Characters / Soulcalibur IV

Soul Series characters index
Soul Edge | Soulcalibur | Soulcalibur II | Soulcalibur III | Soulcalibur IV | Soulcalibur V | Soulcalibur VI | Soulcalibur Legends
Non-playable Characters

NOTE: Spoilers will be left unmarked in the examples below. You Have Been Warned!

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A list of characters debuting in the fifth game of the series, Soulcalibur IV, and its PSP counterpart, Broken Destiny.

• For Mitsurugi, Taki, Siegfried, Sophitia, Rock, Voldo, Seong Mi-na, and Cervantes, check the Soul Edge sheet.
• For Kilik, Xianghua, Maxi, Astaroth, Ivy, Nightmare, Lizardman, and Yoshimitsu, check the Soulcalibur sheet.
• For Raphael, Talim, Yun-seong, and Cassandra, check the Soulcalibur II sheet.
• For Zasalamel, Tira, Setsuka, and Amy, check the Soulcalibur III sheet.

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Main Characters

Hildegard "Hilde" von Krone

Soulcalibur IV Appearance

^{2 P appearance in Soulcalibur IV}

"Resolve is measured by results."

Origin: Stolzstadt, Wolfkrone Kingdom (Germany) ^note  The Wolfkrone Kingdom (although fictional) is similar to the many small principalities and provinces that formed part of the larger Holy Roman Empire at the time the series is set. The Kingdom's capital, Stolzstadt, literally means “Proud City” in German

Weapon (IV): Glänzende Nova & Frischer Himmel ^note ("Shining Star" and "Fresh Sky" in German), a short sword & spear

Weapon (V): Glänzende Nova & Fruchtbare Erde ^note ("Shining Star" and "Fertile Earth" in German), a short sword & spear

Fighting style: Große Erbschaft

Voiced by: ^note Yuko Kaida (Japanese), Julie Ann Taylor (English)

Born Her Serene Highness Princess Hildegard von Krone, Hilde (as she likes to be known) is a warrior princess hailing from the Kingdom of Wolfkrone. Having been in charge of the Kingdom since her father went berserk, she's been defending it from Nightmare for a long time. After Siegfried's appearance in the capital, she took it as an omen and decided to lead a full-scale attack behind him, hoping for ultimate victory. She returned in Soulcalibur V, now traveling with Siegfried's band of mercenaries after Wolfkrone fell into darkness. She has also apparently become a mother, but the identity of her children's father is unknown.

Hilde can be considered the first "charge" character in the series. Her vertical attacks involve her sword, while her horizontal attacks involve her lance. By holding down both attack buttons for a set period of time, she will use more powerful moves depending on how long the button was held. Her overall style focuses on keeping the opponent at bay with her lance from afar while defending herself with her short sword up close.

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• Action Mom: In SCV, she is 35 years old and a mother to two young children.
• Advanced Ancient Acropolis: The Soul series is set in the late 16th century. The Wolfkrone Monument stage is a carousel complete with animatronic musicians.
• Animal Motifs: As seen on her armor, which incorporates wolves in SCIV, and griffons in SCV.
• Awesome, but Impractical: One move not listed in her move list is an unblockable forward thrust that utterly annihilates most of your opponent's HP. It is achieved by holding down B for 30 seconds. While you're charging, you can only perform A attacks and kicks, with are both limited range, and you can't throw either. And then, you can go through all of it just for your foe to easily read it and sidestep it...
• Battle Ballgown: Her 2p outfit in IV is a period-correct Elizabethan dress complete with leg-of-mutton sleeves and a ruff.
• Blue Blood: As a princess, she ranks highest of all the characters on a social level, followed by Ivy, a countess. Raphael is also stated to be nobility, but his rank within the French peerage is never specified. Like most Germanic princesses, she would be styled Her Serene Highness Princess Hildegard.
• Charged Attack: Her primary gimmick uses the Hold style of charge. By holding down either horizontal or vertical attack buttons she can release up to four different levels of charged attack depending on how long it was charged.
• Cool Helmet: Her entire suit of armor is cool, but the helmet is a big part of it.
• Difficult, but Awesome: Her style requires the player to hold an attack button down several seconds to charge up attacks to help continue her juggles, which require precise timing and can be chained into loops in exceptionally difficult combos that have different timing depending on which character and the angle they are started from. In spite of the incredible niche-ness of some of these combos, this didn't stop some folks from declaring her to be ban-worthy in SCV at least briefly. Almost humorous considering she was banned from many tournaments in the later part of lifecycle of SCIV due to a genuine game-breaking feature she had. Almost.
• Dual Wielding: Hilde uses a short sword and a spear in battle.
• Fictional Country: Unlike most of the other combatants, Hilde hails from the "Kingdom of Wolfkrone"; a small, made-up monarchy situated between the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire. The general style of Wolfkrone harkens to several small Germanic territories of the time that did actually exist, as even in the 19th Century, the Holy Roman Empire was composed of 42 separate states and 38 of them, like Wolfkrone, were mini-monarchies.
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Siegfried. In SCIV, he wants nothing to do with her. Come SCV, they're "sworn allies" and traveling companions, their forces banding together to stave off Nightmare's hellish influence on Europe.
• Forgiveness:
  • A definite theme in her ending, as she pardons a wandering Siegfried who was prepared to willingly die at her hand as a final penance for his misdeeds.
  • She gives praise to an enemy even when she kills him or her with a Critical Finish, saying "You were a worthy opponent, farewell!" after delivering the final blow.
• Gorgeous Period Dress: Her alternate costume◊ in SCIV, with its ruff and "leg of mutton" sleeves, is a comparatively realistic look for a European noblewoman during the late Elizabethan era, when the series is set.
• Hime Cut: She sports an unusually cute one in her SCIV P2 outfit, which is labeled as "Princess Long" in the character creator.
• Jeanne d'Archétype: She's the Soul series' very own version in her capacity as a young, inspiring leader of her people, who personally leads them into battle.
• Knight In Shining Armour: Hilde is the most clear-cut example in the series, albeit a Distaff Counterpart, as she displays all of the required virtues of decency, honour, good breeding, and a true-hearted nature.
• Lady of War: Hilde is an elegant, composed princess but also a warrior. She even curtsies before a battle in V.
• Leitmotif: ''Daybreaker'', her theme in SCV.
• Mad Woman In The Attic: Her father, King Georg von Krone, is kept locked away in the highest tower of the Royal castle, having been corrupted by the destructive power of Soul Edge.
• Meaningful Name: Her full name is derived from Old Germanic words hild and gard, meaning battle and protection respectively.
• Micro Monarchy: It's clear from the New Legends of Project Soul sourcebook world map page that the Wolfkrone Kingdom is approximately located between the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire. Her stage in SCIV shows the royal seat of Stolzstadt to be located within a mountainous, Alpine region.
• Missing Mom: Her mother, Queen Dietlinde, and older brother, Prince Alfred, died of illness when Hilde was young, hence she's the Kingdom's only direct heir.
• The Not-Love Interest: Despite the closeness of her and Siegfried's relationship, they are just friends.
• Patriotic Fervor: "Fall before the flag of Wolfkrone!"
• Princesses Rule: She's the Princess of the Kingdom of Wolfkrone, and the only reason she's not a full Queen is because her father, King Georg, is still alive, albeit locked away due to his malfestation. Technically then, she’s the Princess Regent — literally “Princess Ruler”.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: She personally leads her kingdom's army into battle to fight Nightmare between SCIII and SCIV and seeks out Sigfried to try and aid him in destroying Nightmare.
• The Stoic: She's composed and dignified at all times, refusing to succumb to emotion or high drama.
• Sexily Modest: Hilde was deliberately designed to be fully covered up, sporting a suit of armor head to toe. It does nothing to impede her allure, and she's still considered one of the most beautiful women in the series precisely because she subverts the series' usual penchant for extreme costuming. However, this doesn't keep the players from being able to put her in more stripperiffic outfits via Character Creation.
• Token Wholesome: According to Namco, Hilde was intentionally designed right from the start with the idea of looking "alluring" in full body armour or a long, flowing princess dress, as the series was being widely criticised for putting its ladies in unusual and revealing outfits. From a historical point of view, Hilde's 2P outfit in IV (her Battle Ballgown) is actually period-correct for an Elizabethan-era lady, and is the only one that is even remotely realistic amongst the western ladies of the series (though her hair should be up).
• True Companions: With Siegfried, Salia and the rest of Schwarzwind in V.
• The Von Trope Family: As a Germanic woman of high rank, she bears the surname Von Krone — literally “of the crown.”
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Taking the throne at a young age due to her father's insanity, Hilde didn't get to experience a normal childhood, having to act like an adult and become strong both physically and emotionally to protect and guide her kingdom, as well as repel Nightmare's forces. It's telling when 35-year-old Hilde is virtually indistinguishable from her 18-year-old self.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Her back throw is a belly-to-back suplex.
• Yodel Land: She hails from the fictional Wolfkrone Kingdom, located somewhere within the German-speaking region of the Holy Roman Empire, which comes complete with a giant rotating cuckoo-clock as a fighting arena.

Algol

Soulcalibur IV Appearance

^{Appearance in Soulcalibur V}

"Very soon now, all gods shall bow down to ME!"

Origin: An ancient dynasty whose name has been lost to history

Weapons: Soul Edge, Soul Calibur & weapons concealed in his body

Fighting style: Mastery of the Stream of Power

Voiced by: ^note Joji Nakata (Japanese), Jamieson Price (English, credited as Taylor Henry)

The boss of Soulcalibur IV. Algol was a hero who got hold of Soul Edge, subdued Inferno, and built a kingdom, becoming a beloved ruler. His son Arcturus became jealous of his power and stole Soul Edge, becoming a berserk monster who ended up being killed by Algol himself.

After, he started working on creating a blade that could counteract Soul Edge, using a shard of Soul Edge and giving up his life in the process. The sword, dubbed Soul Calibur, ended up being as evil as Soul Edge, and Algol's soul ended up trapped inside it. His supporters sealed him within the sword, and after years of purifying, turned it into the Soul Calibur we know and love. His supporters would eventually become a cult that would pass down Algol's legend for generations.

Flash forward to the 16th century, where he finally wakes up due to the immense power radiated from Soul Edge and Soul Calibur. The first thing he wants to do as soon as he wakes up: kick some ass and regain his full power in concordance with his warrior spirit.

He fights Mitsurugi in IV, but his battle is cut short when he vanishes along with Soul Edge and Soul Calibur. When Soul Edge made a reappearance in V, so too did Algol.

In reality Algol was simply transported to Astral Chaos, the birthplace of the Soul swords. After his defeat, he plots a new scheme to once again materialize within the world in the hopes of conquering it - by corrupting it secretly via infusing his own energy as well as the energy of both Soul swords into it, destabilizing the dimensions and allowing him to regain his ethereal form. Edge Master, however, has noticed this and is on his way to stop Algol.

In IV, Algol was designed as the game's boss. In accordance with this, he uses a unique fighting style which incorporates the use of projectiles for juggling the opponent. In V, he was completely rebalanced, with more of a focus on the weapons within his body. The projectiles are now used as mixup tools, but he is still a very combo-heavy powerhouse who can deal insane damage if he gets an opportunity to juggle the opponent.

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• Above Good and Evil: Declares that the concepts mean nothing to him in V.
• Animal Motifs:
  • The bird. His throne, on the other hand, is shaped like the hood of a cobra.
  • In V, the cloth he wears around his shoulders is held in place by a stylized cobra head.
• Anti-Hero: Despite his claims to destroy all who stand in his way and his ambition as a king, Algol is pretty much Orcus on His Throne for the duration of IV, coming across more as fatalistic than evil. Many of the Good and Neutral-aligned characters spare the guy in their endings, and many of them say that he's not even evil to begin with. The worst thing that happens? He defeats Siegfried (but seemingly doesn't kill him) in his ending and begins his reign anew, creating a utopia with the implications that his rule was instated to prevent the world from befalling the same fate as his son.
• Artificial Stupidity: He sometimes rings himself out because his AI likes using an uppercut followed by a forward leap to cross up the opponent. He does this all the time, even when it's not necessary. Even after the game was patched to remove his infinites, he still does it. This no longer applies in V, where despite being balanced he is now an SNK Boss that plays intelligently.
• Autobots, Rock Out!: Two of Algol's themes, "Thanatos" and "Regalia," are suprisingly metal compared to the rest of their soundtracks.
• Arm Cannon: One of the 10 weapons he can create.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: He morphs each hand into them to attack.
• Blood Knight: "Fighting is my all. It is my existence!"
• Clap Your Hands If You Believe: Two sources. One: He maintains his own existence and that of his tower by thought alone. If he runs out of power, he dies. Two: He's supported by the energies he gained from both swords, which allows him to create any matter from thought. Should the energy runs out, he ceases to exist.
• Demoted to Extra: In V he appears as a playable character, but not in the story mode. Averted with the artbook, revealing he is The Man Behind the Man. While everybody else is caught up in destroying the Soul swords, he's secretly corrupting the world's energy flux in the hopes of conquering it when everybody is weakened.
• Dimension Lord: He claimed Astral Chaos, the Eldritch Location born from the Soul Swords, as his kingdom, with the souls of Soul Edge's victims as his subjects.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: He tells this to Kilik, claiming he has no regrets. He also claims this to Talim and Cervantes.
• Expy: Of Raoh from Fist of the North Star.
  • Gameplay wise he is similar to Necrid, with a multitude of weapons at his command.
  • As of Soul Calibur 5, his general attitude, part of his moveset and his taunt brings Akuma to mind.
  • Physically, he resembles and fights a bit like Kars and Santana from Jojos Bizarre Adventure Part 2.
• Failure Knight: Eons later, the loss of his son thanks to Soul Edge has still shaken his spirits. Algol laments in several scenarios that despite his awesome might, he cannot change the past. It is for this reason that he empathizes with Sophitia in her ending and frees her from Soul Edge's influence, urging the brave mother to return to her children in bliss.
• Final Boss: He's the end-boss in IV.
• Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: Only if you don't know about him.
  • In V, he has absolutely zero plot relevance in-game whatsoever, and is the final boss of a bonus Boss Rush mode. According to the artbook, however, he was planning to reclaim the Soul Swords and conquer humanity.
• The Good King: Was apparently one while he was human.
• Heroic Willpower: Exaggerated by his ability to subdue Soul Edge's will and was hailed as the Hero-King, although he isn't very heroic in the story itself anymore.
• Humanoid Abomination: His backstory in New Legends of Project Soul reveal that millennia of his soul percolating in Astral Chaos corroded his humanity and metamorphosed him into a "being that was beyond any human's wildest imaginings".
• Hunk: He's got the size and shape to prove it.
• Leitmotif: ''Regalia''
• Meaningful Name: He is named after the Algol Star. The star's name derives from the Arabic ra's al-ghul^note Yep, like the Batman villain, meaning "head of the ogre" (al-ghul = "ghoul"), which was given because of its position in the constellation Perseus, representing the head of Gorgon Medusa. The English names of Demon Star and Blinking Demon are direct translations.
• Mesopotamian Mythology: His entire move-list (as well as his own name) is Arabic, so it's fairly clear that he originates from somewhere in that region, albeit eons ago. Also, his character is likely inspired by the legendary Sumerian hero-king Gilgamesh, as he is master of the Tower of Lost Souls which shares many thematic similarities with Namco's venerable Tower of Druaga arcade game, which is itself based upon the Gilgamesh epic. He even shares Gilgamesh's title of "King of Heroes" or "Hero-King" with Fate/Stay Night's Gilgamesh
• Mr. Fanservice: He leaves his chiseled physique exposed in V as the picture above shows.
• Noble Demon: He's a warlord bent on conquest, but he's not altogether evil, as his endings with Sophitia and Talim in IV show. Not to mention that his ending stated that he established his rule in order to save the world from suffering the same fate as his son.
• Nothing Up My Sleeve: Has 10 weapons hidden inside his own body.
• Offingthe Offspring: He was forced to kill his son Arcturus, after he became controlled by Soul Edge.
• Physical God: Algol is described as "the most powerful character in the Soul Calibur universe" by Word of God due to being transformed into an avatar of war and domination inside the Astral Chaos. His SCIV stats describe his age as "Everlasting", his weight and height as "Whatever he wills to be" and his bloodtype as "stream of pure power". He also displays reality warping powers, due to creating his Tower of Glory with a simple thought.
• Powered by a Forsaken Child: Algol sacrificed himself to create the Soul Calibur.
• Power Floats and Power Glows: Floats about the stage as opposed to walking, and his hands emit blue/red energy.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: More like Sealed Neutrality In A Can. Definitely Sealed Badass in a Can, though.
• Shout-Out: In addition to having Raoh's looks and the general Hokuto villain Slouch of Villainy, he also perfectly fits into the racial template of the Pillar Men from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, even having Santana's signature "Rib Attack" and Kars' general fighting style.
  • In V, he looks like Gill and/or Urien.
• Slouch of Villainy: As seen here.◊
  • Soulcalibur V turns this into his finishing move, where he crushes his enemy under his throne while lounging on it.
• SNK Boss:
  • In Tower of Lost Souls if you fight him fairly.
  • Retains this status in V, minus the spoilered exploit. If he has two meters stored he will sidestep and react with a 10+ hit juggle combo that takes away 80% of your health.
• Spontaneous Weapon Creation: He creates simulacrums of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur as placeholders for the real things, and can extrude a variety of weapons from his body.
• Story-Breaker Power: In-universe at least, only rivaled by Night Terror and a scant number of characters (in the case of the former, this is flipped around from a gameplay perspective).
• Stripperiffic: In V he's half-naked since - as he no longer considers himself to be human - he doesn't see the need for clothes or armor.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: At 6'5".
• Time Abyss: Algol's being is immemorial, with his current body being the composite energies of the two Soul weapons. His actual origin is only alluded to at best as the historical record has long vanished into antiquity. He actually predates Zasalamel, whose own origin has been lost thanks to his many reincarnations, as it was Zasalamel’s own clan that was guarding the Soul Calibur, which Algol had created before that.
• Tragic Villain: If you consider him to be one, that is. At worst, you can consider him a Tragic Anti-Villain, considering that he has good intentions for conquering the world.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He definitely looks the part of an Evil Overlord, and wants to take over the world, but has good intentions for doing so, a tragic backstory, and many heroic/neutral characters express sympathy for him in their endings.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: His main weapons are Soul Edge and Soul Calibur, and his body is formed out of both swords' energies.

Lord Geo Dampierre

"Oh ho ho ho ho! Such perfection from Le Bello!"

Origin: Resides in Venice, Republic of Venice (Italy) ^note The flag shown here is that of the historic Republic of Venice. At the time the series is set, modern-day Italy was separated into several smaller city-states and Kingdoms.

Weapons: Tricks & Lies, a pair of retractable wrist-mounted knives

Fighting style: Le Bello

Voiced by: ^note Shigeru Chiba (Japanese), Troy Baker (credited as Anthony Jenkins) (English)

Con artist and general douchebag that wants to live in luxury, but being unable to get it the honest way, becomes a bandit. He cons his servants into servitude and uses them as hostages to get money off of rich uncles. Upon seeing Hilde, fell madly in love with her... but still wants to sack Wolfkrone. All in all, a man of principles.

Returned in V, as a pre-order bonus character, where he decides to exploit Nightmare's crusade for cash.

He and Cervantes are acquaintances, and he sold Pyrrha into slavery.

Dampierre is the games' Joke Character. He uses an odd, zany fighting style which, befitting his status as a con man, focuses on bluffing the opponent, moreso than even Yoshimitsu.

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• Agony of the Feet: One of his Fake Pain feints is to pretend he hurt his foot using his kick attacks.
• Beware the Silly Ones: He comes across like a complete loon, and yet he's both a con man and generally quite despicable, promoting genocide, slavery, and the like, which are all but parts of his scheme to get rich.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: He uses hidden punch-daggers.
• Comedic Spanking: One of his throws has him bend the opponent over and hit their behind with 3 to 12 smacks, depending on the buttons that the player presses.
• Cool Shades: His alternate outfit. Anachronistic to the max but he's a bit of an oddball anyway.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He may look like a pansy, but watch out.
• Dastardly Whiplash: With his moustache and shit-eating grin, combined with his shady personality, he’s the Soul series very own version.
• Difficult, but Awesome: His "Bravo! Encore!" attack, which has him perform a flying Cossack dance to juggle his foe but each hit requires an increasingly precise input. Without the final input succeeding, he misses out on much of its potential damage and the reliable combo finisher. It is a very powerful attack, very effective at punishing low attacks.
• Fighting Clown: The series' very own version, Dampierre is a cackling, seemingly daft villain, and yet his goofy fighting style can be just as deadly as the rest of the cast's in the right hands, due to its confusing, and just plain weird nature.
• The Gambler: Has a minor gambler motif with his hat decorated in playing card suits and many of his more potent attacks carry a risk of him falling flat on his face as a rather unique stance.
• Groin Attack: "Distinguished Ill Capitan", a throw where Dampierre stomps on the opponent´s crotch multiple times while chuckling.
• Lethal Joke Character: Might possibly be the only character to beat out Yoshimitsu in terms of sheer whimsy and insanity. While his overall tier ranking is low, his effectiveness depends almost entirely on the player's ability to bait their opponent. Seeing the entire thing in action is gut-bustingly hilarious.
• Leitmotif: ''Midnight Mystique.'' Dampierre is first character of the series to have an official theme from a former home stage.
• Luck-Based Mission: Zig-zagged. Some of his strongest combos require great luck(including one attack which can literally continue striking the victim until they die or the attack happens to end in one of his stances), but he also has a combo off of a launcher that takes away half the victims health from a single whiff punish with no luck and no meter involved.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: At first glance one may mistake him falling flat on his face in the middle of a fight to the death as something that would only happen to an accident-prone fool, but no! Le Bello is a con man, he WANTS you to think he's vulnerable after "failing" an attack before knocking you down and punching you in the face dozens of times!
• Older Than They Look: Possibly. His appearance in V is similar to that of Broken Destiny, suggesting that he's one of the several characters alongside Ivy and Raphael to have not aged. Considering Broken Destiny is non-canon, though, it's possible that this is his first "real" appearance and he actually is that old/young.
• Parts Unknown: Zigzagged. His bio is especially strange and ambiguous, with his birthplace and age listed as "changes every time someone asks him." It's likely he is Italian and there are a few clues: He refers to himself as "Le Bello" in his quotes, meaning "the handsome one" in Italian. Also, the vast majority of Dampierre's moves are named after either characters from the Commedia dell'arte, a form of improvisational theatre that began in Italy in the 16th century, or places and things from Venice ("Canal Grande," "Misty Waters of Laguna," "Gondola Dreams," "Adriatic Pearls"). Finally, his stage, the Voiceless Volpe Bridge, is Italian in design and "volpe" is the Italian for fox. Further evidence was recently revealed in his SCV story, which states that "everyone in Italy's financial world had heard of Lord Geo Dampierre..." and also - ..."(he) enjoyed success in a variety of ventures centred around the City of Venice."
• Self-Damaging Attack Backfire: In-game, opponents with quick reflexes and some basic knowledge can quickly knock him out of his two stances that appear as failed attacks; often before the player can do anything about it.
• Shout-Out:
  • In appearance, to Bill the Butcher from the movie Gangs of New York.
  • He also moonwalks.
  • Two of his moves are lifted straight from Devil Jin's move set. Of course, this being Dampierre, he occasionally messes up the spinning low kicks. Amusingly, the moves are named "Asian Art of Karate" and "Charmer of the Salon."
• Talking the Monster to Death: His Critical Finish. In this move, Dampierre is seen telling the opponent a obviously fake story about his ill daughter and his lack of money to pay the doctor (both the daughter and the doctor are played by Dampierre´s goons). The story causes the opponent to cry, give Dampierre a coin, and give up the match.
• Third-Person Person: Frequently refers to himself as "Le Bello” — “the handsome” in Italian.
• What the Fu Are You Doing?: Manages to hurt himself, and fall over during some of his moves.

Additional and Guest Characters

Ashlotte Maedel

"What are you so afraid of?"

Origin: Hidden Shrine of Fygul Cestemus, Safavid Empire (Iran)

Weapon: Krnielk, an axe

Voiced by: ^note Hitomi Nabatame (Japanese), Megan Hollingshead (English)

A robotic maiden created by the remains of the cult that created Astaroth, Ashlotte Maedal's assigned mission is to assassinate him for being a traitor. She was designed by Oh! Great.

She is briefly alluded to in the new Astaroth's bio in Soulcalibur V, where it is revealed that she harvested the original Astaroth's heart after he was killed by Maxi and brought it back to the cult, though she is not mentioned by name.

Gameplay-wise, she is a carbon-copy of Astaroth, but she is faster and her hitbox is smaller.

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• Art Shift: Like all of the bonus characters created by famous Japanese artists and designers, her profile art is different than the main cast.
• Badass Adorable: Immensely strong due to being based on Astaroth, but despite some Uncanny Valley effects, she's still very cute, and the fact her quotes give her a polite, sweet-tempered personality make her curiously adorable for a clockwork doll with a spear.
• Expy: Could also be considered as the SC equivalent to Alisa Bosconovitch.
  • Distaff Counterpart: Gameplay-wise, she duplicates Astaroth's movelist, and uses Rock's victory poses.
• The Determinator: Will go to any means to achieve her objective — get Astaroth!
• Gothic Lolita: Her clothes are very much in this style.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: Made to take down Astaroth, her body was constructed with unknown alloys making her just as strong as the evil golem despite their size difference.
• Ridiculously Human Robot: While visually she more resembles a "doll", she's way more emotive than her appearance would lead one to believe.
• Uncanny Valley Girl: Seems to be a double offender at first for being an eerily realistic human-sized clockwork doll rendered with eerily realistic computer graphics, but pretty much averted since she moves and acts just like the human characters in the game.

Kamikirimushi

"Prepare yourself."

Origin: Kyoto, Japan

Weapon: Denryu Bakuha, a metal bludgeon

Voiced by: ^note Nami Kurokawa (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English)

An oni girl who seeks out Soul Edge, believing that it is a kindred spirit to her: a being that is forever conflicted with humans. She was created and designed by Hirokazu Hisayuki, character designer and animation director at animation studio Sunrise best known for his work on My-HiME.

Gameplay-wise, she is a carbon copy of Nightmare with a smaller frame.

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• Art Shift: Same deal as most of the bonus characters, the designer gets to keep his original art in the game.
• Carry a Big Stick: It's a sterotypical weapon used by oni, the kana-bo. It's supposed to have about the same shape and length as a baseball bat. Kana-bo have lots of little bumps for extra damage, however.
• Expy: Duplicates Nightmare's movelist, and uses Siegfried's victory poses.
  • Short girl wielding a weapon taller than herself? Sounds and looks like Mikoto, another character Hirokazu Hisayuki designed.
• Fiery Redhead
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Literally. Her costume colors are even red and blue!
• Sealed Evil in a Can: In her backstory — after destroying the Japanese capitol, she was sealed away by a priest and only managed to get out after 600 years had past.

Shura

"It's time to play. Here I come!"

Origin: Suwa, Japan

Weapons: Rajin-maru & Fujin-maru, a pair of katanas

Voiced by: ^note Takako Honda (Japanese), Karen Strassman (English)

A wandering killer who is possessed by a demon. The demon wants her to take it to a stronger body to possess, and the woman wants to fight more worthy opponents. She was created and designed by Hiroya Oku, of Gantz fame.

Gameplay-wise, she is a carbon copy of Cervantes, but with longer reach on her attacks.

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• Art Shift: Oku gets to keep his original piece in the main game, differing from the main cast.
• Author Appeal: Black leather, skimpy costume, katanas, and breasts; the way Oku likes it and what one can find in Gantz.
• Blood Knight: One of the very rare female kinds.
• Demonic Possession: A rare case in which the host and possessor are in some sort of mutual agreement that favors both parties which is Symbiotic Possession.
• Dual Wielding: Wields two katanas.
• Expy: Duplicates Cervantes' movelist.
• Stripperiffic: Rivalling even Ivy, ludicrously enough.
• Symbiotic Possession Shura's just looking for a good fight against anyone who is worth killing, the demon that possesses her is searching for the perfect host to inhabit so it can return to life. It is this unison that bolsters their power when in battle, although Shura is not the body the demon is looking for. As she is trying to satisfy her bloodlust, Shura doesn't mind this arrangement one bit.

Scheherazade

"I don't care who you are. I'll take you on! Don't resist and I promise I'll make it quick."

Origin: Reclusive Village

Weapon: Alf Layla wa Layla, a rapier

Voiced by: ^note Nami Kurokawa (Japanese), Stephanie Sheh (English)

The ancient storyteller, now spontaneously an elf. She wants to learn more about the stories of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur to use as material for her newest tale. She was created and designed by Yutaka Izubuchi, famous illustrator and designer who has contributed to many art directions in anime, but he is more known for creating RahXephon.

Gameplay-wise, she is a carbon copy of Amy with a larger hitbox.

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• Art Shift: Izubuchi's original piece is kept in the main game.
• Expy: Duplicates Amy's movelist, and uses some of Raphael's victory poses.
• Hidden Elf Village: Lived in one of these in her backstory.
• The Lost Lenore: Before being locked away by her people, she fell in love with a mortal warrior — now, centuries later, she is sure the man is long dead.
• Love at First Sight: One-sided case in regards to Algol, as she watched him from afar the first time she left her village in search of information about the great war between the soul swords.

Angol Fear

"I will remove all obstacles in my path."

Origin: Core of the Macrocosm

Weapon: Lucifer Spear Black, a spear

Voiced by: ^note Takako Honda (Japanese), Brianne Siddall (English)

A servant of the macrocosmos who is sent to Earth to investigate the battle between the two swords. She is also using them as a gauge to judge whether Earth should be destroyed or not. Created and designed by Mine Yoshizaki, of Sgt. Frog and Kemono Friends fame. Angol Fear would be established in Sgt. Frog canon as the cousin of Angol Mois during the manga's 19th volume.

Gameplay-wise, she is a carbon copy of Seong Mi-Na, but with shorter reach and a smaller hitbox.

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• Art Shift: Yoshizaki's orignal piece is kept in he main game; also differing from the other bonus characters, even her 3D model is noticeable unique and anime-esque.
• Character Overlap: Angol Fear debuted in Soulcalibur IV before making the jump to the her creators own series, Sgt. Frog, as the cousin of Angol Mois.
• Combat Stilettos: Wears an impressive set of high-heels into battle.
• Guest Fighter: Officially part of the Sgt. Frog manga, therefore part of another work.
• Hanging Judge: On a cosmic level
• Humans Are the Real Monsters: Comes to this conclusion in her ending but spares the Earth anyway. However, this is only because there is other life on the planet.
• Impossibly-Low Neckline: See image.
• Moveset Clone: Duplicates Seong Mi-na's movelist.
• Rubber-Forehead Aliens Aside from the third eye, doesn't look particularly "alien", especially when standing next to some of the other human characters like Voldo.

Galen Marek/The Apprentice/Starkiller

"So this is the power master foretold."

Origin: Planet of Kashyyyk

Weapons: Lightsaber & Force powers

Fighting style: Form V: Shien, Dark Side of the Force

Voiced by: ^note Shuhei Sakaguchi (Japanese), Sam Witwer (English)

Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice in the Star Wars Legends continuity, codename Starkiller, real name Galen Marek. Born as the son of two Jedi who went into hiding following Order 66, he is reduced from execution by Vader and trained in secret to hunt down the remnants of the Jedi Order and eventually supplant the Emperor together. He is ordered by his master to investigate a dimensional tear in the space-time continuum, and this leads him to our world where he is caught in the battle between Soul Edge and Soul Calibur.

The Apprentice uses a very acrobatic fighting style, focusing on nimble movements. He uses a special "force gauge" to enhance the strength of his combos and give him more options. However, if the gauge drains, he will be stunned momentarily. He is a rather advanced character who is deadly in the right hands. Some of his movements were eventually given to Alpha Patroklos.

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• Battle Theme Music: A shorter version of "Duel Of The Fates" from The Phantom Menace plays whenever he is in a match located in the Star Wars-themed stages. (This is overridden by Vader and Yoda's themes when he fights them.)
• Canon Immigrant: Made his way into the Star Wars Legends continuity.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Appeared in this game before making his canon appearance in The Force Unleashed.
• Guest Fighter: This guy is an odd case. He debuted in this game before getting into the Star Wars franchise.
• Laser Blade: The lightsabers, naturally.
• Ink-Suit Actor: Modeled after and voiced by Sam Witwer.
• Reverse Grip: Starkiller's lightsaber fighting style, "Form V: Shien", utilizes this as its default stance (as do all of his lightsaber attacks in this game; in The Force Unleashed he has some normal grip slashes). It is a defense and counter-focused style that has advantages when deflecting laser bolts in the lore of Star Wars, hence the use of a more defensive reverse grip.
• Shock and Awe: His Force Lightning.
• SNK Boss: Despite being fairly low-tier, he's incredibly quick and annoying to fight against.
• Suddenly Voiced In Japanese: The Japanese versions of The Force Unleashed games weren't dubbed in Japanese, featuring English voice acting with Japanese subtitles. This game is the only time we can hear him speak in that language.^note Also the reason why he's voiced by a low-profile Japanese voice actor.

Yoda

"On strength alone, succeed you will not. You must feel the Force."

Origin: Unknown

Weapons: Lightsaber & Force powers

Fighting style: Form IV: Ataru, Light Side of the Force

Voiced by: ^note Ichirō Nagai (Japanese), Tom Kane (English)

The ancient Jedi master himself. Having kept himself hidden on the swamp planet Dagobah following the fall of the Jedi Order, Yoda investigating the emergence of a dimensional tear has led to his interdimensional clashes with the warriors of 14th century Earth. Exclusive to the Xbox 360 version he once was, but later available as downloadable content for the PlayStation 3.

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• Battle Theme Music: "Qui-Gon's Noble End" from Episode I plays when he fights in a Star Wars stage.
• Guest Fighter: Like Darth Vader and The Apprentice, Yoda is originally from the Star Wars franchise.
• Laser Blade: The lightsaber.
• Mechanically Unusual Fighter: His extreme small size means he's immune to being grabbed, and rather than accomodate Critical Finish animations to accomodate for his size, all fighters have an alternate Critical Finish when used on Yoda where they simply attack him with one of their regular unblockable attacks.
• Necessary Drawback: Almost every movement or attacking option he can do has him leap into the air first, since otherwise he'd be completely immune to high attacks.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: He's the shortest fighter in the franchise by far; he's so small that from a standing position high attacks will go over him as if he were a regular fighter ducking, which also makes him immune to being grabbed.
• Strange-Syntax Speaker: In the English dub, of course.
• Unnecessary Combat Roll: Not unnecessary to Yoda in gameplay, actually — he can either roll in a direction to cover distance, or walk in a manner that is much slower than everyone else.

Darth Vader

"Do you now understand the power of the dark side?"

Origin: Planet of Tatooine

Weapons: Lightsaber & Force powers

Fighting style: Form V: Djem So, Dark Side of the Force

Voiced by: ^note Tōru Ōhira (Japanese), Matt Sloan (English)

The Dark Lord of the Sith. In his attempt to harness more power to save those he loved, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker succumbed to the temptations from the Dark Side of the Force, transforming into the tyrannical ruler of the Galactic Empire. He notices the power caused by the clashing of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur and heads off to take the swords for himself. Was exclusive to the PlayStation 3 version at first, but is now available to Xbox 360 owners for $4.99.

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• Authority Equals Asskicking: He is a Sith Lord.
• Battle Theme Music: As per his home series, "The Imperial March" plays when he fights in one of the Star Destroyer stages.
• The Dragon: Yes, the developers still mention the Emperor in Vader's profile.
• Evil Laugh: In his ending, where he takes the Soul swords for himself. To hear the cold, brooding Sith Lord laugh joyously is jarring, even rather frightening and suggests a grim fate for the galaxy.
• Guest Fighter: Like Yoda and The Apprentice, Vader is originally from the Star Wars franchise.
• Large Ham: One of his hammier appearances, probably owing to the fact that his Japanese seiyuu usually voices clownish-sounding hammy characters. The English dub gives him a voice that's very close to James Earl Jones' classic performance (courtesy of Chad Vader's voice actor), but Ohira's influence is still there to some extent, since his lines are a bit louder, cockier and more extravagant than in the movies.
• Laser Blade: The lightsaber.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: A positive variant. Darth Vader cackles triumphantly after acquiring the Soul swords in his ending. In this case, he's not suffering but overcome with joy as he finally has the power to overthrow the Emperor. It's the galaxy's ominous fate that makes it Serious Business.
• Vader Breath: The Trope Namer and Trope Codifier, naturally.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Vader's "Dark Glory" throw is a Gorilla Press Slam. It's somewhat based on the final battle from Return of the Jedi, where he picks Emperor Palpatine up and throws him to his death in a similar manner.

Kratos

"You will not see the end of this day!"

Origin: Sparta, Spartan Hegemony (Greece) ^note The citystate of Sparta was the greatest military land power of classical Greek antiquity.

Weapons: Blades of Chaos, a pair of chained swords

Fighting style: Ares Style

Voiced by: ^note Tesshō Genda (Japanese), Terrence C. Carson (English)

Yes, that Kratos. A vengeful Spartan warrior who once served the Greek god of war, Kratos swore revenge after Ares tricked him into murdering his wife and child. 10 years later, he successfully enacted his vengeance and became the new god of war in Ares' stead, although his rage has not been sated just yet. Appears as the guest character for Broken Destiny.

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• Battle Theme Music: His stage uses "Isle Of Creation" from God of War II.
• Bowdlerise: As is standard procedure for violent/mature works crossing over with tamer series, Kratos has none of the Gorn he's famous for here. Thankfully, the censorship is only there to bring him down to a "T" rating in a game that's already geared towards players in the same approximate age range as God of War's demographic.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: Like most Guest Fighters, he is transported from a different era. Unlike most fighters, Soul Calibur is set far in his future; he hails from approximately 400-300 B.C., while Soul Calibur is set in the late 1500s - a difference of 1800-1900 years.
• Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: His role in Broken Destiny's Gauntlet mode. The protagonist group (Hilde, Cassandra and Dampierre) need a specific rare material that can only be found in the God of War universe, and run into Kratos in the process. After surviving their encounter, he is never heard from again. This can actually be applied to him as a whole, as he is never given any reason as to why he has suddenly appeared in the Soul universe.
• Guest Fighter: Kratos is originally from the God of War series.
• Large Ham: As always, even more so since he's as talkative as the other members of the cast.
• The Rival: Sophitia was made to be his. Both served the Greek pantheon, but while Sophitita is appreciative and honors her work in their service, Kratos lacks respect for them sans Athena, who he has a begrudging respect for. Kratos does have unique dialogue for defeating her with a Critical Finish as opposed to the other fighters:
  (After performing his Critical Finish normally) Behold the power of the gods!
  (After performing his Critical Finish on Sophitia) I am the God of War!
• Shout-Out: Several to his home series:
  • As expected, he retains many of his popular combos with the Blades of Chaos. The ever-trusty Plume of Prometheus string even has the same command input as in God of War.
  • Kratos' home stage (Challenge of the Gods) comes from an area located on the giant temple on Cronos' back from the original God of War.
  • His alternate outfit is his armor as the God of War.
  • His Critical Edge is based on a QTE that he can perform against Ares during the final battle from the original God of War.

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