Soulcalibur II

Infobox VG
title = Soulcalibur II


caption = The three different box arts of the multi-platform game "Soulcalibur II".
developer = Namco
publisher = Namco
designer = Hiroaki Yotoriyama
release = July 30, 2002 (Arcade)
vgrelease|Japan|JP|March 27, 2003
vgrelease|North America|NA|August 26, 2003

genre = Fighting game
modes = Up to 2 players simultaneously
platforms = Arcade, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
cabinet = Upright
arcade system = Namco System 246
display =
input = 8-way joystick, 6 buttons (arcade)
DualShock Controller (PS2)
GameCube Controller (GCN)
XBOX Controller (Xbox)
resolution = 720p (HDTV) "(Xbox only)"
480p (EDTV)
480i (SDTV)
rating = T: Violence, Suggestive Themes

nihongo|"Soulcalibur II"|ソウルキャリバーII|Sourukyaribā Tsū is a fighting game developed and published by Namco and the third installment in the "Soul" series. "Soul Calibur" is the name of the holy sword, created to battle the evil sword Soul Edge, which the games' story-lines revolve around. The game features Heihachi Mishima from Tekken, Link from The Legend of Zelda, and Spawn

Gameplay

Modes and features

Modes and other features added to the Home Versions:
* "Soulcalibur II" presented the normal modes from most fighting games: Arcade, Team Battle Mode (similar to arcade, but with teams of up to 8 characters and without cutscenes or endings), Time Attack (fight against the clock to gain records), Survival Battle and Training Mode. There are also "Extra" versions of these modes, intended to allow the use of the Extra Weapons. Worth mentioning is that Arcade's 7th battle is called a "Destined Battle", a battle predefined that never changes. Each character has one according to their story, and are shared by groups of two (Mitsurugi$ightarrow$Taki, Taki$ightarrow$Mitsurugi) with the exception of the console-exclusive characters.
* A returning feature from "Soul Edge" is the inclusion of Extra Weapons. Instead of "Soul Edge"'s system of different stats, this one is based on power %, defense % and special abilities (drains energy, pass through defense, etc). Each character has 12 different weapons, from the standard (basic) weapons for 1P and 2P to the powerful "Ultimate Weapon". Also each one was granted a "Soul Edge" version of their arms and a "Joke Weapon", weapons with bad stats and effect, and with unique, and funny, hit sounds. Each weapon is given a backstory in the "Weapon Gallery".
* The Arcade version has a unique mode called "Conquest Mode". Conquest Mode allows the player to pick an army, fight enemies and gain experience points, allowing it to increase the level of the selected player.
* "Weapon Master Mode" takes the core system from "Conquest Mode" and expands upon it. This mode, made in a similar fashion to "Soul Edge"'s "Edge Master Mode" and "Soulcalibur"'s "Mission Mode", presents a history set in an alternate world, while the player moves in a map divided in "regions" (named after stars) and fight enemies to gain experience points (and raise the "rank" of the character) and money (which could be later used to bought weapons, art, costumes and videos). The mode has 10 normal chapters, 4 sub-chapters and 2 extra-chapters as well as Extra-Missions (alternate version of normal missions). The plot of the mode puts the player into the role of a swordsman searching for Soul Edge, which suddenly is faced against a powerful mad knight named Veral (who took the form of Nightmare then Inferno), who searches Soul Edge for his own desires.
* As in "Soulcalibur", there is a "Museum", containing character artwork, various videos (like Arcade Intro or WMM intro and Ending) and Weapon Exhibition (or "katas"). There is also the "Profile Viewer" (to see character's stories) and "Battle Theater" (to see CPU vs CPU battles).
* Like before, some characters are granted with 3rd costumes, purchased in Weapon Master Mode. Out of the 25 selectable characters, only 13 were granted a 3rd costume: Astaroth, Cassandra, Ivy, Mitsurugi, Nightmare, Raphael, Seung Mina, Sophitia, Taki, Talim, Voldo and Xianghua. It should also be noted that Link has three costumes (exactly like the ones that he has in "Super Smash Bros." for the Nintendo 64, minus the black one), and Assassin, Berserker and Lizardman each have 6 different costumes (3 color edits of their 2 standard costumes).
* The game also featured the option to hear the characters speak in Japanese or English.

Improvements

Compared to "Soulcalibur", "Soulcalibur II" boasts improved graphics and introduces new characters, stages, and music.

Key game engine improvements include:
* More powerful "step" and "avoid" systems, which made evading vertical attacks noticeably easier.
* Arena walls, rather than ring-out ability on all sides, and wall-specific moves.
* A three-step Soul Charge system.
* A clash system, one that is used when two attacks would hit each other resulting in a white flash and no damage to either opponent.
* Guard break attacks, which put a blocking player into a post guard-impact state
* Just frame moves, which awarded additional hits to players who could time their command inputs well.

Story

The game is set 4 years after the end of "Soulcalibur", which based on calculations from a timeline released on the "Soul Archive" website, puts the game's story in the year 1591.

The wave of slaughters that terrorized Europe reached a sudden end. The knight in azure armor, Nightmare, and his followers were successful in collecting enough souls and were about to start the restoring ceremony on the ruins of the once-proud Ostreinsburg Castle. But just as the ceremony was to start, three young warriors assaulted the castle. In a matter of time the clan was defeated and Nightmare stood in front of the young warriors wielding the Sacred Trinity. After an intense battle Nightmare fell, but then the evil soul inside Soul Edge sent the young warriors into a vortex of hellfire and stood to confront them. As a result of Soul Edge's evil aura, Krita-Yuga revealed its true form: that of the Holy Sword, Soul Calibur.

The intense battle ended with the victory of the holy sword, but at the collapse of the vortex of Inferno, both swords along with the azure Nightmare were sucked in a void and expelled in another place. Siegfried Schtauffen, who was until a moment before the Azure Knight, restored his mind. Recognizing his sins, he set on a journey of atonement. Still the blade held a strong bond, and every night it took control of the body and took souls of those nearby. The efforts made by the young knight were fruitless, and four years later the Azure Nightmare returned.

Around those times various warriors came into contact of the blade's remaining fragments, revealing Soul Edge's ultimate survival after its defeat. Driven either to possess or destroy it, they join a new journey, while Nightmare starts his rampage anew, seeking souls to restore Soul Edge once again...

Characters

Returning characters :
* Heishirō Mitsurugi - Katana
* Taki - Dual Kodachi
* Voldo - Dual Katar
* Nightmare - Broad Sword (Note: Siegfried is Nightmare's 2nd and 3rd costume.)
* Sophitia Alexandra (has to be unlocked) - Sword and Shield
* Seung Mina (has to be unlocked) - Guan Dao / Naginata / Halberd
* Cervantes de Leon (has to be unlocked) - Long Sword and Pistol Sword
* Kilik - Bo Staff
* Isabella "Ivy" Valentine - Snake Sword
* Chai Xianghua - Jian
* Maxi - Nunchaku
* Astaroth - Great Axe
* Yoshimitsu (has to be unlocked) - Katana and Sashimono
* Inferno (not playable) - Imitation

New Soul characters introduced in "Soulcalibur II":
* Assassin (has to be unlocked) - Dao
* Berserker (has to be unlocked) - Double-Edged Axe
* Lizardman (has to be unlocked) - Sword and Shield
* Cassandra Alexandra – Sword and Aspis|Shield
* Charade (has to be unlocked) – Imitative Power
* Hong Yunsung – Dao_(sword)
* Necrid (Home versions only) – Transforming energy called Enigma
* Raphael Sorel - Sword-Rapier
* Talim – Dual Elbow blades (Bladed Tonfas)

Raphael and Talim's playing styles are entirely unique, while Cassandra and Yun-seong's are derived from established characters Sophitia and Hwang, respectively. Charade, like his predecessors Edge Master and Inferno, switches his style to match existing characters' movelists with each individual round of fighting. Each of the home versions also included Necrid, who was not included in the arcade version of "Soulcalibur II". Necrid, like Spawn, was personally designed by comic book artist Todd McFarlane. Rounding out the characters were returning fighters Seung Mina and Sophitia from both "Soul Edge" and "Soulcalibur".From the "Soulcalibur" character roster, the ones that did not return for "Soulcalibur II" as characters themselves were Hwang Seong-gyeong, Nathaniel "Rock" Adams, and Edge Master. Inferno is in the game, only this time, he is not a playable character. Nightmare's 3rd costume is Siegfried.

Reception

"Soulcalibur II" was rated the 18th best game made on a Nintendo System in "Nintendo Power"s Top 200 Games list.Citation|year=February 2006| title=NP Top 200|periodical=Nintendo Power|volume=200|pages=58-66.] Media reviews of "Soulcalibur II" were overwhelmingly favorable, as the game earned over 91% for all versions on Gamerankings.com, and commercially the game sold well. It has also earned a 9.2/10 from IGN.

The game also did well in the competitive gaming scene, both in the US and abroad, where it was featured in many tournaments for the years after it came out. The game was particularly noted for its balance, as many different characters placed in top levels in tournaments.

After repeated high level play, however, criticisms arose, most notably in some potentially game-breaking bugs which were found, including the 2G bug (which allowed players to block immediately after being Guard Impacted) and G-Step (which allowed players to sidestep vertical attacks and immediately cancel their sidestep, allowing for instant punishment). Many moves in "Soulcalibur II" are also safe on block (meaning that if they are guarded, their user will recover to a neutral state before the opponent can retaliate), and characters such as Astaroth benefit more from the Guard Impact system than others.

Game Rankings currently scores it 90.6% for the PlayStation 2, 92.9% for the Gamecube, and 90.8% for the Xbox.

* E3 2003 Game Critics Awards: Best Fighting Game
* X-Play - 10th best Gamecube game of all time
* Screwattack.com - 8th best Gamecube game

Ports

"Soulcalibur II" was ported to Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and PlayStation 2. It is also notable that each of the three home console versions had a unique character exclusive to that version:
*Heihachi Mishima (from the "Tekken" game series; appears in the PlayStation 2 version) - Gauntlets
*Link (from "The Legend of Zelda series"; appears in the GameCube version) - Master Sword and Hylian Shield
*Spawn (from Todd McFarlane's comic book series; appears in the Xbox version) - Axe formed using his cape.

See also

* "Soulcalibur II Original Soundtrack"

References

External links

* [http://soulcalibur.namco.com/ "Soul Calibur" Series Website]