Characters / Soulcalibur VI 2

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Isabella "Ivy" Valentine

Coiling Contempt

Well aren't we cheeky? Alright then!

Origin: London, Kingdom of England

First Appearance: Soulcalibur (1998)

Weapon: Ivy Blade, a snake sword

Fighting Style: Unrelated Link

Height: 179cm (5'10½")

Weight: 58kg (128lbs)

Blood Type: Unknown

Alignment: Neutral

Relationships: Adoptive parents (deceased); Cervantes, possible father

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese), Lani Minella (English)

Born to an aristocratic English family, her 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 and so began her journey to destroy the sword that brought such despair to her family. The fruit of Ivy's research is the "Ivy Blade", a shapeshifting sword that alternates between a sword and a segmented whip, a deadly threat at both close and longer ranges.

Ivy now serves as a member of Schwartzstrom under Nightmare, but she detests her colleagues' bloodlust and furthers her own agenda behind the scenes.

Ivy is one of the most advanced characters in the series, and can be devastating when played right. She's a stance-based character, and has a sword mode and whip-mode that one must use well to keep the opponent's always guessing. Ivy perhaps plays at her best at a distance, in fact she arguably has the best zoner/keep-away game of any character in VI; she also has some strong command throws and a decent ability to ring out her opponents. But she struggles in closer distance fighting, both offensively and defensively.

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• Anti-Villain: Becomes one of Nightmare's most valued lieutenants to further her own pursuit of vengeance, but objects to her allies' brutal methods and eventually abandons their cause after The Reveal.
• Asshole Victim: Being humiliated by your father would normally be a terrible event. Thing is, she's so smug that it's comes off as rather satisfying.
• Bond One-Liner: "You missed your chance for mercy!"
• British Stuffiness: Maintains her commanding RP accent from previous games, and she's dubbed "coiling contempt", in reference to the witheringly dismissive attitude she displays towards her opponents.
• The Bully: For lack of better term, she's basically one dressed as a dominatrix, especially given her sadism.
  "Come now, I need a bit more fun that that.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: She once soundly defeated Seong Mi-Na, without effort, thanks to her whip sword's superior range and unpredictability. While the encounter was a humiliating event for Mi-Na, Ivy barely remembers it. To her, Mi-Na was merely a loudmouthed girl who needed to be taught when she was biting off more than she could chew.
• Co-Dragons: With Astaroth and the chief Lizardman, to Nightmare. All three are given titles to highlight their value and devotion, although neither Ivy nor Astaroth is truly loyal to Nightmare.
• Combat Stilettos: Befitting her theme, Ivy fights wearing high heels and makes very good use of them as a weapon.
• Cool Sword: One that works like a whip!
• Dark Action Girl: As her appearance here is set prior to becoming the Anti-Hero she's now known for, Ivy is firmly in this category as a primary antagonist.
• Dressed Like a Dominatrix: Ivy's skimpy outfit, commanding personality, and Whip Sword are all meant to be evocative of a dominatrix.
  Ivy, upon stomping on a downed opponent: You Filth...!
• Even Evil Has Standards: Ivy is not a fan of both Nightmare and Astaroth's bloodlust and the latter's sadism.
• Foil: To Astaroth. They're both Co-Dragons to Nightmare, but neither is truly loyal to him and each has their own agenda; in one conversation they concede to each other that neither one of them has any idea what their boss is really after. Ivy is an ultimately noble Anti-Villain who is brought into Nightmare's gang under specious circumstances, while Astaroth is a gleeful Blood Knight who objects to the carnage Nightmare sows solely because it's stopping him from bringing it first. Ivy is a statuesque, gorgeous, imposing woman who commands a complex coiling blade with magical properties, while Astaroth is a colossal, monstrous, threatening golem who wields a savage great axe with his own unholy strength. And of course, they loathe one another.
• Gameplay and Story Integration: Ivy is the one character that has superior zoning capabilities. This perfectly mirrors her stomping fellow zoner Mi-na in the latter's Soul Chronicle.
• Happily Adopted: At least through childhood she lived a good life. Then her adoptive father went mad through the study of alchemy. Her biological father...well, that's Cervantes and he isn't the best role model.
• I Hate You, Vampire Dad: Makes it clear she despises Cervantes for making her into what she is from her birth.
• Interface Spoiler: Placing her into a match vs Cervantes reveals their relationship early for those not bothering with Soul Chronicles.
• Irony: The one trait that another character, her father, shares with her, being a sadist, is one that she comes to loathe.
• Laser-Guided Karma: After humiliating two rather sympathetic characters without consequences, Ivy ends up being on the receiving end of a humiliation, both physically and verbally, by Cervantes.
• Makeup Is Evil: Downplayed; shes one of two female characters who has makeup, but is an Anti-Villain at worst.
• Ms. Fanservice: Par for the course with Ivy, her costume highlights her extremely voluptuous figure and she has the personality to match.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: If placed against Cervantes, Ivy outright drops her normal mannerisms and is incredibly vindictive, claiming that instead of toying with him, she'll outright murder him.
• Purple Is Powerful: Wears purple and is one of the stronger fighters.
• Red Baron: She is referred to by Nightmare as "Dexter Purpure", which translates from Latin into "Skillful Violet".
• The Reveal: She's the center of two big ones: she's the biological daughter of Soul Edge's former wielder, the dread pirate Cervantes; and she was brought into Nightmare's group to be used as a potential host.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: She rightly comes to suspect that Nightmare's stated plan for the "resurrection" of his father is a lie. However, Siegfried-as-Nightmare does genuinely believe that his slaughter is working towards this goal — a delusion induced by Inferno/Soul Edge for its own ends.
• Sadist: Though she prefers psychological pain rather than physical ones, fitting of her Dominatrix status. Guess she does have something in common with her old man.
• Skeleton Motif: As of VI, she wears a bulky shoulder-plate with a skull bolted on it.
• The Smurfette Principle: The sole female member of Schwartzstrom, Nightmare's group of lieutenants.
• Statuesque Stunner: At 179cm, she's the tallest woman in the series and stands above quite a few of the men as well.
• Stripperiffic: Even by Ivy's standards, her costume here can seriously rival that of IV as her skimpiest to date. In fact, Libra of Soul has a Lampshade Hanging and an actual attempt at a Justified Trope should the player ask her about it.
  Ivy: This? I designed it myself. It allows me to communicate quickly with my blade and control it whether as a sword or a whip... I've never thought deeply on why though, to be quite honest.
• Token Good Teammate: Was the only member of Schwartzstrom with any kind of moral compass, as she did try to keep Astaroth's murderous tendencies on a leash.
• Walking Spoiler: Her being biologically related to Cervantes was supposed to be a surprise.
• Whip Sword: Her weapon, which she designed herself and uses alchemic means to be extendible as well as usable as a sword (which also allows it to pass through the ground and break apart at her whim).
• White Hair, Black Heart: Has white hair and is a villainess. Downplayed as she's eventually becomes an Anti-Villain working towards Anti-Hero.

Kilik

Destiny Awakened

Listen... to the raging of my soul!

Origin: Ling-Sheng Su Temple, Ming Empire (China) ^note Where he was raised at least, his bio states his nationality is unknown

First Appearance: Soulcalibur (1998)

Weapon: Kali-yuga, a rod.

Fighting Style: Ling-Sheng Su Arts of the Rod

Height: 169cm (5'6")

Weight: 63kg (139lbs)

Blood Type: A

Alignment: Good

Relationships: Raised in Ling-Sheng Su Temple (monks deceased); Xianglian, sister-figure (deceased); Xianghua and Maxi, friends

Voiced by: Soichiro Hoshi (Japanese), Grant George (English)

An orphaned 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. Because Xianglian removed her Dvapara-Yuga mirror from herself, she was Malfested and driven to insanity by the seed and Kilik was forced to kill her in self-defense. After being trained by the Edge Master, Kilik sets out alongside Xianghua and Maxi to find and destroy Soul Edge.

Kilik is mostly the same staff-based Jack of All Stats we know. He has excellent range and moderate damage, with success relying primarily on the player's own skill. Several of his attacks end in Reversal Edge parries, useful for initiating the mode and building more meter. His most unique trait by far is his Possessed State, replacing the standard Super Mode of the other cast. Instead of running on a timer, this state rapidly depletes his health, but greatly increases his power all around, while giving him a new and very devastating Critical Edge.

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• Adaptational Badass: This version of Kilik defeats Nightmare and Inferno without the need to use Soul Calibur, instead using his purified Malfested form against the latter. Compare this to the original timeline, where he defeated Nightmare but the injuries took him out of commission, thus Xianghua had to be the one to defeat Inferno. That said, Xianghua was the one to strike the final blow against Inferno and shatter Soul Edge.
• Animal Motifs: Phoenixes, as his outfit is modeled around one. Interestingly, it utilizes aspects of both the Chinese Phoenix and the western one as him mastering his malfested state could be compared to a Phoenix being reborn.
• Angst Coma: He fell into one after the carnage at the Ling Sheng Su Temple, specially after the death of Xianglian. He woke up at Edge Master's training grounds.
• Attack! Attack! Attack!: Practically encouraged if you're using his Soul Charge. The unique mode awakens his Superpowered Evil Side, and makes him far more powerful in the process. It also doesn't have a timer like the others and can last the whole match unless you use Critical Edge. This means aggression is valued over defense, especially since it actively drains your health in the process, and using it will make for an intense battle of attrition.
• Bad Powers, Good People: Although this can be subverted if the evil seed successfully possesses him. He eventually overcomes the negative consequences of said malfestation state in his battle against Inferno.
• The Berserker: His soul charge has players invoke this to end the battle quickly unless they want to end up dying due to a lack of health, which drains.
• Bond One-Liner: Kilik has two.
  • In his normal state: "Om vajra dharma Kilik." ^Translation Glory to Varja, the divine arm wielded by Kilik
  • In his possessed state: "...shouldn't be like this, Xianglian..."
• Cast from Hit Points: His Soul Charge empowers him with the Evil Seed, giving him a new Critical Edge, and massively boosting his damage capability, but steadily drains his HP as he moves and attacks.
• Crippling Overspecialization: In this Soul Charge, Kilik takes the idea of "the best defense is a good offense" in stride, and can be very devastating if played right, especially with his extra-powerful Critical Edge. That said, with his health rapidly depleting, a skilled opponent can outplay him by blocking, dodging and/or parrying his strikes, and suddenly his Soul Charge is turned against him as he can't cancel out of it, his life is draining away, and his enemy is taking full advantage, all while they're helpless to do anything as there's basically no other effective strategy to this state besides Attack! Attack! Attack!. This is in stark contrast to his normal self, who's a balanced Jack of All Stats that relies heavily on the player's own skill.
• Dark Is Evil: Not Kilik himself obviously, but the Evil Seed that he hosts is. Further invoked by his Soul Charge, giving him a dark aura and turning his normally brown hair into a jet black one with purple highlights.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Hosts the Evil Seed, but is ultimately a Hero in spite of it.
• Despair Event Horizon: Edge Master explains that, should Kilik ever succumb to despair and lose his will to live, he would become a slave to Soul Edge; and trains him to control the darkness within him.
• Evil Weapon: Kilik is overwhelmed by bloodlust if he holds the Kali-Yuga staff without the mirror belt on his shoulder at the same time (the Dvapara-Yuga), as the Kali-Yuga is infested with the Malfested energy of the Evil Seed and would turn into a second Soul Edge unless suppressed. However in-game this restriction doesn’t seem to apply as — thanks to training with Edge Master for three years — he can turn into his Malfested form at will without succumbing to madness.
• Fights Like a Normal: Despite becoming a malfested, he mostly fights as if he was a normal monk who's just good with a rod. Justified as using whatever power he has hurts him at best and could consume him at worst.
• Foil: To Grøh. Both have distinct similarities but are very different in terms of personality.
  • Both have a Superpowered Evil Side with Grøh becoming a Lightning Bruiser and Kilik becoming a more powerful but slower and riskier Glass Cannon. Both of them hate this mode as well and only channel it as a last resort.
  • Both are long ranged fighters with otherwise balanced stats, on top of using rod-style weapons.
  • Both were forced to kill a close friend after they became Malfested. (Xianglian in Kilik's case, Curtis in Grøh's case.)
  • Kilik is associated with the color red while Grøh is associated with the color blue.
  • Kilik is an important character in the Soul Chronicle while Grøh is an important character in Libra of Soul.
  • What separates the two is that Grøh is a hero, but is more of a cold and merciless zealot who lives for exterminating outsiders. Kilik on the other hand is The Hero, and a gentle soul who only fights to protect others.
• Gameplay and Story Integration:
  • In the Original Timeline, the Evil Seed within him was nothing more than a bit of lore that could be easily glossed over and had no effect on gameplay. VI marks its introduction as a proper gameplay element, with it taking over him when the player activates a Soul Charge.
  • In any chapter you play as Kilik, both in the main story and his personal section, you can’t use Soul Charge except when facing Nightmare and Inferno which you automatically use at the start without it draining your health, which fits his fear of being consumed by the Evil Seed.
  • Minor example, but if Kilik or a custom character using his style is using a spear instead of his rods, a slash sound effect can be heard at times instead of a blunt "whacking" sound.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: Conversely, by this point in the original canon he had himself under control thanks to the Dvapara-Yuga, which he is still wearing in VI, but is still subject to the power of the Evil Seed despite it.
• Glass Cannon: Normally a Jack of All Stats, his Soul Charge instead turns him into this as he now hits like a speeding freight train...with his health dropping really quickly.
• Godzilla Threshold:
  • Holds this opinion if you use his Soul Charge against Nightmare in the main story, knowing that he can’t hold back if he needs to complete his mission.
  • If he activates it when he's low on health in a normal match, he'll lampshade it there as well.
  Kilik: This is... my last choice!
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has a V-shaped scar on his cheek below his left eye, a permanent reminder of the deaths of Xianglian and his friends and family at the Ling-Sheng Su temple.
• The Hero: He’s the main protagonist of The Chronicle of Souls mode, and ultimately the one to defeat Inferno.
• Kill the Ones You Love: The very first fight in the main story has him forced to kill a malfested Xianglian.
• Last of His Kind: After the slaughter at the Ling Sheng Su temple, caused by the Evil Seed, Kilik has become the last remaining practitioner of the fighting style, as stated through the narration.
• Like Brother and Sister: Kilik's relationship with Xianglian is described as this, with their bond being so strong that if one were to be happy, the other would be happy as well. Her death hits him really hard, and he has several flashbacks to this moment.
• Magic Staff: The standard weapon of choice for Kilik is a staff, though the Kali-Yuga is a mystical weapon with the ability to channel energy.
• Mechanically Unusual Fighter: His Soul Charge doesn't just give him extra moves and Scratch Damage like the others, but actually triggers his Possessed State. This mode increases his overall damage in addition to giving him new moves, and a completely a new Critical Edge (one of four characters with alternate Critical Edges, the others being Azwel, Tira and 2B). That being said, the state actively drains his health, which means that unless you have a high health bar, using a Soul Charge is a very risky endeavor and one that should be done with caution.
• Meditating Under a Waterfall: Part of his training with Edge Master has him doing this, as shown through one of the images during the Story Mode.
• Mr. Fanservice: Handsome, halfway shirtless, and quite muscular.
• My Greatest Failure: Once again, the death of Xianglian is a source for great tragedy for Kilik. He is at the risk of being consumed by his grief and turning into a slave to Soul Edge because of this and he has several flashbacks to that scene throughout the Prologue.
• Power Echoes: His new Malfested side gives his voice an echo effect that makes Kilik sound positively demonic.
• Power Makes Your Hair Grow: Normally Kilik has neck length hair, but when in his Malfested side, he gains a long mane of untamed hair, reaching way across his shoulders.
• Purposefully Overpowered: The last fight against Inferno in the main story gives the player a permanently Soul-Charged Kilik without the drawback of his life being drained. Gotta fight broken with broken, after all.
• Red Is Heroic: He's The Hero of the story and wears red as his primary color.
• Retcon: In the original timeline, Kilik was 167 cm. In this timeline, he is made taller at 169 cm instead. This is possibly so that he isn’t shorter than Sophitia, who would have been taller than him at 168 cm, who he shares a scene with in the main story. This may have also been done because he was only marginally taller than the younger Pyrrha, Natsu and Xiba in the original timeline.
• The Rival: To Grøh, from a game-play perspective at least, given their unique pre-battle quotes.
• The Sacred Darkness: The Conduit in Libra of Soul notes that Kilik's master malfested state is almost holy when they're given the opportunity to fight the latter.
• Ship Tease: A tiny bit of this between him and Xianghua, though they could also just be Platonic Life-Partners. In the original timeline they became an Official Couple and had a child, however.
• Snap Back: He's back to being a staff wielder after V made him a Ditto Fighter.
• SNK Boss: The last time you fight him in Libra of Soul, he's in permanent soul charge mode...without the drawback of his health being drained, instead being able to heal himself, and effectively having an infinite meter. Good thing his encounter is optional.
• Stance System: Multiple moves of his are locked behind his Monument and Back Parry stances.
• Super Mode: He has one like the rest of the cast, but notably different than the normal kind the others use, as it's more powerful and yet more dangerous to use compared to the standard.
• Supernatural Gold Eyes: Another feature of his Malfested transformation is turning Kilik's brown eyes into glowing eyes like these.
• Superpowered Evil Side: His Malfested side comes out to play when he uses his Soul Charge, giving him red eyes, long untamed hair, red Tron Lines on his body and a distorted voice.
• Tragic Keepsake: After the death of Xianglian, he carries her Dvapara-Yuga with him. When Kyam asks to hold it for him for some time, Kilik refuses, stating its significance to him.
• Volcanic Veins: They appear whenever Kilik uses his malfested powers.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: As usual, though this time he wears a piece of cloth covering part of his torso and his left arm. When Malfested, however, he ends up losing it.

Chai Xianghua

Traveling Artist

All together! Justice will prevail!

Origin: Beijing, Ming Empire (China)

First Appearance: Soulcalibur (1998)

Weapon: a nameless jian (Chinese rapier) inherited from her mother ^note Actually the Krita-Yuga, AKA: Soul Calibur

Fighting Style: Sword arts passed down from mother

Height: 152cm (5'0")

Weight: 42kg (93lbs)

Blood Type: B

Alignment: Good

Relationships: Kong Xiuqiang, father (deceased, according to Chai Xiangfei, actually alive); Chai Xiangfei, mother (deceased); Chai Xianglian, older sister (deceased)

Voiced by: Aya Suzaki (Japanese), Wendee Lee (English)

Xianghua's mother hails from the prestigious Chai family, who taught her mastery of swordsmanship from a young age. Her father Kong Xiuquang is alive, but Xianghua would never even recognize him if the two crossed in the street, for her mother never spoke of him. Two years after her mother's passing, Xianghua sets out on a quest at the behest of the Ming Empire's government to find Soul Edge, the "Hero's Sword". Meeting Kilik and Maxi and learning that the sword is evil, Xianghua amends her mission to destroy the sword instead of returning it to China.

Xianghua is a well-balanced character whose specialty is mix-ups and mindgames regarding her stances. She has a lot of incredibly safe moves, a strong poking game and great evasion from her stances, though she's not the hardest-hitter in the cast and she can be vulnerable to keep-away and pushback. In this game, she gains a new stance called Silent Xia Sheng, allowing her to stage confusing and unpredictable attacks on her enemies.

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• Action Girl: She reveals to Kilik that she's a soldier sent to claim Soul Edge for China — with her Chronicle of Soul reveling she trained non-stop to achieve her post. However, she defects upon learning that it's evil.
• Adaptational Wimp: In this timeline, she fails to defeat Inferno even with Soul Calibur, and instead it was Kilik who did the act — with Xianghua delivering the finishing blow. In the original timeline, it was explicitly stated that she defeated Inferno by herself while Kilik was injured in the fight.
• Age-Inappropriate Dress:
  • She's roughly 15, but has noticeable cleavage and her tiny mini-dress means her panties are frequently exposed.
  • With the character editing that can be done, one could put her in any of the other skimpy female outfits, like Sophitia's clothing or 2B's leotard without the skirt.
• Anime Chinese Girl: One of the better known examples in gaming.
• Badass Normal: Doesn't have any magic or special abilities to speak of, until Soulcalibur awakens, making her an Empowered Badass Normal.
• Big Eater: Her chapter has her commented on how much she’s hungry. Seems that’s where Xiba’s love of eating came from.
• Big "WHAT?!": She will utter this upon losing by ring out the second time in a row.
• Bond One-Liner: "Just kidding~! Hehehe!"
• Brought Down to Normal: After Inferno's defeat, she loses Soulcalibur. She's still a very competent fighter, as her outing against Taki with said weapon's powers being dormant shows.
• Catchphrase: "Just kidding!" and "Justice will prevail!"
• Cleavage Window: Her new outfit gives her a noticeable chest cutout. More prominent in her character art, where her boobs are drawn much bigger than what she has on her in-game model.
• Cool Sword: As in the original timeline, her jian turns out to be the sacred sword Soul Calibur.
• Empowered Badass Normal: Originally just a skilled swordswoman without any magic to speak of, she turns out to be the wielder of Soulcalibur.
• Fanservice Pack: The Cleavage Window from the original is retained but made much more pronounced, while the change from pants to a short skirt allows for all kinds of upskirt fanservice.
• For Great Justice: One of her victory quotes^note vs. Taki, Voldo, Ivy, Nightmare, Inferno, Astaroth, or Cervantes highlights this,
  "All together! Justice will prevail!"
• Genki Girl: The poster girl for upbeat young women in the series.
• Girliness Upgrade: Her costume is made to be much more feminine than the I costume it was based on, with her pants becoming a skirt with leggings and her hairstyle now resembling her IV cut rather than the I version.
• Kid Hero: Around this time, she's roughly 16-years-old and is considered one of Soulcalibur's main protagonists.
• The Lancer: She's the secondary hero after Kilik, and acts as a foil to his more stoic personality.
• Light Is Good: Wears white, and is one of the few good character to have the holy modifier rather than neutral while in Soul Charge mode, and has the Soul Calibur in her possession, the one weapon capable of breaking Soul Edge.
• Long-Lost Relative: The younger sister of Xianglian, Kilik's adopted sister.
• Making a Splash: Her Critcal Edge has water splashes as she hits her opponent.
• Minidress of Power: What her costume has been turned into, due to the redesign from I.
• Token Wholesome: Downplayed as Xianghua is still prone to a few panty shots and shows light cleavage, not to mention her jacket can be destroyed in battle, but compared to the other female characters here, she dresses rather conservatively.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Mooncakes. The encyclopedia entry outright states they're one of her favorite treats and she's repeatedly distracted by them when she's working on her exams in her Soul Chronicle.
• True Blue Femininity: Blue is a color scheme she's associated with, and she's very much feminine.
• Worf Had the Flu: While in the Original Timeline, Xianghua was able to defeat Inferno on her own, the new timeline has Xianghua having to fight Inferno while exhausted and nursing a painful limp from a previous leg injury, and needed Kilik's assistance to help her defeat Inferno.
• Would Hurt a Child: Frequently invokes this as a 15-year-old. She might only be a kid, but that doesn't stop anyone from stabbing her, slashing her, or hitting her between the legs in her crotch.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: She will utter this upon losing by ring out the first time.

Yoshimitsu

The Original Mechanical Ninja

Tonight, a demon runs wild!

Origin: Base of Mt Fuji, Japan

First Appearance: Soulcalibur (1998)

Weapon: Manji & Fuma Blade, a pair of katanas

Fighting Style: Manji Ninjutsu

Height: 170cm (5'7")

Weight: 57kg (126lbs)

Blood Type: Unknown

Alignment: Neutral/Good

Relationships: Manji Clan (all deceased)

Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (Japanese), Mitch Urban (English)

The leader of a group of noble thieves that call themselves the Manji. His clan was decimated by a warlord and now Yoshimitsu, as the only one carrying the mantle of the Manji, swears to use his form of ninjitsu to bring justice to his slain brothers. Launching a one-man guerrilla war against the overwhelming might of the lord's forces, his hatred and desire for revenge grew ever stronger until he felt the need to acquire a mighty weapon that would be the instrument of his revenge: the sword Soul Edge.

Yoshimitsu crossed Asia and and found in Europe a strange land ravaged by war and madness, and could not help but be reminded of the devastation and tragedy that befell his own home. Meeting Sophitia soothed his deteriorating mind, and he abandoned his desire for revenge to pursue a path of righteousness instead, leading him to form a new clan, a band of chivalrous thieves known as the Manjitou.

Yoshimitsu returns here and is as off-kilter as ever. He's a fast mix-up character with many different options, but is hard to control for an inexperienced player. Not only does he retain his inherent silliness, he gains new abilities as well. He has an Energy Absorption passive that allows him to drain his opponent's meter with certain attacks while increasing his own, and he can spend his meter for enhanced attacks with a trait called Soul Burn, reminiscent of the otherwise-removed Brave Edges from V. As always, unpredictability is key for using Yoshimitsu effectively.

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• Ambiguously Human: Yoshimitsu could be human, but whether or not there is a normal man under the mask is very uncertain. He claims in his story that "[his] hatred turned him into a demon", but whether that's really the case or if he was saying that to scare his enemies is unclear. Alternatively, he may have meant that figuratively.
• Artificial Limbs: His right arm has been replaced with a wooden prosthesis, which he uses as well as his flesh-and-bone left arm. Manji custom appears to require this as the leader of the modern-day Manji also has a prosthetic arm (along with any other trait that suggests that the leader of the clan is the same person throughout history, up to and including the name).
• Balance Buff: Zig-Zagged between this and Nerf. In some ways, Yoshimitsu is far more dangerous than in V, but he loses in other areas as compensation. For the former, he's gained new Energy Absorption abilities, has a unique mechanic that allows him to enhance his attacks, and has a variety of new moves that make him a versatile fighter. But with the latter, his self-healing abilities have been severely diminished, it takes extra commands to teleport, and the second level of his helicopter stance can only be accessed temporarily via Soul Charge, and thus forcing him to remain on the field most of the time.
• Beware the Silly Ones: One of the silliest characters behavior wise is also a very competent and deadly ninja.
• Bond One-Liner: "Let me guide you...to Hell!"
• Catchphrase: His repetition of the Buddhist sutra "Shiki Soku Zeku" ("all form is nothingness/equality") returns. In his Chronicle, we discover where he picked it up: he learned it from a Buddhist monk he saved from bandits, one of the first steps that steered him away from what was almost a Start of Darkness.
• Cerebus Syndrome: Despite Yoshimitsu being a very outlandish character with equally outlandish mannerisms his Chronicles of Souls story in VI is quite serious, a tragic tale of a leader who lost his people is now seeking a way to avenge them, almost losing himself to the dark side in the process but in the end he stops before is too late, firmly establishing himself as man of justice.
• Combat Pragmatist: Lampshaded and Invoked upon using his Critical Edge, which involves him teleporting and landing an attack from above.
  Yoshimitsu: Ninjas aren't fair!
• Combo Platter Powers: Let's see: Teleportation, Flight, Poison, Life Drain, Confusion Fu, Functional Magic, Soul-Stealing, and as a new addition to this game, Energy Absorption.
• Confusion Fu: Much of his style comes from keeping the opponent off-balance and disoriented, and sometimes one must adopt a strange and unpredictable mindset as opposed to playing him as a normal fighter in order to succeed.
• Dark Is Not Evil: This is probably the darkest (story wise) and creepiest (gameplay wise) Yoshimitsu has ever been in Soulcalibur OR Tekken, but he's still one of the good guys.
• Dual Wielding: Uses both the katana Yoshimitsu and its counterpart the Fuma-ken sword. This is a Retcon as Yoshimitsu only began using the second sword in Soulcalibur IV, which was really done to keep pace with the addition of a second sword to his modern day counterpart in Tekken 6 (a game that had premiered earlier than IV).
• Energy Absorption: Yoshimitsu gains yet another ability to add to his list of Combo Platter Powers. After performing a successful combo, they might steal a portion of the enemy's Mana Meter and add it to his own.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Downplayed on the "evil" part, as Yoshimitsu isn't actually evil but he was on the verge of becoming evil in his Chronicle, with him believing himself to have become a demon. But even then, when Lyla tried to do business with him, he wasn't having it. Dealing with her was beneath him even as a demon.
  Lyla: By the way, are you having money troubles? If so, I have something that might interest you...
  Yoshimitsu: Do not be absurd! Even as a demon, I'd never strike a bargain with a scoundrel such as you.
• The Faceless: As with any respectable Yoshimitsu, we have no idea what he looks like beneath his mask. Stripping him of all of clothes just gives him a skin tight outfit covering everything and a mask covering his entire head.
• Fighting Clown: As per usual, Yoshimitsu has humorous attacks to go with his mannerisms and hamminess.
• Fiery Redhead: Subverted, his unique helmet, which can only be worn by him, seemingly gives him red hair, but he doesn't actually have any, as taking it off or destroying it shows him bald.
• Foil: A stark contrast to Taki. Both are demon-themed Japanese ninja who use mystical arts in tandem with their fighting, and hold a strong sense of justice. However, the contrast comes in the fact that Taki is a much more traditional ninja in using standard ninja kodachi and ninpo, whereas Yoshimitsu is a very untraditional ninja using katanas and Combo Platter Powers. Taki is a Stoic no-nonsense type, while Yoshimitsu is a Large Ham who treats everything like it's a big joke. While Taki is a rogue ninja who fled her Fu-ma clan, Yoshimitsu is the leader of his own Manji clan. Though both believe in looking out for the innocent, Taki goes after major evildoers while Yoshimitsu is a Karmic Thief that steals from the corrupt. Also, their appearances contrast — though both are Highly Visible Ninjas, Taki's suit leaves nothing to the imagination whereas Yoshimitsu leaves everything to the imagination.
• Highly-Visible Ninja: How stealthy could a ninja like him be by being... himself?
• Kabuki Sounds: He likes to make Kabuki sounds in battle as part of his hammy character. He even does Kabuki dances as well.
• Large Ham: Speaks loudly with a phenomenally stereotypical melodramatic voice, giving him this effect.
• Last of His Kind: His clan was decimated for remaining neutral in Japan’s time of war in the 16th century, for they feared the Manji Clan was a powerful state in itself which could endanger whichever faction emerged victorious.
• Lovable Rogue: His story shows how he goes on to start his clan of chivalrous thieves.
• Master of Disguise: While normally Yoshimitsu is a very visible ninja, in SCVI: Chronicles of Souls the man showed he can be very stealthy when the situation calls for it, he perfectly morphed himself into common people with his jutsu techniques throughout his story chronicle, perfectly blending in till he either broke the disguise himself or capable warriors were able to see him through.
• Mechanically Unusual Fighter: He has all the same quirks and weirdness of his past self that would qualify him, but additionally he has an alternative means to to gain Mana Meter. Some of his combos will steal the meter from his opponents and add it to his own gauge, marked by yellow orbs leaving the enemy and coming to him. He's the only one with that ability.
• Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: A hammy Ninja-Samurai... Kabuki... something hybrid with a prosthetic arm, and very Ambiguously Human.
• Power Echoes: For the first time in the series' history, he now speaks with his descendants' mechanical voice filter.
• Revenge Before Reason: He was this, but thankfully managed to get over it before it consumed him.
• Tsundere: Prior to his Character Development in his story, Yoshimitsu behaves this way towards a monk he saved from bandits. The monk insists that Yoshimitsu is a good person, but the latter angrily brushes him off.
• Uniqueness Decay: Inverted. Yoshimitsu gains a new ability called Soul Burn that allows him to use meter to enhance his attacks in a manner similar to the Brave Edges of V. In that game, Brave Edge was a universal mechanic, but in this game, only Yoshimitsu has an ability like this, which is attributed to his sword being one of a kind.

Nightmare

Azure Nightmare

Blood! Darkness! I shall drown the world in both!

Origin: The living incarnation of the cursed sword, Soul Edge

First Appearance: Soulcalibur (1998)

Weapon: Soul Edge (Great Sword form)

Fighting Style: Memories of Soul Edge

Height: 172cm (5'8")

Weight: 157kg (346lbs)

Blood Type: Unknown

Alignment: Evil

Relationships: Inferno, driving force; Siegfried, original identity; Ivy, former-member of Schwartzstrom; Astaroth, member of Schwartzstorm; Lizardman Chief, member of Schwartzstorm

Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama (Japanese), Kirk Thornton (English)

The feared Azure Knight, a Malfested warrior who wields the cursed sword Soul Edge and wanders Europe, slaughtering everyone he encounters. He reaps the souls of the living as if they were mere stocks of corn, and just the name "Nightmare" strikes terror into the hearts of men.

Nightmare is Mighty Glacier who's not particularly fast (though faster than others of this type), but can deal massive damage and has very good range. Many of his moves allow Nightmare to access a temporary Soul Charge state outside of Soul Charge itself for a short time. Overall, he's like his host Siegfried, but simpler with fewer stances and more feral attacks. His Critical Edge is unique, in that it's both unblockable and a Counter-Attack, making it one of the easiest in the game. Overall, Nightmare is an offensive powerhouse for players who just want to reap souls and rip their enemies into pieces.

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• Alternate Identity Amnesia: Initially, this was averted - while Nightmare is Siegfried's Superpowered Evil Side courtesy of being Malfested by Soul Edge, his mind is still Siegfried's — heavily warped by evil — and once his humanity is restored Siegfried remembers all the travesties he had committed as Nightmare. However, his extended Soul Chronicle added as part of Hwang's DLC pack reveals that — like in the original timeline — as Soul Edge regains its power it begins to directly take control of him and turn him back into Nightmare for increasingly long durations, with Siegfried having no recollections of the massacres he commits under its control. After Siegfried sacrifices his restored humanity in an attempt to save Soul Caliber from being consumed by Inferno, his re-Malfested body is under Soul Edge's direct control with Siegfried's consciousness trapped in Astral Chaos alongside Soul Calibur - though Acht reveals that this puts Soul Edge in an awkward position since it needs a willing — or at least compliant — host to unleash its full power.
• Badass Cape: Adds a tattered cape to his revamped I design.
• Barbarian Longhair: Nightmare is a bloodthirsty warlord who has long blond hair, which is exposed if his helmet is broken.
• BFS: His weapon of choice is Soul Edge manifested in the form of a massive greatsword.
• Big Bad: As he was before, Nightmare is the primary antagonist of the Soul Chronicle story mode in VI.
• Big Bad Ensemble: He's one of two primary antagonists of Soulcalibur VI as a whole, the other being Azwel.
• Blood Knight: Nightmare exists solely to feed Soul Edge the souls of the fallen, and thus revels in combat and slaughter.
• Body Horror: Breaking the armor reveals a possessed Siegfried with a horrible arm.
• Bond One-Liner: "This nightmare shall consume you!"
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: As far as Nightmare was concerned, Grøh was just another insect for him to crush, while the latter considers it his greatest failure and has to live with it. It's even more insulting than in Ivy's case as he doesn't even have unique dialogue vs Groh.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Siegfried is under the influence of Soul Edge, which impersonates his father's spirit to compel him to commit murder as Nightmare.
• Composite Character: While this version of Nightmare is Siegfried, he has distinct aspects taken from Inferno, the second Nightmare. This includes his One-Handed Zweihänder style that was introduced in III, the monstrous arm being as detailed as his more recent appearances, and the use of vocal enhancements to add to his presence when before he was just a Large Ham. He also has some lines taken from Graf Dumas, the third Nightmare.
• Compressed Hair: Nightmare shares Siegfried's back-length mane of hair, but in his case it's hidden under his helmet.
• Dark Age of Supernames: It's hard to get much darker than a name like "Nightmare". Maxi even hangs a lampshade on it, commenting that it seems a little over the top.
• Demonic Possession: In Nightmare's expanded Chronicle of Souls interlude, he is directly under the control of Soul Edge rather than being a Brainwashed and Crazy Siegfried — a Call-Forward to the events of Soulcalibur III and Soulcalibur IV.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Similar to Siegfried, he is resistant to Sophitia's attempts to redeem him, and when losing to a time out against her he'll angrily tell her he doesn't need her pity.
• The Dreaded: Nightmare's campaign of terror and slaughter has made him the most feared man in Europe and his reputation has spread to as far away as Japan.
• Evil Counterpart: To Kilik and Groh, being a malfested fighter who fights mostly without use of any magic despite having malfested powers.
• Evil Overlord: Took over the city of Ostrheinsburg and turned it into a place of ghosts, monsters, and Malfested.
• Enemy Without: In Siegfried's Chronicle of Soul, Inferno initially manifests as Nightmare before assuming its true form.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Speaks in a dark, demonically-enhanced baritone.
• Evil Weapon: Nightmare wields — or rather, is wielded by — Soul Edge, a demonic soul-eating greatsword made of flesh and metal, with an eye on its hilt.
• Fights Like a Normal: Despite VI making much heavier use of magical abilities than ever before, Nightmare's use of magic is mostly relegated to his Critical Edge and maybe a couple moves outside of it, despite the implication that Soul Edge has great magical power. Instead, Nightmare relies mostly on his brute strength, of which he has plenty to spare.
• Final Boss: Of easy difficulty in Arcade mode.
• The Heavy: While Inferno is ultimately the Final Boss, Nightmare is the antagonistic driving force.
• Hellish Horse: He summons a Malfested horse as part of his Critical Edge.
• He-Man Woman Hater: Nightmare patronizingly refers to every female fighter who isn't Taki, Ivy, Hilde, Setsuka or 2B as a little girl. This is a carry over from Siegfried's behavior in Soul Edge, who referred to Seong Mi-na and Sophitia as little girls and Taki as an impetuous female. Ironically, Sophitia is older than him and Hilde in the timeline of VI is 18 and younger. It seems he only refers to a female fighter as a little girl if he deems them immature which is the case with Sophitia because he looks at her attempts to redeem him with anger. This also means that he views Hilde as being more mature than Sophitia. Since this is Siegfried before he was freed from Soul Edge the first time, this means that Siegfried himself was sexist towards women until his Character Development made him lose his arrogance, and his arrogance was probably tied to his sexism.
• Hidden Agenda Villain: None of his subordinates are certain what he's truly after. Likewise, Ivy and Astaroth aren't really all that loyal to him.
• I Hate Past Me: Nightmare regards his human self as their father's killer and in mirror-matches is hellbent on killing him.
• The Juggernaut: A lot of Nightmare's moves have him gain hyperarmor and/or have guard impacts.
• Large and in Charge: Inverted, Ivy and Astaroth are both taller than him.
• Large Ham: He is Nightmare after all. Just about every word is screamed, and amplified by magical energy to make it even louder.
• Legacy Character: According to Xianghua, Siegfried is merely the latest incarnation of Nightmare — a legendary monstrous warrior who appears and slaughters everything in its path. Cervantes de Leon and Zasalamel both served as prior incarnations, and in Siegfried's Chronicle of Souls a malfested NPC shows up looking to take the mantle for himself.
• Lightning Bruiser: Played with; He's still rather slow, but compared to the other hard-hitters, Nightmare moves fast.
• Meat Puppet: Nightmare is a slave to Soul Edge's will, little more than a puppet for the cursed sword.
• Mighty Glacier: Dishes out tons of damage even with just a few attacks, but is rather slow to attack.
• Mirror Match:
  • Whenever he fights Siegfried, this is the case. However, it should be noted that they have special dialogue that indicates that this fight is actually within the consciousness of Siegfried fighting the Nightmare persona.
    Nightmare: My father's killer, so we meet again!
    Siegfried: Admit it, we are the same.
  • Furthermore, there's special dialogue in the middle of the fight with their Reverse Edge.
    Nightmare: Have you confessed your sins?!
    Siegfried: Your terror ends with me!
• Monster Lord: Nightmare is viewed as the king of the Malfested, ruling from the fortress-city of Ostrheinsburg; and he even takes the time to bestow noble titles on the members of Schwartzstrom.
• Mythical Motifs: According to his concept art, his armor — a revision of Soulcalibur's "unicorn" suit, has been given a dragon motif.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: His name is Nightmare! What would you expect?
• The Nicknamer: Nightmare loves to bestow titles of his own making onto those in his inner circle. Unfortunately for him, none of his underlings are very fond of them.
  Nightmare: As a token of my gratitude, I shall bestow upon each of you a title. Astaroth, you shall be "Sinister Sable". Lizardman, you shall be "Base Vert".
  Astaroth: (confused) Whuh? Thanks...
  Lizardman Chief: (implied disappointment) Gyurrrrrrl...
• Obviously Evil: His design doesn't exactly scream "good guy", what with the demonic red eyes and the mutated arm.
• One-Handed Zweihänder: Uses a single hand, his normal one no less, to carry Soul Edge. VI also implements a small Retcon by making it so Nightmare and Siegfried's fighting styles remain distinct as they have been since III (when Nightmare became an Enemy Without), due to Nightmare's fighting style being based on the memories of everyone who's ever wielded the Soul Edge rather than just Siegfried's memories. As such, Nightmare (Siegfried) in VI holds Soul Edge with one hand, as Nightmare (Inferno) did in III and IV.
• Pun:
  • His official title is "Azure Nightmare", a play on both his name and his Red Baron moniker.
  • His Critical Edge has him rush the opponent while riding a horse that's as black as night, that is to say, a Night Mare. A Mare is a female horse, and it's not uncommon to depict the physical manifestation of a Nightmare as a demonic horse.
• Purple Is the New Black: Well, Dark Blue, but the effect is same; Nightmare is a Black Knight and associated with darkness, befitting of the personification of Soul Edge.
• Red Baron: Known as the Azure Knight, as always.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Courtesy of Soul Edge's influence, Nightmare's eyes glow red.
• Serial Killer: His modus operandi for gathering souls is to kill every human he comes across.
• Sword and Fist: While all the characters are this by default, Nightmare stands out as he makes much more liberal use of his right arm.
• Through the Eyes of Madness: He's seen by all the world as a tyrannical Omnicidal Maniac who is after nothing but slaughter and chaos. While he is hellbent on killing everyone he comes across, the epilogue of his Soul Chronicle reveals that he's living with delusions induced by Soul Edge impersonating his father's spirit, beseeching Nightmare to feed it souls for "resurrection".
• Tin Tyrant: A villain clad head to toe in sinister armor, leaving only his eyes visible.
• Unskilled, but Strong: He's like a simpler Siegfried, being more feral, more offense-based, and with fewer stances. That said, like Siegfried, he's a Mighty Glacier that can tear through health bars like a chainsaw.
• Vocal Evolution: Due to Nightmare being Siegfried again, Nobuyuki Hiyama voices Nightmare for the first time since 2002's Soulcalibur II, but it's a very different performance. The first time, he was portrayed as a Large Ham but without much baritone or any enhancements. This time around, Hiyama sounds appropriately deep to match Nightmare's menace, and his voice enhanced further by effects. If you were to listen to Hiyama's performance in II and then his performance here without knowing they have the same actor, you may never guess they are the same.
• Voice of the Legion: In addition to his baritone, Nightmare's voice is enhanced by Soul Edge to make him sound more booming and evil.
• Weapon Wields You: Nightmare is Soul Edge's puppet, the sword having enslaved Siegfried to its will by impersonating his father before warping his mind and body into a bloodthirsty monster.
• You Killed My Father: In a match with Siegfried, Nightmare will accuse his human self of being their father's killer, and reaffirm his desire to use Soul Edge to avenge him.

Astaroth

The Demonic Guard

Putrid maggot, you're dead now!

Origin: Grand Shrine of Palgaea, Safavid Dynasty Persia (Iran)

First Appearance: Soulcalibur (1998)

Weapon: Kulutues, a giant axe

Fighting Style: Gyulkus

Height: 220cm (7'3")

Weight: 183kg (403lbs)

Blood Type: None

Alignment: Evil

Relationships: None

Voiced by: Ryūzaburō Ōtomo (Japanese), Michael McConnohie (English)

A golem created by the Fygul Cestemus cult and empowered by Ares, Astaroth seeks to claim Soul Edge for the god of war. He serves as one of Nightmare's lieutenants in the Schwartzstrom, but plans to betray him and take Soul Edge once it is complete.

Astaroth can do absurd amounts of damage and has very good reach. Command throws are the cornerstone of how Astaroth plays, he has a good number of devastating throws in his moveset including some low throws. This makes him a hybrid of keepout and grappler playstyles. A unique trait gives him Super Armor during Soul Charge, encouraging him to initiate grabs when possible. Keep in mind though, this big boy has a long wind-up to his attacks and all the mobility of molasses. But you only need to grab a maggot once to squash them!

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• Adaptational Intelligence: Original Timeline Astaroth was not explicitly granted the intelligence of numerous fallen warriors that made him into a Genius Bruiser, and instead he was just a hulkish brute throughout all of his appearances. This version of Astaroth is surprisingly cunning, even lamp-shading that he loves taking advantage of enemies who think he's dumb, but learn the hard way that he isn't.
• And Then What?: After gloating about his plan to take Soul Edge, he pauses because he realizes that he doesn’t have any plans or goals after his mission. The realization ruins his previously perfect day, in which he'd planned to murder Ivy and double-cross Nightmare.
• Arch-Enemy: He became this to Maxi when the former killed his crew.
• Bald of Evil: Not a single hair on his head, and is as vile as they come.
• Big "SHUT UP!": He bellows one when his Critical Edge is activated.
• Blood Knight: Astaroth revels in combat almost as much as Nightmare does, complaining if he has to face weak opponents.
• Body Horror: His heart — actually a divine artefact bestowed upon Fygul Cestemus by Palgaea — is showing.
• Bond One-Liner: Should his Critical be what results in a K.O., Astaroth gives one to his opponent.
  Astaroth: Good, you're quiet now!
• The Brute: A bloodthirsty marauder with an endless appetite for death and destruction, he firmly fills this role for Nightmare's inner circle in the story mode. In a break from convention, he's far more intelligent than his appearance would have you believe.
• Catchphrase: As always, he's fond of calling his enemies "maggots". He's also taken to telling his opponents to "Shut up!"
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: He inwardly sneers at Kunpaetku daring to give him orders and contemplates killing him on the spot, deciding to feign loyalty until his goals no longer align with Fygul Cestemus'. He agrees to serve Nightmare when promised the opportunity to kill as he pleases, particularly since Ker informs him that Ares would be displeased to receive Soul Edge in an incomplete state. He spends two years plotting to double-cross Nightmare the moment Soul Edge is restored, only to realize that once he's done so and given Soul Edge to Ares he'll be without purpose.
• Co-Dragons: With Ivy and the chief Lizardman to Nightmare, although neither he nor Ivy is truly loyal to Nightmare.
• The Comically Serious: His insult towards Maxi is...Lame Eyebrows.
• Composite Character: Some of Rock's moves were given to Astaroth.
• Deadpan Snarker: Astaroth has a surprisingly wry sense of humor, most of which is directed to Aeon and Ker.
• Dumb Muscle: His first few moments in life were spent in this state, until he was blessed with the intelligence of fallen warriors and turned into something far more fearsome.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Nightmare bestows him the title of "Sinister Sable", much to his confusion and dismay.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Given that he's a construct designed to slaughter anyone and anything in his way, his creators forewent giving him a conscience... or any semblance of personality, Kunpaetku having intended him to be mindlessly loyal. Even after being imbued with the memories and combat experience of fallen warriors by Ares, he's a sadistic Blood Knight who revels in death and destruction, and is disdainful of Ivy for stopping him from slaughtering fleeing civilians.
• Evil Counterpart: He's The Brute of Nightmare's group, similar to how Maxi is The Big Guy to Kilik's.
• Evil Is Hammy: He's as loud and bold as he is massive.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Played straight with his English voice.
• Foil:
  • To Ivy. They're both Co-Dragons to Nightmare, but neither is truly loyal to him and each has their own agenda; in one conversation they concede to each other that neither one of them has any idea what their boss is really after. Ivy is an ultimately noble Anti-Villain who is brought into Nightmare's gang under specious circumstances, while Astaroth is a gleeful Blood Knight who objects to the carnage Nightmare sows solely because it's stopping him from bringing it first. Ivy is a statuesque, gorgeous, imposing woman who commands a complex coiling blade with magical properties, while Astaroth is a colossal, monstrous, threatening golem who wields a savage great axe with his own unholy strength. And of course, they loathe one another.
  • Along with being rivals in the story, he's also this to Maxi. Astaroth is a hulking brute whose playstyle is based around dealing massive amounts of damage with his huge battle ax and array of throws. Though he's too slow to string many hits together in one combo, his ax gives him enough reach to outrange most opponents and does good damage with each hit. Maxi meanwhile is Weak, but Skilled; his nunchaku do little damage per hit and have woeful range, but he has good mixups and combos that can confuse and overwhelm the enemy if he's able to get in close.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: Astaroth's presence was first confirmed by a brief shot of his artwork◊ during the story trailer.
• Genius Bruiser: While he was originally Dumb Muscle, Keres granted him the knowledge and combat experience of countless fallen warriors. He even notes that he loves surprising enemies who assume that because he's big and bulky he must be stupid as well. This is actually invoked by players as well, taking advantage of slow, but hard hitting attacks to throw people off guard.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: After one of Nightmare's bloody rampages, Astaroth gives you a second to think that Even Evil Has Standards as he seems appalled at the Azure Knight for going too far. Then Astaroth clarifies that he's upset not because Nightmare killed everyone, but because he didn't get to take part in the action. After Ivy foils his attempt to assassinate her, he reveals she's been unwittingly serving Soul Edge all along and rubs it in face that she was conceived as a spare host for Soul Edge purely out of spite.
• Kaizo Trap: The first instinct of anyone seeing their opponent doing a critical edge is to block. Unfortunately, Astaroth grabs his opponent, bypassing blocks.
• Mighty Glacier: Even more-so than Nightmare, himself not very fast, but hitting like a freight train with that axe.
• Not Quite Dead: Maxi successfully slays him near the end of Soul Chronicle, but since he was created from the gods, he is effectively immortal and will eventually revive.
• Obviously Evil: Granted, he never looked like a good guy to begin with, but this version of Astaroth's costume really plays up the "evil" aspect of his character. Whether it's the open heart, the lava-like veins, the restraint-like mask, the cobra motifs, the chain belt, the barbarian-like loincloth, the numerous and prominent Spikes of Villainy, or just the giant ax, it gets across right away that he's a bad guy.
• Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: Though he doesn't look like it, he's actually not even 10 yet, while Maxi is around his 20s. Justified as Astaroth is more or less an artificial organism.
• Sadist: He takes way too much pleasure in killing people.
• Smarter Than You Look: Lampshaded by Astaroth himself when he fights Grøh.
• Sore Loser: Lampshaded by Maxi after he tries to kill him after his defeat in the main Soul Chronicle story.
• Spikes of Villainy: His shoulder pads and mask have large spikes for added intimidation.
• The Starscream: He joins Nightmare's band of villains, intending to help the Azure Knight repair Soul Edge, kill him, and deliver it to Ares. He's also this to Kunpaetku, deeply resenting that a mere human dares order a superior being like himself. When Keres informs him that the Spartan soldiers — former comrades of the Lizardman Chief — attacking him are also empowered by Ares, Astaroth begins to show signs of this towards his divine master as well — especially once he realizes that if he gives Soul Edge to Ares he'll have nothing left to give him purpose.
• Villainous Friendship: He strikes up an Odd Friendship with the Lizardman Chief — aka Aeon Calcos, and is the only character in the story who interacts with him or his kind in a civil manner. He and Ker — the Agent of Death sent by Ares to assist him — also get along rather well.

Inferno

Hellfire of Despair

My flame will burn bright again...and my rising shadow will blanket the world!

Origin - Astral Chaos

First Appearance: Soul Edge (1995)

Weapon: Soul Edge (Great Sword form)

Fighting Style: Fighting style of his current host

Height: Immeasureable

Weight: Immeasureable

Blood Type: None

Alignment: Evil

Relationships: None

Voiced by: None (In-Game), Ben Diskin (English, Story Mode)

The "living incarnation" of Soul Edge, Inferno is a demonic entity that dwells within Astral Chaos; corrupting those exposed to its dark power into the monstrous Malfested and devouring the souls of those slain by the cursed sword. With Nightmare and Cervantes as its puppets, Inferno seeks to reclaim the scattered shards of Soul Edge, destroy its nemesis — the spirit sword Soul Calibur — and raze the world with hellfire.

Befitting being the incarnation of Soul Edge, Inferno is one of the mightiest fighters in the roster. He plays like a souped-up Nightmare, with permanent Soul Charge benefits and powerful exclusive moves taken from past appearances. He even gains two teleport moves, which he can transition into from almost every other move, massively improving his combo potential. Inferno is so Purposely Overpowered that he's the only character who cannot be used online, only in local and single-player modes.

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• Adaptational Intelligence: In the OT, Inferno didn't have much in the way of schemes and only wanted to kill everything in sight. Meanwhile, this version is The Chessmaster.
• Anthropomorphic Personification: He is the manifestation of Soul Edge's malevolent will within Astral Chaos.
• BFS: In a similar vein to how, in the original game, Inferno (then called "SoulEdge") used Cervantes' longsword/short sword style, in Soulcalibur VI Inferno sticks to Nightmare's One-Handed Zweihänder style and wields Soul Edge as a great sword.
• Call-Forward: He appears as Nightmare at the end of Siegfried's Chronicle of Souls, referencing his hostless tenure as the Azure Knight in Soul Calibur III and Soul Calibur IV.
• The Chessmaster: Oh, yes. He plays several characters like fiddles to his advantage, all of whom seek out Soul Edge for their own reasons. He controls Siegfried as his vessel, he strings Voldo along to kill people in order to harvest souls, he manipulates Ivy into working under him to keep a close eye on her as a spare vessel, and his shared love of destruction leads to a partnership with Astaroth.
• Composite Character: This version of Inferno combines aspects of the original with Night Terror, turning him into even more of a Humanoid Abomination that uses an enhanced-beyond-mortal-comprehension version of Nightmare's style.
• The Conspiracy: Inferno has a brand-new evil council as of the Version 2.30 story update, replacing his old inner circle which consisted primarily of puppets such as Ivy, Aeon, and Astaroth. Unlike last time, two members of his cabal are Chessmasters much like himself: former military commander Johan Durer, and a mysterious girl named Acht. He is also aided by Taoist mage Won Gabok and former Aval Organization member Curtis, who has been resurrected and brainwashed to serve him. Together, they are putting into a motion a much grander scheme to spread chaos and death across the entire world, instead of just Europe.
• The Corruption: Inferno is the manifestation of Soul Edge and the source of the Evil Seed that turns humans and animals into Malfested.
• Dem Bones: A fiery skeleton. It's more prominent this time around, as the skeleton aspect of him is much more pronounced than before.
• Demonic Possession: As the embodiment of Soul Edge's will, he is Nightmare's puppet-master — manipulating Siegfried through his sword form. After Siegfried breaks free of Soul Edge's brainwashing, Inferno starts directly seizing control of his body and eventually traps Siegfried's consciousness inside Astral Chaos.
• Evil Weapon: Inferno is Soul Edge, and can manifest his sword form at will.
• Final Boss:
  • Rather appropriately, he’s this for the main story in Soul Chronicle and for Siegfried’s chapter (which acts as a sort of epilogue for the SCI portion of the story).
  • He’s also this for the Legendary difficulty in Arcade Mode.
• Flash Step: Inferno’s take on Nightmare’s Grim Stride (called the “Vile Lord”) has him briefly blink out of sight while moving forward before reappearing closer to his opponent.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Soul Edge was once an ordinary sword, but by consuming the blood and souls of countless people, it became something much more.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Inferno is the greatest source of evil in the setting. He is the root from which the Malfested spring from and is the ultimate power behind the hosts of the Soul Edge, such as Cervantes and Nightmare.
• Humanoid Abomination: Whatever it is, it's not human, let alone particularly natural looking.
• Lightning Bruiser: As befitting a final boss-made-playable, Inferno is described as having "the destructive force of a landslide", can fly and teleport, and has a few Sword Beam and Spell Blade moves — in addition to telekinesis — that give him additional reach.
• Made of Evil: The manifested form of the evil sword’s tainted soul that normally only has domain in reality by corrupting the bodies and minds of those who would wield (or even touch) Soul Edge, the process of which is referred to as "Malfestation".
• Manipulative Bastard: A truly vile piece of work who knows how to play everyone to his advantage, usually by exploiting something they want or taking advantage of their weak mentality.
• The Man Behind the Man: As the embodiment of Soul Edge's corruption, Inferno is the true force behind Nightmare.
• More than Mind Control: A trait of Soul Edge's control is that Inferno's will effectively gets "filtered" through the host wielding it — rather than Inferno controlling the host like a mere puppet, the will of the host gets influenced and amplified by him. Thus explaining why Cervantes was a pirate, Siegfried still goes about his own (now twisted) desires, and much later on in V, why Raphael/Dumas is cautious and calculating, while Pyrrha is anguished and self-loathing.
• Nested Ownership: He is shown manifesting Soul Edge to fight Xianghua — who is wielding Soul Calibur — and Kilik.
• No Fair Cheating: If he (or a custom character with his moveset) is used online, which can only be done via hacking, he'll instantly be KO'd. This wasn't always the case, but Namco was quick to patch it when it started happening.
• Omnicidal Maniac: Inferno desires to feast on the souls of every living being, manipulating and corrupting Soul Edge's wielders into helping it accomplish this.
• One-Handed Zweihänder: Unlike Soulcalibur and Soulcalibur II, where Inferno was a Ditto Fighter with access to some flashy spinning moves of his own, VI has him using a souped-up version of Nightmare's fighting style reminiscent of Night Terror's from Soulcalibur III.
• Our Demons Are Different: He is a fiery soul-eating demonic entity who corrupts anyone to grab Soul Edge's hilt — or even be exposed to its cursed power — into a Malfested slave.
• Persona Non Grata: Meta example. Inferno is so ridiculously overpowered that you flat-out cannot use him in online multiplayer, as he would be a prime Griefer magnet. While initially hackers found ways to play as him in the Steam version anyway, he was later patched to instantly lose if he (or his fighting style on a custom character) is used online.
• Purposely Overpowered: Thanks to all of the souls Soul Edge has consumed over the years, Inferno is ridiculously powerful in gameplay, to the point where he's explicitly banned from being played online because of it.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: His eyes are of a glowing red, fitting as the personification of Soul Edge.
• Satan: Appears to be a much more prominent motif here than it originally was. The fire has been changed from orange-yellow to hellish purple-red, his eyes glow red, the skeleton aspect is much more prominent than before, and furthermore he has added horns on the back of his skull that he didn't originally have, which evoke the image of the Devil.
• Secret Character: Inferno is unlockable by completing Soul Chronicle and defeating him.
• Slasher Smile: Inferno's face is permanently locked into this, and given that it takes the shape of a demonic, blazing skeleton, it is terrifying.
• SNK Boss: Inferno is a super-powerful version of Nightmare that has all of his Soul Charge abilities available by default as well as the teleportation, flight, and Devil Jin lasers that Night Terror uses. In addition to all of that, his Soul Charge gives him access to his original exclusive moves from Soulcalibur I & II, the "Roy d'" series, which causes him to spin around in the air with a moving hitbox and transition into various high-damage attacks that are almost impossible to defend against.
• Soul Eating: Inferno devours the souls of those who are slain by Soul Edge or succumb to the corruption of Astral Chaos, and is himself speculated to have originated as an amalgamation of the souls of the bloodthirsty and power-hungry warriors who have wielded Soul Edge throughout the centuries.
• Spin Attack: Inferno has a moves where he telekinetically twirls Soul Edge around himself to launch and juggle his opponent.
• Suddenly Voiced: In Story Mode, it is shown that he does have a voice. And much like Elysium, he disguises himself as someone important to those he manipulates. We as the audience hear his true voice, while his puppets perceive him as whoever he is disguising himself as. To Siegfried, he is his father Frederick, controlling him as Nightmare by whispering sweet nothings into his mind. To Voldo, he is the ghost of his dead master Vercci, stringing him along as a part of his game.

Cervantes de Leon

The Shell of a Proud Man

Now, you know despair!

Origin: Valencia, Kingdom of Spain

First Appearance: Soul Edge (1995)

Weapon: Acheron & Nirvana, a longsword & pistol sword

Fighting Style: Memories of Soul Edge

Height: 182cm (5'11")

Weight: 89kg (196lbs)

Blood Type: None

Alignment: Evil

Relationships: Ivy, biological daughter; Parents (deceased); Crew (deceased, slaughtered by his own hands)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Shirokuma (Japanese), Patrick Seitz (English)

Cervantes de Leon was once one of the most feared pirates in history, wielding Soul Edge in the form of two longswords. His reign of terror was cut short when he was slain by Sophitia and Taki, who destroyed one half of Soul Edge; while the other was taken by Siegfried. However, Soul Edge's power reanimated Cervantes as an undead pirate, and he now seeks to reclaim the cursed sword from Nightmare.

Cervantes is a power character with great mobility and mix-ups, but has a weak defensive game, which encourages the player to use a primarily offensive style. He also has a lot of flashy moves, so beginners tend to find him approachable. He can teleport and use a special gun in his sword for further combinations and as a projectile, but try not to rely too much on it. Cervantes can be summed up as "high risk, high reward".

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• Abusive Parents: Cervantes is a horrible father, as he plans to eventually kill Ivy to take her rich soul rather than raise her. Contrast this to the other playable fathers, ^note Raphael, Kilik in V, and Seong Han-Myeong in Edge who actually did care for their progeny.
• Adaptational Origin Connection: With Voldo. While Voldo's master Vercci did hire Cervantes to search for Soul Edge in the original timeline, there was no direct connection of Voldo personally providing his iconic Nirvana pistol-sword as part of the payment.
• Arch-Enemy: To Ivy. Ivy despises him and is horrified to discover that he's her biological father, while Cervantes wants to kill her so he can consume her soul. He's also this to Sophitia and Taki to a lesser degree, as they killed him in the first game and he's still really sore about it.
• Berserk Button: Anything that reminds him of a certain holy warrior protected by the Greek gods and a demon-slaying ninja is the only thing that can vex him. Most especially when they are fought against in Arcade and/or VS modes.
  Cervantes (when fighting against Taki): You'll feel... this pain, too!
  Cervantes (if he loses to Taki via Time Over): No! Not again!
• Blood Knight: Being killed didn't stop him from enjoying a good fight.
  Cervantes: "Entertain Me!"
• Bond One-Liner: "Gyahaha, now to take your soul!"
• Break Them by Talking: Gives Ivy a painful lecture after defeating her in his character episode:
  Cervantes: Is that all you've got to say to your father?! You can do better than that! Such a disappointment. I thought you said you were going to "send me back to Hell"? Your weak soul is of no value to me! Heh heh heh... I'll let you live... for now. I'll be waiting for you, my dear daughter. Come find me when you're stronger, when your soul matches your words!
• Brutal Honesty: Of all the characters that comments negatively on Maxi's hair, Cervantes is the only one who doesn't even bother being sarcastic about it, calling it "cock-eyed".
• Dual Wielding: He formerly wielded Soul Edge in the form of a pair of swords, one of which was shattered by Sophitia's divine Omega Sword and the other of which was taken by Siegfried. At present, he wields a longsword called Acheron and a pistol-sword called Nirvana.
• Empowered Badass Normal: One of the most dangerous people in the world, and that was before he became a Ghost Pirate.
• Evil Is Bigger: One of the largest out of the Soul Edge characters at 182 cm. Seems that's where Ivy got her height from. Ironically however, he was shorter than Ivy at 177 cm before Soulcalibur V.
• Evil Laugh: One of his victory quotes is just him laughing evilly.
• Evil Old Folks: One of the oldest characters physically even before his death, he's still a capable and deadly fighter.
• Eviler than Thou: Outside of Inferno, Cervantes shows up the other bad guys in the series in terms of evil. Tira has genuine psychosis, Azwel is delusional and believes destroying the world will somehow save it, Nightmare's hosts are possessed by Soul Edge, and Astaroth was created solely as a killing machine with no capacity for empathy. Cervantes chooses to be as cruel as he is, and actively sought out Soul Edge to make himself even more fearsome.
• Evil Versus Evil: His main goal is to reclaim Soul Edge from Nightmare, which also sets him against Anti-Villain Ivy.
• Faux Affably Evil: Normally a fan of Trash Talk and Evil Gloating, Cervantes is instead mockingly polite around Ivy. He presumably does it just to get under her skin, as when he wins he reverts to his normal self.
  "I've missed you, daughter!"
• For the Evulz: With or without Soul Edge's control, he's rotten the core, pillaging and brutalizing civilians purely to make them suffer.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: Cervantes' presence was first confirmed by a brief shot of his artwork◊ during the story trailer.
• Foil: To Maxi, another Pirate. Cervantes is a sadistic conqueror, while Maxi is a Nice Guy who likes to explore. There's also the fact that while both are examples of Strong and Skilled, Cervantes places more emphasis on raw power and has cursed magical abilities that give him an advantage, while Maxi favors a flashy, yet methodical fighting style with no actual magical abilities to speak of.
• Ghost Amnesia: After his resurrection, Cervantes initially remembers nothing of his former life until he's attacked by a former crew-member — rekindling his sadistic bloodlust. He spends the rest of his Chronicle of Soul killing people to regain his memories, transforming from an ordinary human into a full Malfested.
• Ghost Pirate: He was killed by Sophitia and Taki, but resurrected as a Malfested undead by the power of Soul Edge fragments residing in his body after death. Something of note is, despite his mode of dress and manner of speaking, he's actually A Pirate 150 Years Too Early (The Golden Age of Piracy begins in earnest during the early 1700s while the Soul series is set, at latest, in the early 1600s, with VI specifically being set in the late 1500s).
• Hated by All: Any of the characters that have unique dialogue do not have a single good thing to say about him.
• I Need You Stronger: Gives one to Ivy after defeating her in his Soul Chronicle character episode.
• Interface Spoiler: Putting him in a match vs Ivy reveals the relationship between the two if you didn't visit the Soul Chronicles.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: He is the true biological father to Ivy, and is not a good father to begin with.
• Obviously Evil: A pale skinned man with Volcanic Veins and Red Eyes most certainly isn't winning a "Heroic Appearance" reward.
• Predecessor Villain: The first main antagonist, but like the Original Timeline he's ultimately defeated to make room for Nightmare as the current Big Bad.
• Sadist: In life, he was a power-hungry conqueror and soul-stealer. He's not much better as a malfested zombie.
• The Sociopath: Cervantes cares for no one other than himself and his lust for (Soul Edge's) power. He feels no remorse for the pain and suffering he inflicts on others. And he views Ivy as a stepping-stone to his quest to reclaim Soul Edge, because she has the same blood as him, rather than as an individual.
• The Starscream: While Cervantes wants to reclaim Soul Edge, he realizes that if he were to do so he'd wind up being enslaved to it again and vows to become powerful enough to dominate the cursed sword's will.
• Strong and Skilled: It's said that using his dagger/gun hybrid alone requires a lot of skill, and that his sword is big enough to be considered a two handed weapon. He uses both of them with ease.
• Sword and Gun: Or rather two swords where one of them is also the gun.
• Volcanic Veins: He has glowing yellow markings on his face and chest, emblematic of Soul Edge's hold on him. There's also a huge gash across his chest where Taki fatally wounded him to save Sophitia and it too glows. During a Soul Charge, the markings glow brighter. In his story mode he initially lacks them, but they develop as his Malfestation progresses.
• Walking Spoiler: Him being the biological father of Ivy was meant to be a big surprise.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Has white hair, and is evil enough to have been the Big Bad at one point. Justified due to being older than most of the other characters physically.
• Your Soul Is Mine!: Even without Soul Edge, Cervantes can still devour his victims' souls after defeating them.

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