Valentine (Guilty Gear)

“	Who me? I'm Valentine.	„
	~ Valentine

Valentine is the main antagonist and a playable character in Guilty Gear 2: Overture. She is a copy of Aria, who was one of the proponents of the Gear Project, and Frederick's lover. She has a personality of stone, speaking only when she explains her motives.

She is voiced by Chie Sawaguchi in the Japanese version, and by Wendee Lee in the English version.

Character Design

Her style of dress is something similar to a Gothic type of style. She also wears headgear that resembles a pair of Bat's Wings. She also has two white antenae sprouting from the sides of her head.

Personality

She corresponds to matters in a mechanical way, showing no signs of emotion or desire. Since there are no intonations in her behavior or in her speech, she is intimidating because it seems like a doll talking. She often mentions that she is "running errands for mother". Who "mother" is has yet to be revealed. However, when Sol and company pursue Valentine to the Backyard, she starts to become irritated of them, developing her first emotions in the process: frustration and rage.

Story

Guilty Gear 2: Overture

Valentine is the primary culprit behind the Gear sublimation in Illyria. She later leads her Vizuel army to attack the city against Ky Kiske's army. Her goal is to obtain the "Key", which are the Maiden of the Grove's cells, to open the Cube. Her assault caused a lot of casualties, but still she failed to find the Key she was searching for. However, when Sol and Sin return to Illyria to help the king, her backup plan is revealed: to take Sin's cells instead, as he is the offspring of Ky Kiske and the Maiden of the Grove. She succeeds in obtaining the Key and brainwashes Sin.

She used her Vizuel army to guard her while she was opening the portal to the Backyard, but Ky Kiske and his army arrived to defeat it. Sol and his company then pursued Valentine to the Backyard. When she realized that all her plans failed, she became frustrated and finally developed emotions. This sudden flow of emotions drove her into an extremely violent state, turning her into a fake copy of Justice. After being defeated in her Gear form, she tranformed in a gigantic fortress-like Megadeath Class Gear and the final battle started. When fighing Sol Badguy, memories of Aria manifested themselves as voices around her. She was eventually defeated by Sol, and remembered his real name, Frederick, and told him "it's okay", before fading away.

In the Epilogue, That Man says to Raven that millions of Valentines are being born each day.

Powers and Abilities

Valentine is similar to A.B.A in which they both wield unconventional weapons. Valentine fights using a balloon that she calls Lucifer. The balloon appears to have magic powers, such as shapeshifting into a mace-like weapon for melee or firing projectiles in form of missiles and energy bursts. She also has access to the Soul Sinker system, which allows her to generate her own Master Ghost(soul) into physical reality as well as create her Servants, the Vizuel. It is commented that her magical energy is incredibly high and she can use spells that are outside the realm of conventional knowledge, to the point where Sol and Sin cannot dispel her seals or barriers nor harm her with magical attacks until Izuna modified their abilities. She can also brainwash her enemies with a form of Mind Control similar to Justice's, using said ability on Izuna's Youkai companions, Paradigm's Gear allites, and even Sin. She can sublimate(disassemble) Gears by accessing the Backyard and dismantling their core data. When she succumbs to her anger, she will transform into a large mecha-like being similar in appearance and abilities to Justice..

Trivia

• Her name possibly alludes to the band Bullet for My Valentine.
• In Arc Systems' Blazblue, the female lead, Noel Vermillion, is pursed by Litchi, who forces her to don bizarre outfits upon catching up to her. The last outfit she forces her into is Valentine's.
• Valentine is the only character so far who is able to change her biological make-up on her own. From a Backyard Resident, she assimilates Sin's (Maiden of the Grove's) cells to transform herself into a Command-Type Gear.
• Valentine's appearance is almost similar to that of A.B.A.
• In the game, if Valentine is left idle, she and her balloon will chat.