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This is a list of characters from the Soul series who made their debut in the second game of the series, Soulcalibur.


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Main Characters

    Kilik 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kilik_alt_pic.png
Soulcalibur III Appearance

Appearance in Soulcalibur IV

Appearance in Soulcalibur

"Kali-Yuga, show me the way!"

Origin: Ling-Sheng Su Temple, Ming Empire (China) note 
Weapon (SC-IV and VI): Kali-Yuga note , a rod.
Weapon (V): all weapons note 
Voiced by: note 

A former monk raised at the Ling-Sheng Su temple. He becomes a victim of the Evil Seed, but his adoptive sister Xianglian sacrifices herself to save him from the fate of insanity at the cost of her own, having removed her protective Dvapara-Yuga mirror and handed it to Kilik. Driven to insanity by the Seed, she attacked Kilik with all her strength, but he managed to kill her in self-defense and collapsed in shock soon after.

He was eventually found and raised by an old hermit known only as the Edge Master. He taught Kilik how to disperse and destroy the various evil energies linked to Soul Edge. He first tries to physically destroy the sword; once that failed, he tries to purify it, even if it means becoming a hermit. As of SCIV, he's determined to complete this task, attempting to distance himself from Xianghua so as to not share his sad destiny.

Some time after SCIV, his emotions finally get the better of him, and he has an affair with Xianghua. The next morning, Kilik makes the painful decision to leave her, deciding that his duty to keep the world and himself in check is more important than his love for her. Unbeknownst to him, Xianghua gives birth to Xiba, and this causes her great distress. While traveling the world in order to purify himself, he comes across a shrine which is actually a gateway into Astral Chaos, which is how he comes to know the fighting styles that he uses now. Those he learned the fighting styles from were also servants of Algol.

He reappears in SCV, in an Akuma-esque manner as a secret boss. He has mastered all fighting styles in the 17-year timeskip, and has devoted himself to training.

For tropes applying to Kilik's appearance in the New Timeline starting with Soulcalibur VI, see here.

Originally, Kilik was the successor of Seong Mi-Na's polearm style, focusing on long reach with good mobility and mixup options, but bad defense if his attacks are continuously blocked. In SCV, however, he is now a mimic character who uses all the male characters' fighting styles. If he manages to get Xiba's style, however, he gains an exclusive move that only he and Edge Master can do.


  • Animal Motifs: The Phoenix, as seen in his Critical Finish in SCIV. In SCV this is emphasised further, where he wears a helmet with phoenix feathers on it, and has a phoenix-themed breastplate where his shirt used to be. In SCVI, the background of his character art yet again features the Phoenix.
  • Badass Normal: In the canon ending to the first Soulcalibur, Kilik is the one to defeat Nightmare.
  • The Berserker: If he loses the Dvapara-Yuga (the mirrored belt he wears around his chest), he's engulfed by a blind rage. Eventually, Kilik was able to overcome his influence of the Evil Seed and instead used a necklace holding a shard of the Dvapara-Yuga (which was broken in the fight with Nightmare) to purify other victims of the Evil Seed.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: As a result of the Evil Seed.
  • Break the Cutie: His backstory is especially tragic, as he was forced to kill his adoptive sister, rendering him stern and tense in persona.
  • Cool Helmet: Adorns a Phoenix-motif helmet that hides his face in SCV.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: In his SCV character portrait, Kilik hides his eyes in the dark of his helmet, his aura is a sickly red glow, his pose is now a menacing engulf-everything with-your-hands. However, his personality is more or less unchanged from previous titles.
  • Defeat Means Playable: In SCV, defeat Kilik in either the Asia route of Arcade, Quick Battle, or Legendary Souls mode and he's added to the playable roster.
  • Did Not Get the Girl: Xianghua was forced into an arranged marriage by her grandfather, from which Lexia was born. But, sometime prior to SCV, she and Kilik consummated their feelings for each other, which left her pregnant with Xiba, so it's more of a "Did Not Manage To Keep The Girl".
  • Ditto Fighter: In SCV; although he has exclusive moves with his Rod.
  • Evil Weapon: The Kali-Yuga is tainted by the Evil Seed, causing Kilik to become an indiscriminate killing machine if he wields it without wearing the Dvapara-Yuga, which neutralizes its effects. Eventually he figures out how to purge the Kali-Yuga, however.
  • The Faceless: His helmet in SCV hides his face, his eyes in particular, though if you break off his helmet, he looks exactly as he did in previous games.
  • Failure Knight: Has never been able to forgive himself for the massacre at Ling-Sheng Su.
  • Fallen Hero: As of SCV, it's revealed Kilik did not get to live happily with Xianghua, gave away the Dvapara-Yuga that kept his good morality in check, automatically resulting in him embracing his Evil Seed and posing as a dark warrior master of all styles. It is said that if he gave away his rod, he would be cured.
  • Fighting Your Friend: Before the final battle versus the Inferno, Kilik and Xianghua duel with each other to determine which of them will face it. It's never said canonically which of them wins.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a criss-cross scar on his face below his left eye.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Sacrifices himself in Xianghua's ending in SCIV to finally put an end to the Evil Seed — though he doesn't go alone. (See "Together in Death" in her section.)
  • I Regret Nothing: Tells Edge Master that he has no regrets upon defeating him in a match in SCV.
  • Inconsistent Spelling: The name "Kilik" has been oddly romanized. Judging by the characters used in his original Japanese name, he is intended to be called Qi Li-Ke (霐力克), which makes much more sense for a Chinese character and indeed he bears this name in the Chinese versions of the game.
  • Legacy Character: He has become this to Edge Master as of SCV. Why he devoted himself to training in all forms of combat is currently unknown.
  • Leitmotif: ''Samsara: The Wheel of Destiny''
  • Loved I Not Honor More: Towards Xianghua.
  • Martial Arts Staff: His main weapon as a monk is a bo called "Kali-Yuga," one of the three sacred treasures of his temple. He gave it to Xiba offscreen sometime in SCV. Despite a new fighting style, he still has a fondness for staff fighting and has unique moves when copying Xiba. When fighting him in Legendary Souls mode, he fights only with his staff.
  • Meaningful Name:
    • Kilik's name is the Japanese pronunciation of the Sanskrit "Hrih," a seed syllable representing the Buddha of the Western Quarter, and the qualities of meditation and compassion. It comes from the Buddhist mantra he speaks in his Soulcalibur ending and his critical finish: "Om vajra dharma hrih" (Japanese: "On basara darama kiriku"). Why names like Xianghua, Seong Mi-na and Yun-seong were transcribed properly into English, and Kilik's wasn't, is a mystery.
    • He could well be named after Kilik Pass, a mountain trail in Xinjiang on China's border with Kashmir. This Himalayan location also matches the look of his mountainous "Proving Grounds" stages in SC and SCIII.
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Statistically, he is short at 167 cm and he became the shortest main male playable character after the first Soul Calibur when Siegfried grew past 165 cm.
  • Power Glows: His character portrait in SCV has him engulfed by a red glow.
  • Pretty Boy: Young, smooth, handsome, lithe and athletic.
  • Secret Character: In SCV, he has to be unlocked, and is one the of last characters available, as it requires finishing story mode, then playing the Legendary Souls mode to fight against him. Or one can do it the easy way and fight him in the Asia route of Arcade mode. You don't even need to clear story mode. While it is an easier fight and accessible from the start, he is the final character in the route. Or one can hunt him down in Quick Battle.
  • Ship Tease: If it isn't apparent enough, see the related entry in Xianghua's section.
  • Someone to Remember Him By: Sometime after the conclusion of SCIV, yet prior to SCV, he and Xianghua finally consummated their feelings for each other. However, he was still plagued by feelings of guilt due to being infected by The Evil Seed and departed for the Astral Chaos to train in hopes of purifying himself, not knowing he'd left her with child.
  • Training from Hell: Courtesy of Edge Master, implied by this picture.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene: Most of his 1P outfits.
  • Warrior Monk: He hails from a monastery deep in the Himalayas, and in SCV, he seems to be following Edge Master's path to full enlightenment. His stage is a cave with a stone Buddha statue holding his Kali-Yuga, and he spouts mantras for his win-quotes.
  • Yin-Yang Bomb: In more than one way. In the early games, he was said to be heavily contaminated by evil energy, but it was contained thanks to the holy mirror — the Dvapara-Yuga — he carried with him. Furthermore, in SCIV, his final weapon is Soul Embrace, the combination of both Soul Edge and Soul Calibur. Most likely as a reference to his ending in that game, where he's seen absorbing the energies of both weapons into his staff.

    Chai Xianghua 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xianghua_7.png
Soulcalibur III Appearance

Appearance in Soulcalibur IV

Appearance in Soulcalibur

"Justice will prevail! ...Just kidding!"

Origin: Peking, Ming Empire (China) note 
Weapon (SC): Krita-Yuga note , a jian note 
Weapon (II onwards): a nameless jian
Fighting style: Chai-style swordsmanship
Voiced by: note 

Born into a noble family hailing from Peking, the capital of the Ming Empire, Xianghua is the younger sister of Kilik's adoptive sister Xianglian, daughter of a famous swordswoman and heiress to the Chai clan. She was sent by the Ming Emperor to obtain Soul Edge, but after finding out the truth about the evil sword, she teams up with Kilik and Maxi to destroy it. Discovering her ancestral sword, Krita-Yuga, was actually Soul Calibur, she uses it to defeat Nightmare and seemingly destroy Soul Edge, which marks the first appearance of the holy sword. As such, series producer Daishi Odashima considers Xianghua to be the series' main character.

Since SCII, Xianghua feels guilty for not informing her superiors of Soul Edge's "destruction", leading to the massacre of an entire city. She fails to help Kilik in SCIII against Zasalamel, and is overwhelmed by the guilt, until she learns to cope with it by focussing on her training as a member of a Ming general's household. As of SCIV, she tries to stop Maxi from taking the sword, while worrying about Kilik's coldness towards her. On their journey home, Kilik and Xianghua have an affair, but when Xianghua awakens the next morning, Kilik has already left her. She returns home heartbroken and pregnant, giving birth to Xiba, who is also infected with the Evil Seed like his father. As she is of a prominent noble family, bearing a child out of wedlock is strictly forbidden. Facing punishment, Xianghua and her family consult with Edge Master and Kong Xiuqiang (her father), with the latter agreeing to adopting baby Xiba as his own and training him. All of this is the real reason why she doesn't want Leixia to go on an adventure — Xianghua fears that Leixia will experience the torment and sadness that she did.

As of SCV, she is succeeded by her daughter, Leixia, whom she entranced with stories of her adventures.

For tropes applying to Xianghua's appearance in the New Timeline starting with Soulcalibur VI, see here.

Xianghua takes Hwang's place as the Chinese Sword wielder in the first Calibur game. She is a well-balanced character whose specialty is quick mix-ups and mind games with her stances. As time passed, she gained a special system regarding her stances that allowed her to gain new moves as she continued using her special stance taunts on the opponent. Her style would be inherited by her daughter Leixia in the fifth game.


  • Action Heroine: She's the series' protagonist and the one responsible for Nightmare's defeat in the original SC.
  • Anime Chinese Girl: She sports the classic Qipao-inspired outfit and fights with an acrobatic Wuxia martial arts style.
  • Arranged Marriage: Her grandfather forces her to marry a general of the Ming Empire, though Yan Wujin isn't really a bad guy. Wujin refused to marry her unless Xiba, her illegitimate son whom Xianghua's grandfather ordered to be killed, was allowed to live. Wujin also encouraged Xianghua to visit Xiba once a year, though Xiba has no idea that she is his mother.
  • Confusion Fu: Her fighting style revolves around using feints, counter stances, and evasive maneuvers to either avoid attack, or position her for an attack. Her counter stances are designed to make her appear vulnerable and are often accompanied by a taunt to bait the opponent, but are recognizable by a brief purple glow on her sword. If her opponent falls for it, she auto-impacts their attack and immediately follows up with an auto-counter.
  • Bodyguard Babe: To the Ming Emperor himself — one of the most powerful men in the world at the time the series is set — which is why she's so badass with her sword-play.
  • Dance Battler: Her Wuxia-inspired movement patterns are beautifully graceful, and she fights with one of the most fluidly elegant styles in the fighting game genre.
  • Difficult, but Awesome: Her fighting style takes time to get used to, as many of her attacks require "slide command" inputs, referred to as such since they require you to lightly press one button, then quickly "slide" your thumb to the next corresponding button, thereby cancelling the first button's input before its attack animation begins. Which isn't as simple as it sounds, as the timing and duration of the first button press is strict and takes getting used to. Her feints and counters also have strict timing, with some being situational, which further complicates things. All of that said, IF you're willing to put in the time and effort it takes to master her, you'll find she's one of the most dominant characters in the series. Especially in SCIII & SCIV, where she's considered top tier.
  • Failure Knight: Can't forgive herself for not destroying Soul Edge, and later for not being able to help her beloved Kilik.
  • Fighting Your Friend: She doesn't want to risk losing Kilik to Inferno, nor does he want her to face it either. So they duel to determine which of them it will be. It isn't known which of them won.
  • Flower Motifs: Her character art in SCVI features the lotus flower, which is iconic in Chinese culture and symbolizes perfection and purity of both the heart and mind. It's been a mainstay feature of many of her stages throughout the series, which typically consist of beautiful Chinese water gardens.
  • Fragile Speedster: She's fast, and has excellent dodge and counter abilities, but takes a lot of damage if hit.
  • Genki Girl: The Soul series' poster-girl — she's upbeat, plucky and adorably earnest.
    GOOOOOO ME!!
  • The Hero: Series producer Daishi Odashima says he considers her to be the series' main character and, tellingly, she's canonically the one who wields the eponymous sword, Soul Calibur, as well as being jointly responsible (along with Kilik) for Nightmare's defeat. Later games' promotional materials would emphasize different characters such as Siegfried and Patroklos, however.
  • Justice Will Prevail: Her most iconic Character Catchphrase, which she often follows it up with a cheeky "just kidding!"
  • Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: She sports a selection of beautiful Chinese-style outfits, but special mention goes to her 2P costume from SCIV, which is her most elegant and feminine in the entire series.
  • Lady of War: She displays one of the most elegant fighting styles in ANY game, combining aspects of swordplay and fencing with fluid, near ballet-style movement. "Poetry in motion" doesn't begin to do it justice.
  • Love Interest: To Kilik, see the Ship Tease entry below.
  • New Child Left Behind: She doesn't know Kilik's current whereabouts, or what's become of him. But they still had their night together, which left her pregnant with their son, Xiba.
  • No Name Given: In Soulcalibur, she wields a jian named the "Krita-Yuga", but when she battles Inferno the weapon reveals it is actually a dormant form of the Soul Calibur. Upon defeating Inferno, it left her possession. After that, she met Edge Master, who gave her an unnamed sword as he believed there should be no personal connection between a user and their weapon. Out of respect, she adhered to this and, unusually for the series, did not name her weapon.
  • Parental Hypocrisy: Tells her daughter Leixia all about her adventures, and even promised to go adventuring together with her, but when she sees Leixia holding Kilik's necklace, Xianghua tries to have her married off to the Ming Emperor as one of his multiple wives. Understandably, Leixia runs away in response.
  • Practical Taunt: Xianghua's taunts accompany her feints and are meant to make her seem open to attack. She also taunts by saying "Gotcha!" if she's successfully baited her opponent into attacking her during one of her counter stance animations, and a cancelled attack is indicated by her classic line "Just kidding!"
  • Relationship Upgrade: Sometime along the way, and prior to SCV, Kilik and Xianghua found some time to make Xiba happen.
  • Ship Tease: Shitloads with Kilik, to the point where the series beats you over the head with the UST between them. Her backstory and their journeys together already make it abundantly clear they are attracted to each other, but during her endings in SCIII & SCIV, she outright says she wants to be with him. It doesn't get any clearer than that. At least, not until SCV, where we learn they had an affair which resulted in Xianghua becoming pregnant with Xiba.
  • Together in Death: Xianghua's ending in SCIV has her follow Kilik into death as he sacrifices himself to neutralise the two swords, as she couldn't bear to be without him. Nor was she about to let him shoulder the responsibility of neutralizing the swords alone, since she still hadn't forgiven herself for not being there for him the first time. Although it wasn't the end he wanted for her, he acquiesces and thanks her.
  • The Unpronounceable: When she first debuted, her name (properly said as "Shang-hwah") caused a certain amount of consternation amongst Western gamers in terms of its pronunciationnote  as it spectacularly averts the typical Mei-Ling/Mai-Lee/Su-Lin staples common to Chinese females in video games.

    Maxi 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maxi3.png
Soulcalibur III Appearance
Appearance in Soulcalibur

"Boring, just like the rest of 'em!"

Origin: Shuri, Ryukyu Kingdom (Okinawa) note 
Weapon (SC): Fatibal note , a set of nunchaku
Weapon (II onwards): Soryuju note , a set of nunchaku
Fighting style: Shissen Karihadi
Voiced by: note 

A dashing pirate from the Ryukyu Kingdom and The Lancer of Kilik's 2-man-and-1-woman-band. Maxi seeks revenge against Astaroth because he killed Maxi's adoptive brother Kyam and his crew. In Soulcalibur, he apparently dies after killing Astaroth but comes back in SCII, though with his limbs weakened to the point of uselessness. His limbs are healed via a ritual using a piece of Soul Edge, but he gains Laser-Guided Amnesia in exchange. In SCIII, he meets up with his former friends, Kilik and Xianghua, and remembers them, but because he has a piece of Soul Edge inside him, and Kilik's Dvapara-Yuga mirror wards off evil, Maxi can no longer travel with them. In SCIV he is manipulated by Tira into serving as a sacrifice for Soul Edge. After vanquishing Astaroth for good, he almost becomes a slave to Soul Edge's will, but Edge Master intervenes and teaches him to control the evil. Now one with the fragment of Soul Edge, he is entrusted with the care of Xiba in SCV, and journeys to investigate new whispers of the dark sword's return.

For tropes applying to Maxi's appearance in the New Timeline starting with Soulcalibur VI, see here.

Maxi replaces Li Long as the series' nunchaku wielder. Believed by many to be a button masher character like Eddy Gordo in Tekken, this is actually not the case, also like Eddy. He is a stance-based powerhouse who relies heavily on mixups and quick strikes, and can be very deadly in the hands of an expert player. Later games severely toned down his "masher-friendliness", rewarding those who actually take the time to train as him.


  • Badass Normal: Beyond having a Soul Edge shard in him that seems not to empower him at all (besides making him ageless), he has no magical abilities, no magic weapon, and yet he's amongst the best fighters in the series — only the clearly supernatural characters/monsters beat him out (Olcadan, Edge Master, Zasalamel, and Cervantes) without needing the Soul swords. Maxi also actually defeats Astaroth in one-on-one combat before having the shard of Soul Edge implanted in his body.
  • Bittersweet Ending: His ending in SC. He kills Astaroth and destroys Inferno, but is wounded to the point of dying. A similar situation happens in his no-input ending in SCIII.
  • Calling Your Attacks: In SCIV, he is the only character who calls the name of his Critical Finish, "Rising Dragon of the Zodiac".
  • Confusion Fu: Although occasionally labeled a mashing-friendly character, Maxi has five stances in SCV (toned down from SEVEN in SCIV) that require a lot memorizing to use or fight against effectively. While not to the same extent as Voldo or Yoshimitsu, once Maxi gets into a proper stance, his attacks become extremely hard to predict.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Most of his quotes revolve around demeaning the opponent in a confident and often sarcastic manner, and his default tone is fatigued deadpan.
  • Expy: He replaced Li Long as the game's nunchaku fighter. And he looks like Elvis Presley. His moves make him the game's token Bruce Lee expy. That's three levels of Expy-ness.
  • Funny Bruce Lee Noises: As part of his Bruce Lee Clone schtick.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Kilik. (Not that it stops the Ho Yay.) Before that, there's him and his "sworn brother" Kyam, who was murdered by Astaroth, along with the rest of Maxi's crew.
  • He Who Fights Monsters: He's desperate enough in his quest against Astaroth that he's willing to pick up and use Soul Edge in the full knowledge that his friends will have to fight him to stop him. It's clear that his hatred has driven him past reasoning.
  • Hunk: He's dashingly suave and handsome, and sports impossibly cool Elvis-hair for the time period.
  • It's Not You, It's My Enemies: It's stated in his bio in V that he left Kilik and Xianghua's company because he didn't want them to be harmed by the lust for revenge that stayed with him even after he killed Astaroth. Thanks to Edge Master's training, he got better.
  • The Lancer: He fits this role in regards to Kilik. If you see Xianghua as the hero, then he would be The Big Guy.
  • Leitmotif: ''Let My Soul Burn''
  • Lovable Rogue: He's a pirate, but he's a good guy.
  • Older and Wiser: By SCV, he's finally avenged his crew, received some training from Edge Master himself, mellowed out a bit, and has taken to leading Lexia, Natsu, and Xiba.
  • Older Than They Look: Specifically stated to be so in SCV, even though he looks no different than he did back in the day. It's heavily speculated that his aging was slowed down by the effects of the Soul Edge shard that was inside of his body. This is even lampshaded by Maxi himself in his bio.
  • Pirate: Of the dashing romantic hero type, he hails from the tropical island Kingdom of Ryukyu (made up of modern-day Okinawa and various other smaller islands).
  • The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: He has yet to display any act of piracy. He seems more like a merchant than a pirate.
  • Revenge: Towards Astaroth, who killed his adoptive brother Kyam and his whole pirate crew.
  • Revenge Before Reason: He's on the verge of falling into this abyss as of SCIV. His ending even has him brandishing Soul Edge to defeat Astaroth, knowing full well that Kilik and Xianghua will have to fight him afterwards because of the sword. Luckily, Edge Master swoops in to prevent Maxi from becoming consumed by his desire for revenge.
  • Sanity Slippage: In his bio in SCV, it's stated that his humanity is slowly slipping away from him as he hid in the shadows.
  • Stage Name: Maxi = "Makishi", based on the Japanese for his name (マキシ). Makishi is a fairly common Okinawan name, and he probably uses "Maxi" because it sounds more international in his capacity as a world-roaming pirate.
  • Stance System: Called "Pure Soul Loops". Certain moves end with Maxi flipping his nunchakus around for a brief moment before returning to his regular stance. From these short periods where he's neutrally swinging his nunchakus, you can launch additional attacks. If you need more time, you can hold a direction while in a PSL to cause several Soul Loops to play out in sequence until you let go of the direction or perform an attack (though this can leave you vulnerable). This can make Maxi both easy and difficult to use (he's easy since he has a lot of options after an attack to continue his offense but difficult because a solid Maxi player will have very little time to gauge what their response will be to a given situation before they're back in Maxi's regular stance). To play Maxi right, you need to familiarize yourself with what Soul Loop his moves will end with and then what moves can be done next so flowing between an attack, the Soul Loop it ends on, and the follow up will happen without thought.

    Astaroth 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/astaroth_9.png
Soulcalibur II Appearance
Appearance in Soulcalibur IV
Appearance in Soulcalibur

"Squirm, you filthy maggot!"

Origin: Grand Shrine of Palgaea, Safavid Empire (Iran) note 
Weapon: Kulutues note , a giant axe
Fighting style: Gyulkus note 
Voiced by: note 

Astaroth is a large golem created by the Palgaea Cult, an evil, near-eastern sect that worshipped the God of War (No, not that one. note ) His main task is to find Soul Edge and bring it to his master, Kunpaetku (Ares, actuallynote ), and to that end he allied himself with Nightmare. He slaughtered Maxi's crew under Nightmare's orders, and is later killed by Maxi himself, but gets resurrected in ''SCII' by Ares. Kunpaetku placed a curse upon him in an attempt to regain control over him, but it only made him more prone to berserk rages. Due to this, he sets out to destroy Kunpaetku, who had planned to betray Ares and take Soul Edge's power for himself. Astaroth destroyed the whole cult and eventually found Kunpaetku, who revealed that Astaroth was a "failed experiment," and that he was modeled after a human.

Astaroth tries fighting against the idea that he is based off a human until he encounters Rock, who he realizes is the man he was modeled after. Filled with anger, he attacks Rock and wins the fight. He then realizes that for all of his life, he had been serving someone, or something. He reaches the peak of his rage and sheds his humanoid appearance, becoming the golem that he was meant to be. He vows to use Soul Edge's power to kill Ares once and for all, and then kill everything else afterward.

The original Astaroth was slain in a decisive battle with Maxi in SCIV, and his heart was harvested by Ashlotte and brought back to the cult. During the timeskip, a new sect of the cult lead by Kunpaetku created several new Astaroth-like golems using the heart, one of which appears in SCV.

Astaroth replaces Rock as the series' ax-wielder. He is slow, but can do ridiculous damage once he gets momentum. Later games brought in new focus on his throw game, molding him into the series' "grappler" character.


  • Back from the Dead: He's defeated by Maxi in SC and resurrected in SCII using shards of Soul Edge.
  • Bald of Evil: Very bald, very evil, and a one-man engine of destruction.
  • Beat Still, My Heart: His chest features an exposed, pulsating heart.
  • Boisterous Bruiser: An evil version. He's a bloodthirsty golem who is nonetheless very boisterous and loud in battle.
  • But for Me, It Was Tuesday: When Maxi demands if Astaroth remembers him from their previous Mutual Kill battle or the massacre of Maxi's crew, Astaroth does not appear to have any idea who he is.
    (pre-battle) Pretentious little bug!
    (post-battle) You all look the same to me.
  • The Cameo: He makes an appearance in Pac Man Fever.
  • Character Catchphrase: In SCII, "Worms!"
  • Cult Colony: The Palgaea Cult’s Temple of Doom is located in the Persian Desert (modern-day Iran), as evidenced by the story mode map and accompanying text in SCIII, and the temple's placement on the world map in SCVI's Libra of Soul mode.
  • The Dragon: To Nightmare, to a certain extent.
  • Evil Knockoff: To Rock. He was the human template used to create Astaroth.
  • Golem: Astaroth is a humanoid construct created by the mad scientists of the Persia-based Palgaea cult in their aim to retrieve Soul Edge and take control of all Eurasia. His golem nature is especially apparent in SCIV , where he becomes less and less human-looking, appearing more like an elemental being than ever before.
  • A God Am I: Strongly implied in both of his endings in SCIII. In one ending, he declares himself "the ultimate" and in the other, he calls Ares a "lowly god", who doesn't have the right to rule him.
  • Go Mad from the Revelation: In SCIII, he discovers that he is an Evil Knockoff. His reaction is to completely destroy the temple where he was created.
  • The Grappler: He has a great throw game, which helps counter his poor attacks for close range. Notably, he is the only character in the series for whom grappling is considered a vital part of his gameplay. Other characters, such as Siegfried/Nightmare, Ivy and Xianghua, all have numerous and dangerous command throws or hit-throws, but their core fighting styles don't really need them at all.
  • Killed Off for Real: Maxi finally killed him during the events of SCIV.
  • Large Ham: Always screaming and shouting for the opponent to die and to scream in terror and pain.
  • Legacy Character: The Astaroth in SCV is a new character (described as his "brother"), said to be more powerful than the previous Astaroth.
  • Mighty Glacier: He is slow and doesn't have much combo ability, yet his attacks deal huge amounts of damage.
  • Monochromatic Eyes: A staple of his appearance since SC. Aside from yellow eyes in SCIII, other games have him with white eyes of this sort.
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Astaroth is the Crowned Prince of Hell in demonology. Such a name already suggests that he is not to be messed with.
  • No Indoor Voice: Every line of dialogue is a bellowing roar.
  • Obviously Evil: He has a huge monstrous appearance, Monochromatic Eyes, and his quotes are mostly about killing the opponent and wishing to hear them scream in agony.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: Since SCIII, where it is stated that the curse only made him angrier and more determined to destroy anything or anyone he saw.
  • Rage Against the Heavens: His goal in SCIV is to use Soul Edge's power to kill Ares, the god his cult worships.
  • The Starscream: In both SC and SCIV (and to a lesser extent in SCII), he joins Nightmare's group with the ultimate goal of stealing Soul Edge from him. Though Nightmare's well aware of that, and just uses him to his convenience.
  • Uniqueness Decay: The original Astaroth Is the only one of his kind, mainly because he turned against his cult until Maxi slayed him. The one in SCV is part of a complete, mass-produced line and there are others that exist.
  • Whole Costume Reference: Astaroth's 2P costume in SCV brings to mind a Necron Warrior... or at least a melee-oriented Immortal.
  • Wrestler in All of Us: Throughout the series, he's the character with the most variety of wrestling moves, even more than Rock, who moved towards less of a grappling role and more of a power-hitter type.
  • Younger Than They Look: He's actually younger than Talim. As of II, he's only seven, though that's due to him being an artificially created being.

    Isabella "Ivy" Valentine 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ivy_2.png
Soulcalibur IV Appearance
Appearance in Soulcalibur V
Alternate in Soulcalibur II
Appearance in Soulcalibur

"Well aren't we cheeky? Alright then!"

Origin: London, Kingdom of England note 
Fighting style: Unrelated Link
Voiced by: note 

Born Lady Isabella and raised in London by the Earl and Countess Valentine, an aristocratic English family, Ivy’s early years were spent in a loving environment — that is until her father’s obsession with alchemy and immortality gained by obtaining Soul Edge drove him to an early grave. Shortly thereafter, Ivy’s mother passed away, but not before revealing that Ivy was not a Valentine by birth. She was in fact Cervantes daughter and conceived when Soul Edge schemed to create a new host should he become unable to fulfil his duty. Cervantes, under this influence, raped the daughter of the owner of the Black Tail Inn, who gave birth to Ivy and left her in the care of the Valentines. After her adoptive father passed away, she sought to continue his research of Soul Edge through alchemy. She eventually discovered its true properties and sets out to destroy it in memory of her parents. She joins Nightmare, unaware he wielded Soul Edge, and serves him in the belief she'd eventually get her hands on Soul Edge. Later confronted by Taki, who reveals the truth of her birth and her father's identity.

After a lot of soul searching, she decides to destroy everything related to Soul Edge. She conducts even MORE research on finding a way to destroy the evil sword and learns of Soul Calibur, the cursed sword's polar opposite. She closes in on finding a way to wield Soul Calibur, but Cervantes attacks her by surprise and steals her soul. Luckily, she finds a way to escape that fate by putting the artificial soul of the homunculus she was creating into herself. Her whip sword's style changes accordingly to her new body, and she sets out one last time to destroy Soul Edge once and for all. She encounters Cervantes and defeats him, bearing witness to the disappearance of Soul Edge into a vortex in the process. Knowing that this was not the end, she goes back to her mansion and begins researching the strange anomaly she saw. Devising a potential new way to destroy the sword over the course of 17 years, her body remains unaged due to her cursed blood, and she sets out to destroy the sword once and for all.

For tropes applying to Ivy's appearance in the New Timeline starting with Soulcalibur VI, see here.

Ivy is considered one of the most advanced characters in the series. She is a stance-based character who can be played a number of ways depending on which stance she is currently in. One must constantly switch between Sword Mode and Whip Mode to keep the opponent guessing. In IV she gained a new stance - Curled Mode, upping the challenge in using her. In V, however, her stance system is gone, and she instead switches between styles through holding down specific buttons as she attacks.


  • '90s Anti-Hero: She was introduced as the series' first villainess, and comes complete with a Dark and Troubled Past that ignites a highly volatile relationship with her birth father. Even after becoming The Atoner, she uses morally questionable methods in the name of good, and infamously wears the skimpiest outfit of any woman in the series.
  • The Ageless: Due to her Malfestation, she stops aging in SCIV.
  • Alchemy Is Magic: She has the ability to conjure up fiery portals to fry her enemies in what is one of the game's more overt examples of a character using "magical" attacks.
  • Animal Motifs: Her shoulder pauldron in SCV incorporates a large, hissing snake-head.
  • Aristocrats Are Evil: She's an English Lady (titled as such because she's the daughter of an Earl) and in her debut appearance in SC, she's on the "evil" side when she teams up with Nightmare. However, she becomes more neutrally aligned from SCII onwards.
  • The Atoner: Starting from SCII, where she's horrified to discover the reality behind Nightmare's evil plans and vows to put an end to him.
  • Badass Boast: "Curse your fate for running into ME".
  • Badass Bookworm: Most of her time is spent in the vast library, researching ways to destroy Soul Edge.
  • The Baroness: Steely, no-nonsense, and with a definite dominatrix vibe.
  • Big Fancy House: The Valentine Mansion, London. The grand staircase and library are used as fighting arenas in SC and SCIII respectively. The Mansion returns in SCV, after an absence in SCIV, with the fight taking place in a large atrium complete with a giant stained-glass window and two huge statues holding moonlight-reflecting mirrors.
  • Blue Blood: She's a hereditary peeress, and as the daughter of an Earl, she would be referred to as "Lady Isabella Valentine". Upon the death of her father, if the Earldom of Valentine is a title that can pass in the female line, Ivy would automatically become 'The Right Honourable Isabella Valentine, Countess Valentine' (Countess being the feminine form of Earl). Incidentally, her father was initially mislabelled "Count" Valentine, a title that doesn't appear amongst the English aristocracy. He was correctly titled "Earl" (analogous to Count) from SCV onwards.
  • British Stuffiness: Played straight with her commanding, heightened RP accent and the witheringly dismissive attitude she displays towards her opponents, but completely defied with her increasingly revealing default costume. However, her more conservative alternate costumes generally play this straight too.
  • Byronic Hero: She exhibits many of the required character traits — sophistication, confidence, and seductive magnetism but at the same time, emotional conflict and a troubled past.
  • Celibate Hero: Amazingly enough, given her risqué look, though it's ultimately because she doesn't want to risk having a Soul Edge-tainted kid. This is perhaps a shout-out to fellow celibate hero Elizabeth I, the "Virgin Queen" who ruled England at the time Soulcalibur is set.
  • Chainmail Bikini: Her clothing is designed to serve as armor but falls squarely into Rule of Sexy. In fact, the only part of her body adequately covered is her left arm, which is typically fully-armoured in all of her default costumes.
  • Child by Rape: Cervantes raped her mother under the influence of Soul Edge.
  • Combat Stilettos: Uses her heels to trample her grounded enemies.
  • Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Fans have commented on her resemblance to British actress Sarah Douglas in her role as the ultra-sexy villainess Ursa in Superman II. They even sound similar.
  • Contralto of Strength: She is voiced with a booming, commandingly deep cut-glass RP accent, which suits her character as one of the more mature and intimidating women in the series.
  • Cool Big Sis: In SCV, most of the young fighters who are introduced in the game look up to her this way (or even as a surrogate mother sometimes).
  • Creating Life Is Bad: According to New Legends of Project Soul, as part of her study on the nature and abilities of the Soul Swords and Astral Chaos, she exposed a piece of flesh to Soul Edge's evil energy, causing it to mutate into a baby Eldritch Abomination she called Nauplius, similar in nature to Charade, that she keeps in a cage. It's visible in the background of her "Valentine Mansion" stage in SCV.
  • Crossdresser: Her alternate costumes in SC and SCII are of a distinctly masculine, period military style. She even slicks her hair back in the SCII alt.
  • Dark Action Girl: A usually non-evil example, she nonetheless exhibits the confidence, intimidating presence, and dark-coloured outfits required.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Has the appearance and attitude of an icy villainess, but is actually a noble, decent person at heart and dedicated to destroying Soul Edge.
  • Difficult, but Awesome: Has a reputation for being one of the Soul series' hardest characters to use because of her expansive, stance-oriented moveset. It doesn't help that said moveset changes from game to game. Somewhat rectified in the fifth game, which streamlines her gameplay. That said, Ivy in the hands of an expert user is almost untouchable because of her long-ranged, keep-away game, and many of her moves do high damage, including the two most damaging throws in the game.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: She wields a whip, wears BDSM costumes, a lot of her soundbites and voice grunting is suggestive, and several of her throws are dominatrix-esque.
    Well aren't we cheeky? This'll be fun!
  • Dominatrix: In keeping with the previous trope, this is one of the major influences of her character design and commanding personality. Best example: a grapple move that forces the opponent on all fours, which she then uses as a chair, followed by this quote:
  • Doorstop Baby: Her biological mother was raped by Cervantes, and left baby Ivy at the front gates of the Valentine Mansion in London. She was raised by the Earl and Countess as a Valentine, and they only revealed her true parentage upon their death-beds.
  • Dressed Like a Dominatrix: Her costumes are obviously inspired by that of a dominatrix, while she uses a whip as a weapon.
  • Evil Brit: Ivy's nationality and corresponding accent are used with great effect to enhance the gravitas of her character and the imperious, domineering nature of her personality. She evokes the classic cinematic British villainess, and whilst she is considered evil by many due to her Machiavellian philosophy, especially in SC, where she teams up with Nightmare, she becomes more neutrally aligned from SCII onwards, attempting to atone for her past mistakes.
  • Flower Motifs: Her shoulder pauldron, earrings, and some of the metal clasps on her costume in SCIV incorporate the Tudor Rose, a traditional heraldic symbol of England. This symbol continues to be used throughout her costume in SCV, and is incorporated into her lapel buttons, earrings, and choker, as well as appearing again throughout her costume in SCVI.
  • Good Wears White: In SCIII, she wears a white version of her Chainmail Bikini as standard costume, reflecting her new path of redemption.
  • Gorgeous Gaijin: A classic example, Ivy follows a pattern established by her fellow English women note  in Japanese fighting games — that of a steely, no-nonsense femme fatale sporting a form-fitting outfit and a cut-glass RP accent.
  • Heroic Build: She's impressively tall, with an imposing frame, thighs of steel, and Curves in All the Right Places.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Her sword in her story ending for SCIV.
  • I Am Very British: She is one of the only characters in the series to be voiced with their native accent. An appropriate London RP accent to be precise, befitting her status as an aristocrat.
  • Iconic Sequel Character: As iconic to the series as she is, and an inseparable sex symbol for the franchise, it's easy to forget that she was not in the original game, especially since the sequel is far more famous than the original.
  • I Hate You, Vampire Dad: Her hatred for Cervantes has always been an important part of her story. All of her Destined Battles in the series have been against him.
  • Intercontinuity Crossover: She makes an appearance in Queen's Gate Spiral Chaos.
  • It's Personal: After her father, the Earl, passed away, Ivy discovered his diary. In it, she discovered that the "Key to Eternal Youth" her father had been pursuing was the sword known as Soul Edge. During this investigation, she uncovered the true nature of the sword — it was an evil blade that feasted on souls. Filled with rage and despair, Ivy vowed to avenge the death of her father by using all of her knowledge to destroy Soul Edge.
    My father was driven mad by such a loathsome thing... this evil sword!
  • Kneel Before Zod: As seen in her reverse throw, where she forces the opponent onto their knees, with her whip-sword around their neck like a leash and her heel planted firmly in the base of their back.
    BEG FOR FORGIVENESS!
  • Knight Templar: Her resolution after discovering her cursed heritage is to erase all traces of Soul Edge from Earth; the sword, its shards, and those corrupted by it... even if they are innocents.
  • Lady of War: Despite her stripperiffic look, she’s composed, commanding, and dignified in character, especially in her less-revealing costumes, and her Noblewoman's Laugh really helps — all that, and the fact that she is an actual Lady in title by birth.
  • Leg Focus: They make up most of her impressively statuesque height — Just look at her!
  • Leitmotif: ''Without The Blessing of Fate'', a tinkling Elizabethan-style pianoforte piece in keeping with her nationality.
  • Mad Scientist: Although, she does it for a good cause, she does dabble in alchemy, and carries out experiments on the shards of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur that she has obtained.
  • Magic Knight: Ivy is trained in alchemy, which she uses in conjunction with her Whip Sword skills.
  • Meaningful Name: The nickname Ivy is an acronym of her given name (Isabella) and family name (Valentine). There's also the obvious parallel with her weapon and the ivy plant — a twisting, strangling vine. With regards to her given name, Isabella is Hebrew and means "God's promise". The surname Valentine is (appropriately) of English and Scottish origin, and comes from a medieval given name, derived from the Latin "Valentinus", a derivative of "valere", to be strong, healthy.
  • Ms. Fanservice: She's the one who truly started the series' trend for scantily clad, generously proportioned female characters. Following Ivy's introduction, her and Sophitia's designs seemingly compete to see which of them can get away with showing more skin. By SCIV, you can measure the total amount of fabric they wear within centimeters.
  • More Dakka: Ivy has the two most damaging throws in the game, 'Summon Suffering' and 'Calamity Symphony'. Unlike most super-high damage throws in fighting games, these aren't based on giant swing or Spinning Piledriver-type moves. Instead, she magically dis-corporates the blades of her whip sword, which then fly out to repeatedly pierce the enemy at a machine-gun rate.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: She starts out working with the bad guys in the original Soulcalibur until she realizes to her horror that she's been unwittingly helping them harvest innocent souls to feed Soul Edge. She then turns on them and devotes herself to destroying the evil sword, which regretfully sometimes requires her to kill innocents corrupted by Soul Edge's influence.
  • Mystical White Hair: She has white hair and Soul Edge-cursed blood, and is an accomplished alchemist.
  • Mythical Motifs: The background of her artwork in SCVI features caduceus, the traditional symbol of Hermes, which features two snakes winding around an often winged staff. The two-snake caduceus design has ancient and consistent associations with trade, eloquence, negotiation, wisdom and, most applicably for Ivy, alchemy.
  • Noblewoman's Laugh: Less high-pitched than normally encountered, though much more booming and threatening — AAAAH HA HA HA HA HA!!!
  • Not Afraid to Die: She has known from the start that if her overall goal or eradicating Soul Edge and its influence is to succeed, she herself must die. Preferably, that part comes last.
  • Of Corsets Sexy: Most noticeable in SCIV, where her bodice is made up of nothing but artfully placed strings.
  • Older Than She Looks: As of SCV, where chronologically she's 49 years old, though still looks exactly like she did in SCIV.
  • One Head Taller: She's a clear foot taller than fellow female warriors Talim and Xianghua.
  • Purple Is Powerful: Most of her standard outfits are purple-colored and she is associated with the color, befitting her noble and intimidating character. The alias Nightmare gives her, Dexture Purpure, means "Skillful Purple".
  • Shameless Fanservice Girl: A lot of her animations emphasize her voluptuous assets, and quite a few of her quotes are spoken with a seductive tone, especially when she teases her opponent about dominating them.
  • She Cleans Up Nicely: Despite her highly revealing in-game outfits, when Ivy isn't off questing for soul-destroying swords, she tends to dress more suitably for an English Countess in London in the late 1500s. In fact, pretty much every single one of her P2 costumes is a fancy dress or formal, military-themed outfit that shows almost no skin.
  • Shown Their Work: The culturally accurate Tudor Rose of England symbolism used throughout her costume in SCIV and SCV is a surprisingly well-researched touch, especially as the rest of her look is infamously not so symbolic.
  • Some Dexterity Required: Ivy famously has the two strongest throws in the game — 'Summon Suffering' and 'Calamity Symphony' — though both require a good degree of dexterity to pull off. The inputs required change every game but are always a string of at least six directional inputs, which can even do bonus damage if the inputs are done frame-perfect.
  • Statuesque Stunner: At an amazonian height of nearly 6 foot even without her 6-inch heels, Ivy towers above all of the other ladies in the series — and most of the men.
  • Stripperiffic: Despite her vow of chastity, her outfits are traditionally very revealing, typically consisting of just a bodice and suspenders, with very minimal armour. Not for nothing is she deemed the Ms. Fanservice of the series.
  • The Tease: A few of her quotes and tone of voice exhibit suggestive Sugary Malice.
    Won't you come closer...?
    You thought you could really win? How cute.
  • Thong of Shielding: It's always a given in her 1P outfits that she has only a thong "covering" her shapely behind.
  • Underboobs: As seen in her SCIV costume. Censored on the official US site. Inverted in SCVI where those are the only parts of her breasts covered in her default costume, though the rest of her buxom bosom is still clearly visible.
  • Undying Loyalty: Her sword is sentient and completely loyal to her. This is best shown in her SCIV ending where Ivy becomes encased in crystal and is prepared to accept her fate, feeling she deserves it after what she has done. Her sword however defies her wishes and frees her, shattering itself into pieces as a result.
  • Unwitting Pawn: Nightmare/Soul Edge planned her birth, gave life to her sword so she'd owe him and join his group, and would keep her at all times at his side (even though she wanted the sword's destruction) in case the sword needed an emergency host. And Ivy was blissfully unaware of all that.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: As seen in the family portrait hanging in the Valentine Mansion in SCIII, in which she looks to be about 11-12 years old, sports a cute platinum blonde bob, and has a hand placed lovingly on Earl Valentine's shoulder. Seeing Ivy in such an innocent, familial setting provides great contrast with her stern, icy, adult persona.
  • Vapor Wear: Her outfit in SCIV is so revealing and skintight that it's quite evident she's not wearing any form of underwear beneath it.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: She came to the realisation that in order to destroy all traces of the Soul Edge, she would have to kill innocents, and show no mercy while doing so. (And she also realized that she had to die eventually as well.) To quote her directly:
    ...Call me a monster, a demon if you must. I'll be happy to be called those names if it is the price I must pay to eliminate the existence of the evil blade!
  • Whip of Dominance: Ivy is a British Blue Blood who is introduced in the series as a cold, haughty, domineering Evil Brit, dressed in a Stripperiffic and dominatrix take on old British aristocratic garb, wielding a Whip Sword in combat. Her taunts and movesets all emphasize the dominatrix inspiration, which includes a grapple that forces the opponent on all fours, at which point she sits on them and booms "Learn. Your. Place."
  • Whip Sword: A weapon she designed herself, but was animated by Nightmare. "Valentine" is an Empathic Weapon, and as noted in her bios, the sword seems to be sentient, treating Ivy like its master. The alchemic properties of its creation likely contributed to it gaining sentience.
  • White Hair, Black Heart: Only in her debut game, where she's on the evil side, but following that, she is ultimately an anti-heroine rather than a full-blown villainess.

    Nightmare (Siegfried) 

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nightmareii.png

"Your nightmare has begun!"

Voiced by: note 

The main antagonist of the series and wielder of Soul Edge. The original Nightmare was Siegfried Schtauffen, who took up the moniker when he became possessed by Inferno at the end of Soul Edge. In Soulcalibur, Nightmare assembled a team of villains - Ivy, Astaroth, and Aeon - to act as bodyguards, conquered the city of Ostrheinsburg, and conducted a campaign of slaughter spanning all of Europe in an attempt to reassemble Soul Edge. Before he could do so, he was defeated by Xianghua, the wielder of Soul Calibur. With Soul Edge damaged and weakened, Siegfried regained control of his body, but was eventually repossessed because he had kept the cursed sword out of fear others would fall victim to it. In Soulcalibur II, Nightmare resumed his campaign until he was confronted by the French aristocrat Raphael, who he easily defeated. When Raphael stabbed Soul Edge's eye in a last, deperate attack, Siegfried regained control of his body and sealed Soul Edge using Soul Calibur.

For tropes applying to the second Nightmare, see here. For tropes applying to the third Nightmare, Graf Dumas, see here. For tropes applying to Nightmare's appearance in the New Timeline starting from Soulcalibur VI, see here.


  • Badass Cape: SCVI adds a tattered black cape to his Soulcalibur design.
  • BFS: Nightmare wields Soul Edge in the form of a zweihÀnder. Soul Edge specifically altered Graf Dumas' memories so that it could retain that form.
  • Big Bad: In SC and SCII, since he is the primary holder of Soul Edge.
  • Blood Knight: Oh, hell yes. Nightmare exists solely to feed Soul Edge the souls of those foolish enough to face him in combat.
  • Body Horror: Soul Edge's possession does this to any of its wielders, usually warping their right arm into a hideous and grotesque set of talons. Siegfried was no exception. His "Siegfried!" appearance took this further, with his armor being even more organic, as if it were a fusion of flesh and metal.
  • Card-Carrying Villain: When he's not referring to himself as "the greatest Nightmare", he's ranting about how he will drown the world in blood and darkness.
  • Catchphrase: "Blood, darkness, COME UNTO ME!", "I will show you the greatest Nightmare!" and "Need more souls!"
  • Chekhov's Gunman: He first made an appearance in Siegfried's bad ending from Soul Edge and served as an extra costume for him in the western version, Soul Blade, ("Siegfried!") with no ending. Suffice to say, few thought this development would be canon. Nightmare's entire existence serves an as aversion to No Canon for the Wicked.
  • Continuity Nod: In Legends, Soul Edge appears in its Cocoon form when Siegfried finds it, which is how it was depicted when wielded by "Siegfried!"
  • Cool Sword: Evil and creepy as it is, there's no doubt a massive sword that looks as if it's made of flesh and sporting a living eye isn't attention-grabbing.
  • Divergent Character Evolution: A quite justified example. As Nightmare was Siegfried in SC and SCII, his moveset was pretty much the same as his. Since he became a different character in SCIII, his fighting style had become much more unique, gaining a different stance and a lot more moves.
  • Dual Wielding: In the ending cutscene of Siegfried's bad ending in Soul Edge/Blade, a picture of "Siegfried!" wielding two Soul Edges is shown.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: In Soul Edge as "Siegfried!" Had that design of his been carried over to subsequent games, Nightmare would have instead been "The Crimson Knight."
  • Evil Overlord: Took over the city of Ostrheinsburg and turned it into a place of ghosts, monsters, and Malfested.
  • Evil Redhead: In his 1P outfit in II has a long mane of red hair.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: In Soulcalibur, a lot of Nightmare's dialogue is Siegfried's dialogue but modified with slower speed and a lower pitch. Starting with SCII, he speaks in a raspy tone that's dark, but not as baritone.
  • Eyes Do Not Belong There: He occasionally has extra eyes on his mutated arm.
  • Fallen Hero: Siegfried wasn't exactly the nicest or noblest of people when he made his debut, but he is, at heart, a good person, and becoming the host of the cursed sword Soul Edge is a pretty damn hard fall.
  • Feathered Fiend: Nightmare had a malfested hawk as a pet, as seen in the opening of SCII.
  • Foreshadowing: In SCII. His third alt. is that of a fully human Siegfried and his ultimate weapon is the Soul Calibur. Nightmare's ending even has Siegfried break free and throw Soul Edge into an endless chasm. All of this perhaps served as a clue towards Siegfried's character progression in the next game.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: A young boy goes from the leader of a band of thieves to the greatest evil the world has ever known thanks to the evil influence of one sword. And yes, the pun is intended.
  • Gameplay and Story Segregation: Nightmare's databook entries and brief cutscene appearances illustrate that he is a lot faster and stronger than his playable self indicates.
    New Legends of Project Soul: *regrading Graf Dumas* "The maddened 'Azure Knight' Nightmare is capable of destroying several mounted and heavily armored soldiers with a single sweep of the massive Soul Edge, and can pull out his victims' very souls using his misshapen right arm." ... "Nightmare fights using powerful moves that take his physical body beyond its usual limits, and a purple flame that eats through his own flesh while burning his victims. To some, Nightmare could very well look like a tragic victim of the cursed blade's power as he stirs up a storm of destruction that devastates his body nearly as much as it does the world around him."
  • Hades Shaded: In SCII, what little skin that's visible beneath his armor is reddish brown.
  • Iconic Sequel Character: Since his debut in SC, he became the main villain of the franchise, appearing in all following games and even becoming the mascot for Project Soul (although who was inside the armor itself has shifted over time).
  • I've Come Too Far: In Sophitia's rival cutscene in Soulcalibur she claims to want to save Nightmare/Siegfried, to which his response is that there is "no turning back". This scene is echoed in SCVI with Sophitia and Nightmare's unique match intro.
  • Kick Them While They Are Down: Similar to Siegfried, his moveset includes a stomp, but only one. He takes it a step further by allowing you to charge it to be unblockable, causing the background of the game to darken and flames to surround his foot.
  • Large Ham: DOESN'T! EVEN! BEGIN! TO! DESCRIBE! HIM!
  • Legacy Character: An interesting example as the character who left the title behind continues to persist in the storyline (Siegfried in SC and SCII, then was Soul Edge/Inferno for SCIII and SCIV). After being slain, a new host takes his place seventeen years later.
  • Lightning Bruiser:
    • Depending on the skill of the user, evaluations of this will vary wildly. It's not uncommon for many a ragequitting scrub to claim he is a Game-Breaker, while in contrast many competitive players consider him exceptionally mediocre as he is incredibly unsafe when blocked for the most part. His ability to dish out damage is not in question, except when facing a clever foe that has mastered Just Guard...
    • In the series lore he is definitely one, moving with inhuman speed and strength, and being capable of mowing down entire armies by himself. Perhaps the closest the games have ever come to actually realizing this are SCII, in which he was considered one of the most top tier characters in the game due to his high damage, long range, and deceptive mobility that contributed to some extremely deadly mix-ups, and VI, in which the movement speed has seemingly been tripled and he has been shown to have extremely brutal-looking attack strings and new extensions to existing ones.
  • Master Swordsman: Has Soul Edge's knowledge of multiple fighting styles, but primarily utilizes Siegfried's self-taught zweihander techniques.
  • Meat Puppet: Nightmare serves as a puppet for Soul Edge's will.
  • Monster Lord: As the wielder and avatar of Soul Edge, Nightmare is the lord and master of the Malfested, those afflicted with the cursed sword's demonic energy.
  • Moveset Clone: Started out in SC as one for Siegfried, but gradually gained his own moves and stances. See Divergent Character Evolution above.
  • Obviously Evil: You can have your pick of what stands out, but the best bets are the gigantic mutated right arm.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: "All life is but prey to satiate his hunger." Yeah, this is clearly a guy we can trust.
  • One-Man Army: All incarnations of Nightmare have been shown capable of annihilating entire armies on their own.
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Not so much in the actual game, where he's one of the 'big' character, but his official height is stated to be 5'6", due to him being based off of Siegfried. Some thought this was a little ridiculous. There is a small discrepancy between his and Siegfried’s height in 1. He is always 168 cm tall while Siegfried is stated to be 165 cm tall. Because Siegfried is also 165 cm in the game Legends, this implies that this is not a mistake and that Soul Edge made Siegfried taller.
  • Playing with Fire: In a contrast to Siegfried's ice powers in SCIV onwards, Nightmare gains fire moves.
  • Power Dyes Your Hair: Siegfried, naturally blond, exhibited this when under Soul Edge's control, with a side order of Power Makes Your Hair Grow, as evidenced by their long manes of red hair in SCII.
  • Pun: Several of his quotes deal with nightmares. His most iconic of the bunch?
    I will show you the greatest nightmare!
  • Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: EVERY! WORD! OUT! OF! HIS! MOUTH!
  • Puny Earthlings: His view on humans. It's hard to tell where this ends and Humans Are Bastards begins.
  • Red Baron: The Azure Knight, due to his dark blue armor.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: When in control of a human host, Nightmare has red sclera and yellow irises.
  • The Right Hand of Doom: His monstrous, three-digit claw, a physical symptom of his Malfestation. As "Siegfried!", his mutated arm was instead his left arm.
  • Series Mascot: After the Soul series got popular enough to warrant its own separate developer team, namely after SCII, Nightmare became the logomark of Project Soul up until SCV.
  • Shoulders of Doom: His right shoulder has spikes projecting from it.
  • Spikes of Villainy: His right shoulder and arm have spikes on it.
  • Tin Tyrant: Played straight by his 1P costumes, where he is clad in a blue suit of armor, but usually averted by his 2P costumes.
  • Transformation of the Possessed: Due to Malfestation, Siegfried developed red sclera and yellow irises, reddish-brown skin, and a malformed right hand often studded with spikes and extra eyes.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: Nightmare lacks the form and finesse of Siegfried, but makes up for it by hitting hard and hitting fast.
  • Villain-Based Franchise: The canon endings change between games, and as such a couple of characters can be called "The Hero" thanks to them having the one true POV for that one game, but the lynchpin tying the franchise together is always Nightmare.

    Yoshimitsu 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yoshimitsu_9.png
Soulcalibur IV Appearance
Appearance in Soulcalibur II
Appearance in Soulcalibur

"Shikisoku... ZEKU!"

Weapon: Yoshimitsu, a katana & sashimono note 
Fighting style: Manji Ninjutsu
Voiced by: note 

The ancestor of the same Yoshimitsu of the Tekken series.

Yoshimitsu is the leader of the Manjitou Clan of ninjas. They are chivalrous thieves, much like Robin Hood. At first, after his clan is killed by Oda Nobunaga, he sought Soul Edge to get revenge, but later found that doing so wouldn't make him any different than Oda. In SCIII he creates the Manjitou in order to help the poor, as well as destroy Soul Edge. In SCIV, he discovers that Tira killed most of his men, and brings the remaining ones to assault Nightmare's castle. Sometime after SCIV, the original Yoshimitsu is slain by Cervantes, and succeeded by Yoshimitsu II.

Yoshimitsu plays very similarly to his Tekken descendant, combined with a few moves from Mitsurugi. He is a fast mixup character with many options, but at the cost of being very difficult to control. Unpredictability is his greatest strength, and in the hands of a good player he can be very overwhelming, often tricking you into believing he is vulnerable when he really isn't.

For tropes applying to Yoshimitsu's appearance in the New Timeline starting with Soulcalibur VI, see here.


  • Alas, Poor Yorick: The artwork for Yoshimitsu II has him crouching over Yoshimitsu I's severed head, still in its mask from SCIV.
  • Antiquated Linguistics: In the original Japanese, he speaks this in combination with Kabuki-style melodramatics. It's carried over in his English vocalisation, where's he voiced with a Shakespearean-style, theatrical tone.
  • Artificial Limbs: Like his descendant, one of his arms is a wooden mechanical limb. This seems to be a defining trait of the one who takes over as the leader of the clan, as the man who inherits the title "Yoshimitsu" in SCV also bears a mechanical arm.
  • Bamboo Technology: His mechanical arm is made entirely out of wood and functions as seamlessly as a real arm. Functional wooden prosthetics actually did exist in the 16th Century, but none worked as flawlessly and as practically as Yoshimitsu's.
  • Boisterous Bruiser: A good-hearted individual who is power-based, loud and hammy.
  • Canon Immigrant: Actually, an aversion. The character itself was added to the roster due to the strong compatibility Yoshimitsu (from Tekken) has with the world of Soulcalibur but his story is completely unique for this universe and isn't simply the same person being adapted for a different setting. It does suggest that he is an ancestor of the Yoshimitsu seen in Tekken but who he is and what he does exists purely for Soulcalibur.
  • Catchphrase: "Namu!" — literally 'praise' in Japanese. It represents adoration and homage in Japanese Buddhism.
  • Cool Helmet: A key part of a Yoshimitsu's appearance, no matter what costume he sports.
  • Confusion Fu: A staple of his character, carried over from his future successor.
  • Darker and Edgier: As humorous and fun as he is, the exception is undoubtedly his critical art in SCIV, in which he very creepily spins behind the opponent, to rise menacingly from a cloud of shadow, before exacting a killing blow in scenes that resemble a horrific ritual sacrifice. Chilling.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: He's a creepy looking bugger, often sporting an evil-looking mask, or even an exposed skull in SCIV, but he's undoubtedly one of the good guys.
  • Difficult, but Awesome: Gut-bustingly hilarious to watch, ulcer-inducing to actually learn competitively.
  • Fighting Clown: It's Yoshimitsu. His move set includes some of the most fantastically humourous attacks in the game, including bouncing frantically on his sword's tip, and using it as a helicopter blade to levitate out of reach.
  • Gratuitous Japanese: Shikisoku... ZEKUUUUU!
  • Highly-Visible Ninja: How stealthy can he be by being, well... himself?
  • If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: This is why he refused to kill Oda Nobunaga when he had the chance.
  • Just Like Robin Hood: He steals from the rich and gives to the poor, which is made more clear in his endings in SCIII.
  • Katanas Are Just Better: As are wakizashis.
  • Killed Off for Real: By Yoshimitsu II, both in order to pass the title and the blade "Yoshimitsu" on to him, but also as a Mercy Killing, as he had already been fatally wounded by Cervantes.
  • Large Ham: Oh hell yes. In both English and Japanese.
  • Legacy Character: Namco states that he is indeed the ancestor of Tekken's Yoshimitsu.
  • Legacy Immortality: The one who wears the mask in SCV is a new man, so the legend continues. This is also acknowledged in his SCIV ending:
    His ideal to save the weak transcends history and lives on today.
  • Moveset Clone: He started out in SC as one for Mitsurugi.
  • Named Weapons: While virtually every Soul series character has a weapon with a unique title, Yoshimitsu's is special as it bears the name of its wielder ("Yoshimitsu"). The original Yoshimitsu named the katana after himself as a vow of revenge for his fallen clansmen, and after he created his group of chivalrous thieves, it became custom that the sword denotes the leader of the clan, and the man behind it is also referred to as "Yoshimitsu" in deference to the blade (essentially making this an inversion).
  • Ninja: Of the Manji Clan, the same one featured in Tekken.
  • Religious Bruiser: He chants Buddhist prayers and recites vaguely pious-sounding proverbs in his victory quotes. His clan of thieves is even named after a Buddhist symbol.
  • Rule of Funny: His character in a nutshell. Even when voiced by Norio Wakamoto, of all people.
  • Soul Jar: If Tekken in any indication, Yoshi I's soul should be inside of the Yoshimitsu katana after Yoshi II killed him to become his successor.
  • Seppuku: A move that only he can use, and if done right, one of the best ways to achieve a Double Knockout, as it can skewer both him and his opponent. In later games he can do other, more productive things with the move, even regain a full health bar, provided he has enough health left after using it.
  • Warrior Poet: Many of his win quotes, and his SCIV victory speech, show elements of this.
  • Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: In times of yore, this beeth his manner of speech. A Woolseyism as he doth speaketh archaic Japanese when the voice settings beeth changed.

    Aeon Calcos / Lizardman 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aeon_alt_pic_4.png
Soulcalibur III Appearance
Appearance in Soulcalibur

Origin: Sparta, Ottoman Empire (Greece) note 
Weapons (III and IV): Grudge Axe & Aya Shield, an axe & shield
Weapons (V): Ktinos & Anthropos note , a pair of axes
Fighting style: Rapid Ares Style
Voiced by: n/a

Like Sophitia, Aeon was one of the 24 warriors chosen by the Greek god Hephaestus to destroy Soul Edge. Aeon was unfortunately struck by the Evil Seed and turned into a berserker. In the midst of one of his crazed rampages, he was captured by the Fygul Cestemus order (the very same cult that created Astaroth) and transformed into Lizardman, a loyal servant sent to obtain Soul Edge. He eventually breaks free of their control, and realizes what he has become. Believing that Hephaestus has abandoned him, Aeon renounces his faith and resolves to destroy Hephaestus. Unfortunately, his mutation gets worse and in SCIV his mind and heart completely degenerate into the monster that he was transformed into. He gathers other creatures like him to search for Soul Edge to reclaim his lost soul and regain his humanity.

In SCII he is a bonus character, only serving as a guardian for both the maze and labyrinth sections of the Weapon Master Mode. This version of him is not the real Aeon Calcos, but rather the 3 variants of Lizardmen that he commands, who now serve Fygul Cestemus as a shard-gathering troupe. In SCV he returns, now with wings and goes by his human name Aeon Calcos, compelled by a mysterious voice to devour both Patroklos and Pyrrha.

The Japanese art book reveals that the voice that commands him to do this is that of Ares, now in a war with Hephaestus who had ordered Aeon on his quest as a holy warrior. Coincidentally, Ares is also actually the god that Fygul Cestemus worships, and had manipulated the previous Astaroth to do his bidding. Now he hopes to do the same with Aeon.

Aeon was originally a watered-down copy of Sophitia, but in SCIII he gained a new fighting style based on more savage and animalistic maneuvers, such as rolling on the ground and crawling on all fours. In SCV he gains another new style which combines elements of Kratos' style from Broken Destiny with that of his own.


    Soul Calibur 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/soul_calibur_sc5_8.jpg
Soulcalibur V Appearance
Appearance in Soulcalibur

A blue, often crystalline, weapon forged by Algol from a purified shard of Soul Edge with the intent of destroying the cursed sword at the cost of the Hero King's own life. However, the ritual was flawed due to Algol's lust for power, and Soul Calibur developed a will of its own dedicated to ruthless justice, forcing the tribe of sages assigned to guard it to seal it away. Wherever Soul Edge appeared, so to did Soul Calibur to put a stop to it, eventually making its way into China, where it took the form of a jian called the Krita-Yuga. When Soul Edge resurfaced in Europe, Soul Calibur awoke and guided Xianghua to Nightmare. Plunged into Astral Chaos after Nightmare's defeat, Soul Calibur remained lost until Siegfried broke free from Soul Edge's control, weakening the cursed blade enough for Soul Calibur to break free. Siegfried used Soul Calibur to seal Soul Edge away, but the "Soul Embrace" was broken by Zasalamel, the last surviving member of the clan assigned to guard Soul Calibur. While Siegfried had been mortally wounded in a battle with Nightmare, Soul Calibur chose him as its host and encased him in a crystal exoskeleton to sustain his life and heal him. After Nightmare was defeated and Soul Edge destroyed, Soul Calibur fell into a decade-long slumber, reawakening when its nemesis returned.

  • Big Bad: Of SCV as Elysium.
  • Big Good: Of the entire series (except SCV) as it's the Good Counterpart to Soul Edge and wherever it appeared, Soul Calibur will always put a stop its evil. The exception is V, where it's revealed to be every bit as evil as Soul Edge, albeit a different kind of evil.
  • Cool Sword: In its first form as Soul Calibur in SC and SCII, it was a fork-bladed jian. It returns to this form in SCV when Elysium mimics Lexia's fighting style. Otherwise, it tends to have an icy, crystalline appearance.
  • Crystal Prison: It encases Patroklos in one when he refuses to submit to its will in preparation for turning him into its counterpart, Nightmare. Fortunately, Pyrrha breaks him free using Soul Edge before this can happen and he defeats Elysium, the manifestation of its will, in a battle for control of his body.
  • Evil Weapon: While Soulcalibur isn't nice at the best of times, in Inferno's ending in the first game and throughout the second game, a corrupted version of it called "Soul Calibur (Evil)" appears.
  • Excalibur: In the series, King Arthur once wielded Soul Calibur to defeat a Saxon warrior wielding Soul Edge.
  • Excalibur in the Rust: For the entirety of Soulcalibur, it was disguised as a jian called the Krita-Yuga, one of three sacred Chinese treasures reputed to have the ability to undo Soul Edge's curse.
  • Gemstone Assault: From SCIII onwards, it appears to be comprised of icy blue crystals, though it reverts to the form it had in the first two games when Elysium mimics Leixia's fighting style. A shard of it remaining in Siegfried's body enables him to fire Spikes of Doom from his sword as a Critical Edge.
  • Healing Factor: Soul Calibur's "spirit shards" are noted to have healing properties, as demonstrated when a piece embedded in Siegfried's body slowly restored him to health after he was mortally wounded during a battle with Nightmare. This is also seen in-game, specifically in SCIII, where each character's "Soul Calibur" weapon has the side effect of gradually restoring their health.
  • Iconic Sequel Character: The series after Soul Edge is known as Soulcalibur, so, naturally, the eponymous sword is a key component of that. Soul Edge continues to be a major player, though (and Soul Calibur's introduction changed the context of the series from being a battle against an evil sword to a Cosmic Chess Game where both swords have their agendas and use the characters of the series to try to drive those ends).
  • Instant Armor: Encases Siegfried in translucent blue crystal armor in SCIV, to protect and heal his mortally-wounded body.
  • Knight Templar: Whereas Soul Edge wants to bathe the world in blood and suffering, Soul Calibur's solution is to gain peace through absolute nothingness where man cannot harm themselves because it won't let them.
  • Light Is Good: A holy sword created to combat Soul Edge.
  • Light Is Not Good: Soul Calibur is a Knight Templar that ruthlessly seeks to exterminate Soul Edge and the Malfested.
  • Living Weapon: Like Soul Edge, Soulcalibur has a soul and will that seeks to manipulate - and in some cases outright control - its wielder.
  • Mind Manipulation: It can read the souls of its wielders and, like Soul Edge, seeks to manipulate them into serving it. In SCIV it chose Siegfried as a host due to his corresponding hatred of Soul Edge and desire for redemption, making him an easy unwitting puppet. In SCV it deemed him unworthy, since he'd grown suspicious of it over the time skip. It picked Patroklos instead because he was naive and blindly devoted to justice and therefore all too easy to manipulate. Unlike Soul Edge, which overwrites the mind of its host with its own, Soul Calibur is more about taking desires one already has and working those towards its objectives.
  • Mirror Character: Due to having been forged from a shard of Soul Edge, Zasalamel's clan instigated a rule that no one was allowed to become the sword's host more than once out of fear that the similarities between the two swords ran deeper than shapeshifting. It turns out they were right.
  • Morph Weapon: Like its origin, Soul Edge, Soul Calibur can change shape to accommodate its wielder's preferred fighting style. Its "default" form is that of a short, two-pronged one-handed sword wielded by Xianghua as a jian. It changed into a crystal BFS when Siegfried took it. When Patroklos claimed it, unlike his sister (who continued to use the same short sword and shield combo) it transformed into a sheathed sword because Patroklos's memories of being an Iaijutsu Practitioner were awakened when he took the sword. Elysium, who uses a randomized female fighting style each round, will create Soul Calibur-equivalents of the weapons wielded by the female cast (including Natsu's dual kodachi or Hilde's short sword and lance combo).
  • Pet the Dog: It left a shard of itself inside Siegfried to heal his body even though it no longer needed him after Soul Edge's destruction.
  • Power Crystal: From SCIII onwards, Soul Calibur is shown to have a glowing blue crystal at its core, a counterpart to Soul Edge's eye.
  • Red Baron: Soul Calibur is frequently referred to as the "Spirit Sword".
  • Sealed Good in a Can: For a given value of "good". When Xianghua first defeated Nightmare, Soul Edge lashed out and sucked the Spirit Sword into the depths of Astral Chaos. When Raphael stabbed Soul Edge's eye in a final act of defiance, Soul Edge was weakened enough that Soul Calibur was able to escape its prison. At the end of SCV, both Soul Edge and Soul Calibur are banished back to Astral Chaos.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: The purification ritual that created it was tainted due to Algol's lust for power, imbuing Soul Calibur with a malevolent will. The sages assigned to guard it managed to suppress it until Siegfried's and Nightmare's clash at the end of SCIII.
  • Unholy Holy Sword: Soul Calibur developed the reputation of being the only thing capable of ending Soul Edge once and for all. However, due to the weakness in its creator's heart, it possessed a malevolent will of its own that sought to impose "order" on the world. It ruthlessly exterminated the Malfested (and anyone who gets in its way).

Additional Characters

    Edge Master 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/edgemaster.png
Soulcalibur V Appearance
Appearance in Soulcalibur

"Can you beat this old warrior?"

Weapons: all weapons
Fighting style: all styles
Voiced by: note 

The mysterious master of all fighting styles in the world, teacher and advisor of the Ling-Sheng Su, and foreteller of all events in the series. Trained Kilik after his temple went down, and later taught him the art of purification so he could purify Soul Edge. For a time, he remained in his hermitage, moving the plot along from time to time (like teaching Mi-na in SCIII).

He returns in SCV, unaged from his original appearance due to becoming immortal when he absorbed the energies of both Soul swords. He encounters Patroklos in Astral Chaos as he is trapped there when Elysium takes full control of his body, rewinding time for him so he can rectify his mistake of killing Pyrrha. When Patroklos refuses Elysium's order the second time, he is sent back into Astral Chaos and Edge Master teaches him how to implant his own will into Soul Calibur, freeing him from the imprisonment in Astral Chaos.

The art book reveals that the reason Edge Master is in Astral Chaos is to fight Algol, who has secretly been corrupting the world's energies from behind the scenes in the hopes of conquering it while everyone else is in disarray.

Edge Master is the series' original mimic character. He uses all fighting styles, switching to another one at the end of each round.


  • Ascended Extra: He made his very first appearance in the Soul Blade strategy book commissioned by Namco itself. In Soulcalibur, he is made into a playable character.
  • The Blacksmith: He has personally forged every one of his weapons.
  • The Bus Came Back: His only appearance in the series was the first Soulcalibur. After a few games of being succeeded by other copycat fighters, he finally returned in SCV.
  • Deus Exit Machina: Somewhat fitting, considering his Obi Wan-esque status. Edge Master is most likely one of the strongest characters in the series, up there with Algol, but he never directly gets involved in the story, instead observing events from afar and giving advice and tutelage to those who seek him out, such as Kilik and Seong Mi-na. SCV marks the first time he's actually contributed to the plot, even if it's only for all of five minutes.
  • Ditto Fighter: Mimics all characters' fighting styles, though he does have two unique moves with Kilik/Seong Mi-na. In SCV's Legendary Souls mode, Edge Master only mimics Alpha Patroklos' style.
  • Evil Redhead: His Superpowered Evil Side switches his old white hair into furious red.
  • Leitmotif: ''Master of Edge''
  • A Master Makes Their Own Tools: Creates all of his own weapons so they are suited to his technique.
  • Mr. Exposition: He could be this, but he refuses to speak about his past, or that of the sacred weapons he supposedly carried into the temple. He does speak a bit about the nature of Astral Chaos to Patroklos, as well as giving him advice on following his own path and controlling his own sword.
  • Multi-Melee Master: Being a Ditto Fighter, he is a master of every single fighting style in the game.
  • No Name Given: Edge Master's philosophy is that a weapon is just a tool, and only a strong soul makes a strong warrior. To reflect this, all his weapons are nameless. The story behind Xianghua's nameless sword in SCII implies that it was originally his, with SCIV confirming it.
  • Old Master: He's lived long enough to have mastered every weapon fighting style.
  • Immortality Inducer: Implied in his first appearance, later confirmed in SCIV to be the result of exposure to both swords' energies.
  • The Rival: Seems to be one to Olcadan.
  • Time Master: Somehow becomes this in SCV — completely out of the blue — sending Patroklos back in time to correct his mistake in killing Pyrrha.
  • Sink or Swim Mentor: His last trial for Kilik was a no-holds battle against his Superpowered Evil Side.
  • World's Best Warrior: He has never been defeated in combat, with the exception of one draw against Olcadan. And Kilik did defeat his Superpowered Evil Side as part of learning to use Kali-Yuga to strike at evil energy, but it's unknown whether he was stronger or weaker than his normal self in that state.
  • Yin-Yang Bomb: Inside his body he stores evil energy, which he can make use of to simulate being a victim of Soul Edge's corruption. And he's a master of purifying techniques as well.

    Arthur 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arthur_358.png
Soulcalibur III Appearance
Appearance in Soulcalibur

Origin: Southampton, Kingdom of England note 
Weapon: Gassan note , a katana
Fighting style: Tsujikiri-Ittou-ryu
Voiced by: note 

An English orphan raised in Japan. Hated by his peers, he sought to do great things to be respected. He sought Soul Edge, thinking it was the greatest deed there was to do, but later found it was meaningless and returned home to marry a prostitute. Later, the shard he gave her as a gift got her killed, so he placed the guilt on himself and set out to destroy the sword and redeem himself.


  • Always Someone Better: At first he wanted to do some legendary stuff so he'd be respected by his peers. A year into his quest, he realizes he wasn't really that good, and that there were many better fighters out there.
  • Ascended Extra: At least he went from obscure to bonus character spot...
  • Bowdlerise: Korea has bad blood with Japan (for very good reasons), and especially regarding samurai, so Mitsurugi's character model was modified to have blond hair and an eyepatch. Thus, Arthur was born.
  • The Cameo: He makes two in Broken Destiny; one as a random foe for quick play and in another he is part of a conversation in The Gauntlet where he is referred to as "Blond Samurai." He also makes a small cameo with the player characters in the intro to Weapon Master in SCII.
  • Eyepatch of Power: It's unknown how he lost his eye, or if he has lost it at all, however.
  • It's All My Fault: He blames himself for handing the shard of Soul Edge he found to his wife, which caused her death.
  • No Historical Figures Were Harmed: He's highly reminiscent of William Adams, an English navigator who travelled to Japan in the year 1600 and became the first western samurai. John Blackthorne from Shōgun (2024) and its 80s predecessor are also based on Adams.
  • Phenotype Stereotype: A blond-and-blue-eyed British samurai is Namco's idea of a foreign character replacement for Mitsurugi.
  • Ramming Always Works: His style in SCIII has plenty of shoulder rams, a few of which are anti-AI moves.
  • Spear Counterpart: To Setsuka; both are Westerners raised in Japan, who dress like locals, and fight with Japanese martial arts.
  • Western Samurai: Arthur was originally an alter-ego of Mitsurugi created for countries, like Korea and China, that refuse to allow the depiction of samurai. However, in subsequent titles he was later canonized as a separate character instead a replacement for Mitsurugi. In design, Arthur is a blond, British man sporting an Eyepatch of Power who was raised in Japan and eventually became a samurai.


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