Polished to a piercing gleam, considered beyond mortally tangible thought, it's the best beat 'em up i played in years!!
And guess what? True to form, Namco has indeed delivered the level of perfection I so longed for. Not only is Soul Calibur the finest fighting game I've ever played, but, with possible exception to titles such as Sonic and NFL 2K, it's also the number one reason to buy a Dreamcast later this year.
Where, oh where to begin? How about with the feature of the game that makes me far more interested in playing it than playing Virtua Fighter or Tekken: the story and characters. It all begins, apparently, with Cervantes, the evil pirate, and an apparent misunderstanding about the intentions of a particularly powerful twin sword, the Soul Edge mentioned in the first game's title. The game brings together characters from varying backgrounds and time periods, all of whom are seeking this Soul Edge for one reason or another. There's Sophitia, who worships, as all good Greeks should, Hepheastos, son of Hera, and knows the Soul Edge to be evil. There's Seung Mina, who left home in search of the Soul Edge, which she thinks to be a savior sword. Most interesting of all, though, would be Seigfried, who becomes possessed of the Soul Edge, and transforms into the Evil Seed.
If any of this sounds foreign to you, then, you ought to obtain a copy of Soul Edge for your PlayStation and play through it like a madman. Or, just head on over to soulcalibur.com, and read through all the interwinding character biographies and storylines. If you don't find yourself intrigued, then may Pallas Athena herself take mercy on you.
Of course, try as a might, some people just won't take interest in the storylines or characters. There are the graphics nuts out there, for instance, whose interest in the product will be for nothing more than its graphical splendor. These individuals can take solace in the fact that Soul Calibur is a indeed a beautiful game. In fact, it's probably the most graphically impressive title you'll see on the American DC this year (only NFL2K has managed to impress me as much). There's just so much detail in the characters, more than in even Sega's own Virtua Fighter III (arcade or home). You'll see smooth curves, stray strands of hair, and free-flowing pieces of clothing. The characters, when viewed closely in the hidden profile mode, show some definite polygon edges, but when viewing them in a fight, which is how you're supposed to actually be viewing them, you'd be hard-pressed to tell that you weren't looking at perfect models.
The best part of the game's graphics, though, doesn't lie in its models, but rather in its animation. A quick look at the hidden exhibition mode, in which the characters practice their katas (fighting patterns) will reveal a level of animation closer to reality than has ever been successfully achieved in the arcade or home. The characters during these sequences move with unprecedented grace and beauty (well, assuming the character is supposed to be graceful, that is), and when viewing an actual fight, you'll see the same level of animation splendor. The game is actually much improved over its arcade counterpart in this area. I believe I'd only need to show off Xianghua's kata in order to sell the game, and the Dreamcast on anyone (the kata is actually available for download below).
The backgrounds aren't as impressive as the characters; in fact, most of the Virtua Fighter III backgrounds have more depth and complexity than the Soul Calibur ones (the notable exception to this would have to be Soul Calibur's Venice stage, which seems to be the most beautiful 3D environment of them all). Still, though, the entire package, complete with the incredible lighting, shading, and reflection effects, come together as console gaming's current graphics leader.
The Venice stage is stunning, but, on the whole, the VFIII
backgrounds are more impressive than those of Soul Calibur.
Aurally, things are just as good, with a few exceptions. Thankfully (remember, I wouldn't have stood for it in any other way), the game features a legendary score, of the same caliber as the first tile. Everything has been re-recorded to take advantage of the DC's streaming audio abilities, so the result is a symphonic score that will bring a tear to your eye. Also adding to the aural quality is the voice acting. Namco has chosen to keep everything in Japanese this time, and the result is some top-notch spoken phrases by the characters. I will admit that certain characters sound strange speaking Japanese (Sophitia, for instance, sounded more Greek when she was speaking English in the first game), but the Japanese voice actors definitely know their stuff. Sound effects too are, for the most part, a high point. The weapon sounds in particular are well done, but the effects for the characters and their weapons striking the ground sound way off.
I was going to do a full ten page report (single spaced) on the story, graphics, and sound of Soul Calibur, but I figured you'd like to hear about more than just that. After all, you're not going to be just looking at the screen when you get your DC on 9/9/99, you're going to be playing the bloody game! Now, let me get one thing out of the way. I'm a hardcore fighting game fan, but I'm not all that good at playing fighting games. Let's see . . . I know how to do a fireball, a dragon punch, and a sonic boom, and I think I know what combos, chains, and floats are. I still don't know how to consistently do an aerial rave move in X-men VS Street Fighter, though, and when people speak of a SPOD move in Virtua Fighter, I wonder what the hell they're talking about!
That said, I love fighting games, be it 3D, 2D, or 2D pretending to be 3D. A quick look at my game collection will reveal no less than 15 titles from the genre. I have plenty of fun, staying up late at night with my buddies, fraying with one another, and this comes despite the fact that I'm not skilled-enough in the genre to appreciate the complexity of something like Virtua Fighter. Well here's a little reality check for all you hardcore fighters out there. Most of the people who'll be purchasing Soul Calibur on 9/9/99 and after are probably in the same boat as I.
I just wanted to make that clear before commenting on Soul Calibur's gameplay, as an effort to avoid the tons of hate mail from Tekken babies saying "but it's the exact same game!" and Virtua Fighter nuts saying "But it's just a button masher!" As it stands, and for what it's worth, I believe Soul Calibur to be, without doubt, the finest fighting game I've ever played, whether it be 3D or 2D. My reason for this isn't because I can do a 100 hit combo when I feel like it, nor is it because there's some sort of "zen feel to the game," as is everyone's favorite quote for Virtua Fighter. No, I'm praising Soul Calibur because I've never had so much fun with a fighting game. And that's ultimately what counts, right?
Upon considering what exactly makes me have so much fun with the game, I've come to a couple of reasons that I should probably pass on to you. First off is the level of control you're given over the characters. I think I'll take Seung Mina, my favorite character (also my favorite character from part 1), as an example. This babiliscious Korean babe uses (according to soulcalibur.com) a Zanba-To as her weapon. I've been able to make her do so many different things with her blade, by simply using subtle d-pad motions and a few button presses. Some examples that come to mind include having her spin the weapon like a baton, stick it out in front of here in an apparent effort to knock the footing out from under her opponent, swing it in 180 degree motions from her left to right side, as well as a whole myriad of other things. I suppose this is no different from Virtua Fighter or Tekken, games which promise hundreds of moves from their characters, but it just seems to be so much more obvious, at least to the casual fighter like myself. I have a feeling that most of the people who purchase the game on 9/9/99 will feel the same way.
Also contributing to this feeling of all-out control is the so-called 8-way run mode Namco has created. In Soul Edge, you were given limited ability to navigate your way around the battle field; you could move away and towards, of course, but you could also rotate around your opponent by using a button press. Soul Calibur takes this a lot farther by allowing you full movement through the arena in all 8 directions. There are some interesting things that can be done in the game when strategically using this 8-way run, and Namco has thankfully put a great deal of thought into its implementation. First off, the fighters seem to always face one another when in the 8-way run (unless, of course, one player just sits there like a monkey, not moving at all - this is something that the computer can be accused of, unfortunately), so it's easier to strike someone than it is in a fully free-roaming game like Power Stone. Also important is that your speed when backing away from an enemy is quite slow, so this form of movement can't be used for running away when you've wet your diapers. There are a couple of problems with the 8-way run, including the difficulty I have beginning the motion, and the awkward animation for some of the characters, but this is certainly a welcome feature.
Beyond the massive sense of control, I'm also drawn into many of Soul Calibur's other gameplay features, including the ability to use your weapon as a means of repelling an opponent, the high speed pace of the battles as a whole, the ability to charge up your character (this replaces the cool-looking, but overall silly, single super-move of the first game). The game does have its share of problems, though. I miss some of Soul Edge's finer elements, like the paper-rock-scissors style weapon clashes, and I don't like how easy it is to float an enemy, nor do I like the ease with which characters seem to fall out of the ring. These problems are minor at best, though.
Everything else with regards to Soul Calibur can be attributed to the amount of care and effort Namco seems to put into all its home products. True to form, Namco has injected the home version of Soul Calibur with a whole host of new play modes and options. Immediately accessible are the practice mode, which Namco has made quite addictive by allowing two players to play simultaneously, the team battle mode, and the survival mode. All the other options are accessible by playing through the arcade mode and the Mission Battle Mode, the latter of which is similar to the Edge Master Mode of the first title, though not as well implemented. Basically, what you do is you pick a character and then travel around the world, battling various opponents under certain special conditions. For instance, you'll have to at one point battle Edge Master, but it's very difficult to connect a hit, as he's constantly blocking. The only way to defeat him is to use one of your character's unblockable moves; one hit will kill him, but pulling off the unblockable move isn't the easiest thing in the world. Other scenarios that come to mind include fighting while poisoned (your energy will slowly deplete), fighting an opponent who's energy slowly recovers, and fighting multiple opponents one after the other. Winning certain battles will earn you points which can be exchanged for pieces of artwork in the game's artwork gallery; opening certain pieces of artwork will, apparently at random, earn you the new options and mode.
I'm not going to tell you how exactly these are gotten, as having them appear out of nowhere is half the fun, but here's a partial list of things I've found while playing through the game: a total of 18 characters (although I have no intention of ever using Yoshimitsu, Voldo, and Lizard Man, beyond the one time that you're required to use them), the 18 total stages, the liquid metal mode in which the characters assume liquid metal form (this looks UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE!), the three costumes for each character, a few additional weapons, about 300 or so pieces of high quality artwork (do I sense the subtle hint of a Soul Calibur animated series?), a mode which allows you to edit the intro (props for making Lizard Man the "girl in the wind"), and many other things that don't come to mind. I did get everything in the game (you know you've gotten everything when the title screen changes), but there are just so many things to get that it's almost overwhelming. You'll keep playing Soul Calibur in order to unlock these options, as they add so much to the game. I do miss the eight unlockable weapons per character from Soul Edge, and it's a little too easy to unlock things, but even still, Soul Calibur has been the longest one-player fighting experience of my life.
Few games come to mind as "required purchases," games that are so good that they have to be a part of your lineup. The original Soul Edge was such a game, and now Soul Calibur has earned a place alongside its brother. It may or may not be the most complicated fighting game out there - I'm not bold enough to make such a statement. I am bold enough, though, to state that I've never had so much fun with a fighting game than I had when playing Soul Calibur.