Soul Edge

Soul Edge/Soul Blade
Developer(s)	Project Soul
Publisher(s)	Namco
Designer(s)	Hiroaki Yotoriyama
Platform(s)	Arcade PlayStation
Release date(s)	Arcade January 29, 1996 May 16, 1996 (Ver. II) PlayStation JP December 20, 1996 NA January 1997 EU May 1997
Genre(s)	Fighting game
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players simultaneously
Cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	System 11

Soul Edge (ソウルエッジ, Sōru Ejji) is a 1996 3D arcade fighting game developed by the team Project Soul and published by Namco. It is the first installment in the Soul series of fighting games. However, following Soul Edge's sequel, Soulcalibur, subsequent installments in the franchise have all been released under the title of Soulcalibur, of which the franchise is now most commonly known.

Soul Edge is the second 3D fighting game to feature characters that fight with weapons (the first being Battle Arena Toshinden), although putting weapons in fighters was not a new concept (Samurai Shodown is a notable example of a 2D fighter with weapons). Apart from the aesthetic benefits, giving the characters weapons allows for a greater diversity between them, meaning there is someone for every play style.

It was initially released in the arcades in 1996. A couple of months later, Namco released a fixed version labeled Soul Edge Ver. II, upon the complaints of players who found the difficulty quite high and the last boss "unbeatable". Hwang (initially a palette swap of Mitsurugi for the Korean version of the game) was introduced to Japanese players with a new movelist, Cervantes became playable, Guard Impacts and Air Combos were implemented, and all the characters received upgraded movelists. The game was then ported to the Sony PlayStation and Namco chose to use the name Soul Blade in Europe, North America and Australia to avoid potential complications due to EDGE Games's earlier "EDGE" trademark.

Story

According to a timeline released by Namco in its Soul Archive site, Soul Edge's events take place in 1584. The story tells the tale of warriors searching for the ultimate sword, "Soul Edge". It has been given many names throughout the story, such as "The Sword of Salvation", "The Sword of Heroes", and "The Ultimate Sword" among others. Many strong warriors searched for years, but very few actually found it. The sword, now in the form of a twin pair of long swords, appeared mysteriously in an auction. They were taken by the dreaded Captain Cervantes and nothing was known of his fate thereafter. Now, nine warriors from around the world search for the sword for different reasons. Some for power, others for revenge; some believing it's a benevolent sword, searching for its support; while others knowing of its evil nature, seeking its destruction. Nothing is known for certain about the sword, except for one thing: it brings misfortune to those seeking it.

Gameplay

Soul Edge was created prior to the introduction of the "8-Way Run", which allowed the player to move their character in a complete range on the Y-axis. The characters can sidestep on either side by double-tapping down to move to the foreground or down then up to the background. The jump maneuver (which in Soulcalibur is more like a hop) moves the player higher into the air, even allowing it to pass above the opponent (much like in Tekken). One of the most notable gameplay aspects is the "Weapon Gauge". This bar was found under the character's lifebar and was comparable to the equipped weapons' resistance. Each time the player blocked an attack, the bar would deplete. If the bar was totally emptied, the character would lose his/her weapon and be forced to end the match unarmed. Though this is an original idea, unfortunately the unarmed move-lists are the same for every character. Another feature that was removed from Soulcalibur's engine is when two character strike at the same time, "locking" their weapons. In those situations, those who pressed the right button would have the advantage. This aspect behaves similarly to rock-paper-scissors.

Character moves retain a feel of Namco's Tekken series. Each character has in his or her arsenal one or two unblockable attacks, balanced however because of its slow execution. Also, each character is capable of performing one or two Critical Edge attacks, which consisted of a long series of linked hits, which usually ended in a strong high attack. These moves require the input of a special combination of two parts: they're activated by pressing "A+B+K" together, and if it connects, the player has the chance of extending the combo with a character-specific sequence, which must be input during the attack. This attack depletes 1/3 of the Weapon Gauge when used.

Soul Edge used an "aggressive block" maneuver called the "Guard Impact" that would allow players to intercept incoming attacks and push them back, resulting in a momentary opportunity for a free counterattack. Opponents, however, were also able to return a Guard Impact after receiving a Guard Impact (allowing for stalemate clashes until one opponent missed the subsequent timing). This gameplay feature would be expanded in future Soul series games.

To achieve a ring out (which is a forcible maneuver that ejects the opponent from the arena and gains an automatic victory for the round), the player must be knocked outside the ring by an enemy; the player can't deliberately get a ring out by hopping out of the ring.

Development

Soul Edge was developed as an experiment by Namco to explore the possibilities of a weapon-based fighting game.

PlayStation version

On December 20, 1996, Soul Edge was ported to the Sony PlayStation for the Japanese market and versions labeled Soul Blade came out in 1997 in the USA and Europe. The port kept the Soul Edge Ver. II roster of ten and added five unlockable characters, including SoulEdge, the boss of the game.

Other added features:

• The original ten selectable characters received a new PlayStation-specific costume, chosen from various works sent by fans, giving each one a total of three different costumes, plus two color variations for the 1P and 2P costumes.
• The inclusion, besides the standard "Arcade" mode, of: "VS" mode, "Survival", "Team Battle", "Time Attack" and "Training" modes.
• A new RPG-styled mode called "Edge Master Mode", which works as a sort of "Story Mode" for the ten initial characters. The mode presents the selected character's story as a book, while the player moves in a map to various locations and fights in battles, sometimes with handicap rules. Generally, each "Chapter" of the book rewards the player with a weapon.
• Individual endings done using the game's renderer, rather than still images (as in its sequels, Soulcalibur and Soulcalibur II) or CGI. Each of the ten normally selectable characters have two endings, usually one ending which ends well 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. This type of ending was finally brought back in Soulcalibur III.
• The inclusion of seven extra weapons per character, which have different designs and statistics, composed of Power (inflicts more damage), Defense (receives less damage), Strength (damage dealt to enemy's weapon gauge), Durability (resistance of player's weapon gauge) and Weight (changes character's speed). Some weapons also have a special ability, like the ability to damage through defense or restore the player's health.
• The inclusion of three different in-game soundtracks to choose from: the Arcade Soundtrack, a studio-recorded version of the arcade soundtrack called Arrange Soundtrack and the Khan Super Session, made expressly for the home version.

In the North American version, clothes were added to Sophitia in the opening cutscene where she would have been nude. In the European version, Li Long's pair of nunchuka were changed to a three-section staff. In the Japanese version, Cervantes (as Inferno/SoulEdge) appears to be laughing at the end of the opening cutscene.

Reception

The game generally received very positive reviews, obtaing an an average review score of 89/100 according to Metacritic, including 8.9/10 by IGN and 8.3/10 by GameSpot.

GamePro wrote: "Bow down to the new king of fighters, and the first gotta-play-it game of the year." In 1997, PSM named it as the fourth-top PlayStation game of all time.

See also

• Soul Edge Original Soundtrack - Khan Super Session
• Super Battle Sound Attack Soul Edge

External links

• Soul series official website
• Soul Blade at MobyGames
• Soul Edge/Blade at Soulcalibur Wikia