As some may know, Ivy Valentine from Soul Calibur is my favorite game character ever, and I have been a little bit obsessed with her. Here I am explaining why I love her so much.
Ivy Valentine is from the fighting game series Soul Calibur, and she has appeared in every game except for the first one, Soul Edge. She is one of the most well-known female game characters, mostly because of her sex appeal, and she is most likely the most known character from Soul Calibur. Ivy has an unique fighting style with a sword that can turn into a whip with blades, and she dresses as a dominatrix. Ivy has one of the most detailed backstories of all Soul Calibur, as she is the daughter of pirate Cervantes, and she was adopted into a wealthy British family. Ivy is an alchemist, and she created her whip-sword herself. She seeks to destroy the Soul Edge, the evil sword from the game series.
From her appearance you can see that she was intended for teenage boys and young men, but apparently teenage girls can fall in love with her too. I was 15 years old when Soul Calibur V was published, and I discovered Ivy. I fell in love with her right away, as she was so different than most sexy video game females. Ivy was bigger than most of those video game females (this is seen especially in Soul Calibur IV) and she did not have a standard pretty face (this was changed in Soul Calibur VI) and she was a lot older. Ivy is 32 years old, making her one of the most old sexy female video game characters. I loved her pale skin and her looks, her dominatrix costumes and her fighting style. I also loved that every 2P outfit she had was not revealing, except for the 2P outfit she had in Soul Calibur V. I love her so much I have planned a tattoo of her. I have yet not decided what costume I will use in the tattoo, but right now I really like the Soul Calibur VI outfit.
I have pictures of all her outfits, so lets start with the first game, Soul Calibur, that was released in 1998.
Ivy's 1P outfit from Soul Calibur. This costume is very simple, as the console cannot process more detail. In the picture the fabric looks like leather, but in the game, it looks like normal fabric. The costume is beautiful in all its simplicity.
Her official concept art from the first game.
Ivy's 2P outfit from Soul Calibur. Like I said, most of her 2P outfits are not as revealing. This costume is beautiful and it is pirate themed, even though at this point the developers had not told that she is Cervantes' daughter.
Then there is Soul Calbur II, published in 2002.
Her outfit from Soul Calibur II. This costume has a lot more detail, and it is sexier too. This is Ivy's most well known outfit along with her Soul Calibur IV outfit, and this is seen as a standard outfit for her. Even though this is quite simple too, I absolutely love it.
Other concept art of her from Soul Calibur II.
Ivy in 3D as seen in the game.
Her 2P outfit from Soul Calibur II. This costume is beautiful, and like its predecessor, it is also pirate themed. I love how her hair is slicked back in this outfit.
Her 2P outfit in 3D.
Her third costume from Soul Calibur II. This is the only game where she has three costumes. This costume is not my liking. She looks great in red, but that corset and the stockings are kind of awkward, and I don't really like this.
Soul Calibur III come out in 2005.
Ivy from Soul Calibur III. This is her only white outfit, and it is super beautiful. Even though this is quite similar from her Soul Calibur II outfit, I really like this one.
Her 3D look from the game.
Her 2P outfit from Soul Calibur III. This is also one of her outfits that I don't like. It has too much going on and the armor is really awkward. The dress part is beautiful, and I like the fishnet stockings and the hat is nice, but that is all I like about this outfit.
Then there is Soul Calibur IV, published in 2008.
This is Ivy's most revealing outfit and because of it it's the most well-known. This is Playstation 3 era, that allowed much more detail. She has a very detailed outfit and armor, and the fabric of her costume has purple snake skin. Even though this costume is ridiculously revealing, it is still one of my favorites.
Ivy in 3D.
This is her 2P outfit from Soul Calibur IV. This is my favorite 2P outfit from hers. It is not very revealing and it is super beautiful. The costume is very Xena-like, but I still love it. I love how different her hair is in this costume and the corset looks super good on her.
Then there is Soul Calibur V, which came out in 2012.
Ivy's 1P outfit from Soul Calibur V. This is one of my favorite outfits of hers. I love the details, the snake skin fabric, the snake-skull armor and the fact it is not as revealing as her other 1P outfits. This outfit is also inspired by pirates.
Ivy's look in 3D.
Her 2P outfit from Soul Calibur V. This is the only 2P outfit that is revealing. Even though this is revealing, this is one of my favorite 2P outfits for Ivy. The costume is detailed and she looks great in gold.
The costume for Soul Calibur VI. This is the only costume for her in the game, as all other games had at least two outfits for her. I did not like the 3D version of Ivy in this game, as they made her skinny and young looking, and they made her face completely different. But I really like this outfit, it is super detailed and beautiful. This is actually a remake of her outfit from Soul Calibur, but this is more revealing and more detailed. This is the costume I have been planning to get the tattoo from. This is probably mu favorite outfit of hers.
Concept art with 2B.
Ivy in 3D. I really don't like her looks in the game, even though I like the costume. She is too skinny and too young.
Then there are the theme songs. Ivy has four theme songs, from Soul Calibur, Soul Calibur II, Soul Calibur III and Soul Calibur V.
"Unblessed Soul" from Soul Calibur. This is not made with a real orchestra, but it still sounds good. The melody is beautiful and it suits her.
"Maze of the Blade" from Soul Calibur II. This is very Egypt-esque, which is because of her stage is based on Egypt. This was a bit odd choice for me, since Ivy has nothing to do with Egypt.
"Face Your Fate" from Soul Calibur III. This song has a beautiful melody and I like it.
"Without the Blessing of Fate" from Soul Calibur V. This is my favorite song for Ivy and my favorite game soundtrack in general. This song is absolutely beautiful and powerful. This is one my favorite soundtracks ever made.
There are four scale figures of her, and one upcoming First 4 Figures 1/4 statue of her. I have all them, and I've preordered the F4F statue.
Ivy's Queens Gate figure. Ivy was a guest character in a game called Queens Gate, and so this figure was made. I absolutely love this, even though her face is anime-ish. This figure is by Hobby Japan made in 2011. This outfit is from Soul Calibur IV.
There is the super rare Kyosho statue of Ivy from 2002. This is my rarest figure, and this also my favorite figure. As this figure is very old, it is not painted very well and it is made out of resin instead of PVC, so it is very heavy. This outfit is her Soul Calibur outfit. I absolutely love this figure.
These figures are by Enterbrain. The figures are beautiful, but they have flaws. The faces are not sculpted or painted well, and they do not resemble Ivy at all. The figures are very top heavy and the base is ridiculous, as it too small. The figures do not stay up, and I had to use Blu-Tack to get to them to stay up. The figures have two different colors, the white one is known as "Limited Edition" and the purple one is called "International Edition". This is Ivy's outfit from Soul Calibur III.
Ivy figure from McFarlene Toys. This is the only painted Ivy figure I do not own, as it is very bad quality and very small.
Ivy statue from First 4 Figures. Ivy has her Soul Calibur II costume on. I have preordered this statue and it is my most expensive statue ever. This statue is really big, as it is 58cm tall. This is the version with the proper base, there are also two other versions with a black oval base.
Here is a bonus picture: a comparison between Ivy's first appearance in the first Soul Calibur and her later appearance in Soul Calibur VI. Like I said the costume is based on her first appearance, but it is more detailed and revealing. Here you can see well how similar they are.
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