Started playing Soul Calibur II when we had a guest over, and got reacquainted with the game. Wanted to record some of my thoughts on the game by highlighting some of my favorite characters, both ones I play, and ones that look cool but don't happen to be in SC II, the version I own.
Sort of an alternate Astaroth for me, even if his moves aren't quite the same. Not nearly as much of an actual character as Astaroth is, though.
I just like lizard dudes for some reason. I play Argonians in Elder Scrolls, I played Iksar in my dalliance with Everquest... They're just cool, dammit.
This guy is actually fairly boring, having a similar sword-and-shield style to Sophitia and her sister, but for some reason I still like the guy, even if he takes forever to unlock.
I was surprised to learn this guy was a new addition as of SCII. He's a natural fit in the game. He takes more skill than I can muster sometimes, and my wife winds up playing him better on occasion, so we usually pass the controller back and forth on the dungeon levels when I'm playing him. He's got great speed and reach, and a variety of disorienting moves that help keep up enough variety to KO just about anyone.
I've never actually played her, but I think her style is just great. She'd probably be a major reason for me to get SCIV.
Her personality seems rather close to mine, or at least to what I think of as mine. She's self-effacing and not fond of conflict, but will buckle down and fight if she has to. Her attacks are very short range, so it's always hit or miss when I'm playing her. If I can get in close my opponent doesn't stand much of a chance, but unless I remember to do one of her leaping kick things I'm screwed.
This guy is all kinds of awesome, and my go-to guy when people are kicking my ass when I'm playing another character. He has this long-distance stab move that cuts off a significant portion of health and is pretty hard to avoid, and he's the right combination of strength, range, and speed to be a good general fighter. That, and I have a thing for samurai stuff, I guess. Not much of a ninja person. Then again...
Unfortunately, her big-boobs costume is accompanied with the character profile here, but I really like her when she's wearing something a bit more sensible. She is very mobile, able to do some pretty serious flips to get out of danger AND outflank an opponent. The problem is that her actual attacks are sort of hard for me to consistently pull off. So unlike Talim, who also has a shorter reach, I can easily tank with this ninja despite being in the proper range.
Pirates AND Ninjas, Soul Calibur? Really? Old Cervantes is pretty fun to play. His throws are just crazy powerful, and he's pretty strong in general. Problem is, the guy is a pain to manage properly. I usually pull him out when my usual tactics with my more mainstay characters aren't working.
When I want to crush my enemies, have them driven before me, and hear the lamentation of their women, I choose this big boy. His costume variations are actually interesting, too, so I almost feel like I'm playing different characters depending on which I pick. His range and strength are just ridiculous, so as long as I go on the offensive I'm usually OK. It's when the quicker fighters get in close that it's time to beat a strategic withdrawal.
I tend to kick all kinds of ass with her. I also like her noble, honorable style. She has this double flip kick that works really well to both damage and get out of harm's way.
I thought it was a bit goofy to add Link, but in hindsight he was much better than how Spawn turned out. His sword-and-shield style, if I recall correctly, was different enough to make him not a clone of the other sword-and-shield fighters in SCII. He was really easy to control and had a good variety of moves. From what I've seen of the recent SC crossover characters, I'm glad I experienced Link first.
