Joker Super Smash Bros Ultimate DLC Fighter Review
Let me set the stage for you. It was December 6th, 2018, the day before Super Smash Bros Ultimate’s release. The Game Awards were going on and announcing Best Game and Best Soundtrack, with a few game announcements sprinkled through, like Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3. But then, something nobody saw coming happened, Joker was announced as the first Super Smash Bros Ultimate DLC fighter. This was insane, as almost nobody expected a character from a series that had only very limited representation on a Nintendo console to get in. However, the hype for Joker slowly died down, mainly due to a major lack of information, aside from a leaked render from Best Buy of all places. And then, on April 16th, we got a 15 minute video talking about Smash Ultimate’s 3.0 update, with half of it dedicated to Joker’s gameplay that we had seen nothing about until then, all with the announcement that he would be releasing the very next day. So, after the months long wait, does Joker live up to the hype?
Joker comes from Persona 5, an RPG set in modern-day Tokyo about fighting the malevolent intents from the hearts of people, which are personified as Shadows, by using his Persona. All in all, his moveset is very faithful to his appearance in Persona 5. His neutral special is just Gun, which is one main weapon he uses in the game, and references how Joker uses handguns in Persona 5. His side special is the Eiha, which is a projectile that does small damage when it hits, but also poisons the enemy. In Persona 5 it delivers a light curse attack to one enemy, and it’s Smash representation. Joker’s up special is a grappling hook, that he can use to grab a stage edge or pull opponents to him. Interestingly enough, Joker doesn’t use this in-game in Persona 5, but he does use it in certain cutscenes and menus. His down special is the Rebel’s Guard, which fills up his Rebellion Gauge and halves any hit given to him, as well as delivering a backhand once he stops using it. While this isn’t taken directly from the game, it does lead to one of Joker’s most distinct features, the use of his Persona. When his Rebellion Gauge fills up, he summons Arsene, who changes all of his special moves to be more powerful.
With Arsene out, Joker’s neutral special becomes Gun Special that rapidly fires with each shot. This is a reference to a skill Joker can learn from an elementary schooler, just don’t question it. His side special changes from Eiha to Eigaon, which is just stronger, just like how it functions in Persona 5. While using Arsene, Joker’s recovery turns into the Wings of Rebellion which shoot him far up and turning him invisible. The move doesn’t have a root in Persona 5, except for the fact that Arsene can fly. Finally, his down special is either Tetrakarn or Makarakarn, depending on if he’s countering physical or projectile attack respectively.
For most fighters the physical attacks aren’t as referential to their games, and that’s the case for Joker. His main way of attacking is his large knife he carries. He uses it to slash at enemies, just like he would using the knife as a weapon in Persona 5. There are many different knives, swords, and daggers in Persona 5, so this is just an example of one weapon he could use. While most of his physical attacks are slashes, he also has few punches and kicks, which are just standard attacks. They don’t seem to be really referencing any special attacks from Persona 5, just normal fighting game moves.
When it comes to the Final Smash, it’s so accurate that it was basically just pulled out of the game. Joker’s Final Smash is All-Out Attack. He dashes forwards, and if he hits an enemy, he summons the other Phantom Thieves who attack the enemy in an amazingly animated scene that is exactly like its counterpart in Persona 5. The Final Smash ends with a splash screen of Joker adjusting his glove while “The Show’s Over” appears next to him, and sparkles fly out of the enemy (as opposed to the blood that appeared in Persona 5.) But, if an enemy has over 100% and are hit by this, if their death would end the game, the Final Smash’s splash screen is what the game ends on, without returning to gameplay, just as it would in Persona 5. In gameplay Joker’s Final Smash is pretty good, as it does a fair amount of damage, and can usually kill players at higher percents. However, what makes this Final Smash even better is that, while to activate you dash forwards, if you hold the control stick backwards, he’ll dash forwards and then backwards, giving you another shot to hit enemies. This one little addition makes it insanely useful, as it’s much harder to dodge out of the way when Joker can dash backwards.
So, now that you know all of Joker’s moves and where they come from, how do they feel in gameplay? Starting with his special moves, they’re all super fun. His neutral special Gun is a great move because it has a pretty far distance, and also can’t be reflected or countered. Using it can help rack up damage, and if you move the control stick left or right it dodges you in that direction, which can help avoid attacks. What’s even better is that if you tilt the control stick up Joker jumps up and rapid fires downwards, which is a super helpful movement or offensive option. His side special of Eiha is great disruptor, as it has solid knockback and the lingering damage helps to screw up opponents who like to combo. However, in this form its range can usually fall a bit short unless you’re right up close. Joker’s up special of the grappling hook is an amazing recovery, as while it doesn’t give Joker much vertical distance, it is a very far reaching attack with a very fast cooldown. Its long range helps Joker grab onto the ledge even when he’s at the literal bottom of the screen, and its fast cooldown makes it so you can use it usually twice if you’re not in range over the edge. It also has very good offensive capabilities, as if you hit an enemy with it, it pulls them down to you an almost a long ranged grab. Lastly, there’s the down special Rebel’s Guard, which is an alright counter, but works much better to sponge up damage. This is especially useful against projectiles or when you have a high percentage, as it can stop you from getting launched constantly.
That was just the basics though, as almost everything improves once Arsene is summoned. Gun turns into Gun Special, which just shoots more bullets and does more damage, so it makes the gun even more satisfying to use. Moving the stick up while shooting is insanely powerful now though, with more power and faster shooting being able to disrupt almost any attack. While Gun Special didn’t change much, Eiha to Eigaon is an amazing change. The range is increased, the lingering damage is stronger and lasts longer, and it causes an explosion when it hits. Eigaon is great both as a distancing move to keep people away, or to screw up smash or dash attacks when somebody’s right up close. The new recovery with Arsene is Wings of Rebellion, which doesn’t have the offensive capabilities of the Grappling Hook, but is a much safer and more standard recovery. It’s long range makes it better to use when fighting off of the platform, as it can push Joker further. However, this is the one case where an Arsene move might be worse than normal, as there’s much more time when you’ll be open to be attacked while using this. Wings of Rebellion is a good recovery, but not outright better than Joker’s regular recovery. But while Joker’s recoveries are both even, his new counters of Tetrakarn and Makarakarn are way better than Rebel’s Guard. Once you activate the down special you’ll either counter a physical attack, or reflect a projectile, and it automatically switches depending on how you’re getting attacked. This is easily one of the best counters in the game as not only can it reflect almost any attack, but also lasts a long time, making it one of Joker’s best moves. All in all, Joker has some of the best and most unique specials in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. They’re good both up close as well as at a distance, and work really well with his physical movements.
Speaking of his physical movements and attacks, they’re all pretty fast while still being decently powerful. Because his main attacks are punches, kicks, and knife slashes, this allows him to get, pull of a few attacks, and then get out of there to start using his distancing specials. This all fights within the traditional thief moniker of a quick and light attacker. Honestly, this is the best way to play Joker, as if you go in trying to be a powerhouse, it won’t be too hard to knock you out. The same goes for being a projectile user, as you won’t be able to do much damage overall. That’s exactly why the physical attacks Joker uses help mesh together a cool playstyle. His fast and fluid movement allows you to be able to hit some major combos even with just his basic moves. There are only about two problems, and they’re honestly just more like roadblocks. But those are that his range when physically attacking isn’t the longest, so missing an attack because of range can leave you wide open, and that he doesn’t have the best finishing moves. Just like his other moves, Joker’s smash attacks are quick and do good damage, but Joker just doesn’t have the most powerful physical attacks to finish off opponents. However, that’s put aside by Arsene, as he increases the power of all of Joker’s attacks, essentially negating the biggest problems.
The combination of Joker’s ranged specials and speedy attacks make him an incredibly fun character to play. He can easily be played with either an offensive or defensive style, making it harder for opponents to easily counter Joker. This is in addition to Joker’s physical and special attacks basically getting supercharged once Arsene comes out, which generally happens at least twice per stock, even without using Rebel’s Guard. This makes it so that even when you’re taking damage, you’re still gaining an advantage. With such a large variety of moves and playstyles, Joker is one of the most fluid and fun characters in Smash Ultimate, all without being too hard for somebody to pick up off the get go.
Now that I’ve gone over how Joker feels in gameplay, how does he look? I mean, obviously he looks cool, but what are his main and alternate costumes like? Joker’s main costume is his main costume from Persona 5, featuring his black trench coat, mask, and knife and gun. His next costumes change his mask and trench coat to be purple, blue, yellow, and red, which represent the thematic colors of Revelations: Persona, Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5 respectively. Joker’s next costume after that is white with red accents, which is a reference to a temporary member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, that being Goro Akechi in his Crow outfit. Joker’s last two outfits are both of his school outfits, with one being the normal black outfit, and the other being the Summer white outfit. This school outfit, just like his normal outfit, is very accurate to its portrayal in Persona 5. All in all, Joker has one of the best sets of costumes, with two unique outfits, and the alternate colors being pretty cool and good looking.
One new addition to the DLC pack from its first announcement was the addition of a new special spirit board featuring 11 new spirits based off characters from Persona 5. All of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts are represented individually, while also having a spirit specifically for the entire group. That spirit is one of my favorite spirit battles in the game, as you have to face off against six characters, one being Joker himself, and it’s chaotic but so cathartic once you finally win. There are also a few villain spirits, but aside from the aforementioned Phantom Thieves of Hearts, none of the fights are really that difficult.
While getting a new Fighter is the main draw of this DLC pack, and the extra spirits are a nice addition, there’s another major part of this pack, the stage! Getting Joker will get you the new stage Mementos, which is very similar to Mementos from Persona 5, which is the palace to everyone’s heart. The design is really similar, with the thick red, black, and white lines making up the stages main motifs. The stage itself is pretty standard, with a two floating platforms on the left and middle, and a long stretch of land underneath. But where Mementos sets itself apart are in the random events that happen. A few things can happen, such as a third platform appearing on the right side, large walls appearing from the left or right side of the stage which block that side of the stage, a wall coming in from the top of the screen, or a train going underneath the stage. While these may sound chaotic, they’re never overwhelming, and can help turn the tide of a battle by screwing up strategies or saving players from death. Plus, it all keeps the cool red and black aesthetic of the stage. Another great thing about the stage is the music, which is all insanely great. However, there isn’t just music from Persona 5, as there are also tracks from Persona 3 and 4, with there being 11 tracks in total. All of the songs are great, but what makes it even better is the fact that when playing tracks from Persona 3 the stage will have a blue and black color scheme, and will have a yellow and black color scheme when playing music from Persona 4. This one extra bonus makes playing the so much more fun, as while you’ll usually get the Persona 5 red, but the possible color change is always fun. Plus, it changes Joker’s background color if he wins!
Now that I’ve laid everything out on the table, do I think that the Joker DLC is worth it? I would give a resounding yes, as you’ll get a great new fighter, an awesome new stage, 11 songs, and 11 spirits. As a fighter, Joker is one of the most fun and versatile characters yet added to the game with his wide array of movement and attack options, plus his costumes all look great. Mementos is probably one of my favorite stages due to its awesome aesthetics, how the stages color changes with the music, and how the stages gimmicks aren’t that intrusive towards the gameplay. The additional spirit fights are all fun, and while some are pretty easy, the tougher ones are super rewarding to actually beat. Plus, the eleven songs you get are all absolute bangers. So for $5.99 individually or $5 with the Fighter’s Pass, I think Joker is a great character you shouldn’t pass up on getting.
