Soulcalibur 6: 5 Things We’d Like To See

Depending on who you are and whether or not you have a massive interest in fighting games, the announcement of Soulcalibur 6 might have stolen the show for you at The Game Awards. The legacy franchise has been around for over two decades, proving that this tale of swords and souls will be “eternally retold”.

With any new fighting game announcement, fans immediately begin to speculate on what they’d like to see included in the game, and we’re no different. We’ve been playing the game since Soul Blade on PS1, along with the first Soulcalibur on the Dreamcast. We’re just as rabid in our excitement for the game as you are, and we’ve got a few ideas on what could make Soulcalibur VI one of the best games in the series. Five ideas, to be precise.

 

1. Retain the same/similar gameplay as SC V

Soulcalibur 5 is often regarded as the ugly, red headed step child of the series, largely due to a lack of proper single player modes, a weak story and new characters not connecting as well as established characters. One thing that did work, however, was the core gameplay, which retained the typical “easy to learn, hard to master” schtick whilst adding new abilities such as Critical Edge and Brave Edge. Critical Edge has been confirmed to return in 6, along with the new Reversal Edge that allows you to defend against your opponent before unleashing a counter attack, but Brave Edges should also return. Similar to Tekken 7’s Rage Drives, Brave Edges allowed you to cash in meter on certain moves to deal extra damage or extend combos. It’d be another tool that would help distinguish the good players from the rest.

 

2. Character Creation

One of the key aspects of the series since the feature’s inception in Soulcalibur 3 has been the ability to create your own characters. Not only is it a feature that, at least in terms of the genre of fighting games, is a unique selling point, it’s a feature that’s been improved upon with each iteration. From a fairly barebones toolset in Soul Calibur 3, character creation was expanded to include different body types and a sticker system, which allowed you to create both cool looking tattoos and interesting decals for your character’s outfit. By default, it was the best character creation system in fighting games, as the only other real contender to it was Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. The level of customisation available was mind-blowing, and gave players ample opportunity to really flex those creative muscles, whether that be to create homages to well known characters or crafting something wholly original.

 

3. Decent range of modes

As mentioned before, Soulcalibur 5 was generally reviled by many fans of the series, largely due to the lack of modes. Even its predecessor, Soulcalibur 4, was hit with similar criticism, as its Tower of Souls mode wasn’t up to the same standard as the likes of Weapon Master mode or Chronicles of the Sword. Fans of the series are used to being given the gameplay that they know and love along with a substantial single player mode that alters or even subverts what a fighting game mode should be. At this point, we’d settle for just a Story Mode that’s of the same quality as a NetherRealm Studios game, but if Project Soul decide to announce a Weapon Master mode for Soulcalibur VI, we’re all ears.

 

4. Global Colosseo

One of the few things that SC 5 did correctly was the Global Colosseo mode, which was essentially a 50 person online lobby where players could chat to each other, challenge each other to matches and generally just dick about. It’s an idea that had featured previously in the likes of Mortal Kombat (2011), and has been fully expanded on in Arc System Works games like Guilty Gear Xrd, Blazblue and Dragon Ball FighterZ. Lobby systems like this are the best way to replicate the typical arcade experience in an online capacity, as it allows you to meet new players, compare notes on strategies and test out new combos, and should be a staple feature in all fighting games.

 

5. Guest Characters

It wouldn’t be a Soulcalibur game without a guest character, and the prerequisite speculation that comes with that. The series reached new heights with the release of Soulcalibur 2, which included specific guest characters for each console: Spawn for Xbox, Heihachi for PS2 and Link for the GameCube. Perhaps the most famous, or infamous, or downright idiotic depending on who you ask, was the inclusion of Star Wars characters in Soulcalibur 4. As for 6, who knows what kind of guest characters they could go for? If they were to go the console exclusive route again, PlayStation players could get their hands on characters like Kratos from God of War. As for Xbox players, the pickings are a little bit more slim, but there’s always the Killer Instinct cast. Characters like Jago and Tusk would be a natural fit for Soul Calibur.

Of course, these are all things we’re interesting in seeing, but what would you like to see? More Star Wars characters? Weapon Master mode? The return of everyone’s favourite joke character, Dampierre? So long as I get to play as Maxi, I’ll be happy, but be sure to sound off in the comments. Speaking of God of War, check out our coverage on the recently announced release date.