SoulCalibur V has plenty of the older characters in the mix, but where's Taki? Director and producer Daishi Odashima and Hisaharu Tago explain that with the pushing of the story's timeline forward some 17 years, Taki would have been pretty old for a ninja. They decided that any good sexy ninja would have retired by that age, so they replaced her with an even sexier (and crotch-ier) ninja, Natsu. Taki is still wathcing over Natsu, though, probably constantly scolding her pupil on how her clothing isn't tight enough.
The video interview this came from is pretty interesting in that it gives background on some of the other new characters. It talks about how important some of the new characters are to the timeline. I like newbie Pyrrha, but she's just not as cool as her mom, Sophitia.
Have you got your copy of SoulCalibur V yet? I suck at it but I can't put it down.
Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site Japanator. Likes Corgis, Sega Saturn, PSP, iPhone, Photographic tools.
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I'm a bit interested in picking this game up but am a bit sad that we won't see mature versions of the classic women of the series. Why can't we see some cougar fighting?
Taki - Too old to be a ninja
Mitsurugi - Still old enough to be a samurai
/sexism
It find it funny they needed to "push the story forward" as its a fighter, which generally doesn't need a story. I've also heard this one still doesn't reach the greatness of SC and SC2, so I'm in no hurry to play it.
I love this game but i suck at it too. Aeon and Nightmare always kick my ass. I either get juggled with no way out, or knocked down with no way back up.
im not sure if thats a balance thing, or if i just havent "figured it out yet". But whenever i get knocked down, no matter which direction i roll, or if i get up holding the block button, the ai is always RIGHT THERE to light me the fuck up.
but when im not getting cheap-shotted its a lot of fun. the character creator is too addicting in its own way.
Natsu has the worst character design ever. Of all time. She is:
-A Japanese girl with strawberry blonde hair
-A ninja who wears hot pink and bedazzles all of her shit
-A girl in the 16th century with slut nails
I picked it up yesterday, and was somewhat disappointed. The combat is great, the controls are fantastic, and it looks good, but there isn't much to do. For solo play you only have arcade, quick match, and the campaign (which is pretty bad). It is a great game, but I would hate to have this and a shitty internet connection.
Wait, what am I talking about, I do have this and a shitty internet connection.
Seriously. I couldn't give a rats ass about Taki, but I want my Talim back. I don't even think they have her style in the game anymore which is disappointing :(
I have the ps3 CE on order from amazon but it'd not getting here till the 6th. I am seriously thinking about picking it up on 360 as well right away because I want to play it right away!
Also no Zasalamel and Talim in this game makes me sad. They were so unique. I'm not that excited for this game anymore, the character list doesn't look that interesting.
I picked it up yesterday and already have about 10 hours and 23 player levels. I'd have more if I didn't have to work today. Kind of missing Seung Mina; even though she'd be late 30s, early 40s by this game, I'd still be interested, and she's been around since the very beginning.
The reason why Mitsurugi is in this game and some of the now older female characters aren't, is because they've realised the kitchen is their place, not concerning themselves with all that souls and swords business.
It's not all bad though; they might not get to star in fighting games, but THEY DO get to listen and dance to Beyonce as they clean the house, pretending they are empowered, independent and "run the world".
Men are the superior race folks; we still matter after we're 35! And we STILL get to be samurais. FUCK YES.
I've heard it takes meter management to pull GI. Just from hearing that, I'm already against the game.
I said it best: "Namco has decided to break new ground in their most original fighting franchise by making you manage meter like lesser fighting games, and by deciding to make Guard Impact parries require it (and therefore sacrifice your ability to pull a super), they have essentially asked you to pay to breathe when comparing the gameplay to older, and frankly, more superior franchise entries.
I'd understand Cassandra, Setsuka and Seung Mina, but story wise there's no real reason for characters like Taki, Sophitia and Xianghua to have aged much, as they've all had frequent contact with Soul Edge, just like Ivy or Tira.
I personally think removing most of the female characters was basically a big "fuck you" to all the fans who frequently asked them to tone down the skimpy outfits and giant breasts. Especially since every single one of them was replaced by a guy or a teenage girl.
Though honestly the only one I even care about is Talim. At least the other characters you can just remake in the character creator. Talim's fighting style doesn't even exist in the game anymore...
I'm still ticked that Seong Mina and Taki here - Natsu should have just been an original character with original moves.
Seong Mina and Taki have been in EVERY SINGLE GAME except this one. Hell, this was supposed to be Soul Edge 2, so it should have had plenty of representation from the original Soul Edge crew.
17 years isn't really going to make them look THAT BAD, ya know. Especially since they keep plenty active.
Look at Taki's history and you'll discover something: she's as much a part of the core Soul Calibur Legend as are Siegfried, Nightmare, Cervantes, and Sophitia. Anyone who says otherwise either didn't play the early games or simply is dense.
Regarding the age factor, that's the smelliest bullshit in the world. Look at other remaining characters who don't have some supernatural way of remaining "vigorous" and you'll see they should've been retired as well.
Regarding killing off Sophitia, again, more bullshit. She could've remained as her childrens' mentor in a similar role as Taki's with Natsu. Both of these characters could appear later as things in the story take a bad turn. As others have noted, there's a long tradition in martial art literature and film of "old masters" still being formidable fighters.
These two bullshitters didn't make this video to give us a behind-the-scenes look at the way they developed this game. They made it in an attempt to rationalize decisions which are very likely to cost them money. Bucks. Yen.
I'm totally digging this game, even though I'm horrible at it....
I gotta say, I know my wifey is pissed... Talim was her favorite, and she's gone... At least if they woulda had her play stile in it still...
I don't 'hate' the roster, but considering they have 2 'sword and small shield' figherts with Sophitia's kids, AND each of them have alternate forms, plus the fact that Edge master and Kilik are all of a sudden the exact same character... that's a lot of wasted slots...
I wish it still had Zasalamel and Talim, Setsuka, or at least their play styles... I do love how they added Devil Jin's fighting style into it... that's cool...
Hopefully they start to fill out the roster with some DLC packs...
well they plan to make SC VI-IX so i don't think anyone should worry about other characters not appearing.
just got my CE of the game and will watch it there :D
sadly the way they put the disc is disappointing since they are using some sort of cotton like thing to hold over the disc instead of the traditional plastic holder in most media cases.
definitely can be frustrating at times since sometimes it won't hold it good and might fall out if you open it in any way.
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Contest:
1:15 PM on 02.01.2012 | 
Mitsurugi - Still old enough to be a samurai
/sexism
It find it funny they needed to "push the story forward" as its a fighter, which generally doesn't need a story. I've also heard this one still doesn't reach the greatness of SC and SC2, so I'm in no hurry to play it.
Ivy has always been a cougar. She's at least in her 60s at this point.
im not sure if thats a balance thing, or if i just havent "figured it out yet". But whenever i get knocked down, no matter which direction i roll, or if i get up holding the block button, the ai is always RIGHT THERE to light me the fuck up.
but when im not getting cheap-shotted its a lot of fun. the character creator is too addicting in its own way.
-A Japanese girl with strawberry blonde hair
-A ninja who wears hot pink and bedazzles all of her shit
-A girl in the 16th century with slut nails
Wait, what am I talking about, I do have this and a shitty internet connection.
Later this month: Studying sexism with SoulCalibur V -- Why keeping Mitsurugi was the wrong move, by Sophie Prell.
I cam here to make the same joke. However, I'm simply glad that the joke was made.
Maybe Namco looked at Capcom's apparent success with DLC characters and "ultimate editions" etc. and is planning to milk SCV in the same way.
END OF STORY, LET'S MOVE ON.
Also no Zasalamel and Talim in this game makes me sad. They were so unique. I'm not that excited for this game anymore, the character list doesn't look that interesting.
But we still have Mitsurugi, three Mokojins, and that curley-mustachioed bastard. Odd choices.
It's not all bad though; they might not get to star in fighting games, but THEY DO get to listen and dance to Beyonce as they clean the house, pretending they are empowered, independent and "run the world".
Men are the superior race folks; we still matter after we're 35! And we STILL get to be samurais. FUCK YES.
I said it best: "Namco has decided to break new ground in their most original fighting franchise by making you manage meter like lesser fighting games, and by deciding to make Guard Impact parries require it (and therefore sacrifice your ability to pull a super), they have essentially asked you to pay to breathe when comparing the gameplay to older, and frankly, more superior franchise entries.
By that last statement, I mean SC2."
*Lose half the roster
Clearly, marketing genius.
I personally think removing most of the female characters was basically a big "fuck you" to all the fans who frequently asked them to tone down the skimpy outfits and giant breasts. Especially since every single one of them was replaced by a guy or a teenage girl.
Though honestly the only one I even care about is Talim. At least the other characters you can just remake in the character creator. Talim's fighting style doesn't even exist in the game anymore...
Seong Mina and Taki have been in EVERY SINGLE GAME except this one. Hell, this was supposed to be Soul Edge 2, so it should have had plenty of representation from the original Soul Edge crew.
17 years isn't really going to make them look THAT BAD, ya know. Especially since they keep plenty active.
Regarding the age factor, that's the smelliest bullshit in the world. Look at other remaining characters who don't have some supernatural way of remaining "vigorous" and you'll see they should've been retired as well.
Regarding killing off Sophitia, again, more bullshit. She could've remained as her childrens' mentor in a similar role as Taki's with Natsu. Both of these characters could appear later as things in the story take a bad turn. As others have noted, there's a long tradition in martial art literature and film of "old masters" still being formidable fighters.
These two bullshitters didn't make this video to give us a behind-the-scenes look at the way they developed this game. They made it in an attempt to rationalize decisions which are very likely to cost them money. Bucks. Yen.
Good luck with that.
Best girlfriend ever.
Your bad taste offends me, Taki forever.
I gotta say, I know my wifey is pissed... Talim was her favorite, and she's gone... At least if they woulda had her play stile in it still...
I don't 'hate' the roster, but considering they have 2 'sword and small shield' figherts with Sophitia's kids, AND each of them have alternate forms, plus the fact that Edge master and Kilik are all of a sudden the exact same character... that's a lot of wasted slots...
I wish it still had Zasalamel and Talim, Setsuka, or at least their play styles... I do love how they added Devil Jin's fighting style into it... that's cool...
Hopefully they start to fill out the roster with some DLC packs...
just got my CE of the game and will watch it there :D
sadly the way they put the disc is disappointing since they are using some sort of cotton like thing to hold over the disc instead of the traditional plastic holder in most media cases.
definitely can be frustrating at times since sometimes it won't hold it good and might fall out if you open it in any way.