Christ almighty...To be honest, the whole guage thing came straight out of the universe of Mortal Kombat...and, to be straight, that's ridiculous. I don't play Soul Calibur to play Mortal Kombat... I play Soul Calibur to play Soul Calibur. What's so hard to understand about that?
I mean, I guess having the Critical finish in SC4 was a step in that direction too, but that was to kill people that turtle excessively, and for all intents and purposes, it worked for people that were able to use it. Able, however, is the operative word here, and there isn't a scrub out there that can use the CF properly. With this new CE, they're making a stab in the right direction, but at the same time, they're detracting in other areas. For example, Hilde's charge mechanics...first of all, those alone make the learning experience with her look like a stone fortress, and is a massive entry barrier for any player to overcome. On top of that, Zwei and Viola will now use a similar mechanic, which I guess is good for Hilde players, but kind of sucks for the classic SC players, who aren't at all used to the new mechanic, and after four/five years of playing. Keep in mind that these are the same people avidly wishing for things to return from the murky depths of change (like myself, especially in regards to Nightmare, but enough on that), and some stuff has so far, like moves returning to Astaroth, Voldo, Mitsurugi, from previous titles.
And the GI mechanics...just...ugh. Change does hurt.
So, you're telling me that GI is basically just G on an i frame, and that the new "improved" version is basically Jin Kazama's/Yoshimitsu's block all move? Well, at least it won't be singular to Yoshimitsu now, who, trust me, can abuse it terribly. On the downside, it cuts into your gauge (Star Wars guests/Mortal Kombat). So, it can be used for a large offensive or defensive advantage. Okay, I can kinda see where this is going.
But my main point is, SC is starting to look too much like Mortal Kombat. In spite of the loss of CF and the return of old favorite moves, the game's CE is basically an X-ray attack, except Soul Calibur style, meaning that some character's CE's will suck while others are overpowered. And that's just looking at the ones that have been released, especially keeping in mind that some are grabs and some are not, and some maye even be applicable in larger combos to do massive damage on walls and tech. That said, a grabbing CE may actually be the butt end.
So, recap. Let's do a little math here...
In SC5, we have easy CE/BE, easy A+B+K, and a (probably) semi-easy G.
In SC4 we have difficult CF, Yoshimitsu, and a semi-difficult G6.
Hmm...that leaves SC5 at 3 points of improvement over SC4. Doesn't sound about right...how about this:
Viola and Zwei are just like Hilde, with a massive entry wall and a potential to be just as rigged in the hands of a good player.
As long as Pyrrha lives, Sophie does.
And faster-paced gaming means less reaction time to all of her lag-lows.
Not to mention Astaroth's 1AA no longer needing to be charged, so the same thing applies.
And then the fact that Asta is now cybernetic...and only 24 years old.
Yeah, that's more like it.
However, on a more optimistic subject, CE's differing from char to char raises an interesting question...will the lower tiered char's be able to use them better than the upper tiered ones? Like, for example, Ivy and Astaroth's CE's seem to be just straight up grabs, unless Asta's spinspinspinspinspin can somehow ring out/combo. Could it potentially be a downgrade from a move that can simply slip into a combo? I guess we'll find out soon enough.
And as a personal plea....pleaseoplease bring back Nightmare's 22_88 AAB_B6 and his variant options of AAB, that would be much appreciated.
Peace.
Or war, take your pick.