Who was Viola and why was she "evil" ?

[Conun]

I remember the Soul Calibur Facebook pushing like some status on her but SCV didn't reflect it.

They couldn't just release SCV's full story from beginning to end in the form of a book? People created all those weird theories and etc for it to lead to nothing.

I want to be able to comprehend what happened with SCV lore. It's weird to reboot a series without explaining a lot of things.

 

[DanteSC3]

They kind of did do what you describe, and that book is New Legends of Project Soul:

https://www.amazon.com/SoulCalibur-New-Legends-Project-Soul/dp/1926778952

It's not complete, but it does offer a lot of insight that the game failed to provide.

It would be a pretty big stretch to call Viola evil, though. She's more mysterious than evil. The implication is that she's a grown up Amy who lost her memories due to her orb stealing them from her though she is not aware of this fact. It's possible the orb also ate her vampiric malfestation which is what allowed her to age once again. It is possible but unknown that once Raphael found her that she may have regained her memories, which may or may not have led to her breaking of bonds/friendship/trust with Z.W.E.I., or may not, depending on how the news was taken.

 

[Ninjaguy446]

Viola's not evil. That was a mistake on the part of the FB team lol

I'm a little sad about the reboot because Viola was definitely an interesting character. It would have been even more interesting seeing Raphael find her and her having to choose between Raph and ZWEI (and it'd also be nice to see Amy have emotions.) I could see them including Amy in this game, but I can't really think of any way for them to have Viola. I guess they could just say fuck it and make Viola her own character and make up some BS like she stopped aging a long time ago, which would explain why she still looks the same in SC6 as she would 21~ years later in SC5. Or, another thought as to how they keep some of the SC5 (Viola, ZWEI) characters, maybe the story starts with a flashforward where something happens which leads to Sophie getting a premonition back in SC1.

 

[Gojira]

It's not confirmed that Viola is Amy. It might seem obvious but if it's not officially stated or made clear then she could just as soon be a sibling.

 

[DanteSC3]

Unless she's an identical twin, the sister theory just doesn't really hold up, and why she would need to be her sister doesn't make much sense, either, since that just raises new questions about where Amy was and what she was doing and why she wasn't also searching for Raphael like Raphael was searching for her once he woke up after regaining control of his body. It may not be confirmed, but there isn't much other reasoning that makes sense.

 

[Artilust]

I posted about this a few weeks ago but I dont think anyone picked up on it.

I always thought that Viola could have been the "original" Amy. Perhaps created by Viola, remember she was announced at the same time as Astaroth which might not have been a coincidence considering Fygul Cestemus created several entities.

Also the dialogue between her and Ralph was strange in that even if her memory was lost Ralph didnt sense Amy when he met Viola only a "familiar presence" which goes back to the clone/creator theory

Also, Amy's backstory with unknown parents and assumed place of birth just magically running into Ralph in the events of SC2 and instantly forming some father/daughter bond seemed like a fate that could have been orchestrated.


Its kinda boring to make Amy the same as Viola. And by Namco never admitting to it, theres always this theory that theyre two different people. At least in my eyes. If she comes back, it'll be the confirmation that shes a different person.

 

[DanteSC3]

I always thought that Viola could have been the "original" Amy. Perhaps created by Viola, remember she was announced at the same time as Astaroth which might not have been a coincidence considering Fygul Cestemus created several entities.

I'm confused by this part. Do you mean that Viola created Amy or that Amy created Viola? Either way, that's kind of weird. I wonder, have you read New Legends of Project Soul? It confirms that it is the orb that took her memories. By your theory, that would mean that (assuming that's how you meant it), Viola created Amy and then forgot that she had done so? But what would have been her purpose in doing that? Did she make several copies of herself? If you meant Amy created Viola, then, assuming at some point that Viola knew she was a creation, she forgot that fact? I don't really get the angle of that either or what that adds to the story.

About the dialogue, it could be that Raphael doesn't recognize her because, the last time he was conscious, Amy was unable to age, so he couldn't draw the distinction. Sure, it's a little dense, but not completely impossible. It's worth noting that even when possessed by Inferno, Raphael's body reacts to Viola, as Nightmare has a unique victory pose when winning against Viola where he writhes in pain and doesn't speak. Granted, Raphael's Nightmare was a lot more sane than Siegfried's Nightmare, so he had a little more presence of himself, but to be able to look past the mind of Inferno and identify someone from your past implies a deeper connection than if they were simply a clone, to me at least.

Whatever the truth may be, it's possible that we learn her origins properly in SoulCalibur VI's story, what led her to become an orphan and what she did before she was adopted by Raphael. I'm hoping that is the case, along with possibly learning Z.W.E.I.'s origins as well. I don't want them to drop this.

 

[T.Rex]

I think Viola becomes a villain during the story.

Viola has an exclusive theme song for the story mode (Dance of the Oracle).
Probably this song would be used when we fight against Viola during the story, since the fights against evil enemies use the theme song of the enemy.

Maybe she recovered her memory in the middle of the story and allied herself with Nightmare (who is using Raphael's body).
That would explain why Viola does not appear when Patroklos returns to Schwarzwind and receives Soul Calibur from Siegfried.

Damn Namco, I want the full story. =(

 

[Gojira]

Unless she's an identical twin, the sister theory just doesn't really hold up, and why she would need to be her sister doesn't make much sense, either, since that just raises new questions about where Amy was and what she was doing and why she wasn't also searching for Raphael like Raphael was searching for her once he woke up after regaining control of his body. It may not be confirmed, but there isn't much other reasoning that makes sense.

Why would you call her "identical?" By definition, she doesn't look "identical" to Amy at all. She looks like what someone might guess an older Amy would look like, but that doesn't mean she's Amy. I've seen plenty of families where sibllings who are not twins look very similar even though one might be years older than the other. Heck, I myself look a lot like my father did when he was my age.

As for why she wasn't searching, maybe she already found him. Maybe spooky ghost Raph was too much for her and she's just been hiding from him the whole time.

 

[Artilust]

I dont have the answers dude lol I'm just forming a theory based around the very real possibility of Viola not being Amy. Her having memory loss wouldnt invalidate her not being Amy in that context regardless.

 

[DanteSC3]

I dont have the answers dude lol I'm just forming a theory based around the very real possibility of Viola not being Amy. Her having memory loss wouldnt invalidate her not being Amy in that context regardless.

I don't expect you to have concrete answers. I just expected perhaps you had more to your theory or that you'd be able to defend it.

Why would you call her "identical?" By definition, she doesn't look "identical" to Amy at all. She looks like what someone might guess an older Amy would look like, but that doesn't mean she's Amy. I've seen plenty of families where sibllings who are not twins look very similar even though one might be years older than the other. Heck, I myself look a lot like my father did when he was my age.

As for why she wasn't searching, maybe she already found him. Maybe spooky ghost Raph was too much for her and she's just been hiding from him the whole time.

She has the same face (at the very least, the same eyes) and the same voice (in both languages). Genetics can create similar siblings, I don't dispute that, but for it to be almost exactly the same, I feel like there's something like twins going on if they're not the same person (or clones, as Artilust proposed).

I don't subscribe to spooky ghost Raphael, as there's not really much evidence behind it. Far more believable with what we have is that the Raphael that is playable is after Nightmare is defeated by Z.W.E.I., and Inferno leaves his body behind and jumps to Pyrrha, his body is dragged away and imprisoned, the ones who discovered it believing to have captured the Azure Knight himself (and they're only half wrong), and then Raphael wakes up, escapes from his cell, and begins his search for Amy.

I think Viola becomes a villain during the story.

Viola has an exclusive theme song for the story mode (Dance of the Oracle).
Probably this song would be used when we fight against Viola during the story, since the fights against evil enemies use the theme song of the enemy.

Maybe she recovered her memory in the middle of the story and allied herself with Nightmare (who is using Raphael's body).
That would explain why Viola does not appear when Patroklos returns to Schwarzwind and receives Soul Calibur from Siegfried.

Damn Namco, I want the full story. =(

Just because you fight against her doesn't necessarily make her a villain. It's possible that her fight in the story would have been as Z.W.E.I., as they come to blows about something or other. Z.W.E.I. and Viola have unique battle dialogue with each other, but it seems like they don't really want to fight, and it may be one of those destined battle type things, chosen by fate.

I don't feel like she would have regained her memories until after Inferno had already left Raphael behind and jumped to Pyrrha, because Z.W.E.I. is thrown from the same cliff after being stabbed by Pyrrha, and is likely taken to the same prison as Raphael's body is, and they would team up out of necessity and search for her together unwittingly. Raphael agrees to help Z.W.E.I. find Viola, and Z.W.E.I. agrees to help Raphael find Amy, and then lo and behold, they're the same person, and when they do find her, the three end up at odds with each other in the confusion.

But I do agree, whatever the truth may be, it would be nice to know, and I hope SoulCalibur VI delivers.

 

[Katsu]

Now that I think about it, it makes some sense for Viola to be labeled "evil."
If you'll excuse my fanfiction: I believe Viola was supposed to have a fateful encounter with Nightmare, who we know is using Raphael's body as its host (under the alias of Graf Dumas). The two fight, Nightmare's helmet shatters, revealing that it's Raphael, Viola's memories come back and she returns to Raphael and they create a perfect world.

This also makes Raphael's characterization in SCV make a lot more sense. Even compared to the previous games, Raphael's devotion to Amy borders on psychotic zealotry, almost as if Soul Edge is controlling him as it was with Siegfried. And then there's the tragic irony that neither recognizes the other when they finally meet, implying that one will die by the other's hands. I feel like it would bring closure to Raphael's decent into madness over the course of the games.

Shame we couldn't have that instead of the Greek's time traveling incest adventures.

 

[ElegantRaven]

Excuse my ignorance, but has it ever actually been confirmed that Raphael = Graf Dumas? I don't keep up to date too often with such things, that or I don't know where to find this information.

 

[DanteSC3]

Excuse my ignorance, but has it ever actually been confirmed that Raphael = Graf Dumas? I don't keep up to date too often with such things, that or I don't know where to find this information.

It could always be presumed, but a lot of extra information was included in the artbook New Legends of Project Soul. They don't come out and say it outright, but they might as well have. There's a design note about the design that says the bat motif on his armor has a purpose, but doesn't say what that purpose is. The artbook gives bio information, and Raphael and Nightmare have the same heights, where Siegfried and Nightmare always had the same heights before. They have the same voice actors in both English and Japanese, too. When you read the story content for Nightmare and Raphael, they line up quite a lot.

Then there's also the in-game interactions where Nightmare reacts to Viola and Raphael reacts to Voldo. When you customize Nightmare giving him a custom outfit, you can clearly see Raphael's face, despite the unremovable Mask of Deceit, you can equip some headgear that removes the mask too. At the end of the day, there's just too many coincidences to ignore.

 

[ElegantRaven]

Yeah, alright then. I was aware of all of the hints and evidence for it, was just curious as to if it was ever legitimately 100% confirmed.

 

[KikBlava]

Amy was always mysterious from the start, being the primary motivation for Raphael to obtain Soul Edge to begin with. And yes it's never been confirmed she is the same being as Viola, but given the hints they were dropping before SCV's story was left unfinished, it's obvious they were going for that sort of scenario.

While we have spent several games wasting away the potential of Amy/Viola, I still think it's not too late for them to actually explore those characters more. I wouldn't say Viola is evil, more like apathetic while waiting for an actual purpose to be written for her.

Although, now a theory has popped in my head. Amy was the reason Raphael wanted Soul Edge, did she manipulate him with some magic to do her bidding? It's almost like how Voldo would blindly follow the wish of his master.

 

[DanteSC3]

Although, now a theory has popped in my head. Amy was the reason Raphael wanted Soul Edge, did she manipulate him with some magic to do her bidding? It's almost like how Voldo would blindly follow the wish of his master.

I don't think so. It's mostly that at the end of SoulCalibur II, Raphael was tainted by Soul Edge, and Amy helped nurse him back to health, so she caught the malfestation curse also. In SoulCalibur III, Raphael sought out Soul Edge likely due to having the evil influence within himself, thinking he needed the sword to make a world for he and Amy to live in peace, who were now outcasts due to their malfested status. That plan obviously didn't work, since in SoulCalibur IV, he pursues Soul Calibur instead. That didn't work, either, as he was "killed" in his quest, and that's what led to his body being collected by Inferno to be used as a backup which is how he came to be the host for Nightmare in SoulCalibur V.

The mystery, then, lies with Amy, what happened in the 17 years that led to her becoming Viola, should they be one in the same. After some years, did she just go looking for Raphael, discovering the crystal ball, perhaps being caught in a ruse that it would help her in her quest, but it instead ate her memories and her malfestation (at least partially, to allow her to age, though she kept her red eyes), and left her lost? We may never know, but I hope that they tell us the truth someday.

 

[SomeRandomHuman]

The mystery, then, lies with Amy, what happened in the 17 years that led to her becoming Viola, should they be one in the same. After some years, did she just go looking for Raphael, discovering the crystal ball, perhaps being caught in a ruse that it would help her in her quest, but it instead ate her memories and her malfestation (at least partially, to allow her to age, though she kept her red eyes), and left her lost? We may never know, but I hope that they tell us the truth someday.

Plot twist - crystall ball is a part of SC, which could explain both memories and curing of malfestation.
In previous games SC had "core" that looked like crystall ball just like SE has its eye.
So I think it's kinda possible, considering that SC in SCV is a very small sword?

 

[Psykai]

I love Amy's story and original design and 'Interview with the Vampire' vibe, so I hope they are separate characters and that both can appear in SCVI with their own unique styles intact. Sadly the amount of hints and 'evidence' that she is Viola makes this hard to believe possible. I think she was intended to be Viola, but then either they had some creative differences or maybe enough Amy fans complained about the idea, that they now don't know what to do with either character and have just kind of left it open. Perhaps if SCVI was a sequel to V (God forbid) they would've answered the question then.

I'm fine with Viola being a twin, if they absolutely must have some kind of connection to her at all, but with the reboot, they could totally change things up; make Viola look less like Amy, give her a unique voice actress, etc. and truly separate them so that there's no more confusion. Personally this is what I hope for, but doubt they will do.

Though it would also be hilarious to see Amy VS current Viola with some hilarious start of battle dialogue; "is this some kind of joke?" etc.

Amy: "Who... are you?"
Viola: "Wouldn't you like to know..."

 

[LizardHeMan]

I'm guessing Viola is someone who doesn't exist since 6 will probably retcon 5 out of existence.