Soul Blade/Soul Edge (PS1, 1996)
Graphics-9 Sound-9 Control-8 Challenge-7/8** Story-6
Level Design-8 Frustration-6.5/8.5** Fun-8.5/9* Originality-6.5
Overall Score-8.5
*2-player
**Edge Master/story mode (certain fights)
+
Pretty detailed options (easy-ultra hard difficulty, ring size, rounds, life bar % increase or reduction, time, normal or special opponent weapon (special means the opponent changes their weapon randomly), char change at continue toggle)
Sidestepping and running - VF2?
Critical edge attack combos (press all attack buttons to trigger a combo which can be extended once if it hits by pressing the right button combo at the right time - different for each char). Unblockable if the first attack hits. Can generally be used only three times per battle as it drains a decent amount of weapon energy. There's also a "perfect" version which requires a combo to start and needs to be executed in some story mode battles by certain characters
Horizontal and vertical slashes - Samurai Shodown?, Different kicks and slashes depending on direction pressed while attacking
A second player can join in at any point during an arcade mode playthrough
Can change the camera angle during replays
Command list - Tekken?
Practice mode (can also toggle the behavior of your opponent to practice different scenarios) - Tekken?
Four preset button config settings+can remap each button freely (the game also lets you map some button combinations to the shoulder buttons making them a lot easier to use)
Can stun or stagger your opponent with certain moves - stuns are produced as a result of a major counter
Story mode tells a different story throughout its missions/battles based on the character chosen here - not so in SoulCalibur
Slow, strong and unblockable attacks which can also be canceled by blocking
Impactful hits and nice visual effects for certain combos, Great animation and art direction overall, Pretty detailed 3D elements in the backgrounds (big step up from Tekken 2-3), Day/night transitions in some arenas
Skippable cutscenes
Edgemaster mode battles/missions tend to have some sort of modifier to them to make them stand out (shorter timer, survive until the time runs out, beat the enemy with throws while your health is draining from poison, survive several battles in a row, can only hurt the enemy if they're in mid-air, etc.)
Can use weapons gained in story mode in arcade mode
Can replay story mode missions after beating the last one for a character
Guard-impact - forward+block to deflect you opponent's attack and gain a small timing advantage (usually hard to pull off however and you can't do it vs low attacks)
Reversals - counter an enemy throw with a move that knocks them over (four characters can also counter some other enemy attacks - mitsurugi, sophitia, taki, li long) - gets hard to pull off after the early-mid game/on higher difficulties though
Can string up to three combos/moves together for a longer one that can't be blocked after the first move hits - most are hard to pull off however and they tend to feel more like exploits than intended combos
Counter attacks/major counters (interrupt an opponent's attack with the right timing for 150% damage+can then transition into certain combos afterwards due to a stunning effect or the opponent getting thrown back and knocked over)
One unlockable character (Soul Edge - finish Arcade or Time Attack mode with each of the ten standard characters (default weapons) or play the game for a total of 20 hours) and some outfits/armors
Compared to ARC ver.:
New intro and endings
Added Action Adventure-like story mode (Edgemaster mode) for the 10 initial characters (each character can gain 7 new weapons here and these have 5 stats (power (damage), def, str (how much damage a blocked hit does to the enemy's weapon), durability (lose your weapon if it reaches zero, regain it with some energy in the next round), weight (affects char speed)) and a special ability (for example, some restore weapon energy over time and some are longer than others), surprisingly in-depth intro stories here but the rest tends to be kinda shallow)
Interactive endings - Each of the ten initial characters have two endings, usually one happy ending and another tragic ending. These endings are accessible by pressing a special button/button sequence during certain times, indicated by black bars moving away, while others involve a short minigame, such as Mitsurugi avoiding gunshots
Five unlockable characters (including SoulEdge (the final boss of the game), Evil Siegfried, Seung Han Myong (Mi Na's dad))
Some new arenas
New voices for each character
Includes both the arcade soundtrack and two rearranged OSTs
A new costume for each character, giving each one a total of three different costumes, plus two color variations for the Player 1 and Player 2 costumes
VS mode, Survival, Team Battle, Time Attack, and Training modes
Connecting a PlayStation Multitap to the console allows the user to change the camera angle during battle. This also gives the player the option to play in first-person view
+/-
Linear story mode
Save feature in story mode
Minor censorship in western versions (In the JP and US versions, Li Long uses nunchaku. The EU version changed it to a three-sectioned staff due to BBFC guidelines which were in place at the time banning the depiction of certain weapons such as nunchaku, the intro was also edited for the US & EU versions to remove some nudity from it)
Double tap to run (could've been mapped to a shoulder button)
Can attack an opponent while they're down (hold up for a high jump attack)
Weapon lock mechanic (mash a button to win and do damage to your opponent; rock, paper, scissors-like mechanic to what beats what and if both use kicks then both take damage) - Samurai Shodown? It's a guessing game like RPS but looks cool
Weird (but probably more balanced) that you can't follow up certain full critical edge that sends an opponent flying high into the air such as Mitsurugi's Ticket to Styx
Weapon durability doesn't matter much in arcade mode on Normal
30 FPS
Voldo's double upwards swing is a bit OP
-
A few control/interface issues (overly tight timing for some of the full critical edge combos (Mitsurugi half circle part) and for countering an attempted throw with a reversal+for sophitia's iron butterfly, kinda hard to perform some moves consistently such as god's hammer for Mitsurugi - pressing three buttons at once or two buttons that are across on the front of the controller can actually be mapped to a shoulder button however, some delay after both combatants hit each others' weapons where you can't buffer up a move+some delay before you can block even after a single regular attack - feels a bit unresponsive (very unresponsive with certain chars and weapons), no subtitles for victory comments (the endings do have them) and the scrolling ending texts in story mode are too fast, training mode doesn't show your exact button inputs)
Some trial & error (finding the right timing for extending the critical edge combos to their full versions, recovery animation interruption (buffering) timings for combo followups - can do it slightly before it looks like you can (sometimes long before it looks like you can), mitsurugi's interactive ending in FP view - also annoying how you can't retry it if you fail)
Overly easy first 5 or so battles on Normal (arcade mode)
Combos are a bit short compared to the longest ones in Tekken 2 (otoh battles can get too one-handed in T2 due to these combos)
Feels arbitrary how only some characters can use reversal counters against certain opponent attacks (not just throws) as well as how you can only do it against some attacks AND how it does less damage against some attacks despite them doing equal damage if they hit you+it being hard to pull off unless you already know what the opponent is going to do. Also weird how doing it against a throw only cancels the throw and makes both combatants move backwards a bit rather than have you counter attack or gain a timing advantage
Some characters don't have stagger moves (Mitsurugi, Li Long, Cervantes, Soul Edge)
Some moves look like they should put the opponent out of the ring when near an edge but don't (rock's throw performed on a downed opponent for example)
The long delay after a knockdown can get a little tedious
Sometimes uneven difficulty in story mode (Hwang: (spikes: vs Li Long - barely do any damage if you don't throw him and your health is draining, vs Sophitia (several battles in a row+can only hurt the opponents if they're in mid-air+you lose if you lose once); dips: several other battles, relatively easy finale), )
Weird how Rock's down thrust attack doesn't hit an opponent lying down and how you can follow up a tornado combo with a "pick up" throw but not a tidal wave combo when the former does more damage. Also weird how his wind up attack is only slightly stronger than a tornado when you can't follow it up with a "pick up" throw
Poor facial animations
Some grammar and spelling errors (seems more common in the ending texts in Edgemaster mode)
No taunts after winning or losing? (no translated ones anyway)
Notes:
-Critical edge combo timings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3H6KtCMoY0
Level Design-8 Frustration-6.5/8.5** Fun-8.5/9* Originality-6.5
Overall Score-8.5
*2-player
**Edge Master/story mode (certain fights)
+
Pretty detailed options (easy-ultra hard difficulty, ring size, rounds, life bar % increase or reduction, time, normal or special opponent weapon (special means the opponent changes their weapon randomly), char change at continue toggle)
Sidestepping and running - VF2?
Critical edge attack combos (press all attack buttons to trigger a combo which can be extended once if it hits by pressing the right button combo at the right time - different for each char). Unblockable if the first attack hits. Can generally be used only three times per battle as it drains a decent amount of weapon energy. There's also a "perfect" version which requires a combo to start and needs to be executed in some story mode battles by certain characters
Horizontal and vertical slashes - Samurai Shodown?, Different kicks and slashes depending on direction pressed while attacking
A second player can join in at any point during an arcade mode playthrough
Can change the camera angle during replays
Command list - Tekken?
Practice mode (can also toggle the behavior of your opponent to practice different scenarios) - Tekken?
Four preset button config settings+can remap each button freely (the game also lets you map some button combinations to the shoulder buttons making them a lot easier to use)
Can stun or stagger your opponent with certain moves - stuns are produced as a result of a major counter
Story mode tells a different story throughout its missions/battles based on the character chosen here - not so in SoulCalibur
Slow, strong and unblockable attacks which can also be canceled by blocking
Impactful hits and nice visual effects for certain combos, Great animation and art direction overall, Pretty detailed 3D elements in the backgrounds (big step up from Tekken 2-3), Day/night transitions in some arenas
Skippable cutscenes
Edgemaster mode battles/missions tend to have some sort of modifier to them to make them stand out (shorter timer, survive until the time runs out, beat the enemy with throws while your health is draining from poison, survive several battles in a row, can only hurt the enemy if they're in mid-air, etc.)
Can use weapons gained in story mode in arcade mode
Can replay story mode missions after beating the last one for a character
Guard-impact - forward+block to deflect you opponent's attack and gain a small timing advantage (usually hard to pull off however and you can't do it vs low attacks)
Reversals - counter an enemy throw with a move that knocks them over (four characters can also counter some other enemy attacks - mitsurugi, sophitia, taki, li long) - gets hard to pull off after the early-mid game/on higher difficulties though
Can string up to three combos/moves together for a longer one that can't be blocked after the first move hits - most are hard to pull off however and they tend to feel more like exploits than intended combos
Counter attacks/major counters (interrupt an opponent's attack with the right timing for 150% damage+can then transition into certain combos afterwards due to a stunning effect or the opponent getting thrown back and knocked over)
One unlockable character (Soul Edge - finish Arcade or Time Attack mode with each of the ten standard characters (default weapons) or play the game for a total of 20 hours) and some outfits/armors
Compared to ARC ver.:
New intro and endings
Added Action Adventure-like story mode (Edgemaster mode) for the 10 initial characters (each character can gain 7 new weapons here and these have 5 stats (power (damage), def, str (how much damage a blocked hit does to the enemy's weapon), durability (lose your weapon if it reaches zero, regain it with some energy in the next round), weight (affects char speed)) and a special ability (for example, some restore weapon energy over time and some are longer than others), surprisingly in-depth intro stories here but the rest tends to be kinda shallow)
Interactive endings - Each of the ten initial characters have two endings, usually one happy ending and another tragic ending. These endings are accessible by pressing a special button/button sequence during certain times, indicated by black bars moving away, while others involve a short minigame, such as Mitsurugi avoiding gunshots
Five unlockable characters (including SoulEdge (the final boss of the game), Evil Siegfried, Seung Han Myong (Mi Na's dad))
Some new arenas
New voices for each character
Includes both the arcade soundtrack and two rearranged OSTs
A new costume for each character, giving each one a total of three different costumes, plus two color variations for the Player 1 and Player 2 costumes
VS mode, Survival, Team Battle, Time Attack, and Training modes
Connecting a PlayStation Multitap to the console allows the user to change the camera angle during battle. This also gives the player the option to play in first-person view
+/-
Linear story mode
Save feature in story mode
Minor censorship in western versions (In the JP and US versions, Li Long uses nunchaku. The EU version changed it to a three-sectioned staff due to BBFC guidelines which were in place at the time banning the depiction of certain weapons such as nunchaku, the intro was also edited for the US & EU versions to remove some nudity from it)
Double tap to run (could've been mapped to a shoulder button)
Can attack an opponent while they're down (hold up for a high jump attack)
Weapon lock mechanic (mash a button to win and do damage to your opponent; rock, paper, scissors-like mechanic to what beats what and if both use kicks then both take damage) - Samurai Shodown? It's a guessing game like RPS but looks cool
Weird (but probably more balanced) that you can't follow up certain full critical edge that sends an opponent flying high into the air such as Mitsurugi's Ticket to Styx
Weapon durability doesn't matter much in arcade mode on Normal
30 FPS
Voldo's double upwards swing is a bit OP
-
A few control/interface issues (overly tight timing for some of the full critical edge combos (Mitsurugi half circle part) and for countering an attempted throw with a reversal+for sophitia's iron butterfly, kinda hard to perform some moves consistently such as god's hammer for Mitsurugi - pressing three buttons at once or two buttons that are across on the front of the controller can actually be mapped to a shoulder button however, some delay after both combatants hit each others' weapons where you can't buffer up a move+some delay before you can block even after a single regular attack - feels a bit unresponsive (very unresponsive with certain chars and weapons), no subtitles for victory comments (the endings do have them) and the scrolling ending texts in story mode are too fast, training mode doesn't show your exact button inputs)
Some trial & error (finding the right timing for extending the critical edge combos to their full versions, recovery animation interruption (buffering) timings for combo followups - can do it slightly before it looks like you can (sometimes long before it looks like you can), mitsurugi's interactive ending in FP view - also annoying how you can't retry it if you fail)
Overly easy first 5 or so battles on Normal (arcade mode)
Combos are a bit short compared to the longest ones in Tekken 2 (otoh battles can get too one-handed in T2 due to these combos)
Feels arbitrary how only some characters can use reversal counters against certain opponent attacks (not just throws) as well as how you can only do it against some attacks AND how it does less damage against some attacks despite them doing equal damage if they hit you+it being hard to pull off unless you already know what the opponent is going to do. Also weird how doing it against a throw only cancels the throw and makes both combatants move backwards a bit rather than have you counter attack or gain a timing advantage
Some characters don't have stagger moves (Mitsurugi, Li Long, Cervantes, Soul Edge)
Some moves look like they should put the opponent out of the ring when near an edge but don't (rock's throw performed on a downed opponent for example)
The long delay after a knockdown can get a little tedious
Sometimes uneven difficulty in story mode (Hwang: (spikes: vs Li Long - barely do any damage if you don't throw him and your health is draining, vs Sophitia (several battles in a row+can only hurt the opponents if they're in mid-air+you lose if you lose once); dips: several other battles, relatively easy finale), )
Weird how Rock's down thrust attack doesn't hit an opponent lying down and how you can follow up a tornado combo with a "pick up" throw but not a tidal wave combo when the former does more damage. Also weird how his wind up attack is only slightly stronger than a tornado when you can't follow it up with a "pick up" throw
Poor facial animations
Some grammar and spelling errors (seems more common in the ending texts in Edgemaster mode)
No taunts after winning or losing? (no translated ones anyway)
Notes:
-Critical edge combo timings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3H6KtCMoY0
