But it wasn't to be... TWO BEES... 2...
No one can deny that NieR Automata's exquisite but highly dangerous 2B android isn't a perfect fit for Bandai Namco's fantasy fighter Soulcalibur, and as such no one really smiled when the hack 'n' slash hero a made an appearance in Soulcalibur VI back in 2022. But according to producer Katsuhiro Harada, things could have been different.
Speaking on Twitter, Harada noted that his own fantastic fighter Tekken 7 and NieR: Automata are both approaching the seven million sales milestone. This made the charismatic producer recall how 2B was originally set to make her fighting game debut in Tekken, not Soulcalibur, a move that would have seen the android YoRHa face off against King, Asuka Kazama and Ling. Xiayou.
âOriginally, there was a time when 2B was meant to be a guest character for Tekken, and we were going with him behind the scenes,â Harada recalled, in a series of tweets translated by Eventhubs' Nicholas Taylor. "However, the discussion changed to 'Isn't she really a better person for Soulcalibur? " And that's what happened. "
Ultimately, I think we'd all agree that Soulcalibur was more of a fit for 2B, given its high fashion combat modes and penchant for edged weapons. That said, it would have been great to see her go down with Tekken's Alisa Bosconovitch - all-out cyborg warfare that would likely shift the entire planet off-axis. Tekken was going to get its own cast of guest stars, including Street Fighter's Akuma, Final Fantasy XV's Noctis, Fatal Fury's Geese Howard, and...er...Negan from The Walking Dead.
NieR: Automata's 2B was originally scheduled as a guest for Tekken [Eventhubs/Harada]
