Ivy (Soul Calibur)
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| Isabella "Ivy" Valentine | |
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 Ivy as she appears in Soulcalibur IV |
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| Game series | Soul series |
| First game | Soulcalibur |
| Voiced by (English) | Renee Hewitt (Soulcalibur II) Lani Minella (Soulcalibur III & Soulcalibur Legends) |
| Voiced by (Japanese) | Yumi Tôma Kanako Tôjo (Soulcalibur Legends) |
| Information | |
| Age | 32 |
| Birthplace |  London, England(under Elizabeth I at the time) |
| Birthdate | December 10, 1559 |
| Blood type | Unknown. |
| Weapon | Snake Sword |
| Weapon name | Valentine (named Ivy Blade in SC1) (all games) |
| Fighting style | unknown |
| Family | Adoptive Parents / Deceased Father / Cervantes de León Mother / Deceased |
Isabella "Ivy" Valentine (イザベラ・バレンタイン - アイヴィー Izabera Barentain - Aivī?) - Unblessing Blood - is a fictional character designed for the Soul series of fighting games. She made her first appearance in Soulcalibur and has returned in all the sequels. She will also return in Soulcalibur IV.
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[edit] Background Story
Ivy was raised in the home of the Valentines, prominent nobles in London, England. However, her father, the Count Valentine, died a madman, driven to insanity having squandered the family fortune with his obsession for alchemy in pursuit of the Soul Edge. Soon after the fall of the Valentine family, her mother fell gravely ill and told Ivy, on her deathbed, that she had been found on their doorstep years ago and was adopted. However, Ivy had no interest in finding her biological parents. Ivy eventually learned about her father's search for Soul Edge in his secret diaries and began to follow in his footsteps, thus becoming an alchemist herself. In her research, Ivy had learned that Soul Edge was evil and vowed to destroy it. She succeeded in creating a weapon suited for this purpose through ancient sorcery, but the snake sword was completely devoid of life. She drove herself to great frustration and rage trying to bring life to the "Ivy Blade", but no amount of alchemy or witchcraft would succeed. One night she was able to summon a deformed hand, which breathed life into her sword. During her journey she crossed paths with the Azure Knight, Nightmare, and his companions, the golem Astaroth and Lizardman; discovering that Nightmare was the one who gave life to Ivy Blade. Because of this, she agreed to help them in a ceremony to summon souls, oblivious to the fact that she was part of Soul Edge's plan.
Eventually, she began to feel guilty for taking the lives of innocent people, repulsed that the other members of her group even took joy in it--especially Astaroth. When trying to escape from the group in Ostrheinsburg Castle's underground passage, Astaroth caught up with her, revealing to her that the sword Nightmare was holding had been Soul Edge all along; and the only reason she had been allowed to join their group was that the sword had instructed Nightmare to keep her nearby in case anything would happen to him, so that she might be a spare host for the sword's evil intentions. Astaroth defeated her in battle and was about to murder her when Kilik, Xianghua and Maxi, stormed into the castle; and as he left to deal with them, he commanded his clay golems to finish her off. But she managed to defeat them all, albeit just barely.
In denial of Astaroth's story, she decided to ask Nightmare for the truth directly when Taki confronted her. She attacked Taki in her frustration but was too weary and was defeated again. Taki, familiar with the energy of Soul Edge, affirmed Astaroth's story in telling Ivy that the snake sword had been infused with some of Soul Edge's power; and sensing the evil aura surrounding Ivy's entire being, she proceeded to tell Ivy that the last time she had felt such evil was when she had defeated the previous owner of the evil sword, Cervantes de Leon. Ivy had the blood of evil in her, as she was Cervantes' daughter; and shaken by the horrible truth, Ivy sealed herself away in her laboratory. After four years of soul searching, Ivy returned with a renewed drive to destroy Soul Edge and everything connected to it, including Cervantes and eventually herself. There would be no hope for those seduced by the sword and no cure besides her death. Her resolution would result in spilled blood, both guilty and innocent; but nothing could sway her determination. She renamed her sword which shared her fate, Valentine.
Over the course of her journey, her snake sword began to change. Seeing it becoming more unstable than it had ever been, she returned to Valentine Mansion to investigate. On her way back, she stopped at an academic city in England to buy texts and books of secret arts from around the world; and she read over them extensively upon her return, especially one volume that was of particular interest to her. It was much older than the other books, and contained detailed descriptions and accounts regarding the nature and origin of the Soul Edge. This was the deepest information written about the sword she had ever known. But within the texts she learned of a second spirit sword, the holy blade Soulcalibur, which restrained the power of the evil sword and lent its power to fight against it. The story was hard to believe to her, but the description was so precise that she eventually accepted it as truth.
After a month of work, she had managed to decipher every single detail concerning the Soulcalibur's description, and was totally convinced it existed. She fell into a hypnotic state of thought, interrupted by the sound of the laboratory door opening. Startled, she looked to the entrance, where an enigmatic dark-skinned man was standing. She firmly demanded his identification, but he quietly answered her only with another question as to whether or not she had read the book. Ivy grabbed the book and, taking her distance, drew her weapon. From seemingly nowhere, the man had produced a large scythe. They began their fierce combat immediately, each deflecting every deadly strike that the other had produced. But her sword's instability began to show itself, leaving a slight opening in her defense; and she was struck down with a heavy blow. She managed to regain her distance, but the book was no longer in her hand. The man had picked it up, calling it a mistake from his past, and then proceeded to set it on fire. He dropped the burning book on the floor, and the flames spread with unusual fervor, separating her from him. As he turned to leave, she called for him to stop. He only turned around to tell her that if she wished to know everything about the swords, she must seek out the knight she knows so well; and the enigma known as Zasalamel disappeared behind the curtain of flames. Ivy put out the fire and thought over the information she had read on the Soulcalibur, now etched permanently into her memory. With such power, she may be able to destroy the Soul Edge once and for all, and her own snake sword's instability may be explained. She cursed the man for how he treated her, but strangely felt that everything he had said was true. Ivy was determined to find the truth. If the Soulcalibur existed, she would obtain it for herself.
Ivy's father has been revealed to be Cervantes. Her mother, according to the Whole World of Soulcalibur section on the old Soul Archive site, is the daughter of the owner of the Black Tail Inn (Cervantes' hideout during his pirate days). Cervantes had raped Ivy's mother at Soul Edge's will in order to gain another host.
Despite having Cervantes as her father, Ivy's birthplace on her Namco official biography is always listed as London, British Empire, meaning she was born in England. Her mother (mentioned above) is therefore likely to have been an English woman who left baby Ivy on the doorstep of the Valentine Mansion.
[edit] Soulcalibur III endings
Ivy is about to destroy the Soul Edge when all of a sudden she is grabbed by a ghostly image of herself that then attempts to make her grab the sword.
- Input: She breaks free of the ghost's hold, and destroys both the ghost and Soul Edge in one spinning blow.
- No Input: She is forced to grab the sword's handle, kneeling and crying as she cannot destroy it.
[edit] Default costumes
[edit] Gameplay
Ivy is universally considered to be one of the the most versatile, albeit difficult to master, characters in the series. While Ivy is frequently used by beginners because of her appealing style (and thus misused), a player willing to devote the time to mastering her nuances will pose a threat to any opponent. Her weapon's ability to fluctuate in length makes Ivy a competent character at any distance, and when coupled with her high overall damage, Ivy can quickly dispatch unexperienced opponents. Fast opponents have little if any advantage over Ivy, as her close-range poke and stun lineup is adequate to contend with aggressive speed players. Long and medium-range opponents are usually outclassed by Ivy's speed, so trying to back up and play cautiously is also a risky tactic.
[edit] Weapons
- Valentine (Ivy Blade)
A snake sword with the ability to expand and contract at will. Ivy performed extensive research to find a suitable weapon to aid in her quest to destroy Soul Edge. She based her design on an Asian multi-segmented whip. The first attempts were mechanical whips, based on mechanical principles, but she rejected those ideas and began using black magic to create the perfect weapon. She summoned the hand of Nightmare to give life to "Ivy Blade", but she was ignorant that this power was from Soul Edge, the same power she sought to destroy. After she found out her blood and weapon were also linked with the wicked sword, she changed her weapon's name to "Valentine".
[edit] Stages
-- Valentine Mansion (SC) With his vast wealth from the profit of trades Count Valentine used his fortune and lifeline of personal contacts to built his great mansion. It was designed to be purely modern and the near daily parties held in the ballroom and its expensive rose marble floors were proof of the Valentine's prosperity. However the Valentine's eventually fell into ruin as Count Valentine was possessed by the mysteries of Soul Edge. He did anything to obtain the sword and scattered his wealth. The Valentine's fortune vanished, the cheerful laughter from the grand halls disappeared and the servants and maids left. What came into Isabella's mind as she stood in the dark and empty room?
This crypt lies underneath the old ruins that house the murals surrounding Soul Edge. The ruins have many mysteries, such as the Pharaoh's tomb, shrine of worship, and a seal to lock away some evil being, but the true goals of these structures remain unknown. One thing is certain, however--the entire structure, including the shrine at the entrance, was created using the very best technology available to ancient Egypt. It is clear that these ruins were of vital importance. Future generations have named this place "Crypt" out of convenience, but this structure has few features that warrant such a name.
-- Valentine Mansion (SC3)
The mansion of Count Valentine appears dark and abandoned, but a light flickers in one corner of the building. Ivy, adopted daughter of the late Count, now uses it as an alchemic workshop and a place for her experiments with magic. The Count had pursued Soul Edge as the key to immortality, but his daughter ascertained that what her father had sought was an evil sword that devoured souls. She swore to destroy it, and in this place the peculiar weapon dubbed the "Ivy Blade" was born. And now, having learned of the existence of a sword that opposes Soul Edge, Ivy has holed up in her room. There, she pores over her books, making use of all of her knowledge to research the spirit sword, Soulcalibur. Surely it will not be long before she sets out on a journey in search of further knowledge.
[edit] Trivia
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- Ivy's English adopted father is incorrectly referred to as "Count" Valentine. The title of Count has never been used in the British aristocracy, and a British aristocrat with a corresponding status to a Count would be called an Earl (i.e. Earl Valentine). The title of Countess, however is the correct title given to the wife of an Earl - so Earl and Countess Valentine is their correct form of address.
- Ivy's strange weapon is based on the traditional Chinese seven-section staff, more commonly known as a "chain whip". This sword shares a strong resemblance to weapon prominently displayed in the Jimmy Wang Yu movie, "Blood of the Ninja". Renji Abarai from the manga and anime Bleach wields a zanpakuto, Zabimaru, whose release state bears a resemblance as well. Also, the game Eve of Extinction contains a similar weapon. The game Onimusha 3 contains a weapon for Jacques Blanc called "Enja" that has similar extension properties but also is aligned with the fire element and gives the user control over the element.
- Some versions of the original Soulcalibur arcade game censored Ivy's 1P costume by covering her bare skin with a lavender bodysuit because of how revealing the original suit was.
- Ivy is the oldest female character.
- In Soulcalibur III, Ivy's weapons and fighting style are available under the discipline Soul of Ivy to characters created under the Pirate class, in reference to her father.
- Ivy's Destined Battle from Soulcalibur to Soulcalibur III is Cervantes. Alternatively, if Cervantes isn't unlocked in Soulcalibur, her Destined Battle is Taki. Also, Ivy is the Destined Battle of Custom characters with a 'Wind' alignment (in Quick Play).
- Ivy is the second to use a sword that turns into a whip in a video game while Janne D'Arc, from ADK's World Heroes series, was the 'first' to use one before her.
- As Ivy is an English character, her amoured shoulder pauldron incorporates the Tudor Rose symbol. The Tudor rose (sometimes called the English Rose) is a traditional heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the Tudor dynasty (under Elizabeth I at the time).
- On the official website, Ivy was attacked and drained of her soul by Cervantes. However, she was able to keep alive by using a temporary soul.
[edit] Series' appearances
- Soulcalibur
- Soulcalibur II
- Soulcalibur III
- Soulcalibur III: Arcade Edition
- Soulcalibur Legends
- Soulcalibur IV
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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