Soulcalibur VI | |
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Developer(s) | Bandai Namco Studios Dimps |
Publisher(s) | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
Director(s) | Yoshinori Takahashi |
Producer(s) | Michinori Ozawa Motohiro Okubo |
Designer(s) | Tomofumi Oosaka Takashi Yoshida |
Programmer(s) | Masanori Ota |
Artist(s) | Takuji Kawano Hiroaki Hashimoto |
Writer(s) | Sohei Kamada |
Composer(s) | Junichi Nakatsuru |
Series | Soulcalibur |
Engine | Unreal Engine 4 |
Platform(s) | PlayStation 4 Windows Xbox One |
Release | October 19, 2018 |
Genre(s) | Fighting |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Soulcalibur VI is a 2018 fighting video game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Dimps and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It is the seventh main installment and reboot in the Soulcalibur series. It released for the PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on October 19, 2018.
Following the tradition of prior installments of the Soulcalibur series, Soulcalibur VI's gameplay involves two weapons-wielding combatants battling against one another using a 3D system. The game kept many of the familiar gameplay elements including 8-Way Run, Guard Impact, and character creation, but adds to the traditional formula by introducing new mechanics such as Reversal Edge and the newly revamped Soul Charge. [1] The Reversal Edge allows players to defend against an oncoming attack and quickly strike back, alongside a slow-motion effect, enabling more defensive options for the players.
Soulcalibur VI contains a base roster of 21 playable characters. Additional characters are added through DLC after the game's launch, bringing the total number of characters to 29. There are also 100 slots for custom characters. [2] New characters introduced in Soulcalibur VI are marked in italics.
^a Guest character; DLC guests are not part of the game's storyline
^b Unlockable, but unplayable online
^1 2 Number denotes the season in which the character was added as DLC
Soulcalibur VI serves as a sequel and a reboot to the series, taking place during the 16th century to revisit the events of the first Soulcalibur game/second Soul series game entry to "uncover hidden truths". [27] [28] It takes place after the events of Soulcalibur V (which is during the Soul Chronicles of Cassandra, Amy and Zasalamel's stories) where Cassandra from the original timeline tells her past self about the grim future of the Alexandra family, Amy's original future self is revealed to be Viola, and Zasalamel receives a vision from his future self that causes him to abandon his plan to seek death and decide to lead humanity to a brighter future.
The plot of Soulcalibur VI begins from a remake of the second Soul game entry, taking place from 1583 to 1589, long before the events of 1590 trilogy games. In addition, the story is divided into two separate modes. The Soul Chronicle is the main plot of the story, concerning the main characters and the immediate threat of Nightmare. In this mode, the story is told similar to a visual novel with illustrated, voiced cut scenes telling the plot and are broken up by matches acting as significant battles in-story. The first main story is centered around the character of Kilik as he ventures out to confront the Soul Edge and Nightmare and takes place mostly in Europe. In addition, every character is also given an individual storyline detailing their backstories or serving as side stories to the main plot, one of the characters’ story timeline chapters takes place after the first main story, a year before the events of the original trilogy.
The second story mode, named the Libra of Soul, takes place shortly after the Evil Seed event of 1583 wherein Siegfried acquired the Soul Edge and became Nightmare. In this mode, the player creates a custom character that serves as the protagonist. Mostly centered in Asia, the player must go through a journey to prevent Azwel from recreating the Evil Seed all the while dealing with their own malfestation. This runs concurrently with the main plot in the Soul Chronicle and on occasion the player character will encounter other characters from the main story.
In 1584, about a year after the Evil Seed ravaged the world, the hero (dubbed the Conduit) awakens from a violent nightmare involving Soul Edge and a mysterious realm. Zasalamel appears before them and explains that the energy of the Evil Seed has linked their soul to the realm, Astral Chaos, and unless they absorb the energy from astral fissures that have been appearing as of late, their soul will be shredded from the pressure, resulting in their death. Zasalamel then trains the Conduit on how to absorb the energy of the fissures and gives them a special scale called the Libra of Soul.
After closing several fissures with the help of Maxi and Mitsurugi, the Conduit is approached by Grøh, Dion, and Natalie, members of the mysterious Aval Organization tasked with hunting down rogue Aval scientist Azwel and his cult-like followers, the Qualifiers. Knowing only that Azwel has taken an interest in the astral fissures as well as the circumstances behind the Evil Seed, Grøh conscripts the Conduit into their group as they're the only one capable of closing the fissures. However, Azwel manages to gain the energy of the fissures and reveals his intention to create a similar Evil Seed event he calls the "Ultimate Seed" in order to protect humanity from its own self destructive tendencies. Grøh, who was partially corrupted by Soul Edge's evil due to Azwel's meddling, gives in to the evil and tackles Azwel off a cliff to no avail.
Knowing only that Azwel intends to use Nightmare's former base at Ostrheinsburgh Castle, the Conduit seeks out Zasalamel to figure out what to do. Zasalamel informs the Conduit that, even though their absorption of the fissures has made them stronger and stopped Astral Chaos' hazardous effect on them, only Soul Edge and Soul Calibur have the power to stop Azwel, but both have been sealed away inside Astral Chaos and the Conduit needs to draw upon their power through combat with people connected to the blades (Kilik, Xianghua, and Siegfried for Soul Calibur and Taki, Sophitia, and Cervantes de Leon for Soul Edge). Once they gather enough strength, the Conduit confronts Azwel and, despite Azwel's attempts to use them as the last piece of the Ultimate Seed, kills him.
However, before they can rest, the Conduit is contacted by the Aval Organization and informed that Grøh survived his encounter with Azwel but must be killed due to his malfestation. After tracking him to Scandinavia, the Conduit once again draws on the Soul swords to confront him.
The ending of Libra of Souls is based on the player's alignment during the game. Should it be aligned toward darkness, the Conduit draws on Soul Edge and strikes down Grøh before burying him. Should it align toward the light, the Conduit will draw on Soul Calibur and purge Grøh of his malfestation. Grøh then continues his work with the Aval Organization from a distance.
Soulcalibur VI was announced during The Game Awards 2017. [29] Development on the game began over three years earlier. [30] Producer Motohiro Okubo called the game a celebration of the franchise's 20th anniversary. [31] [32] Bandai Namco focused more on story elements than in the previous games in the series. [33] [34] It runs on Unreal Engine 4 like Bandai Namco's previous fighting game, Tekken 7 . According to Okubo, the title's code name was "Luxor" due to the team's intentions on making the game feel brighter like it was in the first Soulcalibur. Additional mechanics were introduced to help players with the game's learning curve. [32]
The game was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, on October 19, 2018. [35] Its Collectors Edition came with an art book, a soundtrack, a Sophitia statue, and a metal case. [36] A series of season passes for the game each include four additional characters and more items for character customization. [37]
Aggregator | Score |
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Metacritic | PC: 80/100 [38] PS4: 84/100 [39] XONE: 84/100 [40] |
Publication | Score |
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Destructoid | 85% [41] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 8/10 [42] |
Game Informer | 8.75/10 [43] |
GameRevolution | [44] |
GameSpot | 8/10 [45] |
IGN | 8.9/10 [46] |
PlayStation Official Magazine – UK | 8/10 |
VideoGamer.com | 8/10 [47] |
4Players | 84% [48] |
HobbyConsolas | 85% [49] |
New York Daily News | [50] |
Soulcalibur VI received generally positive reviews. Game Informer and EGM both praised the story modes. [43] [42] VideoGamer.com praised the environments, [47] while Destructoid praised the music and the character roster. [41] Game Revolution reviewer Jason Faulkner opined it was "one of the most enjoyable fighting games I’ve ever played." [44] IGN summarised it: "The new mechanics add new layers of strategy and mind games while the one-two punch of Libra of Soul and Soul Chronicle will provide hours upon hours of fantastic single-player content." [46] 4Players praised the netcode, [48] while HobbyConsolas praised the character creation. [49] GameSpot's Tamoor Hussain said it was "both intuitive and deep". [45] [51] Dead or Alive 6 director and producer Yohei Shimbori commented he could not understand why his series is being criticized so much for the fan service content while Soulcalibur VI "can do it and doesn't get a beating over it." [52]
The game reached number 5 in the UK sales chart. [53] In Japan, it sold 24,049 copies within its first week on sale, reaching number 3. [54] It reached number 8 in Australia and number 7 in New Zealand. [55] In the US, it was the 8th most downloaded game of October on the PlayStation Store. Sales were reported to be up from Soulcalibur V and compared to Soulcalibur III , Soulcalibur and Soul Blade , but still lower than Soulcalibur II and Soulcalibur IV . [56] In 2019, Namco reported the launch as "successful". [57] As of July 2021, the game has sold over two million copies worldwide. [58]
Year | Award | Category | Result |
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2018 | Game Critics Awards | Best Fighting Game | Nominated [59] |
The Game Awards 2018 | Nominated [60] | ||
Gamers' Choice Awards | Fan Favorite Fighting Game | Nominated [61] | |
Titanium Awards | Best Fighting Game | Nominated [62] | |
2019 | New York Game Awards | Raging Bull Award for Best Fighting Game | Nominated [63] |
22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Fighting Game of the Year | Nominated [64] | |
NAVGTR Awards | Franchise, Fighting Game | Nominated [65] | |
SXSW Gaming Awards | Most Promising New eSports Game | Nominated [66] |
Soulcalibur is a weapon-based 3D fighting game developed by Project Soul and produced by Namco. It is the second game in the Soulcalibur series, preceded by Soul Edge. Originally released in arcades on July 30, 1998, it ran on the Namco System 12 hardware, and was ported to the Dreamcast console in 1999 with new features and improved graphics.
Soulcalibur II is a 2002 fighting game developed by Project Soul and published by Namco and the third installment in the Soulcalibur series of weapon-based fighting games. It is the sequel to Soulcalibur, which was released in July 1998. Originally intended to be released on Sega's NAOMI board, the game was released on the Namco System 246 arcade board before being ported to the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox in 2003.
Soulcalibur III is a fighting video game produced by Namco as a sequel to Soulcalibur II and the fourth installment in the Soulcalibur series. It was originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2005. An improved arcade version, Soulcalibur III: Arcade Edition, was released in 2006. It was the last Soulcalibur game to receive an arcade version, as IV onwards did not have an arcade release, and was also the last to be released by Namco as an independent company, as it would merge with Bandai's video game division to form Bandai Namco Entertainment in 2006.
Talim is a character in the Soulcalibur of fighting games. Created by Namco's Project Soul division, she first appeared in Soulcalibur II and in most subsequent titles for the series. The Filipino daughter of a shaman and trained to be a Priest of the Wind, after encountering a fragment of the cursed sword Soul Edge she travels the world to return it to its rightful place. In English, Talim has been voiced by Julie Parker and Kira Buckland, while in Japanese she is voiced by Yukari Tamura.
Nightmare is a fictional character in the Soulcalibur series of video games. The evil possessor of Siegfried Schtauffen's body, he later becomes an entity entirely separated from Siegfried in Soulcalibur III onward. Nightmare is the living incarnation of Soul Edge and a vessel for Inferno.
Isabella Valentine, commonly called Ivy, is a character in the Soulcalibur series of video games. Created by Namco's Project Soul division, she first appeared in the original Soulcalibur and its subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise related to the series. She was voiced in Japanese by Yumi Tōma between Soulcalibur and Soulcalibur III, Kanako Tōjō between Soulcalibur Legends and Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny, and Miyuki Sawashiro in Soulcalibur V, and Soulcalibur VI; in English, she was voiced by Renee Hewitt in Soulcalibur II and Lani Minella for the remainder of the series.
Necrid is a character in the Soulcalibur series of weapon-based fighting games. Designed by comic book artist and toy designer Todd McFarlane through a collaboration with Namco, the character appeared in console ports of Soulcalibur II and later as part of an action figure set created by McFarlane Productions. Necrid's concept and physical build were outlined by Namco, who aimed to target North American audiences with the character, while McFarlane provided the character's design and name.
Soulcalibur is a weapon-based fighting game franchise developed by Bandai Namco Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.
Soulcalibur Legends is an action-adventure game for the Wii console. It is a spin-off of Bandai Namco's successful Soulcalibur fighting game series and primarily features two of its most popular characters: Ivy and Siegfried.
Soulcalibur IV is a 2008 fighting video game developed by Project Soul and published by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the fifth installment in the Soulcalibur series, featuring greatly improved visuals over its predecessor and three playable guest characters from the Star Wars franchise. It is also the first Soulcalibur game to not receive an arcade version.
Sophitia Alexandra is a character in the Soulcalibur series of video games. Created by Namco's Project Soul division by designers Aya Takemura and Takuji Kawano, she first appeared in Soul Edge and its subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise related to the series. A baker turned warrior from Athens fighting with a Xiphos and shield, Sophitia became involved in the search for the cursed sword Soul Edge at the behest of the god Hephaestus. The affair soon affected her other family members as well, including her sister, Cassandra, and later her children, Pyrrha and Patroklos.
Voldo is a character in the Soulcalibur series of video games. Created by Namco's Project Soul division, he first appeared in Soul Edge, and later in all games of the Soulcalibur series with the exception of Soulcalibur Legends. Servant to a long-dead weapons merchant, Voldo guards his treasure vault, attacking intruders while occasionally wandering out in search of a cursed sword named Soul Edge. Designed by Aya Takemura and Takuji Kawano around his dual hand katars, Voldo went through several designs, and in the early design phases was called "Psycho Murder". Having no spoken dialogue and instead strictly moaning or hissing deeply while fighting an opponent, his high mobility and flexibility influenced his outfits throughout the series, with several designed to take advantage of his unique traits.
The following is a comprehensive list of characters from the Soulcalibur series of video games, beginning with Soul Edge in 1995.
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Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny is a 2009 fighting video game in the Soulcalibur series, developed by Project Soul and published by Namco Bandai Games, for the PlayStation Portable. The game uses many of the features of Soulcalibur IV, including its character customization mode. One of the goals of the game is "to target beginners and novice players with Soulcalibur IV's content". It introduces two new characters to the series: Kratos from the God of War series and Dampierre, a new original character. In December 2023, the game was released digitally on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
Soulcalibur is a weapon-based fighting game series by Namco Bandai Games. The series revolves around a sword that, after years of bloodshed and hatred, gained a soul of its own, the Soul Edge, and the sword forged to counter it, Soulcalibur. The discography of the Soulcalibur series consists of two soundtrack albums for the first game in the series, Soul Edge, and one soundtrack album each for Soulcalibur, Soulcalibur II, III, IV, V and VI. None of the other games in the series have received a soundtrack release.
Soulcalibur V is a fighting video game developed and released by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012.
Katsuhiro Harada is a Japanese game director and producer for Bandai Namco Entertainment. He is best known for his work with the fighting game series Tekken.
Marie-Laure Norindr, also known as Kayane, is a French esports player and journalist. She specializes in fighting games, in particular in the Dead or Alive, Soulcalibur and Street Fighter series, and has been playing competitively since 2001. Since then, according to Guinness World Records in 2011, she has been the most successful female participant in fighting game tournaments, especially regarding the Soulcalibur games. She is currently sponsored by Red Bull.
Soulcalibur: Lost Swords was a free-to-play fighting game distributed through PlayStation Network. Released in 2014, the game is based on Soulcalibur V and is strictly single-player. It uses the same weapon-based fighting system from previous games; however, several of the gameplay mechanics were changed, simplified or otherwise removed.