The information was supposed to be embargoed, but it hit the Internet early. We still have to call it a rumor, though.
According to various sources, Namco Bandai revealed a couple big announcements at a Soul Calibur V event in San Francisco. First and foremost, the worldwide release date: January 31, 2012.
That's a little sooner than expected, and the hotly anticipated fighter joins a stacked January and February. The publisher also confirmed a Collector's Edition and although the contents haven't been completely detailed, we know it'll feature downloadable content, artwork, and two exclusive characters. This leads us to the guest character, and you'll probably recognize him.
It's Ezio from the Assassin's Creed franchise. You may remember SCIV; the PS3 version got Yoda while the Xbox 360 version shipped with Darth Vader. Well, this time, it appears all versions will get the same bonus character, and it's the Italian assassin. Awesome.
Related Game(s): Soul Calibur V
Assassin creed guy is a pretty good choice actually, not that i care, i never played it so it's a pass for me for sure
joystiq is reporting the game release in March
"It's a-me, Ezio!" *stabs you in the face*…
Sorry, had an uncontrollable urge to write that when I read "italian assasin"…
there's a moment exactly like that in AC2
without the face stabbing of course
LOL I cracked up when his uncle said that, comic gold 🙂
Good news I have been waiting for this for a very long time. I've been missing some good fighting games, what with all the other AAA titles of other genres that have been coming out lately(not that I'm complaining) but it's time for a new soul calibur for sure. And having Ezio in there is just awesome.
P.S. Just a typo there in the 2nd to last sentence; Yoda was for Xbox 360 and PS3 got Darth vader.
Last edited by SixSpeedKing on 10/17/2011 9:54:19 PM
That's what I was thinking, thanks for confirming it.
Next year look like another good year for fighting fans.
Which reminds me, if SF X Tekken is possible, am I being dumb if I'm hoping for Namco vs Capcom?
Ezio would fit the SC universe quite well i reckon.
Hell hyped for this but i am abit surprised at the release date, that is damn early considering they haven't even revealed half the roster yet.
We still don't know whose left to return of the veterans & how many fresh faces are due to come in.
Plus there has been no mention of character creator & how detailed it will be & we have heard nothing on what game modes will be included, i mean that is alot to reveal between now & late Jan.
Either way, i cannot wait for this. My soul still burns for it……
Apparently it's going to include the ability to change eyeball colors. Black eyes and yellow irises ftw!!!
I heard a while ago they were going to allow adjusting body sizes too.
Obese Ivy anyone?
As long as I can make the boobs big without making the ass big too.
Sir Mixalot would be ashamed.
Sir Mixalot's a moron. You can, indeed, have a butt that is too big. I've seen ginormous butt with itty bitty waist. Definitely was not sprung, as he suggested. I thought, "what the h*** is wrong with this picture?" But hey… to each their own, I guess.
I guess we're not getting any Lightning storms. It's going to be cloudy with a high chance of air assassinations.
Sophitia? Still waiting for a full roster.
probably DLC just to mess with you personally
she's been all but confirmed for awhile now, but you wont like how she looks
I already know about the whole nightmare thing, which is probably going to prevent me from bothering with this game. Unless as worlds suggests they put the old Sophitia back via DLC. To be honest, I suspect that there are more players of SC around than you think that are deterred by this kind of stupid change for the sake of change. You don't take one of the better known and liked characters in a franchise and screw it up in this manner without offending some fans.
look bro, we're just gonna have to agree to disagree. last we talked about this, i got accused of having an 'elitist gamer attitude' (which i don't have btw) just for telling you how a lot of people view their character in an upcoming fighter. a lot, not all people, who play fighting games really don't focus on the story nearly as much as the gameplay. Whether they compete in tourneys (which some view as not playing for fun for some reason, bet if you asked those who compete, they'd tell you its fun for them)
they wanna know if their character of choice are getting beefed up or nerfed in any way shape or form. what new moves they will get, will any changes to the new fighting system. Siegfried has probably had the most alliance switches out of the cast, but i dont know of any who would say they would consider passing on the game due to that.
It may seem stupid at first to change their alliance, but it may work out for the better. Would i be like 'wow namco, wtf are you doing' if they made Astaroth, my character of choice, a heavenly good guy? yeah, but i wouldn't pass it up if i enjoyed the past games. But dont kill the messenger, just sayin you ain't gonna like the changes to her story
What would offend me and other fans is if she's totally kicked off the cast to begin with, like the arcade version of Soul Calibur 2
Last edited by aaronisbla on 10/18/2011 12:52:41 AM
Agreeing to disagree does not in any way alter my opinion, or feeling on the matter, nor does it invalidate my right to state my opinion.
And, yes, last we spoke you got called an elitist gamer because it seemed to me (and still does) that you view anyone who does not take the view that a competition minded player does, to be in the wrong, or at least fooling themselves. The last time I checked, I pay for the game the same as you, which makes my opinion just as valid, whether I am a competition gamer or not.
Odd though that you felt the need to berate me for stating my opinion.
Agreeing to disagree isnt meant to change ur damn opinion.
And if anyone is berating someone for disagreeing with the other, its you. point out one time i came at you disrepectful and called you a name like you have me.
Hell i never even said you were wrong for your opinion, just stated that most fighting gamers more than likely won't feel the same way as you about the story of a character since at the end of the day, the stories are somewhat non important. But hey, i guess that makes me some elitist gamer who looks down on ur kind…
Last edited by aaronisbla on 10/18/2011 9:36:42 AM
I can't help the way you come across in your comments.
…and… "i guess that makes me some elitist gamer who looks down on ur kind…"
That's the way it looks to me.
i cant help that you take everything that i say as a personal attack in this discussion when really all it was were 2 people disagreeing.
Had i said 'lol ur a noob who sucks at fightin games so you focus in on the story' then maybe you'd have a right to call me names. But like i said, the only berating that happened was from you
look at the exchange above. I stated my opinion in a reply, and you began your reply to that with "Look bro", then *you* raised our past discussion, and continued to berate me over my opinion.
Now I find you drawing me into your discussion (by name) with another poster, and not so much discussing the game so much as discussing my opinion of something with regard to it and how wrong I am – in your opinion.
I have not specifically called you out by name, nor have I raised our previous disagreements – that's all you. I have stated my opinion, nothing more, nothing less. If you wish to continue trolling me, I can't stop you; but I can, and will stop feeding you.
there you go again, thinking i said you are wrong. please point out where i mention you are wrong for thinking the way you are. Read his post again, he actually mentioned you first
"Trolling: when someone disagrees with you and it bothers you to the point you call them names, they must be trolling you. interwebz 101"
i get it now, when someone disagrees with you in a non hostile way and you can't bear down on them with stats for proof, like when it comes to differing opinions, you try to label them a troll. Like i said, ive called you no names, nor have i mentioned you in a bad way. Thats something you have done to me though.
Even though you've been somewhat hostile towards me and i have yet to respond in a similar way, i actually enjoy the back and forth convo with you. I really meant no harm by it, you should try not to take someone who has a different opinion than you so harshly
Last edited by aaronisbla on 10/19/2011 2:06:24 PM
I have yet to see a genre handle character crossovers better than fighting games. It just works so damn well.
Must have, but I should probably wait a bit this time. I dig SC but I want DOA more.
Ezio is a good fit, wonder how his weapons will handle, if its gonna be a double hidden blade as his main stay or something else?
Damn, this just reminded me that I'm still missing both Yoda & Darth Vader versions.
I gotta get on that.
I don't know why Soul Calibur has to rely on bringing in gimmick characters, the cast they have created is strong enough to stand on their own two feet.
I was just looking at that character select pic in the article. Let's break this sh!t down.
From top left to right:
Patroklos, Z.W.E.I, Leixia, Natsu, Ezio, Top hat guy (Dampierre's son?),Viola & Pyyrah.
Second row: Seigfried, Hilde, Ivy, Tira & Nightmare (who looks more feminine).
Third row: Mitsurugi, Maxi, Random Select, Voldo & Astaroth.
Last row: Character creation icon.
Which leaves 12 free slots. I'm guessing the immortal characters Cerventes & Zasalamel will return as they do not age & i am guessing Bangoo will replace Rock which leaves 9 free slots. I think we can also safely say Taki, Xianghua, Cassandra & possibly Sophitia are gone, replaced by Natsu, Patroklos, Leixia & Pyyrah.
Which leaves Raphael, Amy, Kilik, Talim, Yun Seung, Setsuka, Lizardman, Yoshimitsu & Seong Mina left as the veterans assuming they return & are not replaced by new characters with similar styles.
Anyway, regarding the loss of iconic characters i agree with TheHighlander. If you want new characters, rad, but why replace them with characters that have been in the series since Soul Edge!? It would be like Tekken beridding of Nina & forcing us to make do with Anna who is similar to Nina, hoping noone will care. Fans will care because they grow up & love the character & the moves set that they learn. Regardless though, i am still hyped for this game & look forward to trying out the new blood. ZWEI looks godly & is one character i am looking to main, it will also be good to be able to learn with fresh characters so i welcome that. I just hope fighters such as Natsu & Pyrrah are actual NEW characters, i don't want a duplicate Taki move set with a different skin. I will also add that i am pleased with the guest characters thus far, planting Darth Vader & Yoda in a universe full of enchanting maidens, gladiators, vampires, loligoths & knights was the biggest insult to this series imo, i understand they're only guest characters but i also don't care, make them fit the universe they're involved in.
Also, i wouldn't give up on Sophitia yet, i reckon she could be atleast a boss in this game, maybe even have something to do with Nightmare who doesn't look as manly this time, could there be a reason for that i wonder?
All speculating right now but i love observing. 🙂
Get hype!
Last edited by Kevin555 on 10/18/2011 5:57:46 AM
thats the thing about highlander's opinion. he's not gonna be happy if she's in the game but evil this time around. She's all but confirmed to be the new form of nightmare, but that doesn't mean her original form wont be on here, similar to how nightmare and siegfried are two different characters.
Id agree with him if she was taken out the game completely, but for story reasons in a fighting game with a rather weak story to begin with? nah. If astaroth was totally missing from the lineup, id probably consider skipping it. But if he suddenly switched gears to become some kind of savior, it wouldnt stop me from bashing my axe into someone's skull all the same.
Fighters aren't really known for their strong gripping narratives in my opinion
Her being the new nightmare makes sense from a story stand point anyways since they are using her and taki's ending as the official one. It also preserves her as a character to be used on the game. She's not exactly young any more, with the game taking some 17 years later, making her available for sophie fans that like using her in combat.
Last edited by aaronisbla on 10/18/2011 10:50:26 PM
@aaronisbla
And I am the subject of discussion here for what reason?
Kevin actually mentioned you by name first, but i guess you missed that part. I explained to him how its not the replacement of iconic characters that bothers you, but the changing of ur character's choice of being good or evil that bothers you.
Those are your words. Kevin actually says getting rid of a character all together would be a disservice even if its a reskinned version. and the only character to receive such a treatment so far is Taki.
I'm willing to bet if Kev's character of choice was on the game but change from good to bad or vice versa, it wouldn't bother him that much because they would still be on the game, movelist intact and all
I dislike how overly sexualized the females are in this series, and I've wanted to boycott it for this reason.
However….. that character creator!! It's too addictive!
-Arvis
I welcome the change they made , the series was getting stale for me ( not the character creation tho ).
I get why some fan are not happy tho .Especially those with a favorite character that won t make an appearance in sc5 .
As Kevin5 pointed out, the loss of iconic characters harms the series IMHO. By all means add characters, but don't remove the icons of the game in favor of new characters, weak guests and recurring characters. The iconic original cast of these games have a following. In my opinion at least removing any of them, or several of them, harms the franchise and deters some potential buyers. For example, Sophitia has been in the game franchise since day 1, she's one of the few characters that have always been part of the Soul Edge/Soul Calibur games.
New characters, game modes and such stuff is fine, SC4 in particular lacked any compelling game mode if you were not really into the multi-player aspect of it. I get that the team wants to do something new. But you know, you have a core of something like 13 original characters that have always been there, they are the ones that needed (IMHO) to be included regardless of any other changes. They don't have to be central to the story, and they don't prevent new characters appearing. That would leave room for 15 new, guest or recurring characters – assuming a roster size of 28. There is plenty of room for those new characters in that case, and even more if you bump the roster to 30 or more.
Age plays a big factor in their choices though. 17 years in between games really kinda takes a toll on some characters, even if it is just a fantasy fighting game.
The ONLY iconic character that may have been lost so far is Taki unless they decide to throw a bone to taki players and actually include her in some way or form. Bangoo may replace rock since rock would be 59 on this game.
So its not like they totally threw out their whole cast of original characters like you may have believed. And sophie isn't thrown out
Last edited by aaronisbla on 10/18/2011 11:04:36 PM
I welcome the change they made , the series was getting stale for me ( not the character creation tho ).
I get why some fan are not happy tho .Especially those with a favorite character that won t make an appearance in sc5 .
Thought the ps3 version got Vader and xbox version got Yoda but other then that I'm hyped. Mostly for the character creation, always have fun making different characters from different media haha.