- "You don't know the power of the dark side."
- — Darth Vader
Darth Vader (ダース・ベイダー Daasu Beidaa) (Real name: Anakin Skywalker) is a guest character from the Star Wars franchise, exclusive to Soulcalibur IV on the PlayStation 3. However, he later became available to download on the Xbox 360 version.
One of Vader's special abilities is the ability to use Force moves with the help of a Force meter. When this meter is depleted, he can still use Force powers, but he is momentarily stunned.
What lies in his soul is Fear.
Appearance
Vader's appearance is of legendary and fearful stature. He appears as a very tall man in his mid years. From head to toe, he is covered in heavy black armor and kevlar fabric and a flowing drape, the helmet which features a skull theme and covers his entire face while also acting as his breathing apparatus after the lava flow of Mustafar nearly killed him from third degree burns in his battle with his former Jedi master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. The former Jedi is completed by an emboding dark cape held together by a chain.
Story
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
During a battle between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance, Darth Vader, Dark Lord and right-hand of Emperor Palpatine, sensed a faint ripple of power. It was a very small sensation, but he did not dismiss it, and began an investigation in secret.
The ripple came from a disturbance that sporadically appeared in one specific region of space. As time passed, the frequency of the disturbance, as well as the strength of its effect, increased. It soon became a constant distortion, and others began to realize that something strange was happening in the universe as well.
However, because Darth Vader had been observing the phenomenon from the start, he already knew the cause of the distortion. A being from a different dimension was attempting to open a portal into their universe. Various data indicated that a massive power lay at the core of the disturbance. Could this unknown power be utilized?
With that possibility in mind, Darth Vader arranged for the securing of the area of space where the distortion existed, and received a report that a dimensional portal had opened. After waiting for conditions to stabilize, Darth Vader proceeded forward into another galaxy.
He searched for the origins of the wave of power and arrived at a planet. The planet was in considerable turmoil, the cause of which was two swords: two forces with opposite natures. The conflicting nature of the dissonant forces resonated off of one another and created massive waves of power. But swords were not their true form—they were beings that best could be described as convergent energy forms.
Darth Vader had not a doubt in his mind. He would be able to wield these forces -- Soul Calibur and Soul Edge—as he wished. Once they were in his hands, these two contrasting swords would enable him to rule the galaxy.
Soulcalibur IV Ending
Darth Vader kills Algol and obtains Soul Edge and Soul Calibur. With both swords in his possession, Vader returns to his galaxy.
A text-epilogue then appears, stating that the power that had been found at the furthest reaches of space brought the fear of the Empire to a new level.
Fighting Style
Darth Vader is a master of the lightsaber fighting style of Djem So. He has slightly slower attacks than other characters, that are focused on dealing damage. He is best played as a defensive attacker who capitalizes aggressively on the opponent's mistakes. His Force Eruption (or Force Cannon) can be chained from different combos, including the Imperial Buster (Imperial Storm if ending with Force Eruption) and Dark Launcher. Vader's Force Parry can end with either a guard-breaking horizontal slash, or an unblockable vertical attack. The Force Hang is another offensive technique where Vader uses the Force to pick his opponent up, allowing Vader to attack the helpless opponent. One of Vader's useful Force-based attacks is the Dark Vortex, which is an extremely fast series of guard-breaking attacks that will always end up penetrating the opponents guard. A lot of his force attacks are fairly easy to learn and execute in battle, and don't take up too much energy. However, some of his drawbacks include his more effective combos being difficult to learn and his lack of fast low attacks. He is considered by the tournament community as a relatively high tier character largely due to his ring out potential.
Critical Finish
The Empire's Wrath: He chokes his opponent with the Force, and hauls them up. He then throws his lightsaber at them, using the Force to control it and make it spin rapidly. For the final strike, he blasts his lightsaber at the opponent with a powerful strike.
Against Yoda, Vader has a completely different Critical Finish. Vader knocks Yoda unconscious and then finishes him off with a Force eruption.
Quotes
Soulcalibur IV
- You are powerful, but now you must be destroyed.
- Do not resist.
- You underestimated the power of the dark side.
- Unwise.
- Your powers are weak. — To Revenent
- You don't know the power of the dark side.
- I sense from you the dark side of the force. — To Nightmare
- Indeed you are powerful. --- to Algol
- Don't underestimate the power of the Force. — To Mitsurgi (in Story Mode)
- There is no escape.
- It is useless to resist.
- You are weak.
- You have wasted my time.
- This is the end. — Spoken during Critical finish
- Perish.
- Suffer.
- You cannot escape destiny.
- Enough. — Critical Finish announcement
- You have yet to master the way of the force. — Stage 1 victory
- Give yourself to the dark side. — Stage 2 victory
- Do you now understand the power of the dark side? — Stage 4 victory
- But it ends here. — Final victory
- Fool.
- You have learned... Much. — Spoken when failing a mission.
- So, you've chosen to die here. — Spoken when engaging in battle against Yoda.
Weapons
- Lightsaber
- Lightsaber Senth
- Lightsaber Dorn
- Lightsaber Usk
- Lightsaber Nern
- Lightsaber Besh
- Lightsaber Forn
Trivia
- In Soul Calibur IV's Chain of Souls, Darth Vader is shown to be one of two characters showing interest to both Nightmare and Siegfried, the second character being Angol Fear.
- In the same chain of Souls, Darth Vader is shown to have only one enemy: Yoda himself.
- After completing Story mode with Vader, you can view a new movie in the museum. This movie shows both Mitsurugi and Vader defeat several opponents (Vader defeats Gargantua, Dvergr, and Shark and Mitsurugi defeats Solnhofen and Dürer) before dueling with each other. Vader tells Mitsurugi that 'he is powerful, but he must be destroyed' (see below).
- Completing Arcade mode with Vader in either version of Soulcalibur IV unlocks The Apprentice.
- On October 23, 2008, Darth Vader was available as downloadable content to Xbox 360 owners for 400 Microsoft Points.
- Due to the fact that he is a guest character, his clothing cannot be edited in Character Customization.
- Darth Vader can be seen in the Xbox 360's version of The Apprentice's ending once Darth Vader is downloaded for 400 Microsoft Points.
- In his ending when he picks up the Soul Edge and Soulcalibur and says "I shall release your power now.", he is heard laughing. This is possibly because he knew he had enough power to overthrow the Emperor. While Vader cannot laugh normally due to his damaged respiratory system and vocal chords, he could still approximate a laugh if he wants to. Vader never laughs in the Star Wars movies.
- In Darth Vader's ending, after picking up Soul Edge and Soulcalibur, turns Earth into a place just like Tatooine before heading back to a Galaxy far far away...
- Besides using form V Darth Vader uses some moves from form VII Juyo/Vaapad, the deadliest lightsaber fighting form in Star Wars.
- In Soulcalibur IV, his second player costume resembles that of Anakin's Jedi Combat Armor from the Clone Wars (the animated saga, not the cartoon). To list a few similar traits: it's blue in color and it lacks a cloak. This includes obvious alterations due to his cybernetics.
- Before voicing Darth Vader, his English voice actor, Matt Sloan, was known on the Internet for voicing a spoof of Vader himself called Chad Vader, an estranged brother of Darth Vader who worked at a grocery store while retaining much of his brother's mannerisms to comical effect.
- Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader shares many similarities with Soul Series protagonist/antagonist Siegfried Schtauffen/Nightmare. Both are young men corrupted by an evil force, both become sealed in sinister armour as an embodiment of their transformation, both ultimately seek redemption for their past evils. Siegfried and Anakin even share a similar scar over their eye.
Stage
Music
The Imperial March
The Imperial March is Darth Vader's theme song which is only heard when playing against or as Darth Vader on one of the Star Wars Stages, as well as the Special Movie featuring him and Mitsurugi. The song also played during his Soul Calibur IV Ending
Gallery
See also