SoulCalibur

"It could have been so much more."

Soul Calibur was released on September 9, 1999 as one of the Sega DreamCast’s launch titles. This game is a port of the arcade game of the same name. Both versions of the game were published and developed by Namco. SC is the sequel to Soul Edge/ Soul Blade (note: Soul Blade is the name of the the Sony PlayStation version, the arcade version was called Soul Edge.) This is a 3D one-on-one fighting game and is considered by many to be the best of the genre. SC contains numerous modes of play; including the usual Arcade mode and Versus mode; it also contains a new Mission Battle mode, this mode closely resembles a story mode, only you have to complete certain objectives during a fight for a character’s story to progress. The DC version of the game has numerous enhancements over the arcade version, among them: vastly improved graphics and more modes of play (the afformentioned Mission Battle mode is one of the new modes.) Now then, without further ado, let’s get to the review.

Graphics- 9/10- The graphics in this game are, for the most part, stunning. The character models are super-sharp and as smooth as one could imagine, with nary a hint of a jaggy texture on any of the game’s characters, this is because all of the characters feature a high polygon count, this is also one of the most notable aspects of the game. The characters themselves are very original, some are cookie-cutter characters, but most aren’t (Voldo is probably the best example of the game’s unconventional character design.) The game’s characters feature a ton of minute graphical touches, such as swaying cloth and subtle hair movement, you can even see your character’s breath in the air on the ice stage. The game’s animation is, for the most part, top-notch, the more extravegent maneuvers are wonderfully animated, throws on the other hand, tend to feature stiff, almost robotic animation. The other problem I have with the graphics is the lack of movement in most of the game’s backgrounds (the most notable exception to this is the canal stage), I think that the lack of background movement is very disappointing. In my opinion, backgrounds are important to fighting games, they have the potential to immerse you in the game and can give the game more personality. Overall, the graphics are exceptional, the only real downside to them is the lackluster throw animation and the lack of activity in many of the backgrounds.

Pros- Excellent character models. Imaginative character design. Subtle graphical touches on the characters. Fluid animation for fancier moves.
Cons- Lack of activity in many backgrounds. Robotic throw animations.

Sound- 7/10- The sound effects used throughout the game are nice, they fit their actions perfectly, the best example being the effect used for sword strikes. The in-game background music is decent enough, it usually fits the level it’s based on, but in some cases it doesn’t. It’s no big deal though, music usually doesn’t make or break a fighting game. The announcer is kind of a mixed bag, his voice fits the game’s setting well, but is kind of annoying after a while.

Pros- Great sound effects. Decent background music. The announcer fits the setting.
Cons- The background music sometimes doesn’t fit the level or character it’s based on. The announcer gets annoying after a while.

Gameplay- 4/10- SC features one of the best fighting game engines around. Too bad it’s been butchered. Many modes are featured for your enjoyment, too bad not all of them are enjoyable. The Mission Battle Mode is pretty creative, you are given a goal to accomplish before each match, if you accomplish the goal, you receive points that you can use to buy artwork. I think it’s a great concept that comes off great in execution. Now that I’ve gotten the good out of the way, here’s the bad. The game’s engine has been butchered, it’s far too unbalanced, and combos are WAY too easy to do. The Arcade mode gets really boring after a while, mainly because of how cheap some of the characters are.

Pros- Great fighting engine. Mission Battle mode is original.
Cons- The engine has been butchered. Combos are too easy to pull off.

Control- 10/10- The control is second-to-none, the DC pad works great with this game, after a few hours of practice, playing this game will be second nature. The control is very responsive, with nary a hint of sluggishness. The control is so responsive, you’ll probably be able to master moves after only a few tries, it’s that good.

Pros- Super-responsive controls.
Cons- None whatsoever.

Challenge- 8/10- The game is quite challenging, mainly due to the unbalanced nature of the characters. You really need to master a character if you want to get the most out of the game. Some of the characters feature very cheap AI patterns.

Replay Value-10/10- There is so much stuff to unlock in this game, I doubt you’ll ever unlock it all. From artwork, to secret characters, and secret stages, it’s all in SC. There is seemingly no end to the secrets in the game.

Presentation- 10/10- The game’s presentation is arcade-perfect. The presentation fits the game’s setting perfectly. Menus are easy to navigate through.

Overall- 4/10- The game has great graphics, replay value and control, but it seriously lacks solid gameplay, which is the most crucial aspect in a fighting game.

Final Thought- This game was a huge disappointment for me, I loved Soul Blade, but this game takes the game engine and makes it unbalanced. The game is all style and no substance in my opinion. It does have a ton of replay value, but for all the wrong reasons. If you need a 3D fighting game for your DC, get Virtua Fighter 3tb, it is, by far, the better game of the two, the graphics may not be as good, and there’s next to nothing to unlock, but it has unparalled gameplay, and that’s what counts. I really hope Namco goes back to the drawing board for SC 2.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 12/27/00, Updated 12/27/00