Astaroth (Soul Calibur)
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| Astaroth | |
|---|---|
 CG rendering of Astaroth in Soul Calibur II |
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| Game series | Soul series |
| First game | Soul Calibur |
| Voice actor(s) (English) | Jay S. Gilbert (Soul Calibur II) Michael McConnohie(Soul Calibur III) |
| Voice actor(s) (Japanese) | Banjou Ginga (Soul Calibur) Ryûzaburô Ôtomo (later games) |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Age | 7 |
| Birthplace | Grand Shrine of Palgaea |
| Birthdate | September 3, 1584 |
| Blood type | None (Clay-made Golem) |
| Weapon | Giant Axe |
| Weapon name | Kulutues |
| Fighting style | Gyulkus |
| Family | Servant of Ares Creator, Kunpaetku (deceased) |
Astaroth (アスタロス Asutarosu) is a fictional character designed for the Soul Series of fighting games. Astaroth made his first appearance in Soul Calibur and has returned for both Soul Calibur II and Soul Calibur III.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
The god of war and destruction, Ares, desired Soul Edge, so he ordered Kunpaetku, the grand priest of the cult order Fygul Cestemus, to seek it out. Astaroth, a golem, was created in hellish heat under the divine protection of the god of war (Ares) to head up the quest. Kunpaetku ordered his creation, Astaroth, to find the demonic blade. As he watched Astaroth depart from the shrine, the grand priest laughed to himself as he planned to keep the Soul Edge and become a god for himself. Unknown to Kunpaetku, however, Ares had possessed Astaroth with the spirit of his servant, Ker, to ensure that Kunpaetku would not betray him. When Astaroth finally found Soul Edge, it had lost half of itself during the battle with Sophitia Alexandra. Deciding that Ares would not be pleased with the sword in this condition, he agreed to help the azure knight, Nightmare, build its power by collecting souls by slaughtering countless victims. As Astaroth was finally ready to betray Nightmare and take the Soul Edge from him, Kilik, Xianghua and Maxi, stormed Ostrheinsburg Castle; and Astaroth was killed by Maxi. Four years later, signs of Soul Edge began to reemerge, and Ares resurrected Astaroth in an attempt to retrieve the evil blade once again. This time, though, his body had been infused with shards of the Soul Edge, making him more powerful and ruthless than ever before.
Astaroth had set out on the trail for the evil blade, but a problem arose. The grand priest Kunpaetku had realized his golem was not behaving as originally instructed--that another force now claimed ownership over Astaroth since his initial creation. In order to reclaim Astaroth as his servant, Kunpaetku performed a ritual on the lowest level of the cult's temple and unleashed a powerful curse on him. But Astaroth fought back against the curse, for he had become an ideal host for Ker, because of the fragments of Soul Edge he had taken in during his resurrection. He would destroy anyone who stood in his way, and now the cult had become nothing more than an obstacle in his path. Astaroth entered the temple to destroy the cult once and for all, and his whirlwind of destruction mowed down everything in his path. The curse had only fueled him with anger, and he was determined to destroy anything and everything he saw. The temple of the heretics had become a crucible of chaos. Astaroth pursued Kunpaetku into the deepest part of the temple, but the grand priest managed to escape at the last minute. Only the words the priest left behind remained, telling him that he was nothing more than a failed doll modeled after a mere human. Astaroth immediately stopped in his tracks, distracted with this newfound horrible knowledge, and began to search the temple's archives for his roots. He had been made in the image of a man called only by the name "White Giant." Astaroth destroyed the facility in which Kunpaetku's ritual had been performed, and his curse faded such that he regained his true strength. He then proceeded to destroy the temple completely until it became unrecognizable debris, and nothing was left but chaos and rubble. Fygul Cestemus had been wiped from history by the very being that they themselves had created. Astaroth stood within the ruined temple, quietly thinking to himself. If the "White Giant" he had been modeled after was as powerful as himself, then that man must surely be the greatest soul on earth, the perfect nourishment to resurrect the Soul Edge back to its full power. But perhaps Astaroth himself did not realize his own hidden desire to destroy the "White Giant"--to make himself a complete creature, unique without any model. The golem set out, his new objective set, disappearing into the mirages in the distance. Behind him was only a column of smoke rising from a ruinous wasteland; in front of him somewhere was the perfect soul.
[edit] Weapons
Kulutues
A giant axe created by Kunpaetku, the Grand Priest of the heretical order Fygul Cestemus. He used various incantations to create the axe, which Astaroth took in his quest to find Soul Edge. It is said if anyone not part of the cult is to take this weapon, the blessings used to create it will act as a curse. In the ancient language of the sect, Kulutues means "Merciless Destroyer". Kulutues is Astaroth's preferred weapon, and has no special effects.
Soul Edge (Giant Axe Model)
Because of his evil personality, Astaroth is worthy enough to use Sou Edge. It appears as a Zweihander when it unveils itself, but quickly takes the form of a Giant Axe. It gives Astaroth strength, and also increases its reach making it a more useful weapon. However, it drains the wielder's health (a side-effect of losing their life to Soul Edge) but the wielder can recover his/her strength with any connecting attack by using half of the damage dealt to the opponent. Astaroth is also one of the six Main Characters to use Soul Edge as their Ultimate weapon.
[edit] Stages
-- Palgaea Shrine (SC)
This shrine is an underground construction for the great god of destruction. It seems to be near a volcano since the grand hall is always filled with lava. In the center, stands a triangle shaped alter where the grand priest "kymm mrl py eltzk" (Kunpaetku) performs various ceremonies. This is also the place of Astaroth's creation and birth. The material of construction remains unknown, but by observing the surrounding statues vomiting lava one would think heat was the source of life. No one knows if the original materials were formed of evil magic or human hands.
(Note: Known as The Evil Shrine on the Arcade version)
-- Palgaea Shrine - Lowest Level (SC2)
The Palgaea Shrine is the headquarters of the sinister cult that birthed Astaroth. As a result of the over thousand year-old practice of building a new temple on top of the old, the lowest level was forgotten about until the entrance was rediscovered coincidentally a few years ago. The statue found in the lowest level was that of a long-forgotten God of rebirth. The cult is studying the lowest level in order to decrypt its secrets to gain the power of rebirth.
-- Kunpaetku Shrine Ruin (SC3)
Beneath an unknown desert existed a cult that worshiped a God of destruction named Palgaea. Their temple, long used in secret activities throughout history, is now nothing more than a crumbled ruin. The grand priest Kunpaetku, while foolishly attempting to obtain the power of a God, received an oracle and created Astaroth. Astaroth then destroyed the temple. That golem's true master was not its creator, the grand priest, but the God of destruction, Palgaea. The God, known as Ares to the Greeks, was filled with anger. The God's anger exploded, and only a very select few managed to escape. The bizarre statue that bore witness to these events stands silently, showing only its crumbled form to those who visit this ruin...
[edit] Character Analysis
In Soul Calibur, Astaroth is the strongest character in the game, though he's also the slowest. His range is comparable to that of Ivy, but he has more solid and reliable moves when in far ranges. Still, Astaroth lacks in guaranteed juggling attacks, dexterity and speed (both on movement and attacks); and he also suffers, because of his size, against complicate and high-damaging juggles that wouldn't work on normal-sized characters. Astaroth's strength on strikes and throw range makes for a hard opponent at either long or close combat.
In Soul Calibur II, Astaroth is considered a lower-mid tier character. His strengths include a huge "step" and a powerful wake up game, which complements his top-three throw game (along with Yoshimitsu and Ivy). However, due to the game's mechanics, Astaroth's large girth allows combos that are not normally guaranteed to be used on him. In addition, Astaroth has slow foot speed and slow attacks. His more rapid attacks are typically linear and easy to step.
Astaroth's trademark move is his Poseidon Tide. If Astaroth's axe connects on the initial hit, the move shifts into an "attack throw" which will take off 1/3 of the opponent's life. Astaroth can control the number of spins and his movement while performing this move.
Astaroth's versatile throw game certainly deserves mention. His two command throws both have 8-frame breaks (0.133 seconds). One has a simple follow up that, when combined, make it the most damaging throw in its class. In addition, he also has throws for crouching opponents, throws for grounded opponents, and an air throw, which can catch opponents when they are in the middle of their moves.
Astaroth's game was weakened by the discovery of 2-guard following successful Guard Impacts (GI), which allowed opponents to immediately guard after being GIed. Before this discovery, Astaroth's vulnerability to pressure games by opponents could have been negated somewhat by a successful Guard Impact, which would force the opponent into a guessing game. With the advent of 2G, however, the opponent could negate many aspects of Astaroth's post-GI game, forcing him to rely on throws and lows.
Despite this, in Soul Calibur III, Astaroth is now largely believed to be top tier; however, some argue that this tier placement is due solely to the VC glitch, as it can be utilized to eliminate the risks of his more useful attacks, all of which are extremely powerful. Without it, these people say, Astaroth is still no better than lower-mid tier.
[edit] Trivia
- Astaroth is the name of the Duke of Hell according to the Ars Goetia. It also comes from the Hebrew pronunciation of the Northwest Semitic goddess Astarte (translated Ashtareth).
- Astaroth appears in Namco's Pac Man Fever as a playable character.
- In the ancient language of Fygul Cestemus, Astaroth's name means "A Creature Resembling a New Human Being" and his fighting style ("Gyulkus") means "The Way of Defense".
- Astaroth is part of one of the Dreamcast's VMU mini-games, called "Cannon Dare". In it the player must shoot Astaroth out of a cannon guessing which fuse is the correct.
- Astaroth's nickname in Soul Calibur is "A Soldier of the Heretics". He's also called story-wise "The Black Giant". The introduction of his stage in Soul Calibur III refers to him as "The Warrior of Carnage".
- In Soul Calibur and Soul Calibur II, Astaroth's Destined Battle is Maxi. In Soul Calibur III his Destined Battle is Rock.
- In Soul Calibur III, Astaroth's weapons and fighting style are available under the discipline Soul of Astaroth to characters created under the Barbarian class.
