Rusted Blade
[14] Master
Groh has white hair with blue/purple ends that glow when he is in SC. His outfit looks pretty modern, especially jacket (but that is the least of an issue). His eye-patch not only does look ridiculous but it also acts like some kind of phone. The whole Aval organisation feels more like a modern spy rather than a past conspiracy organisation, probably mostly due to the fact that they all have phones in their eye-patches and wear fancy jackets. I think the weapon itself is the least of his problems
I agree the entire vibe is off, but that said, the weapon definitely is not helping. Basically the current discussion has identified the two primary ways a characters can come off as silly: 1) a goofy weapon requiring an awkwardly/unrealistic moveset (and here, we clearly mean "goofy even by Soul Calibur's standards") and a absurdity in the overall look of their model. The latter can be caused by any number of character design decisions, but one of those which is most striking with regard to Groh is the anachronisms in his design--though it's not just that he's so modern in his design, but also that he specifically hits the exact intersection of emo and anime. Anyway, the general problem with Groh is that he's hitting on all cylinders with regard to both issues.
Mind you, he's not unique in this respect: if Voldo had not been a part of the series from the start and we were presented with his bdsm outfits and pneumatic drill moves for the first time in this game, I'm sure most of us would be here saying "What...the...F@#%!? What are they thinking?" In that respect, I'm quite confident that even I (I've been particularly damning in my criticism of his character design) will get used to Groh in time and think nothing of his ridiculous weapon and generally lame/trying-to-hard vibe should he return in future games. Letting your brain adapt to sheer lunacy and eye-gouging design choices is just a prerequisite of being a longterm devotee to Soul Calibur (and fighting games generally). Again, not to sound like a broken record, but I can embrace the cornball additions-- I just really, really want some more grounded characters to come into the franchise next time.
And even if Groh sticks as a franchise regular and doesn't get the "woopsie, forget you saw that!" treatment of Necrid, I'm never giving up on my right to point out to his fans (/ recycle my jokes) that he looks like he shops at Hot Topic and is on his way to audition as front man for a My Chemical Romance cover band. I mean, even if I someday take a left turn somewhere and stumble upon Robert Smith writing slam poetry about the inherent hopelessness of life through teary eyes and running mascara, it will still only be the second most emo thing I will have experienced in my life, because I've seen Groh. ;D
.........
dlc
I'll bet you most people commenting on this particular forum have the season pass, though, wouldn't you think? Anyway, I don't think anybody actually suggested labbing to Synalon as their advice on this occasion, did they?
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