History YMMV / SoulSeries

** Sophitia is this among the {{yuri fan}}dom; people have hooked her up with Taki, Ivy, Tira, and even [[IncestIsRelative her younger sister Cassandra]]. Project Soul has not helped her case either, particularly with [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/soulcalibur/images/e/e8/Ivysophie.jpg this render of the Grecian holy warrior at Ivy's mercy]] and Tira canonically stalking Sophitia's family while on the prowl for a new host for Soul Edge.

* ConfirmationBias: Despite [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110928195434/http://www.soularchive.jp/SC3/wat01e.htm all the]] [[https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/03/28/no-online-for-soulcalibur-iii official]] [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/soulcalibur/images/1/1b/1253nv8.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20190204055738 confirmation]] that ''Soulcalibur III'' had no [[GuestFighter guest character]], you'll still see some fans (mainly those outside of Japan) insist that [[VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}} KOS-MOS]] is the guest character on account of there being a special set of "Type X" CAS parts that recreates her appearance.

* ConfirmationBias: Despite [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110928195434/http://www.soularchive.jp/SC3/wat01e.htm all the]] [[https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/03/28/no-online-for-soulcalibur-iii official]] [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/soulcalibur/images/1/1b/1253nv8.jpg confirmation]] that ''Soulcalibur III'' had no [[GuestFighter guest character]], you'll still see some fans (mainly those outside of Japan) insist that [[VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}} KOS-MOS]] is the guest character on account of there being a special set of "Type X" CAS parts that recreates her appearance.

** While being focused more on violence and RuleOfCool than romance, subtextual or otherwise, some popular pairings as of ''IV'' are [[{{Forgiveness}} Siegfried/Hilde]], [[LauncherOfAThousandShips Siegfried]]/[[OppositesAttract Cassandra]], [[LauncherOfAThousandShips Sophitia]]/[[DieForOurShip ANYONE but Rothion]], [[FoeYay Cassandra/Raphael]], Tira/Talim, [[OfficialCouple Kilik/Xianghua]], and [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou Mitsurugi/Taki]].

** Thanks to [[RevengeBeforeReason some arguable]] FoeYay on Setsuka's side prior to Setsuka dropping her grudge after defeating him in a duel sometime after ''IV'', Mitsurugi/Setsuka is palpable. As is [[OneTrueThreesome Taki/Mitsurugi/Setsuka]]. In terms of ThemePairing, more than a few fans have latched onto Arthur/Setsuka due to the fact that the latter could be seen as the former's DistaffCounterpart.

* ConfirmationBias: Despite [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110928195434/http://www.soularchive.jp/SC3/wat01e.htm all the]] [[https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/03/28/no-online-for-soulcalibur-iii official]] [[https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/228815-soulcalibur-vi/77160623 confirmation]] that ''Soulcalibur III'' had no [[GuestFighter guest character]], you'll still see some fans (mainly those outside of Japan) insist that [[VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}} KOS-MOS]] is the guest character on account of there being a special set of "Type X" CAS parts that recreates her appearance.

** Link and Heihachi are both in ''Soulcalibur II'', but were unable to fight each other due to being exclusive to opposing consoles. In ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU for 3DS and Wii U]]'', Heihachi's likeness is available as a DLC costume for the Mii Fighters, giving players the ability to finally see Link vs. Heihachi fights.

** While being focused more on violence and RuleOfCool than romance, subtextual or otherwise, some popular pairings as of ''IV'' are [[{{Forgiveness}} Siegfried/Hilde]], [[LauncherOfAThousandShips Siegfried]]/[[OppositesAttract Cassandra]], [[LauncherOfAThousandShips Sophitia]]/[[DieForOurShip ANYONE but Rothion]], [[FoeYay Cassandra/Raphael]], [[SchoolgirlLesbians Tira/Talim]], [[OfficialCouple Kilik/Xianghua]], and [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou Mitsurugi/Taki]].

** Everyone "knows" that Soul Edge is the [[DarkIsEvil evil sword]] and Soul Calibur is the "[[LightIsGood good sword]]", and imagine that the two are at war with each other because the former wants to reign chaos and the latter wants to prevent that from happening for the good of mankind. Those who still think that would be ''very'' surprised that [[FromACertainPointOfView this can only be true if taken at face value]]. In reality, ''[[UnholyHolySword both swords]] [[EvilVersusEvil are evil]]'', [[OrderVersusChaos but in different ways]], and are NotSoDifferent from each other. Hinted at throughout the series, and first made explicit in ''IV'', it wasn't until ''V'' did the fact come to light where Soul Calibur was shown to have its own version of Inferno with Elysium, and similarly would've taken over Patroklos as its host to create its version of Nightmare. The overall theme is BothOrderAndChaosAreDangerous, since humanity is screwed no matter ''who'' wins. All in all, Soul Edge might as well say to Soul Calibur "Yeah, I'm evil. But {{at least I admit it}}."

** Dampierre. He's either a whimsical, hilarious and CrazyAwesome addition to the roster or too wacky and annoying for the series and (like the ''Star Wars'' characters) completely out of place.

** With the addition of his [[StanceSystem Mist Stance]] in ''Soulcalibur'', Mitsurugi mains eventually created a ritual of sorts wherein they'd rapidly cycle through his ducking and hopping motions (the latter especially). This "dance" slowly grew in popularity over the years, [[https://twitter.com/andihero/status/966471534520004608 reaching a zenith]] by the time the series came roaring back with ''SCVI''.

* DifficultySpike: The third Chronicle in Tales of the Sword mode; once you get a to a certain point, the A.I/ goes from just gradually increasing to difficulty to flat out jumping to an insane level, and it's like that for the rest of the mode.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00d3DR_ojCE#t=15s Crybaby Xianghua]] [[labelnote:Explanation]]One of Xianghua's moves (Guei, A+B while on the ground) involves her throwing a trantrum while laying down. [[LethalJokeItem Said attack is surprisingly effective at stunning people and doing damage]], which led to players [[OlderThanTheyThink "rediscovering"]] it in ''VI''. (Xianghua's had the move since her ''Soulcalibur'' debut, though she could only perform it while face-down in her first two appearances.)[[/labelnote]]

* SequelDisplacement: To fans not around in the late 90s, ''Soul Edge'' has fallen into this, especially as [[MarketBasedTitle it has a different name overseas]] and hasn't seen any anniversary reissues. It's not helped by inconsistent naming; whilst it was called "Soul Edge" for the Japanese home releases, the international ones were renamed "Soul Blade" due to [[ScrewedByTheLawyers trademark kerfuffle]] with notable trademark troll Tim Langdell's nonsensical leverage over the word "edge" in the context of video games. The game was far from a failure at the time -- it garnered enough success to receive a platinum release -- and prior to the release of ''Tekken 3'' was frequently regarded by journalists as the best fighter on the [=PlayStation=]. When ''Soulcalibur'' was announced as a Dreamcast exclusive, it was a major incentive for fans of the prior game to buy a Dreamcast, and as the game was frequently considered one of the killer apps for the system, it introduced the series to a lot of new fans. As several characters were DemotedToExtra in ''Soulcalibur'' (Hwang, Seong Mi-na and Rock) and one removed outright (Li Long) in order to be replaced by clone characters (Xianghua, Kilik, Astaroth and Maxi), younger fans can have the misconception that the originals are themselves the clones. ''Soulcalibur VI'', a semi-remake of ''Soulcalibur'', does not even include Hwang and Rock as extras, but on the other hand, it includes more references to events and characters from the time of ''Edge'' in its Story Mode than any previous sequel.

** After being replaced by [[ReplacementScrappy the far less likable Yun-seong]], Hwang saw a notable upswing in popularity, to the point that fans petitioned him to be included in ''V''. He unfortunately didn't make it, but he and Li Long did briefly return in ''III'', even receiving expanded movesets alongside Amy in the game's ''[[UpdatedRerelease Arcade Edition]]''. [[TheBusCameBack His appearance as a side character in Seong Mi-na's story]] in ''VI'' (and Yun-seong nowhere to be seen outside of a brief mention) has generated much speculation and anticipation that he'll become playable in future DLC.

** Talim is also very popular due to her kind personality and unique playstyle. [[MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales Filipino players especially like her]], since she's the only Filipino fighter in the series (and was the only Filipino character in any other fighting series out there until [[VideoGame/{{Tekken}} Josie Rizal]] came around approximately ''thirteen'' years later). The lack of Talim is cited as one of the reasons why fans dislike ''V'', and then she proceeded to top the popularity poll. Yeah, she's THAT loved. And, much like Taki, her long-awaited return to the series in ''VI'' was welcomed with open arms by the fanbase.

* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Taki was quite possibly the earliest example of this in the series, becoming its first BreakoutCharacter and one of the most iconic female characters in the series (rivaled only by Ivy). Her popularity is attributed to the fact that she's a mature kunoichi (unlike most female ninja in fighting games, who tend to be teenagers, she's a grown woman), her general badassery shown in the story, her fun-to-use playstyle, and... her [[MsFanservice generous assets]] as well as [[SensualSpandex her]] [[PaintedOnPants costume]]. Her likability amongst fans only continued to grow as Taki and her fellow female co-lead Sophitia [[DemotedToExtra became (somewhat) less integral to the plot]] in favor of characters like Siegfried, Xianghua, Kilik, and Hilde. Naturally, quite a stir was caused when she was replaced by Natsu in ''V'', and many welcomed her back when she was announced for ''Lost Swords'', even if the game itself was less-than-stellar. [[http://soulcalibur.wikia.com/wiki/Soulcalibur_Series_Character_Popularity_Poll In the popularity poll,]] she placed second out of all characters behind only Talim with 720 votes. In 2016, she was the first character to get celebrated during the series 20th anniversary, despite the fact that she had been cut from the last game. With her chances of returning in a future game looking pretty good based on this, Project Soul eventually delivered what the fans wanted and properly brought back Taki for [[VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI the next main installment]] to great fanfare.
** In the series' heyday, Sophitia was one of the most popular characters, both for being a [[MsFanservice stunningly beautiful blonde who got some T&A endings]] and because critics noted that she was one of the most unambiguously heroic fighters in the story -- standing out against a group of anti-heroes. After Sophitia missed out on ''V'' (due to ''dying'' between games), ''Lost Swords'' [[JustHereForGodzilla sold itself near exclusively on the fact that]] [[TheBusCameBack she was once again a playable character]]. Her return in ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' (due to a ContinuityReboot undoing her death in the previous game) was also well-received.
** Li Long. He was probably ''the'' reason many people got into ''Soul Edge'', thanks to his unique weapon and flashy moves. His lack of presence in the other games makes this all the more sad. Thankfully Maxi uses the same weapon -- [[{{Expy}} hey, wait...]] [[note]]Well, according to WordOfGod, Maxi ''did'' learn how to use nunchaku from Li Long...[[/note]]
** After being replaced by [[ReplacementScrappy the far less likable Yun-seong]], Hwang saw a notable upswing in popularity, to the point that fans petitioned him to be included in ''V''. He unfortunately didn't make it, but he and Li Long did briefly return in ''III'', even receiving expanded movesets alongside Amy in the game's ''[[UpdatedRerelease Arcade Edition]]''. [[TheBusCameBack His appearance as a side character in Seong Mi-na's story]] in ''VI'' (and Yun-seong nowhere to be seen outside of a brief mention) has generated much speculation and anticipation that he'll become playable in future DLC.
** Seong Mi-na--one of the original three ''Soul'' ladies, but the one with the least plot importance by far--was thrust here at some point after ''V''. There was even a short-lived movement, Occupy: Soul Calibur, that tried to get her and fellow darkhorse Talim (see below) into the game as DLC. Like Sophitia and Taki before her, fans were looking forward to her "return" in ''[[AllegedlyFreeGame Lost Swords]]'', but when it was learned that the only means of unlocking her boiled down to [[http://www.gamer.ne.jp/news/201410150004/ buying three sets of x12 Premium Chests]] (equaling a grand total of '''[[BribingYourWayToVictory $90 USD]]'''), they were quick to voice their displeasure. Fortunately, damage control was done with the announcement of Mi-na's inclusion in ''VI'' at EVO 2018, which received a roaring applause from the crowd.
** After her introduction in the original ''Calibur'', Ivy [[IconicSequelCharacter quickly became a fixture of the series]] and ended up supplanting both Sophitia and Taki as ''the'' female face of the series -- she was the ''only'' female character from any of the first three games to appear in ''V'', [[WolverinePublicity was featured on the cover of]] ''[[WolverinePublicity every]]'' [[WolverinePublicity game in the series]] released between ''Calibur'' and ''V'' [[note]]both ''II'' and ''IV'' had multiple covers due platform-exclusive {{Guest Fighter}}s; Ivy appeared on the [=PS2=] cover for ''II'' and the [=PS4=] cover for ''IV''[[/note]], and [[SexSells was marketed heavily]] in advertisements for both ''V'' and ''Lost Swords''. The fact that she has [[WhipSword an interesting weapon]], a [[DifficultButAwesome mechanically complex]] and [[AlchemyIsMagic visually]] [[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome stunning]] [[StanceSystem playstyle]], and [[ChildByRape a]] [[HereditaryCurse tragic]] [[IHateYouVampireDad backstory]] on top of being [[MsFanservice one of the biggest sex symbols in video game history]] only further endears her to fans.
** Talim is also very popular due to her kind personality and unique playstyle. [[MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales Filipino players especially like her]], since she's the only Filipino fighter in the series (and was the only Filipino character in any other fighting series out there until [[VideoGame/{{Tekken}} Josie Rizal]] came around approximately ''thirteen'' years later). The lack of Talim is cited as one of the reasons why fans dislike ''V'', and then she proceeded to top the popularity poll. Yeah, she's THAT loved. And, much like Taki, her long-awaited return to the series in ''VI'' was welcomed with open arms by the fanbase.
** [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]], the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]]-exclusive {{guest|Fighter}}. Singlehandedly got more people into ''Soulcalibur II'' than any other system's guest character. In fact, the [=GameCube=] version is one of the few multiplatform games in the [[UsefulNotes/TheSixthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames 6th generation of consoles]] to sell best there.
** Shura. Possibly the most popular (bonus) character in ''Soulcalibur IV'', likely owed to her [[{{Fanservice}} eye-pleasing design]], [[TheTease flirtatious]], [[BloodKnight fight-loving]] personality, and use of [[DualWielding Cervantes's fighting style]] -- only with {{katanas|AreJustBetter}}. Harada and Odashima received a lot of tweets asking if she would return. Unfortunately, WordOfGod stated that she would not be returning in ''V''.
** [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]] evolved from a BaseBreakingCharacter into one of these, for being one of the best guest characters to use in competitive play, the only one of the three ''Star Wars'' guests to not be broken in some way, and for being, y'know, ''[[EvilIsCool Darth Vader]]''. [[JustHereForGodzilla Possibly a bigger game-seller than Link.]]
** [[VideoGame/GodOfWar Kratos]]. Probably [[JustHereForGodzilla the main reason]] why fans bought ''Broken Destiny''; fans had been hoping for him as a guest character ever since ''SCIV'' was announced.

* MemeticLoser: Rock. He's so forgettable that fans were actually ''glad'' to see him removed from ''V'', and it's been joked that ''an actual rock'' would be more interesting than him. His TierInducedScrappy status has also given him the reputation that he's a weak fighter in-series as well despite the lore implying nothing of the sort. [[note]]It should be noted that in the actual series canon, Rock defeated Lizardman and then fought Sophitia ''to a draw'' with a broken weapon and [[BadassNormal no divine abilities]] compared to Sophitia having god-given skills and a divine weapon. Additionally, Kunpaetku, high priest of the Fygul Cestemus sect, created Astaroth at Ares's request using Rock as a template. So saying that he's "weak" lore-wise is more than a little unfounded.[[/note]]

** Yun-seong. This is a "hot-blooded" teen who has been shown, told, and even experienced that Soul Edge is nothing more than pure, unadulterated evil that would only possess him and force him to destroy everything he has ever loved. So what does he do? Return home to fight for his country? Or even to continue his training? No. [[AesopAmnesia He searches for the damn thing anyway!]] In fact, Seong Mi-na's only role in the series these days is to stop him from being so incredibly stupid, even if it means attacking him with a bladed weapon. His English voice is also seen as a factor by some. [[note]]To prevent this from steamrolling into a large debate, Talim's story in ''IV'' clearly states that she didn't learn about Soul Calibur's destructive nature until after she and Mi-na parted ways (and although Talim joins Mi-na as backup in Mi-na's Story Mode, no mention is made of if Talim disclosed this info to her).[[/note]] Fortunately for him, his absence in ''V'' seems to have [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap done a lot to help his reputation]], especially considering that the main character Patroklos is far, ''far'', more hated than Yun-seong ever was. In the popularity poll, he placed a respectable #14 out of 45 characters and even outranked his master/idol by a single spot.
** Necrid. Widely thought to be the most broken character in the ''Soul'' series (albeit debatably; many see him as a GameBreaker, although some consider him to be a {{Skill Gate Character|s}}), with a spam-happy, clumsily cobbled-together movelist consisting almost entirely of moves stolen from other characters. That, and he looks ''completely out of place'' in ''Soulcalibur'', where despite his backstory that involved being turned into a demon, looks more like an alien using plasma weapons than anything else. [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere The fact that he comes literally out of nowhere doesn't help.]]

** [[SNKBoss NIGHT TERROR.]] There is ''a perfectly good reason'' he ([[PronounTrouble it?]]) serves as the TrueFinalBoss of Tales of Souls in ''III''; you ''need'' to be flawless if you want to [[GuideDangIt even reach him]], let alone win. One would expect what is effectively Nightmare/Inferno's OneWingedAngel form fueled by the power of both soul swords to be more than a little overpowered, but Night Terror exceeds these expectations by leaps and bounds. He's the largest "human-sized" character in the game, hits like it, [[LightningBruiser moves far faster than his size would indicate]], [[{{BFS}} has what is likely the longest reach of the cast]], and possesses a command list where nearly every other move--be it basic melee combos, {{Sword Beam}}s, [[DeathFromAbove airborne]] [[FrickinLaserBeams laser]] [[BeamSpam barrages]], or a much larger and much quicker-acting version of [[SphereOfDestruction Nightmare's Soul Wave]]--is ThatOneAttack. (It only gets more harrowing when facing Night Terror on his home turf, as the size of the "Chaos - Spiritual Realm" stage makes several of these attacks nearly unavoidable. And even then, his Soul Wave is capable of knocking you out of bounds ''from the very edge of the arena'' so long as Night Terror is at least at the center of the stage, as [[LetsPlay/TheOnlineWarrior Max]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HVuxxHi640#t=6m34s had the misfortune of discovering.]]) Perhaps worst of all, he's ''completely immune'' to Ring Outs in a cruel aversion of WingsDoNothing; knock him off the stage and he'll merely fly right back up to continue the fight. All in all, these traits combine to give you what is undoubtedly the most gloriously unbalanced character in ''Soul'' series history. To wit, other boss characters like Abyss, Algol, and Elysium, despite having idiosyncrasies that could land them in this category (Algol especially), are still able to [[DefeatMeansPlayable be unlocked for play once defeated]]. Night Terror '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTAHeQ81grc is]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa9Ctkw2-LM not.]]'''

** While ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' can comfortably reign on top as the King (Queen?) of [[PantyFighter Fanservice Fighters]], ''Soulcalibur'' could be considered a close second in that regard, particularly in the later games. While ''Soul Edge'' and ''Soulcalibur'' were rather light on {{fanservice}} compared to ''DOA'', it seemed that the series spent the subsequent games trying to catch up. Each installment starting with ''Soulcalibur II'' has given the established female fighters [[FanservicePack bustier, curvier, and shapelier bodies]], [[HotterAndSexier with skimpier outfits to match]]. [[BrokenBase There's two different camps on whether or not the series' status as a highly sexualized fighter is a good thing.]] While ''V'' did dial this down out of Daishi Odashima's desire for the series to be taken more seriously, this didn't last after he left the team, and the series went straight back into being a sexualized fighting game for the "next" installment (see directly below).

** Even to this day, people continually ask ''Bandai Namco'' for ''Soul Calibur''™ to return to ''Nintendo™'' consoles, which they have responded with "maybe later" responses to rather honest admissions (which is they don't do it to avoid backlash over having/not having a Nintendo-exclusive character like Link or even a ''Fire Emblem''™ character in the roster) the broken part is with fans debating if there should be a Nintendo version (be the ''Nintendo Switch''™ or its successor) and if that version deserves an exclusive character the other consoles (and PC without mods) will never have, since the idea of an exclusive first party Nintendo GuestFighter is the one of the biggest reasons many fans want the franchise to return to a Nintendo console.

** After her introduction in the original ''Calibur'', Ivy [[IconicSequelCharacter quickly became a fixture of the series]] and ended up supplanting both Sophitia and Taki as ''the'' female face of the series -- she was the ''only'' female character from any of the first three games to appear in ''V'', [[WolverinePublicity was featured on the cover of]] ''[[WolverinePublicity every]]'' [[WolverinePublicity game in the series]] released between ''Calibur'' and ''V'', and [[SexSells was marketed heavily]] in advertisements for both ''V'' and ''Lost Swords''. The fact that she has [[WhipSword an interesting weapon]], a [[DifficultButAwesome mechanically complex]] and [[AlchemyIsMagic visually]] [[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome stunning]] [[StanceSystem playstyle]], and [[ChildByRape a]] [[HereditaryCurse tragic]] [[IHateYouVampireDad backstory]] on top of being [[MsFanservice one of the biggest sex symbols in video game history]] only further endears her to fans.

** [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]], the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]]-exclusive {{guest|Fighter}}. Singlehandedly got more people into ''Soulcalibur II'' than any other system's guest character. In fact, the [=GameCube=] version is one of the few multiplatform games in the 6th generation of consoles to sell best there.

** [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]] has evolved from a BaseBreakingCharacter into one of these, for being one of the best guest characters to use in competitive play, the only one of the three ''Star Wars'' guests to not be broken in some way, and for being, y'know, ''[[EvilIsCool Darth Vader]]''. [[JustHereForGodzilla Possibly a bigger game-seller than Link.]]

** Setsuka's initial incarnation was very hard to beat, since her fighting style emphasizes quick, hard-to-block strikes.

** Siegfried is this among the het ships, though his main five "partners" appear to be (ordered roughly in terms of pairing popularity) Sophitia, Hilde, Ivy, Tira, and Cassandra. Not bad for someone who vowed in ''IV'' that [[CelibateHero "no one would touch his heart."]] [[note]]Even then, Daishi Odashima hinted prior to ''V'' that fellow Schwarzwind member Salia Olschmidt is pining for Siegfried, pointing to [[UsedToBeATomboy her more mature-looking redesign]] as a way to catch Siegfried's attention. ''[[AllThereInTheManual New Legends of Project Soul]]'' would later confirm she's romantically interested in Siegfried. And if both said artbook and Libra of Soul in ''VI'' are any indication, she's likely been holding a candle for him as early as the ''Soulcalibur'' days, if not even further back.[[/note]]

** A semi-recurring joke is that, due to most of the female cast [[FanservicePack becoming curvier, shapelier, and generously more endowed with each new game]], Sophitia's character artwork in ''IV'' depicts her crying not due to [[TheWoobie her]] [[BreakTheCutie story]] [[http://imgur.com/v3bvG but because of]] ''[[GagBoobs back pain]]''.

** As noted below, a few characters who were widely depised prior to ''V'', such as [[NonPlayerCharacter Rothion]] and Yun-seong, garnered more favorable reception due to a combination of their complete absence in the game and several ''even more'' controversial additions to the series (most notably Patroklos) making them look much better by comparison/in hindsight.

** Patroklos... sweet ''lord'', Patroklos. [[VideoGame/SoulCaliburV To make a long story short,]] his {{Jerkass}} personality, status as the DesignatedHero and AssPull tendencies left the fanbase ''livid'' over his existence.

* SequelDisplacement: To fans not around in the late 90s, ''Soul Edge'' has fallen into this, especially as it has a different name and hasn't seen any anniversary reissues. It's not helped by inconsistent naming - whilst it was called "Soul Edge" on the Japanese home releases, the international ones were renamed "Soul Blade" due to [[ScrewedByTheLawyers trademark kerfuffle]] with notable trademark troll Tim Langdell's nonsensical leverage over the word "edge" in the context of video games). The game was far from a failure at the time - it garnered enough success to receive a platinum release - and prior to the release of Tekken 3 was frequently regarded by journalists as the best fighter on the Playstation. When Soulcalibur was announced as a Dreamcast exclusive, it was a major incentive for fans of the prior game to buy a Dreamcast, and as the game was frequently considered one of the killer apps for the system, it introduced the series to a lot of new fans. As several characters were DemotedToExtra in Soulcalibur (Hwang, Seung Mina and Rock), and one removed outright (Li Long) in order to be replaced by clone characters (Xianghua, Kilik, Astaroth and Maxi), younger fans can have the misconception that the originals are themselves the clones. SoulCalibur VI, a semi-remake of Soulcalibur, does not even include Hwang and Rock as extras, but on the other hand, it includes more references to events and characters from the time of Blade/Edge in its story mode than any previous sequel.

* AssPull: Oh boy; ''where to begin with some of the writing for Chronicles of the sword''
** The entire introduction to the [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere Maletta Kingdom]]. [[spoiler: Literally they just come out of nowhere and kill the last remaining Halteese heir, Halphas. No hinting of their existence in the intro movie; they just pop out of nowhere and is lead by Demuth for some time, only for him to be usurped by Chester. The only way that anyone could have seen this coming is if they read the [[ItsAllThereInTheManual Japanese website that explained all the backgrounds of the CotS characters]], and even then]].
** The transition from the Mantis War storyline was never properly done; [[spoiler: Not only was the Mantis war plot completely discarded by the time you've killed Aurelia and ended the Kingdom of Dalkia, literally all that's said next chapter is that [[TimeSkip a year has passed since then]], and you're immediately dumped with the fact that Girardot started a rebellion against Strife. No explanation about why Chester is now working for Strife or his involvement, just that [[MakeWayForTheNewVillains Strife is suddenly now the new antagonist]] despite that the intro movie pushed Chester as the main villain]].

* PlayerPunch: Its safe to say that [[spoiler: Girardot's death and the fall of the Rebel faction at the hands of the player was meant to make them [[HeelRealization feel like shit]] and help them realize that [[TokenGoodTeammate they]] [[EvilAllAlong were fighting for the primary antagonist the entire time]] the minute they entered the Grandall army]].

** Those who slogged through Chronicles of the Sword usually feel that so much more could've been done in both the story and gameplay departments. ''Especially'' with the Halteese arc and the plot regarding Chester and the Mantis War overall.

** Certain Li Long fans see Maxi as this due to Li Long's "tougher" mechanics in ''Soul Edge''. Fans of the series who entered from ''Soulcalibur'' onward tend not to share this sentiment due to SequelDisplacement, and the situation was briefly alleviated when Li Long was brought back as a playable character in ''III'' and its ''Arcade Edition'' [[DivergentCharacterEvolution with enough playstyle differences to make him and Maxi better stand out from one another]].

* SequelDisplacement: Because the fact that every game after the second has used the second game's title and numbered that, ''Soul Edge'' has fallen into this (made worse by the fact the console version in the United States [[MarketBasedTitle is called]] "''Soul Blade''" due to [[ScrewedByTheLawyers trademark kerfuffle]] with notable trademark troll Tim Langdell's nonsensical leverage over the word "edge" in the context of video games). Thus things like Maxi being recognized as the only nunchaku practitioner (with Li Long's reappearance in ''III'' being a footnote), Seong Mi-na being seen as Kilik's clone when it's really the other way around (since Kilik was playable from the start in ''Calibur'' and Mi-na being an unlockable), and Hwang being closer to Xianghua when he really started as a Mitsurugi clone are consistent sentiments.

** Siegfried is this among the het ships, though his main five "partners" appear to be (ordered roughly in terms of pairing popularity) Sophitia, Hilde, Ivy, Tira, and Cassandra.