Karate Joe (Rhythm Heaven) Discussion: Uh, Punch, Punch!

DEBUT: Rhythm Tengoku (2006)
LATEST APPEARANCE: Rhythm Heaven The Best Plus (2015)

Before I begin this thread I'd like to thank Hippopotasauce for their awesome Karate Joe moveset that helped me figure out some of the more complicated moves. Here it is if you'd like to see it: http://smashboards.com/threads/karate-joe-tunes-in-from-rhythm-heaven-this-beat-is-nonstop.338340/

Karate Joe is a character from the first-party series Rhythm Heaven, a game all about, of course, rhythm. The games are popular and praised and just got a new game this year.

Joe himself was the first character to ever appear in it. Yes, the first. His minigame involves punching things to a rhythm, and sending them flying off. He has appeared in every single Rhythm Heaven game.

Rhythm Heaven deserves a rep because of it's fame and being a major Nintendo franchise that is loved by Western people and Japan, alongside many other places. It's also a first-party series and is one of the few major first-party series with a rep not in Smash Bros.

Joe would be the ideal pick because he has appeared in every game, and every Rhythm Heaven fan knows him. He is one of Rhythm Heaven's core elements and one of the most remembered characters.


Why Joe Over Marshal/Chorus Kids?
Without the Gematsu leak, you most likely wouldn't know who the Chorus Kids are. The main reason for their rise to fame is because of the Gematsu leak. Marshal, likewise, was just suggested alongside them.

Joe, on the other hand, is an iconic part of Rhythm Heaven with tons of fans and popularity. He also is the first character to appear in Rhythm Heaven, as I said. He most definitely deserves it over them.


How Does He Play? What's His Playstyle?
Joe is a rather balanced fighter who relies both on dealing damage close-ranged with hanging back and sending forward various projectiles. He's unique in that his moves focus on having a good rhythm to rack up more damage.


What Could He Even Do?
He is a martial artist, as you most likely know, and could utilize karate and various projectile moves. He'd be a very unique mix of close-range and far-range.


So, What About His Moveset?
Glad you asked!


Battle Entering Animation
Appears next to the Wrestler and Reporter from the Ringside minigame, and pumps his fist upward, smiling, alongside the Wrestler. He then has his picture taken by the Reporter. The two then dissapear and Joe assumes his fighting pose.


Joe's Neutral Moves

Neutral: A swift punch forward.

Jab: Punches two times, quickly, and then does an uppercut.

Forward Tilt: Raises his leg and kicks forward.

Up Tilt: Swipes his elbow upward.

Down Tilt: Stomps his foot, stretching it outwards.

Get-Up Attack: Does a split and jumps back up.


Joe's Specials

Neutral Special: Punch, Punch, Punch!: Depending on how many times you tap the Neutral key, he'll punch forward different projectiles.
The first tap sends forward a Garden Pot, which does medium damage and light knockback. The second is the Lightbulb, which does medium damage and medium knockback. The last is the barrel, which Joe'll kick forward, swiftly, doing high damage and medium knockback.

Side Special: An Explosive Move!: Does a roundhouse kick and kicks a bomb forward. It goes decently far and if it doesn't hit an opponent, lands on the ground, and explodes 3 seconds after. Does medium damage and high knockback.

Down Special: Talk About Technique!: Assumes a fighting stance and waits for 4 seconds (can be cancelled) and, if hit, begins a combo counter. The first hit is automatic but a bar appears above Joe's head. A punching icon comes at a steady rate, and if you tap the down special button perfectly every time the punching icon gets to a box icon, then Joe will keep comboing. After five hits, the opponent recieves high damage and high knockback. But if you just do one or two hits, you don't do much damage or knockback.
If you can't picture this move, think of a simpler version of DK's SSB4 Final Smash.

Up Special: You Must Recover, Joe!: This move is a bit different in that, because Joe doesn't really have a possible recovery (I don't want to rip off of Hippo) he takes his recovery from another minigame...Launch Party.
Joe jumps onto a little rocket. It goes farther and farther up the more you tap to the rhythm. At the end, if you've tapped perfectly, Joe jumps off and the rocket flies off into space, but explodes if it hits any enemies. You can cancel the move and jump off at any time by pressing Down Special.
Great for horizontal recovery but not diagonal. Also, the color of the rocket is random. It can be red, gray, green, or blue, and the top can be normal, bowling pin shaped, bell shaped, or party hat shaped, respectively.


Joe's Aerials

Neutral Aerial: Swings his foot, kicking it outward in the air.

Forward Aerial: Kicks his foot outward and spins around, in the motion of Ryu's Tatsumaki.

Back Aerial: Same as forward aerial, but Joe goes the opposite direction.

Upward Aerial: Kicks upward diagonally.

Downward Aerial: Punches downward, twice.


Joe's Grabs

Neutral Grab: Reaches out and throws forward his hands, attempting to grab the opponent by the shoulders.

Pummel: Knees the opponents stomach.

Forward Throw: Punches the opponent twice and finishes them off with a sidekick, sending them forward.

Back Throw: Spins the opponent around and then picks them up, throwing them backwards.

Upward Throw: Swings his foot back then slams the opponent, kicking them directly upward.

Down Throw: Throws the opponent down and stomps on them twice, stunning the opponent for a second, then sending them back.


Joe's Miscellaneous Things

Taunt 1: Juggles a bomb on his knee, which then explodes, covering Joe in soot. If you're very close to Joe this deals 3% damage to you (the opponent). Joe then awkwardly grins and the soot dissapears.

Taunt 2: Smiles and faces the camera, flashing a thumbs-up, then putting his hands to his hips.

Taunt 3: Juggles a garden pot.

Idle Animation: Carefully examines a barrel, before putting it away into his pocket..somehow. You're mysterious, Joe..

Victory Pose: Breaks a barrel then flashes a thumbs up at the camera, grinning.

Neutral Pose:

Alternate Costumes:

End Note
Hope you liked another Shaqtastic Thread! I would love to hear feedback and maybe even some support. Thanks for reading!

I do think that there are better choices than Karate Joe, such as Marshal or the Chorus Kids. But I'll happily support him.

OmegaSteve777 wrote:

I do think that there are better choices than Karate Joe, such as Marshal or the Chorus Kids. But I'll happily support him.

Can I ask why you think that?

Karate Joe is already a fighter, and in my book, the characters that aren't known for fighting are the ones that are more fun to play as. Game & Watch, Duck Hunt, Olimar (Sort of), and R.O.B. come to mind.

I haven't played Rhythm Heaven, but I thought that Marshal was the mascot, not Karate Joe? That would mean Marshal has more potential, since he could take moves from every game (including Karate Joe and the fabled Chorus Men). I also feel like the rhythm could be used in his normal attacks, somehow... it'd be a nice way to make him unique.

Also, that down special is really overpowered. 4 seconds of counter time, plus cancellable?

Roy wrote:

I haven't played Rhythm Heaven, but I thought that Marshal was the mascot, not Karate Joe? That would mean Marshal has more potential, since he could take moves from every game (including Karate Joe and the fabled Chorus Men). I also feel like the rhythm could be used in his normal attacks, somehow... it'd be a nice way to make him unique.

Also, that down special is really overpowered. 4 seconds of counter time, plus cancellable?

Marshal is not the mascot. No one really is, but Joe is very close. We could have 2 RH Reps, Marshal and Joe.

Yeah, I'll change the down special. It'll be much less OP.

Lego Shaq wrote:

Marshal is not the mascot. No one really is, but Joe is very close. We could have 2 RH Reps, Marshal and Joe.

Oh... I don't know if it deserves 2 reps yet, but it's definitely a semi-significant Nintendo franchise and thus deserves at least one.

I'll support Karate Joe, assuming he's more rhythm based than he currently is. Why not?

I enjoy this idea, truly I do. While I never played the games myself, it's got a lot of charm, and...well, honestly that "I love you, my one and only" song in Rhythm Heaven Fever has quickly become one of my favorite songs ever.

As to who I'd rather support as being a character...I don't know. I haven't played/seen enough to pick just one mascot, but I've seen plenty of people wanting this guy, and I suppose I can see why. Marshall might be the more fun choice, but this is good enough to warrant my support.

...One question, however...What would you recommend as a series icon for this dude?

JacobDaGun wrote:

I enjoy this idea, truly I do.  While I never played the games myself, it's got a lot of charm, and...well, honestly that "I love you, my one and only" song in Rhythm Heaven Fever has quickly become one of my favorite songs ever.

As to who I'd rather support as being a character...I don't know.  I haven't played/seen enough to pick just one mascot, but I've seen plenty of people wanting this guy, and I suppose I can see why.  Marshall might be the more fun choice, but this is good enough to warrant my support.

...One question, however...What would you recommend as a series icon for this dude?

Thanks for the support! I've actually never played either. I just really respect the series.

As for the logo:

The other choice for a logo is either simple music notes, or the note from Rhythm Heaven on the DS