Soma Cruz (AoS)
The protagonist from Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow joins the fight! Wielding the Power of Dominance, Soma Cruz is able to channel the essence of his foes in order to even the playing field.
Soma’s primary strength is his versatility, being able to cycle through multiple special moves at will. At the start of a match, he can use the Soul Set Menu to equip the right moves for the job. He can also bring up the menu at any point by using his Down Special, cancelling it by pressing attack, shield, jump, or special.
When in the menu, pressing up and down chooses which soul you want to change. The red ‘Bullet’ soul changes his forward special, the blue ‘Guardian’ soul changes his up special, and the yellow ‘Enchantment’ soul modifies his stats. You can cycle through the different options for the highlighted soul by pressing left and right.
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Balore
A deadly punch that sends Soma flying forwards, and his foes flying further.
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Skull Archer
Summons a spectral bow behind Soma that hangs in place. Using the attack again looses the arrow.
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Fish Head
Shoots a powerful fireball that burns Soma’s opponents on impact.
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Giant Bat
Soma transforms himself into a bat, granting him free flight for a short amount of time.
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Flying Armour
This staple armour gives Soma a burst of upwards momentum, before gliding back down safely. While it can be used in the air, it becomes more effective from the ground.
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Medusa Head
Soma becomes frozen in place for a short time, indicated by the clock floating above his head. When frozen, he can still attack, and can toggle this ability at will as long as the timer is not depleted.
After Soma kills an opponent, he is able to absorb their soul by taunting before they respawn. If performed successfully, they will be added as an Enchantment Soul. Select them in the soul menu, and Soma will gain all of their base stats; including movement speed, jump count, and weight. Up to 3 other souls can be absorbed at any time, and Soma can always switch back to his default handling. Be sure to use this to your advantage when tackling a particularly mobile or tanky foe!
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Forward Strong (Hrunting)
Wielding a powerful blade laced with poison, Soma can land a devastating blow that sends opponents flying and deals extra damage over time.
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Up Strong (Curly)
Soma reaches into the darkest depths of his heart, and unleashes a terrifying beast from within; Curly. The demon cuts all who come near to shreds, launching them skywards. Soma can only channel the demon for a short while, and the demon is slow to come out and recover, making this an extremely risky move to pull off.
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Down Strong (Spinning Disc)
Soma summons a razor-sharp disc from thin air, thrusting it forwards and then snapping it back. Skilled users can send the blade flying off a ledge, catching anyone below it off guard.
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Up Tilt (Guts Upper)
Soma packs an extremely powerful uppercut, launching his opponent sky high. This formidable combo starter also gives Soma a short upwards burst, where he can cancel into an aerial attack.
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Down Tilt (Skeleton Blaze)
A strong slide kick launches Soma forward, blazing through anyone and anything in his way. Soma can jump cancel midway through the slide, allowing him to carry over momentum and get some firey combos going.
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Forward Air / Forward Tilt (Short Sword)
Quick, quiet, and deadly, Soma’s signature swordplay is a force to be reckoned with. On the ground, the fast slashes make a strong and consistent way to rack up damage. In the air, Soma’s powerful swings send enemies flying away. These moves may be basic, but they are still extremely useful in the right hands.
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Up Air (Magic Shield)
Soma summons a magic shield above him, blocking incoming attacks and damaging enemies. This is Soma’s go-to combo tool in the air, although it isn’t the best in terms of kill power.
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Neutral Air (Ripple Laser)
Soma projects a ripple laser around him, catching foes off guard and knocking them to a safe distance. While being a weaker combo tool than the Magic Shield, this power can still rack up damage early on, and is a great way to repel an oncoming enemy.
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Back Air (Cagnazzo)
A demon named Cagnazzo latches itself onto Soma’s back, with one goal: to pummel anyone and everyone in sight! These powerful punches can knock foes downwards, and even give Soma a small burst of upwards momentum!
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Down Air (Comet Kick)
Soma lunches downwards foot first, stopping only when he connects with land or person. When he hits his target, he kicks himself upwards, sending them crashing down at a colossal speed.
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Neutral Special (Silver Gun)
A great tool for building up damage, Soma’s trusty firearm can penetrate even the toughest demon armor. This semi-auto pistol is enchanted to have an endless supply of silver bullets, and deals additional damage at close range.
Sprites used are from Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, by Konami
Spritesheets from The Spriters Resource[www.spriters-resource.com]
Sounds come from Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow
Most sounds ripped by The Sounds Resource[www.sounds-resource.com]
The backdash trail was adapted from ‘Gunvolt’, by Mythos.
Hrunting’s Poison effect was adapted from ‘Joker’, by Turpix
