Ricardo Soldato

Ricardo Soldato
Information
Appearance	Tales of Innocence
Hometown	Garam
Age	27
Height	6'0" / 183 cm
Weight	170 lbs / 77 kg
Race	Human
Occupation	Hitman
Weapon	Rifle
Japanese Voice Actor	Hiroaki Hirata
Character Designer	Mutsumi Inomata

Ricardo Soldato (リカルド・ソルダート, Rikarudo Sorudaato^?) is one of the protagonists in Tales of Innocence. He is a sniper who wields his bayonet with remarkable ability.

History

Ricardo first appears as a mercenary working for Garam in a battle against Regnum, tasked with setting fire to the camp and assassinating the commander. He is first seen sniping imperial soldiers from a bush. He is forced out of hiding by Spada Belforma, who is able to avoid and deflect the gunfire and close in. Out in the open, he fights the party before recognizing Ruca Milda's swordsmanship. It is quickly discovered that he is the reincarnation of the Ratio general Hypnos, who Asura, Ruca's past life, defeated. Despite the dark history in the past, Ricardo is not interested in hearing what they have to say. However, Hasta Ekstermi arrives to pick a fight with Ricardo. While the party escapes, Ricardo does battle with Hasta.

Ricardo is later hired by a noble named Albert Grandeioza from Tenos, to infiltrate the Naohs Base, and secure a captive Ange Serena. When he breaks in, he stumbles upon the trio with Ange herself. Ange is able to bribe Ricardo with a platinum necklace from the church into joining the party. As they make their escape, they run into a man named Gardle, who attacks them. After the fight, Ricardo begins to notice who Gardle is before he retreats.

Appearance and Personality

Status image in Tales of Innocence R.

Ricardo is a tall man with pale skin, blue eyes and black hair tied into a thin layer with blue wrapping right up to his head, complete with a goatee. He also has a a scar prominently on his forehead. Ricardo wears a primarily black uniform, with black boots, and a black trench coat. Underneath the coat, Ricardo has a blue bandanna around his neck, a green belt on his pants, and three different belts of bullets.

Ricardo is first seen to be straightforward, wanting to get the job done without wasting any unnecessary time. Later on, he is shown to be wise, experienced, and rational. Due to his experience as a mercenary, Ricardo is able to get along with the rest of the team despite being enemies at first. As a mercenary, Ricardo places great importance on contracts, always keeping his word based on the current contract he is under. As he has survived many battlefields, he is also familiar with the history and social situation of each region.

At first glance, he seems to be cold-hearted, but he attentive and protective of the rest of the party. His hobby is gun maintenance and in addition to disassembling and repairing his own guns, he also takes care of Illia's guns. He is also skeptically perceptive, often being the only one to see there is more to Kongwai Tao and QQ Selezneva's conversations.

Although he does not show it, he also has a fear of heights.

Fighting Style

Cut-in image for Tales of Innocence.

Cut-in image for Phantom Call in Tales of Innocence R.

Ricardo's fighting style is an original one using bayonet, firing bullets in his ranged strike artes. He also borrows several close-ranged artes from Eugene Gallardo, albeit altering them to fit his own style. As the reincarnation of Hypnos, some of his strike artes are Dark- or Earth-elemental. He is also capable of using magic artes of the same element, as well as some support spells.

In Tales of Innocence R, his arteset is altered and expanded on and is given access to the Spoil artes.

Other Appearances

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3

Cut-in image for Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3.

In Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3, Ricardo shares the same hometown as Ange, Ruca, and others, so they are all acquainted know each other. He was traveling around battlefields as a mercenary but eventually works for Ad Libitum at Ange's request.

Gallery

Cut-in image for Endless Tragedy in Tales of Innocence R.

Artwork for Tales of Link.

Trivia

• Ricardo is a Spanish given name derived from the Latin Ricardus, meaning "powerful ruler". There is also an Italian variant, Riccardo. Soldato is the Italian word for "soldier", but also holds the same meaning in Esperanto, reflecting many other characters' surnames in the game.
• Ricardo calls other people by their full name or family name. In the original version of the game, he calls his comrades by their family name, while in the remake, he calls them by their first name instead after Illia Animi tells him not to be so stiff.
• Ricardo's outfit appears as a legacy costume for Raven in PlayStation 3 and Definitive Edition releases of Tales of Vesperia.
• In his crossover appearances, Ricardo uses the Mercenary Rifle as his default weapon.