XBLA Soul Calibur Is The Dreamcast One, Not The Arcade One

[Rs0n1sT]

Soul Calibur's coming to Xbox Live Arcade. Hurray! But...wait. Which version is it? The magnificent Dreamcast version? Or the, uh, less magnificent arcade version? Rest easy, kids. Namco Bandai have told Shacknews that "the game is based on the Dreamcast version with no major additions or subtractions". Glad that's sorted. Now all we need to know is how far over the 150MB limit this thing's going to come in at, and we'll be all done.



Namco completely re-invented their "Soul" series with a great new gameplay system that runs at a smooth 60 fps. Other gameplay innovations include the 8-way run, allowing players to move in "all" directions as they fight, and guard impacting; one of the most innovative defensive/counter systems in a 3D fighting game. The home version was a great improvement over the arcade, with cool extra options like creating your own custom intro, and the inclusion of "Theater mode" where you can watch "katas" by all the characters, or listen to all of their dialouge in the game.

Many of the classic Soul Edge characters are back with new moves, but still staying true to their original styles. The brand new characters have incredible new fighting styles as well as unique weapons to the series. Characters move with some of the most fluid animation found in 3D fighting games to date, and look equally as well. They also have vivid personalities, and say many different win quotes! Their mouths also move realistically, accordingly to what they are saying. One of the first games to really incorporate that within the actual realtime gameplay!

The arcade version lacked graphical polish, but the Dreamcast version's graphics were definitely "next-gen" for the time and were completely redone for a vast improvement over the arcade hit. Character models were ultra-detailed from head to toe, and also had facial expressions and animations. The stages are also beautiful and set the mood for the game, along with the awesome and epic soundtrack. The hit effects and lighting effects were also top notch for 1999.

Soul Calibur made a BIG impact on fighting games even though it wasn't the most popular one out there. If you got this game when the Dreamcast was launched, you know how good it was, and how much of an impact it made when it was released. For what this game did, it did flawlessly. I played the HELL out of the first Soul Calibur...

Soul Calibur XBLA Based on Dreamcast Version