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I've been playing a lot of Hades recently, so I've written up a moveset for Zagreus, the main character of that game. I wasn't sure about making an entire thread for the character, so I figured that I'd post it here.
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Zagreus Raises Hell! (or, if that’s not acceptable by the ESRB, Zagreus Breaks Out!)
Zagreus’s palette swaps are based on other characters that he encounters – Thanatos (black and gold), Megaera (blue and yellow), Charon (an inverted version of Thanatos’s colours – far more gold than black), Nyx (purple), Cerberus/Hypnos (mostly red with some green), Achilles/Dusa (green with blonde hair), and Persephone (white with some green, and his hair is very light blonde).
For a series logo, I’ll go with Hades’ symbol, which appears on Charon’s obols and Hades’ beard, among other places.
For a stage, I’m going with House of Hades, where Zagreus returns every single time that he dies. Specifically, the main lobby, where Hades is sitting at his desk in the background as shades pass through. Various characters can be present in the background, whether it’s Cerberus, Thanatos, Megaera, Orpheus, Nyx, Achilles, or Hades himself. If Zagreus is being played as, Hades is always absent for reasons that I’ll get into later. The house contractor is always present, and will occasionally get tossed some gems or diamonds to add new features to the house, that act as platforms or obstacles.
Zagreus arrives on stage similarly to how he starts a run – by falling from the sky and landing on the platform, though fire flares out of the ground on either side of him as he lands. For his idle animations, he hops from foot to foot impatiently or twirls his sword.
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Zagreus will cycle between his various weapons for the moveset, though he’ll generally be holding the Stygian Blade in his right hand, keeping his left hand free, and taking the others out as he needs them. To justify his main gimmick (which I’ll get into later), he’ll be wearing the Shattered Shackle from Sisyphus on his arm.
A-->AA-->AAA: Zagreus swings the Stygian Blade twice before stabbing with it.
Forward A: Zagreus stabs with the Eternal Spear
Up A: Zagreus uppercuts the enemy twice (based on the Twin Fists of Malphon’s special)
Down A: Zagreus throws out two quick punches with the Twin Fists of Malphon
Forward Smash: Bull Rush – while charging, Zagreus holds the Shield of Chaos in front of him, which blocks attacks from the front like Link’s shield. Upon release, he shoves with the shield; it doesn’t send enemies as far as most Smash attacks or have much range to compensate for its blocking properties.
Up Smash: Zagreus shoots an explosive into the air, which acts like Snake’s mortar. (based on the Adamant Rail’s special)
Down Smash: Zagreus uses the Eternal Spear’s spin attack
Neutral Air: Zagreus spins around, swinging the Shield of Chaos
Forward Air: Zagreus fires the Adamant Rail (basically a machine gun) at a slightly downwards angle – the recoil pushes him back slightly.
Back Air: Zagreus turns around, swinging the Stygian Blade behind himself.
Up Air: Zagreus throws the Shield of Chaos into the air
Down Air: Zagreus uses the Heart-Seeking Bow’s Volley Fire ability straight down. (fires several arrows quickly in an arc)
Dash Attack: Zagreus thrusts with the Stygian Blade
Wake-Up Attack: Zagreus punches on either side of him with the Twin Fists of Malphon
Climb Attack: Zagreus climbs back on stage, swinging the Stygian Blade vertically at the ground.
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Grab: Zagreus grabs the opponent with his left hand.
Pummel: Zagreus hits the opponent with the bottom of the sword.
Forward Throw: Zagreus quickly charges up a shot with the Heart-Seeking Bow, firing it point-blank to knock the opponent away.
Back Throw: Zagreus stabs the opponent with the Eternal Spear and throws it behind him, with the opponent still attached to it. He recalls the spear shortly after, though the opponent keeps flying in the original direction.
Up Throw: Zagreus uppercuts the enemy with the Twin Fists of Malphon, launching them into the air.
Down Throw: Zagreus throws the opponent to the ground and smacks them in the back with the Shield of Chaos before kicking them away.
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Up Taunt: Zagreus pumps his arm into the air, which he does when he catches a fish.
Side Taunt: Zagreus points forward, like he does in front of the motivational poster, and tries giving a motivational speech that just sounds lame.
Down Taunt: Zagreus puts his hand on his face and shakes his head
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Unlike most of my move lists, I’m going to start with Down B, since it’s the source of Zagreus’s main gimmick.
Down B: Fickle Boon. Much like Shulk’s Monado art, Zagreus can cycle between six boons, which have different effects on his specials:
The boons decrease the damage of Zagreus’s specials slightly, and he travels shorter distances for his side B and up B in exchange for abilities that are detailed below.
B: Cast. Zagreus fires a red projectile, and if it hits the enemy, it latches on to them, indicated by a Bloodstone symbol (a red prism) above their life bar. Only one Bloodstone can be latched on to anyone at a time, and while it’s latched, Zagreus deals more damage to them. Hitting the opponent enough times, or hitting them hard enough, will knock the Bloodstone out of them.
Up B: Dash. Zagreus dashes upwards, which can be controlled similar to Lucario’s up B. This does no damage without any boons, though it travels farther.
Side B: Nova Smash. Leaping forward, Zagreus swings the sword downwards, creating a small burst as an area attack.
Final Smash: Blood and Darkness. Hades appears in a puff of smoke, saying something like “Thought you could escape me, boy?” before burning off his cloak. Hades teleports into the air and starts firing lasers all over the stage, with Zagreus dashing to avoid them. Zagreus is temporarily invincible (as shown by a blue crystalline shield around him), but his opponents aren’t so lucky.
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For his first victory pose, Zagreus places his sword on his shoulder, like his stance on the game’s title screen. For his second one, he bites into a slice of a Pom of Power, and he makes a comment about how good it tastes. For his third victory pose, Cerberus growls at the camera before Zagreus walks on-screen. Cerberus’s demeanour immediately changes to being a big, friendly three-headed dog as Zagreus pets him.
For a victory theme, the first thing that comes to mind is a snippet from No Escape, the game’s title theme. (the 23 second mark or the ending seem like good notes to possibly end on)
When Kirby absorbs Zagreus, he gets Zagreus’s hair and laurel wreath, along with his Cast ability. Like with Zagreus, Kirby’s attacks will deal more damage to whoever it latches onto, though Kirby’s Bloodstone is pink to differentiate it from Zagreus’s.
Zagreus Raises Hell! (or, if that’s not acceptable by the ESRB, Zagreus Breaks Out!)
Zagreus’s palette swaps are based on other characters that he encounters – Thanatos (black and gold), Megaera (blue and yellow), Charon (an inverted version of Thanatos’s colours – far more gold than black), Nyx (purple), Cerberus/Hypnos (mostly red with some green), Achilles/Dusa (green with blonde hair), and Persephone (white with some green, and his hair is very light blonde).
For a series logo, I’ll go with Hades’ symbol, which appears on Charon’s obols and Hades’ beard, among other places.
For a stage, I’m going with House of Hades, where Zagreus returns every single time that he dies. Specifically, the main lobby, where Hades is sitting at his desk in the background as shades pass through. Various characters can be present in the background, whether it’s Cerberus, Thanatos, Megaera, Orpheus, Nyx, Achilles, or Hades himself. If Zagreus is being played as, Hades is always absent for reasons that I’ll get into later. The house contractor is always present, and will occasionally get tossed some gems or diamonds to add new features to the house, that act as platforms or obstacles.
Zagreus arrives on stage similarly to how he starts a run – by falling from the sky and landing on the platform, though fire flares out of the ground on either side of him as he lands. For his idle animations, he hops from foot to foot impatiently or twirls his sword.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zagreus will cycle between his various weapons for the moveset, though he’ll generally be holding the Stygian Blade in his right hand, keeping his left hand free, and taking the others out as he needs them. To justify his main gimmick (which I’ll get into later), he’ll be wearing the Shattered Shackle from Sisyphus on his arm.
A-->AA-->AAA: Zagreus swings the Stygian Blade twice before stabbing with it.
Forward A: Zagreus stabs with the Eternal Spear
Up A: Zagreus uppercuts the enemy twice (based on the Twin Fists of Malphon’s special)
Down A: Zagreus throws out two quick punches with the Twin Fists of Malphon
Forward Smash: Bull Rush – while charging, Zagreus holds the Shield of Chaos in front of him, which blocks attacks from the front like Link’s shield. Upon release, he shoves with the shield; it doesn’t send enemies as far as most Smash attacks or have much range to compensate for its blocking properties.
Up Smash: Zagreus shoots an explosive into the air, which acts like Snake’s mortar. (based on the Adamant Rail’s special)
Down Smash: Zagreus uses the Eternal Spear’s spin attack
Neutral Air: Zagreus spins around, swinging the Shield of Chaos
Forward Air: Zagreus fires the Adamant Rail (basically a machine gun) at a slightly downwards angle – the recoil pushes him back slightly.
Back Air: Zagreus turns around, swinging the Stygian Blade behind himself.
Up Air: Zagreus throws the Shield of Chaos into the air
Down Air: Zagreus uses the Heart-Seeking Bow’s Volley Fire ability straight down. (fires several arrows quickly in an arc)
Dash Attack: Zagreus thrusts with the Stygian Blade
Wake-Up Attack: Zagreus punches on either side of him with the Twin Fists of Malphon
Climb Attack: Zagreus climbs back on stage, swinging the Stygian Blade vertically at the ground.
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Grab: Zagreus grabs the opponent with his left hand.
Pummel: Zagreus hits the opponent with the bottom of the sword.
Forward Throw: Zagreus quickly charges up a shot with the Heart-Seeking Bow, firing it point-blank to knock the opponent away.
Back Throw: Zagreus stabs the opponent with the Eternal Spear and throws it behind him, with the opponent still attached to it. He recalls the spear shortly after, though the opponent keeps flying in the original direction.
Up Throw: Zagreus uppercuts the enemy with the Twin Fists of Malphon, launching them into the air.
Down Throw: Zagreus throws the opponent to the ground and smacks them in the back with the Shield of Chaos before kicking them away.
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Up Taunt: Zagreus pumps his arm into the air, which he does when he catches a fish.
Side Taunt: Zagreus points forward, like he does in front of the motivational poster, and tries giving a motivational speech that just sounds lame.
Down Taunt: Zagreus puts his hand on his face and shakes his head
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Unlike most of my move lists, I’m going to start with Down B, since it’s the source of Zagreus’s main gimmick.
Down B: Fickle Boon. Much like Shulk’s Monado art, Zagreus can cycle between six boons, which have different effects on his specials:
- none – represented by a gray picture of Bouldy, Sisyphus’s boulder. No special powers, but it’s more powerful
- Zeus – represented by a lightning bolt in a yellow circle.
- Poseidon – represented by a trident in a blue circle.
- Athena – represented by a shield in a yellow and blue circle.
- Artemis – represented by a bow and arrow in a green circle.
- Ares – represented by a spear in a red circle.
The boons decrease the damage of Zagreus’s specials slightly, and he travels shorter distances for his side B and up B in exchange for abilities that are detailed below.
B: Cast. Zagreus fires a red projectile, and if it hits the enemy, it latches on to them, indicated by a Bloodstone symbol (a red prism) above their life bar. Only one Bloodstone can be latched on to anyone at a time, and while it’s latched, Zagreus deals more damage to them. Hitting the opponent enough times, or hitting them hard enough, will knock the Bloodstone out of them.
- Zeus: the cast projectile becomes chain lightning, bouncing between up to three opponents. The Bloodstone will latch onto the last person who is hit.
- Poseidon: the cast projectile knocks enemies away once it hits
- Athena: the cast projectile’s range is shorter, but it can deflect projectiles
- Artemis: the cast has a slight homing ability, and is flanked by two homing arrows that deal additional damage.
- Ares: the cast sends a Blade Rift (a whirling circle of blades) ahead. The Blade Rift is slower than the normal cast, and has a shorter range, but it deals significantly more damage if the whole thing hits.
Up B: Dash. Zagreus dashes upwards, which can be controlled similar to Lucario’s up B. This does no damage without any boons, though it travels farther.
- Zeus: lightning strikes where he started the dash
- Poseidon: when he reaches the end of the dash, water bursts out from Zagreus to knock opponents away and damage them
- Athena: a shield appears around Zagreus at the start of the dash, deflecting projectiles
- Artemis: the attack ignores super armour (based on some of her skills doing more damage to armour)
- Ares: a Blade Rift appears where Zagreus started, continuously dealing damage for a second or two
Side B: Nova Smash. Leaping forward, Zagreus swings the sword downwards, creating a small burst as an area attack.
- Zeus: lightning strikes on the outer edges of the shockwave, dealing significantly more damage if the opponent is on the outer edge of the shockwave
- Poseidon: water bursts out from Zagreus, causing enemies to get send further away
- Athena: a shield appears around Zagreus to deflect projectiles, though it’s in a much tighter circle than the shockwave
- Artemis: the shockwave has a small chance to inflict critical damage, significantly increasing damage and knockback
- Ares: the shockwave causes Doom, meaning that a few seconds after it hits, opponents take extra damage, though the extra damage doesn’t cause knockback.
Final Smash: Blood and Darkness. Hades appears in a puff of smoke, saying something like “Thought you could escape me, boy?” before burning off his cloak. Hades teleports into the air and starts firing lasers all over the stage, with Zagreus dashing to avoid them. Zagreus is temporarily invincible (as shown by a blue crystalline shield around him), but his opponents aren’t so lucky.
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For his first victory pose, Zagreus places his sword on his shoulder, like his stance on the game’s title screen. For his second one, he bites into a slice of a Pom of Power, and he makes a comment about how good it tastes. For his third victory pose, Cerberus growls at the camera before Zagreus walks on-screen. Cerberus’s demeanour immediately changes to being a big, friendly three-headed dog as Zagreus pets him.
For a victory theme, the first thing that comes to mind is a snippet from No Escape, the game’s title theme. (the 23 second mark or the ending seem like good notes to possibly end on)
When Kirby absorbs Zagreus, he gets Zagreus’s hair and laurel wreath, along with his Cast ability. Like with Zagreus, Kirby’s attacks will deal more damage to whoever it latches onto, though Kirby’s Bloodstone is pink to differentiate it from Zagreus’s.
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