Soul Calibur III
Encyclopedia
is a fighting game
produced by Namco
and is the sequel
to Soulcalibur II and is the fourth overall installment in the Soul
series of fighting game
s. It was released exclusively for the PlayStation 2
, unlike its predecessor Soulcalibur II, which was also released for both GameCube
and Xbox
, with a single unique character featuring in each version.
Soul Calibur is the name of the holy sword, created to battle the evil sword Soul Edge, around which the game's storylines revolve.
Although recent generations of fighting games in the Mortal Kombat
, Street Fighter, and Dead or Alive series have supported online play, Soulcalibur III does not. The game's producer, Hiroaki Yotoriyama has said that, "At the current time, the online infrastructure is extremely different between countries, and there are people that can not enjoy network gaming. We've decided to concentrate on improving the game's offline content and its characters so that people all over the world will be able to have fun."
The wicked Soul Edge survived its fated encounter with the wielder of Soulcalibur, Xianghua, and restored its control over the body of Siegfried Schtauffen, turning him back into the Azure Knight Nightmare. Four years later, Nightmare was about to restore Soul Edge, when suddenly a man named Raphael who wielded a thin rapier appeared, intending on taking Soul Edge. Nightmare defeated the attacker, but was distracted by Siegfried's latent will trying to restore his body. Using the distraction, Raphael pierced Soul Edge's eye, giving Siegfried the edge he needed to break free from Soul Edge's control once again.
After waking up, Siegfried found the holy sword, free from its entrapment within the wicked sword, and out of instinct used it to pierce Soul Edge. The result led to both swords sealed together in a fateful embrace, an Embrace of Souls. Siegfried took both weapons and started a quest to find a definitive way of sealing Soul Edge, but memories of his slaughters, plus the attacks of those resentful of the Azure Knight, drove his mind towards insanity. Unbeknownst to him, the evil soul of the blade escaped and obtained a temporary shell, starting a new killing spree to strengthen himself while seeking its body, Soul Edge.
What neither of the two warriors knows is that a man behind the scenes is controlling their steps, searching to end an everlasting curse. And that many other warriors ventured in search of the blade as well.
, Seong Han-myeong, Edge Master, and the console-exclusive guest characters Heihachi
, Link, and Spawn
. Soulcalibur II
The Character Creation Mode allows the player to choose from several classes, clothing and armor, and physical features. Most of the classes can use up to five disciplines, three of which are unique, and two of which are "Soul of ..." disciplines: an exact replica of a main story character's moves. The created fighter's personality can be altered, which influences their quotes and their actions during battle. However, the personality is chosen by the equipment the character wears, and not directly by the player.
The Soul Arena is a mode that allows both the eight-match Quick Play (the standard Arcade Mode of the game), which is light on story and allows a speedy confrontation with Abyss, as well as the pre-defined Missions which include variations on the standard matches.
The Tales of Souls mode is a mode comparable to Soul Edge
There's a World Competition mode created to simulate tournament rounds (of either eliminations or Round Robin) against the CPU.
The plot places the player's character in the role of a young cadet of the Grandall Empire, who is chosen to lead the war against its neighboring countries, Halteese and Dalkia. As the player proceeds in their campaign, taking territories and forcing enemy troops back, they start to realize the true meaning of war and the reason they fight, eventually discovering the true enemies of their country.
Throughout the chronicles, the player gains many rewards. Most character's ultimate weapons (the weapons with four effects) are obtained throughout the story. The player can also unlock more armor, faces, disciplines, etc. for custom characters. Also, if the player starts Chronicles of the Sword after certain weapon disciplines have been unlocked, the character may use those during battle.
and Amy Sorel, who have been reworked and expanded into more deep playing styles. The total roster of the arcade ascends to 27 selectable characters.
The game has three different modes: "Training Mode," where one can try the characters' moves for a set time; "Standard Mode," which is a traditional arcade mode with nine battles in a row, without cut scenes or endings; and "Legends Mode", a complex eight-round mode based upon the creation of and competition between customized characters with accumulated skills taken from the home version's Legends of the Sword mode, such as increased stamina or the ability to automatically escape grapples.
Arcade Edition keeps a record of one "legend" version of every selectable character in the roster, and the object of Legends Mode is to become the named legend for that character by defeating the existing legend and simultaneously creating a statistically better character. If after eight fights you defeat the legend, but your custom character is still inferior, then you may choose to lower the legend's stats, in hopes of eventually bringing them down to your level. If you already possess the legend spot, then your goal in Legends Mode is to defeat your own legend, but you would then choose the option to raise its stats. When defeated by a legend, the player is still given the option to raise its stats, but not by as much, and the option to lower is not given. Through this capability for improving the already-installed legend characters, it's possile to quickly raise a character that would be very difficult to defeat, and impossible to outrank in a single play of Legends Mode. Unlike the similar "Conquest" mode featured in the arcade version of Soul Calibur II, there is no log-in system, because only one legend is saved for each character in the game, and their names are only entered at the end of a playthrough in which they successfully became the new legend. This means that every play starts from scratch, and all players are equally free to modify all saved characters.
Collectible Card Game, created by Sabertooth Games
and now published by Fantasy Flight Games
. It was one of the official founding franchises of the card game, next to Street Fighter
, when the game was released April 2006. UFS has seen five expansions based on Soulcalibur IIIs characters and history.
. IGN
, who gave the game a 8.5/10, praised the game for its "stunning environment" and "charming characters" but thought that the game could use more diverse sound effects. GameSpot
praised the "fun, fast-paced gameplay" but criticized the lack of online play.
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
produced by Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
and is the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Soulcalibur II and is the fourth overall installment in the Soul
Soul (series)
The is a weapon-based historical fantasy 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, Soul Calibur. The series is special in that each character...
series of fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
s. It was released exclusively for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, unlike its predecessor Soulcalibur II, which was also released for both GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, with a single unique character featuring in each version.
Soul Calibur is the name of the holy sword, created to battle the evil sword Soul Edge, around which the game's storylines revolve.
Although recent generations of fighting games in the Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (series)
Mortal Kombat, commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The first four renditions and their updates were developed by Midway Games and initially released on arcade machines. The arcade titles were later picked up by Acclaim...
, Street Fighter, and Dead or Alive series have supported online play, Soulcalibur III does not. The game's producer, Hiroaki Yotoriyama has said that, "At the current time, the online infrastructure is extremely different between countries, and there are people that can not enjoy network gaming. We've decided to concentrate on improving the game's offline content and its characters so that people all over the world will be able to have fun."
Prologue
This game takes place shortly after Soulcalibur II, meaning that the year is still 1591. The amount of time is not specified, but taking into account the various characters' profiles, a minimum of four months has already passed (one month Xianghua needed to carry Kilik back to his master's hermit, three months that took Kilik to surpass his master's training.)The wicked Soul Edge survived its fated encounter with the wielder of Soulcalibur, Xianghua, and restored its control over the body of Siegfried Schtauffen, turning him back into the Azure Knight Nightmare. Four years later, Nightmare was about to restore Soul Edge, when suddenly a man named Raphael who wielded a thin rapier appeared, intending on taking Soul Edge. Nightmare defeated the attacker, but was distracted by Siegfried's latent will trying to restore his body. Using the distraction, Raphael pierced Soul Edge's eye, giving Siegfried the edge he needed to break free from Soul Edge's control once again.
After waking up, Siegfried found the holy sword, free from its entrapment within the wicked sword, and out of instinct used it to pierce Soul Edge. The result led to both swords sealed together in a fateful embrace, an Embrace of Souls. Siegfried took both weapons and started a quest to find a definitive way of sealing Soul Edge, but memories of his slaughters, plus the attacks of those resentful of the Azure Knight, drove his mind towards insanity. Unbeknownst to him, the evil soul of the blade escaped and obtained a temporary shell, starting a new killing spree to strengthen himself while seeking its body, Soul Edge.
What neither of the two warriors knows is that a man behind the scenes is controlling their steps, searching to end an everlasting curse. And that many other warriors ventured in search of the blade as well.
Characters
Nearly all characters who have been featured in a Soul series title in the past return, except for Inferno, NecridNecrid
is a playable character in the Soul series of weapon-based fighting video games. Designed by comic book artist and toy designer Todd McFarlane through a collaboration with Namco, the character first appeared in video game console ports of Soulcalibur II and later as part of an action figure set...
, Seong Han-myeong, Edge Master, and the console-exclusive guest characters Heihachi
Heihachi Mishima
is one of the main characters in the Tekken fighting game series. He is one of only four characters to have appeared in every game in the series and he makes two appearances within the series as the final boss...
, Link, and Spawn
Spawn (comics)
Spawn is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in a monthly comic book of the same name published by Image Comics. Created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1...
. Soulcalibur II
Gameplay
The game includes new modes such as Tales of Souls, an interactive story-driven mode comparable to Soul Edge's Edge Master Mode; Character Creation, in which players can create custom characters from thirteen total occupations, with multiple weapons and fighting styles; and Chronicles of the Sword, a real-time-play mode that allows players to take their created souls through adventures of their own. The game also has the largest character roster — 24 characters playable in Tales of Souls mode and an additional 18 playable in all other modes — and largest battle stage selection in Soul series history.The Character Creation Mode allows the player to choose from several classes, clothing and armor, and physical features. Most of the classes can use up to five disciplines, three of which are unique, and two of which are "Soul of ..." disciplines: an exact replica of a main story character's moves. The created fighter's personality can be altered, which influences their quotes and their actions during battle. However, the personality is chosen by the equipment the character wears, and not directly by the player.
The Soul Arena is a mode that allows both the eight-match Quick Play (the standard Arcade Mode of the game), which is light on story and allows a speedy confrontation with Abyss, as well as the pre-defined Missions which include variations on the standard matches.
The Tales of Souls mode is a mode comparable to Soul Edge
There's a World Competition mode created to simulate tournament rounds (of either eliminations or Round Robin) against the CPU.
Chronicles of the Sword
Chronicles of the Sword is a one-player mode. The objective is to make a character using the custom character creation system and play it through a story. It begins with the player starting out as a rookie commander for the Grandall Empire. There are 20 Chronicles, or levels, each one getting harder than the last. The basis is the player's troops are minimized and they move like board game pieces. The player must fight the enemies and take their strongholds scattered through the level. When two enemies on the map are fighting, the player could have them slash each other on their own or select "Battle" and duke it out Soulcalibur style. Winning the chronicles results in a certain amount of gold depending on how well the player did. As the characters fight, they gain levels, and become stronger. Sometimes the standard characters may be found in strongholds or standing and they are always level 60 (Olcadan and Abyss, however, do not appear). As the story progresses the player also gain some pre-made characters that can be controlled.The plot places the player's character in the role of a young cadet of the Grandall Empire, who is chosen to lead the war against its neighboring countries, Halteese and Dalkia. As the player proceeds in their campaign, taking territories and forcing enemy troops back, they start to realize the true meaning of war and the reason they fight, eventually discovering the true enemies of their country.
Throughout the chronicles, the player gains many rewards. Most character's ultimate weapons (the weapons with four effects) are obtained throughout the story. The player can also unlock more armor, faces, disciplines, etc. for custom characters. Also, if the player starts Chronicles of the Sword after certain weapon disciplines have been unlocked, the character may use those during battle.
Soulcalibur III: Arcade Edition
From the home version, the entire cast returns as playable characters except Abyss, who is now a non-playable boss character alongside Night Terror. From the 17 bonus characters only 3 make it into the arcade: Hwang Seong-gyeong, Li LongLi Long
is a fictional character in the Soul series of video games. Created by Namco's Project Soul division, he first appeared in Soul Edge, later appearing in both console and arcade versions of Soulcalibur III, as well as on various merchandise related to the series...
and Amy Sorel, who have been reworked and expanded into more deep playing styles. The total roster of the arcade ascends to 27 selectable characters.
The game has three different modes: "Training Mode," where one can try the characters' moves for a set time; "Standard Mode," which is a traditional arcade mode with nine battles in a row, without cut scenes or endings; and "Legends Mode", a complex eight-round mode based upon the creation of and competition between customized characters with accumulated skills taken from the home version's Legends of the Sword mode, such as increased stamina or the ability to automatically escape grapples.
Arcade Edition keeps a record of one "legend" version of every selectable character in the roster, and the object of Legends Mode is to become the named legend for that character by defeating the existing legend and simultaneously creating a statistically better character. If after eight fights you defeat the legend, but your custom character is still inferior, then you may choose to lower the legend's stats, in hopes of eventually bringing them down to your level. If you already possess the legend spot, then your goal in Legends Mode is to defeat your own legend, but you would then choose the option to raise its stats. When defeated by a legend, the player is still given the option to raise its stats, but not by as much, and the option to lower is not given. Through this capability for improving the already-installed legend characters, it's possile to quickly raise a character that would be very difficult to defeat, and impossible to outrank in a single play of Legends Mode. Unlike the similar "Conquest" mode featured in the arcade version of Soul Calibur II, there is no log-in system, because only one legend is saved for each character in the game, and their names are only entered at the end of a playthrough in which they successfully became the new legend. This means that every play starts from scratch, and all players are equally free to modify all saved characters.
Collectible card game
Soulcalibur III is part of the Universal Fighting SystemUniversal Fighting System
The Universal Fighting System is a collectible card game originally designed by Sabertooth Games. The themes of the cards are drawn from a multitude of licensed gaming universes, principally Fighting game licenses...
Collectible Card Game, created by Sabertooth Games
Sabertooth Games
Sabertooth Games is a now defunct Memphis, Tennessee based game company, founded in 2001. The company primarily produced collectible card games as a subsidiary of Games Workshop, PLC...
and now published by Fantasy Flight Games
Fantasy Flight Games
Fantasy Flight Games is a Roseville, Minnesota-based game company that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games. Fantasy Flight Publishing was founded in 1995 by its CEO, Christian T. Petersen. Since the release of its first game product in 1997, the company has been doing...
. It was one of the official founding franchises of the card game, next to Street Fighter
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...
, when the game was released April 2006. UFS has seen five expansions based on Soulcalibur IIIs characters and history.
Reception
The game has generally received positive reviews with an aggregate score of 86/100 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, who gave the game a 8.5/10, praised the game for its "stunning environment" and "charming characters" but thought that the game could use more diverse sound effects. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
praised the "fun, fast-paced gameplay" but criticized the lack of online play.
Awards
- E3 2005 Game Critics AwardsGame Critics AwardsThe Game Critics Awards are a set of annual awards held after the E3 video game conference since 1998. The awards are given to products displayed at E3 with the title Best of E3 of their category. The nominees and winners of the awards are chosen by individual judges representing 35 major North...
: Best Fighting Game - E3 2005 GameSpotGameSpotGameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
Awards: Best Fighting Game - IGNIGNIGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
: Best Fighting Game of 2005