Soulcalibur

Soulcalibur
Basic Information
Type(s)	Video Game
Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	Namco
Genre(s)	3D Fighting
Media	GD-ROM Sega Dreamcast 188 Megabyte Download Xbox Live Arcade
Input	Arcade: 8-Way Joystick, 4 Buttons Sega Dreamcast Controller Xbox 360 Controller
Platform(s)	Arcade, Dreamcast and Xbox Live Arcade
Cancelled Platform(s)	PlayStation and PlayStation 2
Retail Features
Versus
Ratings
Main Credits
Designer(s)	Hiroaki Yotoriyama
International Release Date(s)
Arcade machines July 30, 1998 Xbox Live Arcade July 2, 2008
European Release Date(s)
Dreamcast December 1, 1999
North American Release Date(s)
Dreamcast September 9, 1999
Japanese Release Date(s)
Dreamcast August 5, 1999
Awards | Changelog | Cheats | Codes | Codex Compatibility | Covers | Credits | DLC | Help Localization | Manifest | Patches | Ratings Reviews | Screenshots | Soundtrack Videos | Walkthrough

Soul Calibur was created by Namco and is considered to be one of the greatest fighting games ever made. It is the sequel to Soul Blade. Soul Calibur spawned a sequel, Soul Calibur 2. This game was a Sega Dreamcast launch title. A PlayStation And PlayStation 2 Version Was Planned  But it Was Cancelled Due to Control issues.

Character Roster

Returning Characters

Starting Characters:

• Mitsurugi - Katana
• Taki - Dual Kodachis
• Sophitia - Sword and Shield
• Voldo - Dual Katar

Unlockable Characters:

• Cervantes - Long-Sword and Pistol sword (introduced on the Dreamcast port)
• Rock - Battle Axe
• Seong Mi-na - Halberd
• Hwang - Chinese Blade
• Siegfried - Zweihander

New Characters

Starting Characters:

• Astaroth - Giant Axe
• Ivy Valentine - Snake Sword
• Kilik - Bo Staff
• Maxi - Nunchaku
• Nightmare - Soul Edge
• Xianghua - Chinese sword

Unlockable Characters:

• Lizardman - Sword and Shield
• Edge Master - Imitative power
• Inferno - Imitative Power (Originally SoulEdge from Soul Edge)
• Yoshimitsu - Katana and Sashimono

Soulcalibur was originally planned to be a dramatic overhaul, featuring only a few select characters to be carried over from its predecessor, Soul Edge. While the initial plan did not exactly follow through—as nine of the eleven characters from the original roster had carried over by the time the game was ported to the Sega Dreamcast—the game still did manage to nearly double the size of the roster from the previous title. Most of these characters were readily available from the second the player opens the package.

But although the game added ten new characters, eight of the newcomers were, for the most part, updated versions of previously-existing fighters. Of the three main protagonists, Kilik's move set was largely taken from Seung Mi Na, Xianghua's from Hwang; and Maxi was a greatly updated version of what Soul Edge's Li Long would have been if he had returned. And of three of the main antagonists, Nightmare's move set was largely taken from Siegfried, Astaroth's from Rock; and Lizardman was based primarily on Soul Edge's featured heroine, Sophitia. In the Korean version of the game, Mitsurugi was replaced by a Caucasian swordsman named Arthur because the image of the samurai was not very popular with Koreans. Added to that is the fact that both Edge Master and Inferno switch their styles to match randomly-chosen existing characters' move lists with each individual round of fighting. In fact, Soulcalibur only added two truly original playing styles, shown in Ivy and Yoshimitsu; and even Yoshimitsu had some moves borrowed from established character Mitsurugi. Additionally, Taki has experienced a change of her own now that she wields dual tantōs instead of one. Consequently, Namco has been working hard since Soulcalibur to gradually separate the roster's styles until the series features completely original styles for each of its characters.