Two biological experiments walk into a bar...
It sounds a bit weird to be comparing a 2D fighting game to an RPG, but you don’t have to think that hard to come up with a decent list of stuff the Final Fantasy series and Guilty Gear have in common. You’ve got the great plots and characters, the pretty girls in short skirts, the equally pretty guys (sometimes also in skirts), the rampaging slashy subtext and the costumes made of enough random belts and buckles to make cosplayers worldwide curse the character designer to the umpteenth generation. But when I sat down a little while ago and tried to figure out who Sol had vaguely reminded me of when I first read through his backstory, I wasn’t really expecting the answer I got.
See, Sol actually has a hell of a lot in common with Vincent Valentine.
If anyone reading just went o_O in a big way, it’s probably because there’s also couple of pretty major differences - namely that Sol’s a whole lot tougher and manlier than Vincent’s ever going to be, and while he’s got an angsty past of his own, he’s generally too lazy to actually get around to angsting anywhere we'd hear him. Other than that though - wow, no wonder Sol's past sounded vaguely familiar... XD
The Rundown
Vincent Valentine Sol Badguy
Appearance Has red eyes, long dark hair and usually wears a red scarf over his forehead. Also wears a red cape over black clothes (when not in Turk uniform).Has red eyes, long, dark brown hair and usually wears a red forehead protector over his forehead. Typically wears a red jacket over a black singlet (when not in Holy Order unform).
Social skills Not particularly social. Responds to the players initial attempts to talk to him by telling them to go away. Doesn’t willingly talk about his past much. Seriously anti-social. Most of his in game interaction with other characters consists of him telling them to go away. Doesn’t talk about his past at all.
Background A former Turk working with a group of Shinra scientists on the Jenova Project, which would go on to create a lot of nasty monsters (including Sephiroth who sets out to wipe out humanity). A former scientist working on the Gear Project, which would go on to create the bioengineered race of Gears (including the Commander Gear Justice) and plunge the world into a hundred years of war.
Further background Shot and experimented on by a scientist to give him a body that would transform into monstrous forms which were barely under his control, the most powerful ‘Chaos’ having demonic wings, claws and teeth. Became the first test case for Gear conversion, giving him a body that could transform into a monstrous form which acted on instinct more than reason and had demonic wings, claws and teeth.
Colleagues and love interests Romantically involved with Lucrecia, the scientist who would later have Jenova cells injected into her unborn son, turning him into the creature who’d become Sephiroth. Worked with (and hey - may have been romantically involved with, who knows?) a woman who would later be made into Justice.
Out of action Spent 30 years sleeping in a coffin out of misplaced guilt. Never had a coffin that we know of, but apparently it took him 50 years to get around to making the headband that let him maintain a human appearance, so it stands to reason he stayed out of sight a lot for a while.
Back in action Is talked into getting out of his 30 year funk with the news that Sephiroth is still out there and the chance to settle things with Hojo, the scientist who made him into a monster. Goes back into action when Justice is created and the Holy War begins, and sets out to kill That Man, the scientist who made him into a Gear.
In combat Uses a gun as his main weapon, often a revolver. Has attacks called ‘Gunflame’, ‘Bandit Revolver’ and ‘All Guns Blazing’.
Advanced combat To use the Chaos form, you need to painstakingly go through the long process of getting all of Vincents limit breaks, and then take enough damage in battle for his limit break to become available. In Chaos form, Vincent becomes uncontrollable unless knocked out and revived. To see even a glimpse of Sol’s Gear form, you need to go into his Dragon Install mode and enter a complicated button sequence to trigger an instant kill attack. After transforming back, Sol collapses and holds his head.
But, wait, there’s more!
Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus Guilty Gear II: Overture
A new game released years after the original, with much updated graphics, a completely different style of gameplay, and Vincent as the main character. A new game released years after the original, with much updated graphics, a completely different style of gameplay, and Sol as the main character.
Game is styled as a first-person shooter, which alienated a lot of fans of the original RPG. Battle system was seriously clunky and unpleasant in the Japanese version (though apparently was improved in the English version). Game is styled as a mixture of action and strategy elements, which alienated a lot of fans of the original 2D fighter. Battle system doesn’t seem to be going down that well with most players so far (whether there’ll ever be an English version is anyone’s guess).
Includes a section towards the end where Vincent transforms into a rather weird and barely recognisable new take on his demonic form, which hovers off the ground at all times. Contrary to general fan assumptions, this form is playable as normal and has no apparent uncontrollable rage issues. Includes a section towards the end where Sol transforms into an ugly and practically unrecognisable new version of his Gear form, which hovers off the ground at all times. Contrary to general fan assumptions, this form is playable as normal and has no apparent ‘runs on instinct’ issues.
Seriously mucks up everything we thought we knew about Lucrecia by portraying her as a hopeless ditz who was mean to Vincent because of some stupid guilt thing about accidentally killing his father or something. Seriously mucks up Sol’s relationship with his boyfriend rival by completely forgetting their established antagonism while pairing Ky off with some unnamed female character off screen. Also contains some rather confusing and generally inconclusive new information about his relationship with Justice.
So, there you have it. They should really get together for a drink sometime. Vincent could angst about his angsty past, and Sol could tell him to get the fuck over it and, oh, start a bar fight or something. Good times for all.
See, Sol actually has a hell of a lot in common with Vincent Valentine.
If anyone reading just went o_O in a big way, it’s probably because there’s also couple of pretty major differences - namely that Sol’s a whole lot tougher and manlier than Vincent’s ever going to be, and while he’s got an angsty past of his own, he’s generally too lazy to actually get around to angsting anywhere we'd hear him. Other than that though - wow, no wonder Sol's past sounded vaguely familiar... XD
The Rundown
Vincent Valentine Sol Badguy
Appearance Has red eyes, long dark hair and usually wears a red scarf over his forehead. Also wears a red cape over black clothes (when not in Turk uniform).Has red eyes, long, dark brown hair and usually wears a red forehead protector over his forehead. Typically wears a red jacket over a black singlet (when not in Holy Order unform).
Social skills Not particularly social. Responds to the players initial attempts to talk to him by telling them to go away. Doesn’t willingly talk about his past much. Seriously anti-social. Most of his in game interaction with other characters consists of him telling them to go away. Doesn’t talk about his past at all.
Background A former Turk working with a group of Shinra scientists on the Jenova Project, which would go on to create a lot of nasty monsters (including Sephiroth who sets out to wipe out humanity). A former scientist working on the Gear Project, which would go on to create the bioengineered race of Gears (including the Commander Gear Justice) and plunge the world into a hundred years of war.
Further background Shot and experimented on by a scientist to give him a body that would transform into monstrous forms which were barely under his control, the most powerful ‘Chaos’ having demonic wings, claws and teeth. Became the first test case for Gear conversion, giving him a body that could transform into a monstrous form which acted on instinct more than reason and had demonic wings, claws and teeth.
Colleagues and love interests Romantically involved with Lucrecia, the scientist who would later have Jenova cells injected into her unborn son, turning him into the creature who’d become Sephiroth. Worked with (and hey - may have been romantically involved with, who knows?) a woman who would later be made into Justice.
Out of action Spent 30 years sleeping in a coffin out of misplaced guilt. Never had a coffin that we know of, but apparently it took him 50 years to get around to making the headband that let him maintain a human appearance, so it stands to reason he stayed out of sight a lot for a while.
Back in action Is talked into getting out of his 30 year funk with the news that Sephiroth is still out there and the chance to settle things with Hojo, the scientist who made him into a monster. Goes back into action when Justice is created and the Holy War begins, and sets out to kill That Man, the scientist who made him into a Gear.
In combat Uses a gun as his main weapon, often a revolver. Has attacks called ‘Gunflame’, ‘Bandit Revolver’ and ‘All Guns Blazing’.
Advanced combat To use the Chaos form, you need to painstakingly go through the long process of getting all of Vincents limit breaks, and then take enough damage in battle for his limit break to become available. In Chaos form, Vincent becomes uncontrollable unless knocked out and revived. To see even a glimpse of Sol’s Gear form, you need to go into his Dragon Install mode and enter a complicated button sequence to trigger an instant kill attack. After transforming back, Sol collapses and holds his head.
But, wait, there’s more!
Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus Guilty Gear II: Overture
A new game released years after the original, with much updated graphics, a completely different style of gameplay, and Vincent as the main character. A new game released years after the original, with much updated graphics, a completely different style of gameplay, and Sol as the main character.
Game is styled as a first-person shooter, which alienated a lot of fans of the original RPG. Battle system was seriously clunky and unpleasant in the Japanese version (though apparently was improved in the English version). Game is styled as a mixture of action and strategy elements, which alienated a lot of fans of the original 2D fighter. Battle system doesn’t seem to be going down that well with most players so far (whether there’ll ever be an English version is anyone’s guess).
Includes a section towards the end where Vincent transforms into a rather weird and barely recognisable new take on his demonic form, which hovers off the ground at all times. Contrary to general fan assumptions, this form is playable as normal and has no apparent uncontrollable rage issues. Includes a section towards the end where Sol transforms into an ugly and practically unrecognisable new version of his Gear form, which hovers off the ground at all times. Contrary to general fan assumptions, this form is playable as normal and has no apparent ‘runs on instinct’ issues.
Seriously mucks up everything we thought we knew about Lucrecia by portraying her as a hopeless ditz who was mean to Vincent because of some stupid guilt thing about accidentally killing his father or something. Seriously mucks up Sol’s relationship with his boyfriend rival by completely forgetting their established antagonism while pairing Ky off with some unnamed female character off screen. Also contains some rather confusing and generally inconclusive new information about his relationship with Justice.
So, there you have it. They should really get together for a drink sometime. Vincent could angst about his angsty past, and Sol could tell him to get the fuck over it and, oh, start a bar fight or something. Good times for all.