, better known as just Cervantes, is a fictional character in the ''
Soulcalibur
is a weapon-based fighting video game franchise by Bandai Namco Entertainment.
There are seven main installments of video games and various media spin-offs, including music albums and a series of manga books. The first game in the series, '' ...
'' series of fighting games. Created by
Namco
was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
's
Project Soul
is a weapon-based fighting video game franchise by Bandai Namco Entertainment.
There are seven main installments of video games and various media spin-offs, including music albums and a series of manga books. The first game in the series, '' ...
division, he first appeared in ''
Soul Edge
is a fighting game developed by the Namco team Project Soul and published by Namco as the first installment in the ''Soulcalibur'' series of 3D fighting games. Originally released as an arcade game in December 1995 in video gaming, 1995, an upgra ...
'' and its subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise related to the series. He is one of only four characters to have appeared in each of the games.
Creation and conception
As a character introduced in ''Soul Edge'', Cervantes's weapon was initially a rapier,
selected before other elements of the character and designed to be unique amongst the other weapons in the game.
As development progressed, the development team felt that the weapon choice made the character seem too "gentlemanly" (although the concept would later be used for
Raphael Sorel) and changed it to a pair of swords, which were expanded upon to be the first appearance of the series' recurring weapon, Soul Edge.
His design and concept were built to revolve around them, starting with gender, then physical measurements and lastly background details. After his appearance and movement were fleshed out by a
concept artist
Concept art is a form of visual art used to convey an idea for use in films, video games, animation, comic books, or other media before it is put into the final product. Concept art usually refers to world-building artwork used to inspire the de ...
, his character was rendered as a
3D model by a design team that worked solely on him
and then animated by a motion designer using
motion capture
Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...
to create his in-game movements.
The inspiration for a pirate as the game's antagonist was derived from two other fictional pirates,
Captain Hook
Captain James Hook is a fictional character and the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' and its various adaptations, in which he is Peter Pan's archenemy. The character is a pirate capta ...
and
Long John Silver
Long John Silver is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the novel ''Treasure Island'' (1883) by Robert Louis Stevenson. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular culture. His missing l ...
.
When developing his swords, many different styles were considered, including the concept of the swords appearing as wisps of spiritual energy. Elements of these designs were utilized in subsequent appearances of the Soul Edge weapon in later titles.
When the character's design was modified to appear in ''Soulcalibur'', one of the swords was changed to a
pistol sword
A pistol sword is a sword with a pistol or revolver attached, usually alongside the blade. It differs from a rifle with a bayonet in that the weapon is designed primarily for use as a sword, and the firearm component is typically considered a s ...
, with the curve on the weapon's blade emphasized in comparison to its counterpart.
Design
During development, several designs were considered for Cervantes, with the initial concept appearing as a clean-shaven man with long hair tied in a pony tail and a raised-collar coat. This and several subsequent designs were eventually rejected, however, as the development team felt they were either too reminiscent of
nihilistic
Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning of life, meaning. The term was pop ...
pirates or gentlemanly in appearance. Taking a different approach, they designed his appearance as a tall male with a trim mustache and white hair extending to the base of his neck. A blue coat with an extended tail covered his upper body, with thick gloves extending past his wrist and a large hat covers his head. White pants cover his lower legs, surrounded by leather armor on his upper thighs, and armor plating covering his lower legs and upper chest, with a neck scarf resting atop the breastplate. His design was intended to orient the viewer's eye towards his left, with his hat angled in the opposite direction.
When designing the character's appearance in ''
Soulcalibur
is a weapon-based fighting video game franchise by Bandai Namco Entertainment.
There are seven main installments of video games and various media spin-offs, including music albums and a series of manga books. The first game in the series, '' ...
'', several zombified designs were considered, with varying states of decay.
As the series progressed his mustache was expanded into a growing beard, while his skin tone developed a purplish hue. His pupils were additionally negated, giving his appearance either solid white or red glowing eyes, depending on the game. His attire developed a more pronounced barbed appearance as well, with the gradual expansion of his breastplate, and the addition of a red loin cloth by ''
Soulcalibur IV
is the sixth installment in the '' Soulcalibur'' series of fighting games, released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2008. It features greatly improved graphics over the previous title, and includes three guest characters from the ''Star Wa ...
''.
In contrast, his secondary character model has remained throughout the series. Originating as a full body suit of armor with faceplate, initial appearances incorporated a large cape and small metal face mask, initially intended to cover Cervantes' entire face.
In ''Soulcalibur'', large spikes were incorporated into the arms and legs of the armor, while the cape was adapted into a metal "tail" for the lower half. In ''
Soulcalibur III
is a fighting game, fighting video game produced by Namco as a sequel to ''Soulcalibur II'' and the fourth installment in the ''Soulcalibur'' series. It was originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2005. An improved arcade game, arcade versi ...
'' an open-face helmet replaced the mask, while in ''Soulcalibur IV'', elements of both were combined. While the purplish hue added to his skin was retained as the series progressed, his facial hair changed game by game, either appearing clean shaven or with a simple mustache, depending on the title.
In video games
Cervantes de Leon was a privateer who was sent on a mission by the
King of Spain
, coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg
, coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain
, image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg
, incumbent = Felipe VI
, incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
to loot in the name of Spain. Following a disastrous attack on an English warship that killed Philip, Cervantes forsook his allegiance to his king and became a pirate. Receiving an order from a wealthy merchant to find the cursed sword Soul Edge, Cervantes voyaged through the sea and eventually found the sword in the possession of an English dealer. However, the sword gradually corrupted him until his soul was devoured by it. Having murdered all of his crew, Cervantes boarded his ghost ship on a reign of terror for twenty years until he was defeated and killed by the combined efforts of Greek warrior
Sophitia
, better known simply as Sophitia, is a fictional character in the ''Soulcalibur'' series of video games. Created by Namco's Project Soul division, she first appeared in ''Soul Edge'' and its subsequent sequels, as well as appearing in various merc ...
and Japanese ninja
Taki.
However, Cervantes was accidentally resurrected without his memory by
Nightmare
A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of d ...
because of the Soul Edge fragments lodged in his body. For the next three years, he decided to search for the cursed sword despite knowing that it had robbed him of his free will while slowly recovering his memories. Upon the shattering of Soul Edge, Cervantes began his quest on collecting the fragments of the cursed sword for four years which melded to form a weapon for him, attacking other ships that came close to his sea. When the presence of Soul Edge's other half vanished, Cervantes's body began to weaken as the fragments that sustained him crumbled. He was informed by a servant of Soul Edge,
Tira, that a powerful entity was the one responsible, so Cervantes sought to defeat the entity and preserve his life. Eventually, Soul Edge summoned all pieces of itself back to it. Cervantes followed its trail, intending to wield the sword once it completed itself. Along the way, he devoured the soul of his illegitimate daughter,
Ivy
''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...
, but after the latter had survived thanks to her artificial soul, Ivy retaliated and defeated Cervantes, releasing all souls he had consumed, including hers. His body beaten and his mind shattered, Cervantes was swallowed by a dimensional rift opened by Soul Edge.
Seventeen years later, during the wake of the 17th century, people reported the presence of Cervantes' ship, voyaging through the sea; Cervantes had been released from the rift, now free from Soul Edge's control and at his height of power.
In the non-canonical Gauntlet storyline of ''
Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny'', Cervantes' soul was required as payment for Ivy to create a potion for character
Hilde and her party to cure her father. Though they attempted to renegotiate, they were forced to find and take Cervantes' soul by force.
Gameplay
Cervantes utilizes his two swords in combat to execute a variety of moves that take advantage of both weapons, many of which involve impaling his enemy or firing the pistol from the short sword for a long-range attack. Perhaps his most recognizable move is the "Flying Dutchman", in which he crouches and delivers multiple stabs to the enemy's midsection with extreme speed. This attack has been featured in several games as one of his signature techniques.
Reception
Since his introduction Cervantes has been well received, with his fighting style serving as an element to compare to for later characters in fighting games. In 1997, ''
PSM'' included "a wickedly evil villain" among the three reasons why ''Soul Edge'' "is the best Namco fighting game ever." In a 2002 poll by Namco prior to the release of ''Soulcalibur II'' regarding their favorite character, he tied with
Maxi for fourth place with 11% of the tally.
UGO.com
UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States.
History
The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online ...
ranked Cervantes at seventh place in their "Top 11 SoulCalibur Fighters" article, describing him simply as "a big jerk" while praising him as one of the stronger characters in the series.
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
listed him third on their list of the top ten characters in the series, citing his offensive techniques as a large part of his appeal. They additionally named him one of their ten favorite sword-wielding characters in video games, describing him as combining two of their favorite elements-"big swords and pirates"-into a singular character, adding that his pistol weapon "makes him even more awesome."
Den of Geek
''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gan ...
editor Harry Slater shared the sentiment, naming Cervantes the seventh best character in fighting games and adding that while the character had become overshadowed by others in the series, he was "a brute, plain and simple". In 2012, ''
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' ranked Cervantes as the 41st "Most Dominant Fighting Game Character", and in 2013 the 5th best character in the series, citing "the undeniable cool factor of controlling a ruthless pirate" and his ability to be a "menace both far away and near" in terms of gameplay.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Cervantes de
Fantasy video game characters
Fictional assassins in video games
Fictional criminals in video games
Fictional mass murderers
Fictional pirates in video games
Fictional characters from Valencia
Fictional Spanish Empire people
Fictional Spanish people in video games
Fictional sea pirates
Fictional swordfighters in video games
Fictional torturers
Ghost characters in video games
Male characters in video games
Male video game villains
Namco antagonists
Soulcalibur series characters
Video game bosses
Video game characters introduced in 1995
Video game characters who can teleport
Nobility characters in video games
Fictional marksmen and snipers