Soul Series/Characters/Soul Calibur IV
This is a list of characters from the Soul Series that made their debut or appeared in the fifth game of the series, Soulcalibur IV, as well as it's PSP counterpart, Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny.
Hilde (Hildegard von Krone)
Origin - Wolfkrone Kingdom, Holy Roman Empire (Germany)
Weapon(s) - Short sword and lance
Voiced By: Yuko Kaida (Japanese), Julie Ann Taylor (English)
A female knight who hails from the kingdom of Wolfkrone. Having been in charge of Wolfkrone since her father went Berserk, she's been defending it from Nightmare for a long time. After Siegfried's appearance on town, she took it as an omen and decided to lead a full-scale attack behind him, hoping for ultimate victory. She was recently revealed to return in Soulcalibur V, now traveling with Siegfried's band of mercenaries after Wolfkrone fell into darkness. She has also apparently become a mother, but whose child she bore is unknown as of now.
- Action Girl
- Action Mom: As of SCV, she is 35 years old and a mother to two young children.
- Animal Motifs: As seen on her armor, which incorporates wolves in SCIV, and griffons in SCV.
- Badass Princess
- Beauty Mark: Just to the left of her mouth.
- Blue Blood
- Dual-Wielding: Hilde carries a short sword and a lance.
- Forgiveness: A definite theme in her ending, as she pardons a wandering Siegfried who was prepared to willingly die at her hand as a final penance for his misdeeds.
- Everything's Better with Princesses: She's Princess of the Kingdom of Wolfkrone. The Pieces of her alternate outfit are even listed as "Princess ___"
- Fiery Redhead: While she doesn't have the personality, she has the red hair.
- She can be pretty fiery sometimes:
"Stand down! Do you know who I am?"
- Gorgeous Period Dress: Her alternate costume in SCIV, with its ruff and "leg of mutton" sleeves, is a comparatively realistic look for a European noblewoman during the late Elizabethan era, when the series is set.
- Hey, It's That Voice!: So, when exactly did Tsubaki Yayoi become a European princess?
- Fire-Forged Friends: With Siegfried, apparently. In IV, the man wanted nothing to do with her. Come V, they're "sworn allies" and traveling companions, their forces banding together to stave off Nightmare's hellish influence on Europe.
- Jeanne D'Archetype: She's the Soul series' very own version.
- Lady In Shining Armour
- Lady of War: She even curtsies before a battle in V.
- Mad Man In The Attic: Her father, King Georg von Krone, is kept locked away in the highest tower of the Royal castle, having been corrupted by the destructive power of Soul Edge.
- Meaningful Name: Her full name is derived from Old Germanic words hild and gard, meaning battle and protection respectively.
- Nice Hat: Her 2P attire in V. She looks like a female musketeer.
- Patriotic Fervor: "Fall before the flag of Wolfkrone!"
- Princesses Prefer Pink: Averted. She wears red under her armor and her alternate oufit is a blue dress. That doesn't stop the player from altering either outfit to be (or giving her a whole new one that is) pink however.
- Princesses Rule: A Justified Trope example.
- Redheaded Heroine
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: She personally leads her kingdom's army into battle to fight Nighmare between SCIII and SCIV and and seeks out Sigfried to try and aid him in destroying Nightmare.
- Ship Sinking: The only thing we know about the father of her children is that it's not Siegfried.
- The Stoic: Oh so very much.
- Stripperiffic: Averted, she wears a full suit of armor and a helmet. Considering the rest of the series' female cast, one could call it subverted. However, this doesn't keep the players from being able to put her in one via Character Creation mode.
- Word of God says that this was intentional.
- Token Wholesome
- The Von Trope Family
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Taking the throne at a young age due to her father's insanity, Hilde didn't get to experience a normal childhood, having to act like an adult and become strong both physically and emotionally to protect and guide her kingdom, as well as repel Nightmare's forces. It's telling when 35-year-old Hilde is virtually indistinguishable from her 18-year-old self.
- Yodel Land: She hails from the Fictional Country Wolfkrone Kingdom, apparently located somewhere within the German-speaking region of the Holy Roman Empire, which comes complete with a giant rotating cuckoo-clock as a fighting arena.
- Micro Monarchy: It's clear from the New Legends of Project Soul sourcebook's world map page that the Wolfkrone Kingdom is approximately located between Switzerland and Germany.
- Advanced Ancient Acropolis: It's the late 16th century. The Wolfkrone Monument stage is a carousel complete with animatronic musicians.
Algol
Origin - An ancient dynasty whose name has been lost to history
Weapon(s) - Soul Edge, Soul Calibur, and weapons concealed in his body
Voiced By: Joji Nakata (Japanese), Jamieson Price (English)
The boss of Soulcalibur IV. Algol was a hero who got hold of Soul Edge and build a kingdom, becoming a beloved ruler. His son became jealous of his power and stole Soul Edge, becoming a berserk monster who ended up being killed by Algol himself.
After, he started working on creating a blade that could counteract Soul Edge. This "spirit sword" would eventually become Soul Calibur. He used a shard of Soul Edge in the process, and gave up his life for it. The sword, however, ended up being as evil as Soul Edge, and his soul ended up trapped inside it. His supporters sealed him within the sword, and after years of purifying, turned it into the Soul Calibur we know and love. His supporters would eventually become a cult that would pass down Algol's legend for generations.
Flash forward to the 16th century, where he finally wakes up due to the immense power radiated from Soul Edge and Soul Calibur. The first thing he wants to do as soon as he wakes up: kick some ass and regain his full power in concordance with his warrior spirit.
He fights Mitsurugi in IV, but his battle is cut short when he vanishes along with Soul Edge and Soul Calibur. When Soul Edge made a reappearance in V, so too did Algol. He now resides within Astral Chaos, not doing much of anything.
- Above Good and Evil: Declares that the concepts mean nothing to him in V.
- Animal Motifs: The bird, although other motifs such as lions and dinosaurs were considered. This can be seen is his long, almost talon-like nails. His throne, on the other hand, is shaped like the hood of a cobra.
- In V, the cloth he wears around his shoulders is held in place by a stylized cobra head.
- Anti-Hero (Type III or IV)/AntiVillain (Type III or IV): Despite his claims to destroy all who stand in his way and his Ambition Is Evil as a king, Algol is pretty much Orcus on His Throne for the duration of IV, coming across more as fatalistic than evil. Many of the Good and Neutral-aligned characters spare the guy in their endings, and many of them say that he's not even evil to begin with. The worst thing that happens? He defeats Siegfried (but seemingly doesn't kill him) in his ending and begins his reign anew, creating a utopia with the implications that his rule was instated to prevent the world from befalling the same fate as his son.
- Artificial Stupidity: He sometimes rings himself out because his AI likes using an uppercut followed by a forward leap to cross up the opponent. He does this all the time, even when it's not necessary.
- Averted when, thanks to a patch, his AI has been completely rewritten. He's a lot smarter now and doesn't use the move anymore.
- Autobots Rock Out: Two of Algol's themes, "Thanatos" and "Regalia," are pretty metal compared to the rest of the soundtracks they come from.
- Arm Cannon: One of the 10 weapons he can create.
- Badass: The man blocks Soul Edge's unimaginably powerful cursed power with his bare hands, and he is able to subdue it through willpower alone.
- It's worth noting that Algol is the only person in the entire series[1] that Soul Edge was completely unable to corrupt or control.
- Blood Knight: "Fighting is my all. It is my existence!"
- Clap Your Hands If You Believe: Two sources. One: He maintains his own existence and that of his tower by thought alone. If he runs out of power, he dies. Two: He's supported by the energies he gained from both swords, which allows him to create any matter from thought. Should the energy runs out, he ceases to exist.
- Demoted to Extra: In V.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: He tells this to Kilik, claiming he has no regrets.
- Don't You Dare Mock Me: And this to Talim. And Cervantes.
- Expy: Of Raoh from Fist of the North Star.
- Gameplay wise he is similar to Necrid, with a multitude of weapons at his command.
- As of Soul Calibur 5, his general attitude, part of his moveset and his taunt brings Akuma to mind.
- Failure Knight: Eons later, the loss of his son thanks to Soul Edge has still shaken his spirits. Algol laments in several scenarios that despite his awesome might, he cannot change the past. It is for this reason that he empathizes with Sophitia in her ending and frees her from Soul Edge's influence, urging the brave mother to return to her children in bliss.
- Final Boss
- Giant Space Flea From Nowhere: Only if you don't know about him.
- Big time in V, where he has absolutely zero plot relevance whatsoever, and is the final boss of a bonus Boss Rush mode.
- Heroic Willpower: Taken Up to Eleven by his ability to subdue Soul Edge's will, although he isn't very heroic.
- Actually he is, just not during the events of the game itself. His backstory is quite noble.
- Meaningful Name: He is named after the Algol Star. The star's name derives from the Arabic ra's al-ghul, meaning "head of the ogre" (al-ghul = "ghoul"), which was given because of its position in the constellation Perseus, representing the head of Gorgon Medusa. The English names of Demon Star and Blinking Demon are direct translations.
- Mesopotamian Mythology: His entire move-list (as well as his own name) is Arabic, so it's fairly clear that he originates from somewhere in that region, albeit eons ago. Also, his character is likely inspired by the legendary Sumerian hero-king Gilgamesh, as he is master of the Tower of Lost Souls which shares many thematic similarities with Namco's venerable Tower of Druaga arcade game, which is itself based upon the Gilgamesh epic.
- Noble Demon
- Nothing Up My Sleeve: Has 10 weapons hidden inside his own body.
- Powered by a Forsaken Child: Algol sacrificed himself to create the Soul Calibur.
- Power Floats and Power Glows
- Rated "M" for Manly: Only person known to have tamed the evil in Soul Edge and not be controlled by it, wields both the Edge and Calibur simultaneously, and has a definite Houkuto no Ken vibe about him. He fits.
- As a plus, he sheds all his bird-themed armor in V, showing off his chiseled physique, though whether this makes him Rated "M" for Manly, Even the Guys Want Him, or Mr. Fanservice is up to the viewer.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: More like Sealed Neutrality In A Can.
- Definitely Sealed Badass in a Can, though.
- Shout-Out: In addition to having Raoh's looks and the general Hokuto villain Slouch of Villainy, he also perfectly fits into the racial template of the Pillar Men from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, even having their signature "Rib Attack."
- In V, he looks like Gill and/or Urien.
- Slouch of Villainy: As seen here.
- Soulcalibur V turns this into his finishing move.
- SNK Boss: In Tower of Lost Souls if you fight him fairly.
- Shapeshifter Weapon.
- Story-Breaker Power: In-universe at least, only rivaled by Night Terror and a scant number of characters (in the case of the former, this is flipped around from a gameplay perspective).
- Stripperiffic: In V.
- Tragic Villain: If you consider him to be one, that is.
- Yin-Yang Bomb: His main weapons are Soul Edge and Soul Calibur, and his body is formed out of both swords' energies.
- Blade Below the Shoulder: He morphs each hand into them to attack.
Dampierre ("Lord" Geo Dampierre)
Origin - Claims a different place of origin on every job (Resides in Venice, Republic of Venice)
Weapon(s) - Retractable wrist-mounted knives
Voiced By: Shigeru Chiba (Japanese), Vic Mignogna (English)
Con artist and general douchebag that wants to live in luxury, but being unable to get it the honest way, becomes a bandit. He cons his servants into servitude and uses them as hostage to get money off of rich uncles. Upon seeing Hilde, fell madly in love with her... but still wants to sack Wolfkrone. All in all, a man of principles.
Returned in V, as a pre-order bonus character, where he decides to exploit Nightmare's crusade for cash.
He and Cervantes are acquaintances, and he sold Pyrrha into slavery.
- All There in the Manual: Averted—his bio is especially strange and ambiguous, with his birthplace and age listed as "changes every time someone asks him." It's likely he is Italian and there are a few clues: He refers to himself as "Le Bello" in his quotes, meaning "the handsome one" in Italian. Also, the vast majority of Dampierre's moves are named after either characters from the Commedia dell'arte, a form of improvisational theatre that began in Italy in the 16th century, or places and things from Venice ("Canal Grande," "Misty Waters of Laguna," "Gondola Dreams," "Adriatic Pearls"). Finally, his stage, the Voiceless Volpe Bridge, is Italian in design and "volpe" is the Italian for fox.
- Further evidence was recently revealed in his SCV story, which states that "everyone in Italy's financial world had heard of Lord Geo Dampierre..." and also - ..."(he) enjoyed success in a variety of ventures centred around the City of Venice."
- Badass Mustache: Yes.
- Confusion Fu/Fighting Clown
- What the Fu Are You Doing?: Can hurt himself and fall over during some of his moves.
- Cool Shades: His alternate outfit. Anachronistic to the max but he's a bit of an oddball anyway.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He may look like a pansy, but watch out.
- Dastardly Whiplash
- Fan Nickname: Waluigi, based on his mustache.
- Ill Girl: His imaginary daughter (the role played by his henchwoman Giesele) that he tells stories about to swindle money from others is this.
- Knife Nut: He uses hidden punch-daggers.
- Lethal Joke Character: Might possibly be the only character to beat out Yoshimitsu in terms of sheer whimsy and insanity. While his overall tier ranking is low, his effectiveness depends almost entirely on the player's ability to bait their opponent. Seeing the entire thing in action is gut-bustingly hilarious.
- Older Than They Look: Possibly. His appearance in V is similar to that of Broken Destiny, suggesting that he's one of the few characters besides Ivy and Raphael to have not aged. Considering Broken Destiny is non-canon, though, it's possible that this is his first "real" appearance and he actually is that old/young.
- Nice Hat
- Shout-Out: To Bill the Butcher from the movie Gangs of New York.
- He also moonwalks.
- Talking the Monster to Death: His Critical Finish.
- Third Person Person: Frequently refers to himself as "Le Bello."
Ashlotte Maedel
Origin - Hidden Shrine of Fygul Cestemus, Persia (Iran)
Weapon(s) - Axe
Voiced By: Hitomi Nabatame (Japanese), Megan Hollingshead (English)
A robotic maiden created by the remains of the cult that created Astaroth, Ashlotte Maedal's assigned mission is to assassinate him for being a traitor. She was created and designed by Ogure Ito (Oh! Great), of Tenjho Tenge and Air Gear fame.
- An Axe to Grind Spear To Grind
- Art Shift: Like all of the bonus characters created by famous Japanese artists and designers, her profile art is different than the main cast.
- Badass Adorable: Immensely strong due to being based on Astaroth, but despite some Uncanny Valley effects, she's still very cute, and the fact her quotes give her a polite, sweet-tempered personality make her curiously adorable for a clockwork doll with a spear.
- Battle Ballgown
- Clockwork Creature
- Elegant Gothic Lolita
- Expy: Duplicates Astaroth's movelist, and uses Rock's victory poses.
- Could also be considered as the SC equivalent to Alisa Bosconovitch.
- Eyes of Gold
- Heroic Albino: Or at least, more neutral than Evil Albino.
- Panty Shot: Her intro.
- Princess Curls
- Rapunzel Hair
- Robot Girl
- Super-Powered Robot Meter Maids
- Uncanny Valley Girl: Seems to be a double offender at first for being an eerily realistic human-sized clockwork doll rendered with eerily realistic computer graphics, but pretty much averted since she moves and acts just like the human characters in the game.
- White-Haired Pretty Girl
Kamikirimushi
Origin - Kyoto, Japan
Weapon(s) - Denryu Bakuha (Metal bludgeon)
Voiced By: Nami Kurokawa (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English)
An oni girl who seeks out Soul Edge, believing that it is a kindred spirit to her: a being that is forever conflicted with humans. She was created and designed by Hirokazu Hisayuki, character designer and animation director from the eponymous animation studio Sunrise.
- Art Shift: Same deal as most of the bonus characters, the designer gets to keep his original art in the game.
- Carry a Big Stick: It's a sterotypical weapon used by oni, the kana-bo. It's supposed to have about the same shape and length as a baseball bat. Kana-bo have lots of little bumps for extra damage, however.
- Cute but Cacophonic
- Cute Monster Girl
- Expy: Duplicates Nightmare's movelist, and uses Siegfried's victory poses.
- Fiery Redhead
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Literally. Her costume colors are even red and blue!
- Zettai Ryouiki: Does it count if they're thigh-high bandages?
Shura
Origin - Suwa, Japan
Weapon(s) - Dual katanas
Voiced By: Takako Honda (Japanese), Karen Strassman (English)
A wandering killer who is possessed by a demon. The demon wants her to take it to a stronger body to possess, and the woman wants to fight more worthy opponents. She was created and designed by Hiroya Oku, of Gantz fame.
- Absolute Cleavage
- Art Shift: Oku gets to keep his original piece in the main game, differing from the main cast.
- Author Appeal: Black leather, skimpy costume, katanas, and breasts; the way Oku likes it and what one can find in Gantz.
- Bi the Way: Implied from her quote selection, which will have her causally flirt with male and female enemies alike.
- Blood Knight: One of the very rare female kinds.
- Demonic Possession: A rare case in which the host and possessor are in some sort of mutual agreement that favors both parties.
- Dual-Wielding: Wields two Katanas Are Just Better.
- Expy: Duplicates Cervantes' movelist.
- Rapunzel Hair
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin
- Shiny Midnight Black
- Stripperiffic: Rivalling even Ivy, ludicrously enough.
- Thong of Shielding
Scheherazade
Origin - Reclusive Village
Weapon(s) - Rapier
Voiced By: Nami Kurokawa (Japanese), Stephanie Sheh (English)
The ancient storyteller, now spontaneously an elf. She wants to learn more about the stories of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur to use as material for her newest tale. She was created and designed by Yutaka Izubuchi, famous illustrator and designer who has contributed to many art directions in anime, but he is more known for creating RahXephon.
- Art Shift: Izubuchi's orignal piece is kept in the main game.
- Cute but Cacophonic
- Expy: Duplicates Amy's movelist, and uses some of Raphael's victory poses.
- Love At First Sight: One-sided case in regards to Algol, as she watched him from afar the first time she left her village in search of information about the great war between the soul swords.
- Really Seven Hundred Years Old
- The Storyteller
- White-Haired Pretty Girl
Angol Fear
Origin - Core of the Macrocosm
Weapon(s) - Spear
Voiced By: Takako Honda (Japanese), Brianne Siddall (English)
A servant of the macrocosmos who is sent to Earth to investigate the battle between the two swords. She is also using them as a gauge to judge whether Earth should be destroyed or not. Created and designed by Mine Yoshizaki, of Keroro Gunsou fame. Angol would later become directly related to his series by being the cousin of Angol Mois, a character from his own series.
- Absolute Cleavage
- Art Shift: Yoshizaki's orignal piece is kept in he main game; also differing from the other bonus characters, even her 3D model is noticeable unique and anime-esque.
- Canon Immigrant: Eventually became an official character in Keroro Gunsou.
- Combat Stilettos
- Dark-Skinned Blond
- Expy: Duplicates Seong Mi-na's movelist. She also bears more than a passing resemblance to her cousin.
- Hanging Judge: On a cosmic level
- Human Alien
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: Comes to this conclusion in her ending but spares the Earth anyway. However, this is only because there is other life on the planet
- Large Ham: Mild Case
- White-Haired Pretty Girl
The Apprentice (Galen Marek)
Origin - Planet of Kashyyyk
Weapon(s) - Lightsaber and Force powers
Voiced By: Shuhei Sakaguchi (Japanese), Sam Witwer (English)
Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice, codename Starkiller, real name Galen Marek. He is ordered by his master to investigate a dimensional tear in the space-time continuum, and this leads him to our world where he is caught in the battle between Soul Edge and Soul Calibur.
- Battle Theme Music: A shorter version of "Duel Of The Fates" from The Phantom Menace plays whenever he is in a match located in the Star Wars-themed stages. (This is overridden by Vader and Yoda's themes when he fights them.)
- Early-Bird Cameo: Appeared in this game before making his canon appearance in The Force Unleashed.
- Laser Blade: The lightsabers, naturally.
- Lightning Bruiser
- Ink Suit Actor: Modeled after and voiced by Sam Witwer.
- Reverse Grip
- Shock and Awe: His Force Lightning.
- SNK Boss: Despite being fairly low-tier, he's incredibly quick and annoying to fight against.
- Suddenly Voiced In Japanese: The Japanese versions of The Force Unleashed games weren't dubbed in Japanese, since the voice acting was in English with Japanese subtitles and this is the first time we can hear him speak in that language.[2]
Yoda
Origin - Unknown
Weapon(s) - Lightsaber and Force powers
Voiced By: Ichiro Nagai (Japanese), Tom Kane (English)
The ancient Jedi master, investigating the emergence of a dimensional tear. Exclusive to the Xbox 360 version he once was, but now available as downloadable content for the Play Station 3 for $4.99.
- Battle Theme Music: "Qui-Gon's Noble End" from Episode I plays when he fights in a Star Wars stage.
- Continuity Nod: His Critical Finish is a replica of how he dispatched a Clone Trooper during the attack on the Jedi Temple in Revenge of the Sith.
- Fragile Speedster
- Laser Blade: The lightsaber.
- Lethal Joke Character: Considering abysmal-tier due to a pitiful attack range and really slow movement, but is immune to throws and players who practice with him will be dancing around their opponents and cutting them to pieces with confusing combos.
- Also, his size means you're usually stuck low-attacking him, and due to his size he can't be grabbed (Not even by another Yoda).
- Old Master
- Unnecessary Combat Roll: Not unnecessary to Yoda in gameplay, actually—he can either roll in a direction to cover distance, or walk in a manner that is much slower than everyone else.
Darth Vader
Origin - Planet of Tatooine
Weapon(s) - Lightsaber and Force powers
Voiced By: Toru Ohira (Japanese), Matt Sloan (English)
The Dark Lord of the Sith. He notices the power caused by the clashing of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur and heads off to take the swords for himself. Was exclusive to the Play Station 3 version at first, but is now available to Xbox360 owners for 400 Microsoft Points.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: DARK LORD OF THE SITH.
- Badass: As is usual for Vader.
- Badass Baritone: Ditto.
- Badass Cape: Again, ditto.
- Battle Theme Music: As per his home series, "The Imperial March" plays when he fights in one of the Star Destroyer stages.
- Chad Vader: Gets Promoted Fanboy status for providing Vader's voice for SCIV.
- The Dragon: Yes, the developers still mention the Emperor in Vader's profile.
- Evil Laugh: In his ending. Notable in that it's the first time we ever hear Vader do one, which is a bit unusual.
- Evil Sounds Deep: One of the many tropes he carried over from Star Wars.
- Hidden Agenda Villain
- Large Ham: One of his hammier appearances, owing either to the fact that his Japanese seiyuu usually voices clownish-sounding hammy characters (and the English voice actor had to read the same lines), or to the fact that he's in a Soulcalibur game.
- Laser Blade: The lightsaber.
- Lightning Bruiser/Mighty Glacier: Depending on the attack he's using; in general, he's slightly slower and stronger than Mitsurugi.
- Tin Tyrant
- Vader Breath: The Trope Namers and Trope Codifier, naturally.
Kratos
Origin - Sparta, Greece
Weapon(s) - Chained swords
Voiced By: Tessho Genda (Japanese), T.C. Carson (English)
Yes, that Kratos! Appears as the guest character for Broken Destiny.
- Badass: What were you expecting?
- Battle Theme Music: His stage uses "Isle Of Creation" from God of War II.
- Continuity Nod: His Critical Finish is an exact replica of the finishing move used on Ares in the final battle of the first God of War, though with the Blade of Olympus replacing the Blade of the Gods.
- He also name drops Zeus after his opponent has not seen the end of this day. ("Zeus! You will be next!")
- Large Ham: As always.
- Lightning Bruiser/Mighty Glacier: Pretty much has the same attacking and movement speed as Vader in IV.
- Shout-Out: Several to his home series:
- As expected, he retains many of his popular combos with the Blades of Chaos. The ever-trusty Plume of Prometheus even has the same command input as in God of War.
- Kratos' home stage (Challenge of the Gods) comes from an area located on the giant temple on Cronos' back from the original God of War.
- Story-Breaker Team-Up/Bowdlerise: As is standard procedure for violent/mature works crossing over with tamer series, Kratos has none of the Gorn he's famous for here. Thankfully, the censorship is only there to bring him down to a "T" rating in a game that's anyway geared towards players in the same approximate age range as God of War's demographic.