Soulcalibur Legends is an action-adventure spin-off of the Soul Series, developed by Project Soul and released for the Nintendo Wii in 2007. Notable in that it is the first non-fighting game of the series, the game is set in between the events of Soul Edge/Blade and Soulcalibur, chronicling Siegfried's early adventures as the host of Soul Edge prior to his transformation into Nightmare.
Playable characters include Siegfried Schtauffen, Ivy Valentine, Sophitia Alexandra, Astaroth α,note Mitsurugi, and Taki; with Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia as a Guest Fighter.
The game was met with a mostly-negative reception, citing issues with the Wii Remote's controls and the narrative not meshing well with the rest of the series, and sold the poorest out of any game in the series; leading to it being declared non-canon by Project Soul. A manga adaptation was published by Kerokero Ace in 2008, but was mostly comedic in tone.
The game has examples of the following tropes:
- Alchemy Is Magic: Iska studied alchemy under the great Paracelsus in Basel, stealing his notes on how to make homunculi and creating a doppelgänger of his dead sister.
- Anti-Hero: Siegfried starts off an aloof mercenary and not interested in helping fight Sultan Barbaros until the Masked Emperor guilt-trips him by pointing out that his father gave his life serving the Holy Roman Empire, and that by not serving in his stead Siegfried would be tarnishing his legacy — even then, he's only interested in obtaining the shards of Soul Edge. He slowly develops into a Knight in Sour Armor and becomes The Atoner after remembering he killed his own father.
- Artistic License – History: Real world historical figures Leonardo da Vinci, Theophrastus von Hohenheim, and Hayreddin Barbarossa
(called "Sultan Barbaros" here) are present in Soulcalibur Legends' story, but had passed away in 1519, 1541, and 1546, decades prior to its setting of 1583. The former two at least have some Hand Wave by mention of them being alchemists who have found life prolonging elixirs and having themselves hidden from the rest of the world after their "deaths", but nothing is stated as to how Barbaros is still present. - Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: In this case, Leonardo da Vinci and Paracelsus are alchemists who created super powerful enchanted weapons to kill dragons and other supernatural beings.
- Bittersweet Ending: Siegfried defeats Iska and retrieves Soul Edge, stopping his plans at World Domination. However thousands have died in the war that was ultimately All for Nothing. Also, despite being presented by constant warnings of Soul Edge's corruptive powers and what it might do to him, Siegfried eventually succumbs to it and becomes Nightmare anyway. The one saving grace is that we know he will not stay that way forever.
- Calling Your Attacks: Lloyd does this just like in his home game. It's even lampshaded how silly it is in an optional conversation with Iska.
- Canon Discontinuity: Owing to its poor reception and sales figures, Project Soul labelled Legends non-canon to the main series, though Soulcalibur VI included a few Discontinuity Nods and Canon Immigrants.
- Canon Foreigner: The Masked Emperor, Iska Farkas, Bernd, Michael, Joachim, Leonardo, Paracelsus, Barbara, Geki, Maki, Fafnir, and Sultan Barbaros were created exclusively for and only appear in this game... up until Geki, Maki, and a female version of Iska reappeared in Soulcalibur VI.
- Continuity Nod:
- Soul Edge's appearance when Siegfried first claims it — Soul Edge α — is based off Soul Edge (Cocoon), Siegfried's version of Soul Edge in Soul Blade , which reappeared as Nightmare's default Player 2 weapon in Soulcalibur II and an unlockable weapon in Soulcalibur III; and its powered-up form — Soul Edge Ω — is based off Nightmare's default Player 2 weapon in Soulcalibur III.
- Requiem's appearance is based on the Player 2 variant in Soulcalibur III.
- When Siegfried tries to reject Soul Edge, Inferno manifests as Nightmare as a nod to Soulcalibur III, and even appears largely identical to how he did in III.
- The epilogue showing Siegfried having succumbed to Soul Edge and become Nightmare is based on the end cutscene of Siegfried's arcade mode in Soul Edge/Blade.
- The Corruption: Soul Edge's power transforms humans and animals into monsters called Evils — referred to in later games as Malfested. Soul Calibur also transforms Sultan Barbaros from a human into a massive fiery giant.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Iska tells Siegfried that his hometown — Buda, Hungary — was conquered by Sultan Barbaros when he first rose to power, his beloved sister captured and presumed dead, and that everyone who helped him eventually used and betrayed him.
- Dem Bones: One of the most common enemies are skeletons reanimated by Soul Edge's power.
- Disk-One Final Boss: Sultan Barbaros — the leader of a band of thieves who had claimed Soul Calibur, usurped control of the Ottoman Empire, and transformed into a monstrous giant — is framed as the final boss. He's only the boss of Act 1, with the Masked Emperor betraying Siegfried after he is defeated and Iska Farkas being the true final boss.
- Draconic Abomination: Fafnir is a draconic monster touted as the source of all dragon myths and the progenitor of all lesser dragons. Slain by the legendary hero Sigmund, he is resurrected as a Malfested by Soul Edge's Evil Seed — making him one of the bosses Siegfried must defeat.
- Enemy Mine: Mitsurugi was hired as a mercenary by the Leone d'Oro — corrupt merchants-turned-bandits — but after being defeated deems Siegfried a Worthy Opponent and decides to travel with him until he's strong enough to pay back his loss.
- Evil All Along: After Sultan Barbaros is defeated, the Masked Emperor claims Soul Calibur for herself and attacks Siegfried, declaring her intent to take Soul Edge and conquer the world. Towards the end of the game, it's revealed that she is a homunculus created by Iska in the form of his twin sister, who was killed by Sultan Barbaros; and that Iska was manipulating Siegfried all along in order to claim both Soul Edge and Soul Calibur, intending to use them to remake the world into one where his sister was still alive.
- Evil Weapon: Soul Edge is a sentient demonic sword made of flesh, bone, and metal. It corrupts its wielder and those exposed to its power into monsters called Evils — later referred to as Malfested — and consumes the souls of its victims to grow more powerful.
- From Zero to Hero: The first arc of the game's story involves Siegfried going from a lowly mercenary — disparaged by the soldiers of the Imperial Army — to a decorated knight in the service of the Holy Roman Emperor.
- Fuuma Shuriken: The ninja enemies can throw massive shuriken made of yellow energy.
- Ghost Pirate: The undead pirate Cervantes de Leon is fought as the game's first boss, having been killed by Taki but reanimated by the power of Soul Edge. He warns Siegfried about the dangers of wielding Soul Edge, but is ignored.
- Guest Fighter: Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia is featured as the game's sole guest character.
- Heel–Face Turn:
- Astaroth α is fought in Chapter 2, then recruited into the party once Iska posits he could prove a valuable ally.
- Barbara is the leader of the Leone d'Oro bandits and is initially hostile towards the Empire, but switches sides the moment she hears they're aiming to take down Barbaros.
- Historical Domain Character:
- Leonardo da Vinci is reimagined as a famous alchemist, with Iska sending Siegfried and Ivy to the Zenon Mansion in order to recruit him to build a weapon capable of slaying Fafnir.
- Paracelsus is portrayed as a student of Leonardo's, and Iska's former teacher.
- Legendary Weapon:
- Soul Edge and Soul Calibur are a pair of extremely powerful supernatural weapons that possess reality-breaking abilities and can turn their wielders into monsters.
- Requiem — Siegfried's main weapon when playable as a separate character from Nightmare in the rest of the series — is revealed to be a mystical blade once used to slay the dragon Fafnir.
- Lizard Folk: The Lizardmen created by Fygul Cestemus show up as enemies, wielding a shield and axe combo and being capable of breathing blue flames.
- "Not So Different" Remark: After it's discovered that Barbaros used to be the leader of the Leon d'Oro bandits before discovering Soul Calibur and being consumed by its power, Iska observes that he and Siegfried have much in common.
- Painted-On Pants: Taki wears a red bodysuit so form-fitting that her nipples are visible through it in her portrait artwork.
- Protagonist Journey to Villain: The game was touted as one telling how Siegfried Schtauffen became Nightmare the Azure Knight, but this only happens in the game's epilogue.
- Pyramid Power: One of the levels is a booby-trapped ancient Egyptian pyramid belonging to the Pharoah Ammon, one of the Guardians protecting a shard of Soul Edge.
- Spell Blade:
- Siegfried is capable of wreathing his sword in a vortex of wind.
- One of Sophitia's attacks wreathes her sword in an aura of holy light.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Siegfried and Ivy don't get along with each other, with Ivy disparaging Siegfried as a mere boy and declaring her intent to take Soul Edge from him. Sophitia is also disquieted by Siegfried wielding Soul Edge and voices her intent to destroy it after Barbaros is defeated. Leonardo lampshades this during the hunt for the fourth shard of Soul Edge, asking if they'll just turn on each other after Barbaros is dealt with.
- Unsettling Gender-Reveal: Siegfried and Ivy are shocked to discover that the Masked Emperor is secretly a woman due to her having dressed in a figure-concealing suit of armor and full-face mask, and Iska referring to her with masculine pronouns in order to keep it from getting out.
- Was Once a Man: Sultan Barbaros was transformed into a fiery giant by the power of Soul Calibur, while the ninja Geki and Maki were transformed into Evils by the power of the shards of Soul Edge they possess.
- Wrecked Weapon: Soul Edge starts off the game as one, with one-half of itself having been shattered by Sophitia Alexandra and the pieces scattered around the world. Siegfried is tasked with gathering the shards so that he can defeat Sultan Barbaros, as only Soul Edge can oppose the power of Soul Calibur.
