When it comes to some of the most popular fighting games on the market, the SoulCalibur franchise is definitely up there. While many fighting games decide to put more emphasis on fighting styles and hand-to-hand combat, SoulCalibur has consistently introduced different weapon-fighting styles through its unique cast of characters.
The core heroes of the franchise have always remained constant, although with each game they might see some changes as the balance and system shifts, and new heroes come in to counter them. However, overall, it's still possible to distinguish some of the key winners and losers of the franchise.
10 Worst: Nightmare
Over the years, Nightmare has been a pretty consistent character in the franchise. His style is somewhat similar to Siegfried's but he does seem to dish a bit more damage overall with his Soul Edge. That being said, there's a good reason why Nightmare is considered an easy character to pick up by anyone: he's pretty easy to counter.
Not just that, his extremely close range moves aren't that good compared to other characters. Many of his combos are also somewhat weak. It's possible to make him work, but considering how little counter-play is needed to defeat him, he's definitely among the worst heroes.
9 Best: Siegfried
As mentioned, Siegfried and Nightmare are quite similar in fighting style due to the bond that their characters share. For the longest time, Siegfried wasn't really considered much better than Nightmare himself, but he's actually seen some definite improvement over the years.
Although his speed and damage aren't super significant, he redeems himself by having some of his moves changed and his combos improved. He's now more agile on his feet, and his recovery is greatly increased thanks to the improvements he was given in the latest installment of the game.
8 Worst: Tira
Tira is one of the wild cards in the SoulCalibur series. Introduced first in the third installment in the series, she's shown to be very emotionally unstable. This later led to the introduction of Jolly Side and Gloomy Side, the two fighting styles that could use with different move sets and damage outputs.
Tira might have amazing range and creative combos thanks to her unique Dance of Death fighting style, but her two personality sides make her difficult to play. While Jolly and Gloomy can be switched manually, it can also happen completely randomly.
7 Best: Talim
When it comes to competitive play in particular, speed can often be the winning approach over brute strength. That's why Talim is such a great character to pick up, even if she's notorious for doing only small amounts of damage. However, where she lacks on strength, she makes up in speed.
Talim thrives fighting at close range, and also keeping her enemies locked in relative close range. She can unleash some devastating quick combos on them, and as one of the fastest character's in the game, she's one scary opponent to go up against.
6 Worst: Zasalamel
Over the years, SoulCalibur has introduced players to some very unique heroes, and one of them is without a doubt Zasalamel. His scythe has one of the longest ranges in the game, but his fighting style unfortunately is so niche that he often ends up not getting picked up by new players in particular.
His main goal as a fighter is to wait for the enemy to get in range, and put them through a sequence of attacks that stun and lock the enemy in. However, since some characters can play much more at range and have better recovery and mobility, Zasalamel can be easily countered.
5 Best: Grøh
Brand new to the series, Grøh was immensely popular long before players even got the chance to play him. With his double saber and unique fighting style, he's almost like a better Kilik in many ways. He can effectively dominate at both close and medium range, making him a deadly opponent.
Grøh is particularly great for people who are just getting into the game and would like to pick up a strong, easy-to-learn fighter who can dominate without effort. In addition to his versatile fighting abilities, he can also use teleportation through his Soul Charge, which makes him highly mobile.
4 Worst: Raphael
Raphael is the rapier-wielding swordsman of the franchise, and has been long known as one of the weaker characters in the series. His main weakness is the limited scope of many of his movements, which make them easy to foresee by enemies and quickly dodge as well.
He's not an easy character to pick up by any means. When played to perfection as an evasive and agile fighter, he's definitely someone who's designed to wear down the opponent by easily blocking attacks and biding his time. Raphael is definitely not a hero meant to end fights quickly — at least not in the player's favor.
3 Best: Ivy
Considered one of the main faces of the franchise, Ivy's design might raise some brows, but she's a frightening force when unleashed. Ivy has been a staple in the competitive side of SoulCalibur for a long time, and she still continues to dominate the meta with her highly unique and versatile fighting style.
Ivy's weapon is a sword that can turn itself into a long whip. This means that she has some of the best range in the entire game, able to deal with enemies in middle and far range. With the newest installment of the game, some of her strongest moves like Calamity Symphony have been somewhat simplified, so she's slightly easier to pick up.
2 Worst: Astaroth
Astaroth is one hulking character, but it's his sheer size and strength that are ultimately his biggest weaknesses. Landing just one hit on Astaroth will deal immense damage compared to other heroes, but in a game like SoulCalibur, damage isn't everything.
He's definitely one of the slowest characters in the game. Faster heroes with average amount of damage will be completely able to outplay him in almost any match-up, which is why he'll see rarely any play time at all.
1 Best: Yoshimitsu
A high challenge, high reward character, Yoshimitsu is another iconic fighter in the SoulCalibur franchise, known for having a steep learning curve. His unique fighting style, however, makes him a difficult and unpredictable opponent in the eyes of many players, which is a big advantage.
While Yoshimitsu's range is mediocre at best, he can use his abilities to quickly get in unpunished due to the somewhat weird animation of his character, or punish the opponent for trying to come in. His special ability, which absorbs incoming damage, is also a great asset against enemies who do much more damage than he's capable of.