Necrid

Necrid
Necrid from Soulcalibur II, artwork by Takuji Kawano.
Series	Soul series
First game	Soulcalibur II
Designed by	Todd McFarlane
Information
Birthplace	Unknown
Blood type	Changed by the void
Fighting style	Original Style
Weapon	Maleficus (Enigma)

Necrid (ネクリッド, Nekuriddo^?) is a player character in the Soul series of weapon-based fighting games. Designed by comic book artist and toy designer Todd McFarlane through a collaboration with Namco, he first appeared in the three video game console ports of Soulcalibur II and later as part of an action figure set created by McFarlane Productions. Necrid's spoken lines in the game are unintelligible, and no voice actor has ever been credited.

According to the game's back-story, Necrid was once a human warrior. He sought and found the cursed sword Soul Edge, only to be pulled into the dimension that the sword's spirit inhabits. After escaping the dimension—his body drastically mutated, his memories and sanity initially lost—he wields various forms of energy as weapons while searching for fragments of the shattered Soul Edge, which soothe the pain caused by his separation from the dimension's energies.

The character has received mixed reviews. Sources such as GameSpy criticized his design for clashing with the game's aesthetic, while UGO Networks praised the visual appeal of the character when in motion. Some reviewers, including Insert Credit and the Manila Bulletin, have called Necrid one of the best characters introduced to the series; others, such as 1UP.com, deem him one of the worst.

Conception and history

Series producer Hiroaki Yotoriyama learned that comics creator Todd McFarlane was a fan of the Soul series and that McFarlane had praised their characters' designs.^[1] In 2003, McFarlane was interested in creating a new Spawn video game; his search for a developer resulted in a deal with Soul publisher Namco. When the topic of toys arose in discussions,^[2] McFarlane and Namco reached an agreement to release a line of action figures based on Soulcalibur II characters. Afterward, Namco proposed that their company design a new character for the game, an idea that McFarlane accepted because he considered it an opportunity to create a toy based on the finished design.^[3][2]

Necrid's design targeted North American audiences, specifically fans of American comic books.^[1] Although McFarlane received most of the credit for the character,^[4][5] Necrid was the result of a collaboration;^[6] Namco outlined the then-unnamed character's traits, such as its in-game role and physical build,^[7] and McFarlane's company completed the design.^[8] As a result, both companies hold a partial copyright for Necrid, with Namco's rights to the character as a derivative work of McFarlane's illustrations.^[9]

Design

Necrid is a bald, green, and muscular humanoid. His eyes glow bright red, and short bones protrude from his left arm, back, jaw and a Mohawk-like ridge on his head. The fingers on his right hand have claw points, but his left hand is much larger and has three fingers with large, talon-like bone claws. Two large, ram-like horns extend from opposite sides of his left wrist, toward and slightly beyond his elbow. His clothes consist of dark blue pants, large metal sandals held together by bandages, and armor plating covering his abdomen, the sides of his legs, and the back of his lower right arm.^[10] A pulsating red jewel described by McFarlane as a "power plant" is set in a circular piece of metal strapped to his chest.^[3] At about 6+¹⁄₂ feet (196 cm),^[11] Necrid is the second tallest Soul series character whose height is known.^[12]

Necrid's alternative character model is similar in appearance, but has a scaly, reddish–orange skin. Additional differences include teal eyes, black pants, and a blue jewel. The protruding bones are isolated and bigger on his left shoulder and arm, and appear crystalline. A pauldron covering his right shoulder is fastened to the jewel's support harness, and the armor on his legs incorporated a pair of greaves. The armor around his abdomen is a fauld, and bandages wrap around his stomach. A mask covering his face and is held in place by two straps around his head.^[10]

Necrid's speech is unintelligible, and the vocal samples in the game's sound test are named after emotions, such as "Determination" and "Indignation". He is the only speaking Soulcalibur II character whose voice does not change with the language setting.^[13]

In video games

As introduced in Soulcalibur II, Necrid is a warrior who fought and defeated a former wielder of the cursed sword Soul Edge, and was pulled into the dimension that the sword's spirit, Inferno, inhabited. After fleeing from Inferno, he became trapped in the dimension for years. Warped physically and mentally as a result, he escaped during the closing events of Soulcalibur, but quickly found that, without the dimension's energies, he experienced intense pain and would eventually die. Attacking travelers perceived as enemies, he happened upon a fragment of the first Soul Edge and felt his pain dampened.^[11] Pursuing other fragments of the sword, he encountered Talim while seeking the second Soul Edge, and helped defeat the resurrected Inferno.^[14] After he regained his memories and sanity through the battle, Necrid closed the entrance to the void and trapped himself within.^[15]

To date, Necrid has appeared in only one game of the series. When asked whether the character would return in Soulcalibur III, Yotoriyama replied, "Necrid has gone on vacation."^[16] However Talim repeats the dialogue between Necrid and herself in reverse order at the start of Soulcalibur IV.^[17]

Gameplay

Using fighting skills Yotoriyama described as "horrific splendor",^[18] Necrid attacks using Maleficus, a transforming, physical manifestation of the energy in Soul Edge.^[19] He controls Maleficus by channeling it through his hands to form various bladed weapons, able to set the energy aside in solid forms or reabsorb it.^[20] Necrid can attack using other forms of energy, such as ignis fatuus, æther, and chaos, with varying effects and attributes.^[21][22][23] Necrid also incorporates acrobatics into his fighting style through a variety of flips and kicks.^[3]

Several of Necrid's attacks are copies or derivatives of those used by other characters in the series.^[24] However, for each attack his weapon appears and disappears into his hands, giving a different visual cue than the original move.^[25] Some of Necrid's attacks combine parts of two other moves; for example, Dragon Blaze begins with an attack used by Maxi and ends with one from Nightmare's moveset.^[24] He does, however, feature some original moves, such as Elder Topaz, an attack stance that allows the use of an altered moveset for a short time, and Void Cannon, which creates a small explosion on the ground at varying distance from Necrid.^[26]

Promotion and merchandising

Yotoriyama announced Necrid early in Soulcalibur II's production for the Xbox, in an interview with the Japanese magazine Famitsu.^[1] Yotoriyama and McFarlane discussed the character further in subsequent interviews before the game's console release.^[7] Text in each version of the game's box art drew attention to Necrid.^[27][28][29] Namco later featured the character in promotional items (such as artwork, screen shots, and an animated emoticon) distributed to IGN and other news outlets.^[30][31]

McFarlane Productions distributed one thousand copies of a limited-edition lithograph to promote the character at E3 2003. Drawn by Greg Capullo, the lithograph featured a comic-book rendition of Necrid, fighting Spawn in one of the game's arenas.^[32] In August 2003, Namco included a sculpture of Necrid in a set of five based on different Soulcalibur II characters. The figure was based on Necrid's secondary outfit, stood 6 inches (15 cm) tall (with a base), and allowed for adjustment of its head and arms.^[33] McFarlane Productions later gave the sculptures and game as prizes in a contest that used Necrid's name.^[34]

Critical reception

Critical response to Necrid varied. GameNOW called the visual design "silly", comparing him to an "old-school He-Man character", but added that Necrid's gameplay was decent.^[35] GMR described him as an example of "Bad American Comic Book Design".^[36] IGN's Kaiser Hwang called Necrid a "disappointment", questioning the character's design in comparison to others in the series, and felt Necrid was "filler" rather than an actual character.^[5] GameSpot made similar comments in their review of the game,^[4] as did GameSpy.^[37] Describing the character's inclusion as an unnecessary marketing ploy, IGN's Xbox article editor would have preferred new characters made without McFarlane's involvement, and stated Necrid did not "vibe" with the rest of the game.^[38] 1UP.com's Retronauts criticized the design as well, stating that, for a time, the character's name was used as a synonym for "shitty".^[39]

Other reviewers instead praised the gameplay and design. GameZone stated his attacks compensated for his appearance, describing him as "cool" and praising both his weapon and fighting style.^[40] X-Play stated that, while Necrid did not seem to fit the aesthetic, the character did have some appeal.^[41] The Manila Bulletin praised the character's design, with the reporter noting a preference for using Necrid and praising the appearance and effects of Necrid's weapon.^[42] UGO's Doug Trueman stated Necrid's weapon had to be "seen to be believed", and described him among other new characters as "[adding] something spectacular to the Soul Calibur pantheon".^[43] Insert Credit's Tim Rogers called Necrid "a work of digital art both in form and function", adding, "as far as console-only characters go—everybody wins with Necrid."^[44]

Despite their negative remarks, IGN listed Necrid as eighth on their list of the top ten characters contributed to the Soulcalibur games by designers outside Namco. Although they described the character's gameplay as unbalanced, they said that this added to Necrid's appeal, adding, "what do you expect from a man who shares a symbiotic relationship with the very energy that powers Soul Edge? If you needed to clean house in [Soulcalibur II], Necrid was the man for the job."^[45]

References

External links

Video games portal

• Soul Archive page on Necrid (Japanese)