smoke
Jafar removes a small red vial from his billowing robes, and tosses it violently onto the ground beneath him. Copious amounts of red steam emerge, completely obscuring an area about as big as half of a Smart Bomb's max radius. This cloud remains in place for fifteen seconds or so, making it an excellent place for Jafar to hide in and attack from, or plant his traps in secret. You can just barely make out Jafar's silhouette through the smoke (and only his), but not exactly what he's up to.
Forward ~ Path of Embers
Raising a hand and uttering a syllable, Jafar causes a line of fire to materialize before him and move forward speedily, lighting an area the size of a battlefield platform on fire. These flames dance around for about ten seconds before fading. Foes that stand in them or come into contact with them take continuous damage at the rate of a Lip's Stick. This can only be used every thirty seconds; his staff shines to show that he's ready. Use to rack up damage in a quasi-projectile.
Up ~ Sandway
Jafar extends his arms, palms upwards. Briefly, for about four seconds, he can walk as though he were on solid ground. Sand materializes beneath his heel as he walks, forming a staircase that crumbles behind him. His walk is slow, but he can nonetheless move this way for long enough to get considerable distance. The staircase slowly moves up vertically, but recovery is primarily horizontal. He regains his jumps from this, and can leap forth and attack, which cancels out how short the actual path of sand is; he gains about as much distance as a diagonal Battlefield platform.
If used on the ground, this does much the same thing, allowing him to ascend a staircase and therefore jump from a higher vantage point for an attack.
Down ~ Ophidian Familiar
Jafar holds one palm slightly out, as though he were offering food to a dog. A serpent the length of a beam sword slithers out from his sleeve and begins following at his heel. Takes a second to come out. The snake will bite at any foe within range of it, be they in front of behind Jafar. Its bite deals 5% poison damage with no knockback at all. However, about 10% of the time, it will trip them instead.
The snake is fairly quick, but it CAN miss. It can also be KO'd, although it has the endurance of three Pikmin, and Jafar is standing right on top of it to defend it; when he jumps, it remains in his shadow, waiting loyally. He can have up to two serpents at once, but can only use the attack every fifteen seconds.
Tapping Down B when you already have two snakes causes one to begins chasing a foe. It has basic AI and can slither up walls. It's also persistent, not halting until the foe is KO'd (whereupon it returns to master) or it itself is defeated.
~~~ A DARK OFFENSIVE...
A ~ Mystic Cudgel
Jafar brings his staff up, extending it before him. The strike here comes out fairly slowly and is easy to see coming. It deals 2% with almost no knockback. This is useless on its own.
AA ~ Spitting Sparks
Numerous red sparks emit from the cobra's head on the end of his staff. This part lasts about one second, during which about five hits occur, each dealing 1%. No knockback, obviously. The sparks are small and have low range.
AAA ~ Slither Cudgel
His staff, fully extended, suddenly comes to life, and strikes forward with sharp fangs. Range is the same as his fully extended staff; the snake doesn't actually stretch. This takes a bit to come out after AA. It deals 3% and has decent knockback, with 2% poison damage. So, if you hit with the whole combo, you've dealt 12%. Best used when hiding in a cloud of smoke, to poke out at foes.
Dash ~ Snap Tectonics
From his fast walk, Jafar taps his staff against the ground three times, not stopping and waiting a bit between strikes. About half a second after each tap, a geyser erupts from the spot, shooting for two seconds, dealing 3% with okay upwards knockback. These geysers have good vertical height (about as high up as Ganondorf), and come out at variable angles. This attack comes out suddenly, and keeps Jafar moving during its duration. After the final tap, his part of the attack is over, leaving him free to knock foes into the geysers.
~~~ DARK TILTS...
Forward ~ Tinder Breath
Jafar puts a hand before his face and blows a thin stream of fire directly forward. This has good range - about the length of a beam sword - but, being directly before his face, totally misses shorter characters. It deals about four hits of 2%, and undulates a bit as it stays out for about a second. Disjointed hitbox, but best used to get foes approaching aerially or to poke out at tall foes.
Up ~ Crimson Winds
Jafar extends his two hands up together. A swirling vortex of wind forms right on top of them as he cackles. If a foe is caught by its disjointed hitbox, you can either do nothing or tilt the control stick left or right. If you do nothing, they're swirled around for half a second and then launched up. If you tilt, he moves the vortex - foe still spinning in it - to the side and launches them out that way. Either way, set small knockback and 5%. Versatility is key; you can potentially use this near the edge of the stage to toss them off.
Down ~ Turf Thorn
Jafar extends his staff's bottom and taps it sharply before him. Half a second later, a large spike of earth shoots out of the stage, becoming almost as tall as Jafar. Foes that are hit by it as it comes out take 7% and variable good knockback. It stays out for two seconds as an obstacle. Disjointed hitbox, of course.
However, if you have a snake at your heel, it'll slip underground while you tap and pop out like a jack-in-the-box in place of the spike. Here, it's a bit quicker and dishes out nice knockback with 8% poison damage. After, it slithers back to your side.
~~~ DARK SMASHES...
Forward ~ Fireball Fusion
While you charge this move, Jafar exhales fire directly before him, molding it into a fireball with his bare hands as he does so. When you release, it flies forward like a comet, fading out sooner if it's less charged (smaller), and vanishes when it hits a foe. At minimum charge, it comes out in half a second and is pretty tiny, only going as far as a Sheik chain and dealing 13% with small knockback.
At maximum charge, which can be up to five seconds, it goes halfway across FD and deals 20% with very decent knockback. It's the size of a Samus Charge Shot, here. If you have the time/opening to charge it that much, this'll be one of your primary kill moves.
Up ~ Deathly Gaze
Jafar turns his head up, and his eyes glow white suddenly. Any foe directly above him - on a narrow line, but infinitely high up - will go into freefall with 12%, able only to use their Up B. This doesn't affect foes already in freefall. It comes out quite quickly with little lag, but has a bit of wind-down, making it hard to charge up a big punishment. This is best used to chain into a Crimson Winds.
Down ~ Serpent Emergence
Jafar faces the screen and points down and to either side. This does absolutely nothing unless you have Ophidian Familiars. If they're right next to you, they just shoot out to either side in a way reminiscent of Olimar, dealing pretty good knockback and 5%, 10% poison damage.
If they're running free, using this will cause them to suddenly accelerate, moving very quickly for a brief moment. If they catch up to a foe in this time, that foe will take a special bite that deals 2%, with a full 18% poison damage. This should be timed to work while they're on the ground, so the snakes can actually reach them. However, Jafar is quite vulnerable during this time.
~~~ DARK AERIALS...
Neutral ~ Pyrophysics
Jafar snaps his fingers and, half a second later, bursts into flame. He remains this way for five seconds, during which time any foe to contact him takes 5% and bounces off; however, this doesn't prevent Jafar from still taking damage and knockback from attacks. This can be used only once every thirty seconds. Most like, you're going to want to grab the foe while you're on fire, where they're forced to take the extra damage AND get thrown.
Forward ~ Mesmerize
Jafar extends his staff, holding it up high, and then fires a rainbow-coloured wave down from it. Trajectory of the wave is downwards and on a slight angle. This'll do 4% and have the unique effect of reversing the foe's controls for five seconds. It has no knockback and a pretty good hitbox, but takes almost a second to come out.
Back ~ State of Suspension
Jafar puts one hand behind his back and mutters something. If a foe is within range - about half a battlefield platform away, and no farther or closer - they'll be suspended there, helpless. For the next three seconds, they'll follow Jafar at that same constant distance away. They take 3% every second here. Now, since they're constantly that same distance away, you can't really hit them. However, this is handy in team battles, and can also be used to jump back, almost off the screen, to kill them in a most creative but risky way.
Up ~ Fork Tongue
Jafar tilts his head up and opens his mouth. A full-grown cobra emerges halfway out of it, then bites down viciously before going back. This is a small hitbox, since the cobra has a small head. For that, though, for the half a second while it's coming out, you can tilt the control stick to make it bend one way or the other, making it more accurate. It gives decent upwards knockback and deals 4%, with 9% poison damage.
Down ~ Quicksand Spell
Jafar stalls in the air, twisting to point the head of his staff straight down. He then fires a small ball of light straight down. If it hits a foe, he's knocked a ways straight up and then sent into a freefall, with no damage. However, if hits solid ground, it'll make a spot almost as big as a stage builder block where there is QUICKSAND! This stays there for up to a minute. If a foe walks over it, they'll be stuck, unable to move, for a full three seconds, plenty of time to swoop in and punish. You can only have one pit at a time.
~~~ DARK THROWS...
Grab ~ Snake Sleeve
Raising one arm, Jafar lets a serpent shoot out of his sleeve, biting at foes and pulling them in with range similar to Lucas's. It's a bit quicker to come out, though. Jafar has a good throw game. Pressing A causes the snake to bite for 2% poison damage.
Forward ~ Fanged Villain
Jafar's head and headdress change, briefly, into a cobra's head. Hissing and flicking out his tongue, Jafar leans back slightly, then strikes forth, with decent knockback for a throw. Deals 3% with 7% poison damage.
Back ~ Environmental Shift
Jafar deposes them behind him. What happens then varies. If you have Ophidians, they'll take this chance to strike for 4% poison damage each, and some small knockback. If you're in a Path of Embers, the foe will light on fire, and go flying straight up with 10% (KO potential). If a quicksand pit is right beneath you, they'll be trapped in it for five seconds instead of three. If Jafar is on fire from Pyrophysics, he'll simply bounce them off of him for the usual 5%, which, added with the original 5% from them being in contact with him and the throw itself, comes to 14%. If none of these are in effect, they'll simply end up right behind Jafar, on the ground, with 4%. Quick, turn and punish!
Up ~ Levitate
Jafar lifts the foe slightly into the air by use of magic. You have, for three seconds, complete control over which way they float. You can't move them very quickly, but you can still use that time to either space or put them in a difficult position somewhere off the ledge. This throw deals no damage, but its versatility more than makes up for that.
Down ~ Venom Spout
Jafar drops the foe onto the ground, then points his staff down and releases a torrent of poison bubbles onto them. The final hit gives some small knockback to space. This does no initial damage, but 14% poison damage over time. If a foe who wasn't grabbed is in range while this happens, they'll be envenomed also, and take all the same damage.
~~~ A DARK SECRET...
Final Smash ~ His Three Wishes
This is a three-part Final Smash.
1) Jafar calls out,
"I wish to be Sultan!" He gains the sultan's robe:
He then cries out "Guards!" and points forward, causing a lone guard to appear on the screen, chasing foes like Samurai Goroh, but quicker, and with stronger slashes dealing 15% and okay knockback. Every further time you tap B, another shout happens and another Guard charges onscreen. However, every time you do so, there's a slowly increasing chance that the Final Smash simply ends, and you don't get your next two wishes. Be careful with this one; don't go overboard. Jafar is invulnerable, and this part lasts fifteen seconds.
2) "If you will not bow before a Sultan, you will cower before a Sorcerer! Genie, I wish to be the most powerful sorcerer in the world!" A lightning bolts comes down and strikes Jafar. he then uses a charm on himself, rapidly transforming into a huge serpent.
He fills up a large portion of the screen in this state, even though most of his coils are in the background. Pressing B causes a sudden strike along the ground before him, dealing 10% with 10% poison damage and decent knockback. However, your mobility is somewhat limited here, and, again, every strike you make makes it more likely that you'll not get your third wish. Better try to KO them by blocking them with your giant body; they can't go through it. This part lasts only fifteen seconds.
3) "Slave, I make my third wish. I wish to be an ALL-POWERFUL GENIE!" He suddenly swells from his snake form, becoming more the shape and size of Giga Bowser:
Jafar the Genie is mobile, but always connected to a tiny black lamp that materializes under the spot where he originally transformed. He can tap A for a giant, sweeping punch with excellent KO potential (though it deals only 7%), or B for a mighty blast of fire that radiates from his core, dealing 10% with good knockback. However, his lamp is a item like any other, and can in fact be tossed off the edge, KO'ing him. You must protect it at all costs. This form is potent but risky, and lasts a mere ten seconds. The other two racked up damage; use this one to finish it.
***
~~~ A DARK STYLE...
So, you've read the moveset, and now you're wondering how this strange character functions, yes? Unlike just about anyone else in the game. Jafar is slow in so many ways - he feels quite bulky to play - and yet his biggest problem is pulling off KOs. What, you ask, does he actually have going for him?
Jafar is completely about controlling the stage. Just as he can control the mind, so must he control the elements. In an ideal game, Jafar can keep his foes juuust out of reach with a series of relatively quick, well-ranged attacks, easily turning aside approaches and leading the foe into a series of damage-racking traps, eventually finishing them off with a single big hit.
Your Ophidians are the first tool you'll need to control the stage. At first, you can keep them at your heels, but once the foe is a bit more damaged and needs to be more cautious not to be hit, you can freely send them hunting. With these snakes approaching continuously, they have to keep moving - all the better to be herded into other traps or into Jafar's waiting arms.
The traps themselves: Path of Embers is great for molding the stage to your will. If the foe ignores it, they're bound to find damage being racked up at a frightening pace. You can freely hide in your fires and wait, leaving your snakes free to hunt and deal damage, all the while launching fireball from your Forward Smash.
Into Red Smoke is a trap in its own right. This should be used as often as possible; it limits the amount of stage that they can safely venture into, and gives Jafar an element of secrecy. When hiding is your best chance to summon Familiars, send them out with Down Smash, or even to create an unexpected Path of Embers. You can also somewhat safely create fireballs to launch and pester foes from afar. If they try to approach, it's oh, so easy to shield and throw out.
Of course, Quicksand Spell is another vital one. This one serves a slightly different and less specialized purpose; immobilizing the foe is always a good idea, although it's also most likely to lead into a killing blow. Keep the foe forgetful of where you planted the pit - for instance, plant it while hiding in Smoke - and they'll eventually slip up.
When it comes to close combat, Jafar is better at repelling foes than at starting his own advances. Both Up Smash and Forward Air can stop an approach dead in its track, leaving you free to hit with a spacing technique and continue playing a cautious game. Dash Attack is another fantastic way to shoot away aerially approaching foes, as is Crimson Winds. All these moves come together to ensure that Jafar is hard to reach. State of Suspension is an obvious one; if they're approaching from behind, time it right, and by the time they're released, they'll have forgotten all about their strategem.
Now, when the battle comes a bit too close for comfort, Jafar starts having trouble. None of his attacks can be pulled off quick enough to save him from a combo. Pyrophysics is probably your best bet for getting some much-needed breathing space.
Talking about poison attacks, we see another reason why Jafar wants to bide his time and keep a good distance between him and his foes. If he presses his offense, the damage will simply take too long to add up, during which time you need to be somewhere safe - preferably in a smoke cloud or standing in your own flames.
An experienced Jafar player can do everything that has been mentioned up until now, and pull it off with grace and style. However, he is not without flaws. He's just so slow, and doesn't have the greatest recovery; he's easy to gimp. His size and fall speed also make him prime targets for combo, which, as aforementioned, he can't escape without some sort of intervention. Keep the fight at a good distance and keep your feet stolidly on the ground, and you'll do fine.
However, this means that Jafar is anything but a beginner's character. Aside from the myriad interactions mentioned up until now - all of which must be remembered and combined expertly - Jafar also has a tricky and complex set of tilts, which must be integrated flawlessly into his moveset to get any sort of result. When to summon, when to create, when to attack, when to defend, when to repel, and when to send your snakes on the hunt - decisions, decisions.
Jafar is a character who must master the art of controlling the stage. He has to blend good repelling techniques with long-distance offense, and he doesn't even have a good projectile to do so. Making a name for yourself with this character is an uphill battle, but, when properly wielded, you'll appear to be almost psychic in how you force the hapless foe to play right into your hands, his fate unfolding just as you want it to.
***
~~~ A DARK PERSONALITY...
Up Taunt
Jafar takes on a very ugly expression, growling, "How many times do I have to kill you???"
Forward Taunt
Jafar takes a diamond ring - shown in the top picture - out of his pocket and eyes it greedily. He then stows it away once more.
Down Taunt
Jafar checks his pocket for something that he urgently needs. It's not there, however. "The lamp!" he hisses furiously, dismayed at having lost it.
Victory Pose 1
Jafar puts together the two halves of the legendary scarab that will lead him to the Lamp. They come together perfectly and the scarab flies off into the foreground, Jafar chuckling devilishly where he stands.
Victory Pose 2
Jafar rubs the Lamp, which he's finally found after all his efforts. Genie comes out and looks around, confused, only for Jafar to grab his goatee and toss him to the ground, naming him "Slave!"
Victory Pose 3
Jafar does a little dance, saying "Don't toy with me, fools!", then turns and casts a spell at the three losers. They each turn into a toy version of themselves, and fall down, useless.
Losing Pose
Jafar does a slow, sarcastic clap, one eyebrow raised.
~~~ A DARK LOOK...
~~~ A DARK REPUTATION...
COLONEL/ Don't toy with this one, Snake. Jafar has vast reserves of magic at his beck and call.
SNAKE/ He doesn't look like much.
COLONEL/ Don't be fooled by his appearance. He'll do anything to get what he wants, and he's certainly no fool.
SNAKE/ Now he's setting traps all over the place... who does he think he is?
COLONEL/ He has even more traps than you, Snake. He'll try to puppeteer you into slipping up.
SNAKE/ I'll show him that a good mine can beat a lightshow and a few worms any day.
COLONEL/ I hope you can, Snake. I hope you can.
~~~ A DARK TALE...
Symbol
The magic lamp of the Aladdin series is Jafar's personal emblem.
Entrance
Jafar appears on the stage from a puff of red smoke that seems to come from nowhere.
Wiimote
An evil, crazed laugh issues from the wiimote.
Kirby Hat
Kirby gains his headress and the ability to summon one snake at a time, once every thirty seconds. Pressing B when he has one will send it out hunting. However, his snakes are more fragile than Jafar's, and can be KO'd quite easily. Picture to come.
Music
Jafar's main theme is a darker, more ominous and lyric-less remix of the
main Aladdin theme, Arabian Nights.
***
...This isn't over yet, boy...
)
