List of characters in the Soul series

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A comprehensive list of characters from the Soul series of fighting games produced by Namco.

Contents 1 Series characters 1.1 Abyss 1.2 Algol 1.3 Amy 1.4 Arthur 1.5 Astaroth 1.6 Cassandra 1.7 Cervantes 1.8 Charade 1.9 Dampierre 1.10 Edge Master 1.11 Frederick 1.12 Hilde 1.13 Hong Yun-seong 1.14 Hwang Seong-gyeong 1.15 Inferno 1.16 Ivy 1.17 Kilik 1.18 Li Long 1.19 Lizardman 1.20 Maxi 1.21 Mitsurugi 1.22 Necrid 1.23 Night Terror 1.24 Nightmare 1.25 Olcadan 1.26 Raphael 1.27 Revenant 1.28 Rock 1.29 Seong Han-myeong 1.30 Seong Mi-na 1.31 Setsuka 1.32 Siegfried 1.33 Sophitia 1.34 Taki 1.35 Talim 1.36 Tira 1.37 Voldo 1.38 Xianghua 1.39 Yoshimitsu 1.40 Zasalamel 2 Guest characters 3 Bonus characters 3.1 Soulcalibur II 3.1.1 Assassin 3.1.2 Berserker 3.2 Soulcalibur III 3.2.1 Greed and Miser 3.2.2 The Shopkeepers 3.2.3 Chronicles of the Sword Characters 3.3 Soulcalibur IV 4 Background characters 4.1 Sultan Barbaros 4.2 Fafnir 4.3 Gel-o-Fury 4.4 Ilona Farkas 4.5 Iska Farkas 5 References

Series characters

Official characters within the series' storyline. They are playable in some installments of the series.

Abyss

Abyss (アビス, Abisu^?) is one of the two final bosses on Soulcalibur III, fought if the conditions to battle Night Terror are not met. He is Zasalamel after a mutation by the powers of both Soul Edge and Soul Calibur, using the same fighting style of Zasalamel with added attacks. He can be unlocked as a normal character, but doesn't have a Story Mode nor an ending. In Soulcalibur III: Arcade Edition, Abyss is an unplayable boss, randomly appearing as an alternative to Night Terror for the game's final match.

Algol

Algol (アルゴル, Arugoru^?, Arabian; الغول) first appears in Soulcalibur IV as the Story Mode boss and as an unlockable character. Long before the events of Soul Edge, Algol was known as "The Hero King", able to use the cursed sword Soul Edge without being controlled by it. With it, he spread peace, until his son Arcturus stole Soul Edge and was controlled by it, forcing Algol to destroy the sword but kill his son as well. He worked to create a purified sword from a shard of Soul Edge to counter the cursed sword when it reappeared, resulting in the creation of Soul Calibur, but with his body and soul being trapped inside until Soul Edge and Soul Calibur clashed. Building himself a new body armed with facsimilies of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur, he waits in the Tower of Remembrance for Soul Calibur and Soul Edge to come to him so that he can make his revival permanent.

Character designer Hideo Yoshie described Algol as "a character that obviously proves the setting of being the strongest character ever in SC series". Algol's costume originates from a culture so ancient that it was not recorded in history, with Yoshie noting it was very difficult to design it for that reason. Amongst several ideas including a lion and a dinosaur, a bird motif was finally settled upon with the idea of having Algol partially resemble a "buzzard".^[1]

Amy

Introduced as a background character for Raphael's story in Soulcalibur II, Amy (エイミ, Eimi^?) hid him from his pursuers,^[2] and out of a debt of gratitude he took her in as his foster daughter. To secure a future for her, he left Amy behind to pursue the cursed sword Soul Edge, with plans to present it to the nobles that pursued him so they would be overtaken by its curse and destroy each other.^[3] One day, Raphael returned from a vicious battle with Nightmare, the wielder of Soul Edge. Raphael collapsed before Amy's eyes and she nursed him back to consciousness. When he came round he told her that though the battle had been won, he had become infected by the evil seed, and by handling his blood, she was also infected. Their skin turned pale and their eyes shone red. They felt weak and sluggish by day, and a powerful thirst by night. Amy had always found it hard to open her heart to the world, but now she couldn't even try because she was too different from everyone else. She was no longer human. She went with Raphael to the castle he bought in Romania. She sat in a dim room seeing the torches and troops gathering there. Raphael left, saying he would be out for a while. He took care of the troops and the noises ceased. They eventually returned, but he didn't. He had left her. And now the noises and light spread violently in the world he made, bringing it to ruins. She stood up and went to the exit. She was bound to the words from those days and then she smiled. For it was she who must protect this world that Raphael created.^[4]

Arthur

Arthur first appeared in Korean version of Soul Calibur as a replacement for Mitsurugi whose looks and moves are common with Arthur. He also appears as a bonus character in Soul Calibur III.

Astaroth

Cassandra

During the events of Soulcalibur II, Sophitia's sister Cassandra (カサンドラ, Kasandora^?) set out on her own to destroy Soul Edge, continuing her quest in Soulcalibur III after realizing the sword still existed and getting a new set of weapons from her brother-in-law, Rothion. She returns in Soulcalibur IV, encountering Raphael, who sensed the fragment of Soul Edge that she carried. After defeating him, Raphael fled, but told her of a "holy stone" with the power to dispel evil. Hearing rumors of a man with a large mass of crystal on his way to Ostrheinsburg, she reasoned he carried the Holy Stone and sought to destroy some great evil, which must have been Soul Edge. She followed him, hoping that he would destroy Soul Edge.

Cervantes

Cervantes de Leon's (セルバンテス・デ・レオン, Serubantesu de Reon^?)' father, Phillip de Leon, was a privateer sent on a special mission from Spanish King Philip II of Spain to loot in the name of Spain. One day, he sailed closely to an English ship with intent to loot it, only to find out too late that it was a warship. He was taken by surprise, his ship was destroyed, and his crew died along with it. Cervantes was devastated. He decided that if that was what happened to sailors that swear allegiance to Spain, he would forsake it and become a pirate. One day, he received a message from the "Merchant of Death," Vercci. It was a request to find Soul Edge. At first Cervantes dismissed the offer, but finally accepted since Vercci was the merchant who gave him the artillery for his ship. After a year of searching, Cervantes found information pointing to an antiques dealer with a "strange article". There was no specific evidence that said article was Soul Edge, but Cervantes was a pirate, and could find some use for the ship's goods even if Soul Edge was not there. Cervantes attacked the ship, and nobody heard from him again for more than twenty years.

What had happened was that Cervantes had obtained Soul Edge on that ship, and it drove him insane as it devoured his soul. His insanity caused him to kill anyone who came looking for Soul Edge--including his own crew and the entire population of his home port town in Valencia--a reign of terror that lasted for twenty years. Li Long was the first to confront him to possess Soul Edge, but was defeated from its overwhelming power. He tried to escape, and Cervantes pursued him. However, Li Long successfully fled. After that, Sophitia Alexandra, Taki and Siegfried Schtauffen confronted Cervantes, and they all defeated him in succession. But this was not the end for Cervantes. Nightmare, the new host for Soul Edge, unknowingly resurrected him using the fragments of Soul Edge still lodged inside Cervantes' body, but all his memories of his past life had vanished. Over the course of the next three years, Cervantes sailed in a ghost ship, plundering and maddening ships across the world, as his memories gradually returned, along with the desire to search for Soul Edge again, even though he knew it had robbed him of his free will. During Cervantes' search for Soul Edge, he realized that the second sword had been shattered as well when he found a few shards of the second sword. He pondered as to whether or not Soul Edge had been definitively conquered, but at that moment, the shards melded together on their own to create a bigger piece of the sword. For the next four years, Cervantes began his quest to steal souls and collect additional fragments. Eventually, they took the form of a legitimate sword. Cervantes' new goal was to regain Soul Edge, and to do that, he needed as many of the fragments as he could find.

By making use of the fragments of the cursed sword within his body, Cervantes succeeded in preserving his own will. With Soul Edge and the Adrian, he devoured the souls of brawny men of the sea.

Charade

Charade (シャレード, Sharēdo^?) is the name of a creature introduced in Soulcalibur II, formed from Soul Edge's fragments and various reshaped human body parts. It has no intellect, relies on instinct, and has a desire to absorb other pieces of Soul Edge. It mimics fighting styles and weapons by scanning the minds of its opponents. In the arcade version of Soulcalibur II, Charade appeared as the game's final boss,^[5] and was a time-released unlockable character for players to use.^[6] For home ports of the title Charade was replaced by Inferno as the game's final boss, and was made into a regular unlockable character. A Charade appears as a boss in Soulcalibur III in a three round match in which it progressively loses components of itself between each round, changing its fighting style from a wave sword to a grieve edge until reduced to its eye.

Charades appear in the game Namco × Capcom as minor enemy characters, mimicking Sophitia's fighting style from Soulcalibur II. These Charades are unique in that Soul Edge creates them directly,^[7] an ability it lacks in the Soul series. Called Soul Edge's "avatars" by the game's protagonists,^[8] they are created by Soul Edge as foot soldiers and as a means to protect itself. When defeated, they will melt and dissolve into nothing.^[9]

The developers intended Charade to be a unique character, creating different animations for certain mimicked attacks. Charade was meant to be a tribute to Edge Master's role in Soulcalibur, and to be seen as a "valiant character for who all his body parts do their best to fight" instead of a "move thief".^[10]

Dampierre

Dampierre is a new character that will be debuting in the new PSP video game Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny. So far, nothing is known about this new character, except that he wields two punching daggers. This eccentric newcomer will open eyes with his impressive mustache and wristblades. A game trailer of Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny can be viewed at the following Link.

http://www.videogamesblogger.com/2009/06/18/kratos-and-dampierre-join-soul-calibur-broken-destiny-cast.htm

Edge Master

Edge Master has a mysterious past; he is renowned for his skill with various weapons, and his past and real name are known only to himself. He served as advisor and teacher of Ling-Sheng Su martial arts at Ling-Sheng Su Temple --who would descend from the mountain only to participate in the temple's holy artifacts succession ceremony and train their inheritors-- before he burned it down following the fateful night of the Evil Seed. Edge Master found Kilik, the cursed successor of Kali-Yuga, in the temple and taught him to suppress the evil within himself over a three-year training session. Once Kilik had completed the training, Edge Master gave him the final test of destroying the Soul Edge; but after Kilik left on his journey to purify himself and the Kali-Yuga, Edge Master began to feel uneasy. Although his motives are unknown, he broke his silence and departed on a quest of his own.

Eventually he returned to his hermitage after his quest. It's believed he was the one who gave Xianghua the "No Name" jian after she defeated Inferno. He continued training Kilik until he left to his second quest to destroy Soul Edge.

After Kilik was carried back by Xianghua from his quest, beaten by Zasalamel, he instructed him to train with him. He concentrated evil energy in his body and acted as if affected by the Evil Seed. Edge Master and Kilik trained during 3 months, until Kilik was able to connect a purifying blow in Edge Master, who purified him completely, but also wounded him. Although a real purifying blow would only hurt the evil energy and not the body, he acknowledged Kilik's advancement and, after giving him another fragment of Dvapara-Yuga and Xianghua's letter, he sees him leave while treating his wound.

Some time later Seong Mi-na found him and challenged him. He accepted and easily overwhelmed her. He then agreed on training her for a while. Edge Master heard all of Seong Mi-na's adventures, but when he heard about her search for Soul Edge, he told her about the evil nature of the blade. Seong Mi-na left the hermit immediately to continue her search.

Frederick

Frederick Schtauffen is Siegfried's father. Nicknamed the "Gentle Knight", he was one of the heroes of the peasant revolts against the Holy Roman Empire. During the campaign he met Margaret and soon she gave him a son, whom he named Siegfried. He taught him swordplay, but once he left to fight on a foreign crusade, his son formed a nefarious group called the Schwarzwind. After the defeat of his unit in battle, he was returning home exhausted, when the Schwarzwind led by Siegfried ambushed his group, in a misguided patriotic act, believing the group to which Frederick belonged was a group of deserters. With tragic irony, his own son beheaded him in the ensuing chaos, the Schwarzwind being far too strong for the battle weary soldiers to defend themselves.

Hilde

Hildegard von Krone (ヒルデガルド・フォン・クローネ, Hirudegarudo fon Kurōne^?), or Hilde (ヒルダ, Hiruda^?) for short,^[11][12] is the daughter of the king of Wolfkrone (German, Wolfcrown), a fictional European kingdom^[13] under assault by Nightmare's forces from Ostrheinsburg Castle. After her father went insane, Hilde took up the responsibility of protecting its people, leading her armies in the front lines against Nightmare alongsidee. As a desperate measure, Hilde seeks the Sword of Resurrection, Soul Calibur, to bring back an ancient king who once restored peace to the world.^[14] In her ending, Siegfried stands before her and requests to be executed for the sins he committed as Nightmare. She instead grants him a royal pardon, telling him to live for the future instead of the past. She is voiced by Julie Ann Taylor in English and Yūko Kaida in Japanese.

Hong Yun-seong

Hong Yun-seong (ホン・ユンスン, Hon Yunsun^?, Hanja: 洪潤星 Hangul: 홍윤성 Hong Yunseong) was introduced in Soulcalibur II as a famous sword fighter that idolized Hwang Seong-gyeong. He seeks the "Sword of Salvation" to protect his people and prove himself worthy to challenge Hwang, with Seong Mi-na following him to make him return home and teaming up with Talim along the way.

Hwang Seong-gyeong

Hwang Seong-gyeong (ファン・ソンギョン, Fan Songyon^?, Hanja: 黄星京 Hangul: 황성경 Hwang Seonggyeong) had been born to parents who, while poor, had a strong sense of justice. However, this resolve was what led to their downfall. He grew up hardened and eventually enrolled himself in the Seong Dojang to learn to use the long sword. It didn't take him long to become the best student in the dojang and was eventually deemed good enough to be taught a private lesson by the master himself, Seong Han-myeong. The master was happy to have such a gifted student and was even considering adopting him as his son. However, he never had a chance to do so, and his daughter, Seong Mi-na, was only friends with Hwang, with mutual lack of desire to make the relationship anything more than friendship. Facing increasing incursions from Japanese raiders, a coast guard was quickly formed and led by Admiral Lee Sun Shin, with Hwang as the first to volunteer. Rumors of Soul Edge, deemed the "Sword of Salvation", spread to Korea, and Admiral Lee Sun Shin sent him to go and find it.

On his quest to find the "Sword of Salvation," he received news of an impending Japanese invasion of his homeland. He cut his search short and returned home, dragging Seong Mi-na, who had run away to find the Soul Edge herself, home with him. He rejoined the Coast Guard as commander, but shortly thereafter, he received news from a new recruit, Kong Xiuqiang, that Mi-na had run away again. Angered and worried by this, he lost his better judgment and led his crew into a trap set by the pirates of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, and many lives were lost. Admiral Lee Sun Shin sympathized with his worry over Mi-na's well-being, but was nevertheless obliged to dismiss him from the Coast Guard. Instead, he gave him a new set of orders. He was to aid Seong Han-myeong by finding Mi-na, under the guise of searching for the "Sword of Salvation." He immediately set off to the west once again, and, upon finding her, was told of the true nature of Soul Edge. Deciding that Korea would no longer rely on legends to save itself--that it could rely on its own strength--he dragged Mi-na home with one goal in mind: to rejoin the Coastal Forces in guarding against the impending Japanese invasion.

During his second quest Hwang learned that Soul Edge was evil, so he made a report to his superiors about the matter. Sadly that only served to tarnish his reputation. Admiral Lee Sun Shin dismissed him and forced him to return Blue Thunder, as punishment. Hwang left the garrison and stayed in his master's dojo, until one day when someone appeared in the exercise hall. He captured the stranger and upon interrogating him he found out that he was a spy from Japan, who claimed that Japan was in search of Soul Edge too. Since no one in the Coastal Defense has the knowledge of foreign lands and the experience from previous trips, Hwang was selected to carry on the new mission: find and stop the agent from Japan from finding Soul Edge, and bring the sword if possible. Lee Sun Shin handed him Blue Thunder again, and Hwang understood the meaning of this mission, to save his country. Before beginning his quest, he went to the Capital and stole the fragments gathered there, since he wouldn't leave his beloved country with anxiety in his heart. He then headed towards the West, knowing that both Hong Yun-seong, a student of the Seong Dojo, and Seong Mi-na were in a similar quest. He hopes to join forces with them and together destroy the evil blade once and for all.

In Soulcalibur III during Yun-seong's Tales of Souls story, he will go to the Grand Labyrinth and fight with an "Unknown Soul" hidden in shadow. The voice and fighting style of the soul confirm that it is Hwang. When he is defeated, Talim will remark that the Unknown Soul seemed to be testing Yun-seong's ability.

In Soulcalibur IV, we find through the story of Yun-Seong that Hwang did indeed meet the young fighter. Hwang warns him of the dangers of the evil sword Soul Edge and still intends on destroying it.

Inferno

Inferno (インフェルノ, Inferuno^?) is the physical manifestation of the cursed sword Soul Edge's own soul. It fights using the attack style of other fighters from its memories of past battles, and will switch to a random one at the start of each round. Though it exists in its own dimension, Chaos, it has used duplicity such as in the case of tricking Siegfried into expanding its will, and in more extreme cases utilized Cervante's flaming corpse and later the remnants of Nightmare's armor to create an avatar for itself. Inferno's will and power has directly and indirectly affected several other characters in the series, such as the Evil Seed event that caused many to turn somewhat evil or insane. It has also caused the creation of several life forms or modification of them, such as Ivy's sword Valentine, Charade, Necrid and Abyss.

As Soul Edge, it appeared in the first game in the series as well as in Namco × Capcom. In the latter, Soul Edge is shown to have the abilities to create Charades at will, as well as teleport itself; two abilities not present in the Soul series.

Ivy

Kilik

Kilik (キリク, Kiriku^?) Leaving his true parentage a mystery, Kilik was left on the steps of a temple in China when he was an infant. There, he studied the martial arts, eventually inheriting the temple’s treasure, the holy staff Kali-Yuga.

Unfortunately, his temple was destroyed in a single night, enveloped in a rain of the evil seed scattered by Soul Edge. His fellow monks slaughtered each other in the grip of madness, leaving only Kilik and his teacher, the Edge Master, alive.

Under the seed’s influence, Kilik himself had killed many of his companions. He trained for years to try and purge himself of his guilt and the evil that had infected him, and finally resolved to complete his renewal by setting out to destroy Soul Edge itself.

This he succeeded in, with the aid of the Chinese warrior Xianghua and the Okinawan pirate Maxi. After returning home, however, he realized that fragments of the evil sword remained, and set out again in hopes of completing his quest once and for all.

Kilik remains close to Xianghua, and the two have crossed paths in their travels more than a few times. They don’t get along perfectly, but they’ve both resolved to work together in pursuit of their common goal.

Li Long

Introduced in Soul Edge, Li Long (リ・ロン, Ri Ron^?, Chinese: 李 龍 Pinyin: Lǐ Lóng) was an assassin sent by the Emperor of China to kill a pirate lord, but failed. Badly injured, he was rescued by an innkeeper's silent daughter named Chie and eventually fell in love with her. While out one day, a fight broke out at the inn and Chie was believed to be dead. Told falsely Heishirō Mitsurugi was responsible, he set out after Soul Edge knowing Mitsurugi was also after the blade.^[15] He located it in the possession of Cervantes de Leon, but was beaten severely in a battle for the blade. Chie meanwhile was alive, recovering from her injuries and pregnant.

Returning as a secret character in Soulcalibur III, Li Long had survived and escaped, but with his body and confidence shattered. Finding himself on the run from assassins sent by his former employer, he disguised himself and fled during the nights under a false name. He later was taken in by a girl that he quickly came to trust, reminding him of Chie. When the assassins eventually found him, Li Long stood his ground instead of run and defeated them. Remembering the feel of fighting for something other than revenge, he set out to find himself, not knowing Chie had recovered and set out to find him.^[16] Li Long was later included in the arcade version of III as well, with an updated moveset but not additions to his storyline.

Lizardman

The Spartan soldier, Aeon Calcos (アイオーン・カルコス, Aiōn Karukosu^?), like Sophitia Alexandra, was one of the twenty-four warriors to receive an oracle from the god Hephaestus to destroy Soul Edge, one for every letter of the Greek alphabet. Armed with the holy Xi Sword forged for him, a group of desert travelers rescued a dehydrated Aeon and brought him to their village, and he was about to repay them by teaching them swordplay. He was unable to repay their kindness, however, as the Evil Seed had rained down and turned Aeon into a crazed killer, causing him to massacre everyone in the village.

Kunpaetku, the grand priest of the cult order Fygul Cestemus, eventually heard stories of him and captured Aeon so that he may be used as a human guinea pig in a terrible experiment, causing him to transform into Lizardman (リザードマン, Rizādoman^?) — the first of many lizardmen to come. Aeon was ordered to bring Rock's adopted son, Bangoo, to Europe so that his soul could be stolen. Aeon was eventually tracked down and defeated by Rock for the kidnapping, while aiding Astaroth in pursuing Soul Edge.

Soul Edge was struck down moments later, the energy emitted from Soul Calibur releasing Aeon from his brainwashed state. Hidden from the world, Lizardman set on a journey to restore his human form, however upon realizing he had no place to return to, he wondered angrily why Hephaestus had not helped him in his time of need. "My god has forsaken me," he thought, before casting away the sword and shield he was given. To find Soul Edge and destroy the god of the forge with the very weapon he feared most would be his new resolve and the ultimate goal.

In Soul Calibur IV it is revealed that eventually his memories and humanity seemed to deteriorate and he was adopted by a group of Lizardmen like himself and made their leader because of his superior strength and fighting skills. During this time that Lizardman realized he had lost his soul to Soul Edge and sought to reclaim it in order to reclaim his sanity.

Maxi

Maxi (マキシ, Makishi^?, also written as 真喜志) was a wandering pirate from Shuri in the Ryūkyū Kingdom (present-day Okinawa). He uses nunchaku, which gives him short range but alot of speed. His nunchaku don't do much damage on their own, but he has very long combos that can disable the enemy, along with powerful kicks, and a good mix up game. Maxi is also a popular choice for beginners, as a player fighting against Maxi may easily be overwhelmed by another player with low skill, using Maxi's quick attacks and long combos, both of which can easily be performed by mashing the buttons on the controller.

Mitsurugi

Heishirō Mitsurugi (御剣 平四郎, Mitsurugi Heishirō^?) was originally the son of a farmer in Bizen, which after suffering years of witnessing his homeland being ravaged by bandits and war, decided to take up swordsmanship under the tutelage of the Murakami Clan. Mitsurugi's skill and strength spread quickly over Japan, and he was recognized as a force to be reckoned on the battlefield, even being noted by both Uesugi Kenshin and Oda Nobunaga as a great warrior. After leaving the Murakami Clan, and having refused all military commendations offered for his services, Mitsurugi continued to fight in every war in Japan as a hired mercenary.

It was during this time he heard about a new weapon, the Rifle, said to be changing the way wars were fought. At first Mitsurugi dismissed the weapon as a novelty, but soon learned that it was capable of obliterating the Takeda cavalry and realized its real power. Deciding that a strong weapon was the only way to combat it, he started a quest in order to find the rumored Soul Edge.^[17]

In the sequel of Soul Edge, Soulcalibur, he returned as a regular character with an improved fighting style and design. But in the world release of the arcade version (SOC14/VER.C), Mitsurugi was exclusively replaced by a character named Arthur. Other than being of British nationality, Arthur is essentially Mitsurugi with blonde hair and an eye patch; the samurai outfit and katana blade remains unaltered. Arthur returned in Soulcalibur III as a bonus character.

As detailed in his profile for the game, Mitsurugi was unable to find any trace of Soul Edge, and in his frustration he carelessly challenged a man wielding the rifle Tanegashima to a duel in front of his lord, which he ultimately lost after receiving a bullet in his right shoulder. He later departed in a new quest to perfect his swordsmanship, in order to defeat the rifle. During his training he learned of Nightmare's rampage on Europe and started a new quest to the west.

Mitsurugi's profile for Soulcalibur II explained he was once again unable to find his target, but he did not renounce to his quest. Stumbling on a castle in Xiwei (present-day Xi'an), Mitsurugi saved a man that was being attacked by assassins, and as reward he received a fragment of Soul Edge the man possessed. After an incident in which a servant of the Ming Emperor refused to hand over the "Sword of Heroes", Mitsurugi sensed that war was coming.

In his Soulcalibur III profile, Mitsurugi is said to have grown dissatisfied with every battle he has participated in, even considering Soul Edge meaningless and the rifles no more a threat, having defeated several riflemen as seen in the intro of Soul Calibur II. Having lost concern over the rifle, his greatest enemy, Mitsurugi started to seek without success a challenger of his strength. After fending off a group of unknown attackers that were after the fragment he obtained in Xiwei, Mitsurugi noticed their style resembled that of Taki and decided to return to Japan to find out what was happening at the time, as well as to seek a showdown with Taki.

At the moment the Sengoku period had ended and Oda Nobunaga was dead. The leaders of the states were faced with the decision of whether or not to align with his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The Murakami clan, with whom Mitsurugi stayed upon his return, refused to join with mainland Japan, choosing to protect their existence as fierce pirates of the sea. Soon they attracted Toyotomi Hideyoshi's attention, and a confrontation became imminent. Mitsurugi, having found no trace of Taki, decided to aid the Murakami in the upcoming nighttime raid. After the victory of the Muramaki, Mitsurugi was decorated for his services by the Murakami commander. The commander mentioned to him rumors about the resurface of Nightmare, and Mitsurugi, considering the knight a potential challenger, quickly set out to Europe once again.^[18]

Mitsurugi has been one of the series' most recognizable characters ever since his first appearance in Soul Edge. With the exception of the specific arcade version of Soulcalibur where he was replaced by Arthur, he hasn't been dropped from the character roster on any of the following sequels. Ever since his first appearance in Soul Edge, Mitsurugi has remained a regular character on every sequel released of the series, including and up to Soulcalibur IV. He has also appeared in a cross-over game Namco × Capcom as a playable character.

Necrid

Night Terror

Night Terror (ナイトテラー, Naito Terā^?) is the secret final boss in Soulcalibur III. Night Terror is created when the energies of both Soul Edge and Soul Calibur fuse with the remains of Nightmare, which contained Soul Edge's soul, Inferno. In Soulcalibur III: Arcade Edition, Night Terror remains a non-playable boss character, though this time he appears at random in the arcade's end match, alongside Abyss.

Night Terror has special attributes in in-game combat; for instance, he can't be defeated by ring out. If he is knocked out of the ring, a cut-scene plays in which Night Terror uses his wings to fly back to the arena.

Nightmare

Olcadan

Olcadan (オルカダン, Orukadan^?) was introduced in Soulcalibur III as a warrior that mastered all kinds of martial arts and weapon usage, and interested in honing his skills. When he reached adulthood only one of his fights had ended in a draw, so to test himself he hunted down God of War Ares's messenger, a great snow owl, and decapitated it as proof of his victory. The Gods in turn cursed him to have an owl's head depending on the position of the stars, and he was eventually imprisoned in a labyrinth where time didn't flow. When Soul Edge brought about the events of the Evil Seed, the seal was broken, and impressed with its power he sought it out to defeat it. During this time he learned about currency, and desiring it he served as an instructor to other warriors for payment.

Raphael

Raphael Sorel (ラファエル・ソレル, Rafaeru Soreru^?).

Raphael was introduced in Soul Calibur II as Nightmare's rival as well as the rival of any console exclusive Characters (besides Necrid). Raphael's appearance in Soul Calibur III was changed heavily, designed to represent his evil demeanor and royal image. The chief character designer of the game, Hideo Yoshie, stated that the change made Raphael "more distinctive".^[19]

Revenant

Revenant appeared in III as an unlockable character representing the "Wave Sword" fighting style, and returned as an enemy character in IV using Cervantes' fighting style. Revenant's entire costume is built using parts from the Character Creation Mode, except his skull which can't be accessed. A former feared underworld assassin, he killed a previous life of Zasalamel only to in turn be killed by him when he was old and weak. Revived as a skeleton, he works as an enforcer for Zasalamel now, hoping for his freedom.

Rock

Nathaniel 'Rock' Adams, known in Japan as Rock Adams (ロック・アダムズ, Rokku Adamuzu^?).

Rock first appeared in Soul Edge as a playable character and returned for Soulcalibur, Soulcalibur III, and again in Soulcalibur IV.

Seong Han-myeong

Seong Han-myeong (Hanja: 成漢明 Hangul: 성한명) is a secret character without a character portrait, history, ending or extra weapons. Namco has not provided any official render, artwork or official information regarding him. Moreover, the narrator uses "Guest Fighter" instead of his name when he wins a fight. Han-myeong can only be fought against in Edge Master Mode. He's the second battle in Hwang's History Book. Han-myeong is the only remnant of a list of "Guest Characters" Namco planned to add to Edge Master Mode. Gel-o-Fury, Frederick Schtauffen, Cassandra and Arthur, among others, were planned to be included in Edge Master Mode, but the idea was later dropped and only Han-myeong remained.

Seong Han-myeong was the master of his own dojang in Jirisan, Korea. He was especially skilled in martial arts, which gained him great respect across the country. He had one daughter and one son, but his son and wife died of sickness, leaving only Seong Mi-na to continue his lineage. He worried for her every day, and taught her how to take care of herself by teaching her the ways of martial arts, and she had even become more skilled with the guan dao than he ever had, but he still wished she would settle down and stay home. There was another child at the dojo, the orphan Hwang Seong-gyeong, in whom Han-myeong had taken a particular interest. The young man had even distinguished himself enough to win a private lesson with the master, and Han-myeong was overwhelmed with happiness at the young man's potential. He saw this as an opportunity to have a son once again and considered adopting him, but Hwang had joined the Coastal Forces, and the opportunity never arose. He decided that once Hwang returned, he could ask him then. The young man returned sooner than expected, but it was only to ready himself for an important mission on behalf of the leader of the Coastal Forces, Admiral Yi Sun Shin, a childhood friend of Seong Han-myeong, to seek out the "Sword of Salvation," the Soul Edge. To show his appreciation, Han-myeong decided to hold a private conversation with the young man and offered to him his most prized sword, Mountain Breaker; but Hwang politely declined the offer, because it was Han-myeong's favorite weapon, but he accepted Blue Storm, one of the Seong's Family heirlooms.

All along, Mi-na had been listening in on their private conversation. Han-myeong knew she had previously tried to join the Coastal Defense but was rejected on account of her gender. The next day, as she was sneaking out of the house, he stopped her and asked where she was off to. She did not lie to him, but he was still not happy with what she had told him: She was off to find the Soul Edge on her own. He admonished her and ordered her to stay home, but she pushed him out of the way and ran off. Not long afterwards, news spread of an impending Japanese invasion of Korea, and most of his pupils left to join the Coastal Defense immediately. Upon hearing of the invasion, Hwang had cut his search short and returned home, dragging Mi-na along with him. When Mi-na had arrived, Han-myeong was waiting for her. He scolded her and made her endure a strict training regimen. Thanking Hwang for his help, he finally gathered the courage to ask the young man to be his son, but the offer was politely declined. Han-myeong did not give up there, for he began to plan a marriage for Hwang and Mi-na, making Mi-na grow very angry with him and run away soon afterwards. He was stricken with grief but also considered that perhaps he had always been too protective of her, as she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But she never returned for months, and he began to become extremely worried, even requesting the aid of Yi Sun Shin, who could not help him due to the invasion. But his worries were somewhat reduced when Yi Sun Shin sent Hwang on a mission to find her; and, three years later, the two of them returned. Han-myeong apologized to Mi-na for being too overprotective for all those years and promised to treat her as an adult from that day forward. Four years later, Han-myeong had acquired another student of immeasurable potential, Hong Yun-seong, but the proud boy had sneaked away on a personal mission for the Soul Edge, taking a Seong family heirloom with him, the dao White Storm. Mi-na came to Han-myeong in a private conversation and asked him to let her go to search for Yun-seong, since she felt obliged to retrieve it. Han-myeong did not want her to go, but he knew in his heart that even if he protested, she would simply run away again; he reluctantly gave her his blessing to retrieve it. By the time he considered that she would, in fact, try to seek out and destroy the Soul Edge on her journey, it was too late, and she was long gone.

Seong Mi-na

Seong Mi-na (ソン・ミナ, Son Mina^?, Hanja: 成美那 Hangul: 성미나 Seong Mina) is a character introduced in the original Soul Edge. Growing up in the famous Korean Seong Dojang headed by her father, Seong Han-myeong, Mi-na had always been surrounded by weapons, many of which she learned to use quite well, even surpassing her father with the guan dao. However, her looks led the local boys to tease her and call her nothing more than a girl, an image supported by her father who wanted her to settle down and marry a suitor, preferably Hwang Seong-gyeong, whom Han-myeong had personally wanted to adopt into the family. Facing increasing incursions from Japanese raiders, a coast guard was quickly formed and led by Yi Soon Shin, her father's childhood friend, with Mi-na desperate to join in the ranks; but she was barred from joining on account of her gender. Overhearing rumours of Soul Edge, deemed the "Sword of Salvation", while eavesdropping on a private conversation between her father and Hwang, she decided that if she would not be able to prove herself in the coastal defense, she could just as easily prove herself by finding the fabled sword for her country. This prompted her to pack her belongings and run away from home, not knowing that Hwang had already been sent out on his own official quest for the weapon.

During her search, she did meet up with Hwang, and upon receiving news of an impending Japanese invasion of Korea, he cut his quest short and returned home, dragging Mi-na home with him. Not long after her return, Mi-na ran away again. Her frustration with rigorous training, combined with her father's eagerness to marry her to Hwang and a proposal from one of her father's wealthy trainees, sent her over the edge and out the door. Mi-na resumed her quest for the Soul Edge, but gained a valuable lesson along the way. She heard of a female warrior named Ivy, who was also searching for the Soul Edge. But upon meeting Ivy, she was told that Soul Edge was inherently demonic and that Mi-na would be better suited at home because she was only a weak little girl. Quick to anger, she challenged Ivy to a fight, but, overwhelmed and confused by Ivy's unusual snake sword, she suffered a humiliating defeat. Questioning her own strength, Mi-na met a middle-aged, alcoholic man with a beaten bo staff who jeered her and told her not to challenge people so hastily. But true to form, she attacked him and never landed a single hit, as he caught her guan dao with his bare hands. She asked if she could train under him, and he reluctantly agreed; despite his chronic alcoholism, his ability with the bo staff taught her much during her training. After a year of training, he mysteriously disappeared while out to buy more alcohol, and her only trace of him was a goodbye note telling her there was nothing more he could teach her, signed by a one 'Kong Xiuqiang', who was, in reality, Chai Xianghua's long-lost father and an exiled student of the Ling-Sheng Su Temple. From this experience, Mi-na learned to never underestimate the strength of an opponent, and she continued training for two years until she was ready to resume her quest for the Soul Edge. Eventually, however, she was dragged home once again by Hwang.

Four years later, Mi-na saw a student of her father, Hong Yun-seong, angry after being rejected by Hwang when he challenged him to a battle. She felt sorry for the brooding young man and handed him a Seong family heirloom, the dao 'White Storm' that, according to legend, possessed the ability to reflect the innermost thoughts of those who wielded the blade. That night, Yun-seong had packed his belongings and run away from the dojo in pursuit of Soul Edge, taking the dao with him. Since Mi-na had lent the heirloom to him, she felt obligated to retrieve it, and decided to leave the dojang to find him. Seong Han-myeong did not want her to go, but he knew in his heart that if he protested, she would simply run away again, and he gave her his blessing to retrieve the weapon. By the time he considered that she would, in fact, try to seek and destroy the Soul Edge on her journey, it was too late, and she was long gone.

Seong Mi-na traveled throughout Ming, continuing her search for Yun-seung. In one city, she got involved in a fight. After defeating a brawny man, one of the onlookers casually remarked that her style largely resembled the fabled Ling-Sheng Su Style. When she thought about it, the man who had taught her how to use her weapon had never given a name for the style. This fighting art was a solid part of her now, but she didn't know where it originated from. Mi-na became interested and decided to visit this temple famous for its martial arts.

She went to the said temple and found that it was destroyed a few years ago. However, she found out that an old master of the said style was still alive. She decided to visit the old man living in some mountains in the Himalayas. She arrived and saw Edge Master, who was also Kilik's master. When she first challenged him to a fight, he refused. But in the end, he agreed. Seong Mi-na suffered a total defeat. The old man then invited her to stay with him to train. During breaks, she told him of stories of her travels. He seemed vaguely interested, but he jumped at the information that Mi-na was also looking for Soul Edge. He told her the sword was evil. She did not believe him at first, but she knew that a man like him would not lie.

After a few months of training, Mi-na made up her mind to go after Yun-seong again, to tell him that the sword was evil. After saying goodbye to her new master, she thought that next time, she would bring Yun-seong along. She concluded that it would be so much fun.

It seems in SCIV Mi-na encountered Yun-seong and Talim but ditched both of them in order to find Soul Edge and now she goes after Yun-seong while Talim goes facing soul edge alone but prior of the two meeting Talim told Mi-na about Soul Edge's opposite known as Soul Calibur which Mi-na decides to get Soul Calibur in order to destroy Soul Edge before Yun-seong gets consumed.

Setsuka

Setsuka (雪華, Setsuka^?) is a character introduced in Soulcalibur III. Early in her life in Japan, she was shunned as a gaijin (due to her Caucasian features), and eventually ran away from her home. In another city, she was taken in by a man who named her Setsuka (Snow Flower). The man worked as a bodyguard in the region, and taught her his fighting style over the years, as well as showing her affection and treating her with gifts, things which she was deprived of before. After he was defeated by Heishirō Mitsurugi, Setsuka realized she had grown to love him over the years as a father, and despite his dying request not to pursue revenge, she chose to do so. She now tracks Nightmare, believing it will lead her to Mitsurugi, who himself pursues Nightmare.

Character developer Hideo Yoshie stated that Setsuka's concept originated from the idea of a flower.^[20] Her outfit in Soulcalibur III was inspired by historical Japanese courtesans known as Oiran, who wore cosmetics and clothing similar to Geisha but tied their obi at the front instead of behind, mixed with elements from the Queen of Hearts as part of a "East-meets-West" concept.^[21]

Siegfried

Siegfried Schtauffen (ジークフリート・シュタウフェン, Jīkufurīto Shutaufen^?) the protagonist of the series, was born to Sir Frederick Schtauffen, a brave knight who was considered a champion among the oppressed peasants of his German home, and a woman named Margaret who met Frederick while he was on campaign, during the late sixteenth century. He was given the name 'Siegfried' after the famous hero, and was taught swordsmanship by his father.

Frederick embarked on a foreign crusade and, due to lack of guidance in life, Siegfried unintentionally killed his returning father while rampaging as the leader of a teenage band of thieves calling themselves "Schwarzwind" (German translation for "black wind"). Siegfried grew in despair and eventually convinced himself that anyone but he was to blame for his father's death. Siegfried had heard rumours of the invincible Soul Edge, and came to believe his father's killer could only be killed with that weapon.

After taking the life of a noble he worked for during a siege on his castle in Ostrheinsburg (he did so in an effort to claim - what he thought was - Soul Edge), he finally managed to come across the legendary weapon Soul Edge, lying beside the corpse of the defeated Cervantes de Leon which transformed into Inferno. Siegfried defeated Inferno, earning the right to wield Soul Edge himself. However, Soul Edge telepathically spoke to Siegfried, arranging a deal between the two; Siegfried would help the blade to restore itself gathering souls, and Soul Edge would resurrect his father Frederick. But Siegfried finally succumbed to the sword's power - transforming into the Azure Knight, Nightmare.

He claimed refuge in Ostrheinsburg Castle. During the following three years, he gathered together a group of followers: the golem Astaroth, Lizardman (Aeon Calcos), and Ivy. Each of them aided him in Soul Edge's quest to devour souls for a rejuvenation ceremony to be performed in his chosen stronghold, Ostrheinsburg Castle. But as the ceremony was about to take place, the clan was quickly laid to waste. Both Aeon Calcos and Astaroth were defeated; and Ivy left the clan after learning the shocking truth of her past from the Fu-Ma ninja, Taki. Two young warriors confronted Nightmare: Kilik, owner of both the sacred staff Kali-Yuga and sacred mirror Dvapara-Yuga; and Xianghua, owner of Krita-Yuga, which revealed itself as Soul Calibur.

Nightmare and Soul Edge were defeated, initiating a new resolve in the now-conscious Siegfried, albeit temporary - shards of the weakened Soul Edge were still present within his body. He eventually assumed the azure armor for a second time, becoming Nightmare all over again, desperately pursuing fragments of the Soul Edge so that he might fully restore it.

Raphael Sorel appeared in search of Soul Edge and Nightmare stood victorious after a fierce battle. As he stepped forward to finish Raphael, he muttered something incoherently. Following this, an internal struggle began between Siegfried and Inferno (spirit of the evil sword) vying for control over their physical body. With this show of "hesitation", Raphael unleashed a desperate final blow upon his enemy, piercing the center of Soul Edge. Nightmare let out an inhuman cry, and Siegfried finally regained control of his own body. Siegfried remembered his actions previous, before using the newly-revealed holy sword, Soul Calibur, to drive into the evil eye that was the core of Soul Edge, where the weapon had been trapped - however, this effort to destroy the evil sword would prove insufficient.

In the preceding event of Soulcalibur III, Siegfried now has control of his own body, picking up both swords and leaving Ostrheinsburg on a mission to seal away Soul Edge for all eternity, as he swore to atone for his sins, not knowing that Nightmare had gained a separate body of his own. Eventually, he fell victim to Zasalamel's plot to reunite Soul Edge and Soul Calibur at the Lost Cathedral. Siegfried took up Soul Calibur and fought a ferocious battle against the now-independent Nightmare, who in turn regained Soul Edge. Though victorious for the time being, the combination of the energy released from Soul Edge and Soul Calibur as well as his injuries from the battle mortally wounded Siegfried.

The events of Soulcalibur IV see Siegfried having been revived by the Soul Calibur, which has gained some sentience from the Soul Edge and the release of its creator, Algol. Now dependent on the armor in which the Soul Calibur had encased him for survival, Siegfried rejects all human contact and devotes himself to destroying both swords once and for all. In his ending, he finally defeats Nightmare decisively and releases the power of the Soul Calibur, permanently sealing away the Soul Edge and Soul Calibur, and turning himself into crystal in the process (much like what had happened to Algol). In Hilde's ending, he is instead forgiven for his crimes as the Azure Knight and given a royal pardon.

One of Siegfried's extra weapons is the Glam (mistranslation of Gram), the weapon that Sigurd in Norse mythology used to kill the dragon Fafnir and in Soulcalibur Legends, Siegfried fights "Fanfir". The Faust blade also takes reference from a German legend, in which the protagonist makes a deal with the devil (in-universe, Siegfried and Soul Edge have a Faustian bargain).

In a 2002 poll by Namco prior to the release of Soulcalibur II regarding their favorite character, Siegfried placed ninth with 2.5% of the tally, tied with Mitsurugi.^[22] As Nightmare, Siegfried has been described as "one of the most memorable fighting-game villains in history."^[23] According to IGN, Siegfried and Nightmare are placed as number one in their list of top ten Soulcalibur fighters.^[24]

Sophitia

Taki

Taki (タキ, Taki^?, also written as 多喜) started as one of the eight original characters from the Arcade game Soul Edge, and remained as such in the successive upgrade Soul Edge: Version II and PSX port, gaining slight gameplay upgrades along the way. Her Edge Master Mode in-game story states that, after a hard fight against a demon who haunted a temple, she discovers her beloved weapon, the magical ninjatō she named Rekkimaru, was considerably weakened. Discovering the source to be Soul Edge, Taki decides to travel west to save her treasured sword, and to hunt down Soul Edge as well.

Taki returned as a starter character on Soulcalibur, both on the Arcade and Dreamcast port. Her style went through a substantial change: originally using a single weapon, she is given a second ninjatō to wield, changing her style to dual-wielding. Besides the gameplay upgrades she gained, her story fleshed out considerably as well.

Taki is similar to Kunimitsu, The Prologue of the stage explains how Taki confronted the main villain of Soul Edge, Cervantes, and obtained a fragment of the shattered sword. In the process, she also saved another character, Sophitia, who was the one who shattered the smaller of the Soul Edges. Her in-game profile follows her story as she tries to merge the fragment with her Rekkimaru without success. But when she fused it with her other weapon, Mekkimaru, it shed a powerful evil aura. In order to destroy this new evil weapon, Taki sought to pit it against Soul Edge, hoping both blades would destroy themselves.

However, the official profile released on the official website expanded on the backstory of her new weapon Mekkimaru, and how she obtained it. It starts with the revelation, from her leader Toki, that former Fu-Ma leader Hachibei stole the mysterious sword and escaped. Turned a nukenin (fugitive), she is ordered to kill both him and his daughter Chie, a childhood friend of her, and bring back the blade. With her network intelligence, Taki locates Hachibei quickly, and she is informed about Toki's obsession with the powers of the blade. Hachibei urges her to not let Toki get ahold the Mekkimaru and gives Taki a kodachi (short sword). Taki later gives a false report to Toki, leading his forces in pursuit of Li Long, Chie's lover, under the idea he has Mekkimaru after killing both Hachibei and Chie. However, Taki is eventually found out by Toki's right hand man, a ninja known as Geki. Surviving the encounter, Taki becomes a nukenin herself, being pursued by her former allies as she tries to destroy Mekkimaru.

Taki returns as a starting character in the game's sequel, Soulcalibur II. Mostly unchanged from her last appearance, it marks the first instance in which her primary outfit appears unmasked. Her profile states that, after hearing Soul Edge was destroyed by a group of warriors, she decides to try to tame the evil kodachi instead. Four years after, several Fu-Ma ninja tried to capture her without success. Taki discovers then that they carry Soul Edge fragments, and reaches the realization Toki has many more of them, and was looking for her to gather information. Taki decided to keep both Soul Edge and Mekkimaru from Toki, but became worried of him as well.

Taki appeared in the fourth installment of the saga, Soulcalibur III, with minimal changes in both appearance and playstyle, the most prevalent being her new magic-based attacks. Fittingly, her playstyle becomes available to use in the Create-a-Character feature to characters using the "Ninja" job setting. Her story followed from her last profile, showing Taki decided to travel back to Japan, discovering that the Fu-Ma village was suffering from internal conflicts due to Toki's madness. Taki contacted the rebellious part of the Fu-Ma and discovered Toki's location on the Great Buddha Shrine. Sneaking there, Taki faced her master Toki, who recently absorbed the Oni spirits within the shrine. Taki defeats her master with the techniques he taught her, but then the spirits dwelling within him came out from him and traveled west. Knowing they are going for Soul Edge, and that the sword's presence was weak enough to allow its destruction, Taki starts a new journey to end Soul Edge at once. Taki returns in Soulcalibur IV in her first edit color costume in Soulcalibur III with some minimal changes made to its design.

In 2005 Taki appeared in the crossover game Namco × Capcom. Taki, alongside Mitsurugi, appears as a playable character. She is eventually paired with Waya Hime, an enemy from the videogame Bravoman, and teamed up with fighting game protagonists Jin Kazama (from Tekken) and Ryu (of Street Fighter fame). In addition, Taki's third costume in SCII was in fact modeled after the one worn by Waya.

Talim

Tira

Voldo

Xianghua

Chai Xianghua (Chinese: 柴 香華 Pinyin: Chái Xiānghuà, Japanese: チャイ・シャンファ Chai Shanfa) was first introduced in Soulcalibur. Xianghua's ancestors, the Chai family, have groomed men and women alike into seasoned warriors of China for many generations. Xianghua's mother, Xiangfei, forged a forbidden romance with a monk at the temple, Kong Xiuqiang, thought to be the most prominent candidate for inheritor of the holy bo staff, Kali-Yuga, but not until the birth of their first child, Xianglian.

Months later after Xiangfei left the temple, she gave birth to their second daughter, Xianghua, but never revealed anything about the girl's father. By this time, the temple had realized that the Krita-Yuga was missing, and found that Xiuqiang had stolen it. He was exiled from the temple, but Xianglian had to remain there to be trained as an orphan.

Meanwhile, when monks from the temple came to Xiangfei, searching for the missing sword, all they found was young Xianghua playing with a battered tai chi jian, and gave up the search years later. Only Xiangfei had known that the jian Xianghua had been holding was actually the Krita-Yuga in disguise. As time passed, Xianghua had learned how to use the jian just as well as her mother when Xiangfei died sometime after Xianghua's tenth birthday. Six years after, Xianghua became a member of the Imperial Guard.

Eventually, the emperor of Ming Dynasty China had become displeased with the search for the "Hero's Sword"; he never heard back from any that had ventured out, including Li Long. He sent members of his Imperial Guard to help the quest advance more quickly. The guards traveled under the guise of a traveling opera troupe, with Xianghua to be the main attraction, so as not to raise suspicion of their true motives. As she prepared for her journey, she recalled her mother's dying words--that she was born to complete an important task and that she must cut her own path through an uncertain future. With her mother's keepsake tai chi jian, Xianghua left on her own. On her journey, she encountered a member of the Ling-Sheng Su Temple in China, Kilik, and a Japanese pirate of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, Maxi. Told of the Soul Edge's evil nature by Kilik, she agreed to aid both of them in their journey to destroy the evil blade, not knowing all the while that her long-lost older sister, Xianglian, had been killed by Kilik as she had been consumed by a berserker rage on the night of the notorious Evil Seed.

With Kilik and Maxi's help, Xianghua stormed Ostrheinsburg Castle. After defeating Nightmare, the combatants faced Inferno in an ethereal void but the prior battle had left Kilik too weary to fight. As Xianghua readied herself, her mother's keepsake unveiled itself as the holy sword, Soul Calibur. After a fierce struggle, Xianghua defeated her opponent with Soul Calibur's protective power. As the void started to collapse, she carried Kilik out of it, though her mother's keepsake sword was left behind.

After destroying the sword she was sent to find, a mysterious man approached her and awarded her with an unnamed jian in return for the great deed she had done. Once she returned, Xianghua fell in disfavor with the Emperor because of her failure to find Soul Edge. She was stripped of her rank and reassigned to a menial position. Xianghua kept her role in Soul Edge's destruction secret and never reported it. She left on a second journey alone, convinced that this was a burden she had to bear, since she failed to destroy Soul Edge completely the first time.

Xianghua then began to train her mind. Rather than becoming weak, she would be more fluid and allow her heart to filter in both the good and the bad. After months of training, she felt that she was ready and bid farewell to the general, beginning her journey anew. So she left the temple to fight by herself.

Yoshimitsu

Zasalamel

Zasalamel (ザサラメール, Zasaramēru^?) hails from an ancient tribe that was tasked with the protection of the holy sword Soul Calibur by Algol. Angered by the tribe's restrictions, he tried to take Soul Calibur but was caught and exiled. Pursuing the sword he attained the art of reincarnation, though after several lifetimes yearned to die. Tracking down Soul Edge, he manipulated events so that Soul Calibur would come to him, serving as the main antagonist of Soulcalibur III. Hoping to use the combined energies of the swords to end his life for good, he was instead transformed into a monster called Abyss, the game's final boss. However during these events he had a vision of the future, and desiring to see it he returned to life, acting in Soulcalibur IV to protect the swords in case their destruction breaks his cycle of reincarnation.

Guest characters

Various guest characters have appeared thorough the various games in the Soulcalibur series.

• Each of the home versions of Soulcalibur II has one character exclusive to its particular platform. The GameCube version features the Nintendo character Link from the The Legend of Zelda series, the Xbox version features Todd McFarlane's comic book character Spawn, and the PlayStation 2 version features Heihachi Mishima from Namco's very own Tekken series.
• Lloyd Irving from Namco's Tales of Symphonia appears in Soulcalibur Legends.^[25]
• Both versions of Soulcalibur IV feature a Star Wars character unique to each platform. Initially, the PlayStation 3 version features Darth Vader, while the Xbox 360 version features Yoda; the character the specific version lacked was later unlocked through downloadable content for both versions.^[26] It was later revealed that Yoda was previously on the PS3 disc, and Darth Vader had been on the 360 disc from the game's release. Both versions feature The Apprentice from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.^[27]
• The PSP title, Soulcalibur Broken Destiny will feature Kratos from the God of War series.^[28]

Bonus characters

Playable characters who are listed under the title of "Bonus Characters" in Soulcalibur III and Soulcalibur IV. Not all of them are considered part of the main storyline of the games. In the console version of Soulcalibur III, Amy, Li Long and Hwang Seong-gyeong were bonus characters as well, but are playable characters in other titles in the series.

Soulcalibur II

Assassin

A generic assassin unlockable only in North American and European console ports of Soulcalibur II, and even then, only selectable in practice mode, team battle mode and versus mode. He does not have an in-game profile or ending, but he has a profile of his own in the "Soulcalibur II Official Complete Guide". It does not state anything more than that they ("Assassin" is actually a group of people) are assassins of unknown origin (though seeing the SCIII Assassin in the Shrine of Kunpaetku seems to point that they are agents of Fygul Cestemus) in search of Soul Edge's fragments. Although his fighting style is based on that of Hwang Seong-gyeong and Chai Xianghua, he has no biographical association with any character in the series. In battle, he uses the Chinese Blade "Assassin Blade". He is voiced by Kentaro Ito and has six different costumes in the game. A non-playable opponent fought in Tales of Souls mode and one of the few surviving members from Astaroth's sect Fygul Cestemus. She uses the Kunai discipline. Can easily be created in Character Creation mode. "Assassin" is also one of the Create-a-Character jobs. Assassin, along with Berserker and Lizardman, appears as a common enemy wearing his defeault costume in Soulcalibur II.

Berserker

A generic berserker unlockable only in North American and European console ports of Soulcalibur II, and even then, only selectable in practice mode, team battle mode and versus mode. He doesn't have an in-game profile or ending, but he plays a role in the story mode as a guard in the many labyrinths the player roams through, but he has a profile of his own in the "Soulcalibur II Official Complete Guide". It states that the Berserkers ("Berserker" is actually a group of people) are people corrupted by the Evil Seed. Only the strongest ones are still alive, and they had been spotted in Eastern Europe following a strange armored man with a scar and a monster through the forest. Although his fighting style is based on that of Rock and Astaroth, he has no biographical association with any character in the series. In battle, he uses the giant double-edged axe "Great Ax". Berserker is an unplayable enemy character enshrouded with an evil aura. He is a knight with green armor, including a green helmet. His weapon isn't an axe this time, he uses the Lance Discipline. Though officially not unlockable, he can easily be made in Character Creation mode knight job. With a cheating device, the difference is he says no words, just screams, and when he wins, the announcer won't say "knight wins" instead he says "Berserker wins". They're still the same Berserkers as in the other games. Only small differences exist pertaining to the armor and body size. Berserker appears as a common enemy, he resembles the one in Soulcalibur II but the differences are color, has a bigger size, a different helmet, and uses a Giant Mace instead of an axe.

Soulcalibur III

Greed and Miser

Greed and Miser are unlockable characters that represent the "Kunai" and "Katana and Shuriken" fighting styles in the game respectively. Part of an organization of thieves that oppose Yoshimitsu's Manjitou, they are defeated prior to the events of Soulcalibur IV by Mitsurugi when they try to steal his fragment of Soul Edge.

The Shopkeepers

• Hualin

She is one of the three shopkeeper girls in Soulcalibur III, alongside Lynette and Valeria. Hualin is in charge of selling weapons and fights with an elongating staff called the "Cepheus Seal". Hualin started her life as a weapon seller when she entered as a servant in a weapon store set on a small village at the foot of a mountain where a martial artist master is said to dwell. While she did her daily chores and weapons caring, she found her life's career. From that point, she put all her efforts into becoming the finest weaponsmith in the world.

One day at the end of year she met Cepheus. He was returning from a big purchase in Ming and stopped to visit an old friend. He was astonished at seeing Hualin's smithing skills, but lamented her situation, for even if her handling of Ming weapons were excellent, she was inexperienced in other kinds of weaponry. Cepheus decided to ask the store's owner if he would let him take Hualin to his store, in a city where east and west met and where she could train her skills further.

Hualin installed in the store of Cepheus, and started taking care of his weapon management, training daily under the old man's supervision to refine her skills even more.

• Lynette

Lynette is the shopkeeper created for the Armor Shop within Soulcalibur III, and an unlockable Bonus Character in the main game as well. She represents the "Tambourines" Create-a-Fighter discipline.

Lynette's the one in charge of selling clothes and accessories, but she's in search of her life's calling. She often saw her co-workers work hard to become what they've chosen as their careers, and usually compared herself to them. Even though she lived in a town of mixed east and west cultures, she was yet to find something she would focus her energies on. One day Cepheus, realizing her suffering, came and told her to be patient, that she didn't need to be like the others, and that she should take her time and find her answer. Since then Lynette has started to travel in search of an answer. She went from store to store, trying to work there while hearing others' experience and stories. She asked customers as well, and also took walks outside. Eventually she took other hobbies, like dancing and self-defense. Still nothing seemed appealing to her. She would still search, for the world is wide and full of surprises.

• Valeria

Valeria is the daughter of an antiques appraiser. Since her mother died of illness, her father was always outside traveling around the world, leaving her at the care of an old friend of his named Cepheus. Valeria grew up resenting him, and eventually nurtured a genuine interest in the same job as him. Cepheus gave her the job trying to make Valeria understand her father, but he believed her choice was her desire to beat him in his own game.

Cepheus urged Valeria's father to stay in town and spent time with her, but he answered that was the only life he knew and could provide for her. After hearing Valeria's choice of work, he thought maybe she would go with him someday. After that, he went to the west to assist to an auction selling a pair of mysterious swords known as "Soul Edge", and never returned.

Cepheus knew he was not the type of man to disappear for nothing, and when he heard Nightmare's rampage and his relation with Soul Edge, he understood the man's disappearance and told Valeria all he knew. Now a grown woman, she understood her father's true desires and wept for him.

She still wants to become the best item appraiser in the world, and continues taking care of Cepheus' shop as one of his three shopkeepers.

Chronicles of the Sword Characters

These bonus characters from the Chronicles of the Sword story can be unlocked in Soulcalibur III: Abelia,^[29] Aurelia,^[30] Chester,^[31] Demuth,^[32] Girardot Argezas,^[33] Luna,^[34] and Strife.^[35]

Grandall Empire

• Abelia

Abelia was born in the family of a known officer of the Grandall Empire. When she entered the academy, her natural talent was quickly recognized. She came to accept the praising and respect and eventually it pleased her, leading Abelia to believe that was her rightful place in the world.

Then a new recruit came to the empire. Without her talent, story or culture, he/she was another soldier on the group. But he/she showed something appealing, that could not be learnt or bought.

She recognized her sense of justice as only a feeling of superiority and the pleasure of being recognized. She felt a part of her heart break apart.

But when war broke on the Empire, she took her weapons and headed on her own will to protect her own justice, even if she was assigned to the same cadet who overshadowed her.

Abelia fought with her teammates to fend off the Dalkian forces, until the unit was ordered to attack the Halteese republic as well. Abelia stayed behind and kept her attack on Dalkia, until she reached the last line of defense. But at that time, all her soldiers were defeated by Dalkia's elite force. Still she kept her position until the player returned from Maletta during Chronicle 11. Abelia rejoined the team until Dalkia's fall.

A year later she was once again assigned under the Cadet's leadership, this time against her former master Girardot Argezas, now a rebel. Even though he was her teacher, she held no belief in what she did as being wrong. Abelia carried out her orders against Girardot until his demise.

Then the Cadet himself/herself rebelled and formed the Arthias rebellion. Abelia was chosen to stop him, believing once again that she was on the correct side. But once the player defeated her, she understood the real threat and joined him/her once again.

• Giradot Argezas

Girardot was one of the best tacticians and soldiers in the Grandall Empire. He was mostly known for his cold-minded and dirty tactics. To Girardot, victory was the only justice and he was not hesitant on using low tactics to achieve it. He also thought it honored those fallen in battle.

Even when he was accused of selling his soul, he stood firm with his will strong enough to overcome his fate. But when he became the instructor of the Parousia Academy, self-doubt started to develop in him. One by one his pupils marched to war, and not a single one returned alive. When the young girl he considered a daughter died as well, he recognized the crime he committed.

He instructed them how to die, and he was fostering death. Still, he faced reality and stood firm. He vowed to protect the land and its people with his very soul until the end.

In a short time he joined with two of his former students, Abelia and a young talented cadet, which is the player. He acted as a guide and followed his student's decisions, amazed by his/her personality and actions. At the same time, he entered in various discussions with Emperor Strife due to his strange and almost suicidal orders and his hesitance to send back-up units.

A year after Dalkia's fall, Girardot recognized the emperor's dictatorship and the oppression of the empire, and rebelled against him and founded a rebel army of rebelled knights and peasants. But Strife sent his own student against him.

After two victories, the Cadet faces Girardot in Chronicle 15 in his stronghold, and after his defeat, Girardot tries to make the player understand what he's/she's falsely fighting for, and what he/she should truly fight for : the people. But before he can end his speech, Strife suddenly appears and stabs him with Soul Edge, killing him instantly.

• Strife

Strife is the only heir of the Astlar dynasty ruling the empire of Grandall. After his father's death during a battle, he was appointed as ruler when he was only ten years old. Blinded by greed and power, his close relatives plotted everyday to kill him and take control of Grandall for themselves.

Strife endured days without a proper meal, without good sleep and hiding a knife every time. Eventually the stress and fear started eating away at his sanity.

Then one day he started hearing voices every time he sat on the throne. The voices came from deep within the castle. Eventually he began to understood these voices and his behavior changed completely.

He started executing his relatives, and torturing anyone who aroused his suspicions. His leadership turned into dictatorship. He also started amassing armies in silence, while not interfering with the war between Dalkia and Halteese. Around this time, he apparently got hold of the cursed Soul Edge, which further deteriorated his mind.

Despite being the final boss and main enemy, Strife's role as such is not revealed until advanced the plot of the Chronicles. During the Chronicles of the Sword, Strife takes little actions during the first half, mostly giving orders to the player and the unit to confront Dalkia first, then Halteese. His orders are always discussed by Girardot, as they are almost suicidal. Strife is also reluctant to send more troops to help the player against entire armies. All this because the player is gaining fame among the people, and this has enraged him to the point of wishing to see him/her die.

A year after the end of the war, Strife sent the player against a rebelled Girardot apparently under the advice of Chester, who has turned into his minister. After the Cadet defeats Giradot in battle, Strife appears to finish Giradot off. Unfortunately for Strife, this action causes the Cadet to realize the malevolence of the emperor and his ambitions, and causes the Cadet to rebel as well.

Unfortunately, Strife implanted fragments of Soul Edge into the player's former allies when the Cadet rebelled, somehow allowing Strife to control their minds. As the player, you must fight and defeat Aeneas and the others who helped you in the earlier chronicles. After the Cadet defeats their friends, it turns out they do not die, but instead they wake up from their trance and decide to join the Cadet once again. Apparently, whoever controls the main body of Soul Edge controls the people it's fragments are forcefully implanted in. This "mind control" power that Soul Edge possesses has never been revealed prior to Soulcalibur III and is never used in Soulcalibur IV.

Strife meets the player's unit at last during the last chronicle, sending his elite troops against them. The Old Toledo - Burning Gallery stage serves as his castle's interior during his fight in Chronicles of the Sword. The stage seems to represent the castle being set on fire. Even with his best warriors, he's at last confronted by the player and killed in battle.

Dalkia Empire

• Aurelia

Aurelia was one of the concubines of the King of Dalkia, and due to her status she was not capable of gaining any inheritance after the king's death. At some point she began a secret relationship with the leader of the Dalkian Army and the king's personal guard, Roin, and together they plotted the King's death through poisoned food.

After the king's death, Aurelia quickly seized control of the kingdom. Suspicion was raised against her, since the death was still unresolved and it was too sudden, but Aurelia received help from Roin and the army and she successfully obtained leadership of Dalkia.

Her first action was the reinstatement of aggression towards Halteese, but she would eventually raise arms against Grandall as well, mostly by the use of Chester, who acted as an adviser.

After that, Aurelia spent most of the chronicles in Dalkia's castle, sending troops against the player's army and giving comments on their victories. Finally, in Chronicle 12, the player assaults the capital Revless and Aurelia confronts them as the last boss, after Roin's attempt at fending them off at the castle's entrance. Aurelia's fall dictates Dalkia's defeat and the end of the war.

• Chester

Chester is portrayed as a man without desires or goals. Everything he achieves is meaningless to him, turning into nothing seconds after having obtained it. He feels he's alive only on critical moments, those when his life is on the line, but even then its unfulfilling at the end.

During one day he was travelling inside a war-stricken town, he spotted a girl with a doll and remembered his younger days and how he enjoyed playing with dolls. At that moment, he thought on playing at a large scale, using the kingdoms and their leaders as tokens of his own game.

He started his plans convincing the younger member of the Halteese's Royal family, Demuth, to rebel and form a kingdom of his own. He then worked as advisor for Dalkia's queen while serving Demuth as Prime Minister. Chester moved the pieces, assuring Maletta's growing into an independent kingdom while diverting Dalkia's attention towards Grandall. When the time was right, Chester backstabbed Demuth and seized Maletta as his own, but his plans were ultimately foiled by the apparition of the player, who defeated all his units and Chester himself on Chronicle 10.

A year later, Chester appeared as emperor Strife's advisor and tactician, helping him taking care of the player. Even though Chester planned various officers to kill him, the player defeats every enemy and finally confronts and defeats Chester at Grandall's capital, Parousia, at Chronicle 19. It's unknown whether he was killed or just arrested.

• Luna

Luna is a mean, orphan girl raised in the kingdom of Dalkia to become one of their finest soldiers. Due to her upbringing, she lost the capability to feel emotion, and was ruthless and merciless to her foes in the battlefield. She soon came to become the leader of Dalkia's elite, the Klessirpemdo, which she felt was her one and only family.

During the assault on the empire of Grandall, she followed Areon alone on their attempt at attacking the capital, but she found defeat against a young cadet of the empire. She retreated back to Dalkia. Luna would confront the Grandall armies in Dalkia's capital, then as a supporter of Maletta's armies, but she found defeat again and again. With her last chance to settle the score against him/her, Luna obtained, by unknown means, the legendary Soulcalibur, the sword she hoped would make a difference in their next confrontation in Dalkia's last defensive line.

However, even though Abelia Schillfelt was unsuccessful in defeating her elite unit, the Cadet was able to not only bring down the defenses, but able to defeat her as well. Taken prisoner after that, Girardot made sure neither she nor her unit would suffer any harm, and would later instruct her that, if he was killed in battle, she was to hand the spirit sword to the Cadet so he/she could confront the emperor.

In the Chronicle 19, making good on her promise, she joins the Cadet after lending him/her the Soulcalibur.

Halteese Empire

• Demuth

Demuth is the younger son of Halteese' Royal Family. He's a glutton by nature, greatly enjoying big meals and fine drinks. One day Chester appeared before him and explained that, since he never cared for the throne, his two older brothers were already going to take it, and that his chances of taking it now were near zero.

As Demuth pondered on the idea of assassinating his brothers, Chester offered a different plan : using the small territory his brothers arranged for him to rule, he would create a kingdom of his own, Maletta. After defeating the Halteese Army, Maletta was recognized as an independent kingdom. Demuth then planned the take of Halteese to expand its territories.

Although he was successful on assaulting Halteese's capital Epistema, his troops are forced back by Grandall's units, lead by the player. Upon his failures, Chester took the advantage and self-proclaimed himself King of Maletta, leaving Demuth without troops. Drunk and swearing revenge on Chester, Demuth is left to die with the traitor soldier, Hyle at the hands of the Player and his/her troops.

Soulcalibur IV

Bonus characters that appeared in Soulcalibur IV which were designed by guest manga artists and anime character designers.

Angol Fear is a character designed by Mine Yoshizaki.^[36], she is Angol Mois's cousin, and is 14,800 years old. She wields a multicolored, cross-shaped spear with a round, black sphere-shaped weight at the end called a Lucifer Spear. Her fighting style and Critical Finisher are based on Seong Mi-na. Her birth date is beyond reckoning of the Earth's calendar.

Ashlotte is a character designed by Oh! great.^[37] Ashlotte is a mechanical doll (an automaton) who operates via clockwork concepts, part of which is visible through the gears and cogs located in her abdomen (in a heart-shaped window). She has an unnaturally pale human face and pale violet curly hair, but otherwise appears mostly human. She behaves like a human and has the ability to talk, but otherwise has no emotions as she is not a living being. She wields a huge Halberd named Krnielk, with a wide spear tip at the front and a lance tip at the other end. Being an early example of a living robot, her body operates with the use of sacred oil instead of blood, and was created by two priests at the hidden shrine of the same cult that created Astaroth, in order to destroy the golem as revenge for destroying their previous shrine. Ashlotte was only recently "born" as of Soulcalibur IV. Her fighting style and Critical Finisher were based on Astaroth, although Ashlotte lacks his weapon reach.

Kamikirimusi is a character designed by Hirokazu Hisayuki.^[38] She was the last bonus character revealed before the release of Soulcalibur IV. She is a young oni girl with beastly features dressed in a short kimono, and has wild red hair with horns. She is brash and violent but does get upset when she hits opponents too hard. She wields a kanabō named Denryu Bakuha, is over 600 years old and is 5'0" tall. She used to have a family of spirits that were purified, leaving her now all alone. Her fighting style and Critical Finisher are based on Nightmare, although she attacks lightly but her movements are quite slow just like Nightmare.

Scheherazade is a character designed by Yutaka Izubuchi, based on the legendary Persian queen of the same name and the story itself..^[39] She is a young-looking woman who wears a feathered green beret and has elven ears. She is younger than the others in her home village, but does not keep count, is 5'2", and her birth date is the 12th day under the Chanting Moon. When she was younger she ran away from the elders in the village to explore the outside world. In the end, however, she was taken back to the woods for her crime. She had not only run away, but had had forbidden love with a warrior who later became the founding father of Wolfkrone, and for that she was locked away in a prison for her punishment. After an eternity of imprisonment, she was released, but she simply ran yet again from the woods to the outside to find whatever legacy her lover had left. She carries with her a rapier named Alf Layla Wa Layla (One Thousand and One Nights). Her fighting style and Critical Finisher are based on Amy, although Scheherazade has a slightly greater weapon reach than Amy.

Shura is a character designed by Hiroya Oku.^[40] Born in Suwa of Japan, Shura is a female samurai who is possessed by the demon skull on her shoulder. It forces her to find a stronger opponent so it can kill Shura and move on to the next host. She wields twin katanas named Raijin-Maru and Fujin-Maru. According to her profile in Soulcalibur IV she has forgotten her age, birth date, never weighed / measured herself, and also has no knowledge of her other family. Her fighting style and Critical Finisher are based on Cervantes; though she doesn't carry firearms, she can still perform the Shooting moves that Cervantes does due to her moveset being identical to his except she has more weapon reach than Cervantes. Shura is also a rival of Ivy's.

Background characters

Characters related to background stories of the main characters from the games. None of them are playable in any version.

Sultan Barbaros

Barbaros is seen as the main villain in Soulcalibur Legends. He was once the leader of a band of thieves when his band discovered Soulcalibur in the home of a general. Barbara, part of the same gang stated that Barbaros changed personality-wise when he claimed Soulcalibur. The spirit sword bestowed Barbaros with immense power, causing him to grow into a giant and allowed him to conquer the Ottoman Empire where he crowned himself sultan. He fought against the Holy Roman Empire, leading an army of Evils (monsters) to lay siege to the city of Vienna. The Masked Emperor enlisted the help of Siegfried to regain the shards of Soul Edge and combat Barbaros since Soul Edge was the only weapon that could stand up to Barbaros and Soulcalibur. After recovering all the shards Siegfried battled Barbaros and defeated him, causing Soulcalibur to emerge from his forehead. Barbaros was the only character shown to use Soulcalibur for evil purposes.

Fafnir

After the Evil Seed event, Fafnir the dragon appears as a boss character in Soulcalibur Legends. According to Paracelcus Fafnir was the first dragon and that all the myths about dragons all over the world were inspired by him. He was slain by the hero Sigmund (whom Siegfried is named after) who slew the dragon using his sword Requiem. According to the legend, Sigmund asked his friend to reforge his broken sword, Gram, who gave his life for the sword. In his grief, Sigmund renamed the sword Requiem in honor of his friend and after defeating Fafnir he placed Requiem in an altar in the ancient Cathedral where Fafnir roosted. In the 16th Century Fafnir is one of the Guardians that holds a shard of Soul Edge. The heroes need to enlist the aid of a scientist named Leonardo who claimed to have invented a weapon that could kill a dragon, which were needed because Fafnir could be combatted while in the air by conventional means. With these weapons Siegfried and Ivy are able to slay Fafnir and recover the shard. Later on Fafnir and the other guardians are revived by Soulcalibur but is slain once again by Siegfried.

Gel-o-Fury

Gel-o-Fury, known as Mōdotakuyō (猛怒託妖^?) in the Japanese version, is a strong ancient demon once sealed by Taki in the Bamboo Shrine of the Ōmi Province. During the Evil Seed raining, Gel-o-Fury gained enough strength to break free of his imprisonment and, using the water passages that exists under Japan, he reached the Hōkō-ji. Taki followed his trail and sealed him again in the Buddha Shrine. Gel-o-Fury stayed there until Toki, Taki's master, released and absorbed him. After losing to Taki, Gel-o-Fury left the old man's body and fled to parts unknown.

Ilona Farkas

Iska Farkas' sister who got taken by Barbaros. Iska is always mumbling about Ilona and how he regrets not saving her. When Barbaros attacked Hungary, Iska fled but forgot Ilona. The Masked Emperor was made to look like her, revealed at the end of Soulcalibur Legends. Before his death, Iska starts to say something to her, but it is cut off. Their graves are shown at the credits, showing that Ilona did die or at least had a headstone dedicated to her.

Iska Farkas

He is one of the key characters in the series' spin-off, Soulcalibur Legends. He is a refugee and Hungarian prince who serves as a court jester for a Masked Emperor. Iska has heterochromia with one blue eye and one red eye. His belts also correspond to this trait.

He was born in Buda who lived with his sister Ilona until the usurper sultan, Barbaros, attacked the city and destroyed it, though his sister allowed him to escape with his life by sacrificing herself. Iska then went around the world looking for shelter, but all those that took him in eventually betrayed and used him, and then he studied under the famous alchemist Paracelsus who taught him much at Basel, until Iska disappeared, stealing Paracelsus's notes on the creation of false humans and was said to have made at least one successful artificial human.

He thought up a crazed scheme to take over the world using the swords Soul Calibur and Soul Edge, to gain power for his lost sister. He used Paracelsus's notes to create a homunculus, made to look in the form of his sister. She managed to become the Masked Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He faked a story of being brought in by the "Masked Emperor" and becomes her court jester.

His scheme comes into effect, as his homunculus has Siegfried and several other companions reluctantly agree to help the Holy Roman Empire against Barbaros of the Ottoman Empire (who wields Soul Calibur) by strengthening Soul Edge, which Siegfried wields. Iska is very persuasive in keeping his comrades to uphold their agreements and constantly reminisces about missing his sister and his home, lamenting his weakness, and wishes that he had strength and power which he did not have then to survive the pains of his life.

After Soul Edge regains power and Siegfried kills Barbaros, claiming Soul Calibur, the "Masked Emperor" claims Soul Edge and tries to attack Siegfried and claim Soul Edge for Iska. However, a new version of the Evil Seed comes from Soul Calibur as the two swords clash, knocking Siegfried far away. Siegfried ends up sealing Soul Edge's power after realizing that he killed his own father at the peak of the Himalayas, however keeps it. He also gets Requiem here. The group storms Vienna to defeat the Emperor, and after Siegfried does, he plants Soul Edge into the ground alongside Soul Calibur. Iska then claims them (restoring Soul Edge's power using Soul Calibur), revealing his scheme to Siegfried. He then attempts to kill Siegfried, but Siegfried instead wins and Iska dies. During the credits there are two graves that say Iska Farkas and Ilona Farkas. Siegfried keeps Soul Edge, eventually succumbing to the Evil Seed and becoming Nightmare.

References

v • d • e Soul series characters Astaroth · Ivy · Necrid · Nightmare · Sophitia · Talim · Tira · Voldo · Yoshimitsu · List of characters in the Soul series