Fighting games are renowned for their wide yet balanced rosters, great visuals, and massive skill gaps. The Soulcalibur series is no exception, being a cornerstone of easy-to-learn but hard-to-master fighting games.
Soulcalibur 2 is arguably the best entry in the series with its unique cast of characters and diverse combos. Heavy hitters, rapid-attacking characters, and everything in between were available in this game. The number of unique combos you could pull off gave each hero a unique playstyle and personality that few fighting games can match even today. With that said, some characters in this game are not as good as others. Here are the 5 best Soulcƒalibur 2 characters with 5 of the game’s worst.
10 Best: Nightmare
No matter your view on Nightmare as a character, he has one of the most unique visual aesthetics in the game. A mutated knight with a flesh sword is something that is pure Soulcalibur.
This hard-hitting character is actually rather fast for this archetype, capable of kicking and downing unsuspecting players. His sword has a great deal of range tied to it, making Nightmare a great mid-range melee character in any fight. If you can consistently land your blows, Nightmare is a hard character to beat. Still, his slow attacks and movement make him less than perfect.
9 Worst: Spawn
Originally exclusive to the original Xbox, Spawn is a hard-hitting character from the iconic comic book series of the same name.
He might look and sound amazing, but his playstyle is hard to adapt to. Spawn deals large amounts of damage like Nightmare and other heavy hitters, yet he attacks at such a short-range that rapid-attacking characters can catch him off guard. If you can break the enemy’s defenses, Spawn is a decent choice, but there are far better characters that do what Spawn is supposed to excel at, all while being much safer.
8 Best: Yoshimitsu
Yoshimitsu might have one of the largest movesets in all of Soulcalibur. He has a series of basic attacks that anyone can use, but he also has a few tricks up his sleeve.
He can manipulate his health pool, stabbing himself or regenerating his health using his sword. Kicks and spin attacks are his bread and butter, keeping the enemy on their toes when a competent Yoshi player is using everything in their arsenal. Like most of the game’s great characters, he requires a lot of time to master his moveset.
7 Worst: Link
While Xbox players got Spawn as their unique platform character, GameCube owners got Link as a playable fighter, known for the superb Legend of Zelda series.
He might be amazing at solving puzzles and dealing with slower enemies, but Link is somewhat behind the curve when it comes to a one versus one swordfight. Link is a jack-of-all-trades style of character, having a solid mix of melee attacks and projectile mix-ups. The issue is that every character excels at one thing in this series, meaning that Link gets destroyed by any skilled player. His easy kit does make him great to learn the game with, though, but he should be dropped with another character when you get better at the game.
6 Best: Ivy
Ivy is the definition of easy to learn, hard to master. Her chain whip sword is one of the most unique weapons in the game, complemented further by her great moveset.
While she has a sword, Ivy doesn’t do well at close range. Instead, you want to utilize the chain function to juggle enemies in the air and attack them from a distance. Her rapid attacks and absurd range make her hard to deal with, although her large skill gap make her a balanced character that isn’t too powerful. Get good with Ivy, though, and it is really hard to lose against any aggressive player.
5 Worst: Necrid
A character that can take attacks and combos from other heroes’s movesets should make for a borderline overpowered character. Sadly, Necrid has shown that is not the case.
Necrid can project void weapons in his combos that imitate what Nightmare, Ivy, Taki, Cervantes, and Astaroth can do. Most of those characters are incredible and top-tier picks, so why does Necrid suck? His short combo list makes mixups and interrupts near impossible to do. Predictable timings don’t help him out, either, with every attack being telegraphed well enough for enemies to dodge or counter.
4 Best: Xianghua
Just like Ivy, Xianghua is one of the hardest characters to get a hang of in the entire game. Her attacks are hard to land on defensive players and throwing people is easier said than done.
With all of those downsides, the speed of her attacks and their potential range is simply unmatched in Soulcalibur 2. That speed lets her dominate as an aggressive character against less skilled opponents, while that speed can be used to punish more skilled players for making small mistakes. Master this character and you are virtually unstoppable.
3 Worst: Raphael
Raphael isn’t necessarily a terrible character, it’s mainly the number of specific circumstances needed for him to work make him a less than ideal pick.
His rapier allows him to dominate opponents that are mid-range from him. While this sounds great, his weapon gets outshined quickly against long-ranged attackers and close-range aggressive players. The moveset Raphael has is decent and his speed is good, but having to engage every enemy at mid-range with little breathing room makes him hard to play with little payoff.
2 Best: Assassin
The Assassin is not a playable character when you first play Soucalibur 2, requiring the player to beat Subchapter 3 in Stage 2 to use him.
This is worth it, as he is an incredibly powerful character. He takes the insane speed of Xianghua and combines it with the focus on kicks that Yun-Seong excels at. Together, he is a character that can easily down opponents and juggle them with a flurry of blows. He deals great damage, has a great moveset, and his kicks are terrifying when combined with his quick slashes. Best of all, he’s rather easy to learn! There is a reason Assassin was banned for most of Soulcalibur 2’s competitive tournaments.
1 Worst: Yun-Seong
It seems strange that both the best and worst characters on this list rely on kicks, but it is the way Yun-Seong utilizes them that makes him much worse than Assassin.
Kicks are Yun’s bread and butter, opening enemies up to his slow attacks. The issue is that his counterattacks are incredibly slow when compared to other top options, and he also lacks the range of heavy hitters since he needs to close the gap to kick enemies. If you can keep your distance from Yun by playing Ivy or similar characters, he doesn’t stand a chance.
NEXT: 5 Best Marvel Fighting Games to Play (& 5 Worst to Avoid)
