Tira (Soulcalibur)

General CVG character
name=Tira


caption=Tira from "Soulcalibur III".
series="Soul" series
firstgame="Soulcalibur III"
voiceactor= Jennifer Hale
japanactor=Masumi Asano
inuniverse=Soul character
birthplace = Unknown
bloodtype=AB
weapon=Eiserne Drossel (Ring Blade)
fightingstyle=Dance of Deathnihongo|Tira|ティラ|Tira - "The Misguided Angel of Death" - is a fictional character designed for the Soul series of fighting games. Her first appearance was in Soulcalibur III, recognizable by the abundance of green (including hair color) in her ragged attire, and has returned for Soulcalibur IV - with a very new look. Her ravens appear in previous games of the series, sometimes giving pieces of Soul Edge to Nightmare, alluding to her existence. She is one of the main antagonists in the series.

Tira fights with a large bladed ring reminiscent of a hula hoop which she swings around her wrists, feet, body, and can also throw it into the mid air.

Creation and conception

As a character introduced in "Soulcalibur III", Tira's weapon was created before her own concept, a "ring blade" designed to be unique amongst the game's pre-existing weaponry. Her design and concept were built to revolve around it, starting with gender, then physical measurements, and lastly background details. After her appearance and movement were fleshed out by the team's concept artist Aya Takemura, her character was rendered as a 3D model by a design team that worked solely on her. [De Marco, Flynn (2007-09-20). [http://kotaku.com/gaming/tgs07/soul-calibur-director-katsutoshi-sasaki-on-weapons-characters-and-storyline-302211.php Tgs07: Soul Calibur Director Katsutoshi Sasaki on Weapons, Characters and Storyline] . Kotaku. Retrieved on 2008-07-30] Tira was then animated by a motion designer using motion capture and working directly with the team, utilizing acrobatics and a hula hoop to keep the animation unique and uniform. [ [http://ps2.ign.com/dor/objects/736896/soulcalibur-iii/videos/SC3_041505.html Soulcalibur III PlayStation 2 Gameplay - New Characters] (WMV). IGN. Retrieved on 2008-08-25] During this phase the team additionally worked with the "Soulcalibur" story creators, refining the character's own story as needed throughout development. [CVG staff (2005-10-10). [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=127163 Soul Calibur III Interview] . CVG. Retrieved on 2008-09-05]

Design

Her appearance is based off her emotional instability and madness, representing her mood through her trashed clothing and makeup.OPM staff. [http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3146108 Behind the Game: Soul Calibur III] . 1Up.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-30] The instability is also represented in the game, such as sulking when she loses a match only to cheer up suddenly afterwards. [ [http://www.soularchive.jp/SC3/wat02e.htm NewKimagureWatcher vol.2] . Namco Bandai. Retrieved on 2008-07-30] In "Soulcalibur IV", her attire was changed from green to red to emphasize her now dual-personality and the fact she was slightly more evil. [Mielke, James (2007-09-17). [http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?pager.offset=0&cId=3162887&p= Soul Calibur IV Preview] . 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-22] Her fighting style is meant for intermediate-level players and designed to give her the appearance of dancing while fighting. [http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3142254 Soul Calibur III preview] . 1Up.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-30]

In video games

Tira first appeared in "Soulcalibur III". Raised as a child as part of a powerful assassin organization known as the "Bird of Passage", she set out on her own after the group's leader went insane. Though she attempted a peaceful life in a quiet city, she found her urge to kill eventually uncontrollable and wandered until she learned of Soul Edge, a living sword using Nightmare's discarded armor as a body. Feeling it was a kindred spirit, she pledged her loyalty to the sword, and with a flock of ravens worked to locate a new body for Soul Edge and destroy its antithesis, the sword Soul Calibur.

Through her and Zasalamel's machinations, Siegfried came to them and battled Soul Edge, but when it contacted Soul Calibur a burst of energy was released; Siegfried was wounded and Soul Edge cast into a warped dimension. Due to her proximity Tira's personality split into two extremes. When Soul Edge returned in "Soulcalibur IV" she resumed her service to him, manipulating both Astaroth and Sophitia into helping.

Gameplay

Tira wields a unique weapon repeatedly referred to as a "ring blade." In Soulcalibur III, this weapon was known as "Aiselne Drossel", which was speculated to be a mistranslation of the term "Eiserne Drossel", a German phrase roughly meaning "Iron Thrush." This was confirmed in the following installment, Soulcalibur IV, wherein these errors were corrected. Her battle style, "Dance of Death," was known as a tactic meant to mesmerize the opponent, and was practiced among her partners in the fictional "Bird of Passage" assassin organization. [ [http://www.soularchive.jp/SC4/character/tira/tira_buki.html Soulcalibur IV] . SoulArchive.jp. Retrieved on 2008-09-29.]

In Soulcalibur III, Tira's gameplay was slightly straightforward, revolving around acrobatics and fast, low-powered moves. A notable feature was that whenever Tira was selected, her expression and quotes would change according to her mood. This appearance could also be changed through taunting mid-battle, but this served no particular purpose in battle. These interchangeable moods were adopted into her gameplay in Soulcalibur IV. In Soulcalibur IV, Tira's moods directly affected her gameplay by altering her stance and moveset. These two moods were known as "Jolly Side" and "Gloomy Side" respectively, and they represented the only stances that Tira could access. The moves in Jolly Side offered more range, while Gloomy Side's attacks dealt more damage.

Some criticism was directed toward the inconvenience of Tira's mood-changes. While Tira's moves could be changed using a variety of move combinations, these were not always foolproof. If Tira was directly attacked, there was a high likelihood of her changing moods, and therefore movesets. [Jara, Chris. [http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3168934 Soul Calibur 4 Character Spotlight: Tira] . 1Up.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-29]

Cultural impact

Promotion and merchandising

Tira was one of the two playable characters in Namco's E3 2005 public demonstration of "Soulcalibur III"' alongside Mitsurugi.Dunham, Jeremy (2005-05-15). [http://ps2.ign.com/articles/613/613751p1.html Pre-E3 2005: Soulcalibur III: Hands-On] . IGN. Retrieved on 2008-08-01.] Through the English website for the game, a promotional electronic "trading card" was available, showing in-fight gameplay and background information for her. [Sinclair, Brendan (2005-08-26). [http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/soulcaliburiii/news.html?sid=6132022 Soul Calibur III Web site goes live] . GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-08-01] In 2006, Namco released a Tira figurine as part of a "Soulcalibur III" set based upon her promotional artwork for the game. While not posable, the PVC figure came with three interchangeable ring blades for it to hold; [ [http://dol.dengeki.com/data/news/2005/12/06/7405eca63d5958caa5be32234f8ab7fb.html 『鉄拳5』＆『ソウルキャリバーIII』の キャラクターたちがコレクションフィギュアに！] . Dengeki Online. Retrieved on 2008-07-31] an alternate color version was later released in a secondary set. [ [http://www.toywiz.com/vsoulcaliburiiiseries1namcofigures.html Namco Game Character Collection Soul Calibur III Series 1 Set of 6 Figures (2nd Colors)] . ToyWiz.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-07] Yujin released a four inch tall immobile figurine of Tira after the release of "Soulcalibur III", based upon her artwork for the title as part of their "Namco Girls Series #6" line of gashapon figurines. [ [http://www.playstation.com.br/loja/pro/soul_miniatura_gashapon-77508121.htm Soul Calibur 3 - Miniatura da Tira c/ arma Gashapon] (in Portugese). Playstation.com.br. Retrieved on 2008-09-07]

Critical reception

Tira's behavior in "Soulcalibur III" led to the suspicion of her having multiple personalities, as her mood and voice would shift suddenly and dramatically. [Jara, Chris. [http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3168934 Soul Calibur 4 Character Spotlight: Tira] . 1Up.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-01] IGN editor Jeremy Dunham described her gameplay as having "plenty of bizarre and powerful moves mixed with a smattering of chained 'perma-moves'" GameSpot's staff described her as different than the female character stereotype of fast but weak, and a more deliberate fighting style and a "change of pace." [ [http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/soulcaliburiii/news.html?sid=6124234&page=2 Soul Calibur III E3 2005 Preshow Hands-On] . GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-08-01] At the 2005 Tokyo Game Show presentation of "Soulcalibur III", the character was not received well by players, cited as difficult to control and light on damage. [Alfonso, Andrew (2005-09-16). [http://ps2.ign.com/articles/651/651547p1.html TGS 2005: Soulcalibur III Update] . IGN. Retrieved on 2008-08-01] GameSpy stated "the jury is out" regarding her attack style, noting her difficulty to control. [Lopez, Miguel (2005-10-27). [http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2/soul-calibur-iii/662199p2.html Soulcalibur III review] . GameSpy. Retrieved on 2008-08-30] Her English voice acting has also consistently been a source of criticism for the character, cited by several reviewers of "Soulcalibur IV" as "grating" and annoying. [Fahey, Mike (2008-08-01). [http://kotaku.com/5032037/soulcalibur-iv-review-polishing-the-stage-of-historySoulCalibur IV Review: Polishing The Stage Of History] . Kotaku. Retrieved on 2008-08-16] [Beasley, Marcus (2008-08-09). [http://justpressplay.net/game-reviews/35-reviews/3821.html Soul Calibur IV (X360)] . JustPressPlay. Retrieved on 2008-08-16]

Tira was featured as one of the girls in GameDaily's "Babes of the Week: Soul Calibur Hotties" article, describing her as "One of the more dangerous-looking women introduced in the Soul Calibur series" [ [http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/galleries/the-soulcalibur-hotties/?page=10 Babes of the Week: Soul Calibur Hotties] . p. 10. GameDaily. Retrieved on 2008-08-04] and "An essential new addition to the series"; [ [http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/galleries/the-soulcalibur-hotties/?page=11 Babes of the Week: Soul Calibur Hotties] . p. 11. GameDaily. Retrieved on 2008-08-04] Tira was also included in their "Top 50 Hottest Game Babes" article at number nineteen, praised for her "part goth and part carnival performer" design as well as her revealing appearance. [ [http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/galleries/top-25-hottest-game-babes/?page=33 Top 50 Hottest Game Babes] . GameDaily. Retrieved on 2008-08-25] UGO.com ranked Tira number six in their "Top 11 Soulcalibur Fighters" article, noting a liking of her weapon of choice and describing her as "a force to be reckoned with...also quite the hottie in a dangerous, 'forbidden fruit' sort of way." [ [http://www.ugo.com/games/soulcalibur-best-characters/?cur=tira Top 11 SoulCalibur Fighters] . UGO.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-14] Magazine publications have also featured her in a similar context, such as "Play"'s "Girls of Gaming 5" annual periodical. [Play Staff. "Girls of Gaming 5". "Play": p. 29]

Game Revolution described Tira as "a lithe little wench who apparently idolizes Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy", and alongside Setsuka and Zasalamel " [adds] a needed gust of fresh air" to the series. [Gee, Brian (2005-11-14). [http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/ps2/soul_calibur_3 Soul Calibur III Review] . Game Revolution. Retrieved on 2008-08-17] IGN included her in their "Babes of Soulcalibur" article stating "She immediately stands out...Whereas most of the SC women fight on the side of good, Tira is totally, deliciously evil." They also praised her outfits, calling them some of the best in the "Soul" series. [Schedeen, Jesse (2008-08-18). [http://stars.ign.com/articles/899/899800p4.html The Babes of Soulcalibur] . IGN. Retrieved on 2008-08-20] "The Escapist" online magazine stated "Tira's bi-polar hysterics match her ever-shifting stances and frenetic attacks," and added the aspect of her character brought her fighting style into sharp focus. [LaMosca, Adam (2008-08-19 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/op-ed/5151-Waypoints-The-Soul-Just-Started-Burning.2 Waypoints: The Soul Just Started Burning] . "The Escapist". Retrieved on 2008-08-23]

References