...Of the Highest Calibur: Original Creations from Soul Calibur V.

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve written an actual article entry, what with my introduction being my first, and my Winter*Con article being my second. Needless to say, with Augmented Reality slowly providing material for the contemporary gamer (myself included) I’ve decided to share with you something of my own. It’s not a game, per se, but moreso, original content in one of my favorite Namco titles: Soul Calibur V. I recently bought myself a copy of this title, and I can honestly say I love this game.

What can I say about Soul Calibur V that hasn’t already been said before?? If there’s something that truly attracts me to this title, it’s that Namco has given something to gamers that I look for in a game, a creative outlet. As far as I can remember, I’ve always liked games that give the gamer the option to put one of their own original creations into an established game, like Soul Calibur V. Who wouldn’t want to see Street Fighter’s Chun-Li duke out Siegfried in a match, or your own self-insert take out their frustrations on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Shredder??

After winning a few matches, unlocking several items in Soul Calibur V’s Creator, and reaching level 30, I’ve had a fantastic time, laboring over several custom characters in Soul Calibur V, such as Sonic Man, below.For Sonic Man’s custom, I used a small body-type, and set his body’s values to their lowest setting, since Sonic Man isn’t all that bulky, let alone beefy, or the size of your typical linebacker. Personally, I like how his chest and shoulder armor, breechcloths, boots and cape turned out here. You will notice that Sonic Man’s bodysuit underneath his armor looks shiny and sleek, however, since I have yet to unlock a possible unitard as an item in Creator’s list of custom items, I went for the second best thing: Coloring Sonic Man’s entire skin the same shade of navy-blue, to emulate his skin-tight, formfitting unitard, with a flesh-tone colored sticker on his head, to balance things out, and not leave him with a navy-blue face. You’ll also notice that I did this for Ruben and Sonar Man (an anti-Sonic Man, much like Wario is to Mario) as well, since the two of them wear skin-tight, formfitting unitards as well.Here’s one original character that’s rarely in the limelight. Unity Eastah, Spirit of the Union East Building. Unity Eastah was actually inspired by the 2010 New Student Orientation Committee’s Superhero theme because there was a young lady whose heroine persona represented Union Services, and was named Unity, so I decided to take things further with it. You’ll notice Unity’s matching, oversized sword, as I chose Siegfried’s fight-set. Now, Unity Eastah has a shield, but Pyrrha’s shield (at least in my opinion) is too small, as Unity Eastah’s shield is much larger in size, so I chose Siegfried’s oversized sword instead.

However, while I am a big fan of original characters, not all of my customs are original characters, as illustrated below.Can you tell who this sword-wielding heroine is?? I can sense her Yoki Aura, and it’s strong! That’s right; it’s Clare, from Claymore (a favorite anime of mine.) While this has been done in Soul Calibur V, before, I didn’t like what I saw on YouTube, so I decided to have my own take at creating Clare in Soul Calibur V, and see how well I can pull it off. Granted, she’s not going to be 100% spot-on, but it is recognizable.

For Clare, I gave her an off-white, sleeveless unitard, and the same type of shoulder armor I used for Sonar and Sonic Man, since it was as close as I could get for Clare’s shoulder plates. You’ll notice the black triangle, under her cape. For this, I used three stickers, to emulate that part of her outfit that has her cross-like symbol on her chest. While I couldn’t exactly do that with the limited amount of stickers that Creator allows per item, I simplified it, while still making it identifiable. And speaking of identifiable…Can you guess who this charming chap is?? You’ve seen him play at various anime conventions and cosplay gatherings. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen; it’s our good friend, Shonen Neko Takaya, wielding a staff. Now many have paid homage to the ginger-haired cat, by drawing fan-art and posting it on his wall on FaceBook, and dropping him a line, and this was definitely not an exception. Personally, I love how this turned out as well, as I was going for a more classic anime feel; a story that took place in ancient Japan, when the sword and staff ruled, or maybe something like Ninja Scroll or Ranma½, for nostalgic purposes.
Oh, that reminds me. While not many remember TV’s Mork and Mindy, and while this isn’t exactly Mork, I present to you, my last original character, whom was inspired by Mork and his homeworld, Ork. Valorie Quarto or Quarto as her friends call her comes from a comic series I’ve been working on since, 2005, titled Pleiadian Enterprise, which takes place in the 31st century. Needless to say, while Quarto’s Orkan uniform isn’t 100% spot-on, it isn’t hard to miss. For Quarto, I decided to go with Hilde’s fight-set, since it only seemed as a good option for Quarto’s choice of weapon. Plus, check out that flagged staff! I must say that I can’t wait for Namco’s free balancer, DLC and updates that come out this week, with more on April 3rd, so I can make more original creations to share with all of you!