History VideoGame / SoulSeries

* [[index]]''VideoGame/SoulEdge'' / ''Soul Blade''[[/index]] (1995 - Arcade; 1996 - UsefulNotes/PlayStation)

* BittersweetEnding: ''Weapons Master'' ends with [[spoiler:you forced to kill your rival to stop Inferno/the latest host of Soul Edge; while you are now worthy enough to wield Soul Calibur, the game makes it clear you are but a footnote to the countless holders of Soul Calibur ''and'' heavily implies your story was just a pit stop compared to the main character's journeys. Your name fades into legend, known only by a few hardcore historians... and your newly immortal best friend.

The series began in the mid-'90s with ''Soul Edge'', one of the first games to feature three-dimensional combat where every character holds a weapon. Control is mostly similar to ''Tekken'' and ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'', where characters can move along the three-dimensional plane and can be knocked out of the ring if they were careless. However, unlike its contemporaries, where controls are taken straight out of 2D fighting games (move towards or away from the opponent, upward directions jump, downward directions crouch) with limited sidestep capabilities, the directional controls allow the player to easily move in any of the eight basic directions, and dashing can be done in those same directions (not just towards or away from the opponent) -- a feature known as "8-Way Run". Characters can also deflect each other's weapon attacks, or break them and render them useless if hit enough times.

The series began in the mid-'90s with ''Soul Edge'', one of the first games to feature three-dimensional combat where every character holds a weapon. Control is mostly similar to ''Tekken'' and ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'', where characters can move along the three-dimensional plane and can be knocked out of the ring if they were careless. However, unlike its contemporaies, where controls are taken straight out of 2D fighting games with limited sidestep capabilities, the directional controls allow the player to move in any of the eight basic directions, and dashing can be done in those same directions (not just towards or away from the opponent) -- a feature known as "8-Way Run". Characters can also deflect each other's weapon attacks, or break them and render them useless if hit enough times.

The series began in the mid-'90s with ''Soul Edge'', one of the first games to feature three-dimensional combat where every character held a weapon. Control was mostly similar to ''Tekken'' and ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'', where characters could move along the three-dimensional plane and could be knocked out of the ring if they were careless. Characters could also deflect each other's weapon attacks, or break them and render them useless if hit enough times.

** Siegfried plays homage to [[Myth/NorseMythology Nordic folk hero Sigurd]]; his namesake is [[Literature/{{Nibelungenlied}} Sigurd's German]] [[Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung counterpart]] (in-universe, [[NamedAfterSomebodyFamous this was deliberate on Frederick's part when it came to naming his son]]), one of his extra weapons is named Gram, and Siegfried even squares off against a dragon by the name of Fafnir in ''Legends''. Coincidentally (or perhaps not), the eight members of Hilde's [[AmazonBrigade all-female]] [[PraetorianGuard royal guard]] in ''IV'' [[note]]CAS characters [[WhipSword Gerhilde]], [[RoyalRapier Siegrune]], [[BladeOnAStick Waltraute]], [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe Schwertleite, Grimgerde]], [[RoyalRapier Helmwige]], [[BladeOnAStick Ortlinde]], and [[CarryABigStick Rossweisse]], the last three becoming Malfested due to an attack on Wolfkrone by Nightmare prior to the events of the game[[/note]] [[ShoutOutThemeNaming are named for eight of the nine]] {{valkyries}} from ''[[Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung Die Walküre]]'', with Hilde being partially named after the ninth, Brünnhilde.

* BladeOnAStick: Seong Mi-na, Hilde, Girardot, Angol Fear.

* NaginatasAreFeminine: Kilik and Seong Mi-na are built off of the same moveset. Kilik uses a staff while Mi-na uses a BladeOnAStick, including one weapon simply called "Naginata."

** Ivy. [[GagBoobs No,]] [[JigglePhysics seriously]]. She knows that she has "cursed blood", thanks to Soul Edge (her blood type is even listed as "Soul Edge"), so she has taken a vow to never have children, lest they too be cursed.

** Considering the role played by Leo in ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII Assassin's Creed II]]'', this might be intentional...

* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: A particularly extreme example. Almost everyone in the series speaks with a generic American accent despite the fact that ''Soulcalibur'' takes place in the 16th/17th century, with the characters hailing from primarily Europe or Asia '''before''' the United States even existed. The exception to this is Ivy, who is voiced with a deep British accent that's appropriate for her. GuestFighter [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreed Ezio]] is another exception, being voiced with an Italian accent that holds true to his original series.

* FakeBalance: Different unit types in Chronicles are supposed to have difference balance, such as being better for out of combat battle or being slow but destructive, however AIBreaker combined with the odd mechanics of the RTS means that choosing thief means you get speed and the ability to take down bases faster, while all battles are fought by the player.
** In the final Chronicle, where there are ''no'' bases/revival points, making all your units Infantry and fighting on the map is often better than manual mode.

* AnAxeToGrind: Astaroth, Rock (formerly), Lizardman, Ashlotte, ComicBook/{{Spawn}}.

* MightyGlacier: Rock and his MovesetClone, Astaroth, have a big, slow-swinging [[AnAxeToGrind Axe to Grind]] that can cause insane amounts of damage with each slow, telegraphed swing.

* WakeUpCallBoss: Luna's first appearance in in Chronicles of the Sword (Chapter 3). Before this chapter, the A.I. is passive and fairly weak. Now they will rush you on multiple fronts with overleveled troops ''and'' there is a "main universe" character on the field for the first time (they are level 60 when you are 5 at best, learn to avoid them).

** That is, unless you're strong enough to crush multiple enemies outright. There is perhaps one Chronicle in which strategy is needed: a rescue mission. It's often impossible to do anything else in some levels, as the enemies favor rushing you (while it ''is'' their best option, as this forces you to face everyone at once and you can't recover between them, it tends to make the rest of the map fairly boring).

* InstantWinCondition: Averted in Chronicles of the Sword, a ring-out will only take a large chunk of a combatant's HP.
** Played straight on one occasion. There is one stronghold in the game where falling to the floor means instant death. And your opponent is a Level 60 character. Thank your lucky stars that he isn't immune to the stage's effect, unlike other occasions in the game.

* DualTonfas: Talim's weapon of choice.
* DualWielding: Cervantes, [[VideoGame/GodOfWar Kratos]], [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Lloyd Irving]], and Shura all dual-wield swords, as well as Talim, who [[DualTonfas dual wields Tonfas]]. Taki and Natsu dual-wield daggers for certain attacks, and Algol's hands transform into Soul Edge and Soul Calibur, as well as double bubble cannons. Maxi can dual-wield nunchaku as an extra kata in ''Soulcalibur''.

* FightingWithChucks: Li Long, Maxi.

* ''Soulcalibur: Lost Swords'' (2014 - [=PlayStation=] 3)[[note]]A single-player free-to-play game using a token system to unlock characters from ''SoulCalibur IV'' and ''Soulcalibur V''. Terminated in November 2015.[[/note]]

* AwesomeMcCoolname:
** Ladies and gentlemen, the giant of the New World, Nathaniel William Adams. Or for short, '''[[BarbarianHero Rock]]'''.
** Cervantes de Leon. Might be a ShoutOut to Literature/DonQuixote.
** Lady Isabella "Ivy" Valentine.
** Hildegard "Hilde" von Krone.[[note]]translated roughly from Old German, her name is ''Battlefield of the Crown''. That is a ''ridiculously'' cool name for a woman.[[/note]]
** ''Zasalamel''. Taking aside he's a towering ScaryBlackMan with a scythe and magic powers, would you even stand and fight a guy with a name like that?
** Aeon Calcos.
** Lord Geo Dampierre. Also known ([[TheFightingNarcissist mostly to himself]]) as "Le Bello" or "the Beautiful".

''Soulcalibur'' has since spawned five sequels, which have been ported to a number of home systems. A spin-off ActionAdventure title, ''Soulcalibur Legends'', has been released for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoWii Wii]]; ''IV'' has also been ported to the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]] as ''Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny'', which [[GuestFighter guest stars]] Kratos, [[VideoGame/GodOfWar the God of War]].[[note]]Despite Ares being a character in the series.[[/note]]

** Kratos in ''Broken Destiny'', [[UpToEleven even more]] than in [[VideoGame/GodOfWar his own series]].

** Yoshimitsu has a number of different quirks befitting his status as a FightingClown, and each one of them could've made him an example all by itself, but combined he takes it UpToEleven. For one, he has by far the most moves in the game. Many of them do little more than [[ConfusionFu confuse]] the opponent, but mastering each stance is what separates the best from the average. While other characters have stances, his are by far the most unique as they include sitting, flying while using his blade as a helicopter, and bouncing on his sword like a pogo stick, and ''all'' of them give him additional options. He's one of the few characters capable of self-harm with moves that CastFromHitPoints, even having an enhanced dodging mechanic that can get him out in a pinch but at the cost of his health, and he even can [[{{Seppuku}} stab himself]] with a move... [[TakingYouWithMe and take the opponent down in the process]]. Some of his moves can even harm himself if performed incorrectly, meaning that there's no margin of error when using them. Others are [[CounterAttack reliant on baiting the player]] and thus must be timed right, and this is in a series that doesn't feature an active counter system. Oh, and he's also the only character who can [[HealThyself heal himself]] mid-match. Finally, he can make full use of TeleportSpam to further confuse the opponent. As you can tell, Yoshimitsu is what happens when someone with ComboPlatterPowers is made into a fighting game character.

** Arthur is a British orphan who was raised in Japan.
** An even bigger example is Setsuka, who hails from an unknown European country but was raised Japanese. This is important, as she was shunned as a child for her overtly non-Japanese appearance until she was taken in by her master.

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''IV'' has many formerly-good characters -- not to mention the pure Soul Calibur -- take a swing into the dark side. These include Sophitia (forced to protect Soul Edge, with deadly force if necessary, to save her daughter's life), Maxi (driven to wield Soul Edge to destroy Astaroth by Tira), Taki (her ending has her murder Siegfried to prevent his attempt to create a utopia going horribly wrong), and Siegfried himself (his own storyline presents him as becoming increasingly suicidal, and his ending implies that Soul Calibur may have frozen the entire human population in crystal stasis, not to mention killing him).
** ''V'' deals with the massacre and persecution of those who are and are accused of being "Malfested." [[spoiler:Original!Cassandra in ''VI'' reveals that the events of ''V'' are a BadFuture that should be avoided at all costs.]]

%%* FragileSpeedster: Taki and Maxi.

* GoodOldFisticuffs: [[VideoGame/{{Tekken}} Heihachi and anyone with the Soul of Devil Jin.]]

* GoodScarsEvilScars: Siegfried and Kilik.

* SimpleStaff: Kilik, Hualin (also a TelescopingStaff), Xiba.

* NaginatasAreFeminine: Kilik and Seong Mi-na are built off of the same moveset. Kilik uses a SimpleStaff while Mi-na uses a BladeOnAStick, including one weapon simply called "Naginata."

* CosmicChessGame: Soul Edge versus Soul Calibur.

** ''V'' deals with the massacre and persecution of those who are and are accused of being "Malfested."

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Poor Sophitia. While most of the old cast that don't appear were merely PutOnABus, Sophitia herself was stated to be killed off casually by a Malfested in the past, thus it's not just on Patroklos' mind that she's dead.
** According to the artbook however, she actually gave her life so that Pyrrha could live without Soul Edge. This may have also happened to Cassandra, who disappeared into Astral Chaos after being knocked unconscious by her sister.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* RunningGag: ''Never'' ask an Alexander how much they weigh.

%%* SculptedPhysique

** ''Soulcalibur VI'' is a more direct example of a series reboot. According to director Motohiro Okubo, the game is to be set in the events of 1586, or in other words, the events of the first ''Soulcalibur''. The team decided to reboot the series in a hope to re-engage old fans and to attract newer fans. [[https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2018/04/motohiro-okubo-talks-soul-calibur-vi-reboot-no-cross-play-planned/55747/]]

** Even more so is Patrokos in ''V'', where the entirety of the game's story mode is centered around him. At least previous games had story modes for other characters.

* WesternSamurai: Arthur was originally an alter-ego of Mitsurugi for countries that don't stand samurais like Korea and China that various titles later received his own appearance as separate character instead a replacement for Mitsurugi. Arthur is an British blond guy with an EyepatchOfPower that was raised in Japan and eventually became a samurai.

** The setup for ''Soulcalibur'' (and [[SoftReboot by extension]] ''VideoGame/Soulcalibur VI'') assumes multiple elements from characters' endings. Li Long lost a fight with Cervantes that left him gravely wounded, seemingly [[KilledOffForReal dead]] in fact until ''III'' confirmed his survival. Sophitia was Cervantes' next opponent and despite a valiant effort where she managed to destroy one of the swords, she too was left badly hurt. [[BigDamnHeroes Then Taki appeared, quickly finished Cervantes off and carried Sophitia away to safety]]. Siegfried came seeking the sword and defeated the [[DemonicPossession possessed corpse of Cervantes]] after a brief fight, and took the remaining sword, becoming [[BigBad Nightmare]]. Also, Mitsurugi lost his duel against the Tanegashima rifleman, leaving him with a gnarly gunshot scar and a renewed desire to find Soul Edge.
** ''II'' assumes elements of Xianghua's, Kilik's and Siegfried's endings. Xianghua and Kilik confront Nightmare at Ostrheinsburg Castle, and Kilik wins his fight against Nightmare but shatters his mirror in the process. When Soul Edge becomes Inferno, Xianghua's Krita-Yuga reveals itself to be Soul Calibur, the holy antithesis of Soul Edge, and Xianghua uses it to defeat Inferno and sunder Soul Edge, shattering the cursed sword into pieces. The castle crumbles and Kilik and Xianghua have to abandon Soul Calibur in their escape. With the destruction of Nightmare, Siegfried regains his sanity and control of his body after facing his dad in a dream and making peace with his spirit.
** ''III'' takes the basic setup from Nightmare's ending and also includes elements of Raphael's ending. Siegfried's freedom from Soul Edge's influence was short-lived and he became Nightmare again, travelling the world to gather the pieces of Soul Edge. Meanwhile, [[LightIsNotGood Soul Calibur had been corrupted by the presence of the cursed sword and become a weapon of similar evil]]. As Nightmare's quest neared completion, Raphael appeared and challenged Nightmare for the cursed sword. Just as Nightmare stood at the cusp of victory, Raphael pierced Soul Edge's eye with a desperate last attack, and Nightmare became wracked with pain. [[TheEnemyWithin Siegfried's consciousness]] used this moment to regain control of his body, seize Soul Calibur (freed from Soul Edge by Raphael's attack) and plunge it into the eye of Soul Edge, locking the two swords into a Soul Embrace that sealed away both of the swords' powers.

* CuttingOffTheBranches: Every character's ending inevitably ends with them doing something with Soul Edge and/or Soul Calibur. ''Soulcalibur'' takes elements from a handful of the endings of ''Soul Edge'': Sophitia gets her ending where she breaks one of Cervantes's Soul Edge swords, but becomes injured in the process, leaving Taki to come in and finish Cervantes off, at which point Sigfried shows up and gets his ending where he becomes Nightmare. Also, Mitsurugi loses his duel against the rifleman, as shown by a gnarly gunshot scar in later entries. ''II'' takes mainly from Xianghua, with elements from Kilik (he fights Nightmare and his mirror breaks) and Nightmare (Siegfried recovers his senses after facing his dad in a dream). ''III'' takes the basic setup from Nightmare's ending (Siegfried recovers his mind, but seals Soul Edge with Soul Calibur instead of throwing it down a dark pit), as well as a bit of Raphael's ending (he pierced Soul Edge's eye).

* CuttingOffTheBranches: Being a fighting game, this is a given, but various elements of different characters' endings are canon. For example, ''Soul Calibur'' establishes that one of the two pieces of Soul Edge was destroyed by Sophitia, but she was injured in the process. Taki arrived on the scene and defeated Cervantes, before Siegfried took possession of the remaining half of Soul Edge and became Nightmare in the process. Meanwhile, Mitsurugi lost his duel against a man wielding a Tanegeshima musket, as evidenced by his scarring in subsequent games.

* RoadCone: Every character's ending inevitably ends with them doing something with Soul Edge and/or Soul Calibur. ''Soulcalibur'' takes elements from a handful of the endings of ''Soul Edge'': Sophitia gets her ending where she breaks one of Cervantes's Soul Edge swords, but becomes injured in the process, leaving Taki to come in and finish Cervantes off, at which point Sigfried shows up and gets his ending where he becomes Nightmare. ''II'' takes mainly from Xianghua, with elements from Kilik (he fights Nightmare and his mirror breaks) and Nightmare (Siegfried recovers his senses after facing his dad in a dream). ''III'' takes the basic setup from Nightmare's ending (Siegfried recovers his mind, but seals Soul Edge with Soul Calibur instead of throwing it down a dark pit), as well as a bit of Raphael's ending (he pierced Soul Edge's eye).