Necrid
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is a fictional and
playable character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
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 weapon-based fighting games. Designed by comic book artist and toy designer
Todd McFarlane Todd McFarlane (; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic book creator, artist, writer, filmmaker and entrepreneur, best known for his work as the artist on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and as the creator, writer, and artist on the superhero horro ...
through a collaboration with
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 ...
, the character appeared in console
ports A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
of ''
Soulcalibur II is a 2002 fighting game developed by Project Soul and published by Namco and the third installment in the ''Soulcalibur'' series of weapon-based fighting games. It is the sequel to ''Soulcalibur'', which was released in July 1998. Originally in ...
'' and later as part of an
action figure An action figure is a poseable character (arts), character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are ...
set created by McFarlane Productions. Though designed and named by McFarlane, Necrid's concept and physical build were outlined by Namco, who aimed to target North American audiences with the character. Necrid's spoken lines in the game are unintelligible, and no
voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
has been credited. According to the game's back-story, Necrid was once a human warrior. He sought and found the cursed sword Soul Edge, only to be pulled into the dimension that the sword's spirit inhabits. Escaping the dimension with his body drastically mutated, his memories and sanity initially lost, he now wields various forms of energy as weapons, while searching for fragments of the shattered Soul Edge that soothe the pain caused by his separation from the dimension's energies. The character has received a divisive response. While some sources criticized the character's design for clashing with the game's aesthetic, some others praised the visual appeal of the character when in motion. Some have called Necrid one of the best characters introduced to the series; others deem him one of the worst.


Conception and creation

Series producer Hiroaki Yotoriyama learned that comics creator
Todd McFarlane Todd McFarlane (; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic book creator, artist, writer, filmmaker and entrepreneur, best known for his work as the artist on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and as the creator, writer, and artist on the superhero horro ...
was a fan of the ''Soulcalibur'' series and that McFarlane had praised their characters' designs. Text in each version of the game's
box art Video game packaging refers to the physical storage of the contents of a PC or console game, both for safekeeping and shop display. In the past, a number of materials and packaging designs were used, mostly paperboard or plastic. Today, most phy ...
also drew attention to Necrid. In 2003, McFarlane was interested in creating a new video game based on the ''
Spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: Ar ...
'' comic book franchise; his search for a developer resulted in a deal with ''Soulcalibur'' publisher
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 ...
. When the topic of toys arose in discussions, McFarlane and Namco reached an agreement to release a line of action figures based on ''Soulcalibur II'' characters. Afterward, Namco proposed that their company design a new character for
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally placed i ...
ports A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
of the game, an idea that McFarlane accepted because he considered it an opportunity to create a toy based on Necrid's finished design. Necrid's design targeted North American audiences, specifically fans of
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s. Although McFarlane received most of the credit for the character, Necrid was the result of a collaboration; Namco outlined the then-unnamed character's traits, such as his in-game role and physical build, and McFarlane's company completed the design. As a result, both companies hold a partial copyright for Necrid, with Namco's rights to the character as a
derivative work In copyright law, a derivative work is an expressive creation that includes major copyrightable elements of an original, previously created first work (the underlying work). The derivative work becomes a second, separate work independent in fo ...
of McFarlane's illustrations.


Design

Necrid is a bald, green, and muscular humanoid. His eyes glow bright red, and short bones protrude from his left arm, back, jaw and a
Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...
-like ridge on his head. The fingers on his right hand have claw points, but his left hand is much larger and has three fingers with large, talon-like bone claws. Two large, ram-like horns extend from opposite sides of his left wrist, toward and slightly beyond his elbow. His clothing consists of dark blue pants, large metal sandals held together by bandages, and armor plating covering his abdomen, the sides of his legs, and the back of his lower right arm. A pulsating red jewel described by McFarlane as a "power plant" is set in a circular piece of metal strapped to his chest. At about  feet (196 cm), Necrid is the second tallest ''Soul'' series character whose height is known. Necrid's alternate appearance differs heavily, and features scaly, reddish–orange skin. Additional differences include teal eyes, black pants, and a blue jewel. The protruding bones are isolated and bigger on his left shoulder and arm, and appear crystalline. A
pauldron A pauldron (sometimes spelled pouldron or powldron) is a component of plate armor that evolved from spaulders in the 15th century. As with spaulders, pauldrons cover the shoulder area. Pauldrons tend to be larger than spaulders, covering the a ...
covering his right shoulder is fastened to the jewel's support harness, and the armor on his legs incorporate a pair of greaves. He wears a fauld on his abdomen, and bandages wrap around his stomach. A mask covers his face and is held in place by two straps around his head. Necrid's speech is unintelligible, and the vocal samples in the game's
sound test A sound test is a function built into the options screen of many video games. This function was originally meant to test whether the game's music and sounds would function correctly (hence the name), as well as giving the player the ability to com ...
feature are named after emotions, such as "Determination" and "Indignation". He is the only speaking ''Soulcalibur II'' character whose voice does not change when the player selects a different language setting.


In video games

As introduced in ''Soulcalibur II'', Necrid is a warrior who fought and defeated a former wielder of the cursed sword Soul Edge, and was pulled into the
dimension In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a Space (mathematics), mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any Point (geometry), point within it. Thus, a Line (geometry), lin ...
where the sword's spirit,
Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...
, inhabited. Instead of battling Inferno, he fled, and became trapped in the dimension for years. Warped physically and mentally by the dimension as a result, he escaped during the closing events of ''
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, '' ...
'', but quickly found that, without the dimension's energies, he experienced intense pain and would eventually die. Attacking travelers he perceived as enemies, he happened upon a fragment of Soul Edge and felt his pain dampened. Pursuing other fragments of the sword, he encountered Talim, who was also seeking them, and helped defeat the resurrected Inferno. His memories and sanity restored by the battle, Necrid closed the entrance to the void, trapping himself within. To date, Necrid has appeared in only one game of the series, ''Soulcalibur II''. He did not appear in the original arcade version, but was added later when the game was
ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desi ...
to the
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
,
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
, and
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
video game consoles. When asked whether the character would return in ''
Soulcalibur III is a 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 version, ''Soulcalibur III: Arcad ...
'', Yotoriyama replied, "Necrid has gone on vacation." When the subject came up again during the production of ''
Soulcalibur V is a fighting video game developed and released by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012. The sixth main installment in Namco's ''Soulcalibur'' series of fighting games, ''Soulcalibur V'' is the follow-up to ''Soulcalibur ...
'', game director Daishi Odashima responded via his
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account, “To be honest, that will be too hard to do due to copyright issues.”


Gameplay

Using fighting skills Yotoriyama described as "horrific splendor", Necrid attacks using Maleficus, a transforming, physical manifestation of the energy in Soul Edge. He controls Maleficus by channeling it through his hands to form various bladed weapons, able to set them aside or reabsorb them as needed. Necrid can also attack using other forms of energy, such as '' ignis fatuus'', æther, and chaos, represented in game as equipable alternate weapons with varying effects and attributes. Necrid also incorporates
acrobatics Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...
into his fighting style through a variety of flips and kicks. Several of Necrid's attacks duplicate physical motions and properties of attacks used by other characters in the series. However, each attack causes his weapon to extend from then retract into his hands, resulting in different visual cues than the move they derive from. Some attacks combine elements of two other existing character moves; for example, Dragon Blaze begins with one attack used by Maxi and ends with another from
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 ...
. Despite this fact some moves are unique to Necrid's repertoire, such as Elder Topaz, an attack stance that allows the use of an altered set of attacks for a short time, and Void Cannon, which creates a small explosion on the ground at varying distances from Necrid.


Promotion and reception

Yotoriyama announced Necrid early in ''Soulcalibur II''s production for the Xbox, in an interview with the Japanese magazine ''
Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
''. Namco later featured the character in promotional items, such as artwork,
screenshots screenshot (also known as screen capture or screen grab) is a digital image that shows the contents of a computer display. A screenshot is created by the operating system or software running on the device powering the display. Additionally, s ...
, and an animated
emoticon An emoticon (, , rarely , ), short for "emotion icon", also known simply as an emote, is a pictorial representation of a facial expression using Character (symbol), characters—usually punctuation marks, numbers, and letters—to express a ...
, which they distributed to ''
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 ...
'' and other news outlets. McFarlane Productions distributed one thousand copies of a limited-edition
lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
to promote the character at
E3 2003 E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo or Electronic Entertainment Experience in 2021) is a trade event for the video game industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) organizes and presents E3, which many developers, publisher ...
. Drawn by
Greg Capullo Gregory Capullo (; born March 30, 1962) is an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on ''Quasar'' (1991–1992), '' X-Force'' (1992–1993), ''Angela'' (1994), ''Spawn'' (1993–2000, 2003–2004) and ''Batman'' (2011 ...
, the lithograph featured a comic-book rendition of Necrid, fighting Spawn in one of the game's arenas. In August 2003, Namco included a sculpture of Necrid in a set of five based on different ''Soulcalibur II'' characters. The figure was based on Necrid's secondary outfit, stood tall (with a base), and allowed for adjustment of its head and arms. McFarlane Productions later gave the sculptures and copies of the game as prizes in a contest named after the character. Critical response to Necrid varied. University of Delaware professor Rachel Hutchinson cited him as an example of the cultural stereotype of human versus monster, a "mutated or damned reaturedeviant from the human norm" that the game's human characters are expected to vanquish. A staff writer for ''
GameNOW ''GameNOW'' (occasionally abbreviated to ''GN'') was a United States-based video game magazine that was published by Ziff-Davis from November 2001 to January 2004. A total of 27 issues were published. In addition to video game consoles like Play ...
'' magazine called the visual design "silly" and compared the character to an "old-school ''
He-Man He-Man is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the sword and planet ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by h ...
'' character", but added that Necrid's gameplay was decent. Another magazine, ''GMR'', described him as an example of "bad American comic book design". ''IGN''s Kaiser Hwang called Necrid a "disappointment" and questioned the character's design in comparison to others in the series; he also felt Necrid was "filler" rather than a complete character. ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' made similar comments in their review of the game, as did ''
GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
''. ''IGN''s Xbox article editor described the character's inclusion as an unnecessary marketing ploy and would have preferred new characters made without McFarlane's involvement; the editor also wrote that Necrid did not "vibe" with the rest of the game. ''
1UP.com ''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
''s
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
''
Retronauts ''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
'' criticized the design and wrote that the character's name was used as a
synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
for "shitty". They further added that McFarlane had "tainted" the game with Necrid's inclusion, with host Jeremy Parish stating "I could close my eyes and draw a better character". In a retrospective of the series, ''
Joystiq ''Joystiq'' was a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 as part of the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs, now owned by AOL. It was AOL's primary video game blog, with sister blogs dealing with MMORPG gaming in general and the popular MMORPG ''W ...
'' used him as an example of the series succumbing to "commercial gimmicks", citing his design as reviled and that Necrid was either too strong or too weak a character to play as, depending on who one asked. Other reviewers praised the character's gameplay and design. An editor for the video game website ''GameZone'' wrote that his attacks compensated for his appearance and described him as "cool", while also praising both his weapon and fighting style.
Adam Sessler Adam Sessler (born August 29, 1973) is an American video game journalist, television personality and consultant. He is best known as the host for the video game review series ''Xplay'' and the editor-in-chief for G4 (U.S. TV channel), G4's video ...
and
Morgan Webb Morgan Ailis Webb (born October 5, 1978) is a former co-host and senior segment Television producer, producer of the G4 (U.S. TV channel), G4 show ''X-Play''. She was previously the host of the podcast ''WebbAlert'' and a monthly columnist for th ...
of ''
X-Play ''Xplay'' (previously ''GameSpot TV'' and ''Extended Play'') is a TV program about video games. The program, known for its reviews and comedy skits, airs on '' G4'' in the United States and had aired on ''G4 Canada'' in Canada (and briefly on YT ...
'' stated that, while Necrid did not seem to fit the aesthetic, the character did have some appeal. ''
UGO Ugo is the Italian form of Hugh, a widely used name of Germanic origin. Its diminutive form is Ugolino. It is also a Nigerian Igbo first name. It may refer to: People * Vgo (stonemason), medieval stonemason * Ugo Bassi, a Roman Catholic priest ...
''s Doug Trueman stated Necrid's weapon had to be "seen to be believed", and described him among other new characters as " ddingsomething spectacular to the ''Soul Calibur'' pantheon". Tim Rogers of website ''Insert Credit'' called Necrid "a work of digital art both in form and function" and added that "as far as console-only characters go—everybody wins with Necrid". Despite their negative remarks, an editor for ''IGN'' listed Necrid as eighth on their list of the top ten characters contributed to the ''Soulcalibur'' games by designers outside Namco and wrote that while they felt the character's gameplay was unbalanced, it added to Necrid's appeal; the editor wrote "what do you expect from a man who shares a symbiotic relationship with the very energy that powers Soul Edge? If you needed to clean house in 'Soulcalibur II'' Necrid was the man for the job."


References

{{Good article Characters created by Todd McFarlane Fantasy video game characters Fictional melee weapons practitioners Fictional monsters Male characters in video games Soulcalibur series characters Video game characters introduced in 2003 ja:ソウルキャリバーの登場人物#ネクリッド