theoriginal
[09] Warrior
(Click to enlarge)
Hector (guest) / Raphael / Talim / Natsu / Baiken (guest) / Mitsurugi / Ivy / Astaroth / Voldo / Isaac (guest)
Z.W.E.I. / Viola / Siegfried / Cassandra (Patroklos style) / Patroklos (Yun-seong-ish style) / Random / Pyrrha / Algol / Nightmare / Cervantes / Aeon
Maxi / Hilde / Leixia / Xiba / Neve (Setsuka) / Bangoo / Zasalamel / Edgemaster / Yoshimitsu / Tira / Dampierre
Z.W.E.I. / Viola / Siegfried / Cassandra (Patroklos style) / Patroklos (Yun-seong-ish style) / Random / Pyrrha / Algol / Nightmare / Cervantes / Aeon
Maxi / Hilde / Leixia / Xiba / Neve (Setsuka) / Bangoo / Zasalamel / Edgemaster / Yoshimitsu / Tira / Dampierre
Below is commentary on select characters.
I'll cover the guests first.
Hector from Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. This game came out years ago so it wouldn't happen, but it's the thought that counts (that Castlevania and Soulcalibur could go well together... and by Castlevania I mean any non-Lords of Shadow title). He could be equipped either with a European single handed sword (a weapon that's been strangely absent; Z.W.E.I. doesn't count), or he could use a weapon like Necrid's that transforms on the fly to perform moves borrowed from other characters. In his game he can wield almost any weapon except a whip: short swords, broad swords, long swords, zweihanders, rapiers, axes, hammers, spears, knuckles, claws, scythes, so he's pretty much a blank slate in that regard. Isaac from the same game would wield a spear in a more vicious, dirty style than Hilde, and he'd have some moves that are sexualized similar to the way that some of Ivy's throws are. You know, treating the battlefield like a stage... his spear like a dancer's pole. As far as his design goes, BDSM flavored designs can already be observed in Astaroth, Voldo and Ivy, so I think he'd fit.
Here's a couple videos of them if you're curious about their personalities or the dynamic between them.
The other guest is Baiken from the Guilty Gear series. She could be Mitsurugi's rival or whatever, transported back in time by Axl Low to track down the swords and bring them into the future to help her get her revenge? Something like that. I don't really know the specifics of her character but I think the cool, no-nonsense Japanese swords(wo)man would be a refreshing addition. If I could pick only one guest it'd be her.
Now to comment on the more familiar faces, some returning, some returning after being gone, and one making his debut.
Talim. I was never a big fan but I was looking forward to seeing how she'd changed. As far as moveset goes I wouldn't mind seeing something more plausible. She never struck me as an overly plausible fighting style especially for a kid, not that the series has been concerned with realism lately. Maybe just one larger tonfa instead of two?
Natsu. Yeah, I like her, sue me. I thought about Taki, but left her out in the interest of reducing redundancy among styles. They could always include her as an alternate skin, voice and all, for Natsu's moveset. That should be no problem at all. Just a little fanservice easter egg bonus thing on the side.
Cassandra using Patroklos' style, maybe mixed with some face sitting for old time's sake. That's Lili from Tekken btw; I wanted her to have longer hair than Pyrrha. It's not like your hair stops growing in Astral Chaos, right? I know the face doesn't look just like Cassandra, but there is enough of a discrepancy between renders that I thought it was a good approximation. I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan. I don't think she added anything very interesting design wise or personality wise to the roster, but I can't think of a better heir for Patroklos' style, and why go to the trouble of inventing a new character when there's a veteran on the bench who hasn't aged in the last 17 years (something that seems to matter when it comes to the female fighters) that could take it up and return? More than anything I just don't want to see Patroklos' style go with SCV. That it could logically be inherited by a returning fighter and even fit her personality is the cherry on top.
Patroklos, sporting a new style reminiscent of Yun-seong's. How or why he'd learn to use a Arabian style scimitar, I don't know. I'm sure they could contrive something like they did with him knowing Setsuka's style. With his iaido blade shattered and him having moved on from his sword and shield style, again this was a case of "why a new character when it could be a vet?" His SCV design already has Middle Eastern influences in it, so I think it'd work. He'd be more mature like his alpha version, but with a little bit of that cocky "I'm superb" attitude back.
Pyrrha. Soul Edge again threatens to overtake her, and though her own lust for its power scares her sometimes, she can't say she doesn't enjoy her newfound abilities in battle when she "goes off." They could keep a couple of her little moe win poses, like she could faint from her own power, but she won't be apologizing all the time. She'll be more in control, slowly learning to revel in her own abilities as a fighter.
Algol, dunno what to say except that I was inspired by this image of him. Kinda reminds me of the film Akira.
Nightmare. A return to a more traditional knight design like he had in SCII and before. Just less... hellish. Sometimes less is more.
...Except in Cervantes' case. I'd rather he was undead again and had that ultra raspy, metal voice he had in SCII.
Leixia's really taking after her mother, isn't she?
Setsuka is back and going by the name Neve. She could be counselling Patroklos or any other of the young fighters. I thought it was a pretty low blow for them to just take her style and give it to a seemingly unrelated new character, but I was looking forward to the style being less gender specific. In hindsight though, my opinion is different. I think by getting rid of the umbrella the style lost a certain uniqueness. I also don't think it's fair that female fighters get cut when they reach a certain age yet the male ones get to stay. I say if Siegfried and Mitsurugi can still be banging away at it 2 decades later, so can she. And the cast could always use a more mature, motherly presence to offset all the brats.
Bangoo. Much talked about among fans for the last game but only now making his debut. Main character material imo. His weapon? Only thing coming to mind is tomahawks but that seems generic. Any ideas?
Zasalamel, reincarnated in a completely new body and currently about 20 years old. I know he's wearing a hoodie, but uh... Leixia did it first? Yeah, that works. Cookies for anyone who knows who I used for the image.
Edgemaster almost didn't make it because I was going to leave off any mimics as a statement, but people seem to enjoy playing them, and as far as mimics go, he does it all.
I left off creation completely, partly because I had no room but also because I'd rather they focus on what's good about the series other than CaS and have always liked the vanilla designs way better. I know that's just me though, so just pretend there's a creation icon somewhere on there because that mode isn't going anywhere.
The CE select was inspired by this thread. Each character would have 2, possibly 3 at most for some. So you just pick which one you want before the battle and then play to complement your chosen Critical Edge.
Re: weapon select. I miss when the series was more focused on weapons, like in Weapon Master mode where you slowly collected them all. That was fun. I wouldn't want it to change anything but the way the weapon looks. The appeal of this over the current system is you wouldn't need to use a whole new character slot just to switch your weapon.
I know about the "future of Soulcalibur" thread, but I'd like my own thread for how much energy and time I put into this. Plus this isn't exactly speculation, it's just something I made for fun and wanted to share.
Viola pics taken by sheppard, and Baiken's image was edited from this image.
