Voldo
Voldo is by far the creepiest character in SoulCalibur, with his disturbing way of moving and, uh, interesting attire. Even so, it wouldn’t be a SoulCalibur game with his creepiness there, as he’s been a series staple the entire time. Voldo is wild and unpredictable, both in terms of his moveset and his character. In battle he uses a set of moves that have him dodging and writhing all over the place, while he causes massive damage with his bladed gloves.
Voldo originally served a weapons merchant named Vercci, known as the Merchant of Death. Vercci longed to have Soul Edge as part of his collection, and even after his master’s passing Voldo continues to search for the accursed blade. He may give us the creeps, but any SoulCalibur game worth its salt needs to have Voldo.
Cervantes
The Dread Pirate Cervantes is yet another character that’s been featured in every single SoulCalibur game since the beginning, and he’s a force to be reckoned with. Cervantes actually started out as the main antagonist of Soul Edge, and he was driven mad by the sword after obtaining it in a pirate raid. In SoulCalibur, Nightmare inadvertently revives Cervantes using the broken pieces of Soul Edge embedded in the pirate’s body. He’s an utterly evil man who’s only out for his own self-gain, as you’d pretty much expect from someone known as the Dread Pirate.
Cervantes is a devastating fighter who uses two swords and a variety of unnatural abilities in battle. Despite having close-range weapons, he can cover large distances in single leaps, and his moveset relies on knocking down enemies or bumping them up into the air to get juggled. Cervantes’ fate is inexplicably linked to that of Soul Edge, and he’s a key character in the lineage of the series.
Taki
Taki has always been one of the fastest characters in the series, putting hulking characters like Siegfried and Nightmare to shame with her speed. She’s appeared in every game in the series except for SoulCalibur V, where she was replaced by her student. Taki is a member of the demon-hunting Fu-Ma Ninja clan, and she’s one of the “good” characters of the series. She possesses supernatural powers, which she uses to protect the common people of Japan from threats. Taki constantly hunts down demons and evil, which of course means she comes into play with the events surrounding Soul Edge.
Taki’s combat style is completely built around her speed, with the ninja possessing a variety of close-range attacks and special ninjutsu. She’s easily one of the most popular characters in the series, and even placed second in a popularity poll held by Namco in 2015, with only Talim beating her out.
Maxi
Maxi is a powerful character that turned to a life of piracy early in his life, with his entire crew slaughtered by Astaroth and a group of monsters. This created a deep-rooted hatred of Astaroth, and Maxi’s sole goal over the years became to get revenge on the creature. Through a twist of fate, Maxi had a piece of soul edge infused into his body by a healer, granting him immense power along with an uncontrollable thirst for vengeance.
Maxi’s cocksure nature comes across in his combat style, which is as flashy as it is functional. He emulates a bit of Bruce Lee with the exaggerated way he moves and yells. Maxi is traditionally one of the upper mid-tier characters, and as long as he stays away from the edge, he can inflict massive combos and damage. SoulCalibur wouldn’t be the same without this pretty boy pirate.
Astaroth
Astaroth is a hulking golem, originally created by the god of destruction Ares and his helpers to seek out Soul Edge, so Ares could dethrone his father Zeus. Astaroth eventually allied himself with Nightmare, temporarily, slaughtering the innocent in order to gain the souls that power Soul Edge. After being killed by Maxi, Astaroth was revived by Ares, more powerful and even before as he was infused with shards of Soul Edge.
Astaroth is a hulking brute in battle that wields a massive axe, and his moveset is focused on basically steamrolling his enemy. His massive size can leave him open to speedier characters, but if he manages to land a blow it can do tons of damage while also sending you flying.
Raphael
Raphael was one of the many characters introduced with SoulCalibur II, and although he started out as a protagonist he slowly went through a descent into becoming a villain. Raphael was a young man of French descent, who had a brilliant skill for fencing and medicine. In SoulCalibur II his long journey saw him to battle with Nightmare, where he was grievously wounded. Although he recovered, the evil energy of Soul Edge turned Raphael into a Malfested, warping his mind, body, and powers. His sense of justice became twisted and his sole goal eventually became to change the world for his daughter figure, Amy, and his evil energy seeped into the lands around him.
Raphael is known for his cutting wit and his contemptuous personality. This bleeds over into his combat style where he constantly mocks his opponents and uses a mix of flourishing strikes and trickery. It was fascinating seeing Raphael’s descent into darkness, but considering SoulCalibur VI takes us back in time, it’d be great to see the character get introduced to the events that took place during SoulCalibur.
Yoshimitsu
Yoshimitsu, oddly enough, appears in both the SoulCalibur and Tekken series as the same character. The eccentric ninja was a part of the Manji Clan, and originally set out to find Soul Edge in order to take revenge against Nobunaga Oda, who murdered the entire clan. Eventually, that journey to find Soul Edge turned into a journey to destroy the evil sword.
Yoshimitsu’s is an odd character to use in battle, and his unpredictable moveset makes him both hard to use and hard to fight. He’s been there ever since the first SoulCalibur, with another ninja taking his place in SoulCalibur V, so it only seems right he’d have a role in the upcoming game.
Tira
Tira wasn’t introduced to the series until SoulCalibur III, but considering Zasalamel also was introduced in III and is featured in VI, it’s not impossible we could see her. Tira is a bit of a twisted figure who has two split personalities as of SoulCalibur IV, known as Jolly and Gloomy. After hearing tales of Nightmare’s murderous massacres, Tira began to develop a strange fondness for the creature and decided to become its servant. This casts her as one of the villains later on in the series.
Tira’s combat style is wholly unique as she uses a massive weapon called the Ring Blade as a hula hoop of sorts. She can effortlessly swing the weapon around her body in a veritable dance of death, making it easy to attack different sections of an enemy’s body in succession. It’d be interesting to see how Tira plays into past events, especially considering Zasalamel will in some way.
Seong Mi-na
Seong Mi-na is a classic SoulCalibur character featured in every game in the series, up until SoulCalibur V. The young woman from Korea wields a massive Naginata. Mi-na’s dream had always been to join the military, but she was denied that possibility due to her gender. One evening while listening in on a conversation between her father and her arranged husband, she overhears information about Soul Edge. Mi-na decides since she isn’t allowed to prove herself in the military, she can prove herself by finding the fabled sword.
Much like Kilik, Seong Mi-na’s abilities are focused around her range. She can keep enemies at a distance with her Naginata, especially those with shorter weapons. Mi-na is often seen as one of the protagonists of the series, and she’s constantly striving to be the very best. Considering her exclusion in SoulCalibur V, she absolutely needs to make a comeback in VI.
Talim
Talim, like Raphael, was introduced with SoulCalibur II and she’s quickly become one of the more popular characters. Talim is is a Priestess of the Wind and relies on nature to guide her through her adventure, including the journey to rid the world of Soul Edge. She uses elbow blades, similar to tonfa, and can even control the wind in battle to help give her an extra edge. Contrary to many of the characters in SoulCalibur, Talim is completely pure of heart and her main motivation is restoring peace to the world.
Talim has an incredibly small range compared to other characters, but as a tradeoff she’s also one of the fastest. She can overwhelm opponents with a string of combos, but she’s also easily interruptable. Talim is a character that has a lot of risks involved, but like most, mastering her can really pay off. The compassion and pure-heartedness that Talim displays is an important contrast to the rest of the cast, especially with Geralt joining, and having her in SoulCalibur VI would help flesh out the roster even more.
Published: Apr 25, 2018 11:13 am