#3
Post
by Wyborn » Fri May 07, 2004 12:21 am
I'm not getting into the Belmont vs. Alucard argument. The Belmonts are ordained by fate to be powerful enough to kill the most powerful vampire in the world. It's not even arguable. If there is a vampire in 2035, and Alucard may be alive then, then Julius Belmont would kill him. Period.
*cracks his knuckles* Fine. You want info on Soma? You get info on Soma. For starters....let's go over his weapons.
Understand, now, that Soma does not carry the same weaponry as most vampires, or even vampire hunters. He's from forty years in the future, and the weapons he carries reflects that. In addition to a handgun that fires sterling silver bullets with great effectiveness against the undead, his projectile weapons include a little number called the Positron Rifle, which literally fires positrons - positively charged electrons. It's a weapon of immense power, capable of blasting demonic monsters in huge suits of armor over two stories tall into towers of fire and ash so that literally no trace of the enemy is left. This is probably the most notable of his technological weapons, because in all honesty it's probably the only one.
His more significant weapons, of course, lie in those pieces of arcane magic and legend that he carries around in hand-to-hand combat, which shows the real kind of power he wields.
Though Soma cannot draw the sword from its stone, he carries around the Excalibur and the boulder it is lodged in, smashing enemies into pulp with it like a gigantic hammer. He carries one of the swords of the ancient swordsmith Masamune, which thirsts for blood and draws violence to itself, fueled to greater heights by the hand that wields it. To compliment these, he carries the massive Balmung, legendary sword of the dragon slayers, of which I am sure you are aware.
Those are almost irrelevant, though, indicated by the scant descriptions they got. Let's get into the weapons that actually matter.
Soma Cruz carries a massive sword called the Claimh Solais, a holy sword easily longer and wider than he is, so huge it is capable of rending almost any given demon in half. It supercharges the user, raising their resistance to damage, their intelligence, their ability to use magic, and even their strength of arm. It makes him considerably more lucky in battle, so that anything that possibly could go his way almost invariably will. This thing is the bane of all undead things, and by itself would nearly be capable of granting Soma this match, simply because of its sheer and unbridled power.
Probably the most awesome of his weaopns, though not necessarily the most lethal, is none other than the soul-seeking sickle of Death himself, pillaged from his remains after the battle with him. It is a gigantic thing of tremendous power, and literally feeds death into the enemy, killing them much more quickly and much more completely than most other weapons. It is called the soul-seeking weapon because that is literally what it does - when this sickle is wielded, the chances of Soma gaining the soul of his victim is vastly increased. In terms of dealing damage this is the most powerful weapon in Soma's arsenal, and it's not hard to figure out why, but if Soma is forced to use it against Alucard then death is not going to be the greatest of the vampire's problems.
In terms of legend and story, thoguh, the most significant and terrifying of Soma's weapons is obvious. Perhaps you are familiar with an old tale concerning the death of Christ - it is said that a man named Longinus used a spear to kill him as he was suspended on the cross, in order to end his suffering. Hitler's army scoured Europe in search of it, because it was said that whoever held it would have infinite power. This spear, stained with the blood of Christ, the weapon that killed God, is in Soma's possession. The Lance of Longinus is the holiest of holy weapons, blessed not by the will of Christ but by his very blood, and his influence leaks from it. This weapon is capable of killing God on Earth - it is almost unquestionable that Alucard would be eradicated by this spear vaunted to slay the immortals.
Perhaps, though, you aren't convinced. That's understandable. After all, what use are these weapons if they're wielded by a person who can't stand up to Alucard based on his own personal merit? Well then...let us address Soma himself.
Now, it has to be admitted that all of Soma's powers depends on the souls he collects - even the very persona of Dracula himself only awakens when he has absorbed enough souls to restore his "real" self. However, this is not indicative of any weakness on Soma's part - he is a normal human without the souls, but ocne he obtains them he is almost literally a monster.
There are four types of soul to be had: ability souls, Guardian souls, Enchanted souls, and "bullet" souls, which are used for attacks.
The ability souls let Soma do an unholy number of things: walk on top of water unchecked, walk around under it without needing to breath, literally soar into the sky like a rocket (unstoppable until he reaches some barrier that is completely indestructible), and otherwise do things that are very literally impossible. These are the least useful souls, though you can see how they would have their uses: let's get to the ones that are actually interesting.
The Guardian souls are arguably the most dangerous: they unlock a great number of the abilities that Dracula held. He can transform into a number of gigantic, invincible demons that tear through enemies like so much cardboard without ever having to slow down, or a great white bat that spews balls of flame from its gullet to incinerate anything in its way. He can summon familiars to guard him, such as the souls of Alastor the ghost knight or the Tiny Devil, who constantly hurls spears a its enemies. He can call forth an endless stream of sickles from the air, in a torrent of visceral destruction that can only come from the soul of Death himself. He can repel enemy attacks using the soul of a fair witch, or absorb his enemy's health with the soul of Persephone, his handmaiden. With the soul of the stone bull Catobleas, Soma's very breath becomes a weapon of lethality comparable to the eyes of a gorgon.
And there are the bullet souls, the souls of demons which Soma actually uses to attack his enemies. Soma can charge his fist with so much energy that a single punch from it can blast most objects and devils literally into pieces, and has a series of Street Fighter-esque combat techniques that make him lethal up-close (SHORYUKEN!). He can spew Hellish flames that burn for a long time, eating away at the opponent like so much gasoline-soaked cardboard, and cause a literal foutain of fire to rise up from the ground and bathe his enemies in it until their ashes rise into the sky. He possesses the gaze and breath of the cockatrice, which turns his target to stone, and the axe of the Red Minotaur - a weapon so ridiculously large it barely fits on the GBA screen, spinning around the end of the handle to strike the enemy three times. This attack is the most powerful in the game per hit, and it's understandable, since the axe is about as large as a volkswagen bus and infused with the soul of a demon straight out of a tour of Hell. Lightning from his fingertips strikes and incinerates multiple enemies in his path. He has knives which will lodge themselves in an enemy's flesh and continuously injure them over a period of time, and he can summon up a legion of cats, imps, crows, ghosts, and devils to murder those who stand against him without lifting a finger himself.
The Enchanted souls, though, are where the bulk of his power is - not his attacks and his abilities, but his actual raw and untouched power. He carries the soul of a demon called the Headhunter, so that he grows stronger with the more souls he carries - and his strength grows in a mannner that is almost exponential. The soul of the iron golem allows him to be hit by anything - anything - without so much as flinching from the force of it, no matter how much he is hurt by it. He is immune to poison, and curses, and petrification, and can deflect most physical attacks with a flick of his hands. He can more than double his strength or life force at will, and can eat anything to restore his health - be it steak or the rotted chunk of flesh which may come off of any random carcass in Dracula's castle. Standing before his enemy, he constantly heals himself with the soul of the giant worm - and if he uses the Alura Une (which, I think, is a Guardian Soul) then the rate at which he recovers surpasses that of even Alucard.
You talk of Alucard "going into" god mode, but you need to understand something - Soma is like that all the time.
And yeah, let's get into the enemies that Soma takes on. I don't know what Alucard's up against. I don't pretend to. From what I can tell, though, he seems to mostly go up against an assortment of Anne Rice-ish vampires, and to be frank with you that isn't a lot to talk about.
Some has gone up against demons of literally Biblical proportions - one of the more memorable battles in the entire game is against a particular figure called Legion, whose soul was housed in a cage surrounded by hundreds of living human corpses, and who would alternate between crushing you and burning the flesh from your body with lances of heat from its tentacles.
Soma took its soul.
He also went up against Death himself - and I know what you're thinking. Just something the programmers threw in. But, frankly, that's not the damn point. The point is that this IS the physical embodiment of Death, and he is out to get you. Booga. Booga. Booga. The point isn't that Death is trying to kill you, of course - the Belmonts have divine protection from his insidious powers, and Dracula (Soma) is literally his master. The point is that you have the ability to kill Death. Take a second to wrap your mind around that. It's not fighting him. It's killing him. Killing Death.
Because I want to refrain from posting more spoilers than I've already thrown around, I won't get into Soma's abilities or enemies any more in this particular post, but I will go so far as to say he's definitely a heavyweight. It would take a Belmont to kill him, and a Belmont only can because they are destined to be more powerful than Dracula. Alucard is not a Belmont. In Castlevania terms he's barely a Dracula. His chances in this fight, assuming Soma cuts loose with Death's Robes, the Chaos Ring, an whatever combination of weapons and souls he wants...are not good.
[ May 06, 2004, 11:33 PM: Message edited by: Wyborn ]
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