Characters / Soulcalibur II

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 third game of the series, Soulcalibur II.

• For Mitsurugi, Taki, Sophitia, Voldo, Seong Mi-na, and Cervantes, check the Soul Edge sheet.
• For Kilik, Xianghua, Maxi, Astaroth, Ivy, Nightmare, and Yoshimitsu, check the Soulcalibur sheet.

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Main Characters

Raphael Sorel

Soulcalibur II Appearance

^{Appearance in Soulcalibur IV}

"Do not delude yourself, thou wretched fool!"

Origin: 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.

Weapon: Flambert ^note (an old French name derived from "Flame"), a rapier

Fighting style: La Rapière des Sorel

Voiced by: ^note Yasunori Masutani (Japanese), Paul Jennings (Soulcalibur II; English), Charles Klausmeyer (Soulcalibur III onward; English)

A French noble who was marked for death due to killing a fellow nobleman 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 SCIII he returns to Amy, severely injured from his Soul Edge-induced scars. As he recovers, he starts noticing changes within himself; his skin turns pale white, and his eye color changes 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 stones, but upon touching one of them he was burned and repelled, and so he destroyed it. 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 SCIV 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 SCV rolls around, and returns to his home to find that Amy has disappeared. Understandably concerned, he sets out to find her.

Daishi himself has confirmed that Raphael died in the fourth game, and the SCV 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 SCV, and he is set free when Soul Edge and Soul Calibur are returned to Astral Chaos.

Raphael's gameplay focuses primarily around quick strikes and mixups using his special Preparation stance, but he is a character who must be played with extreme precision. One must know all of Raphael's ins and outs, as one wrong move will leave him at an extreme disadvantage. His attacks are also quite linear and make him easy to evade. Later games granted him the ability to teleport due to his vampirism.

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• Accidental Hero: His desperate final strike at Nightmare in SCII, which mauled Soul Edge's eye, allows 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 being Malfested and turned into a vampire.
• Agent Peacock: Often considered the most effeminate man in the cast, thanks to his graceful appearance, elegant fighting style, and haughty noble mannerisms. That said, he only very rarely brings attention to his own appearance. He's much more concerned with how unworthy and unsightly his opponent happens to be.
• Animal Motifs: Bats, as befitting of a vampire. This is most obvious is SCV, where both his costumes are covered in bat symbols.
• Aristocrats Are Evil: A very morally ambiguous character who was born into a French noble family and always has an aristocratic flair to his outfits.
• Blue Blood: He's 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).
• Cultured Badass: He is stated to be proficient in medicine, well-tutored in aristocratic manners, and is a good dancer.
• Dance Battler: Very much a male equivalent of the Lady of War archetype with his artsy fencing techniques and rhythmic kicks. His weapon demonstration even involves him dancing before picking up his sword.
• 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 (part of modern-day Romania).
• Everyone Looks Sexier if French: A good-looking French guy who still retains a youthful appearance when nearing 50 because of his vampirism.
• Evil Laugh: It also reeks of Noblewoman's Laugh and Laughing Mad.
• Flower Motifs: In SCVI, 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.
• French Jerk: Hails from Rouen in northern France and is a very arrogant individual, scoffing at his opponents with gleeful hauteur. Becomes somewhat toned down after meeting Amy.
• I Shall Taunt You: He has some specific taunts that allow him, whenever he is attacked, to dodge and counterattack the opponent.
• Kaleidoscope Eyes: In every installment barring SCV, Raphael's eye color has changed. He's gone from blue (SCII) to amber (SCIII) to red (SCIV and SCV).
• Knight Templar Parent: To Amy, although she apparently doesn't take him seriously. Case in point: her ending in SCIV, where she finds it hilarious after he takes a (potentially fatal) tumble down the castle stairs.
• Large Ham: "Do not delude yourself, thou wretched fool!"
• Laughing Mad: As the games go on, he becomes very unhinged in his laughs.
• Leitmotif: ''Blood Thirst Concerto''
• Love Makes You Crazy: Through and through. He seeks to Malfest the world so that he and Amy will be accepted by society. By SCV, his voice patterns (in Japanese at least) sound much less composed, like he just checked in to a mental hospital.
  As of right now, this world truly belongs only to Amy and me! So why should the two of you even have been here?! The mistake has been corrected! OH HO HO HO HO HO! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!"
• Love Makes You Evil: 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.
• Meaningful Appearance: A few observations have been made about his appearance in SCV:
  • He bears a striking similarity to D/Van Helsing. There is definitely some twisted irony behind this observation.
  • Or a medieval version of Hazama.
  • Thanks to his fencing prowess, the headgear also gives him the air of a Musketeer of the Guard.
  • Before the official announcement, some thought he was Jotaro, based on his window on the character select screen.
  • His appearance is likely based on the "Ankou," a personification of death from early French folklore who is often depicted wearing a wide-brimmed hat, as shown here.◊
• Mistaken for Gay: When he first appeared he was deemed Ambiguously Gay due to his flamboyant mannerisms, though nothing in canon confirms his sexuality.
• Papa Wolf: It's a bad idea to harm to his ward Amy in his presence.
• Pretty Boy: Especially in his debut in SCII, before the vampiric shenanigans begin in SCIII and destroy his looks.
• Older Than They Look: He's 49 by the time of SCV, but still looks 32, thanks to his vampirism.
• One-Man Army: In SCIII, the citizens of Romania, where he has by this time taken up residence, are terrified of approaching his castle and an army is dispatched to clean it out. His response? Simply another mere annoyance to dispatch as he goes out to confront them.
• Our Vampires Are Different: Raphael's malfestation manifests as vampirism, as demonstrated in SCIV and SCV. One of Raphael's throws (that only works on women), as well as his 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 halts his aging, leaving him physically at 32 in SCV.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: As his eyes became red in later installments, he becomes crazier and more Obviously Evil.
• Red Right Hand: His eyes are red or yellow, signifying he's no longer human.
• Royal Rapier: His weapon is an elegant rapier from his days as a nobleman.
• Spanner in the Works: Raphael might have possibly saved the world due to being foolish enough to face down Nightmare in SCII. If he hadn't thrust his rapier into Soul Edge's eye, Siegfried might not have been able to finally break free of Soul Edge's control.
• Tragic Keepsake: In SCV 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.
• The Usual Adversaries: For some reason, Raphael appears as the Destined Battle of more characters than anyone else, to the point where it seems like most of the Soulcalibur world has a bone to pick with him.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: His alternate costume in SCV.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He will do whatever it takes to create a better world for Amy.
• The Worf Effect: He's overpowered by Tira in SCIII's opening movie, letting the player know that the new villainess means business; she smashes her way into his castle, effortlessly parries his rapier with her ring-blade, and dropkicks him over a balcony.

Talim

Soulcalibur II Appearance

^{Appearance in Soulcalibur IV}

"Wind, guide me."

Origin: Village of the Wind Deity, Visayan Islands (Philippines) ^note At the time the series is set, Spanish colonial expansion was pushing ever eastward into the region that would become the modern-day nation of the Philippines, named for King Philip II of Spain. The familiar Pambansang Watawat flag was not adopted until 1898, and therefore the flag shown here represents the Tagalog people, of which Talim is a member.

Weapons: Syi Salika & Loka Luha ^note ("Teaching Flute" and "Wild Tears" in Tagalog, very approximately), a pair of elbow blades

Fighting style: Wind Dance

Voiced by: ^note Yukari Tamura (Japanese), Julie Parker (Soulcalibur II; English), Kate Higgins (Soulcalibur III-IV; English), Kira Buckland (Soulcalibur VI; English)

Talim is a priestess (the last priestess, to be specific) of a Southeast Asian 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 SCII and SCIV.

Easily one of the trickiest characters ever in the series, Talim is all about extreme speed and constant pressure. She is infamous for being, according to the developers themselves, one of the most difficult characters to balance throughout the series.

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• Age-Inappropriate Dress: Her default attire◊ for SCIV includes transparent pantaloons, while her 2P costume is just a pair of briefs and a large belt from the waist down. Both costumes also include a halter top, leaving her abs in plain view. She's only 15 years old.
• All-Loving Hero: She never hates anyone, but only has the purest intentions. This is especially evident in her SCIV ending where she readily forgives Algol for his actions.
• Apologises a Lot: A good amount of her quotes have her being sorry for fighting her opponent. It fits her pacifist nature.
• The Baby of the Bunch: Especially noticeable in SCII where she's easily the youngest character (at a tender 15) in a roster where the majority of the characters (apart from the non-human golem Astaroth who is only seven, but he was effectively Born as an Adult) are in their early-twenties and many are older than that. This is lessened in the sequels, which introduce Tira (17), and Amy (who is likely even younger than her).
• Badass Adorable: She can fight as well as all of the other seasoned warriors, yet is cute as a button.
• Badass Native: At the time the series is set, Spanish colonial expansion was pushing ever eastward into Southeast Asia, though the indigenous peoples of the region that became known as the Philippines did try to repel the invaders — and Babaylan (“priestess”, Talim’s societal role) did actually go to war in defense of their homeland.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Talim is truly a kind and sweet young girl who doesn't condone violence, but has the power to utterly destroy you if she has to fight.
• Blow You Away: Her critical finish in SCIV ends with her opponent getting launched skyward by a tornado. In SCVI she has a lot more moves that can create wind magic, especially when her Soul Charge is activated.
• The Cape: Talim is an idealistic, pacifistic person who only fights to rid the world of Soul Edge's evil.
• Cat Girl: In her SCIV alternate costume — comes complete with paw-shaped mittens and boots.
• Comedic Spanking: One of her throws has her force the opponent on all fours and smack their behind.
• The Cutie: To a tee. She's a beautiful, kind-hearted girl.
• Dance Battler: Fights under the discipline of her village's sacred Wind Dance, an acrobatic and graceful fighting style originally meant to appease the Wind Deity.
• Dual Wielding: Her weapons are bladed tonfas.
• Flower Motifs: Her character art in SCVI features the 5-petalled sampaguita (Philippine Jasmine), which is the national flower of her homeland of the Philippines.
• Fragile Speedster: Her moves rely more on speed and acrobatics than power, and she must chip away at the opponent whilst avoiding being hit, as she takes damage very easily.
• Girlish Pigtails: It varies depending on her costume, but she sports either two or four pigtails.
• Healing Winds: Talim's always been associated with the wind; her Wind Bearer mode restores a tiny bit of health per attack.
• Iconic Sequel Character: One of the most popular characters in the series, and didn't appear until the third game (of the games' series).
• Improbable Age: In SCII, she's the only fighter under 18 (not counting Astaroth, who was created seven years prior) and yet can go toe-to-toe with far more experienced fighters. Being only 15, she is one of the youngest fighters in the series, alongside Amy^note Her age is unstated and later, Leixia.
• In Harmony with Nature: Specifically, the wind. It comes with the job of being her village's shaman.
• Last of Her Kind: Due to turmoil caused by the influences of Spanish and Portuguese culture in the region, she was reared to be the last priestess (Babaylan).
• Little Miss Badass: One of the youngest fighters at just 15 years old and yet she is expertly proficient with her bladed tonfas — a weapon originally developed to disarm opponents wielding katanas and other swords.
• Martial Pacifist: It's made clear that Talim is a peaceful girl who avoids fighting whenever possible, but if she has to, she wields her bladed tonfas with deadly skill.
• Meaningful Appearance: All of her 1P outfits are colored white, which is fitting of her role as a priestess of the wind and her peaceful persona.
• Meaningful Name: 'Talim' means "sharp" (as an adjective) or "blade" (as a noun) in Tagalog, which is a major dialect in Filipino language. In SCVI, she mentions the relevance and meaning behind her name during her story mode.
• Miko: Of a sort, due to the religious role she plays in her culture.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: How she can block and parry attacks from a giant axe wielded by a 6'8" golem◊ remains a mystery...
• Pacifist Wind: Talim is a Filipino wind priestess who in some games has Blow You Away powers. She is a Martial Pacifist and an All-Loving Hero in a cast full of scoundrels, rogues, dedicated warriors, and in which even the monk character has a Superpowered Evil Side, making her easily the most pacifistic character on the roster. The Libra of Souls mode in SCVI explains further that the wind priestess fighting style is for ceremonial and strictly defensive purposes.
• Plucky Girl: In spite of being mostly a peaceful and kind girl, when she has to fight, she fights to the end. This is even visible in some of her quotes.
  I will never give up, ever!
• Purity Personified: Easily the sweetest character in the series. Promotional work even states that what lies within her soul is 'Purity'.
• Religious Bruiser: Talim is the daughter of her village's shaman and was raised to be the last Babaylan (priestess). In that role, 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.
• Ship Tease: Briefly with Yun Seong, during her second ending in SCIII, 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.
• Waif-Fu: She's only 4'8" (144 cm) tall and of a slim build yet battles samurai, knights, pirates, golems, and demonic beings on equal footing.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: She doesn't appear in SCV and her name isn't even mentioned in supplementary material.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: Her ultimate weapon(s) in SCIV 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.

Cassandra Alexandra

Soulcalibur II Appearance

^{Appearance in Soulcalibur III}

^{Appearance in Soul Edge}

"I'm going all out!"

Origin: Athens, Ottoman Empire (Greece) ^note The flag shown here is that of the historic Ottoman Empire circa late 1500s. At the time the series is set, modern-day Greece was under Ottoman Turk control and would not gain independence until 1830.

Weapon (II): Omega Sword & Nemea Shield ^note ("Great Sword" and Nemea is a location in Greek mythology where Heracles fought a huge lion), a sword & shield

Weapon (III onwards): Digamma Sword & Nemea Shield ^note ("Digamma" is an archaic letter of the Greek alphabet. It originally stood for the sound "W" but it has remained in use principally as a Greek numeral for 6, and Nemea is a location in Greek mythology where Heracles fought a huge lion), a sword & shield

Fighting style: Athenian Style

Voiced by: ^note Reiko Takagi (Japanese), Debbie Rogers (Soulcalibur II; English), Heather Halley (Soulcalibur III onwards; English)

Sophitia's younger sister. She heads out to destroy Soul Edge so that her family can live in peace. As of SCIV, 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 SCV. Was sucked into Astral Chaos following the defeat of Soul Edge in SCIV.

Cassandra's style is a bit similar to Sophitia's, but she puts her own spin on Sophitia's more serious fighting style. Hers is more mixup-based, opting for speedy attacks instead of going in for powerful strikes. Later games give her more "physical" moves.

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• Ascended Extra: She has been mentioned in Sophitia's profiles since Soul Edge and SoulCalibur and made a brief cameo in Sophitia's Edge Master mode ending of Soul Edge before she became a full-fledged playable character in SCII.
• Ass Kicks You: She has several hip-check and butt-slam type moves, and even her Critical Finish is a shield-assisted ass-smash. (To the face, no less).
• Cain and Abel: SCIV she becomes the Abel to Sophitia's Cain, though Sophitia is not willingly Cain as she has been Forced into Evil to save her children.
• Contrasting Replacement Character: Cassandra was originally intended to replace her sister Sophitia (and briefly did in the arcade version of SCII before Sophitia returned as an unlockable character in the home ports), and while they are superficially similar they differ in quite a lot of ways: gameplay-wise, she fights in a more chaotic and less refined manner and is more reliant on speed and mixups than Sophitia's focus on power attacks and juggles. Appearance-wise, Cassandra is more tomboyish and comparatively modestly dressed to Sophitia's very feminine and often revealing outfits. Personality-wise, while Sophitia is very humble and an Apologetic Attacker, Cassandra is boastful and often mocks her opponents. Sophitia is also deeply religious and devoted to the Olympian gods, while Cassandra is not very religious and treats the gods with irreverence and mistrust.
• Culturally Religious: An odd example. Cassandra believes in the gods and seems to hold them in at least some degree of reverence, but she is ultimately wary of them and does not count on their intervention or turn to them for guidance. What makes it odd is that her religion, Greek polytheism, had not been part of her culture for a thousand years at that point making her a lapsed adherent of a long-dead religion.
• Cute Bruiser: She's young and impetuous, and her fighting style is somewhat more scrappy, aggressive, and less elegant than some of her fellow female fighters, focusing on lunging strikes, rush-downs, shield bashes and stun attacks.
• Does Not Know His Own Strength: Cassandra is remarkably strong, maybe too much so. She winds up destroying a pair of sacred weapons, due to how roughly she handled her sister's sword and shield. Her brother-in-law, Rothion, manages to repair them, after she breaks the blade again. And in her SCIV ending, she breaks Soul Calibur with her bare hands!
• God in Human Form: The Soul Edge Official Handbook ~Chronicle~ artbook states that Cassandra is the reincarnation of the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite. Given that this came out years before her official debut in the games and has never been referenced since, it's likely a case of Early-Installment Weirdness.
• Dumb Blonde: Played with. While there isn't any canon evidence of her intelligence (or lack of), the supplementary manga and Broken Destiny campaign has her fulfill the role of an inquisitive, ditzy airhead.
• Expy: The original idea was for her to replace her big sister Sophitia.
• Fanservice: Invoked during her Critical Finish in SCIV, where she knocks her opponent down with a hip thrust and jumps on their face twice, tucking her shield under her backside for the second bounce.
  You like this kind of stuff?
• Kirk Summation: When Soul Calibur calls her a foolish girl for "extinguishing the salvation of humanity" for her own sake, Cassandra tells it "After what you've done to Sophitia, you call yourself the light of humanity? Get serious!"
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: She's the foolish to Sophitia's responsible, but it's a minor case. Cassandra is bolshier than Sophitia, and manages to clumsily break her sword twice throughout the series, even trying to hide it from Sophitia in her ending in SCIII, but that's it. Otherwise, she's a faithful sister, and tries to bring Sophitia back to her senses in SCIV.
• Hot-Blooded: She will not back down from a challenge (though she fights out of necessity, rather than sport) and is always raring to go, which is reflected in some of her pre-fight dialog and her idle animation, where she's constantly in motion.
  (assumes fighting stance) Hurry up, let's GO!
  (bouncing) I'm going all out!
• Inconsistent Spelling: When mentioned in Sophitia's profile in SE, her name was written as "Kathandra".
• Joke Item: Has the most joke weapons of any character to date, from her Keepsake in SCII to Baker's Daughter (which is literally a rolling pin and basket) in SCIV.
• Lightning Bruiser: She's insanely fast in SCII, thanks to her Angel Step, which allows her to maneuver around the arena at such ludicrous speed that it's difficult to keep track of her. This is especially the case when the AI controls her. This is toned down in SCIII & SCIV, so she isn't quite as fast as she was before. Her attack power, however, has been consistent (for the most part), allowing her to KO opponents in little time.
• Little Miss Snarker: She comes across as quite sarcastic and even downright bitchy sometimes:
  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!
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: As in 'watch her beat the hell out of you with it'. Which ranges from bitch-slapping her opponent with it, to launching it at them like a discus.
• Mama Bear: She's Patroklos and Pyrrha's aunt, and wanted to spare her sister from fighting to save her children, so she stole Sophie's weapons and set off to fight evil in defence of her niece and nephew.
• Mini Dress Of Power: By SCIV it's become mini to the point of non-existence.
• Nay-Theist: 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, preferring to rely on her own strength.
• The Power of Love: 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 SCIV), 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 SCII lampshades it:
  Announcer: If love for her family is power, she has NO EQUAL.
• Possession Implies Mastery: Same deal as her sister — Cassandra is a skilled warrior, and her sacred weapons augment her already-impressive skills.
• Plucky Girl: 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 SCIV ending.
• Proper Tights with a Skirt: In SCII and SCIII by default, but only in SCIV via her 2P costume.
• Rage Against the Heavens: 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 Hephaestus' 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.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to Soul Calibur in her ending in SCIV.
  After what you've done to Sophitia, you call yourself the light of humanity? Get serious!
• Required Secondary Powers: 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 SCIII profile mentions she got Rothion to fix them up after SCII, and in SCIII her weapon breaks when she uses it to destroy Soul Edge. 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.
• Sanity Slippage: Spending 17 years trapped in the Astral Chaos did a number on Cassandra’s mind and sanity. When she confronts her past self in the New Timeline, she has been Malfested and completely forgotten her own name.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: As Soul Calibur is blathering on about "all evil being banished from the world", Cassandra charges in and attacks it.
• Temporary Bulk Change: Between the events of SCII and SCIII her profile says she's lost weight, and 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 her actual weight, though...
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: With her sister, Sophitia. Guess which one Cassandra is?
• Trapped in Another World: New Legends Of Project Soul indicates that Cassandra was dragged into Astral Chaos during the defeat of Soul Edge at the end of SCIV, 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 the SCVI timeline, where she warns the Cassandra of that timeline about what happens to Sophitia and Pyrrha.
• The Unchosen One: 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.
• Valley Girl: A fairly subtle version, but it's there in her vocalization (in English) and precocious personality.
  Have you looked in the mirror recently?

Hong Yun-seong

Soulcalibur II Appearance

^{Appearance in Soulcalibur IV}

"Quit now, if you want to live!"

Origin: Jirisan, Joseon Kingdom (South Korea) ^note During its reign, the Joseon Kingdom consolidated its effective rule over the territory of current Korea up until 1897.

Weapon: White Storm, a Chinese sword

Fighting style: Seong-style Longsword

Voiced by: ^note Kosuke Toriumi (Japanese), Jim Singer (Soulcalibur II, English), Michael Reisz (Soulcalibur III and Soulcalibur IV, English)

A student of Seong Mi-na's father, and Ascended Fanboy of Hwang. Following his hero's example, he goes after Soul Edge in order to prove to Hwang that he's a great fighter. He gets ludicrous levels of stubborness in SCIV, 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."

Yun-seong is the true successor to Hwang's fighting style, being a well-rounded character with more of a focus on kicks.

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• Alternate Company Equivalent: He can be considered one to Hwoarang (even though both are Namco properties). Both have similar personalities, nationalities, and hair color. Heck, they even debuted in the 3rd game of their respective series.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: For both his and Mi-na's endings in SCIV he becomes possessed by Soul Edge.
• Butt-Monkey: To Seong Mina, who doesn't hide her eye-rolling disapproval of his perceived immaturity.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Seong Mi-na treats him like a child, which annoys him. But as long as he's gonna act like one...
  • This gets lampshaded twice in SCII, where if you read the entry for the Child's Sword, it says there's an inscription that reads: "for kids only". Yun-seong thought Mi-na 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 SCIII, she distracts him with a bowl of pork buns, long enough to sneak up behind him and cold cock him. When he regains consciousness, she marches him back to her father's dojo and makes him carry all their belongings.
  • In Mi-na's version, they have an impromptu sparring session, where the player must correctly enter 4 QTE button sequences. If you 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 her too.
• Expy: A more direct one of Hwang.
• Fiery Redhead: Another trait of his "wild teenager" persona is his unruly red hair.
• Glory Seeker: This is (or was) his primary motivation for seeking Soul Edge. When Hwang refused to accept his challenge to a duel, Yun-seong remained determined to make Hwang acknowledge him as an equal (see The Rival entry).
• Hot-Blooded: "I'm gettin' pumped up!"
• Hotter and Sexier: In SCII he wears an outfit that uncovers his midriff, but come SCIII it's an open shirt with stylish shorts and sandals, and finally come SCIV, he's just wearing a bandana, pants (that can be ripped apart) and shoes, and is completely shirtless.
• Human Pack Mule: A few endings of Mi-na's have this fate befall him.
• Idiot Ball: Whilst he does believe that there might be some truth to the whole "Soul Edge is evil" thing, he still wants to see for himself.
• Idiot Hero: His input ending in SCIII has him decide between claiming Soul Edge, or... a tray of pork buns. Guess which one he chooses.
• Inconsistent Spelling: Hong Yunsung? This was his name as spelled in SCII, but it was rewritten into "Yun-seong" in following games. All Korean characters have gone through this.
• Let's go Home: According to the New Legends of Project Soul artbook for SCV, Tokugawa took over Japan after the events of SCIV, and ended the war with Korea. This left Yun-seong, Seong Mi-na, and Hwang with no further reason to search for Soul Edge, so they returned home. Thus, ending Korea's role in the series.
• Pretty Boy: He's young and handsome.
• Not Distracted by the Sexy: It's impressive that he can hang around a hottie like Mi-na without at least some reaction, especially since she's half-naked most of the time. But, as far as he's concerned, she's an "old lady" who's always poking around where she's not wanted.
• Patriotic Fervor: His goal to find Soul Edge is a direct result of his hopes to protect Korea from Japanese invaders. There's also this exchange with Mitsurugi in SCIII the second he sees him:
  Enemy of my country... prepare yourself!
• Redhead In Green: His 1P outfit in SCIII combines his red hair with a green unbuttoned shirt.
• The Rival: 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 SCII. When Hwang realized Yun-seong's motive, he refuses to accept. Undaunted, Yun-seong is determined to make Hwang acknowledge his talents somehow and eventually learns he had once gone in search of Soul Edge, but had returned without it. Thus, Yun-seong believes if he can succeed where Hwang had seemingly failed, he'd have no choice but to recognize him as an equal.
• Schmuck Bait: For his ending in SCIII, he moves to claim Soul Edge — until he notices a tray of pork buns sitting next to it. Seems legit. *WHAP!*
• Ship Tease: Talim accompanies him, during her story mode in SCIII, 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, which results in a brief romantic moment between them.
• Shonen Hair: He sports an impressively spiky quiff.
• Surfer Dude: His look in SCIII.
• Unknown Rival: To Mitsurugi in SCIII. 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 couldn't care less.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: His 1P outfit in SCIV.

Additional and Guest Characters

Necrid

Standard Appearance

^{2 P-Costume}

Origin: Unknown

Weapon: Enigma, pure energy capable of taking any form

Voiced by: ^note Scott Keck (pitched-down, distorted, and reversed)

A man that got trapped into Soul Edge's dimension and corrupted into a monstrosity. He got free during the climax of the first game, and sought Soul Edge as it can appease his immense pain. Created by Todd McFarlane as a home version-exclusive character.

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• Ditto Fighter: His ultimate weapon, "Chaos", copies the buffs and debuffs of the opponent's weapon.
• Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: Though he was once a human being, his design is completely different from other characters.
• Mega Manning: Borrows from pretty much everyone in SCII, leading to some pretty broken strings of moves.
• Morph Weapon: His default weapon is a piece of the realm he was trapped in, which broke off and came with him: he can change it into different forms, most of them mirroring weapons and styles used by other characters.
• One-Man Army: Shown in the intro of the console versions of II in which he is screaming out of bloodlust surrounded by lots of corpses after a major battle.
• One-Shot Character: 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 custom characters in SCVI, but Necrid himself is unacknowledged.
• Shapeshifter Weapon: He can mold the energy in his hand to mimic the other fighters' weapons.
• The Unintelligible: Speaks in incomprehensible gibberish, to the point that his quotes are labelled as basic emotions conveyed by his speech. They're actually Mitsurugi's quotes, but slowed down, distorted and reversed.
• Was Once a Man: Noted in its bio and surmised by Talim in their Destined Battle.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Hasn't been seen since his debut, but he was briefly mentioned in New Legends of Project Soul.

Charade

Origin: Unknown

Weapons: all weapons

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 obsession 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 instinct, and got its wish in SCIV, as it merged together with all the shards.

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• Dem Bones: Charade's "body" is very skeletal in appearance.
• Ditto Fighter: Just like Inferno and Edge Master, Charade copies the fighting styles of other warriors by scanning the minds and souls of its opponents, similarly to what Soul Edge does.
• Eye Beams: In SCIII it can shoot a beam of green energy from its eye.
• Eyeless Face: Its face has no eyes, however...
• Eyes Do Not Belong There: 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 SCV depicts him with an eye in his chest.
• Faceless Eye: It's an eye imbedded in a fleshy sphere, with fragments of Soul Edge forming a skeletal armor around it.
• Flight: By assuming a comet-like form, it can fly.
• Heartbeat Soundtrack: Sort of. The fleshy eye sphere constantly pulses and emits a heartbeat-like sound, audible whenever it's physically present, even including the character select and versus screens.
• Humanoid Abomination: Charade was created by shards of Soul Edge corrupting the flesh and blood of a man who had found them into a "cursed blade larva".
• Morphic Resonance: Played with. All of its forms are a brown skeleton with a giant eye in its torso. However, they all also have the habits of the character it's masquerading as, mostly useful to this audience in distinguishing it as Sophitia from it as Cassandra (Cassandra is ironically bouncier).
• No Biological Sex: Since it's formed from shards of Soul Edge, it doesn't have a gender.
• Posthumous Character: Its body was formed from the flesh and blood of a man that was suffused with Soul Edge's evil energy.
• Put on a Bus: As usual for the Ditto Fighter characters, its story just... stopped. It comes out of nowhere for an event match in SCIII, and then finally joins with the rest of Soul Edge in SCIV.
• Sequential Boss: Charade's encounter in SCIII. In its first phase, Charade wields Wave Swords. In the second phase, it loses its arms and switches to the Grieve Edge. In its third and final phase, Charade is reduced to a floating eyeball that can only attack with Eye Beams.
• Shapeshifting: How it changes to match each player character's style, it readjusts its skeleton.
• The Speechless: In SCII, since Charade has no mouth, it is incapable of speech or battle yells/groans. This is strangely not the case in SCIII where Charade borrows the soundbites of Inferno from SCII which resemble distorted roaring from a lion or jaguar.
• Was Once a Man: Its core and armor were formed from the flesh and blood of a man who was murdered while in possession of shards of Soul Edge.

Spawn

"You're pissing me off..."

Origin: Detroit, Michigan USA

Weapon: Agony, a double-blade axe

Voiced by: ^note Akio Ōtsuka (Japanese), Kevin Michael Richardson (English, credited as Victor Stone)

Todd McFarlane's badass demon 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, Al Simmons accepted a deal with the devil Malebogia to return to Earth as a hellspawn such that he could still see his wife, Wanda. He arrives in the timeline of the Soul series far away from modern-day Earth on orders to retrieve Soul Edge. Playable only in the Xbox and HD versions.

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• Badass Cape: His iconic cloak is only seen in the intro due to the difficulties of animating it.
• Badbutt: In the world of comics, Spawn is the premier example of an R-rated superhero... who's a Guest Fighter in a soft T-rated game. The result is that he has to be considerably more restrained with his language, only saying "damn", "hell", and "piss" compared to his more colorful language in his comic series. He doesn't have guns, nor is there any Gorn, either.
• Deal with the Devil: He bargained with the demon-lord Malebolgia in order to see his wife again.
• Eagleland: So far, the only American representative in the series. Justified as the United States wouldn't officially exist for another two centuries in the time the series takes place.
• The Cowl: Literally and figuratively (except for in his 2P costume, which removes the cowl, revealing his burnt and horribly disfigured face).
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: Due to the necroplasm composing his body, his eyes glow solid green.
• Mythology Gag: His alternate costume turns parts of his costume red, matching his original appearance in the comics.
• No Flow in CGI: In-universe, his cloak is said to have taken the form of an axe in this game. This trope is the real-life reason as to why.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Spawn is easily the most foul-mouthed character in the series.
• Trapped in the Past: His in-game backstory states that Malebolgia sent him back in time to claim Soul Edge and bring it to the future to use in the war against Heaven.
• Unstoppable Rage: Put bluntly, Spawn is eternally pissed and it's easy to set him off.
• Version-Exclusive Content: Only in the Xbox port. Defied with the HD rerelease.

Link

Origin: Kingdom of Hyrule

Weapons: Master Sword & Hylian Shield, a sword & shield

Fighting style: Hylian Style

Voiced by: ^note Nobuyuki Hiyama

A Hylian hailing from The Legend of Zelda 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. This incarnation is implied to be the Hero of Time, a traveler who was sealed away for seven years in order to defeat the demon king Ganondorf. 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 GameCube version.

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• Badass Normal: Link doesn't really make use of magic or other supernatural abilities as he fights, but he's definitely capable of holding his own with just his swordplay and various tools at hand.
• Battle Theme Music: An arrangement of the Legend of Zelda theme plays when he fights in the Eurydice Shrine, and in most cases when you win with him, an arrangement of the Item Get! theme plays instead of the usual victory fanfare.
• BFS: One of the weapons he's packing is the Biggoron's Sword from Ocarina of Time. While it has amazing reach, trying to use a two-handed sword with just one hand means Link takes a little damage every time he swings it.
• Bow and Sword in Accord: He wields the Fairy Bow as well as the Master Sword.
• Combat Pragmatist: Most characters just use their main weapons, whereas Link also uses his Bow, Bombs, and Boomerang.
• Comedic Spanking: One of his throws has him climb to the opponent's shoulders and hit their butt with the blunt end of his sword.
• Cool Sword: As always, the Master Sword. His other ones here include the Magical Sword, Biggoron Sword, Razor Sword, and Great Fairy Sword.
• Composite Character: Has the look and voice of his Ocarina of Time incarnation— his ending even shows and mentions him playing the Ocarina to return to his own world— but the intro shows him drawing the Master Sword from the Lost Woods, and two of his unlockable weapons are the Cane of Byrna and Bug-Catching Net. He also gets two weapons (the Razor Sword and the Great Fairy Sword) from Majora's Mask, the latter of which is his ultimate weapon.
• Crippling Overspecialization: Link is the king of ring-outs thanks to his default throw, but isn't particularly good at anything else. Fighting in a walled-off arena puts him at a serious disadvantage.
• Determinator: As his intro states— "his courage and faith are his greatest weapons!".
• Easter Egg: Winning with Link causes the Item Get! chime to replace the normal victory fanfare. There's also the matter of the game's rendition of the Zelda main theme.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Has blonde hair, and he's one of the few characters around with purely altruistic goals— destroying Soul Edge to not only protect his own homeland, but the world of the Soul series as well.
• Heroic Mime: Even with all the opportunities given, he still doesn't speak here...
• Hot-Blooded: ...that being said though, he's still this with all the enthusiastic yelling he does as he fights. His voice actor lets him qualify for that alone!
• Improbable Weapon User: Besides being able to use various kinds of swords, he can also wield hammers, magical staffs, and even butterfly nets much like them with no issues.
• Infinity +1 Sword: The Great Fairy's Blade isn't called The Ultimate Sword in it's description for nothing.
• Jack of All Stats: Link is only an average fighter, since his broad slashes are telegraphed and fairly easy to dodge.
• Man in a Kilt: Iconic for Link, so it's a given that he'll be wearing it. His standard attire consists of the green tunic that he wears as part of his upbringing with the Kokiri tribe, but he can also wear the red Goron, blue Zora and lavender Blue Ring tunics as other options later on.
• Put on a Bus: He was left out of the HD version of SC2, due to the game not appearing on a Nintendo system.
• Screaming Warrior: Regardless of the above, he does yell a lot. He's quite good at it.
• Signature Headgear: The iconic long floppy cap is here, too. Though how does it stay on his head?
• Unskilled, but Strong: His attacks are wide in arc, and one is even him using the Master Sword as a baseball bat. That said, this is the Hero of Time, who, when properly armed, can toss giant, stone columns behind his back.
• Version-Exclusive Content: Only available in the GameCube port. For obvious legal reasons, he doesn't return in the HD re-release.
• Wall of Weapons: Much like in his original appearances, Link brings a number of different weapons with him into battle. Besides his usual Sword and Shield, he also uses the Boomerang, Fairy Bow, and Bombs, making him one of the few projectile-centric characters in the series.

Heihachi Mishima

"I'd just love to show this to that stupid son of mine!"

Origin: Japan

Weapons: his own fists with steel wrist guards

Fighting style: Mishima-style Karate

Voiced by: ^note Daisuke Gōri (Japanese), Kevin Michael Richardson (English, credited as Victor Stone)

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. Seeking to become the most dominant force on Earth, Heihachi's attempts at attaining power have seen him clash with foes far and wide, none more fierce than his own flesh and blood in a war that spans generations. While taking a vacation in a hot springs resort, he is transported from 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 PS2 version; he returns in the 2013 HD rerelease for Xbox Live/PSN.

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• Badass Normal: 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.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: Uses his bare hands against weapon-wielders which are protected by armguards (unless he's using his Infinity +1 Sword).
• Barehanded Blade Block: Does this in the cutscene before his Arcade Mode destined battle against Raphael.
• Blood Knight: Heihachi is always looking to test his strength against worthy opponents.
• Charles Atlas Superpower: His "weapons" are metal arm-guards he uses to deflect blows from weapons. His ultimate weapon? 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.
• Continuity Nod:
  • His 10-hit combo is his most powerful move.
  • He also refers to Kazuya in one of his quotes ("I'd love to show this to that idiot son of mine!") and name drops his pet bear Kuma when defeating Inferno ("Even Kuma is stronger than you!").
• Logical Weakness: Heihachi fighting bare-handed may be a bit of a Lightning Bruiser, but without any magic, weaponry or the like, it also means his greatest shortcoming is his range, as he has to get nearly point-blank to land a great deal of his attacks. In a game where everyone else has a weapon, this creates the primary challenge players have to overcome with him.
• Parental Abandonment: 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 Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion), betrayed his father Jinpachi and his grandson Jin, and 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.
• Power Limiter: The justification for him using arm guards along with it acting as some minor protection; his ultimate weapon is just taking off his arm-guards, and fighting with his full power.
• Recovery Attack: The only character in the series with one, as it comes from Tekken.
• Title Drop: And not of Soulcalibur. His ultimate "weapon" (bare fists) is named "Tekken." Appropriately, as "Tekken" translates to "Iron Fist", that's exactly what you're getting (nothing but Heihachi's own "iron fists" without the wrist guards).
• Version-Exclusive Content: Only available in the PS2 port. Defied with the HD re-releases.

Berserker

Origin: Holy Roman Empire (Germany)

Weapon: battle axe

Men turned berserk by the Evil Seed. In II, they're also used as labyrinth guardians in the side-game. Comes in 3 variants.

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• Demoted to Extra: From SC III onwards.
• Mooks: They're generic Malefested servant of Nightmare.
• Moveset Clone: Duplicates Rock's movelist.
• Regional Bonus: They're not playable without hacking in the Japanese version of II, and were Promoted to Playable in the North American version.

Assassin

Origin: Persia (Iran)

Weapon: scimitar

Assassins from Astaroth's cult. Ditto Berserker above. Comes in 3 variants.

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• "Arabian Nights" Days: Their look.
• Demoted to Extra: From SC III onwards.
• Mooks: They're generic enemies encountered throughout the game's various modes.
• Moveset Clone: Duplicates Hwang's movelist. This has lead to some believing that Assassin (if there is only one such character) is Hwang.
• Regional Bonus: They're not playable without hacking in the Japanese version of II, and were Promoted to Playable in the North American version.

Lizardmen

Origin: Grand Shrine of Palgaea, Persia (Iran)

Weapon: short sword & shield

Many men turned lizard by Astaroth's evil cult. Served Lizardman and Nightmare in Soulcalibur, and turned shard-seeker for the cult in II. In III, they were oblivious to Astaroth's cult smashing, and wandered the lands. In IV, they gathered around Aeon Calcos, who become their leader again. They obey his every order without question, even killing innocents if necessary.

Maze and labyrinth guardians. Come in several variants.

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• Demoted to Extra: From SC III onwards, they're NPCs.
• 100% Completion: Their unlock requirement is to beat every mission of Weapon Master mode. This includes all of the extra dungeons, one of which requires the player to grind to max level to even access.
• Mooks: They're generic enemies encountered throughout the game's various modes.
• Moveset Clone: In II, they duplicate Aeon Calcos's movelist from I. In VI, they duplicate his weapons and some of his moveset from III, though as they're only a minor enemy this time around, they're missing most attacks.
• One-Gender Race: Even though females are confirmed to exist in their museum entry in VI, only males are ever seen. This includes custom characters — choosing a Lizardman as your character's race does not allow you select their gender, and forcing it by hacking will result in numerous glitches without a complicated combination of workarounds.
• Regional Bonus: They're not playable without hacking in the Japanese version of II, and were Promoted to Playable in the North American version.

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