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SoulCalibur VI |OT| A Tale Eternally Retold
- Thread starter SolVanderlyn
- Start date
Hwang's the last DLC character for SC6, according to their EU website that handles all their marketing.
en.bandainamcoent.eu
Hwang will be back in SOULCALIBUR VI on December 2
Hwang the Korean swordsman will make his return into the fight in SOULCALIBUR VI starting December 2 after his last official appearance in 2005’s SOULCALIBUR III.
Hwang's the last DLC character for SC6, according to their EU website that handles all their marketing.
Hwang will be back in SOULCALIBUR VI on December 2
Hwang the Korean swordsman will make his return into the fight in SOULCALIBUR VI starting December 2 after his last official appearance in 2005’s SOULCALIBUR III.
Not surprising, but disappointing nonetheless. Probably just some balance adjustments and minor updates from here on out. The hope is that the focus has shifted towards development of SCVII for next gen.
That out of the way, some surprisingly large changes in the patch notes, Talim in particular got massive changes. Hopefully English translations will be out today.
Fuck that's kinda sad. I hope they take the chance on a properly budgeted SCVII.Hwang's the last DLC character for SC6, according to their EU website that handles all their marketing.
Hwang will be back in SOULCALIBUR VI on December 2
Hwang the Korean swordsman will make his return into the fight in SOULCALIBUR VI starting December 2 after his last official appearance in 2005’s SOULCALIBUR III.
I won't be surprised if this is it for DLC characters, but I'll wait until it's confirmed by Project Soul, not a brief Bamco Europe PR statement.
Hwang's the last DLC character for SC6, according to their EU website that handles all their marketing.
Hwang will be back in SOULCALIBUR VI on December 2
Hwang the Korean swordsman will make his return into the fight in SOULCALIBUR VI starting December 2 after his last official appearance in 2005’s SOULCALIBUR III.
Really sad to read. Sc7 won't be anytime soon and this feels like it will kill whatever chance Sc had to grow a bit more again. was hoping for atleast a smaller season and bringing the improvements of the Tekken netcode to Sc.
Man this sucks. The situation is different from Sc5 of course but it feels like Sc is getting left behind again.
Tekken got another season with big improvements to the netcode, Sf5 pretty much pulled another season out of its hat, even Samsho is getting another season, Dbfz feel like it ended up with much more support than expected given its licenced fighter nature but Sc6 has to die here
Edit: post got changed to "Hwang will be the last DLC character of SOULCALIBUR VI Season Pass 2" doesn't have to mean anything but atleast its just what we know already and not some final statement about any possible future content
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I just want them to get the netcode improvements over from tekken implemented, if the game is going to stay in the state (characters and balance) after hwang drops.
They have to at least do this. The reason I quit the game is because of how long it took to find a match, and when I did it was a sprout or something. Not to mention the crappy net code.
they just changed the wording on this btwHwang's the last DLC character for SC6, according to their EU website that handles all their marketing.
Hwang will be back in SOULCALIBUR VI on December 2
Hwang the Korean swordsman will make his return into the fight in SOULCALIBUR VI starting December 2 after his last official appearance in 2005’s SOULCALIBUR III.
it clarifies that Hwang is the last character in season 2, specifically.
Hedging their bets? I guess time will tell.
I've got a lot of issues with GAAS, but if there's any genre that really benefits from that model (when it's done well), it's Fighting Games. Would love to see SCVI keep support up until the next game is officially announced.
i think it was just a simple mistranslation/miscommunication, considering it doesn't seem to have been in the JP release of information
Yea, I don't play as much as I would want because of the matchmaking and netcode.
It's a shame. And obviously I can't go to local/regional gatherings right now to get offline games.
I just want this game to have its chance to shine brighter.
And I see that wording clarification above, haha. I hope there is a season 3.
Other than Samsho, which I don't know how it sold (probably not much), every other game you have mentioned dwarfs SCVI's sales. So, it's not surprising that they got more support.
these seem like huge changes.... she can restore health without her super now? Sounds good but I'll have to see for myself.
A great choice.
Though he should know that Mi-Na's love for Hwang is one sided. Hwang is for the gays.
So glad to see him getting this and other roles. Love his voice work.
Not sure what to make of the reduced stun on the third hit of her CE, as in whether 4 frames less makes it unsafe now (don't care as much about the CE not being able to guard crush now). Seemed unnecessary given there was enough of a window to just GI it before. I'd be more willing to accept adding 10% meter spend to her RE cancels, which I've been moving away from depending on too much while improving my neutral with her, if they had added meter cost to 2B's Aggression Shift bullshit. The price to pay for increased step/8WR speed and better Wind Charmer evasion, I guess. Not particularly pleased with reducing the horizontal hitbox on 2A+B. That "attack commands input during Wind Sault will not result in ring-out behavior" sounds like A+B no longer causing it since only K/[K] during combos was listed as an exception, which would be lame.
Also undecided on how to feel about decreasing the opening on her Soul Attack by 6 frames even as something that actually benefits her, as I tended to exploit that when fighting other people who play her if they used it from too far away for it to hit or be blocked (free 66B --> 44A+B during mirrors for me).
EDIT: Just noticed the tweet about ProZD being the English VA for Hwang, good stuff. He did great work with Vaseraga in GBVS, too.
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Seems to me that Namco should want to extend the game for as long as possible, unless the DLC sales really bomb. And with backwards compatibility, the game still lives on. Developing four new characters and a bit of fluff and selling a season pass should be a lot more profitable than making an entirely new game for $70.
I can't call Soul Calibur 6 a dominant title in the FGC just yet but the franchise is in great shape right now. I'm so pleased with how it has been handled and supported by the developers and I hope they are getting the recognition they deserve. If Season 2 is the finale then they're finishing on a high and have done a tremendous job.
While I would happily receive a full or reduced Season 3, I think it could potentially put Project Soul in a difficult spot with fan expectation. With Tekken being given wifi indicators and improved netcode, it's something Soul Calibur fans will continue to cry out for. If it doesn't surface, then things may get ugly. =/ Time will tell.
Now, Namco, can someone work this magic with the Ridge Racer franchise, please.
While I would happily receive a full or reduced Season 3, I think it could potentially put Project Soul in a difficult spot with fan expectation. With Tekken being given wifi indicators and improved netcode, it's something Soul Calibur fans will continue to cry out for. If it doesn't surface, then things may get ugly. =/ Time will tell.
Now, Namco, can someone work this magic with the Ridge Racer franchise, please.
EDIT: Wind Sault --> A+B still rings out opponents. CE guarded up to third hit still seems safe. Whiffed Soul Attack still punishable. New counter hit window on 2[A+B] only allows for new B+K --> A (Mistral) input during Wind Fury to combo, 4 hits, 61 damage from front.
EDIT2: Other than restoring a small amount of health upon hit, Mabilis-enhanced forms of attacks (22_88A and 66B) deal around an additional five points of damage with the exception of 66A, which does the same as normal.
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The new story stuff definitely makes me think a season 3 is coming. (And hopefully with ZWEI as one of the characters.)
I dunno... They're putting those new "Interlude" stories and "to be continued" captions right before the time period of SoulCalibur II / III / IV... Makes me think they won't go beyond that point until a potential SoulCalibur VII.
(And I'm not sure a season 3 with characters like Rock or Lizardman would sell like hotcakes either... I mean, count me in if they try anyway, but...)
No. More. Guests. Please.
Can we get a bunch of new characters instead? And maybe the return of Zwei and Algol too.
Can we get a bunch of new characters instead? And maybe the return of Zwei and Algol too.
I'll take guests :)
I am not really a fan of Algol and Zwei designs. I personally don't care if they come back or not.
I would want Rock back. I wouldn't mind another SamSho character. I would like me some Tam Tam, kyoshiro or Sieger.
I thought the Star War characters were cool in 4. I hope they can be guests or Souls team could do a full game after the EA contract is up in 2023. We shall see.
I just want a good Star Wars fighting game.
Of course, new characters with new weapons would be awesome as well, haha.
I am not really a fan of Algol and Zwei designs. I personally don't care if they come back or not.
I would want Rock back. I wouldn't mind another SamSho character. I would like me some Tam Tam, kyoshiro or Sieger.
I thought the Star War characters were cool in 4. I hope they can be guests or Souls team could do a full game after the EA contract is up in 2023. We shall see.
I just want a good Star Wars fighting game.
Of course, new characters with new weapons would be awesome as well, haha.
As with Tekken, the guests are meant to attract new buyers and not just be leftovers or unknowns that appeal to a fraction of folks who bought the base game (that may buy the dlc). The fanbase may argue the loudest for missing character X or someone brand new but their release isn't going to make a wider audience purchase the main game to be able to play them.
Edit: added mention of new characters.
The not-text tutorial in SC6 is weirdly tucked away inside the Mission gameplay mode that will make you create a custom character first. So, that's not super user-friendly. MK11 might be simpler to handle on its face, but you'd also have to put effort into customizing your character's move set, as opposed to just picking a given character. And then you may have more luck mashing your face against the buttons in SC6...
...It's kind of hard to say, really. Neither game leaves you high and dry if you want to know how it works. Both have a decent amount of bells and whistles. MK11 is a bit more slow and methodical, while SC6 is a little more hectic, if that helps.
In Edgemaster Mode that relative of Talim's that you can do side missions for was my waifu. I was kind of sad she wasn't her own original character. Actually there were a few side characters in there that I wouldn't mind if they expand on in sequels assuming all of those characters got to live on.
Didn't play any of the story DLC yet so I can't wait to jump into that soon. Also I just tried Hwang in practice mode and I will not be shocked if I see a bunch of people playing as him online. That's one cool ass motherfucker. Finally after all these years of being Hwang stans my people have been rewarded. This is now my favorite SC behind SC3.
I think Japan and EU are good. NA is probably another 7 hours.
Rock could have all kinds of different movesets if they want to differentiate him from Astaroth. And we are still missing Bangoo, if they think Rock is too old and boring.
Also, this series needs a black woman, so there's definitely a need for new characters. Make her hail from Great Zimbabwe or be an Australian aboriginal or a Maori. So many cool cultures that could be explored.
Anyone experiencing freezes on ps5. Happened to me twice this morning sitting in practice with Hwang on new stage. First freeze happened after few minutes second one took about an hour worth of playing. Both times I had to hold the power button got 10 seconds to reset the console. Had the option to report an error with the app to Sony. Had no crashes or freezes with any other games so far. Kinda annoyed as I was looking forward to today.
Double post because I have to say that Hwang's story was really cool, and has hinted at some very interesting things in the future for SoulCalibur, whether they be a season 3 or the next instalment. Either way there's a lot of exciting developments in this new DLC.
Yeah, the Hwang announcement brought me back and I was surprised by the chronicles of Setsuke and Hilde which I've mostly ignored. Thought they were much more interesting than the vanilla chronicles. Hilde in particular had me like
with all the twists.
with all the twists.
Unless I haven't looked carefully, the story side characters should be pre-made, named CAS characters with their unique (though less intricate) outfits in the future.
Been chewing on the new story content and wanted to yak about it somewhere so I'm just gonna spoiler some stuff and give me thoughts about it
i have more stuff I wanna ramble about (like the Aval info and some theories i have) this feels like enough for now. I love these developments and I'm curious to see what comes from them, either in S3 or in a future game (hopefully season 3 tho)
The entity known as "Iska" is a collective consciousness made of souls absorbed by Soul Edge that were given sentience and incarnated into the world following the shattering of Soul Edge, with each instance of "Iska" taking on their own personality and potentially motivations. Each instance of Iska, with the seeming exception of the first, has appeared in the physical world with a body and acts with the purpose of empowering the fragments of Soul Edge so that their "parent" can be more powerful than ever upon being reassembled. Most of the Iskas aren't able to fight directly in the physical, but can form a bond with Malfested in order to empower them and share of their abilities. Each Iska after the first has formed a bond with a powerful Malfested that has retained their consciousness after the fact, making them among the most powerful and dangerous Malfested seen in the series, due to keeping their human faculties and are thus able to create more complex and competent schemes towards creating chaos, harvesting souls, and increasing the numbers of Nightmare's Malfested army
Let's go over the various instances of Iska that we know.
The first instance of "Iska" referenced in the compendium is likely referring to Iska Farkas from SoulCalibur Legends. The broader story of Legends, likely leaving out the presence of guest character Lloyd Irving, seems to be have contextualized as an illusory journey that Siegfried was subject to for the purposes of breaking of his spirit and turning him into the perfect vessel for Soul Edge and Nightmare. We can infer based on the naming scheme of the other instances of "Iska" that Iska Farkas is actually Iska Ein. It's unsure if Farkas/Ein is a distinct instance of Iska, like the other 7 that we know of, or if they were a single representative. Though, i suppose the distinction doesn't matter until we gain an understanding on the actual nature of the first Iska and if Iska Ein is still around in some capacity. As an aside, EIN is also the name of werewolf entity that fights alongside the character ZWEI from SouCalibut V. What this and the below means can definitely be inferred, but we still have no concrete confirmation
The second instance of Iska is Zwei who, as noted above, shares a name with a SoulCalibur V character. Zwei is bonded to the Malfested Knight Johan Durer, the Greatblade of Nightmare's Seven Malfested Swords. Zwei is noted to be more powerful than the other Iskas, but doesn't like conflict. Johan, for one reason or another, respects Zwei's wishes and usually works alone without the boy's help. Iska Acht has a tattoo on her design that looks exactly like the tattoo that ZWEI in Soul Calibur V has, implying that that ZWEI is an adult version of... Zwei. With ZWEI's background being largely unknown beyond some snippets from an artbook, this would be interesting as ZWEI in SCV was motivated to destroy Soul Edge, meaning that an instance Iska could potentially rebel against their "parent" and seek to destroy it. While we don't see Iska Zwei directly, we do know that all instances of Iska have silvery hair, and ZWEI's hair is two toned, being black and silvery white. Meaning it's possible that ZWEI dyed his hair to obfuscate his identity as an Iska. There's a lot to think about with Zwei and ZWEI and I'm excited and interested to see where they go with it.
Iska Vier is bonded to Curtis, the Inquisitor of the Seven Malfested Swords. Vier doesn't show up directly, but she is alluded and mentioned at a few points. The compendium mentions that Vier is more reticent in comparison to her other Iska counterparts and acts more mysteriously. Currently, it is unknown when and how she came upon Curtis after his death and malfestation along with why she chose to share her power with him. It's possible that Vier has her own plans separate from Soul Edge, but this remains to be seen until we see more from her.
Iska Sechs is briefly alluded to and never seen. The most we get on them is that they're "chatty" much like their sister Acht. Given that we have four known member of the Sevel Malfested Sword and four known instances of Iska in the physical realm, we can make the assumption that Sechs is bonded to Azola, the Corrupter.
Iska Acht is the only Iska we see in the game itself. She's bonded to Won Gabok of the Cursed Flames, and operates primarily in East Asia, having performed experiments in Japan and Korea. Acht's experiments include the formation of the Salvation Society, lead by Gabok, in Korea (covered by Hwang's story mode) and the malfestation of Gyobu Kokonoe in Japan (covered in Setsuka's story). Acht's schemes in Japan are thwarted by Setsuka, and she & Gabok are defeated in Korea. However, both manage to escape and are still active. Acht also, at one point, pulls Mitsurugi into Astral Chaos, where he fights some simulacrums made of Soul Edge's previous wielders conjured by Acht (namely, Cervantes, Nightmare, and Inferno.). After he defeats the phantasms, Acht notes that Mitsurugi doesn't seem to be afflicted by Astral Chaos like most others are (Rugi has lore implications?? whaaa?????) but their confrontation is cut short by the rumblings of a certain ancient king's reawakening, causing Acht to plunk Mitsurugi back to the regular world in China.
Let's go over the various instances of Iska that we know.
The first instance of "Iska" referenced in the compendium is likely referring to Iska Farkas from SoulCalibur Legends. The broader story of Legends, likely leaving out the presence of guest character Lloyd Irving, seems to be have contextualized as an illusory journey that Siegfried was subject to for the purposes of breaking of his spirit and turning him into the perfect vessel for Soul Edge and Nightmare. We can infer based on the naming scheme of the other instances of "Iska" that Iska Farkas is actually Iska Ein. It's unsure if Farkas/Ein is a distinct instance of Iska, like the other 7 that we know of, or if they were a single representative. Though, i suppose the distinction doesn't matter until we gain an understanding on the actual nature of the first Iska and if Iska Ein is still around in some capacity. As an aside, EIN is also the name of werewolf entity that fights alongside the character ZWEI from SouCalibut V. What this and the below means can definitely be inferred, but we still have no concrete confirmation
The second instance of Iska is Zwei who, as noted above, shares a name with a SoulCalibur V character. Zwei is bonded to the Malfested Knight Johan Durer, the Greatblade of Nightmare's Seven Malfested Swords. Zwei is noted to be more powerful than the other Iskas, but doesn't like conflict. Johan, for one reason or another, respects Zwei's wishes and usually works alone without the boy's help. Iska Acht has a tattoo on her design that looks exactly like the tattoo that ZWEI in Soul Calibur V has, implying that that ZWEI is an adult version of... Zwei. With ZWEI's background being largely unknown beyond some snippets from an artbook, this would be interesting as ZWEI in SCV was motivated to destroy Soul Edge, meaning that an instance Iska could potentially rebel against their "parent" and seek to destroy it. While we don't see Iska Zwei directly, we do know that all instances of Iska have silvery hair, and ZWEI's hair is two toned, being black and silvery white. Meaning it's possible that ZWEI dyed his hair to obfuscate his identity as an Iska. There's a lot to think about with Zwei and ZWEI and I'm excited and interested to see where they go with it.
Iska Vier is bonded to Curtis, the Inquisitor of the Seven Malfested Swords. Vier doesn't show up directly, but she is alluded and mentioned at a few points. The compendium mentions that Vier is more reticent in comparison to her other Iska counterparts and acts more mysteriously. Currently, it is unknown when and how she came upon Curtis after his death and malfestation along with why she chose to share her power with him. It's possible that Vier has her own plans separate from Soul Edge, but this remains to be seen until we see more from her.
Iska Sechs is briefly alluded to and never seen. The most we get on them is that they're "chatty" much like their sister Acht. Given that we have four known member of the Sevel Malfested Sword and four known instances of Iska in the physical realm, we can make the assumption that Sechs is bonded to Azola, the Corrupter.
Iska Acht is the only Iska we see in the game itself. She's bonded to Won Gabok of the Cursed Flames, and operates primarily in East Asia, having performed experiments in Japan and Korea. Acht's experiments include the formation of the Salvation Society, lead by Gabok, in Korea (covered by Hwang's story mode) and the malfestation of Gyobu Kokonoe in Japan (covered in Setsuka's story). Acht's schemes in Japan are thwarted by Setsuka, and she & Gabok are defeated in Korea. However, both manage to escape and are still active. Acht also, at one point, pulls Mitsurugi into Astral Chaos, where he fights some simulacrums made of Soul Edge's previous wielders conjured by Acht (namely, Cervantes, Nightmare, and Inferno.). After he defeats the phantasms, Acht notes that Mitsurugi doesn't seem to be afflicted by Astral Chaos like most others are (Rugi has lore implications?? whaaa?????) but their confrontation is cut short by the rumblings of a certain ancient king's reawakening, causing Acht to plunk Mitsurugi back to the regular world in China.
The Seven Malfested Swords are a group of particularly strong Malfested that have retained their human consciousness and serve as Nightmare's most powerful soldiers in his forces. Each one is bonded to an Iska and gains power from their bond. We know four of the seven, and can guess the fifth. Two of them are complete unknowns
The first member is Johan Durer, the Greatblade. He's the antagonist of Hilde's story mode and the closest thing to a leader amongst the seven, hence his title of Greatblade. Johan's bonded to Iska Zwei but doesn't draw on his power often, as Zwei is averse to combat, meaning that Johan primarily operates alone. Johan has a huuuge bio in-game that I won't go into here, but the point of the matter is that he's considered among the most dangerous of the seven, due to his cunning and severe cruelty. He primarily operates within the Holy Roman Empire, and frequently reports to his "King", Nightmare, on the progress of their army's growth and his experiments into cultivating and harvesting powerful souls. Johan's actually existed as a character since the original SoulCalibur way back when, but his first in-game appearance was in SoulCalibur IV, where he utilizes Nightmare's fighting style. This is the most he's been active in the series ever, and I frankly wouldnt be surprised to see him become playable down the line with a unique longsword style.
The next member is Curtis, the Inquisitor. Those of you who played Groh's story mode will recognize him as a member of the Aval Organization and Groh's best friend who met his end after Azwel's betrayal resulted in his malfestation. After Groh slays Curtis, he was thought to be truly dead, but somehow (possibly due to Iska Vier's influence), he was revived as one of the Seven Malfested Swords. Curtis acts as the personal security of Nightmare's Castle that I don't feel like spelling, slaying infiltrators and those trying to escape. Curtis is likely to be a rival to Groh in a future story, so if he becomes playable on his own, i'd expect something like a script-flipping on Groh's fighting style, with his twinblade split to begin with and joining as part of his stance. Curtis is also noted to wield magic to some degree but to what extent is unknown.
The next member is Azola, the Corrupter. Azola is a hell of a deepcut and I'm kind of amazed that they referenced/incorporated her. Azola started off a costume for Sophitia that was intended to have a unique name. The costume concept was used, but Azola herself was not. She reappeared as a minor antagonist in SoulCalibur IV, like Johan. Azola is referenced in a library document, with her preferred tactic being to malfest as many people as she can in a given location. I picture her, if she becomes playable, to have some gimmick in her style to reference this. Maybe damage over time, maybe some form of discombobulation. I dunno. I'm just excited that someone as minor as Azola might actually become relevant
The last member is Won Gabok, the Cursed Flames. His stuff is all covered in Hwang's story mode. BUT, i do like what Gabok brings to the table. Namely, he provides an ongoing enemy for the Korean characters, which is something they lost in later entries as the Toyotomi wars ended and the Korean cast was written out of SoulCalibur V (and also time and budget constraints but shut up). I also wanna give it up to Joe Zieja's great voicework, just selling Gabok as this complete piece of shit hammy loser and his fun back and forth shittalk with Acht. I hope he becomes playable for more of that alone.
A likely member of the Seven is Solnhofen, who is similarly a minor antagonist in SoulCalibur. Solnhofen is a member of the Bird of Passage, just like Tira. He used Raphael's style in 4, so if they wanna make him a vampire or something while Raphael is busy not being a vampire, that'd be neat or something. I unno. I'm just putting him here to note the trend with Johan and Azola.
Who aren't a part of this group?
Probably not Astaroth or Aeon. Astaroth isn't a malfested human like the rest and Aeon fucks off after Soul Edge shatters because he regains his human consciousness and journeys to regain his body.
Probably Not Tira. She's not with Nightmare yet nor is she Malfested at this point.
Who could be a member?
The Seven Malfested Swords seem to come in two flavors
New characters and "Huh???" older characters
For new characters, we have Curtis and Gabok, they're connected to Groh and the Korean cast, respectively, so other members may be completely original but for the purposes of giving other characters more relevance and personal stakes in the story, which is something that previous entries struggled with.
In terms of older characters, I think there's a number they could pull from, just going on the precedent set forward by bringing Johan and Azola back into some kind of relevance.
One example that came time mind was the Berserker from II, buuuuut i think the idea of this character may have actually be repurposed into the Aval Organization's Archibald, who is noted to be an axe-user clad head to toe in armor.
The original characters from III's Chronicles of the Sword mode come to mind, it had plenty that could be yoinked and reinvented as members of Nightmare's forces, like Strife, Chester, or whoever.
For "characters that fuckin' died while malfested", there's probably some more options here, but the one that springs to mind is Xianglian, who gave the Dvapara-Yuga to Kilik once the Ling Sheng Su Temple's monks became malfested. It could be interesting, buuuut i think she's probably staying dead lol
The first member is Johan Durer, the Greatblade. He's the antagonist of Hilde's story mode and the closest thing to a leader amongst the seven, hence his title of Greatblade. Johan's bonded to Iska Zwei but doesn't draw on his power often, as Zwei is averse to combat, meaning that Johan primarily operates alone. Johan has a huuuge bio in-game that I won't go into here, but the point of the matter is that he's considered among the most dangerous of the seven, due to his cunning and severe cruelty. He primarily operates within the Holy Roman Empire, and frequently reports to his "King", Nightmare, on the progress of their army's growth and his experiments into cultivating and harvesting powerful souls. Johan's actually existed as a character since the original SoulCalibur way back when, but his first in-game appearance was in SoulCalibur IV, where he utilizes Nightmare's fighting style. This is the most he's been active in the series ever, and I frankly wouldnt be surprised to see him become playable down the line with a unique longsword style.
The next member is Curtis, the Inquisitor. Those of you who played Groh's story mode will recognize him as a member of the Aval Organization and Groh's best friend who met his end after Azwel's betrayal resulted in his malfestation. After Groh slays Curtis, he was thought to be truly dead, but somehow (possibly due to Iska Vier's influence), he was revived as one of the Seven Malfested Swords. Curtis acts as the personal security of Nightmare's Castle that I don't feel like spelling, slaying infiltrators and those trying to escape. Curtis is likely to be a rival to Groh in a future story, so if he becomes playable on his own, i'd expect something like a script-flipping on Groh's fighting style, with his twinblade split to begin with and joining as part of his stance. Curtis is also noted to wield magic to some degree but to what extent is unknown.
The next member is Azola, the Corrupter. Azola is a hell of a deepcut and I'm kind of amazed that they referenced/incorporated her. Azola started off a costume for Sophitia that was intended to have a unique name. The costume concept was used, but Azola herself was not. She reappeared as a minor antagonist in SoulCalibur IV, like Johan. Azola is referenced in a library document, with her preferred tactic being to malfest as many people as she can in a given location. I picture her, if she becomes playable, to have some gimmick in her style to reference this. Maybe damage over time, maybe some form of discombobulation. I dunno. I'm just excited that someone as minor as Azola might actually become relevant
The last member is Won Gabok, the Cursed Flames. His stuff is all covered in Hwang's story mode. BUT, i do like what Gabok brings to the table. Namely, he provides an ongoing enemy for the Korean characters, which is something they lost in later entries as the Toyotomi wars ended and the Korean cast was written out of SoulCalibur V (and also time and budget constraints but shut up). I also wanna give it up to Joe Zieja's great voicework, just selling Gabok as this complete piece of shit hammy loser and his fun back and forth shittalk with Acht. I hope he becomes playable for more of that alone.
A likely member of the Seven is Solnhofen, who is similarly a minor antagonist in SoulCalibur. Solnhofen is a member of the Bird of Passage, just like Tira. He used Raphael's style in 4, so if they wanna make him a vampire or something while Raphael is busy not being a vampire, that'd be neat or something. I unno. I'm just putting him here to note the trend with Johan and Azola.
Who aren't a part of this group?
Probably not Astaroth or Aeon. Astaroth isn't a malfested human like the rest and Aeon fucks off after Soul Edge shatters because he regains his human consciousness and journeys to regain his body.
Probably Not Tira. She's not with Nightmare yet nor is she Malfested at this point.
Who could be a member?
The Seven Malfested Swords seem to come in two flavors
New characters and "Huh???" older characters
For new characters, we have Curtis and Gabok, they're connected to Groh and the Korean cast, respectively, so other members may be completely original but for the purposes of giving other characters more relevance and personal stakes in the story, which is something that previous entries struggled with.
In terms of older characters, I think there's a number they could pull from, just going on the precedent set forward by bringing Johan and Azola back into some kind of relevance.
One example that came time mind was the Berserker from II, buuuuut i think the idea of this character may have actually be repurposed into the Aval Organization's Archibald, who is noted to be an axe-user clad head to toe in armor.
The original characters from III's Chronicles of the Sword mode come to mind, it had plenty that could be yoinked and reinvented as members of Nightmare's forces, like Strife, Chester, or whoever.
For "characters that fuckin' died while malfested", there's probably some more options here, but the one that springs to mind is Xianglian, who gave the Dvapara-Yuga to Kilik once the Ling Sheng Su Temple's monks became malfested. It could be interesting, buuuut i think she's probably staying dead lol
i have more stuff I wanna ramble about (like the Aval info and some theories i have) this feels like enough for now. I love these developments and I'm curious to see what comes from them, either in S3 or in a future game (hopefully season 3 tho)
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