Nexus Heroes / Sakai

Sakai is a playable character in Nexus Heroes, hailing from Ghost of Tsushima.
==Who is Sakai?==
===THE GHOSTLY SAMURAI ===
The sole surviving member of the Sakai samurai clan, Jin Sakai was among the valiant warriors of the island of Tsushima who took part in the great battle against the invading Mongols, led by the ruthless but dangerously smart Khothun Kahn. However, after suffering a tremendous loss at the hands of the Kahn, Jin made the difficult choice of ditching his samurai code of honor and fight the Mongolian Army from the shadows, unseen and with the tools of an assassin, quickly raising to fame in the island with the fearful moniker of "the Ghost".
==Gameplay==
===Overview===
Sakai is a middleweight fighter with average mobility who specializes in spacing with his Katana, which he uses for the vast majority of his attacks. 
His sword moves are generally long ranged strikes and stabs, and he usually relies on precise attacks from a medium distance to outrange his opponents in close combat. While his Normals aren't very fast in general, they make up for it with a good damage output, as well as their aforementioned range. As for his Specials, Sakai has several tricks up his sleeves with his "Ghost Weapons", including a long ranged and quick projectile with his Kunais, a lunging slash with his Side Special which obliterates Shields, a Counter, and a handy teleportation type of move, aimed at confusing the opponent by striking them after disappearing with a Smoke Bomb.
So while Sakai suffers from a bit of start lag on several of his attacks, players who prioritize precision and spacing will find a reliable pick in this character.
===Movelist===
  	Name  	Description
Neutral Attack
,,	Light Combo I/ Light Combo II/ Light Combo III	Three rapid slashes with his Katana.
Dash Attack
Dash,	Sprint Strike 	Slashes opponents with a quick and powerful strike of his Katana. The hit will bring Sakai behind the enemy, crossing them up.
Side Tilt 	Piercing Strike 	Steps forward while stabbing his Katana in front of himself, covering a good range.
Up Tilt 	Slash of the Sunrise 	An upward arching slash with his Katana.
Down Tilt 	Strength of Gales 	A wide arching slash performed low to the ground with his Katana.
Forward Strong
+	Puncture 	Holds up his Katana, charging, then stabs it forward twice in succession, dealing great damage and knockback.
Up Strong
+ 	Beam Of Light 	Stabs his Katana above himself, causing great damage. It has a narrow hitbox, however.
Down Strong 	Whirlwind 	Charges, then spins around with his Katana extended outward, slashing foes at all sides.
Neutral Aerial
Airborne
, ,	Flowing Strikes 	Performs up to three rapid slashes with his Katana in front of himself.
Forward Aerial
Airborne	Punishment 	Similarly to his Side Tilt, Sakai stabs his Katana forward. It's a bit slow, but covers a good range and is very powerful.
Back Aerial
Airborne	Wind Steps 	Kicks twice behind himself.
Up Aerial
Airborne	Strength of the Mountain 	Stabs his Katana above himself, similarly to his Up Strong. Its hitbox lingers for a bit.
Down Aerial
Airborne	Swift Death 	Points his Katana downward and drops down to the ground, impaling enemies with it.
Grab 	Grab 	Grabs the opponent by the throat while pointing his Katana at their face.
Pummel
, 	Steel Strike 	Hits the opponent with the handle of his Katana.
Forward Throw
,	Quick Takedown 	Stabs the opponent with his Katana, then kicks them away and off the blade.
Back Throw
, 	Final Cut 	Moves at the back of the opponent while slashing them, then kicks them away.
Up Throw
, 	Slash Launch 	Downs the opponent with the handle of his Katana, then performs an upward slash which launches them upward.
Down Throw
, 	Finishing Blow 	Sakai downs the opponent, then stabs them through their chest with his Katana.
Floor Attack
Grounded >	Deadly Dodge Strike 	Gets up, then quickly stabs in front and then behind himself.
Edge Attack
Ledge >	Shoulder Strike 	Climbs up and hits opponents with his shoulder.
NEUTRAL SPECIAL	Kunai 	Tosses three Kunais in front of himself, which quickly travel a long distance and deal small flinching damage.
SIDE SPECIAL 	Heavenly Strike 	Charges up, then dashes forward with a single, powerful strike of his Katana at blinding speed, crossing up enemies and bypassing shields altogether. It can be interrupted with a Grab or a well timed dodge or jump, and because the move has considerable end lag, it is quite punishable.
UP SPECIAL 	Smoke Bomb Strike 	Tosses a Smoke Bomb at his feet, disappearing in a smoke explosion. He'll then reappear briefly after in a different spot with a slashing uppercut which lifts Sakai into the air, with the spot being decided by the direction in which the control stick was tilted in at the moment of the teleport.
DOWN SPECIAL 	Terrifying Parry 	Sakai holds up his Katana in a defensive stance for a brief moment. If he is attacked in this stance, he will parry the incoming hit and retaliate with a single, powerful slash. The move also deflects incoming projectiles.
FINISHER 	The Ghost 	Sakai enters his Ghost Stance, while saying "I'll spare none of you! For Tsushima!". The game then takes on a black and white filter with only red colors visible, and Sakai gains superior speed, strength and higher jumps for about ten seconds, with each hit causing great damage and knockback to opponents.
===Intro Animation===
Appears into the stage from the smoke of a Smoke Bomb, then unsheathes his Katana and gets ready to fight.
===Taunt===
Sakai has two different taunts, depending on whether he's attacked an opponent or not. Dirt and blood-like stains will appear on Jin's Katana after dealing sufficient damage to a foe, and at that point, Sakai can perform his "secret" taunt. 
*If Sakai's blade is clean, he will open his arms and call out his opponents, saying "Are you cowards?!".
*If his blade is dirty, he'll quickly turn around and clean his Katana by running it in the joint of his left arm, in typical samurai fashion. This action will clean the blade, and therefore reset his taunt to the other one.
===Idle Poses=== 
*Looks around, then opens his palm to reveal a leaf, which gets carried away by the wind, with Sakai looking at it.
*Groans while clenching his Katana.
===Quotes===
====Selection Lines====
*" Face me! "
*" Who will be up first? "
*" For Tsushima. "
====Successful KO====
*" You shall cause no more harm. "
*" Your soul is put to rest. "
*" Find peace in death. "
*" Shouldn't have crossed a samurai. "
*" Another victim of their own ambitions. "
*" Why toss your life away .. ? "
*" For Tsushima! "
*" Anyone else dares to face me?! "
*" It's over .. "
*" You made for a fine adversary .. "
====Respawning====
*" I must not falter. "
*" Gotta pick myself up and fight .. "
*" My people need me. I can't give up. "
*" My will is stronger! "
*" I will fight back! "
*" No holding back now .. "
*" Whatever the cost, I must keep fighting. "
*" For my homeland, I will bring you down! "
*" I'm over here! "
*" It's not over yet, cowards! "
===Victory Poses===
*UP : Performs several lightning quick slashes with his Katana, cutting the air, then poses with his blade towards the camera. During this, he'll say "Show some respect, next time".
*SIDE : Sheathes his Katana back in a dramatic fashion, then menacingly looks at the camera, while saying "All of my enemies will fall!".
*DOWN : Sakai is sitting down playing his flute, when a japanese macaque approaches him. Sakai then stops his song and smiles at the monkey while petting its head.
==Arcade Mode==
The first match in Jin's Arcade route pits him in a battle against three other swordfighters : Geralt, 2B and Cloud. Furthemore, the battle is fought on Astral Chaos, a stage hailing from a series known for its weapons-based battles, SoulCalibur. Then, in the following match, Sakai fights against Wolverine, who is greatly associated with japan and samurais, as several of his stories takes place there and one of his enemies is a samurai who goes under the name of SIlver Samurai.
Next up, after a Bonus Stage, Sakai faces two knights : Shovel Knight and Undyne, as knights are often described as an occidental equivalent to samurais. Following this match, a duel against another swordfighter who fights in the shadows takes place, as Sakai faces Ezio. The stage, additionally, also references another stealth series of games, Metal Gear Solid.
Following the second Bonus Stage, Sakai faces two battles against two other characters created by Sucker Punch : the first one is Cole, from inFAMOUS, while the other one is his own Rival, Sly. Their battle, titled "Battle In The Shadows" is based on their many similarities, as both are the last members of their own clan and favor stealth when fighting, as well as having the aforementioned connection of being created by the same developers.
Round 	Opponent 	Stage 	Music 	
1 	Geralt
 2B
 Cloud	Astral Chaos 	The Stage Of History 	
2 	Wolverine 	Omi Lake 	The Way Of The Samurai 	
Bonus Stage 1	Bonus Stage 1	Bonus Stage 1 	Bonus Stage 1 	Bonus Stage 1
3 	Undyne
 Shovel Knight	Pridemoor Keep 	The Defender 	
4 	Ezio 	Big Shell 	Metal Gear Solid Main Theme	
Bonus Stage 2	Bonus Stage 2	Bonus Stage 2 	Bonus Stage 2 	Bonus Stage 2
5 	Cole 	Metropolis 	Yeedil - MegaCorp HQ 	
6 	Sly
(Rival Battle)	Boneyard Casino 	Main Title And Credits 	
7 	Kerrigan 	Kerrigan's Leviathan	Conscience 	
==Alternates==
===Alternate Colors===
*BLACK : Default appearance, based on the fully upgraded Ghost Armor in Ghost of Tsushima.
*GOLD : Based on the Golden Retribution armor dye for the Ghost Armor in Ghost of Tsushima.
*WHITE : Based on the Righteous Punishment armor dye for the Ghost Armor in Ghost of Tsushima.
*RED : Based on the Vow of Vengeance armor dye for the Ghost Armor in Ghost of Tsushima.
===Alternate Costume===
File:PN SAKAI RENDER.png|"Default" Costume
File:PN SAKAI ALT.png|"Broken Armor" Costume
*Default : Based on his appearance in Ghost of Tsushima.
*Broken Armor : Based on the Broken Samurai Armor set in Ghost of Tsushima.
==Trivia==
*Sakai is the only character in the game to go by his last name alone.
*Having made his first debut in July of 2020, Jin Sakai is the most recently created character to appear in Nexus Heroes.
*His Side Special, Heavenly Strike, lifts up some leaves during the execution, much like in the original game. However, this only works on certain stages, mostly ones that are out in the open. The stages are : Lake of Nine, Installation 04, Temple Ruins, Metropolis, N. Sanity Island, Band Land, Town Center, Sacred Lands, Mission 1, Kaer Morhen, Amusement Park, Omi Lake, Magic Crafters, Kings Canyon, Pilot's Gauntlet and Green Hill Zone.
Category:Project Nexus
Category:Project Nexus / Movesets
Category:Movesets