If there is no self, whose arthritis is this?

Dear Namco,

Please stop butchering your Soulcalibur (formerly known as Soul Calibur) franchise. Thanks.

This is one of the new characters that will make their appearance in Soulcalibur 4, her name is Scheherazado, named after Scheherazade one assumes, and she looks like a Zelda reject. From the Ocarina of Time/Twilight Princess eras. Perhaps an obscure hidden character from a Smash Bros game, even.

So why does an elven girl named after a legendary Persian queen/poet bother me so much? I'm not sure, I mean it didn't bother me when a Greek girl dressed like a tennis player and named after a legendary doom-sayer made her appearance in Soul Calibur 2. Maybe I have become too jaded in recent years, and I'm still bitter over the whole Darth Vader/Yoda thing.

Or maybe I'm tired of seeing a franchise that prided itself in originality in design and realism in fighting styles go down this road of big boobs*, generic characters and ridiculous design.

Blah. Hopefully the gameplay will still be there.

*Though to be fair, this latest female entry to the roster is free of this specific offense. Maybe in the next game.

P.S.
The title of today's post is taken from Al Lowe's site in a collection called "Jewish Buddhism." You may, and should, remember Al Lowe as the creator for the Leisure Suit Larry series, i.e. some of the funniest games ever. His site is, unsurprisingly, hilarious and he also has a book you should check out.