Look, there’s nothing wrong with Soulcalibur VI’s single confirmed guest character. Geralt of Rivia, esteemed slayer of monsters and men and star of the Witcher series of novels and video games, is an excellent choice. His steel and silver swords, powerful spells, and general badassery make him a compelling addition to the Soulcalibur Universe. Not to mention, there’s plenty of room to explore dimensional travel within his own universe. And, if the Project Soul developers know their audience as well as we suspect, some fun to be had writing some clever exchanges between Geralt and Soulcalibur’s noteworthy roster of leading ladies. But there’s a queue, Geralt, and somehow you’ve magically jumped to the front of it.
For years, there have been a handful of glaringly obvious guest character choices who have been passed over time and time again in favor of… Yoda? Heihachi? There are more hits than misses in Soulcalibur’s history of guest appearances, but c’mon. So instead, we here at Twinfinite have used Patented Fighting Game Science™ to create a shortlist of the six most deserving guest characters for the upcoming Oct. 19 release of Soulcalibur VI. The criteria?
- Have an actual weapon. No fisticuffs (looking at you, Heihachi)
- Some degree of thematic appropriateness
- Application of Soul Charge (a powered-up state)
Kratos (God of War 2018)
Yes, we know Kratos has already appeared in a Soulcalibur game. And if you didn’t know, that’s exactly why he’s included here; no one played Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny. Also, with the release of God of War 2018, Kratos (a) has a convenient plot device for reappearing via the World Tree as an interdimensional terminator; (b) has access to the Leviathan Axe which could be thrown and recalled mid-combo to great effect. Also, because fatherhood has only exacerbated his anger issues, Rage of the Gods makes for an appropriate Soul Charge. Obviously, as a first-party Sony property, he’d likely be a PS4 exclusive.
This post was originally written by Jonathan Bryant.
Solaire of Astora (Dark Souls)
Solaire of Astora, whose disposition is as endlessly sunny as his infamous pose, has perhaps the most crossover potential of any single Dark Souls character. He’s already getting his own Amiibo, which naturally makes a guest appearance in the fighting game the next step. But underneath all of the silliness and that odd bucket helmet is an exceptionally skilled swordsman with bottomless determination. Predictably, as is often the case with Dark Souls lore, things can go very wrong for Solaire, but his descent into madness provides a convenient excuse for a Soul Charge mechanic. And at the end of the day, Dark Souls is a fellow Bandai Namco property; this should be a layup. Praise the sun, indeed.
A2 (NieR: Automata)
Everyone has been pining for 2B, but A2 —aside from being a more interesting character— makes far more sense. The quippy android full of malice actually has a literal berserk button, which plays nicely with the concept of a Soul Charge. As a master of several different weapon disciplines, it’s even possible for A2 to serve as a Charade-like guest character who could clone fighting styles from the rest of the cast at random when she’s selected. Frankly, you’ll probably just have to handwave the existence of an android from the year 11945 AD in Soulcalibur. Thankfully, Soulcalibur fans stopped questioning things long ago —what even is Yoshimitsu at this point?
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
The angst-ridden antagonist with an Oedipus complex set both his world and ours on fire in 1997, and Square Enix knows it. Sephiroth has appeared in no fewer than 20 games outside of his own in the two decades since. What’s more is that Nao Higo, a localization producer on Soulcalibur II, confirmed on a podcast with 8-4 Play that Cloud Strife was almost a guest character in the Soulcalibur series. It’s not hard to argue that Sephiroth and his 17-foot sword are a better fit, especially given his final transformation into the angelic Safer Sephiroth (a likely mistranslation of Seraph Sephiroth).
Artorias the Abysswalker (Dark Souls)
Perhaps no other Bandai Namco property is more deserving of a guest spot in Soulcalibur than Artorias. Though Solaire likely bests Artorias in terms of popularity, there’s no denying that Artorias gets the edge in cool factor. He looks like the amalgamation of every Deviant Art user’s wet dream and has a 20-foot-tall wolf. But beyond the superficial stuff and his super-slick fighting style, Artorias was made for Soulcalibur. Listen to this bit of lore: When his kingdom, New Londo, fell to darkness, Artorias made a covenant with creatures of the dark in order to gain the ability to traverse the Abyss to destroy it from the inside. Later, he would sacrifice himself to protect his wolf companion; by falling to the Abyss, he was corrupted by the very force he fought so strongly against. Just give him the Soul Edge right now and call it a day.
Guts (Berserk)
The Black Swordsman has a reputation that clearly precedes him. He’s referenced in more video games (Dragon’s Dogma, Hollow Knight, every single Souls game since 2009) than he’s actually appeared in. This is probably for the best; Guts couldn’t even count the number of good Berserk games on his fingers, and he only has one hand.
For the uninitiated, Guts is a former mercenary who has been cursed (more accurately, branded) by evil and doomed to fight demons who haunt him each night. His existence is quite literally suffering —he is granted immeasurable power to struggle against the evil forces that surround him, but never quite enough power to change his situation. He gets by, though, thanks to the 220-pound Dragon Slayer, a weapon more commonly referred to as a “heap of raw iron” than a sword. He eventually picks up the Berserker Armor, which —at great cost— augment his speed and power to supernatural, beastial levels. Activating the Berserker Armor makes the most sense as his Soul Charge, and he would almost certainly be banned from competitive play immediately.
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