The final expansion fighter for the second season pass of Soulcalibur 6 is a classic character from the original game – Hwang – the series’ first swordfighter in the first few games including Soul Edge, Soul Blade as well as Soul Caliber 1 and 3.
His role would be taken by Yun-Seong in three preceding games and PSP spinoff Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny. The franchise has gone this specific kind of fighter since then, so his comeback should be amazing news for longtime players looking for a reason to play the game again. Hwang will be joining the ranks of Haohmaru, Hilde, and Setsuka from SNK’s Samurai Showdown in the currently active expansion bundle.
Hwang’s absence from the franchise is an arbitrary requirement of the game’s plot, one that is mostly restarted in Soulcalibur 6. The tale of swords and souls forever retold ultimately led to the poorly acclaimed Soulcalibur 5, with characters that were either duplicated from old veterans or favorites who used varying fighting styles.
Learning the lesson that several other fighting game series have understood over the years, Soulcalibur 6 presents only a few newcomers along with a reputable cast that fans can hang on to in a story remade to make everything make sense. The inclusion of Hwang adds something that was absent from an already massive roster.
Hwang’s announcement for Soulcalibur 6 came in the form of a new launch trailer by developer Bandai Namco, released during the Soulcalibur Online Challenge EU West finals. The video features the returning character’s popular fighting style and his new finishing moves.
The character was given the alias of “Secret Royal Blademaster,” a reference to his original reveal in the trailer being hidden behind a black armor that hid his face. His unique moveset and animation mean that this isn’t the same Hwang that appeared in Soulcalibur 3 where the character was featured as a skin for a create-a-fighter character that lacked several of the special features that made him a one-of-a-kind combatant.
Along with the patch that adds Hwang to the game, Soulcalibur 6 will also be giving out free updates to everyone and a new customization bundle for players who want to create more of their own characters. On the freebies, there is the Motien Pass-Ruins stage, which appears to be a massive stone triangle on top of a mountain range with lightning going on and off in the background. Players can also get classic costume parts for Seong Mi-na and additional story chapters for Nightmare and Mitsurugi all for free.
For a bit of buck, players can receive the Character Creation Set F which contains additional options from sister-franchise Tekken. There are also a few more sexy outfits for the lady fighters because it has always been like this with the packs.
