Following a trend of cameos that started with the first Soul Calibur, wherein Yoshimitsu (from the Tekken series) joined the “tale of souls and swords, eternally retold…” the above screenshot has recently been leaked which shows Ezio Auditore from Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series also joining the “tale of souls and swords, eternally retold.”
(minor rant to follow…)
This makes me sad for Namco. This tells me that they are more interested in riding the coattails of other creative properties instead of challenging themselves to create their own new and interesting characters.
Let’s run down the list of “guests” that have ruined Soul Calibur (for me.)
- Spawn – Xbox exclusive
- Link – Gamecube exclusive character (obviously)
- Darth Vader
- Yoda
- Apprentice (a.k.a Starkiller)
- and now Ezio Auditore
I would not have been opposed to Soul Calibur vs. _______. However, these “crossovers” or “cameos” just feel like hopeless grabs and makes me feel that Namco doesn’t even respect their own Intellectual Property.
Perhaps that’s the issue. I have to admit that very few of the new characters introduced since the first Soul Calibur have really drawn me in. All of my favorites are from the original roster; Mitsurugi, Siegfried, Ivy, Taki, etc. Maybe Namco recognizes their own weakness of boring character design.
Regardless, I wish Namco would focus more on creating their own characters or at the very least draw from their own library.
Voldo vs. Pac-Man… FIGHT!
This concludes today’s First World Rant. We now continue your regularly scheduled real life, already in progress.
