Gun / Gun Special
| Gun/Gun Special | |
|---|---|
{{{content1}}}
{{{content2}}} Joker using Gun and Gun Special. | |
| User | Joker |
| Universe | Persona |
Gun (ガン, Gun) is Joker's neutral special move in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Overview
Pressing the special button causes Joker to fire his gun once, and he will continually fire if the special button is pressed multiple times. Holding the special button down also causes him to continually fire the gun, but the rate of fire will not be as fast as it can be with repeated presses.
On the ground, Gun has various options:
- Joker can perform a quick, roll-like dodge while firing by pressing either left or right on the control stick while firing straight forward. These dodges will increase the knockback on a gun shot as well, making it useful offensively as well as defensively. If four dodges are used without ceasing fire, Joker loses the ability to dodge until he stops using the gun.
- These dodges have fewer invulnerability frames than a standard roll, and can be staled with repeated use just like them.
- Pressing up on the control stick or the jump button will instead allow Joker to jump while firing downwards, which can be fast falled to potentially combo into various attacks. This jump has invulnerability as well.
All of this functionality is retained if the gun is used in the air, and Joker also gains two new options. However, Joker cannot jump out of Gun, instead needing to end the move before jumping.
- By holding down while firing in the air, or by jumping while firing on the ground, Joker performs a corkscrewing series of shots directly below himself. This maneuver is extremely helpful for confirming various combos, as it inflicts non-tumble hitstun, meaning directional influence cannot be used against it.
- By instead pressing up, Joker will spin while constantly firing his gun in a circle around him until he lands, offering greater coverage but less concentrated power than either of the other two styles. It also doesn't have much range and 20 frames of landing lag, making it generally inferior to the corkscrew maneuver.
Additionally, the Gun stalls Joker in the air when used, which can be used in conjunction with a double jump to let him go under stages like Battlefield[1]. Outside of this, the aerial Gun dodges can be used to recover horizontally in certain situations, which can easily be boosted in viability with Arsene.
If Arsene is present, the attack is upgraded to Gun Special (ガンスぺシャル, Gun Special), and Joker will fire three bullets with each shot when firing straight forwards. The other two methods of firing become stronger, as well. The "bullets" have increased knockback values as well, making them much more favorable for forcing tech situations. The damage is also quite high and racks up quickly, allowing for Joker to force approaches effectively in a way similar to Fox's Blaster.
Much like Bayonetta's Bullet Arts, the bullets are not projectiles, but rather indirect attacks with large disjointed hitboxes. As such, they cannot be reflected or blocked by passive shields. Unlike Bullet Arts, these bullets can actually cause flinching. Due to this, they can force Counter attacks to trigger, allowing for some interesting offensive pressure.
Gundashing
There's a unique tech with Joker's Gun which involves landing while executing a forward or backward dodge with it. This is known as a Gundash. Through this, Joker will slide a long distance, akin to a wavedash. The distance of a Gundash can vary, mainly depending on the player's timing. The later the dodge is performed, the longer the dash will be, just like how Wavedashing works.
The applications with this are somewhat limited due to how long it takes to pull off, but it's very useful when executed in the right circumstances. For example, it can be used in a way akin to a ledgedash would be in Melee, allowing for Joker to have increased options to use if he's being oppressed on the ledge. On the flip side, Gundashing to the ledge is also very possible to set up for an edgeguard. Gundashing close to the ledge and then using the Jump option to rain bullets on the opponent for a gimp is also a very powerful option in this respect.
Outside of setting up for ledge options, Gundashing can also be used to press advantage by using its properties to slide while using attacks or increase Joker's general speed even further. Holding B will keep Joker using the Gun, meaning all the options it provides are also still available. As a result, Gundashing close and using another Bullet can potentially set up for a tech situation or perform a lock.
Instructional quote
 Move List |
 |
Fires a gun forward. While Arsene is active, the power and number of shots that can be fired increases. |
Origin
Firearms are a class of weapon used in several Megami Tensei games, including every main game in the Persona series. In Revelations: Persona and Persona 5, all party members carry both a melee weapon and a firearm they can switch between in battle. In Persona 5, party members can pull out their gun during their turn in a battle and fire it as many times as they wish until the current magazine runs out. The exaggerated, cartoonish muzzle flash in Smash Bros. closely resembles the one used in Persona 5 for most gun attacks.
Joker uses semi-automatic pistols, while the other members of the Phantom Thieves use different types of firearms. While they are actually realistic models and not genuine guns, the nature of the Metaverse allows them to function as if they were real. The gun Joker uses in Smash Bros. is his initial gun in Persona 5. Referred to in-game as the Tkachev, it is based off the Type 54, a Chinese copy of the Tokarev TT-33. Joker's gun in Smash Bros. uses the same sound effects as his guns in Persona 5.
Joker's neutral stance when firing in Smash Bros., with his knees slightly bent and the gun tilted to the side, resembles a left-handed version of one of his animations when using Uchikomi, a special gun attack he can learn from Confidant Hifumi Togo. The acrobatic maneuvers he can perform when using Gun is likely a reference to the Down Shot special attack he can learn from Confidant Shinya Oda, an elementary schooler who is a light gun game prodigy. The animation for Down Shot shows Joker gracefully dodging and leaping into the air while firing at the enemy.
The blue muzzle flash from Gun Special resembles the ethereal blue the Persona series uses to represent Personas. The attack may serve as a reference to Snipe and Cripple (renamed Gun Boost and Gun Amp, respectively, in Persona 5 Royal), two skills Personas can learn in Persona 5. Snipe and Cripple both passively boost the damage of all gun attacks. Arsène does not learn either normally, but he can be taught them via Fusion or Skill Cards. Gun Special may also reference other elements of skills that Joker can learn from Shinya; Down Shot shows Joker firing his gun in three-round bursts, downing the enemy. Additionally, Down Shot is referred to as Gun Special in the battle menus of Persona 5. Upon reaching Rank 10 of the Confidant, Joker learns the Oda Special, a skill that allows his bullets to ignore an enemy's resistances. It could also be a reference to the skill Triple Down, which hits all enemies with gun damage three times.
The bullets being treated as a physical attack instead of a reflectable projectile is possibly a reference to them (and Gun skills as a whole, such as Dream Needle in Persona 5 Royal) being treated as physical attacks in Persona 5.
Gallery
Artwork of Joker with his gun, the Tkachev, in Persona 5
Gun as shown by the Move List in Ultimate.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
 Japanese |
ガン / ガンスぺシャル, Gun / Gun Special |
 English |
Gun / Gun Special |
 French |
Tir / Tir spécial |
 German |
Pistole / Pistolen-Spezial |
 Spanish |
Pistola / Pistola especial |
 Italian |
Pistola / Pistola speciale |
 Chinese (Simplified) |
枪 / 枪ＳＰ |
 Chinese (Traditional) |
槍 / 槍SP |
 Korean |
건 / 건 스페셜, Gun / Gun Special |
 Dutch |
Pistool / Speciaal Pistool |
 Russian |
Выстрел / Спецвыстрел |
Trivia
- Gun, when standing still, will fire at a rate of exactly 120bpm. This lead to it gaining notoriety, as a group of viral videos would play random sounds over the sound effects created by Gun, such as a mashup between the song Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by Eurythmics and ambiance music from the educational program Kahoot!.
- The sound effect gained even more popularity by being played over other songs, such as Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen, and Revenge, a Minecraft-based parody of DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love by Usher.
- In Joker's gameplay trailer, when describing the move, the narrator said, "For his neutral special, he wields a gun." The line from the trailer has become a meme in the Smash community, due to the bluntness and simplicity of the line.
- In Persona 5, the guns do not work in the real world and only function as such in the Metaverse, which takes place in a person's cognition. In Smash, Joker is able to utilize guns as weapons, which lines up with how the world of Super Smash Bros. takes place within someone's imagination, with the characters simply being toys in real life.
