Review
Played on: Xbox One XReleased: 2013 (Xbox 360)
Originally released: 2002 (Arcade), 2003 (PS2, GC & Xbox)
Back in the early 2000's I'd heard so many good things about SoulCalibur on the Sega Dreamcast, the sequel to SoulBlade. Jokingly, referred to as "Tekken with weapons". It was the first game that, not only, got a perfect arcade port, but also had been extensively upgraded for the Dreamcast. The days of superior arcade graphics had passed, now the consoles were catching up!
I could hardly wait when SoulCalibur II was announced for my platform of choice that generation, the PlayStation 2. Released in 2003 for the PS2, Gamecube and Xbox, one year after the arcade, it was the fighting game I learned to love on my PS2. Finally, putting my other, beloved, Namco fighter into it's DVD case for a rest: Tekken Tag Tournament.
SCII felt fresh, different and more exciting! Much thanks to it's 3D orientated 8-way movement and exciting weapons to battle with. But also because I'd never experienced the franchise before.
SCII felt fresh, different and more exciting! Much thanks to it's 3D orientated 8-way movement and exciting weapons to battle with. But also because I'd never experienced the franchise before.
Although I somehow never think of the 2000-years as "a long time ago", seeing the introduction video and hearing the sounds of the main menu in SoulCalibur II HD made me realise it's been ages since I played it. I remember battling it out with a friend, who also had the game, aggressively debating which character was the best one and comparing how far we'd reached in the main story mode. Every fight was about trying out new tricks and strategies, but perhaps even more importantly: learning how to stop them from damaging you.
Wonderful memories, that give me that warm nostalgic feeling, even though I never settled into the PS2 library as fondly as I did with the PS1. I guess retrogaming nostalgia is picking up for that console too, as it's such a long time ago.
Going back to the story mode I mentioned earlier, I cannot avoid the topic of how excellent it was, it was titled "Weapon Master". Prior to SCII, I'd always thought fighter were shallow in their content. Discussing this topic back in the early 2000's with my SCII rival friend: we agreed that we'd love to see a fighter with some sort of grander story content, other than a simple arcade mode. Behold "Weapon Master", when SCII arrived. We'd missed out, big time, on the Sega Dreamcast and the first SC, with exactly the same mode here in Norway!
In Weapon Master you embark upon a story of a traveller seeking the mighty Calibur sword. Each location give you, while simply presented as text, a small back story and description of where you are and why. Fights will typically be multiple battles with one life bar, some sort of boss or scenarios where the ground is slippy or your life decreases rapidly.
Going back to the story mode I mentioned earlier, I cannot avoid the topic of how excellent it was, it was titled "Weapon Master". Prior to SCII, I'd always thought fighter were shallow in their content. Discussing this topic back in the early 2000's with my SCII rival friend: we agreed that we'd love to see a fighter with some sort of grander story content, other than a simple arcade mode. Behold "Weapon Master", when SCII arrived. We'd missed out, big time, on the Sega Dreamcast and the first SC, with exactly the same mode here in Norway!
In Weapon Master you embark upon a story of a traveller seeking the mighty Calibur sword. Each location give you, while simply presented as text, a small back story and description of where you are and why. Fights will typically be multiple battles with one life bar, some sort of boss or scenarios where the ground is slippy or your life decreases rapidly.
These mission-like tasks give the game more depth and lifespan to the singleplayer, an unusual feature for fighters back when SC1 and SCII released. Granted, the story was simple and completely alike regardless of which character you chose, but at least it felt refreshing and far more ambitious than the competition, and that meant a lot for my opinion of the game.
Let's not completely forget the arcade mode though, it's the standard affair of a series of fights, followed by one main last boss fight and then a short ending cutscene to watch. It's a fast way of collecting endings. Costumes and new weapons though, have to earned and bought through points earned in Weapon Master. Forcing players that wanted stuff unlocked to play the main offering of SCII. Something everyone should!
There's a fairly large roster of fighters too. Each with their unique weapon and moves. Learning the moveset and, most of important of all, the range of your weapons, is key to becoming more skilled. That knowledge of your weapon range lets you know when you can strike. Either with a vertical or horizontal blow. It's also about knowing when you can approach and avoid the enemy's weapon range.
Let's not completely forget the arcade mode though, it's the standard affair of a series of fights, followed by one main last boss fight and then a short ending cutscene to watch. It's a fast way of collecting endings. Costumes and new weapons though, have to earned and bought through points earned in Weapon Master. Forcing players that wanted stuff unlocked to play the main offering of SCII. Something everyone should!
There's a fairly large roster of fighters too. Each with their unique weapon and moves. Learning the moveset and, most of important of all, the range of your weapons, is key to becoming more skilled. That knowledge of your weapon range lets you know when you can strike. Either with a vertical or horizontal blow. It's also about knowing when you can approach and avoid the enemy's weapon range.
Be it nunchucks, a fighting stick, a samurai sword or a long whip, you're up against, or using yourself, you need to know how far it can reach and how fast it can hit to become skilled. It was tricky to learn and a huge change for me back then, from fighting with fists and legs like in most other fighters.
SoulCalibur II HD Online is a faithful conversion of the old console game. Everything looks just how I remembered it, although the jaw dropping graphics look simplistic by today's standard. This time though, it's not running on a rough 480i output of the PS2. Here, we have SCII at a healthy 1080p@60fps! Smooth, sharp and still pretty looking in it's upgraded resolution.
SoulCalibur II HD Online is a faithful conversion of the old console game. Everything looks just how I remembered it, although the jaw dropping graphics look simplistic by today's standard. This time though, it's not running on a rough 480i output of the PS2. Here, we have SCII at a healthy 1080p@60fps! Smooth, sharp and still pretty looking in it's upgraded resolution.
Play it on a Xbox One X or Xbox Series X/S, through backwards compatibility, and get a neat 16xAF that really keeps the blurred out textures on the ground sharp into the distance!
It's one the last, heavy, graphical efforts the arcades pushed, before home consoles became extremely powerful and far more advanced. In a time just before the dawn of online console gaming too. These days it may look a little sterile and empty, but it's clean and sharp presentation without tons of clutter onscreen feels refreshing compared to modern games. Plus, it has this colourful arcade, 90's Sega-like flair to it's visuals, that I can't exactly explain. Colourful and vibrant , showing off it's high polygon rate and impressive 3D models of it's time.
The game still plays fast and responsive, it's fairly simple control scheme captivates even today. Perhaps the appeal of a simpler game is breath of fresh air as many fighting series these days take for granted you're familiar with them in advance. The variation in fighting styles are quite impressive as each character feels distinctly different. Be it long range weapons or close combat ones.
It's one the last, heavy, graphical efforts the arcades pushed, before home consoles became extremely powerful and far more advanced. In a time just before the dawn of online console gaming too. These days it may look a little sterile and empty, but it's clean and sharp presentation without tons of clutter onscreen feels refreshing compared to modern games. Plus, it has this colourful arcade, 90's Sega-like flair to it's visuals, that I can't exactly explain. Colourful and vibrant , showing off it's high polygon rate and impressive 3D models of it's time.
The game still plays fast and responsive, it's fairly simple control scheme captivates even today. Perhaps the appeal of a simpler game is breath of fresh air as many fighting series these days take for granted you're familiar with them in advance. The variation in fighting styles are quite impressive as each character feels distinctly different. Be it long range weapons or close combat ones.
As a minus though, which is not an issue for me since I was playing the game as a singleplayer one, I don't believe this game has received any of the patches the arcade version did. As such, I'm guessing there are ways to cheat with certain characters not being balanced enough. This will leave hardcore players annoyed, it was a chance to make the definitive version of the game and they still missed that mark. Sadly.
Can SCII still hold up, besides nostalgia, in a clean and high resolution package? Is there anything to get here, that younger gamers can't receive through a far more recent fighter? Well, I felt the SC series, after this release, became a little cluttered with ideas and new directions that perhaps weren't desirable. As such, I feel SCII still offers a more pure Soul Calibur experience, just before the series went a bit overboard.
Can SCII still hold up, besides nostalgia, in a clean and high resolution package? Is there anything to get here, that younger gamers can't receive through a far more recent fighter? Well, I felt the SC series, after this release, became a little cluttered with ideas and new directions that perhaps weren't desirable. As such, I feel SCII still offers a more pure Soul Calibur experience, just before the series went a bit overboard.
The Weapon Master mode still stands out as a fairly unique idea, that rarely has been touched since, in a similar fashion. There's also a ton of content to unlock here, further showcasing these were the days before paid DLC cluttered the extras you would wanted to obtain.
All things considered though, it's probably a purchase that values itself best for nostalgic players rather than newcomers. Those seeking to learn how SC became so popular should definitely give it go though!
All things considered though, it's probably a purchase that values itself best for nostalgic players rather than newcomers. Those seeking to learn how SC became so popular should definitely give it go though!
Summary
I've thrown hours and hours into SCII through my teenage years and I replayed the Weapon Master mode once again now. It's kept it's charm and I would recommend others with fond memories of SCII check it out on either Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, the Xbox One family or the recent Xbox Series X/S.
If the Dreamcast was your scene though, don't worry, there's SC1 available too in HD, on Xbox 360, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, though it hasn't retained it's weapon master mode sadly, but it's an excellent port nonetheless.
A classic fighter, a ton of great memories and a fun reunion! If I were to pick out a favourite fighter. to go alongside Tekken Tag Tournament and Dead or Alive 2, I'd pick SCII each time. Just like I'd pick Ivy each time, to be my fighter!
Let the nostalgia battle commence!
A classic fighter, a ton of great memories and a fun reunion! If I were to pick out a favourite fighter. to go alongside Tekken Tag Tournament and Dead or Alive 2, I'd pick SCII each time. Just like I'd pick Ivy each time, to be my fighter!
Let the nostalgia battle commence!