The silhouettes of two new Soul Calibur V characters have been revealed. While the official names of these mysterious fighters haven't been released, GamePro sees plenty of clues as to their true identities...
Soul Calibur V has so far revealed four official characters: samurai Mitsurugi, redemptive swordsman Siegfried, and the two children of Sophitia: Pyrrha and Patroklos. The silhouettes revealed on Wednesday help augment the lineup, but fans are left guessing as to their identities.
But after some detective work, GamePro has some educated guesses as to which silhouette belongs to which character.
The character on the right is fairly easy. While we initially thought the collar and boots could belong to nunchuku-wielding-pirate Maxi, ultimately Maxi's hair took him out of the running. Instead, with his iconic collar and cape, the silhouette likely belongs to French swordsman Raphael. Since he turned to vampirism, the 17 years that have passed since the events of Soul Calibur IV have likely not aged him. There's also an uncanny resemblance between the silhouetted figure and Raphael's hairstyle and costume that makes this mystery pretty easy to solve. Even the gesture is all too fitting for a man driven to madness.
The character on the left, however, has generated some debate in the office. Our immediate guesses were Talim and Tira-- both are diminutive female fighters with skirts/shorts and iconic hair styles. That said, Talim would likely have aged a bit in the 17 years since the events of Soul Calibur IV. Moreover, her hair style is all wrong for the silhouette. She usually rocks a strange sailor outfit, pony tail, or pig tail hairstyle.
Of the two, Tira is more likely-- not only is her appearance usually wild and unkempt, but her Soul Calibur III costume seems similar to the skirt/tassel thing going on with the silhouette. Moreover, her devotion to the evil sword Soul Edge would likely due some strange things to her mortality and aging process.
The discussion of Soul Calibur III got us thinking about the bonus characters in the game, and SCIII had some of the more iconic ones-- a tambourine-wielding dancer, a magical-expanding pole warrior, and a girl who only used special boots and shin guards to fight! Then we realized that bonus characters Hualin and Lynette also have strange skirt-based costumes and hair about the right length to match our mysterious silhouetted fighter.
Would Namco Bandai promote either character to full-character status and retcon their origins? It's entirely possible-- both were 18 when they appeared in Soul Calibur III but don't factor into the game's larger history. Either fighter could be given a bigger role in Soul Calibur V and be aged appropriately or not.
After all of this discussion, however, we really can't ignore the logical pairing with Raphael. That, of course, would be Amy-- his also-vampiric-Lolita-like ward. The hair style and skirt match, and the fact that she hasn't aged in 17 ages due to her vampirism means that she should look exactly the same as she did in Soul Calibur IV. Due to fans' love of the character, her inclusion in the final cast shouldn't surprise anyone.
Well, there you have it. Our best guesses for the new Soul Calibur V character reveals. Now who do you think Namco Bandai should include in the final roster?
Source: Daily News from GamePro.com
Wednesday, July 6, 2011