Praise the Sun! - Solaire of Astora for Smash Switch

[Reila]

I want to disgress though.. Solaire is more iconic that chosen undead, but i don't think chosen undead is not iconic... at least the "elite knight armor" one is pretty iconic, being in tons of fan media and being basically the posterboy.

I respect your opinion, but I would list about ten things only from Dark Souls (excluding Demon's, II and III) more iconic than the Chosen Undead. The fact Chosen Undead doesn't speak, doesn't have a default look, etc makes them not that iconic.

However, they wouldn't be the first "avatar" in the game and Villager also doesn't speak (and Villager wasn't exactly the most iconic fellow from AC) so nothing would that mean the Chosen Undead couldn't be playable instead of Solaire.

 

[ActualGarbage]

I respect your opinion, but I would list about ten things only from Dark Souls (excluding Demon's, II and III) more iconic than the Chosen Undead. The fact Chosen Undead doesn't speak, doesn't have a default look, etc makes them not that iconic.

However, they wouldn't be the first "avatar" in the game and Villager also doesn't speak (and Villager wasn't exactly the most iconic fellow from AC) so nothing would that mean the Chosen Undead couldn't be playable instead of Solaire.

I think the thing that makes the Chosen Undead work less compared to other avatar characters (Villager, Robin, Corrin) is that they all have a more defined move pool to have. Villager does what they do in their games, and Robin uses the equipment they can use in their game. The problem with the Chosen Undead though is that they'd have such a vast ocean of moves they could pull from, that they wouldn't really be doing things "right". Since there's so many different weapons, items and armour sets in the game, I feel it wouldn't really work to take only a handful of things that some players might not even use in their Souls playthrough. While Solaire on the other hand, has a distinct look, weapons and attacks, so, if he was put into Smash, he'd feel like Solaire, while the Chosen Undead would only feel like a specific version of them, not the whole thing.

TL;DR Solaire just works better cause he's more grounded in terms of actual character and what he can do.

 

[Reila]

I will stand by my statement that Solaire works better because he is more iconic, the closest to a mascot the Souls series has.

 

[Gazorpazorpfield]

I will stand by my statement that Solaire works better because he is more iconic, the closest to a mascot the Souls series has.

I think that's reasonable. He is the one with the Amiibo, after all

This may have been discussed, already, but how do people picture Solaire working in Smash? Coming from Dark Souls, his attacks would probably be pretty committal, but really punishing to land. I imagine him using movement/rolling/blocking/parrying for a patient bait-and-punish style. He also needs a Praise The Sun taunt. Thoughts?

 

[SvartWolf]

I will stand by my statement that Solaire works better because he is more iconic, the closest to a mascot the Souls series has.

i never said the contrary, i agree with that. what i was saying is that chosen undead ispresent on gamer's mind, at least as a knight with sword and shield and elite knight armor.

I think that's reasonable. He is the one with the Amiibo, after all

This may have been discussed, already, but how do people picture Solaire working in Smash? Coming from Dark Souls, his attacks would probably be pretty committal, but really punishing to land. I imagine him using movement/rolling/blocking/parrying for a patient bait-and-punish style. He also needs a Praise The Sun taunt. Thoughts?

as ivesaid before.. i wonder if giving him the ability to shield an walk while keeping shield raised would make him feel instantly very darksoulish, and immediatly make him super unique with a clear gimmick that makes him stand out from other swordies.

other systems that could be interesting attacks with great properties on the ground but with a stamina bar. and an estus flask mechanic. also I picture him with a better ground game.

 

[BZL8]

Of all FromSoftware reps, Solaire probably has the best chance. And Sakurai has written about Dark Souls before. Implementing FromSoft and Hidetaka Miyazaki's long-time gameplay philosophy into Solaire would make for a very interesting character; hard to master and easy to die, but extremely fun to play as (and maybe play against?). My personal From pick would be a Bloodborne rep, but we know it won't happen. Will it, Sony?

How would a Solaire trailer play out?

And speaking of From, anyone here played Sekiro?

 

[Eldrake]

I've personally imagined that a Solaire trailer would start with a Mii Fighter in a Chosen Undead costume encountering and struggling with a boss battle (Rathalos?), with Solaire coming to the Mii Fighter's rescue. Extra points if it's initially disguised as a trailer for a mere Mii costume.

 

[SvartWolf]

I've personally imagined that a Solaire trailer would start with a Mii Fighter in a Chosen Undead costume encountering and struggling with a boss battle (Rathalos?), with Solaire coming to the Mii Fighter's rescue. Extra points if it's initially disguised as a trailer for a mere Mii costume.

better yet... we get news of a new bossrush mode, with a couple of extra bosses, and we get a trailer presenting those bosses, (say eggman and Giratina, to name a few)...

after a super cool trailer featuring said bosses, we see whichever hero is trying to take down them and struggling when they find the golden sign... and bamf, Soliare hijacks the bosses trailer.

i think that it would work better if the darksouls property isnt revealed until the very end. smash trailers love to have some kind of surprise. think of joker... we were expecting a smash reveal trailer... we welcomed new persona games trailers... but we never put 2 on 2 together until the persona trailer got revealed to be a smash trailer.

 

[Reila]

I find his inclusion a little unlikely at this point. News about Dark Souls kinda died out, just like the series did. Of course that doesn't mean it can't or won't happen. It was a long shot from the beginning.

On the other hand, at least in my opinion there are not that many actually relevant third party fighters to be added to Smash, especially from companies that are yet to be represented in the series. I mean, there are dozens of hundreds of popular video games series nowhere to be seen in Smash, but how many left are actually big and really popular? I can think of very few, and most of them are from the west, with little ties to Nintendo, or ties that are left in the long past. I would be thrilled to have a Resident Evil fighter, maybe a Mortal Kombat one as well, but I just don't see it happening. Or someone from the SNK "universe".

We got a SEGA fighter with Joker, a Square-Enix fighter with Hero, so maybe we could get a Bandai Namco one with Solaire. One could argue a Tales of rep would make more sense, and while I agree, I really hope that doesn't happen. Tales of has been around for longer than the Souls series, but the Souls series is really popular, bring something significantly more unique to Smash and it has the benefit of being recent (relative to Tales of) on its side. The fact Joker and The DQ 11 Hero were chosen over more well known and popular main people from their own series leads me to believe they do are about a fighter coming from newer games, in most cases.

That said, I still don't see it happening, as cool as it would be. Perhaps we will praise the sun in Smash, perhaps not.

 

[Gazorpazorpfield]

Hmmm. I don't think Lloyd is too likely for this pass, given it already contains two other JRPG characters. I don't think they would add another, making one genre the majority of an entire pass. I wouldn't worry about him.

Heihachi would be the more pressing matter for Solaire's chances. We know he was already considered for Smash 4, and aside from Pac-Man he's arguably the company's biggest character. Should a Bamco character be chosen, I think it would be him, unless he is still deemed to difficult to implement.

Do we know what Sakurai thinks of Dark Souls? Being the cult hit/phenomenon it is, he's surely played it. Maybe if he thinks highly enough of it, he'd consider giving Solaire a shot. That seemed to work well for Joker, anyway.

 

[BZL8]

Do we know what Sakurai thinks of Dark Souls? Being the cult hit/phenomenon it is, he's surely played it. Maybe if he thinks highly enough of it, he'd consider giving Solaire a shot. That seemed to work well for Joker, anyway.

He's talked about it in his Famitsu column. Source Gaming did a translation a while back.

I played Dark Souls. The game had some network issues right after it was released, so I started it up in offline mode. It’s a difficult game, where carelessness will result in a swift death. The consequences for mistakes are enormous, so you have to be extremely wary of ambushes or combat in cramped quarters, and exercise extreme caution**. In this way, every bend in the road becomes significant. What if there’s an unbeatable enemy lurking just ahead? Should I try to move silently? Do I have enough health? Are there enemies on my sides? Behind me? Things like that.

This high level of difficulty is built on a set of well-constructed rules. There are several, but here’s one example. In this game there are important points called bonfires, where you can restore your health. But when you use a bonfire, enemies and their positions are reset. Basically, the paths from bonfire to boss, or from bonfire to bonfire, are the “units” of this game. You have to keep that in mind when coming up with a strategy.

 

[Reila]

I don't think they care about adding too many JRPG, anime-like fighters. Sakurai already admitted liking JRPGs, so it doesn't surprise me Joker and Hero were added, and it wouldn't surprise me if another one were to be added. While Dark Souls is a RPG series born in Japan, it hardly fits within the "JRPG" genre, so I don't think it counts. Personally, I can't think of a JRPG fighter I would want in Smash at this point, unless we count Geno (and he isn't "anime-like")

Heihachi seems kinda boring to me. I have played a lot of fighting games but Tekken happens to be one of the big series I never cared about. That said, at least from a visual standpoint, he would be somewhat unique. I would be more interested if Yoshimitsu was the face of the series, and the likely Tekken addition instead. I am not against his inclusion, though. It is just that Solaire would be even more unique, and IMO a Dark Souls fighter in Smash would me more news worthy than a Tekken one.

 

[Gazorpazorpfield]

I don't think they care about adding too many JRPG, anime-like fighters. Sakurai already admitted liking JRPGs, so it doesn't surprise me Joker and Hero were added, and it wouldn't surprise me if another one were to be added. While Dark Souls is a RPG series born in Japan, it hardly fits within the "JRPG" genre, so I don't think it counts. Personally, I can't think of a JRPG fighter I would want in Smash at this point, unless we count Geno (and he isn't "anime-like")

Heihachi seems kinda boring to me. I have played a lot of fighting games but Tekken happens to be one of the big series I never cared about. That said, at least from a visual standpoint, he would be somewhat unique. I would be more interested if Yoshimitsu was the face of the series, and the likely Tekken addition instead. I am not against his inclusion, though. It is just that Solaire would be even more unique, and IMO a Dark Souls fighter in Smash would me more news worthy than a Tekken one.

Don't get me wrong; Dark Souls would hardly fall under the JRPG umbrella with the other two. While it is an RPG developed in Japan, it's still an Action RPG, with core gameplay, systems, levels, art and general tone entirely different to that of the other characters. Solaire has a realistic chance.

Heihachi's odds shouldn't be ignored, however. He's the face of one of Bamco's biggest and most iconic properties and, again, has already been considered for Smash once before. However, he has two things going against him; firstly, he shows up as a sprite in Pac-Man's taunt, a cameo which may prove to be a disconfirmation; secondly--I won't dwell on this point so as not to be disrespectful--his voice actor recently passed, and the character has seemingly been retired. They may opt not to include Heihachi out of respect.

Nevertheless, the character is probably Namco's biggest, aside from Pac-Man, and could certainly be included.

If not, though, I'm beginning to think that a Dark Souls character would be second in line

 

[SvartWolf]

I also think that Bamco character probably would be either somnething tekken, something Dark souls or nothing. I don't see much of loyd irving, since legacy jrpg and modern jrpg spots are kinda taken... (also i dont think that we will see crash bandicoot due to banjo)

That being said.... im'not sure if Dark Souls counts really as a bamco, since they publicsh the games outside of japan, but in japan if im not mistaken the seriews is still of FromSoftware (unlike bloodborne thats is owned by sony for example)

But i don't think that sakurai would just choose a bamco rep... rather than a character than makes sense... but then again... sakurai is supposedly not chosing teh characters themselves (although nintendo probably gives him a list of posible candidates) but then again.... joker is almost 100% a sakurai's pick.

I think that at least a more realistic character is inbound, be, dark souls, doom, ryu hayabusha, tekken, or whatever...
Dunno , if we are lucky we get dark souls guy and doom guy (I still feel that chosen undead may have a little more chances than solaire... but i will be happy with either... i mean.. we have "the Hero" now, Chosen undead doesn't sounds as weird...)

as for the fifth.. i wonder if we are getting an indie guy? :0 (although i don't see neither shovel knight nor shantae that are the folks that placed well on the ballot)

 

[Reila]

With more DLC coming eventually, I think Solaire being added to Smash is not an impossibility. If he is I doubt he is the next DLC, the last DLC fighter from the fighter pass, however. I expect a bigger name, something more relevant to the history of video games. Something like Jill Valentine or Rayman, or perhaps a very requested fighter such as Geno. Solaire would have been a good announcement after Joker since neither of them are really THAT iconic.

Maybe next year. I dunno how many DLC we will get after the fighter pass. Hopefully not many and hopefully Solaire is one of them.

 

[Gazorpazorpfield]

With more DLC coming eventually, I think Solaire being added to Smash is not an impossibility. If he is I doubt he is the next DLC, the last DLC fighter from the fighter pass, however. I expect a bigger name, something more relevant to the history of video games. Something like Jill Valentine or Rayman, or perhaps a very requested fighter such as Geno. Solaire would have been a good announcement after Joker since neither of them are really THAT iconic.

Maybe next year. I dunno how many DLC we will get after the fighter pass. Hopefully not many and hopefully Solaire is one of them.

For what it's worth, we still haven't gotten a Bamco fighter in Ultimate, despite them working on the game again. As that company goes, it's pretty much between Heihachi, who may not be feasible with Smash's mechanics, LLoyd, who is fairly likely but may be deemed redundant as the third anime-styled jrpg protagonist in the DLC, and our guy Solaire, whose biggest problem is not being the protagonist of Dark Souls. Ironically, we might end up with the Chosen Undead instead of Solaire, since they're the player character.

I don't think that's too likely, though, and people generally sleep on Solaire's chances. He fits the DLC's general tone of 'not too iconic, but well-respected and important to gaming' that Persona and Fatal Fury do. I'd predict that he is Bamco's 2nd most likely character; maybe Heihachi is more likely, maybe Lloyd is, but not both of them.

 

[Reila]

For what it's worth, we still haven't gotten a Bamco fighter in Ultimate, despite them working on the game again. As that company goes, it's pretty much between Heihachi, who may not be feasible with Smash's mechanics, LLoyd, who is fairly likely but may be deemed redundant as the third anime-styled jrpg protagonist in the DLC, and our guy Solaire, whose biggest problem is not being the protagonist of Dark Souls. Ironically, we might end up with the Chosen Undead instead of Solaire, since they're the player character.

I don't think that's too likely, though, and people generally sleep on Solaire's chances. He fits the DLC's general tone of 'not too iconic, but well-respected and important to gaming' that Persona and Fatal Fury do. I'd predict that he is Bamco's 2nd most likely character; maybe Heihachi is more likely, maybe Lloyd is, but not both of them.

Tekken is popular but I can't imagine Heihachi being that big of a deal if he is added to Smash, let alone as the final "fighter pass" fighter. Lloyd is even more obscure, "Tales of" isn't exactly Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, and these days even Persona is likely more popular. Regardless, if one of those is added I can already see a bunch of people being salty about Nintendo's choice.

The thing about Solaire is that while he isn't a massive gaming icon (neither is Bayonetta, Joker, etc... but that is not my point) is that having a Dark Soul fighter in Smash, by itself, would be huge news. The"Souls" series still is relatively niche if you compare it to behemoths like Pokémon, but it also went from a random niche game with Demon's Souls (damn fine game, though) to a very popular and iconic series in modern days. The fact Nintendo added Joker and also the Sans Mii costume gives me some hope. There is also the Solaire amiibo. Who knows, though.

I don't think he is likely to be the next DLC but I could see he showing up next year. Also, Terry Bogard isn't in the same tier as Joker, Bayonetta... He is far more relevant in the history of gaming, but... That is a matter for a different thread.

---

Imagine fighting in Anor Londo in a Smash game. Because if Solaire is in Smash, and the stage isn't Anor Londo, Nintendo messed up.

 

[Gazorpazorpfield]

Tekken is popular but I can't imagine Heihachi being that big of a deal if he is added to Smash, let alone as the final "fighter pass" fighter. Lloyd is even more obscure, "Tales of" isn't exactly Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, and these days even Persona is likely more popular. Regardless, if one of those is added I can already see a bunch of people being salty about Nintendo's choice.

The thing about Solaire is that while he isn't a massive gaming icon (neither is Bayonetta, Joker, etc... but that is not my point) is that having a Dark Soul fighter in Smash, by itself, would be huge news. The"Souls" series still is relatively niche if you compare it to behemoths like Pokémon, but it also went from a random niche game with Demon's Souls (damn fine game, though) to a very popular and iconic series in modern days. The fact Nintendo added Joker and also the Sans Mii costume gives me some hope. There is also the Solaire amiibo. Who knows, though.

I don't think he is likely to be the next DLC but I could see he showing up next year. Also, Terry Bogard isn't in the same tier as Joker, Bayonetta... He is far more relevant in the history of gaming, but... That is a matter for a different thread.

---

Imagine fighting in Anor Londo in a Smash game. Because if Solaire is in Smash, and the stage isn't Anor Londo, Nintendo messed up.

I'd definitely hope for an Anor Londo stage, maybe even with an Ornstein and Smough cameo, but the Smash team would probably choose Firelink Shrine. Either way though, I could see a dark horse Dark Souls character being included now--especially now that additional dlc is confirmed, as you mentioned.

 

[merchantofsalt]

I think the thing that makes the Chosen Undead work less compared to other avatar characters (Villager, Robin, Corrin) is that they all have a more defined move pool to have. Villager does what they do in their games, and Robin uses the equipment they can use in their game.

Robin can promote into any class in Fire Emblem: Awakening. They just chose the mage skill set for Smash because it is the most commonly-identified with the character.

 

[ActualGarbage]

Robin can promote into any class in Fire Emblem: Awakening. They just chose the mage skill set for Smash because it is the most commonly-identified with the character.

I mean that's basically what I was saying. Defined characteristics to go with. Chosen Undead? Eh, not a lot going on there.
I don't remember writing that so I barely remember what I was trying to say though

 

[merchantofsalt]

I mean that's basically what I was saying. Defined characteristics to go with. Chosen Undead? Eh, not a lot going on there.
I don't remember writing that so I barely remember what I was trying to say though

Okay? Arguably the Chosen Undead is commonly identified with sword-and-shield, armor, melee tactics, since that is how the player character of Dark Souls is portrayed in cover art and most promotional material. There is definitely a "base" to work on for the character's moveset. There are also iconic series spells like Fireball and Lightning Spear, which would take precedence over more obscure weapons and magic.

 

[Reila]

I'd definitely hope for an Anor Londo stage, maybe even with an Ornstein and Smough cameo, but the Smash team would probably choose Firelink Shrine. Either way though, I could see a dark horse Dark Souls character being included now--especially now that additional dlc is confirmed, as you mentioned.

Firelink Shrine is a gorgeous place, and it would be cool to have that big raven as a cameo, but in a way it would be yet another stage full of grass and some green here and there. Anor Londo is a lot more unique. You are probably right, though. Imagine if the threw a curve ball and the stage was the arena where you fight the Soul of Cinder.

 

[ActualGarbage]

Okay? Arguably the Chosen Undead is commonly identified with sword-and-shield, armor, melee tactics, since that is how the player character of Dark Souls is portrayed in cover art and most promotional material. There is definitely a "base" to work on for the character's moveset. There are also iconic series spells like Fireball and Lightning Spear, which would take precedence over more obscure weapons and magic.

I guess I can see where you're coming from. Chosen Undead is just boring as a character though.

 

[Reila]

Chosen Undead would be somewhat cool IF we got alternate skins from Dark Souls 2 and 3, so the Bearer of the Curse and the Ashen One. Otherwise Solaire is far more interesting. Heck, give me Siegmeyer instead of Chosen Undead.

Hmm... Hmmm... Still closed.

 

[King Sonnn DeDeDoo]

In their latest video, Jon from gamexplain made a hypothetical trailer idea for Solaire in smash bros.

I haven't really been in this thread before, but i really like the idea of Solaire in Smash. The Dark Souls series has made quite a name for itself in the past decade, I think a character from the series could be real interesting mechanically and stylistically. Since Terry has special mechanics for spot dodging, it would be intresting to see a Souls character have unique mechanics for rolling and parrying, maybe even a stamina meter or something of the like. Plus Dark Souls really stands out from the rest of the series on the roster, a dark fantasy style is really unique.

 

[Gazorpazorpfield]

In their latest video, Jon from gamexplain made a hypothetical trailer idea for Solaire in smash bros.

I haven't really been in this thread before, but i really like the idea of Solaire in Smash. The Dark Souls series has made quite a name for itself in the past decade, I think a character from the series could be real interesting mechanically and stylistically. Since Terry has special mechanics for spot dodging, it would be intresting to see a Souls character have unique mechanics for rolling and parrying, maybe even a stamina meter or something of the like. Plus Dark Souls really stands out from the rest of the series on the roster, a dark fantasy style is really unique.

Totally! Maybe instead of having a shield, Solaire would hold up his actual shield, and could walk back and forth with it. They could play around with the stamina meter with it, too

 

[King Sonnn DeDeDoo]

Hello fellow Sun bros, with disconfirmations left and right nowadays, we've been in the clear so it's possible we could see Dark Souls character in Smash. I think Dark Souls could make a lot of waves and From Software usually has a pretty big presence in the Video game awards, so it's definitely a possibility.

Also does anybody have a smash Icon for Solaire? I'm having to make due with \[T]/

 

[ActualGarbage]

Hello fellow Sun bros, with disconfirmations left and right nowadays, we've been in the clear so it's possible we could see Dark Souls character in Smash. I think Dark Souls could make a lot of waves and From Software usually has a pretty big presence in the Video game awards, so it's definitely a possibility.

Also does anybody have a smash Icon for Solaire? I'm having to make due with \[T]/

Damn, I can't believe Lloyd just got murdered, rest my mans.
So in terms of competition, Solaire is up against the likes of Heihachi, Nightmare, and I'll say KOS-MOS to cause everyone mentions her for Bamco characters.
With Heihachi, everyone says he's a no go because he's in Pac-man's taunt, which is fair, I guess?
With KOS-MOS, I'll just be real with you, she's so unknown that I think that seriously hurts her chances. She could still happen of course, but it's not on the strong terms as with our number 3.
With Nightmare, he really doesn't have a whole lot of negatives going against him. At the moment things look mighty fine in his favor.
So, let's say the Pac-man taunt really is enough to make Heihachi not happen, and KOS-MOS' relative obscurity makes her a no go, that leaves the running being Solaire V. Nightmare. I'll say Solaire has the edge in this "battle" only because Bamco loves to milk Dark Souls for everything it's worth, so I can see them requesting him specifically for Smash to get those sales, since Dark Souls sells like hot cakes.
So all in all, things aren't looking too bad for us sunbros.

 

[SvartWolf]

I don't think Heihachi suffer anything from Pacman, but there is still the point of heihachi where we don't know if Sakurai managed to recreate Tekken playstile or maybe they don't want to put 2 fighting game reps in the pass...

That being said, I think that darksouls is important enough in gaming to actually compete against Tekken for relevancy... So is not like darksouls doesn't have weight .

That being said, if really the options are kosmos, tekken, soul Calibur or darksouls rep I would be kinda happy.

Not big fan of Tekken but at this point I see it almost as a inevitability in the future, and at least the music would be sick

While I don't like xenosaga1 (boring gameplay and slow pacing with generic cutscenes) I enjoy kosmos design, and very likely would be an unique character.

And I love soul Calibur and darksouls, so bring anything from those and I'm happy

 

[Gazorpazorpfield]

Ironically, it increasingly seems like KOS-MOS is the most likely FP5, right now. I do worry that all the Bamco (Lloyd, Heihachi) costumes will come back with her, with the possible addition of Dark Souls content, too. Like when Terry came included with all the SNK bells and whistles, KOS-MOS could be made to be "the Bandai-Namco Rep". It's hard to be too torn up if this turns out true, as Solaire never seemed to be the most likely character in town, but this is worth keeping in mind. Temper the expectations, you know?

 

[King Sonnn DeDeDoo]

I found someone made a Solaire Smash icon.

Well we got six more shots and I still think a Dark Soul character has a pretty good chance, very few modern series have quite the impact that Souls has.

 

[ActualGarbage]

View attachment 260218
I found someone made a Solaire Smash icon.

Well we got six more shots and I still think a Dark Soul character has a pretty good chance, very few modern series have quite the impact that Souls has.

He's so small, adorable.
Six is better than five looking on the bright side, so things are already looking better. Now just gotta sit around and wait for whenever news comes around.

 

[Gnateb]

Very late but yeah, I'm in full support

 

[Gnateb]

Today is Dark Souls' 10th anniversary, and tomorrow is a Nintendo Direct. As a fan of both series, it's a good week.