Kilik
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Kilik (キリク Kiriku) is a fictional character designed for the Soul Series of fighting games. Kilik made his first appearance in Soul Calibur and has returned for both Soul Calibur II and Soul Calibur III.
Biography
The Ling-Sheng Su Temple was located high in the mountains and was widely considered to be the greatest martial arts school in China. It had always remained in very little contact with the outside world until a local village was attacked, and the temple opened its doors to aid them; after this occurrence, anyone with a strong fighting spirit could receive lessons in self-defense, regardless of gender. During a winter ten years later, a basket was found at the temple's doorstep with a child inside; and when the monks had finally given up in their search to find the baby's parents, they named him Kilik and raised him as an orphan. He rigorously trained with the bo staff for years and became the sworn younger brother of another orphan, Xianglian, who was especially skilled with the tai chi jian. Eventually, he was regarded as the temple's finest student and was hired as one of the school's teachers, eventually leading him to be the elected candidate for inheritor of the holy bo staff, Kali-Yuga, one of the three sacred treasures of the temple. However, he had always remained somewhat troubled and insomniac. One night, Xianglian visited him as he was deep in thought, and he learned that she had become elected for inheritor of the holy mirror Dvapara-Yuga, even though she had been skilled with the jian, which would make her more likely for candidacy of the holy jian Krita-Yuga. But she revealed to him, from a conversation she had overheard, that only two of the treasures still existed at the temple, because the Krita-Yuga had been stolen years ago by her biological father, Kong Xiuqiang, an exiled monk at the temple; and that the monks had been hiding this the entire time. She had been nominated for the Dvapara-Yuga instead, because she had told the master of the temple that she felt unworthy to inherit the Krita-Yuga, considering her family history, and her selfless reflection was a prominent feature of her inheritance of Dvapara-Yuga.
However, the night before the succession ceremony, the Evil Seed rained down on the temple, and an evil presence overwhelmed their spirits. Sensing the evil also, the monks who were preparing for the ceremony immediately transferred ownership of the holy artifacts to Kilik and Xianglian minutes before everyone in the temple lost their sanity--everyone except Xianglian. In his rage, and with his great skills, Kilik killed many temple members, who had also been killing each other. Xianglian realized the power of the mirror and slung it around Kilik's shoulder, causing him to regain his sanity as she lost hers. When Kilik had completely regained his senses, he realized that the monks had slaughtered each other. He tried to leave, but the only other known survivor, Xianglian, blocked his way, now totally corrupted by the Evil Seed, and attacked him. He tried to avoid hurting her, and closed his eyes as he suppressed her; but when he opened his eyes, he saw Xianglian pierced through the heart with the Kali-Yuga, and he passed out in anguish. An old man, the Edge Master--advisor and teacher of the Ling-Sheng Su martial arts--found his unconscious body in the temple, set the corrupted temple on fire, and carried Kilik home. After two days, Kilik finally awoke, and Edge Master told him the truth: Kilik and Kali-Yuga had been infected with the Evil Seed, the source of which was the demonic sword, Soul Edge. The only thing protecting his sanity was the Dvapara-Yuga, and he could never remove the holy mirror from his shoulder at any time. Wrought with grief that his life had come at the sacrifice of Xianglian's, Kilik trained with Edge Master for three years, trying to learn to control the evil within himself and Kali-Yuga. Once his training was complete, Edge Master gave him the final test of destroying the Soul Edge, and Kilik embarked on that quest to purify himself and his weapon.
On his journey, Kilik traveled to an Indian port town to request a pirate ship to take him where he wanted to go. He met the Japanese pirate of the Ryukyu Kingdom, Kyam, who instantly took a liking to him, and granted Kilik's request for boarding, provided the ship's captain, Maxi, agreed when he returned. As Kilik waited for Maxi, a mysterious ship approached, which resulted in an attack, led by Astaroth. Maxi returned, and Kilik assisted him in the attack, but every member of Maxi's crew was left dead, and Maxi decided to aid Kilik in his quest. Later, the two met Chai Xianghua, a member of the Ming Dynasty Imperial Guard, who aided them in their travels; although neither Kilik nor Xianghua knew that Xianglian was her long-lost sister. With Maxi and Xianghua's help, Kilik stormed Ostrheinsburg Castle and defeated Nightmare; although Maxi was thought to be killed and the Dvapara-Yuga was destroyed. Afterwards, he returned to Edge Master's hermitage, continuing to perfect the technique of neutralizing and purifying evil energy.
Four years later, he sensed the return of Soul Edge, and set out on another journey to defeat Soul Edge once and for all, so that he could atone for the sins he committed the night of the fateful Evil Seed.
Along the way, he encountered Xianghua again. They argued over their difference of opinions, but ended up traveling together. While purifying a town infected with evil, the two encounted Zasalamel. Kilik engaged Zasalamel in battle, but lost. Before he lost consciousness, Kilik heard Zasalamel tell him that if he challenged Soul Edge unprepared, he would be trapped in its dark abyss. He awoke a month later in Edge Master's hermitage, carried there by Xianghua. Sensing a terrible energy within his wounds, Edge Master had performed a special ritual to treat them. Kilik realized that he would not be able to seal Soul Edge with his current strength. Thinking to himself, he placed his hand on his chest and realized that the fragment of the Dvapara-Yuga was gone.
Edge Master then ordered Kilik to begin training. He surrounded himself in a dark aura, similar to a person affected by the Evil Seed. Armed with only the Kali-Yuga, Kilik realized that his target should be the evil energy within Edge Master. Within three months, Kilik managed to strike Edge Master with a purifying blow, enough to free his teacher's mind, but at the same time, seriously injuring him.
Edge Master told Kilik that even though he still lacked skill, and that a pure spirit strikes only at evil without harming the body, he noted that Kilik had made good progress in a short time. He handed Kilik another fragment of the Dvapara-Yuga and a letter from Xianghua. She wrote that she would improve on her skills and regain her courage, and she believed that together, they would be able to destroy Soul Edge. With these words, Kilik set out west to once again pursue the evil.
Weapons
-- Kali-YugaOne of the three sacred treasures of the Ling-Shen Su Temple. Kali-Yuga has the power to absorb any type of energy, be it good or evil. Since the night when the Evil Seed rained down the temple Kali-Yuga has been filled with evil energy, and if whoever (aside from Kilik) is to handle Kali-Yuga, it would mean the creation of another Soul Edge like weapon. Kilik has trained with it for many years and has become his preferred weapon.
-- Dvapara-Yuga
One of the three sacred treasures of the Ling-Shen Su Temple. Dvapara-Yuga is a sacred mirror with the ability to purify anything (human beings or objects) corrupted with Evil Energy. When the temple was raided by the Evil Seed, it was Dvapara-Yuga's power (along with Kilik's inner strength) that kept him from becoming Berserk. It was handed to him by his sworn sister, Xianglian, to save his life at the cost of hers. During the battle against the Azure Knight Dvapara-Yuga has been shattered. Its fragments are still guarded by Edgemaster. Kilik stil keeps a pendant that has a small piece of the Dvapara-Yuga as a good luck charm.
(Note: Dvapara-Yuga is counted in Kilik's profile in Soul Calibur, but it isn't actually a weapon)
Stages
-- Proving Grounds (SC)
The nearby Hindu temple, constructed in a cave, was built in the 9th
century and had been forgotten for many years. With its pure waters the
place had a holy atmosphere that made it feel as if it was another world.
The stone cave and the temple lay deep within India. The small caves that
formed the lake-like shape out of the river were the only things that broke
the tranquil scene. The mysterious old man that appeared in before of Kilik
lives here in the small hut on the hill like a hermit.
"Who could this great master be..."
His mind is full of questions Kilik trains himself everyday to
control the evil within.
(Note: Kilik shares this stage with Edge Master. Known as The Pure Training Spot on Arcade)
-- Labyrinth (SC2)
Just like the legends surrounding the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea, many myths and folklores around the world refer to structures called Labyrinths. Most places people refer to as labyrinths, however, are nothing more than intricate places. This ruin is the exception. With complex corridors and chambers that run though numerous levels underground, this ruin defines the word "labyrinth." No one knows when this labyrinth was created or its purpose. The only thing that is known about this recently reawakened ruin is that it is the only structure in this area - there are no cities nor temples anywhere nearby.
-- Proving Grounds (SC3)
Deep in the Himalayan Mountains, upstream of a cold mountain river, lives a legendary sword master. It was quite some time ago that this old man chose to spend the remainder of his life in this old cave temple. He continues to live eternally. And now, in order to control the power of the evil sword that he had absorbed, a young apprentice devotes himself to training in his place. Once the apprentice's fierce training is complete, he will set out once again to challenge the cursed sword. What thoughts will go through the mind of the old man as he sends Kilik on his way? The flowing water that has watched the old man for so long offers up no words, merely continuing to flow as it always has.
Character Analysis
In Soul Calibur, Kilik has a good combination of speed and range. He's a long range character, and is quicker than other long-range characters (Astaroth, Nightmare), but his weapon size doesn't allow for quick strings of moves or recovery, and his attacks aren't overly strong or damaging. Kilik has many options to create quickly combination attacks and juggles, which balance his lack of strength in single strikes. His close-range game is quite lacking, so he's most useful at mid-range, where he has many options, range and speed to avoid enemy attacks and set-up traps and mind games.
In Soul Calibur II, Kilik is considered to be a mid-tier character. He is relatively easy to pick up for beginners, quite fast with moderate damage, and has impressive reach. He is also versatile in the sense that he is not particularly lacking in any form of play style (be it long-ranged, short-ranged, defensive or aggressive combat). Kilik also possesses a good arsenal of ring out moves.
Kilik is ideally a mid-ranged character who excels in linear combat. Players fighting against Kilik should make frequent use of 8WR. Since Kilik is a balanced character, there is not a clear weak spot to exploit. Players should focus on using the particular strengths of their own character in order to outplay a good Kilik user. For example, Ivy (long range) players will benefit from distancing Kilik and fishing for counter hits. Whereas, Xianghua (fast, short ranged) players will gain advantage by forcing Kilik to engage in high-pressure, close-quarter combats.
Kilik's style is similar to Seong Mi-na's except he is a better rush down character with Raging Phoenix Rising (66AAB+K) and possesses the Monument and Tribute stances. Both bo-based characters have very effective low attacks.
Although theoretically impressive on paper, Kilik is largely unproven in tournament environments. This is the main reason why his tier-ranking is not along the lines of Xianghua or Ivy.
In Soul Calibur III, Kilik is largely considered a mixed bag when compared to his past incarnation. His moves are less linear in the new edition, and tend to whiff less often, such as Phoenix Rage Thrust, which is now an excellent long range tool. Also, Kilik has two new close range punishers-- 44B (one of the fastest moves in the game, and stuns on hit) and 66B, which unlike the version in SC II, turns automatically into an AT on counterhit.
However, some experts argue that Kilik's abilities in up close combat have been decremented too much in some areas. In particular, 6AA:B+K is gone now. Kilik's old 3B, one of the best jugglers and punishers in SCII and a previously frequent complement to his 1_3A+B, is also missing. Kilik's new 3BB has worse range, and only launches on CH. Furthermore, Kilik's Tribute stance has been replaced with the Backparry stance, which is considered oftentimes to be less useful because rather than ducking highs, it simply takes a step back, which usually isn't too helpful. Some of Kilik's good horizontals in SC II were either weakened (3A), made much less accessible (the old B+K), or removed entirely and given to Seong Mi-na (99_33AA).
On the other hand, the auto-GI window for Kilik's Monument stance has been noticeably increased and although Kilik's horizontals have been weakened, side stepping in SC III has been toned down so this is not a serious problem. Overall, the SC III Kilik seems distinctly more defense/punish oriented than the Kilik of SC II, but most players agree that his rank of mid-tier is still more or less true today.
Trivia
- Most of Kilik's costumes in the games have some resemblance to those of Sun Wukong. Moreover, his Ultimate Weapon, the Jingu Staff, is supposed to be the magical staff he uses in the myths.
- The Ling-Sheng Su Temple's three treasures are all named after Yugas - ages in Hindu philosophy. The Kali Yuga refers to the current age, marked by materialism and suffering - as such, the Kali Yuga is a corrupt weapon (even though that is not its inherent nature). The Dvapara Yuga is the age preceding the current one. Though less utopian than the preceding two ages, it is more spiritual than the Kali Yuga. It is known as an age of worship. In Soul Calibur, Xianghua wields the Krita Yuga, which is named after the first (and next) age. The second age, the Treta Yuga, has not yet been mentioned in the series.
- Kilik is, until now, the only character in Soul Calibur III with an alternate version of his ending. The input ending shows him catching Xianghua after she trips and confessing that he wants her to stay with him, and the special ending, inputing another code, shows the same dialogue but with the characters in different position. If the player doesn't input any codes, Kilik will miss catching Xianghua and laugh as she lies there trying to get up. Shortly thereafter, Maxi arrives and the three of them take off to parts unknown.
- Kilik and Xianghua has a special Weapon Demostration (or kata) in Soul Calibur III which can only be viewed after leaving the game in the Main Screen for an amount of time. The demostration is of both having a sparring match.
- Kilik's former master, Han Dongxiu, was a close friend of Xianghua's father, Kong Xiquiang. Kilik killed him in the massacre of Ling-Sheng Su Temple.
- Kilik's nickname in Soul Calibur is "Destiny Awakened".
- Kilik's Destined Battle in Soul Calibur is Edge Master, in Soul Calibur II is Xianghua and in Soul Calibur III is Raphael. Alternatively, if Edge Master isn't unlocked in Soul Calibur, his Destined Battle is Nightmare.
Series' Appearances
External links
| Soul series by Namco |
|
Main Games Soul Edge | Soul Edge: Version 2 (Soul Blade) | Soul Calibur | Soul Calibur II | Soul Calibur III | Soul Calibur III: Version 2 ()
Main Characters
Minor Characters
Boss Characters
Soundtracks
Miscellaneous |
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