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

Overview and character development

The Soul series is a weapon-based fighting game franchise developed by Namco Bandai's Project Soul division and consists of six games: Soul Edge, Soulcalibur, Soulcalibur II, Soulcalibur III, Soulcalibur Legends, Soulcalibur IV, and Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny. Set in the 16th century, the plot of the games revolve around Soul Edge, a cursed sword able to possess its wielder and devour souls, and Soul Calibur, a holy sword and Soul Edge's antithesis.

With each character, their weapon was decided upon before other aspects were. The design was then built to revolve around it, starting with gender, then physical measurements, and lastly background details. Once established, appearance and movement were fleshed out by the team's concept artist and rendered as a 3D model by a design team that worked solely on the character. The completed model was then animated by a motion capture artist working directly with the team. During this phase the team additionally worked with the story creators, refining the character's own role in the plot as needed throughout development.

Starting with Soulcalibur II, guest characters from other franchises or companies were introduced for different home ports of the game, with The Legend of Zelda's Link appearing for the GameCube version, comic book character Spawn for the Xbox, and Tekken's Heihachi Mishima for the PlayStation 2. Despite rumors of Devil May Cry's Dante's inclusion in Soulcalibur III, developers confirmed no plans for the inclusion of guest characters for the title, with series producer Hiroaki Yotoriyama stating "It’s my policy to never do the same thing twice." However, under new producer Katsutoshi Sasaki the concept was revisited in later titles in the series, with Tales of Symphonia's Lloyd Irving appearing in Soulcalibur Legends, Star Wars characters The Apprentice, Yoda and Darth Vader appearing in Soulcalibur IV, with the latter two exclusively to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions respectively until later released as downloadable content, and God of War's Kratos for Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny.

In addition, with Soulcalibur IV several manga and anime character designers were invited to contribute additional, non-canon characters to the game: Angol Fear, a female alien designed by Mine Yoshizaki and cousin of his existing character Angol Mois; Ashlotte, a mechanical doll developed by Oh! great sent to destroy series character Astaroth; Kamikirimusi, a young female oni designed by Hirokazu Hisayuki searching for kindred spirits; Scheherazade, an elven storyteller designed by Yutaka Izubuchi and based on the the Persian queen of the same name; and Shura, a possessed female warrior designed by Hiroya Oku. Rather than having a unique fighting style, each was modeled after an existing character: Seong Mi-na, Astaroth, Nightmare, Amy, and Cervantes, respectively.

Introduced in Soul Edge

Cervantes

Age: 48

Cervantes de Leon (セルバンテス・デ・レオン, Serubantesu de Reon)'s father, Phillip, was a privateer sent on a special mission from Spanish King Philip II to loot ships, but was killed and his ship destroyed by an English warship. As a result Cervantes forsook his allegiance to Spain and became a pirate. Receiving a request from Voldo's master to find Soul Edge, he pursued and found the sword only to be possessed by it. He killed his crew and led a reign of terror for twenty years until defeated by Taki, who pursued the sword for her own reasons. However he was resurrected accidentally by Nightmare due to the fragments of the sword lodged in his body, initially with amnesia. As his memories slowly returned he desired the sword again, which had been by now shattered. Recovering fragments of the blade, they melded together to form a new weapon for him, and he pursued more pieces to strengthen it, devouring the soul of his illegitimate daughter, Ivy along the way.

Cervantes was inspired by two other fictional pirates, Captain Hook and Long John Silver, and was initially intended to wield a rapier instead of dual swords. However after several suggestions and designs, the development team felt they were either too reminiscent of nihilistic pirates or gentlemanly in appearance, and took a different approach. His design was intended to orient towards his left side, with the exception of his hat. Several designs were also considered for his blade at this point, including having them consist of wisps of energy. When designing the character's appearance in Soulcalibur, several zombified designs were considered, with varying states of decay. A pistol was worked into the hilt of one of his blades at the suggestion of a staff member, with the curve of the blades emphasized for each sword.

In a 2002 poll by Namco prior to the release of Soulcalibur II regarding their favorite character, Cervantes tied with Maxi for fourth place with 11% of the tally. UGO.com ranked Cervantes at seventh place in their "Top 11 SoulCalibur Fighters" article, describing him simply as "a big jerk" while praising him as one of the stronger characters in the series. IGN listed him third on their list of the top ten characters in the series, citing his offensive techniques as a large part of his appeal. They additionally named him one of their ten favorite sword wielding characters in video games, describing him as combining "two of our favorite things – big swords and pirates – into one awesome character", adding that his pistol weapon "makes him even more awesome".

Hwang

Age: 25

Hwang Seong-gyeong (ファン・ソンギョン, Fan Songyon, Hanja: 黄星京 Hangul: 황성경 Hwang Seonggyeong), a man with a strong sense of justice, joined Korea's coast guard and was sent to find the "Sword of Salvation", really the cursed sword Soul Edge, in order to protect his country. However he returned after learning of an impending Japanese invasion of his homeland, bringing his friend's daughter, Seong Mi-na, back with him. After she set out after her again, he learned that the true nature of the sword, and informed his superiors of it. They instead dismissed him, but upon learning that the Japanese were also after the sword he was sent to stop their plan. Heading westward, he plans to join forces with Mi-na and her ally Yun-seong to destroy the blade.

During Hwang's development for Soul Edge, several weapons other than a sword were considered, including a zhanmadao like Seong Mi-na and a bladed nunchaku like Li Long. Several different outfit components were also considered at this time, such as the inclusion of head and/or arm guards and an arm bandana With Hwang's appearance in Soulcalibur his attire was changed. Chinese style costumes were considered, including an outfit with an open jacket and a bandaged design with a Chinese martial artist's attire. The developers based his look around the concept of a traveler, implementing subtle hints such as his torn pant legs.

In a 2002 poll by Namco prior to the release of Soul Calibur II regarding their favorite character, Hwang placed sixth, with 3.55% of the tally. Hwang's removal from Soulcalibur II was lamented, with reviewers such as GameSpy noting a preference for the character over his replacement Yun-seong, who they described as "a less successful experiment in editing Hwang." On the other hand insert credit cited a preference for Yun-seong's appearance compared to Hwang's wilder look.

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 Cervantes' 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, Charade, Necrid and Abyss. As Soul Edge, it appeared in Namco × Capcom, shown to have the abilities to create Charades at will, as well as teleport its evil body.

Li Long

Age: 24

Mitsurugi

Age: 22

Heishirō Mitsurugi (御剣 平四郎, Mitsurugi Heishirō) was originally the son of a farmer in Bizen, who 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.

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.

He has also appeared in a cross-over game Namco × Capcom as a playable character.

Mitsurugi has been described as one of the "staple" and "stalwart" characters of the Soul series. In a 2002 poll by Namco prior to the release of Soul Calibur II regarding their favorite character, Mitsurugi placed ninth with 2.5% of the tally, tied with Siegfried. UGO.com listed him at number three in their "Top 11 SoulCalibur Fighters article", describing him as a "solid choice for newer players" due to his high speed and strength. IGN listed him as one of the series' top ten fighters at number seven, stating "Whereas most SC fighters are either nimble little backstabbers or giant, hulking brutes, Mitsurugi strikes a nice balance between power and agility...experienced players often gravitate towards this wandering samurai for a good reason."

Rock

Age: 35

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.

Initially during development, the character was called "Beast Warrior", and his design changed little over the course of creating the character. His appearance is intended to reflect the atmosphere of a wild warrior, while his facial expressions were drawn in a positive manner, intended to show him enjoying the fight. When developing his appearance for Soulcalibur, a clothed design and a bald appearance were both rejected, as the team felt they gave the impression of an urban or "bad guy" character, respectively.

In a 2002 poll by Namco prior to the release of Soulcalibur II regarding their favorite character, Rock placed seventh, with 3.04% of the tally. GameSpot described him as "the token slow-moving, 'no one uses him' character".

Seong Mi-na

Age: 16

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-seong. 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.

IGN reviewer Anoop Gantayat heavily praised Mi-na for her appearance in Soulcalibur, describing her as the "babiliscious Korean babe" and citing her as his favorite character for the title. In a 2002 poll by Namco prior to the release of Soul Calibur II regarding their favorite character, Seong Mi-na placed first, with 22% of the tally.

Siegfried

Age: 16

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.

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. As Nightmare, Siegfried has been described as "one of the most memorable fighting-game villains in history." IGN described him as the most interesting of all the characters in Soulcalibur for his role in the game's plot, and alongside Nightmare he placed first on their list of top ten series characters.

Sophitia

Age: 18

Taki

Age: 22

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 fighting style 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. Ever since her appearance in Soul Edge, Taki is one of the few characters to have appeared in every sequel released of the series, including and up to Soulcalibur IV.

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).

Taki was listed by Tom's Games as one of the fifty greatest female characters in video game history, praising the character's strength as it developed through the series. She also appeared twice in GameDaily's Babes of the Week article and an article of her own. IGN listed her fifth in their "Soulcalibur: Top Ten Fighters" article, stating "Everyone loves a good ninja, and Taki just so happens to be one of the best...it's hard to imagine a Soulcalibur game without Taki. It just wouldn't be the same."

Voldo

Age: 43

Introduced in Soulcalibur

Add 3 years to age of characters introduced before (except Cervantes whose age stays)

Arthur

Age: 28

Astaroth

Age: 3

Edge Master

Edge Master (エッジマスター) 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.

Edge Master was created by illustrator Yasushi Nirasawa, who had designed the character as a background character and weapon shop owner for Soul Edge Official Guidebook - Densetsu Buki Tankyū no Sho, in addition to the other artwork seen in the guide. Out of appreciation, Namco later introduced him a playable character in Soulcalibur and a recurring series element. His age is intended to reflect his experience and strength.

Ivy

Age: 28

Kilik

Age: 19

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.

During Kilik's initial design creation, while the weapon selected remained constant several ages and related appearances were considered. In particular amongst these was suggested a young boy whose design was based upon the Chinese mythical character Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. Other designs such as a feral appearance were considered, but unused due to them feeling "pretty wild" and too different from the initial concept.

UGO.com included Kilik in their "Top SoulCalibur Fighters" article at number ten out of eleven, praising his attack range and high speed.

Lizardman

Age: 32 Age: 3

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. Armed with the holy Xi Sword forged for him, a group of desert travelers rescued a dehydrated Aeon and brought him to their village. About to repay them by teaching them swordplay, Siegfried's accidental unleashing of the "Evil Seed" event turned Aeon into a crazed killer who massacre everyone the village. Astaroth's creator Kunpaetku, heard stories of Aeon and captured him for human experiments, transforming him into Lizardman (リザードマン, Rizādoman). Ordered to bring Rock's adopted son, Bangoo, to Europe so that his soul could be stolen, he was defeating by Rock while pursuing Soul Edge, which was destroyed moments later. Freed from his brainwashed state by its destruction, he tried to restore his human form, but unable to he blamed Hephaestus for abandoning him, but before he could act his state deteriorated, losing his humanity and memories gradually. Taken in by a group of lizardmen like himself, he realized he lost his soul to Soul Edge, and sought to reclaim it.

Lizardman went through few changes through his initial development, with several drafts remaining consistent in their design. However at once point it was proposed to have the characters be exactly "half human, half reptile", and as a result in terrible pain.

In a 2002 poll by Namco prior to the release of Soul Calibur II regarding their favorite character, Lizardman placed eight with 2.53% of the tally, slightly above Mitsurugi and Siegfried. In their "Top 11 SoulCalibur Fighters" article, UGO.com placed him at number nine, describing him as "cute" and noting his strength as a fighter. Insert credit's Tim Rodgers described Lizardman's appearance as "needlessly ugly and misshapen".

Maxi

Age: 24

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 fights using nunchaku after learning the techniques of "Zhang Wu", who was actually assassin Li Long under an alias.

Maxi is in pursuit of Astaroth, who attacked his ship and slaughtered his crewmates (including the man he considered his sworn brother, Kyam). He swears vengeance and sets out along with Kilik and Xianghua to hunt down his prey. The two eventually do meet and Maxi defeats the monster but is immediately retaliated against by the god Ares. He is later found by some villagers who help nurse him back to health. Using mystical healing elements, his body is restored and he continues to chase after Astaroth but without the memories of his traveling companions (a consequence of the healing process that rejuvenated him).

After initially considering having Li Long return for Soulcalibur, the development team instead focused on creating a new, younger nunchaku wielder for the title. After considering several ideas for his hairstyle, including several gag designs, the developers initially chose to give him dreadlocks before changing to the current appearance. Additionally, they opted to give him an outfit that would make him attractive, but also served as a partial nod to another fictional character, Takakazu Abe.

The New York Times stated that despite Maxi's open vest and Elvis-inspired hairstyle, he was ultimately "just Nunchaku Twirler No. 439 in the history of fighting games". He was later named one of several "total crutches for mediocre players" in Soulcalibur II by JIVE Magazine in regards to the speed and ease of his fighting style.

Nightmare

Xianghua

Age: 16

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.

During Xianghua's early design phase, several concepts were considered for her attire, before settling upon a light and oriental appearance for her. Additionally it was considered to have her appear as a young girl instead, or alternatively for her to fight unarmed using martial arts, an idea later put to effect through Heihachi Mishima and his appearance in Soulcalibur II.

Xianghua's fighting style has been compared to the martial arts seen in films such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Hero, while her attractiveness as a female character has been described as "beautiful but deadly". Periodicals have used her likeness in images invoking sex appeal, such as PSM's 2003 swimsuit issue. IGN listed in their "Babes of Soulcalibur" article praising both her fighting style and beauty, adding "Xianghua may be traditional in some ways, but she certainly doesn't dress like it...Never before has a kung fu hero been such a babe."

Yoshimitsu

Yoshimitsu (吉光) first appeared in Namco's Soul series in 1998's Soulcalibur. After refusing a power-hungry lord's offer of alliance, Yoshimitsu discovers his village has been destroyed. He is the predecessor of a character in Tekken. Attempting to battle the lord's army, Yoshimitsu loses his arm. He sets out to search for the fabled weapon Soul Edge, so that he could take his revenge against Lord Nobunaga. In meditation, Yoshimitsu concluded that if he were to give in to his hatred, he would be no better than either Oda Nobunaga or Nightmare; when he reaches the castle where Soul Edge is, he discovers it has been locked away with Soul Calibur.

In Soulcalibur II, Yoshimitsu discovers that his katana has been impregnated with corrupted energy from the castle, and so resolves to rid his blade of the evil. When Yoshimitsu is worn from trying to quell the corruption, the blade is stolen by Voldo. Fearing what would happen if the weapon wound up in the wrong hands, Yoshimitsu set out to retrieve the katana, in the process discovering a fragment of the Soul Edge. Wanting to destroy all the fragments which are spread across the earth, Yoshimitsu forms band of chivalrous thieves, known as the Manjitou, in order to do good and to find the fragments.

Yoshimitsu returns in Soulcalibur III devising a robbery in order to steal a fragment of the Soul Edge. The robbery fails as Tira, a servant of Soul Edge and Nightmare, ambushes the thieves and takes the fragment of Soul Edge. Later on, Tira murders one of his clan members, causing Yoshimitsu to seek her and Soul Edge down for revenge in Soulcalibur IV.

In a 2002 poll by Namco prior to the release of Soulcalibur II regarding their favorite character from the series, Yoshimitsu placed sixth, with 4.56% of the tally. He was listed number five in Dutch gaming magazine Power Unlimited's "Top 5 Coolest Oneliners in Games", with "Namu namu namu namu namu namu..."

IGN listed Yoshimitsu as one of the top ten fighters in the Soul series, at number six, describing him as "a true force of nature" when used properly and a character that felt "more at home" in the series than in Tekken. The book Kung Fu Cult Masters compared his fighting style to Minoru Suzuki, though added "one assumes that Suzuki did not use his sword as a pogo stick".

Introduced in Soulcalibur II

In addition to these characters, console versions of Soulcalibur II introduced Assassin and Berserker, two playable characters that would later in Soulcalibur Legends as generic enemies.

Add 4 years to characters introduced in Soul Calibur and 7 years to characters introduced in Soul Edge. (Except Cervantes whose age stays).

Assassin

Berserker

Cassandra

Age: 21

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, and was a time-released unlockable character for players to use. 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, an ability it lacks in the Soul series. Called Soul Edge's "avatars" by the game's protagonists, 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.

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".

Yun-seong

Age: 18

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.

Necrid

Raphael

Age: 32

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

An exiled French nobleman from Rouen, Raphael is on the run from his noble family for committing a grievance against them. In order to escape, he stows away in a poor town where he meets Amy when she hides him from his pursuers. He grew close to the girl, believing he owed his life to her. Believing she was not meant to live in the village because of their poor state, he takes her with him when he leaves the town. When he connects the events of the Evil Seed raining down to the evil sword known as "Soul Edge", he concocts a plan to use the sword to strike down the nobility and give Amy the kind of life he believed she deserved.

Talim

Age: 15

Introduced in Soulcalibur III

Add 0 years to characters introduced in Soul Calibur II and 4 years to characters introduced in Soul Calibur and 7 years to characters introduced in Soul Edge. (Except Cervantes whose age stays).

Abyss

Amy

Introduced as a background character for Raphael's story in Soulcalibur II, Amy (エイミ, Eimi) hid him from his pursuers, 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. 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.

First seen in Soulcalibur II opening sequence, Amy's character model was reused with a modified design in Soulcalibur III as a debug character for the developers to test elements of the game with and against, also appearing in some of the game's epilogue sequences. After completion of most of the game, they decided to implement her as a full character as a result of liking her design. When she was announced as a playable character in the sequel for Soulcalibur IV, game director Daishi Odashima stating the reason behind her inclusion as "I like weaker characters", noting her as one of his three favorite characters in the game.

Night Terror

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.

He received positive reception as a character due to his appearance and demeanor, placing in UGO.com's Top 11 SoulCalibur Fighters article at eleventh place, beating out fellow series mimic character Charade. They additionally awarded the character "Best New Character" of 2005, and proposed the possiblity of Olcadan appearing in a stand-alone title and serving as a mascot for Namco, drawing comparisons to characters such as Master Chief. The character was additionally mentioned by them in their early coverage of Soulcalibur IV, noting hope for his return in the title.

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.

Setsuka

Age: 24

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 fallen in love with the man, 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. 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.

Tira

Age: 17

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.

Zasalamel as a character was warmly received by fans and critics. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine described Zasalamel as "easily the coolest" of the three new characters introduced in Soulcalibur III, noting his speed and ability to pull opponents to him. Other reviewers have shared the sentiments, praising his accessibility for new players. GameSpy went further to described him as one of the best characters in Soulcalibur III, noting his offensive abilities and range control.

Introduced in Soulcalibur IV

Algol

Algol (アルゴル, Arugoru) first appears in Soulcalibur IV as the Story Mode boss for most characters and as an unlockable character. Prior to 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 the sword and was controlled by it, forcing Algol to destroy it but kill his son as well. He worked to create a purified sword from a shard of Soul Edge to counter the weapon 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 facsimiles of both swords, he waits for them 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 the series". Algol's costume was designed around the concept of originating from a culture so ancient that it was not recorded in history, which complicated the character's creation. After consider several themes including a lion and a dinosaur, a bird motif was finally settled upon. An option was considered for Algol to cause an "off site brawl" while on a pipe chair, but was unused.

His design elements including his projectile-firing "rifle arm" were called fresh and inovative by Gameswelt. The staff of 1UP.com were particularly impressed by his rifle attack, nicknaming the projectiles "Soul Bubbles" in reference to a game by the same name. Kotaku also praised the character, describing him as "much more of a bad ass" than recurring series boss Inferno. Edge described him as breaking the tradition of "ill-balanced uber-enemies" as well as one able to use a gun as a weapon without seeming "hopelessly out of place" in the series. GameAxis Unwired praised the character for breaking the series' tradition of bosses that mimicked existing fighting styles, and added that Algol remained for the most part fair to fight against. Neoseeker stated that Algol felt as if he was "just there, purely for your entertainment", calling his fighting style bizarre but while frustrating to fight, beatable.

Hilde

Age: 18

Introduced in Soulcalibur Broken Destiny

Dampierre

Age: 38

Dampierre (ダンピエール, Danpiēru) is a con artist introduced in Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny and known by a variety of titles, amongst which include "Alchemist of the Ages", "The World's Best Assassin", and "Miraculous Psychic". He eventually became recognized as a thief, and resorted to robbery and kidnapping to continue his rich lifestyle. Desiring to live a noble life instead, he decides to fight against Nightmare and use his skills for good. His weapons consist of two spring mounted daggers strapped to the underside of his wrists. He is voiced by Shigeru Chiba in Japanese, who the developers felt gave the character a distinct voice.

GameSpy described Dampierre as a "Snidely Whiplash-looking fellow" and described his attacks as both "unorthodox" and "a hoot to watch".

Bonus characters

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, Aurelia, Chester, Demuth, Girardot Argezas, Luna, and Strife. Strife Astlar Grandall from Soulcalibur III is ranked first on Game Informer Magazine’s list of The Top Ten Worst Hairstyles with the basis of: "A unaimous shoo-in for the most dubious position on our list, Stife isn't a happy looking lad. For good reason - appointed ruler of his father's empire at age 10, Strife apparently never thought to update his pageboy hairstyle. Perhaps he was too busy slaughtering family members and losing his grip on reality. The hair alone is reason enough for the permanent scowl."

References

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7. "Soulcalibur Legends Lloyd Irving profile" (in Japanese). Namco Bandai. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
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60. Monolith Soft (2005-05-26). Namco × Capcom (in Japanese). Namco. (Translated) Arthur: What are those things? They just melt away when defeated! {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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• Cleanup tagged articles without a reason field from September 2009
• Misplaced Pages pages needing cleanup from September 2009
• Soul series characters