Nightmare (Soul Calibur)
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| Nightmare | |
|---|---|
 Nightmare as he will appear in Soulcalibur IV |
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| Game series | Soul series |
| First game | Soul Edge |
| Voiced by (English) | Ted D' Agostino (Soulcalibur II) Patrick Ryan (Soulcalibur III) |
| Voiced by (Japanese) | Nobuyuki Hiyama Fumihiko Tachiki (Soulcalibur III) Kosei Hirota (Soulcalibur Legends) |
| Information | |
| Age | unknown |
| Birthdate | Unknown |
| Blood type | AB |
| Weapon | Soul Edge |
| Weapon name | Soul Edge (Soulcalibur, Soulcalibur II, & Soulcalibur IV) Soul Edge (Phantom) (Soulcalibur III) |
| Fighting style | self-taught, styles memorized by Soul Edge |
| Family | No Family Servant, Tira Former host, Siegfried |
Nightmare (ナイトメア Naitomea?) is a fictional character designed for the Soul Series of fighting games. His first appearance was in one of the possible endings for the Siegfried character in the game Soul Edge. In the sequel "Soulcalibur", he was given a name and featured as a central character. Ever since then, Nightmare has been the main antagonist and owner of the Soul Edge, and thus the objective of most other characters in the story. He has appeared in every game in the series.
Nightmare was created as the alter ego of Soul Blade character Siegfried Schtauffen when the latter got hold of Soul Edge and was consumed by the sword's will. Nightmare has been portrayed in the games as a violent and ruthless character, always in search of souls to restore Soul Edge. He looks down on humans, considering them "pathetic", and has no reservations about killing them, an attitude that even extends to those who serve him (as shown in his Tales of Souls path, he considers killing Tira eventually). Nightmare's Tales of Souls also shows that he doesn't need to either eat or drink to survive, since when he reaches the Labyrinth he's not carrying food provisions like the other characters.
Nightmare has been present in all the sequels to Soulcalibur. He first becomes an entity separated from Siegfried in Soulcalibur III, receiving a striking makeover to his appearance and fighting style. In Soulcalibur IV, he receives another visual makeover.
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[edit] Background Story
Even though Nightmare originally debuted on Soul Calibur, there was a prototype of his character in the predecessor, Soul Edge. In the home version, an extra character named "Siegfried!" was added as an unlockable character. "Siegfried!" was an alternate version of normal Siegfried taken from his no-input ending, where he was consumed by Soul Edge. This early version was much different from the former Nightmare, having crimson-red armor and a more flesh-like design, almost as if he were part of Soul Edge itself. He has no story nor ending, and only used Siegfried's Soul Edge without effects.
In Soul Calibur, the concept was expanded and turned into an official character, though with changes to the design. His red armor was changed to a blue armor (earning him the nickname "Azure Knight") and its design turned more metallic instead of flesh. He now wielded his own version of Soul Edge, now sporting a single eye on its center. This version later became its official true form.
Nightmare was a starting character and his style resembled Siegfried's former style upgraded. Siegfried was later added to the cast as a time-release character, and inherited the same style with minor changes and speed/weight differences. Nightmare's profile in the game explained how Siegfried obtained Soul Edge after a fierce fight against its former owner, Cervantes, and the flame hellspawn that spawned within it afterwards, Inferno. After that, the sword spoke to him, promising the resurrection of his dead father if he helped it gather souls. Unaware that it was a trick of the sword to restore his power, Siegfried agreed and started a killing spree which eventually drove him to be fully possessed, taking the name Nightmare and spreading chaos in the lands.
Nightmare's incarnation in Soul Calibur II remains mostly the same, with minimal changes to his fighting style. Siegfried is no longer a separate character, rather, an alternate and unlockable costume for Nightmare. Story-wise, as his (and other characters') profile explains, he formed a group with the characters Astaroth, Ivy and Lizardman in an attempt to speed the souls gathering and restore the sword's power. But during the ritual to restore Soul Edge his castle, Osthreinsburg, was assaulted by Kilik, Maxi and Xianghua. With his allies either defeated or missing, he confronted Kilik and Xianghua and was ultimately defeated, later falling into the collapsing void where they fought. After waking up, Siegfried regained his senses and tried to distance himself from the world to atone for the sins he committed and the death of his father (which he realized was his doing). But the sword slowly regained control over him, and eventually Nightmare resurfaced to start another massacre in Europe.
In Soul Calibur III, Nightmare went through a big change. His original fighting style was split between him and Siegfried, who were now two individual characters. While Siegfried's style resembled the old Nightmare almost completely, the new Nightmare was given a rather different playstyle -- one that was quicker and with fewer stances than his old self. He also changed story-wise, since it was the first time that he received his own body and wasn't using another character's body as a host. Nightmare, alongside Siegfried, remain starting characters and two of the main characters around which the story in Tales of Souls revolves, as every character searches for rumors and traces of either or both of them. They also possess their own event during the last chapters of the mode, where both have a short fight in which the player later confronts the winner. His fighting style and weapon selection is available to use in the Character Creation mode (under the name Soul of Nightmare) to characters created under the "Barbarian" class.
According to the in-game profiles, Nightmare met with Raphael in the chapel of Osthreinsburg and, after a battle, defeated him. As he stepped to eliminate him, Siegfried's mind started to struggle for freedom. Raphael, watching as Nightmare stood motionless as result of the mind struggle, released an attack and pierced Soul Edge's eye. This allowed Siegfried to regain his body and also released Soul Calibur from within the sword. Siegfried then drove the holy sword into the cursed Soul Edge and sealed both, though Inferno, the sword's demonic "spirit" or "will", escaped before it could be sealed and entered into the armor that Siegfried discarded after reclaiming his body. A time later, Zasalamel found the armor and gave the sword's spirit a spare host to walk again. Nightmare restarted his reign of terror in search of Siegfried and Soul Edge, as well as a new host body since the one he has is an unstable shell.
In Soulcalibur IV, Nightmare has evidently regained Soul Edge, but his armor is apparently deteriorating, as the "mouth" across his chest has opened up and his upper and lower torsos are completely separated, joined only by purple smoke. He also sports a smoke-like version of his SC2 hair.
Its also interesting to note that the SoulCalibur IV version of Nightmare resembles Namco's Tekken character Jinpachi Mishima in both his Devil forms, with the "Mouth", the purple "aura/hair" and the horn being the most notable characteristics. Nightmare's "dying scream" that he calls out when he is defeated closely resembles Siegfried's voice.
[edit] Soulcalibur II Ending
"Resist the evil presence!" The dormant soul within him awakened. Sanity regained, he took his sword in hand and vowed to never sleep again as he wandered the lands. Eventually, he came upon a crevasse that ran deep into the earth and cast the sword into its dark abyss. He then destroyed the path leading to the chasm and became its guardian for eternity...
[edit] Soulcalibur III Endings
Nightmare is seen at the top of a tower.
·Input Ending: He dives off and transforms into Night Terror, and kills several guards at the bottom of the tower before flying away.
·No Input Ending: Nightmare dives off the tower, but does not transform into Night Terror. Instead, he kills the guards as Nightmare
[edit] Night Terror
Night Terror (ナイトテラー Naito Terā?) is the secret final boss in Soulcalibur III's Tales of Souls mode. The first time he is won in that mode, both his profile and concept art are unlocked. He also has his own mission in the Missions mode, known as "Final Battle", where the player can confront him without having to go through Tales of Souls. Night Terror has special attributes in in-game combat; for instance, he can't be defeated by ring out. If he is knocked out of the ring, a cut-scene plays in which Night Terror uses his wings to fly back to the arena. He possess moves borrowed from both Nightmare and Siegfried, as well as a few unique ones; he has a flying stance, an unblockable eye-beam projectile and a diving attack executed from the air. He is, by far, the most powerful character that appears in Soulcalibur III, possessing the greatest reach, speed, and power (some of his moves can take off nearly half of a full life bar, his eye beam has the potential to take off even more than half).
Night Terror is created when the energies of both the Soul Edge and Soulcalibur are fused with the remains of Nightmare, which contained Soul Edge's soul, Inferno. In his own profile, Night Terror is strong enough to escape Zasalamel's control and permanently kill him. Night Terror vaguely resembles a red and orange Soulcalibur I-II Nightmare, but both its arms are talons, and it has a tail and flaming yellow wings. Unlike Nightmare, who is capable of speech, Night Terror just roars and growls. Due to his being an optional boss, his status as a canon character is not known, and will remain as such until the sequel is released.
In Soulcalibur III: Arcade Edition, Night Terror remains an unplayable boss character, though this time he appears at random in the arcade's end match, alongside Abyss.
In the PS2 console version of Soulcalibur III, Night Terror is seen when the correct trigger command is done in Nightmare's ending. Rapidly tapping the button indicated turns Nightmare into Night Terror. He slams down amidst several guards and flings them aside, then flies off the scene. Night Terror resembles Ogre due to the ability to shoot beams and fly.
[edit] Gameplay
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This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (June 2008) |
Nightmare has been a very popular character in the series,he is powerful yet slow character,equal to Astaroth,he has speed problems.
Nightmare is famous for his strength but fast players could give Nightmare a beating.
Nightmare seems to have more tricks then Astaroth,but less power and lack of range.
[edit] Weapons
Soul Edge (Male)
- Nightmare's weapon in both Soulcalibur and Soulcalibur II, and the evil sword that is the center of the game's storyline. Its Weapon Gallery profile in Soulcalibur II states that details on the sword change while rumours of its legend spread on the world. It can change forms to accommodate its wielder's fighting style and experience, and it also has the power to control its wielder's mind, guiding him to commit massacres in order to collect souls for the sword to consume. Its single eye, which was added in the design ever since Soulcalibur, is said to appear enraptured when bathed in blood. Night Terror has its own version of the Soul Edge, labeled "Complete". Because there are no weapon descriptions in Soulcalibur III, the reason for this label is unknown. In Soulcalibur IV, Nightmare regains Soul Edge.
Soul Edge (Phantom)
- Nightmare's weapon in Soulcalibur III. It is but a materialization of Nightmare's memories of the original Soul Edge, created from his own body. It has the ability to consume souls, but other than that is just a weaker version of the true Soul Edge. It is created in a similar way to how Charade and Inferno create their own weapons (from their bodies).
[edit] Stages
Ostrheinsburg Castle
- Nightmare's stage in Soulcalibur, as well as Siegfried's original stage from Soul Edge. Osthreinsburg Castle is supposedly found within the forest of Mittelberg now Kleinwalsertal in Germany. It was constructed by a knight known as Sir Stefan (which Siegfried served), and the castle was known as an impregnable fortress. The stage in Soulcalibur are the remains after Stefan was killed during a confrontation. In Soulcalibur II, its chapel serves as Nightmare's stage as well as the Guest Characters for each console. It is also used as the place for all the "Destined Battle" (pre-fixed fights in Arcade).
Lost Cathedral
- Nightmare's stage in Soulcalibur III, shared with Siegfried. A magnificent palace whose location is unknown. It is a palace that contains every form of architecture known to Europe. It is surrounded with eternally-flowing water, stated to be so pure it cleanse those who came to praise. It is both Nightmare and Siegfried's stage in Soulcalibur III. In Tales of Souls mode it serves as the stage for the last showdown, including the Destined Battle, Siegfried/Nightmare and Zasalamel confrontation. A destroyed version later replaces it during Abyss' Boss fight.
Chaos – Spiritual Realm
- Night Terror's stage, it is stated to be a dimension devoid of life, where the wielders of Soul Edge confronts the very soul of the sword. The stage is a circular stone-like arena surrounded by a space-like background, with the sword's eye at the center of the "sky". In the Arcade Edition, Abyss is given this stage as well. Zasalamel fights Abyss here in his "Tales of Souls" mode for the final battle.
[edit] Series' appearances
- Soul Edge: Version II / Soul Blade (Home Versions only as Siegfried Schtauffen's secret costume, "Siegfried!")
- Soulcalibur
- Soulcalibur II
- Soulcalibur III
- Soulcalibur III: Arcade Edition
- Soulcalibur Legends
- Soulcalibur IV
[edit] External links
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