List of Soul characters

The Soul series features a wide diversity of characters and fighting styles

A comprehensive list of characters from the Soul series of fighting games produced by Namco.

Overall conception and development

Further information: Soul (series)#Featured characters

The Soul series is a weapon-based fighting game franchise developed by Namco Bandai's Project Soul division and consists of seven games: Soul Edge, Soulcalibur, Soulcalibur II, Soulcalibur III, Soulcalibur Legends, Soulcalibur IV, and Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny. Set in the 16th century,^[1] the plot of the games revolve around Soul Edge, a cursed sword able to possess its wielder and devour souls, and Soul Calibur, a holy sword and Soul Edge's antithesis.

With each character, their weapon was decided upon before other aspects were. The design was then built to revolve around it, starting with gender, then physical measurements, and lastly background details. Once established, appearance and movement were fleshed out by the team's concept artist^[2] and rendered as a 3D model by a design team that worked solely on the character.^[3] The completed model was then animated by a motion capture artist working directly with the team. During this phase the team additionally worked with the story creators, refining the character's own role in the plot as needed throughout development.^[4] In the course of the series, two characters have been an exception to the process: Johan Druer, a berserker exclusive to the Soulcalibur Japanese player's guide, and Necrid, a character co-produced with Todd McFarlane that appears in Soulcalibur II.

Starting with Soulcalibur II, guest characters from other franchises or companies were introduced for different home ports of the game, with The Legend of Zelda's Link appearing for the GameCube version, comic book character Spawn for the Xbox, and Tekken's Heihachi Mishima for the PlayStation 2. Despite rumors of Devil May Cry's Dante's inclusion in Soulcalibur III, developers confirmed no plans for the inclusion of guest characters for the title,^[5] with series producer Hiroaki Yotoriyama stating "It’s my policy to never do the same thing twice."^[6] However, under new producer Katsutoshi Sasaki the concept was revisited in later titles in the series, with Tales of Symphonia's Lloyd Irving appearing in Soulcalibur Legends,^[7] Star Wars characters The Apprentice, Yoda and Darth Vader appearing in Soulcalibur IV, with the latter two exclusively to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions respectively until later released as downloadable content,^[8][9] God of War's Kratos for Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny.^[10], and Ezio Auditore da Firenze for Soulcalibur V.

In addition, with Soulcalibur IV several manga and anime character designers were invited to contribute additional, non-canon characters to the game: Angol Fear, a female alien designed by Mine Yoshizaki and cousin of his existing character Angol Mois; Ashlotte, a mechanical doll developed by Oh! great sent to destroy series character Astaroth; Kamikirimusi, a young female oni designed by Hirokazu Hisayuki searching for kindred spirits; Scheherazade, an elven storyteller designed by Yutaka Izubuchi and based on the Persian queen of the same name; and Shura, a possessed female warrior designed by Hiroya Oku. Rather than having a unique fighting style, each was modeled after an existing character: Seong Mi-na, Astaroth, Nightmare, Amy, and Cervantes, respectively.^[11]

Introduced in Soul Edge

Cervantes

Main article: Cervantes de Leon

Cervantes de Leon (セルバンテス・デ・レオン, Serubantesu de Reon^?)'s father, Phillip, was a privateer sent on a special mission from Spanish king Philip II to loot ships, but was killed and his ship destroyed by an English warship. As a result Cervantes forsook his allegiance to Spain and became a pirate. Receiving a request from Voldo's master to find Soul Edge, he pursued and found the sword only to be possessed by it. He killed his crew and led a reign of terror for twenty years until defeated by Taki, who pursued the sword for her own reasons. However he was resurrected accidentally by Nightmare due to the fragments of the sword lodged in his body, initially with amnesia. As his memories slowly returned he desired the sword again, which had been by now shattered. Recovering fragments of the blade, they melded together to form a new weapon for him, and he pursued more pieces to strengthen it, attacking any ships that came close to his at sea. When Soul Edge summoned all pieces of itself back to it, Cervantes followed the trail, devouring the soul of his illegitimate daughter, Ivy, along the way.

Hwang

Hwang Seong-gyeong (黄星京, Fan Songyon^?, Hangul: 황성경), a man with a strong sense of justice, joined Korea's coast guard and was sent to find the "Sword of Salvation", really the cursed sword Soul Edge, in order to protect his country. However he returned after learning of an impending Japanese invasion of his homeland, bringing his friend's daughter, Seong Mi-na, back with him. After he set out after her again, he discovered the true nature of the sword, and informed his superiors of it. They dismissed him as a result, but upon learning that the Japanese were also after the sword he was instead sent to stop them. Heading westward, he plans to join forces with Mi-na to destroy the blade.

During development several weapons were considered, including a zhanmadao like Seong Mi-na's and a bladed nunchaku like Li Long's. Several different outfit components were also considered at this time, such as the inclusion of head and/or arm guards and an arm bandana^[12] With Hwang's appearance in Soulcalibur his attire was changed. Chinese style costumes were considered, including an outfit with an open jacket and a bandaged design with a Chinese martial artist's attire. The developers based his look around the concept of a traveler, implementing subtle hints such as his torn pant legs.^[13]

Inferno

Inferno (インフェルノ, Inferuno^?) is the physical manifestation of the cursed sword Soul Edge's own soul. It fights using the attack style of other fighters from its memories of past battles, and will switch to a random one at the start of each round. Though it exists in its own dimension, Chaos (a realm where time and space never exist), it has used duplicity such as in the case of tricking Siegfried into expanding its will, and in more extreme cases utilized Cervantes' flaming corpse and later the remnants of Nightmare's armor to create an avatar for itself. Within Chaos, Inferno can manifest itself as a flaming body for itself, creating weapons to match whichever fighting style it currently uses.

Its will and power has directly and indirectly affected several other characters in the series, such as the Evil Seed event that caused many to turn somewhat evil or insane. It has also caused the creation of several life forms or modification of them, such as Ivy's sword, Charade, Necrid and Abyss.

Li Long

Main article: Li Long

Li Long (李龍, Ri Ron^?) is an assassin sent by the Emperor of China to kill a pirate lord, but failed. Badly injured, he was rescued by a woman named Chie and eventually fell in love with her. While out one day, a fight broke out at the inn and Chie was believed to be dead. Told falsely the swordsman Heishirō Mitsurugi was responsible, he set out after Soul Edge knowing Mitsurugi was also after the blade.^[14] Along the way he takes the weapons of other fighters he defeats, repurposing some for his own use.^[15][16] Upon finding and defeating him, he realized Mitsurugi had no part in the attack upon Chie, and continued his goal of searching for Soul Edge.^[17] He located its wielder, Cervantes, but was beaten severely. Revealed to have survived in Soulcalibur III but having lost an eye, he found himself on the run from assassins sent by his former employer. Traveling by night under a false name, he was taken in by a girl that reminded him of Chie. When the assassins eventually found him, Li Long stood his ground and defeated them. Remembering the feel of fighting for something other than revenge, he set out to find himself, not knowing that Chie was actually alive and, after giving birth to their son, had set out to find him.^[18]

Mitsurugi

Heishirō Mitsurugi (御剣 平四郎, Mitsurugi Heishirō^?) is the son of a Japanese farmer, who after suffering years of witnessing his homeland being ravaged by bandits and war decided to take up swordsmanship, becoming a samurai and eventually hired mercenary. Learning of a new weapon, the firearm, and its ability to devastate the current Japanese armies, sought Soul Edge to counter it and encountered Taki during this time.^[19] Unable to find the sword, he challenged a man armed with a rifle in frustration, and was shot in his right shoulder. He gradually improved his fighting style to the point riflemen were no longer a threat, and after learning of Nightmare set out after him in order to find what he considered a worthy challenge.

He has also appeared in Namco × Capcom as a playable character.

Rock

Rock Adams (ロック・アダムズ, Rokku Adamuzu^?). Initially during development, the character was called "Beast Warrior", and his design changed little over the course of creating the character. His appearance is intended to reflect the atmosphere of a wild warrior, while his facial expressions were drawn in a positive manner, intended to show him enjoying the fight.^[20] When developing his appearance for Soulcalibur, a clothed design and a bald appearance were both rejected, as the team felt they gave the impression of an urban or "bad guy" character, respectively.^[21]

Seong Mi-na

Seong Mi-na (成美那, Son Mina^?, Hangul: 성미나 Seong Mina) is a young Korean woman, excelling at weapon usage but regarded as simply a girl by her peers. Barred from joining the coast guard due to her gender, she sought out the rumored "Sword of Salvation", which in actuality was Soul Edge, to prove herself. Hwang eventually caught up with her and dragged her back home, but she set out again after her father's efforts to marry her to him became unbearable. Encountering another female warrior named Ivy, she challenged her but was quickly defeated, and learned from Ivy that not only was she still inexperienced but that the sword she sought was inherently evil. She later challenged an alcoholic armed with a bō staff who also quickly defeated her. Seong Mi-na requested training from him, and he taught her all his skills, revealing in a farewell letter his name as "Kong Xiuqiang", the long-lost father of Xianghua. However, before she set out she was dragged home once more by Hwang. She later encountered Hong Yun-seong, a student of her father angry after being disregarded by Hwang when he challenged him to a duel. Feeling sorry for him, she handed him her family heirloom, the dao 'White Storm', and later that night he set out himself after Soul Edge. Mi-na set out to retrieve the dao from him, this time with her father's blessing.

Siegfried

Siegfried Schtauffen (ジークフリート・シュタウフェン, Jīkufurīto Shutaufen^?) is the main protagonist of the Soul series. He joined a gang of bandits after being left his father, a knight of the Holy Roman Empire, only to unintentionally kill his father during a raid. Driven insane by this act, Siegfried convinced himself that someone else was to blame for his father's death, thus embarking on a journey to find Soul Edge and use it to take revenge. After obtaining Soul Edge, he becomes possessed by the sword and transforms into Nightmare, a major antagonist in the series. Though he does temporarily regain his sanity after being defeated by Kilik and Xianghua in Soulcalibur (only to be taken over by Soul Edge again shortly after), it isn't until after the events of Soulcalibur II that he is freed from the sword's control entirely. He spends the duration of the series seeking atonement for the atrocities he committed as Nightmare, who becomes a separate entity by Soulcalibur III and opposes Siegfried as his archenemy.

Siegfried's overall reception in the series has been positive. IGN has listed Siegfried together with Nightmare at the top of their "Top Ten Fighters" list of the series, calling Siegfried "a perfect representation of the series' core conflict." They also noted that "a Soul game simply feels incomplete without an appearance by the warring personalities of Siegfried and Nightmare." The character has also received praise for sporting an appealing, angelic design and a powerful, graceful fighting style.^[22]

Sophitia

Main article: Sophitia

Sophitia Alexandra (ソフィーティア・アレクサンドル, Sofītia Arekusandoru^?)'s life as a warrior began when she met the Olympian god of fire and forge, Hephaestus. Hephaestus told her of the evil blade Soul Edge: that the existence of such a powerful blade would put shame to his name, as he had not created it, and that if anyone were to discover it, it would bring much pain to the world. Hephaestus ordered her to come to the Eurydice Shrine and receive a holy weapon, the Omega Sword, so that she could destroy the Soul Edge. After the battle had finished, Taki carried Sophitia back to Athens, where her sister, Cassandra, had been waiting for her. Cassandra was the only member of her family or group of friends to believe her story at the time.

Taki

Main article: Taki (Soulcalibur)

Taki (多喜^?) is a ninja, who after a battle with a demon in a haunted temple felt her magical blade Rekkimaru begin to weaken, and believing Soul Edge to be the cause sought the blade to destroy it. Along the way she recovers a second weapon, Mekkimaru, from an innkeeper and her daughter she had been sent to kill, and in order to protect them informs her masters that the daughter's lover Li Long had instead taken the blade, though is found out and becomes a fugitive herself. Eventually finding and defeating Soul Edge's host, Cervantes de Leon, she merges a fragment with Mekkimaru, but finds the resultant sword gives off an evil aura. Unable to destroy it, she instead decides to try and tame its evil herself, and eventually comes into direct conflict with her former master, Toki. Realizing that Soul Edge had reformed itself, she chased after the blade to destroy it for good.

Voldo

Main article: Voldo

Voldo (ヴォルド, Vorudo^?) was the right-hand man of Italian weapons merchant Vercci, also known as the Merchant of Death. Vercci desired Soul Edge to form part of his collection of rare weapons, and Voldo stood as the head of the expeditions in his search, even contracting the services of the feared Spanish captain Cervantes de Leon, and later accompanied Vercci when he decided to take the search personally. When word came that the Italian Wars broke on Italy and that Vercci's possessions were the first targets, Vercci became angry and moved his fleet, his only remaining possession, to an uninhabited island off the coast of Sicily. After construction of Vercci's vault was completed Voldo was instructed to slay the sailors that helped in the construction to avoid the location of Vercci's Money Pit being revealed. Voldo would remain sealed underground eventually causing him to go blind and insane, turning himself into the guardian of the tomb and slaying those who ventured to steal, making rumours of the island, its treasures and its "ghost guardian" spread around the globe. Years later, Voldo would hear his master's voice commanding him to search for Soul Edge once again, making him leave the tomb.

Introduced in Soulcalibur

Astaroth

Main article: Astaroth (Soulcalibur)

Astaroth (アスタロス, Asutarosu^?) is a golem created by a cult of Ares to retrieve the cursed sword known as Soul Edge.^[23] Upon finding the blade, Astaroth realizes that it is damaged and allies himself with its wielder Nightmare to harvest living souls necessary to restore the blade, planning to steal the blade once completed. However, before he can complete this task, he is confronted by a survivor of his attacks, Maxi, and is slain.^[24] Revived by Ares in Soulcalibur II, Astaroth continues after the sword. However, the cult that created him regards this as a betrayal, and places a curse on the golem to dominate him. Astaroth resists and counterattacks the cult, learning in the process his design is not original but instead modeled after a human being, Rock.^[25] To assert himself as unique, Astaroth finds and nearly kills Rock at the conclusion of Soulcalibur III, breaking free of Ares' control and transforming in the aftermath. Now hungering for power, he is offered it in return for servitude to Nightmare during the events of Soulcalibur IV, an offer he accepts with the secret goal of devouring Soul Edge itself.^[26]

Edge Master

Edge Master (エッジマスター, Ejji Masutā^?) has a mysterious past; a renowned for his skill with various weapons, his past and real name are known only to himself. He served as advisor and teacher at the Ling-Sheng Su Temple, before it was destroyed by the "Evil Seed" event. Taking in the only survivor of the event, Kilik, he taught him to suppress the evil within himself and sent him to destroy Soul Edge, before departing on a quest of his own.

Edge Master was created by illustrator Yasushi Nirasawa, who had designed him as a background character and weapon shop owner for Soul Edge Official Guidebook - Densetsu Buki Tankyū no Sho.^[27] Out of appreciation, Namco later introduced him a playable character in Soulcalibur and a recurring series element. His age is intended to reflect his experience and strength.^[28]

Ivy

Main article: Ivy (Soulcalibur)

Isabella Valentine (イザベラ・バレンタイン, Izabera Barentain^?), commonly called Ivy (アイヴィー, Aivī^?), was raised by the Valentines, a noble family in London, England. Ivy's father became obsessed with the cursed sword Soul Edge, and worked himself to death. Her mother died shortly afterward, and revealed to Ivy that she was not their biological daughter. Becoming an alchemist, Ivy learned of her father's obsession and decided to destroy Soul Edge. She created an animated, segmented sword, bringing it to life by unknowingly summoning Soul Edge's current host, Nightmare, and was convinced to become one of his servants. After learning the truth, and that her real father was the sword's previous host Cervantes, with her intended to be its next, she departed. Continuing her quest to destroy the sword in later games, Ivy was attacked by Cervantes and her soul consumed in Soulcalibur IV. Using an artificial soul to keep herself alive,^[29] her body began to crystallize once depleted. However, her sword sacrifices itself to save her, and deciding to live, she heads towards an uncertain future.^[30]

Kilik

Kilik (キリク, Kiriku^?) as an infant was left on the steps of a temple in China where he was taught the art of staff-fighting, and eventually inherited the holy staff Kali-Yuga. However, when the "Evil Seed" event occurred, he and his fellow monks turned on one another, with Kilik the sole survivor. Sane once more, he came under the tutelage of Edge Master, and joined forces with Xianghua and Maxi to destroy Soul Edge and purge the evil within himself.

During Kilik's initial design creation, while the weapon selected remained constant several ages and related appearances were considered. In particular amongst these was suggested a young boy whose design was based upon the legendary Chinese character Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. Other designs such as a feral appearance were considered, but unused due to them feeling "pretty wild" and too different from the initial concept.^[31]

Lizardman

Aeon Calcos (アイオーン・カルコス, Aiōn Karukosu^?), like Sophitia Alexandra, was one of the twenty-four warriors to receive an oracle from the god Hephaestus to destroy Soul Edge. A group of desert travelers rescued a dehydrated Aeon and brought him to their village. About to repay them by teaching them swordplay, the "Evil Seed" event occurred and turned him into a crazed killer that massacred everyone in the village. Astaroth's creator Kunpaetku heard stories of Aeon and captured him for experiments, transforming him into a Lizardman (リザードマン, Rizādoman^?). Ordered to bring Rock's adopted son to Europe, he was defeated while pursuing Soul Edge, which was destroyed moments later. Freed from his brainwashed state, he tried to restore his human form but was unable to and thus blamed Hephaestus for abandoning him. His state deteriorated further, gradually losing his humanity and memories. Taken in by a group of lizardmen like himself, he realized he lost his soul to Soul Edge, and sought to reclaim it. Lizardman went through a few changes through his initial development, with several drafts remaining consistent in their design. However, at one point it was proposed to have the characters be exactly "half human, half reptile", and as a result in terrible pain.^[32]

Maxi

Maxi (真喜志, Makishi^?) was a wandering pirate from Shuri in the Ryūkyū Kingdom (present-day Okinawa). He fights using nunchaku after learning techniques from "Zhang Wu", an alias for the assassin Li Long.^[33][34] He pursues the golem Astaroth, who attacked his ship and slaughtered his crewmates, joining forces with Kilik and Xianghua. Maxi defeats Astaroth but is critically wounded as a result. He is later found by some villagers who help nurse him back to health using fragments of Soul Edge. He eventually pursues Soul Edge in order to use it to kill Astaroth so he will die , planning to himself die shortly afterward. After initially considering having Li Long return for Soulcalibur, the development team instead focused on creating a new, younger nunchaku wielder for the title. After considering several ideas for his hairstyle, including several gag designs, the developers initially chose to give him dreadlocks before changing to the current appearance. Additionally, they opted to give him an outfit that would make him attractive, but also served as a partial nod to another fictional character, Takakazu Abe.^[35]

Nightmare

Main article: Nightmare (Soulcalibur)

Nightmare is the azure armored dark alter-ego of recurring Soul series character Siegfried, having been possessed by the sword Soul Edge and driven to restore it twice. After an encounter with Raphael, Siegfried was freed from the sword's control and abandoned the armor. The armor was later reconstructed into a new Nightmare by Zasalamel in a plot to end his immortality, and continued Soul Edge's quest to rebuild itself and devour the souls of the world.

Xianghua

Chai Xianghua (柴香華, Chai Shanfa^?) is the daughter of a seasoned female warrior and a monk. Her mother eventually abandoned her father, and taught her how to fight using a battered tai chi jian, in reality a stolen holy weapon from her father's temple in disguise. Eventually Xianghua became a member of the Chinese Imperial Guards, and was sent after the "Hero's Sword", which in reality was Soul Edge. Encountering Kilik and Maxi, they joined forces and defeated first Nightmare, then Inferno in its own realm. With her weapon revealing its true form as Soul Calibur, Soul Edge's antithesis, they defeated Inferno and escaped, though at the loss of the sword. Though falling out of favor with the Chinese royalty, she continued along Kilik to hunt down and destroy Soul Edge when it resurfaced. During Xianghua's early design phase, several concepts were considered for her attire, before settling upon a light and oriental appearance for her. Additionally it was considered to have her appear as a young girl instead, or alternatively for her to fight unarmed using martial arts, an idea later put to effect through Heihachi Mishima and his appearance in Soulcalibur II.^[36]

Yoshimitsu

See also: Yoshimitsu (Tekken)

Yoshimitsu (吉光^?) is a Japanese warrior that refused an offered alliance with Lord Nobunaga, costing him his right arm in the process. He initially planned to pursue the sword Soul Edge to take his revenge, but he decided against it, realizing it would make him no better than Nobunaga himself. He eventually sets out to destroy all remnants of the sword, in the process forming a band of thieves known as the Manjitou in order to do good and to find the fragments. After the death of one of his servants at the hands of Soul Edge's vassal Tira, he hunts her for revenge.

Introduced in Soulcalibur II

In addition to the characters below, lesser storyline related characters were included in console versions of the title as unlockable characters, appearing as recurring enemies in the game's "Weapon Master Mode". Assassin and Berserker served as counterparts to previous characters Hwang and Rock. Both would later appear as boss enemies in Soulcalibur III, with Assassin's fighting style modified to utilize a kunai and Berserker modified into a smaller, fully armored warrior armed with a lance. Several generic Lizardmen also appear as recurring enemies and an unlockable character, utilizing an axe and shield fighting style that would be used by the original Lizardman in later appearances of the character.

Cassandra

Cassandra Alexandra (カサンドラ・アレクサンドル, Kasandora Arekusandoru^?) is the younger sister of series character Sophitia, and in Soulcalibur II set out on her own to destroy the cursed sword Soul Edge, continuing her quest in Soulcalibur III after realizing the sword still existed. She returns in Soulcalibur IV, encountering a man who sensed the fragment of Soul Edge that she carried. After defeating him, he fled, but told her of a "holy stone" with the power to dispel evil. Hearing rumors of a man with a large mass of crystal (Siegfried) on his way to Ostrheinsburg, she reasoned he carried the "Holy Stone" and sought to destroy Soul Edge, and followed him. In Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny's Gauntlet storyline, a side story set after the events of Soulcalibur IV, (but not part of the critical storyline as stated in the game) the plot revolves around Cassandra and her ally Hilde, who search for ingredients to develop a potion to cure Hilde's father. To this end they force the protagonist to assist them, and later recruit another person, Dampierre, after Hilde is briefly kidnapped.^[37]

Cassandra was designed in mind to have greater determination than Sophitia, with greater physical abilities and skills. Unlike her sister whose skills originate from her weapons and Hephaestus, Cassandra is not as humble and cannot hear him, relying instead on her own strength.^[38] The development team noted Cassandra as an extremely popular character in Soulcalibur II, discussed on fan sites and bulletin boards. Several of Cassandra's animations were done manually by hand and blended with the motion capture-based animations done prior. As a result, the series' production manager noted that it gave some of her movements an uncomfortable appearance, and her proportions seem different than a human being's.^[39] In Soulcalibur II, to further emphasize the contrast, concept artists emphasized a dress and tights for her instead of traditional Greek attire. Though the rest of the team was initially skeptical of the tights, they warmly received the finished model and heavily praised the decision.^[38]

GameSpy noted her similarity in Soulcalibur II to her sister in terms of fighting style, but added "thanks to some intelligent changes she feels like a whole new gal in many important respects".^[40] IGN commented on the similarity as well, but added that regardless she played "noticeably different";^[41] they later listed Cassandra as one of the series' top ten fighters at number eight, noting a large fan following and admiration for her "spunk."^[42] PSM praised her appearance, featuring her in their 2003 "Girls of Summer" video game character "swimsuit" special, as well as on the issue's cover.^[43] GameDaily described her as a character that "grew into her own" since her appearance in Soulcalibur II,^[44] and later stated her appearance in Soulcalibur IV "looked better than ever" and described the character as "gorgeous".^[45] Edge praised the changes to her character in Soulcalibur IV, adding that they made her feel like "a fresh addition to the series".^[46]

Charade

Charade (シャレード, Sharēdo^?) is the name of a creature introduced in Soulcalibur II, formed from Soul Edge's fragments and various reshaped human body parts. It has no intellect, instead acting on instinct and a desire to absorb other pieces of Soul Edge. It mimics fighting styles and weapons by scanning the minds of its opponents, represented in Soulcalibur II by his use of a random fighting style from one of the other game's characters. In the arcade version of Soulcalibur II, Charade served as the final boss,^[47] and was unlocked for players to use after the game had been in operation a certain amount of time.^[48] For console ports of the title, Charade was replaced by Inferno as the game's final boss, and was made into a regular unlockable character. A Charade appears as a boss in Soulcalibur III in a three round match in which it progressively loses components of itself between each round, eventually reduced to just its eye.

Charades appear in the game Namco × Capcom as minor enemy characters, mimicking Sophitia's fighting style from Soulcalibur II. These Charades are unique in that Soul Edge creates them directly,^[49] an ability it lacks in the Soul series. Called Soul Edge's "avatars" by the game's protagonists,^[50] they are created by Soul Edge as foot soldiers and as a means to protect itself. When defeated, they will melt and dissolve into nothing.^[51]

Reception to Charade has been mixed. Netjack's Steve Lubitz described Charade as "Weapon Master, only uglier" and cited a lack of creativity with the design.^[52] The sentiment was shared by Deeko's review of Soulcalibur II, who said that Charade felt like a new character that used "old character moves and tactics".^[53] Other reviewers of II repeated the sentement, noting Charade as one of several "doppleganger" fighters in the title that filled in another character's role.^[54][55] On the other hand UGO's Doug Trueman cited Charade as a character that "[added] something spectacular to the Soul Calibur pantheon."^[56] and additionally received mention in UGO's "Top 11 Soul Calibur Fighters" article, losing to Olcadan only due to Olcadan's owl-inspired design.^[57] Gaming Age in their retrospective on the characters in the series called Charade a "fairly unique fighter", noting his ability to create weaponry from his own body.^[58]

Yun-seong

Hong Yun-seong (洪潤星, Hon Yunsun^?, Hangul: 홍윤성 Hong Yunseong) was introduced in Soulcalibur II as a famous sword fighter that idolized Hwang Seong-gyeong. He seeks the "Sword of Salvation" to protect his people and prove himself worthy to challenge Hwang, with Seong Mi-na following him to make him return home and teaming up with Talim along the way.

Necrid

Main article: Necrid

Necrid (ネクリッド, Nekuriddo^?) is a warrior who fought and defeated a former wielder of the cursed sword Soul Edge, and was pulled into the dimension that the sword's spirit, Inferno, inhabited. After fleeing from Inferno, he became trapped in the dimension for years. Warped physically and mentally as a result, he escaped during the closing events of Soulcalibur, but quickly found that, without the dimension's energies, he experienced intense pain and would eventually die. Attacking travelers perceived as enemies, he happened upon a fragment of the first Soul Edge and felt his pain dampened.^[59] Pursuing other fragments of the sword, he encountered Talim while seeking the second Soul Edge, and helped defeat the resurrected Inferno.^[60] After he regained his memories and sanity through the battle, Necrid closed the entrance to the void and trapped himself within.^[61]

Raphael

Raphael Sorel (ラファエル・ソレル, Rafaeru Soreru^?) is a French nobleman, exiled by his family for committing a grievance against them. Hidden from his pursuers by a young girl named Amy, he takes her in as his adoptive daughter and seeks Soul Edge to rid himself of the nobles and secure a future for both of them. However, he was utterly defeated in battle with Nightmare, the sword's wielder. With both himself and Amy contracting vampirism as a result of the encounter they inhabit a castle in Romania and the populace quickly becomes infected, sparking several raids and wars against the castle. Learning of Soul Edge's counterpart Soul Calibur, he decides to locate it out of a desire to create a "perfect world" for himself and Amy.

Raphael's appearance in Soulcalibur III was changed heavily, designed to represent his evil demeanor and royal image. The chief character designer of the game, Hideo Yoshie, stated that the change made Raphael "more distinctive".^[2]

Talim

Talim (タリム, Tarimu^?) is the granddaughter of her village's elder, and daughter of its shaman.^[62] Due to turmoil caused by the influences of Spanish and Portuguese culture, she was reared to be its last priestess (Babaylan). The day that the Evil Seed spread across the world, Talim felt the winds, and an evil aura that devoured everything in its path surged into her body, causing her to lose consciousness for days. Years later, when Talim was fifteen years old, a man from the west brought with him a strange metal fragment, claiming it to be a vitality charm. Talim, however, recognized the evil energy as the same energy she had experienced years before and left on a journey, believing that if she were to return the fragment to its rightful place, peace would eventually be restored, despite the elders' misgivings.

Talim's weapons, originally considered for the first Soulcalibur game, were built around the concept of dual-weapon usage, with special emphasis that while bladed, the weapons themselves were not actual tonfa. During development it was considered to allow them to transform and be sentient, however the idea was abandoned. Talim's character concept was designed around the idea of introducing a young female character that the developers felt the series lacked, while at the same time making her appear androgynous.^[38]

Talim has been received warmly, with reviews of Soulcalibur II describing her as a welcome addition to the series as well as a "speed demon".^[63] GameNOW described her as "profoundly unique not only to SC2, but to fighting games in general."^[64] GameSpy stated Talim's "unpredictable nature" made her interesting, though added "she's almost too cute to fit in with the rest of the SCII crew".^[65] Insert Credit's Tim Rogers called Talim "the cutest of the young girl characters [in Soulcalibur II] by far," and a preference for her symmetrical outfits.^[66] Electronic Gaming Monthly noted a positive impression in her ability to fight against the title's much larger male characters,^[67] an effect University of Delaware professor Rachel Hutchinson described as "entertainment through deviation from the norm" against stereotypical gender expectations.^[68]

Introduced in Soulcalibur III

In addition to the characters below, several others appear within the game under the title of "bonus" characters, representing fighting styles exclusive to the game's character creation mode as unlockable characters. These include minor storyline characters such as Amy and Revenant, others from previous installments otherwise absent from the game such as Li Long and Hwang, and characters exclusive to the game's "Chronicles of the Sword" mode. Of these, only Amy and Revenant would be included in later installments, with the former expanded into a full character and the latter appearing as a boss alongside Zasalamel.

Amy

Amy (エイミ, Eimi^?) was initially introduced as a background character for Raphael, as a young girl who hid him from his pursuers and taken in as his foster daughter in a debt of gratitude.^[69] To secure a future for her, he left Amy behind to pursue the cursed sword Soul Edge, with plans to present it to the nobles that pursued him so they would be overtaken by its curse and destroy each other.^[70] However he was utterly defeated by its host, and as Amy tended to his wounds both of them were infected with vampirism. They traveled to a castle in Romania, and he left her to ensure the creation of an ideal world for both of them. Amy however felt abandoned, and set out on her own to protect their world herself.^[71]

First seen in Soulcalibur II opening sequence, Amy's character model was reused with a modified design in Soulcalibur III as a debug character for the developers to test elements of the game with and against, also appearing in some of the game's epilogue sequences. After completion of most of the game, they decided to implement her as a full character as a result of liking her design.^[72] When she was announced as a playable character in the sequel for Soulcalibur IV, game director Daishi Odashima stating the reason behind her inclusion as "I like weaker characters", noting her as one of his three favorite characters in the game.^[1]

Olcadan

Olcadan (オルカダン, Orukadan^?) was introduced in Soulcalibur III as a warrior that mastered all kinds of martial arts and weapon usage, and interested in honing his skills. When he reached adulthood only one of his fights had ended in a draw, so to test himself he hunted down God of War Ares's messenger, a great snow owl, and decapitated it as proof of his victory. He was cursed as a result with an owl's head depending on the position of the stars, and was later imprisoned in a labyrinth where time stood still. When the seal was eventually broken, he learned of Soul Edge's power and, impressed, he sought to defeat it. During this time he also learned of currency, and growing fond of it he served as an instructor to other warriors for payment.

He received positive reception as a character due to his appearance and demeanor, placing in UGO.com's Top 11 SoulCalibur Fighters article at eleventh place, beating out fellow series mimic character Charade.^[73] They additionally awarded the character "Best New Character" of 2005, and proposed the possiblity of Olcadan appearing in a stand-alone title and serving as a mascot for Namco, drawing comparisons to characters such as Master Chief.^[74] The character was additionally mentioned by them in their early coverage of Soulcalibur IV, noting hope for his return in the title.^[75]

Setsuka

Setsuka (雪華^?) is a character introduced in Soulcalibur III. Early in her life in Japan, she was shunned due to being of European descent, and eventually ran away from home. In another city, she was taken in by a man who worked as a bodyguard in the region and named her Setsuka, or "Snow Flower" He taught her his fighting style, as well as showing her affection and treating her with gifts she had before been deprived of. After he was slain by Mitsurugi, Setsuka realized she had fallen in love with the man, and despite his dying request not to pursue revenge she chose to do so. She now tracks Nightmare, believing it will lead her to Mitsurugi, who himself pursues Nightmare.

Character developer Hideo Yoshie stated that Setsuka's concept originated from the idea of a flower.^[76] Her outfit in Soulcalibur III was inspired by historical Japanese courtesans known as oiran, who wore cosmetics and clothing similar to a geisha's but tied their obi at the front instead of behind, mixed with elements from the Queen of Hearts as part of a "East-meets-West" concept.^[77]

Tira

Main article: Tira (Soulcalibur)

Tira (ティラ^?) was raised as a child as part of a powerful assassin organization known as the "Bird of Passage," she set out on her own after the group's leader went insane. Though she attempted a peaceful life in a quiet city, she found her urge to kill eventually uncontrollable and wandered until she learned of Soul Edge, a living sword using Nightmare's discarded armor as a body. Feeling it was a kindred spirit, she pledged her loyalty to the sword, and with a flock of ravens worked to locate a new body for Soul Edge and destroy its antithesis, the sword Soul Calibur. Through her and Zasalamel's machinations, Siegfried came to them and battled Soul Edge, but when it contacted Soul Calibur a burst of energy was released; Siegfried was wounded and Soul Edge cast into a warped dimension. Due to her proximity Tira's personality split into two extremes, Jolly and Gloomy. When Soul Edge returned in Soulcalibur IV she resumed her service to him, manipulating Astaroth, Sophitia and others into helping.

Zasalamel

Zasalamel (ザサラメール, Zasaramēru^?) hails from an ancient tribe that was tasked with the protection of the holy sword Soul Calibur by Algol. Angered by the tribe's restrictions, he tried to take Soul Calibur but was caught and exiled. Pursuing the sword he gained the ability to reincarnate, though eventually yearned to die for good. Tracking down Soul Edge, he manipulated events so that Soul Calibur would come to him, serving as the main antagonist of Soulcalibur III. Hoping to use the combined energies of the swords to end his existence, he was instead transformed into a monster called Abyss. During these events he had a vision of the future, and desiring to see it firsthand he returned to life, acting in Soulcalibur IV to protect the swords in case their destruction broke his cycle of reincarnation.

Zasalamel was positively received. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine described Zasalamel as "easily the coolest" of the three new characters introduced in Soulcalibur III, noting his speed and ability to pull opponents to him.^[78] Other reviewers have shared the sentiments, praising his accessibility for new players.^[79] GameSpy went further to described him as one of the best characters in Soulcalibur III, noting his offensive abilities and range control.^[80]

Introduced in Soulcalibur IV

Algol

Algol (アルゴル, Arugoru^?) serves as the Story Mode boss for most characters and as an unlockable character in Soulcalibur IV. Prior to the events of Soul Edge, Algol was known as "The Hero King", able to use the cursed sword Soul Edge without being controlled by it. He used it to forge an era of peace, until his son was possessed by the sword and Algol was forced to destroy them both. He worked to create a purified sword from a shard of Soul Edge to counter the weapon when it reappeared, resulting in the creation of Soul Calibur but with his body and soul trapped inside until the two swords clashed. Freed, he constructed himself a new body armed with facsimiles of both swords, and waited for them to come to him so that he could make his revival permanent.

Character designer Hideo Yoshie described Algol as "a character that obviously proves the setting of being the strongest character ever in the Soulcalibur series". Algol's costume was designed around the concept of originating from a culture so ancient that it was not recorded in history, which complicated the character's creation. After considering several themes including a lion and a dinosaur, a bird motif was finally settled upon. An option was considered for Algol to cause an "off site brawl" while on a pipe chair, but was unused.^[81]

His design elements including his projectile-firing "rifle arm" were called fresh and innovative by Gameswelt.^[82] The staff of 1UP.com were particularly impressed by his rifle attack, nicknaming the projectiles "Soul Bubbles" in reference to a game by the same name.^[83] Kotaku also praised the character, describing him as "much more of a bad ass" than recurring series boss Inferno.^[84] Edge described him as breaking the tradition of "ill-balanced uber-enemies" as well as one able to use a gun as a weapon without seeming "hopelessly out of place" in the series.^[46] GameAxis Unwired praised the character for breaking the series' tradition of bosses that mimicked existing fighting styles, and added that Algol remained for the most part fair to fight against.^[85] Neoseeker stated that Algol felt as if he was "just there, purely for your entertainment", calling his fighting style bizarre but while frustrating to fight, beatable.^[86]

Hildegard von Krone

Main article: Hildegard von Krone

Hildegard von Krone (ヒルデガルド・フォン・クローネ, Hirudegarudo fon Kurōne^?), Hilde (ヒルダ, Hiruda^?) for short,^[87] is the daughter of the king of Wolfkrone, a fictional European kingdom under assault by series antagonist Nightmare's forces. After her father was driven insane, she took up the responsibility of protecting its people, leading her armies in the front lines against Nightmare. As a desperate measure, Hilde seeks the Sword of Resurrection, Soul Calibur, to bring back an ancient king (Algol) who once restored peace to the world.^[88] In her ending, Siegfried stands before her and requests to be executed for his responsibility in causing Nightmare's creation and the events of the series. She instead pardons him, telling him to live for the future instead of the past.^[89]

Introduced in Soul Calibur:Broken Destiny

Geo "Le Bello" Dampierre

Dampierre (ダンピエール, Danpiēru^?) is a con artist introduced in Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny and known by a variety of titles, amongst which include "Alchemist of the Ages", "The World's Best Assassin", and "Miraculous Psychic". He eventually became recognized as a thief, and resorted to robbery and kidnapping to continue his rich lifestyle. Desiring to live a noble life instead, he decides to fight against Nightmare and use his skills for good. His weapons consist of two spring mounted daggers strapped to the underside of his wrists.^[90] He is voiced by Shigeru Chiba in Japanese, who the developers felt gave the character a distinct voice.^[91]

Dampierre's introduction in the game was the result of the amount of unused character and weapon designs that were excluded from Soulcalibur IV, and the team's desire to instead focus on creating a character based around their personality instead. Though the development team had mixed feelings regarding the character, they chose to take a risk and add him to Broken Destiny regardless.^[92]

Introduced in Soulcalibur V

Leixia

Daughter of former Soul Calibur wielder Xianghua. She uses a chinese sword as a weapon like her mother did.

Natsu

Natsu (凪津^?) is a young ninja and the disciple of Taki. She wields two tanto and harbors the demon Arahabaki inside her.

Patroklos

Patroklos Alexandra (パトロクロス・アレクサンドル, Patorokurosu Arekusandra^?) is Sophitia's son who uses a short sword and a shield like his mother. He knows that he has an older sister and is searching for Pyrrha and his mother. He is the main protagonist of Soulcalibur V.

Pyrrha

Pyrrha Alexandra (ピュラ・アレクサンドル, Pyura Arekusandora^?) is Patroklos' sister and Sophitia's daughter who uses her mother's sword and shield which were made by her father, Rothion. Pyrrha was kidnapped by Tira when she was only three years old in order to torment Sophitia. She is the deuteragonist of Soulcalibur V. However, unlike her brother, who knows about her, Pyrrha has lived her life as a wanderer since she knows nothing about her family and she has no one she can truly call "family".

Viola

Viola (ヴィオラ, Viora^?), shrouded in secrecy, works for Z.W.E.I. Her weapons are a metal claw and a magical crystal ball which floats around during battles. She resembles a fortune teller.

Z.W.E.I.

Z.W.E.I. (ツヴァイ, Tuvai^?) is a mysterious, brooding man who wields a sword with three handles and can summon a lupine spirit named E.I.N.

Xiba

is most likely the successor to Kilik. He is the shortest male character in the game at 5'5"

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