Joker (Life & Death)

Joker (ジョーカー, Joker) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Life or Death.
Ren Amamiya is the leader of the vigilante group known as the Phantom Thieves. After being falsely accused of assault, he was labeled a delinquent and moved to Tokyo, Japan to attend Shujin Academy as part of his probation while under the care of café owner Sojiro Sakura. While there, he discovers a strange application on his smartphone but brushes it off for the time being. After a chance encounter with fellow outsider Ryuji Sakamoto over their lecherous gym coach Suguru Kamoshida, they discover that the app is actually a conduit to a parallel reality called the Metaverse. This “cognition” is the manifestation of an individual’s twisted desires into a dream-like fantasy. In this case, Kamoshida sees himself as the king of the academy and treats the rest of the students and faculty like slaves. Wanting no part in this reality, Ren rebels against the oppression of King Kamoshida and awakens his Persona, donning the mask and cloak of "Joker".
Joker is voiced by Xander Mobus in the Western versions of Life or Death while Jun Fukuyama (who also voices Roy) voices him in the Japanese version of the game. 
==How to Unlock==
Joker is available from the start of a new game and doesn't need to be unlocked.
==Moveset==
* Joker has an ability called the Rebellion Gauge, which fills up over time. Joker can also charge it by being hit, or when Joker (or his teammates, if he is in a Team Battle) is behind in either score/stock. If Rebel's Guard is used while the opponent attacks, the Gauge fills up faster. When it is full, Joker removes his mask (or glasses in costume 7 and 8) and automatically summons Arsène, who grants several changes:
** If Joker is in an uninterruptible animation such as an attack, Arsène can be delayed for up to 31 frames. Arsène can also disappear in a similar fashion, although the delay is much shorter.
*** Curiously, if Arsène disappears during an attack, Awakened Joker's moves will deal increased knockback without Arsène's values being applied.
** A dramatic screen effect consisting of Joker's eyes occurs (if the camera is close enough to the fighters, and the battle is either 1-on-1 or against CPU players only), where Joker removes either his masquerade mask or glasses (depending on his costume), which also alters his character icon in the HUD until the Gauge empties. If Joker is standing still during this, he gains intangibility during the animation.
** Arsène will attack in tandem with Joker during all attacks except his pummel, throws, floor attacks and edge attack, enhancing his damage output and range. Many of his moves gain an additional blue slash effect while attacking. All of Arsène's attacks use the "heavy melee" hit sounds of heavyweights such as Ganondorf.
** Joker's special moves change to "Gun Special", "Eigaon", "Wings of Rebellion", and "Tetrakarn/Makarakarn", all enhanced versions of his previous moves.
** Joker announces "Arsène!" or "Persona!" upon summoning Arsène, and "Return!" or "Enough." upon using up his Gauge.
*** On the first frame Joker would call out or recall Arsène, the animation can be skipped if Joker is already in an uninterruptible animation.
* Upon summoning Arsène, the Rebellion Gauge will slowly drain, and a small amount of Gauge will be lost each time Joker is damaged.
** When the Rebellion gauge is depleted, Arsène will disappear and Joker will put his mask (or glasses) back on. While Joker cannot cancel this animation, he is invincible for a majority of its duration and completely stops his descent for the entirety of the animation if it happens while airborne.
* Joker can wall jump.
 	Name 	Description
Neutral Attack 	N/A 	Joker: Performs an inward slash, backhanded stab, then an outward slash.
Arsène: Performs an inwards upward swipe, followed by a second swipe with the opposite arm, then a hand thrust.
With Arsène, each hit gains a darkness effect.
Forward Tilt 	N/A 	Joker: Performs a double thrust with his knife, with the second thrust going at a higher angle.
Arsène: Thrusts his right hand forward before raising it in a beckoning gesture.
The move can be angled.
Up Tilt 	N/A 	Joker: An upwards swing with his knife that sends it spinning into the air before Joker catches it backhandedly.
Arsène: Raises his hand with a beckoning gesture, emanating electricity from his palm.
The initial swing sends opponents into the spinning knife, which does multiple hits before sending opponents vertically. With Arsène, the looping hits gain an electric effect, and can KO at around 135%. The move cannot hit opponents behind Joker.
Down Tilt 	N/A 	Joker: A baseball slide.
Arsène: A baseball slide alongside Joker.
Based on Joker's ability to slide under lasers in Persona 5. Unlike similar moves like Cloud's and Simon's, Joker's down tilt does not lose strength during the late hitboxes.
Dash Attack 	N/A 	Joker: Performs a roundhouse kick followed by a spinning side kick.
Arsène: A delayed football kick, which comes out alongside Joker's second kick.
Forward Smash 	N/A 	Joker: Rears back and swings downwards with both hands directly in front of him.
Arsène: He swings his arms downwards, causing an X-shaped slash in front of the duo.
Moves Joker slightly forward while attacking. Without Arsène, the move KOs at around 76% from the edge of the stage, making it Joker's strongest finisher. However, despite Joker moving forward, its range is rather poor due to the length of his knife. Oddly, despite the knife leaving a trail that extends behind Joker, the attack can only hit in front of him. With Arsène, the move gains slightly more range and even higher KO power, KOing at around 55% from the edge of the stage. It can be an extremely potent punish or trapping tool, but its lag makes it highly punishable itself so it should be used with caution. Resembles the third hit of Joker's standard three-hit attack in Persona 5
Up Smash 	N/A 	Joker: Spins inwards while facing the screen, performing a knife uppercut with his right arm.
Arsène: Swings his leading arm above himself.
It has low horizontal range and a short-lasting hitbox, but covers a large area above Joker, making it a good anti-air. Like up tilt, this move cannot hit enemies behind Joker. With Arsène, the move gains extra range and KO power. KOs at around 130%/100% (without/with Arsène). Joker's fastest smash attack and strongest punish tool against enemies directly above him. Particularly effective against opponents on platforms. Joker's charging animation has him lower to the ground to about half his size, allowing him to bait attacks from above and retaliate with his own. Resembles the second hit of Joker's standard three-hit attack in Persona 5.
Down Smash 	N/A 	Joker: Sweeps the floor with a knife swipe in front of himself, then behind.
Arsène: Kicks in front, then behind himself.
Both hits deal the same amount of damage and lack reach, though Arsène boosts its range slightly. KOs at around 112%/73% near the edge (without/with Arsène). Functions as a typical sweeping smash attack and should be used to punish people who air dodge onto the ground or roll behind Joker. Resembles the first hit of Joker's standard three-hit attack in Persona 5.
Neutral Aerial 	N/A 	Joker: Strikes in a circle while doing two inward corkscrews in the air.
Arsène: Lays his back against Joker and slashes alongside him, forming a perfect circle slash around the duo.
Forward Aerial 	N/A 	Joker: A hook kick, followed by a roundhouse kick.
Arsène: A delayed roundhouse kick that comes out alongside Joker's second kick.
Back Aerial 	N/A 	Joker: An upward swipe behind himself.
Arsène: A swift downward chop of his hand, causing the duo's attacks to interlock with each other.
Up Aerial 	N/A 	Joker: A corkscrew flying kick with a finishing kick.
Arsène: A delayed upwards hand swing in tandem with Joker's last hit.
It seems to resemble Joker spinning in the opening cinematic for Persona 5.
Down Aerial 	N/A 	Joker: An upside-down knife swing with a bit of delay before the swipe, similarly to Marth's down aerial.
Arsène: A delayed foot stomp that comes out a couple of frames after Joker's attack, instead of at the same time as his other moves. Unlike Joker's attack, it meteor smashes opponents.
Grab 	N/A 	Reaches out with one arm. All of Joker's throws have him toss the opponent with blue energy. Unlike his other moves, Arsène does not affect the power of Joker's throws.
Pummel 	N/A 	Knees his opponent.
Forward Throw 	N/A 	Tosses the opponent forward with a flourish of his arm.
Back Throw 	N/A 	Trips the opponent over his foot, similar to Snake's back throw.
Up Throw 	N/A 	Throws the opponent directly upwards with a flourish.
Down Throw 	N/A 	Magically slams the opponent onto the ground while posing and flourishing his left arm, sending the opponent bouncing upwards.
Neutral Special	Gun/Gun Special 	Fires his gun once with a tap of the special move button. Like with Bayonetta's Bullet Arts, the shots technically are not projectiles, but rather indirect attacks with large disjointed hitboxes. As such, they cannot be reflected or blocked by the shields of all versions of Link or Hero. The shots decay in damage and knockback based on the opponent's distance from Joker, doing no knockback at the furthest distance. The button can be held to fire multiple times; additionally, Joker can dodge between shots by tilting the control stick horizontally, with each use causing the dodge to slow down (much like a roll or sidestep). If he is in midair, he can either fire in a circle around himself (in a similar fashion to Bayonetta's Bullet Arts up aerial) by tilting up, or below himself in a corkscrewing fashion by tilting down. On the ground, Joker can also press the jump button to perform a diagonal jump while rapidly firing shots downwards. When Arsène is out, it becomes Gun Special, where it fires three bullets with each shot for the standard version, and two bullets per shot for the aerial downward version. Both Gun and Gun Special have penetrative properties, meaning they can pass through multiple opponents, and the downward aerial version, in particular, is notorious for its sheer versatility: it can counter combos and juggles, edgeguard effectively, and rack up damage quickly, as Gun has low ending lag and is spammable when used in the air. The closest version of Gun can also lock opponents, while the closest version of Gun Special applies knockback.
Side Special 	Eiha/Eigaon 	An extremely small projectile that travels at a diagonal angle downwards, similar to PK Fire. It deals little initial damage, but curses opponents and inflicts further damage over time. Each use causes Joker to hover slightly. When Arsène is present, it becomes Eigaon, which travels faster and farther, has an area of effect on hit, hits multiple times, has higher knockback, and deals further damage over time. Eiha has low knockback, but due to it being vertical it can function as a niche KO option near the upper blast line.
Up Special 	Grappling Hook/Wings of Rebellion	Shoots out a grappling hook at an upward angle. It functions as a tether recovery. As an attack, the grounded version can grab opponents, dragging them towards Joker and launching them above himself with low ending lag and knockback, making it a reliable combo starter. The aerial version cannot grab and only deals low vertical knockback but can act as a niche KO option at the upper blast line. However, the hook can be difficult to use due to its small size and hitbox position, and much like Isabelle's Fishing Rod, Grappling Hook can be shielded despite its grab properties. It can also let Joker grab physical items such as Peach’s turnips from afar. When Arsène is out, it becomes Wings of Rebellion, where Joker flies upwards or at an angle (again depending on input) using Arsène's wings. It has no hitboxes, therefore doing no damage or knockback, but grants a long period of intangibility on startup (frames 1-25 if used on the ground; frames 3-25 if used in midair). Wings of Rebellion also travels a considerable distance, going higher than most recovery up specials and being able to recover far below the stage.
Down Special 	Rebel's Guard/Tetrakarn/Makarakam	Joker takes a defensive position, during which any direct damage done to him in this state is reduced by 0.4× and builds his Rebellion Gauge. Its period can be extended for at least 1.5 seconds, and if an attack was successfully countered, Joker performs a darkness-infused backhanded swipe at the end of the move that weakly launches opponents away, during which he also announces "Endure!", "Not yet!" or "More...". It quickly refills the Rebellion Gauge to summon Arsène, and when he is summoned, he will power up Joker's special attacks and attack with him, significantly increasing the damage, range, and power of his attacks and giving him a large advantage state compared to the rest of the cast, similarly to Rosalina's Luma, although he cannot be sent out as he follows Joker's movements. When Arsène is out, it becomes Tetrakarn against melee attacks and Makarakarn against projectiles, countering and reflecting them respectively. Both Tetrakarn and Makarakarn are extremely powerful and are notorious for having some of, if not the best startup, ending lag, and damage of all other counters and reflectors, especially given the near-universal nerfs to counters in Life or Death, having extremely generous frame data and damage multiplier, as well as an abnormally huge hitbox around Joker that makes extremely hard to challenge it without getting punished and KO'd. With a four-frame startup for all variants, Rebel's Guard is a highly useful defensive option.
Final Smash 	All-Out Attack 	Joker announces "Ravage them!", then rushes forward, trapping opponents. If he misses, Joker can also rush backward if the control stick is pushed backward. If any fighter is hit during either of these swipes, they are attacked by Joker and three other Phantom Thieves. (The two possible groups are Ann, Ryuji, and Morgana and Makoto, Haru, and Yusuke.) They then rush at the opponent quickly, with either Futaba or Morgana commenting on the attack. After the barrage is complete, Joker lands in front of the opponent as the screen changes into a splash screen, with Joker in the front gripping his glove, the text "The Show's Over" appearing to the left, and the shadow of the unlucky fighter in the background, spewing sparkles. Causes an instant KO if the opponent was at 64% before Joker struck them, or at 100% or higher when the cinematic is over. If the Final Smash's possible resulting KO is the final KO needed to win, the splash screen will remain throughout the victory screen. Arsène will not affect All-Out Attack.
==Other Animations==
In all three of his victory poses, the transition to the victory screen will showcase a puff of cartoony smoke with star decals, and the ending screen will always result in Joker moving continuously to the left with the results background being dimmed down, replicating the victory screen from Persona 5. Upon accessing the results screen, Joker will say "Begone," "Nice," or "Hah!". If there are three or more human players, the color scheme will match the player's port (CPUs and amiibos are always red). In Team Battles, the color will match the player's team color. If Joker wins on Mementos, the color of the victory screen will match the color of the stage (regardless of which team or port Joker is on), and the victory music will be replaced with the corresponding victory fanfare from the game Mementos' design is currently derived from.
Animation 	Description 	Notes
On-Screen Appearance 	Drops from the top of the screen, similar to how the party begins most battles in Persona 5, then adjusts his glove just like in his up taunt. 	
Taunt 1 	Smiles and tugs his glove while facing towards the camera, imitating the splash screen from the end of All-Out Attack. Morgana pumps his paw while saying "Looking cool, Joker!" before posing akimbo. 	Morgana appears for each of Joker's taunts. If he is present, Arsène will also rear back and flourish with his left arm when Joker taunts, making a pose identical to his official artwork. If Joker is involved in a fight with five or more fighters, Morgana will not appear during his taunts.
Taunt 2 	Poses with his gun pointed, gun arm over his dagger arm. Morgana poses akimbo and playfully laughs while showing starry eyes. 	Morgana appears for each of Joker's taunts. If he is present, Arsène will also rear back and flourish with his left arm when Joker taunts, making a pose identical to his official artwork. If Joker is involved in a fight with five or more fighters, Morgana will not appear during his taunts.
Taunt 3 	Faces his back towards the camera, resembling his official artwork for Catherine: Full Body. Morgana goes "He-hey!" while bouncing on the spot, before crossing his arms. 	Morgana appears for each of Joker's taunts. If he is present, Arsène will also rear back and flourish with his left arm when Joker taunts, making a pose identical to his official artwork. If Joker is involved in a fight with five or more fighters, Morgana will not appear during his taunts.
Star KO 	 	
Screen KO 	 	
Character Selection Screen	 	
Crowd Chant 	Jo - ker! *claps 3 times* 	
Victory Pose 1 	Morgana happily bounces around Joker. Joker gestures to Morgana before running towards the left. 	
Victory Pose 2 	Joker scratches his head as Morgana, transformed as the Morganamobile, drives up next to Joker, picks him up, and drives towards the left. The head-scratching animation is Joker's victory animation if he is the only member of his party remaining in Persona 5. The Morganamobile is the victory screen when winning a match in Mementos.	
Victory Pose 3 	Morgana turns dramatically toward the screen, which ends up hitting him in the face. Joker gestures to Morgana before running towards the left. 	
Special Victory Pose 	If Joker wins a Stock or Stamina match with All-Out Attack, the match will conclude on the splash screen without returning to gameplay, and this will persist into the victory screen, just like in Persona 5. 	
Team Victory Pose 	If Joker is in a Team Battle and someone else poses in front, he will perform an exclusive animation where he tightens his glove and maintains a stance with his knife, although both of these are ported directly from his in-game up taunt and idle animation respectively. If he poses in front, none of his teammates will be seen. 	
=== Phantom Thieves Quotes ===
When transitioning to the results screen, one of the Phantom Thieves will say one of the following quotes in place of the announcer's usual "[character] wins!"
Character 	Quotes
Ryuji Sakamoto 	"...Hah! Losers!"
Ryuji Sakamoto 	"Yeah-hah! Nice!"
Ryuji Sakamoto 	"Ha-ha! Who's next?"
Morgana 	"Smash is as wild as ever, eh Joker?"
Morgana 	"A brilliant victory!"
Morgana 	"Alright! Victory!"
Morgana 	"Mm-mm! Good work!"
Ann Takamaki 	"Feels great, huh?"
Ann Takamaki 	"Aren't we the best?"
Ann Takamaki 	"Done and done!"
Yusuke Kitagawa	"And the curtain... falls."
Yusuke Kitagawa	"We've done it!"
Yusuke Kitagawa	"Well... Onto the next triumph!"
Makoto Naiijima	"No time to waste!"
Makoto Naiijima	"Don't forget this feeling!"
Makoto Naiijima	"Done and done!"
Futaba Sakura 	"Heh heh heh! They're done for!"
Futaba Sakura 	"Impressive!"
Futaba Sakura 	"Okay! Moving right along!"
Haru Okumura 	"That was graceful!"
Haru Okumura 	"Onto the next battle!"
Haru Okumura 	"So much for them!"
==Role in Classic Mode==
Like all other fighters, Joker appears in Classic Mode. Joker's Mini-Boss is unknown. 
===Joker Ending===
==Role in The Kiss of Death==
==Alternate Costumes==
Image	Number	Color 	Notes 	Unlockable?
 	01 	Black 	Joker's Phantom Thieves disguise. 	Default
 	02 	Purple 	Resembles the thematic color of Revelations: Persona. 	Default
 	03 	Blue 	Based on the thematic color of Persona 3. Also resembles the color scheme shared by the Velvet Room attendants. 	Default
 	04 	Yellow 	Based on the thematic color of Persona 4. 	Default
 	05 	Red 	Based on the thematic color of Persona 5. A partial reversal of his regular color scheme. It also resembles Arsène, the thematic color of Persona 2, and Tatsuya Suou's outfit from Persona 2: Eternal Punishment.	Default
 	06 	White 	Resembles Goro Akechi, a temporary member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, in his Crow outfit. 	Default
 	07 	School 	Joker's Shujin Academy school uniform. 	Default
 	08 	School White	Resembles his summer uniform. The buttons resemble those on the coat of Goro Akechi. 	Default
 	09 	 	 	Unlockable
 	10 	 	 	Unlockable
 	11 	 	 	Unlockable
 	12 	 	 	Unlockable
 	13 	 	 	Unlockable
 	14 	 	 	Unlockable
==Smash Taunts==
===Palutena's Guidance===
===Snake's Codecs===
==Fighter Spirits==
Joker's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Joker in The Kiss of Death allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Life & Death.
File:Joker P5.png
File:ArseneP5.png
==Trivia==
Category:Fighters in Super Smash Bros. Life or Death