Soma Cruz
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Soma Cruz (来須蒼真 Kurusu Sōma?, Soma Kurusu), is the protagonist from the games Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.
Soma has a wide range of powers and abilities called 'souls' which are categorized as offensive, defensive, or tactical. He acquires these abilities through his "power of dominance" -- the power to control and summon the souls of defeated monsters. This is a derivation of Dracula's primary power, the ability to command monsters (Soma is Dracula's reincarnation). Soma fights with a variety of weapons, including swords, spears, and axes. Many of his weapons are references to mythology and folklore, such as the Ronginus[sic], Excalibur, or Claimh Solais. The whip sword is a reference to the Castlevania series' tradition of whips as primary weapons, but is the only weapon in Aria of Sorrow that resembles a whip. Soma can also use dual handguns, a RPG, and a laser gun called the Positron Rifle, in an interesting (and futuristic) departure from other games in the Castlevania series. His last name is somewhat of a pun, Cruz is the Spanish word for Cross, which is commonly used against Vampires in fiction.
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[edit] In Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Soma was studying in Japan in the year 2035, the year where the first solar eclipse of the twenty-first century was to occur, and he and Mina were on their way to see the astral event when fate stepped in: the two are transported into Dracula's castle itself. Immediately protective of Mina, Soma sets out into the castle to find an exit and save themselves from its demonic influence.
Soma encounters various other individuals that were drawn into the castle, and from them learns that Dracula is indeed dead, but that his castle seeks a new master. In battling the castle’s monsters he demonstrates an ability that he was not aware of possessing previously: The Power of Dominance, the ability to steal the souls of life forms and bend them to his will in various shapes and effects. This supernatural trait is a derivation of Dracula's primary power, the ability to command monsters. Through wielding this power and interacting with other characters, Soma soon comes to realize a shocking revelation: his powers and Dracula's soul are one and the same -- Soma is the next incarnation of Dracula himself, and therefore may inherit Castlevania as its new lord and master.
Soma, obviously not content with the idea of becoming the new dark lord, encounters a deranged missionary named Graham Jones who believes himself to be the incarnation of Dracula, not Soma, because of his birth at the very moment Dracula was ultimately slain in the battle of 1999. But Soma, in demonstrating the power to rule over souls, becomes Graham’s target, and the two engage in a battle which Soma eventually wins – but in doing so, he absorbs a startling amount of the castle’s dark power and comes dangerously close to becoming Dracula himself. Soma then heeds the advice of Genya Arikado and travels to a chaotic realm where he must confront the core of Chaos, the source of Dracula’s dark power, if he hopes to escape from his bonds with the castle. Soma receives encouraging words telepathically from Mina and his other friends which he had encountered over the course of his adventure in the castle, and is therefore able to defeat Chaos, retain his identity, resist Dracula's inheritance, and escape with everyone from Castlevania as it is drawn back into the eclipse. In conquering this personal challenge, Soma becomes more open and trusting to those around him, though his mysterious powers still reside within.
[edit] In Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
One year after this event, Soma Cruz is attacked in Hakuba city by the mysterious Celia Fortner, the priestess of a cult dedicated to the revival of Dracula. Celia disappears with the grim proclamation that Soma will be eliminated by any means necessary, so that she may take his power and revive the Lord of Darkness. Arikado assures Soma that he and his subordinates will handle the situation, but Soma is not willing to sit behind; He tracks Celia to her headquarters, a massive replica of Dracula's Castle, and once more wields the power of dominance to battle the summoned demons within.
Soma encounters Celia several times throughout his exploration, as well as two men, Dmitrii Blinov and Dario Bossi, who were born at the exact time of Dracula's 1999 destruction much like Graham Jones, and as such are candidates to receive the title and power of Dark Lord that Soma currently holds. Dmitrii and Dario attempt to kill him on separate occasions but are defeated, causing Celia to alter her strategy; she plans to draw out Dracula’s influence within Soma outward and mold him into the Dark Lord by playing on his emotions. Soma witnesses the apparent death of a captive Mina on Celia’s account, and his rage and drive for vengeance explode enough that he is about to become the new Dracula when Arikado saves him by revealing that it was Celia’s hoax.
Soma’s seismic shift of emotions allows for the self-revival of Dmitrii, whose soul resided in Soma after he was first bested in battle by the former, and he and Celia leave with the declaration that they have gone back to their original plan to simply kill Soma so that Dmitrii can become the new Dark Lord. Soma pursues them to the castle’s Abyss, where he witnesses Dmitrii sacrificing Celia and absorbing the powers of a calamitous demon, and the two are about to do battle when Dmitrii’s soul is overcome and his body explodes into the titanic, monstrous demon Menace which Soma destroys at length after a large-scale battle.
The dark power and souls of Menace suddenly rush into Soma’s body and nearly overwhelm him, once again causing him to come dangerously close to becoming the embodiment of the Dark Lord himself, but through sheer will he resists the influence and escapes the collapsing castle of Celia’s cult, where he rejoins all his friends and allies. Soma relates to Arikado a certain feeling of guilt he holds for not accepting the role of the Dark Lord, the role that is theologically necessary to be fulfilled in order for God to be truly good, but Arikado assures that though there may be need of a Dark Lord to fill that purpose in the future, there is no reason why it should only be him. Having conquered his final challenge, Soma is free to live his life as it is normally meant.
[edit] Allusions to Dracula
When Aria of Sorrow was first released, news of the true nature of Soma Cruz spread. The idea of playing as Dracula, albeit in reincarnated form, was a big hit amongst the series fans along with Aria of Sorrow's solid gameplay. Many had felt that the series had entered something of a low point with the somewhat lukewarm landing of the previous Game Boy Advance installments to the series.
Some may note that Soma Cruz bears a striking resemblance to Mathias Cronqvist, the character from Castlevania: Lament of Innocence who is revealed to actually be the true identity of Dracula before his renunciation of God (and thus, his ascent into his role as the dark lord). Indeed, while Soma has more generally modern clothing, they share a similar fur collar around their cloak and coat respectively. Soma's trench coat is often depicted as being worn similarly to a cloak as well, such as the depiction in the picture above. This gives him an overall intimidating, almost modern lordly appearance. Also of note is that Matthias was dressed mostly in black, while Soma's coat and hair is the opposite, white. This could be further representation of the "Good Dracula" motif the character has been given in Aria of Sorrow.
It is also worth noting that Dracula originally became the "Dark Lord" after his love, Elisabetha, was killed, and later he swore vengeance on all of the human race when his new love, Lisa, was killed for being a witch. Similarly, in DoS, Celia attempts to awaken the darkness in Soma's soul the same way by killing his childhood friend (and primary love interest) Mina Hakuba. If the player does not have "Mina's Talisman" equipped, Soma succumbs to the same fate as Dracula, embracing the darkness in his soul to avenge the woman he loved. If Mina's talisman is equipped, however, the darkness within Soma is held at bay long enough for Genya Arikado to arrive. Arikado reveals that the "Mina" killed before Soma's eyes is actually a cleverly disguised doppelgänger. While Soma conquers the darkness in his soul at the time, it is possible that the actual death of Mina could still awaken the darkness within Soma, despite the power of the talisman.
While nothing official has been stated about the design similarities, looking at Soma's storyline the connection may not be too far-fetched, as Soma could even be seen as sort of a second chance for Mathias. However, whether he is truly a continuation of Dracula in a new life, or a completely different person whom has just happened to have inherited Dracula's power is a subject of debate. In game there is ample evidence for both. Regardless however, details remain sketchy. Another possible bit of evidence to support this theory is that Soma's friend Mina Hakuba's name is obviously derived from that of Mina Harker. Mina is a main character from Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula", whom the vampire seduced. In the 1992 movie version of the book, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Mina is also a reincarnation of Dracula's beloved Elizabetha, who committed suicide thinking Dracula (then Vlad the Impaler) had died in battle. Since Mina and Soma seem to have affection for each other, this could be further irony coupled with the character. In the game plotline, Matthias had also lost his love Elizabeth, which prompted him to become the vampiric Dracula.
