Nathaniel "Rock" Adams

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Nathaniel William Adams
Game series	Soul series
First game	Soul Edge
Voice actor(s)	Takashi Nagasako (Soul Edge & Soul Calibur) Minoru Inaba (Soul Calibur III)
In-Universe Information
Age	42
Birthplace	London, England (British Empire at the time) - Raised in the New World
Birthdate	December 14, 1549
Weapon	Battle Ax (Soul Edge & Soul Calibur) Giant Mace (later games)
Weapon name	Apocalypse (Soul Edge & Soul Calibur) Onslaught (later games)
Fighting style	Original Style
Family	Parents, missing (presumed murdered by Cervantes de Leon) Foster Son, Bangoo

Nathaniel "Rock" Adams (ロック・アダムズ　Rokku Adamuzu) is a fictional character designed for the Soul Series of fighting games. Rock made his first appearance in Soul Edge and has returned for Soul Calibur and Soul Calibur III.

1 Biography
2 Weapons
3 Stages
4 Character Analysis
5 Trivia
6 Series' Appearances
7 External links

[edit] Biography

Born the son of Mr. Adams, an English curio dealer specializing in rare weapons, Nathaniel William Adams obtained his nickname, "Rock," because of his immense strength. Rock's father had bid on Soul Edge at a secret auction, and was bringing it home on his ship with family on board when the dread pirate Cervantes de Leon attacked. Rock's father ran to the storage room to hide the Soul Edge, and his mother ran after to stop him, telling Rock to stay where he was until their return; but they never came back, and the ship sank before they even had the chance. Rock washed up on the shore of the New World, where he learned to live off the land as the Natives had been practicing for many centuries before. He tried to join one of the tribes in the area, but they were afraid of the "White Giant," and the only one to befriend him was a young Native boy, Bangoo, whose parents had been taken by tribal warfare. Rock, by this time an adult, became a father figure to Bangoo.

Rock eventually re-learned of the people across the ocean, and faded memories of his parents and the Soul Edge began to resurface in his mind as he gradually recalled his past. He eventually decided that the Soul Edge would be the key to his fully-restored memory and with only his moon axe in hand, Rock set out towards the sea, hoping to cross it and find his destiny. In a battle with the Grecian, Sophitia Alexandra, he fought without conviction. When she halted the battle to ask him why he was hesitant in his attacks, he realized that he was leaving Bangoo to grow up alone and that leaving Bangoo alone was no better than never adopting him at all. He thanked Sophitia for her help and returned to Bangoo in the New World. But one horrible day, the grand priest of the cult order Fygul Cestemus, Kunpaetku, sent out a group of lizard men, lead by Aeon Calcos, to kidnap the Native boy and lure Rock out to steal his soul. Taking the bait out of love for his foster son, Rock set out once again to Europe; but this time his motivation was not related to Soul Edge at all. He searched for a long time and eventually defeated Aeon Calcos in a battle, at the cost of his trusty axe. He saved Bangoo, but never truly discovered for what purpose Kunpaetku had wanted his soul out of all the souls available.

They were free once again, though they didn't return to the New World. Believing the travel at sea would be too much for young Bangoo, Rock decided to wait until he has become older to return. Heading north along the coast, they settled in northern Europe. There, they were greeted by a different and harder environment from that of his home. Rock wished for Bangoo to learn and strengthen himself amidst Mother Nature's limitless knowledge.

During one stormy winter night, Bangoo broke through thin ice while crossing the snowy valley. He fell into a crevice and spent the night with no way to warm himself. When he was rescued by Rock he was exhausted, but the light had not faded from his eyes. Rock asked him if he was frightened of nature, for which he answered that yes, but that he can’t bring himself to hate it. Upon hearing this, Rock felt that Bangoo’s time had finally come. For his rite of passage, Bangoo chose to cross the sea on his own, an act he before couldn't do. Rock saw Bangoo off on his solitary journey with a multitude of emotions in his heart.

Alone once more, Rock thought to himself and finally decided that he wanted to prove that he's worthy of being Bangoo's father. He had once searched Soul Edge without success, but now he would continue the search. In this journey he would reaffirm his strength and will. Without doubts in his heart of who he was, Rock beholds the seas one last time before leaving.

[edit] Weapons

-- Apocalypse

Rock's battle axe. Rock has to fend off wild beasts everyday to protect himself and Bangoo. He wears their fur out of respect for the courageous beast who shared the wilderness with him. The sound of Apocalypse slashing through the air is a clear sign of Rock engaged in a life-or-death struggle. During his battle against Aeon Calcos, Apocalypse was destroyed.

-- Onslaught

Rock's new mace. Nothing is really known of it, except he chose it after his previous weapon, the battle axe Apocalypse, was destroyed. Onslaught is balanced; it has no special effects.

[edit] Stages

-- Unknown Land (SB)

In a savannah located in the New World lie a gigantic crater. In the center of this wide crater is a forest of megaliths of unknown origins. The natives called it "sacred" land, but were afraid to visit this place. Nobody ever comes here normally. Is it a site of power? [1]

-- The Coliseum (SC)

Here stands the remains of an ancient coliseum surrounded by canals. Evidence suggests it was once used at a theater as well as an arena since the royal boxes have epitaphs such as "dedicated by the holder of this grand event". It is estimated this theater can hold twenty thousand guests, which is about the same as the Megalopolis in Greece. The players entered the coliseum by grand boats decorated with gold and silver and the winners were praised atop the altar of sacred fire in the center of the spectator seats.

-- Lakeside Coliseum (SC3)

What is the most primitive, most appalling, yet most exciting sport? The answer lies in ancient Rome. It is the Colosseum, where men bet their lives in combat. On a certain lakeshore exists a secret arena constructed to recreate that world. Men of power who have already exhausted all other luxuries the world has to offer come here to watch men fight for their lives. This place was built in search of this ultimate stimulation. In contrast to the blood-stained madness of the arena, the surrounding landscape is pleasant and peaceful. The surface of the lake calmly reflects sunlight onto the gently swaying trees of the forest... The arena, which has tested the blood of countless warriors, breathes deeply of the clear lakeside air and quietly awaits the signal for the next battle to begin.

[edit] Character Analysis

In Soul Edge/Blade, due to his hard gameplay, Rock could be considered a low/bottom tier character. Rock's weapon gives him a long reach, and he also is the strongest character, with overly damaging horizontals and strong verticals that hit most sidesteppers. His pushback force helps him keep the opponent on the distance most suited for his style. Still, his lack of speed and any decent close attack makes him almost useless at mid and close range. Once an enemy gets out of the range of his weapon, Rock is easily overwhelmed by his slow movements and bigger frame. And to worse the matter, his sidestep is quite bad, making vertical attacks (and even unblockables) harder to avoid.

In Soul Calibur, Rock's main strength lies on his long range (comparable to those of the like of Astaroth and Ivy) and sheer strength; and he also has one of the longest throw reach. Rock has also a unique throw system, which possess double throws and throw cancels that can be followed into different throws, creating many strategic mix-up options. Among his weakness, Rock's height makes certain combos and juggles to hit him more than any normal-sized character, and he also suffers from overall slow movements and lack of juggling moves. Even if Rock's attacks are useful at any distance (short, mid or long), he has most troubles handling opponents up-close, but his range is what make up for his handicaps at close fighting.

In Soul Calibur III, Rock has lost many of his signature strengths from both Soul Calibur and Soul Calibur II (as Berserker). His throw game has been weakened significantly, with the lost of the extra unblockable damage and shortening of reach, making his throw game quite poor compared to past incarnations. His moves has been weakened as well, most of them with less strength or range, and with few safe low pokes; all possibly because of his change of weapon. To get consistent with Rock, one must play a keep-out game based heavily on his range and spacing, as Rock can't fight correctly up-close. Due to all of these changes, while it's not impossible to win with him, Rock is almost universally perceived as a bottom-tier character; many players even consider this incarnation to be the most heavily decremented of any character in the entire series.

[edit] Trivia

Rock's real name is Rock Adams. Nathaniel William is made-up name done by the translator of Soul Edge as there's no appearance of that name in any instances in his Soul Edge Japanese profile nor on any profile of the sequels.
Rock is absent from Soul Calibur II, but Berserker occupies his spot. He uses a style based on Rock's Soul Calibur fighting style, even though he doesn't have any relation with him.
Rock was used as template to create Astaroth.
In Soul Calibur III, Rock's weapons and fighting style are available under the discipline Soul of Rock to characters created under the Gladiator class.
Rock's nickname in Soul Edge is "Reckless Commando", and in Soul Calibur is "The Earthshaker". He also is called story-wise "The White Giant".
Rock's Destined Battle in Soul Calibur is Lizardman. In Soul Calibur III his Destined Battle is Astaroth.