Game #985: Soul Calibur II

  Now THIS is Soul Calibur as I remembered it.

 I was worried that maybe I was too hard on Soul Calibur VI, maybe nostalgia was clouding my judgment. And then I decided to play Soul Calibur II again and realized I wasn't hard on it at all. This game was an instant classic the day it first released, and it has aged like fine wine.

 There's not much left for me to say about Soul Calibur that I haven't said in other entries, as the series hasn't changed much. Vertical and Horizontal slashes as well as a kick button are your main means of offense as well as throws by pushing two buttons together, you can also sidestep, block and parry incoming attacks. It's simple, it's flashy, it's snappy and it's fun. There are no energy gauges here nor are there cinematic super moves, if your move is strong you'll get a long-winded animation and your enemy if free to decide if it will easily sidestep or backstep away or be daring and try to hit you before your attack goes off.

 But really, there's something very pure to how this game feels, looks and sounds that makes it superior to the games that come before it(3 not withstanding since I haven't played it....yet). The character roster is absolutely perfect, every character has a real secondary costumes and some get an unlockable third. This game predates the dumb character creator, so secondary costumes fit the characters and don't feel like something that was quickly put together with the customization parts. I'm looking at you, Soul Calibur 4. I'd look at VI, but that one didn't even get secondary costumes.

 Weapon Master mode is an absolute treat, here is where you can unlock costumes for your characters as well as weapons, characters and new modes. The story element is almost non-existent, although every challenge has a rather lengthy text-description for added color. This mode has all sorts of gimmick fights and what not for you to test your mettle, and after you think you are done... you unlock harder variations of every challenge. This game has no shortage of content. Great roster, tons of modes, tons of unlockables...

 But the PS2 version is the worst port of the game. The Gamecube got Link, he didn't really fit in and his grab is super cheap(I remember cheesing the Weapon Master mode with it!) but he was a really cool addition. Spawn didn't fit either, but Spawn is cool. He was the only character I played one day I played with a friend on his Xbox since he was the only character I didn't have access to. I still don't! And what did PS2 players get? Heihachi Mishima. His style is cool, but... Heihachi? C'mon, gimme Kazuya or Jin don't give me the boring old man. Honestly, had it been Kazuya or Jin it would've been alright, boring because Namco owns Tekken, but alright. But Heihachi is easily the worst guest fighter Soul Calibur has ever had. He feels more like a punishment than a bonus.

 Poor guest fighter aside, Soul Calibur II is more than one of the best games in the series, it's also quite probably one of the best fighting games ever made. It plays like a dream, and I don't think any other game in the franchise managed to capture the same magic that makes SC II so much fun to play and invest time in. And it's hard, because it's something about how the game is presented, how it looks, how it sounds, how it plays that makes every click together and make it one of the best fighting games ever. Shame about Heihachi.

 10