Dirty Pirate, Poet

You know you're a video game nerd when someone asks you something about the great Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and you automatically picture his namesake from the Soul Calibur series.

Ok I'll grant you that Miguel de Cervantes is an obscure character to most Americans, especially to those Americans preoccupied with fighting games but I'm not most Americans. I (almost) minored in Spanish in college, I took and mastered AP classes in both Spanish Language and Literature! I'm the cousin of a pretentious poser who every year goes to the Mexican bourgeois booze and book fest known as the "Cervantino". I should know better.

But Cervantes (the character) has a certain charm to him. I remember my first encounter with him and the soul series, playing at a ragtag arcade establishment in Tijuana after school. Of course the original Soul Blade was primitive by today's standards but it looked amazing then. The inclusion of a Spanish named character was something to be amazed about, it didnt matter that he was essentially just a dirty pirate, he was still essentially a badass and in an odd way he represented "my people". It was the beginning of an odd fascination/love for the series which goes on up to today.