Every Soulcalibur Guest Character Ranked!

2. Link - Soulcalibur II (Gamecube)

Let’s face it: you probably bought Soulcalibur II on the Gamecube because Link was in it. No need to hide it - you’re among friends here.

With his design being based on the Ocarina of Time Link, it was a bit of a shame that he was apparently a bit crap. Tier lists put him low, if not right at the bottom. I never really had issues using Link in multiplayer matches against friends, but perhaps the competitive scene had insight that a teenager couldn’t have foreseen.

So why is Link, a seemingly bad character, so high on this list? His inclusion was a cultural zeitgeist. Guest characters from the most unlikely of sources are what make the biggest impact. Link’s inclusion meant that from the game’s release date to the end of 2003, the Gamecube version outsold the PS2 version by over 50,000 copies worldwide.

Put simply: if Bandai Namco and Nintendo hadn’t put Link in Soulcalibur II, Smash Bros. and most other modern fighting games wouldn’t have guest characters.

It’s therefore a huge shame that there wasn’t a version of Soulcalibur II HD on a Nintendo platform. In my eyes, there was no greater joy than having Link repeatedly yell at your opponent during the versus screen.