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Isabella
"Ivy" Valentine is a platinum-haired
warrior on a mission to destroy Soul Blade. Her Ivy Blade has the longest
reach of all weapons. It functions as a sword in close combat, and transforms
into a whip for mid and long distance attacks.
Count Valentine, a
practitioner of alchemy, was driven insane by his pursuit for Soul Edge-also
known as the "Key to Eternal Youth." By the time of his death, his efforts
to search for Soul Edge drained his family's fortunes and left one of London's
most distinguished families in ruins. As if to pursue her
husband into death, the Countess fell ill and passed away soon after Count
Valentine's death. This left Ivy as the sole surviving member of the Valentine
family. In reality, Ivy was
not a true Valentine by birth. The Count and Countess found her abandoned
in front of their mansion when she was an infant, and she was taken into
the family as an adopted child. Ivy discovered this secret only after reading
a will left behind by the Countess in her death. But this did not matter
to her, for the Valentines were the only parents she knew.
Obeying the last wishes
of her adoptive father, Ivy continued the search for Soul Edge and studied
alchemy. During this investigation, she uncovered the true nature of the
sword-it was an evil blade that feasted on souls. In order to avenge the
death her father, who was driven insane by the allure of Soul Edge, Ivy
vowed to use all of her knowledge to destroy it. She invoked strange powers
through occult rituals to summon a mysterious individual who gave life
to the whip-like, mechanical sword she dubbed "Ivy Blade."
The sword, which had
a will of its own, accompanied and protected Ivy on her journey to vanquish
Soul Edge. When she crossed paths
with Nightmare, the one who breathed life
into her sword, she agreed to assist him in the "summoning of souls." Little
did she know that it was all part of the evil sword's plans. Ivy realized it was
Nightmare who possessed Soul Edge. She came to this revelation only after
he was defeated and the evil blade was shattered. That meant that the beloved
blade she had forged to destroy Soul Edge had life thanks to the power
of the evil blade. She also learned the secrets of her true lineage. Ivy's birth
father... he
once wielded Soul Edge and was manipulated by its wicked powers!
Shaken by the horrifying
truth, Ivy returned home and locked herself away in a dark laboratory.
She tried countless times to destroy Ivy Blade, which was now a symbol
of her self-hatred and regret. She could not, however, bring herself to
actually break the sword. "I am the same as this sword... Yes, the blood
of the evil blade flows through me. The same blood..." Ivy Blade waited for
its master's orders silently.
After months of soul
searching, Ivy emerged with renewed resolve. Her goal was no longer to
destroy the evil sword, but to completely wipe it out of existence. As
a vow to her commitment, she renamed her sword "Valentine." And when she
acquired information about fragments of Soul Edge being scattered throughout
the world, she immediately departed on her new journey.
Ivy intended to destroy
every fragment of Soul Edge, anyone who carried its tainted bloodline,
and anyone contaminated by its evil. Nothing would stop her from destroying
the root of the evil, even if it meant killing the innocent-there would
be no exceptions. The only thing that mattered was obliterating the evil
sword's existence completely. "Call me a monster, a demon if you must.
I'll be happy to be called those names if it is the price I must pay to
eliminate the existence of the evil blade!!"
This was the beginning
of her long, arduous journey. A journey where she would ultimately have
to destroy herself and all that was related to her. Ivy's adoptive family
name "Valentine" became a symbol of her will to live as a "human" even
though the cursed blood of the demonic blade ran strong within her.
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
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Updated: Dec. 10th, 2023
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How could one not
like Ivy... well, I suppose fighting against her can be a pain sometimes. Ivy's fighting style is one of the most brilliant and awe-inspiring styles ever to appear in a fighting
game, and a lot of that can be attributed to the dynamic animation of the Soul Calibur
series. There's no denying that Ivy is a "sexy" design... but
unlike other "sexualized" female designs in fighting games (DOA for
example), the core of Ivy's design is based around her 100's of amazing moves
(not TNA). Ivy's dominant attitude and personality is clearly-portrayed in the
games, as well.
When I think Ivy, I think about how far fighting game designs have come over the
years. She's truly a "3D" fighting game character in more ways than
one.
Also worth pointing out, is that Ivy's fighting style has evolved drastically from
sequel to sequel. As a pretty accomplished SC2 Ivy player, it was disappointing to see her
style change so much in SC3 and onward. She's still cool in SC3/4/5,
but she lost many of her best stances, transitions, and playstyle nuances. Thankfully, she got
some of those back in SC6! As a design, Ivy is a major and defining part of the Soul Calibur roster.
Ivy is art.
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