Nexus Heroes / Rick

Rick (リック, Rick ) is a playable character in Nexus Heroes, hailing from the Splatterhouse series. His design is mainly taken from Splatterhouse 2, though there are some influences from the 2010 remake of Splatterhouse, such as the mask's design and its voice. 
==Who is Rick? ==
===THE MASKED TERROR ===
Caught in a rainstorm and lost in the woods, Rick Taylor and his girlfriend Jennifer sought shelter in a gloomy and seemingly abandoned house. But the two would soon discover that the house was not abandoned at all - horrible monsters kidnapped Jennifer and attacked Rick, leaving him for dead. All hope seemed lost, until a sinister and mysterious Mask appeared, bonding with Rick and granting him immense strength and powers, that he would use to literally rip his way through endless hordes of monsters to save Jennifer and escape the cursed House.
== Gameplay==
=== Overview ===
A big, heavy character, Rick cannot count on speed and projectiles to easily approach opponents, and must therefore rely on his brute strength and highly damaging moves to get the most out of the chances he gets when he comes in close contact with his opponents. Because of this, Rick can also count on a unique Grab, which allows him to move around while holding an opponent, to better set up throws and combos that could lead to a kill.
Other than that, Rick can count on powerful, if slow, tilt and neutral attacks, as well as outstandingly powerful Strong attacks.
=== Movelist ===
  	Name  	Description
Neutral Attack, 	Splatter Punch / Splatter End	A jab followed by an uppercut. The uppercut can kill at high percentages, though it's a bit slow.
Dash AttackDash, 	Psycho Ram 	Hits opponents with a powerful shoulder bash, which carries Rick forward a bit.
Side Tilt 	Two by Four 	Swings a 2x4 in front of himself, covering a wide range and dealing good damage and knockback, although it's a bit slow. This move can also deflect projectiles, if they're hit with good timing.
Up Tilt 	Raising the Bar 	Swings an Iron Bar in an upward arch, which drags grounded enemies into the air. Also hits behind Rick.
Down Tilt 	Crouch Kick 	A rapid side kick, dealt while crouching.
Forward Strong+ 	Double Barrel 	Fires a large double-barreled shotgun in front of himself, then briefly reloads.
Up Strong+ 	Chainsaw Massacre 	Revs up an oversized Chainsaw and points it upward, hitting multiple times before launching foes away.
Down Strong+ 	Cleaver Man 	Swings a large Cleaver in front and then behind himself, low to the ground.
Neutral AerialAirborne	Splatter Kick 	An aerial front kick.
Forward AerialAirborne	Axed 	Swings a large Axe in front of himself in a downward motion, slamming opponents to the ground.
Back AerialAirborne 	Batter Up 	Rotates his waist and swings a Baseball Bat behind himself, knocking foes away.
Up AerialAirborne 	Overdrive 	A swinging, upward punch, which hits in front and above himself.
Down AerialAirborne 	Heavy Slam 	Slams opponents into the ground with a powerful double handed swinging hit aimed below himself.
Grab 	Splatter Grab 	Holds the opponent up in the air with one hand. Rick can walk and jump for a short time while holding the opponent, though the walk has reduced speed and the jump has reduced height.
Pummel, 	Headbutt 	Headbutts the opponent.
Forward Throw,+ 	Power Slam 	Slams the opponent into the ground, then sends them away with a strong front kick. Unlike other Forward Throws in the game, this one is performed by tilting the left stick forward and the Attack Button simultaneously, instead of just tilting the control stick, as Rick can move during the Grab.
When opponents are thrown in the air, Rick will simply toss them forward using both arms.
Back Throw,+ 	Crowd Surf 	Spins once while holding the opponent with both hands, tossing them backwards. Unlike other Back Throws in the game, this one is performed by tilting the left stick backward and the Attack Button simultaneously, instead of just tilting the control stick, as Rick can move during the Grab.
When opponents are thrown in the air, Rick will simply turn around and toss them back using both arms.
Up Throw,+ 	Giant Swing 	Slams the opponent into the ground, drags them across the floor while spinning them around, then launches them into the air.
When opponents are thrown in the air, Rick will simply toss them upward using both arms.
Down Throw,+ 	Graveyard 	Slams the opponent into the ground, then stomps their head with his foot.
When opponents are thrown in the air, Rick will simply toss them downward using both arms.
Floor AttackGrounded >	Rotating Kick 	Sweeps the floor with a rotating kick before getting up.
Edge AttackLedge > 	Slide Kick 	Climbs up and slides for a brief distance with a kick.
NEUTRAL SPECIAL 	Splatter Bomb 	Charges up a powerful fist, rearing his arm back through the charge. It takes a while to come out, and the attack cannot be acted out of, but it deals incredibly high damage and knockback if the punch lands.
SIDE SPECIAL 	Megaton Driver 	Reaches with both hands in front of himself. If he catches an opponent, he will execute a Piledriver on them, causing great damage. During the move, it's possible to slightly influence the landing's direction by tilting the control stick forward or backwards. If the landing occurs off the stage, Rick will always die first.
UP SPECIAL 	Quad Spin Kick 	Spins on one foot while extending his other leg, kicking around himself multiple times. On the ground Rick has some horizontal mobility, while in the air he can gain vertical height to recover instead. Mashing the button will increase the duration of the move, and therefore its effectiveness when recovering. Rick is left helpless after the move finishes.
DOWN SPECIAL 	Splatter Siphon 	Spawns fleshy spikes from his torso, which deal great damage to anyone close enough to Rick, while also granting him Super Armor for a brief moment. This move blocks projectiles.
FINISHER 	Berserk! 	Rick goes into his Berserk form, becoming much bigger and muscular, ripping his jacket off. During this state, Rick has enhanced strength and speed, and is completely invulnerable. He also gains a new set of attacks, mostly replacing the ones where he uses weapons :
Tenderizer : Performed by pressing and then mashing the Neutral Attack button when on the ground, Rick unleashes a flurry of high damaging punches, ending with one final hit which deals great knockback.
Splatter Swing : Replaces his Side Tilt, and consists of a double swing with his arms forward. It's fast and hits hard.
Bloody Punch : Replaces his Up Tilt, and consists of a slow but powerful uppercut.
Air Swing : Replaces his Forward Aerial, and consists of a swings of his arm in front of himself.
Back Splatter Kick : Replaces his Back Aerial, and is similar to his Neutral Aerial, though he kicks behind himself.
In this mode, Rick cannot die, and if he falls out of the screen he'll respawn immediately back on the stage. He is also unable to block or roll in this state.
===Intro Animation ===
Rick is laying on the ground, while the Mask's spirit looms above him. As the Mask enters his body, he gets up and prepares to fight.
===Taunt ===
Turns his back to the camera and flexes. A reference to Rick's ability to face the walls behind him in the first two Splatterhouse games.
===Idle Poses=== 
*Rotates one shoulder, warming up, then cracks his neck.
*Quickly slams his fists together.
===Quotes===
====Selection Lines==== 
*" Ha-ha-ha! " - Terror Mask
*" Let's show 'em why we call it 'Splatterhouse'! " - Terror Mask
* " Time to play! " - Terror Mask
====Successful KO====
*" Beat them up! " - Terror Mask
*" Make them pay! " - Terror Mask
*" More blood! " - Terror Mask
*" Hahaha! " - Terror Mask
*" I want more! " - Terror Mask
* " Paint everything red! " - Terror Mask
*" Kill them all! " - Terror Mask
*" Getting nasty, Rick! " - Terror Mask
*" You won't stop me! " - Rick
*" Out of my way. " - Rick
*" What a mess .. " - Rick
====Respawning ====
*" Get back up, Rick! " - Terror Mask
*" We're not done yet, pretty boy. " - Terror Mask
*" You break easy don't you, Rick? " - Terror Mask
*" Now's our turn ... " - Terror Mask
*" I've been out of the game too long .. " - Terror Mask
*" What are you doing, Rick?! Get them! " - Terror Mask
*" Ugh ... where am I? " - Rick
*" This was a bad idea ... " - Rick
*" Knew I shouldn't have trusted you ... " - Rick
=== Victory Poses=== 
*UP : Slowly turns to the camera while holding his Cleaver, then holds up one fist, striking a very similar pose to the one seen during the Stage change screen in the first Splatterhouse.
*SIDE : Knocks a monster into the camera with an Iron Bat. The monster then drops out of view, showing Rick in a menacing pose.
*DOWN : Rears back while roaring and performing Splatter Siphon.
==Arcade Mode ==
In the first match of his Arcade route, Rick fights fellow Namco Bandai owned characters Jin Kazama and Nightmare, in a Free for All battle. Following that, another battle against two opponents starts, this time against Kratos and Kitana, two characters who, like Rick himself, hail from notoriously violent and gore-filled franchises. 
After completing a Bonus Stage, Rick moves on to a set of one-on-one battles ; the first one is against Wolverine on Hydra Chamber, a reference to the movie Freddy vs. Jason : Rick Taylor is notoriously modeled after the fictional serial killer Jason Voorhees of the Friday the 13th franchise, who faced off against Freddy Krueger (another iconic slasher films character) in the 2003 movie. Wolverine as Rick's adversary references Freddy, as both use claws to attack. After this battle, Rick fights against Undyne, in a battle that references Rick's fight against his own girlfriend, Jennifer, in the first Splatterhouse : Undyne represents Jennifer because the latter morphs into a hideous monster for the battle, and Undyne references this with her transformation into The Undying. 
Finally, after the second Bonus Stage, Rick goes on against three opponents at once : Crash, Delta and Lifeline. This battle references Dr. West (the owner of the House of Splatterhouse, and main antagonist of the reboot) who is played by Lifeline, another doctor, while Crash and Delta assist her because both of them are genetic experiments created by mad scientists (Neo Cortex and Yi Suchong, respectively), much like the monsters invading West's Mansion. Before Rick fights Kerrigan, he must face his Rival, Jacket, in a battle titled Masked Bloodlust. This rivalry references the fact that both Rick and Jacket are masked men who are protagonists of very violent games, in which the objective is to slaughter either monsters or men. 
Round 	Opponent 	Stage 	Music 	
1 	Jin Kazama
 Nightmare	Astral Chaos 	In The Name Of Father	
2 	Kratos
 Kitana	Dead Pool 	Living Forest 	
Bonus Stage 1	Bonus Stage 1	Bonus Stage 1 	Bonus Stage 1 	Bonus Stage 1
3 	Wolverine 	Raccoon City 	Nemesis Theme 	
4 	Undyne 	West Mansion 	Jennifer (Battle) 	
Bonus Stage 2	Bonus Stage 2	Bonus Stage 2 	Bonus Stage 2 	Bonus Stage 2
5 	Delta
 Crash
 Lifeline	Black Mesa 	Klaxon Beat 	
6 	Jacket
(Rival Battle)	1989 	Evil Eye 	
7 	Kerrigan 	Kerrigan's Leviathan	Conscience 	
==Alternates==
=== Alternate Colors===
*BLUE : Default appearance, based on his design from Splatterhouse 3.
*ORANGE : Based on his design from Splatterhouse : Naughty Graffiti.
*GREEN : Based on the appearance of Mirror Rick from Splatterhouse (2010).
*RED : Based on the Biggy Man, a popular boss from Splatterhouse.
===Alternate Costume===
File:PN RICK RENDER.png|"Default" Costume
File:PN RICK ALT.png|"Retro Fit" Costume
 
*Default : An original design which is a mix of his Splatterhouse 2 design and the 2010 remake.
*Retro Fit : Based on his design from the boxart of Splatterhouse 2.
==Trivia== 
*Matthew Mercer voices the Terror Mask, making him one of two actors to be cast specifically for Nexus Heroes, with the other one being Scott Whyte for Marco. The Mask has previously been voiced by Jim Cummings in the 2010 remake of Splatterhouse, but was not asked to return for the role in Nexus.
*Rick is the oldest playable character in Nexus to hail from a Rated R videogame.
*Rick is the only character in the base game whose design is original to Nexus Heroes.
Category:Project Nexus
Category:Project Nexus / Movesets
Category:Movesets