This post is inspired by the question that recently appeared on the SoulCalibur Facebook Wall.

#3: Hildegard von Krone

Birthplace: Wolfkrone, Holy Roman Empire
Birthdate: August 13, 1573
Age: 18 (SoulCalibur IV); 35 (SoulCalibur V…please let her be in this game She is in this game, YAY)
Weapon: Short Sword and Lance
Fighting Style: Große Erbschaft

I absolutely adored Hilde from the moment she was revealed. Sure, her big, disproportionately pouty lips kind of put me off, but I thought it was awesome to finally have a woman in full armor (read: full armor, not metal bras or leather straps) who looked like she could give the men a sound beating without using her bouncing breasts as a distraction.

She’s a bit difficult to use (for a noob like me, at least), but she’s a wicked fighter if you know how to use her properly.

#2: Seong Mi-Na

Birthplace: Jirisan, Korea
Birthdate: November 3, 1568
Age: 16 (Soul Edge), 19 (SoulCalibur), 23 (SoulCalibur II-IV), 40 (SoulCalibur V…please let her be in this game too!)
Weapon: Zanbatou (Halberd)
Fighting Style:  Seong Style Longsword and Ling-Sheng Su Style Rod

When I first saw Mi-Na in Soul Edge, I was thinking: Brown hair, perky, orange and pink palette with white pantsu…no thanks. I was never fond of characters with such bright palettes and cutesy auras, so Mi-Na was kind of a no-go for me.

I started becoming really fond of Mi-Na until I started seriously using her in SoulCalibur III…because that was when I found out just how darn easy her controls are. I’ve never been really good at fighting games, so I often use the characters that are labeled as “cheese” characters by most other hardcore players. And I don’t care what you say, that’s just how I play. Go cry in a corner when I beat you with my cheesy moves! I always use her “soul” for my main character creations now.

I also love her outfits in SoulCalibur IV. The almost-always-in-plain-sight-pantsu are still there (I guess they’re her signature now, lol), but at least the rest of her clothing looks much better.

#1 Siegfried Schtauffen

Birthplace: Ober-Getzenberg, Holy Roman Empire
Birthdate: February 16, 1568
Age: 16 (Soul Edge), 19 (SoulCalibur), 23 (SoulCalibur II-IV), 40 (SoulCalibur V)
Weapon: Zweihänder
Fighting Style: Self-taught

I hated Siegfried from Soul Edge and SoulCalibur II (as Nightmare). I thought he was too arrogant and annoying as fuck to fight.  Damn those powerful swings and knockdowns!

After playing around as him in SoulCalibur III though…I started to like him. Really like him. Setting aside his dashing good looks, his story of corruption and redemption just made me sympathize with him and root for him as he continued to seek atonement for what he did. Oh, and his lone-wolf attitude – you know, him not wanting anyone to ally with him for fear of hurting them? It makes him even more appealing to me.

The obnoxious crystal armor he wore in SoulCalibur IV was a bit over the top for me, but when I saw his alternate costume…damn, son. I wish he’d keep his hair short, he looks hotter that way.

I also like using his “soul” to create female characters in SoulCalibur III and IV. I just find it amusing to watch little females swinging that unwieldy blade and head-butting their opponents repeatedly. I’m not very good at using Siegfried or the female characters that I make using his style, though. I like how much damage they deal and how wide their reach is, I can’t seem to get them to move through combos and moves fast enough for my liking. I guess it’s nothing a little more practice can’t fix, but I think I’ll stick to using Mi-Na.

Siegfried is the main reason why I’m so pumped up about SoulCalibur V. I was beside myself with fangirly glee when I found out that he was still alive after the events of SoulCalibur IV, and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in store for him seventeen years after the two swords were supposedly sealed away. If they hadn’t included Siegfried in the initial SCV character reveals, I probably wouldn’t give a fuck about the game at this point in time!

Runners-Up:

• Cassandra – I’m not too fond of Cassandra’s perkiness, but I love using her in combat. When I find that Mi-Na just isn’t working for a particular battle, I switch over to Cassandra and my problems are often solved. I thought she was really funny in Broken Destiny too. The “Masked Alexandra” indeed!
  
• Ivy – She was my main character in SoulCalibur II before I switched over to using Mi-Na and Cassandra (and Siegfried, on occasion). I love her weapon, and I really like her sexy (Japanese) voice. It’s just too bad about how much her moveset was altered in SoulCalibur IV; it was just too drastic a change that I couldn’t keep up with it unless I focused on re-learning everything. No thanks.
• Cervantes – His inclusion here is based purely on gameplay. Cervantes’ fighting style is really badass and wicked-fun to use, but I hate everything else about him!