When the original Playstation was released in stores the opportunity to test out the somewhat budding genre of 3D fighters started with a pair of games, “Battle Arena Toshinden” and “Tekken”. Not long after another entry in the genre caught my eye that, ironically enough published by Namco, “Soul Blade” (known as “Soul Edge” outside of America). The game, at the time, was fast, fluid & very fun with the focus being on weapon-based combat where blocking continuously would actually break a fighter’s weapon; leaving them unarmed in armed combat. The years would progress and the sequels to “Soul Blade” entered my home including the arguable highpoint in the franchise with “SoulCalibur II” – a game that I spent countless hours playing. While I enjoyed “SoulCalibur III” and “IV” with the latter being at the expense of a friend, “SoulCalibur V’s” negative reviews from critics & fighting game fans convinced me to give up on even touching the game. Over six years after “V’s” release, the sixth numbered iteration in the series arrives with a rebooting of the franchise’s narrative, a few changes, and a bunch of controversy both reasonable & exaggerated. I was ready to enter a world built on the intertwining of souls & swords one more time even if I wasn’t going to shell out extra money for an on-disc DLC character.
Did I Complete “SoulCalibur VI”?
“SoulCalibur VI” isn’t just some barebones fighter this time around featuring just exhibition and online options for fighting. Beyond the actual action are several options to keep a player busy including the return of character creator. There are two single player modes mixing a visual novel style of presentation with some battles & item management, “Soul Chronicle” & “Libra of Soul”. “Soul Chronicle” is essentially the retelling of the events from the original “SoulCalibur” that can last around two hours if a player is just completing the initial story. In “Soul Chronicle” there are also extra fights and sub-stories the player can complete that will earn achievements/trophies while fleshing out some of the characters’ lives & actions during the time of the main story; lasting around three to four more hours in total. “Libra of Soul” is similar to “Weapon Master” mode from “SoulCalibur II” where the player takes a created character throughout a map taking on fights and, most importantly, collecting weapons that are needed so the player can overcome adversaries usually higher level than the protagonist. “Libra of Soul” is a mode that can take the player up to fifteen hours to complete without doing all the side quests or training. Of course there’s the online modes that will add many extra hours of gameplay and some trophies/achievements.
Did “SoulCalibur VI” Live Up to the Hype?
After two entries that divided the entire fan base were released last generation, “SoulCalibur VI” takes a page out of the playbook of many other franchises that lost their way by rebooting the series’ narrative while looking for inspiration from what made its predecessors so revered. Thankfully, “SoulCalibur VI” does live up to that promise by keeping the gameplay that has been greatly associated with the best aspects from each entry while innovating. The obvious fighting style of any “SoulCalibur” game is how each character performs in correlation with their weapon of choice. Certain characters such as Taki uses knives and needs to be up close to an opponent to do major damage while someone like Kilik or Nightmare can keep a character at a distance with their staff and SoulEdge sword respectively. One of the best things about the “SoulCalibur” franchise has always been learning how to manage a character’s distance and how to take advantage of angles courtesy of the 8-way maneuvering that is a lot more responsive & fast compared to something like “Tekken” or even other “SC” games in the franchise. Not knowing how or when to strike with certain characters will mean instant doom.
Blocking continuously isn’t an advantage any more as the blocker’s health bar will start to glow until its red in color and that character is prone to having their guard broken by an aggressive opponent. Gameplay additions and modifications from the previous entries like ring outs, perfectly timed blocks/“Guard Impact”/parries, “Lethal Edge” (combo extenders that can be used under certain circumstances), “Critical Edge” (super moves that can be used with a character’s special bar is filled up to level two), and “Soul Charge” (a meter-based activation technique that allows for a character to power up & become almost invincible for a short amount of time) return here as well. One of the most talked about additions to the gameplay is “Reversal Edge”. By hitting or holding the bumper button depending on whether or not the player wants to charge the strike, players can unleash a strike that slows down time to create a clash moment built on a rock-paper-scissors scenario that will reward the winner with extra strength & meter. While “Reversal Edge” is great in concept, the execution is definitely lacking. Players can choose the same option when going for “Reversal Edge”; resulting in another clash that will give the initiator the automatic successful strike if both players choose the same option yet again. Even more disappointing with “Reversal Edge” is the fact there isn’t any type of limiter when it comes to the maneuver such as it using meter to perform like certain other special attacks; meaning the only way to stop it from happening is landing a significant strike beforehand. Thankfully a player can sidestep and/or guard to avoid the “Reversal Edge” attack, but it still may not be effective depending on the timing.
With this game being something of a reboot to the narrative of “SoulCalibur”, the roster is noticeably smaller in comparison to the previous iterations; yet isn’t any less effective & fun to play with as the roster is built on veteran characters with one glaring flaw: day-one DLC. Tira – a character that was introduced in “SC III” and someone obviously crafted & ready for the game’s release – is on-disc DLC with proof of this being her actually showing up during the game’s “Arcade” mode for someone like yours truly who hasn’t purchased the Season Pass. This is absolutely unacceptable and there’s no reason why Tira could not have been a part of the main roster.
Beyond the actual gameplay are various modes including the main story mode, “Soul Chronicle”. With a visual novel style of storytelling, “Chronicle” has the player doing a lot of reading while still pictures sit on the screen; lifelessly shifting from one to the next. What could’ve been a memorable mode is an incredibly underwhelming chore to get through even with its short completion time. Interestingly enough in regards to “Chronicle” is how some of the shorter stories outside of the main story are more interesting than the focal narrative. “Libra of Soul” is not much better than “Chronicle”, just a little more exciting due to the ability to groom a created character into being a hero or monster while picking up various weapons that actually helps the player learn different fighting styles in correlation with that weapon – meaning it’s nice to use this mode as a tutorial if the player has the patience. It feels like these two single-player modes were meant to be together, but were separated along the way. While the single player modes are fine, the character creation system is as outrageous as it is limiting at times. The level of creativity seen thus far proves that “VI’s” creation system could be better, but is still highly commendable.
One of the biggest positives when it comes to enjoying “SC VI” is online functionality. As someone who doesn’t have the best Internet speeds, a majority of the online fights have been lag-free via Xbox Live. While the action online doesn’t lose its quality when the fight begins, the options for fights are incredibly lacking with only two options: “Ranked” and “Casual”. “Ranked” online play is just as it is in any fighting game, but “Casual” is where the game’s online functionality comes up short as entering a room in a “Casual” match turns into something similar to “King of the Hill” mode from “Mortal Kombat X” where players have to wait to challenge the winner of the most recent fight instead of matching players with others in the room so multiple fights can be happening simultaneously similar to “Player” matches in “King of Fighters XIV” or “Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite”. This waiting process in “Casual” can be incredibly tedious depending on how filled the room is; making “Ranked” play essentially the only option to jump into a quick fight. Created fighters can also be used in both online modes, meaning a player may be at a distinct disadvantage before the fight begins due to height & reach modifications certain created fighters will have that the fighter their style is based off of wouldn’t. Why created characters aren’t relegated to “Casual” fights is confusing.
With a want to return to form without sacrificing some of the gameplay modifications from the more heavily critiqued interactions has created one of the best “SC” offerings in quite some time while still suffering from some odd design choices in regards to the gameplay and mode offerings. This won’t go down as the best “SoulCalibur” ever, but is a definite step in the right direction with this being, arguably, the most enjoyable game in the franchise since “SoulCalibur II”.
Should You Play “SoulCalibur VI”?
Depending on whether or not you’re experienced with the franchise will affect how much you enjoy this entry. Long-time players of “SoulCalibur” will feel right at home like it’s two gaming generations ago. The gameplay is easy enough for newcomers to pick up & get the hang of a few characters, but online matches may be a little overwhelming for casual players. The mode offerings are definitely lacking; specifically in regards to the handling of online outside of “Ranked” as so many other fighting games have been released during this generation that the developers could’ve learned from if they wanted to give gamers a truly incredible online experience. The single-player modes are ultimately forgettable, while playing around with created fighters is definitely up to par. This is a must-buy experience for “SC” veterans & fighting game aficionados who are into weapon-based brawlers, while a rental is for the best in regards to newcomers. But no matter who you are, this game definitely has soul.
