Ky Kiske
Ky Kiske is a
character in the
Guilty Gear fighting game series, having appeared in every game to date. He is also a well-storied character, due to his involvement in the events prior to the first game.
He is tremendously talented in tactics, swordfighting, and
magic; the novel
Lightning the Argent reveals that his ability to create lightning projectiles from his sword Fuuraiken is extraordinary, as lightning is the most difficult magic to control. Ky is also a man filled with devotion to
God, and to maintaining peace and justice after the war. Investigating his superiors is not beyond Ky, if he believes them to be undermining his concept of justice. He is highly compassionate and chivalric, and will hold back on female opponents, if he is forced to fight them. However, Ky also has personality flaws: morally, he sees only in black and white, and not in shades of gray. However, he is working to adjust.
Background
Ky Kiske is the current captain of the International Police Force (IPF). Charismatic and highly talented with both swords and magic, he was the former commander of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights (Seikishidan) during the Holy War (2074-2175 AD) that was fought between mankind and the Gears (the latter under the leadership of Commander Gear
Justice).
Orphaned at the age of 10 during the war, he met the then-commander of the Sacred Order,
Kliff Undersn. Afterward, Ky was told to come back after five years of training to see him again, if he really wanted to fight. Five years passed, and Ky returned, ready to do battle.
A year passed, and due to the retirement of Kliff Undersn, 16-year-old Ky Kiske was recognized for his talent, and was named the new chief of the Sacred Order. With the appointment, he was given the Fuuraiken (Thunderseal Sword), one of the Sacred Order's holiest treasures, and a weapon that allowed the wielder to manipulate the element of lightning. Soon after his appointment, he led the Knights to victory and ended the 100-year genocidal war.
The Order was disbanded after the Holy War ended, and five years after that Ky Kiske entered the IPF. He was soon promoted to captain.
Guilty Gear: The Missing Link
After Ky hears rumors of bloodshed, huge prizes, and the possible resurrection of Justice, Ky Kiske enters a tournament that will select members for a second Sacred Order of Holy Knights.
Guilty Gear X: By Your Side
After hearing Justice's last words at the conclusion of the tournament, Ky hears new rumors, these ones of a new Commander Gear that doesn't wish to harm humans. He sets out to find the truth in Justice's final words, and the flaws of his own concept of justice.
Guilty Gear XX: The Midnight Carnival
After rescuing a beaten Commander Gear
Dizzy and entrusting her to Johnny's care, Ky returns to his normal duties as a captain of the IPF. As soon as he's gotten back to work, Ky Kiske is thrust into a new conspiracy, including robot
clones of himself, a secret organization, a woman in red called
I-No, and his eternal rival,
Sol Badguy.
Ky is considered an extremely straightforward rushdown character with excellent zoning properties. With certain attack strings (usually beginning in Charge Stun Edge or 6HS), he can make an opponents guard gauge rise to a flashing level with ease. With Ky's easy combos and long block strings that are easily mastered, he remains a very good, accessible beginner character. However, at higher level play, Ky has risen to the top tier of Guilty Gear XX: Slash. With an added quicker projectile, and more powerful combos and more viable mixup options added, including a new loop involving his "Greed Sever" attack, he is a force to be reckoned with when skillfully played.
Ky Kiske is named after
Kai Hansen and
Michael Kiske from the power metal band
Helloween. His special move,
Ride the Lightning, and his instant kill attack,
Rising Force, are named after
Metallica and
Yngwie Malmsteen albums, respectively. Ky's theme song,
Holy Orders(Be Just or be Dead), is a reference to
Iron Maiden song
Be Quick or Be Dead.
