Soulcalibur - A Complete History

Since the golden years of arcade cabinets and joysticks, Bandai Namco has been one of the most popular fighting game developers in our time. From the recently-released “Dragon Ball FighterZ” to the classic “Tekken” franchise, the fighting game fans have always had something to get their blood flowing. However, if you haven't played either of the latter, you’ve probably gotten your hands on “Soulcalibur”. For almost twenty-five years, “Soulcalibur” has translated swords, axes, and hula hoops into a stunning and heart-pounding fighting game. With its sixth entry on the horizon, fans are eager to see the soul burning with fierce intensity once again. Throughout the 90’s, fighting games were at the height of their prime with titles like “Mortal Kombat”, “Street Fighter”, and, of course, Namco’s own “Tekken”. However, Namco was ready for something different, something new that fighting games hadn't done before - weapons combat. And so, the development team known as “Project Soul” began production on a brand new fighting game that would incorporate melee weapons rather than the standard flying fists and kicks. As with any fighting games, programming and animations would prove to be a challenge, especially since this would be the first game ever to utilize passive optical motion capture. This is a method designers use to measure light reflection and grayscale in a digital space. So, if you remember seeing characters with weird white squares on them, it was probably because developers used this. “Soul Edge” (or “Soul Blade”) released in arcades in December 1995, making its way onto Sony’s PlayStation a year later. The game received praise for its stunning graphics, roster of unique fighters, and its surprisingly solid story mode, which was (and continues to be) an often half-baked portion of fighting games. That isn’t to say the game was perfect. Even Namco had quickly recognized the problems within “Soul Edge’s” design. The fighters were pretty unbalanced, and the movement felt awkward. Luckily, the “Soul Edge” team got a hold of an internal prototype that would benefit their next project. This prototype used a movement system known as the “eight-way run” system, allowing the user to easily maneuver in a 3D environment. With these new improvements and innovations, the team felt this was enough to warrant a title change. “Soulcalibur” hit the arcades on July 30, 1998 with a Dreamcast version launching thirteen months later. Contrary to the commercial failures Dreamcast has been infamous for, “Soulcalibur” managed to sell over one million copies, making it the console’s second biggest selling game. Critics gave it glowing reviews, citing the beautiful character models, tight controls, and replayability. With the success of “Soulcalibur”, Project Soul knew it was time to get started on a sequel. The fans hungered! Like many games around this time, “Soulcalibur II” wouldn't change much in formula, but would add some new surprises in its content. “Soul Calibur II” would feature three guest fighters, placing one on each console. GameCube owners would get to play as Link from Nintendo's “The Legend of Zelda” series. As for PlayStation 2, the original plan was to include Cloud Strife from “Final Fantasy VII”. Unfortunately, the plan fell through during production, and Heihachi Mishima from the “Tekken” franchise would take his place. Oh, and Xbox owners got Spawn. Wah wah… Surprisingly enough, this would kickstart what is now a series tradition. “Soulcalibur II” would make its way to arcades in 2002 while launching on consoles in 2003. Needless to say, fans and critics were ecstatic! Thanks to its meaty roster, extravagant settings, and enjoyable game modes, “Soulcalibur II” became a must-own. Besides, freakin’ Link was in it! Once again, the fans demanded more, and Project Soul was ready to give it to them with “Soulcalibur III”. Although, during development, things got a little weird in the rumor mill. For starters, it was reported that Dante from Capcom’s “Devil May Cry” series would appear as a guest fighter. Sadly, this would not go as planned. It was also rumored that “Soulcalibur III” would launch as a PlayStation 2 exclusive, which was odd to some considering “SoulCalibur II” was a multiplatform title. Nevertheless, “Soulcalibur III” saw positive reviews at launch albeit not as good as its predecessors. While critics and fans adored the inclusion of an intricate character creation mode and the critically-polarizing single-player campaign, “Soulcalibur III” faced criticism for failing to include an online mode, something that many of Namco’s competitors were already doing. The game did come out in 2005, after all. Success for the franchise continued into the next generation of consoles. “Soulcalibur IV” would release on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in July 2008. This time around, the character creation was deeper, and the Tower of Souls mode kept players engaged with its laundry list of challenges. What threw everyone off was the inclusion of “Star Wars” characters. Both consoles would share Starkiller from the “Force Unleashed” games, but Darth Vader and Yoda would be console exclusives to PS3 and Xbox 360 respectively. To make matters worse, these characters saw some major design problems, the most notable one being Yoda, who was immune to throws because of his short stature. Despite these complaints, “Soulcalibur IV” was still just as good as “III”, but it wasn’t as good as the older titles. At least it didn’t forget the online mode, this time! Things took a nosedive in the next few years. Fans were eager to see “Soulcalibur” return to form. Was there any hope when Namco unveiled “Soulcalibur V”? The answer to that, MojoPlayers, will depend on who you ask. It wasn’t going to be a game-changer by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, when you look at troubled development history of “Soulcalibur V”, the only word that could cross your mind was ambitious. Project Soul had plans for new characters, with each of them having their own unique Story Mode. The game would also incorporate modern fighting game traditions, forcing players to rely on meter usage to pull off devastating attacks or successful blocks. “Soulcalibur V” launched in North America on January 31, 2012. While the reviews were far from scathing, it didn’t stop fans from naming it the worst in the series. (Well, assuming we aren’t including any spin-offs!) Fans were unhappy with how the game aimed more towards competitive eSports players. To make matters worse, the game was filled with entirely new faces, shutting out veteran players yearning to see their favorite fighters. Game director Daishi Odashima revealed that barely one-fourth of the original story mode made it into the final product. Many players cited the story mode as the worst part of “Soulcalibur V”. Five years later, Bandai Namco and Project Soul announced “Soulcalibur VI” during the 2017 Game Awards. Over the past year, fans have been eager to see their favorite warriors make their way to the current generation. Amidst our excitement, the future of “Soulcalibur” all depends on this title. If it fails, this could be the last time we see the likes of Sophitia, Mitsurugi, and company. Regardless if this will truly be the final “Soulcalibur” game, the franchise will never be forgotten. As we continue clashing blades with friends, the soul shall forever burn inside us all.