Soul Calibur 2 {GC import}

[Mallus]

I've had a chance to play it for a few hours so I thought I'd post a few quick impressions for any fighting game afficianados around here...

1) Its very good.

2) No, wait, its very, very good. It's not the dramatic leap that Soul Calibur was from Soul Blade {or even SC's aracde incarnation}, but that's neither here nor there.

3) Its a lot of fun. The graphics are beautiful. The pace of play is faster, with different --possibly easier-- combo chains, and many old moves with extra steps. This wrecks hell with my defense, but it really makes playing the game fresh. And frustrating, since I now actually lose to friends.

4) Its still very much Soul Calibur in that button mashing produces some spectacular results... but can only get you so far.

5) Moving --a la the "8 way run" seems more important.

6) The special effects are new and dramatic. There's just something extra nice about slashing a foe with a weapon sheathed in supernatural fire...

7) IMHO, SC2 is just more fun than games like Virtua Fighter 4 {which does have a deeper fighting engine}. Its easier to get into, but not that much less complex {though I never came near mastering VF4}.

 

[Ristamar]

Nice impressions. But what the people really want to hear about is.... Link!

What are your impressions of Link, and how well does he mesh into the SC universe?

Also, how does the GC controller handle while playing?

 

[Welverin]

Hey, I don't care about gameplay impressions, I've already played the game quite a bit in the arcade, so the important question is:
What about the new stuff for the home version?

 

[Agamon]

SC2 is out?! SC wss undoubtedly, undeniably, undisputably the best fighting game ever, hands down. It must be mine! :drool:

 

[Welverin]

It is out, in Japan (arcade and console), and in the US (arcades only). So if you want a home version you'll have to wait a few more months (August).

 

[Agamon]

Oh, okay. Yeah, I thought it wasn't out until summer...

 

[Welverin]

Ah, you forgot about the different release dates for different territories bit.

 

[Alzrius]

Link in Soul Calibur 2 looks awesome, there is just no other word for it.

Link's beginning two outfits are the green and red jerkins. A deep navy blue one and an ice blue one can be unlocked also.

Link's primary weapon is, of course, the Master Sword, and his hyrule shield. Several other weapons can be unlocked as well, including the Big Goron Sword, the Mirror Shield, the Staff of Somaria, the Hammer, and even the Bug-Catching Net!

Several of link's special moves involve him using some other trademark moves as well, including the up and down thrust attacks, the spinning attack, his bow and arrow, the bombs, and his boomerang.

His characterization style seems very well done, IMHO. His scene in the intro fits perfectly with the vignettes we see of everyone else. Link has lines in the game, but none of them actually involve words, instead being grunts, shouts, and yells. The voice-actor for Link is the same guy who does Nightmare (and a few other characters also, I forget his name).

On the game itself, I don't have anything to compare it to, not having played the arcade version of any of the other versions, but its jam-packed with stuff! The GC version has 85 unlockable features (of which I've gotten 83 thus far). The PS2 version has 83, and the X-box version has 90-something.

Unlockable things include character profiles, additional costumes, art galleries, battle theater (watch two characters fight while you control neither), exhibition theater (the characters go through katas), new playable modes (Extreme Survival, Alternative Time Attack, etc.), "Extra" versions of playable modes (allowing you to choose your weapon), openings and endings to other sequences, hidden characters, and hidden stages.

The basic modes in the game are Arcade mode and Weapon Master, an RPG -like sequence with a progressive story, where you gain experience points over 77 levels, and gold to purchase new weapons, costumes, and game features. There are also Time Attack modes, Practice modes, Versus Modes, Team Battle Modes, and more.

AFAIK, the domestic versions are being released in August.

 

[Tsyr]

Mine should be here anytime between today (earliest from the estimate) and monday (latest)... so forgive a few questions...

You mention link has numerous weapons you can unlock... Can I possibly take this to mean the game is somewhere between Soul Calliber and Soul Blade? I liked how, in SB, you could choose weapons from a list... and they were all distinct weapons. Then in SC, you couldn't... you could change the graphics, a LITTLE, but even then that was minor.

Hows Kilik (Or whoever the staff fighter is this game... I've avoided looking at previews too much for the game) in this one? Kilik was always one of my favorite two characters... The other being Sophitia, so any word on her would also be appreciated. I kinda imagined link's fighting style being like Sophitia's/Lizardmans... is it?

 

[Mallus]

You mention link has numerous weapons you can unlock... Can I possibly take this to mean the game is somewhere between Soul Calliber and Soul Blade? I liked how, in SB, you could choose weapons from a list... and they were all distinct weapons. Then in SC, you couldn't... you could change the graphics, a LITTLE, but even then that was minor.

Hows Kilik (Or whoever the staff fighter is this game... I've avoided looking at previews too much for the game) in this one? Kilik was always one of my favorite two characters... The other being Sophitia, so any word on her would also be appreciated. I kinda imagined link's fighting style being like Sophitia's/Lizardmans... is it?

Different weapons with different properties are unlocked in Weapon Master mode --a semi-Story mode with themed battles and such-- along with new stages, characters and costumes. You also earn money, which is used in turn to buy even more gewgaws in the shop.

I've only unlocked a few weapons, and I haven't tried using them in vs. mode. I assume you can use them outside of Weapon Master Mode, as in Soul Blade.

Kilik seems to have all his old moves, plus some new ones. I'm not stringing them together well at this point, but judging my the AI's use of him, he's even deadlier.

Sophitia is an unlockable character --her sister/cousin/clone Cassandra is selectable from the start. I was never any good with her {props to Lizardman here, now him I liked}, so I can't say much about the changes to her. Every character seems faster, as well as having all new combo chains.

And Link...

...looks to be one of, if not the strongest overall character. He's fast, he hits hard, his sword repetoire has of Hwang/Xianhua, a bit of Cervantes... So far, use of the bow, boomerang and bomb are just... cool. In fact, detrimental, seeing as its easy to get caught up trying to utilize them when a simple sword-pounding would do the trick.

Does Link fit into the Soul Calibur ouvre? Let me put it this way, does Yoshimitsu fit in anywhere?