UPDATE: Soul Calibur Adventure (Wii) Info and artwork inside

Soul Calibur Legends is the action adventure game as hinted at by IGN last weekend.

Press Release

SANTA CLARA, Calif., (May 11, 2007) - The legendary weapon-based fighting game franchise has been reinvented as NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today announced Soulcalibur LegendsTM exclusively for the Nintendo WiiTM. Developed specifically for the innovative console, Soulcalibur Legends fully immerses players in a third person action adventure and takes a unique approach to the series by truly utilizing the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. An unparalleled experience awaits gamers when Soulcalibur Legends is released this winter. To date the Soul series has sold more than 9 million units worldwide.

"Over the past ten years, since the release of the original Soulblade, the team behind the Soulcalibur series has pushed the envelope of technology and innovation with each iteration," said Makoto Iwai, Executive Vice President and COO, NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. "With Soulcalibur Legends, they saw the opportunity to once again create an immersive experience that is unique to the franchise."

In Soulcalibur Legends, follow the 16th century exploits of Siegfried and Soulcalibur characters, new and old as they find themselves on a quest for ultimate power in order to save an empire from destruction. Using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk as their weapons of choice, players perform moves and combos using orchestrated slashes and movements. Sword fighting capabilities are pushed to the limit as gamers unleash special attacks to crush scores of enemies and large bosses. Earn honored titles such as Knight or Soldier as you master special attacks acquired throughout the adventure while battling through diverse stages and environments. With multiple modes of play and the help of familiar faces, the Soulcalibur universe will be viewed in an entirely new light.

pic1

pic2 See below for US Friendly browser shots. Nice one ASK.

Seigfried looks to be the focus of the story, but many other characters will appear in the game, as well as new ones

- "a quest for ultimate power in order to save an empire from destruction."

- Nunchuck/Wiimote control, game may not have as deep a fighting system as the rest of the series

- As you gain experience (from fights) you rise up in rank, and are allowed to learn new moves

- "Over the past ten years, since the release of the original Soul Blade, the team behind the Soulcalibur series has pushed the envelope of technology and innovation with each iteration. With Soulcalibur Legends, they saw the opportunity to once again create an immersive experience that is unique to the franchise." - Makoto Iwai, exec. VP and COO of Namco Bandai America

Tecmo has also announced in Famitsu that they are working on a wii action game. We now know this to be Rygar. Details in the Tecmo conference thread.

Source: Famitsu

Looks like the Wii is getting good support from the big guns.

I hope this lasts and the Wii gets quality games by these top Japanese companies.

EDIT:

Well, I found some high-res artwork on 1up.com. Cool stuff!

But it kind of reminds me of God of War in many ways, doesn't it? ;)

Looks like the Wii is getting good support from the big guns.ASK_Story

Thats what happens your product sells well. Do you think the DS would be getting an exclusive mainstream installment of Dragonquest if it just got average sales?

3rd Parties look at the Wii and DS and see a large and rapidly growing consumer base.  That translates into potential, potential the sports "$$$"

Updated with new info, see first post. Also, admire my new look.gaminggeek

Your links to the 2 pics in your first post took me to a forbidden page, so I hope you don't mind that I posted the pics on the post below.

The first picture looks like a SC2 stage, which brings up bad memories of how awful that game was.KixDanis

Not if you had the version with that famous green, elven hero in the game. ;)

teh second picture looks amazing. i would love it to stay in that 80's mythological dungeons and dragons style with new characters, weapons and gameplay, would be amazing but will probebly get changed for more mass market appeal.magrappy

The pics, art direction, or swinging the Wii-mote looks and sounds great, but I hope it's not just a mindless hack-n-slasher like, the way Castlevania Lament of Innocense/Curse of Darkness, Chaos Legion, or Nanobreaker was.

I really hope Namco-Bandai brainstorms a little more on this and think about what would make this game fun and not repetitive to play. I think they should look to the God of War and Ninja Gaiden for inspiration for level design and environmental puzzles, and Devil May Cry 3 for the difficulty.

[QUOTE="magrappy"]teh second picture looks amazing. i would love it to stay in that 80's mythological dungeons and dragons style with new characters, weapons and gameplay, would be amazing but will probebly get changed for more mass market appeal.ASK_Story

The pics, art direction, or swinging the Wii-mote looks and sounds great, but I hope it's not just a mindless hack-n-slasher like, the way Castlevania Lament of Innocense/Curse of Darkness, Chaos Legion, or Nanobreaker was.

I really hope Namco-Bandai brainstorms a little more on this and think about what would make this game fun and not repetitive to play. I think they should look to the God of War and Ninja Gaiden for inspiration for level design and environmental puzzles, and Devil May Cry 3 for the difficulty.

if they make it as hard as devil may cry 3 they ailienate 90% of wii owners, and make me very happy 

I hope by "Action Adventure" they don't just mean normal fighting game matches with navigation/adventuring inbetween fights (like some types of quest modes and such found in other fighting games).

If it's an actual seemless genuine action adventure game (like say, Ninja Gaiden, God of War or Zelda), then consider me excited.

[QUOTE="KixDanis"]The first picture looks like a SC2 stage, which brings up bad memories of how awful that game was.ASK_Story

Not if you had the version with that famous green, elven hero in the game. ;)

 Well, that was cool for about five seconds. The system sucks and the glitches made it unbearably awful. Since SC3:AE fixed the glitches and doesn't suck near as bad I would love to see him back.

[QUOTE="ASK_Story"]

[QUOTE="gaminggeek"]Updated with new info, see first post. Also, admire my new look.dvader654

Your links to the 2 pics in your first post took me to a forbidden page, so I hope you don't mind that I posted the pics on the post below.

Thanks ASK,  I had the same problem with the links.

GG you failed! :P

Why is it that that particular site doesn't allow americans to visit? You're forbidden. Only Eurotrash allowed. Keep out scum.

GFront.

If this turns out to be anything like Namco's Tekken adventure game (the one with nina williams) i'll pass.SiBaba

It wasn't that bad. The ideas were just dated and it offered nothing new to the genre. If the game came out a few years before like maybe during PS2's first year, it may have been received better by the critics and fans.

But I think what really killed it was the super looooong loading times. The game loaded for 15~25 seconds everytime I opened a door to go into the next room, the next area, or whenever there was a cut-scene! The loading drove me nuts not the game itself.

To this day I can say (shamefully I might add) that playing Death by Degrees all the way through was my greatest gaming accomplishment because I endured torture from the loading times. If it wasn't for those long loads this game would've been above average to me.

Bandai-Namco have announced a Winter 2007 release date for the game. Announced in May, released by December? Hmm..

Hmmm, indeed. Still, it could be under development for a long time. Let's give it the benefit of the doubt, at least.nopalversion

We are Wii owners, so we should be thinking..... hmmm are they porting old content with a new spin to make cheap and easy money? Now I'm becoming skeptical. When did SC3 launch?

[QUOTE="nopalversion"]Hmmm, indeed. Still, it could be under development for a long time. Let's give it the benefit of the doubt, at least.gaminggeek

We are Wii owners, so we should be thinking..... hmmm are they porting old content with a new spin to make cheap and easy money? Now I'm becoming skeptical. When did SC3 launch?

It may be that it was originally planned for the PS2 or something but after SC3 poor sales they have decided the Wii may be a better format for it, or it could be as you say what 90% of the third partys have done with the Wii thus far.

[QUOTE="gaminggeek"]

[QUOTE="nopalversion"]Hmmm, indeed. Still, it could be under development for a long time. Let's give it the benefit of the doubt, at least.csliney

We are Wii owners, so we should be thinking..... hmmm are they porting old content with a new spin to make cheap and easy money? Now I'm becoming skeptical. When did SC3 launch?

It may be that it was originally planned for the PS2 or something but after SC3 poor sales they have decided the Wii may be a better format for it, or it could be as you say what 90% of the third partys have done with the Wii thus far.

After reading the press release I'm appeased somewhat.