@Rusted Blade I understand what you’re saying, but I still am not certain you’re seeing what I’m saying. If you are, it’s really not being made clear that you are. I don’t see us as saying the same things, because you’re making it sound like this is a normal thing that we’ve experienced over time, and it really isn’t. Before SoulCalibur V, there was no expectation that we would have to worry about characters not making it back to the next game. Now we do have that expectation, but the only reason that we do is that it’s “normal” now, that literally all fighting games are doing it. If you’re fine with that, and you seem to be, then that’s what it is and that’s the end of that. But we still are not saying the same things.
I’m speaking in the far more narrow view of only SoulCalibur, irrespective of the fighting game genre at large and the current practice of so many season passes to deliver the full product. We absolutely did not have this as a pattern before SoulCalibur V, in any respect, outside of Li Long, who you could argue was cut and replaced so early it was basically a given that he would not return, and Hwang, who mostly shared the same fate, except Hwang made it back to the first actual SoulCalibur, while Li Long did not, so he had that bit more of exposure to potentially make his comebacks more viable, but Yun-seong was still clearly the favorite for Project Soul and they seem resistant to reinstating Hwang, though they occasionally caved to appease fans. Literally everyone else, aside from those two, before SoulCalibur V, were on the roster to stay, always returning, because the fans would absolutely not tolerate it if anyone was cut. And you can even see this behavior with SoulCalibur VI, how rabid people are until their favorite character returns.
Then SoulCalibur V happened, with all its cuts, the time skip, the new generation, and then the game was incomplete, so it had a smorgasbord or reasons to actually be missing characters, ultimately being a failure in the bigger picture, mostly due to these cuts. This was a huge blow to the franchise that we’re just now getting over with SoulCalibur VI, and that might be the only justifiable reason why SoulCalibur VI is limited or incomplete in any way, shape, or form. But if we take it that SoulCalibur VI was successful enough to restore the good graces of the past, then there would be no reason, aside from the aforementioned “normal” that we are in now for the fighting game genre as a whole, that SoulCalibur VII couldn’t be expected to reflect the games before SoulCalibur V, in that every cast member who isn’t Li Long or Hwang is practically guaranteed to return, when it's all said and done. You can extend "when it's all said and done" to mean "after all the season passes are out", but frankly, I find this unacceptable for a variety of reasons, mostly because we're just expected to accept it as "normal" when we have a track record of it absolutely not being the case, and that's what I'm attempting to get across to you.
As far as the whole, "if Aeon and Rock don't come back in SoulCalibur VI, they're doomed to never come back for the future games" mantra is concerned, I'll admit it's a little bit crass, but I don't find it completely unreasonable. As I've shown, they've been on the proverbial chopping block, if anyone ever has, only just below Li Long and Hwang. We do have the ability to make Lizardmen custom characters now, which you, me, and other folks who appreciate what Aeon's moveset brings to the table, be it sword and shield, axe and shield, or dual axes, but beyond that, his lizardisms, that you just don't get by having an actual lizardman just emulating human styles (except maybe Voldo, but still, not even then...), but if we're coming from the stance of developers having an out, they absolutely do, and they've been using this ever since the game was launched. Aeon and Hwang were supposed to be launch characters, I remain convinced that to this day this was supposed to be the case, but they didn't make it out the door. They should have, in a perfect world, been given first dibs on DLC for the first season pass, but unfortunately, the pragmatic approach to marketing gave us Amy and Cassandra instead for season one, and then Hilde and Setsuka for season two.
Aeon is constantly handwaved by folks saying "you can just make him lololol" and Hwang gets lumped into the "he's just a more boring Yun-seong clone", among other things, so they got delayed and delayed and delayed. If we didn't have the leaks telling us Hwang was going to be our fourth for season two, then I would be firmly believing it would be Yun-seong instead, and Hwang would continue being left behind. But that we are getting Hwang next, it does instill some faith for me that he might not fade into obscurity this go-around, but even so, with our current "normal", the likely follow-up, if we believe in your train of thought anyway, is that Yun-seong will be base roster for SoulCalibur VII, and then we'll have to wait... again... and pay... again... for the privilege to play Hwang, and there is some justifiable outrage in this being the case, whether it's "normal" or not. If we keep having this upper and lower echelon of "worthy" folks for base roster and "unworthy" folks always needing to be DLC, it just isn't really good for morale in the fanbase. But getting back to Aeon, it seems like, as of the latest update even (the new story chapter for Grøh), they are more than content with Aeon's style just be represented by Lesser Lizardmen and calling it a day. So if we don't get him in season three, then it follows that they'll keep doing this, because they know they can.
As for Rock, the game itself illustrates how pointless Rock is, with Astaroth assimilating everything about him, even his name, apparently, because Rock is so unimportant that he's just "the White Giant". Long-time fans know that's just as well as saying "Rock", but the conscious decision to just not say Rock, not give him a cameo appearance like so many others (HAN-MYEONG GOT A CAMEO, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD) is also quite indicative that they did not, in any capacity, plan to include Rock in SoulCalibur VI, and this game, being a retelling of the story we've had once before, deciding to omit a character from that narrative is a pretty big indicator, to me, that they did not plan on bringing Rock back for this go-around. If we do get Rock in a season three, it will only be for fan demand and for no other reason. And if that demand is high enough, and sales are well enough, then maybe he'd be able to return to SoulCalibur VII, otherwise, if that doesn't happen, then that's why I feel like he's just gone, like Li Long before him.
It is not my intention to keep dragging this out for any reason beyond just making my point clear. SoulCalibur VII could, if following in its predecessor's footsteps, launch with a full roster and no DLC characters. This is not a pipe dream, but a very real and possible reality. I'm not saying it's likely that it will, because of our "normal" state of affairs with the genre, but you seem to not get how/why the history of the franchise is on the side of the way I'm seeing it. At the end of the day, DLC has to sell, and the inherent problem with the "unworthy" characters being forced to DLC, is that they won't sell as well as others, for marketing reasons. So if Aeon and Rock, their position on the chopping block being what it is, don't make it into base game SoulCalibur VII, and were not DLC for SoulCalibur VI, then their chances to appear in the future games is slim to none, that's what I'm trying to get across. Season three will decide their fates, one way or the other. Yun-seong will likely return no matter what, and Algol being reintroduced is practically a given as well, and we will also eventually see Viola for sure, barring another story reset. Aeon and Rock, however, have no such guaranteed future, unless we get a season three and they're in it.
