abstract
| - Astaroth is a fictional character in the Soul series of video games. Created by Namco's Project Soul division, he first appeared in the original Soulcalibur and its subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise related to the series. He is voiced in Japanese by Banjō Ginga for Soulcalibur and Ryūzaburō Ōtomo in later titles; in English, Astaroth is voiced by Jay S. Gilbert in Soulcalibur II and Michael McConnohie for the remaining titles. Introduced in Soulcalibur, Astaroth is a golem created by a cult worshiping the Greek god of war Ares to locate a cursed sword named "Soul Edge". Though Astaroth has consistently pursued the sword, his character has changed as the series progresses, eventually transforming into a power hungering creature desiring to consume the sword. Regarded as an iconic character of the series, Astaroth has been noted as fitting a large character stereotype seen in fighting games, featuring strong attacks but slow speed. Astaroth has been described as having easy-to-master gameplay and being popular with fans of strong, hard-hitting characters in fighting games. However, these aspects have also been a source of criticism towards the character, with complaints that the character serves as a crutch used by less-skilled players of the games.
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