Soul Calibur Series (2 Viewers)

[Black Lion]

A bit of news. For those of you who did not know the critical finishes will not be in the new soul calibur. From I ryona perspective that sucks(i loved the kiss-o-death and the vampire finisher) though from a gameplay one, I rarely got to pull one of those finishers off in an actual match.

Hmm...perhaps I should give the community a few more details as to what the new game contains. I kind of just assumed people already knew stuff like this, but I suppose not everyone follows Soul Calibur as I do.

As randomguy said, Critical Finishers have been changed to Critical Edges. The name change includes the fact that they are not instant round winners, but special moves that can be pulled off when your meter (think Street Fighter) has one bar full. For the most part, the Critical Edges are not ryona heavy.

The Create A Soul mode from SC3 and 4 returns with vast improvements. It is now possible to change the size and body type of a character, edit the voice, add tatoos and paints, etc. Check this video out for more details. Obviously, this is good for those ryona enthusiasts that want to create their own tortured or torturing soul.

In terms of characters, Taki, Sophitia, and Cassandra have all but been confirmed to be out. Taki has pretty much been replaced with her spunkier pupil Natsu, and Sophitia and Cassandra's movesets have been taken by Sophitia's daughter, Pyrrha. Astaroth's bearhugs are still in this game. Xianghua has also been replaced by her more well endowed child Leixia. Hilde and Ivy are so far the only two characters who have been confirmed to return. Viola, who is technically new, is speculated (and there are a lot of facts behind this) to be Amy. Seong Mina, Setsuka, and Talim may or may not be in the new installment.

 

[randomguy]

actually I am surprised people didn't know this too Lion.(i frequent fighters generation) I just mentioned the critical finish because it seemed nobody brought up that it was gone and it was pretty popular for ryona vids. The game is looking good and from the create a soul video it looks likee this game has one of the best character creation modes in video games. On a side note since the game comes out later this month I doubt Mina and Talim will appear

 

[thesteedman]

Nice that Astroth is in. I know Shura won't be returning (not a major loss since she was a copy and paste of Cervantes, but I liked her look.) and Hwang has definatley been ruled out. (I used to be very good with him in the days of the original SC and the second one with Assassin who had his moveset.) It's a major blow for me if Mina is not in it, because I really liked the character and was really good with her to boot. She's been in the game since the beginning, but I have a feeling they will cut her out just because for a long time she's been an unlock character. I'll be surprised if Talim isn't added, with so many years past I thought the developers would be eager to add in an older version of her. Doesn't look so good for them however with the release date so close as noted... really though, they add the crappy boss from the last game in and not Mina?! :O

I'm hopefully going to make my character Eclipse again if I can on the Create a Soul. I'll tell you all how to make her when I'm done if anyone is interested. Whilst I'm waiting for SF X T this game will keep me going for a little while. I'm especially glad the size and shape of the create a soul can be edited too, since I can now find the most ideal height to make Astroth's bearhug look good! :D

 

[Black Lion]

actually I am surprised people didn't know this too Lion.(i frequent fighters generation) I just mentioned the critical finish because it seemed nobody brought up that it was gone and it was pretty popular for ryona vids. The game is looking good and from the create a soul video it looks likee this game has one of the best character creation modes in video games. On a side note since the game comes out later this month I doubt Mina and Talim will appear

Alright. I figured that you had just found out about this since you posted it so late, but it's good to know.

According to the 8wayrun forums, there are still 4 to 6 characters to reveal. There still is a possibility of Talim showing up because she was so young in past installments, but I've pretty much given up hope for Seong Mina to return. A true shame, but here's hoping for potential DLC characters!

 

[nine]

Alright. I figured that you had just found out about this since you posted it so late, but it's good to know.

According to the 8wayrun forums, there are still 4 to 6 characters to reveal. There still is a possibility of Talim showing up because she was so young in past installments, but I've pretty much given up hope for Seong Mina to return. A true shame, but here's hoping for potential DLC characters!

Well there is still character creation XD

 

[Black Lion]

Well there is still character creation XD

I'm really hoping for a top that was similar to Seong Mina's in Soul Calibur 4 will be in the new game. I loved that shirt SO much.

By the way, Setsuka is in Sophitia/Cassandra/Taki status. She's supposedly being replaced with another execution heavy style.

 

[bryanthunder]

Wanted to note a quick update for those who aren't following it as closely as the rest of us.
Two characters have recently been confirmed:
Edge-Master (Whom hadn't made an appearance since Soulcalibur 1) He is a "mimic-character" akin to Mokujin from the Tekken series, randomly switching among the main cast's fighting styles at the end of each round.
Algol, the final boss from Soulcalibur 4. What his role is in SC5's story is anyone's guess at this point.
Also, they confirmed a fighting style that custom made characters have exclusive access to, a hand-to-hand style based off Devil Jin from the Tekken series. Sounds interesting to me.

 

[Unrelated]

Got my PS3 sent in for Christmas, so I've been playing Soul Calibur IV lately... There should be workshops to teach people how to not suck at this game! I don't understand what the hell I'm doing wrong...

 

[Mardion]

^Did you try playing Practice Mode and learning some of a character's moves (not just the key inputs but also some moves' speed and range) ?

 

[Someone92]

A bit of news. For those of you who did not know the critical finishes will not be in the new soul calibur. From I ryona perspective that sucks(i loved the kiss-o-death and the vampire finisher) though from a gameplay one, I rarely got to pull one of those finishers off in an actual match.

Yeah, the Critical Finishers were very nice to watch, but that's about them; from a gameplay view they added very little to the game.
Attacks that can be only used when you have a certain power level may be a good addition to (coop) platformer beat 'em up but imo for a competitive one they suck.

 

[Black Lion]

^Did you try playing Practice Mode and learning some of a character's moves (not just the key inputs but also some moves' speed and range) ?

This is the first thing someone should do while learning a new character. Do you have a preference of fighting style? Perhaps we could give you a suggestion as to who you could play.

 

[Unrelated]

Well, honestly, I've never been good at combo-centric or complex-entry fighters-- put me at the controls for Street Fighter III Third Strike and I do pretty well! Simple inputs to let me just think about what I'm doing, and not how to do what I want to do... Also, I really did only get this game for the ryona... :ouch...it hurts:
So the problem has just been in getting stuff unlocked.. I finally managed to complete arcade mode with Vader by totally cheesing it out-- The Apprentice is apparently dumb if you just keep spamming A+G as he gets up, and Algol I just lured to the edge and used the same throw to fling him out. That got me up to 20 honors, so 10 to go to unlock the rest of the gear you can get that way? As far as the Tower, I'm currently at 15-17, with a few unopened chests still behind.

And yeah, I've messed around in training mode quite a lot, but that doesn't really help.. everything just goes out the window once an actual match starts. As for suggesting a character, well I don't know if it helps any, but... in SF3 I played Remy-- AGGRESSIVELY, not silly Guile-turtle! I've had some success with some of the longer reach fighters like Siegfried and Kilik, and can obviously get through normal story mode with no problem (I'm pretty sure someone picking up the game for the first time and button mashing would be able to do that with a few continues).

I would also like to know more on whether I'm missing something about mobility... seems like the AI has a lot less problem moving around, while I can't dodge the slowest of vertical attacks. :slow:

 

[bryanthunder]

Well, honestly, I've never been good at combo-centric or complex-entry fighters-- put me at the controls for Street Fighter III Third Strike and I do pretty well! Simple inputs to let me just think about what I'm doing, and not how to do what I want to do...

I'm a bit confused by this statement... as I've never found Soul Calibur to be nearly as combo-centric as Street Fighter.
Never the less, SC's basics are based on which direction you tap before pressing an attack. considering each button responds to a different type of move you usually know what's going to come out from each press. So tapping down and hitting any attack button will almost always be a low sweeping horizontal, vertical, or kick.
What I will admit makes it more complicated are the stances. Characters like Ivy and Siegfried have a bunch of different stances which offer new attack opportunities but are confusing for new players to get used to.

So the problem has just been in getting stuff unlocked.. I finally managed to complete arcade mode with Vader by totally cheesing it out-- The Apprentice is apparently dumb if you just keep spamming A+G as he gets up, and Algol I just lured to the edge and used the same throw to fling him out. That got me up to 20 honors, so 10 to go to unlock the rest of the gear you can get that way? As far as the Tower, I'm currently at 15-17, with a few unopened chests still behind.

Some honors are easy to get if you make a character specifically to get them. For example, the guard impact honors can be obtained by making a character with the skills "Auto Impact A" entering either story mode or the tower and just holding the defense. Then to get the 20 Just Impacts, just add "Master Impact" and do the same thing.
It's also easy to grind for Soul Crush and Critical Finish honors by creating a Yun-seong character and loading them up with powerful attack stats, the skill "Soul Gauge Damage A" and then spamming 6B,B. (Forward Triangle, Triangle on PS3)
Though, some of conditions for chests in the Tower of Lost Souls are so asinine that I didn't even bother. I just bought what I needed and was done with it. (Once you've got the right amount of honors all the equipment can be purchased, nothing is 'hidden' or only obtainable in the ToLS, save for one stage if I recall.)

And yeah, I've messed around in training mode quite a lot, but that doesn't really help.. everything just goes out the window once an actual match starts. As for suggesting a character, well I don't know if it helps any, but... in SF3 I played Remy-- AGGRESSIVELY, not silly Guile-turtle! I've had some success with some of the longer reach fighters like Siegfried and Kilik, and can obviously get through normal story mode with no problem (I'm pretty sure someone picking up the game for the first time and button mashing would be able to do that with a few continues).

I would also like to know more on whether I'm missing something about mobility... seems like the AI has a lot less problem moving around, while I can't dodge the slowest of vertical attacks. :slow:

It's not always about how much you practice but also how. To familiarize yourself with the moves you want to use, switch the training style from Free Style to VS CPU. With no stakes involved you'll likely learn a bit better.
More over, try new things while playing in the main modes. You should try controlled button mashing; that is, pressing a semi-random button and direction to see it's effects (ding the same command once or twice in a row will help you remember the move.) while doing this with a single character you'll start to learn more of their moves.
The 8-way run system can take some getting used to, specially for someone coming from a game like Street Fighter. Spend some time familiarizing yourself with it however and it should start to make sense.

Some characters are easier to pick up and play then others, Seigfried, even with his large number of stances, isn't a bad choice. Nightmare has fewer stances so can be a decent introduction if Seig isn't feeling right. Kilik is a pretty easy starting character as well, and the long range tends to give you breathing room.
Once you've found a style you like though, you're just gonna have to spend time learning the ins and outs of it. You don't have to memorize the move-list but finding key moves that fit your general play-style will certainly will make your fights easier.

I hope any of this helps.

 

[Mardion]

I'm a bit confused by this statement... as I've never found Soul Calibur to be nearly as combo-centric as Street Fighter.

^This. Street Fighter relies too much on combos, while in SoulCalibur your main means of attack is one- or two-hit moves, and the special moves are infinitely easier to pull off (I mean, how do you perform Blanka's moves, which require you press back for two seconds and then front, with an X-Box360 controller?). According to what you said, you should find SC much more to your liking than SF. Try assigning the shoulder buttons to moves like A+B, A+K and B+K and, while in battle, press one of those buttons along with one random direction. You should be surprised as to what you'll find out.

 

[thesteedman]

Worse case senario, just go a throw heavy character like I do in all fighting games. The biggest combo's I ever pull off are... wait for it... 3 HIT COMBOS!!! I main astaroth on SC, and whilst I have a few striking moves I like to use to mix up the game a little, I just mostly get in close and grab the son of a b*tch! That way there is much less buttons to press, and if you mess up any directions before hand, at least you still throw em a hell of a far!

But yes, SC can seem overwhelming with so many moves, but they are all pretty easy to pull off and you only have to select a few moves to use that you like. BryanThunder & Mardion have the right of it.

 

[Unrelated]

Street Fighter "relies too much on combos"? Even if that were true, I don't have to remember anything to pull off a combo in Street Fighter. Soul Calibur's attack chains go hilariously wrong if you hit the wrong thing next-- can be as simple as hitting a diagonal direction instead of straight, causing what should have been a big sweeping attack to instead be a pommel thrust that lands three feet short and in the wrong direction, but I've also had weird crap like my character taunting on B+K (and I have written off slide inputs).

I'll see if I can figure out Astaroth... when I first saw him I was all "oh, big axe, maybe he ACTUALLY SWINGS IT", which quickly proved to not be the case. :p

 

[bryanthunder]

As stated before, if you're trying to go for more than a two-to-three hit combo in SC (at the beginning level) you're playing too aggressively. At the beginning it's all about poking, with character's basic; A, A or B, B attacks, tossing in throws, and over all learning the feel of the game. General rule of thumb for beginners: Guard after every poke, and look for chances to punish opponents.

Astaroth can be really, really overpowered against inexperienced players and the PC.
Double Discus (1 hold A, A) and Discus Breaker (1 hold A, B) for example are surprisingly fast moves that deal an insane amount of damage, often 40% to 60% of the health bar.

 

[Black Lion]

Some good things were said already, but I'm going to emphasize bryanthunder's thoughts on Astaroth. He does a bunch of damage, is long ranged, and has quick moves you can throw out if you're being pressured (clutch forward + kick). I don't play him, but he seems strong in the novice level.

 

[thesteedman]

Yeah, not to mention how he can also rush an opponant with the forward and kick move, basically charging at his opponant. Two or three of them in quick succession can simply plow someone right out of the ring. I was also a fan of quarter circle back and horizontal slash. It was a very good throw if you caught them and quite damaging, though if you felt it wouldn't land, just keep hitting the button and you swing around like an idiot with the axe, but it lets you pull back safely.

 

[randomguy]

All characters have their best traits but what is best for you depends on your play style. For me I like faster more aggressive fighters. So in most games I play expect at least one speedster a couple balanced going more to the speed and even powers who are not as strong but have more speed. It all just goes with how you play. which is why the best thing you can do is experiment