| File:Sol Badguy.jpg Official Guilty Gear 2: Overture artwork for Sol Badguy. | |
| Series | Guilty Gear series |
|---|---|
| First game | Guilty Gear |
| Created by | Daisuke Ishiwatari |
| Voiced by | Daisuke Ishiwatari Hikaru Hanada (Guilty Gear XX story mode) Troy Baker (English version of Guilty Gear 2: Overture) |
| Fictional information | |
Sol Badguy (ソル＝バッドガイ Soru Baddogai) is the main character[1] and namesake[2] of the Guilty Gear fighting game series. By initial appearance, he is an aloof bounty hunter and antihero who fights with an oddly rectangular sword called Fuuenken, or the Fireseal. He will rarely put much effort into his fights, a fact that angers Ky Kiske in particular. However, his brash and somewhat abrasive exterior conceals a genius and emotional depth. He has dedicated his life to the destruction of Gears, a race of magical bioweapons that plunged the world into a hundred-year war known as the Crusades. In particular, he shows a particular zeal to destroy their creator, an individual known only as "That Man". Sol is also a fan of Queen,[3] and his rival in the series is Ky Kiske.
Character design
Creator Daisuke Ishiwatari designed Sol in many ways to reflect as his alter ego and also recorded Sol's in-game voice acting (the voice actor for GGXX's story mode and drama CDs however, is done by Hikaru Hanada). Ishiwatari's favorite band is Queen, and he thus named Sol Badguy, whose "real" name is Frederick (or Freddie for short), after Freddie Mercury, whose nickname was 'Mr. Bad Guy'.[4] Like Ishiwatari, Sol's favorite band is also said to be Queen, with Sol's favorite album being Sheer Heart Attack.
Sol's normal character design depicts him as left-handed, with reddish brown hair and eyesTemplate:Ref label wearing a tight, black undershirt with the top half covered by a red, sleeveless jacketTemplate:Ref label along with white jeans.Template:Ref label His headband bears the words 'Rock You', a reference to the Queen song "We Will Rock You", while his belt buckle has the word 'Free', possibly a reference to the Queen song "I Want to Break Free". Sol's character design also contains a pair of black, fingerless gloves, red shoes, a drape of red cloth hanging down beneath his buckle and a multitude of belts, including a lone one on his left forearm. Sol fights using a blunt, rectangular sword known as Fuuenken (Fireseal) through which he releases a range of fire-based attacks.
Story
Background
His exact history is unclear, but it is known for certain that Sol's real name is Frederick, who not only was one of the lead scientists of the Gear project, but is also the prototype Gear from over a hundred years before the events of the Guilty Gear games. As a prototype, he is immune to the orders of Commander Gears. He was personally acquainted with That Man prior to the Crusades. His headband is actually a Gear-suppression device which prevents him from giving into his Gear nature and losing his rationality, at the cost of suppressing much of his power. The headband also conceals the glowing red brand on his forehead, the telltale mark that would expose him as a Gear. This headband suppression device seems to have malfunctioned due to I-No's doing (throwing Sol into the past to fight his past-self: Order Sol ) in Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus, Sol's ending. Sol seems to have broken or cracked the seal on his headband. This might explain the increase in Sol's strength in Guilty Gear 2.
As Frederick, Sol created the "Outrage", which he called a supreme Anti-Gear weapon. The Outrage is actually not one weapon but several - eight components called "Jinki" (Godlike Weapons), which greatly amplify their wielders' magical ability. Only three Outrage weapons are currently known to be active - Sol's own Fuuenken (Fireseal), Ky's Fuuraiken (Thunderseal), and Anji Mito's twin fans, Zessen (Unparalleled Fans). The other five are supposedly in the custody of the United Nations, although some fans believe Paracelsus, A.B.A's living key, to be a jinki.
Frederick also saved Kliff Undersn (one of the leaders of the Holy Order and the one who named Ky leader of the Holy knights) when Kliff was still a young boy. Roughly half a century later, he was himself recruited into the order, as a bounty hunter named "Sol Badguy." Sol took part in the Crusades, ironically becoming one of the best fighters on the human side. At this time he was a member of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights (Seikishidan). He acquired the nickname "Corrupted [or Immoral] Flame" (Haitoku no Honoo) during that time, a name that such figures as I-No and Justice use for him later. However, he later became disenchanted with the methods of the Sacred Order. At an unspecified time, Sol fled the order, taking with him the Fuuenken, which the Holy Knights had come to consider a sacred treasure. The theft earned him Ky's enmity.
In 2175, Sol faced Justice directly. The two fought, and Justice won - in the process, discovering that Sol was a Gear. Justice attempted to assert her power as a Commander Gear to control Sol, but was unable to do so. Exploiting her confusion and weakness from the fight, the Holy Order, led by Ky Kiske, sealed Justice away, bringing the war to an end.
Guilty Gear
Canon states that Sol was the winner of the Tournament, and it is here that Justice discovers that Sol is, in fact, Frederick. Justice, in her dying words, comments that she wishes that "the three of us" could talk one last time, and Sol swears to kill That Man.
Guilty Gear X
Sol has three endings, all of which involve a fight against Dizzy, who has a half-million World Dollar bounty on her head. However, he spares her life in all of them, losing against her in his second ending, and judging that she is not a threat to the world in the other two. In his third ending, we see a conversation between That Man and one of his servants, in which That Man cryptically says, "To think there was a daughter...most interesting." It is revealed in Drama CD Side Black to be in reference to Justice being Dizzy's mother.
Guilty Gear XX
His storyline here involves chasing down I-No. His first ending, after he defeats I-No, leads to a direct confrontation with That Man. That Man casually deflects all Sol's attacks, and says that Sol is needed because soon a greater battle than the Crusades will occur. In Sol's second ending, Slayer informs him of the Post-War Administration Bureau's interest in Dizzy, which catches his interest. In the third, he fights Dizzy, who had been possessed by Necro after I-No knocked her off the Mayship, and sends Dizzy on her way to meet Johnny and May.
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus
In the latest iteration of GGXX, Sol has two endings. In one, I-No throws him back in time to fight with his past self, Order-Sol. After both are weakened from the battle, I-No reappears to murder Order-Sol, which, in turn, causes Sol's present form to cease existing. In his other ending, the same set of events play out, but Sol's present form, strangely, is unaffected by his past self's death. After escaping the time rift, Ky confronts and engages him in battle. After the fight, Sol and Ky finally settle their differences and go their separate ways, with Ky asking Sol to promise that they will meet again. Though it is referenced in both Sol and Ky's endings, only Sol's tells the events directly after the battle, implying that Sol was the victor.
Order-Sol
Official Guilty Gear XX Accent Core artwork for Order Sol.
Order-Sol (聖騎士団ソル Seikishidan Soru) is an alternative past version of the original character, which has him clothed in a garment similar to that worn by Ky Kiske. Sol was indeed a part of the Sacred Order of the Holy Knights, this is a take on what Sol looked like during that time and how he fought before beginning to use his now-trademark sword, Fireseal (or "Fuuenken"). This form also shows a glimpse of Sol's true Gear form (where he sports a pair of demonic wings and a tail) when performing the original version (without the aid of Fuuenken) of his Overdrive move, Dragon Install. His EX Instant Kill is "All Guns Blazing". It's technically the original Instant Kill of Sol Badguy from the original Guilty Gear.
Order-Sol uses a different attack system than the other characters, though similar to the attack charge system from Guilty Gear. He uses a Charge meter with 3 levels. By pressing half-circle back along with Dust (quarter-circle back as of Accent Core), Order-Sol will begin charging his meter. At each level, all of his command techniques gain extra strength or new properties. He also possesses an attack that can be used while he is charging, similar in appearance to a Burst, providing knockback and a small amount of damage, which ends the charge. His moves seem like prototypes of his former moves, but with extremely different looks and effect, like the Bandit Revolver Prototype and his Gun Blaze. The Dragon Install also changes from an ability that augments Sol's strength and speed into a special move of its own. It can only be done in level 3 of the Charge Meter, and when performed, can be linked to Sekkai, which is a combo move done like the Deadly Rave by Geese Howard. Sekkai can only be linked after the Dragon Install's Stagger, but can do tremendous damage. When the full move is performed - which requires precise timing on all parts of a 10-hit combo - Sol transforms into his true Gear form for the finishing blow. If the dust button is pressed at the right moment at the end of the 10-hit combo Sol unleashes an 11th hit One hit kill which is similar to Sol Badguy's "Napalm Death" . Also, his Tyrant Rave 'Omega' (different from the 'Beta' version of the common Sol) changes effect with the Charge Meter.
Order-Sol uses an all out style when he fights, when Sol Badguy is a little more refined. This could be relevant to his higher experience as Sol Badguy.
Order-Sol improved in Accent Core, with new Overdrives, longer range and a faster rate of charge that requires no timed button presses.
Thus far, he has only appeared as a playable character in Guilty Gear XX Slash, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, and Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus.
In addition to being playable, Order-Sol has a "boss mode" version that appears as a final boss of Guilty Gear XX Slash's Arcade Mode. In this form, his speed and power are increased, and he gains a vastly improved form of the original Dragon Install called "Flame Distortion". This move increases Sol's strength and speed even further and improves many of his special attacks for a limited period of time. While Flame Distortion is active, Order-Sol constantly regenerates health, and his attack speed increases to the point where he can easily chain together Overdrive techniques.
Promotion and reception
GameSpy in their review of Guilty Gear X stated Sol filled the "lone bountyhunter" role in the title, adding that they found his personality was unique and entertaining, and emphasized his uniqueness amongst the game's cast.[5]
Trivia
- Sol's instant kill move "Napalm Death" is named after the British grindcore band of the same name.
- His theme song "Keep Yourself Alive" is named after a song by Queen.
- Sol's Guilty Gear X arcade extra was drawn in the style of Yoji Shinkawa's Metal Gear Solid artwork.[6]
- Order Sol's IK move "All Guns Blazing" is the name of a song by the metal band Judas Priest.
- In BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, Tsubaki Yayoi makes a reference to Order Sol because her Distortion Drive is called 'Install', similar to Order Sol's Dragon Install.
- Sol appears as "playable character" in the MMO Action Game, Lost Saga
Notes
- a^: The Guilty Gear Bible states that his jacket is made of denim, but it is rarely drawn in a manner to resemble such.
- b^: A red brand tag with the word "Riot" can be seen on the back, right pocket of Sol's pants in the design sketches shown in Guilty Gear Bible. Instead of on a brand tag, the word "Riot" is shown on the back belt loop of his pants in Sol's 2nd story ending in Guilty Gear XX though. In Guilty Gear Judgement, the word "Riot" can be made out on his jacket . The back of Sol's vest, a patch on the back of his jeans, and a small red tag on the back pocket all say 'RIOT'. It is described as Sol's favorite brand of clothing, enough so that he appears to have named a move after it (Riot Stomp). Additionally, in art for Guilty Gear Judgement in which Sol appears to be wearing his longsleeved outfit (seen in the novel Lightning the Argent), Riot can be seen several times on the buckles of his gloves. With respect to Order-Sol, a promotional art for Guilty Gear XX SLASH shows him with a long black strap that bears a metal plate reading 'RIOT' upon it, as well as another plaque bearing the word on his glove. An ending of Order-Sol's in SLASH shows RIOT on the glove, as well.
References
- (in Japanese) Guilty Gear X Drafting Artworks. Enterbrain. January 13, 2001. ISBN 4757703015.
- (in English) (PDF) Guilty Gear X2 Reload Characters and Their Moves. Majesco. March 2, 2006. p. 12. (Obtained from here.)
- (in Japanese) Guilty Gear Bible.
- ↑ While some may argue that there is no main character or that Sol shares the status of main character with Ky, the Guilty Gear Bible calls Sol the 主人公, which translates as 'protagonist' or 'main character'.
Guilty Gear Bible p.157 - ↑ Narrator "Sol, the Guilty Gear, stared at his bloodstained hands and prayed..."/"...prayed for the soul of the grotesque sacrifice lying at his feet." (Arc System Works, Guilty Gear, English version (October 31, 1998), after Sol's battle with Justice)
- ↑ (in Japanese) Guilty Gear XX PS2 manual. Sammy. 2002. p. 23.
- ↑ Note: Mr. Bad Guy was also the name of Freddie Mercury's solo album, but it appears that Sol was named in reference to it being Freddie's nickname instead.
Guilty Gear X Drafting Artworks, p.5 - ↑ Fudge, James. Reviews: Guilty Gear X. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2008-09-14
- ↑ Guilty Gear X Drafting Artworks, p.6