Extra-Missions (alternate versions of normal missions). The player endorses the role of a swordsman searching for Soul Edge, who is confronted by a powerful, mad knight named Veral, seeking Soul Edge for his own desires. Characters Four new playable characters are introduced in Soulcalibur II: Cassandra (fighting style derived from Sophitia), Raphael (unique fighting style), Talim (unique fighting style) and Yunsung (fighting style derived from Hwang). A new unlockable character, Charade, switches its style to match existing characters' move lists with each individual round of fighting, similarly to its predecessors Edge Master and Inferno. The console versions of the game feature Necrid, a new character created by Todd McFarlane, and one of three platform-exclusive characters: Heihachi Mishima from Tekken on the PlayStation 2, Link from The Legend of Zelda on the GameCube, and Spawn from the comic book series of the same name by McFarlane on the Xbox. Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII was originally intended to fill Heihachi's spot on the PlayStation 2 version, but the licensing deal fell through at the last moment. The HD version includes both Heihachi and Spawn. Fully returning as playable characters are Astaroth, Cervantes (unlockable), Ivy, Kilik, Maxi, Mitsurugi, Nightmare, Taki, Voldo, Xianghua and Yoshimitsu (unlockable), as well as Seung Mina (unlockable) and Sophitia (unlockable) who are exclusive to the console versions. Inferno is the game's main boss, but is no longer a playable character. Nightmare's third costume is Siegfried (although he is still referred to as Nightmare), while Assassin and Berserker play extremely similarly to Hwang and Rock, who do not return from the previous game. Although the original Lizardman from Soulcalibur does not return, the game does feature a generic Lizardman with the same move list. Since Assassin, Berserker and Lizardman are considered bonus characters, they do not have any Extra Weapons. In the North American and PAL console versions, they can only be selected in Versus Battle Mode, Team Battle Mode, Versus Team Battle Mode, Practice Mode, along with the "Extra" versions of these modes, as well as in Battle Theater. In the Japanese console versions, they cannot be selected by the player in any mode. They are, however, playable during certain portions of Weapon Master Mode in all versions of the game. Plot The game is set in the year 1590 AD, four years after the events of Soulcalibur. The wave of slaughters that terrorized Europe reached a