The Snatcher (A Hat in Time)

"Fool!"

- The Snatcher's catchphrase.

The Snatcher is a major antagonist in the 2017 game A Hat in Time, serving as the boss of the third Chapter: "Subcon Forest".

He is a shadow spirit who competes with the mysterious Queen Vanessa for the control over Subcon Forest, so he plays tricks and makes deals with others in order to obtain their souls.

He is voiced by Youtuber Luke Sizemore aka Yungtown.

Appearance
The Snatcher resembles a dark slender figure with two fingers on each of his slim arms and a yellow glowing jack-o'-lantern-like face. He has what appears to be hair on his neck. He is a shape-shifter, although he retains the features of his eyes and smile.

As a human, the Snatcher had brown hair and wore a regal red shirt with purple stripes on the shoulders.

Personality
The Snatcher is a mischievous and manipulative phantom who enjoys to toy around other's lives through the contracts he forces them to sign.

History
According to lore, the Snatcher was a once a lawyer who served Queen Vanessa of the kingdom of Subcon Forest. Vanessa fell in love with the lawyer, viewing and referring him as her "prince", but her growth of power grew envious when she discovered him with another girl, all in a misunderstanding of the lawyer ordering flowers for the Queen. She sentenced the flower girl to death and imprisoned her prince within her manor as punishment for "leaving her", where her magic and abuse eventually transformed the man into the Snatcher.

When Hat Kid makes her way through Subcon Forest to find her missing Time Pieces, she is caught in a trap by the Snatcher, who, instead of killing her, decides to make her his servant, as the old one lost his head, forcing Hat Kid to sign a contract in exchange for her soul, although he promises to give it back once she fulfills her objectives on the contract.

After completing the Snatcher's objectives of killing the fire fairies, cleaning the Subcon Well, defeating the possessed Toilet of Doom, obtaining a stolen Time Piece from Queen Vanessa's attic, and delivering the mail to each of the Snatcher's minions, before Had Kid can collect the last Time Piece of the area, the Snatcher arrives and reveals his true intentions: to kill his contractors once they become obsolete to the Snatcher's goal of collecting souls. He then engages Hat Kid in battle to dispose her little head.

Although the Snatcher seems immortal, Hat Kid turned him blue by reflecting one of his attacks, allowing her to touch and defeat him. The Snatcher admits defeat and makes another contract for Hat Kid to sign, this one declaring Hat Kid an exile of Subcon Forest and never come back. However, Hat Kid scribbles on the contract, instead inviting her to stay and have fun in the forest. The Snatcher gives up and decides to give Hat Kid her soul back, though warning her that should he ever see her again, consequences will follow.

The Snatcher plays another significant part at the end of the game, where he, along with the rest of Hat Girl's companions encountered along her journey, come to her aid during her brawl with Mustache Girl. The Snatcher makes a contract for a Goat to sign to throw bombs made by the Snatcher into the arena to assist Hat Girl in replenishing Mustache Girl's barrier.

Before Hat Girl's departure, her companions hold aside to her space ship and beckon her not to leave, with the Snatcher offering to make another contract. Hat Kid pushes them away with her broom and waves goodbye as they plummet back down to their planet.

Trivia

 * The Snatcher may have been inspired by the demon in the black chests of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, as both are dark figures with a tendency to shout "FOOL!" whenever encountered.
 * In the original Alpha of A Hat in Time, the Snatcher was actually two characters, the prince, Moonjumper, and a shadow in the walls of Queen Vanessa's removed third story of her manor. According to the shadow, Moonjumper was its friend when he lived in the manor. The Moonjumper was removed from the game and replaced with the Snatcher.