The Soul Still Burns
Review By Fargo

The Dreamcast hit the US market like a sledgehammer — busting sales records with the largest console release in history — thanks mainly to a sizeable initial software library. Among the first wave of titles there are some significant standouts, games so strong that they alone may sell the system. Count Soul Calibur among them.

Soul Calibur is Namco’s most recent fighting game, the latest in the SoulEdge/SoulBlade series. The Dreamcast version plays exactly like the version you’ve seen in the arcades, but this isn’t merely a port; Namco spent a great deal of time ensuring that this disk is packed with extras for the people at home. The artwork was redone from scratch, giving you higher res 3D backgrounds, new model animations, new moves and even a couple new playable characters. Yes, the home version is better than the arcade version, even graphically. Hello Dreamcast!

The Good
The game plays as good as it looks. The fighting is both brutal and a little strategic.
As a two-player fighting game, Soul Calibur polishes rather than innovates. Gameplay is what you’d expect: Two fighters square off in a ring and wail on each other until the loser collapses into a crumpled heap of pudding. The fighting system is very well done and makes great use of the 3D space. You can easily circle around your opponent, which comes in handy. Characters can attack by slashing horizontally or vertically, and their moves are all integrated into the 3D environment, so stepping quickly to one side is a good way to dodge an axe blow coming down toward your head, but it’s a bad way to dodge a sideways slash of a sword.
The system of blocking and counter-attacks is well thought out. And because the characters vary widely in size and strength and speed, the game plays very strategically. Small characters have the option of hanging back and waiting for an opportunity to zip in for a few fast strikes, or they can get toe-to-toe with their enemy in order to maintain a continuous volley of quick moves. Larger characters will want to back off and get some breathing room so they can wind-up for devastating strikes. Alternatively they’ll try to knock their opponent off the map with their heavier mass.

Button-bashing won’t get you far against a character who understands the combat system!
Unlike many other fighting games, the combat is very grounded. Characters can only jump a very short distance. Also, there aren’t any projectiles — every move is up close and personal, using pole-arms or bladed weapons. The emphasis is on dodging, blocking, and counter-attacking, not hurling through the air pummeling your opponent with fireballs. We found the strategic combat a hell of a lot more challenging than many other fighters, and the action was still fast-paced enough that there was no shortage of excitement.

The models are superb, surviving even close-up scrutiny. Seen here, Sophita’s hair and skirt will blow realistically in the wind, and her lips will move as she speaks.

Graphically the game is gorgeous. The 3D backgrounds are stunningly rendered with realistic lighting that affects the characters and their shadows. The models are superbly animated using realistic motion-captured fighting moves. There are very few clipping problems with the models; when your hits look like they should connect, they do, and when you miss someone you can see why you didn’t connect. That’s important for a fighting game.

The single-player game(s) are surprisingly playable, and really add a great deal of life to the title while distinguishing it from the arcade. Aside from playing the “arcade mode” single-player, there’s also a “mission battles” mode, which plays a little like a miniature RPG. Your character travels around a large map, finding challenges at each location. To conquer each area you’ll have to win a different fight under different conditions. For instance, sometimes your character will be poisoned, losing health as you fight. Or your opponent will be invisible. Dozens of missions are provided, so there’s no shortage of challenge or variety.

As rewards in the single-player games, your character gets points that you can spend in an “Art Gallery” on the CD. You use your points to “buy” hundreds of images, ranging from concept art to full-blown paintings of the characters. As you unlock more images, more hidden features of the game become available — more single-player missions, more selectable levels, more demos, more game modes, and so on. You can even re-edit the opening intro to feature your favorite characters. This game has more polish than a car lot.

The Bad
Hundreds of art-gallery images like these can be unlocked. There’s a wealth of background info you can dig up about each character and level in the game.
We’re giving Soul Calibur high marks because we think it’s an outstanding example of what the Dreamcast is capable of. There are only a couple of small issues that keep this title from scoring a perfect ten.
Despite the wealth of arenas (Just over a dozen basic arenas, many with multiple variations), all the levels were the same from a playability standpoint. Each level consisted of a roughly square or circular flat platform that you could knock players off of. There was no interaction with the levels; there were no height advantages, obstacles, rivers to wade through, etc. They’re beautiful locations but ultimately they all play the same.

The sound was a bit weak in the low-range. We hooked up the Dreamcast to a set of hi-end PC speakers and found that it was lacking in the bass. The sound effects were excellent (such as the clinking of chain armor as one character walked) but lacked the booming, ground-shaking noise that we wanted to hear when the heaviest blows landed. Furthermore, the announcer’s voiceover at the end of every fight said only two different phrases — each of which was equally grating after the 100th fight — and there was no way to turn the voice off.
This level was gorgeous, but all of the levels played identically.
Some people will be disappointed by the lack of fatalities. When characters are beaten, they’re not killed — they merely look despondent while the victor poses. This reviewer found that to be a refreshing change, but if you’re into blood and gore, you won’t find it here. Everyone’s limbs stay attached to their body. Similarly, there’s no projectiles, which fans of Street Fighter / Mortal Kombat might find boring.

Finally, more variety in the two-player combat would’ve been exciting. The single-player game implemented all sorts of interesting rules twists, it would’ve been exciting if these were all options in the multiplayer game — you and your friends could have a pass-the-poison deathmatch with all unblockable attacks and invisible weapons. Sadly, there are no options to do that.

These issues are all minor quibbles to an otherwise fantastic game. What ultimately counts is good, solid fighting action, something that Soul Calibur isn’t lacking in the slightest.
The Final Word
Soul Calibur has a lot to love. The graphics, particularly the character models and animation, are stunning. The fighting is both strategic and intense, fun to watch and fun to play. Multiple game modes, including an extensive single-player campaign, offer a lot of variety not normally found in fighting games. We would’ve liked to see more interaction in the arenas, but other than that this was a superb example of the Dreamcast at its best. A must-have title!

Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco
Genre: Fighting
Highs: Awesome graphics and animation. Exciting strategic gameplay. Surprising amount of ways to play single-player.

Lows: Not enough variety with the arenas.

Other: 1-2 Players, VMU Compatible (for saving progress), Jump Pack Compatible, Arcade Stick Compatible, VGA Output Box Support.
 

 

Since the Tekken series was slowly growing bit stale in my opinion, and Virtua Fighter 4 frustrated me to the point of cursing like a sailor, my search for the new ultimate fighting game began. Little did I know that a relatively old Dreamcast game named Soul Calibur could be one of the most addictive and exciting fighting games ever made. The gaming gods (or maybe it was just Namco) have blessed us with the closest game to perfection since The Punisher on the arcade (play it if you haven’t already).

Gameplay is what makes a fighting game great, no matter how pretty the graphics are. Other genres may be able to get away with pretty graphics and crappy gameplay (some RPGs come to mind), but fighting games can’t do this. Fortunately, Soul Calibur absolutely delivers. The customizable controls in this 3D fighter are responsive and the basics are easy to grasp. Since there are three attack buttons and 1 guard button, control is simple and not overbearing, like in some fighting game. Fighters can be knocked off the edge of the stage, effectively adding a whole level of strategy. Sometimes the best way to win is forcing your opponent off the edge in two powerful attacks instead of slowly depleting the opponent’s health bar.

 

Twenty characters make their way into Soul Calibur. Only a couple of these characters “borrow” elements from the other characters, so most of them are unique. Depending on what character is used, a new strategy has to be adopted. Using a weakling like the ninja warrior Taki and not utilizing blocks and dodging the attacks will result in a humiliating defeat. The big bruisers like Nightmare and Astaroth are too slow to dodge most attacks, but their sheer power makes up for their lack of speed. Some people may complain about a few characters being way stronger than others, but each character has a certain strength that keeps things balanced.

The beauty of Soul Calibur is that both button mashers and more technical gamers can enjoy this game. While it is possible to beat the game by just randomly hitting the attack buttons, the gamers who take time to learn all techniques and moves will definitely have the upper hand. Some of the advanced techniques include escaping from throws and performing a guard impact. A guard impact successfully stops an attack, and briefly stuns the opponent. Another move is the “soul charge.” This increases the damage you can deal temporarily, unfortunately this tactic is mainly ineffective due to the amount of time you’re left defenseless while charging up.

As if the perfect gameplay wasn’t enough, Soul Calibur has one of the best modes that I’ve ever seen in the game. In the excellent mission battle there is a world map and you choose what level you want to fight in. Each level has a special objective, such as being the first to get in 20 hits or knocking your opponent off the stage. To make things more challenging, some stages add modifiers to handicap you or your opponent. In one level if you don’t run, then you get slowed down by quicksand. In another level rats actually bite you, inflicting some damage. If only there was a way for you and your friend to play the stages with these fun modifiers in effect.

 

After beating the mission you are rewarded points, which can be used to unlock pictures in the art gallery. Not only are there hundreds of pictures to unlock, but depending on the picture you unlock you can be rewarded with new stages, modes and costumes. I played this mode for hours just to unlock everything. Never before have I seen such an addictive feature in a fighting game. It’s hard to imagine having fun playing a fighting game without this feature. Soul Calibur also features the generic modes present in nearly every game in the genre. You know; practice, survival and time attack mode. They’re nothing spectacular, but they’re enjoyable anyways.

Soul Calibur scores a knockout with excellent gameplay and great graphics. Who would have thought that an old Dreamcast game can hold up this well against all the other consoles? The character models are incredibly detailed, right down to the jiggly breasts, which are becoming quite the norm in fighting games. Namco went crazy about adding every detail imaginable to this game. Hair and clothes move in the wind and in cold stages you can see the combatants breathing. The Soul Calibur fighters move in a convincingly lifelike way. The way they bust out their moves, writhe in pain and celebrate a victory all look fantastic. Since some attacks emit a bright red glow, Namco made sure the lighting effects were realistic. On the few liquid-metal enemies in the mission battle mode, the lighting looks absolutely incredible.

The stages also look show off the graphical splendor. Nice touches such as leaves falling in certain stages and rats scattering around a disgusting lair add a touch of realism to the stages. With the mission battle mode it is possible to unlock different seasons and times for the stages. Playing at dusk or in the snow makes the eye candy all the more tasty. The effects simply look THAT good. Unfortunately some of the backgrounds have a bit of static to them, which is somewhat common to pre-rendered backgrounds.

 

We can all thank Namco for retaining the original Japanese voice acting in this game and not punishing us with the usually horrid U.S voice acting that appears in most games. The taunts are full of emotion and sincerity; something that American voice acting probably would have ruined. The music is a stirring blend of tunes that go well with each stage. For example the Valentine Mansion music sounds appropriately aristocratic, while the Emperor’s Garden music has a bit of an Asian feel to it.

The only drawback to the game is what you have to do to learn the characters’ stories. When you beat the game you’re given a confusing ending that talks about things you don’t know about. It isn’t until after you unlock the character gallery mode that you discover what the ending was all about. Another downer is that the endings consist of about 3 still pictures with text at the bottom. The pictures aren’t even colored in! This is the only flaw I came across in Soul Calibur, but it’s not like the plot is a huge deal in this type of game.

While there is no such thing as a perfect game, Soul Calibur comes close. With its fun and fast gameplay alone, this game would still be above average. But the incredible amount of extras and unlockable goodies make this game is a hard one to put down. The excellent gameplay, graphics and modes add up to make Soul Calibur one of the definitive fighting games. For those who aren’t exactly fanatics of the genre, I advise you to give this game a try. The only thing you have to lose is your social life.