Soul Calibur 5
Producer: Namco Bandi
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3
Rating: Teen
Genre: Fighter
Good For Your Soul
Written by Jesse Seilhan
It’s been four years and endless quarters since fighting fans took on Namco Bandai’s last Soul Calibur, and the refinements and additions needed to sustain the series is back with Soul Calibur V. This is not your traditional fighter, so Street Fighter fans need not apply, but 3D fighting has taken a back seat since the resurgence of the SF, Mortal Kombat, and BlazBlue franchises. Soul Calibur also ditches the fireballs and tag-team crossovers for weapons and three dimensions. Weapon-based fighting lends itself to the 3D environment so much more than a hand-to-hand brawler, as weapons have varying lengths that create varying areas of contact. So vertical and horizontal attacks mean a lot more when you have daggers and your enemy has a six-foot long staff.
While Mortal Kombat set the standard for story integration, the team jam-packed tons of environments and battles in the main story, but seemed to have skimped on production of cutscenes. Most story pieces are told via hand-drawn pieces of art with voice-overs dictating the story. The studio took a curious turn in replacing beloved characters with fighters that move and perform in the exact same way, but redone to be the original character’s kin or predecessor. Soul Calibur has a history of adding in non-SC characters, from the good (Zelda’s Link), the bad (Star Wars’ Yoda), to the ugly (Tekken’s Heihachi), but Assassin Creed star Ezio Auditore fits so well into this universe, given his historical nature, range of attacks, and weapons of choice. Almost 30 characters fill your selection screen, and while some are mimics of others with slight changes, almost all players should feel satisfied with the wide range of fighting folk.
The game gets insanely difficult toward the end of the story mode, only to unlock an even more insanely difficult mode as a “reward.” For those masochistic button-timers that adore fighting games above all else, the increased challenge will keep them coming back for weeks and weeks. For those just hoping to whoop on some robots for a bit before fighting the worldwide community, the unrealistic “skill” of some of the later bosses won’t really prepare you for human competition. Namco tries to balance this with new layers of depth, including super moves which some fighting purists may not consider deep at all, with their 1-second ability to decimate half a life bar. Luckily, there are tutorial and practice modes so you can perfect those moves before battling in one of the many online avenues.
Continuing a fighting franchise in an era where arcade machines collect more dust than a library is a risky move. You have to assume that your audience wants to play your style of fighter, compared with the dozens of different choices at their disposal. You have to also assume that there will be enough customers to create and maintain an online fighting community, something integral to a franchise’s longevity and relevance in a dense atmosphere. Most importantly, however, you have to give your audience a reason to pick up the nth title in a series of titles that have gone to the well over and over again. Soul Calibur V learned from its competition, listened to its community, and breathed some new life into a franchise kicked to the wayside by the top-tier fighting franchises. While it won’t make Street Fighter or Tekken fans horde their quarters, it will get those looking for a different type of fighter something to play for months on end and will do it in style.