The age-old fighting game tradition of bonus guest characters is as exciting as it is ridiculous. It’s a chance to see your favorite characters in a different setting, in a different genre, and more often than not ends up being a great way for games to pay tribute to each other. Earlier this week, Geralt of Rivia, the Witcher himself was announced as a guest character in SoulCalibur VI, bringing with him a stage set in Kaer Morhen and his signature dual swords. In celebration of Geralt’s new gig and guest characters everywhere, we’ve decided to rank all of the main guest fighters in the SoulCalibur series, from the inspired to the downright bizarre. Let’s get started. 9. Lloyd Irving SoulCalibur Guest Characters Ranked Now this one’s tough because LLoyd Irving definitely received the short straw in terms of SoulCalibur games to appear in. SoulCalibur Legends is an action-adventure spin-off from the fighting game series and is just so wholly mediocre. Instead of intense 1v1 battles, Legends has you running around 3D environments mindlessly hacking away at generic enemies. Lloyd Irving does at least fit in with the series on paper, having originally come from Tales of Symphonia. His transition over to SoulCalibur in practice though, is absolutely the worst example of guest characters. His fighting style is changed, his voice is insufferable and he’s just not really given much to do. There’s an alternate universe somewhere in which Lloyd Irving made it into a mainline game, possibly even being one of the better characters in the series. In this universe though, not so much.

8. Yoda SoulCalibur Guest Characters Ranked The SoulCalibur community has a definite love/hate relationship with Yoda. On the one hand, he’s incredibly fun to play as, with his flips and lightsaber acrobatics allowing him to dominate the arena space. On the other hand, he’s just a little too easy to use cheap tactics with, with it being particularly easy to crouch and evade attacks while playing as the green-skinned Jedi. It’s worth noting that this is prequel Yoda we’re dealing with here, so back-flips are, for better or worse, kind of his whole shtick. Yoda was included in SoulCalibur IV alongside Vader and Starkiller, and has been contentious ever since. Several allowances had to be made for the character’s height, including the fact that every attack sends him into the air to counter the massive advantage of attacks simply passing over his head. He is the only guest character that cannot be grabbed and is somehow both incredibly over-powered and weak at the same time. Seeing Master Yoda battle it out in fighting game is undoubtedly cool, it really is. But the way he fails to blend in with the series and ends up being so unbalanced puts a real downer on his inclusion. He should’ve stayed on Dagobah.

7. Spawn SoulCalibur Guest Characters Ranked SoulCalibur II featured some truly great guest characters and Spawn is no exception. The fictional comic book character created by Todd McFarlane makes use of a cape which can become anything he desires, from weapons to an extension of his limbs. He chooses a double-handed axe in SoulCalibur II, using it to deal mid-range damage. He can also use his Necroplasm in a Fire Ball form on both the ground and in the air. He can levitate, allowing him to deploy other attacks from an elevated height. Spawn is the only guest character to have a figurine exist within the SoulCalibur toy line, apt considering his design in the game is based on a resin figure from McFarlane. He is also the only guest character to have originated in a comic book. Despite the awesome character design, there was a lot missing from Spawn’s repertoire, most notably his guns. His chains were also toned down in the game, presumably to balance him out against other characters. Spawn’s inclusion in SoulCalibur II was a great choice, but they did neuter the character somewhat, meaning that he never quite reached his true potential.

6. Heihachi Mishima SoulCalibur Guest Characters Ranked The first Tekken character on the list, Heihachi Mishima, relies on his Iron Fists and physical power to dominate his foes which, considering everyone else has giant swords and axes, is pretty ballsy. He is the second character in SoulCalibur to not use any weapons, with even his Ultimate Weapon being his fists. Overall, he is generally considered to be the most competent of the Soul Calibur 2 guest characters. Heihachi chooses to train his body rather than rely on the Devil Gene like Devil Jin and the rest of the Mishima clan, utilizing his fists and arm guards to deal crazy damage. He is transported to the world of SoulCalibur while hiking and training with his pet bear Kuma. He cuts his hand on a Soul Edge and comes to in a new world he does not recognize. This plot-line is surprisingly deep for a guest character, with its climactic finale, which sees Heihachi thrown into the Vortex of Chaos, being one of the best endings of any of the games so far. Ultimately though, weapons are an integral part of the SoulCalibur series meaning that, despite the great narrative surrounding him, Heihachi falls a little short in terms of being fun to play.

5. Kratos SoulCalibur Guest Characters Ranked Kratos is a perfect fit for SoulCalibur and his appearance in the excellent PSP exclusive, SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny, is a real joy to behold, albeit a very violent one. Kratos is brought into the SoulCalibur dimension by a man fooling around with forbidden texts. Kratos is appropriately pissed off and embarks on a blood-soaked rampage to get himself back home. He’s wonderfully true to character and seems to be totally in his element in the SoulCalibur universe. Using the Blades of Chaos to pull enemies closer gives off some serious Scorpion from Mortal Kombat vibes, begging the question as to why Kratos hasn’t been featured in more fighting games. Being the God of War and all, Kratos is a particularly aggressive character with a slow but violent fighting style. His Critical Finish uses the same mini-game system from his fight with Ares in the first God of War, which is a cool little nod. Kratos has always starred in games which push the graphical limits of the hardware they are on so it’s a little jarring to see him rendered so crudely here. Regardless, seeing Kratos tear apart his enemies as a bonafide fighting game champion is worth the muddy visuals.

4. Apprentice/Starkiller SoulCalibur Guest Characters Ranked A Sith Warrior and secret Apprentice to Darth Vader (and directly beneath him even on this lowly ranking list), Starkiller arrived to the SoulCalibur series as part of both home console versions of SoulCalibur IV. The Apprentice is the main protagonist in the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed series, and brings many of his skills to SoulCalibur. He is a mix of light and dark force fighting styles, borrowing elements from both Darth Vader and Master Yoda, both of whom also appear in SoulCalibur IV. Interestingly, SoulCalibur IV was his first appearance, releasing two months prior to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Starkiller brings with him the excellent Duel of the Fates score (RIP Qui Gon/Darth Maul’s legs) and attacks with force lightning and his lightsaber, ratcheting up the bombast to dizzying heights. He was enough of a badass in his own games, force lifting entire Star Destroyers and beheading Stormtroopers left and right, but here he’s positively electric. There’s also the incredible moment at the end of the game where he decides he doesn’t need the Soul Calibur sword, so Vader squares up to him for being so arrogant. The guy just oozes power with every step he takes, making him one of the best guest characters to watch in action.

3. Darth Vader SoulCalibur Guest Characters Ranked In what is up there as one of the coolest crossovers in nerd history, Darth Vader was a guest character in SoulCalibur IV. The game featured exclusively Star Wars-themed guests, a move which seemed odd to many at the time. Vader more than dismissed these fears though, becoming one of the best SoulCalibur fighters of all time. Lightning fast and able to dole out damage over a large range, he uses his signature saber to devastating effect. He commands total control of every battle he’s in, more Rogue One Vader than New Hope Vader, giving a glimpse into just how formidable the Sith Lord can be. One move sees him throwing enemies over his head, Emperor-style, while another sees him throw his lightsaber through the air. He also came with an awesome stage set on the Death Star, with TIE Fighters zooming by in the background. Vader doesn’t quite feel like any other fighter in the SoulCalibur franchise, but his methodical and weighty use of his weapon definitely makes him a surprisingly great fit.

2. Ezio Auditore Da Firenze SoulCalibur Guest Characters Ranked Everyone’s favorite Italian Assassin snuck his way into SoulCalibur V thanks to an animus glitch. On the face of it, Ezio is a pretty fun addition, but dig a little deeper and he’s actually one of the series’ most versatile fighters. The series actually introduced him in a very clever way indeed. According to Shaun Hastings, a historian from the Assassins Creed series, there is a notable gap in Ezio’s timeline. The series uses this to explain that Ezio was in fact, transported into another dimension during this time, by finding a strange artifact. Ezio utilizes a sword, a stiletto, a hidden blade, hidden pistol and a crossbow to take down his opponents. His special move involves him throwing a smoke bomb and attacking from the cloud with a devastating flurry of hidden blade attacks. Since his release, Ezio has become a fan favorite, thanks to his versatile range of weapons and arrogant yet charming one-liners. He just seems to be having such a good time, despite being in a hellish dimension filled with dudes with names like Nightmare. Definitely a glass half full kind of guy.