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by J.M.Vargas Now that the Sega Dreamcast has gotten itself a hot little exclusive from the folks at Namco in the form of the red-hot arcade sequel to 1997's "Soul Blade" ("Edge" at the arcades), a PlayStation version of "Soul Calibur" is looking les and less likely by the day; a shame because "Soul Blade" and "Tekken 2" provided a strong one-two punch in quality and sales for the Sony catalogue of fighting titles for almost two seasons, and kept the Namco coffers full of cash and yen for almost two years. Now part of the 'Greatest Hits' line-up and available for as litle as $15 if you look around, no true fighting aficionado can afford not to have one of the most polished and perfect arcade-to-console ports the world has ever seen; "Soul Blade" lacks the depth and complexity to keep it in the same league of "Tekken 3", "Fighters Megamix" and "Tobal 2"... but damn it if it doesn't come close to the edge of those three masterpieces. GAMEPLAY / FUN FACTOR: B What hurts this game's long-term value the most is, ironically, the one thing that made it popular in the first place: an easy-to-learn interface that mirrors the simplicity of the "Tekken" and "Virtua Fighter" franchises (one button for Horizontal and one for Vertical attacks, a Guard button that will break your weapon if it is used to deflect too much damage, and an awkward Kick button that will get you out of tight spots with some really cheap hits). The use of bad-ass weponery to slash and deflect blows as well as the selection of characters and settings for the fight (warriors from several continets during the RPG-abused Middle Ages settings) bring to mind the defense-technique brawls of Koei's "Dynasty Warriors", except that Namco went gun-ho with arcade-bending rules to keep the game moving fast and furious. Did I also mention that they threw the kitchen sink, as always, with plenty of console exclusive modes like Team Battle (choose a team of fighters from 1 to 5 against the CPU/2nd player's team and fight it until the last one is left standing), Survival mode (how many enemies can you take down with only one health meter for you with no pause allowed?!?!), Time Attack mode (same as Survival, but you're trying to post the best-possible time), Practice mode (rehearse your slashes and dodge manuevers until your thumbs bleed), Arcade and Vs. modes (double 'duh!') and the extremely cool Edge-Master mode (each character gets to go through a map, fighting the other characters under different and specific circumstances like taking Taki with 90% of your power depleted, or fighting two/three characters one after one another with only one health bar; think of a stripped-down version of the "Tobal #1" RPG elements combined with the final bouts of the Saturn version of "Last Bronx"). Veterans of "Tekken 2" will instantly recognize many of the options and features in the menu screen, which can adjust typical attributes like extended health, clock on/off, original/arrange soundtrack, number of rounds, button set-ups that can be adjusted, etc.
Unlike your typical "Virtua Fighter" game, the kids in "Soul Blade" have to be repeatedly bashed and pushed in order to fall from the 'invisible barrier' of the arenas; unlike many other brawlers out there, the ability to link and interconnect button commands and attacks (ala Capcom's "Star Gladiator") leads to fights in which veterans have as much chance to win as a button-mashing retard with quarters (is Bill Gates around?); and, unlike 95% of all non-Namco fighting games on PlayStation, "Soul Blade" has internal competition (the best-selling and blockbuster "Tekken" franchise) within the heritage of its parent company that makes its own engine seem second-rate by comparison. Since "Tekken 3" is probably the last great fighting game Namco will develop for the current PlayStation (unless they throw a surprise and they port "Soul Calibur" out of nowhere), "Soul Blade" will always be riding the cotails of Paul Phoenix and Co. IF YOU CAN JUDGE the game on its own merits and try to forget that the much-improved sequel and alternative franchise exists in the same platform, Namco's "Soul Blade" is quite an exquisite dish of light-sourcing trails, one-on-one medievil weapon bashing and plain old arcade fun. Two player matches between evenly-matched combatants guarantee that the game's AI, which tends to go back-and-forth between cakewalk and Acclaim-like cheapness, won't give preference to any of the game's 10 initial combatants: Voldo, Sophitia Alexandra, Rock, Hwang Sung Kuyan, Taki (which she is indeed!), Li Long, Seung Mina, Cervantes de Leon, Heishiro Mitsurugi and pretty boy Siegfried Schtauffen. With your typical differences and attributes and a variety of swords and spears made out of solid metal gear (will Konami sue me now?! :-P), this ten characters provide the minimum amount of possibilities for a great fighting game to offer long-term fun (although the endless clones from the "Tekken" series surely are missed here). GRAPHICS / VISUALS: A- One of the best CG FMV intros EVER in videogame history welcomes you to the world of "Soul Blade", complete with hints of female nudity, action sequences, exploding structures (castles, dojos) and even Cervantes ripping the skin off his face to reveal the demon hidden beneath the surface (ala Castor Troy in "Face Off")... it's a breathtaking sight that you won't be able to stop watching constanlty. Shame that the individual ending of each character is done using game graphics that don't match the pace and visual punch of the intro; it is a testament to the power of Namco and the PlayStation that the models of the characters and their textures/facial expressions/outfits/dimensions during that game are able to carry individual ending sequences by themselves! The game NEVER slows down from a generous 30 frames-per-second engine that includes some of the sweetest traces of light a sword clashing against another metal item (or the torso of a German dude named Siegfried) has ever produced on PlayStation, "Forsaken" not included of course (that Probe game is an orgy of lightsourcing ripoffs). A few characters have some slightly chunky polys that break-up a little during close-ups, but the texture mapping of the buildings and structures in the background and foreground (with a handful of exceptions like water and some floors, which are flat-shaded one-color coats of virtual paint) matches the solid and artistic touches of the historical locations in which this magical tournament is taking place. The highlight has to be the final confrontation with the Soul Blade evil spirit (the final boss after Cervantes de Leon) on a floating platform surrounded with props from previous backgrounds (boats, houses, buildings) that are being consumed by fire... unfreakingbelievable! If only the game contained more realistic blood and visible damage (ala "Bushido Blade"), was running on a higher resolution and at 60 frames-per-second, it would easily get a coveted an 'A+' from mua... oh well, that's what the Dreamcast version of "Soul Calibur" will be for.
MUSIC / SOUND EFFECTS: A Silly announcer voice and laughable winning quotes from the combatants aside (why is Sophitia always so damn sorry?), Namco threw their best musicians and sound effects people to "Soul Blade" and the results are quite obvious: this game rocks on the proper TV with the right set of speakers! The music is epic, melodramatically heroic crescendos that fit the brutal battles taking place in this tournament; every slash and clank of metal touching bone or armor comes loud and crystal clear, making you cringe whenever your character gets whacked by Voldo and his hedious Freddy Krueger-like claws. When hearing your demise is as excrutiating and sensible an aural experience as the visual one, you know you got a winner in "Soul Blade" blasting through your TV speakers. That annoying and self-important announcer, though, better not be there for the sequel because he is the videogame equivalent of TV's Adam West: yesterday's news! OVERALL: B+ Buy it. Even if you're not into fighters or Playstation games in general, there are just too many good things packed in this little CD for it to waste its existence on the shelf of a retailer somewhere that desperately needs to have the picture of Andrew Johnson added to his cash register ASAP. It's not "Tekken 3" or "Fighters Megamix", but "Soul Blade" does manage to remind us why Sega had to eat s*** and suck the collective d***s of everyone at their former bitter arcade rival in order to get "Soul Calibur" and other Namco titles on Dreamcast: because they (and Square) are the main reasons why the PlayStation is entering its fifth year of success, while the Saturn chats its misfortunes with Gary Coleman, Dana Plato, Todd Bridges, Danny Bonaducie, Robert Downey Jr., Phillip Michael Thomas and every burned star you see doing TV infomercials late at night. Which is, incidentally, the only time I have to write these stupid Reviews... must buy Tae Bow video... must kill Ron Popeil... must turn off computer before I write another pathetic phrase that will keep this endless charade going for another second... must kiss Lucy Anne Goldberg's muscle-bound and leather-clad armja... (OFF) To order Soul Blade, click on
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