Tekken Character in Soul Calibur?

As reported yesterday in GameSpot News, Namco's newest arcade game, Soul Calibur (the sequel to Soul Edge, or Soul Blade as it's known on the home market), has begun letting loose its time-release characters. Today another new character has appeared in the game, although not in the typical Namco, "here's-another-playable-character," fashion.

No, this mystery fighter appears as an opponent in the fourth or sometimes fifth round, is obscured through a Predator-like stealth effect, and is referred to as the "Unknown Soul." As you can probably tell from the screenshots, the transparent character looks a lot like the space ninja Yoshimitsu from the Tekken series. In fact most of us here at GameSpot News believe that in one form or another this is indeed Yoshimitsu.

The character has exhibited some moves that are almost exactly the same as the ones Yoshi had in Tekken 3 and even uses the same winning pose that Yoshi does (with the signature green sword glow). However, there are differences from Yoshi such as the fact that the fighter has a tall flag attached to his back, which is used in at least one move (he leans forward, spins it around, and bashes you with it).

If this character does turn out to be a playable Yoshimitsu farther down the time-release road, this might mean we can expect to see other secret Tekken characters too. Namco isn't confirming nor denying anything at this point. Either way Tekken 3 fans quite content with their PlayStations are likely to head to the arcades to have a look for themselves (note: it's more about knowing your fighter's range than keeping up the offense). Keep checking back for updates, and be sure to look up our feature on the game if you haven't already.