History Characters / SoulcaliburII

->'''Origin:''' ''[[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchColonialEmpire Rouen, Kingdom of France]]'' [[note]] The flag shown here is that of the historic Kingdom of France. It was used up until the Revolution, when it was replaced by the familiar Tricolor in 1794. [[/note]]
->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frenchempire_6366.png]]

->'''Origin:''' ''[[UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}} Village of the Wind Deity, Visayan Islands (Philippines)]]'' [[note]]The Philippine nation was not independent from the Spanish Empire during the time-frame of the series, and the familiar ''Pambansang Watawat'' flag was not adopted until 1898. Therefore, the flag shown here represents the Tagalog people, of which Talim is a member.[[/note]]
->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tagalog.png]]

->'''Origin:''' ''[[UsefulNotes/TurksWithTroops Athens, Ottoman Empire (Greece)]]'' [[note]]The flag shown is that of the Ottoman Empire. At the time the series is set, modern-day Greece was under Ottoman Turk control and did not gain independence until 1830. [[/note]]
->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ottomanflag16thc_6.png]]

->'''Origin:''' ''[[UsefulNotes/SouthKorea Jirisan, Joseon Kingdom (South Korea)]]'' [[note]]The flag shown here is the royal standard of the Joseon Kingdom. During its reign, Joseon consolidated its effective rule over the territory of current Korea up until 1897. [[/note]]
->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d831fb7a_8c27_41bc_911e_b14a79fb87fe.png]]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/10c06342_71a7_425a_a1f4_b6d32940b6f7.png]]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/10c06342_71a7_425a_a1f4_b6d32940b6f7.png]]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/usa_1961.png]]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hyrul_6.png]]

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jphino.jpg]]

* NayTheist: Cassandra believes in the Olympian gods (or at least acknowledge they exist), but unlike her devout sister she is not devoted to them and distrusts their motives, prefering to rely on her own strength.

* GodInHumanForm: The ''Soul Edge Official Handbook ~Chronicle~'' artbook states that Cassandra is the {{reincarnation}} of the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite.

* RageAgainstTheHeavens: In her backstory in ''SCII'', she witnessed her niece and nephew fighting over a Soul Edge fragment and saw the distress it caused her sister, Sophitia -- which angered Cassandra, causing her to storm into Hesphaestus' temple and demanded to know how he could idly sit by and do nothing to help Sophitia, after her sister had served him faithfully. When she received no response, she took the holy arms from their altar and decided she'd protect Sophitia herself.

* {{Reincarnation}}: According to the ''Soul Edge Official Handbook ~Chronicle~'' handbook, she is the reincarnation of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.

** He bears a striking similarity to [[LightNovel/VampireHunterD D]][=/=]Film/VanHelsing. There is definitely some twisted irony behind this observation.

->''"I'd just love to show this to that [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/TekkenKazuyaMishima stupid son]] of mine!"''

->''"I'd love to show this to that idiot son of mine!"''

* NotDistractedByTheSexy: It's impressive that he can hang around [[SexyMentor a hottie]] [[http://safebooru.org/index.php?page=post&s=view&id=297617 like Mina]] without at least ''some'' [[RagingStiffie reaction.]] Especially since she's half-naked most of the time. But, as far as he's concerned, she's [[ChristmasCake an "old lady"]] who's always poking around where she's not wanted.

* BareYourMidriff: Several of her outfits leave her midriff exposed.

* BareYourMidriff: Both of his costumes in ''SCII''.

->'''Voiced By:''' [[note]]Creator/YasunoriMasutani (Japanese), Paul Jennings (''Soulcalibur II''; English), Charles Klausmeyer (''Soulcalibur III'' onward; English)[[/note]]

->'''Voiced By:''' [[note]]Creator/YukariTamura (Japanese), Julie Parker (''Soulcalibur II''; English), Creator/KateHiggins (''Soulcalibur III-IV''; English), Creator/KiraBuckland (''Soulcalibur VI''; English)[[/note]]

->'''Voiced By:''' [[note]]Creator/ReikoTakagi (Japanese), Debbie Rogers (Soulcalibur II; English), Heather Halley (Soulcalibur III onwards; English)[[/note]]

->'''Voiced By:''' [[note]]Creator/KosukeToriumi (Japanese), Jim Singer (''Soulcalibur II'', English), Michael Reisz (''Soulcalibur III'' and ''Soulcalibur IV'', English)[[/note]]

->'''Voiced By:''' [[note]]Scott Keck (pitched-down, distorted, and reversed)[[/note]]

->'''Voiced By:''' [[note]]Creator/DaisukeGori (Japanese), Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson (English, credited as Victor Stone)[[/note]]

-->'''Cassandra: (assumes fighting stance)''' "Hurry up, let's GO!"
-->'''Cassandra: (bouncing)''' "I'm going all out!"

-->"Were you looking forward to winning? ''Oh, I'm sorry...''"
-->"Oh my, how stupid are you?"
-->"''Wow'', not ''bad'' at all! I'm ''so'' impressed!"

->Todd [=McFarlane=]'s badass demon Al Simmons (AKA Comicbook/{{Spawn}}) appears in ''SCII'' due to a deal with Namco to publish his character Necrid in exchange for toys created of the series' characters. Once a hard-boiled assassin that served in the US military, Spawn is sent to the world of the ''Soul'' series to retrieve Soul Edge on orders from his boss, Malebogia. Playable only in the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} and HD versions.

->A Hylian hailing from ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series, Link is the fabled reincarnated hero destined to rise when great evil comes around to threatening the safety of Hyrule and its ruler, Princess Zelda. After defeating a sorcerer empowered by a shard of Soul Edge, Link travels to the world of the ''Soul'' series on a mission from Zelda to destroy the cursed sword, which had threatened Hyrule. Exclusive to the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] version.

->The power-hungry head of the Mishima Zaibatsu, and the creator of the "King of Iron Fist" tournament, the fiercest martial arts competition in the 21st century. Heihachi is transported from ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}''[='=]s contemporary time period to the 16th century after his blood made contact with a shard of Soul Edge, making him relive the shard's memories, and wants to test his strength against ancient warriors with nothing but his own two fists. During the original release of the game, he was exclusive to the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 PS2]] version; he returns in the 2013 HD rerelease for [[UsefulNotes/XBox360 Xbox Live]]/[[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 PSN]].

* PowerLimiter: The justification for him using weapons; his ultimate weapon is just taking off his arm-guards, and fighting with his full power.

* MegaManning: Borrows from pretty much ''everyone'' in ''II'', leading to some pretty [[GameBreaker broken]] strings of moves.

* OneShotCharacter: Just about everyone else in the series who was playable and even largely inconsequential side-characters has received ''some'' sort of mention in later installments. Necrid only receives a brief mention in the ''New Legends of Project Soul'' artbook. People in the same condition as him, known as Malefic, are a selectable race for [[CharacterCustomization custom characters]] in ''VI'', but Necrid himself is unacknowledged.

->An unnamed man once sought fame, and was convinced by a merchant to buy and start hoarding shards of Soul Edge. The man was killed by thieves after bragging about his possessions on town. The man's obssession with fame and strength permeated the shards, who animated his corpse, which gave them a semi-sentient form. It looks to become one with Soul Edge out of raw instict, and got its wish in ''IV'', as it merged together with all the shards.

* EyeBeams: In ''III'' it can shoot a beam of green energy from its eye.

* EyesDoNotBelongThere: It has a giant eye in his ribcage. Makes even less sense than Nightmare's mouth. As a call-back, one of Nightmare's concept art designs in ''V'' depicts him with an eye in his chest.

* PutOnABus: As usual for the DittoFighter characters, its story just... stopped. It comes out of nowhere for an event match in ''III'', and then finally joins with the rest of Soul Edge in ''IV''.
* SequentialBoss: Charade's encounter in ''III''. In its first phase, Charade wields Wave Swords. In the second phase, it loses its arms and switches to the [[ArmedLegs Grieve Edge]]. In its third and final phase, Charade is reduced to a floating eyeball that can only attack with EyeBeams.

* TheSpeechless: In ''II'', since Charade has no mouth, it is incapable of speech or battle yells/groans. This is strangely not the case in ''III'' where Charade borrows the soundbites of Inferno from ''II'' which resemble distorted [[MightyRoar roaring]] from a lion or jaguar.

->Todd [=McFarlane=]'s badass demon Al Simmons (AKA Comicbook/{{Spawn}}) appears in ''Soulcalibur II'' due to a deal with Namco to publish his character Necrid in exchange for toys created of the series' characters. Once a hard-boiled assassin that served in the US military, Spawn is sent to the world of the ''Soul'' series to retrieve Soul Edge on orders from his boss, Malebogia. Playable only in the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} and HD versions.

* BadassNormal: Unlike his son, grandson and wife, he doesn't have the Devil Gene, but he doesn't let that stop him from kicking ass. And fighting bare-handed is no obstacle to taking on a world full of swordsmen, either.
* BareFistedMonk: Uses his bare hands against weapon-wielders.
** Protected by armguards (unless he's using his InfinityPlusOneSword).
* BarehandedBladeBlock: Does this in the cutscene before his Arcade Mode destined battle, against Raphael.

* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: His "weapons" are metal armguards he uses to deflect blows from weapons. His ultimate weapon? [[TheGlovesComeOff He takes the armguards off and fights at his peak]]. Heihachi is so strong he can Guard Impact Soul Edge, wielded by Nightmare itself, with his bare skin. And then punch it to death. Again, this is a pensioner (a pretty damn buff pensioner, but still) with no cybernetic or mystical enhancements at all. He's just that good.

* ParentalAbandonment: His profile only refers Kuma (II) as his family. Justified, as he abandoned his two sons Kazuya (biological) and Lee (adopted) (not counting Lars whom he first met in ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 6: Bloodline Rebellion''), betrayed his father Jinpachi and his grandson Jin, and [[MissingMom his mother is missing]] (although we never really knew anything about her to be sure), his first pet Kuma I is missing. Oh, and his wife Kazumi was dead at the time (it's said that it was even he who killed her, but the circumstances are still nebulous).
** ''Tekken 7'' reveals he ''did'', but she was trying to kill him and he did it reluctantly in self defense.
* PowerLimiter: The justification for him using weapons; his ultimate weapon is just taking off his Armguards, and fighting with his full power.

* VersionExclusiveContent: Only available in the [=PS2=] port. Defied with the HD rereleases.

->A student of Seong Mi-na's father, and AscendedFanboy of Hwang. Following his hero's example, he goes after Soul Edge in order to prove to him he's a great fighter. He gets ludicrous levels of stubborness in ''IV'', where Talim, Mi-na, ''AND'' Hwang all tell him the sword's pure evil, only for him to dismiss them and continue under the excuse "I want to see it by myself."

* DudeWheresMyRespect: Seong Mina treats him like a child, which annoys him. But as long as he's gonna act like one...
** This gets lampshaded twice in ''SC II'' - if you read the entry for the Child's Sword, it says there's an inscription that reads: "for kids only". Yun Seong thought Mina had loaned it to him to practice with. In truth, it was her way of telling him to grow up. And if she defeats him in their Destined Duel, she'd tell him it was no place for kids.
** In part ''III'', she distracts him [[SchmuckBait with a bowl of pork buns]], long enough to sneak up behind him and cold cock him. When he regains consciousness, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MzaVxopQEw she marches him back to her father's dojo]] ''and'' makes him carry all their belongings.
** In Mina's version, they have an impromptu sparring session, where the player must correctly enter 4 [[PressXToNotDie QTE button sequences.]] If you [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7_pijHQvw0 miss even one,]] she automatically loses and will be forced to carry the bags herself. But, if she succeeds, not only does she win the spar, Yun Seong will have to carry the bags ''and'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eLZbpmugng her too.]]

* HotterAndSexier: In ''SCII'' he wears an outfit that uncovers his midriff; ''SCIII'' it's now open shirt with stylish shorts and sandals, and come ''SCIV'' he's just wearing a bandana, pants (that can be ripped apart) and shoes, and is completely shirtless.

* IdiotHero: His input ending in SC III has him decide between claiming Soul Edge, or... a tray of pork buns. Guess which one he chooses.
* [[TheEnd Let's go Home]]: According to the [[NoExportForYou Japan only]] [[AllThereInTheManual artbook]] for ''SC V'', [[UsefulNotes/TokugawaIeyasu Tokugawa]] took over Japan, after the events in ''SC IV'', and ended the war with Korea. Which left Yun Seong, Seong Mina, and Hwang with no further reason to search for Soul Edge, so they returned home. Thus, ending Korea's role in the series.

* PatrioticFervor: His goal to find Soul Edge is a direct result of his hopes to protect his homeland. There's also this exchange with Mitsurugi in ''III'', the second he sees him:

* RedheadInGreen: His 1P outfit in ''III'' combines his red hair with a green unbuttoned shirt.
* TheRival: Yun Seong greatly admires Hwang and wants to be seen as his equal. So much so, that he challenged Hwang to a duel, prior to ''SC II''. When Hwang realized [[GlorySeeker Yun Seong's motive]], he refused to accept. Undaunted, Yun Seong was determined to make Hwang acknowledge his talents somehow and eventually learned he had once gone in search of Soul Edge, but had returned without it. Thus, Yun Seong believed if he could succeed where Hwang had seemingly failed, he'd have no choice but to recognize him as an equal.
* SchmuckBait: For his ending in SC III, he starts to claim Soul Edge 'til he notices a tray of pork buns sitting next to it. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MzaVxopQEw Seems legit.]] *WHAP!*
* ShipTease: Talim accompanies him, during her story mode in ''SC III'', to try to convince him that Soul Edge is evil. They go their separate ways midway through, but reunite during her second ending,[[note]]which requires the command input,[[/note]] which results in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHnrouD6QxQ a brief romantic moment between them.]]

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Hong Yunsung? This was his name as spelled in ''II'', but it was rewritten into "Yun-seong" in following games. All Korean characters have gone through this.
* SurferDude: His look in ''III''.
* UnknownRival: To Mitsurugi in ''III''. As he faces the ronin in the Lost Cathedral in the Tales of Souls mode, he deems him an "enemy of his country" and prepares to fight him. Mitsurugi doesn't care about him.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: His 1P outfit in ''IV''.

->Sophitia's younger sister. She heads out to destroy Soul Edge so that her family can live in peace. As of ''IV'', she fought against Raphael but got tricked and lost her shard of Soul Edge, and later follows Siegfried's trail believing he has the "Holy Stone" that can destroy Soul Edge (well, he does have ''one'' big crystal that can do that, anyway...)

->Is succeeded by Pyrrha in ''V''. [[AllThereInTheManual Was sucked into Astral Chaos following the defeat of Soul Edge in IV.]]

* AscendedExtra: She has been mentioned in Sophitia's profiles in ''SE'' and ''SC'' and became a full-fledged playable character in ''II''.
* AssKicksYou: She has several moves that are this, and even her Critical Finish is a shield-assisted ass-smash. (To the ''face'', no less).
* BoobsOfSteel: In ''II'' & ''III'', where she has a fairly impressive bust, though nowhere as busty as Ivy, Taki, or her own sister. She's also one of the fastest and hardest hitting characters among the female cast; strong enough that she could break Soul Calibur with her bare hands.
* CainAndAbel: ''Soulcalibur IV'' she becomes the Abel to Sophitia's Cain, though Sophitia is not willingly Cain as she has been ForcedIntoEvil.

* [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength Doesn't Know Her Own Strength]]: Cassandra is remarkably strong, maybe too much so. She wound up destroying a pair of sacred armaments, due to how roughly she handled her sister's sword and shield. Her brother-in-law, Rothion, managed to repair them, but she wound up breaking the blade ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H-OdS0K_0c again.]]'' And in her ''SC IV'' ending, she breaks Soul Calibur ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6EnMrOfZx8 with her bare hands!]]''
* DumbBlonde: Played with. While there isn't any canon evidence of her intelligence (or lack of), the supplemental manga and ''Broken Destiny'' campaign has her fulfill this role.

* {{Fanservice}}: Invoked during [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc4JQxhpI9k her Critical Finish]] in ''SC IV'', where she knocks her opponent down [[AssKicksYou with a hip thrust]] and jumps on their face twice; tucking her shield under her backside for the second one.

* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: She's the foolish to Sophitia's responsible, but it's a minor case. Cassandra got her sword broken twice through the series and tried to hide one from Sophitia in her ending in ''III'', but that's it. Otherwise, she is a faithful companion to her, and tries to bring Sophitia back to her senses in ''IV''.

-->'''Cassandra: (bouncing)''' "i'm going all out!"
* [[JokeItem Joke Weapon]]: Has the most of any character to date, from her Keepsake in ''SCII'' to Baker's Daughter (which is ''literally'' a roller and basket) in ''SCIV''.
* LightningBruiser: She was insanely fast in ''SC II'' thanks to her Angel Step, which allowed her to manuever arround screen at such ludicrous speed that it was difficult to keep track of her. This is especially the case [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard when the AI had control of her.]] This was toned down in parts ''III & IV'', so she wasn't quite ''as fast'' as she was before. But her attack power has been consistent (for the most part), allowing her to KO opponents in little time.

* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: As in: 'watch her beat the hell out of you with it'. Which ranges from bitchslapping her opponent with it, to launching it at them [[PrecisionGuidedBoomerang like a discus.]]
* MamaBear: Sort of. Wanted to spare her sister from fighting to save her children, so she stole Sophie's weapons and set off to fight the evil.
* MiniDressOfPower: By ''IV'' it's become mini to the point of non-existence.
* OperaGloves: Worn with her default outfit in both ''SC II'' and ''SC IV''.
* ThePowerOfLove: The reason she took up arms, is so her sister would no longer have to. When Sophitia was blackmailed into serving Soul Edge, by Tira (in ''SC IV''), and succumbed to The Evil Seed, Cassandra became more determined than ever to destroy Soul Edge and Soul Calibur along with it. The announcer in ''SC II'' lampshades it:

* PossessionImpliesMastery: Same deal as her sister.
* PluckyGirl: Rather than mope about the hardships her sister has endured, she's determined to put a stop to it by ridding the world of both swords, as seen in her ''SC IV'' ending.
* ProperTightsWithASkirt: In II and III by default, but only in IV via her 2P costume.
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: In her backstory in ''SC II'', she witnessed her niece and nephew fighting over a Soul Edge fragment and saw the distress it caused her sister, Sophitia. Which angered Cassandra, causing her to storm into Hesphaestus' temple and demanded to know how he could idly sit by and do nothing to help Sophitia, after her sister had served him faithfully. When she received no response, she took the holy arms from their altar and decided she'd protect Sophitia, herself.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Gives one to Soul Calibur in her ending in ''IV''.]

* RequiredSecondaryPowers: An interesting example of a completely mundane character displaying a lack of this -- despite being skilled with Sophitia's weapons, she doesn't know how to take care of them. Her ''Soulcalibur III'' profile mentions she got Rothion to fix them up after ''II'', and in ''III'' her weapon breaks when she uses it to destroy Soul Edge. [[QuickTimeEvent If]] Sophitia finds out in her ending, she sends her straight to the forge to fix it... cut to Cassandra having a sobbing fit, wailing that she ''doesn't know how''.
* SanitySlippage: [[spoiler:Spending 17 years trapped in the [[EldritchLocation Astral Chaos]] did a number on Cassandra’s mind and sanity. When she confronts her [[VideoGame/SoulCaliburVI past self in the New Timeline]], she has been Malfested and completely forgotten her own name.]]
* ShutUpHannibal: As Soul Calibur is saying about all evil being banished from the world, Cassandra attacks it.

* TemporaryBulkChange: Between the events of ''SCII'' and ''SCIII'' her profile says she's lost weight, and [[SpiritedCompetitor seems to have fun on the battlefield]], often remarking what a good workout it can be. Good luck trying to get her to tell you the ''actual'' number, though...

* TrappedInAnotherWorld: ''[[AllThereInTheManual New Legends Of Project Soul]]'' indicates that Cassandra was dragged into Astral Chaos during the defeat of Soul Edge at the end of ''IV'', which explains why she vanished without a trace for 17 years without even trying to find her nephew and niece. Eventually, it turns out that she briefly visited [[spoiler:the ''Soulcalibur VI'' timeline, where she warns the Cassandra of that timeline about what happens to Sophitia and Pyrrha.]]
* TheUnchosenOne: While Sophitia fights because the gods told her to, Cassandra decided Sophitia shouldn't have to fight Soul Edge anymore now that she has a family, so she set out to do it herself.

->Talim is a priestess ([[LastOfTheirKind the last priestess]], to be specific) of a tribe who worship the winds. She seeks to restore the balance of nature by purging the powers of the two swords. She heads out and tries to catch the forces of evil, and ends up getting entangled with Yun-seong and Seong Mi-na.

->Her whereabouts as of ''SCV'' were unknown, though she reappears in the rebooted timeline of ''SCVI'' with a look that combines her outfits from both ''II'' and ''IV''.

* AgeInappropriateDress: Her [[https://soulcalibur.wikia.com/wiki/File:TalimSCIV.jpg default attire]] for ''SC IV'' includes transparent pantaloons, while her 2P costume has no pants ''at all''. Both costumes also include a halter top, leaving her abs in plain view. She's only 15 years old.

* TheBabyOfTheBunch: Especially noticeable in ''II''. She's 15, in a roster where the majority of characters (apart from the non-human golem Astaroth who is only seven, but he was effectively BornAsAnAdult) are in their early-twenties to be considered "young" and many are older than that. This was lessened in the sequels which introduced Tira (17), and Amy (who is likely even younger than her).

* BadassNative: At the time the series is set, Spanish colonial expansion was pushing ever eastward, though the indigenous peoples of the region that became known as the UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}} did try to repel the invaders — and Babaylan (“priestess” - Talim’s societal role) did actually go to war on occasion.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Talim is truly a kind and sweet young girl that doesn't condone violence, but has the power to utterly ''destroy'' you if she has to fight.
* BlowYouAway: Her critical finish in ''IV'' ends with her opponent getting launched skyward by a tornado. In ''VI'' she has a lot more moves that can create wind magic, especially when her Soul Charge is activated.
* TheCape: Talim is an idealistically good, pacifistic person who only fights to rid the world of Soul Edge's evil.
* CatGirl: In her ''Soulcalibur IV'' alternate costume -- comes complete with paw-shaped mittens and boots.
* ComedicSpanking: One of her throws has her get the opponent on all fours and whip their behind.
* TheCutie: To a point. She's a beautiful, kind-hearted girl.
* DanceBattler: Fights under the discipline of her sacred village's Wind Dance, an acrobatic and graceful fighting style originally meant to appease the Wind deity.

* FragileSpeedster: Her moves rely more on speed and acrobatics than power.

* ImprobableAge: In ''II'', she was the only fighter who was under 18 (not counting Astaroth, who was created [[ReallyWasBornYesterday seven years prior]]). Being only 15, she is one of the youngest fighters in the series, alongside Amy[[note]]Her age is unstated[[/note]] and later, Leixia.
* InHarmonyWithNature: Specifically, the [[BlowYouAway wind]]. It comes with the job.

* MeaningfulName: Talim means sharp (as an adjective) or blade (as a noun) in Tagalog, which is a major dialect in Filipino language. In ''VI'', she actually mentions the relevance and meaning behind her name during her story mode.

* PacifistWind: Talim is a Filipino Wind Priestess who in some games has BlowYouAway powers. She is a MartialPacifist and AllLovingHero in a cast full of scoundrels, rogues, dedicated warriors, and in which even the monk character has a SuperpoweredEvilSide, making her easily the most pacifistic character in the roster. The ''Libra of Souls'' mode in ''VideoGame/SoulCaliburVI'' explains further that the wind priestess fighting style is for ceremonial and strictly defensive purposes.

--> '''Talim''': I will never give up, never!
* PurityPersonified: Easily the sweetest character in the series. Promotional work even states that what lies in her soul is purity.
* ReligiousBruiser: Talim is daughter of her village's shaman and was raised to be the last ''Babaylan'' (priestess). She summons her innate wind-based powers to stamp out ''Soul Edge's'' evil influence. Given her worship of the winds, it may be the case that her people show special deference to ''Anitun Tabu'', the wind deity in Tagalog mythology.
* ShipTease: Briefly with Yun Seong, during her second ending in ''SC III'', though nothing actually comes of it. She mainly spends half her story mode trying to convince him that Soul Edge is evil. They have little interaction with each other for the remainder of the series.
* WaifFu: She's only 4'8" (144 cm) tall.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: She does not reappear in Soulcalibur V and her name isn't even mentioned in supplemental material.
* YinYangBomb: Her ultimate weapon(s) in ''Soulcalibur IV'' makes her the only character, besides Algol (the final boss), that can use Soul Edge and Soul Calibur ''at the same time''. Kilik and Zasalamel carry something similar, but not quite.

->A French noble who was marked for death due to killing a noble who was corrupted by the Evil Seed in self-defence. He is saved by a young girl named Amy. He decides to take revenge against those who did him wrong by obtaining Soul Edge, but there is a second objective: to repay Amy for helping him, by creating a better world for her. He eventually finds Nightmare and fights him, but loses the battle. However, as Nightmare attempts to kill him, Siegfried begins to resurface and Raphael exploits this vulnerability by stabbing Soul Edge's eye. This releases Siegfried from the sword's control, and Raphael collapses.

->In ''III'' he returns to Amy, severely injured from his Soul Edge-induced scars. As he recovers, he starts noticing changes within himself. He noticed his skin began to turn pale white, and his eye color had changed to red. He also noticed that he felt very weak during the day, and a powerful thirst at night. By the time he had even considered the fact that he was being "malfested," however, the process was already completed. Both himself and Amy had become vampires, no longer able to co-exist with humans. Thus, Raphael concluded that if he and Amy could not change for the world, then the world would change for them. And so he began infecting people and turning them into his minions, but this would not last long as a traveler began curing the people by giving them "Holy Stones." He set out to take the stone, but upon touching it he was burned and repelled, and Raphael destroyed the stone. He set out to once again find Soul Edge to destroy the other Holy Stones and create the perfect world for Amy.

->Raphael eventually comes to believe in ''IV'' that the "Holy Stones" are actually fragments of Soul Calibur, the polar opposite of Soul Edge (though they aren't: they are parts of Kilik's mirror). Thinking that Soul Calibur is even more powerful than Soul Edge, he now seeks to use its power to finally give Amy her world.

->He awakens in a dungeon by the time ''V'' rolls around, and returns to his home to find that Amy has disappeared. Understandably pissed, he sets out to find her.

->[[WordOfGod Daishi himself]] has confirmed that Raphael had died in the fourth game, and the ''Soulcalibur V'' artbook outright confirms that his body has become the new vessel for Nightmare. There are many theories surrounding Raphael at this time, but the two most common are that he is either a ghost or his story takes place after the story mode of ''V'', and he is set free when Soul Edge and Soul Calibur are returned to Astral Chaos.

* AccidentalHero: His desperate final strike at Nightmare in ''Soul Calibur 2'', which mauled Soul Edge's eye, allowed Siegfried to break away from the sword's evil influence. This overall positive net gain was rather immaterial to Raphael, of course, who was simply trying to kill his enemy. He also wound up [[CursedWithAwesome being Malfested and turned into a vampire]].

* AnimalMotifs: Bats, as befitting of a vampire. This is most obvious is V, where both his costumes are covered in bat symbols.

* AristocratsAreEvil: A very morally ambiguous character who is/was a French noble and always has an aristocratic flair in his outfits.
* BlueBlood: He's noted as being of noble birth, but his rank within the French peerage is never specified -- unlike his fellow aristocrats Ivy (an Earl's daughter, therefore ''Lady'' Isabella) and Hilde (''Princess'' Hildegard).
* CulturedBadass: He is stated to be proficient in medicine, well-tutored in the aristocratic ways, and seems to be a good dancer.

* {{Dracula}}: In the later games of the series, Raphael comes to closely resemble the Count: He's an aristocratic vampire, given the titles "Dark Lord", "Lord Of The Night", and "Creature Of The Night" who took up residence in an abandoned castle in Wallachia.
* EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench: A good-looking French guy who still retains a youthful look when he is nearing ''50''. Justified though, because of his vampirism.

* FlowerMotifs: In ''VI'', his cape is fastened with a large brooch designed after the ''Fleur de Lis'', the national flower (and old flag symbol, as seen above) of his native France.
* FrenchJerk: Comes from France and is a very arrogant individual. Becomes somewhat toned down after meeting Amy.
* IShallTauntYou: He has some specific taunts that, whenever he is attacked doing so he dodges and can counterattack the opponent.
* KaleidoscopeEyes: In every installment barring ''V'', Raphael's eye color has changed. He's gone from blue (''II'') to amber (''III'') to {{red|EyesTakeWarning}} (''IV'' and ''V'').
* KnightTemplarParent: To Amy, although she apparently doesn't take him seriously. Case in point: her ending in ''IV''.

* LoveMakesYouCrazy: Through and through. He seeks to Malfest the world so that he and Amy will be accepted by society.

** Definitely noticeable by ''V'', where his voice patterns (in Japanese at least) sound much less composed, like he just checked in to a mental hospital.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: Raphael's ultimate goal is to create a new world for his adoptive daughter Amy. His primary methods of doing this are as follows: manipulating events from behind the scenes, killing innocent people to quench his vampirism, in the process turning them into undead, malfested slaves under his command, and being a complete asshole to anyone who gets in his way.
* MeaningfulAppearance: In ''V'', which gives him a striking similarity in appearance to [[LightNovel/VampireHunterD D]][=/=]Film/VanHelsing. There is definitely some twisted irony behind this observation.

** It's likely based on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankou "Ankou,"]] a [[TheGrimReaper personification of death]] from early French folklore who is often depicted wearing a wide-brimmed hat, as shown [[http://perlbal.hi-pi.com/blog-images/103841/gd/1187000939/L-Ankou.jpg here.]]
* MistakenForGay: When he first appeared he was AmbiguouslyGay. Nowadays, not so much.
* PapaWolf: It is a bad idea to mean any harm to Amy in his presence.
* PrettyBoy: Especially in his debut.
* OlderThanTheyLook: He's 49 by the time of ''V'', but still looks 32, thanks to his vampirism.
* OneManArmy: Implied in his biography in 3 in which the citizenry Romania is terrified of approaching his castle and an army was dispatched to clean it out. His response? It was simply another mere annoyance to get rid off as he goes out to confront them.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Raphael's Malfestaton manifests as vampirism, as demonstrated in ''IV'' and ''V''. One of Raphael's throws (that only works on females), as well as his [[FinishingMove Critical Finish]] involve biting the neck and drinking deep. He's corrupted not by another vampire but by the evil of Soul Edge. His vampirism also halted his aging, [[OlderThanTheyLook leaving him physically at 32]] in ''V''.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: As his eyes became red in later installmentes, you see he is becoming crazier and more evil.

* RoyalRapier: his weapon is a rapier from his days as a nobleman.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Raphael might have possibly saved the world due to being foolish enough to face down Nightmare in ''II''. If he hadn't thrust his rapier into Soul Edge's {{eye|sDoNotBelongThere}}, Siegfried might not have been able to finally break free of Soul Edge's control.
* TragicKeepsake: In ''V'' he is seen holding one of Amy's hairbands and is looking for her, meaning something bad may have happened to her during the timeskip. This only serves to fuel the theory of "Viola = Amy" even more.

* WalkingShirtlessScene: His alternate costume in ''V''.

* TheWorfEffect: He's overpowered by Tira in ''III'''s opening movie, letting the player know that the new villainess means business.

->[[quoteleft:75:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/japflag_8033.png]]

->'''Voiced by:''' [[note]]Creator/AkioOhtsuka (Japanese), Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson (English, credited as Victor Stone)[[/note]]

! Main Characters

! Additional and Guest Characters

->'''Weapon:''' ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Agony]]'', [[AnAxeToGrind a double-blade axe]]

* AnAxeToGrind: His cloak takes the form of a battle-axe.

->'''Weapon:''' [[AnAxeToGrind battle axe]]

* AnAxeToGrind: Wields a giant axe

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cass_sc2fix.jpg]]

----

'''Original Timeline'''

'''New Timeline'''

* Characters/SoulcaliburVI
** Characters/SoulcaliburVI1
** Characters/SoulcaliburVI2
** Characters/SoulcaliburVI3 (for tropes on Talim, Raphael and Cassandra)

* RoyalRapier: his WeaponOfChoice is a rapier from his days as a nobleman.

* AllLovingHero: She never hates anyone, but only has the purest intentions. This is especially evident in her ''SCIV'' ending where readily forgives Algol for his actions.

* MartialPacifist: It is made clear that Talim is a peaceful girl who avoids fighting whenever possible, but if she has to, she uses her skills with bladed tonfas.

* PacifistWind: Talim is a Filipino Wind Priestess who sometimes has BlowYouAway powers. She is a MartialPacifist and AllLovingHero in a cast full of scoundrels, rogues, dedicated warriors, and in which even the monk character has a SuperpoweredEvilSide, making her easily the most pacifistic character in the roster. The ''Libra of Souls'' mode in ''VideoGame/SoulCaliburVI'' explains further that the wind priestess fighting style is for ceremonial and strictly defensive purposes.

->'''Weapons:''' ''[[NonindicativeName Syi Salika & Loka Luha]] [[note]]("Teaching Flute" and "Wild Tears" in Tagalog, very approximately)[[/note]]'', [[DualTonfas a pair of elbow blades]]

* DualTonfas: One of the best known examples in video gaming, Talim's are bladed, and as such are noted as being "elbow blades" in-universe.

* BadassNative: At the time the series is set, Spanish colonial expansion was pushing ever eastward, though the indigenous peoples of the region that became known as the UsefulNotes/Philippines did try to repel the invaders — and Babaylan (“priestess” - Talim’s societal role) did actually go to war on occasion.

* AllLovingHero: She never hates anyone, but only has the purest intentions. This is especially evident in her ''SCIV'' ending...

* DanceBattler: Fights under the discipline of her sacred village's Wind Dance, an acrobatic and graceful fighting style originally meant to appease that of the Wind deity.

->'''Origin:''' ''[[UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}} Village of the Wind Deity, South-East Asia (Philippines)]]'' [[note]]The Philippine nation was not independent from the Spanish Empire during the time-frame of the series, and the familiar ''Pambansang Watawat'' flag was not adopted until 1898. Therefore, the flag shown here represents the Tagalog people, of which Talim is a member.[[/note]]