Rusted's Ringers, Gallery II: Non-SoulCalibur Reference Designs

[Rusted Blade]

In this, my second of three galleries, I will be showcasing various designs who take inspiration from famous characters arising out of all matter of media. I have about a hundred of these from across all past versions of the CaS editor, so you'll have to be patient with me. The basis of some of these creations will be more obvious than others, and since I usually give them some cheeky alternate name, I'll be curious to see if everyone is recognized by somebody by the time I get to the end.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Well, I might as well start with something that is currently topical--and indeed, a subject of recent interests on off-topic thread here. A couple of these may be rule 63.


Mad Dancer:

There are several subtle variations for this first character, each reflecting one of the numerous original designs.

Magic God:

Maria:

Oh my hero, so far away now!

Mist Mage:

"That voice..!" = Single best moment of its sort in any game, ever.

Beza:

A rare case of just about every necessary item being in the editor.

High Jump Champion:

I really do need to get around to seeing what can be done for this one in SCVI.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Continuing on from the last post, but moving into 64 bit territory...


Materia Mad:

Usually for one one of my referential creations,I like to as closely map the the character as closely to one of the original designs (or some combination thereof) as possible, but in this instance, I decided here to move away from flower girl and towards action girl.

Soldier:

Some guys just can't stop it with the sword measuring contests...

Big B. / NegaTrixie:

Dark Interloper:

Sid:

This last one is not a direct recreation, but rather an expy who is a thematic stand in for a number of characters...who are themselves expies--how meta I am!

 

[SpellcraftQuill]

Lol I thought that the equippable slot for Materia was bracelets, not necklaces.

Totally-not-Kefka is my favorite of these creations though.

 

[Spanky]

Oh my gosh... Beatrix from Final Fantasy IX... thank you, Rusty!!! :D
And Kefka, and that Rydia tho... ____
Love them!

 

[DanteSC3]

Lol I thought that the equippable slot for Materia was bracelets, not necklaces.

They are bracelets, I guess he just improvised.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Lol I thought that the equippable slot for Materia was bracelets, not necklaces.

They are bracelets, I guess he just improvised.

Yeah, as soon as I realized that the colours in the rainbow pattern were all (as best my memory serves anyway) colours of materia in the original VII, and that you could (more or less) get one colour per bead with a fair bit of experimentation, I couldn't resist, especially as hers was already a rather not-super-faithful design when compared against what I usually shoot for.

Totally-not-Kefka is my favorite of these creations though.

Thanks you: yeah, I have to say, as non-SC reference works go, he came out much better than I could have hoped for: the huge number of gaudy patterns somewhat paradoxically makes him easier to replicate, since you can easily lose track of small divergences in all of that noise. Still, there's lots of little things, like eye-make-up, the feathers, the shoulder piece and other items that are surprsingly available in the editor and allow him to be tied together quite nicely. I'm still working on the purple lipstick grin that has become kind of a staple for more recent representations of the character (I presume it started with Dissidia, as an exagerration of elements in the original FFVI concept art). The version with less make-up is really the most accurate in a way, as he is very close to be a dead ringer for the version we see in the CGI movies from the FF Anthology.

Oh my gosh... Beatrix from Final Fantasy IX... thank you, Rusty!!! :D
And Kefka, and that Rydia tho... ____
Love them!

Thanks! Beatrix was one of the first characters I created with the SCVI editor, but the original version was lackluster, to say the least. The one I uploaded here is a refined version I did just for the purposes of this gallery. She's still not where i want her yet: the tights work perfectly, the gauntlets and footwear are decent if obviously imperfect approximations, and the leather tunic does a decent stand in for her blouse, but the overall contours of her outfit (particularly the lower half) and what you can do with patterns to impart colour in the appropriate places leave room for improvement. But those new hairband objects did allow for her iconic facial bandage and that, combined with Xiangua's poses, goes a long way to bringing her up to snuff. I feel she and Rydia both are examples of creations where they are so close that it really begins to bother me tha tthey can't be more perfect (if you follow my meaning) and yet they definitely look like who they are meant to be in the broad-strokes, to the point that I think even without context, no FF fan would have any difficulty in recognizing them.

@Spanky, @DanteSC3 Oh, I forgot to mention, while NegaTrxie was just an experiment that resulted from my frustration with initially not being able to create a decent interpretation of Beatrix's vanilla design, it recently occurred to me that she has a reasonable head-cannon explanation: she's Beatrix had she been imbued with a Terran soul at birth, or had she been infected by the Mist at some point. Which works all the better when you consider the outfit looks like a cross between her standard design and Garland's garb. ;)

 

[Rusted Blade]

Sophia:

Iaido:

Big Brother:

Maxifeid:

A hybrid 2P of Maxi and a non-SC reference character.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Zeal:

She's such an iconic character, I keep trying with her game after game, but she's still not there yet--a little closer every game, but at this rate I won't succeed with a super close facsimile until SCVIII. Still one of my favourite designs to play with though!

Dragoness:

How is it that we still do not have a tear drop sticker?

 

[Rusted Blade]

Fortune:

This one's a teensy bit more obscure than those I've posed in this gallery thus far and I'm a bit curious to see if anyone recognizes her.

 

[DanteSC3]

Nope, no idea who Fortune is. A bit spoilery on Kid’s alternate name, though. Might consider using something else.

I haven’t bothered with Kid since SoulCalibur III, though, as she doesn’t feel right without Chester’s style. None of the others properly have that same feeling. And Serge would make a good side piece, but without Kid, my eyes turned to Zidane instead for utilizing Grøh’s style.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Nope, no idea who Fortune is.

I think you were probably the best shot at someone recognizing her, so it may be a while before someone does!

A bit spoilery on Kid’s alternate name, though. Might consider using something else.

Hey, if someone played Chrono Trigger and then waited until 2020 to play Chrono Cross, they are owed nothing to compensate for their own foolishnes, lack of taste, and poor priorities! ;D Besides, the exact link is pretty ambiguous--I'd argue 'Dragoness' is more on the nose.

I haven’t bothered with Kid since SoulCalibur III, though, as she doesn’t feel right without Chester’s style. None of the others properly have that same feeling. And Serge would make a good side piece, but without Kid, my eyes turned to Zidane instead for utilizing Grøh’s style.

I've seen some really, really close approximations of Serge on the server; I'm sure most every SCVI player who is also an old-school RPG gamer saw the potential utility of the Ithnan Scimitars and eksorcisme immediately. And no, I need not have it pointed out to me that I have a double standard regarding that weapon morphology and Serge/Groh respectively. :D

 

[DanteSC3]

I think you were probably the best shot at someone recognizing her, so it may be a while before someone does!

I dunno, it could be how SoulCalibur is framing her, but nothing really rings a bell, even if I do know the character.

Hey, if someone played Chrono Trigger and then waited until 2020 to play Chrono Cross, they are owed nothing to compensate for their own foolishnes, lack of taste, and poor priorities! ;D Besides, the exact link is pretty ambiguous--I'd argue 'Dragoness' is more on the nose.

It mostly just reminds me of a user on GameFAQs who had the name Schala Kid Zeal and I was just like really? You’re gonna put that out there like that? Maybe a biased look because I am a big Chrono fan, both Trigger and Cross, and it would have bothered me to have such spoiler, but hey. About Harle, true enough, but that one isn’t as deep-rooted or specifically linked to another character, either. I don’t think it’s quite as egregious.

I've seen some really, really close approximations of Serge on the server; I'm sure most every SCVI player who is also an old-school RPG gamer saw the potential utility of the Ithnan Scimitars and eksorcisme immediately. And no, I need not have it pointed out to me that I have a double standard regarding that weapon morphology and Serge/Groh respectively. :D

I mean, it’s not like Serge is trying to be in an emo group or anything... Though if you opted to make Dark Serge with Lynx’s scythe using Zasalamel’s style... It’s pretty clear where your objections are, at any rate.

 

[SpellcraftQuill]

Let me guess, Fortuna isn't even Square Soft or Namco. She must have gone through an evil makeover since the SCV design could just as easily be made in SCVI?

And Amano's art is difficult to interpret. It's a bit more advent garde I guess as opposed to Nomura's. But I'm ultimately more of a Yoshida fan.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Let me guess, Fortuna isn't even Square Soft or Namco. She must have gone through an evil makeover since the SCV design could just as easily be made in SCVI?

Well, both are actually peripheral designs found in promotional materials; I just decided to mix it up the second time around. The most customary design for the original character is not feasible in either of the last two editors--more's the pity, because it's a great design.

And Amano's art is difficult to interpret. It's a bit more advent garde I guess as opposed to Nomura's. But I'm ultimately more of a Yoshida fan.

I like Amano's aesthetic well enough, for what it is, but it always was a rather an abstraction relative to the representations in the actual games.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Destiny Bound:

I've actually made a SCVI variant on this one as well, but it's even farther from the mark of the original design, somehow, so I've omitted it.

The Champion:

A hybrid design: a Siegfried 2P crossed with a non-SC design.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Hylian:

Secret Sage:

I threw this one together in about half an hour, just now, because 'Hylian' seemed to lonely for a character from such an iconic franchise. I think it turned out half-decently for a rush job, but the wraps do need a bit of fine adjustment.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Red LXXXV:

This one's a little more retro.

 

[Rusted Blade]

Here comes....

A New Challenger!

 

[Rusted Blade]

Brutal Bug: