Voldo

Not to be confused with Volvo, the Swedish supplier of commercial vehicles

Voldo
'Soul series character
Voldo, as he appears in Soulcalibur IV
First game	Soul Edge

Voldo (ヴォルド, Vorudo) is a fictional character designed for the Soul series of fighting games. Voldo made his first appearance in Soul Blade and has returned for all the following sequels.

Conception and history

As a character introduced in Soulcalibur, Voldo's weapon, dual hand katars designed to be unique amongst the other weapons in the game, were selected before other elements of the character. His design and concept were then built to revolve around it, starting with gender, then physical measurements, and lastly background details. After his appearance and movement were fleshed out by a concept artist, his character was rendered as a 3D model by a design team that worked solely on him. During this phase the team additionally worked with the Soulcalibur story creators, refining the character's own role in the plot as needed throughout development.

Unlike other characters in the series, a majority of Voldo's movements were created from Naotake Hirata's imagination and not motion capture. However the head of Team Soul's motion capture department, Kent Kojima, noticed one particular actor working with them was highly flexible and able to mimic Voldo. Impressed, Kojima utilized him in motion capture sessions for some of the character's animations for Soulcalibur III, stating in a later interview "I was astonished that a human being could actually move like that. It left quite an impression on me. You probably can't tell which part is motion capture and what was just animated by hand by our animator."

In video games

File:Young-voldo.JPG

Voldo's appearance as a young man

Voldo's Edge Master Mode in the first game on the series, Soul Edge, revealed his past as the right-hand man of Italian weapons merchant Vercci, known as the Merchant of Death due to his business with the Spanish Armada. Vercci desired Soul Edge to form part of his collection of rare weapons, and Voldo stood as the head of the expeditions in his search, even contracting the services of the feared Spanish Captain Cervantes de Leon, and later accompanied Vercci when he decided to take the search personally. When word came that the Italian Wars broke on Italy and that Vercci's possessions were the first targets, Vercci grew mad. He moved his fleet, his only remaining possession, on an uninhabited island off the coast of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea and dug a 50-mt deep shaft that would serve as his tomb and vault. Voldo would later be instructed to slay the sailors that helped in the construction to avoid the location of Vercci's Money Pit to be revealed, then later shut himself with his deceased master. The Money Pit would later become Voldo's staple stage, featuring in every game in different locations like the main vault (in Soul Edge) or the Top Tier (in Soulcalibur II). Voldo would remain sealed underground, turning himself into the guardian of the tomb and slaying those who ventured to steal, making rumours of the island, its treasures and its "ghost guardian" spread around the globe. Years later, Voldo would hear his master's voice commanding him to search for Soul Edge once again, making him leave the tomb.

In his second appearance in the sequel Soulcalibur, it is stated in his profile that Voldo's search for Soul Edge ended in failure, and he returned to find the Money Pit flooded by a storm. After saving what he could, Voldo remained inside for the 3 year span between both games, later to reemerge from the pit following a woman with the essence of Soul Edge, Ivy, who tried to find leads on the sword for herself.

The profile on his next appearance, in Soulcalibur II, states how Voldo returned to the Money Pit after taking Yoshimitsu's katana, mistaking it for Soul Edge due to its evil aura, only to find years later an intruder with Soul Edge fragments. Voldo realized it was not Soul Edge and set outside on a new search, collecting its fragments along the way.

His profile in Soul Calibur III, states that during one of his periodic visits to the Pit, Voldo found the tomb ransacked and the sword he mistook for Soul Edge stolen alongside the fragments he collected in his travels. Since the thieves were apparently interested in Soul Edge, he decided to track them down and force them to reveal any information they may possess regarding the sword. He also came to realize he was someday going to die and leave the pit unprotected, so he began to search for a worthy successor as well.

During the events leading up to Soul Calibur IV, Voldo managed to locate Soul Edge at Ostrheinsburg, resting in the hands of the Azure Knight upon the castle throne. After finally claiming Soul Edge for his master, a familiar voice spoke to him, instructing him to protect Soul Edge. However, the voice belonged not to Vercci, but Soul Edge, which assumed his form in Voldo's mind, for while Soul Edge could possess Voldo's heart, it could not change it, for Voldo only serves one master: his beloved Vercci.

(Main) Weapons

• Karma & Mara

Voldo's katars in Soul Edge. Stated to have been attained by Vercci during his journey across the seas. The pair's design is later used to make Voldo's "Ancient" weapon in Soulcalibur III.

• Shame & Blame

Voldo's katars in Soulcalibur. Stated to being one of dozen pairs found in Vercci's tomb, and one of which he favoured due to their Indian origin. They were used by Voldo mostly to hunt down intruders to the Money Pit. These weapons are also able to be bought in Soulcalibur II as bonus weapons.

• Manas & Ayus

Manas & Ayus are the names of Voldo's katars in Soulcalibur II, Soulcalibur III, and Soulcalibur IV. They are said to have been found by Vercci after setting his fleet during his hunt for Soul Edge, and have been Voldo's weapon ever since his death.

Cultural impact

Promotion and merchandising

File:Voldo3.jpg

Voldo's likeness has been used for various merchandise by Namco

In August 2003, Todd McFarlane Productions released a Voldo sculpture amongst a set of five based off of characters from Soulcalibur II. The immobile figure was modeled after his primary outfit and stood six inches tall with a base. In 2006, Namco released a Voldo figurine as part of a Soulcalibur III set based upon his promotional artwork for the game. While not posable, the PVC figure came with three interchangeable weapons for it to hold; an alternate color version was later released in a secondary set.

Critical reception

In a 2002 poll by Namco prior to the release of Soul Calibur II regarding their favorite character, Voldo placed third, with 13% of the tally. Voldo placed fourth in UGO.com's "Top 11 SoulCalibur Fighters" article, stating "Voldo is here because he's top-tier fighter who also happens to be a highly skilled contortionist and an S&M fetishist." IGN listed Voldo as one of the series' top ten fighters at number four. They stated "Voldo scares us. He isn't a man so much as a twisted mass of writhing muscle, all wrapped up and held together in 16th-Century bondage gear...Even a fighter who prepares for all possible opponents has taken Voldo's unique moveset into account."

Voldo's attire and unusual fighting style has been a source of discussion regarding the character by several sources. Throughout the series, Voldo can be seen wearing a chastity belt. Game Chronicles stated about Voldo "that guy is sick...in more ways than one." Game Vortex reviewer Robert Perkins described him as "a warrior that can best be described as martial artist/contortionist meets Edward Scissorhands." He was listed number five in Dutch gaming magazine Power Unlimited's "Top 5 Characters to Spontaneously Cause Suicide."

In 2002 a video titled "Dance, Voldo, Dance" was released; created by Chris Brandt consisting of a machinima animation of two Voldos dancing to musician Nelly's song "Hot in Here" using existing in-game animation. The video drew comparisons to "Red vs. Blue" and briefly appeared on website popularity index popdex.com's "Top 10". The video has since been cited as an example of machinima by other sources, and inspired similar videos on Youtube.

External links

• "Dance, Voldo, Dance" video at Machinima.com.