Tira

Tira
Tira from Soulcalibur III.
Game series	Soul series
First game	Soulcalibur III
Designed by	Aya Takemura, Takuji Kawano
Voiced by (English)	Jennifer Hale
Voiced by (Japanese)	Masumi Asano
Information
Birthplace	Unknown
Blood type	AB
Fighting style	Dance of Death
Weapon	Eiserne Drossel (Ring Blade)

Tira (ティラ, Tira^?) is a fictional character in the Soul series of video games. Created by Namco's Project Soul division, her presence is first alluded to in the opening of Soulcalibur II; she was later included as a character in Soulcalibur III and its subsequent sequel. In addition, Tira's likeness has been used on various merchandise related to the series. She is voiced in Japanese by Masumi Asano and in English by Jennifer Hale.

Creation and conception

Tira's appearance in IV is designed to represent her unstable personality

As a character introduced in Soulcalibur III, Tira's weapon was created before her own concept, a "ring blade"^[1] designed to be unique amongst the game's pre-existing weaponry. Her design and concept were built to revolve around it, starting with gender, then physical measurements, and lastly background details. After her appearance and movement were fleshed out by the team's concept artist Aya Takemura,^[2] her character was rendered as a 3D model by a design team that worked solely on her.^[3] Tira was then animated by a motion designer using motion capture and working directly with the team,^[2] utilizing acrobatics and a hula hoop to keep the animation unique and uniform^[4] while simultaneously fluid and feminine.^[5] During this phase the team additionally worked with the Soulcalibur story creators, refining the character's own story as needed throughout development.^[6]

Design

Her appearance is based on her emotional instability and madness, representing her mood through her trashed clothing and makeup.^[2] The instability is also represented in the game, such as sulking when she loses a match only to cheer up suddenly afterwards.^[5] In addition, emphasis was placed on her movements and attacks to give her the appearance of dancing while fighting.^[1]

In Soulcalibur IV, her attire was changed from green to red to emphasize her now dual-personality and the fact she was slightly more evil.^[7] In addition, her other features appear to have been redesigned completely for this purpose as well; she now has long black hair in lopsided pigtails, her eyes are now purplish-red, and she wears black eye makeup and red lipstick rather than all-green makeup. However, she retains the bright green feathers lining her clothing.

In video games

Tira first appeared in Soulcalibur III. Raised as a child as part of a powerful assassin organization known as the "Bird of Passage," she set out on her own after the group's leader went insane. Though she attempted a peaceful life in a quiet city, she found her urge to kill eventually uncontrollable and wandered until she learned of Soul Edge, a living sword using Nightmare's discarded armor as a body. Feeling it was a kindred spirit, she pledged her loyalty to the sword, and with a flock of ravens worked to locate a new body for Soul Edge and destroy its antithesis, the sword Soul Calibur.

Through her and Zasalamel's machinations, Siegfried came to them and battled Soul Edge, but when it contacted Soul Calibur a burst of energy was released; Siegfried was wounded and Soul Edge cast into a warped dimension. Due to her proximity Tira's personality split into two extremes, Jolly and Gloomy. When Soul Edge returned in Soulcalibur IV she resumed her service to him, manipulating Astaroth, Sophitia and others into helping.

Gameplay

Tira's fighting style was developed for intermediate-level players in contrast to the other new characters introduced in Soulcalibur III.^[1] Tira wields a unique weapon repeatedly referred to as a "ring blade." In Soulcalibur III, this weapon was known as Aiselne Drossel, which was speculated to be a mistranslation of the term Eiserne Drossel, a German phrase roughly meaning "Iron Thrush." This was confirmed in the following installment, Soulcalibur IV, wherein these errors were corrected. Her battle style, "Dance of Death," was known as a tactic meant to mesmerize the opponent, and was practiced among her partners in the fictional "Bird of Passage" assassin organization.^[8]

In Soulcalibur III, Tira's gameplay was slightly straightforward, revolving around acrobatics and fast, low-powered moves. A notable feature was that whenever Tira was selected, her expression and quotes would change according to her mood. This appearance could also be changed through taunting mid-battle, but this served no particular purpose in battle. These interchangeable moods were adopted into her gameplay in Soulcalibur IV. In Soulcalibur IV, Tira's moods directly affected her gameplay by altering her stance and moveset. These two moods were known as "Jolly Side" and "Gloomy Side" respectively, and they represented the only stances that Tira could access. The moves in Jolly Side offered more range, while Gloomy Side's attacks dealt more damage.

Some criticism was directed toward the inconvenience of Tira's mood-changes. While Tira's moves could be changed using a variety of move combinations, these were not always foolproof. If Tira was directly attacked, there was a high likelihood of her changing moods, and therefore movesets.^[9]

Promotion and merchandising

Tira was one of the two playable characters in Namco's E3 2005 public demonstration of Soulcalibur III alongside Mitsurugi;^[10] at the event a life-size promotional model of the character was also featured.^[11] Through the English website for the game, a promotional electronic "trading card" was available, showing in-fight gameplay and background information for her.^[12] In 2006, Namco released a Tira figurine as part of a Soulcalibur III set based upon her promotional artwork for the game. While not posable, the PVC figure came with three interchangeable ring blades for it to hold;^[13] an alternate color version was later released in a secondary set.^[14] Yujin released a four inch tall immobile figurine of Tira after the release of Soulcalibur III, based upon her artwork for the title as part of their "Namco Girls Series #6" line of gashapon figurines.^[15]

Critical reception

Tira's behavior in Soulcalibur III led to the suspicion of her having multiple personalities, as her mood and voice would shift suddenly and dramatically.^[16] IGN editor Jeremy Dunham described her gameplay as having "plenty of bizarre and powerful moves mixed with a smattering of chained 'perma-moves'"^[10] GameSpot's staff described her as different than the female character stereotype of fast but weak, and a more deliberate fighting style and a "change of pace."^[17] At the 2005 Tokyo Game Show presentation of Soulcalibur III, the character was not received well by players, cited as difficult to control and light on damage.^[18] GameSpy stated "the jury is out" regarding her attack style, noting her difficulty to control.^[19] Her English voice acting has also consistently been a source of criticism for the character, cited by several reviewers of Soulcalibur IV as "grating" and annoying.^[20][21]

Tira was featured as one of the girls in GameDaily's "Babes of the Week: Soul Calibur Hotties" article, describing her as "One of the more dangerous-looking women introduced in the Soul Calibur series"^[22] and "An essential new addition to the series";^[23] Tira was also included in their "Top 50 Hottest Game Babes" article at number nineteen, praised for her "part goth and part carnival performer" design as well as her revealing appearance,^[24] later drawing mention also in their "Babe of the Week: Chicks with Baggage" article due to her mental instability.^[25] UGO.com ranked Tira number six in their "Top 11 Soulcalibur Fighters" article, noting a liking of her weapon of choice and describing her as "a force to be reckoned with...also quite the hottie in a dangerous, 'forbidden fruit' sort of way."^[26] Mania.com named her one of the "Top 10 Hot But Mostly Bothered Video Game Females", placing fifth on the list and described as "unquestionably hot", though noted as fightening due to the character's fascination with death.^[27] Magazine publications have also featured her in a context revolving around her attractiveness, such as Play's "Girls of Gaming 5" annual publication.^[28]

The Globe and Mail describes Tira as a character "who looks like a refugee from the Cirque du Soleil",^[29] while Game Revolution describes her as "a lithe little wench who apparently idolizes Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy", noting she "adds a needed gust of fresh air" to the series.^[30] IGN included her in their "Babes of Soulcalibur" article stating "She immediately stands out...Whereas most of the SC women fight on the side of good, Tira is totally, deliciously evil." They also praised her outfits, calling them some of the best in the Soul series.^[31] The Escapist online magazine stated "Tira's bi-polar hysterics match her ever-shifting stances and frenetic attacks," and added the aspect of her character brought her fighting style into sharp focus.^[32]

References