History Trivia / SoulSeries

** [[https://soulcalibur.wikia.com/wiki/Cut_Characters From the early era, there were a ton of designs that didn't see the light of day]]. However, some feature concepts that may have evolved into future characters, such as a grim reaper-like figure (who may have evolved into Zasalamel), a scantily-clad woman with a whip (who would become Ivy), a feathered man with a rapier (Raphael) and perhaps the record, a girl using a dual-sided weapon that would evolve into the male Grøh two decades later. There's also some odd designs in general, like a kid controlling a large puppet, a female version of Voldo, a woman with what looks to be a ''chainsaw'' of all things, and a girl who'd weaponize ''playing cards''. Also, a Yoshimitsu prototype had him appearing as a ''literal skeleton''.

* YouLookFamiliar:

** Creator/YuriLowenthal was one of the custom voices for CAS in ''IV'' (as well as Algol's son Arcturus), and returned as Patroklos in ''V''. He also voiced Michael in ''Legends'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrJgyDsfkfQ#t=11m24s a character who was noted to have]] [[{{Jerkass}} a similar disposition]] to that of Patroklos.

** [[Franchise/DevilMayCry Dante]] was supposed to be a GuestFighter in ''III''.

* StillbornFranchise: ''Soulcalibur V'' was meant to be the start of a new direction for the series, and then-head Daishi Odashima planned for follow-ups that would've adhered to that game's status quo. In fact, ''V'' was originally going to be called ''Soul Edge 2'' in order to signify it. However, due to a combination of backlash over the game's story, setting and characters, the series going on a [[SequelGap hiatus for many years afterwards]], Daishi himself leaving the team less than two years after ''V'', and a general sentiment that the series needed to return to its roots to survive, this did not come to be. ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' would eventually be made, but the game [[ContinuityReboot hit the reset button]] specifically to escape the direction ''V'' was going to take the series and return to the setting that ''V'' was trying to shed, which Okubo outright admitted was ''because'' the series was on thin ice after ''V''.

** In ''IV'', Nightmare and Astaroth are both voiced by Creator/MichaelMcConnohie in English.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: ''Soulcalibur IV'', which features [[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Galen Marek/Starkiller]] (here called "The Apprentice") as a GuestFighter, who was there primarily to promote the then-upcoming ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheForceUnleashed''. Considering that game came and went, and has been denounced as canon once Creator/{{Disney}} brought out the series, it sticks out like a sore thumb much like the characters themselves in that game.

** Creator/KirkThornton voiced the "Veteran Knight" custom set in ''V'' and returned to voice Siegfried and Nightmare in ''VI''.

* StillbornFranchise: ''Soulcalibur V'' was meant to be the start of a new direction for the series, and then-head Daishi Odashima planned for follow-ups that would've adhered to that game's status quo. In fact, ''V'' was originally going to be called ''Soul Edge 2'' in order to signify it. However, due to a combination of HypeBacklash over the game's story, setting and characters, the series going on a [[SequelGap hiatus for many years afterwards]], Daishi himself leaving the team less than two years after ''V'', and a general sentiment that the series needed to return to its roots to survive, this did not come to be. ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' would eventually be made, but the game [[ContinuityReboot hit the reset button]] specifically to escape the direction ''V'' was going to take the series and return to the setting that ''V'' was trying to shed, which Okubo outright admitted was ''because'' the series was on thin ice after ''V''.

** For a certain value of "talking", in the [=GameCube=] version of ''II'', Nobuyuki Hiyama [[RoleReprisal reprises]] Link's battle cries as he did in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' (specifically adult Link). As Hiyama already voices Nightmare (or rather Siegfried under the Nightmare identity), they end up sounding very similar.

** Creator/KirkThornton voiced the "Veteran Knight" custom set in ''V'' and returned to voice Siegfried and Nightmare in ''VI''

*** Mitsurugi: Ed Cunningham -> Unknown VA

* CreatorBacklash: Namco threw [[DesignatedHero Patroklos]] [[TheScrappy Alexander]] under the bus during the popularity poll, saying that they were "impressed" that the hero of ''SCV'' placed so low, even below characters like [[JokeCharacter Dampierre]]. For the record, he placed #37 out of 45 characters with only 32 votes received out of over 10000 that were cast. Sure enough, ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' turned out to be a reboot that returns to the original setting of the series, and Patroklos was among the first characters (alongside the other ''V'' newcomers) that were confirmed to be cut from the game.

** The gap between ''V'' and ''VI'' is the longest in series history, spanning ''six years''.

** Daishi Odashima said, to the surprise of many, that ''Setsuka'' was his favorite character. This didn't save her from getting the axe in ''V''. Her style was carried on by Alpha Patroklos, but it's still a shock that she herself didn't make it.

** Also in ''V'', fans came up with [[spoiler:"Patsuka/Petsuka" for Alpha Patroklos (who uses Setsuka's iaijutsu and was originally trained by her in-canon) and "[[Series/TheOprahWinfreyShow Oprah]]" for Pyrrha Omega.]]

** ''VI'' already showcases this with Mitsurugi and Sophitia. Though their English voice actors aren't yet known at this moment, they're definitely ''not'' Ed Cunningham and Creator/EdenRiegel based on the way they sound. Likewise, Creator/KirkThornton takes over from Roger Craig Smith as Siegfried, with Thornton also providing the voice of his Nightmare persona.

*** Nightmare: Creator/FumihikoTachiki -> Kosei Hirota, then Creator/YasunoriMasutani in ''V''. Before ''III'' (and [[RoleReprisal once]] [[TheOriginalDarrin again]] in ''VI''), Nightmare shared the same VA as Siegfried (Creator/NobuyukiHiyama) [[SignificantDoubleCasting due to being one and the same with him]]. [[spoiler:As Nightmare's new host in ''V'' is all but said to be Raphael in some form or another, the VA switch in that game follows a similar logic.]]

** ''V'' gives Nightmare a new voice, but his time around he shares his actors (Creator/YasunoriMasutani and Charles Klausemeyer) with Raphael in both versions. [[spoiler:This is likely because Raphael (or at least his body) is all but said to be Soul Edge's new host.]]

** Talim was voiced by Creator/KateHiggins in ''III'' and ''IV'', who then voiced Natsu in ''V''.

*** Seong Mi-na: Creator/HoukoKuwashima -> Creator/SanaeKobayashi. Her original VA is Creator/HekiruShiina, who was replaced by Creator/YukoMiyamura in the console port of ''SE''.

*** Taki: Creator/FujikoTakimoto -> Sachiko Kojima
*** Xianghua: Creator/AyaHisakawa -> Creator/RyokoShintani

* CreatorBacklash: Namco threw [[DesignatedHero Patroklos]] [[TheScrappy Alexander]] under the bus during the popularity poll, saying that they were "impressed" that the hero of ''SCV'' placed so low, even below characters like [[JokeCharacter Dampierre]]. For the record, he placed #37 out of 45 characters with only 32 votes received out of over 10000 that were cast. What this says about his chances of returning in future installments remains to be seen.

** A guest character named [[http://www.soularchive.jp/tmr/souledge/sophitia/soph_cha.htm Azola]] was planned for the first game -- as a palette swap of Sophitia. During development, she was scrapped and her design just became Sophitia's 2P costume. This explains why the first game is the only time Sophitia's 2P costume is a brunette. Azola eventually appeared in ''IV'', as a Create-a-Soul character that features in Sophitia's story and uses her weapon style.

** Going further with the above, the intention was that ''V'' would've been a new starting point for the series in general and pseudo-reboot to move the series forward. It was even said that plans were already in the works for ''VI'', ''VII'', ''VIII'' and ''IX''. While ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' was made eventually, the game is a ContinuityReboot that undoes everything ''V'' tried to do. One can only one how different future games would've been if ''V'' remained the status quo.

** According to ''II'''s localization producer, Nao Higo, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud Strife]] was originally supposed to be the guest character for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 version of the game. However, the deal with Creator/SquareEnix fell through at the last minute, resulting in Cloud being replaced with [[VideoGame/{{Tekken}} Heihachi]].
** Project Soul originally wanted a ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' character, likely Kasumi, to be exclusive to the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} version of ''Soulcalibur II'' as the ''DOA'' series was exclusive to the brand at the time, but couldn't get the rights due to Tomonobu Itagaki's feud with Namco over the ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' series. As a result, they got ComicBook/{{Spawn}} to be the Xbox guest character, since they were already partnered with Todd [=MacFarlane=] to create OneShotCharacter Necrid.

** Project Soul originally wanted a ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' character, likely Kasumi, to be exclusive to the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} version of ''Soulcalibur II'' as the ''DOA'' series was exclusive to the brand at the time, but couldn't get the rights due to Itagaki's feud with Namco over the ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' series. As a result, they got ComicBook/{{Spawn}} to be the Xbox guest character, since they were already partnered with Todd [=MacFarlane=] to create OneShotCharacter Necrid.

** Daishi Odashima said, to the surprise of many, that ''Setsuka'' was his favorite character. This didn't save her from getting the axe in ''V''. [[spoiler:However, her fighting style lives on through Alpha Patroklos, as Setsuka took on Patroklos as a student (and [[ParentalSubstitute surrogate son]]) during the interim between ''IV'' and ''V''.]]

*** Nightmare: Creator/FumihikoTachiki -> Kosei Hirota, then Creator/YasunoriMasutani in ''V''. Before ''III'' (and [[RoleReprisal once]] [[TheOriginalDarrin again]] in ''VI''), Nightmare shared the same VA as Siegfried (Creator/NobuyukiHiyama) due to being one and the same with him. [[spoiler:As Nightmare's new host in ''V'' is all but said to be Raphael in some form or another, the VA switch in that game follows a similar logic.]]
*** Rock: Minoru Inaba -> Creator/ToruOkawa. Additionally, Rock's VA in the earliest games is Takashi Nagasako.
*** Seong Mi-na: Creator/HoukoKuwashima -> Creator/SanaeKobayashi. Her original VA is Creator/HekiruShiina, who got replaced by Creator/YukoMiyamura in the console port of ''SE''.

** ''VI'' already showcases this with Mitsurugi and Sophitia. Though their English voice actors aren't yet known at this moment, they're definitely ''not'' Ed Cunningham and Creator/EdenRiegel based on the way they sound.

*** Nightmare: Creator/FumihikoTachiki -> Kosei Hirota, then Creator/YasunoriMasutani in ''V''. Before ''III'' (and [[RoleReprisal once again]] in ''VI''), Nightmare shared the same VA as Siegfried (Creator/NobuyukiHiyama) due to being one and the same with him. [[spoiler:As Nightmare's new host in ''V'' is all but said to be Raphael in some form or another, the VA switch in that game follows a similar logic.]]

** Daishi Odashima said, to the surprise of many, that ''Setsuka'' was his favorite character. This didn't save her from getting the axe in ''V''.

* MarthDebutedInSmashBros: ''Soul Calibur IV'' introduces "The Apprentice". This person would one day star in his own game, ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheForceUnleashed''.

*** Amy: Kanako Tateno -> Creator/HitomiNabatame. Then again, she did start life as a custom character PromotedToPlayable in the arcade edition.

*** Nightmare: Creator/FumihikoTachiki -> Kosei Hirota, then Creator/YasunoriMasutani in ''V''. Before ''III'', Nightmare shared the same VA as Siegfried (Creator/NobuyukiHiyama) due to being one and the same with him.

*** While Mitsurugi's VA is consistently Creator/ToshiyukiMorikawa alright, he did get replaced by Creator/WataruTakagi in the console version of ''Soulcalibur'' for some reason.

*** Edge Master's in VA in ''V'' is Koji Ishii, replacing the [[AuthorExistenceFailure late]] Creator/DaisukeGori.
* RelationshipVoiceActor: Creator/RyokoShintani (Xianghua in IV) and Creator/YukariTamura (Talim) were together in ''Anime/GalaxyAngel''.

** ''Soulcalibur V'' was originally going to be called ''Soul Edge II'' in order to mark Daishi Odashima's [[SoftReboot new direction]] for the franchise. However, Namco wasn't having it, and [[PublisherChosenTitle forced him to continue]] the ''Soulcalibur'' name.

** Creator/YuriLowenthal was one of the custom voices for CAS in ''IV'', and returned as Patroklos in ''V''. He also voiced Michael in ''Legends'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrJgyDsfkfQ#t=11m24s a character who was noted to have]] [[{{Jerkass}} a similar disposition]] to that of Patroklos.

** Despite being two different people [[LegacyCharacter sharing the same identity]], Yoshimitsu II shares both his Japanese and English voice actors (Creator/NorioWakamoto and Mitch Urban [[note]]Wakamoto took over from Creator/NobuyukiHiyama, who voiced Yoshimitsu from his ''Soulcalibur'' debut, in ''IV'', while Urban was part of the voice actor changing of the guard that occured during the dubbing of ''Soulcalibur III''[[/note]]) with his predecessor, making him somewhat difficult to distinguish apart from him introducing himself as Yoshimitsu the Second (and reinforcing the implication that BecomingTheMask is in effect for each successive Manji Clan leader).

** When ''Soul Edge''/''Soul Blade'' was renamed to ''Soulcalibur'' for the subsequent second game, the original plan was that ''every'' game would have a ThemeNaming based on swords as opposed to {{Numbered Sequel}}s. They would instead be marked by the world "''Soul''" in each title. However, ''Soulcalibur'' became such a runaway success beyond their original expectations that they ultimately kept the ''Soulcalibur'' name for every subsequent game because of how recognizable it is.

** Going further with the above, the intention was that ''V'' would've been a new starting point for the series in general and pseudo-reboot to move the series forward. It was even said that plans were already in the works for ''VI'', ''VII'', ''VIII'' and ''IX''. While ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' was made eventually, the game is a ContinuityReboot that undoes everything ''V'' tried to do. One can only one how different future games would've been if ''V'' remained that status quo.

*** While Mitsurugi's VA is consistently Nobuyuki Hiyama alright, he did get replaced by Creator/WataruTakagi in the console version of ''Soulcalibur'' for some reason.

** Despite being two different people [[LegacyCharacter sharing the same identity]], Yoshimitsu II shares his both his Japanese and English voice actors (Creator/NorioWakamoto and Mitch Urban [[note]]Wakamoto took over from Creator/NobuyukiHiyama, who voiced Yoshimitsu from his ''Soulcalibur'' debut, in ''IV'', while Urban was part of the voice actor changing of the guard that occured during the dubbing of ''Soulcalibur III''[[/note]]) with his predecessor, making him somewhat difficult to distinguish apart from him introducing himself as Yoshimitsu the Second (and reinforcing the implication that BecomingTheMask is in effect for each successive Manji Clan leader).

* CreatorsFavorite: Animator Tomoe Yamashita said that Sophitia was his favourite character to design.

** Project Soul originally wanted a ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' character, likely Kasumi, to be exclusive to the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} version of ''Soulcalibur II'' as the ''DOA'' series was exclusive to the brand at the time, but couldn't get the rights due to Itagaki's feud with Namco over the ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' series. As a result they got ComicBook/{{Spawn}} to be the Xbox guest character, since they were already partnered with Todd [=MacFarlane=] to create OneShotCharacter Necrid.

** According to ''II'''s localization producer, Nao Higo, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud Strife]] was originally supposed to be the guest character for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 version of the game. However, the deal with Creator/SquareEnix fell through at the last minute, resulting in Cloud being replaced with [[VideoGame/{{Tekken}} Heihachi]].

** A guest character called [[http://www.soularchive.jp/tmr/souledge/sophitia/soph_cha.htm Azola]] was planned for the first game -- as a palette swap of Sophitia. During development she was scrapped and her design just became Sophitia's 2P costume. This explains why the first game is the only time Sophitia's 2P costume is a brunette. Azola eventually appeared in ''IV'', as a Create-a-Soul character that features in Sophitia's story and uses her weapon style.