Because the last version of this thread for this game is half a year old and the other one I made only mentions 2 (3?) people, might as well create one of these for current and future reveals/leaks for anyone who cares. 
 
A few days ago some new characters were revealed that someone posted about in the wiki. Now we have something of confirmation.
 
  

• Xiba, the palette-swapped Kilik who looks a little more like Son Goku than his predecessor (the monkey king from Journey to the West. Also see: the OG Dragonball series, Enslaved, and Saiyuki). With his staff and that Johnny Yong Bosch voice, he is listed as an "Honest Young Man" who travels with Maxi, Leixia and Natsu. Will probably be the target of much rage.
  
• Cervantes, the "Great Pirate Resurrected," who probably found the fountain of youth or some shit like that. As a result, is more human-colored than zombie this time around.
• Aeon, the "Creature of Sin" who is Lizardman except he can breathe fire and fly now (at least during his super move).
• Yoshimitsu II, "He who lives by the code," apparently replacing the first Yoshimitsu who got stuck as a cyborg with serious dreads in Namco Bandai's other fighting franchise.

So I guess that means the only characters from the last game who haven't been confirmed yet as of now (either returning or through palette-swapped stand-ins) are Zasalamel, Talim, Setsuka and Seung Mina, right? Oh yeah, I guess Amy and Yun-seong too. Why not.

It has been noted that Aeon uses the same dual-wield weapon fighting style as Kratos, and has his 'flying wing' attack. Perhaps he killed Kratos? 
 
Oh wait, I don't give a shit. 

Oh wait, I don't give a shit. 

@Vegetable_Side_Dish said:

Oh wait, I don't give a shit. 

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to let us know.

These 'younger characters' seem to just be excuses to anime up the series with bigger eyes. It was Japanese enough as it was, and I don't think any of the designs I've seen as replacements have looked like upgrades.

@Veektarius said:

These 'younger characters' seem to just be excuses to anime up the series with bigger eyes. It was Japanese enough as it was, and I don't think any of the designs I've seen as replacements have looked like upgrades.

If you're attempting an insult, this statement is completely nonsensical. Of course it's Japanese. It's a Japanese game made in Japan by Japanese people, and frankly, the new characters don't seem all that out of place compared to the old roster. A character that's more or less Son Goku isn't exactly weird next to zombie pirates, vampires, lizardmen, and whatever the hell Voldo is.

Really, I think I'm set for characters. Hilde is coming back, and she was my favorite new character in SCIV.

@Veektarius said:

I don't think any of the designs I've seen as replacements have looked like upgrades.

I agree.

Also, Xiba makes me want to punch kittens with gloves made of puppies.

Wait... these characters were all confirmed and have been recorded on video like weeks and weeks ago. Even just yesterday I was watching guys on destructoid play with Namcos community manager live. Theirs only 7 empty slots left on the character roster to confirmed with the latest ones being Baldemaster (from sc2 or 3 i forget) and Algol, who isn't the end boss this time just another dood.

@Hailinel: It's perfectly coherent, I even clarified what I meant within the body of the post. The new character designs have a greater anime influence in design than the previous ones. You can disagree if you want, but that doesn't make me any less leery about the product.

Well, these kinda suck so far. Not that it would matter to me, no Sophitia = No buy.

Though i guess Mitsurugi is still in it...

man I wish tailm was in this because she'd be legal now. well way pass legal like she'd be about 34

@Veektarius said:

@Hailinel: It's perfectly coherent, I even clarified what I meant within the body of the post. The new character designs have a greater anime influence in design than the previous ones. You can disagree if you want, but that doesn't make me any less leery about the product.

The "body" of your post is so thin that the only argument I really see is "herp derp BIG EYES."

@Hailinel:

Oh good, you did get it after all.

This has me a bit worried, at least until the obligatory DLC arrives since Talim and Seung Mina have been my "go to" characters dating back to the days of the coin-ops. Seung Mina was the first character I played on a Soul Edge machine back in the 90's. Still, I am eager to see what's new and what mischief I can make in the create-a-player mode.

@Hailinel:

Oh good, you did get it after all.

@Hailinel:

I didn't make an 'argument'. I said I don't like the character design because it's too anime. So stop being a dick just because we have differing opinions.

Yep, everything about this game looks like they took the engine from the last game and just slapped some new models into it. I'll pass.

I'd rather have Taki, Kilik, and Lizardman instead of new characters that play like them.

@Hailinel:

I didn't make an 'argument'. I said I don't like the character design because it's too anime. So stop being a dick just because we have differing opinions.

"Hey fellas, y'all remember those weird random people you played against in Soul Calibur 4's story and Tower of Souls mode? The ones that played like the characters you know and love, but have quirky names and faces?"

Yes.

"Well, they're now playable characters in Soul Calibur V!"

Thanks, Namco.

Partuska????

May as well post this here.

Could veasily be fake, but there's a couple of leaked screenshots floating around that show Kilik and a new character named Elysium. Also seen in the character select is what would appear to be an alternate version of Phyrra, likely counterpart to Alpha Patroklos.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/01/18/rumor-kilik-and-elysium-added-to-soulcalibur-5/

More posts by the guy who leaked the pictures of Elysium and Kilik

You get Alpha Patroklos, Edge Master, Elysium and Omega Pyrrha after completing the story mode.

Elysium looks like Sophitia (she is NOT Sophitia though) but she can use any style (like Edge master).

After that Legendary Souls mode is unlocked.

The first fight in LS is with Kilik, after victory he is unlocked.

Omega Pyrrha has the same movelist as the ordinary one but uses Soul Edge.

Alpha Patroklos = Setsuka.

Kilik can use any style like Edge master.

There are still two slots left. I believe one is for Dampierre and the second is for Algol (or other all-style character).

[...]

Well, Kilik is the boss in Arcade mode. He can use any fighting style (like Edge master) but has his own winning pose.

If this is true, why would they have 3 all-style characters? It makes no sense.

@DocHaus said:

More posts by the guy who leaked the pictures of Elysium and Kilik

You get Alpha Patroklos, Edge Master, Elysium and Omega Pyrrha after completing the story mode.

Elysium looks like Sophitia (she is NOT Sophitia though) but she can use any style (like Edge master).

After that Legendary Souls mode is unlocked.

The first fight in LS is with Kilik, after victory he is unlocked.

Omega Pyrrha has the same movelist as the ordinary one but uses Soul Edge.

Alpha Patroklos = Setsuka.

Kilik can use any style like Edge master.

There are still two slots left. I believe one is for Dampierre and the second is for Algol (or other all-style character).

[...]

Well, Kilik is the boss in Arcade mode. He can use any fighting style (like Edge master) but has his own winning pose.

If this is true, why would they have 3 all-style characters? It makes no sense.

If it's true, while they may be able to use all styles, perhaps its the case that their properties are not equal? (i.e.: Differences in speed/strength, etc.) It's the best that I can think of.

is this game even remotely accessible for new players?

@DocHaus said:

More posts by the guy who leaked the pictures of Elysium and Kilik

You get Alpha Patroklos, Edge Master, Elysium and Omega Pyrrha after completing the story mode.

Elysium looks like Sophitia (she is NOT Sophitia though) but she can use any style (like Edge master).

After that Legendary Souls mode is unlocked.

The first fight in LS is with Kilik, after victory he is unlocked.

Omega Pyrrha has the same movelist as the ordinary one but uses Soul Edge.

Alpha Patroklos = Setsuka.

Kilik can use any style like Edge master.

There are still two slots left. I believe one is for Dampierre and the second is for Algol (or other all-style character).

[...]

Well, Kilik is the boss in Arcade mode. He can use any fighting style (like Edge master) but has his own winning pose.

If this is true, why would they have 3 all-style characters? It makes no sense.

I'm guessing it's not true. The guy posting that stuff has been caught in a likely lie after claiming Amy's in the game. He says what slot she's in, but it's the same one that Dampierre would occupy (and it exceeds the character screen's limit anyway).

My guess would be that all these special characters would be shoved off to a hidden/extra slot on the character screen like in SC4 with all the pre-created custom characters, but it's just a guess.

@tunaburn said:

is this game even remotely accessible for new players?

Honestly, I thought Ezio, Pyrrha and Patroklos were put in the game so new players would have a starting point.

@DocHaus said:

My guess would be that all these special characters would be shoved off to a hidden/extra slot on the character screen like in SC4 with all the pre-created custom characters, but it's just a guess.

You could well be right. The argument is that there's actually a screenshot from early on that shows Dampierre in the very slot in question. But, obviously things can change.

Personally I'm hoping the dude's just trolling. Three mimic characters wouldn't be the end of the world, but it seems just a little ridiculous.

@Veektarius: Halinel becomes this sites' biggest troll whenever you imply anything involving anime/japanese culture with negative connotations, just ignore him and he'll get more annoyed than you having to respond to him.

Welp, looks like that rumor was true after all...

@DocHaus said:

Welp, looks like that rumor was true after all...

Huh. I wonder why they decided to go with multiple characters of thath type.

@CaptainCody said:

@Veektarius: Halinel becomes this sites' biggest troll whenever you imply anything involving anime/japanese culture with negative connotations, just ignore him and he'll get more annoyed than you having to respond to him.

If you're going to sling insults, the least you could do is spell my username right.

@Hailinel said:

@DocHaus said:

Welp, looks like that rumor was true after all...

Huh. I wonder why they decided to go with multiple characters of thath type.

If I had to wager a guess, I'd say it's just a symptom of their truncated development cycle. They wanted to add more characters but didn't have the time/resources to give any of them a unique move-set so they just Edge-Mastered all of them.

Then again, Edge Master trained Kilik so I suppose this is a natural evolution for his character and I have no idea what Elysium is other than stonking great tits and wispy, semi-transparent clothes. I'm cool with it.

@tunaburn said:

is this game even remotely accessible for new players?

I think so. If you want to be super casual about it, SC has always been one of the most "mash friendly" fighting games out there. It's great for parties because even total newbies can get in there and make cool-looking stuff happen.

If you're looking for a little more depth, the presence of a block button and significantly higher emphasis on avoidance and movement can trip up experienced fighting game players. Also the extremely large move-lists for each character can make it difficult to dabble. However, the game is very straightforward on a systems level and that, combined with the uncluttered controls scheme, makes it very easy to get started without feeling overwhelmed.

That being said, I have no idea how much the addition of the super-moves or whatever they are is going to complicate things. I haven't really been keeping up with all the things they're adding to this game. Still a day-one purchase for me, mostly because I love Create a Soul mode.

I'm hoping they at least shoved Talim and Zasalamel's movesets in there somewhere or I'm going to be a very sad panda.

@DocHaus: If I had to wager a guess I'd say they'll be available in CAS mode.

Where the hell is Seong Mi-na?

There are far too many styles of old that have yet to even be mentioned.

Crazy stuff. I like playing random characters and all, but I never thought they'd litter the game with them. Oh well, it's no big deal. If they have a Team VS. mode included in this game, maybe I can finally fulfill my old desire to have an entirely random-weapon team. Heh.

I'm gonna guess they're all boss characters, or at least Kilik and Elysium are. Harkening back to the days of Inferno.

@Aus_azn said:

Where the hell is Seong Mi-na?

There are far too many styles of old that have yet to even be mentioned.

Most are actually covered. Zasalamel, Talim, and Rock (if you want to count him entirely different from Astaroth) are really the only ones missing. Everyone else is either in or has some kind of successor.

Not that Zasalamel/Talim styles won't be missed by me if they're nowhere to be found. Sniffles.