SoulCalibur V At Comic-Con: Ivy, Natsu, Z.W.E.I. Detailed

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SoulCalibur V At Comic-Con: Ivy, Natsu, Z.W.E.I. Detailed

SoulCalibur V for PS3SoulCalibur V for PS3

Hello! My name is Hisaharu “Heath” Tago, Producer for SoulCalibur V and a member of Namco Bandai GamesProject Soul development team. I wanted to go over the SoulCalibur V news we announced at this week’s San Diego Comic-Con to the PlayStation.Blog and all of its fans.

SoulCalibur V (SCV for short) is a bit of a particular project. There are two main reasons for this: The first one is because Project Soul, the development team behind the SoulCalibur franchise, was disbanded after the release of SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny for the PSP system. The members were spread throughout Namco Bandai Games to work on other projects within the company. Soon after that happened, Katsuhiro Harada, the Director of the TEKKEN series, called on SoulCalibur fans to speak up and send a message to Namco Bandai Games to develop a new SoulCalibur title. As a result of Harada-san’s request, we received many passionate notes from fans allowing us to reform Project Soul for SCV.

The entire Project Soul team, myself included, appreciates the outpouring of support from fans and wanted to reflect this with a new Project Soul logo:

Project Soul

The new logo represents the team and fans coming together to make SCV possible. It also represents a new era and direction for the team, which can be seen and felt through SCV. I would like for fans to be proud of what they have done for us whenever they see this new logo.

The second reason are the changes to the battle system. These changes will surely surprise SoulCalibur fans and let them feel the beginning of the new chapter for the series. Some of you might have already recognized the changes by watching our trailers. SCV is faster and sharper, different from the previous games in the series.

The beautiful graphics the SoulCalibur series are known for will return with more elegance than ever before in SCV. We promise every player will feel extremely excited and satisfied when they defeat an opponent by successfully using the new Quick Move high-speed evasion from attacks, sharp combos in sequence, and brilliant special moves causing lots of damage.

We know that innovation causes not only expectation, but concern as well. Please be reassured that we understand that characters fans are used to must not be completely changed, and that these innovations must not make the game unbalanced. We are working day and night to ensure that the game will be well balanced and make for an exciting and satisfying gamepay experience.

And now, I would like to dicuss the SCV characters that have just been revealed!

I think Ivy’s appearance is what everyone really worries about, because 17 years have passed since SCIV. But as you can see below, you don’t have to worry about that. In a way, her eternal existence is promised.

SoulCalibur V for PS3: Ivy

Name: Isabella Valentine (Nickname: Ivy)
Sex: Female
Age: Stopped at 32
Birthplace: London, British Empire
Height: 5’10” ( 179 cm)
Weight: 128 lbs. (58 kg)
Date of Birth: December 10th
Blood Type: Unknown
Weapon: Snake Sword
Weapon Name: Valentine (Ivy Blade)
Fighting Style: Unrelated Link
Family: Her adoptive parents, Earl and Countess Valentine, are deceased. Her real father is Cervantes.

The next is a brand-new character named Natsu. She is an apprentice of Taki, a character that has been in SoulCalibur since the beginning. I think it is better to show Natsu’s charm in motion and not by talking about her appearance — please look forward to gameplay videos soon. SCV’s sharper and faster battle system really compliments Natsu’s ninja speed and evasive maneuvers. After you use Natsu, you can discard any prejudice you may have that she is simply a replacement for Taki.

By the way, being so excited to talk about Natsu, I almost forgot to mention that Taki is alive.

SoulCalibur V for PS3: Natsu

Name: Natsu
Sex: Female
Age: 17
Birthplace: Izumo, Japan
Height: 5’5″ (166 cm)
Weight: 115 lbs. (52 kg)
Date of Birth: August 3rd
Blood Type: O
Weapon: Ninja Sword x2
Weapon Name: Kuzukiri & Awayuki
Fighting Style: Musoh-Battoh-Ryu
Family: She is Taki’s student and brought up by Chie, the chief of Fu-ma clan. She harbors the great demon Arahabaki within her.

Regarding the next new character, I’ll try not to explain too many details about him just yet. His name is Z.W.E.I. and he is a completely new character.

The biggest surprise with Z.W.E.I. is the short sword in his hand is not his main method of attack. His inclusion is making SoulCalibur’s “Weapon-based Fighting Game” style step into all-new territory. Please watch the Comic-Con trailer on Monday, July 25th and imagine how his fighting style will play out. The clue is Z.W.E.I. means “two” in German. Does that mean there must be a “one” as well?

SoulCalibur V for PS3: Zwei

Name: Unknown (Calls himself Z.W.E.I.)
Sex: Male
Age: Unknown (Appears to be early 20’s)
Birthplace: Unknown
Height: 6″ (182 cm)
Weight: 179 lbs. (81 kg)
Date of Birth: Unknown
Blood Type: Unknown
Weapon: Sword
Weapon Name: Kreuzgriff
Fighting Style: Self-Taught
Family: He does not talk about them.

If you are reading this before July 31st, I really would like you to come to EVO at Las Vegas. At the event, SCV’s Game Director Daishi Odashima will be in attendance to show some exciting content.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the fans for their continued support for not only SCV, but the SoulCalibur franchise as a whole. This project would not be possible without your continued support.

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56 Comments

  • I’m very excited to see that Soul Calibur is coming back to consoles. This is my favorite fighting game and I have great memories with this. It’s the only fighter my friends and I would actually sit around and play. Please don’t make it a low quality game! We love soul calibur.

  • Hope there’s more males..

    Anyone know where’s the comicon stream?

  • Yes Ps blog finally covered SC5!!!! Best fighting game everrrrrr!!! Or will be!!

  • Awesome! Thanks forr the update! How old is everyones Favorite Taki going to be?

  • What about guest fighters? Will we see any of them in Soul Calibur V?

  • Z.W.E.I. Loks cool and all, but I think fans would rather see new characters based around ACTUAL ancient weapons and styles. The strange weapons and styles of late are distracting and traveling further and further from the series roots.

    How about a character that uses Hook Swords? In my opinion, they are just about the coolest martial art weapon in existence and they’re already designed to have all three attack ranges in mind (close, mid, long).

    Please give us some ACTUAL martial arts instead of hoops and morphing swords and other nonsense. Characters don’t need a ridiculous gimmick to be cool, and in fact (at least with the tournament community), we feel these made-up-weaponry characters are annoying and not in keeping with the feeling of the series.

  • Thank you for the update, Hisaharu. I really can’t wait to get into this game; the Soul Edge / Soul Calibur series are my favorite fighting games that go a long way back for me. Taki is alive!? Interesting.

    And my interest is peaked for Z.W.E.I.. I just don’t wanna wait ’till Monday to find out more!!! Ah well. Looking forward to it.

  • Zwei seems awesome!!! Natsu sounds like she will be great…I hope Maxi will return…or Li longs son….oh and I hope Bangu makes an appearance.

  • Truly excited for this! Soul Calibur & Tekken series both knock any other franchise right out of the ring! Thank you Namco Bandai / Team:)

    Any extras would be also appreciated. Home items, avatars, themes. Us diehard fans eat it up.

    • Avatar photo
      Richard “FilthieRich” Bantegui

      We are really happy to hear that the fans are already excited for SoulCalibur and TEKKEN. Look forward to more comments from me right here as we unveil more info on our fighting games!

  • For everything else SC5 goto http://www.facebook.com/SoulCalibur…and also http://8wayrun.com/!!!!!

  • It would be great if Ivy wasn’t ridiculously top-heavy in SC5.

    If you catch my drift.

    It was totally overboard in SC4.

  • You can check the Comic-Con stream below. The actual panel wasn’t streamed but there are supposed to come on the stream and answer some questions.

    http://www.twitch.tv/leveluplive

    Guest fighters are also making a return. And be sure to check out facebook.com/SoulCalibur for the latest SC info.

  • I am very excited, I felt SCIV was lacking for the final game in the series. Will this game have more game modes or at the very least a good story mode? Online battles are fun but we also need a GOOD amount of single player modes, this is why SCIV was a disappointment. But I will def be giving SCV a chance!

  • I can’t see the images em Hight Resolution :(

  • the game looks great, but I suck at it :(

  • where is Xiaghua? dont replace her plz, she is my main character =(

  • Xianghua* Sorry

  • I am looking forward to this game. I’m pulling for Amy! And the two newest stages look great.

  • I’m Really looking forward to this game.. i’m fan of the soul saga since soul blade/edge on PSX and for me is the best fighting game… even although the SCIv was some of dissapointing…

    And I have a Question, Will Taki be playable? If Natsu is so diferent from Taki, wouldn’t any problem if Taki is Playable… She is my favorite character on the Saga and my first time playing Soul Blade was with she…

  • “But as you can see below, you don’t have to worry about that. In a way, her eternal existence is promised.”

    Thank you! I knew it had to be this way.

  • please…don’t take Taki…its my favourite and i dont care about a replacement for her….please

  • I also want to say that I’m hoping you’re not going to try to take a page out of Mortal Kombat’s book and try to sell characters for a stupid $4.99 each or some crap.

    I’m absolutely not going to buy into that and will just look elsewhere for my fighting fix. That’s a brand-damaging DLC business model, I promise you.

  • I really LOVED Soul Calibur 2. A lot. I just could comprehend and eventually mastered the way of that game! I really am looking forward to playing this game… Hopefully the gameplay feels more like SC2 than anything else.

    Also: PUT TALIM IN IT!

  • Awesome news. By the way, I hope you will make several appearances on this blog between now and the day you release SCV…? Please say yes because you still have passionate fans literally almost everywhere pouring out their “passions” toward you for this project. We’d love for you to come on this blog to share few news between now and the day it launches… Plus for you to bring awesome contents on this blog to surprise us! Please say yes!

    • Avatar photo
      Richard “FilthieRich” Bantegui

      Hi there! We want to keep fans tuned in as more content is revealed for SoulCaliburV. Keep up the conversations and feel free to post up right here knowing that we are reading what the fans are chatting about.

      Make sure to stay tuned for more on what was revealed from Comic-Con on Monday July 25!

  • I am very happy that Project Soul lives on and i hope SCV does very well so that the franchise is never again put into jeopardy.

    SCV is far more deserving of the attention the gaming media like to bestow upon inferior fighting titles. *cough*Mega street fighter IV hyper arcade marvel vs taksinoko cross super tekken arcade Edition*cough.

    Also, i am glad to hear that Taki is sitll alive. Hopefully she will be a secret unlock bonus character :)

  • Taki’s not coming back. We’re not going to have a Cassandra/Sophitia scenario here. When they added Cassandra they gave her her own distinct look. The new ditzy teen’s got the costume Taki’s had since the beginning of the series plus she has the same attacks (even from the few in-game screens you can tell the attacks are exactly the same as Taki’s).

    And now we learn that they replaced her with a female Naruto. *ultimate facepalms*

  • I am happy that another soul caliber is coming out, especially since its not just the same old characters with a re-hashing of the same old story. it seems as though its going to be a fresh new tale of swords. that has me most excited ^_^

  • so is taki not playable :(. I mean if you truly cant use her anymore I guess her apprentince will do.

  • I love Soul Calibur IV and the original Soul Calibur on Dreamcast. I can not wait for Soul Calibur V!

  • I hope the fact that you are mentioning that Taki is alive means that we will get to play as her. She’s my favorite SC character and I will be deeply saddened if she’s not returning. I like Natsu but I don’t like her as much as Taki, Please bring Taki back so I can use both of them happily.

  • Ein, Zwei… Drei?… I don’t know how “Three” is spelled, I just know what they sound like… x.x;

  • Just make a trophy patch for Soul calibur 4 already!

  • What Dessron said.

    When I got a PS3 finally, and got SC4, I cannot properly express how quickly I lost interest when I found out it didn’t have trophy support. I’ve seriously played it like 5 times ever.

    SC2 and SC3 were so much better on top of that.

  • It’s great to hear Taki is alive, but a simple appearance in the story of the game is NOT enough. We fans want the real deal, we want Taki included as full core character (complete with her trademark look). Now, because we have Natsu here, already sporting a lot of Taki’s signature moves, we have to expect that Taki will now have an entirely new style to not get into the whole “clones” issue this series has had in the past.

    As a devout Taki fan, I am perfectly ok with her getting a new, although perhaps slower, more ninjitsu loaded style focusing on her mad chi energy we have thus far only briefly seen in previous intros.

    As for Taki’s age, 46 is not the end of the road. It’s also not like Taki doesn’t have magic arts beyond destructive powers. The story has previously mentioned that she can heal serious injuries, why not slow / stop her age as well? Then we have Mekkimaru, perhaps the most evil sword in the whole series, perhaps carrying it for so long has changed her… There is so much you can do with Taki its just sick. Project Soul surely realizes the potential they have in one of the greatest character designs of all time.

  • Trophy patch for SCIV!! It would make me buy another copy. and many others too. Also help promote SCV

  • The Original Taki better be an unlockable character. Natsu is cute and all, but Taki had a mature fierceness about here that removing her from the game would be unforgivable. Also where’s my favorite Psycho Tira?!

  • I would like to play SC5 on PS Vita!!!! You guys should make it happen and give it a storyline that follows SC5 on console…I would buy…You gotta make it happen.

  • @fijski8
    They would’ve released a trophy patched over two years ago if they were able to do it. If releasing trophy patches were that simple, ALL PS3 games would’ve gotten them, not a mere handful.

  • Why is Ivy wearing so many clothes? Where the hell is Taki? Who is this ZWEI fella?

    Honestly I don’t care. As long as the return the game to its SC2 glory days, I’m happy. PLEASE DO NOT SCREW UP IVY THIS TIME!!! Her SC4 fighting controls were garbage!!!

  • ZWEI looks awesome.
    [DELETED]? Ivy with… clothing? What is this witchcraft?
    Who is the guest character?

  • @33

    Play it because it’s a fun game, not for some stupid virtual trophies.

  • >_< You heard it Project Soul, BRING BACK TAKI!!! I want Taki NAO!!!!!!

  • I love soul calibur 4, and I’m sure i’ll love the 5th one too.

  • @aquastorm….what do you mean early demise? Silly.

    And to Namco-Bandai…please bring back Rock, I know he’ll be old, but we need a character like that!
    I also want a staff user like Kilik.

  • I can’t believe you would write something about xbox and sales on a post about SC5…It’s a completely different subject….why…would you even talk to these ppl with cross game voice chat..hmm? Are they really your friends? If they are friends in real life call them with a cell phone….use 3way….If they are old enough to care about wanting cross game voice chat they are also angry enough about there life and Don’t want to talk to ppl….Why ruin someone else’s game play, netfix, eye create, experience….I usually don’t want to be disturbed while im playing the game because most of my day sucks! If you want it that bad tell sony you and others will pay money for it! Or just wait cause IT IS NOT A BIG DEAL…..MOST PPL THINK ITS A GOOD IDEA BUT DONT GIVA!!!!!!! IT WONT CHANGE MUCH.

  • Solid_Fish36 LOL Agreed!!

  • Nice

  • @Hooligantuan

    Your first comment made me think you were a tool.

    Your second comment made me think you might not be a tool.

    Your third comment made me realize that the second one was an anomaly.

    You have got to be kidding about not playing a game because it does not have trophy support.

    Isn’t that a little bit obsessive?

  • My comment was deleted. OH WELL! Couldn’t care less I made it up as I went along anyway.

    I want this game so bad I was addicted to SCIV and hope this one is just as good.

  • dis game is gonna b a beast

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